Three Dog Night

Oh my God - it's noon and minus 21 degrees. At 8 this morning it was minus 29. Apparently at about 6am it was -32.

A three dog on the bed night. We only have one, so Trudy was working overtime to keep us warm. The kitchen, with the leaking solarium, is like a fridge. Happily the living room is toasty warm. But I'll tell you, when it gets this cold everything is fragile. Everything creaks.

Trudy went out this morning - as briefly as possible - and came back limping from the cold. It's so cold it burns her pads. And our lungs. Easy to start coughing on a morning like this. And there's ice frost - so cold the air starts to freeze. Very beautiful, actually.

I remember when I lived in Winnipeg it would get so cold the car tires froze square to the ground and the car seats felt like concrete. Michael and I were pretty sure the little bug wouldn't start this morning. Tony was standing by the boost it from his truck if necessary - but it started.

There were wind chill warnings out - and black ice warnings along the highway. The irony of a northern winter - it is achingly beautiful - and deadly.

We went off to Cowansville for breakfast then the garage to get the replacement car until Michael's 'real' car is fixed.

Thank you for all your well-wishes, and your own stories. They really do help. We're feeling actually just fine. - a few bruises, but surprisingly neither of us is afraid to drive. But we are afraid to be very far from each other. I think that's the only side-effect to the accident. I had to drive back in to Montreal today to do a live Radio Canada interview in french tomorrow morning - Michael is staying at home with Trudy. But we needed to connect with each other as soon as we both arrived at our destinations. And a few times since. Don't like being more than 10 feet apart. Practically texting him when he's in the next room.

Not sure how long this will last - probably until the divorce.

Nice to be safe and sound and warm inside. Hope you are too.

Had fabulous news today - BURY YOUR DEAD has been nominated for the Dilys Award in the US! This is chosen by the Independent Mystery Bookseller's association, and represents the books they most enjoyed selling in 2010. The other nominees are: Steve Hamilton (The Lock Artist), Dennis Lehane (Moonlight Mile), Colin Cotterill (Love Songs From a Shallow Grave), Keith Thomson (Once a Spy), and Don Winslow (Savages).

Congratulations to everyone.

The award will be given out at the crime readers/writers convention called Left Coast Crime in February.

Just plain cold

overcast, temps minus 24

OK, jokes over. We can return to normally scheduled programming now. Please. This is cold by even Quebec standards. And where the ice and snow in the trees was glorious yesterday, now I notice many trees bending over, and branches on the ground where they've grown too brittle and broken. Must get out there with a broom and whack our honeysuckle bush.

Still, this is actually pretty much winter here. A few days every winter of desperate cold. Followed by three months of just plain very cold. And a couple months of simply cold.

I actually quite like it. Except for the cold, of course.

Am by the fireplace again, sending My Assistant Lise info on permissions for the sixth book...poetry. Mostly Margaret Atwood. and need to register for Bouchercon. It's a huge crime readers and writers convention. Moves around each year. This year it's in San Francisco in October.

Listening to the soundtrack to The Piano. Loved the film...love the score.

Some people have asked about THE HANGMAN. It's a novella I've written featuring Gamache and a murder in Three Pines. It's part of a new Canadian literacy project called Quick Reads, based on a very successful programme in the UK. Recognizing that emerging readers, adults, are not interested in reading books for kids - that it is in fact insulting and counter-productive to offer them that - the literacy groups decided to approach writers and ask for very short books (slightly longer than a short story) that can be read by adults at a grade 3 to 5 reading level. I was asked to be part of the first wave of Canadian novelists. Very exciting. As you might know, I'm quite involved in literacy campaigns here. How exciting to help someone discover not only the practicalities of reading, but the joy and power! The comfort. The excitement.

THE HANGMAN is the novella I came up with. Just being edited now. I believe it will be published this fall and should be available in the States as well as Canada.

I hope it isn't crap. That would be disappointing.

