Between the Lines Book Launch Party
Gwen made cupcakes that spelled out the title of the book. Love this girl!
You would think as an author, I’d easily find the words to describe last evening’s festivities, but it seems that my heart has been so deeply touched that words are lost.
Gwen made cupcakes that spelled out the title of the book. Love this girl!
My former colleagues, Dave Fiske and Lori LaBoe had the room decorated when I arrived to deliver one last order of books to students near the end of the school day. When Mr. Claudia and I came back to school an hour later after grabbing the last of the books, there was little left to accomplish. The tables were covered, candy and snacks were placed on their tops, and the gatorade was cooling on ice. Tom Saunders, media mogul extraordinaire, came on his birthday to interview students about the book. Mike LaBoe was sitting sentry at the front door of the school. We were ready to go by 5:30 PM.
What happened next was nothing short of a whirlwind. At first it was a trickle of folks, arriving early because they had other obligations and didn’t want to miss the chance to buy a book and see me. When I looked up next, there was a line trailing across the room, and Crackers (a real-life character from the book) leaned over and said, “Hurry it up!”
I based the book on a true friendship I developed in college. Those two ladies, whom I developed as characters for the book even though I didn’t know them when they were ten, came last night and signed students’ books as their characters. The students were absolutely thrilled!
When I was writing this book, I had no idea of the reception the story would receive, and certainly no idea that Ann, Beverly and I would be together again, celebrating our friendship in such a rich fashion. Who knew when we were college coeds that forty-five years later, we’d be signing books for middle grade students?
Even my childhood friend and 5th grade writing partner, Mary Maguire, surprised me by arriving with memorabilia in tow. She brought with her the book of baby names we purchased with our hard earned money (washing the family car) so we had new ideas for character names.
It was truly an amazing evening that will stay with me for years to come! Thank you!
