Event Report: Holler Loudly about Alien Invasion and Truth with a Capital T

What fun it was to join Bethany Hegedus and Brian Yansky in celebrating our new releases at BookPeople in Austin, Texas!

Bethany’s latest book is Truth with a Capital T (Delacorte, 2010)(ages 9-up), Brian’s is Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences (Candlewick, 2010)(ages 12-up), and mine is Holler Loudly, illustrated by Barry Gott (Dutton, 2010)(ages 4-up).

Huge thanks to Mandy, Madeline, and everybody else who worked the event!

The menu consisted of turkey chili (homemade by Bethany), a variety of cheeses, mixed fruit, cookies, water, and both wine and root beer.

Take a look at these amazing cookies, homemade by Anne Bustard (thanks, Anne!), who also helped out at the refreshments table! Can you guess which cookie(s) goes with which book?

The one thing we had left over? Cheese! I still have cheese in my refrigerator. Do you like the Western-theme toothpicks?

And here’s a closer look at the cake–complete with our book covers in frosting! Thanks to Brian and his wife, author-illustrator Frances Yansky for coordinating the cake!

Here, you can see Anne with Katie Bayerl, who was in town visiting and also helped out at the refreshments table. What a gem!

Here’s my husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, getting the PowerPoint up and running for our presentations. Thanks, Greg!

We also had a terrific activity table. Austin SCBWI ARA Carmen Oliver helps young readers….

choose and affix their alien-inspired temporary tattoos!

I never got a full count–but the room was at standing room only, and I think there are only two copies of Holler Loudly left in the whole store. A lot of guests stocked up with all three books for their own reading and/or holiday gift-giving. Brian and Bethany were signing like the wind!

Writer-teacher Jerri Romine (pink & jeans) with Bethany (in black), Carmen (behind an adorable young reader), writer Donna Bowman Bratton (white & jeans), DDD authors April Lurie and Shana Burg, and Frances.

April (all in black) with YA librarian Michelle Beebower. Note: I’ll be joining Michelle’s crew at the “Fangs vs. Fur” event, starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 19 at the University Hills Branch of the Austin Public Library.