Skip to main content

The Books' Launch




On Saturday 25th August we all gathered at Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka to celebrate the launch of Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies and Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies!

My second technical editor, Deborah Green came from interstate for the event, and stayed with us overnight. We all got dolled up — the crossword corset had its first outing — and headed for Manuka, with a car full of nommy goodies!


This was a really exciting day for me, as — although I have written 5 books now — these are the first ones I've had a proper book launch for.

The place was packed — 50 or 60 people came along, many of whom were long-lost friends, as well as many new friends and family. Indexers and BookCrossers were well represented!





My high school English teacher (now principal of Narrabundah College) Kerrie Grundy gave the introductory speech. I won't mention how long ago it was that she taught me!


I then gave my 15 minute talk. No-one dozed off, so I think I'm ahead there!



And then we cut the cake, and chat, food and drink flowed freely!




I spent the rest of the launch behind the front counter, signing books ... so I didn't get to chat with everyone or mingle as much as I'd have liked, but that was par for the course. Deborah did a sterling job of managing the food table.




Paperchain and Wiley are very impressed that we sold 60 books at the launch - 35 of Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies, and 25 of Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies!

It was a really wonderful event, it was great to see so many friends and family, some of whom had driven from afar, and to launch these two little books into the world with such fun and love! Thank you Troy for the Olympic teatowel and autographed copy of his book, Penny and Alex, and Margaret for the gorgeous flowers, Kirsty for the champagne, and Kate and Tilly for luscious yarn gifts (and a leaf, don't forget the leaf!).

Thank you everyone!

Photos by Barry Newell, Rodger Sutherland, and Ralph Sutherland - thank you guys!

Labels:

Comments

  1. Debra SummerWednesday, August 29, 2012

    Congratulations, fabulous woman! Great photos! May you sell many more books. What a wonderfully, talented woman you are xoxoxoxoxox

    ReplyDelete
  2. SkyringWednesday, August 29, 2012

    What Debra said and double it twice! It was so good to see you so happy. And oh my, what a fabulous cake that was!

    Pete, eagerly anticipating the film

    ReplyDelete
  3. 2pawWednesday, August 29, 2012

    Fantastic, you look fabulous and so does the cake. Congratulations on the launch and the sales!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousThursday, August 30, 2012

    Awesome event! Dr. Bev Browning

    ReplyDelete
  5. roxieFriday, August 31, 2012

    You sold sixty books at your launch? OMG, woman, you totally rock! Bravo, kudos and GO NISI!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

American vs British crosswords

American and British crosswords. Is there a difference? The short answer is HELL YES! Now for the long answer ... There are major differences between American-style and British-style crosswords (which are seen in Commonwealth countries too).  Crosswords were started by Arthur Wynne in 1913, a British man who lived in America, so both countries claim a close connection with the development of this popular puzzle. They developed in slightly different directions in each country, which has led to the varieties we see today. American-style crosswords are almost exclusively published in America, while British-style crosswords have spread through the Commonwealth — Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and other English-speaking nations tend to prefer this variety of the puzzle, as well as the United Kingdom, of course. A quick look at these grids will show you the most obvious difference between the two varieties : British-style Not...
5 comments
Read more

Lesson 2: Anagrams

One thing it's important to do with cryptic clues is to ignore the surface reading! The surface is the sense you get when reading a clue for the first time, the mental image it brings up. Apart from some very rare clue types, this is only going to lead you astray. What's vitally important to do is to read each clue, word by word, looking for the hidden meaning. Also, there are a few important things to note with the definition part of clues. Firstly — they will always be at the start or the end of the clue, but never in the middle (ie with bits of wordplay around them). Secondly — pinning down the definition is a major part of getting success in solving cryptic clues. And of course, once you've figured out which part is the definition, the remainder of the clue has to be the wordplay! ANAGRAMS So, on to the first of the cryptic devices that you'll find in every cryptic crossword: Anagrams! Anagrams are a very popular cryptic device, and e...
3 comments
Read more

Crosswords in other languages

The crossword was invented nearly exactly 100 years ago — yes, 2103 is its centenary! We all know that in that time it's spread throughout all English-speaking countries. But what about other countries? The answer is a resounding yes! In almost every country that I researched, they have crosswords. The forms are often a bit different from what we're used to — the grids are often non-symmetrical, 2-letter words are allowed, accented characters are often ignored, and sometimes the clues are written into the black squares. Here are some links to crossword sites from other countries, for your enjoyment. Afrikaans blokkieraaisel Part of a Chinese crossword Chinese   填字游戏 Danish  kryds og tværs Dutch  kruiswoordraadsel Finnish crosswords often include picture clues Finnish  Sanaristikko   French grids use a different numbering system French mots croises A German crossword German Kreuzworträtsel Greek ...
2 comments
Read more