Friday 17 April 2009

Princess of Light Book Launch

April 9 was the official day for the Princess of Light book launch, which was from 5 to 9 pm at Maxwell's in Ottawa. I was freaking out, I'll admit. What if no one shows up? What if no one buys my book? What if my hair does that weird flip thing that makes me look like I'm from outer space?

I panicked. I lost sleep. I even cried a bit. I'm not proud to admit it, but I did. And then I sang "Que sera, sera" and I felt much better.

Then the much anticipated and dreaded night came. We took over the entire second floor of the restaurant and, at five, almost no one was there. Then a cousin from Montreal, who I hadn't seen in forever, came. And then others. And others. And we had a blast!

I had over 100 books and sold them all, and a few more are on pre-order. Woo!

These are only a few of the elements that made the book signing a success:


A big pile of books

A cool venue

Pretty decorations

More pretty decorations

A cool promo product, like coasters (how smart was that? Not my idea!)

A dedicated PR staff
(and a camera that apparently takes pictures from one day into the future)

An event organizer with flair and the ability to track details

Friends who expect to work, not to have fun
(See their giant smiles? That was the beginning of the evening!)

A talented (and willing) musician

Friends who love to perform and entertain
(aka Kymeras)

A hostess with the mostest

A brother who says nice things
(and almost makes you ruin your non-waterproof make-up)
A sister-in-law who does photography, loves a baby AND looks good doing all of it

Family who's willing to travel to share in your day

A cool journalist/photographer who opens up other doors for you
(Thanks Matt Ott from Snap Ottawa!)

A dad and a stepmom with a video camera

And then... lots of people!

And people at the bar!

And a room full of people!

Loads and loads of people!

And a nephew that sleeps instead of bawls
And, on another but important note, pretty nails


And a pretty outfit, complete with cool boots and shiny skirt

The important ability to announce that you are indeed insane

The unnatural ability to enhance the colour of your book cover
(stylishly matched to your shirt, of course)

And last, but certainly not least...
MAGIC!

Thanks to everyone for making this book launch a success! Next: Warrior of Darkness!

Monday 6 April 2009

Analysis

Wow. I’m not the best updater in the world, I’ll admit. Like, really.

But, to be fair, I’ve been having a good old fun busy time. Princess of Light is out and sales are going well! It’s really neat to hear what people have to say about the book. I’ve decided I enjoy being analyzed. It makes me sound deep.

I’ve been told of late that I have issues with organized religion. Two different people have analyzed me as such, which is neat. For the record, I’m fine with organized religion. I think it’s fun, even though I’m not organized enough to partake.

I’ve also been told when I told a story of a nun scratching my butt (see? I like organized religion! A single girl gets action where she can, after all!), that I have great post-modern themes. I thought that was fun too.

... I should specify that the nun scratching my butt thought she was removing a bug. She didn’t stop when she realized it was a hole (I know, I embarrass my mother too with my poor weekend wardrobe). She didn’t stop when the hole grew. She just made more clucking noises and kept saying “Ya, that’s a hole, all right!” Well now my t-shirt is practically a black hole, but I’m comfortable with that. I truly am.

After all, it provided me with a post-modern story!

That’s all the analysis I have yet. So far so good!

(I promise I'll post something sooner this time! I plan for within a week. Make that two, just in case. I'd hate to be analyzed as a liar.)