Friends! I have just returned from the strangest and most crowded place on earth, otherwise known as San Diego Comic Con. Since the convention center is basically the Bermuda Triangle of cell phone reception, I wasn’t able to tweet as much as I would’ve liked, but never fear. I’m here to catch you up now.
THE HIGHLIGHTS:
– First of all, this was the view from my hotel room:
Yes please.
– Myra McEntire and I managed to see the panel for “The Originals” (the “Vampire Diaries” spin-off) from the second row. You guys, I’m pretty sure all the most attractive people in the world are on that show, and we were nearly close enough to lick their faces. (We didn’t, but only because of security.) Please behold the pretty:
*drools*
– When we left the panel, my phone was almost dead, so I left it in my room to charge while I went to get some lunch, figuring there wouldn’t be anything in the food line I’d need to document. And then, while I was stuffing fries in my mouth and waiting for the elevator, THE ENTIRE CAST OF THE VAMPIRE DIARIES WALKED BY. They were six feet from me. There was no one in between us. And I have no pictures. However, I can assure you that Ian Somerhalder’s eyes are just as pretty (and just as crazy) in real life as they are on TV.
– I somehow managed to get into Hall H for the Divergent panel, which included never-before-seen footage! I’m always wary of movie adaptations of books I like, but I was very pleasantly surprised by what I saw—it looked very much like what was in my head. Veronica Roth was wonderfully poised, as always, even though she was sitting next to Theo James. (His is another face I would not mind licking. My favorite moment of the panel was when he spoke for the first time and the moderator said, “I think half the people in this room just got pregnant listening to your accent.”)
– Harrison Ford was on the Ender’s Game panel, but everyone seemed much more interested in talking to him about his other work. One fan asked, “If Han Solo and Indiana Jones were to meet, what are the first words they’d say to each other?” Mr. Ford rolled his eyes, leaned into the microphone, and said, very slowly and deliberately, “Hello. How are you?”
– I got to hang out with my lovely publicist, Mary van Akin, at the Random House booth! When I’d first visited the booth the day before, I asked if they’d brought any ARCs of my book, and the sales rep said no, Comic Con was strictly for sci-fi/fantasy stuff. But Mary told me she’d actually brought a secret stash of RED ARCs… and had given all of them to redheads. (If you got one, let me know!) Here we are, looking ginger-tastic:
– The What’s Hot in YA panel was a highlight, as always. This year’s participants were Rachel Cohn, Rachel Hawkins, Rainbow Rowell, Mark Frost, Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi, Ransom Riggs, and Chelsea Pitcher, moderated by Nathan Bransford (who is seriously the best moderator in all the land.) They were an incredibly funny, gracious, supportive, perceptive group, and listening to them made me proud to be in this industry. Rachel discussed her writer origin story and her former teaching job—”I don’t want to be dramatic, y’all, but it killed me in my soul.” Rainbow told us about how her first book took her ten years to write, during which time she never had another book idea… but the moment she thought of something else she’d like to write about and gave herself permission to be creative, her mind was flooded with ideas. Tahereh gave a pep talk to the aspiring writers in the room, reminding them that there are tons of talented people who don’t succeed solely because they give up too soon. Basically, I want them all to be my best friends.
And then they did a signing, where I picked up Myra McEntire’s INFINITYGLASS and Rachel Hawkins’s REBEL BELLE. I have such talented agent-mates. *happy sigh*
Aren’t they pretty?
And here are MORE adorable agent-mates, Lauren Billings and Christina Hobbs, waiting with me in the signing line:
– Since photography and weird stuff are two of my favorite things in the world, the Comic Con exhibit hall is basically like a playground for me. Behold, pictures of some of my favorite weird stuff!
Baby Ninja Turtle meets big Ninja Turtles
This guy was on stilts, tromping around and creepily caressing the tops of people’s heads.
BYOT (Bring Your Own Throne)
My favorite costume in all of Comic Con
The Walking Dead booth
SHARKNADO!
Poison Ivy and Two-Face.
Annnnd… this last one really says everything you need to know about Comic Con:
Yup. That about sums it up.
Over and out.
Looks like you had a fantastic time! Thanks for recapping your adventures for those of us who weren't brave enough (or cool enough) to venture to SDCC. (Oh, and I think the people in the second-to-last photo are Poison Ivy and Two-Face from Batman.)