Saturday, February 28, 2015

So Long February

Home from a week in Moose Jaw watching Lisa curl in the Scotties, our national ladies' championship. The girls brought home a bronze medal and Lisa earned second all-star lead, so a good week overall!


I visited the Multicultural Centre in Moose Jaw last Wednesday morning and spoke to a class of adult learners, mainly refugees, about writing and read from My Sister's Keeper. The Moose Jaw Optimists Club bought twenty copies for the classroom - Michelle Smith, the literacy coordinator told me that Moose Jaw is one of four cities that welcomes refugees and works to integrate them into the community. Thank you to Michelle, teacher Carol Moran and all the students for making me feel so welcome and asking so many great questions. A reporter from the Moose Jaw Express also sat through my presentation and interviewed me afterward so I look forward to reading Scott's article, likely this Monday as the paper comes out weekly.

Ted and I also drove to the Regina Chapters on Friday morning where I met the manager and some of the staff and handed out a lot of book marks. This Chapters had not heard of my books before so it was a good opportunity to introduce myself and get a few books in the store.

Moose Jaw is about 30,000 people and is about a 40 minute drive west of Regina. A working class Prairie town with friendly people and a sky that goes on forever. This was my second visit to the Prairies and I was again struck by the stark beauty of the landscape - and the flatness!
 

 There has been quite a bit of media this week for Butterfly Kills, including a good interview/review in the Kingston Whig Standard, which leads me to believe that I've successfully captured Queen's campus and the city. An interview with Omnimystery News was also posted and the National Enquirer posted a brief review, saying, "This taut novel combines police procedural and personal relationships to weave a twisting tale of suspense." A free book giveaway is available for Americans so I believe the review only went in th U.S. edition. Maybe if I was having George Clooney's baby, it would have made the Canadian edition too.

So, coming up on Saturday, March 7 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., I'll be signing copies of Cold Mourning and Butterfly Kills at Perfect Books on Elgin (between Somerset West and Cooper near Scrimm's Florist). Such a great store to visit - come by for a chat if you missed out on the launch and pick up some books to last you through the spring.

I leave you with a short interview posted on Dundurn's site a week or so ago as well as a fun blog post about who I would cast in a movie based on my books.

And now, a  second cup of coffee and back to working on my latest manuscript. Weekends go way too fast...


With the TSN crew at the Scotties in Moose Jaw - Vic Rauter, Cheryl Bernard and Russ Howard.


 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Hearts and Valentines

 
The Butterfly Kills book launch last Sunday was well attended with lots of books sold. Some people came because they'd read about the launch in the Kitchissippi Times so I met some new readers from the neighbourhood as well as the gathering of old friends. My cousin Janet drove in from Montreal - a most enjoyable afternoon and I thank Whispers for hosting the event and Books on Beechwood for coming out on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks also to Katherine Hobbs for saying some kind words about my writing although she did question how such a normal-looking person such as myself could write about murder :-) Not sure I have an answer fot that one!



Queen's Univeristy alumni contacted me last week with some questions about my writing. They published the article the next day and you can find it online.

This week, heading to Moose Jaw to cheer on Lisa in the Scott Tournament of Hearts. I'll be visiting the Multicultural Centre on Wednesday morning to meed the adult learners, talk about writing and do a reading. On the Friday afternoon from one to two p.m., I'll be signing books at the Southland Mall Chapters in Regina and hope you'll drop by to see me if you're in the area.

This is Team Homan's fourth Scotties and they return as Team Canada for the second year in a row. There's a great field again this year and games will be shown on TSN beginning this afternoon. Another busy week ahead - Go Team Canada!


Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Hope some chocolate is coming your way.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Time to Party

A few weeks ago, I met Kitchissippi Times reporter Judith van Berkom upstairs at Thyme and Again on Wellington Street. We were both fighting colds, so over cups of hot tea, we talked about my writing and books. We discovered that we live streets away from each other and that she is friends with my next door neighbours. We were joined by Westboro phototgrapher Kate Settle who also put me at ease very quickly as she clicked away taking various shots. The hour flew by and  I enjoyed meeting these two lovely women. You can pick up a copy of the paper this week at some of the newsstands along Richmond/Wellington or read the article online. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story made the cover page:-)


So, Butterfly Kills launches tomorrow! I hope you can drop by to raise a glass at Whispers pub on Richmond Road between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. Books on Beechwood will be attending with copies for sale and there will be finger foods for munching. Whispers is clearing out the tables and chairs in the fireplace room for easier mingling so this will be a casual kind of afternoon. You'll rub shoulders with some other local mystery authors and lots of great friends and neighbours.

Since this book is set in Kingston, the Whig Standard is reviewing the book and this review plus a bit of an interview should be out any day. I've also been contacted by Queen's University alumni and spent last evening answering some questions by e-mail for the alumni magazine. They've asked if I have any photos from my time at Queen's so I'll have to go dig up the old photograph album. I'm not sure any of the photos will work - this was long before the digital camera, I'm afraid.

My American publicist has also been busy and I have another blog entry to write. She also donated a copy of Butterfly Kills for a draw at the blog Lori's Reading Corner - you can enter by clicking on this link.

And through all this busy time, I'm managing to plug away on my latest manuscript, zeroing in on 30,000 words. I'm still at that uncertain time in the manuscript, not quite certain how the pieces are fitting together. The key is to keep my mind open and let the ideas come. Some will work and others will lead me to think of the murder puzzle in a new way. I'll spend most of today writing since the launch is tomorrow, my daughter Julia has a birthday on Tuesday (Happy Birthday ma belle fille), and we're also getting ready to travel to Moose Jaw in a week's time to watch our other daughter Lisa curl in the Scotties.


Could life get any more exciting?