Ten Thousand Truths is Launched

The week of the launch started with a hot, Monday morning in the garden pulling weeds in the bean rows. It was almost 11:00 and just about time for a lake swim after finishing four rows.Burton was a few rows away and all that could be heard was the drone of CBC when I looked up to see someone walking toward me. Burton said "Who's that? " and even without my glasses on I could tell it was Megan holding Paige with Brianne and Emma right behind her. Unknown to me Burton had arranged to bring them home and Brianne had picked them up at the airport late the night before. No more weeding was done that day or the rest of the week for that matter. Thursday came and my cousin Joy, her husband,John and their two nieces arrived and we were ready to leave to go set up the market around 3:00. Erin wanted to see the pigs and as they approached the pig yard they discovered five of the six pigs on the wrong side of the fence.John and I left , leaving the round-up to Burton , Joy and the girls. Later ,everything ready, we entered the market not knowing what to expect this year after such a successful launch of The Year Mrs. Montague Cried last year. I was not disappointed. My community , friends, family and several dedicated readers came out in droves to see Ten Thousand Truths off on it's trajectory. Anne Fullerton, a former student and aspiring editor and literature buff introduced me in a very generous manner. I read four passages and then my dear friend , former teacher and former colleague, travel companion ( the unforgettable Alaskian Cruise of 2007) and my house renovator finished the event by warmly and humorously wrapping things up. I signed books and greeted many people and did a video interview with a young man from the Telegraph Journal.Then we headed home for food, drink and laughter ,lots of story telling and a wind down, watching my two beautiful granddaughters charm

the crowd. What a wonderful night!

It's Here!

We arrived home from a trip to Ontario last night . It was so wonderful to see the lights of home when we pulled in the driveway. Caleb and Ashlie had held down the fort in fine style and Brianne had kept my flowers watered nicely. Today I sit here with the sound of steady rain on my tin roof. I am so thankful for each drop of water that is falling from the sky. After travelling through Ontario and seeing the effects of such dry, hot weather and hearing yesterday an interview on CBC with a American corn farmer, I am truly thankful for the gift of rain. I hope the same gift comes to the drought ridden areas before it is too late to save the crops. With all the excitement of arriving home and getting filled in on the week we were gone, the most exciting part was opening the box containing copies of Ten Thousand Truths. Not quite the same level of emotion that receiving the copies of The Year Mrs. Montague Cried brought, but huge never the less.It is thrilling to hold it in my hands and I look forward to all that lies ahead as it gets launched. Waiting for me was also a lovely hand written note on a beautiful card from a woman who had read The Year Mrs. Montague Cried last week. What a generous and kind thing to take the time and send the author such a note. I am overwhelmed and continue to count my blessings for the way things came together and brought both books into existence. Now to come down to the reality of unpacking, doing laundry and returning to the mundane amid the marvellous!

June Winding Down

It is the last week of June. The garden is planted and just about everything is up and growing. We have had three wet days which the dry earth needed badly. Ready for the hot sun to shine again to get the corn to grow high and give my flowers back their beauty. I have set the date for the launch of Ten Thousand Truths after deciding on a cover and checking everything before it was sent off to the printer. Thursday,August 2nd is the launch date at the Kingston Farmer's Market.I look forward to seeing family, friends and neighbours as I let my second book take flight.Until then I will weed, hoe, mow, swim and paddle ,

attend two weddings of close friend's daughters and enjoy every day of July.

George St. Middle School Bookworm Club

Yesterday I travelled to Fredericton to meet with the George St. Middle School Bookworm Club. Teacher Sara Belong and Librarian Sandy Barry had invited me and I am so glad I was able to go. I met Talha, Jacob, Dylan, Jaden, Nina,Heather,Matt, Sarah, and Shawne and shared parts of The Year Mrs. Montague Cried with them . We did a couple of reading /writing activities and I was happy to introduce a few books to them from Taylor Anne's Reading Challenge that they were unfamiliar with. Being the avid readers they are I am sure some of them will check some of the books out to read. Check them out, a good phrase when talking about a group of kids meeting in a well stocked library run by a very enthusiastic,dedicated librarian. That is something George St. Middle is lucky enough to have and it is a shame that every school in our province does not have one as well. Many of our school libraries are run by volunteers and when there is a lack of volunteers become sadly neglected and under utilized.I hope to return to George St. in the fall . Thanks again Sara and Sandy and Bookworm Club!

