Okay, I'll admit it: half the fun of having a book launch is coming up with great swag and a theme to show off your book cover. I've had incredible luck with my cover design for INDELIBLE and having been sitting on pins & needles waiting for an excuse to showcase it as the Belle of the Ball and here was my chance, a.k.a. my launch party!

Anyone who knows me (or at least has been following this blog) knows that, for me, this boils down to two major considerations: food and scheme. By "scheme" I mean, "how many shiny things I can find to make everything pretty," and by food, I of course mean "chocolate."

I knew I wanted to capture the feeling cover art by using flowers and chocolates that reflected the almost glowing yellows, oranges and browns of the burning rose brand. I decided in the interest of not tempting Fate--knowing my propensity for injuring myself close to major life events--I wisely steered clear of trying anything involving fire/burnt/burning (proving, yes, I *DO* learn) and even refrained from doing something completely insane like making long stem candy roses petal-by-petal or using elaborate molds (which, I knew after the painted skull lollipop experiment a.k.a. the LUMINOUS launch, can take an awfully long time and lead to errant babbling and/or drooling), so I decided to do something only slightly insane: creating chocolate rose candies in the appropriate colors that could be simply picked up and eaten.

Easy peasy! I found colored white chocolate and dark chocolate microwavable wafers and poured them into simple rose molds, popping out a dozen at a shot. Pop! Pop! Pop! They looked lovely...but plain. And then I discovered that instead of doing all solid-colored flowers, I could *marbleize* them...oooOOOooo! Okay, so I went a little more insane:

If "insane" means gorgeously decadent, then color me insane! Oh, wait... (P.S. Yum!)

Indeed, they made a pretty picture! All I needed then were the right accoutrements to set the stage like bookmarks, a copper rose, mottled gold serving bowls, bunches of champagne grapes (an inside joke from the book!), bronze-colored napkins and yellow-orange roses, which I was able to snag from a local supermarket:

So luscious! Almost like they were MADE for this event! I can't tell you how happy these made me!!!

I stood back proudly, knowing that I'd scratched that hostess itch without making myself (and my family) too bonkers. After all, this is how EVERYONE celebrates their launch, isn't it? ...Yeah, well, that's how I roll.

The finished display displayed!

Thus prepped, I couldn't wait to go back to The Odyssey Bookshop to welcome my newest book into the world! The wonderful staff is smart, friendly and professional and always has something fun waiting in the wings--this time it was rose-stenciled glitter tattoos (that were a huge hit with everyone and lasted for DAYS!) painted expertly on by the Odyssey's teen intern who was both a delight and an expert at minimizing sparkle damage!

Then I got to talk about the inspiration for the story, my favorite characters and parts from the book, a little about my writing journey and a short-n-sweet passage highlighting Joy and Monica (because I don't think friendship gets enough good press--don't get me wrong, romantic love is wonderful, but it's our friends who support us through a lifetime of thick and thin and being "just friends" is often much, much more than "just" enough! In fact, I had my best friend of 20+ years there in the front row and my bestest best friend, a.k.a. my husband, there with my kids!) The night ended with signings and laughter and chocolate, which is, in my opinion, the best way it could go.

*And* I got to sign a giant poster of INDELIBLE that will be offered up as a prize in some upcoming Odyssey Books shenanigans as well as a bunch of copies which are available for purchase at Odyssey Books should you miss one of the other signings going on. I don't want you to miss out! (Click here for more information!)

All in all, a perfect evening. Here's proof:

Dream BIG! Because dreams can come true.

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