Hard to fly a kite in the rain…

July 1, 2012 really was going to be great day in the history of FLYING THE DRAGON. Barnes & Noble even had the poster set up and everything. There was going to be cake!

CAKE!! Decorated with the cover art for the book.

But, as we learned this past Monday when author Natalie Dias Lorenzi posted about the rainout/blackout of her book launch, the best laid plans and all that.

For a debut novelist, the planning and anticipation for the first book launch event are the culmination of a lifelong dream suddenly coming true. People are showing up to get your signature on your book, there’s a poster with your name on it, it’s an EVENT. For YOUR book!

Dream. Come. True.

But, as I said, it’s hard to fly a kite in the rain:

And there was a lot of rain. And wind. And, as Natalie discovered, blackouts.

So, how important is the BOOK LAUNCH?

Because that’s what we’re talking about. One book launch at one Barnes & Noble.

I know Natalie and all of us here at EMU’s Debuts are grateful and thankful and happy that the physical and emotional toll of this storm system were not greater. To those who lived through it, losing power in the heat, losing trees and property in the storm, our prayers go out to you and we hope all the best for all of you.

In the grand scheme of things, one missed book launch event would probably qualify as ‘best case scenario’ since we can all imagine far worse from a storm of this magnitude.

So, how important is that book launch?

Compared to the safety and well-being of our friends and family who lived through it, not all that important, actually.

In the end, the celebration for this wonderful book will keep going, both at Barnes & Noble and elsewhere. FLYING THE DRAGON will be supported by friends, family and strangers, read and adored with and without cake.

Come on—go up! Fly!