Tales From Behind the Calgarian Hotel

Writing in the Works 5; When Cowgirls Get the Blues

2012-02-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

The FreeFall Magazine launch was a most excellent time! Big crowd, big readings, lots of laughs and wine and cheese. Thanks to everyone who came out, and thanks also to Owl's Nest for hosting, and Micheline and Lynn for organizing.

Coming up next are a couple of readings I'm taking part in next month. Writing in the Works 5 is Saturday, March 10, 1:30 PM, at Memorial Park Library, 1221 - 2 St SW. Here's the press release:

Back for a fifth year of luscious literary samplings, Writing in the Works, Memorial Park Library, and emcee Rona Altrows are proud to present Calgary writers Rea Tarvydas, Robin van Eck, Lori Hahnel, Jane Cawthorne, and Rita Bozi reading from books in progress, books coming out soon, and books on the prowl for publishers.

Writing in the Works was created by Rona Altrows and Lori Hahnel in 2008 to celebrate the
writing process and showcase works in progress by local writers.

Right after that is an event I'm doing the evening of March 15th at Shelf Life Books, When Cowgirls Get the Blues, poster below. Cool! Looking forward to both these readings very much.IRLS

FreeFall launch; Freezing

2012-01-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be reading at the launch of the latest issue of FreeFall (Winter 2012), in which I have a piece of creative nonfiction. Other readers include Juleta Severson-Baker, Barbara Parker and Naomi Lewis. That's 7 PM, Thursday, February 2 at Owl's Nest Books located at 815 49th Ave SW in Britannia Shopping Plaza. Good readings, good company, and wine and cheese! Come on out and enjoy.

Well, I suppose I can't let this ridiculously cold weather pass by without some comment. Especially now that I'm recovered from falling on my head on some ice last week. I mean, the temperature's been hanging around -29 all day. Really. I wish I was back in California. Maybe I'll have to set my next book there.

Over and out for now. Stay warm.

End of 2011; Here's 2012 already

2012-01-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

There's crazy, sleazy, wonderful Hollywood Boulevard on December 30th. Yeah, hard to believe with the snow swirling outside my window, that I was there a mere eleven days ago. We had a great time in Hollywood, Santa Monica, La Jolla and San Diego, though I have to say it didn't really seem all that much like Xmas. And now it's all beginning to seem like a long time ago.

So 2012 is in full swing already. Tonight it's back at my Creative Writing courses at Mount Royal University. I have non-fiction pieces out in the January / February edition of WestWord and the Winter 2012 edition of FreeFall. I'm looking ahead to a couple of readings in March -- one is Writing in the Works 5 and the other is a multi-author event at Shelf Life Books, more about which later. And I await word on my new novel.

Keeping the fingers crossed, as usual. Here's to a good 2012!

WGA Xmas Party; Annual Holiday Wind-Down

2011-12-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Samantha Warwick and Carol Holmes of The Writers Guild of Alberta for organizing last night's really enjoyable Guild Xmas party, and many thanks to the Rose and Crown for hosting. There were fine readings by Barb Howard and Jeramy Dodds, door prizes, food and lots and lots of chat. A good time was had by all, I think!

Tomorrow night is my last creative writing class for the fall term at Mount Royal. However, I'm back in the Winter Term to do it all again. Have really been enjoying my classes and my students.

So, getting close to the holidays. Looking forward to taking a break with family and friends and getting back to some real writing in the New Year. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

"Impatient to be Free"

2011-12-01T06:36:00.001-08:00

My story "Impatient to be Free" is today's featured story on Fiction365. Check it out!

Freshwater Pearls Encore Reading Wed. Nov. 23; Coming to Canada

2011-11-19T14:12:00.001-08:00

This Wednesday, November 23rd at 7 PM is the Freshwater Pearls encore reading, featuring Lee Kvern, Susan Carpenter, Frances Hern, Kari Strutt, Julie Lockhart, Robin van Eck, Richard Gorecki and me. Excellent Christmas shopping op, folks! That's at Owl's Nest Books, in the Brittania Shopping Centre at 815A - 49 Ave. SW. What better way to Occupy Calgary than by supporting your local indie bookstore (and indie writers and publisher)? Plus awesome readings and amusing banter!

But before that, tomorrow afternoon I'm braving Calgary's first real blast of winter for Coming to Canada, readings and panel discussion about immigration with Frances Hern and Brian Brennan. That's at Shelf Life Books, 1302 - 4 St. SW at 1:00. I understand there will be coffee and cookies. Sounds good!

Owl's Nest Reading; Rubbing Stone; FreeFall

2011-11-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Open mic night at Owl's Nest was a blast -- wide variety of work and readers. Thanks to Rea of the Alexandra Writers for organizing. Next open mic night is November 30th, so bring out your three double-spaced pages of work and put your name in the hat. Well, Ziploc bag.

Speaking of Owl's Nest Books, looking forward to the Freshwater Pearls encore reading there at 7 PM on November 23rd. That's Lee Kvern, Susan Carpenter, Frances Hern, Kari Strutt, Julie Lockhart and me. Owl's Nest is in the Brittania Shopping Centre at 815A - 49 Ave. SW. Come on out and support your local indie bookstore (and indie writers and publisher)!

I'm happy to announce a couple of forthcoming publications, in different genres, yet! It seems I will have a poem (!) in Rubbing Stone: A Nose Hill Anthology, which will be published in 2012 and is being edited by Vivian Hansen. I had a couple of poems published in a tiny long-dead journal many years ago and kind of thought that was it for me and poetry. But it's something I've been revisiting lately. Very nice.

Also, FreeFall Magazine is running a creative nonfiction piece I submitted to them for the Winter 2012 issue. Very pleased to once again be appearing in their pages!

All the news for now. This fall has been going by even faster than usual because of the classes I'm teaching at Mount Royal (and enjoying very much!). Looking forward to a Xmas trip this year -- first time in my life I've ever travelled at Xmas. And we're going to Hollywood! Oh, my. Pretty exciting for an old movie freak like yours truly! Yay!

Fiction365; Nothing Sacred Review; Open mic night

2011-10-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Got word that a story of mine is set to appear in the online journal Fiction365. They feature a different story every day -- hence the title, as my kids would say. My story will be up in about a month's time. I'll post here once I get the details.

Also just discovered that in July a review of Nothing Sacred by Andrea Ledding ran in The R-Town News Online, out of Wolseley, SK. Scroll down to page 4 to read it if you're interested. Thanks very much, R-Town News and Andrea Ledding!

Looking forward to Open Mic night hosted by The Alexandra Writers Centre Society and Owl's Nest Books, at 815A 49 Avenue SW, in the Brittania Shopping Centre. That's Wednesday, October 26, at 7 PM. I understand there's the possibility of enjoying a beverage later, too. Sounds like too much fun!

More Freshwater Pearls news; Open Mic nights!

2011-10-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Nice to see the Freshwater Pearls anthology at number two on this week's Calgary Herald Calgary Bestseller list! I've had a chance to read several of the pieces so far -- very fine work! Congratulations again to the Alexandra Writers and all the contributors, both in the book and the online supplement.

Speaking of Freshwater Pearls, I'm going to be part of an encore reading from the book along with Lee Kvern, Susan Carpenter, Frances Hern, Kari Strutt and Julie Lockhart. That's taking place 7 PM, Wednesday, November 23 at Owl's Nest Books, in the Brittania Shopping Centre at 815A - 49 Ave. SW. Looking forward to it!

And speaking of the Alexandra Writers and Owl's Nest Books, AWCS has started holding open mic nights the last Wednesday of each month at Owl's Nest. I was sorry to miss the first one, which I understand was insanely fun, but I will be at the October 26th edition for sure. Come on down and read your work and buy a book from our friends at Owl's Nest.

Well, back to work...

Love Minus Zero Review

2011-09-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful to Carrie Mumford, who reviewed Love Minus Zero at her blog. Getting press is one of the biggest challenges for most authors, and most of us really love it when you talk about our books.

Thanks again, Carrie!

Freshwater Pearls; Banff; Writing in the Works 5

2011-09-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to the Writers Guild of Alberta and Shelf Life Books for hosting my talk on The Writing Life last Wednesday night. And thanks to everyone who came out for the event! I had fun talking about my journey so far as a writer and fielding some pretty challenging questions. It was also fun to decamp to the Rose and Crown later for a beverage.

Last night's launch of Freshwater Pearls was a fantastic time. The anthology is being published to honour the Alexandra Writers Centre Society's 30th anniversary, and it was quite a party. Enjoyed readings by some of the contributors, live music, food, wine and a tribute to AWCS' beloved Shirley Black, who took it all in stride. Thanks to everyone who organized the eveniing!

Speaking of anniversaries, it was our 20th wedding anniversary this week. Can you believe it? We got married when I was eight. And here's where we went to celebrate:

Yes, the Banff Springs. We have had a drink (one drink) there the odd time, but never stayed before. Well, it was magnificent. Hope to go back someday.

Coming up: Karen Willsey Bass launches her new YA novel Drummer Girl at Monkeyshines Books this Saturday, Sept. 24, at 2 PM.

Looking quite far ahead, we're in the planning stages of next year's installment of Writing in the Works. Can't believe this is our fifth year! The show is planned for Saturday, March 10, 2012 at Memorial Park Library, 1:30 - 3:30 and features readings by Rita Bozi, Jane Cawthorne, myself, Rea Tarvydas and Robin van Eck. Already looking forward!

The Writing Life, etc.

2011-09-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Had a great time at Brian Brennan's launch last week -- it was a very warm and musical evening. Also had a great time at Naomi Lewis' launch of her residency at Calgary Public Library. She'll be doing programs and manuscript consultations at Memorial Park Library for the next three months -- check the information on CPL's Writer-in-Residence page if you're interested in consulting with her.

Just putting the finishing touches on the presentation I'm doing tomorrow night. That's The Writing Life at Shelf Life Books, 1302 - 4 St. SW. We're starting at 7, there'll be a Q & A session after my talk and then we're retiring to the Rose & Crown for a beverage later. Looking forward to it!

Also looking forward to the Freshwater Pearls anthology launch, 7 PM, Wed., Sept.21 at the Alexandra Centre. It'll also be a 30th anniversary bash for the Alexandra Writers Centre Society, so it should be quite a party.

Finally, tonight's my first creative writing class for continuing ed at Mount Royal University. I'm very much looking forward to teaching at MRU. And I'm sure it will be fun.

Over and out for now.

Fall season begins

2011-09-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Back from a couple of weeks on Vancouver Island, which always refreshes me. It takes me a while to drop out of Calgary mode and get into Island mode, but by the time we come back I always feel different. And as they say, different is good.

So as usual, the fall literary season is shaping up to be a busy one:

I'm going to the launch of Brian Brennan's new book, Leaving Dublin: Writing My Way From Ireland to Canada, at 7 PM this Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Christ Church Calgary, 3602 8 St. SW
On Saturday, Sept. 10 I'm going to my friend and colleague Naomi K. Lewis' launch of her term as writer-in residence at Calgary Public Library. That's at 2 PM at Memorial Park Library, 1221 - 2 St. SW
Then on Wed. Sept. 14 at 7 PM there's my talk on The Writing Life, hosted by the Writers Guild of Alberta, at Shelf Life Books, 1302 - 4 St. SW.
The Alexandra Writers Centre Society is hosting the launch of the Freshwater Pearls Anthology on Wed. Sept. 21 at 7 PM at the Alexandra Centre, 922 - 9 Ave. SE
And on Sat. Sept. 24th Karen Willsey Bass launches her new YA novel Drummer Girl at Monkeyshines Books, 113, 2215 - 33rd Ave SW

And that's just the stuff I'm definitely attending. Lots of other readings and launches going on. Looks like a good fall!

Speaking of the Calgarian Hotel...

2011-08-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

... FFWD ran an excerpt this week from Sam Sutherland's forthcoming book on Canadian punk. The excerpt focuses on the late, great Calgarian Hotel, home for some time of Calgary's punk scene. Sam talked to old school punks across Canada, including me, and I'm really looking forward to his book, Perfect Youth, which is coming out from ECW next year.

Cool!

