Event: An Evening with Alice Broadway

Talk, Q & A and book signing

13th April 2018
Waterstones, Birmingham.

Alice Broadway’s trilogy has inspired so many of my own creative pieces whilst studying my BA, so I felt as if I couldn’t not jump at the opportunity to meet her.

I was the first there, being allowed to take a seat while waiting for the rest of the guests and the author herself to arrive. It was so lovely to have the opportunity to speak to Alice before the beginning of the event, having a little chat about my tattoos and the meanings behind them. I’d never had someone compliment them before!

The event itself was incredibly insightful, hearing about Broadway’s inspiration behind the unique concept and the future for some of the characters. It was great to hear about Obel and Verity being people’s favourites. Verity’s character is so strong and career-driven, whilst Obel’s aura of mystery make it very difficult not to love!
Throughout the talk, Alice was incredibly entertaining, adding anecdotes and humour whilst answering honestly to the questions. It was amazing to hear from an author who didn’t have a set plan and allowed herself to enjoy crafting without. As someone who finds it incredibly difficult to follow a set plan for my work, it was great to hear similar from a professional; it made me feel so much better about my own creations.

The Q & A was a wonderful chance for the audience to get their questions answers and Alice was enthusiastic throughout. It was so lovely to see someone so engaged with fans and appear genuinely happy to answer anything given to her. Hearing of her writing process and ideas behind some of the beloved characters was amazing, and I discovered some new found motivation to complete my looming pile of assignments for my degree. There was the constant reminder of how writing was supposed to be fun, something I’ve forgotten along the way throughout my studies. It sounds simple – that I should love what I do – but whilst in that moment the deadline is the main priority. However, since hearing of Alice Broadway’s love for her profession, I realised that I love mine too. It is possible to complete my stories and love them, that my own enjoyment is the main reason I chosen this career in the first place.

The signing was quite possibly my favourite part of the evening, being given the opportunity to have chat more with Alice and it was so much fun. She was incredibly approachable, settling my anxiety immediately and listening as I opened up about my studies and writing projects. After telling her of my plans to move to London in September she seemed ecstatic for me, chatting about our love for the place and how positive the future looked. We also bonded over our love for the 1920’s, recommending me a novel being released later in the year (it’s escaped my memory at the moment though, ahh!) by a debut YA writer about that time period, and my own crime novel I’m currently writing. It was an incredible experience to speak to someone about my experiences and hearing familiar back, being given the opportunity to discuss things that I couldn’t usually with my anxiety. She also asked for my twitter, which further boosted my confidence in the situation!