Saturday, May 7, 2011

Tulip Time in the Capital


I'm reminded of a childhood rhyme: Tulips in the garden. Tulips in the park. But the tulips I like best are the two lips in the dark. Not exactly Shakespeare, but when I was twelve, the words held a certain fascination for things ahead.

The spring edition of Mystery Scene magazine, published in New York, arrived yesterday with a great book review of In Winter's Grip. It was a thrill to see the review alongside Michael Connelly's and Harlan Coben's. The final line of the Winter's Grip review are: "This is a novel not only to be read, but savored". A lovely recommendation!

You might wonder how a book gets reviewed. Well, the publisher sends out copies of the book to a list of potential reviewers and they decide to review or not. Publishers do not pay for reviews and there is no certainty that what is said about the book will be positive. However, libraries and readers are guided by these reviews when deciding what to buy or read. Reviews can come out a year after the book is released so patience is key.

I'm looking forward to Capital Crime Writers meeting this Wednesday because Tim Wynne-Jones will be presenting a lesson on editing manuscripts. Tim won the Governor General award twice and he knows of what he speaks. His most recent YA novel Blink and Caution is a fabulous, creative read. I've agreed to be part of the program committee next year so am looking forward to helping organize guest speakers. You can join Capital Crime Writers even if you don't write - we have lots of mystery fans in the group and our speakers are fascinating - detectives, police, psychologists, authors, intelligence experts . . . the list goes on.

Well, looking ahead, the launch of The Second Wife on Sunday, a visit to a grade 7/8 class at Joan of Arc Academy on the 20th, a talk at arts night at the Unitarian Church on the 27th and then off to Bloody Words in Victoria June 5-7 - spring is heating up.

Well, I'll conclude with another nugget from my grade school autograph book: Yours till Niagara Falls or Seven up drinks Canada Dry.

1 comment:

  1. That has to be an amazing feeling… someday I hope to experience that. I have put you book on my to read list. I love the cover BTW… I hope it sells like crazy.

    ReplyDelete