Place: The place for our party, will be a friend's home, and her backyard. There will be plenty of chairs for people sit and mingle and eat.
Party theme and colors: Since my book cover is mainly orange, we are doing a blue and orange party, balloons, flowers, tablecloths will all be used as decorations. I did find these cute flower cupcakes we are going to try and do. Which ones do you like? I like the arrangement on the left, with the cupcakes on the right. We will see what we come up with. UPDATE: We are scratching this idea....but still they are cute!!!
Guest List: I took my mailing list, FB Friends, and church family list and went through to compile the final list. Interestingly enough, as I was going through it and sent out the invite others contacted me saying "I didn't get my invite." They were accidentally missed and I apologized. One friend said, "I didn't know your book was out, I just ordered it!" Good for me!! Then I asked him if he wanted an invite to the party and he said yes. Remember a guest list is not a final, go with the flow. If a friend wants to come and is missed and if you can invite them DO SO!!
Name tags: Most book release parties probably do not need name tags, but we are having name tags. Why? Because some of the people with chapters in the book will be there. This is as much their story as it is mine, and I want others to get to know them. So they will have the blue name tags, and everyone else the orange. If you are coming and see a blue name tag, ask them to share their story.
Food: We wanted light refreshments. Veggie and fruit trays are a given. We decided on small sandwiches and chips. For desert is going to be the best brownies you have ever eaten!!! Maybe I will leave that surprise for the party. It is good to entice people a bit, and then leave them hanging. But you do not want to miss the brownies!! So come to the party!!!
Books: There will be plenty of books for sale, WE HOPE! Some have already bought theirs, others are waiting for the party. Either way we will get you a signed copy. (Note: I think it is too funny I am signing books!! I have always collected autographs! ) We are trying to come up with a unique way for people to not lose their books. One suggestion was to put their name in it. Any other ideas?
Layout: We will have people come in through an entry way, sign a guest book, get their name tag, and buy a book if they need one. Then they will come into the living area where I get a hug!!! It will be a hugging kind of day. We will have a short presentation of the people in the book who are present, and then will start the book signings. I want to give people a chance to mingle and meet everyone.
I think the party is pretty simple but appropriate for what we are doing. Because I have already started working on my next book, Santa's Little Helper I will introduce them to my next project!!
Remember this is your party and your celebration! For me, friends have heard about this book for many many years. Early in the beginning of the book I sent a chapter called "The Bully" for people to read. They loved the chapter!!! That is what gave me the hope to continue on with my journey and finish the book.
For anyone going down this journey....it is not easy. The more I wrote about the lessons I had learned in my life, the more therapeutic I realized it was. It helped me deal with alot of my past. Interesting enough I learned at the end of the writing, I heard about the stories that had been told about me. So for any of my descendants that one day wonder about their Aunt Laura, hopefully they will find my book and know my story, my struggles and who I was and how I became the person I am. Not the person everyone else decided I was. I still have a long ways to go in my journey, but I am getting there one step at a time and one journey at a time.
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