Anderson's Bookshop brought author Veronica Roth to the historic Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove for a book signing of Allegiant this past Saturday, October 26. October 26 was even declared "Veronica Roth Day" in Illinois by Governor Quinn!
Fans gathered in the theatre to wait for the start of the Q&A. Movie concessions were available, too! Organist David Rhodes provided music.
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| A very blurry photo of David Rhodes playing the organ. |
I did not get any good photos of Veronica when she came out on stage. Sorry! HarperCollins editor Margot Wood asked Veronica questions submitted by fans to EpicReads. Then questions were opened up to fans in the audience. The Q&A was also filmed and live streamed on the EpicReads site. Watch the interview here:
Here are some interesting facts gleaned from the Q&A:
- Veronica does fangirl over books -- she's a Potterhead, and can't wait to see what happens in the third book in Leah Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.
- She writes on a treadmill desk!
- To pick one character from the Divergent series to help survive the zombie apocalypse, she chose Four, because of his combat experience. The interviewer thought Eric would be a better choice. Veronica's response: "But he would straight up kill you!"
- She would not want to co-write a book because she has to be alone in her own world during the writing process.
- Challenges to writing as a job include listening to the voice of the story while thinking of the fans interpreting and reacting to the books. "How will I ever make this good enough for them?"
- Short stories about Four (out in February 2014) were written after the movie version of Divergent had been cast. Asked about envisioning actor Theo James while writing, Veronica responded that it was somewhat awkward, as she thought to herself while working on the stories: "I feel like I'm puppeteering Theo James right now."
- Veronica will stick to writing YA, but probably wouldn't write a mystery. She did not talk about her future project.
- Advice for teens who want to be writers: "Write when you want to write and when you don't want to write" and find people who will make thoughtful critiques of your work.
When the autograph signing portion began, the first group of 50 fans were called. Each fan was allowed to receive a personalized autograph on one book (no posed photos) to keep the line moving. I was #242!
The remaining fans waiting in the theater watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which was Veronica's choice.
When it was my turn in the signing line I told Veronica that I am a fan of her blog, and enjoy reading her posts about her writing and revision process. Even though this was a packed event, she took the time to listen to and talk with each fan in line.
Overall it was a fun day. Old movie theater + live organ + YA lit + YA lit fans + Harry Potter = Pure awesomeness! I am excited to read Allegiant (I've avoided spoilers, for the most part, so far) and even more excited for the movie Divergent in March.
