Post Sandy update
Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes and support during this terrible storm. The Best Beloved, the Resucepoo and I are all fine. The power came back on Thursday, and internet connection and phone came back yesterday. We lost about a dozen trees and the fence was knocked down, but that’s all. It was a…
Read MoreThe Next Big Thing: Find Out What I'm Working On
Writers are tagging writers in this new questionnaire going around the web. What’s the next big thing we’re working on? Thanks to historical novelist Sandra Gulland for tagging me! What is your working title of your book? “The Empty Room” — it’s the final title. Where did the idea come from for the book?…
Read MoreTHE EMPTY ROOM has a cover!
Hi everyone, There are few more exciting moments for a writer than the one when the cover of a new book is revealed. So, I’m delighted to share with you the cover for my next novel, THE EMPTY ROOM, which will be out in Canada with Harper Collins, May 2013. I must say, I quite…
Read MoreOf Prizes and Eagles and Seals
Okay, so let’s talk about that big old heffalumping elephant sitting across the desk from me. OUR DAILY BREAD did not make it onto the short list of the Scotiabank Giller Prize. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. On the other hand, I’m not really that disappointed. To feel more than a…
Read MoreThank you, Nova Scotia!
I just got back from a wonderful six days in Nova Scotia, where I was part of the “Word on the Street” festivities. What a great place. I’ve always loved Nova Scotia, and don’t get to visit often enough (although I’m happy to report I’ll be back there in the spring, promoting the new book,…
Read MoreNova Scotia Bound
I’m off to Halifax on Saturday to take part in the wonderful “Word on the Street” events on Sunday as well as doing a reading at “The Inside Story” in Greenwood, Nova Scotia on Wednesday evening, Sept. 26. I’m excited. I LOVE Nova Scotia and look forward to seeing old friends. One of the things…
Read MoreA Form of Political Protest
We wake up this morning to more dreadful news. Riots and attacks in Libya, Yeman, Egypt. Good people dead. Intolerance and ignorance exploding everywhere. I am prone, as I have said before, to the droops. The world gets me down. Some days more than others, and these days cruelty, selfishness, intolerance, ignorance and self-righteousness abound. …
Read MoreOUR DAILY BREAD & The Giller Prize
Well, today started out pretty darn well. I heard OUR DAILY BREAD was longlisted for the Giller Prize. All prizes are, of course, as much a matter of luck and timing as anything else. I know there were some wonderful books published this year that didn’t make it onto the list. I also know it’s…
Read More"I Would Rather Be With You Today. . . "
I’ve been meaning to write a blog for a few days now, but I keep starting and then stopping. There seems so much to say, about many things: the US election, my ‘magical uterus’, hurricanes, what constitutes rape, gun ownership and now this — the mob of Israeli Jewish teenagers who beat an Arab teenager…
Read MoreAnd Just What, May I Ask, Are Your Intentions?
There’s an interesting piece about literary criticism in the Aug. 15, 2012 New York Times, written by literary critic Dwight Garner, called “A Critic’s Case for Critics Who Are Actually Critical.” It’s a fun article to read, peppered as it is with just the sorts of anecdotes that make us want to read critical snark…
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