Amidst all this stress and heartbreak, there are some amazing people still working to get books out to Hamilton readers. If you're interested in ordering my (or anyone's) titles and keeping it local,  here are some wonderful options (click on the store name for their contact info):

Epic Books

King West Books

A Different Drummer

The City & The City Books

And please, please retweet and share this note to help spread the word: indie booksellers are the saints of the book world, and they really need our support. Be sure to follow them on social media, too.

Thanks, all! 

​B.

Hi, all!

What strange days indeed.

Two thoughts to share:

1. I'd like to wish you all the best as you navigate the COVID-19 crisis, and I know you're doing your best to stay safe and healthy.

2. Everyone is or will be feeling the financial pinch from COVID-19, and writers are no different. If you haven't already done so, would you consider ordering one (or more, for self-isolation gifts) of my books? First, it supports me as a writer, but it also sends a message to publishers and booksellers that books are still good investments. (Pre-ordering BOY and NOTHING BUT LIFE, in particular, boosts all-important pre-release numbers, which helps sales after publication, too.)
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Click on the links below to order.

BOY: a novel

NOTHING BUT LIFE: a novel

SAINTS, UNEXPECTED: a novel

Thanks for your support, and stay strong!
​
B.
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Hello, friends!
Two bits of news today:
1. As you can see, I have a cover for NOTHING BUT LIFE! This was another fantastic project by one of Dundurn Press's in-house designers, the excellent Sophie Paas-Lang (follow her on instagram and twitter). 
2. Preorders are now live for NOTHING BUT LIFE: click on the buttons below.
Thanks, everyone! Your orders and support are much, much, much appreciated.
B.
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I'll be sending out proper invites closer to the event, but I'm excited to share that I've booked The Staircase for the Hamilton launch of BOY, my novel being released in the spring!

Date: Thursday, June 4, 2020: 6:30-9:00pm, at The Staircase, 27 Dundurn Street North, Hamilton.

The Staircase is an absolute gem, a mixed arts and theatre space with amazing ambiance, great food and drink, and a stellar pedigree for Hamilton arts events. Watch this space for more updates!

Hello, followers!

I'm excited to share pre-order links for BOY, out May 30, 2020 from Dundurn Press. 

Click here for Amazon

Click here for Chapters/Indigo

If you're on Goodreads, please also considering marking BOY as a To-Read selection. Click here for Goodreads

Thanks so much. I won't do this kind of thing very often, but these days, given the algorithms and sales-driven success potential for books, pre-orders (which count towards day 1 sales) have become super important for writers hoping to generate revenue and get exposure for their art. I appreciate your support and consideration!

​B.

I'm so excited to be working with the fabulous team at Dundurn Press on my novel BOY! On Thursday, the novel's cover landed in my inbox, and I couldn't have been more pleased: the design (by the incredible Sophie Paas-Lang) perfectly captures the spirit of the novel. Intense. Fraught. Unsettled. Magical. And with an ounce of hope.

I can't wait to share it with you all—watch this space (and all my social) for the big cover reveal this Thursday, July 25! For now, I've included a little teaser image to the left. So. Excited. 

I learned today that Rachel Held Evans, one of my favourite authors, has tragically passed away at the age of 37 after a brief and unexpected illness. 

I am heartbroken for the loss, for the life and writing and inspiration we won't get to witness, and, especially for her husband and two kids, who've lost everything. And I'm heartbroken because the literary world has lost a fierce giant, bold and humble and gracious, and I've lost my favourite Christian writer. Simply put, her writing has made me want to read about faith again. She questioned, raged, triumphed, and wept her way to a faith that inspires, despite the doubt and scars. Perhaps because of the doubt and scars. I really looked forward to meeting her someday and having her sign Searching for Sunday, her best book. Now I won't get that chance, until later, maybe, in that idea called heaven, where although I won't be allowed to carry my dog-eared copy of her book, I imagine we'll have a whole lot more interesting things to write and talk about.

Her light still shines, though. Read ​Searching for Sunday, and all her work. Her family will receive the royalties, and you'll be blessed. Guaranteed. Also, her medial bills will be epic, so a number of her good friends have set up a GoFundMe page (click here). Do that, too.

Mark your calendars! Dundurn Press has set the following release dates:

​BOY: A NOVEL — May 30, 2020

NOTHING BUT LIFE: A NOVEL — October 31, 2020

I'm so pleased (and stunned, in the best way) to share that Dundurn Press, who recently picked up my novel BOY (to be published April 11, 2020), will also be publishing NOTHING BUT LIFE, a YA novel, later in 2020!

Who's spinning? This guy.

Here's a little bit about NOTHING BUT LIFE: A NOVEL:

How quiet the bells of heaven must be, cold
with stars who cannot rhyme their brilliance
to our weapons. What rouses our lives each moment?
Nothing but life dares dying. 
~ from "26," a poem by Rachel Eliza Griffiths (used with permission)

Dills and his mom have moved back to Hamilton, her hometown, looking to start again. He can’t talk about the day his stepdad Jesse came into the Wilkson Middle School library and opened fire. The memories are simply too raw. Plus, it’s hard to think about how many lives Jesse stole and the families he tore apart. Yet Dills doesn’t think he's a monster. Before Jesse became the Wilkson Shooter, he was just a Hero Stepdad, a haunted combat vet who loved his family as fiercely as he fought his demons. 

And Dills still loves him.

Months after the move, Dills starts hearing Jesse telling him to come home. But Jesse tried to kill himself after the shooting and is wasting away in a Wilkson hospital bed, so Dills knows that the voice is probably just a product of his own bruised psyche. But what if it isn’t? What if Jesse is somehow reaching out to the only person who could possibly listen? Dills has go back. He owes it to Jesse. To himself. Even if there are no answers to be found.

Watch this space for more details.

B.

Days you feel like a real writer...
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I was invited to visit the Dundurn offices yesterday and had a lovely chat with Rachel Spence, the Acquisitions Editor. I also got a tour of the space and was able to meet some of the other staff. Dundurn is doing some really cool things, and it's exciting to be a part of it.

Mark your calendars, everyone: BOY will be published on April 11, 2020!