Friday, January 14, 2011

Launch Party!

Last night was the launch party for Across the Universe! Judging by the fact that it's now 2:20 pm and I am only now getting to the point where I can sit down and write about it, I'd say yes: yes it was quite a success!!! (Pictures all by my mom, unless otherwise noted.)

Me in front of the "dump" full of my books!
PS: I'm not smiling good: I'm full of nervousness.

I was terrified no one would come. I mean, first of all: it snowed and the date got switched. Second of all: I don't have the best track record for parties. But! People came!



The line actually got really long...

Picture stolen shamelessly from Jeremy's twitter.
Of course, one of the reasons they came was for cupcakes:

Picture stolen shamelessly from Taylor's Facebook. 

But they also came for my book! Holy amazing, it was cool to see people lined up to buy my book and get my signature and...wow.

First, I read from the first chapter of the book, and then I answered Q&A.

Picture stolen shamelessly from Laura's Facebook.

I got to reconnect with old friends:

Some teaching buddies I'd not seen in forever!

A friend from high school--so good to reconnect over my book!

And I got to meet new friends:

Jeffery and Jeremy from Novel Thoughts.

Lois from Lotus Rising.

Overall, it was a night filled with smiles and hugs.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG: YOU GUYS!
IT'S STEPHANIE PERKINS AUTHOR OF ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS!
My curls cannot compare to the awesomeness of Stephanie's blue hair.
Picture stolen shamelessly from Stephanie's twitter.


Me, Laura and Leslie, friends since my teaching days.

My college roomie who knocked my socks off in surprise--
she drove six hours just to give me those flowers!!!

After the actual signing, I sat at the table, talking with friends and former students and it was awesome.


And, of course, I had to thank some of the most important people of all: my parents.


 At the very end of the day, Valerie, the manager at Fireside, pulled out one of the chairs. The tradition at Fireside is for authors to sign the chairs. I'd sat in the chairs enough times to wish to see my signature there, with Sharpies. It was crazy that I got to add my name to a slat.



The very last picture, and one of my favorite. Neither me nor my husband is looking at the camera. My face is shiny and my head's at an odd angle, and I could care less. I think those smiles say enough.

75 comments:

Sara {Rhapsody and Chaos} said...

aw! looks like an awesome signing :) congratulations!!!

Becky Levine said...

So happy for you--it SHOULD be an incredible day, and I'm guessing your face hurt at the end of the evening from smiling so much. :)

Irish said...

Awesome post thanks for sharing! Looks like your launch was a great success and I wish I could have been there. =)

Christine Fonseca said...

DUDE!!!! Is t odd that I look at these pics and get a little misty- eyed myself. Realizing a major dream is no small thing. So so so very happy for you!

Shannon Messenger said...

Aw, I SO wish I could have been there--but I'm glad it was every bit as amazing as I knew it would be. You DESERVED an awesome party. And AtU is an awesome book!

The Screaming Guppy said...

So happy for you Beth! :D Wish I could have been there!

Shannon Morgan said...

Yay! Congrats on breaking the party curse!

Kay said...

Congratulations! I love how you are getting to live your dream. Now I'm inspired to carve out some time to write my novel in between grading literature projects and editorials right now.

Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books) said...

Awww, I'm so happy the party was such a success! That last photo is wonderful.

Me a few other bloggers are planning a trip from MA to go down to NYC on Feb. 9th to see you and I cannot wait :D

Eric said...

Congratulations, Beth. I am having so much fun watching you having so much fun during this whole process. It is inspirational, it's exciting, and I can't think of a more humble, awesome, deserving recipient of such cool fun. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us. It looks like your launch was a resounding success.

Renee Collins said...

Looks like an amazing night! What a rush. I can only imagine. :)

Congrats!!

Kim Harrington said...

Awwww! So wonderful!

Tabitha said...

