IT'S GOING TO BE A CRAZY PARTY

I'm a planner - sometimes, I'm a party planner. I enjoy having creative get-togethers and hearing praise for my food and ingenuity. So when it came to planning the launch party for my new book, The Other Side of Crazy (918studio), I knew I could have a lot of fun. Especially because the book itself tends to be dark - I thought it pertinent to lighten the mood a little.

As I usually do when planning a party, I scoured my recipes for ideas fitting my "crazy" theme. I wanted food disguised as other food or things, but more akin to April Fool's Day rather than Halloween. I need the food to taste good and I don't want to gross people out. I decided on Marbled Orange Fudge that I've made before and noticed it looked like Colby-jack cheese cubes, Candy Sushi, and dessert pizzas, one sweet one disguised as pepperoni and a fruit one disguised as veggies and other pizza toppings. For drinks, I'll have Sunday Punch - not all that crazy except the party's on Saturday - and plain water for the non-punch-drinkers.


I also wanted to make the party a little more appealing by giving away door prizes. Most of them, however, are not crazy: ebook stubs for Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters and copies of poetry chapbooks published by my host, Midwest Writing Center. The grand door prize is a brightly-colored snail-adorned bag with a high heel tape dispenser, to-do list napkins, a hamburger cord wrapper, candy, and colorful notebook, pens, and pencils.

Of course, the party will have the typical reading, book signing, and sale. It should be fun. If you're in the neighborhood (3rd floor, Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 E. 2nd Street in Downtown Davenport, Iowa) from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 14th, be sure to stop by.

Have a crazy day!
-the Wordsy Woman