New! Chunk of w-i-p

2011-08-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here's something new. A piece of work-in-progress. Haven't posted a w-i-p before, and this is brief, but I haven't Written anything in a while so I thought I'd throw it out there. Hope it intrigues:

If I knew anything about ballet I’d be able to tell you the name of the position she was in in her profile picture on NetWork.com. She was on one foot and had her other leg pretty close to straight up in the air, flashing a big grin for the camera. Only she’s not a ballerina, she’s a stockbroker, and she wasn’t wearing tights or a tutu, she was wearing a t-shirt and Daisy Duke shorts, and the picture was taken in a bar. So it’s none of my business, right? I’m not her employer, God knows. I don’t even know her, really, though I feel like I do because I’ve heard so much about her. And like I say, I don’t know anything about ballet. Or stockbroking. Or Brazilian waxes. But I know if I was her employer I’d be having a little chat with her about professionalism, about ethics.

Just like the one I figure her husband’s about to have with his employer.

Freshwater Pearls; The Writing Life; MRU

2011-07-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

There's the cover of Freshwater Pearls, the anthology being put together by the Alexandra Writers Centre Society in celebration of their 30th anniversary and being published this September by Recliner Books. It looks like a great selection of work is going to be included. And if all goes well, I'll be at the launch which takes place Wed. September 21, 7 PM at the Alexandra Centre, 922 - 9 Ave. SE.

I'm hoping that we'll be successful in moving the engagement I already had for that night to the previous week, Wed. Sept. 14th. Which is a talk I'm giving for the Writers Guild of Alberta on The Writing Life at Shelf Life Books, 1302 - 4 St. SW. Once the dates are confirmed I'll post more details.

And continuing to prepare the Mount Royal courses so I can take some time off later in the summer. Looking forward to the fall! It looks like it'll be a busy one.

Robert Kroetsch events next week

2011-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Canada lost a literary giant on June 21 when Robert Kroetsch was killed in a car accident. I never met the man myself, but I clearly recall reading The Studhorse Man in university and being amazed -- this is what a Canadian novel can be. He was a friend and mentor to many writers I know and I'm sorry I never had the chance to meet him.

So I am going to a couple of Robert Kroetsch celebrations next week. First up is Tuesday, July 12th, 7 PM, at Shelf Life Books, where there'll be readings and refreshments. And at 7 PM on Thursday, July 14th, Pages on Kensington is hosting a special July edition of their Flywheel reading series, dedicated to Kroetsch. He was a huge figure in the Alberta literary landscape and I'm looking forward to these tributes. Hope to see you all there.

Betty's Run

2011-06-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Sunday, June 12th is the date of Betty's Walk and Run for ALS here in Calgary, and I'm all registered for it. Should have gone to pick up my shirt and all that stuff today. And I meant to solicit donations and promote the event. But I haven't done any of that because my mom, Marilyn, passed away last Tuesday at age 68, after living with this damned disease the last 18 months. And let me say right now that the recent passing of Dr. Kervorkian didn't go unnoticed in my household. I read Licia Corbella's ridiculous editorial about him in The Calgary Herald today and it made my blood boil.

Ms. Corbella, you should thank the God you seem to be so fervent about that neither you or nor any of your loved ones have ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Because if you did, you would pray for the same mercy that decent people extend toward their pets. Would you watch your dog or cat slowly become paralyzed and finally die of CO2 poisoning because they were not able, in the end, to exhale? No, I didn't think so. But because euthanasia is illegal in Canada, that's exactly what my mother had to go through. You call Dr. Kervorkian a murderer because he spared people from this kind of suffering? Um. So who pronounced you Judge of All Things because you write editorials?

I just can't face participating in Betty's Walk and Run for ALS tomorrow, although I did last year and I intend to do it next. But I would encourage anyone who's interested to donate to the fight against ALS here:

http://www.alsab.ca/contactus.aspx

My mom and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Writing in the Works 4

2011-05-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the whole Writing in the Works gang after our fourth fabulous annual show. From left to right, this year's readers Susan Calder, Inge Trueman, Naomi K. Lewis, myself and Leslie Gavel; our MC and chief helmsperson Rona Altrows; and, down in front, this year's provider of refreshments and general support, Elaine Morin. We had an excellent afternoon of readings, book sales and hanging out, and had more fun later at the Rose and Crown. Many thanks to Leanna McLennan and Elaine's hubby Scott for their help with the refreshments, to Shelf Life Books for book sales and to Calgary Public Library for once again providing us with a home. Thanks to Jan Markley for again acting as official event photographer. And thanks to everyone who came out to hear us!

We're already talking about Writing in the Works 5...

Guest Post: Betty Jane Hegerat on The Boy

2011-05-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's my great pleasure to announce a guest posting here at TFBCH by my friend and colleague, Betty Jane Hegerat. I asked her a couple of questions about her amazing new book, The Boy (Oolichan Books), which she has graciously responded to below. Enjoy!

BJH: Lori, thanks for inviting me to your blog. I know you’ve been hard at work on a novel for many years, so I’ve been looking forward to talking with you about that experience of living with a book-in-progress. I believe your novel has involved research as well, but I suspect that you enjoy that part of the process more than I did in exploring this murder story.

LH: It seems to me that this would be a difficult book to write. What was most difficult about writing it?

BJH: The real story is a horrible one, and finding the shape of the book was more of a challenge than I was looking for, but I think the most difficult part was the wrestling with my right to tell the story. Yes, I am a writer, a storyteller, and this is what we do, but I have never drawn so obviously from the lives of real people. When I write fiction, I borrow and steal, disclose secrets and tell lies—all without apology. If I do the job well, the art that comes out of the chicanery is unrecognizable as real life. But I knew as soon as I began to sift through the information about the Cook family that I would never be comfortable playing fast and loose with the details of their story. And yet, I was drawn to the family and their fate more than I was to the legal details and Robert Cook’s fate. I wanted to make sense of how something so dreadful could befall an ordinary working class family in small town Alberta. And of course, to suggest that there was even a fragment of sense to the events in that small white house on June 25, 1959, seemed an affront to the memory of these seven people. If I’d been able to walk away from the story I would have done so, but whatever it was that alternately compelled me and repulsed me, was the strongest obsession I’ve ever experienced in my writing life.

LH: How did writing The Boy differ from writing a novel?

BJH: In some ways writing The Boy was quite similar to writing my previous two novels. I have a tendency to call every new idea a “story” and pray that it will be short, because short fiction really is my first love. Even before I was blindsided by the Cook story, I had begun to fear that Louise’s problem was not going to be resolved in anything close to 3000 words. Then the fiction began to get entangled with the 50 year old murder story and I had a mess on my hands that was unlike anything I’d dealt with before. I’m used to having messy first drafts, and doing major revision through many more drafts, but normally there is some cohesion, and some order to the experimenting. Whose story is it? Who’s narrating? From what vantage point? Is the voice consistent? Where is the energy coming from to drive the story? I didn’t even attempt to ask those questions of the reams of material I ended up gathering around the Cook story. When I finally accepted that the work was going to have to include both the fiction and the non-fiction, the challenge was to find a way to fit it together. I was definitely not a quick study on this project, and it took me a couple of years to realize that I had the structure all along. Louise’s story had turned into a novella, and if I could stitch the non-fiction to it like Peter Pan’s shadow, I might just be able to pull it off. The Boy is being marketed as fiction for a number of reasons, even though it doesn’t fit any definition of the novel that I’ve ever seen. But neither does it fit into non-fiction because of the embedded fiction. It’s a strange book, but it is what it is.

LH: Thank you, Betty, for the insights into the writing of this interesting, amazing, and yes, kind of strange book. I'm almost done reading it, and my sense is more that The Boy is unique than strange. I have never read a book quite like this. The approach reminds me a little of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I think you may have written the first book in a new genre! Whatever pigeonhole it does or doesn't fit into, though, I can say that it is mesmerizing. Congratulations again on its publication! And thanks for dropping by and talking about it.

And another special treat, folks: an audio clip of Betty reading from The Boy over at her blog. Click on "other people's lives" And enjoy!

Suite 101 Review; Writing in the Works 4; Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Robin van Eck for this great review of Nothing Sacred at Suite 101. It's so nice to get exposure and it's always interesting to me that different reviwers focus on different aspects of a book. Very nice.

Less than a week to go until this year's edition of Writing in the Works. That's Susan Calder, Leslie Gavel, Naomi K. Lewis, Inge Trueman and me doing readings, and hosted by MC Rona Altrows. That's next Saturday, May 14, at 1:30 at Memorial Park Library, 1221 - 2 St. SW. Readings, refreshments and book sales by Shelf Life Books -- sounds great!

And happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all my mom friends out there! I'm enjoying my Mother's Day and I hope you are, too!

New novel out the door; The Boy; Writing in the Works 4; MRU

2011-04-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

So last week I finally finished my second novel. I started writing it in 2003 and have done a series of rewrites over the years. There was a while between 2007 and 2009 where I didn't touch it at all because of the other two books being published and all the nuttiness that entails, but it's finally done. Well, done, you know, until someone publishes it and it goes through the editorial process, or until I stack up enough rejections that I figure I need to fix it. Yeah, that kind of done. Anyway, I sent my first batch of queries out this week and am hopeful that I'll get some interest soon.

Can't wait for the launch of Betty Jane Hegerat's new book The Boy, at Memorial Park Library, 7 PM, next Thursday, May 5th. And I'm certain the weather will be lovely on that day, unlike today.

Gearing up for Saturday, May 14th and Writing in the Works 4, also at Memorial Park Library, at 1:30 PM. Readings by myself, Susan Calder, Leslie Gavel, Naomi K. Lewis and Inge Trueman, hosted by our own Rona Altrows. Refreshments! Book sales by our friends at Shelf Life Books! Drinks afterward! Yay!

Finally, I've started work on the syllabi for the creative writing courses (Levels 1 & 2) that I'm teaching through Continuing Education at Mount Royal University this fall. The timing on this was all really good; just as I was wrapping up this novel at last, this opportunity came up. I'm very pleased to have the chance to teach at MRU.

Over and out for now. Hope to see you on May 14th!

Salon; The Boy; Writing in the Works 4

2011-04-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Had a fantastic time reading yesterday afternoon as part of a salon at Barb Howard's lovely home in Bragg Creek. Also reading were poet and novelist Anne Sorbie and poet T.B. Perry. We also had jazz piano by Andy Tong. Really fun afternoon. Thanks again to everyone who participated and everyone who came out for the event.

Next up is the launch of Betty Jane Hegerat's new book The Boy, at Memorial Park Library, 7 PM, Thursday, May 5th. Looking forward to the launch and to reading the book.

And shortly after that is Writing in the Works 4, also at Memorial Park Library, Saturday, May 14th at 1:30 PM. Readings by myself, Susan Calder, Leslie Gavel, Naomi K. Lewis and Inge Trueman, and hosted by our own Rona Altrows. Looking forward to it!

Nothing Sacred Trailer

2011-04-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun doing the trailer for Love Minus Zero, I thought I might as well do one for Nothing Sacred, too. Hope you enjoy it.

Love Minus Zero trailer

2011-04-03T17:48:00.001-07:00

So I've finally made up a trailer for Love Minus Zero. It was quite a bit of fun, though a bit of a learning curve for me. Now that I've done it, I think I'll try one for Nothing Sacred, although I think doing a trailer for a novel might be easier than doing one for a book of short stories. On the other hand, until a few years ago, who ever heard of a book trailer?

O brave new world that has such people in it. Hope you enjoy.

The Pass; Book Club Buddy

2011-03-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a relaxing three night spring break trip to the Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta. I always enjoy the Pass. It isn't a glamorous type of vacation spot, to be sure. The scenery is breathtaking, though, and the history of that string of former coal-mining towns is fascinating. We visited museums, something we all love to do, hung around second-hand shops. Wanted to snowshoe, but the snow was slushy and the wind was insane. We saw a trailer at the side of the highway that had blown over onto its side. Yeah. Windy spot.

Thanks to Pearl Luke at Book Club Buddy for posting these interviews with me about Nothing Sacred and Love Minus Zero. Book Club Buddy does a great job hooking up readers and writers. I encourage you to check the site out!

