Last Days of September

A good week.

Beautiful, warm weather for late September so still pleasant to sit on the front verandah before supper.

I've been writing in the evenings, heading up to 5000 words on the new manuscript. I'm still tinkering with the opening two chapters, getting the engine started up and going in the right direction. This one is the third Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural and set in Kingston, Ontario.

As I posted on my author Facebook page, Cold Mourning (1st Stonechild and Rouleau) received a couple of nice reviews from advance reading copies. I also received an e-mail yesterday from the VP of Dundurn, who just read the book and said that she 'loved it'.  She'd phoned me earlier in the week to let me know that she's taking Cold Mourning to the Frankfurt book fair in early October and has had a poster made of the cover to put up at the booth. Publishers work to sell foreign rights at these fairs, which is a big deal - your book gets printed in another language and distributed in another country.

An unexpected cheque arrived in the mail this week from Orca publishers for The Second Wife. From what I can gather, a whole whack of them sold in the U.S., so that was an uplifting little jolt.

I have a couple of events coming up this week. Tuesday morning, I'll take the train to Toronto for a little book launch for My Sister's Keeper and The Hard Fall at the Downsview Public Library at 7 p.m. If you're in Toronto and have time, it would be great to see you. The librarian is going to interview me and I'll do a brief reading. Refreshments will be served. The train ride to Toronto and back  through the countryside with the brilliant fall colours should be rejuvenating.

Next Saturday, I'll be at Brittons in the Ottawa Glebe, signing the same two books from 1-3 pm. They also stock In Winter's Grip, so it will be available too. Linda Wiken and the store owner Ted are two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet so it should be a lovely afternoon. I hope my Ottawa friends can pop by:-)

Well, two days ahead with fine autumn weather. I'll be off to the market shortly and will plan a few meals with the fall produce. The garden needs to be tidied up and readied for winter and this will be a good time to get started. Some progress on the new manuscript, time on the verandah in the evening talking to neighbours . . . . the last weekend of September promises to be a relaxing one before a hectic week ahead. Let's hope this gorgeous weather holds well into October.