30 Oct Pumpkins, Ghosts and the Spooky End to October
Good Saturday morning. It’s not often my birthday falls on blog day, but today is the day! Last year, at the height of the pandemic, it was a lonelier affair, but this year, I’m seeing people – dear friends and family. A happy kind of day.
I’ve had a productive week, clocking in at 4,000 words on the new manuscript. Perhaps more importantly, I saw the connections between my two plot lines and have a way forward. I’m nearly halfway through the story arc, Characters are fleshing out and suspense is heating up. It’s a great feeling when things start coming together.
Tuesday morning, Charlie Senac from Kitchissippi Times interviewed me via Zoom for Humans of Kitchissippi, a feature in every edition. We chatted about lots of stuff so I’m not sure what will appear. The piece will be published either November or February, so stay tuned.
Early this week, I asked an old friend Tim Wynne-Jones if he’d have a read of Blind Date with a view to a recommendation if he liked it (and only if he liked it). Tim is such an excellent writer with two Governor General awards, two Arthur Ellis awards and a Edgar, so I was hesitant to even ask him in case my book fell short. I mean, Tim is one of my favourite writers and someone I greatly admire and look up to, so no wonder I hesitated. Anyhow, two days after I forwarded the manuscript to Tim, he sent a thumbs-up blurb and said that he loved the book and ‘gobbled up’ the story. I can’t tell you how light I’ve felt ever since!
I spent a bit of time this week working on a news release for Blind Date and thinking about who to send it to. I’m going to investigate Mail Chimp toast up mailing lists, so if you’ve had experience with it, drop me a line. Up until now, I’ve emailed everyone individually, but this might not be the most time-effective strategy going forward.
I’ve got two book club visits coming up next week, one in person and one virtual. I finished rereading In Winter’s Grip in preparation for the in-person meeting, and found myself on edge with the mystery. I’d actually forgotten bits of the story, including who ‘did it’. This book is a love story too — give it a read and let me know what you think 🙂
So October ends and November begins. The days are getting mighty short and the mornings are crisp. I’m staying indoors more, spending more time at the computer, writing about a summer heat wave. Won’t be long before we wake up to snow — hard to contemplate. Stay warm, my friends, and pop in next week to find out how the bookclubs went!