Sarah Moore Fitzgerald and Clare O’Dea at The Gutter Bookshop launch (credit: Ger Holland Photography)

The last few weeks have been all about sending Before the Leaves Fall out into the world. I’ve been touched by the goodwill that surrounded the three events in Bern, Dublin and Geneva. I hope you can get a sense of that in these photos.

In Stauffacher in Bern, the Irish Ambassador Aoife McGarry gave a lovely speech before the Swiss launch on October 9th. The Embassy is extremely supportive of the Irish community in Switzerland, which I’ve seen flourish over the past decade especially, with more cultural, sports and business activities than ever.

The Irish Ambassador to Switzerland Aoife McGarry at Stauffacher Bookshop with Clare O’Dea

I got a very warm welcome from Marta in The Gutter Bookshop in Temple Bar, Dublin for the Irish launch on October 23rd, and was delighted to have the older generation represented in the audience by my mother, aunt, godfather and my teacher from first class! The O’Dea clan was out in force.

The evening was made all the more special by the presence of Louise Boland and Laura Shanahan of Fairlight Books who flew over from England for the occasion. Photographer Ger Holland did a great job of capturing the best moments. I’ll add a few more of those pics at the end of this post for posterity.

Louise Boland, Clare O’Dea and Laura Shanahan (credit: Ger Holland Photography)

Next up was Payot Rive Gauche in Geneva on November 6th. A huge thank you to Marianna Baudouin who suggested and hosted the event, and to everyone who turned up to hear more about the novel. On the morning of the event, I did my first radio interview about the book on World Radio Switzerland. You can listen back here.

With Marianna Baudouin of Payot Rive Gauche

There have been some great reviews of the novel on social media and I’m hoping for a review to appear in The Irish Times soon. Fingers crossed! Meanwhile, I enjoyed doing this Q&A for Books Ireland on books that have meant something to me over the years.

I’m not sure where Before the Leaves Fall will take me next but I look forward to meeting more readers and booksellers. Don’t forget to add the book to your Christmas shopping list.  Buy the book in Ireland from The Gutter Bookshop, in Switzerland from Stauffacher or Payot. Or anywhere you like!

Before the Leaves Fall Dublin launch (credit: Ger Holland Photography)

Before the Leaves Fall launch (credit: Ger Holland Photography) Before the Leaves Fall launch (credit: Ger Holland Photography)