Deadly Fall launch Thursday March 24th!

2011-03-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

That's the eye-catching cover of my friend and colleague Susan Calder's debut mystery novel, Deadly Fall, which she's launching tomorrow evening at 7 PM at Owl's Nest Books. They're in Brittania Shopping Plaza, 815A 49th Avenue SW. Looking forward to Susan's reading, schmoozing, and of course, wine and refreshments. Come on down and bring a couple of friends! Deadly Fall was already number three on The Calgary Herald's bestseller list this week. I predict number one this week. Congratulations again, Susan!

Tales From Behind the Calgarian Hotel

2011-03-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

What the heck, Lori, you're wondering. Why the title change? Well, I'll tell you. I had a blog for six years called Tales From Behind the Calgarian Hotel which I began mainly as a way to vent my frustrations in the days when I was struggling to get my first book published. Did it relieve my frustration, which was becoming pretty enormous by the end? I don't know. Maybe. But when it did eventually come to pass that I had a book deal, and in short order, another, I realized that all the nasty, whiny things I'd said on my blog about the publishing industry may not have been stuff I wanted floating around cyberspace in perpetuity. Although I hasten to add that I said nothing that wasn't true. Oh, yes, all those things about lost manuscripts, two year rejection waits, bitchy rejection letters -- all true. But in the interests of uh, starting anew, I decided to delete the original TFBTCH -- sounds like some kind of texting term, don't it? -- and go with a happier, more sticking to the facts approach.

Turns out that was kind of a bore. So we're back to the old title. And we'll see some new kinds of posts here in the coming weeks. Exciting, eh?

Freshwater Pearls; Deadly Fall; Salon; Writing in the Works 4

2011-03-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Naomi K. Lewis presentation and workshop at Memorial Park Library last week were a lot of fun and very interesting. Thanks to Naomi for doing a great job, and to the folks who braved the weather to come out to them.

I was very pleased to find out, earlier this week, that a short story of mine has been selected for inclusion in Freshwater Pearls: The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society 30th Anniversary Anthology, being published this September by Calgary's own Recliner Books. It looks like I'm going to be in excellent company! And I'm sure the launch party will be epic. Very exciting.

In other news, looking forward to the launch of my friend and colleague Susan Calder's first novel, Deadly Fall, a mystery being published by Touchwood Editions. The launch is 7 PM on March 24th at Owl's Nest Books in Brittania Shopping Plaza.

A couple of weeks later, I'm reading at a salon on the afternoon of April 10th, graciously being hosted by Barb Howard. More details as they become available.

And finally, a reminder of our annual readapalooza, Writing in the Works 4, which is coming up at 1:30 PM, Saturday, May 14th at dear old Memorial Park Library. This year's lineup is: Naomi Lewis, Susan Calder, Inge Trueman, Elaine Morin and yours truly, and emceed by our own Rona Altrows. Join us for an afternoon of readings, refreshments and book sales by Shelf Life Books.

Over and out for now.

Naomi K. Lewis events, March 2 and 5 at Memorial Park Library

2011-02-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Below are the details for two events Naomi K. Lewis is doing for Canadian Authors Association in the first week of March. Spots are filling up, so if you're interested, register now.

The Canadian Authors Association and its Calgary Writer-in-Residence, Lori Hahnel, are proud to announce two upcoming events to be presented by multi-talented writer and editor Naomi K. Lewis.

Becoming a Ghost: A Free Presentation Wednesday, March 2 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Ghostwriting can be satisfying and relatively lucrative work for experienced writers. But how can you know if ghostwriting is for you? How do you find clients, and how do you decide which to work with? This one-hour lecture and question-and-answer period will cover the pros and cons of ghostwriting, a standard ghostwriting contract, and some essential tips for getting started.

Shaping the Story: A Workshop Saturday, March 5 10:30 am to 4:30 pm
CAA Members: $40; Non-Members:$70 (Lunch included)

Do you excel at developing characters in compelling settings, and write scene after glorious scene, but lament that you stories don’t seem to go anywhere? In other words, do you struggle with narrative structure, or plot? In this workshop, participants will experiment with a variety of plotting techniques, looking at the different shapes a story can take. While much of the content will apply to novels, memoirs, plays, screenplays, and creative nonfiction essays alike, we will concentrate on the particularities of the short story. Participants should bring a story in progress, whether a full draft or an outline, or something in between. Both events will be held at Memorial Park Library, 1221-2nd Street S.W., Calgary.

To register, email: registrar@canauthorsalberta.ca

Auburn reading; W-i-R

2011-02-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

Last night's reading at the Auburn Saloon was a great time. We had a good crowd and some fanastic open mic readings before my portion of the evening. Thanks to Kirk and Alyson for hosting and to Rea, Rita, Catherine and Doreen for stepping up to the mic and doing such fine readings.

In other news, due to unforseen circumstances, I am temporarily returning to the post I held last year as Canadian Authors' Association Calgary writer-in-residence. Since I agreed to do this on short notice, I am not able to set up writer meetings. But if you or someone you know wants to send me an electronic submission before April 1, I will read and respond to it. You can send up to 20 double spaced pages of prose, or up to three poems, to me at:

cwir@canauthorsalberta.ca

Further information about the program can be found at the CAA Alberta branch website.

Over and out for now. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Thanks again, CPL!; Auburn Reading This Sunday Night

2011-02-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Writers' Weekend 2011 at Calgary Public Library was "an outstanding success", in the words of one of the organizers, and I couldn't agree more. It was great to see so many people come out on kind of a miserable February morning and share their passion for the written word with us. I think Rona and I had about 200 in our session, and I hear there were more than 600 total registrations for the day's events. That's not even including the folks who just showed up. A lot of fun! So thanks again to Calgary Public Library and our wonderful bookseller for the event, Pages on Kensington. For me, this event was the perfect antidote to all the doom and gloom stories lately about publishers declaring bankruptcy and the death of the printed book.

There's the poster for the reading I'm doing this Sunday night at the Auburn Saloon. We have me, the music of Morley Challenged and an open mic. I know a couple of talented authors are planning to read at the open mic portion of the evening. So come on down and read, if you're so inclined. And if not just come and listen. I'm sure we're going to enjoy ourselves.

Writers Weekend; Auburn reading Feb. 13th; Edits

2011-01-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Just finished another rehearsal of my portion of the Writing Fiction program I'm presenting with my good friend and esteemed colleague Rona Altrows as part of Calgary Public Library's 2011 Writers' Weekend event, coming up on Saturday, February 5th. It's a whole day of programs on writing and publishing, presented by some fine Calgary writers and other members of the city's literary community. Rona and I are on from 11 AM - 12 PM, but the presentations start at 10 and go until late afternoon. That all takes place in the Dutton Theatre, located on the second floor of the Central Library, 616 Macleod Tr. SE. If you're interested, have your library card ready and register here .

Another public event: I've been invited to read at the Auburn Saloon on the evening of Sunday, February 13th, as part of Storytellers, a fiction-based reading program. Though I've been to many events at the Auburn before, I've never read there myself, so I am looking forward to it. Things get started around 6:30 that night, and I'll post more details as they become available.

Finally, edits. Instead of that ol' novel I am slowly finishing, right now it's my pleasure to be working on edits to a short story that I've had accepted for a forthcoming anthology. Again, more details to follow, hopefully.

All for now. Over and out.

2011 Already?; Writers' Weekend

2011-01-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! 2011 is already well underway, and I've been back at work for the last week. Xmas is already seeming long ago and far away, which is fine by me. I like to get rolling in the New Year and leave the old behind.

So what I'm rolling with at the moment is the session on writing fiction that Rona Altrows and I are doing as part of Calgary Public Library's 2011 Writers' Weekend, Saturday, February 5th. We're on from 11 - 12, but there are sessions all day in the Dutton Theatre on the second floor of the Central Library, 616 Macleod Tr. SE. Again, spaces are filling up, so register now if you're interested.

And once I have my part of our presentation wrapped up, it's back at that novel, which I hope to start marketing in the spring. Spring seems pretty far away at the moment, in snowy and windy Calgary, but I know it actually isn't that far away. So I better get to work here.

Xmas break; CPL Writers Weekend

2010-12-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

The gents are off for a another skate with their buddies at our community rink, which is only about 300 meters from our house. So I have a quiet moment, in which I could be doing laundry, wrapping gifts, and many other things. Instead, I'm finishing my coffee and posting here, as I may not get another chance for a while. Though I have to say, we've pulled back from some of our holiday commitments this year and it does feel like more of a holiday. This could be the start of something big. Besides, I'm getting over a cold. Need to take it easy.

So an update on Calgary Public Library's Writers Weekend, which takes place on February 5, 2011. There are free writing programs all day, with Rona Altrows and yours truly doing a session on writing fiction at 11 - 12. Other presenters include Susan Toy from Alberta Books Canada, Betty Jane Hegerat, Marcello di Cintio, Oana Avasilichoaei and a publishers' panel. It think it's going to be a great day! Spaces are already filling up, so register early to avoid disappointment.

If I don't get another chance, I'd like to wish one and all a Merry Xmas. Here's to joy and contentment and lots of good writing in 2011.

All for now. I hear the patter of big Sorels on the front step.

We All Shine On

2010-12-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

I just can't let this day go by without remembering John Lennon. I was appalled to note, while driving around doing errands this morning and hanging around at home, that as I switched around my radio stations (CKUA, CJSW and CBC FM) none of them played any of his music that I heard. However, I'm confident that David Ward will come through on CKUA this afternoon; he always does on December 8th. In the meantime, here's a short excerpt from my story "Across the Universe" which is included in my collection Nothing Sacred. The main character, Maggie, remembers his murder:

When it happened that Monday night in 1980, I was working in Jeunesse, formerly the Misses’ Wear department, at the downtown Bay. We’d just started opening Monday and Tuesday nights for Christmas shoppers, and it was dead, dead, dead. I finished my homework by 6:30. Could have shot off a cannon and not hit any one, said Peg over in Career Wear. Pretty much the only customer who came by was the old transvestite who wanted to try on angora sweaters. I wasn’t really supposed to let him into the ladies’ change rooms, but I didn’t care. There weren’t any managers around. I hoped he’d come out and show me how they looked, but he didn’t. Later, I took an extra long break in the cafeteria. It seemed that night would never end.

Finally, I got home and sat in my room flipping through my records, trying to decide what to listen to. I was so brain-dead from my shift I couldn’t think. Then my friend Kevin called.

“Hey, Kev. What’s up?”

“Are you by a radio?”

“Yeah. Why, is your band on CJSW again?”

“No, Maggie. It’s so weird. John Lennon’s been shot.”

“Get out of here. Who would shoot him?”

“I’m not kidding. Turn it on to CBC.”

I sighed, switched on the radio and tuned it to CBC, expecting to hear a Neil Young song, or something even worse. Kevin was quite a prankster. But this time he wasn’t joking. John Lennon had been shot outside his New York apartment building, the announcer said. He’d been rushed to hospital, but they couldn’t save him. He was dead.

I remember being in shock for weeks after it happened. I went to school the next day, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Crystal and I skipped classes that afternoon and went and hung around downtown, wandering aimlessly, trying to understand it. We eventually ended up at Records Galore. Dave looked about the way we felt, just kept shaking his big bearded head. He said he’d sold every Beatle-related item he had in the store before noon. The three of us just stood looking out the front window of the store a long time, watching people trudge by through the snow.

Yep. That pretty much sums it up. I'll never forget that day.

Punk; Vaudeville; Markley launch; Pre-Xmas push

2010-11-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

That's me in Calgary Public Library's Dutton Theatre on November 6th doing my portion of the Cowtown / Punktown presentation. What an enjoyable experience. We got a good crowd, and Dan Hayes put together a really impressive historical account of ye olden days, which set up my reading from Love Minus Zero perfectly. The part I enjoyed most was taking questions at the end, because you never know what people are going to throw out at you. I think we both had a lot of fun. Drinks and dinner at the James Joyce after with my old punk rock colleagues was fun, too.

Also enjoyable was the Literary Vaudeville event last Thursday night, a joint reading by four local authors: Rea Tarvydas, Ian Doig, Rita Bozi and Ken Cameron. And in spite of the January-like weather we've been having, they also managed to get a good crowd. Congratulations to all the readers -- you put on a great show.

