Recently, GuidepostsBooks had a party. Not a gather-in-the-conference-room and eat a homemade cake kind of party (though we do enjoy those as well). This was a full-out gala to celebrate the publication of our new book Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, by Beth Pattillo.
We had amazing food. The space—the Morgan Library on Madison Avenue—was gorgeous. The company was excellent (when asked who would be there, Carl, our marketing director answered “New York”). We were blessed to have the charming Jane Seymour (check out her cover story in GUIDEPOSTS magazine here) in attendance.
It was a wonderful evening.
The highlight, for me, was watching Beth Pattillo read from her book. And not just because we both slaved over that manuscript. It was magnificent. She stood on a platform in front of this enormous, elaborate fireplace, bravely faced the crowd of 150 people, and read from one of the opening scenes in the novel.
In the scene she chose, Claire, the novel’s main character, comes across a woman who claims to have the lost original draft of Jane Austen’s masterpiece Pride and Prejudice. Claire doesn’t think there’s any way the brittle old hand-written manuscript the woman hands her could actually be pages from the novel, but something in her holds onto the hope that it might be:
“I was left with a pile of paper that looked very old indeed. Old enough to actually be—No, that was ridiculous. She’d probably written it herself. A flight of fancy… At the moment, though, fancy appealed to me far more than reality did.”
Something about hearing those words in that grand setting resonated with me. That party was a wonderful aberration—a flight of fancy. It wasn’t what working for GUIDEPOSTS is like everyday. Most times, our days are made up of meetings and budgets and unending piles of manuscripts. But sometimes, a flight of fancy is exactly what you need. And this was one I’ll never forget.
Beth Adams
Editor
GuidepostsBooks
Watch our video footage of the event!
