Springing In

Good Easter weekend everyone. Spring is in the air (albeit a cool spring) and the cardinals are back. I've already been shopping and beat the crowds at Farm Boy - helps if you're there before 8 a.m. on a Saturday :-) This Sunday, I'm not cooking a big meal as Ted thought it would be good to go to a brunch at a local golf course. What, no shopping, baking, house cleaning, cooking all day, washing a truckload of dirty dishes and cleaning up the house again? Yes, I think I can handle a change in tradition ... although I do like hosting the big family and friend suppers now and then too.

Writing is going well this week. Rounding in at 14000 words on the latest manuscript and getting a pace going most days. This one is taking some research so I'm learning lots about a new area of the country - I'm thinking a road trip would be great but not sure I have the time. I suppose only the locals will know when I've taken liberties with the geography.

Publications that review a book usually send an advance copy of the review to the publisher as a courtesy. One major U.S. publication sent an advance review to Dundurn this week for Bleeding Darkness and it is a very good one. So that lifts the spirits. I can't share it until it is officially released in May. You can enter now, however, for an advance reading copy of Bleeding Darkness if you are on Twitter - simply retweet the Dundurn post that offers the chance to win one of five copies. I'm not sure how long this will be running so best to retweet it soon. You can find it if you search for #StonechildRouleau.

I'm going to start sending out the invitation for the book launch on June 3rd once this weekend ends. The invitations can go out too early and people forget, or too late and they have other plans. I'm never certain if I've got it right, but so far so good with the crowd. This time I'm delighted to have a band playing - Green Floyd will be keeping the event rocking. Should be a great afternoon!

So another week of writing ahead and likely some editing as I expect the final comments for the Anna Sweet novella to pop back into my in box early this week. I'm still liking this one even after all the rereading and tweaking so that's a good sign. Usually, I've lost all perspective and fondness for a book by the time we're done dissecting and polishing.

I wish everyone a lovely weekend with lots of chocolate and time to enjoy a few days off. In honour of spring, I'll close with a poem we used to write in each other's autograph books when we were kids:

Tulips in the garden
Tulips in the park
But the tulips I like best
Are the two lips in the dark.

(I didn't say it was an award-winning poem:-)