Keeping On

Keeping On

Well this was a productive week. I finished my manuscript (1st draft anyway) and am fully immersed in the first edit. Giving the book a read from start to finish will determine if the plot holds together sufficiently or if I need to make major changes. After this initial edit, I’ll print off the manuscript and give it another read-through. Then, off to some readers for their input. A few months work yet to come.

I’m also now booked into my first in-person event! October 9th in Smiths Falls at the Railway Museum. I’ll be doing a reading for a library bookclub and answering questions. This is all contingent on the Covid situation, but just being booked seems so hopeful. Especially this week as we enter the third wave. The situation is getting dire in Ontario and across Canada as our numbers rise, this time in the younger age groups. It’s a race between the variants and the vaccine.

My interview with retired RCMP officer Norm Boucher will be posted this Monday on the Crime Writers of Canada site. I’ll be interviewing Ottawa author and book reviewer Jim Napier this coming Wednesday and worked on some questions a few days ago. After that, Rick Mofina is on my list and he’ll wind up my interview career (unless someone else asks for one.) You know if I could do it over again, I’d love to work in radio. There’s something magical about the medium.

When I was a kid, my parents gave me a little blue pocket radio that I used to listen to at night when I could get WLS Chicago. Growing up in Northwestern Ontario no the shore of Lake Superior, reception was terrible except at night, I used to say, when the lake is calm. Those were the days of Motown and rock and roll and my radio felt like a gateway to more exciting places. What happened to my little blue radio you ask? My brother was heavily into taking things apart and figuring out how things worked, so one day, he hooked my radio up to a huge battery and blew its guts out. He bought me a new larger radio as recompense, but it didn’t generate the same memories.

So, back to editing today as we continue to stay close to home. We had a lovely, warm spring week that has turned cooler. The snow has all melted though, and I’m already dreaming about being in the garden. Outdoors feels like the safest place to be.

Stay well, everyone and reach out to friends and family if you’re feeling isolated. The finish line is in sight and we have to keep supporting each, especially those living alone. Stay strong.

Biking along the Rideau Canal a few springs ago. Won’t be long now ….