This Saturday is the launch of Jan Markley's new MegaByte mystery Dead Bird Through the Cat Door, 2 PM at Owl's Nest Books. Looking forward to celebrating and perhaps having a cookie with Jan.

Hoping to keep the final pre-holiday push on my new novel going here, much as possible. The weather is helping in some ways -- outside is definitely not a distraction at this point. On the other hand, my mom's ALS continues to worsen (I just think that word 'progressing' doesn't really work). I have to say I'm not impressed with the consistency of care she's getting. It's all right, most of the time, except when they send people who can't deal with her equipment. Or when nobody comes at all, like happened yesterday morning. She would have been lying there for fourteen hours if we hadn't shown up at noon. Nice. So it's onto the phone once again tomorrow (naturally the person I need to talk to doesn't work Mondays). Ah, bureaucracy.

So over and out for now. Want to write while the writing's good.

Old punks live to tell the tale; Literary Vaudeville

2010-11-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Cowtown / Punktown, the presentation I did with Dan Hayes of the Golden Calgarians for Calgary Public Library on Saturday was an absolute blast. We had a great crowd, some even appearing to be under thirty, who asked interesting questions. Dan really outdid himself on his history and set up my reading from Love Minus Zero absolutely perfectly. I have to say, I enjoyed doing this event in a way I have not enjoyed others. As I read, pictures of my seventeen year-old self flashed on the big screen beside me
(a scary experience for a woman my age). I kept thinking, if you told that girl she'd write a novel based on that experience, and be reading from it and talking about those days in front of an audience in the library theatre all these many years later, she wouldn't have believed you. At first. But ultimately she would, because I always knew I would do this, that things like this would happen. Crazy thing, eh? Anyway, that's it for me for public events for a while. Now I can attend to the rest of my life a little more -- events do take up a lot of my energy. Nothing planned for me until Calgary Public Library's Writers Weekend event on Feb. 5. Rona Altrows and I are putting together a program for those of you who write fiction -- more details to follow.

As far as other people's events go, I'm looking forward to Literary Vaudeville, a multi-author reading taking place at dear old Memorial Park Library, 1221 - 2 St. SW, next Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7PM, featuring readings by my friends Rita Bozi, Rea Tarvydas, and others. Should be lots of fun.

Now I'm going to read some Rumi. I deserve it.

Two Virgins; Cowtown / Punktown; Dead Bird Through the Cat Door

2010-11-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

That's the Virgin Mary and the Virgin Lori at the grand opening of Shelf Life Books last Saturday, shot by my pal and official photographer Jan Markley. The event was truly a blast -- the readings were great, lots of people turned out and Shelf Life is owned and operated by some great book lovers. And lunch before and drinks after at Boxwood were both very nice. A very good Saturday, all in all.

Speaking of The Virgins, this Saturday Dan Hayes of The Golden Calgarians and myself will be talking about all things old-school Calgary punk in our program Cowtown / Punktown, one of the many interesting programs comprising the One Book, One Calgary event inspired by Aritha van Herk's Mavericks. We'll be in the John Dutton Theatre on the second floor of the Central Library (616 Macleod Tr. SE) from 4:15 - 5:00. Looking forward to looking backward!

Also looking forward to the launch of the aforementioned Jan Markley's new novel, Dead Bird Through the Cat Door, at Owl's Nest Books, 815A-49th Ave. SW (Britannia Shopping Plaza) at 2PM, Saturday Nov. 27th. Jan's last launch was a juggernaut and I expect this one will be no different. Nothing like a good book launch!

Shelf Life grand opening this Saturday; Cow Town / Punk Town Sat. Nov. 6th

2010-10-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

The launch of Rona Altrows' new book, Key in Lock, was a great time and a huge success. Glad I could be there to help Rona celebrate!

This Saturday the fun continues as Rona and I read at the grand opening celebration for Shelf Life Books at 1302 - 4 St. SW. There will be refreshments, prizes and hourly author readings Thursday evening, Friday and Saturday. Rona and I will be on between 3 and 4PM Saturday if you want to come and cheer us on. Should be a blast.

Here's a public service announcement I wrote for Cow Town / Punk Town:

COWTOWN / PUNKTOWN: Calgary’s Punk Rock History

Sat. Nov. 6, 4:15 - 5:00 PM 2nd floor John Dutton Theatre

Calgary’s live music scene in the late ‘70s / early 80s would have been made up of country rock, top 40 bar bands and disco -- right? Would you be surprised to learn that conservative Calgary was actually home to a thriving underground music scene in those days? That a host of punk bands played shows every weekend at community halls and venues like The Calgarian Hotel, The National Hotel, The Long Bar and Ten Foot Henry’s? Join author Lori Hahnel of The Virgins and musician Dan Hayes of The Golden Calgarians as they reminisce about Calgary’s nearly forgotten early alternative music scene.

If you're interested in registering for this informative local history program (ahem!), go to http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/programs.aspx (Enter “Heritage Weekend” for the entire list ) or phone 403-260-2620.

Cursed! and Key in Lock launches; Shelf Life Books; Cow Town / Punk Town

2010-10-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately had to miss the launch of Maureen Bush's new YA novel Cursed! on Saturday, as I was at my Uncle Rick's funeral. Sigh -- sad indeed. My mother's family is being hit hard right now. But I understand the launch was a blast, even without me. Congratulations again, Maureen -- looking forward to getting my own signed copy soon.

Can't wait for the launch of my good friend Rona Altrows' new book, Key in Lock, at Memorial Park Library, 1221-2 St SW, next Saturday, Oct. 23rd at 2 PM. Congratulations to Rona and her publisher, Calgary's own Recliner Books.

I've been invited to read at the grand opening celebration for Shelf Life Books at 1302- 4 St SW. They'll be featuring readings by local authors Thursday, October 28 - Saturday, October 30. I will be reading sometime on the Saturday; details to follow. In the meantime, come on down and check out Calgary's newest independent bookstore! Not only is the staff friendly and knowledgeable, they also reminded me that as well as being the former home of Interfaith Thrift Stores, the very spot in which I worked many years ago, the store was once the site of the infamous Parkside Contintental. Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about the Parkside. We used to go on Sunday nights sometimes to catch the drag queen shows and to drink. This was in the days before you could go to a bar on Sundays in Alberta -- imagine. Seems kind of quaint and old-fashioned now.

Anyway. Speaking of long-ago things, as is my wont, a reminder about Cow Town / Punk Town, the program that Dan Hayes of the Golden Calgarians and myself are doing as part of Calgary Public Library's One Book, One Calgary event on November 6th. I will read from Love Minus Zero and Dan has set up a rockin' multimedia show. Punk out!

Speaking of Love Minus Zero, I'm doing a book club meeting Tuesday night for a lovely woman I know, wife of a colleague of my husband's, and a very cool librarian. Looking forward to it!

Finally, tomorrow's civic election day in Alberta. I look forward to exercising my right to vote, and hope we get a good voter turnout this time around.

NoveList; Tofurkey time once again; writing and research

2010-10-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Like many writers, I get a charge out of seeing where references to my books crop up. That's the kind of thing we get excited about. Lately I came across Love Minus Zero's listing in NoveList, a library reference tool that I used to use a lot in my days at Calgary Public Library. Someone can come up and say, "I want to read a first novel about a conflicted female old school punk rocker" and, voila, there will be my book. Nice stuff.

So here we are first week of October and the weather is absolutely gorgeous. Typical -- freezing, dark summer followed by warm, sunny fall. Oh, well. I'm thankful it's nice now. Thankful for a lot of things actually, and of course, Thanksgiving weekend approaches. Tofurky is already in the freezer.

Working away on the novel. Sometimes. It hasn't always been easy these days, with my mom's ALS and all, to stay focused. On the other hand, sometimes writing is kind of a refuge. Then again, there's always 'research' which I've been doing a fair bit of these last couple of weeks. This has entailed reading books, listening to CDs and watching movies. Work, work, work. But hey -- it's got to be done, right?

Launches; WitWorks 4 in the works

2010-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be fall without book launches, and I'm looking forward to the launch of Lee Kvern's new novel, The Matter of Sylvie, at Shelf Life Books, corner of 13th Ave and 4 St. SW at 7 PM this Thursday. I'm also interested to see what Shelf Life is like -- not only is it Calgary's newest bookstore, it's also located in the very spot where the Interfaith Thrift Store I used to work in many years ago was. Other upcoming launches include Maureen Bush's new YA novel Cursed! on October 16th at Monkeyshines Books, and Rona Altrows' new collection of short fiction, Key in Lock, at Memorial Park Library on Oct. 23rd. Nothing more fun than a good launch. Assuming I stay well enough to go to any of them. It also wouldn't be fall without colds and flu, and Dan is home today with some kind of nasty cold, which I've been staving off with Cold FX.

Speaking of Memorial Park Library, Writing in the Works 4 is set to take place there on Saturday, May 14th, 2011 at 1:30 PM. This year's lineup is comprised of Naomi K. Lewis, Leslie Gavel, Susan Calder, Inge Trueman and myself. Always a great show!

Well, speaking of writing, that's what I ought to be doing right now.

Another W-i-R; Punk History; WitWorks 4 looms

2010-09-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a reading last Saturday by Gail Bowen at the launch of her new book The Nesting Dolls and the kickoff of her term as this year's Writer-in-Residence for Calgary Public Library. She will be giving manuscript consultations and giving a variety of programs until the end of November. If you have a manuscript you want some feedback on, I'd encourage you to get it in early as the spaces do fill up.

Speaking of Calgary Public Library, as I mentioned earlier Dan Hayes of The Golden Calgarians and myself are putting on a program entitled Cow Town / Punk Town on November 6th, as part of CPL's inaugural One Book, One Calgary project. Aritha van Herk's Mavericks is the book this year, and it's inspired the library to put together a whole slew of really interesting programs. Looking forward to reminiscing...or trying to. I'll be reading and Dan and his lovely assistant Christine are putting together a really rockin' multimedia thing. Should be a blast.

In mundane daily news, chugging away on this novel revision, which I'm hoping to have wrapped up once and for all by next spring. I was a little bit afraid that I'd been away from it for too long and that the whole thing would have gone cold for me. But actually, I think I have abundant objectivity now and am able to make some big changes -- improvements, one hopes.

My mom is hanging in there, but her ALS continues to progress and almost weekly she loses more and more physical capabilities. It's meant lots of challenges, no question. I have to hand it to her, though -- she is coming through this with grace and dignity intact, as well as her sense of humour. Food for thought indeed. All of this has had me thinking about the nature of compassion quite a bit, and I happened to come across The Charter for Compassion a little while ago. That food for thought is everywhere, I tell you.

Finally, looking forward to a beer tomorrow eve with my friends on the Writing in the Works organizing committee. Watch for our fourth annual fabulous showcase of local writing coming out sometime in the spring. Seems far away right now, but you know how that goes.

CAA w-i-r; Key in Lock; Bottled Poets, etc.

2010-09-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

So here's the contact for Rona Altrows if anyone is interested in sending her a manuscript through the Canadian Authors Association Writer-in-Residence program:

cwir@canauthorsalberta.ca

She can give you details on manuscript length, appointment times and so on. Rona's got a busy fall coming up this year, kind of like me last year, in that as well as doing this residency, she's also bringing out her second book of short fiction, Key in Lock, being published by Calgary's own Recliner Books. Yeah! Looking forward to the launch: 2 PM, Saturday Oct. 23 at Memorial Park Library, 1221- 2 St. SW.

As usual, school's back in session, and the weather turns from August-miserable to September-gorgeous. And here I am with my nose to the grindstone. The proverbial grindstone. Not that I'm complaining. I'm trying to be mindful lately, to stay in the moment; my mother's illness has certainly made me realize of late the importance of staying in the moment. Yes, I could have been looking at life this way for the previous forty-seven years. But. At least I'm starting to figure it out a little -- is that to my credit? Anyway, happy to look at the blue sky from my office window, indeed.

