April 30, 2011

The Launch

Wow.

Well, my book launch was the Best Night Ever.

I have not been able to post before now,
  1. because I haven't had time,
  2. because I was drunk for much of Thursday and Friday
  3. because around halfway through signing 100 books the synapses between my brain and fingers began to degenerate, and I lost the ability to write. In fact, I believe many of the last 30 of the books I signed bear the moniker 'Ken'.
There is much to be told about The Night. The fact that I panicked when my book launcher Mark Dapin* turned up a half hour late. The fact that I panicked when Mark Dapin did turn up, because he had threatened to just 'say the first thing that popped into' his head, and he has a background in girlie mags, and I was worried he'd just be thinking about porn. The fact that I had absolutely no idea what one writes when signing a book, and I 'may' have written inappropriate things about breasts and Simon Baker. The fact that said Simon Baker did not turn up, despite my publisher's assurances at the time of signing me to Random House that they would definitely find him for me. The fact that I met some of the most awesome bloggers and tweeps in the online world, and many of them travelled on planes and trains and even buses to be with me. The fact that the launch party progressed to a pub down the road where I proceeded to drink such copious amounts of champagne that my husband The Architect imposed a drinking curfew on me (which I proceeded to ignore once he was out of my sight). The fact that I became engrossed in a conversation about Young Talent Time and ending up leading a group of uber bloggers in a rousing chorus of 'Close your eyes and I'll kiss you'. The fact that I stumbled home with Kylie Ladd at around 1.20am after my husband The Architect gave up the ghost at around midnight, then stayed up talking till after 2am, then lay awake in bed till after 3am marvelling at the wonder of it all, then woke up as always at 6.15am despite the kids having slept at my mum's.

The fact that I am intensely grateful for the love and support that I have been shown by my family, my beautiful friends, my amazing Twitter buddies, and you, my blog readers.

The fact that whether my book sells five hundred or five thousand or fifty thousand copies, I have had the best time of my life.

*read his blog. No-one does, but the guy is a genius. Trust me.

I was showing Lana how well I had shaved under my arms.







Me and Kylie. She drank as much as me. Almost.....








This is not The Architect. He is The Publisher. Apparently the women at the launch found him attractive. I'd never noticed. (Ahem...)





Mark Dapin. I was thrilled he agreed to launch my book. And.... er.... dress up for the occasion.

116 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful night! Well done you! I wish I had been there especially for the champagne and sing-a-long bit!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats again Kerri! It looks like everyone, particularly you, had an amazing time. Yay x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Honey I am yet to recover. Great night lovely lady xxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Was a great night. Thanks for having me. x

    ReplyDelete
  5. I missed the champagne abuse and sing-a-long, but had a fantastic time regardless! I'm so glad you enjoyed it all. You deserve it!

    And thank you for letting me pat you. It was an honour I will be sure to tell to my children over and over again xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations Kerri. Sounds like an amazing night and I can't think of anyone more deserving. I can't wait for signed copy (thanks Denyse) to arrive xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats! I think this needs to go to my sister :D

    ReplyDelete
  8. so happy for you Kerri. Will have a belated drink for you now ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fabo night, Kerri. Thanks for having us there. Completely enjoyed singing with you. I thought we all sounded utterly fabulous. But then, after all the champers I consumed that night, who really knows...

    PS I loved how Mark kept referring to your book as 'When My Husband Does the Washing Up.' Hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like a great night! I've added your book to my Mother's Day wishlist!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Despite drinking so much champagne, I think I may have burnt my oesophagus, I had such a great night. What a gorgeous bunch of people celebrating such a gorgeous clever lady!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kid in a Lolly ShopApril 30, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    Today I have another hangover. Or maybe it's the same one, briefly broken by another round of drinking. Either way, I am still feeling the impact of that champagne.

    I had a great time. Thank you for inviting me and congratulations again.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congratulations, Kerri .We all had a fabulous time. Were you there , as well ?......

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tara@WafflingAlongApril 30, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    Thank-you so much for allowing me to guzzle champagne in your honour. What a wonderful evening, I'm still riding the high of meeting you and all the other fabulous Tweeps and Bloggers. I look forward to the release of your baton twirling demonstration dvd. xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am peeved that I did not ask you to get me a personalised signed copy of Kerri's book!

    Glad it was a great night Kerri, which pub did you hit? (I lived in Queen St for 18 years).

    ReplyDelete
  16. OH MY GOD!!! I forgot the baton twirling!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Centennial. We had the whole front bar. It was amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I was the one who jumped on you when you walked in the door, prompting my mother to enquire politely 'Who was that gentleman you were embracing?'

