Book launch: On the Same Page

So… I love having parties for other people, but for myself? Not so much. But as On the Same Page was my third full length novel, and I’d recently also had a novella published as part of the Our Country Christmas anthology, I thought I’d give it a go!

Not playing football, but making a speech!

The venue was Better Read Than Dead, a fabulous bookshop in the busy heart of Newtown. I love this shop, but being given the opportunity to have the launch here was particularly special because On the Same Page is set in Newtown, Redfern and Sydney city, a very busy bustling hub, just like the busy bustling pace of On the Same Page!

All of my children attended the event which was wonderful. One daughter drove up from her workplace in Canberra, and another daughter juggled two toddlers and endured an hour of peak hour traffic to be there. There were lots of friends who came along too (and made comments like ‘I knew her before she was famous’ (ha!), and there were a number of writer friends as well. Some writers I had met while studying creative writing at UTS Sydney (also close by!), and some I have met as a published author. It was heartwarming to have their wonderful support. And, of course, there were readers I’d never met before, but they had enjoyed my books so came along to celebrate the publication of another. Wow! I often chat with readers by email and on social media, and at conferences and so on, but it was really nice to meet some new people, and even have the chance to introduce them to other writers they admired - and my family of course!

The venue space was wonderful - to be surrounded by books while launching my book upstairs, while shoppers were downstairs browsing the shelves, and buying books for Christmas, was great. The champagne flowed, the Lebanese dips were amazing, and I signed a lot of books.

Will I have another launch? I will seriously think about it!