Aritha van Herk's talk for AWCS last Saturday was great; very refreshing and down-to-earth. And here's an awesome picture, unphotoshopped, of the old Inglewood Bottle Depot a little ways down the street from the Alexandra Centre, courtesy of my pal Jan Markley over at Three Dead Moths in my Mailbox. Enjoy:

Stevie Ray; Virginsfest; Aritha van Herk; CAA W-i-R 2010 - 2011

2010-08-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Can't let this day go by without a tip of the hat to Stevie Ray Vaughan, massively talented blues guitarist who died in a helicopter crash twenty years ago today. I saw him and his band Double Trouble play at the Jubilee Auditorium, of all places, in 1984. The air was blue with dope smoke, and Stevie Ray put on an amazing show. They kicked down the baffles the Jube staff had put up in front of their stacks and went for it. A great evening.

Had a swell time with members of The Virgins (and our later incarnation, The Strangeloves) over drinks last night. We tried to hang out on the deck in my backyard but it was just too windy. Calgary.

Heading to the Alexandra Centre tomorrow for a talk by Aritha van Herk on Writing: The Dubious Occupation . Indeed it is.

Finally, I'm happy to announce that my friend and colleague Rona Altrows will be acting as Canadian Authors Association's Calgary Writer-in-Residence for the 2010 - 2011 term, starting Sept. 15th. Congratulations, Rona! I encourage anyone who may be looking for feedback on their work or a friendly ear to submit your work to her. We're fortunate to have these kinds of opportunities in Calgary -- take advantage!

Archeaology; Return of the Natives; Now what?

2010-08-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Adele Wolfe, old chum and former Virgins' bassist and vocalist, dug up some of our old gig posters and stuck them up on Facebook, so I thought I'd repost them here for poster-ity:

I made this one for a show we were going to play at our high school. It was cancelled due to the furor the poster itself caused, but the music teacher got us a gig at the Stampede to make up for it.

This one I made for a memorable show at Hillhurst Sunnyside where we jettisoned black bras into the audience at the end of our set. Silicone Injection's set was brought to an abrupt halt by the arrival of the police, who shut the place down and poured out all the booze. The Verdix never did play that night. The photo of us that ran with the The Calgary Herald article last year was taken outside the hall before this show.

Finally, I didn't make this poster (Mark I., perhaps?) but I did have it hanging in my room for a long time. On the other hand, I have no memory of this show at all. Hmmph.

So, there you go. A little blast from the past. These ought to come in handy for the program Dan Hayes of The Golden Calgarians and I are doing for Calgary Public Library on ancient Calgary punk in November. More about which later.

Other news: we made it back from Van Isle without incident and now it seems like we were never gone. The usual thing, you know. Last week I managed to get a grant application wrapped up and finished off a new story which I've submitted to a hopefully-forthcoming anthology. Thanks to Diane and Rona for your help with it.

Funny how things go. I'm facing a period of uncertain length where I will be just writing -- not teaching, or promoting a new book or working on edits for a forthcoming one -- just writing. And as it turns out, my mom's ALS seems to be progressing fairly rapidly at this point. So I will definitely be spending some time in the coming months visiting her and taking care of a number of matters for her. Although I'm not actually glad this is happening, I'm glad it's happening now and not in the previous two years -- it would have been a lot harder. So for that, and many other things, I am grateful.

Island; Canadian Literature

2010-07-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Been on Vancouver Island the last week. Enjoyed Nanaimo, Tofino and Ucluelet over the weekend and early part of this week. Cold and foggy out on the west side, especially since we camped at Pacific Rim National Park three nights. Now we're back on the mild and calm east side, hoping to visit Comox and Mount Washington tomorrow. More Qualicum and Bowser relaxing until Monday when we go to Victoria for three days starting Monday and then make the trek back to Alberta starting Thursday.

I was very pleased to see Timothy Dugdale's review of Love Minus Zero (along with Silver Salts by Mark Blagrave) for an upcoming issue of Canadian Literature, available on the web here. Cool!

Well, enough of this stuff. Too much like work. Back to relaxing!

Betty's Run; Summertide; Beer; Writing

2010-07-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

This year's Betty's Run for ALS raised almost $400,000. When the website is updated I'll link to it here. Thanks again to everyone who made a donation on behalf of my mom. Took my dog along for the walk and I was amazed at the number of other participants who were there for someone else. It certainly puts things into perspective, something that I've really needed lately. For a supposedly rare condition, it amazes me how many people I talk to who know someone who's had to deal with it.

In other news, summer is upon us again and now that Nick and Dan are becoming more prodigious sleepers I find myself defaulting to my natural sleep patttern, which is heading to bed around 12:30 - 1:00 and getting up around 8:30. We are looking forward to setting off for Van Isle later in the month.

Went to a session on crafting an Alberta Foundation for the Arts grant proposal last night (this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now) and picked up some tips. Then headed out for beer with Rona and Maureen. Yum. Talked books all night of course. What else is there?

And have been doing pretty well, I think, with ye olde writing. Pumped out the first draft of another (!) new story for a proposed anthology I've been invited to submit to. And yes, there's that novel, which I'll be getting back at as soon as I get this grant application off the ground. Really. Speaking of which...

Exporting Alberta; Betty's Run; Alberta Acrostic

2010-05-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

These are the flowers my good friend Suzanne Harris took home after reading for me at the Canadian Authors Association Exporting Alberta Awards ceremony in Edmonton on Friday night. And although Nothing Sacred did not win the award, I am very pleased to say it did get Honourable Mention. And now I have these flowers to enjoy forever, how about that?

So on June 13th I'm taking part in Betty's Walk / Run for ALS in Calgary. My mother was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in November and I feel this is at least something constructive I can do. Things like this put everything into perspective, no question.

On the lighter side, today my copy of Alberta Views magazine arrived and get this, Love Minus Zero is the subject of the monthly acrostic puzzle. There's a quote from the book (the bit about Alberta blowing up hospitals and never changing the government -- yeah!) and the first letter of the clues spell out my name and the title of the book. Honestly, it was the weirdest thing to do this puzzle. Weird but fun.

Fiddlehead review; WitWorks 3 rocked it!; I wrote a story!

2010-05-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to The Fiddlehead and Ian Colford for the great review of Love Minus Zero in the spring issue. You can't actually read the review there, but you can see the table of contents. What I've read of the issue so far is excellent. Perhaps you should just run out and buy it.

Our third annual Writing in the Works event at Memorial Park Library on Thursday night was a huge success. We had a big crowd, awesome readings, tasty refreshments and succulent Wild Rose beers at the Hop In Brew Pub afterward. Nice work, everyone!

Finished that story I was working on, with the help of my dear friend, Diane Girard. It's on its way, in the mail. That does feel good.

Bridesmaid; Writing in the Works 3, yet; Weird!

2010-05-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

The family and I had a great time in Edmonton last weekend, and although I did not win the Georges Bugnet award (Michael Davie was the winner for Fishing For Bacon), I am still honoured to have made it on to the shortlist at all. Congratulations once again to all the winners and shortlistees. Good to catch up with all my Edmonton friends and of course visit the mind-boggling West Edmonton Mall. Whoa, WEM -- build another couple of washrooms, eh? Standing in line at a mall? I don't think so.

Tonight is the third annual Writing in the Works event, 7 PM at Memorial Park Library, 1221 - 2 St SW. This year's lineup is Faye Reineberg Holt, Elaine Morin, Jane Cawthorne, Donna Sales and Judith Galbraith. And I am pleased to say that this evening I am not reading. I'll be hanging around whining, getting in people's way and helping myself to the wine. Heh. Seriously, come on down for some fine readings, vino and snacks, book sales and camaraderie.

Finally, on to the weird part: I'm almost done (I think) a short story. Haven't written one of those, or any fiction in fact, since last summer. It did feel good to get through it, since I was kind of afraid I'd forgot how to do it. It's now in the hands of my gracious first reader. Phew!

Well, best get ready for the show, now.

Shortlist readings; Gala; snow again

2010-05-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

The Calgary Shortlist readings event at 100 Wines turned out to be a lot of fun. Good readings, good wine, good food and a nice turnout for the event. And here I am, eating the mike and standing in front of more Dom Perignon than I ever dreamed of. Thanks to my intrepid photographer, Jan Markley.

It already seems so long ago, maybe because it actually wasn't snowing that day. But it wouldn't be the month of May in Calgary if we didn't have some wet snow. And having it we are. That is all I'm going to say about it.

So next up is the Writers Guild of Alberta's Literary Awards Gala, May 14th in Edmonton. Looking forward to that very much. There are going to be a lot of Calgarians in the crowd -- hell, there'll be a lot of Calgarians at my table -- and we intend to rock it. Should be a blast!

Alberta Literary Awards Calgary Shortlist Readings This Friday!

2010-04-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

THE WRITERS GUILD OF ALBERTA & 100 WINES PRESENT:

THE 2010 ALBERTA LITERARY AWARDS SHORTLIST CELEBRATION—WINE & LITERARY PAIRINGS, SLAM READINGS AND MORE!

Friday, April 30, 2010

100 Wines

1109 Olympic Way SE, Calgary

7PM

Free admission & open to the public

As a prelude to this year's Alberta Literary Awards Gala—come out and raise your glasses to the 2010 nominated authors at Calgary's exquisite 100 Wines. The celebration will feature a complimentary wine tasting and tapas (tasty!), wine & literary pairings (fun!), a series of slam readings (entertainment!), book sales courtesy of Owl’s Nest Books (shopping!), and an opportunity to relax and socialize with friends. Many of the shortlisted authors will be available for signings. Nominated readers include Will Ferguson, Lori Hahnel and Lee Kvern among others—check out the full shortlist here:http://www.writersguild.ab.ca/pdf/2010AlbertaLiteraryAwardsShortlist.pdf.

For catering purposes, please RSVP to swarwick@writersguild.ab.ca

Venue, map & parking info: www.davidwalkerwines.com

(or call the store at 403 452 8820)

Calgary shortlist readings Friday April 30th

2010-04-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Calgary shortlistees for this year's Alberta Literary Awards are reading this Friday night, April 30th, at 7PM. The venue is 100 Wines, 1109 Olympic Way SE, the same place the Wine and Literary Pairings event was last winter. Looks like Calgarians are dominating the awards this year (hee hee), with fifteen of us reading on Friday, including Bob Stallworthy, Betty Jane Hegerat, Will Ferguson, Cecelia Frey, Lee Kvern and me. Plus wine and tapas! Sounds like a great party to me. Then we'll all be heading up to Edmonton May 14th for the WGA's Awards Gala. More fun!

In the meantime, I enjoyed the Alexandra Writers' Shining Stars Event on the 16th and am in the thick of preparing notes for my weekend intensive, Life Into Story, which is set to run May 28 - 30th. No rest for the wicked, eh? So I guess I'd better get back to work.

Love Minus Zero review; AWCS events; W-i-R wrap up

2010-04-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Dave Williamson reviews Love Minus Zero in Prairie Fire Review of Books. Thanks again to Prairie Fire -- it's great the book is still getting reviews.

Instructor reading at the Alexandra Writers Centre on Friday night was a fun time, as was a Kilkenny at The Hose and Hound afterward. Next Friday it's the Alexandra Writers Shining Stars event, 7 PM at the Alexandra Centre, 922 - 9 Ave. SE. Looks like a great lineup of readers!

Getting ready for my last batch of residency-related writer meetings at the library this afternoon. I have one more manuscript to read and then the job is officially wrapped up. I hope the writers I consulted with got as much out of the experience as I did. I think everybody involved benefitted. Now I can concentrate on preparing for my AWCS workshop at the end of May. And after that, maybe I'll write something. That would be cool.

Seattle, Shortlist

2010-04-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Just back from a spring break trip to Seattle with the family. We had a fabulous time. It was our first time there; so many cool things to see and do. But we were unanimous in our choice for best Seattle attraction: The Experience Music Project, an interactive museum dedicated to rock music. Wow, unbelievably cool stuff like a whole gallery devoted to Jimi Hendrix's guitars, for instance (or the remaining pieces of them, in some cases). Could have spent days there. Spent a few bucks in the shop, though we really held back. Kinda sorry I didn't buy the Axis: Bold as Love lunchbox, but I guess I can live without it.