    ReplyDelete
  19. SO glad to have you there LGC. You are gorgeous. x

    ReplyDelete
  20. And don't forget you had the hair 'do' of the night.... xxx

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'd forgotten!!!!!!!! That was hysterical. 'Close your eyes...' x

    ReplyDelete
  22. Excellent! Hope she doesn't relate too much.... x

    ReplyDelete
  23. Denyse did her job very well! I remember signing it!!! x

    ReplyDelete
  24. That was so funny. But you have such a lovely gentle touch..... xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  25. You are SO welcome. Thanks for coming hon. We MUST get together with slightly fewer people around! x

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sorry, can't answer, playing with my keyring.

    ReplyDelete
  27. You do NOT wish to have been there for the sing-a-long. But maybe the rest! x

    ReplyDelete
  28. Have a few. I did. (Using 'few' in the sense of 'few dozen') xxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you again for a wonderful night - it was so great to finally meet you face to face! I am LOVING your book!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  30. Congratulations Kerrie!!! What an achievement and what superb underarms....Now just to get my hands on the book!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thank you again for a wonderful night - it was so great to finally meet you face to face! I am LOVING your book!!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  32. So sorry I missed it honey. Seemed like I was the only person in the known universe who loves you that was not there to wish you well. Was in bed toasting you with the last vestiges of my antibiotics.
    Will have to get you to sign my copy of the book once you sober up and remember what your name is.
    M xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm so glad I was there. And so glad we did the YTT thing. And extremely glad that everyone was equally as "over-indulged" that no-one could hear that I'm tone-deaf ... clearly that was why I never made it on the actual show. So, so excited for you.

    ReplyDelete
  34. So why wasn't I introduced ?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Congrats again Kerri!! It was an awesome night!!

    And dude, the impromptu singing was like the highlight for me!;)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Which one of you should I now call Mrs Mac?

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm so glad! And it was fab to meet you too! Mum says hi xxx

    ReplyDelete
  38. I am proud of the book, but even more proud of the underarms.

    ReplyDelete
  39. It was incredible and you were very much missed. Still not sure of my name but do remember it's not Ken. x

    ReplyDelete
  40. You are STUNNING. You should have been on the show for looks alone. Stuff singing voice....

    ReplyDelete
  41. Just WISH Joey Perrone had been there!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Where do I start? What an incredible, awesome night. I have launch envy. Am not sure what my favourite memory is... your panic attack on the way to the book shop, asking Caroline Overington "Who ARE you?" when she came up to say hello (having very kindly just read and blurbed my new novel), asking your publisher if he would take me on if A&U dump me- and then calling him a dog when we had to put him in the back of your car on the way to the after- party, putting my hand up @stellaorbit's dress to check for night undies, having @deemadigan ask me how my Kegels were going before we'd even said hi, trying not to laugh as tweep after tweep walked up to @booktopia and said "Ooh, you're tall", warning our shared lit agent of our plans for her reproductive future, inhaling @anjwrites's cold pizza at about midnight without even asking her because I really had to eat something soon, agreeing to do a book review because Lana handed over the said book with a free glass of champagne, getting my Phil with Bern, rescuing the $50 notes blowing out of your bag and down Oxford Street at the end of the night, having Mark Dapin tell me "I know something about you but I can't remember what it is".....

    All good memories. Better was the great champagne and atmosphere, even better was meeting 50 or so FABULOUS tweeps who I had never met before and finally putting avs to faces, but best of all was watching you. The joy and delight and pride and great big smile on your face as you celebrated this enormous milestone was a treat to behold. We are all so proud of you. Thank you SO much for making me a part of it. xxxxxxx

    PS. That bit where we were both in our undies in your bedroom within an hour of meeting was grouse too.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Congrats Kerri - you must be so proud. I love Mark Dapin too.

    ReplyDelete
  44. It was seven shades of surreal walking in and seeing the past two years of life in Twitter shimmer past me in sparkle of champagne bubbles, hugs and kisses. Thank you for the invitation - I felt truly privileged to share that with you x

    ReplyDelete
  45. So, that's what I've got to look forward to!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Thank you for inviting me to share in such a special night. It was the best night ever. The fact that so many wonderful people travelled from near & far to share it with you is testament to the beautiful person you are. Highlight for me was the threesome in the pod with you and Kylie. Stuff fantasies are made of. Jealous I missed the undies in the bedroom part. Next time. Love you long time beautiful lady. xx

    ReplyDelete
  47. Congrats on what sounded like an amazing night! xo

    ReplyDelete
  48. Congratulations. I loved the book so much - sounds like the launch more than lived up to it. So glad you had a fabulous night...and no pressure or anything, but really looking forward to buying your next book :)

    ReplyDelete
  49. Congratulations on your big night! Saw it on the shelves today, will get myself a copy soon! Enjoy the ride...

