Is it a pleasure, or is it a pain…

The launch of a brand new book?

Regardless of which (for me it’s great fun!)

Let us pause for a moment and look.

Among all the things that an author must do –

The list can be really quite large –

Is notify newspapers, calendars, blogs,

That you’ll do what you do without charge.

A reading; a greeting; a Q & A talk,

“Meet the Author,” the posters proclaim.

And flyers are plastered all over the town,

With your photo; your venue; your name.

You send invitations to people you know,

“Please DO come,” you write, hoping they will.

For selling a book is just part of the fun;

It is seeing your friends that’s the thrill.

There are Phyllis and Oscar and Karen and Bill.

There is Fran (though you saw her for lunch).

And don’t forget Sally and Margie and Sam,

A truly remarkable bunch!

Librarians, also, I hasten to note,

Are infallibly giving and sweet.

Ramona and Connie and Andrea, too

Plus her goat, Marigold, were a treat.

Most dear to my heart, though, are two lovely gals

Who never have failed to attend,

When I visit their venue to promo a book,

And I’ve come to view each as a friend.

Judy, though tired and not feeling well,

Like a loyal Arthurian Knight,

Remarked to me after I’d finished my talk

That she saves every column I write.

Betty, too, came, as always she has done,

Never yet has she missed an event.

“It’s my birthday,” she said, “And I’m buying a book

For myself; it is money well spent!”

So that’s what it’s like, when I go on a tour,

To promote a new book I have penned,

But like all good things we experience in life

Even a book tour must end.

I’ve nibbled on cookies (So many! So good!)

For a week, it’s been “All You Can Eat!”

I’ve sold lots of books and I’ve met lots of folk

But it’s time now to beat a retreat.

So I end with a Thank You; I cannot express

What a joy it has been to be me:

Launching a book with my wonderful friends

About quite a remarkable tree!