Here’s me with my proud dad. (I’m his baby girl.)

Now my baby has been set free into the unknown. Okay, so that’s slightly melodramatic; it’s not a real baby and I’m not exactly setting it free. And thanks to a few terrific reviews this last week, the unknown is now also a lot less ‘unknown’. (see below)

I admit to being terrified that readers wouldn’t like it, that book reviewers would stab me in the heart (sorry, there I go with the dramatics again), and that Simon & Schuster would be left shaking their heads and saying: “Geez, that was a mistake!” So there was a kind of audible, if somewhat shaky sigh that escaped my mouth with that first review (and I’m pleased to say the good reviews keep coming!).

Of course, the best thing about publication week is the book launch; planning for such an event started years … err … I mean months ago. I decided to hold the event in the best little, big bookshop. The Book Warehouse at Toormina was going to be perfect for the small no-one-will-come-anyway event.

Hmm, fifty-plus RSVPs later, poor Julie spent sleepless nights wondering how she was going to rearrange the shop to accommodate the growing guest list. (Not to mention the added angst with The Mayor of Coffs Harbour – Denise Knight – officiating on the night.)

Totally out of the blue, a visitor (and a much-needed distraction) lobbed on my doorstop the day before the launch. Carolyn and I started hairdressing together at sixteen; she’d driven up from Sydney as a surprise guest. We hadn’t seen each other for 25 years. (Here she is as my bridesmaid thirty-odd years ago and you can tell one of us is still in the beauty industry, while the other is a struggling artist without a hairdressing budget!)

I admit that my publication dream has always included the glamorous book launch – a fabulously flamboyant affair – author swanning around, signing books and hobnobbing with literati, with much muttering about literary awards and movie deals. And that’s EXACTLY what I got (okay, minus the literary awards and movie deal). But the night was everything I could have hoped for – and more – with a humbling number of people coming from far and wide to help me celebrate. Most importantly though, as I read the first chapter – seven whole minutes (I timed it) – not one guest fell asleep, or if they did we were so crammed into that little store that they couldn’t have fallen anywhere anyway!

If I could do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing (and in fact I probably will do it all over again this same time next year when The Simmering Season comes out. (I hope the sun has come out in Coffs Harbour by then too!)

Thank you to everyone who attended. Those who sent messages. Those who braved the elements. Those too far away to even try. Those watching over me. You were with me.

I think the Chinese proverb from the card I received from The Book Warehouse team says it all:

“I dreamed a thousand paths. I woke and walked my own.”

Enjoy these images of the launch – House for all Seasons March 4, 2013.

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What people are saying:

Daystarz Book Review – (full version)

Told from the alternating perspective of each of the four women, once childhood friends, House for all Seasons is a delightful read. I found myself engrossed in this story from the first few pages. It is a book that holds your attention throughout with enough interesting detail about the characters to have you wanting more. This book is believable and it draws you in as each of the women faces their past and their relationships with each other during their youth.

It takes the reader on a journey back to the days of the girls youth in Calingarry Crossing and to a tragic event that initially tore them apart yet now reunites them. It’s fascinating to read how each of the girls perceived this event, their part in it and what impact it still has on their lives.

We follow along as each of the four main characters confront their past and present in a way that enables them to shape their future, leaving old demons behind.

I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of character development and by the end of each of the women’s stories felt that I knew them personally. Each of the women’s personalities and lives were so different; their back stories so interesting that at times I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I really liked Poppy and Amber probably just because they were the most contrary and seemed to have the most growing to do.

There is a significant twist to the story that I just didn’t see coming and which really makes for a great ending to this book.

Jenn J McLeod has written a brilliant book in House for All Seasons which has me eagerly awaiting her next literary venture. This book is a must read and is the first on my top ten books list of 2013. I cannot say enough good things about this book, I highly recommend it as a must-add to your personal library.

Gotta be happy with that!

More reviews:
Book’d Out
1girl2manybooks
Goodreads – Helene Young