STEPHANIE GARBER BOOK SIGNING: CARAVAL

Last night I went to my first ever book signing at Waterstones in Manchester, and oh my it was amazing. It felt very fitting for my first event to be in celebration of the only book I’ve given five stars to this year so far (and has the loveliest author!), Caraval by Stephanie Garber! I was super nervous, not only because it was my first bookish event, but also because I’d planned to go alone. After posting on Twitter about my nerves, and both Stephanie and the staff at the Waterstones store sending lovely replies, myself and fellow book blogger Lauren at Northern Plunder decided to meet up before making our way to the event.

Upon arrival, we settled down in the upstairs cafe whilst we waited for the event to begin. Once the doors were opened we managed to bag some seats on the second row, so we had a fab view of the mini stage, and were then joined by Lily from I Am Book Mad. The three of us discussed our favourites books, our thoughts on Caraval and they very graciously listened to me complaining about my university stresses, before Stephanie took to the stage and the book talk began! 

We heard all about about Stephanie’s writing process (she writes six days out of seven each week and creates several paths that each character could take so even Stephanie didn’t know how Caraval was going to end!), where the ideas for Caraval came from (mainly music and films such as Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby), how she took inspiration from Pinterest for the clothingand Stephanie’s one piece of writing advice is to “write the book you want to read”. I absolutely love this; if you’re passionate about the story line and you would love to read it, chances are other people will love it too! And looking at the response Caraval has received, as in being on bestseller lists, it’s clear that a lot of people, me included, do love it. Also, did you know that the film rights for Caraval have been bought?! I am SO excited. This book is going to translate into a film so well and be an absolute treat for the eyes, I just hope that they stick to the story in the book.

Stephanie is literally one of the nicest, most genuine people I’ve ever met, and her positive attitude and happy manner are so infectious, I couldn’t help but smile along to everything she was saying. At the end of the talk we could get our books signed and pictures taken, and Stephanie very kindly signed all four copies of her book that I had taken with me. I think the coolest part of the night had to be when she recognised me from our conversations on Twitter – total fangirl moment! I had such an amazing night, and I’m so thankful that Stephanie took the time to visit Manchester on her tour and have a little chat with us all whilst signing books and taking pictures. I also had a fab time getting to know Lauren and Lily too; it’s always so nice to meet fellow bloggers, especially those who don’t live too far away and like the same kind of books! 

My next book event is in a couple of weeks, again at the Waterstones store in Manchester, with Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season series. I can’t wait! Check out my review of Caraval here.

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