Gayle Forman & Stephanie Perkins

Two of my favorite authors, Gayle Forman and Stephanie Perkins did an event together at McNally Jackson last Wednesday. Just the thought of it still takes my breath away, because I really cannot fathom the fact that I was in the presence of two such inspiring, lovely, beautiful authors who I love so dearly. It seriously feels like such a dream, and I'm so, so grateful that I was able to be there!

To kick things off, Gayle & Stephanie did dramatic readings of scenes from their novels! They started with an Isla and Josh scene from Isla and the Happily Ever After (which made me want to read it all over again. In fact, I just might!), and watching Gayle get extra giddy over Josh brought me so much joy. And then they read an Mia and Adam scene from Where She Went (which I've been meaning to reread as well. I'm sensing a trend here!), where Steph and Gayle were so adorable.

{Would you guys want to see videos? I'd be happy to upload them if you wanted to see them!}

After the readings, Gayle and Stephanie started asking each other questions. There were fun questions, and more serious questions, and the answers they both gave were thoughtful and delightful. I truly enjoyed listening to them chat, and their friendship gave me a ton of warm, fuzzy feelings because they are so darn cute.

A few fun points I wanted to mention:

• Stephanie, on writing variations of her love story: "It's really nice to write about the best thing that ever happened to you... three times."
• Both Gayle and Stephanie were lucky enough to marry their first loves. (This makes me feel such a kinship with them!)
• I tried to take notes when Gayle talked about Just One Day and Just One Year, but I was too emotionally swept up in every single word she said to do that. I love those books, y'all.
• Stephanie, on writing: "Learn to read like a writer."

After, it was time for the signing! I got to go and see Gayle first, which was absolutely lovely. I've seen Gayle at other events, but this time, I really got a chance to chat with her. We talked about her visit to the Philippines (which she enjoyed, particularly Sinulog), and her novels, and I finished our conversation off by giving her a note and telling her how much I loved her Just One Day novels. I got to hug her, which was a definite highlight for me! But I'm still sad I have no photo with her.

And then, it was time to meet Stephanie! It was my first time seeing her in person, and she was just as lovely as I've imagined she would  be. I loved chatting with her a bit as she signed my books, especially telling her about how she got my best friend to start reading again! She was seriously so awesome, and I'm quite pleased I got a photo with her!

the incredibly lovely Stephanie Perkins & I

Seriously, it was such a great event! I'm so thrilled I was able to be there, see Steph and Gayle, and also hang out with some of my friends. Stick around for more event recaps to come - especially in the next few weeks!