Wonderful book launch!

Muriel Wood and I had a wonderful launch at Freckled Lion Bookstore in Georgetown on Thursday for Aram’s Choice.

There were two signing times — from 1 til 2 and from 7 til 8.

I met Muriel and her husband David at the former site of the Georgetown Boys’ Farm just before 11:30am so that Bonnie, the superintendant of Cedarvale Community Centre and park, could show us around. Bonnie was so very gracious. She let us wander around inside the building that used to be the Boys’ living area. We went through the top floor which was the dormitory, the kitchen, the former classrooms, everything. And then she kindly took us through her own home, which used to be where the housekeeper of the Georgetown Boys’ Farm lived. We got lots of photos. Muriel is in the process of doing the illustrations for Call Me Aram, which is the sequel to Aram’s Choice.

I got to Freckled Lion at about 12:30am and downed a protein bar for lunch. People began to arrive at around 12:45 and we had a steady stream until about 3! All of the Georgetown Boys themselves have died, but many family members came. Also, a number of my writer friends came, including Gillian Chan and her son Theo, as well as Elizabeth from the Books and Writers Forum, and Marina and Hélène from private kidcrit. Also, lian from TWUC and her mother Helen, who has written about one Georgetown Boy herself.

Many many Armenians came, including Carl Georgian, whose father’s story is the seed for all of my Armenian novels. Also Arsho Zakarian, who has helped both Muriel and myself in a thousand research ways. For the families of the Georgetown Boys, this signing was like a reunion. We heard many stories and shared laughter and tears.

We also found out where Stop 69 was! That was the radial railway stop for Georgetown and where the Boys got off the train. Muriel and I had guesstimated that it was about a mile from where it really was.

Sylvia Lesak, F&W publicist, was also there and she stayed until the evening. Then Tracey Dettman, marketing rep came and Sylvia left for home. We had lots of people come for the evening signing too, so we ended up staying until past 9pm.

Kate of Freckled Lion did a wonderful job of hosting this event. She had a huge tub of ice that was filled with all sorts of flavoured waters, and there was iced tea and hot coffee and all sorts of cookies and there were strawberries (not the saniflush kind!).

Georgetown itself is a nice place. It has a thriving downtown, friendly people and a country feel about it. And as for Freckled Lion, all I can say is I wish we had a bookstore like that in Brantford!

Author: Marsha

I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.

11 thoughts on “Wonderful book launch!”

  2. Thanks for writing this up – it was almost as good as being there (but not quite ). I’m glad this launch was such a success – both for you and Muriel as well as for the families of the Georgetown Boys!

    Congratulations!!

    Julie

    1. Hi Julie,

      I was worried that the timing would make it difficult, being so close to the long weekend and all, but it didn’t seem to deter people. It was wonderful to see so many Georgetown Boy families and to hear their reactions to the book. I was also informed that “Aram” was the perfect name for the main character. I was worried about that. I had initially called my boy Sarkis because there were many boys named Sarkis among the Georgetown Boys, but my editor asked for a name change because Sarkis is hard for younger kids because of the possessive (ie Sarkis’). I chose Aram because of Aram Aivaizian, a Genocide survivor who died in 1996 who had helped me tremendously with the research for all of my Armenian novels. What I didn’t realize is that Aram means “Armenian”. So the title is perfect for many reasons.

      1. It’s terrific that so many people had the time to come. And what an amazing coincidence about the name – it’s always great when things turn out just ‘right’ like that, isn’t it?

        Congrats again!!

        Julie

      2. Sarkis’ Choice doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well 🙂

        I am so glad the launch was such a success!

        Hélène

        1. My original title was:

          Sarkis: Box 8

          The publisher hated it. Then I suggested:

          Orphan’s Gold

          She felt that was a bit hackneyed.

          She _did_ like Aram’s Choice though. She initially suggested Abram as the boy’s name, but Abram was not a typical Armenian name of that era.

      3. Marsha,

        What I didn’t realize is that Aram means “Armenian”. So the title is perfect for many reasons.

        Wow! That is perfect.

        –Rose

  3. Hi Marsha,

    I always love reading your write-ups. Sounds like a great day.

    –Rose

    P.S. Great photo too! It’s neat to put Muriel’s face with her work.

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