May the odds be ever in your favour!

overcast, showers, mild - temps 12 degrees

We're having just a blast with the Canadian Literary Hunger Games! As many of you might know by now, as a nod to this phenomenon and the movie that just opened, the brilliant folks at CBC Books (part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) came up with the idea of having a CanLit Hunger Games. 12 male characters from Canadian fiction and 12 female were chose as 'tributes'. For this unfamilair (as I was until recently) with the idea....these characters are pitted against each other in combat, and only one is the ultimate survivor.

In the CanLit version the characters remain alive thanks to the votes of readers.

One of the Canadian literary characters in the Hunger Games is Armand Gamache!

Over the course of the past two weeks, readers have been voting - and characters have been 'killed off'. It has been increasingly fun and increasingly unnerving. Very strange to feel that Armand is actually fighting for his life and only our votes will keep him alive. And, as the Games have progressed, it become increasingly brutal, with the lead swinging wildly....but for the past few days it has come down to three competitors.

Xavier Bird - the main character in Joseph Boyden's award winning book Three Day Road
Anne of Green Gables - everyone's 'kindred spirit', who has done her best to kill Armand
And, our own chief Inspector Gamache!

Thanks to your voting, Armand pulled ahead a few days ago, and has remained there - though it has been extremely close, within a fraction of a percentage point at times!

I have to say, I've been so deeply moved by your commitment to helping Gamache.

Thank you, thank you. Merci! And now we're at the final day - the competition closes tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow.

Anne of Green Gables is surging....and Xavier's fans are loyal and passionate and want their guy to win. Armand is far from safe. But whatever happens, I want you to know how grateful I am. I know it's a game, but it's been wonderful to have such magnificent support!

The best character will win, be it Gamache or Anne or Xavier - but I feel Armand has already won...who wouldn't feel like a winner after seeing such support from all of you?

And I want to again congratulate CBC Books for a simply brilliant idea, one that bring the characters to life, and makes it fun and riveting, thrilling and moving. And make it clear that Canadian literature is all of those things, and more. Bravo.

And bravo to you - for breathing life into Armand - and doing your best to keep it there.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/03/the-canlit-hunger-games.html#socialcomments

On another note - the writing for the next Chief Inspector Gamache book is going well - almost at 30,000 words for the first draft (which is normally about 120,000 by the time i'm finished the draft....so about a quarter through). It's sometimes terrifying, but mostly it is such fun...can hardly wait to get at the manuscript each day. Phew!

Off today to speak at a brunch celebrating the centenary of the Lennoxville Library. love that library! When I was with CBC Radio we did a few remote broadcasts from there. When I'm writing now I decline all speaking engagements - but I agreed to this one because it was this library. Looking forward to it.

Then tomorrow, Michael and I head to England! A few days at an inn in the Cotswolds, visiting a friend of Michael's (and mine) in a nearby village, then we've rented a flat in Knightsbridge until May. Wow! I love London...hope you do too, cause you're coming with us!

Hope this finds you well and thriving - and thank you again, for all your support - with the Hunger Games - and with so much more.