RECAP: Bertrand's Back-To-School Birthday Bash 2025

Ever since Bertrand the Mouse leaped out of the BryonySeries young adult vampire novel "Staked!" and into his own books in 2013, we wanted to host a "Bertrand's Back-To-School Birthday Bash" to help get people (children especially, even if through adults) excited about reading.

At first, I thought a Facebook party might be fun (remember those)?

But for one reason after another, we delayed the party's execution year after year. 

Finally we held our birthday party for Bertrand in 2023 (in person, complete with Santa and ice cream) which I missed because I was in the ER.

I made the 2024 birthday party for Bertrand, which was quiet, lowkey, and very nice.

But this year on August 30 at The Book Market in Crest Hill was the best (so far) - and not just because I wore normal clothes for the first time since surgery.

And that's really funny, too (not the clothes), because we experienced so many behind-the-schenes glitches.

First, Bertrand thought he packed his birthday hat - but it was his frog hat. 

Then, we had a mixup with the submarine sandwiches, so Timothy and Daniel ran out for snacks.

We couldn't find Bertrand's birthday games-to-go, so we had to print more...around the time we needed to leave the house to set up.

But Cindy made pencil Ribbit-Ribbits, and gave a discount to a repeat customer, whom we met at last's year's birthday bash.

He came out this year on purpose - and bought a copy of "Bertrand Spends the Night."

We gave away most of Bertrand's chef-made birthday kibbles, which are featured in the BryonySeries "Squeak" cookbook.

An author putting her book on consigment at The Book Market bought a copy of the "Grrr" cookbook.

A couple from out of town brought their fourteen-year-old grandson to The Book Market in honor of the grandson's birthday, also on that day. We let the grandson pick out any book he liked. He chose "Lycanthropic Summer."

Grandpa kept wanting to buy Bertrand.

We also shared information about B.L.O.C.K.S.

 And after the event, we sold one copy each of "Bertrand's First Book of Adventures" and "Bertrand's Second Book of Adventures."

Is it wonderful to know that good things can still happen, even if we make mistakes?

Happy Monday!