
This time last week I was hauling a bag of my novels into Bookworms bookstore in preparation for last Saturday’s book launch event. We’d certainly had a big build up, with Bookworm’s owner, Waldo, inviting folk to come along and ‘rub shoulders with literary geniuses’. Ahem.
Here we are on the big day, posing happily for the paparazzi!
Paul, as some of you know, is my writing buddy. We meet up over coffee and cake and have ‘writerly conversations’ from time to time, email each other when stuck and generally exchange ideas about our current projects. You’ll find Paul over at Backroom Bulletin where he chats about his writing progress each week. Here’s Paul’s take on the event.
I hadn’t come across Jill or her books before, but after chatting on the phone a week or so before the event, I went down to Bookworms to snag a copy of her new book, thus ensuring a sale of one of mine! I’d almost finished reading Noah and his Solar-Powered Ark by the day of the launch, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can read my review on Goodreads here and meet Jill herself at her website here.
Also at the launch were a couple of beginner writers and it was great to offer them encouragement on how to progress their craft. All in all, it was a fun morning, and although sales were quite modest, it was lovely to meet both readers and writers and talk about books.
We also got a super write up in the local newspaper, the Bolander, which is widely distributed in the local area and also online, making it so much easier to share with you: Book launch at Bookworms.
As Waldo says, when quoted in the article: “Our very first book launch went down famously… and Iβm looking forward to many more to come.” – I couldn’t agree more!
Now, I must dash. I’m off to meet my beta reader friend Laurette for her feedback on the manuscript of my soonish-to-be-released latest novel. The cover is almost ready and I’ve even finished agonizing over the ‘dreaded blurb’. More about ‘Spirit of the Shell Man’ soon!
Looks like you had a good day, Chris, and great publicity too!
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It was good, Tom, mainly for the chat and the atmosphere. It just occurred to me that it was the first time in almost 2 years that I’d talked to more than 2 people at once!
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It looks like you had a lot of fun.
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We did, Molly! Lovely atmosphere π
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Nice and an adorable event! Let’s guzzle the books as the worms do it on leaves. ππ€π
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I love that phrase, Aladin! From henceforth I shall be known as a ‘book guzzler’.πππππ
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Wonderful Chris. ππ»
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Thanks, Radhika!
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What a lovely relaxed photo of all of you. Iβm glad the launch went well.
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That was certainly the best pic of me, Sadje. I hate having my photo taken. This one was taken by my good friend, Laurette. She’s a professional photographer and it shows!
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I love your DP too. A serious thinking pose!
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Oh yes, that’s my ‘authorly’ expression! ππ
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π₯°π»
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Congratulations!
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Thank you, Andrew!
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You’re welcome.
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Congrats, and looking forward to your next book!
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Thanks very much, Chris! So am I π
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It looked wonderful, Chris. π
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It was, Miriam. Such good company! π
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β€ π
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Seems like you had fun.
Congratulations π.
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We did! Thank you π
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What a lovely photo! Like-minded book lovers πππ
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Book lovers are the best!
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ππ
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Glad it was a success and that the bookstore is willing to repeat the event!
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Thanks, Val. Waldo is such a supportive guy and we’re very lucky to have him here with his wonderful bookstore. I seem to have become a bit of a bookstore groupie π
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Congratulations on the joint book launch! Glad it all went so well & here’s to more happy events in future! π
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Thanks very much, Tom! We’ll have to see if we can find some more authors to help draw a crowd.
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Looks like fun was had π
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It was, Rory!
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That’s a great photo of you, Chris! How did the virtual part of the event go?
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Thanks, Liz π I forgot to mention the virtual part. It was quite a success with almost 50 downloads over the 3 days. I forgot to look at the Amazon rankings on the first day, but the next day the book had reached #124 in its category. Back to the many thousands now, of course.
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Fantastic! I’m so glad the virtual part of the event was such a success.
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Me too, Liz! Thanks for picking up a copy.π
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You’re welcome, Chris!
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Great times, Chris, and a wonderful day for authors and readers!
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Nothing better, Gretchen π
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What a fantastic opportunity for you all and it looks so welcoming and inviting! π Your enjoyment and excitement of the event shines through and wow, talking to your writing friends and buyers in person! Amazing after all this time! Lovely to meet you here, Chris and many thanks for the follow and likes.
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Thanks, Annika! A pleasure to meet you too, and looking forward to reading you! π
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That looks like fun, Chris. How great to be doing author meet and greets again! And talking with new writers is so much fun. I’m glad you had a great event. π
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Thanks, Diana. It was such a rewarding experience!
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I can’t wait to chat with readers again! *Sigh*
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Fingers crossed it’s soon; but not too soon…
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How wonderful, Chris! It seems you all had a great time! β€οΈ
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Thanks, Punam. It was a blast π
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I am sure it was. π You are welcome.
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How much fun! Loved seeing the photos and the article! Iβm glad the book launch was a success! π
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Thanks, Debra! It was a really pleasant morning. Hoping to do more stuff down at the bookstore π
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Congratulations, Chris! I’m so glad you had such a great response at the launch π₯³ Good luck on the beta feedback!
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Thanks, Susan. It’s good and with some excellent suggestions! One more step forward… π
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π₯³ That’s great to hear!
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Hi Chris, I am glad you enjoyed yourself at the launch. My experience of South African book launches is that sales are always modest. I read somewhere that on 40,000 South Africans buy new books on an on-going basis.
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That figure doesn’t surprise me at all. Why is it that so few South Africans read, I wonder. When I think about my circle of friends here, it’s the Brit and Zim expats who are the bookworms.
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Yes, there is no culture of reading here and there never has been. You my recall in A Ghost and His Gold the attitude towards Pieter by his peers because his grandmother was English and he liked to read. My whole intension with his character was to highlight the cultural differences between the English and the Boers as this also created friction.
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Yes, I do remember that, Robbie. The distrust of reading in English came through very clearly.
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That looks so good.
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Good to be among book lovers!
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