The SLTA’s Interview

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Jenni Elyse

Remember that post about a month ago talking about how my group of friends and I got interviewed because of our involvement with Twilight? It aired bright and early this morning!

Unfortunately, I can’t embed it. But, here’s the link to the spot. (There may be a geographic redirect for people outside of Utah–annoying–so you may need to scroll down to the Live Interviews section and click the “What’s Next for Twilight Fan Club?”) My friends Danylle and Jamie were able to be there live this morning to answer questions after the spot aired. They represented our group well.

Once you watch the segment, come back and tell me what you think. I’ll tell you what I think right now, but don’t read it until after you’ve watched the clip. (I don’t want to taint your view, lol.) After seeing this, I feel like Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove. “Is that my voice? Is that MY voice?” Seriously, is that how I sound? I think I may need to invest in a voice coach so I don’t sound so annoying. And, I may need to take a public speaking class so I can learn not to “um” as much as I do, lol.

It was fun and I’m excited that our group got our 15 minutes of fame and that we could mention and promote other local authors too.

PS–When I was being interviewed, I mentioned how we had the chance to meet other fans around the country and that we’re friends with much more than just our local group. But, it didn’t make it into the segment.

Guest Post on Alison Can Read

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Jenni Elyse

Alison of Alison Can Read is devoting all of November to Twilight to celebrate the release of the first Breaking Dawn movie. Today, I’m her guest and I share my story of how much Twilight has impacted my life. Hop on over and say hi!

The one thing I realized I forgot to say, which may be okay since my post is already a few miles long, is that I have friends from all over the world because of Twilight and the Lex. I love those friends just as much as I love my local Utah friends and I hope I get to meet the ones that I haven’t met someday and see those that I have again. My friends are seriously the best!

The SLTA Gets Interviewed

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Jenni Elyse

I haven’t posted about my fantastic group of friends for a while. In fact, many of my new followers probably don’t even know who the SLTA is.

Once upon a time, I didn’t like to read books but I decided to read a little-known book (at the time) called Twilight. The story intrigued me so much that I wanted to know more and I wanted to talk about it a lot. I couldn’t find anyone to oblige me–my husband couldn’t have cared less (not that I blame him) and my co-workers and friends liked the book but not as much as I did. I noticed on the back of the book that Stephenie Meyer had a website so I decided to check it out. From her website, I was introduced to the Twilight Lexicon, the premiere online fansite for the Twilight Saga.

I had never been compelled to find people who shared the same obsession as me before. I had never wanted to join an online fandom, not even with Harry Potter. (That was probably because I had people in real life to discuss the books with.) I decided to join the Lex thinking that I’d be bombarded by a bunch of tweens and teeny boppers and stop frequenting the fansite after a week or so. To my surprise, I found that there was a fairly large adult presence and many of them were from Utah.

About four months after joining the Lex, I was invited to meet some of these Utah women. We got together at a restaurant and I felt like I had met my kindred spirits. They aren’t kindred spirits just because of our connection through Twilight; Twilight was merely a vehicle that moved us all to the same point where we could meet. We’re kindred spirits because we were each looking to fill a void in our lives. We all have fulfilling lives through our families, school, jobs, church, etc. But, we needed something more … a way for us to be ourselves without wearing the wife, mom, student, and employee hat. This group gave us that.

We’ve now been together for a little over four years. Their friendship, love, and support has meant a lot to me. We’ve helped each other through different trials and adventures in each of our lives. I honestly don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t found these wonderful ladies. My life definitely wouldn’t be as fulfilling as it is with them.

The reason for this post is that my friend Danylle was contacted by our Channel 5 News. Stephany Beshara, the producer of the morning show, is planning to do a Twilight week during the week Breaking Dawn, Part 1 comes out. She wanted to interview people who are fans of the franchise and who have had their lives significantly impacted by these books.

On Saturday, part of our group got together and three of us were interviewed by Stephany, including me. It was so much fun to talk about how we met, how our lives were changed by Stephenie Meyer’s books, how not only our group has become fast friends but how we have made friends from all over the world through the Lex and other fansites that we still keep in contact with, and what we’re doing now that the franchise is coming to a close. (We’ll be featured on November 14 or 15 at 6:00 am. I plan to TiVo it so I can download it and post it on my blog.)

Many members of my group have moved past Twilight while others, like me, still enjoy the Twilight Saga (mostly in book form). But, none of us can deny the impact these books have made on our lives. I’ll always be grateful to Stephenie Meyer for facilitating a way for me to meet these wonderful ladies.

(Fortunately, when I met these lovely ladies, I had just started blogging. I’ve been able to document most of our adventures, including our trip to Forks with other Lexicon members and our many author parties.)

