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monster month book release party - part 2
February 6, 2008
monster month book release party - part 1
by sven at 5:24 pm
January 31, 2008, we hosted the Monster Month Book Release Party.
The aspect of the party that I'm most proud of: I made a huge cake and frosted it to look just like the monster on the book's cover!
Two hours to bake, two hours to decorate. Chocolate "black magic" sponge cake, 4 hand-mixed colors of homemade cream cheese frosting, 12"-wide pan. Oh yeaaaahh...
The sign on the front door: "Welcome! Please come in: monsters & humans are both celebrating inside!"
(Thanks to Gretchin for putting together the signage!)
As you enter, there's a stack of books for sale, and the original painting for the book cover.
Lots of yummy snacks. Rice crackers and five kinds of cheese... (Kinda overdid it on the cheese.) Hummus... Apples, pears, almonds, and a sweet pecan-cranberry-pepper mix.
And... Grimberry Juice! Compliments of Prof. Ichbonnsen's colleage Professor Amberson.
In write-ups about events, people often declare "it was a success!" ...What does that actually mean?
In this case, what I can tell you is that people were talking with each other the whole night long... You actually almost had to shout, the room was so loud... None of those pesky awkward silences ever descended on us. And although the event technically ended at 9, it wasn't til 11:30 that the last of our guest finally cleared out.
Heh. I think I've just begun to outline a Beaufort scale of party "success."
People started arriving at 7. At 8, we gathered in the living room for the reading portion of the evening. Pretty much every chair we own was set out... Which just managed to comfortably accommodate the 15 of us.
Despite best-laid-plans, the Professor himself was unable to make it to the event...
But he was kind enough to send a letter of welcome/explanation/apology, to be read in his absence.
I did the honors... Then went on to discuss how the book project came into being, and what it was like working with the World's Foremost Cryptozoologist. I concluded this bit of the evening by reading the chapter from the book titled "An Underwater Adventure - Darker Things Beckon."
The audience participation was hilarious -- gasping at all the right moments, heckling and playing along in the kindest way...
And then came cake and the signing of books. Need I say, this was the first time I've signed a book since... My high school yearbook?
Go ahead -- try to imagine what you'd write in a book, if you published one. If you come up with a clever way to deal with this pleasant-yet-awkward situation, please tell me the secret!
As it was, our friend and fellow Artist's Way teacher Dayna Collins got something to the effect of: "To Dayna -- You are the first person I've ever signed a book for! Thank you for your support and encouragement. -- Sven Bonnichsen."
It got even harder after that.
My friend and Weekly-Get-Together-To-Watch-Classic-Star-Trek buddy, Michael Hall, was kind enough to take a bunch of the photos you see here. Thank you!
Gretchin, in addition to helping with signage, managed getting the food set up, answering the phone, keeping track of time, taking money for book purchases, and and and... Oh, and she also found this website, blockposters.com, which allowed us to assemble the ultra-cool poster version of the book cover. For that and a whole bunch more... Thank you!!
Philip Flores has posted a short review of the event... As has Dayna. And now Linda and Bridget. ...Thank you!!!
And...(oh my)...How could I forget the groupies of my fledgling fan club, Bridget Benton and Linda Womack? ...Thank you!!!!
And lastly, to everyone else, who either came or who sent good wishes: THANK YOU!
posted by sven | February 6, 2008 5:24 PM | comments (8) | categories: bestiary, exhibits & events
Comments
So glad it was a success, whatever scale it's measured on! And I'm sorry that I couldn't make it. I hope you saved a book (and a poster) for me? For my part, I'm quickly accumulating some old magazines and decorative papers that might be good for collage night.
Posted by: shuju at February 6, 2008 9:02 PM
Coooool! What a fantastic event, Sven and Gretchin! A hardy congratulations on the book and launching party! I'd like to eat all the cheese and the cake now please.
Posted by: Shelley Noble at February 6, 2008 9:05 PM
What a fantastic evening! I'm sick all over again finding out what I had to miss! It sounds like a wonderful soiree, Gretchin did a gorgeous job on the cake and there's no such thing as overdoing the cheese!
Posted by: Alesia at February 7, 2008 7:40 AM
sorry you'all couldn't be here!
alesia: tee hee! SVEN made the cake! it was fantastic! i'm not usually a chocolate cake person (i know, blasphemy!), but i savored every bite of this cake. in fact, i rarely bake, except for a fantastic bread recipe i just discovered.
Posted by: gl. at February 7, 2008 12:22 PM
There is NO SUCH THING as too much cheese! Glad the book launch was a success.
Posted by: rebel at February 7, 2008 1:40 PM
What an absolutely delightful evening! It was just plain fun (and the treats were tasty, too). Thank you, thank you. Dayna (and Howard)
Posted by: Dayna at February 7, 2008 4:07 PM
@Shu-Ju: Wish you could have been there! :) Yes, I've still got a book set aside for you. Need a little more time to get the Zompire Bat print together -- having a little printer problem that I need to look into.
@Shelley: You want cheese? Come on up! Plenty still left to share. :) ...But the cake's ALL GONE. Gretchin's saying it was her fave choco cake ever. Ever? EVAR.
@Alesia: Missed you at the party... I had the paint box out that you gifted us, just so folks could see how appealing it looks, and so I could talk about what a difference it makes being able to see all your colors at once. Thank you again for that lovely thing!
@Rebel: You're so right -- there's no such thing as too much cheese! ...It's just that sometimes you don't have have enough friends over to share it with. ;)
@Dayna (and Howard): It was a joy to finally get to see you on the other side of the studio wall! How did we go this long without showing you the rest of the house? Best wishes to you both.
Thank you so much, everyone!
Posted by: sven at February 9, 2008 10:41 PM
Ok folks, I gotta say, for those of you who weren't there - that cake tasted as amazing as it looked!! WOW!!
Posted by: bansheegrrll at February 11, 2008 12:22 AM