Book Launches

This is book launch week! Last Tuesday was the launch of “Writescape: Inspiration Station“, a book of writing exercises put together by my friends and writing group partners Ruth Walker and Gwynn Scheltema. The writing exercise book came about as a result of the successful Writescape Writing Retreats that Ruth and Gwynn run twice a year. Participants wanted more of the motivation and inspiration that Ruth and Gwynn provide; the book is their answer to that.

Ruth and Gwynn held their launch at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge and kept us all entertained with readings, live music performed by singer and songwriter Kathy Himbeault, and even on-the-spot writing exercises. They did a great job of tailoring their launch to fit with the message of their book.

Tonight’s book launch is for another friend, Cheryl Rainfield. Cheryl is celebrating the launch of her new YA novel, Scars, at the 519 Church Street Community Centre in Toronto. The launch is a fundraiser for the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Woman Against Rape. Details on the book and on the launch can be found here. Scars is an important book and well worth reading, even if you can’t make it to the launch. Cheryl is a survivor of incest and ritual abuse, who used self-harm to cope. She will talk about ways people who self-harm and stop and things you can do to help your loved ones who self harm. The launch will also feature live music and a Wen-do demonstration.

And finally, on the topic of book launches, Orca Books published an article that I wrote for them as a four-part series on their blog. It’s a follow-up to my book-free book launch.

Introductory Post: How to Plan a Successful Book Launch

Part One: Find the Right Place

Part Two: Get the Word Out

Part Three: Know your Venue, Know your Crowd

Part Four: Be Flexible