Cold Enough For You?

If ever there was a weekend to stay inside with a good book and a cup of coffee, this would be it. I heard the words 'Arctic vortex' uttered by the weatherman on television for the first time last night. Minus 29 degrees C at the moment with a wind chill making it -45. The extreme weather alerts and frostbite warnings are more reason to snuggle in for the weekend.

I'm now on holidays until March 2nd with a trip to Phoenix in the mix. I have two guest blog posts to write, tax receipts to organize, and a new manuscript to get going on. I've been plugging away on the first chapter, but so far, am struggling with the voice of one of the characters. I can see her in my head, but she's not translating as I would like onto the page. I'm going to have to keep writing and tinkering until I get her right. She's taking up the bulk of chapter one so key to driving the story forward.

Still no author copies of Tumbled Graves in the post as of yesterday. If you can't wait for the April 3rd launch, Perfect Books has some copies for purchase, but I am hoping you can drop by the launch. Here is the official invitation, which I will be sending out soon - on my 'to do' list.

Coincidentally, Capital Crime Writers' guest speaker this past Wednesday evening was Ottawa Citizen journalist Ian MacLeod, who spoke about the decline of newspapers. I say coincidentally because it was the same day that about ten reporters were laid off or retired from the Citizen, sadly including Peter Robb, who supported local writers with book reviews and articles. A very sad day. This reminds me of the gloom and doom when books went digital and bookstores were shutting down. Now, there is a resurgence in bookstores, although modest with people realizing they missed holding books in their hands. I wonder if we will go through the same loss with the newspapers. We certainly need professional journalists to tell our stories and probe into scandals and the like. What form this takes is up for debate.

One plug for the Capital Crime Writers' short story contest. You do not need to be a member to submit a story as long as you are over eighteen and live in the National Capital Region. Stories can be up to 3,500 words and must contain a crime. For more details, visit the CCW website. The deadline is April 1st.

Okay, off to put on another pair of socks and top up my morning coffee mug.

Stay warm, my friends.