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Book Release Recap: Thank You!

On the last weekend in April, I celebrated the release of my first book, Watering Words: 52 Short Stories, with a book signing and reading at my favorite independent bookstore, A Seat at the Table Books. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for most of my life and…it was better than I could have hoped for. Let me give you a brief rundown of how it went.

On the 40-minute drive to the bookstore, my family gave me a series of much-needed pep talks and distracted me with every stupid joke they know. My favorite from my daughter: Did you hear about the crime that took place in the parking garage? It was wrong on so many levels!

We got to the store a bit later than I wanted, so we had to hit the ground running. With the help of my friends and family, we got everything setup pretty quickly. A few people trickled in at first, but within twenty-minutes, the place filled up! The store had to make an announcement about not blocking the aisles, and many people had to stand. I honestly couldn’t believe it!

Our first speaker was Larisa Bryski, the director of my favorite non-profit G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento. She told the audience about our connection and the wonderful work her non-profit does to help young girls find their voice. A portion of my book sales and the speciality drink sales go to support their mission and I’m so grateful she could join us. Thank you!!

Next, my childhood best friend Angy Cring told stories about us as middle schoolers, including a story of us sneaking out in the middle of the night to meet boys, and how we changed our names to reinvent ourselves before high school. She traveled from Las Vegas to assist me all weekend, handling backend promotion and even filming the event. I’m so fortunate to have her in my life! Thank you!!

Fantasy author and close friend Jason Denzel, author of the Mystic books, then introduced me. He talked about our writing group, playing D&D together, and watching me grow in confidence through our time together. Jason inspires me daily and helped make the entire event run more smoothly. I’m so lucky! Thank you!!

Finally, it was my turn to speak. I was incredibly nervous and forgot I was going to thank a bunch of people to start off, but once I got talking about the book, I calmed down. After reading the short story Striders, I took questions. This is where I truly surprised myself. The audience asked such thoughtful and amazing questions, and I found it easy to talk about my writing. Far easier than I thought! By the time I read my second story, Coffee and Cloves, I really felt good. I thanked people and then setup for the book signing.

You guys! The line went ALL THE WAY around the store. It took me over an hour to sign all the books. So many hugs and pictures and joy! I’ll honestly never, ever forget the feeling of this first author event. My heart is still so full more than a week later.

To date, I’ve sold over 100 books! Thank you to everyone who has supported me. If you want to help support me further, buy a book for a friend, or consider leaving me a review on Goodreads or wherever you do such things. Also, if you’ve read the book, I want to hear from you! Tell me what you liked. Do you have a favorite story? Tell me!

Hope you enjoy these pictures from the event:

My table at the author market on Saturday (the day before the big event).

Me and my childhood friend Angy about to start the event.

Larisa Bryski of my favorite non-profit G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento.

Fantasy writer and good friend Jason Denzel introducing me.

What is this face?

Me signing books for over an hour!

A portion of the book sales, as well as this special drink, went to support G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento.

My amazing writing group! I’m so lucky to have these people in my life.

My fantastic editor Laurie Fox.

My dear friend and writing partner Anna Loscotoff. She made me the beautiful scarf I was wearing.

My nephew Wyatt brought his little gnome to the signing and his scarf matched mine!

Me and my beautiful friend Jenny.

My momma!

My daughter, her bestie (my second-daughter) and my husband busy at work. My son was behind the camera and took video.

When I’m with my brother, I apparently make silly faces.

Not sure why I’m making this face 🙂

The after-party crew!

I sure love my beautiful writing friends. Thank you!

Real talk: I try to be honest and vulnerable with my readers, so I’ve got to mention two things. 

First, even though I’ve sold over 100 books, I’ve still not broke even. Self-publishing is expensive and I couldn’t do this at all without the support of my husband. I’ll never be able to support myself financially with my writing, but it’s still worth it. Creating and putting my words out into the world is something I’ll forever be proud of, regardless of any monetary success. As a friend reminded me earlier this week, years from now, some distant relative might read my book to get a peek at their ancestral lineage. That’s pretty amazing to think about. So, future great-grandchild, this is for you.

