Back to the First Five Pages!

I decided to skip the IFOA at Harbour Front ( International Festival of Authors)this year as Liz and I needed to concentrate on our own writing. I usually go religiously to see my favourites, i.e. Louise Penny, Giles Blunt and Peter Robinson to name but a few excellent mystery/crime writers, especially since this genre is getting more and more exposure. Maybe next year.

Instead I arrived in Guelph to spend the day with Liz. I was greeted by two enormous cats, one middle size and later by the new kitten. I am not particulary a cat lover so we said hullo and left it at that. Settling with a pot of tea we made good progress over the next six hours with just a stop for a lovely lunch.

It was like starting all over again as we were on page one and made quite a few revisions at the beginning. After a while it started to flow, taking some words out here and adding others. We managed three chapters and I left it in Liz's capable hands to do the revisions on Word. (She types faster than me). It was fun acting it out and putting yourself in the place of the characters. We will be watching for the domino effect. When we meet again in two weeks time we will accelerate the rest of the revisions and work on the ending chapter that may or may not need some changes. After that there will be a polishing read through and then we can start sending out queries.

We can't do a blog without mentioning the weather and I enjoyed the drive to Liz's home yesterday. After a frost and much rain recently all the trees are in their glory. I have a Linden tree outside my office window and it is all yellow and gold. Beautiful! I know... along with all this it is dark in the mornings and will soon be dark on the way home from work as well. Time for the fireplace and cosy undershirts.

Only nine weeks until Christmas!! Oops, sorry, we have Halloween first.

Okay, time for the fire and a read of Louise Penny's latest in the Armand Gamache series. "Bury your Dead" . http://louisepenny.blogspot.com/
I am in the home stretch and have to get back to it. Not going to tell you a thing about it but just to say it's her best yet. Go buy it!

Just read John Moss's blog, http://johnmossmysteryblog.blogspot about the Thousand Islands Writers Festival he just attended. Might check that out for next year. Read his Quinn & Morgan mystery series. R.J. Harlick was also there. I like her Meg Harris series. http://rjharlick.blogspot.com/

Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam

Not Only the Leaves are Changing

Not Only the Leaves are Changing

But my vehicle of transportation has changed as well. My faithful Sebring, which has seen me through 4 full winters, one ice-storm smash up and over 143 km which I have put on it, will now be semi-retired and passed on to my daughter. Once the mileage (a much easier word than kilometerage!) passed the 200 km mark, I knew it was time for a change. And so last week I made the move up to a newer vehicle, a very peppy 2008 Caliber, which so far I am quite pleased with.

The last hour has been spent cleaning out the trunk and all the nooks and crannies where odds and ends accumulate. I hope to get it vacuumed out before the hand off next weekend, but right now the weather is not cooperative. Only a material object, made of metal and rubber, but funny how we get emotionally attached to the darn things…it won’t be without some sadness that I pass over the keys to my daughter.

Autumn is well upon us now - trees are rapidly gaining glorious colours and we have had our typical rainy days, with much cooler temperatures. Oh how I wish the season would just switch from autumn to spring as I dread the thought of winter. In reality its only the driving I suppose, that causes me anxiety, but I can dream can’t I?

Nothing new to report on the publishing front with Madelaine, but we continue to persevere. And I am tickled to be back meddling in the lives of Paul and Dorothy and really want to focus on how the future may unfold for them.

And in the continuing theme of change, I’m also job hunting. The position I currently have is a mat leave coverage, which will end in a couple of months, with no guarantee that I can stay with the department that has been home for almost a year. So amidst revisions of Body Perfect, I cope with sending out resumes and scanning Workopolis!

Its true, the only constant in life is change, and we can’t avoid it.

Enjoy the weekend. Oh, and note that we’ve added 2 new links for favourite authors – John Moss and Vicki Delany

Cheers!
Liz

Words, music, food ,dogs ,children and lots of books.

My usual Sunday evening blog was delayed due to extreme fatigue and sore feet. Well that's an exaggeration but after walking around for hours in the hot sun at the book and magazine festival "Word on the Street" I was not up to any blogging or much of anything.

I have been going to this festival since it started in 1990 and only missed a few. This was the best year yet. I don't know how many thousands were there but the setting is great at Queen's park and very well organized. Tents were in abundance with workshops and readings. Booths of booksellers and magazines and signings. Lots of music and I saw oddles of different breeds of well behaved dogs.

A large area was taken over by the folks at Sony who were promoting ebooks. I know, I know, technology is with us but... and there is a place for them. But how do you take one of those things to bed and get comfy? Or when your friend wants to borrow the book you have been raving about... and what about the feel and smell of books. and what would I do with my lovely bookcases? I have a better affinity with Audio Books as they are perfect for a walk or run or in the car.

One of the busiest tents and booths were the children's readings and the selling of the phenomena of graphic novels. Not comics but whole novels with some of the most amazing drawings and the kids were loving them.
The jury is still out on those but as long as they are reading... My grandsons read them but also read regular books.

Did I mention food! I ended up with a Malaysian....... Not sure what it was. Watched it being made but had a problem eating it.

Met up with John Moss, a super mystery writer and his wife Beverley Haun.

http://johnmossmysteryblog.blogspot.com/ Check his latest "Grave Doubts" a Quinn and Morgan mystery.

and also Vicki Delaney a very prolific writer with her Constable Molly Smith books and her latest is "Winter of Secrets" out fall 2009.

http://www.vickidelany.com/?page_id=270

Of course my main objective was to hopefully meet an agent who could not wait to get their hands on our manuscript but alas.. I did attend a workshop with a very prominent agent from Toronto so I will be doing as she suggested and she will be hearing from us soon.

Talk later.

Slainte,

Pam