The Cruelest Month

sunny, warm, perfect spring day temps plus 8

Snowed to white-out at times yesterday. Doug arrived about 10pm. We sat by the fire and talked almost to midnight. Snow still falling outside. I took the photo yesterday at about five thirty. You can just see two geese in the foreground. More snow hit a few minutes later.

Doug - from Toronto - was shocked. Though, as we've already established, this is April, and April is The Cruelest Month. (Do you hear the organ music?) I think our lives should have soundtracks, so that instead of living in near perpetual anticipation of something bad happening, we'd be warned. By the organ music.

But this does bring me to the next bit of fun news. St. Martin's Press has decided to re-issue all the books, with snazzy new covers. I reeeeeally love the new design. In many ways more in keeping with the actual tone of the books, which are comforting and comfortable on one level, but something not so comforting is happening beneath. They're about duality. Appearances versus reality.

And that's why the new cover for The Cruelest Month - set at an Easter celebration in Three Pines - is perfect. As you can see above (I grabbed the image off Amazon.com) it show cheery painted eggs, and the very subtle crack in one...to reveal something rotten. How perfect. In one picture it has summed up the themes of the series. That beauty and joy exist, but so does cruelty. As in the cover, joy outnumbers the rancid elements. But the rotten is still there. And often hidden. Indeed, in my books, and my experience, always hidden. Behind a cheerful and benign exterior.

And - the exterior is also real. We really are cheerful. The killer is genuinely good. And genuinely rotten.

The book with the new cover just went on sale - and I wanted you to see it. My wonderful editor in New York, Hope Dellon, posted it on my facebook page yesterday.

Happy Easter. Happy Passover. Or simply, happy Friday. By noon here the snow had disappeared and the geese had left, but we had two ducks on the pond.

The Cruelest Month starts her journey

overcast, mild, temps around freezing

Words and magic were in the beginning one and the
same thing, and even today words retain much of their
magical power.
Sigmund Freud

THE CRUELEST MONTH launches today in the United States. And to celebrate I've decided to add a new, fun, feature to the blog, and that's a daily quote. Not, perhaps original, but I love quotes and often find inspiration, a laugh, comfort, wisdom and truth in them.

This quote by Freud starts the whole thing off, and accompanies THE CRUELEST MONTH on her launch. If you've read the book you'll know the powerful connection between this sentiment and the themes of the book.

And, I've found it to be true in my life as well. The power of words, to hurt and to heal.

Off you go, little one. Good life, and blessings.

Hello? Hello? Hello? Is that Dr Watson?

clear, highs minus 9

Beautiful day. We're back home which always feels terrific. Had a great time in Toronto, though. Such fun to see the fabulous Arthur Conan Doyle collection at the Toronto Reference Library. A woman named Peggy showed us around. They have, among lots of other things, an illustrated copy of the VERY first Holmes short story ever. Only 26 in the world! As a Holmes nerd this was unbelievable!

Actually, I know I can tell you this and it will go no further, I had a crush on Dr. Watson. Am I the only one? Surely not.

John Brady, the other mystery writer at the library event, was brilliant. Lots of terrific questions too, like whether we'd started out with the intention of writing a series, or if that just happened. And if it was intentional, what decisions did we make about character, setting, etc, that played into the series idea.

LOVE the hotel - the SoHo Met (no, sadly, they don't give me a free room for mentioning them, though actually the publisher McArthur pays anyway).

Had a lovely train trip down to TO and a horrible one back. Both on Via First, but on the way back our seats had no window, little leg room and the man behind us talked non-stop, either to the poor woman beside him or into his cell phone.

I was plugged into the iPod for most of the trip (Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York city, dah, dah, dah...) and doing the final fine-tuning on book 4 (sent it to London and NY this afternoon - yay), but Michael reported it was most annoying to listen to this man droning on.

I was also guilty of that, spending about 20 minutes on a call to St Martin's Minotaur publisher Andy Martin and my editor there Hope Dellon. We seemed to go through a tunnel everytime Andy spoke, so I spent a lot of time yelling, 'Sorry, pardon, excuse me? What was that?' Not very interesting to the people around me and probably not very amusing for Andy either. Now, remind me again, is it a good idea to annoy the publisher, or not?

Fun call though, which I might be able to tell you about one day soon.

Which reminds me - we're getting close to the March 4th release of The Cruelest Month in the US. If any of you have contacts with your local media and can get the book reviewed in your paper, that would be wonderful. The big challenge, even for a third book, is spreading the word. And anything you can do to help would be so appreciated.

Must be off. Poor Maggie's leg isn't any better. Now I'm getting worried. Michael says I catastrophize things, and he's right. Happily, nothing I've ever been afraid of has actually happened. So that's good news for Maggie.

We're taking her in for a scan Monday morning. I'm sure she'll be fine.

Be well, and thanks for all your support.

India Today? Now, are you just making this up?

Mostly sunny, mild, highs minus 3

Perfect day - we're still in Montreal, but heading back to the country tomorrow. Michael's eye still fine. Busy week last week.

Went to Toronto and did an event at Casa Loma with Giles Blunt (terrific writer) - it was sponsored by the Crime Writers of Canada. Lots of people, lots of fun - fantastic location for a murdery mystrery evening. Cheryl Friedman from CWC is a really amazing woman. A dynamo who also manages to be very kind.

Stayed at a great hotel - the SoHo met. New for me. The manager turns out to be the brother of a former colleague and the best friend of another former colleage at the CBC - Lorne Saxberg, from Thunder Bay, Lorne and I co-hosted the CBC Radio morning show show shen he was 21 and I was 20. But we sounded about 55 (as everyone does on CBC). People were shocked when we'd show up for public events - not believing Lorne's booming, masterful voice belong to this little blonde kid. Tragically Lorne died two years go while scuba diving. It felt great to talk about him with someone who knew him so well.

Then back on the train - VIA One - no one around. Spent most of the 5 hour journey editing book 4, listening to my iPod and looking out the window.

Arrived back in Montreal to find the CWC had sent the box of books to be judged in the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel category. There are 15 - but in a cruel optical illusion it looks like 130 books.

And - great news!!! - returned to the news that THE CRUELEST MONTH in the US has been given a starred review by Publishers Weekly! That's two starred reviews - one from Kirkus and the other from PW.

As well, India Today has made the UK version - THE CRUELLEST MONTH - one of it's book club selections!

And in Canada THE CRUELLEST MONTH has landed on the bestsellers lists today for the third week in a row.

This is a lot more fun than a kick in the head (of which I've had a few - particularly painful when I do it to myself).

Just finished the notes on book 4 - will send back to the publisher tomorrow.

Michael healthy, THE CRUELEST MONTH flourishing, book 4 done (again). Life is great.

Hope your life is great too - full of health and peace. And joy. Talk soon.