Brilliant Girls, CBC Interview and Airport Book

Marian White discovers my First Airport Book at Halifax International Airport

Three, count ‘em, THREE very exciting things happened to me this week. And believe me, excitement of any kind is at a premium in a Western Bay winter when my engagement with the outside world is usually limited to watching the snowplow and the weekly garbage pickup.

First was an interview on CBC’s On The Go with Anthony Germain about Footsteps in Bay de Verde and the Newfoundland Book Award it just belatedly won. Jenny Dwyer, the inventive and meticulous illustrator of the book was also on the interview, and I really enjoyed her thoughtful answers. I always love hearing visual artists talk about their work, because it’s such a mystery to me.

Second was a Zoom call with members of the Red Cedar Award book club at Spring Creek Community School in Whistler, B.C. The Dollhouse is one of the books nominated for the award, and these were hard-core Dollhouse fans with a slew of challenging questions for me about the plot, the characters, the romantic interest, the nature of Death, the power of imagination—they were completely awesome these kids! So smart and so interested in all aspects of the book. These are the kids I write for and 45 minutes on Zoom was just not enough.

Third, my friend Marian White and her husband Beni Malone were delayed at the Halifax airport half the night and they sent me a photo that is the fulfillment of one of my major career goals: An Airport Book! At last! One of my books on sale in an airport. To me that is the height of fame. Tongue in cheek a little—but really, it’s a thrill. I always thought Screech! Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland would be my first Airport Book, and lo and behold! It is! Thank you Marian and Beni! And thanks to all the people at Nimbus, my publisher, who get those books to the airport.

So with all those exhilarating events in the first three days of the week, I can now settle back into writing my WINDSOR book (more about that later) and keeping an eye out for the garbage pickup. No snow in the immediate forecast.