16 May Lots to Celebrate … Virtually Anyway
May long weekend here and it should be decent enough weather-wise to get into the garden. It felt like this day would never come with frost and snow last week, but the dreaded Arctic vortex has moved on after seriously overstaying its welcome. Since we’re going to be spending so much time at home this summer, getting some flowers planted will help make this a nice retreat.
So, a bit of sadness set in last Saturday at my cancelled Closing Time book launch, mainly at the loss of that time spent with friends and family. This was also going to be a party not only to launch the book but also to mark the end of the Stonechild and Rouleau series. However, before deeper sadness set in, my daughter Julia surprised me with her planned introduction that she recorded and loaded to YouTube. If you haven’t watched it yet (7 minutes in length), it’s a lovely speech and quite moving. My other daughter Lisa also posted a message celebrating the book on Instagram on Saturday. Many of her followers were surprised to learn that her mom wrote murder mysteries so we might have a few new readers for the series. Finally, on Tuesday, a Canadian book site called the 49th Shelf featured Closing Time on their site as they’re giving a virtual venue for new releases. So no actual launch, but a bit of fanfare to send the book into the world. Thank you to everyone who sent messages of congratulations and support, with a particular shout out to my neighbour Kathryn Anthonisen who left homemade pie and a card at our back door to celebrate.
And I keep plugging away at this latest manuscript, closing in on 25,000 words this week. I picture my main character in a series but this is just fanciful thinking at this point. The thriller that I completed in January is currently with a couple of agents in New York and I’m waiting for their feedback. I like the manuscript but have no idea how the story will be received or if one of these two fabulous agents will take me on. This is almost paralyzing in some ways. Should I keep working on the thriller tact or start something completely different? The waiting is difficult.
I did receive good news from the Grass Roots Press publisher about my Anna Sweet series yesterday. They plan to put the books to audio! This format will be a terrific teaching aid for adult learners and should make enjoyable listening for all readers. I don’t have a timeline yet as things are just in the planning stage, but still great news. As many of you know, the eighth in the series Too Close to Home, has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award and the awards are being handed out this week. The series has had five major award nominations over the years and no wins … nice to be in the running again anyway. Cheers to PI Anna Sweet! I miss writing about her already but it’ll be wonderful to be able to listen to the stories some day.
Wishing everyone a good, restful long weekend. A nice bottle of wine, time in the garden, a good book … we’re starting to slip into summer and it can’t come soon enough!