Book Signing: Marie Rutkoski

Friday evening, Marie Rutkoski blessed us with her presence at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL. Luckily, Naperville is only a 40-minute drive from Chicago so I was able to convinve my chauffeur husband to make the drive after work. We were a few minutes late trying to find parking so we walked in right when Marie was reading an exerpt to The Winner's Kiss which was both a delight and terrifying. A delight becuase "YAY THE WINNER'S KISS IS ACTUALLY DONE, THIS IS REAL" and terrifying because I dind't want to hear a single word about it until I read it. 

After the excerpt, Marie opened the floor to some questions and it was one of those times where my mind started racing, because where do you even start? There were some really good questions from audience members. I learned that Marie originally wanted The Winner's Curse to be a stand-alone book which completely broke my brain. Can you imagine if that was the end you were given? I would have cried for days. 

Marie also talked about being in the library solidified her decision to write. I loved understanding where authors come from and who their inspirations are. Overall, it was a great discussion and I was happy to see a few writers/aspiring authors in the audience. 

And finally, the signing! Marie was so gracious and had maps and lip balm to giveaway (get it? The Winner's Kiss? Lip balm!)