Great pictures!! So glad it went well. Thanks for sharing!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on a successful launch! I would lvoed to have been there, but NC is just a smidge too far from NJ for a road trip. I did call Fireside and order an autographed book, though! :o)

Kelly Polark said...

What a fabulous evening! It looks like it was perfect! I love all the photos! Congrats!

Gail said...

Fabulous, wonderful, congrads!!!! You help keep my dream alive of getting my book published!

Frankie Diane Mallis said...

YAY! Congratulations! It looks like such an awesome awesome party and you look so pretty and happy! WHEE! I so wish I could have been there to celebrate, but we'll celebrate next month:)

JEM said...

Congratulations!!!! Well-deserved, and I'm glad you FINALLY got to have your launch party!

Miriam Forster said...

Hooray, I'm so happy the party went well for you!

You're adorable, btw. I love the last picture! :)

Anita Saxena said...

It looks like you had an amazing time. Congratulations on everything!

brandileigh2003 said...

Looks like a lot of fun. I am hoping to see you when you come to Raleigh.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

Danielle Ellison said...

Aw!!!! YAY!!!!! :)

Unknown said...

Congrats of the launch. That looks like a fantastic night.

Casey McCormick said...

Beth, I SO wish I could have been there. You look RADIANT. No more party curse for you!

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

OMG! Super fun! I wish I could have been there.

Great pictures. Thanks so much for sharing.

Shveta Thakrar said...

Aw, hooray!

I love the picture of your husband and you.

The best part, aside from all those people coming for your book, in my opinion? That now you have had a huge, successful party and can leave the bad track record in the past. :)

Christina said...

Looks like it was awesome. I wish I could have been there! I'm glad you had a great launch party! Did this party break the party curse?

Keri Mikulski said...

Awe.. I love the last pic too. Amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing. Looks like a great night!! So happy for you. xoxo

Kristin said...

Yes! Love them all.
So, so wonderful.
Your mama looks so proud, and the last picture is great.

PJ Hoover said...

Whoo hoo! And yay you met Lois! I'm so happy fo ryou!

Lindsay, TheBookVlogger said...

Oh, that is so sweet and wonderful. My heart is truly warmed by this. I am not at all surprised by the turn out. You deserve it.

I hope and pray that someday, not too far, I will get to have a launch party of my own. Oh, and I hope you'll call and tell the store manager to say HI lol - Lindsay, TheBookVlogger

Theresa Milstein said...

So amazing. You'll always remember this day. I'm glad it was such a success.

(I'm on page 237.)

Emma Michaels said...

YEAY!! I am so happy that it was a success!!!

Unknown said...

what a huge accomplishment! so deserving!

Emy Shin said...

Congratulations, Beth! It seems like a wonderful signing.

Debbie Barr said...

AWWW! YAY! I wish I could have been there, but it looks like it was tons of fun! It looks like it was a great time. Oh, and you and your husband are adorable :D

Faith E. Hough said...

Great pictures!! You must have had an awesome time!

Jeigh said...

That's so exciting. And by the way, your hair is gorgeous! I kept staring at it in every picture.

Tura Lura said...

How cool! Looks like you had a blast! LOVE that your college roommate drove 6 hours for it. ^_^

I wish I could have been there. Forest City's Not *that* far from Asheville...

Emily said...

Congratulations! I'm so happy for you. I finally got my pre-ordered book in the mail and have been madly reading ever since. I. Love. It.

You deserve the happiest of Launch Parties, and I'm glad you got it!!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

What a homey, warm, awesome bookstore to launch in. I love the way the crowd fills the space, coming to see you! These pictures are the next best thing to being there. Wish I could've but thanks for sharing such a great night. You shine. So much.

Bethany said...

Awww, you didn't mention me! ; )
I actually didn't say I had a book blog.
I had so much fun!
The pumpkin bread and muffins were yummy :)

I posted some pictures here:
http://owlreviewabook.blogspot.com/2011/01/across-universe-book-launch.html

:D

Lisa Potts said...

If it hadn't been a twelve hour drive I definitely would have been there!

