BookExpo – Day 4 (Friday): The Last Day!

Today is the final day of BookExpo…it was only 2 full days on the floor. But it’s another full day and I am all-set to go. I got another good night’s sleep, so I am up and at ’em bright and early. And since it’s another nice morning, I decided to walk again to the Javits – I really do love walking around NYC! So, after a brief stop at Starbucks, I was on my way.

Today, my schedule involved less galley drops and more signings. That just meant a lot of waiting…waiting in lines to get the book. And the first one was almost as soon as the doors opened. But, as I was in that line, I happened to see Abby from Crime by the Book, who was walking by. I just adore her…and was excited to chat with her for a bit.  

Some of the authors I got to see/meet over the course of the two days include: Kate White, Kate Moore, Claire Messud, Eva Wood, Celeste Ng, J.T. Ellison, Kaira Rouda, A.F. Brady, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Rene Denfeld, Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, Sara Blaedel, and Elin Hilderbrand.  

I didn’t necessarily get a book from all these authors but I did say hi to them all. For instance, I had just won a signed copy of J.T. Ellison’s upcoming book, so no need for another one, but I’ve never met her in person (and she was signing at the Harlequin booth along with Kaira Rouda and A.F. Brady so in order to get their books, I had to go right by J.T. – win-win for me!) And she totally understood why I wasn’t taking a book – she had sent me the copy of the book herself, not her publicist. 

And I also didn’t get a book from Liz and Lisa – I had just gotten the audio version of their book and their signing actually conflicted with Sara Blaedel’s signing – so I had to make a choice – Sara’s book totally won that context, sorry Liz and Lisa! But, Liz and Lisa happened to be walking around the Harlequin booth during J.T., Kaira and A.F’s signing, so I was able to say hi to them then! It was all good…I got to say hi to those whose books I already had and got to meet/see those whose books I wanted! Total win-win for me 🙂

Kate White (top left), Sara Blaedel (top right), J.T. Ellison (bottom, in white)

Elin’s event is always at the end of the day and she always has a cocktail to offer – this year it was Corona’s! I just love getting the chance to see her – and this year, she was all done up. Fashion plays a big part in her latest book, The Identicals, so she is giving us a fashion show  during her book tour through Instagram (make sure you are following her there!) and BookExpo was the first stop. She’s so awesome!!! 

Me & Elin

The big event of the day was the Book Group Speed Dating Event that I go to every year. This is one of my favorite events – definitely a highlight of the show. What happens is that different publishers go around the room chatting about their upcoming books. So we, the attendees get to stay at our tables and they come to us. We were all assigned a table and every 9 or 10 minutes, the publishers switch tables. I think this year, 8 publishers came to my table. And at each table are stacks of some of the books that were presented that we were free to take.

What I found most interesting about the event this year is that there were quite a few books that were presented that were ones I had already picked up. But it just goes to show you how strong a pitch can be because there was one book that I ended up taking that I had been on the fence about and yet when the publicist pitched it, I was sold! Having that personal pitch, that human contact, really does make a difference.

After dropping our books back at the hotel, the girls and I headed out to dinner. We wanted to find a good pizza place – but a place where we could sit down. After all, we had just spent the last two days on our feet. We walked down to Cara Mia’s for dinner and then stopped at Junior’s Cheesecake for dessert. We walked through Time Square and then headed back to the hotel. But we weren’t quite ready to say goodbye, so we hung out in Alison and Rhiannon’s room, and the chatter and laughter continued until it was time to go back to our room to pack…Tamara and I were both leaving bright and early the next morning. Tamara had an early flight home and my husband was coming to pick me up.

Tamara, Me, Rhiannon, Alison – in Times Square

And so ends another fun and successful BookExpo trip…with plans made to attend #BookExpo2018, provided bloggers are invited. 

So here is a final picture of all the books I picked up at BookExpo during the 3 days. I didn’t get as many as I have in years past, and the majority are in the mystery/suspense category – can you tell where my reading habits lie these days!?! I was super selective with the books I did pick up and I know that I have some really good reading coming my way…I can’t wait to share my thoughts on these with you as soon as I get to them!!!

My 2017 BookExpo book haul.

* And in case you missed it: 

• Here is the recap of Day 1. 
• Here is the recap of Day 2. 
• Here is the recap of Day 3.