TES Book Launch Party at Balticon 45
Well, Baticon 45 has come and gone. I had a wonderful time and it was a fantastic kick-off for The Empress Sword novel.
On Friday I had a whole hour to sit out in the foyer and sign books and greet people walking through. Lots of friends and fans stopped by to chat and talk about the book. The bench was kind of hard, but the feelings were warm. I was energized by the whole thing, and a good thing too because I had been scheduled for a surprise reading just a half hour later. It was a surprise for everyone else too, as the reading did not appear in the printed schedule. Only the awesome Press family showed up (they'd caught my name by the door and remembered to stop in), but we had a lovely time as I gave them a private reading of Chapter 1.
Come Sunday I was a nervous wreck over the launch party, but as soon as it got started I settled down into a state of wonder and amazement — the room was packed! It might have been the aroma of two full pots of Trader's Stew wafting down the corridor (one spicy, one mild) or the plates full of rainbow cupcakes, dragon cookies and lollypops. Whatever brought them in, everyone got something good to eat.
As they came in the door everyone was given a medieval rubber ducky as a souvenir and game piece for the prizes. Younger fans got a glowing sword of their own, these were a big hit. We gave away copies of TES and TES posters. I asked Nathan Lowell to pick the first number because his honesty is well known to be above reproach. So of course the first number he picked was his own!
Then came the reading. This time I asked Brand Gamblin (who played Mandrake in the podcast) to read the first part of Chapter 1, and Nathan Lowell (who played King Cosmos) to read the second half. People recognized Brand's voice right away and somehow Nate got more laughs than when I read that part on Friday. I'm not complaining you understand, their readings were wonderful.
We gave away more books and posters. Then I signed all the prizes and we cleaned up. I left for my next panel a very happy author. When I returned to the dealers hall, and the Dragon Moon Press table, that afternoon I was very surprised to find that we had sold out of The Empress Sword!
You can find some pictures from the party in the Galley under Events at TES Book Launch Party.
I'm ecstatic over the reception The Empress Sword received. Everyone seemed very interested in reading it and I was happy they all enjoyed the party so much. Now I need to settle down and get TES2 finished. Maybe we can have another great party next year!
