In July 2018 Christine Cowley from the Bay 88.7 FM interviewed me for her monthly talk show, “Storylines.” Christine is a warm and thoughtful interviewer who likes to showcase new Canadian authors as well as local writers from Muskoka, Ontario. It was such a pleasure to speak with her about the book. Christine asked me in-depth questions about Plastic: what is the significance of the stories from minor characters in the book, what is the connection between social media and self-perception and who I was hoping to reach with the book? We also talked about the vulnerability of women in our society.

After the interview, Christine and I discussed the writing life. It is a tough slog sometimes, and we writers can wonder just why we devote so many hours to our work. We reminded each other that it isn’t the outcome that is important. It is the fact we are doing something we love and expressing our creativity that brings us joy and a sense of fulfillment. In fact, we both agreed that we couldn’t imagine not writing. Christine is working on her first novel, after a career of writing non-fiction and interviewing fellow writers. I wish her the best of luck.

A huge thank you to Christine for her insightful questions and for having me on her show.

In classic Atlantic Canadian style, the FogLit Festival in Saint John was a party! Free food and drink for the attendees, lots of laughs and such great company. I read at the Novel Tea event in the Stone Church on Friday, September 29, 2017, with Bridget Canning, Jan Wong and Grace O’Connell. What an honour! Jan read from her book Apron Strings about her travels with her son through France, Italy and China to learn about the cuisine and culture of each nation. Bridget read from her debut novel, The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes, about an accidental heroine in St. John’s, and Grace read from her second novel, Be Ready for the Lightning, which takes a frightening situation, the hijacking of a bus, to show that even in extreme circumstances we can still offer compassion.

On the Saturday, I presented a workshop on writing short fiction. Thanks to the participants for showing up ready and eager to put into practice some of the tips I shared about the craft of writing a short story. I was impressed by the diversity of the participants, both in terms of demographics (from a tween to retirees) and writing styles (horror, literary fiction as well as elaborate shopping lists!).

​I want to send a huge thank you to Andrea, Laura, Carole, John, Kathryn and the countless others who worked so hard to make the festival a success. I cannot praise them enough for their dedication and kindness. Saint John residents are so lucky to have a festival like FogLit.

Thanks to everyone who came to the author meet and greet at Perfect Books in Ottawa on September 23, 2017. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends and meet book lovers in the area.

A special thank you goes to Chris and Anastasia, who made me feel so welcome and comfortable. And a thank you to my publisher, The Porcupine’s Quill, for arranging the event.

Wow. All I can say is what a night! The book launch was so much fun. And it opened a tiny window for me into my character Debbie’s world because for those 90 minutes I was a celebrity, lapping up the attention and kudos. I have to give a huge thank you to Carl Cavanagh and the Victoria Public Library for hosting the event in their community room on June 22, 2017. It was a great space with plenty of room for the attendees, the book and food tables and the podium.

I also want to thank everyone who came out and bought a book. It was amazing to meet new people, connect with old friends and bring people from the literary community together. I received so many compliments about the cover and the quality of the binding. That truly pleased me because it was one of the reasons I signed with the Porcupine’s Quill. They did an excellent job on the book. What a thrill to read excerpts from three of the stories in Plastic and to answer questions from the audience. I don’t know if readers realize how exciting it is for a writer to be asked questions about the characters or the writing process. Suddenly, the world I created is real to a room full of people. What started as an idea, a wish, has taken on a life of its own and will mean something different to each person who picks up the book.