Making connections

I never got to hear Jim Gray speak; his talk on Tuesday (April 27) at the Canadian Management Centre, Toronto, was a sell-out, and I couldn’t get in. I have his book How Leaders Speak, which offers “essential rules for engaging and inspiring others”, but it would have been good to hear him.
What struck me [...]

Everywhere a Book

Not to sound cliche but I love books. I know, I know, not exactly shocking considering what I do for a living! But not only do I promote books all day but I’m also part of two book clubs.  And, like most bibliophiles, stacks of books awaiting to be read fill my apartment. Not only [...]

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favourite things.”
The box cuter slits the packing tape open and the generic brown cardboard box springs open and releases bright coloured confetti and streamers. Ok  maybe there wasn’t confetti and streamers when I opened the [...]

How I Keep My Tools Sharp

My latest manuscript, Black Tupelo, took me three years to complete. I worked on it every day — creatively or editorially — weekends included, for months at a time. Every once in a while I would take a break for a week or two, but never for very long; when I’m writing a novel, I [...]

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 [...]

The Humanclature of Books

I’ve been pondering about how people interact with one another and the interesting pattern of how we interact with books.  The two distinct interactions actually have a lot in common.
I’m not saying that how one person interacts with people is precisely how he or she would interact with a books, but it’s a fascinating way of [...]

Five Book-related Things to Do Over the Holidays

Well the holidays have finally arrived and we’re all either frantically trying to wrap presents, exchange presents, or purchase those last minute gifts. What about the rest of the holidays — y’know … after we open up those gifts and enjoy the amazingly mouth-watering, warm, and comforting food. What then?

Well, if you’re not [...]