    ReplyDelete
  50. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
    How did I miss meeting you????
    Kerri am afraid you will have to have another book launch....

    ReplyDelete
  51. (Plauren from Twitter by the way!)

    ReplyDelete
  52. whoops sorry kerri - that doesn't belong there :)
    will make up for it by posting by feedback for you book so far which i think is BEYOND BRILLIANT!!!
    And thanks for a fab night on Thursday. It was definitely worth dumping the kids at the airport for!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  53. oops i am stuffing up kerri's blog trying to tell you it's plauren from twitter by the way :)

    ReplyDelete
  54. pls excuse spelling, typos, grammer etc....trying to do this concurrently with putting kids to bed...both unsuccessfully

    ReplyDelete
  55. And last one and then I will leave your poor blog alone (I am making up for a year's worth of absence!!): I was expecting to see The Architect as a window installation complete with sink & pink washing up gloves, rather than mingling with the crowds.....

    ReplyDelete
  56. Mazel tov on THE.best.book launch.EVER.
    Walking into Ariel and seeing your two worlds in one room, was awesome.
    I loved having the opportunity to meet the people in real life that I communicate with online everyday.
    You, as always, looked gorgeous and very, very happy.
    I, for one, was incredibly proud of you.
    Thank you for e-viting me.

    N x

    ReplyDelete
  57. You know how people can cry and laugh at the same time? That's me right about now. (And I had TOTALLY forgotten poor Mark stuck in the back of my car with his legs around his ears - that was indeed special.) LOVE YOU xxx

    ReplyDelete
  58. He was AWESOME. Late, but AWESOME. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  59. Other surreal moment of the night - hearing you speak!!! I could listen to your accent forever! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  60. You too hon. And we'll be in our undies in the pod. It's only fair. x

    ReplyDelete
  61. I promise to start writing again soon! Just have to come down from where I am floating around the ceiling.... xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  62. Thank you! If your name is 'Nappydaze', I suspect you'll enjoy! x

    ReplyDelete
  63. Can I tell you - I was SO thrilled you made it. THRILLED. It meant a huge amount to me. Big love to you hon xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  64. Thank you darling. And you looked AMAZING. Which is good, seeing as I took your styling advice.... xxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  65. Still feeling unwell but it may have been the cooties I picked up from eating the strangers kebab. Or the 4 champagnes. Or the 3 French martinis. Or hugging everyone within arms distance. Write another book ASAP so we can do it all again. Xxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  66. Let me know when I can start with the begging letters

    ReplyDelete
  67. Congrats again Kerri, thrilled you had an awesome night! Big love xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  68. Just reading the above and your comments, wow, where the fuck was I? I missed so much.

    Read 86 pages of your book on my 1 hr plane ride home. Laughed so much and identified with just about every page. Maybe a little too much with the bit about snipping off your child's finger when cutting their nails.

    Loving it and you to bits. xx

    ReplyDelete
  69. Massive #girlcrush :-)

    ReplyDelete
  70. Wow, that sounds like quite a launch!! I am a HUGE fan of your blog, read it all the time, and can't wait to get my hands on your book - so excited. I'm a Melbourne gal so couldn't be there but was there in spirit. Are you doing a Melbourne launch too? Or should I just buy it (unsigned- sob, sob) here? Do you know what bookshops stock it?? OK, enough questions. Congrats xxx

    ReplyDelete
  71. arrived home 6 hours ago and promptly fell asleep. reading back through this is reminding me so much of the wonderful night i had (and a vague recollecting of discussing the relative merits of Gatsby vs Jane Eyre with Booktopia Boy — wow, am i a boring drunk!).

    thank you for your generosity and hospitality. it felt like coming home … xt

    ReplyDelete
  72. Hello! No Melb launch, but it will be available in all good bookstores on Monday, and if it's not in your local store they can order it in for you. I know Big W etc are all stocking it. Otherwise you can buy it online from Booktopia - just use the link on the right on this blog! And thank you so much for the support! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  73. It was SO good and so hilarious to see everyone shrieking and saying 'oh it's YOU' when they saw a tweep! Oh and I loved how I managed to be felt up by Kylie and stand next to @electric589 and @booktopia and @AnnieB25 at the same time! Gold. Loved it! Had a fabulous time and what an excuse to spend two days in my favourite town. Thank you thank you. And thanks to everyone who was there for making it such a wonderful evening. xox

    ReplyDelete
  74. Thanks for inviting me spunk. Totally worth all the craziness to get there. Love ya xxx

    ReplyDelete
  75. I am framing your note. Love to you and your bosoongas.x

    ReplyDelete
  76. I thought I replied to this! But it's gone! Maybe I shall reply twice. Thank YOU for all the fashion advice, and you looked GORGEOUS. Big kisses x

    ReplyDelete
  77. Fendi honey, I was honored to be mistaken for your missus.

