Reflections on Seregn’s book launch

It is done.

Seregn is out in the world!

Ada, Matteo, Rhodanthe, Evergaze, Warnost… they’re all not just in my head anymore.

They don’t just belong to me anymore.

Suddenly they’ve grown beyond me, now they’ve become any number of iterations in each reader’s mind. Wow.

Today, I thought I’d share a bit about how the launch went. It’s been a busy few months since my last blog, and in the coming weeks I’ll share more about the journey, some lessons learned, and more reviews.

But this time, I’d just like to share with you a little about this day that meant so much to me. It’s a bit of a storytime. Something simple, reflective.

Being uncertain of final numbers, and with a fairly wet day forecast, we held the launch at my church auditorium. It’s a special place for me. The church I grew up in, made life-long friends at, where Gabe and I held our wedding reception more than two years ago now.

Thankfully we live very close by, so it was easy to pack the car and duck over to set up beforehand (though I was quite frazzled at first as we got there later than anticipated). That said, family arrived to help not long after we did, and we spent an hour or so setting up decorations, moving chairs, preparing a signing and sales table and preorder pickup, checking mics and sorting out hot drinks. It was a bit stressy, honestly. Nonetheless everything was quickly under control and it looked brilliant. The whole time, without dwelling on it, I was thinking ‘this is my book launch, we’re setting up for my book launch!’.

As people arrived I nipped away with Bub for a few quiet minutes, giving us both a chance to get away from the excitement (even if I’d stayed I wouldn’t have quite known what to do with myself). Bub calm(ish), and me ready to go, I returned to find the church filling up fast! Avoiding too much conversation while I was trying to stay calm, I effectively hid in a little room off to one side of the auditorium!

Honestly, while the nerves had hit I was so excited. There seemed to be so many people there! And they were there to hear ME talk! This was a bit of a special moment too, as my mum took the chance to give me a gift - a timber pen holder with ‘Seregn 23.04.24’ inscribed on it in the same font as the book cover. So beautiful. As the audience settled, I handed Bub to my mum, and sat by Gabe, ready to be called to the stage.

My beautiful aunt, and a talented writer, singer, and songwriter, Belinda Tigell, was my emcee and interviewer. And her warm hosting quickly set me at ease. As she introduced me and called me up, I felt the butterflies (for me they are always the worst right before I do something), and then… they mostly fluttered away.

I’m one of those bizarre people who actually loves public speaking, so as we got going and Belinda began asking me questions, I felt such joy and delight to share about this story that has been a part of me for so incredibly long. I was wearing a dress my grandmother had made for my mum when she was only a teenager, my husband and child were in the audience along with family, friends, and strangers.

I shared about the characters. About the world. The story. The themes. To me. The themes are one of the absolute best bits! I read sections from the book, got the initial unfiltered reaction from those attending, and took their questions.

And I had so much fun.

After the formalities I went back to Gabe at the sales and signing table where, before I knew it, a LINE had formed for ME, and for MY BOOK!

There’s a photo my mother-in-law took of me, absolutely delighted as I spoke to one of the guests, and I think it sums it up well. I was loving it. Loving connecting with people who were excited for this story. Seeing old friends, making new ones. Selling my book. What an incredible thing.

And then it was done. We packed up, came home, and I was on a high.

And now, here I am, organising book signings, interviews, and starting work on my next novel. I’m so thankful to all those that helped on the launch day, setting up, packing up, giving out books, helping with data and mics and coffee and snacks and decorations. In the end by my count we had more than 60 people there that day, and I’m so thankful for each one.

I’ll leave it here for now, this little recount of an amazing day. But rest assured I’ll be back soon. If you’re interested in giving Seregn a read, now’s your chance!