Above World: The First Week

Last week is a blur. On Monday, people started posting that Above World had already been shipped to them and was starting to appear in bookstores. The photos amazed me. I woke up Tuesday to find dozens and dozens of Twitter messages, emails, and Facebook comments all congratulating me on the book's release. I was instantly overwhelmed in the best way possible. Throughout the day, the support and love from friends and family continued to pour in — my family even sent Above World-themed M&Ms! The day was pure magic.

I should note here that among the emails I received that day was some excellent news: my revisions of Above World Book 2 have been accepted and the book is moving on to copyediting. Delicious icing on the book release cake!

I rode the high through Wednesday and Thursday, and could barely stop grinning. The stress started to seep in at that point — were people buying the book? Was it going to tank? Would my career be over before I'd even come down from the release high? My inbox bulged with unanswered interview questions, attempts to arrange signings, tasks I needed to accomplish to keep the rest of my life functioning. None of it got done. And then I started to stress about my event at Mysterious Galaxy, my first signing. Would any of my friends be able to make it? Would I say something to embarrass or ruin the event for my co-signer, Sara Wilson Etienne?

My emotional state was unpredictable, swinging erratically between euphoria and worry and despair, and back up to euphoria again. By the time the signing rolled around, I was either stressing quietly or babbling nonstop. It took two hours to get to the bookstore in horrible Los Angeles traffic, and I became even more convinced that none of my friends would be able to make it.

Which was stupid, really, because I have incredible friends.

Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach was wonderful. They had the signing area set up, had our books on display, had an intro prepared — I couldn't have asked for better hosts. All I had to do was my part and they took care of everything else. They really put my mind at ease. Sara and I did our thing, the crowd was awesome, and I absolutely loved every second of signing books. Every last second.

Nutschell Windsor has a great summary of the event (with lots of pictures!), or you can follow the album link below to see the pictures that Chris took:

From Above World

After the event, I was talking fast, grinning too much, and wanting to hug every single person I saw. I couldn't believe the support I received from my friends and the writing community. I was — and am still — in awe of the world.

So there you go. My first week with book out was mind-boggling and fun and hard and all sorts of things I hadn't anticipated. Week two is looking to be much of the same.