a foto extravaganza!!
honestly, if you asked me to tell you in chronological
order what happened at my first book launch party–
i wouldn’t do a very good job of it. i know in the beginning,
marie (from the blueboards!) arrived early with her lovely
daughter. i was so surprised as she lives in los angeles.
i’m wearing the gold and green qi pao also seen
in my author foto and on the book jacket. and my
horrific 4 inch jessica simpson heels — painful, but
they go well with the dress!
actually, i think khy was the first to arrive! she even
tweeted about sighting cindy pon and was “approaching”. like
i was some sort of alien species or rabid gorilla. it made
me laugh.
khy is a hs freshman and most def has awesome bangs
and cool glasses to boot. i think she’s absolutely fabulous!
she even wore a chiense themed shirt for the occasion. yes,
i do want to shrink khy and keep her in my pocket! =D
she was there to film a “documentary” of my first signing along
with partner in crime, jordyn. i’ve yet to see footage. eee! ha!
jordyn is “old” at almost twenty. hee!
it’s funny because i remember my teen years so well.
gosh. why am i surprised i wrote YA by “accident”?
they were the perfect video accomplices and it was a lot
of fun to have them there as they hung out the entire time,
browsing through the bookstore and (i hope!) eating
lots of yummy desserts! like these…
i catered using (what else?) extraordinary desserts
and went with mini choccie cupcakes, brownie bites,
macaroons, creme brulee, fruit tarts and mini carrot
cake cupcakes. alas, a book signing is very much like a
wedding banquet–i didn’t have any time to eat. (i made
for a very grouchy bride! but i was in better humor at
the book signing? maybe i’ve matured? *nods* ha!)
and then, well, then things started getting a little crazy.
people came in, i sat down, and didn’t stop signing or
taking fotos with my friends until the very end. i saw
this most of the time.
[many of these fotos courtesy of daddy khy--who stayed the
entire time after driving two hours to the signing. what an awesome
dad!!]
what were you thinking, cindy?
i was thinking, please spell everything right.
please don’t write too messy. there were many people
who i had not seen in a while and wanted to chat to, but
most of the time, it was them chatting and me nodding cause
anything more and i would have kapooted.
i was also thinking : how the heck does neil g do this and
make it look so easy?
and i was also also thinking : are they eating the desserts?
did i order enough? will there be any left for me? =p~
[some of my lovely critique group friends : kirsten, amber,
baby henry and eveie!]
one of the biggest surprise was amber flying all the way
out from maryland with 5 month old henry to come to my
signing. she moved away over a year ago and when she came
up to say “hi” while i was signing, her presence just could not
register. ha! i almost cried! and i hate crying!!
the “surprise” was outed several times via email but i hadn’t
really caught on! thank you amber! i can’t wait to see you again
at a conference next year or at YOUR book signing. =D
[the brat pack! =D connor, amy, me, heather and aaron!]
these are my buddies from my 9 – 5 days! we do lunch
every month and the best thing is? i got them hooked onto
young adult books! hee! and yes, this was also the prom girls
and we may very well have to meet edward at the theatres in
fancy dress for new moon viewing.
[my buddies from AW forums! shweta, sharon, deborah
and zac looking cool in the back! g cropped out for privacy!]
i had met shweta, sharon and zac at the neil g signing and
it was such a pleasure to see them again. and so nice of everyone
from online to come and support me.
i also love this foto with shweta and her lucky hippo friend!
cami is also a long time online friend. when i first began reading
her blog, she hadn’t even graduated from college yet. of course, that
doesn’t give you much to go on cause she still looks 22. ha!
and last but not least, kiersten took time out of her busy day
(i know how hectic weekends are for all families!) to come to
the signing. i wish i had more time to chat!! i wish it so for everyone!
kiersten is every bit as sunshiny and beautiful in person!
loveliness only rivaled by her mini-me, who was
adorable! when i spelled out kiersten’s name first
to make sure i got it right, her sweet pea said, mommy
she’s GOOD at that. hee! and i’m 5.11 in my heels so i’m
towering over most everyone. =O
so there you have it!
my very first official launch party as a verifiable
honest to goodness my license and certificates are
in a cheap frame hanging askew on the walls AUTHOR!
yay!!!
thank you so much to everyone who has entered my
contest. it’s not too late–you have until june 8 to do
one or all on the list to earn raffles! i’m off to san francisco
in a few days for my northern cali launch party–and
will be meeting many people for the first time up there.
really looking forward to it!
i shall leave you with another signed SILVER PHOENIX giveaway,
kindly hosted over at martha flynn’s site! all you need to do
is comment with a favorite asian actor, film or book to win.
contest runs through MAY 7th.
i’ll see you in a few days in san fran, martha!! =D
35 Comments
Looks like a fantastic day, Cindy. Wish I could have been there!
my fave dessert was this flan type thing. nums.
it was fab to see u! :) i started the book tonite… :) xoxo
Congratulations Cindy! Looks like you managed to have some fun, and you look fabulous in that dress!
You look stunning in that dress, Cindy! Desserts, books, meeting online friends…it sounds like a lovely day. I wish I could have been there!
Cindy,
Looks like a great time was had by ALL, including you, who was very busy! I’m psyched that you had desserts, mmmm! You looked beautiful!
