Top Ten Bookish People I Want To Meet (Authors, Bloggers, etc.)
I apologize in advance for the extremely long-winded post, but it's not often I get to thank the people who mean so much to me - my online family. <3
BLOGGERS
It may seem weird to group these two together, but I met them around the same time, and I consider these two girls my best online friends. We have tons in common - besides reading (of course), we're all writers, we like a lot of the same TV shows, movies, and we all share a love for music...oh, and swoonworthy book boys. ;-) I absolutely love these two, and I visit their blogs every single day. They've been amazing friends, and they've both been incredibly supportive of my writing and the crazy journey I've been on in the last year. They're both beta readers for my second novel, The Game Changer, and Jessica actually finished within days of receiving it, which was amazing and exciting. I have future projects planned with both Jess and Molli, and I've pretty much made it my goal in life to meet them 'in real life' someday. The internet is fantastic for bringing people together, but it sucks when you get really close to people and they live so far away!
Kat is another blog/reader/writer friend. Funny thing is: she just lives half an hour away. I'm pretty sure she's the closest blogger geographically that I've come across so far. Kat's a sweetheart, and I always love talking books and writing with her.
I met Katie through Molli just a few months ago, but in those few months I've come to love her to bits. We've had some hilarious and borderline ridiculous conversations on Twitter, but also some pretty deep conversations. I like being able to get 'real' with people, even when you're online friends and live so far apart (she's even farther than Jessica and Molli). I've always wanted to go to California, and visiting an amazing online friend sounds like a good excuse, right?
Sharon was actually one of the very first people to offer to help me promote Blue Sky Days last year (I just went to her blog to check, and the first post she did for the book was October 11th - almost a year ago!). She's one of the sweetest people I've come across, she always has a kind word, and I can tell she has a lovely, gentle, loving soul. Plus she's very patient when I ask her incessant questions about Australia lol
AUTHORS
Do I really need to explain this one? JK Rowling is just...she's...there are just no words. I can't imagine the world without Harry Potter. I can't imagine my life without Harry Potter. I'm seriously sitting here getting teary right now, that's how much Harry Potter means to me. Even though I'm afraid I'd be a crying, squeeing, ridiculously embarrassing fangirl if I ever met her, I'd like to shake her hand (ok, I'd actually like to give her a great big hug), and say thank you from the bottom of my heart for not only creating a world which I've escaped to countless times, and characters I love as if they were real people, but also for making me want to be a better writer.
For the last decade or so I've been saying I want to be Nora Roberts when I grow up. She's so incredibly talented and prolific, she amazes me. I've read so many of her books and loved every single one of them. If I could have even half her talent someday, I'd consider myself lucky...and maybe half her success too? A girl can dream. ;-)
Maddy is another of my favourite authors, but she's one of the rare ones I actually consider a friend. I happened upon her Passport to Peril series at the library several years ago, and both my mum and I read them all. I was so sad when the series ended, but last year I was doing a Top Ten Tuesday post and was double-checking the order of Maddy's books and saw that she had another one coming out. I was so excited, you have no idea. I immediately went to Facebook to see if she had a fan page, and long story short, we got chatting, and she is so nice, so supportive, and just overall wonderful. I have to admit, it's incredibly surreal every time we have a conversation or she 'likes' something of mine on Facebook - I still get a bit starstruck! Plus, she's been incredibly supportive of my writing, which amazes me, because most of the traditionally published authors I've gotten to know via Twitter, Facebook, and blogs...well, it's not that they necessarily look down on indie authors, but I've never really seen any of them show any indie love or support, but Maddy's been awesome about cheering me on, and it means so much to me. PLUS, her books are incredible - hilarious, full of mystery, lovably kookie characters, and fantastic settings. They always temporarily ease my wanderlust because I get to live vicariously. I think it would be so awesome to tag along with her someday on one of her research trips, and to pick her brain about how she comes up with ideas.
When I was fifteen or sixteen, I read Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen. It was like she had written it just for me. That book was about me. I connected with it on such a deep level, and I still consider it my special story. I'd like to say that I've read all of Sarah's books, but I'd be lying. I've probably read about half of them (Along for the Ride is my next favourite to Someone Like You), but I intend to read them all. I would have already except that I didn't start reading YA again until last year. Since this post is already getting really long, if you want to read more about my love of Sarah and her books, I dedicated an entire post to her a year ago May - Early Inspiration - or - Why I Love Sarah Dessen.
I discovered Sarah last year around the time her debut novel, The Violets of March, debuted. Since then, she's become a favourite online presence. She's incredibly sweet, and she not only answers tweets, she's actually initiated a few (which I've found is rare for big authors.......and on a geeky fangirl note, I remember each tweet she's sent me, because, again, it's so incredibly surreal and exciting for a book lover to talk to someone whose books you love). Sarah seems like such a down-to-earth person, and I'd love to just hang out with her for a day in Seattle, talking books and writing and life.
So there you have it. The top ten bloggers and authors I'd love to meet. Who would you meet? Have you already met any of your favourite authors or bloggers?
A sweeping World War II saga of thwarted love, murder, and a long-lost
painting. 
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