Saturday, October 20, 2012

3, 2, 1...LAUNCH

I attended a launch party on Thursday evening for THE WHOLE SHE-BANG, a Sisters In Crime mystery anthology.




My story, A Ring For Jenny, can be found on page 107. That page number will be forever ingrained in my memory since I completely embarrassed myself in front of all in attendance. As part of the festivities, each writer in the anthology was allotted 3 minutes to read from their submission. Everyone else seemed prepared with either a copy of the book or printed sheets of computer paper. I had none of these and was caught off guard somewhat when someone told me I was expected to read.

Luckily someone lent me a copy of the book when my name was called and I fumbled through pages trying to find my entry. Eyes stared. My cheeks burned crimson. Days seemed to pass as I struggled until someone finally said "107". Of course.

It was my first public reading and despite my nerves, I enjoyed it. Afterwards numerous people asked me to sign their copies and I was beyond thrilled. To think this is how authors start out. Writing words with the unknown reader a distant thought in their mind until one day when writer and reader meet.

I have an audience.

Of course I have an audience. Nameless, faceless buyers of books on Amazon and Kobo. The sales numbers increase and I smile, sometimes broadly. But this, meeting people face to face, being handed a pen and a copy of the story, MY STORY, with eager anticipation, is beyond description. This is amazing.

The Whole She-Bang is available on Amazon Kindle, and Smashwords for other e-reading formats. Print copies can be purchased from Lulu.

Half of all proceeds will be donated to the Children's Book Bank, a non-profit organization in Toronto that puts books in the hands of children. Stay tuned for a future post on this AMAZING charity.