The Unofficial Book Launch Review

I say "unofficial" book launch review because I'm still jazzed and think I need some time to process.  Plus, I'm spending all day prepping for a class I'm teaching tomorrow and don't have the time to sit down and write the blow-by-blow entry I really want to.  I'll save that for when the pictures come in.  (My friend Michael Cable took a ton and he's a semi-professional photographer so I can't wait to see them).

First thing: the food was marvelous. The cake was a wonder.  They iced the top of the cake in my book cover, putting tiny paw prints around the edges.  I'm so happy with it I wrote a thank-you note to the Harris Teeter Bakery that did it.  They need to be congratulated on a job well done.

My worries about not having enough food were groundless.  I was shoving subway sandwiches, cheese, and cake at strangers in the Green Bean by the end of the night.

Pam Cable did my intro and did a fabulous job.  She had ordered a beer beforehand and I was teasing her that didn't she want to do my intro before she started drinking so she wouldn't be all weepy? (She had all of 3 sips before she introduced me, I'm sure). Then at the end of her intro she did tear up a little,which was so sweet, and a little funny too.

I honestly don't know how my book reading went.  I'm going to have to find an honest friend to tell me. My voice was so loud in my own ears I really couldn't hear if people were talking, listening, laughing, etc.  I read "Dibbs!" and it seemed to take a loooong time to get through it.  Blair taped it though, so when I gather my courage I'll view it and see what I think.  (I dislike watching myself on video or TV).

The rough book count is 31 books sold, one over goal, so I'm extremely pleased. One misstep I didn't foresee was that I'm not set up to take credit cards.  Two people needed that option and though I sent them to my website, it's always better to get the sale while it's there vs. hoping it will come back.  With a little foresight, I'm sure I could have arranged something with the Green Bean so they could take credit card sales for me.  Next launch, maybe. =)

The most fun of the evening were the people who turned out.  I am so touched by friends who stopped by when I know it was out of their way, or a bad time.  My former supervisor Larry S. was there with his wife and members of her family. My dear friends Dean & Mariela arrivedwith a bundle of pink roses and hugs for me. Mariela and I used to write together 4 years ago and I would talk about my cat book and she would talk about her memoir.  My book is out and Mariela is completing her MFA and her book will be done within the year, so it's wonderful to watch our dreams come to life.

Many friends were there from the Women's Resource Center (special thanks to Dale Jaques for passing out raffle tickets), our new next door neighbor drove 45 minutes into town to say hello and buy a book, which I thought was amazing, and many friends from former jobs, classes, and life were there.  Melody Watson who designed my Lessons In Stalking web site was there, as was my illustrator, Linda Santell.  Lots of WGOT members too, which meant a lot to me.

My good friend Rachel who lives in Seattle was also there--via phone.  She had Mariela call her when I started my reading so she could "be there" for me and I spoke with her almost as soon as I got off the stage.  Very fun.

Gregory Alan, the guitarist, was amazing.  Exactly the right blend of mellow undertones that relaxed everyone yet still gave an energy to the room.  I bought his CD and heard a lot of people buzzing about him throughout the night.

And the cats.  Two of the most beautiful cats to walk the earth came with Allyson, a volunteer, from Happy Hills.  These were cats that were given up and it shows because they are the most calm, loving creatures.  They didn't get adopted, which broke my heart.  One was all black named Jordan and one was a pastel gray and white named Spooky (this picture doesn't do him justice).

Spooky was a lover.   Linda held him and he had his arms wrapped around her neck as if hugging her. Toward the end of the night, I was by his cage petting him, and he leaned in toward me and we nuzzled noses, and then he gave my nose several soft, sandpapery licks.  (Was I dying inside?  Yes, I was).  Then he brought his little paw up and tapped my face several times - on my nose, on my cheek, and on the chin.  This is a cat just begging to be brought home and loved.  He is made for sofa living.  And honestly, if I wasn't married, this cat would be home with me right now.  No doubt in my mind.  Probably Jordan too.  I love Lucy and Olivia to pieces but neither of them are "lap cats." Both of these cats were, in a big, furry, lovable way.   Oh--my heart.  It hurt to watch them leave in cages.

And that's the book launch at a glance.  Again, I had a ball and am so grateful for everyone's love and support.  And I still hold hope that maybe the kitties will be adopted soon.

Heart Attack On A Subway Platter

Thank God I'm the type of person who follows up.  For my book launch, I'm having Subway do a couple of party sandwich trays, along with some cookies.  I stopped by last week to place the order.  I called them a few minutes ago, just to verify that the order would be ready by 5 tonight.

