The photo above is by Chuck Erion, who posted it on my timeline on Facebook.
The first two events promoting Icarus Down have come and gone, and I think a good time was had by all. This past Sunday, I headed into Toronto to attend Word on the Street. I appeared early in the morning, reading alongside Kevin Sylvester and Meaghan McIssac on a panel moderated by Angela Misri (all authors of excellent books, by the way).
The panel had a good buzz, and there was a good crowd. I felt good about the reading, and appreciated getting a chance to spend the rest of the day seeing other panels and meeting other authors, like Mahtab Narsimhan and Kenneth Oppel. I finished off the day seeing JM Frey and others talking about the sold out (but soon to be released!) book The Secret Loves of Geek Girls (I hope to get my copy shortly).
Erin couldn’t attend, unfortunately, though she was at a Word on the Street event of her own. She was called back to Lethbridge, where she had a great time debuting Swan Riders. The kids and I missed her, and were a little jealous not to be off on her adventure, but I still appreciated the adventure of my own.
Events like Word on the Street really do help give writers a kick in the pants — at least, in my experience. Seeing all of these writers, and people who love to read, come together, helps remind us how big and vibrant this community is, and it makes me all the more appreciative that I’m a part of it.
The following Tuesday, Words Worth Books hosted a four-author launch party event. Myself, Erin, R.J. Anderson and Casey Lyall all presented from our various books and took questions afterwards. It was a great event, with over forty people coming out, and the store running out of seats. We signed books afterwards and chatted with attendees.
All in all, it has been a good couple of days for Icarus Down. I would like to thank the organizers who put these events together and everybody who came out for these events. I feel good about how things went, and I think it bodes well for the book.
There’s more promotion to come, of course. Erin and I are heading into Toronto tomorrow to attend a joint launch of Icarus Down and Swan Riders at Bakka-Phoenix Books at Harbord and Spadina. The event takes place at 3 p.m., so I hope that you all can make it. It should be a fun time. Then Erin will be heading to Calgary, then Vancouver, and then Rossland, BC, for festival and writer-in-resident duties for most of October. More events are happening in November, and I will be keeping you posted. Stay tuned.