Event: Forbidden Plant Author Signing + GIVEAWAY!!

My Signed Copy of Minority Council!

I was sent an email from the nice people at Orbit UK publishers a few weeks ago letting me know about a double signing at Forbidden Planet, Shrewsbury Avenue – Kate Griffin, author of the Matthew Swift series and debut author, Benedict Jacka. I’d never been to an author signing before. Heck, I’ve never (to my knowledge) met an author before, but as I absolutely adore Kate Griffin’s writing (It’s so lyrical and lush) I dragged Sarah, my guest reviewer up there Thursday just gone.

We got there early but were able to restrain ourselves from buying any additional books. Standing in the relatively short queue, I couldn’t believe how nervous I was. I had no idea what I was going to say to either them. By the time I got to the front, I could barely stammer out my name to Kate as I handed her a copy of her latest book – The Minority Council. Luckily she was so friendly and much more relaxed than me as she asked me how to spell Melissa and we had a short discussion about variations on spellings. Even so I wished I’d been brave enough to ask her numerous questions about her writing process or what the future has in store in for Matthew Swift!  

My signed copy of Fated!

Luckily I was a little more relaxed when I moved onto Benedict and a little less star struck and we had a short chat about London and how no-one can ever know all of London well, but we stick to our comfo

rtable areas. I admitted that I’d never really spent much time in Camden where Fated, his book is set, but he said he’s not spent much time south of the river either.

All in all, it was other rather quickly as we moved on to make way for other people - and had a lovely dinner at one of our favourite restaurants in Covent Garden! So that was my first ever author event. I have to admit I felt like a real fan-girl and so nervous, despite knowing that they are just people! Does anyone have any tips on how to behave when meeting their favourite authors? I'm hoping I'll be more relaxed when I go to another one. Or perhaps you have any stories where you’ve totally embarrassed yourself in front of your favourite writer?

To celebrate I’m going to give away to one person their choice of either The Minority Council by Kate Griffin or Fated by Benedict Jacka. Just fill in the form below. Open Internationally and ends on Midnight GMT on 9^th March 2012. And to help you decide which you would prefer here are the synopsis:

The Minority Council (Matthew Swift 4) - Kate Griffin

Publisher: UK - Orbit

Matthew Swift, sorcerer, Midnight Mayor, is in charge. Or so he'd like to think. And London, being London, is having its issues. Drug use is rampant. Teenage vandalism is driving away business. Violent crimes are on the rise. Once upon a time, Matthew Swift wouldn't have given a toss. Now it's his mess to clean up. Especially when the new drug on the market is fairy dust and the production process involves turning humans into walking drug labs. And when the teenage vandals are being hunted by a mystical creature. And when the petty criminals of London start dying by magical means.
It becomes clear that not only is this Swift's mess to clean up, but someone is trying to tell him how to do his job. Now he has to sort out who's behind the crime wave and who's interfering in his business. Swift has a lot of old enemies and few friends. If he's going to save London from a rising tide of blood -- he's going to have to learn his lessons and fast.

Fated (Alex Verus 1) - Benedict Jacka

Publisher: UK - Orbit

Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex's own powers aren't as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future--allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success. But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever's inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none...

Both sound good, huh? If you want to get your hands on a copy, just fill in the form below!

<<<GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED>>>