There is something indescribably wonderful about holding your book for the first time–after all those versions, revisions, proofreads, passes, jacket designs…one day a bound book finds its way into your hands and how happy it makes you to stroke its pristine cover and inhale the unmistakable smell of new book. It’s not unlike the thrill of delivering a baby.

“Only difference is, once it comes out, you can’t make any changes to it,” I said to my mother.

“Oh, honey,” she quipped, the mother of eight. “Once a baby comes out, you can’t change that either.”

And as with a baby, it takes a village. I was happy to be able celebrate the arrival of The Latecomers with some of the fabulous writers who helped midwife it: Kira von Eichel (whose magic hands posted the pic), Lucinda Treat, Carol Paik, Daphne Beal and Madge McKeithen. (Others not shown were there in spirit.) Big thanks to Raymond Bonner for hosting us minutes before having to catch a plane to Australia for Bookoccino, his cool bookstore cafe in Sydney, getting 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor.