Dressing Up An Old Friend

Last week, along with mystery writer Vicki Delany, I was a guest of the Public Library in Picton, Ontario. I read two scenes from my recently completed manuscript, Black Tupelo. The audience was relaxed and conversational, and one of the questions I was asked during the Q&A was “What are you working on now?” I [...]

Two Scenes From Black Tupelo

Although some people can write purely from their imaginations, others require actual experience upon which to base their writing. Stephen Crane never experienced combat, but he was able — through the power of his imagination — to create the most convincing of all Civil War novels, Red Badge of Courage. Conversely, Ernest Hemingway’s early novel, [...]

WHAT I’M WORKING ON NEXT

I wrote my first two novels — neither of which was published — in the 1980’s. The first one, called Country Music, was a coming of age story about a group of young men in Haliburton, north of Toronto. It almost made it; it was with Doubleday for eleven months, and the young editor who [...]

THE DEATH OF JOHN UPDIKE

I’d intended to write about my next project in this blog, but something far more important came up: the death of John Updike. For any serious reader of modern American fiction, Updike is a must. His quartet of novels about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom (Rabbit, Run, 1960; Rabbit Redux, 1971; Rabbit Is Rich, 1981; Rabbit at [...]

Review round up

Tess Bridgewater of the Waterloo Region Record on Pat Mattiani Mestern’s Granite:
“What Mestern does best is paint evocative pictures of the lovely rural area in the rolling hills between Fergus and Collingwood, and Shelburne to the east.
The book is worth reading for this alone, especially if you are familiar with the area.”

Alberta History on David Elliott’s Adventures [...]

Deborah Brennan on Metro Morning & Ontario Morning

Whether you’re drinking your java or putting on your woolies in preparation for work, make sure you tune into CBC’s Metro Morning (GTA) and Ontario Morning (Ontario outside the GTA) for Deborah Brennan’s interview with Karen Horseman on Tuesday, Nov. 25 th at 7:20 am.
 
Labours of Love: Canadians Talk About Adoption
Deborah A. Brennan
9781550028454
$28.99 / £16.99 [...]