In 2015, I read and fell in love with Illuminae and its world. I knew I had to get Obsidio when it came out, and when I heard that Jay and Amie were doing an event at Andersons, I knew I had to be there as well. I don't think I've laughed so much at an author signing ever. EVER.
The Obsidio event took place on Friday, March 16, and even though I purchased my ticket/book about two weeks in advance, I was still number 72 in line. Woo is me. I have now learned to buy
books as soon as the event is announced. But enough about me and my poor planning.
Jay and Amie were a riot, but also very gracious. As soon as they came out, they announced to the (very large) audience that Illuminae success was thanks to of the readers and they still have fears that they'll come to an event and no one will be in the audience. I loved hearing Jay and Amie speak about their love for their fans (they even took photos of fanart and cool merchandise) and how the series came to be. Here are some of the fun facts that I learned from the event:
- This was Jay's second time in Chicago (I do recall flailing over him back at BEA 2016)
- The Illuminae Files series allowed both authors to make writing their full-time jobs
- The two met through the IRS
- Amie had a stress dream that she co-wrote a book with Jay that was in email format....so they tried it out!
- Amie has a law degree
- The covers had to handfolded on the books
- Amie and Jay roleplayed some of the IM conversations
- Amie's first solo book comes out tomorrow - Ice Wolves
- Their next joint project is Guardians of the Galaxy meets Six of Crows
- Jay wanted to destroy everything and kill everyone in Obsidio (but are we surprised)
- Jay writes AIDAN's chapters
It was a fabulous event and I think I had to wait two hours in the signing line because everyone brought every book by Amie and Jay to be signed. I didn't get to meet Amie and Jay until about 11 p.m. and the two were just so thankful that everyone waited in line and thanked parents who drove their kids to the event. This just cemented my love for the two of them and I hope they're back in the States in 2019!
Have you read the Illuminae series?
Have you seen Amie and Jay?
What's your favorite book written by the two (separate or together)?
Labels: amie kaufman, Anderson's Bookshop, author events, authors, illuminae, jay kristoff, obsidio, the illuminae files