Butterfly Kills Makes its Debut

Everyone who is happy to see the end of January, raise your hand. It was another -33 degree night to cap off one of the coldest Januaries in Ottawa that I can remember. If I see one more photo on Facebook of someone lounging on a beach with a drink...I might have to go down south and join them.

As Butterfly Kills book launch approaches on Sunday, February 8 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Whispers Pub - hope to see you there - the first of the media is hitting the stands. Peter Robb at the Ottawa Citizen posted a terrific review last night. The Kingston Whig Standard is also running a review next week or the week after and the Kitchissippi TImes is running a profile this upcoming week. If you could share the Citizen review through social media, I would be most appreciative - readers are the best way of spreading the word.

I've been asked a few times where my lead cop character Kala Stonechild came from. For those who haven't read Cold Mourning, Stonechild is 29 years old, Aboriginal and grew up in foster homes. She's a loner, intelligent and self-sufficient but also vulnerable. She's not very good at sticking with relationships and has a trust issue. My best answer to her origin is that she originated in the many news stories that I've read about issues impacting First Nations kids in Canada, including the devastation from sending several generations to residential schools. Kala's parents, both deceased when the book starts, were sent to a residential school and neither had any parenting skills as a result. The repercussions reach far beyond the history books to present day and Kala personifies some of the impact in a way that I hope resonates with readers.

I have some homework to do on book three in the series, which is entitled Tumbled Graves. The editorial work begins in a few months and the book is slated for release by Dundurn in early January 2016. I stalled a bit this week working on the fourth book in the series because I've been sick, but I appear to be on the mend today and will spend a good part of this weekend writing. The Citizen review is giving me renewed energy!

So, just a week to go before the Butterfly Kills launch. I double checked that Books on Beechwood has the books and is set to atttend and I'm in contact with Stacy at Whispers to reorganize our space to accommodate more people and to order some finger food. My good friend Katherine Hobbs has kindly agreed to say a few words of welcome, and my cousin Janet Chapman is driving in from Montreal.

It's going to be a party - come raise a glass and help me celebrate!