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February 03, 2015

Rachel Hartman "Shadow Scale" luncheon event


Hey awesome readers! so on January 28th, Farah, Lobna, and I headed to downtown Toronto with so much excitement in the air. We were lucky enough to get invited to the luncheon of Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman.. remember Seraphina?? that awesome fantasy dragon world book that came out in 2012? well the sequel (and last book) is finally coming out! So we make our way to the event place and are welcomed by lovely Random House people. The environment there is so welcoming and nice. I really fit right in.. and if you know me, you guys know how shy I get in social places.. where I have to make conversation with people I never met. 
Upon arrival, we get ushered to this room with the cutest dragon figures! They were so so adorable. The thing that captured our attention though? ARCs of Shadow Scale! They are so big! and that cover is GORGEOUS. After a bit (we were the first ones.. oops.) some more people arrive and we notice we are pretty much in the minority. Most of the people here are booksellers, newspaper writers, and pretty much people who do what we're doing for a living. I have to say it was a bit intimidating but everyone there was SO sweet and just so nice. I really didn't feel like I didn't belong there. We spoke about some fantastic books we've read recently (that was when I started raving about The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins) as well as about the guest of the party and her book, Rachel Hartman! What's funny is that she just walks in and joins the conversation like it's an everyday occurrence that I casually chat with authors!!! We talked a bit about Seraphina and Shadow Scale, but none of my burning questions (I was leaving those for a one on one chat).
During the lunch when we all mingled, I started talking to some Random House people (shout out for you Aliyah!) and I had so much fun! We talked about Seraphina of course, as well as some other RH titles like the upcoming Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, as well as Sophie Kinsella's upcoming YA novel Finding Audrey. We also talked about All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (because I was currently reading it) and how it's already optioned for a movie (Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult!) and everything bookish. 
Then it was finally time to get my Seraphina books signed. I went with Lobna (my sister had to leave earlier) and we asked her questions. One of the questions was whether her publisher or editor limited the number of pages you could write? (Shadow Scale is around 600 pages) but she gave an affirmative no saying that they pretty much let her do whatever she wanted. In fact all her editer said was "More! More!". Another question was on whether it took her the full three years to write Shadow Scale and she answered with a yes. She talked about how after Seraphina did so well, she felt that the sequel could never exceed the first and that she already felt like she was disappointing all the fans. However she got passed that and wrote 600 pages right? You go Rachel! We also asked if she had any say in the title of Shadow Scale but she said it is all thanks to her agent for the title, even if she vehemently opposed it in the beginning. Shadow Scale doesn't just mean the scale of a dragon, but also a musical scale or a measurement scale. I now think the title fits perfectly because Seraphina is actually a musician! Our last question was regarding her new project, and she said it is actually set in the world of Seraphina and will follow one of Seraphina's half sisters, at the age of 17! The title of the book is currently Tessing Boots (a play on Puss in boots!) I actually wanted to know more about the half sisters so this actually makes me super excited for her new book! 

      


All in all, it was a very new and exciting experience for all of us. Rachel Hartman was so down to earth and super sweet. I honestly loved chatting with her. We ended up cracking up several times! I can now see that humor incorporated when I read Seraphina. Definitely check out the book and this duology because Shadow Scale is coming out on March 10th of 2015.






PREORDER SHADOW SCALE










7 comments:

  1. I'll be reading this book soon, cannot wait! *-*
    It must have been a really nice experience! :D

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  2. Loves like so much fun! Tessing Boots sounds so cute, can't wait to hear more :D

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  3. Sigh. I am so so so jealous of you Juhina. <3 It seems like such a wonderful time :D I ADORED Seraphina. <3 And I'm dying to read Shadow Scale :) I'm so happy for you that you got to meet Rachel. <3 She seems all kinds of awesome. Gorgeous post sweetie :)

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  4. Thanks for sharing such a great recap with us Juhina! I'm like a nervous mouse when it comes to author events, I normally have to take my non-reading sister with me. Rachel sounds like such a sweet lady, I'm glad that you finally got the chance to meet her and her ask many wonderful questions!

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  5. The more I read about Shadow Scale the more excited I get for March. I only read Seraphina this month although I bought it as soon as it came out and I fell in love with the world. I want to know so much more, especially about all the characters!

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  6. I must recommend reading the book The Girl on the Train: A Novel.
    I just finished reading it today, and I think its a really good book to read.

    I ordered mine off Amazon and I got it in only two days.
    Here's a link for the book on Amazon:
    The Girl on the Train: A Novel

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