A Book Launch to Remember

For those who couldn't attend last night here is what I had to say for myself.

Hadleigh Old School - all ready for the book launch with not a book in sight!

"It’s difficult to know where to start really. Julie Andrews says you start at the very beginning and I suppose this is where I began. In what was once a small market town, definitely NOT a village but back in the late 60s and early 70s, Hadleigh was at least half the size it is today.

Going back even further to a time before I was born or even thought of, my dad, along with his brothers, went to school in this very building. He was a practical sort, not academic and probably hated every minute.

“What do you want to have your book launch at my old school for?” I can imagine him saying in his broad Suffolk accent.

But then would he ever have believed I could write a book? It was something way beyond his comprehension.

“What have you been doing all day?” He’d ask in the school holidays. “Reading.” “Haven’t you done anything constructive?” Now I written a book, perhaps even he would consider that all the reading I did as a child was constructive after all.

Writing has been a dream of mine for a long time, as well as being a dancer, an actress, a general superstar and all-round diva. I feel like I have finally arrived in my sparkly dress; surrounded by so many of you. I stopped counting how many people I had invited tonight and I am truly flattered to have you all here supporting me. It means a lot.

My writing really took off after my husband Andrew died and I became a widow at 42. Like my dad he never really understood my literary passions, and told me I didn’t know the right people to ever be published. Once that may have been true, but the world has changed since he’s been gone.

My first blog, started two weeks after Andrew died on what would have been his 49^th birthday was called unravelling edges. I was coming undone at the seams. My words resonated with readers as I processed my grief, that funny black cloud that surrounded me that I didn’t really understand. I thank God for my two sons Joe and Ben who gave me a reason to get up each morning. They were only 13 and 10.

In the months that followed the word count grew and I thought I could so easily put my writing in a book – how foolish I was. It has taken a lot of tears, tantrums, and time to get this project to completion. I won’t read out the long list of acknowledgments listed in the back of the book – once you get a copy you can read them for yourself…

Which brings me to the elephant in the room, the lack of actual books to buy this evening. 

I don't even have enough Os on my light box to write the message oops no books!

It is ironic really that a book about finding glitter in the darkest of days should be beset with such problems. I only have myself to blame for not ordering them on time. But most of you know me well enough to know I am not the most organised person on the planet and I have my own inimitable way of doing things.

However, I decided a “no book” book launch is such a good gimmick and I’ve made you all a commemorative bookmark (many thanks to Emma in the church office) One day when I am a total mega star, or at the very least a C grade celeb on Strictly it might be worth a small fortune!

bookmarks with sparkly wool tassels, each hand threaded by me!

You can still pre-order books tonight and pay by cash or card. I will hand deliver or post on at no extra cost early next week.

But I have waffled on for more than 500 words - that’s quite a feat when most of the stories in the book are less than a quarter of that.

Another USP – unique selling point. My memoir is written in very short stories, like snapshots that “coalesce to form a vivid picture of a person dealing with loss in a real and personal way”. So says author and podcaster Matt McChlery in the endorsements. Which you can read once you get the book.

The 100 words idea was self-imposed because I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to numbers – one of the stories is called “sixteen years, six months, six days” some of you might be sharp enough to realise the significance of that particular time period.

It’s not always easy to write a story in so few words and sometimes my words have overflowed so they make more sense.

Now before I read some of my own stories to you I thought it would be good to hear some other voices, some other stories, but still all about me!

I have challenged a few friends to tell their own stories about me in 100 words. I’m not sure what they are going to say but they are people with different perspectives, people that have known me at different stages of my life, some for just a few years, and others for too many decades to count."

 

I then handed the floor over to my friends to share their recollections, which were varied, often funny, some rhymed, there was an acrostic and my own words were used against me. I was even showered in actual glitter. I will seek permission to share these words on my blog another day.

 

Looking glamourous in my sparkly dress with my proof copy and glass of prosecco!

I read a few of my own stories about some of the unique celebrations we have shared as a family. 

Then I took pre-orders for the non-existent books – it’s NOT a SCAM honest!!!

There was mingling, much laughter, plenty of hugs and the bubbles flowed – although honestly I was on such a HIGH even half a glass of Prosecco was enough to get me giddy – but then as some friends know lemonade bubbles can make me tipsy…

Now that is a story I never got to write, and many more have been popping into me head – perhaps my next book should be the inbetween stories. The every day tales that never fitted the narrative this time around. Let me know if you think that’s a good plan. Maybe some truth and some fiction. I do need to think about what to write next…

…but for now I will bask in the glow of a glittery evening that I shall fondly remember FOREVER. After all it’s not every day you have your first ever solo book launch!