Charming Monsters

Last week I attended the launch party for Lena Coakley’s first novel, WITCHLANDERS. It’s a YA high fantasy being published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers and it’s been getting great reviews – you can check out more coverage on Lena’s website.

Sadly, October 6th was a busy day for me and I didn’t make it out to Ben McNally Books, the launch party location, until after Lena had finished her reading. On the plus side, that means I got to read the book without even a hint of a spoiler. It’s a really fun ride, with solid pacing and some great coming-of-age elements with appeal to middle grade and teen readers of both genders.

Even though I arrived late, there was still a pretty good crowd for the launch! It’s hard to tell because of the Ben McNally layout, but there were a lot of people tucked in among the bookshelves and crannies of the shop.

Grabbing my signed copy! I met Lena through the TorKidLit group, so it’s been fun watching her go through the whole process of getting ready for her debut launch.

Obligatory author-poses-with-book shot. Lena seemed pleased with the launch, and she should be – from what I can tell, she got a great turn-out and sold a lot of books! Lena’s written up a blog post about the launch, if you’d like to check out the experience from the author’s perspective, and there’s a ton more photos in this Facebook album.

Last night was the two-year anniversary meeting of the TorKidLit group! We were a small but delightfully ranty bunch, and it was lovely to spend more time than usual catching up with folks like Cheryl Rainfield, Maureen McGowan, Nelsa Roberto and Jo Swartz. Most of our recent events have featured 20+ local authors scattered across several tables, and while meeting so many people in a single night is fabulous, it’s also pleasant to have the time for more in-depth conversations.

TorKidLit is short for Toronto Kid’s Literature; the group was founded by Debbie Ohi and Claudia Osmond, who had the bright idea of setting up an in-person meeting for all the children’s and young adult authors in the Toronto area who were already chatting via Twitter. I joined a few months after the first meeting, thanks to an invite by Megan Crewe. Like many others, I was a bit nervous at first – would I fit in? would I feel out of place as a yet-to-be-published writer among so many established pros? – but the warm welcome and general camaraderie soon set those fears to rest. It’s wonderful to socialize with other people who really get the whole writing & publishing experience, and of course, in-person conversation goes into all kinds of nooks and nuances that no one would commit to email these days!

For more info about the event, check out Debbie’s summary of the evening, which features her round-up of each author’s current and upcoming projects. You can also follow the TorKidLit group and find out about upcoming events through our Facebook page.