Week 7: March 13th - Reading

I've got something a bit different for you all this week! I haven't been doing that much reading, but that's because we made a very special trip over this weekend to see none other than the Amal El-Mohtar in Cincinnati.

She was wonderful!!!! So charismatic and warm and such a great speaker

I was about as chill as you'd expect, which means I was a blubbering mess. But really, she was wonderful and I am just still riding the high of meeting her in person. She spoke about her writing process and how "The River Has Roots" came to be and it just made me feel so inspired. Writing "This Is How You Lose The Time War" was a joyful experience according to her and I was almost in tears. Definitely my favorite author for good reason. Also she plays the harp??? I need to listen to the audiobook for "The River Has Roots" now just to hear the music she and her sister did for it.

Not pictured: me on the brink of tears because this was unreal

Being the first ones to see her up close did a number on my nerves. However, I did get a chance to show her the progress picture of my Time War blanket, to which she immediately wanted to take a picture of it. I ended up posting it on BlueSky and tagging her in it which gave this whole experience a new level of unreality.

To quote another Time War fan: this is the most significant thing that has ever happened to me

To be able to show my favorite author a work in progress of her novel, it was such an amazing moment. The whole weekend was beyond words and I still struggle to believe that it was real at all. I want to get my passport up to date so that if she does a tour in Canada I could go again, because she was ethereal.

Throw back to the last time I met one of my favorite authors of all time and had a similar level of not-chill: this is just my MO at this point.

Malinda Lo was absolutely lovely, a highlight of 2023 for real

But this event was nice because it was an interview with Amal, so her answers felt more casual and the whole vibe was warm and inviting. I still can't believe it was real.

Also, we just want to go back to Cincinnati to spend more time at Joseph Beth Booksellers, because damn that was a cool bookstore. I'll leave you all off on pictures of the most intense indie bookstore I've ever set foot in:

I should have more of a proper update next week, but you all needed to see this magic. Take care friends!