SOULLESS BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

Food ~ Savory

• Fig & Onion Tart
• Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Bear Claws
• Roasted Red Pepper & Cheese Vine Squares
• Apples & Cheddar & Walnuts
• Petite Quiche Lorraine
• Petite Quiche Florentine
• Snodgrove’s Delight Watercress Sandwiches
• Egg & Mayonnaise Sandwiches
• Cucumber Sandwiches
• Cheese & Chutney Sandwiches
• Cheddar Chive Scones with Spicy Pepper Jelly & Cream Cheese
• Pickled Onions
• Mum’s Special Scotch Eggs & Chutney
• Mushrooms stuffed with Spinach & Cheese & Dill & Walnut
• Ricotta & Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Croissants
• Escargot Brioche

Food ~ Sweet

• Assorted Cookies
• Quisnel’s Candied Orange Peal
• Iced Homemade Shortbread
• Caramel Bordeaux
• Lemon Bars
• Swiss Almond Crunch
• Chocolate Bordeaux
• Swedish Ginger Snaps
• Treacle Tart
• Lemon Mint Turkish Delight
• Vanilla Meringues
• Mincemeat Tarts
• Lemon Turkish Delight
• Macaroons
• Raspberry Mousse Chocolate Cups with Berry Clotted Cream
• Espresso Chip Squares with Coffee Mousse Layer Cake

Rach, Iz, Lor, Will, Katie, Kimmie, Nessa, Kitty & Melissa transformed themselves into my “staff” and worked their steampunk magic gliding about in Floote-like glory with tea and trays off food.

Chris took himself out into the Hallway to act as town crier. Britt began snapping photos. Phran became Locus Press in action.

Savi became the bionic bar tending machine.

The four characters took on full measure of their personas, complete with flirting, chatting, accents, and meaty sandwich hidden in waistcoat pocket.

Everyone sang me “Happy Book Day” I warned them we’d get slammed around 10 PM. Door opened at 8 PM and . . . we were slammed. It was pretty much packed until around 10:30.

Some highlights:

• Jude offering to get me tape for my poster ~ Borderlands is like Floote, deadly useful.
• Tor editor Liz’s steampunk outfit with its tiny gun that dropped down a little flag that said “STET.”

• Phran’s expression when she ate treacle tart for the first time. “Wow, this is deliciously disgusting!” “Now you know why it’s funny in the book.”
• Jack dragging me about to meet one important person after another, which was very reminiscent of BEA.

• Savi carding my editor. Editor’s response: “Best party EVAH, I just got carded by an Armenian lover!”
• Brent Weeks and company torturing said editor with booze, pointed questions, and possible YouTube humiliation.

• Melissa receiving a marriage proposal over her amazing homemade shortbread, which earned said drunken coast guard the unenviable name of the “Shortbread Fiancé.”

Yeah, it was a lovely party. There’s a whole bunch more photos over on flickr. Here’s Orbit’s summation if you are hungry for more, and one of my fellow Orbit author’s, the lovely Mr. Bennett also has some very nice things to say. (No, Austen fans, not that Mr. Bennett.)

Quote of the Day:

“Stupidity is no excuse of not thinking.”

~ Stanislaw Jerzy Lec