Wow! Wow! Wow! And, wow! What a day! Tina and myself had been excited about this day to come for many months. And with us never having been to an event like this before we weren’t entirely sure just how amazing it was going to be. It met our expectations and so much more – I still can’t get over the buzz and sheer excitement of it all. So many like-minded people in one place certainly created the electric atmosphere we could have only dreamed of had it not been for the fun, friendly authors, assistants, readers, bloggers, models and staff!
Contemporary and erotic romance readers were in their element here! It was very interesting to see that there were YA, horror, poetry and crime writers too! Just perfect for what our blog covers. Authors were from local areas, such as Nuneaton and Leamington Spa, and from as far afield as Eastern Europe and the US. There was plenty of swag, books and competitions, as well as one of the highlights – the cover models!!
Yes, we were welcomed at the door by no other than the Scott King – it’s amazing how shy some of the ladies get when he’s there in the flesh – Tina and myself included! Then there was the cheeky photo we had with Rick Fitt from Uncovered Models (here’s mine, Tina’s is further down). My only regret is that I didn’t get a signed postcard from him!! I loved how the models, many of whom are featured on books whose authors were present, mingled and were available for photo’s and signings.
It was an absolute pleasure to meet YA paranormal author, Pat Spence (below centre right), after reviewing her Blue Moon (The Blue Crystal trilogy #1) last year (beautiful cake of Pat’s Blue Moon, left), and her assistant, Tracie Smith-Band (below far right) who also runs a blog at Vampy and Racey Bookblog.
Holly J Gill (below 1) has been a great online friend for some time, retweeting us very often – thanks, Holly! We are also pleased to say that C.P. Mandara (below 2) was also well known to us and Amy-Beth when we have featured her release of Wyatt.
With over 50 authors to visit, it was fairly clear from the beginning that there was no way we would get to meet every single one. But, with our signature sheets (below) we did manage to get 43!! Not bad!! And we did try to spend some time with each author we met. (A list of the authors can be found at the bottom of this post, along with links to their site!) This little, fun game of collecting each author’s signature was a cute idea – just too little time. I’m sure we could have stayed for at least another couple of hours, despite our feet and backs needing a good rub!!
Tina’s Thoughts on the Day
Ten awesome stars for Second City Signing!
Second City Signing was a fabulous event which far, far exceeded all my expectations! Thank you so much to author Cassandra P Lewis and all those involved, including the super team of volunteers. It was my first signing (yes I popped that particular cherry) and what a blast! I advise book lovers everywhere to give events like this a go – I’ll be scouring the internet for my next event as soon as I’ve caught my breath. Highlights for me included:
Going with my BFF and co-blogger Caroline, who is always such good company and knows how to have fun. 😉
Chatting to some of the authors, bloggers and reviewers I already knew on social media, but hadn’t met in person, including Holly J Gill, Isobelle Cate (below 1), Christina P Mandara, Pat Spence, Tracey at Tracey’s Vampy and Racy Book Blog and CJ Fallowfield (below 2).
Meeting authors that were new to me and finding out about them and their books. They were all so, so friendly and I now have even more reads to add to my ever expanding ‘to read’ list!
Coming away with bagfuls of books for me to stroke, sniff and read, including works by Tracie Podger (below 2), Holly J Gill, Nikki Blaise, C.P. Mandara, LP Lovell (below 3), Alina Popescu (below 4), S J Warner (below 5), Krissy V and Isobelle Cate!
The hotties! The male cover models. Of course being the shy and retiring type I only managed one close encounter (a photo), but a girl can dream!
Last but not least, the swag, which added all the more to the fun and frolicks! My ‘Swag Bag Award’
goes to CP Mandara, who included a spanking spoon, for very good girls and a pair of pink, fluffy handcuffs. The spoon is on display in our kitchen and I’ve informed hubby that I am on my best behaviour for the next few days. 😉
Look out for some super swag giveaways on our blog soon!
Lessons Learned
1. Take male assistant/slave to carry books and swag (or failing this a trolley with wheels), to prevent injury to back.
2. Attend party on night to extend fun and frolicks into the small hours!
Will I be going again?
