Book launch

Some days arrive quietly. Others seem to appear out of nowhere, already in motion before you’ve quite caught up. This was one of those days—the day of my book launch at 'Mermaids by the Bay' in Deception Bay, Queensland.
We set up early, my good friend John Warren and I, arriving while the morning was still stretching itself awake. Luce, the café owner, had already worked her magic: two neatly arranged tables dressed in crisp white cloth, tucked into a corner that looked straight out over the bay. It was the sort of setting that does half the work for you—gentle water, open sky, and the promise of good coffee within arm’s reach. Add to that food that genuinely lives up to its reputation, and you begin to suspect you’ve chosen the right place.
The official start time was ten o’clock. I’d already sold two books by then.
There’s something quietly surreal about that—before the 'beginning' has even begun, people are already there, already curious, already willing to take a piece of your work home with them. It takes the edge off the nerves, though not entirely. A book launch, it turns out, is a peculiar mix of anticipation, gratitude, and the faint sense you’ve left something at home. Free sweets: Check. Free keyrings: check. Books: check. Business cards: check. 'We're all good' I remember thinking.
Conversations came easily as the morning unfolded. Some people stopped for a chat, others lingered, drawn in by the setting as much as the stories. And then there are the moments that stay with you—the ones that feel slightly larger than the day itself.
By the end, I’d sold two full sets of 'The Asharsh Series'. One of them went to a woman who planned to give the books to her husband, an avid reader, as a gift for their 29th wedding anniversary. Bless that lady, and the other lady who bought the other set.
You can’t really plan for moments like that. You just stand there, slightly taken aback, realising your words are about to become part of someone else’s life—wrapped up in celebration, in history, in something that matters far beyond the page.
A great way to spend a morning by the bay.