The Launch

The Hive

This is the follow up to last week's blog post where I was preparing for the launch of my story collection. It took place at The Hive, Worcester on Thursday evening. My husband, Alan, came with me and apart from the Black Pear Press team, whom I'd met at WorcesterLitFest Flash Fiction events, he was the only person in the audience who knew me. The event had been arranged by Ruth Stacey, a lecturer at the University of Worcester, as part of the Autumn Creative Writing reading series and was entitled 'How To Become a Writer'. As well as the poet Michael Thomas and I launching our books, we each took part in Question and Answer sessions alongside local publisher, Black Pear Press about writing, the publishing process and running an Indie press in 2019. 

There was a good turn out of people and once I'd introduced myself and begun reading an excerpt from the lead story, Smashing the Mask, I relaxed and enjoyed myself. The inspiration for the story was a poem read out at my writing group entitled simply The Mask. It questioned whether we really know what happens behind closed doors and deals with an issue that's very topical at the moment. I took it further by including an actual Venetian mask and used the symbolism of the colours in that and a scarf to hopefully get my message across. It was a great feeling to hold the audience's interest as I read. I'd picked a strategic place to stop with the intention of the audience wanting to know how the story ended and the hopefully want to read the book! 

Michael and I alternated our sessions. My next excerpt from Missing Without Trace was written as a result of reading Ferney by James Long. The novel may be described as a timeslip story where the characters have had past lives.  

  

'You know that car that cut us up today?' said Lizzie.

'That old blue and white one?'

'Yes. Well, I've been in that when in it was brand new. I had tan leather seats, I remember. He was so proud of it. His first new car.'

Of course. That's why I'd reacted the way I had. More was coming back to me. I knew from Mark's open mouth that this was not going to be easy. 

'You do know that car was brand new about fifty odd years ago? Twenty years before you were born.'

'Yes, I remember the year. 1962. "Brand new car, brand new model," he said.'

Los Gigantes Carnival

The third excerpt I read was from a story that came to me when on holiday in Los Gigantes in Tenerife. We were there at the time of the annual carnival and the Burning of the Sardine ceremony. From our hotel balcony, we had a wonderful view of the procession. Looking down on the hoards of visitors lined up along the route, I thought What if you lost your child in that crowd? The idea for Burning Our Sardine was formed. 

If you like the sound of my stories, you may find them here  at https://blackpear.net/authors-and-books/jan-baynham/ Thank you.

I'd like to give a big thank Polly, Tony and Rod at Black Pear Press for publishing my first collection. It was a good feeling to hold my book in my hands for the first time. 

Thank you for reading. Have you attended a book launch recently as a reader? Have you held your own book launch? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts about those events. Thank you.

You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit and on my Jan Baynham Writer page.