The book launch for “Nexus” at Chapters Meadowlands on Sunday November 5 was successful thanks to people who attended. We are thankful to everyone who bought copies of “Nexus.” Of course, we couldn’t do it without Chapters – Ancaster for providing the space and equipment, our publisher, Michael B. Davie, for being a delightful host, and Ian Thomas for sharing his wit and insights with us.
When we first walked into the Chapters bookstore, we noticed the Holiday Season decorations were already up. In fact, the displays came up right after Halloween, since retailers count on doing brisk business at this time.
Copies of “Nexus” were prominently displayed on our table, which allowed us to personally sign copies of our book during breaks along with lively conversation with people over cookies and coffee.
Our reading for “Nexus” was from 12:00 to 1:00 PM before the book launch of “Bequest” by Ian Thomas, which is a unique murder mystery where the main character, Professor George Moss, has a special psychic gift inherited from his predecessors.
Ian Thomas, besides his wit, is a celebrated Canadian singer and songwriter of hits like “Painted Ladies,” “Liars,” “Pilot” and “Hold on.” He has successfully taken his song-writing abilities to writing with his first novel. His book is also published by Manor House, which brings us to our publisher, Michael B. Davie, who was the MC for the event. He read many off-beat and hilarious poems from “Poetry for the Insane.”
Arvind Singh, Michael B. Davie & Deborah Morrison with their book “Nexus”
Michael had previously published Deborah’s book of poetry, “Mystical Poetry.” Since Debby has a good experience with her first book, we felt comfortable to ask him to publish “Nexus.”
We were ready to start reading but our microphone was only a hand-held one without a stand. But like a unexpected twist in a plot, we needed to adapt quickly. So we became pros with using our hands, except at times two hands were just not enough. So, Debby and I became each other’s third and even fourth hand during our reading.
Michael welcomed everyone and introduced Debby before she began her first reading. She gave an introduction to “Nexus” and then began her First Selection, which highlighted the struggle of Logan Andrews climb to the top of a hill. During a short break, we had engaged discussion with people about our novel and our journey as writers. We also sold more copies of “Nexus.”
Bob Lumbers, a tall man with a heart of gold, agreed to be our official photographer. So most photos from our launch are taken by him. Here is a photo that I took of Bob with Deborah:
The Second Reading by Debby drew attention of even many otherwise engaged shoppers because it resonated with current social changes. My passages were shorter than those selected by Deborah. They included the following selections:
Sarah Closes the Door on Logan
I concluded the Book Launch for “Nexus” and soon we had Ian Thomas join us with insights into “Bequest.” We were glad to have Ian with us, especially since we wanted to find out more about him, his book and his experience as a writer.
“Bequest” reads like a murder mystery and a novel that highlights corporate greed along with the strange gift of sight handed down generations. It keeps your interest with a level of suspense that makes you turn the next page. Apart from the suspense, the many lovable characters along with wisdom expressed in poignant phrases are the greatest strength of “Bequest.” Here is our photo with Ian:
We had a lot of fun at our Book Launch, thanks to Ian, Michael and everyone who attended our event. Our weekend will be busy with two book launches. One is in Burlington’s Indigo Bookstore on Saturday. Then on Sunday a book launch in Toronto at Chapters – Festival Hall near the MuchMusic building.
