Book Launch Party for The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman

I was back down in London this week.  One of the very best things about book blogging is the invitations to lovely parties.  Last week it was the Pan Macmillan Women's Fiction Party and this week was the book launch for Rowan Coleman's The Memory Book.  

The Memory Book launch party invitation
The gorgeous venue - Jewel Picadilly

I have no doubt at all that The Memory Book is going to be huge, I think it's Rowan's best novel so far, and she has written some absolute crackers, so it had a lot to live up to.   There have already been some great reviews about The Memory Book, I blogged about it at the end of January, please take a look if you haven't already seen my review.

I was thrilled to be invited to the launch party for this wonderful book, and very excited at the thought of meeting Rowan in the flesh.  I already felt as though I knew her a little bit, she's great to follow on Twitter, but actually meeting her was even better.   So, I booked my train ticket, arranged some time off work and had it all planned out.   And then ..... the tube strike!    Oh, did I panic!   What would I do?  How would I get there?  How would I get home?   With much encouragement from Rowan via Twitter and Facebook, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.   Blimey, London was chaos, pure madness - so many people.  More than two cars is a traffic jam where I come from, so this utter pandemonium was more than a little scary. But I made it there on time, and was quite chuffed with myself.  

The venue was The Parlour Bar at Jewel Picadilly, and it was perfect for the launch.  Red and plush and glittery and warm, just lovely.  Lots of fizz and lovely nibbles went down well too.   And Rowan?  She is just gorgeous; so warm and welcoming and gives great hugs - I was so pleased that I was there.  I was also so delighted to meet a couple of fellow bloggers who I've followed for some time now.   Rea from Rea Book Review and Amanda from One More Page - we had a great chat, it's lovely to meet like-minded book lovers.

Top:  Rebecca Chance and I pose for the camera. Rowan reads from The Memory Book.   The goody bag
Bottom:  Amanda (One More Page), Rebecca Chance, Rowan, Rea (Rea Book Review) and me

I also met some great authors.  We spent loads of time chatting to Rebecca Chance, she is a very beautiful, funny lady who I'd love to spend more time with - I think she has some wonderful stories to tell!  I also spent some time chatting to Serena Mackesy, also known as Alex Marwood - I didn't know that Serena and Alex were the same person.  Serena's The Temp is one of my all time favourite novels, I really must read Alex now.

There were so many other authors there too, some I briefly spoke to including Cally Taylor and Tamsyn Murray, and of course the wonderful team at Ebury who made the night so special, great to meet Amelia and the others at long last.

I was a totally fabulous evening, and I was sorry to have to leave before the party ended, but I had to get back across London to get the last train home.   That was another adventure in itself!   Somehow I got dreadfully lost and was saved from a night on the streets by the doorman of The Ritz, London and a wonderful black cab driver.

So I finally got back to quiet Lincolnshire clutching my goody bag which was another delight.  Some scrumptious chocolates by Lindt, a packet of forget-me-not seeds and a little red notebook - a 'memory book' all of my own.

Thanks Rowan and the Ebury team for a really special evening - it was an honour to be part of it.  Those of you who haven't yet read The Memory Book - read it soon, you are in for a real treat!