That One Time I Met Eowyn Ivey

Don't mind me, just trying to hold my coat between my legs. 

Sometimes wandering on the internet can prove to be providential. 

I was looking up information on our local county fair and it led me to our city's website. There they had a list of main events that month and as it was scrolling it said that Eowyn Ivey would be coming to the Book People! I freaked out slightly (okay a lot) because one, I thought I missed it, but two, because it's Eowyn Ivey! 

I read her first novel, The Snow Child, back in January and fell in love with it. It sums up what a good reading experience is for me. Where you feel everything in that book. It's going to be a re-read every winter for sure. 

I hurriedly bought the book online but feeling rather guilty that I didn't buy it from my local bookstore. After hearing from Eowyn about her love for local bookstores and what it does to getting the word out about books, it made me want to support mine more. 

The Book People is such a cute store as well. Apparently it's the oldest local bookstore in Idaho, represent! ;) 

There was quite a big crowd for the event considering the size of the bookstore. People came some great lengths to hear her speak. Check out the photo she took here. Can you spot Austin and I? 

Ok, Eowyn was so genuine. She kind of reminded me of my sis-in-law Dani. She was so fascinating to listen to. The purpose of the book tour was to talk about To The Bright Edge of the World. I read this book earlier this summer and really enjoyed it but not as much as The Snow Child. I really wish I read the book after hearing her speak (isn't that how it always goes?) 

She told of how she came upon articles written from this voyage and took some liberties with the story so it wasn't just a re-telling. I loved the character Sophie in it and she read a part from the book when she tried to steal a copy of the book on obstetrics. Gave us all a good laugh. 

In The Snow Child, she mentioned that Mabel was a rather depressing character to be in her head for 3 years so she was so grateful once Esther came along. I think that inspired her not to make Sophie a down-in-the-dumps type character. :) 

If you've read To the Bright Edge of the World, you'll know that there is some pictures and maps in there.  Even though she made up the Wolverine River, her and husband took an excursion down a similar river that she imagined to be the Wolverine River. She captured some photos of that journey and some of them are in the book. 

They wanted to know if she would want to do the audio version of her book. She felt the task very daunting and did her absolute best but was really fine if they decided to go with someone else. Luckily for her, they chose several professional narrators to take the place and she is much happier because of that. I didn't realize how extensive it is to get an audiobook recorded. 

There was time for Q&A. People wanted to know how she became a writer and she said it just stemmed from being a reader. Her family would all come to the dinner table with books. She worked in a local bookstore and came across the Russian folktale that inspired The Snow Child and then came across the articles from the bookstore as well to come up with To The Bright Edge of the World. 

She attributed local bookstores for the success of The Snow Child. A random bookstore decided to give it a chance. And it took off from there and it became a Pulitzer Prize finalist and published in many languages and soon to be a musical. She said no one would have known about her

being some young writer from Alaska but having a bookstore take a chance on her was what made all the difference. 

People asked if she was working on something now and I love her response: "I'm not bored yet. I have some ideas in my head but I can't really get down to the writing process until I'm really bored." She's in the middle of about 6 books and she introduced me to authors that I was not familiar with (now I can't remember!) She does a lot of audiobooks as she is commuting her children to and from school. 

I did get the book signed from her and told her it was my favorite read this year. She really was a delight to be around. I can't wait to read more of her work.  

The best part about these events is you sit next to a stranger, ask what they're reading, and exchange email addresses so you can send recommendations. Book people are the best people.