Harry Potter eve

mainly sunny - but rain expected later - temps 27

Beautiful morning! Am in Montreal, heading to the airport later today. Our flight isn't until tomorrow morning, but since it's a fairly early flight we've decided to treat ourselves to a night at the new hotel, built right over the Air Canada terminal that goes to the states - so we can pretty much roll out of bed and board in our pajamas. If we prefer to spend the next few says in Security World rather than Harry Potter World.

The 'we' I'm talking about are my friends Linda and Bethany. Bethany has just turned 16 and she wanted one thing - to go to Harry Potter world. Bethany's one of those amazing young women who is beautiful, smart, a terrific singer and very kind. And very aware of how lucky she is so she asks for very little. As a result, when she actually asks for something it tends to happen. Because people want to be kind to someone so selfless.

To be honest - while I might pretend this is a kindness we're doing for Bethany - if she announced tonight she no longer wanted to go, her mother Linda and would still go! We've been emailing and admitting we're almost sick with excitement ourselves! poor Bethany. What will she do with us? double the cringe factor.

So - the party starts tonight at the Montreal hotel. I have to return Sunday (Michael and I are off to Hovey Manor to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary - so you see, it's a soft landing)...but they'll stay on. Swimming with dolphins - then Disney World.

One of Michael's sons is coming to stay with him - a guys long weekend. It's the Saint Jean Baptiste weekend here in Quebec. The major holiday. Saint Jean Baptiste is the patron saint of Quebec.

I'll try to blog from Florida - bring you along. Pack sunblock. And money.

Fete de Lobster

rain, rain - then - dear Lord, beautiful sunny day! temps 26

It was supposed to be wall to wall lovely today. Wayne showed up to do the lawns - aborted many times over the past ten days. Got on the mower, started 'er up. Took it out of the shed. And wham. A downpour.

Wayne backed the mower up. Shut 'er down. Got off the mower. And went home.

I spent the morning writing...then at 11 I realized I'd done more than 1,000 words. While I could have/would have happily continued, we had other things packing our agendas. Initially the idea was to write until 1pm then head into Montreal, but since I'd done 1,000 by 11 I asked Michael if he'd like to hop in the beetle and we could head in to the city in time for lunch.

He didn't need to be asked twice. So, through the rain, we drove the 1 1/2 hrs into Montreal. Arrived in time for lunch at Taverne on the Square...then dropped off a 16th birthday gift for Bethany - I hesitate to say she's the daughter of our friends Bal and Linda - makes it sound like Bethany isn't our friend too, and she is. We adore her. So we popped around and dropped off a gift. Then Michael had a 3pm doctor's appointment (longstanding, not about his cold, which is MUCH better - cough persists but that's all). At 4pm we left. By then it was brilliant sunshine.

The bridge out of Montreal to the townships was just about gridlocked. But once actually on the bridge, things got a little better. rush hour. Plus, we're heading into a long weekend here.

In the rest of Canada it's called Victoria Day - for Queen Victoria. here in Quebec it's called La Fete de Dollard. After Dollard des Ormeaux - a french leader who died in a battle with the Iroquois.

Two solitudes indeed.

Had a wonderful drive once we got off the highway. Stopped to put the top down on the beetle. Beautiful drive! Exquisite evening. All the more lovely after all the rain. Wow. In fact we're sitting on the screen porch. that's a photo from a few minutes ago. The lobster festival is just starting at the IGA in sutton. Michael loves lobster. I'm OK with them, but not a big treat. So we got him one. And I'm writing while he eats. This is something only people married 15 years might do. blog while the other eats dinner. (and you thought speaking on a cell phone was rude at the dinner tabIe!) But, in my very shaky defense, I only do this because it takes him about 6 hours to eat a lobster. If I didn't do something I'd end up simply watching him. Hour after hour. he's one of those who has to check every hair, in case... Such fun, though, to see him consumed with pleasure.

Yesterday, in the middle of a writing jag, I did something I have never done over the course of 7 and a half books.

