A restful week in Prince Edward Island

Writing Life: 37

The view from the deck of the home where we stayed last week.

I spent last week in beautiful Prince Edward Island at an annual family gathering just outside of Charlottetown near the town of New Glasgow. The scenery, the weather, and the company were all stellar. With just under a month to go before A New Season hits bookstores and I hit the road, this was a lovely and restorative break and a chance to recharge my batteries as it were for the busy time that lies ahead.

Pride Parade

We arrived on a Friday evening and stayed overnight in Charlottetown. It just so happened that the next day was Pride Day in Charlottetown, capped off with the annual Pride Parade. We gathered to watch and applaud as the parade rolled by.

The Charlottetown Pride Parade. A great event.

About half way through, out of nowhere and seemingly unaccompanied by any visible security—though I know they were there—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked by as part of the parade, holding a Pride flag aloft, and greeting spectators. He smiled and waved as he passed us. That was unexpected. A few days later his separation from his wife, Sophie Gregoire, was announced. That was also unexpected.

The Prime Minister on the streets of Charlottetown for the annual Pride Parade.

First ever talk on A New Season

While in Charlottetown that Saturday morning, I also visited Bookmark, the great independent bookstore that organized my talk five days later on the Thursday night at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. It seems that Nunavut and Prince Edward Island are the only territories/provinces in which I have not yet given at least one book talk. So earlier this year, when we decided to visit PEI for a family vacation, I contacted the good folks at Bookmark and they made the event happen. I’m grateful.

Bookmark’s front window featuring a number of my books and this event notice.

This was the very first time I’d given a book talk on my new, not quite yet released, novel, A New Season. We had hoped we might be able to have some early copies of the book available that night, but the logistics nearly four weeks before launch was a bridge too far. So I inscribed Penguin Random House bookplates for those preordering the novel.

A few shots from my Charlottetown event. Thanks to Lori Cheverie, Tarek Hussein and Pamela Paterson for the photos!

I had no idea how many, if any, people might come out on a beautiful summer’s night in Charlottetown with lots of other fun things to do—including visiting the famous Cows Ice Cream store just across the street. But they came. Extra chairs were quickly assembled when more than 50 people turned up. Thank you Charlottetown!

My talk on this novel will get smoother with practice but it seemed to go reasonably well this first time. I read a short piece from early in the novel and have a few more sections to test out in future readings. But for a first book talk on the new novel, I was happy, and hope those who came were as well.

I inscribed about 15 bookplates for folks who’d pre-ordered the novel so they can stick them in when the new books arrive in a few weeks. Other people bought or brought copies of my earlier novels to be signed. It was a fun evening. One intrepid couple kindly drove all the way from Fredericton for the event. I’m honoured. Thanks to all who attended, and to Lori and Dan from Bookmark for organizing the event. I really appreciate it.

The River Clyde Pageant

Earlier in the week our entire clan attended the annual River Clyde Pageant not far from where we were staying. It was a wonderful outdoor community theatrical extravaganza involving a very large cast of all ages. It was a great evening and as you can see, featured some amazing costumes and scenes.

Two shots from the River Clyde Pageant. A fantastic evening.

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Thanks for all your pre-orders

I happened to check Bookmanager again last week while I was in PEI and noticed that with just over three weeks to go, A New Season has climbed to the #4 position on the ranked list of future Canadian fiction releases (based on pre-orders, I believe). Given the heavyweights in the top three positions I’m quite sure we’ve topped out at #4, for which I’m very thankful.) Not long now!

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And to close, who doesn’t want another few shots of the spectacular PEI scenery?

Thanks for taking a gander at this. Here’s hoping you’ll subscribe and/or share if you haven’t already. See you in two weeks.