Trying to organise a book launch party is no joke. Especially when you have no car, no time, no marketing plan (besides bombarding people with posts on social media!) plus a ten month old baby and five year old boy to mind… Yet somehow, with a bit of help, I managed to organize a truly wonderful event for the release of my memoir, Curry, Chaos and Love – the story of an Irish-girl’s life-changing journey to India. (In case you’re wondering, yes it’s the Irish-Indian love-story behind Caraliza Designs!)
While it may have taken almost nine slow and steady years from when I first started writing it to publishing, the book launch party itself all happened in a whirl of last minute frantic preparations.
‘Last minute dot com’ had nothing on me: flyers and posters were ready only a week prior to it while on the morning of the big day I tore around Ballincollig town stocking up on delightfully affordable organic Prosecco, plastic champagne flutes (classy), about two hundred packets of bread-sticks (not sure what I was thinking!), enough packets of spicy Bombay mix to keep Alex going for months (especially given I don’t think anyone even tried the spicy snacks on the night) a bag of fresh olives that could feed half of Cork (it’s currently taking up a whole shelf in the fridge) and several tubs of cheese cubes that I promptly forgot about till I spotted them in the fridge the next day (when I tried to find somewhere to put all the olives).
I know it’s hard to plan for these kinds of events, you never know just how many will show up, but I’m not sure why I expected people were going to munch on fifty million bread-sticks…
Luckily myself and Bowie discovered a powerful love of sesame bread-sticks, humus, olives and cheddar cheese and between various mornings of us feasting on these snacks and stuffing Bowie’s lunch box daily, I’m happy to report that we’re slowly but surely eating our way through them.
Bread-sticks aside, it was a truly wonderful evening in every way. Esther, the proprietor of Snout where it was being held, was the hostess with the mostess; she had the place perfectly set up for the evening and had also prepared the most scrumptious olive/tzatziki/humus dish as well as some rich chocolate brownies. She also took care of everyone for the night ensuring drinks were served or topped up and snapping photos. The few I have here are all thanks to her!
I was beyond touched by the number of friends and family who came to support me, it was a great turn-out and I still can’t quite believe they all came for ‘little old me’.
The book means a lot to me; my big adventure to India back in 2007 where I met Alex was a significant turning point in my life (hence the ‘life-changing’ part) and a long time in the works. It’s also my first ever published book and I’m so proud of it. I invested a lot into it but I’m really glad I did. It’s a damn good story and it deserved everything I put into it from the professional editing to the incredible cover design to the stellar job Orla Kelly did on publishing it. I’m thrilled and delighted and now I really need to sell sell sell to make back some of that investment! But regardless of whether or not I sell thousands or just a couple to Uncle Bob and Aunty Mary, I hope whoever reads it gets a sense of the magic of India that I experienced on that trip.
The subcontinent, while far from perfect, truly is an incredible country and transformed me as a person. I wouldn’t be who I am nor live this beautiful life of mine if not for that fateful trip back in 2007.
Now… it’s time to polish off those bread-sticks – that’s a lot of cheese over the coming weeks…
Liz
Pick up a signed copy of the book here!
