Blog News, and Photo Shoots!!

So as many of you in the book world have already seen, Stephanie Perkins’ books will be getting new covers. What you might not know, is that I photographed the author photo that will (last I heard) be featured in the back of the book!!

I do a lot of fashion photography here in NYC, but I also do fun things like events, and head shots! Even a wedding or two, when I know it won’t get too crazy. 😉 I’ve been speaking to some fellow bloggers about possibly doing a group shot, and individual head shot sessions while they are in town for BEA. If you are a blogger or author in need of a head shot, contact me! bookshelflustATgmail.com

You can see more of my photography at my portfolio site: http://www.rachelscroggins.net

Here’s a sneak peek / clip of the new head shot:

With more info about the new covers in Steph’s blog post.

NYC Teen Author Festival

Last month, one of my favorite NYC bookish events returned for it’s annual appearance! The NYC Teen Author Festival.

It was a busy work week for me, with back to back photo shoots mixed in with author panels. But I managed to catch a group of authors at a NYPL panel, and the “finale” Mega-Signing at Books of Wonder!

Elizabeth Eulberg, Tara Altebrando, Jenny Han, and Stephanie Perkins at the NYPL.

Stephanie Perkins.

Sarah Mlynowski.

At Sunday’s mega-signing, there were almost too many authors to count! I hauled a giant grocery tote full of books half-way across NYC to have signed by those appearing.

The always amazing Gayle Forman.

Jocelyn Davies and Anna Carey.

Kim Harrington.

Stephanie Perkins! Who I took a million photos of, because 1. She is adorable and SO BRIGHT. And 2. She’s awesome.

LOLA

“Fixing” a book for a fan who purchased a book from Barnes and Noble, already signed to some random dude!

Another great redhead: Andrea Cremer!

The funky lighting in Books of Wonder made a few of the authors rather “glowy”.

Barry Lyga.

David Levithan.

Jenny Han.

Corey Whaley and Jennifer E. Smith, with Mitali in the middle!

Jon Skovron with his awesome book, Misfit! (One of my 2011 faves.)

Jeri Smith-Ready

Melissa de la Cruz, who signed every.single. Blue Bloods book for me! –Ok, except the 2 I’d already had signed. 😉

We snagged Stephanie again after the signing for some fun portraits:

Michelle, Stephanie, and Bethany.

Me and Stephanie

Getting goofy!

See the full photo set here.

And my 2011 TAF post here.

Updated NYC-Area Author Signings and Events Listing

I’ve been MIA for most of the summer/early fall do to an increase in work responsibilities (Fashion Week, and all the pre-planning involved in attending and photographing over 40 shows pretty much kicked my ass), and some family stuff I had going on. I’m happy to say I’ll be back to posting regular reviews soon. But first, one of my favorite things: I’ve updated my NYC area author event listings!

There are dozens of AMAZING events and signings coming up in the next two months. Be sure to check back regularly, as I update the listing frequently, whenever I come across new information.

You can see my book signings page here.

Spontaneous NYC Book Signing: Stephanie Perkins

If you’ve been reading this blog since it’s inception, you know how much I fan-girl Stephanie Perkins. Anna and the French Kiss was one of the very first reviews I wrote. It was also my #1 favorite book of 2010! I begged and pleaded with all of my friends to read it. And once they did, of course they loved it!

So, I was beyond excited this afternoon to see Stephanie mention on twitter that she would be in NYC this weekend. I immediately tweeted at her saying she should have a spontaneous signing. Apparently, quite a few other fans had the same idea as well. Lucky for us, IT WORKED!

Stephanie will be at Bryant Park in NYC tomorrow for an impromptu book signing and meet and greet:

See more info on Steph’s blog. Don’t forget to check twitter for updates if it’s raining (which seems likely)! I will be there, with my roommate, and hopefully a few fellow book blogger friends. If you see me, say hi!

11 Must Reads of 2011, Part Two: Witches of East End

Melissa de la Cruz, via her official site.

Witches of East End is New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz’s first venture into adult fiction. The new series follows the Beauchamp family, a family of three women living in the fictional town of North Hampton, who fight evil with witchcraft.

Yesterday, Melissa sent out her reader newsletter with an excerpt from the letter included at the beginning of the Witches ARC:

The Beauchamp family is composed of three fearsomely powerful women–the formidable matriarch, Joanna, and her two daughters, bookish Ingrid and wild child Freya, who have had to suppress their true magical nature for many centuries. Their story is about the joys and pains of motherhood, sisterhood, relationships, friendships, touching upon themes of loss, resurrection, true love, discovering your inner strength and female power.

