Awesome Launch Party
Monday, April 28, 2008I’ve been zipping from town to town during the last week. Portland on Monday, San Francisco Tuesday, Los Angeles Wednesday, Phoenix Thursday, Salt Lake Friday, and Boise Saturday. There have been great signings at every stop, but the launch party in Salt Lake City was one of the highlights of my writing career so far.
My publisher rented a big auditorium and we filled all but some of the upper balcony seats. Well over 2,000 people showed up. There was an amazing energy in the room. Several of my friends from my comedy troupe days warmed up the audience, and then I came on stage and had a lot of fun talking about the book 3 launch, the origins of some of my ideas, and where the Fablehaven series is headed.
We had people from all over the state of Utah in attendance. I became aware of people who flew and drove in from Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, California, and Ohio. I played foosball against Noah Powell, who won a contest and was flown to the event from California. He was a really cool kid and we had fun.
At the end, at least a thousand people stood in line and we blazed through hundreds and hundreds of signatures. The illustrator for my books, Brandon Dorman, was in attendance as well, signing books and posters. I normally like to take enough time to get to know every person in line, but that would have made for a 14-hour signing, so I blazed through only signing my name and chatting briefly, while people from my publisher kept cracking the whip to keep me on task. Even so, the signing took over three hours. If you were in that line, sorry I was in a rush, but it was for everybody’s good. The people at the back of the line might have resorted to cannibalism. Catch me on another night and we’ll get a better chance to chat!
Overall, the launch party was one of those nights that I will never forget. It was amazing to have so many people who have been enjoying my books under one roof with a party atmosphere.
Now I’m gearing up for a flurry of Eastern cities: St. Louis, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Washington D.C., and Enfield, Connecticut.
My sister Summer (who tours with me) and I should be running on fumes by the end. Wish us luck!
Labels: Brandon Mull, Fablehaven, Launch Party, tour
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on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 9:31 AM.
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April 28, 2008 4:01 PM
Mr. Mull, I'm looking forward to you coming to Michigan! We're a tiny state and barely anyone comes to visit us. I just finished The Grip of the Shadow Plague barely an hour ago. Wow, talk about epic! Man, what twists, exciting action and the good guys majorly scored (I hate it when the heroes have to go through endless torment to no avail) AND there was a nice undercurrent of romance, too! Thank you for writing such amazing books and taking time away from your family to come visit your far reaching fans!
Hopefully we'll see you soon!