Launched into the Stratosphere

So, we had a party... for my book.  I wouldn't say that this is a particularly normal activity to throw a party for a inanimate object, but it was my book and I kind of like... wrote it.  Which means that I now get to throw a party for it.  And it was a lot of fun even though the darned book never said thanks or anything.  Yeesh!

First of all, I was pretty clueless to the book party process.  When my publicist said "party"  I was thinking PARTAY!!  Complete with balloons, tons of people, entertainment and of course FOOD.  That is a party.  Sort of.  Apparently when authors have parties it's more like a snooze fest.  Barnes and Noble provided a chair and a table thinking that I would do what they are used to authors doing: sitting and signing.  I did that.  And then some.

This is how you party when you are me:

That is my hand and my book.  That is not my pen.  Apparently, in the hoopla to get out the door and looking semi-human, I forgot that fairly major detail.

Note to self: Take a pen!  Folks aren't all that happy when they show up to get their book signed and the author doesn't have a pen to get the job done.  Doesn't go over so well.  Luckily my bestie was there to save the day.  Ami Hendrickson, you rock on many levels.  It was a good thing that I begged/bribed/blackmailed you into flying in from Michigan for moral support.

Next, have a ton of little friends in your genre's target reading age range.  I am blessed that way.  I think young adults are the freaking bomb.  They are an incredible load of fun and they get really excited about reading.  Which.  Is.  Awesome.

Oh look, there's more of my young friends!

And a few older ones.  The guy in the ball cap on the far left is my friend Nick.   He's like, 6 foot 4.  He doesn't count as a "young friend" or little for that matter, but they guy rocks and I just found out that we are related, which makes him even more awesome.

Then I had to have some entertainment.  As in, I pulled in the Demo Team from my Dojo and had them do their super awesome gig complete with flips, tricks, epic battles and clashing fights.

 

 That is Andy Jeon in the middle, who is a fifth degree black belt, doing a flying scissor kick.  He's pretty amazing and he pushes me really hard to be better at martial arts.  In fact, I think it is his life's goal to make me do terribly uncomfortable things.... like perform in front of about 100 people in a Barnes and Noble cafe.  Not kidding.  He put a stick in my hand, shoved me out onto the mat and made me perform a sword demonstration (that I really sucked at, in case you were wondering).

That's me.  And yes, I did the entire sword form IN A DRESS.  Which goes to show that crazy follows me wherever I go.  It's inescapable.

When I stopped shaking like I had flipping malaria, I got back to the party. 

By the way... If you're going to throw a party, ya gotta have a raffle to go with it.  Seeing as my book is all about a warrior, I decided to raffle off a sword.  I mean, who doesn't like a good sword to go with a book???  Congrats to Jackson Craven for winning the raffle!

Lastly, the most important part about a book launch party is that I got to have a lot of fun.  I met new people, talked about my book and just all around enjoyed myself.  I obviously couldn't get enough because I booked another signing event in June.  If you're in Orem, Utah on June 11th and happen to find yourself near the Barnes and Noble store... I'll be there.  There will be food and a raffle and some crazy people waving around swords (me again, probably), but I guarantee a good time!

Special thanks to Brannon Richardson for the amazing photography!!