I’m absolutely thrilled to write for an adult audience, as many of my Blue Bloods readers have grown up with the series, I jumped at the opportunity to create a new cast of characters to hold dear. In a cool twist, the universe of my witches crosses with that of my vampires: Freya makes an appearance in Bloody Valentine, and Blue Blood regulars Mimi Force and Oliver Hazard-Perry’s journey takes them to consult with the Beauchamp witches.

This book is a fun, delicious, sexy and frothy romp that includes star-crossed lovers, zombies, vampires and the history of Salem, a ride that begins on the beaches of the fictional town of North Hampton and leads all the way to Valhalla. I’ve always been obsessed with the tragic and beautiful tales from Norse mythology and I hope you too, will enjoy the magical, witchy soap opera that is the Witches of East End.

A little google sleuthing led me to this description of the book on Hyperion’s site:

“It’s the beginning of summer in North Hampton, and beautiful Freya Beauchamp is celebrating her engagement to wealthy Bran Gardiner, the heir to Fair Haven and Gardiners Island. But Freya is drawn to Bran’s gorgeous but unreliable brother Liam, and sparks fly when the two decide to play a dangerous game of desire, following an ancient story of love, betrayal and tragedy that harks back to the days of Valhalla.

Witches of East End follows the Beauchamp family—the formidable matriarch Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid. Freya, a sexy bartender, has a potion to cure every kind of heartache, while Ingrid, the local librarian, solves complicated domestic problems with her ability to tie magical knots. Joanna is the witch to see when modern medicine has no more answers; her powers can wake the dead. Everything seems to be going smoothly until a young girl, Molly Lancaster, goes missing after taking one of Freya’s irresistible cocktails. As more of the town’s residents begin disappearing, everyone seems to have the same suspects in mind: the Beauchamp women.

Fraught with love affairs and witchcraft, Witches of East End will capture any reader who craves a page-turning, heart-stopping story of myth and magic from an author who knows how to deliver”.

I also found a cover image, but I’ll refrain from posting it because it’s not the final version. The real cover is set to be revealed on January 7th on EW’s Shelf Life blog.

I’ve been a MdlC fan since the Au Pairs series, so I’m thrilled to see her venturing into the world of adult fiction. I was luck enough to meet Melissa at a signing back in 2007, and not only is she an amazing author, she’s also incredibly sweet. Witches, vampires, zombies, romance, mystery, Norse mythology (!!!), a Hamptons setting, Blue Bloods character crossovers, plus Melissa’s spirited storytelling? Sounds like the perfect recipe for an exciting new series!

Summer 2011 can’t come soon enough!

Witches of East End will be released by Hyperion, June 21, 2011.

Last Sacrifice: NYC Reading and Signing

Author Richelle Mead.

Last night, I was lucky enough to attend Richelle Mead’s NYC reading and signing, celebrating the release of the final Vampire Academy book, Last Sacrifice. I nearly didn’t make it! Between being slowed down by a broken foot, and bad traffic, I was fashionably late, arriving seconds after Richelle took the stage to read.

The enraptured audience.

Richelle began by reading a selection from the book, then proceeded to a short question and answer session with the audience. Most of the questions were pretty typical— What is her inspiration? What’s going on with the movie rights? Was she sad to leave Rose behind after the end of the conclusion of the series?…One question that really stood out to me was about Georgina Kincaid, from Richelle’s Succubus book series. Richelle said the final book is due out in September 2011, and promises surprises, along with the *spoiler free version*: answer to a certain important question regarding a document that was mentioned in Succubus Shadows. Those of you who missed the webcast can see a typed version of most of the Q&A over at shadowkissed.com.

Another exciting piece of news straight from Richelle: this Friday, December 10th’s issue of Entertainment Weekly will have an exclusive first look at the new spin-off series, Bloodlines!

Once it was time for the signing to begin, everything became a bit of a blur. Because I was in a cast, the Barnes and Noble staffers wanted me to go first in line. I felt sort of weird doing that, so I told them I’d gladly go after the first row of fans had their books signed instead.

When it was my turn, I was escorted over to Richelle. Things went so fast, I barely remember what I said. I forgot everything I had planned to say, but had a nice impromptu discussion with Richelle about the Korean editions of her books that I’d brought to be signed (I’m in LOVE with the gorgeously illustrated covers!), and she asked me if I minded telling her how I broke my foot.

The Korean edition of book 1.

Since my Mother was my nurse/escort for the evening, I was able to get six books signed. Between that, and a recent order from University Books, I now will own signed copies of nearly the entire Richelle Mead catalog!

I’m less than 10 pages from the ending of Last Sacrifice! My review will be coming soon!

See more photos from the signing here.

Thanks so much to Richelle for coming to NYC, and everyone at Barnes and Noble for helping me out while I’m injured. Here’s hoping Richelle makes it back next summer for Bloodlines!

Photos and Content ®2010 RS/BookshelfLust