We have blurbs for The Marionette

Writing life: 86

Jun 29, 2025

I’ve written about blurbs before in this space. I still don’t really know if they have any true effect on sales. There seems to be no real consensus among publishers, although Simon and Schuster recently announced they will no longer ask authors to provide blurbs. I still read them and they can influence my decision to buy a book. So in consultation with my editor and publicist at McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House, we did solicit blurbs for The Marionette, and six prominent Canadian writers kindly answered the call.

I’m grateful for their time in reading The Marionette, and for providing such lovely endorsements that will appear on and in the book. Here’s a look at who has blurbed The Marionette. (Every one of their books featured is a great read.) Here we go in no particular order other than trying to coordinate colours!

Wayne Johnston

Wayne Johnston is a CanLit titan with many award-winning novels. My favourites are The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, and The Navigator of New York.

Ali Bryan

Ali Bryan is a prolific Canadian writer from Alberta who has twice been a finalist for the Leacock Medal for Humour.

Drew Hayden Taylor

Drew is one of most productive writers I’ve ever met. With nearly thirty books and plays published and a heap of awards to go along with them, he’s also the writer, producer and host of APTN’s Going Native.

Rod Carley

Three times long-listed for the Leacock Medal for Humour, Rod Carley is an award-winning writer, theatre director/producer, and all-around great guy.

Susan Juby

Susan Juby is a wonderful writer who lives on Vancouver Island. She won the Leacock Medal for Humour for one of her many hilarious novels, Republic of Dirt.

Trevor Ferguson (aka John Farrow)

Decades before I wrote my first novel, I was a Trevor Ferguson fan. His early novels under his own name and his later crime novels under the John Farrow pseudonym are all great reads.

Grateful

Yes, I know. I am indeed very fortunate to have these fine Canadian writers in my corner. In addition to them all being captivating and award-winning writers, they’re also kind and good people to boot. It bears repeating, I am very lucky.

I should soon get a look at the full cover design (front, back, and flaps) featuring these lovely blurbs. When I do, I’ll share it here.

Friendly reminder…

I promise not to do this often as the publication date for The Marionette approaches, but only every once in a while—purely for your own convenience (ha!). Here are the relevant links in case you’d like to preorder the new novel. (Preorders really help the book get out of the gate quickly and hopefully onto the bestsellers lists). Currently at Indigo, The Marionette is part of their “Most anticipated Canadian books” promotion with a 30% discount. Of course, you can also preorder from your favourite independent bookstore.

Preorders in Canada:

Preorders in the United States:

Wrapping up…

Thanks for stopping by. If you’re not already a subscriber, I hope you’ll consider joining those who are. It’s free and easy to subscribe and you’ll never miss any of my future dispatches from the writing life. Many thanks.