Mark your calendars! I will be the featured reader at the Canadian Authors Association- Victoria Speak Easy on Tuesday, October 17. Please come out to the Good Earth Coffeehouse at the corner of Foul Bay and Oak Bay to hear the winners from our prose flash non-fiction contest followed by yours truly. If you write prose, consider signing up for the open mic portion of the evening. Sign up begins at 6:45 pm. Readers have up to five minutes to read from their fiction or non-fiction, starting at 7 pm. We'll take a short break and then start with the contest winners at 8 pm. This will be my last stop on the fall reading tour, and it will be great to read for friends and fans back at home. I look forward to seeing you there.
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Thanks to everyone who has sent me a note or email with praise for Plastic. I'm thrilled to hear which stories resonate most with each reader. It's also lovely to hear compliments about the book, of course.
Last month, my publisher forwarded an email he had received from a reader. She wrote that Plastic "is written with such precision and grace and is sympathetic to its characters without ever sinking into hysteria or getting maudlin. A great story on a timely subject. A great book for book clubs." This message delighted me for two full days. Someone who doesn't know me picked up my book and enjoyed it so much she felt compelled to write the publisher. Every writer dreams of making this kind of impact on her audience. So the next question for me was how do I get the book into the hands of more readers and on book club lists, as suggested in the email? Well, dear friends and readers, one way is for you to share your thoughts by writing reviews on Amazon, Goodreads or other social media sites. Two people have already added reviews on Amazon. Thanks so much, Liz and Michelle! If you read the book and enjoyed it, please consider posting your feedback to spread the word. I am working on a press release to promote my upcoming book tour as well. Fingers crossed, an interview or two will follow. Thanks so much for your help and support! As the summer begins to wind down, my thoughts turn to fall and my upcoming book tour. I am really looking forward to travelling across three provinces and meeting new readers. Thanks so much to Stephanie and everyone at the Porcupine's Quill for arranging the tour dates. Perfect Books in Ottawa is hosting an author meet and greet on Saturday, September 23, between 1 and 3 pm. I welcome friends, colleagues and readers in Ottawa to come down to the bookstore to chat and get their books signed. Perfect Books is located at 258A Elgin Street. On Friday, September 29, I will be reading at the Novel Tea event as part of the Fog Lit Festival 2017 in Saint John, New Brunswick between 2 and 4 pm at the Stone Church on Carleton Street.
The next day, I will hold a Short Fiction Workshop for festival attendees between 9:15 and 11:15. It will be held at the Saint John Free Public Library. On Monday, October 2, I will be reading from Plastic at the main branch of the Halifax Public Library at 7 pm in room 301. I have a large extended family in the area and hope to see many of my relatives and childhood friends at the event. If you live in or around one of these three cities, please come say hello. I'd love to see you! For those in Victoria, stay tuned for an announcement on another reading here in town, too. It's going to be a busy fall. I mentioned in my last post that I injured my leg. I actually tore a calf muscle, which was quite painful. I am on the mend, but the experience has offered me a fresh perspective.
At first, I was on crutches and barely left the house. Then I was upgraded to a cane, which meant I could do my own shopping and attend a couple social events. I was very excited about this prospect. But using a cane in public has opened my eyes to how persons with disabilities can be treated. I readily admit that I walk at a snail's pace and have a limp at the moment. But it is hurtful and frustrating when people walking behind me huff or cough (as if that will make me walk faster) or push past me. At the same time, as a writer, I am fascinated by their lack of sympathy and sometimes outright aversion. We have had a bit of a heat wave in Victoria this week, and my physiotherapist suggested I do some resistance exercises at the pool. I limped my way to the recreation centre and suited up. As I was standing at the edge of the pool, a man approached me with a big smile on his face. Until I started walking towards him. He quickly turned away, the smile replaced by disdain. As if I had somehow tricked him. There was a part of me that shrunk a little bit from that behaviour, but my curiosity got the better of me (this is research, I told myself). After my exercises, I went over to the hot tub and chose a spot in between two groups of people, rather than the side of the tub that was empty. One group assiduously avoided eye contact. The other left within seconds of my arrival. I started to think about people with visible disabilities who deal with these situations daily. And I remembered being a pre-teen who didn't want to play with my neighbour's daughter, a grown woman with physical limitations and the mental capacity of a small child. Back then, I acted as if her condition was somehow contagious or would taint me in the eyes of others. What I never considered but buried deep in my psyche was the joy on her face when she was invited (by the adults) to play with us. How we had the power to make her happy with something as simple as a ball toss. This insight will work its way into my next book, and I'm grateful to be able to understand better the hurt we can cause others through ignorance and insensitivity. I have been eager to start working on my next book, which I fleshed out a few years ago. And I must have complained once too often about how I need more time to write because the universe has just granted me my wish. I injured my leg yesterday and have a six-week recovery ahead of me. No working out. Not even any walking for the time being. So it looks like I'll have plenty of time to do the research I've been meaning to do. Luckily, I've also had some good news. I have been invited to attend the Fog Lit Festival in Saint John, NB. I will be one of four writers reading from their works at an event called Words and Wine on September 28. They have also asked me to run a workshop on short fiction. What an honour! I am thrilled they asked and also humbled. After years of writing short stories, I must have a few pearls of wisdom to share with participants. Unearthing them will be another item on my convalescent to-do list. We are still working on the details, but my mini-reading tour will also include a reading in Ottawa and one at the Central Branch of the Halifax Public Library on October 2. What a thrill to read in such a beautiful building where authors like Yann Martel and Donna Morrissey have wowed the crowds. Ever since I first visited the new library, I have dreamed of holding a reading there. I feel very blessed to have a few of my dreams come true this year. I will provide more details on the tour in the coming months. In the meantime, it's time to tackle that research. I will find a sunny spot, prop up my injured leg and dive into a book. All things considered, this is an excellent way to spend a summer's day. |
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