The IF YOU LOVE ME, COME Book Release Party...

My first book release party took place for the release of my second novel! Be that as it may, I was elated to experience the festive, transformative occasion. Energy charged through my limbs, my body, my core in a cleansing and intoxicating rush. I might have been flying if my feet weren't safely encased in strappy, sparkling sandals! To stand before a captive audience and speak, read or entertain is one of the endeavors of my life that fills me with an unspeakable joy, a virtually indescribable bliss! It is as though I become another person. Truth be told, I become an actress, performing each part in the story.

Captured on the lens of my friend Gina Parks' serious camera, one can "see" enough to "feel" whatever was coursing through my mind and being filtered back at my silent and, I hope, enraptured audience! I couldn't have prayed for a more adept camerawoman. Gina immortalized the audience, their interactions with me and the flavors and spectrum of emotions inside Little Five Points' Charis Books & More on the eve of April 29, 2011.





I love sitting before an audience to read, though I cannot sit long. Somewhere in the midst of the reading, I will spring to my feet, and the story pops and sizzles on another level! What, I imagine, could be better? Perhaps, writing, when the story is flowing and all time belongs to me. Yes, perhaps that would be better by a few degrees. Same as I adore the sensation and weight of a book in my palms, I cherish the beauty in the sound of the human voice, its lilt and timbre, the modulation of the flow of words, the dramatic pauses and the theatrical floodgates---it's all music of a sort! The symphony of its composition is enough, if done to perfection, enough to leave you entwined with the molecules of your seat, lost in mid-air, struggling to find your way back to the solidity of the activity around you! I know! I have been regaled by awe-inspiring readers, and I know when I have serenaded listeners with the magic-wand tap of a riveting story. Reading is pure magic. Unadulterated and true. Every time I reflect on that magic for any length of time, I thank Spirit for my Reading Mother, Clementine Young Moss.





This is Miss Gina F. Parks, my beloved photographer sistahfriend. And yes, the "F" is for FABULOUS! The bulk of the pictures I shall upload to a new Facebook album, as they didn't upload well here in numbers. So if you haven't a Facebook account, get one! It's the latest, greatest thing to have in our Internet world. Anyway, Gina is an artist of a plethora of talents: her cooking is magical, edible art; she creates some of the BEST slide show presentations you will ever experience; her organizing/managerial skills are legendary; she is impeccable with money and figures; and she is unconquered in Monopoly!





This is Miss Crystal! Isn't she lovely? I feel like singing that Stevie Wonder song to better explicate what I mean! A sweeter personality is hard to find when she is near. She and the beautiful Alicia Brown attended my book signing. Yes, they are my former students, excellent ones, I might add. Seeing them smiling up at me from the audience added 20 inches to my stature!





My family accompanied me to the bookish festivity. My only son, the handsome Avery M. Sarden II, and his lovely lady, Shanice Smith. The gentleman in the green shirt is my beloved, remarkable sistahfriend pretty in pink, JazzthePoet's, eldest son, Rashad Wise. My stunning cover model Meka beamed that unforgettable smile and captured hearts! And then there was Miss Tonya, a gorgeous longtime friend of mine and Gina's!


What an enchanting evening that was! Everything about it from beginning to end was GOLDEN! To name all of the souls who made my evening with their presence would topple short of the extraordinary occasion it was if I should omit one, precious name. Therefore, my sincere, unwavering appreciation remains with everyone who attended! You know who you are! I will forever adore you!


I was grateful I took the time to prepare homemade, whole-wheat cookies for the audience! Presented door prizes...made possible by Las Vegas author, Imani True, a cherished writer friend. All adoration and respect to Sharlise Lowe of GraphicsBysax for the amazing job she did with the novel's cover! Sincere love and appreciation for my knee-baby sister, Glenda for designing my red T-shirt with the glittering letters of my novel, IF YOU LOVE ME, COME on the front! (And to think she did it in under an hour, considering I was rushing her with a cat-o-nine tails!) Oh, I was truly beholden to Nazir and Laila Amor Sarden for not turning the party out, as they may have been prone to do had I spoken a tad bit longer!


The book in praise is IF YOU LOVE ME, COME, my second novel! It can be ordered on my author website at www.ClaudiaMoss.net or ordered on KINDLE from www.Amazon.com. I plan to make it available soon on BarnesandNoble, Books-a-Million and Borders.


Looking forward to many more book releases.


Living the Golden Life,
THE GOLDEN GODDESS


www.ClaudiaMoss.net
IF YOU LOVE ME, COME: a novel