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Here's the story behind the drive-by book launch party we through for La Chimère of Prague back in 2020...

There was a pandemic.

I unexpectedly underwent surgery for a torn retina in my left eye in November.

For one week after the surgery, I had to spend 23 hours a day lying face down. As a part of my recovery.

Holly rented me one of those massage chairs you see at the airport. You can just picture it: in my living room, this ugly green vinyl monstrosity. Ugh.

As luck would have it, I was in final edits on Part II of the Chimera series.

Inconvenient? Yes. Impossible? No. We made it happen.

We could not responsibly plan a book launch party, with hundreds of guests, as we did for The Chimera of Prague back in November 2017.

We had to get creative. So we did. We came up with the drive-by book launch party.

First, we needed a venue. One with an outdoor space that would be usable on December 4th. Luckily we live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

We partnered with Chef Christa Csoka at The Artisan's Palate in the historic arts district north of Charlotte, called NODA.

The Artisan's Palate has lots of outdoor space.We would have a place to host people if they wanted to hang.

Chef Christa cooked up a Czech-inspired menu. She made us a delicious gulaš s knedliky (goulash with dumplings).

Between us and all the book lovers who showed up to support my book, we sold the gulaš out.

Even in a pandemic, dozens of readers showed up to support me. I am grateful to all who showed up.

The book was a success even before the launch party � pre-sales were through the roof. Using the IndieBound.org services, readers were able to pre-order my book from their favorite local independent bookstores. It’s literally a win-win!

And Holly, whose art is not only on the cover of the book but also within the book in the frontispiece. Her art friends turned up in droves for the drive-through book launch! Most folks didn’t stay long, circumstances, but we were happy to have a safe, distanced way to keep the risk low for readers, book lovers, artists, and art lovers while at the same time celebrating the birth of the book.

I can’t say this enough: thank you, Holly. I love you.

We did it.

With your help, dear readers, we pulled it off.

📚 Get in on all the bookish fun.

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