Yesterday, An and I had our official book launch party sponsored by Milestones at Yonge and Sheppard in Toronto. We had an amazing time, people came by to buy our book and have it signed. Snacks were eaten, sangria was drank, it was great!

Later on, An hosted a great afterparty where more snacks were served including cake. We played Cards Against Humanity (an evil game) and just had a fun time. I would definitely call the day a success!

Next weekend it's Pirate Festival time! August 17 we are at Indigo at Bay and Bloor for a signing, and then... FanExpo!

Now, some launch pictures:

My crazy busy summer is definitely full to overflowing with things I need to get done, and things I've committed to doing. And to top it all off, I've become an Arbonne consultant. First of all I love the products, second of all, some people I respect very much have taken me under their wing and I have met so many amazing people and heard so many fascinating stories, which, money aside, as a writer is just incredible. I have never seen such a close-knit group who support each other's endeavours so whole-heartedly.

Back to writing! My chair that I had in my office was an old chair I got from my Bubbie Minnie. She was my dad's mom and I took her chair. It looks like an old wooden dining room chair with mustard yellow corduroy on the seat cushion. Not great for sitting for long periods of time at a desk in front of a computer. So today, while my husband and I were at Staples, I found a new chair and just bit the bullet and bought it. So far, my back thanks me.

More exciting news! An and I are having our official book launch this Saturday at Milestones at Empress Walk (5095 Yonge Street) between 2-4 pm. If you're in the GTA, stop on by! I'd also like to give a giant "thank you" to Milestones for sponsoring our launch. Guys! We have a sponsor! This is too awesome!

I am still making progress on the third Hadariah book and the sequel for Sitnalta. Slow and steady everyone. Maybe now that I can sit for longer at my desk, I'll stop it with the lame excuses. Okay, my chair and Candy Crush. That game is pure evil.

Well summer is gearing up to be a busy busy time! An and I will have a very exciting announcement coming up about a Bath Salts launch party this month. Stay tuned for that! You will not want to miss it if you're in the Toronto Area. It's sure to be a wild time. No one throws a party like An Tran, and with the two of us colluding on it, well... hilarity should ensue! Preliminary plans involve food, drinks, and zombies walking around. Now we just need to find zombies...

Speaking of zombies, we have officially signed up for Toronto's Zombie Walk as vendors for this October! I know it seems like a long time away, but you have to plan ahead. I am excited about this one! Me, An, and thousands o zombies set loose on the streets of Toronto. I have been practising my makeup application to look sufficiently zombie-like. I think I may have to go with the stage makeup look I did on myself when I played Beth in Little Women as she was dying horribly. It looked sickly from the audience point of view with the stage lights, but up close, everyone said I looked like a member of the undead.

Also coming up this summer, An and I will be returning to The Pirate Festival! Yaar! We will be selling both Bath Salts and the new Prizm Books version of The Strings of the Violin. Come on down and see us in full pirate wench garb in our awesome tent! Later that month we will be official guests at the Toronto FanExpo along with Max Brooks (so excited about that!), Lena Heady, and George Takei! Norman Reedus will be back, as well as his Walking Dead brother Michael Rooker.

As for my other books, Book Three of the Hadariah chronicles is underway, I have started a sequel to Sitnalta, and I have a new novel idea that will be set in Sitnalta's universe tentatively title The City of Arches. Also, Sitnalta is scheduled for release this August as well. I have been having weekly phone meetings with my Pandamoon editor, and everything is right on track. I am so excited!

This month is also the Toronto Fringe Festival, and like every year I have a whole list of shows I'd love to see there, and hopefully I will get to at least most of them, if not all. There seems to be quite a few Shakespearean spoofs going on this year, one of which has puppets. I have to say that this intrigues me...

I know that this blog is a bit disjointed today, but I am feeling a bit disjointed. Apparently I somehow managed to perforate my eardrum. How did I do this? When did it happen? The weird thing is that I have no clue! I think I'll blame the triplets. It seems like the simplest answer. It's just one of those things.

In the land of disjointed entries, this is where I will put my estimate for a release date for The Dybbuk's Mirror I'm going to say that I hope to have it out by early 2014. Should all go well with The Strings of the Violin (Out now! Get your copy!) this seems reasonable to me.

Oh! Also August, The Canadian Jewish News will resume printing! I don't know how many of you know what was going on, but The CJN had to stop printing due to budget issues. There was a public outcry, and lots of public support rallied, and now our paper is back! Coming up in the August edition, I was interviewed by one of their reporters, and this interview will be printed there. It's amazing what we can accomplish if we band together. Eh?