PS - I KNEW there would be lots of people. Congrats!

Lindsay said...

Congratulations. It looks like a wonderful launch. You deserve it!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Yay! So awesome! That picture of you and the hubs made my cry happiness for you. :)

Natalie Aguirre said...

Looks like such a fun event. Congrats!

Colene Murphy said...

Wow! What a crowd!!! Congratulations! Your hair looks amazing btw!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Wow, that's awesome!

Beth S. said...

So happy for you. See? You totally didn't have to worry about no one showing up. :o)

E. Arroyo said...

Wow, awesome. Congrats!

Abby Minard said...

Omg, my eyes are so tearing up for you right now! Your experience is just so wonderful! Plus, I finished your book and it's now on my list of favorite books.

Trisha Pearson said...

OMG!!!! How exciting! I'm so happy for you Beth. I can't wait to read your book - I'll be ordering it very soon. Congratulations!

Unknown said...

Congrats on a successful launch party! I know you were stressed that no one would come, and I am delighted to see what an awesome turnout you had. Love the pic of you and hubby at the end. *grin*

Cyndi

Jessi E. said...

This is amazing! I'm so happy for you!

Liz said...

Congratulations, Beth! What an amazing experience! Wish I could've been there in person!

Shari said...

I sooo wish I could have been there. Congratulations on a terrific launch!

Anonymous said...

Oh Beth! Congrats on a wonderful day! Glad the snow didn't keep you away from this one...thanks for sharing all those pictures.

Myrna Foster said...

Congratulations! I wish NC were a little bit closer. I can't wait to read ATU! Thanks for sharing your night with us!

Bryan Russell said...

Congrats!

(Any leftover cupcakes?)

Heather Kelly said...

Congrats, Beth! This gave me warm fuzzies!!!

Liza said...

So happy for you Beth. I've been watching the buzz in the blogosphere over the last several days, and it is clear you have written a winner. Congratulations and best wishes.

Jess (The Cozy Reader) said...

Looks like an awesome time! Congrats!

Jamie Grey said...

Just wanted to add my congrats! I'm so glad the party went well - it looks like the bad luck is finally over :)

What amazing pictures! I was all misty eyed by the end - you so deserve all your success!

Congrats!

Jemi Fraser said...

I got a little teary for you with that last photo - what a lovely day for you!!!! Huge congratulations - glad it was wonderful :)

Dara said...

Aw, I'm glad it went well! I have to admit, I only just heard about the book but I'm beyond excited--I cannot WAIT to read it!!

Congrats!

Elana Johnson said...

AWESOME. And who know your hair was SO LONG? You are gorgeous.

Gabrielle Carolina said...

Aw! Congrats Beth!

I can't wait to come and see you in Raleigh.

Anonymous said...

This just looks wonderful and awesome and full of smiles! Congratulations on such a wonderful event for your WONDERFUL book!!!

Jamie Fuchs said...

Sounds like an amazing evening! Congratulations on such a success :)

Pisinat said...

So cute pictures!! Congratulations for your great launch! I had no doubt it would be a success ;)

Kelly H-Y said...

Oh my goodness, I got chills seeing all the fabulous pictures ... what wonderful memories for you! What an awesome night ... not only for you, but I can only IMAGINE what your parents must have been feeling too!!! SO proud of you!

Charity Bradford said...

I'm so sorry I missed it. I looked forward to it all month, but my hubby was being troublesome. He couldn't understand why I would want to drive more than an hour to buy a book and see someone I've never met.

*sigh*

I might forgive him one day. I'm glad it went so well!

Gabi said...

Okay, I've just got to say, you have the most beautiful hair! :]

Bonnie @ A Backwards Story said...

Congrats! I'm so glad your first signing went well!

I wish you were coming out near Philly so I could meet you, but maybe for book two or three!

Jennifer Johnson said...

Looks like an amazing night! What a rush. I can only imagine. :) Congrats!!