Last night at my book launch party, I told the story of why I was so adamant about holding it at Sandmeyer’s Bookstore in Chicago. But when I first talked to Mrs. Sandmeyer about it back in January, she asked if I could guarantee 30 people. I thought I could, but figured if we had a few no-shows, it would still be all right.
Well, last night I counted 80 people and still missed some. It was amazing beyond imagination. But before I get ahead of myself, here’s how it went down.
The Sandmeyers set up this table for me. I was surprised and delighted to receive gifts from friends. (Thank you, Jennifer, Natasha, Treacy, and Tracey!)
The Sandmeyers also provided a drinks table. Isn’t their store delightful?
I ended up forgetting to ask someone to take photos, but my dear friend Chandrika came to the rescue and sent me most of the photos in this blog post. Thank you, Chandrika!
Friends and family
I signed books for about 30 minutes before my talk.
One of the highlights was meeting Polina, a friend from Instagram!
I also met Brianna DuMont. We have the same literary agent, Carrie Pestritto! Brianna’s middle grade book, Famous Phonies: Legends, Fakes, and Frauds Who Changed History, comes out this October!
For the giveaways, I asked eight questions. People who answered them correctly received a gift certificate to Sandmeyer’s or a copy of How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit? True Stories of Expat Women in Asia (Signal 8 Press).
A huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Sandmeyer! And many thanks to all the friends and family who came out last night!
So happy for you! What a wonderful place to have your launch, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore looks like the kind of bookstore I would spend a ton of time in, unlike the ginormous ones that seem to dominate…
Susan, I wish you every success!
Thank you so much, Miriam! It really is a gem. I was so happy people bought books and supported an independent bookstore at the same time!