"A Very Plain Young Man" Book Launch Party

My friend from high school, Christina (Hwang) Dudley, had a book launch party last night for her sixth novel! As luck would have it, Christina lives in my new city of Bellevue, and her book launch party was in nearby Kirkland.

I caught up briefly with Christina a couple of months ago for tea and pastries. She's a busy Mom of three, and this was only the second time that we've had a chance to see each other again since I moved here.

The book launch party/signing was really fun. It was at a gorgeous house, with an impressive attendance. There were delicious nibbles and even orgeat lemonade. My friend, Paula, came with me to the party. It was certainly fun to share the evening with her, and made it not as awkward for me, as I wouldn't have known anyone but the author! :)

Christina's latest novel, A Very Plain Young Man" is the second book in a series. Both books are set in the Jane Austenesque era. (which would explain the orgeat lemonade and the dancing lessons after the book reading.)

Christina did a fabulous reading of one of the chapters of her new book. It was a bit of an odd deja-vu moment for me, as I listened to her read. We shared many classes together in high school, and hearing her read was like going back in time. Christina was very involved in the drama department in school as well, so she really had a wonderful knack for reading aloud, and bringing the characters to life through her voice.

Here are all of Christina's books, available from amazon.com.

Here is Christina's blog post about the evening.


The author, Christina, signing her latest book


together again after over 25 years!


Thank you so much for joining me, Paula!


the crowd during the book reading