Tying up 2012

Another Christmas here and gone. This year, I received two hardcover books (A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs) and . . . a Kobo. Yes, I've joined the e-reader generation.

It took me an afternoon to figure out the password and set up the Kobo. My first download was Michael Connolly's The Overlook, which I finished reading yesterday. I have to say, I like the backlit feature and the ability to download books anytime. It will be very handy for travelling. However, I missed turning pages and holding a book in my hands. I think the Kobo will not replace books for me, but it will be a convenient option.

Writing went well this week in admist the Christmas festivities. I'm honing in on 50,000 words and the threads of the plot and subplots are starting to come together. The finish line is almost in view! When I get to this stage, I take whatever scrap of time I have to write and I spend non-writing time thinking about the plot and characters. This is the fun part.

I have a few events coming up mid-January:  I'll be teaching a short story writing workshop for kids at the Carlingwood Public Library on January 19th and will be on a writer panel with Mary Jane Maffini and C.B. Forrest, moderated by Councillor Katherine Hobbs, the evening of January 16th as part of a Granite Curling Club fundraiser. There'll be wine and food and books for sale courtesy of Perfect Books, one of our few remaining independent bookstores. Collected Works closed Christmas Eve but a buyer stepped forward to purchase Books on Beechwood, so one store has been saved. Also, a shout out to Linda Wiken and Ted at Brittons for their mystery bookshelf and author signings.

So, 2013 is but three days away. I have two adult books being released in the fall - Cold Mourning from Dundurn and My Sister's Keeper from Grassroots Press (adult literacy). Both books are the first in a series and will keep me writing novels for the adult audience for the foreseeable future. I've enjoyed writing the young adult books, but believe it's time to settle into writing for one age group.

I'm planning to do some travelling to help publicize the books when they are released - some book conferences and possibly to Northern Ontario and around the Ottawa Valley. Looks like a busy, exciting year ahead!