"Oh, I'm so glad you called!" said the woman who answered (who also happened to be the woman I spoke to last week).  "Somebody took your order down and we couldn't find it.  Hold on a minute," and I heard her turn to a co-worker and say, "It's that woman whose order we lost calling." 

"Oh good," said the co-worker.

I can't complain because she was just as nice as she could be as she retook my order.  "What would you have done if I'd just shown up without calling?" I asked.

"Oh, we can get those trays ready really fast.  We'd have taken care of you."

That's a good worker.  She was very calm and made me feel--even though they'd lost the order--that I was in capable hands.

Figuring lighting couldn't strike twice, I called Harris Teeter to make sure the cake would be ready.

"What's that name again?" asked the woman.

"Harris," I said.  "It's a cake with the cover of a cat book on it. I left a copy of the book with you." 

"Uh-huh. And um...what was the name?"

They found that order though.  I also did a last minute food panic and bought a cheese tray for a ridiculous amount of money.  But I'm still worried I don't have enough.  Part of the problem is I have no idea how many people will show.  Who knows...I could be eating subway leftovers for a week.

That's all.  Just thought I'd share my moment of panic.

I Want To Go Back to Bed

It's only just before 6:30 AM and I've had my morning coffee, but as I look at my to-do list and the chaos spread across my desk, I want nothing so much as to clomp back downstairs, kick the decorative pillows off the bed, crawl under the covers and sleep for six more hours.

I think I will be in better shape come Monday. The book launch will be over and I plan to complete two big projects this weekend that have been taking up some time.  That will, theoretically, give me some breathing room.  Not a lot, but I'll take what I can get.

With my launch at 7 tonight, I'm going to get there around 6 with my friend Pam to set up.  Which means I'll need to leave the house around 4:15 so I can pick up the cake and food. So I'm not even showering and thinking about getting ready until about 2 o'clock today.  I need to be super-productive before then, however.

Remember the Million Dollar Home page I wrote about? (See this entry).  I checked my stats yesterday and after only 2 1/2 days I had nine hits.  I'm not sure whether those are random hits or perhaps readers of this blog following my directions to my slot on the page and clicking on it, but I'm encouraged that at least a few people have found it. 

Uh-oh, Lucy is at my feet, giving me her growling "mrow!" which means "Pet me NOW."  I must obey.  I hope to see many of you at the launch tonight! =)

Fox 8 Morning News Interview

I had my book interview today on Fox 8 Morning News.  Cindy Farmer interviewed me and she's just as cute and friendly in person as she is on TV.  Thinner though.  Not that she looks at all big on TV, but she looks a whole lot slimmer in person so that "the camera adds 10 lbs" thing must be true.  Bear that in mind if you saw ME on TV this morning. =)

The interview flew by.  I feel like I only said 3 sentences although I'm sure when I get home to watch it, it will be much longer.  She asked me how much fun was it to write the book, did I have a favorite story, and asked about us getting a second cat.  I talked with my friend and fellow writer Pam Cable right after the interview and she said it went really well. But then again, Pam's a good friend. <grin>.

Funny thing, I ended up wearing almost the exact same gray suit with the same black boots as Cindy Farmer.  Luckily, I had a bright orange sweater on, so I lost my jacket so we didn't look like the bobsie-twins.  I wore more makeup than I usually do and hope when I see the interview I won't have a Tammy Faye Baker look going on.  That would be a shame.

Books sells are going well.  I've sold about 16 through Amazon, I'm meeting an area pet sitter today to sell her some for X-mas gifts for her customers, and the Book Launch at the Green Bean is tomorrow night.  I'm finally getting excited about it.  I think it will be a good turnout, the weather should be decent, and I'm really, really hoping both of the cats Happy Hills Animal Shelter is bringing will find a home.

My book selling goal for the night is to sell a minimum of 30, 50 would be fantastic and anything over that is gravy.  I'll tally up the numbers for you on Friday.

Meanwhile, I'm up to my eyeballs in work.  Two huge projects that I'm kicking myself for not staring work on sooner.  I'm hoping to get a pretty close to done draft of one of them today.  I've got my children's book critique group tonight at 7 PM (it's 11 AM right now) and I'm considering just staying here in GSO and working all day vs. going home.  However, I think I left my e-mail open at home because I just checked it and had only one message--highly unlikely. And there were a few things I needed to get.

Speaking of stupid things, here's one.  I locked myself out of my car last night. I taught a public speaking workshop (a small group, but so much fun.  I hadn't been in the mood to teach but the people in class were so open and fun it ended up being a really good night.  I love when that happens) at GTCC, and had to call campus security at 9 PM when class ended.  But a high five to them. They were there in under a minute and had my door open in about 3.  Very efficient.