I had the pleasure of attending the book signing for Beautiful Creatures and meeting the authors Kami and Margaret back in January.  Of course, I got caught all up and I’m just now getting around to posting my recap of the event. 

I attended the book signing with one of my local writing buddies.  We both found it to be very interesting event.  For one, these two authors have one of the most unlikeliest, fairytale-ish, comedy-of-errors type of road to publication.  The short version of the story is that neither author had finished a story on their own, so their kids dared them to write and finish a book.  Being the sports they are, they accepted the challenge.  The proceeded to write the book, turning over the completed chapters to their kids to read as they were done (and as proof they were actually writing the book-lol)

By the time they were finished, they had several students (like 100’s)  that attended school with their kids wanting to read their finished product.  So they were going to post it to the net so all of the kids could have access to it, when one of their friends (who just happens to be a published author) stepped in and stopped them.    Said friend also sent the book to his agent, and the agent loved it.  The story gets really funny now (in a Lucy & Ethel type way), but long story short, after several mishaps and thinking the interest of the agent was a practical joke, Kami and Margaret are now proud authors of their first published book, which also happens to be the first book either of them has ever written.

Their story is a YA/Paranormal/Southern/Gothicy mix that has gotten rave reviews both on Amazon and from the radio DJ’s that I initially heard talking about it.  Listening to the authors describe their story and their influences really piqued my interest as well.  So I did something I rarely, if ever do.  I purchased a book–a hard cover no less–written by authors that I knew nothing about (other than what I’d heard than night) or whose books I’d never read before.

The one quote/piece of advice these ladies gave, that I will always remember, is “There’s no such thing as a bad book, just a bad draft”.  This was their response when an aspiring author asked them for insight into their writing process (which, in an of itself quite hectic).  This matra is the one thing they both kept in mind to keep them going, and I think it’s worth remembering & repeating.  I will definitely be pulling this one out the next time I have a crisis of confidence regarding my writing–or– the next time I recieve a rejection.  🙂

For one, I’m really digging the book cover, and cover art usually doesn’t play a strong part in my book buying decisions.  But something about it appeals to me, and I LOVE the title font, it’s very fluid and artsy.  But I’m really looking forward to reading this one.  It’s next on my TBR list.

Oh, and did I mention?  Beautiful Creatures has been optioned for a movie.  Congrats ladies!