When: Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 2:00pm

Where: Locke Street Library, Hamilton.

What: I am third in a series of readings by local authors. I'll be reading a selection from AEDEN'S WAKE (unless the spirit moves me in another direction...) and I will have copies of MAKE FIRE IN THE DESERT for purchase as well. Hope to see you there!

A big thanks to Kathy May, Locke St. Branch Manager, for organizing the readings. 

So it just hit me: I wrote another novel. Wow.

Now, I actually finished the first draft of Old Habits yesterday morning, but it’s really just now sinking in. That’s what I get for 1) answering my phone yesterday morning when I guessed that I had about 30 minutes before I was done then taking an afternoon shift at the library, 2) talking over spaghetti about kitchen renovations with m’Lady which tends to be an all-consuming beast (the kitchen talk, not the pasta or my wife), 3) watching a silly movie (Tower Heist), and 4) tumbling into bed to be swallowed by sleep, all without really thinking about what I had just accomplished.

I think I need to pause and do just that. Life’s been ridiculously busy as of late, and while I’ve been able to spend goodly amounts of time on the novel, the rest of our time has been full, full, full. My best guess is that I carried that busyness (which my wife and I call “go-mode”) right past the ending of the novel and into whatever I could get into next, which happened to be that afternoon library shift, spaghetti, reno’s, and a ridiculous premise for a film.

So today, I’m gonna crow a bit, blog a bit, do some admin a bit, snack a bit, revise Aeden’s Wake (novel #1, which I need to get to my agent STAT) a bit, nap a bit, and breathe a bit. This afternoon, I might even go across the street to The Corktown and have a celebratory pint. (All right, truthfully I might crack open a beer from the fridge and dedicate the beer-cost-savings to our new home’s kitchen/bathroom reno’s, but it’ll still be celebratory. A bit.)

I’m gonna crow about writing Old Habits first.

-       108,677 words

-       212 single spaced Times New Roman pages

-       6 hugely distinct characters each with his/her own individual (yet linked) narrative

-       A physical and emotional journey of 24 years, from 1988 to the present (although the angel’s journey is a lot longer)

-       Multiple settings, from Iraq to Toronto to London to Bangkok to Damascus

-       All requirements met for The Humber School for Writers

-       Having personal access to one of Canada’s most renowned writers all the way through

-      A working title I can't wait to toss out "with extreme prejudice" ("Old Habits" just happened to be the first two words I wrote when I started the draft in July and so Word saved it as such)


-      And still with enough enthusiasm to get started on the next one…in a few months. :)

And now for a snack (see below). Then the rest of it.

There's a really great meme making the rounds, one that pokes fun at what we do regardless of our occupation.

Here's a fun collection (make sure you click on "View All Images" to see a whole whack of 'em).

And here's mine. Enjoy.