The first book in my After the Crash series came out on November 22 from Liquid Silver Books, and on November 29th my friends threw me a release party in the private room at a local restaurent. We were having a winter storm that night, so a lot of people couldn't make it but we still had a very nice turn out, a lot more than I was expecting. I had a really great time and my friends went all out. Richard and Camille played chauffeur and picked me up. Chris played papparazzi and took tons of pics. The pics here are ones taken with my cheapo camera. Brandi gave me a feather boa to drape dramatically around my neck (she thinks authors are glamorous!) They arranged a signing table in the corner. My book, Sleeping With the Wolf, is an ebook, so I didn't have actual books to sign, but they printed out photocopies of the cover and I signed dozens. I had never "signed" my pen name, so it took a few times to get the hang of how I wanted it to look. I also got to sign an "writer's bag". Lorine had bought a sturdy canvas messenger type bag and her goal is to have various authors she meets sign it for her. I got to be the first author to sign it.  I felt honored.

I was given lovely cards, and a pin that said "Ask Me About My Book" and nice gifts of chocolate, AND… a Barnes & Noble nook! I opened the package and simply stared, speechless, for a minute. I knew what I was seeing. I recognized that it was a nook. But I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Such generosity! Most of my friends are tightening the belts financially, so this was incredibly generous of them. I have been using a dinosaur of a Sony ereader for several years now. I love my ereader, but I really wanted to get a nook or Kindle. So opening that package and seeing what it was brought tears to my eyes.

The party was an honor. The best thing about the night was all my friends who showed up in spite of the wicked weather. Sure they were there to have a good time, but they all seemed so genuinely happy for me. It was kind of weird.  As if getting a story published is a big thing. Okay, I don't mean to say that it is NOT a big thing. Of course it is. I am clear that having a story accepted by a publisher is a marvelous thing. I am thrilled to be a published author.  But I swear my friends are more excited about it than I am. Brandy said that it's really cool for them to see the process of submitting, being accepted and signing a contract, doing edits, getting cover art and finally seeing the book released. She and many others of our friends have doodled with writing stories,  some seriously, but have never tried to submit anything. I'm the first of our group to be published. 

I guess I'm still too new to being an author to take myself too seriously. When I write I'm usually in my jammies, my unwashed hair hair hooked repeatedly behind my ear, with a glass of pop or a cup of tea at hand, and maybe some snack nearby, shoving a cat off my keyboard and talking out loud to my characters. The cats probably thank I'm talking to them which is why I have at least one on my lap and one crawling over the computer. Writing is not really glamorous.  But that night even though I was wearing just slacks and a sweater, I felt glamorous. I am humbled by the love and support of my friends.