You bet – fingers crossed that there’s one planned for next year! ❤ – Tina
Yes, I have to agree that it was a regret to not go to the after event party – something we will hopefully be doing next time round! However, we can use the time in between to hopefully build on those new friendships we have found. We are planning to host an individual post on each author and their work to date – watch out as some may be with offers to win some swag, author interviews, excerpts, and more. Not to mention the reviews too!
Authors we were newly acquainted with are SJ Molloy (below 1), RJ Sable (below 2), Carrie Elks (below 3), Sarah Elizabeth (below 4), Lisa J. Hobman (below 5), E.J. Shortall – whose book I have on order for review (below 6), and V.L. Moon (below 7).
Nicola C Priest is a star in our eyes as she is currently organising an author signing event in Chester for April 2017. You may wish to put your name down if you are interested in attending – you can contact Nicola at this site.
It was an absolute pleasure to have so many authors give us so much of their time. I’m sure everybody felt well loved and appreciated. Jessie Courts, Hemmie Martin and J. G. Clay were also fun to chat with – thank you!
It is with regret that we didn’t have chance to visit every author attending. However, we will still be following their work and contacting them shortly. It would be fantastic if we could do this all over again. Again, thank you to all those who set up this brilliant event, all of the volunteers, staff, authors, assistants and models. This has made our year, and we absolutely, certainly, definitely have the bug. You are all an inspiration! Thank you!!
Caroline & Tina ❤
And, finally, here is a list of all the authors attending. Please click on the links to check out their websites/Facebook pages 🙂
areadersreviewblog 
It was so lovely to meet you both! *whispers* if you want more next year I know of Leeds (March 5th), Liverpool (March 19th) and Cardiff (September 17th) 😉
Reblogged this on S.J's Blog and commented:
Loved meeting these ladies on Saturday, I promise to write my post about my first signing asap lol, but for now see how much these lovely ladies enjoyed Second City Signing, Birmingham 😉 xxx
Great round up of the day. It was a pleasure to meet you both! CJ x
What an amazing write up! (Loved the photos with the male models – I’m only gutted I didn’t get a chance to have one – although we did snag Scott King at the after party in the evening!) I’m glad that you both had fun and can’t wait to do it again – it was my first signing too and the whole thing left me breathless – such great fun!! Lovely to meet you both and really hope I see you again, maybe next year? — As to the spanking spoon – make sure it’s put to good use 😉 xox
Will reblog this later today as it’s such an awesome post 🙂
I was there and I agree what a totally awesome day it was, I can’t wait to do it all again in the future!
Great round up of a fabulous day, thanks for the mention 💙
What a great post – that looked such a fabulous day out! So glad you enjoyed it. I love the photos. I’ll check out some of the authors on your list. Thanks for sharing!
Reblogged this on Christina Mandara and commented:
Here is a wonderful write up on my first ever signing event – Birmingham SecondCity Signing 18th July 2015 – by A Readers Review. We loved the models, the swag, the excitement and had such fun meeting all these wonderful new people 🙂 My thanks to both Tina and Caroline for making my day so special x o x
Reblogged this on Laura Morgan.
Thank you, ladies!! Your comments mean so much, and we can’t thank you enough for the sharing and re-blogging too! I am so happy everybody enjoyed the day, and it makes my day that you are enjoying the read and pics on our post. We will definitely be looking to go to more events in the future. And, we did miss you Helena! It would be so great to see you at an event. We did bring your name up a few times with many of the romance authors – all good 🙂 xx Thank you everyone for your kind words and support ❤ xxxx
Thanks, Caroline! I see SJ mentioned an event in Leeds in March next year. I’d definitely be up for that. Hope to meet you then, if not before!
Reblogged this on Isobelle Cate and commented:
The Second City Signing Event was phenomenal! Enjoyed every minute of it!
[…] **SPECIAL REPORT** SECOND CITY SIGNING – 18th July 2015 (St. Andrews, Birmingham, UK). […]
Reblogged this on cherylanne57.