Excuse me while I take a nap

The launch party crowd, me with
fellow authors Chad Morris, Shannon
Hale, Sara Larson, and J. Scott Savage,
and a wide shot of all the authors

It's been pretty eventful around these parts. First off, the TRUE HEROES launch party was a hit. We had a great crowd come out to support this wonderful cause. I enjoyed getting to speak on a panel with fellow authors and sign books for almost two hours straight, but my favorite part was getting to meet several of the children battling cancer who are featured in the book. What an amazing day.

A picture of my TV while watching
NBC Nightly News :)

On top of a great launch and much local coverage, TRUE HEROES has been getting a lot of national attention too. We were featured on People.com, Publishers Weekly, NBC Nightly News, and even appeared on The View. Crazy! Along with some amazing trade reviews and being an Amazon #1 bestseller, it's been a very exciting ride that I'm thrilled to be a part of.

Me and three of my kids posing with
James Dashner

We got to attend a private viewing of THE SCORCH TRIALS the night before release with James Dashner's family and friends. Not only was it a blast to watch the movie with such a fun crowd and listen to Jamie talk about the ins and out of the movie-making process, but the movie was INCREDIBLE. Seriously, it hit #1 worldwide that first weekend, and if you haven't seen it yet, go!

Comic Con was kind of insane. The crowds were crazy, the cosplayers were amazing, and speaking on three panels and signing books for an hour wore me out. The event broke several records, including attendance (right up there with San Diego and NY), the highest public transportation users ever, and the largest amount of comic book characters in the same place. Kind of cool.

Me and Azog, posing with Groot and Starlord, and my favorite cosplay of the day...
Owen and Blue from Jurassic World. :)

It was a lot of fun, especially since I got to spend the day with my daughter. I spoke on a panel about writing the first five pages, another about writing good characters, and my favorite was a TRUE HEROES panel where many of us teared up talking about the project, and one of the kids from the book was in the audience too. I'm sure I'll be ready to head back to Comic Con in a year, but for now I will crawl into my introvert cave and recover with a nap, because holy crowds!

How has your fall been so far? 

Don't be so scared of the things you love.