Some fun photos from Austin! I had a great time meeting you all, and also hanging out with the absolutely fabulous YA writer crowd.

Highlights from our panel:

QUESTION: So why do vampires sparkle?

US: Um, Stephanie isn’t here…so I don’t know if we should answer that.

Kiersten White and I had a fun time fighting over whether vampires should be ugly (she also likes hags) or pretty (as in pretty sexy! Hello!). Sophie Jordan told us how people ask if she’s on the cover of her book Firelight, Kiersten told us she wished she looked like the girl on the cover of her book Paranormalcy, and I said I *am* the girl on the cover of Misguided Angel. (NOT!) Nancy Werlin, who wrote Extraordinary, wisely told everyone that book covers were advertisements for the book and nothing more. We also talked about Gandhi and Mother Theresa for some reason.

The effervescent Ally Carter, Me, The Fabulous Ellen Hopkins and the Awesome Susane Colasanti.

YA writers’ futures are so bright, we gotta wear shades. L-R Back row: Me, Ally Carter, Susane Colasanti, James Dashner giving a thumbs-up, Front row: Jonny Skovron, Kiersten White, Charles Benoit and Kenneth Oppel.

Fun was had by all! I think we did our part to keep Austin weird!

xoxo
Mel