Eren's Book Launch and My Very Bookish Week

Man. It has been a crazy, happy, busy, never-to-be-repeated week. Sometimes it's amazing how much can happen in seven days, and believe me, this week has seen a lot. Last Thursday, my book came out. It was a truly spectacular feeling, a mix of relief and mild terror, and I celebrated by not working and generally being on Twitter. On Saturday we had Eren's launch party, and on Sunday I went to Brooklyn Book Festival. This post is a recap and a celebration of my very bookish week.

Book Meets World

Because Eren came out in the UK, but I'm living in the U.S., we didn't do a full bookshop launch. Instead, we threw open my parents-in-law's house and turned the place into an Eren-esque world. My wife, Ashley, did a stunning job decorating the rooms, and along with the food and the (much) wine, I did my first ever public reading (passable) and got to see the first ever reading by someone who knew what they were doing (my sister-in-lawish and drama teacher, Steph. It was marvelous). There was so much more, too - Raffle! Cheese! Helium balloons that make you talk funny! Proper magic all round.

The Story Jar, one of the illustrations from the book

The five Eren Tales published so far, with Brandon's five photos

Booklyn in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Book Festival's a huge deal. Last year was our first time going, and seeing speakers like Lois Lowry, Patrick Ness, and Lev Grossman made it more than worth it. Add to that the almost overwhelming number of publishers, presses, authors, literary companies, artists, and generally booky people who set up shop, and BKBF is worth checking out. Tired from the party the day before, we were - admitedly - a little less enthused that 2013, but listening to the new cast recording of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere made the drive a lot easier (even if Manhattan and Brooklyn driving made the whole thing a lot scarier). Highlights of this year include listening to RL Stine (yes, of Goosebumps fame), seeing Lev Grossman again (whose latest I am avoiding buying because my birthday is coming up, but ... argh) and the exciting addition of spicy Jamaican food that was amazing and made me and my wife tear up while listening to a poetry session.

What else did we do? We won free audiobooks (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Stardust, thank you very much) and chatted to One Story and PEN America, and generally had a good time. Behold:

It Continues

Every day this week someone has put up a review or a giveaway or a sample of Eren as part of the blog tour. Well, that's not slowing down, with posts scheduled across the web for another few weeks. Please do check out the sites that have agreed to take part. I explained all about it HERE and you can keep track of who's doing what using the tour banner.

And ... I think that's it. If you've read Eren, THANK YOU, and I would love to hear what you think, either on Goodreads or elsewhere. For those who want to check the book out, links are below. Thank you again to all who've made this a spectacular week. Here's to many more.

Eren is available now.

Amazon | Waterstones | Foyles | Barnes & Noble

Hive (Find your nearest independent bookshop)