Second, and this one I say with a bit of hesitation, it was hard to see myself in these photos. I’ve put on a lot of weight since a hip injury a few years ago, and it is hard looking at the reality of it. My hair has started to thin, something I inherited from my mom, and I noticed it. Big time. I’m so freaking proud of myself for putting this book out into the world, for being brave to share it at the bookstore, and for everything I did…but man…it’s hard to face our changing bodies sometimes. But you know what? I’m glad I’m where I am right now. I’m in the best place mentally I’ve been in my life and I’m surrounded by inspiring and talented friends, so I’m going to embrace myself—flaws and all.

Let me leave you with this: Love yourself right where you are, friends, and write the words, paint the painting, do the thing! Don’t wait. It’s never the right time. I’m here to cheer you on! Tell me about it! We are in this together.

55 thoughts on “Book Release Recap: Thank You!”

  2. Congratulations! I’m so proud of you! It sounds like a fantastic dream come true and you did it! FYI, my daughter put on a bunch of weight after fighting through an eating disorder. I worry about her, but she is doing something I so proud of. She’s taking comedy writing classes and standup. She gets on stage and does standup downtown SF! She’s also happier and healthier than she has been in years.

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    • Congrats for your daughter! Standup comedy is about as vulnerable as it gets and that’s incredible. If you feel comfortable, email me her name as I’m close to SF and if I happen to be in the city when she’s performing, I’d love to see her. Also, thank you for your continued support, it means so much to me.

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  10. It was an absolute pleasure to see you speak and sign and step into the world as an officially published author!!! I cannot wait to see where you go from here and I will always be cheering you on!

    You are so insightful and your writing is beautiful. The world needs it now more than ever and I’m finding myself smiling over these stories that I get to hold in my hands after getting previews of them over the last year. It is amazing to see your book on my shelf every day!

    And thank you for the vulnerable insight at the end. It’s so hard to be honest about all of our mixed feelings. I have just as hard of a time seeing myself in photographs and coming to terms with how the rest of the world gets to see me. You are beautiful and amazing and every other adjective here and I look up to you so much.

    Keep writing and making the world a brighter place with your words ❤️

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    • Aww! You made me teary! Thank you for these kind words and for being such a light in my life. It really makes me happy to finally be able to hold my book in my hands. It’s wild! Isn’t it crazy to think about how much we hold ourselves back? You were there when I made the declaration, “I’m going to publish a book this year.” It was a lot of work, but I’m so glad I did it.

      It’s been an absolute pleasure getting closer with you the last few years and getting to know the wonderful woman and talented writer you’ve grow up to be. I’m so in awe of you every day and you inspire me, too! Can’t wait to celebrate your book in just a few months. Has it hit you yet? It’s going to be so incredible. I’m so proud of you!

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  14. I love the real talk at the end…..kudos to you for sharing your vulnerability in the midst of celebrating such a rousing success! Congratulations on such a successful launch and event, Bridgette! 💞💞💞

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    • Thanks so much, Dawn. It’s a big thing I did and it felt good to celebrate and to share the real stuff too. I never want to hide away from the whole picture, it’s not who I am. Thinking about someone in their house holding my book and reading my words…it’s dreamy!

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  19. Congratulations, Bridgette! You’re such an inspiring writer and person. I’m truly grateful we’ve connected and we’re a part of each others lives. Writing is special and our words really can shake things up for the better 🙂

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    • Oh, THANK YOU!!! That means the world to me. When your done reading it, if you like it, would you consider leaving a review? A few have trickled in, but they all are helpful.

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      • I will absolutely leave a review! Also it arrives today 🤗 I was just notified this morning that it should be here tonight, although my mail people are super slow so if it’s not here by tonight it will be here tomorrow 😅 small town problems

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