Alberta Views review; McNally's; 2010

Great review of Nothing Sacred by Nicole Kajander in the Jan. / Feb. 2010 issue of Alberta Views. Nice way to end up what's been a pretty crazy year for me in many ways, good to go out on a good note. And once again, thanks to Alberta Views for doing such a great job spotlighting Alberta authors.

On the other hand, it seems that McNally Robinson Booksellers is going under, as reported in The Globe and Mail. Bad news once again for anyone involved with books in this country. We lost our McNally Robinson store here in Calgary in 2008, which was a real loss for the literary community.

But to close on a positive note, a new year and a new decade approaches, a time of new possibility beckons. Best wishes to all of you, and have a safe and happy new year!

Christmastime is here

And this morning I went carolling at school for the second time this week. I love carolling, as I mentioned before, but frankly am a little tired of the humorous versions of carols favoured by the carolling director at Dan's school. However, I sang, took in the sights, left with that familiar holiday feeling of joy / melancholy / guilt at sitting on my butt for an hour and singing when there's work to be done, dammit! Then I shopped for food, walked the dog, made lunch, made cookies for the better part of the afternoon, and after dinner started in on some cleaning as Mom and Sis (all the way from Burnaby!) are over for dinner tomorrow. Ah, the holidays. Sometimes I do wonder just who they are holidays for.

On the other hand I did doze on the couch by the light of the fireplace channel briefly this afternoon. I feel like I'm fighting something off, actually. No, not sloth; nor any of the other deadly sins, either (well, not right at this moment). A bug of some low grade.

So after the dinner is over tomorrow I have no events planned until the 24th, and I do hope that any news I'll have to report is good. So this will give me ample opportunity to rest and get rid of this thing. And then everything will be groovy again, right?

Gift Guide; Cold; Holidays

Nice to see Love Minus Zero included with other local books in this morning's Calgary Herald Christmas Book Gift Guide. And a really interesting selection of local books it was, too. I'd like to get my hands on a copy of Gig Posters: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, for instance, since I used to hang around their website a fair bit while I was writing Love Minus Zero. There are a lot of great books around and we really appreciate the promo we get from The Herald -- thanks again!

I did not go carolling. Too damn cold! In fact I went out for lunch with my pal Jan Markley today and that was the first time I'd been outside since Friday morning. Now I'm back in and I may never come out again.

Discussed the preliminary details of a writing workshop that Rona Altrows has agreed to present as part of the second half of my CAA residency. We're aiming for a date in early April; more details will follow. Just have to file a report now and then I'm officially on a break from the residency until January 15th.

Now to warm up by the fireplace channel. Brrr.

Wine; Festive Season

Wednesday's Wine and Literary Pairings event was fun, in spite of the weather. We had a good turnout, good wine and got to schmooze with writers and readers from all over Alberta. Fun!

Looks to be another snowy weekend shaping up in Calgary. I'll be wrapping up the first half or my CAA residency this weekend and am looking forward to taking a break and getting into the holiday spirit (i.e., cleaning and cooking. Yay!). Tonight we go out to get a tree, which Nick and Dan are looking forward to. I may be going carolling tomorrow night (the males refuse to join me) if the weather isn't too nasty. I love to sing but hate to freeze, so we'll just see what happens.

Review, Residency, Wine and Literary Pairings

Diane Girard's review of Nothing Sacred has been published on Senior Women Web. Scroll down the page a little way to get to it. A big thank you to Diane for that! Reviews aren't easy to come by these days.

This week is the last week of the first half of my CAA residency, and I have lots to keep me busy. I'll be back at it again come January 15th, though, so if you'd like to send me a manuscript, feel free.

Wednesday is the night of the WGA's big Wine and Literary Pairings event at 100 Wines. I'll be there along with thirty other writers and our books and our wines. Looking forward to being paired with some wine, indeed.