Recap: #JustGrace Book Launch

The JustGrace book release part was a co-launch of Rachel Gold’s new book Just Girls, and Juliann Rich’s book Searching for Grace. It was so much fun guys. You shoulda been there.

We were invited to join Rachel for dinner beforehand (which unfortunately Kathleen was not able to make it to 🙁 ) and she asked me a bunch of research questions for her next book. She also told me the premise of it and OH MY GOD you guys am I excited for it. Like I told her then, she has a talent of fufilling what I’m looking for in queer lit, every time I’m like ugh, I just want there to be this in the world… the next Rachel Gold book is covering it.

She also talked about her hopefully fourth book, which will follow the story of a genderqueer character from Just Girls. Who. Okay. I just absolutely adore. (Remember how I said she writes everything I want to see? Yeah.) Rachel sent me a PDF of Just Girls before it was released and I sent her an email after I met the character that said “GENDERQUEER CHARACTER. GENDERQUEER CHARACTER. OMG. I AM FREAKING OUT. YES. I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW. OMG.” which she said she would count as the first and possibly best review of the book.

Juliann Rich’s book, Searching for Grace, is one of my other favorite releases from 2014, and you can read my full review of it, as well as my review of the first book, Caught in the Crossfire! I also recently wrote a guest post about on Juliann’s blog, in which I talk about just how much the Crossfire Trilogy means to me. I’ve asked Juliann, and she told me the scoop on a character that I read as genderqueer– and they are! Talk about cool authors, guys. (Juliann’s formulating ideas for a spin-off series on this character as well… so if you had any doubt as to whether you should pick up the Crossfire Trilogy, well, you don’t anymore.)

The evening was full of fun and shenanigans– there was a trivia contest with prizes for getting the answers right. Kathleen and I came home with piles of prizes, chocolate sauce and M&Ms to fit Just Girls, a full size TARDIS to fit Searching for Grace, and a beautiful illustration of the ensemble from Just Girls (which is being given in electronic format to anyone who buys the book within October if they email beingemily@gmail.com!).

New icon? 😉

Kathleen enjoys the cake.

There was an event during the mingling taken from a scene in Just Girls where a board was split in half for women and men, and people were asked to write down the things they do to stay safe. I didn’t get a picture of the end result, but it is a powerful and telling exercise.

Katherine Warde, co-owner of Addendum Books (AKA my favorite bookstore in the world where you can find pretty much any YA book ever and usually it’s signed. Seriously. Like, if you live in the Twin Cities and haven’t been there, go now. And if you’re ever in town, cross off the MOA and go here instead. It’s that worth it.) made a delicious rainbow cake. We got to talk TV shows a bit with Dawn Klehr, author of a lesbian murder mystery novel The Cutting Room Floor (Flux, 2013).

Kathleen and I were honored to be able to read from Just Girls (Kathleen read Ella, and I, Tucker…from which I learned I have no idea how to do butch) and watch the performance of Searching for Grace.

We also got to take pictures by the TARDIS! (See below.)

All in all, it was a super fabulous event. Thanks to Addendum for hosting and Juliann Rich and Rachel Gold for inviting us!