Anyway, now it's April 1 and I can finally announce that Nothing Sacred is on the shortlist for one of this year's Alberta Literary Awards, the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction. The complete list of shortlistees is here. The competition is pretty stiff, but it's a great honour just to be on the shortlist. Lots of excitement until the winner is announced at the Literary Awards Gala in Edmonton on May 14. Shortlistees will be reading in Calgary at 7 PM, April 30th, at 100 Wines, 1109 Olympic Way SE. Come on down and buy some fine books by some fine Calgary writers!

That's three readings for me this month, along with the events I'm doing with the Alexandra Writers on April 9 and 16th. Crazy stuff.

Program a success; AWCS events; Last call

2010-03-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

So last week's Canadian Authors Association and Calgary Public Library spring writing program with my friend and colleague Rona Altrows went over quite well. We were pleased with the response and I think the participants were quite happy with the presentations. And they were the first events put on in Calgary by Canadian Authors Association in over thirty years, how about that?

I will be reading at the Alexandra Writers Centre Society spring instructor reading and registration night at 7:30 on Friday, April 9th and again the following Friday, April 16th, 7:00, at the Alexandra Writers Shining Stars event. Both events take place in the Rose Room, main level, 922 - 9 Ave. SE. And speaking of AWCS, their spring course schedule is now up, including my weekend intensive workshop, Life Into Story, which goes May 28 - 30.

And, last call. Once again, March 31 is my submission deadline for manuscripts if you'd like to have a free writer-in-residence consultation with me (details on the right-hand side of this page). I encourage you to send your submissions now, since slots are filling up, my hours are limited, and it's possible I may have to start turning people away before the end of the month.

Rona Altrows Writing Program March 9th & 13th; Residency begins to wind down

2010-03-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Gearing up for Canadian Authors Association and Calgary Public Library's spring writing program with Calgary author Rona Altrows. Part I, The Self-Reliant Writer, is Tuesday, March 9th, 6 - 7:30 PM (free admission) and Part II, Getting Your Work Out There, is a full-day workshop on Saturday March 13th, 10:30 - 4:30; $40 for CAA members, $70 for nonmembers (lunch included). Both run at Memorial Park Library, lower level 1221 - 2 St. SW. To register, email registrar@canauthorsalberta.ca

In other news, March 31 is my submission deadline for manuscripts if you'd like to have a free writer-in-residence consultation with me. If you do have something, I encourage you to send it now, since slots are filling up and my hours are limited. Don't want to have to turn anyone away!

Rona Altrows program; send me your stuff; Life Into Story again

2010-02-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Only about three weeks now until Canadian Authors Association and Calgary Public Library's spring writing program with Rona Altrows. Part I, The Self-Reliant Writer, is Tuesday, March 9th, 6 - 7:30 PM (free admission) and Part II, Getting Your Work Out There, is a full-day workshop on Saturday March 13th, 10:30 - 4:30; $40 for CAA members, $70 for nonmembers (lunch included). Both run at Memorial Park Library, lower level 1221 - 2 St. SW. To register, email registrar@canauthorsalberta.ca

Busy still with manuscripts and writer meetings -- if you do want to send me something, send it now because my cut-off date is March 31, and if I find myself swamped with submissions then I may not get to read all of them. Details on the right hand side of this page.

The Alexandra Writers Centre has convinced me to expand Life Into Story, the one-day workshop I presented in the fall into a weekend intensive workshop, which will run Friday - Sunday, May 28 - 30th. Also with AWCS, I will be reading along with other instructors and members at their Alexandra Shining Stars event (like the sound of that!) on Friday, April 16th. I'll link to both these events as details become available.

All for now. Over and out.

February fog and frost and looking ahead to spring

2010-02-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Full house for the program I presented at Calgary Public Library on Saturday. I had fun and I'm pretty sure the audience did, too. People asked some very interesting questions. I hung around for some of the other sessions Saturday and they also seemed to go over very well. Looks like Writers' Weekend was a success, and I hope CPL can do it again next year.

For now, I'm plugging away at manuscripts for my CAA residency. The deadline for receiving submissions is March 31, so if you've been putting off sending one I encourage you to do so now. Also looking forward to the program Rona Altrows is presenting for CAA here in Calgary next month.

Even further down the road is Writing in the Works III, slated for the night of May 20th at Memorial Park library. Check here later for a full roster of this year's readers. Should be a great show.

Yawn. February so far has been foggy and frosty. Spring seems far away at this point. Must be why I'm thinking about spring.

This week's newsreel

2010-01-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

January's almost done. It went by in a blur, a cold, busy blur, and I can't really say I'll miss it. So goodbye already, January.

Thanks to Laurie Fuhr at FFWD for giving my residency a boost in this week's column, as well as for running an excerpt from Nothing Sacred. It all helps.

One space left in the program I'm doing at Calgary Public Library on February 6th. Any takers? So far, it looks like the Writers Weekend is going to be a success. Looking forward to it.

Canadian Authors Association Alberta Branch website has posted details on the program we're offering on March 9th and 13th with Rona Altrows. Space is limited, so register early.

Going to hit the Literary Roundtable event at the Barley Mill tonight hosted by the Writers Guild of Alberta. Looking forward to that also.

And finally -- look, here it is in Norwegian. I can't stop.

Histamine; work, work, work; Meine Buch

2010-01-15T12:30:00.000-08:00

Had some fun with histamine and antihistamine this week as I experienced my first (and hopefully last) food allergy. My face started to puff up and itch Saturday night and by Tuesday morning I was scaring small children in my doctor's waiting room. Remember Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Yes, that face rang a bell for me, all right. But once again, all's well that ends well as I got some heavy-duty antihistamine and cortisone on the job, and managed to identify the culprit fairly quickly. So, no more spirulina supplements for me. And I look almost normal now, so that helps. A baby even smiled at me in the doctor's waiting room this morning.

So back to work as of today. In addition to manuscript consults and meetings, I've been busy organizing a two-part workshop program, Getting Your Work Out There, featuring my good friend and colleague Rona Altrows. The first part will take place the evening of March 9th and the full-day workshop is March 13th, both at Memorial Park Library. I'll link to details as they become available, but if you can't wait to get in, you can email registrar@canauthorsalberta.ca

I am taking part in Calgary Public Library's first Writers' Weekend February 6th and 7th. My program, Ideas Into Story, is Feb. 6th from 10 - 11:30 AM and I'll also be taking part in the Blue Pencil Cafe Feb. 7th from 2 -4 PM. CPL has put together a great roster of readings and programs for this event and I'm pleased to be part of it.

I just can't resist mentioning that Nothing Sacred now shows up on Amazon.de. I hope those Germans are ordering up a whole whack of them.

Prairie Fire Review of Books review; Happy New Year

2010-01-03T23:21:00.000-08:00

2010 seems to be off to a great start so far with this review of Nothing Sacred in the Prairie Fire Review of Books by Dave Williamson. Cool!

So the holidays are now almost officially over; Bruce returns to work tomorrow and the the boys are not far behind with school on Tuesday. And so back to work for me -- a little attention for my long-neglected second novel, preparing for my Calgary Public Library program, Ideas Into Story, on Februrary 6th and then headlong back into the residency as of Jan. 15th. Work, work, work, as they say.

For now, Happy New Year, all and I hope 2010 turns out to be as good as it looks right now!

Alberta Views review; McNally's; 2010

2009-12-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

Great review of Nothing Sacred by Nicole Kajander in the Jan. / Feb. 2010 issue of Alberta Views. Nice way to end up what's been a pretty crazy year for me in many ways, good to go out on a good note. And once again, thanks to Alberta Views for doing such a great job spotlighting Alberta authors.

On the other hand, it seems that McNally Robinson Booksellers is going under, as reported in The Globe and Mail. Bad news once again for anyone involved with books in this country. We lost our McNally Robinson store here in Calgary in 2008, which was a real loss for the literary community.

But to close on a positive note, a new year and a new decade approaches, a time of new possibility beckons. Best wishes to all of you, and have a safe and happy new year!

Christmastime is here

2009-12-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

And this morning I went carolling at school for the second time this week. I love carolling, as I mentioned before, but frankly am a little tired of the humorous versions of carols favoured by the carolling director at Dan's school. However, I sang, took in the sights, left with that familiar holiday feeling of joy / melancholy / guilt at sitting on my butt for an hour and singing when there's work to be done, dammit! Then I shopped for food, walked the dog, made lunch, made cookies for the better part of the afternoon, and after dinner started in on some cleaning as Mom and Sis (all the way from Burnaby!) are over for dinner tomorrow. Ah, the holidays. Sometimes I do wonder just who they are holidays for.

On the other hand I did doze on the couch by the light of the fireplace channel briefly this afternoon. I feel like I'm fighting something off, actually. No, not sloth; nor any of the other deadly sins, either (well, not right at this moment). A bug of some low grade.

So after the dinner is over tomorrow I have no events planned until the 24th, and I do hope that any news I'll have to report is good. So this will give me ample opportunity to rest and get rid of this thing. And then everything will be groovy again, right?

Gift Guide; Cold; Holidays

2009-12-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Nice to see Love Minus Zero included with other local books in this morning's Calgary Herald Christmas Book Gift Guide. And a really interesting selection of local books it was, too. I'd like to get my hands on a copy of Gig Posters: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, for instance, since I used to hang around their website a fair bit while I was writing Love Minus Zero. There are a lot of great books around and we really appreciate the promo we get from The Herald -- thanks again!

I did not go carolling. Too damn cold! In fact I went out for lunch with my pal Jan Markley today and that was the first time I'd been outside since Friday morning. Now I'm back in and I may never come out again.

Discussed the preliminary details of a writing workshop that Rona Altrows has agreed to present as part of the second half of my CAA residency. We're aiming for a date in early April; more details will follow. Just have to file a report now and then I'm officially on a break from the residency until January 15th.

Now to warm up by the fireplace channel. Brrr.

Wine; Festive Season

2009-12-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

Wednesday's Wine and Literary Pairings event was fun, in spite of the weather. We had a good turnout, good wine and got to schmooze with writers and readers from all over Alberta. Fun!

Looks to be another snowy weekend shaping up in Calgary. I'll be wrapping up the first half or my CAA residency this weekend and am looking forward to taking a break and getting into the holiday spirit (i.e., cleaning and cooking. Yay!). Tonight we go out to get a tree, which Nick and Dan are looking forward to. I may be going carolling tomorrow night (the males refuse to join me) if the weather isn't too nasty. I love to sing but hate to freeze, so we'll just see what happens.

Review, Residency, Wine and Literary Pairings

2009-12-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

Diane Girard's review of Nothing Sacred has been published on Senior Women Web. Scroll down the page a little way to get to it. A big thank you to Diane for that! Reviews aren't easy to come by these days.

This week is the last week of the first half of my CAA residency, and I have lots to keep me busy. I'll be back at it again come January 15th, though, so if you'd like to send me a manuscript, feel free.

Wednesday is the night of the WGA's big Wine and Literary Pairings event at 100 Wines. I'll be there along with thirty other writers and our books and our wines. Looking forward to being paired with some wine, indeed.

Wine and Literary Pairings, Dec. 9th

2009-11-28T16:37:00.000-08:00

I will be taking part in the Wine And Literary Pairings event, Wed. December 9th from 7 - 10 PM at 100 Wines, 1109 Olympic Way SE, put on by the Writers Guild of Alberta. There will be over thirty local authors on hand selling copies of their books paired with a matching wine. And what more natural pairing, I ask you, than wine and writers? So come out, taste some wine, buy some books, get a start or finish on that holiday shopping.

CKUA interview; Read, read, read; Happy anniversary

2009-11-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

Brenda Finley's interview with me for the CKUA program Bookmark will air next Sunday, November 22, at 12:30. They're at 93.7 FM or at www.ckua.org, where you can also listen to archived episodes at your leisure. This was my first taped interview and I think it went pretty well for the most part, though I have to say a couple of the questions threw me for a bit of a loop. Still, it was great to talk about Nothing Sacred and I look forward to hearing it on the air. I've been listening to CKUA since 1984 and I still think they're the greatest radio station on the planet. And I'm so glad that Bookmark is there to promote Alberta writers -- we need all the help we can get.

