One of the ladies who I admire a great deal is Melissa Marr—and not just because I think she’s a very talented author. She is, but she’s also one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. Gracious, kind, but unflinching in her dedication to young adult writing and readers. Each time Melissa goes on tour for her Wicked Lovely novels, I try to go see her.

This year Melissa and super sweetheart Kelley Armstrong masterminded the Smart Chicks Kick It tour—but the only Canadian stop on the tour was its final one at Chapters Brampton on September 25th. While geography may not have been my strongest subject, I can work out that Brampton is nowhere near where I live. But Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl were going to be there, too, and I love them and their fantastic books. (In fact, I was the one who told our CEO Heather Reisman about Beautiful Creatures, which she read and then made one of her Heather’s Picks.)

The only thing that stopped me from buying a ticket to Pearson International was that the Smart Chicks stops in California featured Rachel Vincent, whom I adore. She’s one of the hardest working authors I know. All authors work hard, but Rachel has a productivity level that is superhuman. (I think she might have powers over time and space.) A chance to meet her in person was not something I could pass up.

Fortunately for me, the tour stop on September 20th in Pasadena was an hour away from where I’d planned to be on vacation and featuring Rachel and Kami & Margie. Plus Indigo said I could blog about it.

In Pasadena, I attended the press time before the actual event and do an interview with all the attending authors. So cool to sit down with nine fabulous women who represent the best of what the young adult book community is all about: Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Melissa de la Cruz, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Rachel Vincent and Mary Pearson.

left to right: Rachel Caine, Margaret Stohl, Alyson Noel, Melissa de la Cruz, Kami Garcia, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Vincent, Mary Pearson

The event itself was so much fun! Since there were so many authors, it was more of a general discussion with prizes. Lots of prizes—swag, ARCs, books! Someone even won an ARC of Darkest Mercy. (It was not me, but she was kind enough to let me read the first page over her shoulder!)

Also, Sarah Rees Brennan—one of the Smart Chicks from previous tour stops—had contributed this great game to the event. It’s MarryShagCliff: Who would you marry; who would you shag or snog; who would you throw off a cliff?

For example: In Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series: I would totally marry Seth, snog Niall, and throw Keenan off a cliff.

After the event wrapped up, everyone got in line for the book signing. I love signing lines—it’s easy to chat and meet people because you’re all there with a common interest. So I spent my time in line talking about books and the authors we were excited to meet. By the time I reached the signing table, I was convinced to give Melissa De La Cruz’s Blue Bloods series a read.

Smart Chicks was one of the best author events I’ve been to. Did anyone attend the Brampton’s event? What did you think? Would you like to see a multi-author tour like Smart Chicks happen in Indigo stores across Canada?

Thanks to all the authors, Karen Wadsworth at Media Masters, Vania Stoyanova and Yvette Vasquez. Photos by Vania Stoyanova, VLC Photo. Used with permission from the Smart Chicks Kick It tour.