Gettin’ my author on with a little talk before the party…

So Saturday’s launch party was officially a success, thanks to the hard work and support of Bloomington folks! This post is all about pictures: get a look inside the amazing Boxcar Books, check out Arnie’s BIG-ASS poster (which I L.O.V.E.), see me in stripes, and drool over baked goods from G.G.’s Sweetery. Bonus points if you identify the other published Bloomington YA author in the crowd. 

Speaking of photos, all these were taking by the inimitable and lovable Arnulfo Pérez and other guests, but I’m also looking forward to seeing the images snagged by a photojournalism student who used the event as the basis of one of her projects AND bought a book (thanks, Christy!).

Arnie printed this big-ass poster using graphic art from the designer at Carolrhoda LAB and technical support from Justin of www.314pies.com.·

Piles of books and loads of new readers to read them. We sold 23 books, and I signed 8 more that folks had bought in advance. This is good!

People talking about books and eating. Juanes, Maná, and other Latin music playing in the background.

Gwenette Gaddis, the talent behind GG’s Sweetery, baked up this lovely spread. This is BEFORE it was devastated by the hungry hordes.

Chef Matt O’Neill of The Runcible Spoon donated their famous, locally roasted coffee as well as a scrumptious creamy vegetarian pasta. Three years ago, Matt also donated the funds for a scholarship I received to the IU Writers Conference. That year I took the manuscript that is now What Can’t Wait. Double thanks to Matt and the Spoon!

Julia Karr, author of XVI (Speak, 2011), came to my party. Read an excerpt from XVI and find other cool stuff at her website, juliakarr.com.

Boxcar Books was a stellar host for the party; special thanks to Will for organizing the event. Boxcar Books is a very special place. It’s a volunteer-run not-for-profit store that uses proceeds to fund community outreach and a Pages to Prisoners program. (Read their mission statement and history here.)  In addition to a fine collection of books, they’ve got all sorts of zines and other quirky findings. Also, your coolness quotient go up the minute you step through the doors. I’ll be sending Bloomington folks here for my book from now on!