Manuscripts continue to roll in for my CAA writer-in-res gig (submission details on the right side of the page). I'm getting close to my limit for the first half of my term, which ends December 13th. But if you have something you'd like me to look at, by all means send it along. If I can't get to it now I'll be more than happy to read it after I resume the residency January 15th until April 15th.

Friday was the first anniversary of the launch of Love Minus Zero. Wow. Was that really only a year ago? It's been an eventful year since then, no doubt. Next year, however, I'd like to get back to doing some writing. I've been so busy with all the other things I've hardly done any in the last year. An early New Year's resolution, maybe?

Back in Town; flu; Bookmark

2009-11-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Had a swell time in Edmonton, as I always do. Enjoyed the Audrey's reading very much and also enjoyed having beers at 1905 with my pals Suzanne and Joe after. The next evening I facilitated (as best I could) the writers circle session at the Canadian Authors Association meeting. Really interesting variety of work was discussed, I enjoyed it very much, as well as the presentation by Glen Huser that followed.

Next day it was back to Calgary and Hallowe'en. Trick or treat. Guess what we got in Alberta? No H1N1 shots (unless you're an NHL player), but Dan and I managed to come down with the flu (Nick and Bruce are ok so far). And it sounds like a whole lot of other people have it, too. It's not SO bad. I have definitely been sicker on many occasions. But we're listless, achy, chilly / fevery. Dan has sinus stuff, too. But I'm sure we'll be fine in a few days.

So the other day my publisher told me that Brenda Finley wants to interview me for CKUA Radio's Bookmark program this Thursday. Yeah! Only there's that little flu thing. I'm hoping a phone interview will be acceptable. Apparently the segment will air on Nov. 22; I'll post more information when I know.

Off to drink tea now.

Amazon

2009-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

It is nice to see Nothing Sacred on Amazon, I have to say!

Of course, now you know I'm going to be forever checking my Amazon sales rankings. Among the many other time-wasting things I do on the information highway. Oh, well.

Bestseller again; Edmonton

2009-10-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

I was pleased to see Nothing Sacred at number three on the Calgary Herald's bestseller list this morning. Just like its older sibling, Love Minus Zero. You try to be philosophical about this stuff. It doesn't really matter, you tell yourself. Or that's what I was telling myself last week when I didn't see it on last Sunday's list. But it does matter. When you've worked hard for years to get this stuff out into book form, the recognition is important. So it's very good to see.

The reading I did at the Central Library last Wednesday was fun. It was good to catch up with some of the library crowd and it was more than a little strange to be doing a reading in the very spot where the old circulation desk I used to work at once stood. In fact I'm at ye olde library right now, doing my residency office hours, about to do a consult with a writer shortly.

Also fun was Friday's AWCS Blue Pencil Cafe. I like the Alexandra Writers; I think they're people who are sincerely interested in making their writing the best they can and helping others to do the same. I really respect that attitude. Hoping to run my Life Into Story workshop for them again in the spring term.

Next on the agenda is my trip to Edmonton at the end of this week. I'll read from Nothing Sacred at Audrey's Books (10702 Jasper Ave.) on Thurs. the 29th at 7:30. Then the next night I'm facilitating the writers' circle at the Canadian Authors Association meeting, which I look forward to, should be a lot of fun.

And something I really look forward to is coming to the end of this little flurry of readings and public events I've been doing the last couple of months. Like many writers, I'm fairly introverted (in an extroverted kind of way. It's complicated) and I find public events to be real energy zappers. So to take a break from them and go back to being my hermit-like self soon will be a relief. I think.

Oct. 21 reading; Bestseller; Blue Pencil Cafe

2009-10-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Just finished my penultimate rehearsal for the reading I'm doing at noon this Wednesday in the New and Notable area of the main floor of the Central Library (616 Macleod Tr. SE), as part of the open house they're holding to celebrate Canadian Library Month. Got some bomber publicity for it in last Thursday's edition of Swerve Magazine (thanks, Swerve!) and I'm hoping a few folks will turn out. Must say it's going to be a little weird doing a reading right where I worked for quite a few years.

Nothing Sacred is currently number two on Pages on Kensington's bestseller list. Yeah! As a friend pointed out, I beat Margaret Atwood. Well.

This Friday from 6 - 9 PM I'm participating in The Alexandra Writers' Blue Pencil Cafe & Open Mic. Come on down, have an instructor look at your work, read for an appreciative audience, have a refreshment. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

The Canadian Authors Association residency is also keeping me busy. Getting to read a lot of interesting work. If you want to send me some, submission details can be found on the right side of this page.

Over and out for now.

Launch; office hours; Tofurky

2009-10-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Nothing Sacred's launch on October 8th was a great success, I'm happy to report. The weather was lousy, cold and snowy, but I still had a good turnout and sold lots of books. And I've finally started to get to the stage with readings where I enjoy them to some extent. This is a big improvement over feeling terrified, the way I used to. I guess I've done them enough times now that I'm getting used to them. I even took questions this time. And my boys came -- they had a blast! Dan said yesterday, " I can't stop thinking about your book launch!" Ah, chip off the obsessive old block. After the formalities, a bunch of us headed to the Hop Inn Brew Pub to celebrate -- had a great time! So thanks again to everybody who made the night a success.

Now that that's out of the way, I can concentrate a little more on my writer-in-residence gig. Manuscripts are rolling in at a nice, steady rate. Feel free to send one in if you care to. I'm also keeping office hours at the Central Library, 616 Macleod Tr. SE, in the fourth floor Program Room, Sundays 1 - 4 PM if you want to drop by. Which is where I am right now, as a matter of fact. Nice and quiet, reading manuscripts, drinking coffee.

But, this too shall pass. I need to start thinking about going home so I can get the Tofurky in the oven. Mind you, it's not quite like cooking a turkey. A fair bit less work. But you still have to make all the side dishes.

Happy thanksgiving, everyone.

Nothing Sacred launch this Thursday; Readingspalooza

2009-10-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Two more sleeps until the long-awaited Nothing Sacred launch, Thursday at 7 PM, Memorial Park Library, lower level 1221-2 St. SW. I'm looking forward to it, feel pretty good about the whole thing. It's so nice not to be as nervous as I was for the launch of Love Minus Zero last year. It really helps to have done it all before, and I've got the piece I'm reading (the title story, "Nothing Sacred") down. So come on down, join in the fun, have some wine and cheese.

Next is the launch of Jan Markley's Dead Frog on the Porch on Oct. 17 at Monkeyshines Books. Then I have a reading on Oct. 21 at noon in the New and Notable Area of the Central Library, as part of the open house the library is holding to celebrate Canadian Library Month. I'm taking part in the Alexandra Writers' Blue Pencil Cafe on the evening of Oct.23. And the following week, I do two nights in Edmonton: a reading at Audrey's Books on the 29th and then I lead the Writers' Circle at the Canadian Authors Association meeting the next night.

So, hope to see you Thursday and / or at one of the other events I'm doing this month.

Teaching, rehearsing, reading

2009-09-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

The workshop was fun, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to reassure other people that, yes, all this crazy stuff happens to people who write, it's not just you. I think we all had a great time. And I have a new respect for teachers -- well, not that I didn't have the utmost respect for them before -- but the amount of preparation that a six hour workshop takes. Wow.

So now that that's done I'm concentrating on rehearsing my pieces for the launch next Thursday, and the reading I'm doing at the Central Library's open house at noon on Oct. 21. I'll also be participating in The Alexandra Writers' Blue Pencil Cafe from 6 - 9 on Oct.23 -- bring your work in for a free 20 minute evaluation. Then I head up to Edmonton for a reading at Audrey's on Oct. 29, and will stay over the night of the 30th so I can lead the writers' circle at the Canadian Authors Association meeting that evening.

So another busy month ahead, but once it's over it'll just be back to reading manuscripts as part of my residency (keep sending them in, folks) and planning the program I'm doing, as a solo now, in February as part of Calgary Public Library's Writers' Weekend. Who knows, maybe I'll even get to do some writing myself before the holidays roll around. That would be nice.

It's Here!

2009-09-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

My copies of Nothing Sacred arrived here Tuesday afternoon. They look excellent! The folks at Thistledown really do produce a nice-looking book, and I'm looking forward to the launch on October 8th.

Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on the notes for the workshop I'm doing at the Alexandra Writers Centre this Saturday. The workshop is full and I may present it again in the spring if there is a demand. In the meantime, I'm now doing office hours as part of the CAA Writer-in-Residence program. Drop by with manuscripts, questions or just to say hi. I'll be in the fourth floor boardroom at the Central Library, 616 Macleod Tr. SE, Sunday afternoons from 1 - 4 PM.

More events than you can shake a stick at

2009-09-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

So, a busy couple of months begins this week for me. Tuesday night I have a book club gig, a first for me. I hear these book club events are lovely -- food, wine, people asking you thoughtful questions about your work. I have to say, while writing Love Minus Zero it never occured to me that I would be speaking to a book club about it. But as I must constantly remind myself, never say never.

Thursday, Sept. 10th, I'll be attending the launch of my friend Betty Jane Hegerat's tenure as Calgary Public Library's writer-in-residence. That's at Memorial Park Library, 1221 - 2 St. SW, at 7 PM. Betty is going to make an excellent writer-in-residence, and the library's lucky to have her. I am honoured to have been invited to present a joint program with her on the writer-in-residence experience for the library in February, details to follow.

Friday, Sept. 11th, I am reading, along with this session's other instructors, at The Alexandra Writers' Centre's Fall Registration Night. That's at the Alexandra Centre, 922 - 9 Ave. SE, at 7:30. Come on down, hear us read, have a refreshment and register in one of our courses or workshops. My Life Into Story workshop runs Saturday, September 26th.

In the meantime, I've already received four manuscript submissions for my writer-in-res gig, and have my first face-to-face consult with a writer on Sept. 13th in the space in the Central Library which CPL has so graciously provided. I'm quite gratified by the response to this program already, which doesn't even officially begin until the 13th.

So, yeah, keeping busy. Which is good, ya know.

Hyperlink heaven

2009-09-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I love The Kinks, in case anyone was wondering.

Edmonton, In Silhouette, etc.

2009-08-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

So my pal Jan Markley over at three dead moths in my mailbox tells me I got links hanging out all over the place and I should clean 'em up. Well. Women my age don't like to hear that kind of thing, ya know? Makes us look old. So here I am hyperlinking up a storm. Ha ha, got you on that last one.

So, news and events, eh? Okay -- date is finalized for my reading from Nothing Sacred at Audrey's in Edmonton: October 29th. The following night I will be leading the Canadian Authors Association's writers' circle before returning to Calgary the next day.

I was invited to contribute my biography to Frontenac House's e-book In Silhouette: Profiles of Alberta Writers. Click on me to read the entry.

On Saturday I received my first manuscript submission for the fall session of my CAA residency. Yeah! So keep those cards and letters coming! I do look forward to reading your work.

Whew! All this hyperlinking is giving me tennis elbow. Best get on out of here and make dinner.

Dead Frog on the Porch

2009-08-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Check out Three dead moths in my mailbox, the blog of my pal Jan Markley, who's launching her first book, Dead Frog on the Porch, this fall. She chronicles the long, lonely, crazy-making journey of her book here:

http://janmarkley.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to the big day, Jan!

Writer-in-Residence info

2009-08-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

My residency with Alberta Branch Canadian Authors Association runs Sept. 15 - Dec. 15, 2009 and again from Jan. 15 - Apr. 15, 2010. If you or someone you know would like a free manuscript consultation, you can send up to 25 pages of prose or three poems to:

Lori Hahnel
CAA Writer in Residence
PO Box 36084, Lakeview PO
Calgary, AB
T3E 7C6

or via e-mail at cwir@canauthorsalberta.ca

Look forward to reading your stuff!

Open Book Toronto interview

2009-08-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

We're back from our Island time, which was fun and crazy: 40 degree temps, a round of Norovirus and insane ferry wait times were the low points. But we also had a lot of fun swimming, canoeing, hanging out on the beaches, poking around in museums, second hand stores, bookshops. And even though we just got back yesterday, it already seems like a long time ago. Sigh. Back to work.