Awesome book signing! And how lovely the desserts looked…. oh and you too! ;o)
I loved seeing the whole recap! Made me feel like I was there. If only I could haz one of those yummy treats…
what an awesome turnout, Cindy — well done! and those lines are only going to get longer ;)
and what FAB sweet treats, YUM.
(love the dress, too)
hugs, Jules :)
Brilliant photos!
Heck, if I’d known how yummy those puddings were going to be, I’d have walked to San Diego….rats!
Ken Watanbe (spell?) for me. Gorgeous, and he can act.
Actually, the guy from Iron Chef America is pretty tasty too. :)
I posted a review the other day, I forgot to post a comment on here about it. My blog link below. :)
http://kestrelrising.blogspot.com/
I want to say this was as much fun to read as it was to attend the event, but that’s probably not true!
;)
It looks amazing, Cindy!! I’m so proud and happy for you. And you throw one hell of a party, girlfriend.
*covets desserts*
MZ
We were so glad we could come! It was so much fun, and I’m thrilled we finally met!
Awesome photos! If only I didn’t live all the way in Ohio, I’d be out at your northern Cali launch party.
Those desserts are making me drool…
I’m glad I could at least be there virtually! How exciting. Those desserts look divine, and you had such a great turn out. Have fun in San Fran—watch out for ninjas.
Thanks for sharing your photos–this looks like too much fun! Awesome dress, and the deserts look great even over here in Washington.
I have to ask–in this internet age, did you find your hand cramping up after a few signings? :P I’ve always wondered about that… Good times, and congrats on a great event!
Congrats, Cindy! I loved seeing all the photos! You look amazing in that gorgeous dress. I hope you got to sample the desserts at some point!
CIndy this is wonderful. I guess all that working out you do must give you amazing stamina. I LOVE the cakes. My waistline is expanding just looking at them. Not to mention that I’m dehydrating from drooling so much.
Just to let you know that I will definitely do a review next week. I’m so behind on my blogging but it’s very much on my TO DO list.
Congratulations again.
you are setting a very dangerous dessert precedent, cindy!! san francisco will want the same lurve. :)
Oooh deserts yum, yum I’d have flown over just for those alone! ;)
The photos are brilliant -you look stunning! And many, many congrats on the book launch :)
I LOVE my bookplate and bookmark – gorgeous. Thank you so much :)
thank you, everyone! it was such a lovely time and seriously, my heart was full from seeing so many friends, old and new.
and i got to try a few of the mini choccie cupcakes–which were all that were left. i’m not a big choccie fiend tho. i really wanted a fruit tart–one of my all time favorites! =D
Congratulations, Cindy! The photos are great and the desserts look AMAZING. I am in awe of that giant stack of SILVER PHOENIXES. So exciting to see!
It was definitely a wonderful event. I was glad to be there. You know what? I used to live in SD and studied computer programming at Coleman College which is just down the street from the Yellow Book Road! :D
Have a great time at your SF signing!
Oh Cindy I’m so glad someone took pictures!
The book is fantastic, y’all. Buy It. Read It.
Oh, and did you notice that your friend Amy and I were wearing the same shirt?? I said, “Nice shirt!” and she laughed b/c she was about to say the same to me.
Food. Of course there’d be food. :-)
I’m only surprised you didn’t have some traditional Chinese desserts on hand (or maybe you did and I didn’t spot them in the photos).
A little more than halfway through the book (but I’ll keep you in suspense by keeping most of the comments to my self), and there’s food all over the place. Ai Ling must be burning the calories walking or she’d weigh 300 pounds. Yikes!
On a writer to writer note, Cindy, at some point (when you are settled after the book-coming-out rush) I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on why you picked certain names for characters, why you picked certain types of antagonists, why you picked certain food dishes. Even if it’s just “hey, I thought it’d be cool to include.” Not knowing much about China and Taiwan (which is odd now that I think of it since I have a number of friends with an Asian background), I keep wondering how much are things you’ve created from scratch and how much are taken from history and mythology. Not that it makes a difference to your story-telling abilities, I’m just curious.
ty–food is a subplot in the story. haha! and yes, that’s a question that has been asked by others as well. it’s def an amalgam of true folklore and my imagination. three breasted concubine = i made up. snake demon = chinese folklore!
amber, i hadn’t even noticed. too funny!
and thanks everyone for commenting!
Congratulations! You look gorgeous!!
awesome!!
Congratulations, Cindy. It must have ben an incredible, memorable day for you. Do you have a stop in Chicago on your tour?
thank you linda and shaz! shaz you gave me a pretty website to display my fotos! =D
ron–i’ll be at ALA chicago in july! =D and scbwi in august. so we’ll def have to meet. !!
Yay! Oh my gosh, I envy much that I’m not on the West coast :( But the pictures look amazing! What a great turn-out!
Sounds like it was a great success! Oh and the extraordinary desserts was a nice touch. Wish I was there!!!
I’m so happy for you! Sounds like the launch was a fantastic success. Go, Cindy, go!
fine don’t put up a picture of the thunder :(
ha! i didn’t know where your blog was anymore and too lazy to link. also, can i post whole family?
Do u know who Natasha is because she is my best friend and I think that the silver phoenix is a really good book and is my favorite book!:)
anna, yes, natasha has emailed me before! so glad you enjoyed my novel!!