We spent part of our spring break vacation "up north" so that I could get my final chemo treatment. While we were there, I found out that Brandon Mull was having his launch party for the last book in his Beyonders series. I'm a big fan of Brandon Mull, and so are my kids. Not only are his books great, but he's a really friendly guy (I got to meet him last year at the LTUE conference), and I've heard he does some awesome stuff with his free launch parties. I've always wanted to go.
But I was afraid the party would be too crowded. I did some research on the Internet to see if I could get a feel for just how crowded it would be. I didn't find out much, but I did read one blog where a dad overheard some kids at an earlier Brandon Mull launch party. One kid surveyed the wild crowd and said, "Gee! You'd think he was a rock star." A second kid said, "Well, he kind-of is." I think that's totally awesome: that we have author rock stars!
So, I wavered on whether to go or not until my sister said she'd like to join us, and that pushed me over the fence, so to speak. We went.
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| The bad guy, Maldor, looks way too happy. |
The crowds weren't as bad as I expected. That was probably because we arrived an hour early. We got a decent place in line. The time passed quickly as we got to take our pictures with characters from the books and purchase souvenir T-shirts. I was sorely tempted to blow the cost of a chemo treatment on books, especially when my sister came back with a sack full. But I staunchly resisted. I told myself I'll get the ebook versions: then I won't have to try and squeeze new books onto my already over-stuffed shelves.
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| Me with Fablehaven's Newel; or is it Doren? |
The "party" is really more of a stage show, featuring Brandon Mull's buddies in DC Comedy. It started with a skit of a support group of authors--including such heavy hitters as Richard Paul Evans, Christopher Paolini, Brandon Sanderson (who was a bodyguard!), and of course Brandon Mull--who recite the rules of their organization, like "Just because someone doesn't like my book doesn't mean they hate me. They just hate everything I think is cool and awesome." It was hilarious!
DC Comedy threw out glow sticks, but our section didn't get any because they kept going into the balcony instead. Still, it was fun to watch the crowd waving their glow sticks around between comedy skits.
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| With a Fablehaven fairy and a couple of ladies from Beyonders. |
By the end of the show, my hands hurt from clapping so much. I really enjoyed it! And I know my kids did too. They have proudly worn their shirts almost constantly since then. (I really need to convince them to take a break and wash them.)
I came away with my head swimming with ideas for my own book launch party, when I finally get to that point. You're definitely all invited!
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| The show is about to start. We're so excited! |
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| The girls with their aunt. We loved having her along! |
