The Launch

A few days have passed and I'm still overwhelmed by how fantastically well it went.

For once I got ready in plenty of time. I changed my mind about the make-up and was quite pleased with the results. The dress just slid on; the month of cornflakes and soup had definitely been worth it. Boy kept me company during my preparation, for which I'm extremely grateful. He distracted me to the extent I didn't notice the time. Which was probably just as well, The Director called me in transit from Stansted to reassure me he was still coming, but the conditions were foul: driving rain and idiots en masse.

When he arrived, I was applying the finishing touches on my nail polish. He declined a shower and changed straight into smarter clothers. Bless him. Boy was my hands as I flapped my nails and squeezed my laptop, purse and smoking accoutrements into my back-pack. He then scurried around getting the other bits and pieces and even managed to get me into my coat, without destroying my nail polish. Boy's future partner will be one lucky person. He was calm, controlled and hurried without taking any notice of my stress and squeaks. He is indeed a star!

We parked up and walked to the venue, which in pouring rain, over cobbles, wearing red suede shoes, was not a lot of fun. How I didn't break my ankles I'll never know. The Goddess truly does watch over her own. Even with the Director running late, I still had time to set up my laptop, get the float ready and sell a book before people started turning up.

The room looked fantastic with tables laid out with white linen and candles. DN, our Technical God, figured out the lighting system and dimmed the lights to make things friendly, but not too dark. At 7.25, there were 7 people in the room, by 7.35, I had to gently pat people out the way so I could meet and greet. The turnout was fantastic. My posse turned up as well. Many thanks to Gee, JD, the Great Ursus and his lovely. That people braved a horrid night to support and celebrate our venture was just amazing. AS was on instruction to turn up later. He later said it helped no end with hs nerves as he was just able to swan in, say hi to a few people and then move to prime position.

RJ, our Chief gave a brief introduction and then handed the floor over to AS. The reading was went really well. The audience smirked, chuckled and snorted throughout. Gee said afterwards, how well he'd done. Authors are notoriously bad at reading their own work, but AS totally rocked the crowd.

It all becomes a bit of a blur after that, I'm left with impressions and small flashes of memory. There were lots of smiles and genuine pleasure at our accomplishment. I took money, handed out business cards, took details for people signing up to our mailing list. I'm surprised AS's hands weren't aching at the end, after all the books he signed. My hands were freezing from sheer terror and the cold terrace where I sheltered under a brolly, smoking. Goddess bless the Great Ursus; from the depths of his coat he brought out a hand warmer which I huddled round. Pretty clothing and shoes may look fantastic, but damn they're not half cold and uncomfortable. My feet were screaming by the time people started shuffling off home.

I crept out of bed Friday morning, with just enough time to make the World Domination de-briefing meeting. I was more than a little bit fragile, due mainly to the half-hundred weight of tobacco I'd smoked on the run up to the event and the cider I'd drunk. Note to Self: when one needs to think coherently the next day, one should not consume that much alcohol the night before. Mind you, given what a lightweight I am, it only takes a half of cider too many to push me into the green zone.

We sold some books, schmoozed and strutted our stuff. All in all, not bad for a night's work. I must apologise for the lack of pictures. It was just one thing too many for me to manage. Take my word for it though, I do scrub up just fine.

I'm looking forward to more of the same. More readings, more events, more books, more fun. Hell, just MORE! Bring on the World Domination!