Another Rewrite

and a launch and a WIP and some other stuff

I won’t lie, there are times I wish things would slow down. This isn’t one of them. And anyway, I’m not one to point a finger at external forces. I created this hullabaloo.

I’m in the middle of a series of book launching events and it’s been pretty sweet. Sweet especially since so many friends from my past and present have shown up to support, listen, and wish me well. So even the events with only a dozen people lift my heart.

Each set of questions, each conversation’s trajectory, causes me to see aspects of my novel from a different angle or through a fresh lens. What I’ve noticed is for whatever reason, this story has the effect of bringing people closer in. A wondrous sense of intimacy occurs naturally when we speak about the story’s underpinnings. Thoughtful, sometimes surprising, questions thrill me and set me off on unexpected tangents.

I’ve hoped that exposure to What the Living Do would generate interest for my next novel from agents and publishers. But here’s the thing: my “next novel” has been “completed” many times over. After my 6-week residency in France LAST YEAR, I was done. Or so I thought. I’d only been working on the thing for about twelve years, trying to get it right. Those weeks in that quiet village by the quiet river allowed me the space and time to focus solely on the project. There, I experienced a breakthrough so that by the time I returned to Canada, I was confident it was time to send it off. The timing was perfect. One book down, the next one hot and ready. All I needed was a set of bright eyes to give it a little polish, maybe tweak it a bit, move a scene… so I joined a critique group with Herstry, Babes Who Write. And met the brilliant Joanna Acevedo. After working with that group for several weeks, I sent the full manuscript to her.

The point is, she’s right. I may have initially been blown sideways by her astute observations, but when I picked myself up the whole story took on a clear, strong arc. Yes, it means I have to rewrite most of the book, but I know the story so well, that it shouldn’t take me another twelve years to get it done.

So now I’m faced with three major things along with organizing and delivering my four or five workshops a week, (and five or six massages). Promoting and marketing my finished novel (whew), rewriting the second (actually my first), and breezing through the first draft of my work-in-progress (the one that excites me the most). Then there’s Spain… with four registrants already, it’s sure to fill up for next year’s May retreat. I’ll need to get started on the journal they’ll receive—a treasure trove of prompts and space to write.

In order not to freak right out, I have to remind myself that my life is not at stake. And instead, to settle into the sweetness of right now. And it is so sweet.

I have been treated with such respect, engaged in stirring conversations about many of the story’s elements, reconnected with old friends, met fascinating new ones, and been hosted by the most generous, open-hearted folks.

Three more major events await me: Take Cover Books in Peterborough with Joanne Culley; Caffe Fantastico in Victoria with Kari Jones and Julian Gunn; and Notably, A Book Lover’s Emporium in Nelson, BC with Anne DeGrace. Most weekday mornings I gather with thirty or more writers on-screen for an hour of silent writing time which sets me in motion for the day.

In other words, I’m living the dream

.

I have wanted to publish a Substack post once a week, but it’s been a challenge these past weeks to honour that intention. I want to shout to the heavens how grateful I am to have the most remarkable, gifted, funny, heartbreakingly wondrous writers in my online workshops. I want to tell you about the magic of Write Around the World, where all through May Amherst Writers facilitators run workshops to support AWA’s social justice programs. For now, though, I’ll just include the links so you can check it out and watch for AWA’s blog where you’ll find examples of the marvellous writing that’s been generated in these workshops.

And I’ll get back to one of my projects.

Why not focus on the good stuff?

Here’s an interview I did with Hollay Ghadery for HOWL fm:

And here’s the book: