Originally published 2/13/18.
This weekend was what bookish dreams are made of, you guys! I bought a ticket to Holidays with the Belles for a few reasons, I wanted to meet Talon from Under the Cover Blog in person, I wanted to meet Molly E. Lee and Lauren Campbell, and I needed my favorite book of 2017, The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre, signed. I checked off all of my goals and then some this weekend. But first, I have to give my husband a shout-out because he helped make this weekend everything and more. When I asked him to come with me to Belle’s, he didn’t hesitate in saying, “Yes, buy tickets!” Then he walked around this entire signing with me for hours, surrounded by fangirls, holding bags of books and taking pictures for me. He is the ultimate book boyfriend material if I do say so myself.
In line, I was so excited to meet one of my very first blogging friends from DG Book Blog. I wish we could have chatted more, but we didn’t see each other again and forgot to snap a picture. When we made it inside, I immediately found Talon in Alessandra’s line and chatted with her for a few minutes. Talon is a huge supporter of our blog and has become a really great friend to me. I love reading her reviews because she is unapologetically honest. She never sugarcoats her reviews for brownie points from authors – she is simply a badass book blogger.
Next, I made a bee-line for Molly E. Lee‘s table. Sabrina and I have read her Love on the Edge series and are huge fans of her adventurous stories. If you haven’t checked them out yet, I will be doing a review of her entire series soon because I think everyone should read her books.
Then I knew I had to meet Lauren Campbell, her book, The Evolution of Ivy: Poison was the perfect amount of crazy and everything I love in a story. I enjoyed every moment chatting with Lauren and getting to know her better. I also met K.K. Allen, Kandi Steiner, M.E. Carter (I love her Facebook group – Nerdy Little Book Herd), and K.A. Linde. Everyone was so sweet and I was eager to pick up a few of their books and get them signed. I have had some of these books on my TBR for YEARS!
I was also excited to see my friend Ashleigh again and meet another great book friend, Amanda and her beautiful daughter!
When I stopped at The Bookworm Box‘s table the magic moment happened. Knowing Tarryn Fisher was in Texas visiting Colleen Hoover (like the stalker I am), I interrogated Colleen’s employees to find out of Tarryn would be at The Bookworm Box’s three-year anniversary party the following day. Don’t worry Colleen, they told me they weren’t allowed to say, but then discreetly gave me a hint. I turned to my husband with expectant eyes and he said, “We can go. We’ll take the kids.” I’ve never loved the man more (kidding, kidding – kind of).
As if Saturday wasn’t good enough, get ready for Sunday.
After sleeping like a kid on Christmas Eve, we left home at 7:30 to make it to The Bookworm Box by 11 so I could meet the only person who has ever had that celebrity effect on me, Tarryn Fisher. I seriously was trying so hard to keep it cool. When I walked inside, I was so happy to finally hug one of my red-thread friends, Kacy from The Fettered Matriarch. Ironically, Tarryn brought Kacy and me together when I discovered Kacy’s review of Marrow over the summer. Since then we have talked nearly every day and become great friends. I was also thrilled to chat with Talon again!
When Tarryn showed up, I did my best not to ambush her while Talon forgot to introduce Kacy and me to her. 😜 Nonetheless, I finally got my chance for a picture and for her to sign my books. She was as kind and gracious as ever as she stood and smiled for a slew of pictures and signed her fair share of books, all while being who-knows-how-many-weeks-pregnant. I’m pretty sure I only wanted to kill everyone while I was pregnant, so she’s pretty freaking awesome.
Tarryn is without a doubt my favorite author and Marrow is my all-time favorite book. When I read it the first time, I felt as if Tarryn had written the story for me because it spoke to me so deeply. You can read more about my love for this book here.
Tarryn and Colleen are the Queen Bees of the book world. Through the two of them, I have made so many soul-friends, started a blog, and even gotten a job with one of my favorite authors. They have changed my life and I can’t even begin to tell them how grateful I am for their influence.
After driving 4 hours Saturday, and 7 hours Sunday, some of the time through rain and ice, though he had to work over twelve hours the following day (today), and watching the kids while I mingled, my husband deserves an award. When I met him, he had a shirt that said, “I’m a Keeper,” and though that shirt is long gone, its message couldn’t be more evident to me today.
Like I said, a dream weekend!
I love everyone I mentioned so heart-wrenchingly much.
Ashes Books & Bobs 
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