TPoG Book Release Party, Recap

Bare with Me . . . Real vs. Virtual and my frst "Group" ...

TPoG Book Release Party, Recap

A friend pointed out a copy of True Grit in the background.
Indeed, I felt like I had some grit that day.
I remember when my book launch was about 8 months away and I was walking through Book Revue, the place of my future release party, and planning all the distracting gadgets and gizmos and high tech presentation things I might do to keep an audience interested: Toys, power point presentations, planted questions, and hoopla. You know.

But in the end, on May 10, before a crowd of about 100, I stood up alone, without any tricks and spoke from the heart about my journey to publishing The Pull of Gravity.

In truth, my hands shook a little, but I didn't lose my breath or my place (as I thought I might) and a part of me even managed to enjoy it. Each time I looked out into the sea of faces, I saw people I knew and loved: my parents, my sister, my neighbors, my children, and my unbelievably talented writer friends like, Mike Sullivan, Christine Beth Reish, Megan Bostic (who had surprised me all the way from Seattle!) and James King. It was a sea of warm faces, indeed, that looked back at me, interested and engaged.

The amount of help and support and encouragement I have received
from friends and family continues to boggle my mind (in a good way) :)
After I spoke about my journey to getting published, I showed my brief book trailer (thank you again, Selbern Narby!) then read aloud from Chapter Two of The Pull of Gravity. The audience laughed in the right places and clapped when I was done. Phew.

My son on the right, working the projector like a pro!

During Q&A, the questions came faster and more furiously than I could have hoped. No need for canned ones. I had to eventually say, "Okay, only two more!" and honestly, that part was fun! I mean, who doesn't like to be asked about one's work?

Nobody doesn't, that's who! :)

There was even a guy in the audience who might as well have been a plant who asked me the perfect Of Mice and Men connection question. If I ever see him again, I'm sure I owe him $20. ;)

Nothing sweeter than being in it together.When I finished, my hubby came up to congratulate me, and he was beaming (right through his own nerves which I'm sure were kicked in, because he was about to perform). An exchange of kisses and he took center stage to perform with the group he sings with out in Port Jefferson, Long Island through the Performing Arts Studio called Thursday's Blend.

Of course, we temporarily dressed them all in upside down troll t-shirts and renamed them The Pull of Gravity Band.

The crowd was regaled with John Mayer's Gravity (get it? ;)) and Elvis Costello's Every Day I Write the Book, among others, while I signed close to a hundred books, periodically glancing up to be surprised by a friendly face in the line that I hadn't seen in years.

If any of you want to see a replay of the day, you can find it here... starting at about 15:34 minutes in. Thanks to my friend, Rick Kopstein for hooking me up to livestream and taking awesome photos of the evening. http://www.livestream.com/rkopstein/video?clipId=pla_d7b475bd-1469-45b1-aab8-8f4323936c44&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb

All in all, the day was everything I had hoped for. The love and support and enthusiasm of friends and family continues to bowl me over. This journey would be NOTHING without you.