Quiet day today. Will continue reading the mass market proofs for THE BRUTAL TELLING...finding some odd mistakes...and one howler, as some of you know... will say no more.

I adore days like this...quiet reading, small easy tasks, feeding the birds with Trudy...and working myself up to a bath. Bliss.

Hope this find you enjoying your Sunday. Sorry about the blast of cold Canadian air we've sent south. I blame society.

Hello, I must be going...

clear, though with slight haze of ice crystals, cold, temps minus 23

I saw a woman on TV this morning toss a cup of hot water into the air and it turned to ice before it hit the ground. Never seen that before. Not the day to go outside.

So, it's just past 10am and I'm in my flannels, don't plan to get out of them! Fireplace is lit, Sting is on the stereo. Puppies curled up on the rug.

I debated whether I should do the blog now or wait, in case something interesting actually happened. This is the magnitude of my decisions today. But, of course, I realized nothing was actually going to happen today. Though there is always the unexpected. For instance from my study window I see the snowplow has arrived to dig us out. We had a brief storm yesterday, but it only dropped a couple of inches. Still, I guess that's enough to plow.

Isn't this thrilling? There really is a reason no reality show follows writers around.

But something exciting did happen yesterday. Michael's barber, a woman named Maryse, agreed to cut my hair. So I cancelled the appointment I had in Montreal Sunday and re-booked with her for tomorrow. Now, I am just a little concerned that she says she doesn't cut women's hair. Do you think that might be a problem? I wonder if she realizes I'm a woman. True, the moustache might be throwing her off. Though at the very least it'll be nicely trimmed tomorrow.

Honestly, how bad can it be? I guess whoever shows up at the Phoenix events will see. If I look like your grade 8 gym teacher you'll know what happened.

Speaking of Phoenix Barbara Peters and I decided we'll do 2 events at Poisoned Pen. The concern is that the first one is at 7pm on January 20th - inauguaration day. We figured people might just prefer to watch it, and the surrounding events, and the news recaps. But I'll be at Poisoned Pen that night. But we decided to offer another event at the bookstore the next night - Wednesday Jan 21st - also at 7pm...for those who couldn't make the first.

Then it's off to the airport for the red-eye back home.

Must go - there's a whole lotta nuttin goin on without me.

Hello, Chief? Would you believe, it's minus 31?

Clear, bitterly cold, temp. minus 31.

Dear Lord. Minus 31. Can't even imagine how quickly flesh freezes in that. fortunately there's no wind. If there was no one would venture outside. Except Tony, who helps around the place and pretty much keeps us running. Around Christmas he looks like Santa. Bushy white beard. Quite a mountain man. But as the season progresses he looks more and more like a Yeti.

God bless Tony!

Quite a busy day. Writing this morning. Have learned to shut out all distractions - phone, email, visitors etc. I have to, otherwise I'd still be writing A FATAL GRACE/DEAD COLD. do you remember Get Smart? I loved that show as a kid. Would you believe I had a tiny crush on Maxwell Smart? But when I write it's as though I bring down my own 'cone of silence' - with results similar to the show. It doesn't always work. Missed it by that much.

Cotton just called. We were supposed to go to dinner with her tonight but she's (not surprisingly) caught a cold so has cancelled. We have a small gift of home-made (not by us but by Manoir Hovey) granola. This granola is like heroine. We've hooked our friends, and now dole it out sparingly when they start 'jonesing'. It gives us power over everyone around us, which we like.

Pat just called - to thank us for the dose of granola we gave her! Lovely woman.

Am off for lunch with Cheryl - the one that was truncated a couple of weeks ago after a call from my agent. Have granola for her too.

Wish I could give you all some - perhaps it's time to introduce it to the bistro in Three Pines. I think I will. Will be writing a scene there today. Ha, that's fun. Granola on the menu now. With a nice hot cafe au lait. Yum.

Stay warm. Thanks for the company.