Author Event Recap - Kristen Simmons at Union Avenue Books

Last night I made my first trip to Knoxville's Union Avenue Books for an author event.  It was so nice to be back in Knoxville again and made me regret not having visited the downtown area more often when I lived there.  Union Avenue Books is a cozy bookstore with a great atmosphere located just a few blocks off Henley Street.  It made for a comfortable setting for meeting such a fantastic author as Kristen Simmons.

The event was conducted in the front of the store, where several chairs were placed in a circle, which meant face-to-face time with the author was possible.  It made for a very interactive setting, as the event felt more conversational.  There were some great questions put forth by various attendees, so we all learned a lot about both the book-writing process and the ideas behind Article 5. 

When asked as to what inspired her to write Article 5, Kristen said that both she and her husband enjoy survivor stories.  She cited several examples, including Man vs. Wild and The Walking Dead.  She also said she drew inspiration from a book banning that took place in Louisville at the time she lived there.  She said that she wondered what would happen of such events ran rampant.  Where does it end?  My question was, "Why did you choose Knoxville for one of the primary settings?"  She stated that since the coastal areas had to be evacuated in her book, everyone needed to move inland.  She researched several cities and said that Knoxville appealed to her.  She had been there before and says that it looks like it would withstand such cataclysmic events well.

Kristen also filled us in on her road to publication.  She told us that it took several manuscripts and several query letters, but she did eventually have the right manuscript and the right query letter reached the right agent at the right time.  She said that a lot of things had to fall into alignment, but that she did find the perfect agent for her.

I had a great time at this event.  Not only did I get to meet Kristen Simmons, I also had the pleasure of meeting Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic.  Getting recruited to Team Simmons was also a highlight :-P.  If you, too, would like to attend one of Kristen Simmons tour stops, I encourage you to keep your eyes peeled!  The most current tour ended yesterday, but you should definitely try to make it to a stop when next she goes out on tour.

   

Author Event Alert!

Photo from the author's website.

If you are a Tennessee blogger and/or reader or live near the east TN border, do I have news for you!  Kristen Simmons, author of Article 5 (released January 31, 2012 from Tor Teen), will be appearing at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville, TN on March 7, 2012 at 6 PM EST.  If you have already read Article 5, you may recall that part of the book takes place in Knoxville.  Having grown up an hour and a half from Knoxville and even living there for a short time, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a familiar place featured in a book I was enjoying so very much.

Are you going to be there?  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know!

Correction: For some reason, I entered the wrong date.  Kristen Simmons will be appearing on March 7th, not the 6th.  That'll teach me to write posts after a migraine.  In any case, the date has now been corrected.

Image & description from Goodreads.

About the Book:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.