Homeward, Bond!
Back at my desk. Home for a bit. I earned the much-coveted ‘Warrior Poet’ designation from the NY publicists after that crazy Friday dash to Seattle and the PBS studios. That, of course is far, far...
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Cover Reveal
And … here’s a first look at the elegant HarperCollins UK cover for River of Stars. It’ll be out in July there, though e-books are already available in that market . This is an ambitious positioning of...
View ArticleHousekeeping
This week feels like a lot of to-dos to cross off, write more down, cross off. That tends to happen in a break at home during a release period. (Yes, I filed my taxes.) The CBC ‘Next Chapter’ interview...
View ArticleHistorical Fiction
Someone had a comment on the last post, and I thought it better to reply in a full post here. The Ottawa reading and interview were absolutely worth the drive up from Mtl, so thank you again. I should...
View ArticleWhat Have You Done For Me Lately?
I wish I could remember which ’50s American author told the sorry of his publication day, walking around midtown Manhattan and being dismayed to realize that most of the people around him were...
View ArticleBack west
I’m swinging west again Tuesday, to Calgary and then Kamloops, in the Okanagan Valley. Calgary is a library reading at the main branch on Tuesday evening. The link to register (free, but requested for...
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Home
I go away for four days and Toronto’s Mayor gets in more trouble (more and major) and there’s an earthquake. Data is being compiled as to possible connections… Calgary and Kamloops hosted smooth, very...
View ArticleWrong turnings
A clever friend noted that Twitter loves aphorisms, if retweets are any measure. I think it is true, but I think aphorisms ‘work’ in all contexts not just online. They offer a hint of life-solving....
View Article“Not Dark Yet…”
Okay, so I am among those who like to quote Dylan (Dylan Thomas, too). It has been a week or so since last posting here, but I did alert that these entries would slow as touring ended and my next phase...
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All Over the Map
This is always a strange time for me. I joke that agents and editors get into ‘What have you done for me lately?’ mode, but in fact I am maligning them when I say that. It is pretty much all internal,...
View ArticleYou Had Me At … Some Point
I did a panel some years ago during a convention at Harvard. The topic was ‘You had me at hello: how to hook the reader on page 1″. I am afraid I was a tad contrarian. I suggested, with examples, that...
View ArticleNext Steps
I did promise to keep the Journal going this time around, I used to stop them around now, but this format (supported by Twitter and FB) is much easier to use, and the issues surrounding a book don’t...
View ArticleOther markets
I think I’ve said this before, but maybe not here. I am hugely interested in my foreign language editions. I have surmised it is partly being Canadian, an awareness that literary success demands...
View ArticleThe envelope, please
A small discussion about honours and awards in literature was started over on Twitter this morning, when one of the coordinators of a good sf-focused website nominated Tigana as the ‘best fantasy ever’...
View ArticleOn the road again
The second stage of touring/travel for a spring book usually kicks in during the autumn after. In Canada that’s an increasingly busy author’s festival season. It is also awards seaosn, but that’s a...
View ArticleOn Not Giving Advice
I did a tweet yesterday morning that seems to have triggered an enthused response from a lot of people: “My Saturday morning writer’s advice for writers: try not to get hung up on writers’ advice for...
View ArticleSeptember song
The title isn’t meant to be all that nuanced. I just love the song, and, well, it is the month. I had coffee with my film agent, Jerry Kalajian, yesterday here in Toronto. He comes in for TIFF, our...
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In-between
Just back from the Word on the Street book fair in Saskatoon. It was a terrific visit. The fair, in just its third year, is very much together already. I was interviewed on stage by the generous man...
View ArticleFlotsam and Jetsam
I feel a tad remiss here, but console myself by remembering I did alert that updates would slow as the marketing period for River of Stars wound down and I ramped up the research for the next book. I...
View ArticleA letter from Armenia
When I wrote Tigana I knew I was taking certain artistic risks. I have often told the story (in part meant for young artists pushing themselves and their fields) that when my very experienced, very...
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