So while we were away, Open Book Toronto posted this interview with me:

http://www.openbooktoronto.com/news/ten_questions_with_lori_hahnel

Fun stuff.

Calgarian Reunion Party

2009-07-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Sadly I will be on the Island and miss this event, but as a public service I am passing on word that there will be a Calgarian Reunion Party at the Number One Legion on 7th Ave SE, this Friday, July 31 from 7:00 -- 11:00 PM. Hope ya'll can stay up that late! I am assured on several fronts that people will be having pairs of draft for me. And I do hope (kind of) that someone will take pictures!

I miss all the good stuff.

Canadian Authors Association Residency; Calgary Public Library Literary Awards

2009-07-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

This has been one of those newsy weeks. So last night I was offered (and was very happy to accept) the position of Calgary writer-in-residence for The Canadian Authors Association. This is the first time the program has been run in Calgary and if it works out well will hopefully become an annual thing. Right now I'm working on finding a location for doing manuscript consultations in (have a few possibilities up my sleeve). The program will run mid-September to mid-December and mid-January to mid-April. I'll post details later on where you can send a manuscript. Very exciting! Here's some info about the program:

http://www.canauthorsalberta.ca/writer-in-residence

And this morning I got word that Love Minus Zero is a semi-finalist in the first annual Calgary Public Library Foundation Literary Awards in the adult fiction category. Finalists will be announced the week of September 7th. Details on the award can be found here:

http://blog.calgarypubliclibrary.com/blogs/cpl_foundation/archive/2009/04/30/2749.aspx

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Hmm. Looks like I'm going to be kind of busy this fall.

Fiddlehead summer fiction issue excerpt excerpt

2009-07-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Got my contributor copies of The Fiddlehead 240 today, the summer fiction issue. My piece is an excerpt from Love Minus Zero, and they've linked to an excerpt from the excerpt on their website, here:

http://www.thefiddlehead.ca/current.html

Looking forward to sitting down and checking it out later, looks to have some awesome work in it.

So that's it for my forthcoming stuff. I'd better get busy and write something one of these days.

Woot!

2009-07-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Crescent told me to say that. Don't I sound young and hip?

It's been a busy week. Got the proofs off to Thistledown this week, which feels fabulous. Also got to see the complete coverspread for the first time, which was exciting. Well, maybe other people don't find this kind of thing exciting, but I do.

Wrapped up the draft of the story Diane looked over for me and sent it off. I did some work on another that I had abandoned before the book stuff started, but this one is going to need some major surgery. Don't know if I can do much to it right now. I need to prepare for this workshop, get some grant applications going, set up some out of town readings. Um, and we're going to the Island the first two weeks of August-ish. To relax, yeah.

Also got my tech support to update ye olde website. But I got him to show me how to do it (you know, the give a man a fish thing). And here was the test: I updated one of the links myself just now. And it worked! I am so up-to-the-minute. I am like FPS or something. Right, Crescent?

Proofs; Beer; July in the town of cows

2009-07-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing Sacred galley proofs arrived from Thistledown late this afternoon. Good stuff. I'd just wrapped up a draft of a new story yesterday and sent it off to Diane Girard, my beloved first reader, so the timing is great. Sure I won't need all seven (7) days to read them, but I do want to take my time, be careful. And then that will be that. All done. Cool.

Had a beer with Rona tonight. Good to get out and talk in person to a grownup over an alcoholic beverage. As I entered the bar I called unto mind that it was Stampede, but this didn't seem to be a problem as far as getting a table and so forth went. Stampede seems rather subdued this year, we agreed. Is it the weather, the economy, who knows? But that's fine with me.

Speaking of cool -- whoa, it's freezing out there. Had to turn the heat on in the Westfalia on the way home. Dude! But that's Calgary for you. Now I have two sweaters on and am drinking herb chai. Yeeeeeehaw.

Punk rocker turned author at it again

2009-07-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Brief mention of me and Love Minus Zero in a piece by Eric Volmers on novels set in Calgary in today's Calgary Herald, here:

http://www.canada.com/News/Perfect+Setting/1760975/story.html

Eric has been doing a great job of spotlighting local authors and their books, and I really appreciate it. It's tough to compete with the big publishers and their big money. So thanks, Eric!

Cool; Cool; Cool

2009-07-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

What made me think of this again? I don't know, but last winter when I was doing research for a story I was writing, I came across this information about the phonautograph. You can hear a recording (admittedly quite hard to make out) of the inventor singing "Au Clair de la Lune" that was made in 1860, the earliest known recording of the human voice. And it hadn't even been heard before until last year! You can read about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonautograph

Also cool -- I wrote this afternoon. For almost three hours. Wow, almost forgot what that was like. I'll have to do it again sometime.

And the final cool thing: my new phone. Well, not really the phone. It's not very fancy by modern standards (though it does have a camera in it). But the ringtone! Oh, I went crazy and bought a ringtone: an MP3 of Miles Davis playing "Summertime". That is definitely cool.

Life Into Story workshop

2009-06-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Got word on Saturday that the Alexandra Writers want to include the one-day workshop I am developing in their fall calendar. Life Into Story: Transforming Experiences Into Fiction will run 10 -- 3:30 on Saturday, September 26 at the Alexandra Centre, 922 - 9 Ave. SE. Which incidentally was the scene of a punk show held so long ago that CBC sent out a camera crew and my friends and I were on the news the next night. And no, I have no idea who played at it. But there you go, full circle, dramatic irony and all that jazz.

Anyway, the fall calendar is not up yet, but here is a link to the Alexandra Writers Centre. I will post details later in case anyone wants to register:

http://www.alexandrawriters.org/course.html

Stairway to Gilligan's Island

2009-06-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

Had this baby on vinyl many years ago. Very happy to hear it again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTCYLbFxTpI

Apparently, Little Roger and The Goosebumps were sued by Page and Plant for this one. Dudes, lighten up!

Summer begins

2009-06-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

School ended on Thursday, which also happened to be my 46th birthday. School often ends on my birthday; when I was a child I regarded this as a mark of favour from the gods. Now I see it for the curse that it really is. It just adds insult to injury, is all. Oh, well. This year's end was marked by Dan's traumatic and tear-filled goodbye to his beloved teacher. It was a pretty teary event all around, actually. Anyway, it's over now and he is soothing his soul with a new electric guitar. Sweet, eh? As for me, I'm still 46. That's the age my father was when he died and it's kind of freaky to think about that. Of course, perhaps I should just not spend so much time thinking. Or I should think about things that actually have a point more often.

Submitted an outline for a one-day workshop to the Alexandra Writers Centre yesterday, and hope they'll be interested in me giving it in the fall.

Now that the boys are a little older and tend to spend a lot of time on bikes with their buds, summer is not such a fallow time for me anymore. Which is good, because I have things I need to do, like get after setting up some readings. Finish those two stories I have apparently been working on the last few weeks and get them out there. And then get rewriting that novel. I'm thinking proofs should show up here before too long, as well. And then I guess we'll head out for some Island time at some point, though that's up in the air because of renos we're having done this summer. So summer looks a little chaotic at this point, but it's good to keep busy. Keeps you from thinking too much.

Strange things happen in June

2009-06-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Had you told me even a couple of months ago that I would be submitting an illustrated sonnet to an actual magazine, like I did just now, I would have laughed. But the older I get the more I have to just shrug and remember: Never say never. I actually did have a couple of poems published in a tiny, long-dead journal back in the mid-nineties, so I suppose it isn't entirely impossible that someone might want to publish more of my poetry. Which I seldom write, but now and again the urge seizes me. Even less frequently do I have an urge to share this stuff, but this is what happens when you spend a lot of time alone. Now we will see what they say. If anything.

That out of my system, I plan to work on a couple of stories I abandoned when I started the edits on Love Minus Zero, back in early 2008 (doesn't that seem like a long time ago?). I'm also looking into teaching creative writing and to that end am submitting a workshop outline to the Alexandra Writers Centre by the end of June as well as taking a one-day course at Mount Royal College later this month, Principles of Adult Learning.

That's the theory, at least. Of course, there are a lot of attractive diversions out there. And the weather is beautiful; it's not even snowing. This is how kids feel at the end of the school year. Restless. Distracted. Unfocused. Preoccupied. Oh, well. That's June for you.

Fictionistas in my future?

2009-06-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

It looks that way, judging by Thistledown's new fall catalogue. The info about Nothing Sacred is here, on page five:

http://www.thistledownpress.com/images/2009fallcat.pdf

So I'm thinking that "Western Canadian co-author tour" mentioned in the Publicity and Marketing section would be a trip with the Fictionistas program. A number of Western Canadian publishers send women authors with new books on a series of joint readings. Sounds good to me. As I was telling my sister last night, I found doing out of town readings last fall was kind of a lonely experience. I could understand why Dylan Thomas had those eighteen straight whiskies that night. But yes, having a group would be fun. We'll see what happens.

Looking forward to lunching tomorrow with my friend Jan Markley, whose first middle grade novel, Dead Frog on the Porch, is forthcoming from Gumboot Books this fall. Yeah! Will we have eighteen straight whiskies? I doubt it, since I don't think they serve whiskey at Boca Loca. Besides, whiskey seems to have a narcotic effect on me; history has shown that it's not good for me to drink it.

Ahem. Okay. All for now.

Edmonton; Preorder

2009-05-31T20:11:00.001-07:00

Although I did not win this year's CAA Exporting Alberta Award (that honour went to Karen Bass' young adult novel Run Like Jager) I had a swell time reading and schmoozing with the Alberta branch crowd, as I always do. The readings were excellent and I'm sure the judges had a tough time picking a winner. Also fun was our morning at West Edmonton Mall. That is one big mall, no joke.

Here's Nothing Sacred's debut in the Chapters Indigo catalogue. ISBNs and everything -- I didn't just dream it:

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/35/search?sc=Lori+Hahnel&sf=Author

Lovely. Now you can preorder as many copies as you wish.

Off to check out Lillian Gish and a young Ronald Colman in 1923's The White Sister. What's this, you say, a silent movie? Where is Bruce, then? Off at a conference in Colorado. Yes, a chance for me to indulge my bizarre cinematic tastes. Which reminds me, it so happens that Errol Flynn's 100th birthday falls on the weekend of Cub-o-Rama later this month. Really must work out some kind of event for that. Hmmm.

Alberta Views review

2009-05-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

I was very pleased to see Candace Fertile's review of Love Minus Zero in the new (June 2009) issue of Alberta Views. Mostly a very good review, too -- even better. I don't think they usually put their reviews online and they've not yet got the June issue up on their site, but what the hell, here's a link to them, anyway:

http://www.albertaviews.ab.ca/

Even if they hadn't reviewed my book, I'd have to say I love them. I've been a subscriber for close to ten years. They are one of the few voices on the other side of the political spectrum in Alberta -- as publisher Jackie Flanagan put it at a conference a few years ago, they are "Alberta Retort". You gotta like that.

Revisions, Edmonton

2009-05-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Wrapped up revisions to Nothing Sacred and handed them in today. That do feel good. I guess the next step in the process will be proofs and getting the promo wheels turning, but those things are a little ways off yet. The next thing I want to do is write a short story -- a new one. Perhaps all new. I have a couple of embryonic ones that were abandoned at early stages for various reasons, so I'll have a look at those, but I may just write something new. After working the last couple of years on things that I wrote as long as nine years ago, I'm looking forward to doing something new. It's a little scary, actually, but scary in a good way.

In the meantime, getting ready to go up to Edmonton Friday to read at the Canadian Authors Association Exporting Alberta Award presentation. I have no idea who else is reading, but looking forward to hanging out with my Alberta CAA friends again. After a visit to WEM the next day, we dash back to the town of cows so that Bruce can fly to Colorado Sunday for a conference.

Listening to a new CD I got -- The Verdix Live at The Black Bull Lounge, March 31 / 79. Thirty years on, I'm amazed at how good it sounds. I'd forgotten how tight and high-energy they were. Apparently there's going to be a launch party for the disc here in August sometime. It might be good to go to that. Or it might be distressing to see how old all those people have grown.

In the meantime, out to take the dog to the vet for a shot. Don't let anybody tell you the writing life is not glamorous.