Aaron Galvin's Blog, page 5

The Barnes & Noble Teen Book Festival & Me!

Anyone else hum the title of this blog post to the opening tune of Jake & The Neverland Pirates?
Just me? Oh...
That may be in part to I just spent a week's vacation with my wife and kiddos, so you can guess what Disney show played often. Felt good to take some time off and recharge the batteries. I meant to write up a post about how much fun I hadat the 1st ever Barnes & Noble Teen Book Festival last week, buuuut...vacation. ;)
Anyway,holy Teen Book Festival weekend, Batman! I'm already sto...

Insta-what?

"You should totally do it."
"Yeah, I dunno. It's just--"
"Come on. All the cool authors are doing it!"
And thus it was peer pressure succeeded again and Aaron Galvin joined Instagram.
Now if I could just figure out how to post something...

Barnes & Noble Teen Book Festival

What's that you say, you little birdie?
Barnes & Noble is hosting their first ever Teen Book Festival this June and have asked me to be one of the authors?
I mean...
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!
I'm halfway on my second trip over and around the moon right now with this news.
Anyway, if you're not doing anything the weekend of June 10th-12th, you should come to one of the stores I'll be speaking and signing books at.
Oh, caught that plural bit did you?
That's right. I'll be at not one, not two, but THREE...

Tulsa Festival of Authors

"You're never too old,
Too wacky, too wild,
to pick up a book,
and read to a child."
-Dr. Seuss

Stories are my life. I write what the voices in my head tell me to, but alongside those voices is the hope that my work will resonate with readers. Maybe they'll learn something in addition to having a good read.
But where I "hope" to make an impact, visiting schools reminds me that my efforts pale in comparison to the lasting impacts teachers and librarians around the world achieve on a daily basi...

L.A. Times Festival of Books

I believe the theme this past weekend wasRain, rain, go away. Come again another day.
Eesh.
I love the rain, (and doubly so since relocating to California), but could've done without it this past weekend. Still, I loved seeing so many readers brave the elements to get their book fix.
Anyway, I had a blast meeting so many new readers, reconnecting with those I met last year, and discovering new authors.
Oh, and I have a few fun stories for you too... Figured I'd kick things off with the fun st...

It's giveaway time!

I solemnly swear that I am up to no--
No! Sorry.
What I meant to say is I solemnly swearthis is not an April Fool's Day trick. It's been awhile since I've ran a signed copy giveaway and, well, it just felt like a good time to drop a surprise on all of you.

Best of luck on winning the giveaway!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tucson Festival of Books

Heard a lot about this 'up-and-coming' author when I exhibited at the Tucson Festival of Books. You might have heard of him, I dunno.
Some guy named R.L. Stine.
Schyeah, that's right.
R.L.'freaking' Stine was literallyacross the way from my booth.
The worst part? I couldn't go talk to him, or gush about how much his Goosebumps & Fear Street series meant to me growing up. Still keep them on the shelf to look back at every now and again too.
Le sigh. Anyway, I met some awesome new readers, talke...

Kids and Smiles

If ever you hear someone say they're 'worried about the next generation,' I implore you to tell them of Mr. Martand Bhagavatula.
Last fall, I received an email from Martand inquiring as to whether or not I'd be interested in participating with him in an upcoming 'Meet The Author' event.I would have been interested regardless, but I was doubly so after he told me more about himself and his non-profit organization, Kids And Smiles.
In 2011, Martandvisited a local hospital to play his violin for...

A Surprise for Teachers & Librarians

Oh, man, do I have something in store for you teachers and librarians. Did I mention it's free too?
It's free .
For those who may not recall, the Montessori School of Westfield wasone of the first schools inviting me to speak with their students. Their approach to education and student engagement blew me away.
I've continued to email with them since that first visit and have even been back a couple times since.For my last visit, the students invited me to partake in a Socratic discussion with...

Curveball

I retired from baseball around the time I hit middle school. Oh, and what a glorious retirement it was. They even gave me a trophy.
You'll notice I didn't say 'quit' because, as with everything, my parents mandated I finish the season. The reason for my retirement was two-fold:
1) While scooping up daisies with my mitt in centerfield was fun, I enjoyed other sports more.
2) The coaches stopped pitching and instead gave the ball to my peers.
If #2 doesn't seem like a big deal to you, my guess is...