Not so Perfect Book Launch

I have never been to a book launch before but following Nik Perring's launch of his short story collection: Not So Perfect, I will be making sure I look out for and attend more.

I have been reading Nik's blog since I started this online rambling space. Despite being at the other end of the country, many of the blogs I love to read are all Manchester based, this is due to my lovely friend Sally (who lives in Manchester) who introduced me to blogging and some fantastic writers. Through the power of blogs, Twitter and Facebook, Nik and I have become friends so, needless to say I was excited and pleased to hear Nik was publishing a book. Having never really read short stories, I didn't know what to expect but when I got the perfect sized book through the post, I read the first story, Kiss and was hooked.

Not So Perfect has the ability to connect with everyone. The very perfect stories are insights to minds of everyday people which to some level we can all associate with. I mean, I think there is a Venus in all us females! All 22 stories are fabulous and although Kiss is my ultimate favourite, others become more loved depending on how I am feeling. My mum loves Angels in the car park, but I think that is because she can see herself lying in the snow to make angels.

I was so pleased when I knew I could make it to the launch and it didn't disappoint. I met some lovely people and now have some new blogs to read such as Kim's, Carol-Ann and Annie's. I got to hear Nik read five stories: Kiss, The Mechanical Woman, My Wife Threw Up a Lemur, Seconds Are Ticking By and In My Head I'm Venus. All fantastic. The questions were great too and it was interesting to hear where the ideas for the stories came from, and the process of working with Roastbooks to publish the collection.

I definitely need to seek out some local writers and attend more events like this because I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done to Nik :)