Somebody's been sleeping in my bed...

bright sunny skies, cool, temps 6

Very calm day, no wind...makes it feel much milder. But it is a crystal clear day. Gorgeous.

Didn't sleep well last night. Started off well. got to bed by 8:30 (yes - such is the life of an international jet setter) - read the page proofs for Bury Your Dead...got 100 more done. Not many errors, at least not that I found. Then at 10pm I watched House Hunters and House Hunters International. New favorite shows. Fantasy stuff. Then off to sleep. I always fall asleep quickly.

And then, well, it's anyone's guess what happens. Happily most days now I sleep all the way through. But sometimes i wake up at 3 and toss and turn. Thinking about the book. But not last night. last night I woke up about 1am and starting thinking about....the bear.

suppose, my 1am brain asked, the bear comes back and is hungry. Can it break into the house? the doors are locked, the alarm is on...but maybe a bear doesn't worry about such things. And then what?

What was that? A creak? A groan? A bear?

So I lay in bed coming up with plans. Close and lock the bedroom door...though that seemed not very effective, if the bear could get through locked front door. Still, it would slow him down, thought my 1:30am brain.

but it did not seem the best plan. We could climb into the attic, I thought. drag a chair over, lift Michael into it first, get Trudy up there. Then I could jump up...and maybe knock over the chair. So the bear wouldn't come up too.

Have to take the phone to call someone. The Surete. They'd save us.

I fell off to sleep trying to remember to take the phone with us into the attic when the bear broke into the house.

I hope a degree of insanity is a good thing in a writer. Kind of too bad if it isn't.

Went off for breakfast in Cowansville today - then did some banking and renewed my drivers license and health care card. And then home by noon, for a call from my agent with the news Turkey has bought the rights to my books. That's terrific. Very happy about that.

fielded some requests for events to promote The Brutal Telling, including a possible mini-tour of Ontario linked to the Evergreen nominations of the Ontario Library System.

Then spent the afternoon writing book 7. Such a funny life (bears aside)...promoting The Brutal Telling, editing Bury Your Dead, writing book 7 and starting to think about book 8. No wonder I'm nutty.

tomorrow is our friend Bal's birthday, as well as our friend Cheryl's birthday! I'm heading off for a 7:30 birthday breakfast with Cheryl. Great way to start the day.

Hope you are slightly nuts too.

Evergreen

mainly sunny, lovely day, temps 10

We're in Montreal and it is a picture perfect day. Sunny, mild. Everytime we come to our apartment here, close to Greene Ave in Westmount, we are reminded how much we love it! Montreal and the apartment.

Though had a disconcerting experience last night. At 10:45 we turned the lights off and suddenly heard a piano playing. It went on for a while. This morning I went to speak to the apartment management about it...not really sure if we heard right. The management people weren't in - but I spoke to the doorman who confirmed there's a person two floors up with a piano. Then while we were talking someone else came by and said - Oh, that must be ____________. She used to live above us and moved to your end of the building. Thank God! She plays at all hours and won't stop. Since she moved it's been peaceful.

Yeah - for some.

Now we've got her banging away at all hours.

The doorman suggested we call the cops on her...but I think we might keep that little treat as a last resort. We'll see how it goes. Fortunately we're not here all the time. I can't believe others haven't complained...and perhaps they have. We'll find out from the manager, Donna.

And, speaking of Donnas - I had lunch today with Donna Nopper - my publicist at Hachette Canada, who represents the new publishers in the UK. She flew in for the meeting and we went to the Bistro on the Avenue. Great meeting - very productive.

Also did a taped radio interview with Sharman Yarnell of CJAD.

Did my writing this morning...at a section where counting the words isn't very helpful since there's a lot of re-organizing happening. But as chaotic as the manuscript is at the moment I'm feeling very, very good about it. Heading down a fun road. Will see where it goes. I generally know better when I read over the completed first draft and get a sense of pacing and structure.

As you might gather, my process is to way over write, then winnow down.

A piece of great news is that The Brutal Telling has been nominated for the Evergreen Award, by the libray system in Ontario. Here're the details and other nominees...


The 2010 OLA Evergreen™ Award Program Nominees have been finalized!

TORONTO, ON – The Ontario Library Association and official Wholesaler, S&B Books, are excited to reveal the short-listed nominated titles for the 2010 Evergreen™ Award Program, which is part of the Forest of Reading™. All nominated titles are available on the Forest of Reading Program page of the OLA website, which you can visit at
http://www.accessola.com/reading. They are also listed below:

The Brutal Telling, by Louise Penny, Publisher: Headline
Burmese Lessons, by Karen Connelly, Publisher: Random House (hardcover), Vintage (paperback May 2010)
Come, Thou Tortoise, by Jessica Grant, Publisher: Knopf (hardcover), Vintage (paperback March 2010)
February, by Lisa Moore, Publisher: Anansi
The Heart Specialist, by Claire Holden Rothman, Publisher: Cormorant
The Mystery of Grace, by Charles de Lint, Publisher: Tor
Old City Hall, by Robert Rotenberg, Publisher: Touchstone
Oonagh, by Mary Tilberg, Publisher: Cormorant
Small Beneath the Sky, by Lorna Crozier, Publisher: Greystone Books
Underground, by June Hutton, Publisher: Cormorant

“We are looking forward to even more participation this year,” stated Shelagh Paterson, Executive Director of the Ontario Library Association. “It is about enjoying reading without any other obligations – aside from voting which the readers love doing.”

The voting for the Evergreen™ Program takes place during Ontario Public Library Week in October and the winner is announced in November. Every year the winner attends the OLA Super Conference in February to receive their Award and meet their fans from across the Province. The Evergreen Award™ program was introduced at Super Conference 2005 for adults of any age. It gives adult library patrons the opportunity to vote for a work of Canadian fiction or non-fiction that they have liked the most.


As you can imagine, I'm over the moon about this! To be chosen out of all the fiction books published in Canada is huge. And I'm thrilled. Soooo - for all of you living in Ontario - get out and vote...often.

We've ordered the pizza. Have rented Precious and The Informant. Not sure which one we'll watch. Probably The Informant since I'm not sure Precious is a gobbling pizza movie.

Back to Sutton tomorrow in time for lunch and meeting the kids at the Sutton Elementary School. But first, before we leave Montreal, we have Tara's ashes to deliver to Bal, Linda and Bethany.

And had some more sad pet news...quite devestating really. The German shepherd upon whom Gamache's Henri was based died. Henry was only six years old and had a short but terminal illness. Poor one. Poor parents.

Tough time for dogs! Tough time for dog owners.

I hope your pet is doing well. Looking forward to getting home and giving Trudy a hug - though I suspect she'd prefer a walk.

Wish me luck at the school! How old are they when they stop biting?