The Story of the Book Launch Event

It's been almost a month since Finding Heaven was released, and it's been a rather exciting month.

There have been a few downs, like my continuing struggle with Amazon.ca's prices. (Apparently, rather than stock it in Canada or ship from the US, Amazon in all its wisdom has decided to have a third party seller from the UK handle print copies to Canada. What the heck, Amazon?) I'm working on a solution there.

But there have been plenty of ups, not least of which is the positive feedback the book continues to generate.

A friend of mine who takes photos professionally agreed to photograph the launch event for me. I hosted it at the Peace River Library on November 16.

First of all, what a great experience. The staff at the library were awesome to work with. This might have been true no matter where I live, but I just love, love, love living in a small town. That's what I have to say about that.

The day of the launch, I had a sad moment when I thought that UPS would not deliver my package of bookmarks I had made as a special gift for the guests in time (even though they were in town, and were originally supposed to have been delivered the day before). After spending more time than I had trying to get them delivered ahead of the time marked on the website (which was for the next afternoon!), I resigned myself to not having them. But then they came! Just in time!

Three days before the launch event, I panicked. I realized I hadn't planned a bunch of stuff that should have been planned already. I started texting my friends at 10 p.m., and they were all awesome about that. I then spent pretty much the entire night on Pinterest and trying to figure out what to do. By the next evening, a sleep-deprived me had one of my oldest (as in, known me the longest) friends, Amanda Magnusson lined up as the MC, Amanda Monette of Amanda Monette Photography had agreed to take photos, and Larrissa Mundt had stepped in to help me plan other details and decorate the hall. (Those women are so amazing!)

And this was the result.

Amanda Magnusson caught in a great moment during her introduction.

I enjoyed it, too.

Not everything I had to talk about was easy to say.

I so appreciated all the people who came to the launch despite the really lousy weather. What a blessing!

We decorated with items that were meaningful to me or the story, like these beautiful old books and this softstone candle holder I brought back from India. It had been completely crushed in our luggage, and I repaired it painstakingly with Krazy Glue. To me, it represents how the broken can still be beautiful.

I find damaged things beautiful, like this mug.

"Priceless pearls" is one of the important images in the book.

The whole family got to be there. <3 Levi. (Well, except Noah, who was home sick.)

Jabin got right into his position as official door prize drawer.

See?

Larrissa must have been almost as good at staying behind the camera as the photographer--this is the only photo of the lady who did such a beautiful job decorating for me. (Thanks, Larrissa!)

Happy Wednesday, friend!