01 Jan Happy New Year! (and the Year that Was)
2022 ♥ – We made it! I know many of us are not sorry to see 2021 make its exit, but I’d say that overall there were more ups than downs in my corner of the universe. As I have in the past few years, I’ll give a quick retrospective of the year that was.
The first three months of 2021 were spent isolating as we awaited the vaccine. Ted and I have had three doses each since April, the last jab arriving just before Christmas. We spent more time with friends and family in the summer once we’d all had our second shots, mainly outdoors, but not always. A highlight for us was a road trip to St. Catharines to visit friends and tour some wineries with our masks on (unless we were outside). We also spent our anniversary at a luxurious B & B in Perth, a one-hour drive away, but that was it for travel.
Jab # 2
Another highlight for me was getting together with my daughters, Julia and Lisa and my son in law Robin, for my birthday supper at a neighbourhood restaurant in October. I hadn’t eaten inside a restaurant in almost two years, and it felt strange, but wonderful at the same time to be out and about, celebrating with my family.
2021 was the first year since 2004 that I did not have a book release! While I had a manuscript ready to go, I decided to wait until 2022 to give myself some breathing room and to regroup. I took part in some virtual events, however, happy to promote the Stonechild and Rouleau series which came to an end after book 7 Closing Time, released in March 2020. In this regard, I was on three panels and did a reading for the online book festival When Words Collide out of Calgary in August.
I took on a second term as Crime Writers of Canada director for Ottawa and Eastern Ontario and continued with interviewing some members from this region for the CWC YouTube channel. Along with Mike Martin and Mary Jane Maffini, we organized a Facebook live, virtual ‘speed-dating’ event in early December that was a lot of fun. I also participated in another live, in-person event with Don Butler and Mike Martin, broadcast from the North Grenville Public Library at the end of November. The first in-person event in two years although there was no audience and we wore masks the entire time.
Other virtual events included dropping in on a Burlington bookclub one November evening. The women were dressed for the outdoors and sitting next to a fire with glasses of wine – what a fun visit! I met twice with another Ottawa bookclub in person, once for lunch outdoors and once in one of their homes to discuss In Winter’s Grip. This group of women has adopted me as their local author and we now get together every year, a lovely offshoot from my writing life. In early December, I made a virtual presentation to the Twisted Sisters bookclub, centred in Kanata.
As for publicity, the Closing Time interview scheduled for 2020 with Rogers Cable 22 Daytime Ottawa show, finally made it to air in September. I was a guest on their first show back since shutting down in 2020 and interviewed virtually. Our local paper Kitchissippi Times also interviewed me in October via Zoom for a column, with its publication scheduled for the February issue.
Now, late December, I received a Google alert that rather shook up my world. The media release announced that the Cold Mourning audiobook had come second with Butterfly Kills placing eighth on the top ten list of public library loans in the UK for 2021. A reporter from The Guardian contacted me a few days later for an interview, and this was followed by a radio interview with Robyn Bresnahan on Ottawa Morning, an article on the CBC website, and an article on the Ottawa Public Library website. Since then, I’ve received news that the Cold Mourning audiobook placed first with Butterfly Kills seventh in the Australia public library system for loans in 2021. The Cold Mourning audiobook also placed first in the library systems in New Zealand and Harrisonburg, Virginia. This is such an encouraging way to close out the year!
As for writing, I completed Blind Date, the first in a new Hunter and Tate series, and its release in scheduled for March 1st. I’ve since been working on book two in the series, planning its release next year (much too early to contemplate yet). Blind Date will be posted on the major book sites by the end of this week and available for pre-order. The audiobook won’t be far behind!
One other big event happened for my family this year and that was my daughter Lisa’s ladies curling team skipped by Jennifer Jones winning the Olympic trials, so they’ll be off to Beijing to represent Canada if the Olympics go ahead. This is Lisa’s second Olympics in a row and we’re all mighty proud. These Manitoba sweatshirts will soon be replaced by Team Canada jackets 🙂
So, the year that was had some lovely moments even as we struggle again with an upsurge in the Covid virus. I’m grateful for each of you continuing to accompany me on my writing journey, and know that I never take your support for granted. Thank you to everyone who recommended my books, posted a review, had a kind word — you keep me going even in the down times.
Happy New Year, my friends. I wish you happiness, good health, and most of all, oodles and oodles of fun in 2022.