Snow Child book release party
Dear festive reader,
Wow! What an incredible evening.
With the help of Fireside Books and the wonderful people at the historic Colony Inn here in Palmer, Alaska, we celebrated the publication of The Snow Child on Wednesday. It was an event we had been planning for weeks. I grew up here, so I expected to see a few close family friends and some of my favorite customers from the bookstore. I thought I’d visit with people, sign a few books, have a glass or two of wine.
My expectations were blown out of the water. Around 200 people showed up, including old friends, neighbors, former teachers, artists and writers, people who had read my articles in the Frontiersman newspaper over the years,and people I had never met before.
A close family friend brought a beautiful handcrafted Snow Child doll she had made for me. Another neighbor and good friend gave me several amazing art images of Snegurochka.
And in the midst of signing books and hugging dear friends, I was surprised to find the mayor of the City of
Palmer standing beside me with a microphone. She proceeded to read a proclamation, declaring it Eowyn Ivey Day. To be honest, I was incredibly embarrassed, and would have insisted the honor was too much. But then she presented me with a box tied with a ribbon. Inside I found a golden key to the city — any embarrassment fell away. I love the key! Later, when the crowd had died down and we were putting away the empty book boxes (we sold out), we all joked that perhaps we now had complete access to the library, the government offices, and the bars in town.
I don’t know what was most amazing about that night — the fact that The Snow Child broke the Fireside Books sales record, previously held by Harry Potter. The mayor presenting me with a key to the city. The lovely gifts from friends.
In the end, though, I think what will always stay with me is the overwhelming love and support of my hometown.
Cheers!
Eowyn
18 Comments
Congratulations, Eowyn! I’m sure this is just the beginning of many amazing things to come.
What a wonderful sendoff for the book. I have it on order, since I doubt you’ll be doing a book signing in SW VA in the near future. I’ll be there if you do, but I don’t want to wait. Congrats on having an evening all writers dream of.
Well done
I hope you have a great weekend
Super comeout for you! We were impressed by the crowd and so glad to have been there! Kaasan is bummed that she planned to make it and couldn’t! My own “home made” contribution is in the works! Thank YOU Eowyn for a delightful read.
I was there and it felt like a lot more than 200 people! The place was packed when I got there around 5:30pm. It was great to see all the folks who turned out on a very snowy night to celebrate with Eowyn. I have sent the books I ordered to my friends, who I know will love it as much as I did. Kudos to you Eowyn – I’m so happy for you!
It’s wonderful to have so many fans in your own hometown! Sounds like it was a ton of fun.
FANTASTIC! I’m so happy for you, Eowyn! And I KNOW your father in law and my high school friend, Jimmy, is bursting with pride that your book is doing so well!!!
Have you ever heard him play the piano? His “Flight of the Bumble Bee” was awesome! 😀
Congratulations on your success. My wife bought ten copies and gave them to friends as a belated Christmas present. We are getting rave reviews in LA (Lower Alabama).
Thank you! It’s so wonderful of both you and your wife to help the book find its way into the world. Best to both of you.
What struck me most at the party was how happy everyone was — happy about the book, happy to be there, happy for Palmer (what a fine moment for our town), and most of all, happy for you and your tremendous success. What a perfect evening!
What an absolute thrill for those of us thousands of miles away to see these pictures! Wish I could have been there, but I’m crossing all my fingers that a book tour swings you by this way soon!
So exciting! I am so happy for you! Wish we were there to celebrate with you and Sam and the girls!
Congratulations! So proud of you.
Hello from England!
It was snowing here on Saturday and your book was in the window of my local book shop in Bath. I couldn’t resist buying it and can’t wait to start reading it 🙂
A “Snow Child” sighting in SE Arizona. It has appeared on my Kindle. Can not wait to start reading ! All the best- Carol
HI Carol — I so hope you enjoy the book!
Thank you everyone for stopping by the blog and joining in the celebration. I am truly touched by all the support for the book and for me as the author. Thank you.
Hi, readers. For anyone interested, I’ve interviewed Eowyn on my blog. Find out why “The Snow Child” is one of the top picks for 2012 and why everyone’s talking about it: http://rebeccaberto.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/author-interview-eowyn-ivey-on-her-debut-novel-the-snow-child/