    Guess that cat's out of the bag now, everyone knows we exist!

    ReplyDelete
  78. I had a great time Kerri, loved meeting you and all the fabulous tweeps :) thank you for inviting me :)

    ReplyDelete
  79. Such a pleasure, and SO great to meet you!! x

    ReplyDelete
  80. Was divine to have you there, I have a TON of pics of the two of us, will send you some xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  81. I tried to reply to you but it's gone (or maybe I'm still drunk) - hon, it was one of the highlights of my night to have you turn up. I was THRILLED. Thank you. Big love xxx

    ReplyDelete
  82. Writing!!!!! (okay, so I'm blogging and tweeting right now, but in general... writing!!!) xxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  83. You were fantastic. What a party girl. Loved meeting you!!! xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  84. I was stuck in bed too Mia, I'm still sulking! Loves you Kerri x

    ReplyDelete
  85. It was fantastic ... you are SO beautiful. My highlight was running over to the table when you started singing "All my Loving" ... and I belted out the harmony, unabashed, because I'm shy like that. Then I felt sad when I silently remembered that my one true love from YTT was gay. Curse you, John Bowles!

    I cannot wait to read your book.

    The Architect is a spunk and your children are gorgeous.

    ~endeth~

    ReplyDelete
  86. Just discovered it comes in a Kindle version!!! Yayy!

    Should I start writing to your publisher to schedule a NYC signing. (Yeah, I'll buy the hardcover so you won't have to sign my Kindle.)

    ReplyDelete
  87. You are a beautiful, caring, loving and funny woman. Those of us at your Book Launch - answering for me here - were not there for the champers, or to peek at the Publisher, nor to see each other ( slight white lie) ... We (I) loved being there for
    Y OU.. Yep! You. Loved meeting you.. And thanks for ignoring 'my won't fit in rubbish' ...... It was a real love-fest.. Love for you, your hub, kids, family (love your family!)and friends... Love Denyse xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  88. Oh yes - I'll sign your stomach if you get me to NYC!! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  89. John Bowles is GAY????????
    Love you Eden xxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  90. Just bought your book at Readings in Malvern (in Melbourne).... eeek! Am so excited to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  91. I behaved didn't I . DIDN'T I ?

    ReplyDelete
  92. Danya, I would be proud to have you as my mistress, SORRY MISSUS !.... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  93. Was great. You'd better come to the next one!

    ReplyDelete
  94. It's impossible to know what to mention!! Amazing night Kerri, hope you didn't miss too much in the great wave of adrenalin. I do wonder if your feet have quite felt the ground yet. Personal highlights include: finally meeting so many tweeps up close n personal (too many to list), met @Fender4Eva and got a kiss on the cheek, champers with Danya, @GabFran checked out my shoes (quelle honneur!), being introudced to your lovely parents…it goes on! But especially watching on as you had your moment of glory, and getting a totally fab photo taken with you, signing my book ‘Ken’. xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  95. Sounds like a great night. Congrats.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Oh, you were there??!!! I knew you were a 'maybe'. Should have asked Kerri to point you out. Bummer!!!

    ReplyDelete
  97. I was SOOOOOO jealous of everyone who got to go to your launch. Especially after you were kind enough to invite me. Glad to hear you had such a quiet, literary evening befitting an author such as yourself. xo

    ReplyDelete
  98. LOL. Yes, that's exactly what it was like. Quiet and literary!! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  99. Kerri, the night belonged to you. It was your triumph, and rightly so xxx

    ReplyDelete
  100. What Fender said. It was a magical night x

    ReplyDelete
  101. Right now, this moment, you are living the dream, Kerri. I read your book and I loved it. It made me laugh. It was very 'you' and by that I mean the you I have come to know through your blog. I was very glad for that!! Enjoy the ride. x

    ReplyDelete
  102. Thank you SO much! That means a lot coming from an uber blogger like you. Truly. Big kisses xxx

    ReplyDelete

Thanks! Love hearing from you.

Like it? Share it!