WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? Book Launch at Another Story Bookshop

Playing my tin whistle at my book launch. Photo: Kevin Sylvester.

Oh my gosh, I had SO MUCH FUN LAST NIGHT at my WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? book launch! Thank you again to everyone who came out last night. I know how busy people can get and how many other commitments and events are out there, plus it meant taking the transit or driving during rush hour for most of you. Please know that I deeply appreciate you taking the time and effort to help me celebrate in person as well as support Another Story Bookshop.

Before the event, my sister Ruth took me out for dinner to celebrate the launch of my first solo picture book (thanks, Ruth!) and then we headed to Another Story Bookshop. In case you missed it, here's my profile and mini-interview with this wonderful Toronto indie bookstore.

With Sheila Koffman, bookshop owner. Photo: Ruth Ohi.

When we arrived, Shannon Vaughn from Simon & Schuster Canada was there with supplies. She and Ruth assembled fruit skewers while Jeff set up the book-themed cake and cupcakes.

Jeff, Shannon (Simon & Schuster Canada) and Ruth during setup

Thank you so much to Michelle Colombo for the adorable mini-cupcakes and to Danijela Pulcini of L'il Chick Cupcakes for the creative book-themed cake:

In case you were wondering, Jeff and I didn't give Danijela any specific instructions except a copy of the book. We both love what she came up with! And here are the cute little cupcakes by Michelle Colombo:

There were copies of WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? and NAKED! for sale. Originally the store had also planned to have I'M BORED available but after sending half the books to a book fair, Sheila said that all the copies had been bought and they sent the rest of their stock to the fair. Apparently I'M BORED has been selling very well for them, yay!

 Meanwhile, some of my friends were starting to arrive. Like actor and writer, 'Manda Whitney:

Photo: Ruth Ohi.

and children's book author Sharon Jennings:

Photo: Ruth Ohi.

and I finally got to meet Robin Marwick in person! We've been online friends for years, from Livejournal days:

I did a reading of WHERE ARE MY BOOKS?, explained how I got the idea as well as My Thing With Squirrels, talked briefly about my process, played my tin whistle, enlisted the help of some young attendees to demonstrate how to create a character using found objects (in this case, ripped up pages from a magazine).

Photo: Another Story Bookshop.

Afterward, I signed books and chatted with those who came out to the event (THANK YOU THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING!!!).

And huge thanks again to Another Story Bookshop and Simon & Schuster Canada for making this event possible.

WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? video plus a challenge to post your OWN answer with #WhereAreMyBooks hashtag

Back in March, I invited readers to send me photos and video clips that answered the question, "Where Are My Books?" Thanks to everyone who contributed! Please do help me celebrate today's official launch of my first solo picture book, WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers), by posting your OWN photo answering the question, "Where are YOUR books?" and adding the hashtag #WhereAreYourBooks.

If you like the song by my friends Ookla The Mok and would like to download it to your own device (and help support indie musicians in the process), it's now available on CDBaby, Amazon and iTunes.

I tried to double-check the contributor thank you list but I was receiving photos from many different sources, including Twitter. If I missed listing your name (apologies!), please do let me know and I'll add you to the video description as well as to this list:

Samantha Berger, Morva Bowman, Justin Chanda, Charlotte Cheng, Christopher Cheng, Jeri Lynn Cornish,Tracey M. Cox, Reid Ellis, Zoe and Ekko Elumir, Katherine Fausset, Karen Forgave and Burnhamthorpe Public School LLC, Jenna Glatzer and Sarina Happy, Jordan Hageman, John and Jo Hall, Danette Haworth, Bethany Jewell, Ginger Knowlton and Curtis Brown Ltd., Dee Leone with the staff of Katy Budget Books, Jasper Municipal Library, Enzo Jensen, Tammy Langeberg, Denise, Caleb and Julian Layman, Liddy Lindsay, Jeri Lynn, Brittany Moya, Ruth Ohi, Luisa Perrella, Joey Shoji, Heidi Stemple, Gavy Swan, Simon & Schuster Canada, Simon & Schuster Children's, Kyra Teis, Tracy Tuttosi and Dr Morris Gibson School, Carmella Van Vleet, Akiko White and Jane Yolen.

Thanks also to my friends Rand Bellavia and Adam English (a.k.a. Ookla The Mok), who wrote, arranged, performed and recorded this song for me. Rand is a library director, and Adam is a freelance artist; you can read more about them on their website. We've been friends for many years, and I'm a longtime fan of their work. I also played flute on one of their first albums together ("Still Can't Buy Me Love" track on their Less Than Art album). Thanks also to Michael Mallory for the bass guitar track, and Doug White of Watchmen Studios for the amazing guitar solo plus the editing, mixing and mastering.

If you're in the Toronto area, please do join me at my WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? book launch at Another Story Bookshop this Thursday, May 14th at 6pm.

And I'll be posting my WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? Book Tour report soon!