Highlights from the Launch Party

On Saturday 3 June, Triskele Books returned to The English Restaurant in Spitalfields for our third book launch at this venue. This time, we brought some friends.

L-R: Catriona Troth, JD Smith, Gillian Hamer, JJ Marsh, Jessica Bell, Alison Morton

The celebrations were for six books: Sacred Lake by Gillian Hamer, Bad Apples by JJ Marsh, The Silent Kookaburra by Liza Perrat and The Rebel Queen by JD Smith (Triskele Books) with Dear Reflection by Jessica Bell and Retalio by Alison Morton, two of our favourite friends and ALLies.

Readings, interviews, photographs, chats, fizz and food, it was all a good book launch should be and we want to do it all over again. Here are a few shots of the event:

The guests

The authors

The party

Guests were challenged to match the ideal accompaniments to each book. How would you do?

• Ice cold Gin & Tonic with a twist of lime service with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet.
• Ale, red wine and ginger cake sat around a fire pit on a summer's night.
• A Virgin Mary, while listening to PJ Harvey in a cafe in Santorini.
• Wiener Schnitzel followed by strong coffee with French brandy, to the sounds of Bach's Toccata.
• Grilled sardines, coffee with a shot of aguardente and the theme from La Lettre. 

• Retalio
• Dear Reflection: I Never Meant to be a Rebel
• Sacred Lake
• The Rebel Queen
• Bad Apples

The Winner - Roz Morris with prize and goody bag

And we finally got to meet our Big 5 Competition winner in person! Sophie Wellstood came along to celebrate with us. If all goes to plan, she'll soon be having a launch party of her own.

Triskele Books with Sophie Wellstood

Thank you to all our guests for coming along to support us and roll on next time!

Photos courtesy of Erika Bach, Jane Davis, Ellen Durkin and Roz Morris 

The Launch Weekend

Saturday - Triskele invades Leatherhead!

Kat, Barbara, Liza, Gilly, Jill and Jane

Tipped off by fellow authors Roz Morris and Jane Davis, we knew Peter Snell, owner of Barton’s Bookshop, was open to indie authors. When we approached him to suggest launching six new books in one afternoon, his response was pragmatic.

"Never done six before, but there’s a first time for everything."

Peter Snell of Barton's Bookshop

We needed no further encouragement. So we turned up, complete with books and themed props, and scattered ourselves around the shop.

Peter and his staff, Cameron and Harvi, did not seem to resent the invasion, but welcomed us, cheerfully supplying coffee. Peter had even made us a chocolate cake. What a host!

A lovely afternoon spent in a beautiful bookshop, with the added bonus of meeting readers and friends.

Thank you, Barton's Bookshop!


Sunday – IAF#14

This was our second time at Chorleywood LitFest.
The previous year we launched our 2013 novels and loaned ourselves out as a Human Library. When we started planning back in April, we wanted to do something different for 2014.

“What about a fair?” I said. “For indie authors.”

“There’s a thought,” said Catriona. “We could have a pop-up bookshop.” 

“Yes, that should be easy enough to organise,” we agreed.

Seven months later, we were kneeling in the mud trying to attach The Indie Author Fair banner to the railings, before lugging boxes of books down a slippery flight of steps, setting up the pop-up media centre, meeting our sponsors, directing authors to their stalls, answering media enquiries and posing for photographs.

Forty authors, hundreds of books, sixteen readings, four sponsors, a thousand catalogues and three hours of buzzing activity, all organised by Triskele Books, with the support of The Alliance of Independent Authors(ALLi) and Chorleywood bookshop. 

Not to mention afternoon teas with more homemade cakes.

At five o’clock, we celebrated with all the other indie authors with a well-deserved glass of wine. According to the feedback, our first ever Indie Author Fair had been a huge success. Catriona, our Triskelite on the ground, reminded me of that early conversation. Easy to organise? Not so much. But between us, we pulled it off.

Roll on next year. 

By JJ Marsh