A Beautiful Day for a Book Launch

"What is the disease which manifests itself in an inability to leave a party—any party at all—until it is all over and the lights are being put out?... I suppose that part of this mania for staying is due to a fear that, if I go, something good will happen and I’ll miss it. Somebody might do card tricks, or shoot somebody else." - Robert Benchley

OK, I lied. I do not have any pictures to share from yesterday's book launch party.

This is primarily because I forgot make sure I had my camera in my purse before I left - add that to the list of things I would change for next time.

Overall, though, it was a rousing success! Beautiful weather, first of all - 80 degrees and sunny all day long. This was nice because the library/resource center where it was held is oh so tiny, so the little front lawn with the extra picnic table was a nice place for people to hang out and chat.

I had lots of munchies and beverages - too much, probably, 'cause now I have lots of leftovers. However, I did discover a scrumptious punch recipe online that got rave reviews (a few people wrote down the recipe before they left the party!). It's down at the bottom of this post, if you're interested.

Most of my guests were family and friends, with a couple locals from the community who dropped in to visit. All in all, I sold 49 books - not too shabby!

What would I do differently next time?

1. Arrive earlier to set up. I didn't leave myself enough time.

2. Remember to eat. In a very weird way, it felt a little like my wedding reception: I was so busy chatting with people that I didn't have a thing to eat or drink all day. Translation: massive headache when it was all over.

3. Have a sign with the book prices. This wasn't crucial, but it would have prevented me from repeating myself 49 times.

Otherwise, for the time and money I spent on 3 hours of one afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. And I like that every time I do an event, I learn more about my own marketing strategies and things that work/don't work.

On to the next one!

***

"Angel Punch"

One 12-oz container frozen pink lemonade
20-oz bag frozen strawberries
2 cups water
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 cups lemon-lime soda

Combine half of all ingredients EXCEPT the soda. Blend in blender until smooth. Transfer to serving dish and repeat with the other half of ingredients. Chill until time to serve, then pour soda over the top.

Really, it was DELICIOUS - everyone loved it~