I dropped pasta all over my notebook. At least I didn;t dump it into the laptop - but the notebook IS the book. Has all my notes. All my thoughts, all the details. The plot. From tiny little words to huge ideas. All there. And yesterday, while eating lunch and writing, my hand caught the bowl and... you know when everything starts going in slow motion? I could see what was about to happen but I couldn't stop it.

and - plop. Cheese-y pasta vegetable crap (not the brand name) all over my notebook. Gumming up the rings of the binding. soaking through. I tried to clean it up, and most of it is gone...most. But this morning it was as though I'd poured glue all over the book. it does give me pause, and make me wonder what that stuff is doing to my insides. But I continue to be way more concerned about what it's doing to my notebook.

Fortunately, I'm in the homestretch, more or less. Another two, maybe three weeks, and Book 8 will be finished.

Which brings me to your AMAZING responses to the ARC giveaway!!! As you can see, there are over 100 in the comments from yesterday, and we received hundreds through the 'contact' email. We're reading through them and will post the winners on Saturday - though how we'll even get it down to a shortlist is anybodies guess.

I'll thank you again on Saturday....but I do want you to know how much I love reading what you've written. How it fills my heart with gladness, that this is what I get to do - and I get to do it for and with you. You make this fun. And your messages on how you'd promote A TRICK OF THE LIGHT if you win the ARC have left me in tears of laughter, and tears of joy. And gratitude.

And, if you haven't yet entered the contest, you have until Friday night. It's for an advance copy of the next Gamache book. you can read the details in Monday's blog post.

thank you for reading the books, and promoting them, and joining Michael and me on the blog....and having the lobster dinner together. Oh, I must tell you, when we arrived back home it was to find Wayne had been again - and this time got the whole place mown. the smell of fresh cut grass...first of the season here...mixed with lobster. Life cannot possibly get better.

New York Times Review of Books Ad!!!

rainy, cool, temps 15

Fall day - grey and cool - damp into the bones. But has the advantage of being completely natural for this time of year.

We're back in Sutton - feels great to be home...or at least the country home. But had a very fun day. As some of you noticed, my fabulous publishers, Minotaur Books, put a full page, colour ad in today's New York Times Review of Books!!!!

It looks unbelievable. Dazzling! How wonderful is this?

As most of you know, I this is a huge step forward in terms of exposure for the Chief Inspector Gamache books. And it feels fantastic. I'm so proud of THE BRUTAL TELLING. It's not a book I just dashed off (actually, none of them is) - it took well over a year of thinking, planning, writing and editing.

But still, I don't think anyone expects this sort of reception. I sure didn't... and I am deeply, deeply thrilled...and deeply aware of how fortunate I am.

And very grateful to all of you for buying the books, many of you from the very beginning, and telling others about them. None of this happens without your help. I know that...and very aware of it.

Thank you for this amazing time in my life. No matter what happens, I've had this past week and will remember it always.

Yay!!!

Had breakfast this morning with Francine Pelletier and her partner David Sherman. among other things, they produce documentries and they've asked if Michael and I will be part of their latest, on people's relationship with alcohol. We met at Nick's and immediately hit it off. Fascinating people. Successful people. I often expect people like that to be cynical, with an edge. Sarcastic and caustic. But they were anything but. Warm and comfortable, thoughtful. Intelligent. It was a terrific time.

Left them with just enough time to zip home, change into our "sunday best" and head off to the United Church at Landsdown and the Boulevard, in Montreal. We were meeting Bal, Linda and their daughter Bethany. Bethany's in a terrific band at the church called TM2, and they were performing at the 11am service. We'd said we wanted to hear bethany, and this was our chance.

She was brilliant. She has a full, rich, voice. Surprising in it's strength and very beautiful.

Indeed the whole service was beautiful - the focus was saving the earth. Not frightening, but reassuring - that we can do it. But must act.

We were supposed to then have lunch with Bal, Linda and Bethany, but Linda and Bal are sick with colds, so we've taken a 'rain-check'.

Got home by 3:30, got some groceries, played with Trudy...so happy to see her again!! Watched the last of the golf...yay Phil Mickleson! And am now writing to you.

A perfect day! A full page ad in the NYTRB!!! Breakfast with fascinating people!!! A church service and hearing Bethany sing!!! Then home safe and sound.

Hope those of you who have THE BRUTAL TELLING are enjoying it. And please, tell others about it!!! It really would be great to push this one over the top.

thank you for all you've done for me already!! Hope you also had a great weekend.