Hanging out with YA Authors

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Jenni Elyse

I had a very fun, eventful evening last Tuesday night. My local library hosted not one, but four authors, which included: Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of The Hush, Hush Saga; Michelle Hodkin, debut author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer; Elana Johnson, debut author of Possession; and, Moira Young, debut author of Blood Red Road.

I enjoyed listening to each author. (Though, I have to admit that Michelle and Moira were the funniest and craziest.) The library put together a panel so that each author had a chance to answer the question at hand and so they could sift through all the questions and answer the best ones. Some of the questions asked were these:

Where do you get your inspiration?
Have you named your characters after people you know in real life?
Are any of your characters like you?
How many books did you write before you got published?
Was your book always intended to be a series?

There were others, but these are the only ones I can remember. When asked the second question, all the authors quickly donned a look of consternation and said, “No. Not at all,” while simultaneously nodding their heads. Becca Fitzpatrick finally admitted that Patch’s real name came from a boy her younger sister dated. Elana Johnson and Moira Young both said that their main characters are their “anti-self,” meaning that they gave their character the qualities they wish they had. Most of the authors had written numerous novels before selling their first book. Michelle Hodkin, on the other hand, has only written The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. And, only Michelle Hodkin intended for her book to be a series. The other three all wrote their novels as stand-alone books, but their agents and/or publishers insisted on making them into series.

After the panel, they each had lines to sign books. When it was finally my turn to have my book signed by Michelle Hodkin, I gave her one of my blog cards. She recognized the character in my avatar and said, “I know you! You’ve been tweeting to me. I love book bloggers! They’re my friends!” It felt really cool to have her recognize “me.”

After the panel, there was a small get together with Michelle Hodkin, Elana Johnson, and Moira Young with all the book bloggers who wanted/could attend. (Becca Fitzpatrick was supposed to join us too, but her line was too long and she spent the entire time signing.) Emily from Emily’s Reading Room put it together and it was fantastic just to be able to chit chat with the authors in an informal setting. I got to speak with all three authors on a more personal level, which I absolutely loved because it made them more real. They all seem like such genuine people!

My friend Suey from It’s All About Books, tweeted after the event: “@jenni_elyse I vote for you to get the ‘best mingler’ award! I need lessons! :)” I was a little surprised by this because I’ve never thought of myself as a good mingler because I’m always worried that I’ll have nothing to talk about. I told her that I just butt into conversations, which works for events like these, but not so much in real life. She later said that I acted as if I had no fear. I can honestly say that I’ve never thought of myself that way!

It was such a great evening. I really enjoyed getting to know Michelle, Elana, and Moira better. And, I enjoyed listening to them and Becca Fitzpatrick during the panel. I also enjoyed hanging out with my blogger buddies, meeting a few of my blogger friends in person, and making new blogger friends. (Click the picture to zoom in and see who everyone is.)

With a Name Like Love Launch Party

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Jenni Elyse

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the launch party for With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo. I have been anticipating this book’s release for over a year. (Last year, when my friends and I had the chance to help out with the “A Book for Every Child” charity event, we met Tess. At that time, we heard a little bit about her journey to become a writer and found out that her debut novel would be coming out some time in 2011.)

I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to go because I wasn’t feeling very well and I was in no condition to drive. Luckily, one of my blogger buddies, Diana from Diana’s Amazing Book Adventures, offered to go with me and drive. (Corey said he would’ve gone with me, but lucky for him his services weren’t needed.)

I was really impressed with the launch party. Tess read an excerpt from With a Name Like Love and answered some questions. I asked her if she was able to choose the title of the novel or if the publishing company did that. Usually, the author has very little say in the cover and the title because the publisher uses them as advertising for the novel. Tess, however, named her own novel. She said she patterned it after Because of Winn Dixie. She had a few criticizers along the way regarding the title, but she really wanted it to be different so that it would stand out more. Personally, I like it, and after hearing the excerpt from the book, I think it fits the story really well. I also asked her if she was working on anything else. She said she was working on a bit of a Western and she gets to use phrases like cowboy up. It will be fun to see that novel published as well.

The party was also set up like a carnival so it would be fun for the entire family. There was a prize wheel everyone got to spin, a candy counter, a station to make book thongs, and a signing line. She also had a poster showing the different iterations of the cover for With a Name Like Love. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it for this post.) And, The King’s English was there selling books for those who didn’t have a book yet, which included me.

I really enjoyed the launch party. It was so much fun to see all the love and support there is for Tess and her book. I’m also glad I was able to go to show my support. I can’t wait to read With a Name Like Love as it sounds like an incredible story of love, friendship, family, and overcoming obstacles.