Tuesday, September 25, 2012

3-2-1 Launch!

i love a good party. i love planning a good party. heck, i even love cleaning up after a good party.

but i always dread the days leading up to the party - when you start to count on your fingers who RSVP'd and who didn't - when you start to wonder whether anyone will show up. because it's not a good party without guests. that's why i have to say THANK YOU to everyone who came out Saturday night to help me launch BUTTER into the world.


Thank you for your enthusiasm, for your laughter...

Thank you for buying BUTTER and waiting so patiently in line to get it signed...

and Thank you especially for eating the food!! :D

as much as i loved having my friends and family there to support me, the biggest - and BEST - surprise of the night was seeing so many new faces. what a rush to meet the fellow writer who came out because she was touched by something i had written here on the blog... the reader who had reached out to me via email to share a very personal story after reading BUTTER... the young man who just happened to be browsing for books and stopped to listen to the talk and then stayed to buy a book. you all made my night!

i have to admit, all the preparations for the launch and my nerves had me wishing slightly that i could just get it over with. but from the moment i said hi to the first guest until i'd signed the very last book, i was having the time of my life.
it was a thrill like riding a roller coaster - you love every screaming soaring minute of it, but when it's over, you realize it's gone by too fast, and you just want to turn around and get right back on.

writing is such a solitary thing. it's hard to know if what you're doing will reach anyone in a meaningful way. maybe that's why moments like holding my book for the first time and seeing it in stores didn't hit me the way i had hoped they would. for me, the most powerful moment of this journey so far happened Saturday. meeting readers face to face and talking with them about the book reminded me that writing may start out as a solo effort, but when that book gets out into the world, it's like sending an invitation to one great big party. and i, for one, hope the party never ends.

7 comments:

Jess said...

Looks like a fabulous group showed up! Congrats on a very big moment in your career (and what a beautiful book store!) :)

Gemma Cooper said...

What a lovely lovely post - tears are being shed here! So pleased you had a fab time :D

Kristen Kittscher said...

So glad to get this virtual peek at a launch I wish I could have been at! What a day -- and what great thoughts about it. Congrats, Erin. Hope you can relish this time.

Telia Battle said...

Hi there I hope you have a great time pormating your 1st novel "Butter" & I can't wait to read one when it be a my local library.

Emily Hainsworth said...

I can't imagine this turning out any more perfect, except of course if I could have been there in the audience! Congratulations, Erin! You've made me slightly less nervous about my own event. Thrilled to be sharing this experience with you! *HUGS*

Sajidah said...

Congratulations Erin! I read the first few pages of Butter on Amazon and I was instantly riveted: the voice was unbelievably compelling. You're truly gifted...and I've got to figure out how to order your book to where I've moved to (abroad)!

erinjade said...

Thank you so much everyone!! It's been a whirlwind, and you guys are the best part. <3<3<3