An Unearthly Adventure

I was recently introduced to the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand and quickly feel in love with it. So when I found out that Cynthia Hand was going to be doing a signing in Idaho I knew I had to make the drive from Utah to meet her.

As the day drew closer, I made plans to meet up with fellow bloggers Ashley and Emily (from ID). I selected an audio book for the 3 hour drive each way and printed out directions to find the bookstore. I was very excited about the trip until the day before. The weather forecast wasn’t looking so good. It was calling for rain and possibly snow. That wasn’t a good sign and then Ashley told me she probably wasn’t going to be able to make it. I was starting to get nervous that this trip wasn’t going to work out.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and checked my weather app. It was raining in UT but I didn’t see snow forecasted for ID so I figured I could handle a bit of rain. I got dressed, grabbed my books to be signed, my audio book and hit the road. It was a rainy drive through most of UT and I even hit a little snow in ID but once I got close to Pocatello it was smooth sailing the rest of the way to Idaho Falls.

It was my first time in Idaho Falls but I found the Grand Teton Mall with no problem. It was so cool to see the mall described just like in Unearthly. The signing was in the Barnes & Noble (that is indeed in the mall). I could easily picture the exact place where Clara saw the dark stranger standing near the B&N.

Anyway after arriving I parked and met up with Emily in the store. We both arrived early enough to get our wristbands and get low numbers for the line (she was #3 and I was #4). We killed a bit of time talking and discussing books which is always fun. Then they announced over the loud speaker that Cynthia was ready to sign and wristbands 1-5 could come and meet her.

It was so fun to see Cynthia in person and she was very nice. We chatted a bit with her as she signed all our books. We discussed the different foreign covers (since I brought my UK copy of Unearthly), my drive from Utah, how much I adore Tucker and how there needs to be MUCH more of him in book 3. She assured me that no one loves Tucker more than she does. She was gracious enough to take photos with Emily and me and then we were all done. Emily and I said our good-byes because she had a wedding to get to. I was so glad I got the opportunity to meet her in person and will hopefully get a chance to meet Ashley as well. I ended up walking around the mall for a little while after and on my way out I noticed that her line had definitely grown. I hope it was a successful signing for her.

I decided to make my way back home since the sky was pretty gray and I didn’t want to push my luck with Mother Nature. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the Tetons to share with you but the clouds were hiding their majestic beauty. I’m glad I left when I did because the closer I got to Utah the uglier the sky got. I started seeing signs that I-15 at the UT border was closed and started getting really nervous. Sure enough, I started receiving text messages from friends saying the weather was nasty at home and to drive careful. Once I reached Utah it was a slow drive home. It was snowing pretty good and the roads were wet and a bit slick. I just loved the trucks that flew by spraying slush all over my windshield and making the drive even scarier. However I made it home just in time before the worst of the storm. I de-stressed with my fuzzy socks, my book and a glass of wine. I earned it!

Well that was my adventure to Idaho. Two signed books, pictures with Cynthia Hand, a completed audio book and a fun story to tell. The things we book lovers do! Team Tucker 4 Ever!