1. Book launches are sexy. Why? Well, books themselves are sexy – we all know that. But at a book launch you get to be around other people who also think books are sexy which is, in turn, doubly sexy. Single? Hey, it’s as good a place to hook up as anywhere else on a chilly Monday night in early March.
2. There will be entertainment of a kind. That is, I will give a short, mildly freaky reading, then answer questions from the lovely and talented novelist and Globe and Mail columnist Russell Smith. Oh, and there’s a bar.
3. You can buy a book and have it signed. This may sound self-serving, and it is, but you can think of it as an investment if you like. A hardcover book signed by the author! In twenty years, you could retire on that (if a series of certain almost unimaginable events were to occur over that time, including my reaching an Elvis-level of mythological fame and the abrupt discontinuation of all books, and pens, and handwriting).
4. You might make a new friend. Yes, this is also true of a streetcar ride or a morning spent in a dentist’s waiting room or the random following of strangers on Twitter, but still, you might. And did I mention there’s a bar?
5. It’s free.
The Demonologist launch is at the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen West, Toronto), the Ballroom, on Monday, March 4th at 7PM. To be sure of a seat, it might be a good idea to come a bit early. Hit that bar I mentioned. Couldn’t hurt.