First Lake Swim of 2012

I did it! After working in the garden all day ,before getting supper I decided to head to the lake. Last year I went in on June 7th and I remember the water being leg numbing at first as I waded in but this year it was fine. Today it felt pretty much like it always does when I just tell myself "just get wet and it will feel wonderful". And wonderful it was. Back in the lake for another season. I love it ! Next plan is to get my kayak to the shore and start my daily paddles. This time last week I was in St. John's and was celebrating my win. Congratulations to my friend Riel Nason for her Commonwealth regional win.

Home From the Rock

I am home from my first trip to Newfoundland. What an amazing place! St. John's was everything I expected it to be. The whole trip was wonderful. I was greeted at the airport by a man holding a sign with my name on it. He took us on a quick tour of down town St. John's and up to Signal Hill then to our hotel all the while entertaining us with his wit and story telling. I knew we were in for a good time.After getting settled we went to a small restaurant called Zachary's a place I knew right away was where we needed to eat on this day of honouring a book with Zachary at the heart of it. I actually returned there a little while later with Gloria and enjoyed a delicious piece of cheesecake. Later we were whisked away to the VIP reception by a capable and down to business driver who took us the short distance to Bianca's with the skill of a Nascar driver.From the reception Gloria, Burton ,Mary Rose and I walked to the LSPU Hall. The night began with the awarding of the Ann Connor Brimer Award and I was thrilled to have been the one selected. Thrilled, shocked humbled and honoured for my book to receive such a tribute. Gloria Wesley was sitting right beside me and was so gracious and Vicki Grant the other nominee came right over during the intermission and congratulated me as well. Thank you to both of them. I feel so lucky to have been in such company with two such

wonderful writers. The rest of the night and days that followed rounded out a terrific experience and memorable first trip to a beautiful part of our country that I hope to return to many times . Today back home and trying to come down from such a great experience. I am so grateful for everything that has come about since the launch last year. I have so much to look forward to. For now though I have to get outside, tackle the task of cleaning out my garden shed, get mowing and tending to gardens. Our neighbour is tilling our large garden with his tractor and the days ahead will be filled with planting. I will relish the memory of the last few days as I take on the chores of garden time. Just like writing you have to plant the seeds and do the work to see a harvest.

Atlantic Book Awards Week

This time last year I was getting prepared to launch my first book "The Year Mrs. Montague Cried" on May 19th. I remember very clearly the excitement and nervousness of holding it for the first time when my ten author copies arrived in the mail. I didn't know what to expect as I looked forward to the night of the launch. It had been planned to fall on the week of Atlantic Book celebrations and I was thrilled to see a line in the brochure with my name and my book and the date , time and place of the launch. On the night of the launch a huge crowd showed up to support me and I was overwhelmed by the response. For the next few months I watched the steady sales and recieved many postive reviews and comments. I made several school visits which were always very rewarding. Now here I am in May one year later and my book has been nominated for an Atlantic Book Award and I am caught up in the celebration week as a nominee, doing readings and getting ready to fly to Newfoundland next week for the festivities. I am very grateful for what the year has brought and look forward to seeing where the next year takes "The Year Mrs Montague Cried" and me. On Thursday I met Gloria Wesley the author of "Chasing Freedom" one of the other two books nominated along with mine for the Ann Connor Brimer award. I had the pleasure of spending the evening with her as we stayed at the lovely Willow House Inn in Pictou before reading together on Friday at the Pictou Public Library. We were both a bit apprehensive to meet each other but after spending time with one another felt better about the possibility of losing out to the other. Good luck to Vicki Grant and her book "Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret" as well.Can't wait until next Thursday night to relish every minute of the Award ceremony.