In my library, there's nothing unusual about coming into work on the day of your late shift and finding the back work room empty. It's a busy branch. We're running all over the place. However, it is unusual to have your supervisor say she wants to meet with you in private. I've been there for 2 1/2 years and that's never happened...not even once. So when the head of Info Services said she wanted to speak with me in the back room, I was more than curious. Okay, I admit it. As a chronic worrier, I was stressed.
While I came up with a multitude of possible scenarios about what the meeting was going to be about, a surprise book launch party was not one of them. Thanks to my supervisor's considerable acting talents and my colleagues' stealth planning, I had no idea it was party time. It's funny how you can be in a total state of shock and yet take in every detail at the same time.
Imagine walking into a room filled with music from the sixties, lots of people, amazing food, the first moon walk video on the TV, a table filled with vintage toys, cut outs of images from the book, Apollo 11 postcards and so much more.
And the food...let's talk about the food. Any morsel mentioned in my book was on that table. Oreo cookies. Apple jacks. We drank Tang! Plus there were tons of old time treats. Remember Pop Rocks! And pop corn.
There was a beautiful home-made cake, shaped like the moon, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on top of it.
This party was filled with surprises. All those goodies they had on the table, they gave me a gift! So now I have kick balls, a Barbie doll (by the way, this is my very first Barbie) a gigantic Slinky, a coin of the moon walk, ice cream cones filled with bubbles, cards filled with good wishes and wonderful memories.
To all those who came to the party and to everyone who planned it, I never imagined anything like this. I am overwhelmed by your support and enthusiasm. And I am grateful for your friendship. Thank you.
Here are some pictures. I don't have one of the incredible food table. But here's the other table.
These are the cut-outs. Check out the attitude on Barbie.
Here are some of the party goers. The woman standing in the very front is Elaine McConnell, director of the entire library system. She's reading the review from BookPage http://tiny.cc/yAcsN which came out on the same day as the party.
Here's me by the Ramble Street sign. Clearly, I am still in shock. I so love the Ramble Street sign.
In case you're wondering what's in that Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle Prize Package that Cynthea Liu is auctioning off to raise money for a Title I school in her home state of Oklahoma, here are the details.
One signed copy of Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
A Slinky (not a cheap plastic thing -- a metal one, like the one in the story)
A box of Fizzies (A 1960s favorite. You drop a Fizzie tablet into a glass of water and watch it fizz. The cherry ones are guaranteed to turn your tongue a brilliant magenta. They're also a good source of vitamin C so you get all that fun and good nutrition too).
A coffee mug from the incorporated village of Massapequa Park and an I-Heart-Massapequa-Park pin. (Massapequa Park is the setting for the story and my home town. These are classics. It's not like you can walk into a gift store and buy these -- even in Massapequa.)
A 1960s-style spaced-aged stress-reducing alien toy. (From the box: "watch your troubles melt away when you make the creature's features bulge out of its head!")
A box of Krishes home-made candy. (It wasn't mentioned in the story, but this store was around in 1969. I have no doubt that Tamara, Muscle Man and the rest of the gang from Ramble Street spent many hours here. This candy is famous. One taste of Krishes home-made chocolate and you will wish you grew up in Massapequa Park too.)
Oh and yes, those are tootsie rolls in that photo
There are lots of other goodies being auctioned off at Cynthea's Paris Pan Takes a Dare book launch. Check out the rest of the auction. If you're a writer, bid on a critique from an author, editor or agent. The money raised will go to buy leveled readers for a school in need. As Cynthea says, 'take the dare, show you care.' A whole bunch of kids will be grateful for your kindness.
Here's yesterday's Twitter interview with my editor, Nancy Mercado. It's posted in reverse chronological order so it makes more sense if you start from the bottom and work your way up.These are the tweets with the hashtag #NAIMU.
I'm a Twitter newbie and had no idea it could be so much fun. Thanks to everyone who participated and tuned in. And thanks to Nancy Mercado for coming up with this Twitter chat/experiment idea and for being so awesome!
editorgurlIn your case, I just felt like the story was done. If you get several editors in a room, they will always have a different take! #naimu about 10 hours ago from web
editorgurlI believed both "voices" in this book. Tamara b/c she is so human, so flawed. Muscle Man b/c of his ability to wear Tamara down! #naimu about 10 hours ago from web
editorgurlFor me it comes down to how much do I believe this voice? If voice says something "true" about human nature and I feel it in my gut. #naimu about 10 hours ago from web
editorgurlYou were so open to feedback and precise in your revisions (adding only what was needed!) that it made editing this bk a breeze. #naimu about 10 hours ago from web
editorgurlHa, that is so true. We are blinded by our love of the main character and we can't see the truth. Good thing, then, for reviewers! #naimu about 11 hours ago from web
editorgurlFunny, b/c I’ve NEVER seen her that way. To me Tamara's just a little girl who’s hurting. I understand the "why" behind her actions. #naimu about 11 hours ago from web
WriterRossNan and Nancy: that's not weird. You have to love the book you're going to be moving in with for the rest of your life. ;> #naimu about 11 hours ago from web
editorgurlThis sounds weird, but I feel like I publish a book b/c the book has something to teach me and I have something to offer back to it. #naimu about 11 hours ago from web
editorgurlBuilding trust with an author and getting a revision back and seeing how it’s “magically” changed in ways I couldn't have imagined! #naimu about 11 hours ago from web
nanmarinoThose moments of discovery, when everything comes together and you learn something new about your character and your story. #NAIMU about 12 hours ago from web
editorgurl@nanmarino and I are going interview each other on twitter, next Wednesday morning (6/10) at 10 am. Please tune in! #naimu is the hash tag. 5 days ago from web
These are the cut-outs. Check out the attitude on Barbie. 
Here are some of the party goers. The woman standing in the very front is Elaine McConnell, director of the entire library system. She's reading the review from BookPage http://tiny.cc/yAcsN which came out on the same day as the party.
Here's me by the Ramble Street sign. Clearly, I am still in shock. I so love the Ramble Street sign.
