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An Endorsement from Brian Francis

photoI’ve written about the wonderful endorsement I got from Andrew Holleran, but there is one other great blurb that I am fortunate to have on the cover of my book.

It’s from writer Brian Francis. Brian’s first novel, Fruit, was recommended to me many years ago by my friend Neil. It tells the story of a young boy named Peter Paddington who is overweight, gay and whose nipples talk to him. I loved the book immediately. It was funny, endearing, powerful. There was something about it that spoke directly to my own childhood experiences as an outsider.

A couple of years later I was excited to learn that Brian had another book coming out. It was called Natural Order. I read the description and a part of me froze. The book was about the relationship between a woman and her gay son.

I know I’m not the only writer who has thoughts like these: You have an idea for a novel and you work on it for years, wondering in the back of your head if someone else might be working on something similar. When Brian’s book came out in 2011, I was still slashing away at the manuscript and hadn’t found a publisher. Had he beaten me to the punch?

I picked up Brian’s book once it was available and read it cover to cover. It was a great story and thankfully much different than mine. Natural Order is a deeply moving tale, told from the point of view a mother coming to terms with the realities of her son’s life after his untimely death from AIDS. It was fresh, heartbreaking. I had never read anything like it.

I don’t know Brian, but I did feel some kind of kinship with him (the same could be said of Andrew Holleran). We are both gay writers who are curious about the complex relationships that gay men have with their mothers. I knew when it was time to look for endorsements I wanted Brian to read my book. And although he was quite busy, he generously offered to read it and I was touched with what he had to say.

You can read his blurb here.

Postcards from Montreal

PostcardOne of the things I did to promote my book was have 1,000 postcards printed up.

They’re standard size – 4 x 6 – with the cover of the book on the front and a short description on the back. There’s a place for a stamp and an address and a message, and I am mailing them out to people and places across the country.

So far I have probably mailed out about 100 – to literary festivals, journalists, gay and lesbian associations, bookstores. I love getting mail and I thought sending a personalized postcard might be a unique way of introducing the book to people who don’t know me.

I particularly wanted to let Canada’s independent booksellers know about a special treat I am offering people who buy the book from their local bookseller (UPDATE: This offer is now over).

If you buy my book locally you are invited to contact me and send me a copy of your receipt. You can then select one of two options: snail mail or email. If you choose snail mail I will mail you a personalized thank you postcard from Montreal. If you choose email I will email you a short personalized video shout out from somewhere in the city.

It’s a small offering, but one I hope people will see it as a unique experience.

So far I have already heard from Bookmark bookstore in Halifax. They love the idea and have ordered extra copies of the book. I’m working with them to provide notes for each of the copies they have.

I love this! It’s exactly what I hoped would happen. I don’t know if time or money will allow me get to Halifax in the near future, but at least I can have this interaction with a local bookseller, this interaction with potential readers.

If you are a bookseller and want to find out how to participate, write me.

More information on the offer can be found here.

 

Montreal Launch Date

small__2367187392I finally have a date for my book’s party. The Geography of Pluto will be launched on Thursday, May 8 at Cabaret Mado. If you’re in Montreal, please join me.

It took me a while to find a suitable venue. My first choice turned out to be unreliable. The owners/managers would never get back to me. In the end I went with a place I could trust. I know Cabaret Mado’s co-owner Denis from back when I worked at Divers/Cité. I met with him last week and he was open to what I wanted to do for the launch.

I want my launch to be more than a typical book launch. Book launches tend to be boring. They’re quiet, small and sparsely attended. Montreal’s bookstores aren’t really designed for events either, so it’s hard to do something special or unique with their locations.

I want my launch to be a party. A real celebration of the culmination of years of work.

Last week Greg and I met up with our friend Craig who has offered to create original visuals for the launch. Craig is a filmmaker and animator and I am excited to see his interpretation of the book.

A friend asked me if I thought the literary community might not come down to the Village for a book launch. It never crossed my mind. For some it will undoubtedly be their first time in a gay bar (and a drag bar at that), but it was important for me to hold the launch in the Village. It’s where it’s set. It’s where it began and grew.

If someone has a problem coming here, they’ll probably have a problem with the book too.

The Geography of Pluto will be launched on Thursday, May 8 at Cabaret Mado, 1115 Ste. Catherine Street East, from 6 to 8 PM. More details to come…

Photo credit: marfis75 via photopin cc

Blue Met Press Conference

Blue MetOn Wednesday morning I went to the Blue Metropolis press conference. I attended partly for CBC Radio, where I work as an editor for Canada Writes, and partly because I’m a guest writer at this year’s literary festival.

I used to work for Blue Met. For eight years I was their publicist. This was back in the festival’s early days. Back when I was beginning my freelance practice. It was one of my favourite contracts. I loved it because it inspired me. It kept me surrounded by writers: some whom I knew, others who I discovered.

I took many a taxi with literary superstars, chauffeuring them to their interviews. Writers like A.S Byatt, Julian Barnes, Carlos Fuentes and Margaret Atwood. You learn so much by making small talk, going from point A to B. At some point conversation would turn to “So what do you do?” and often times many of them had encouraging words for an aspiring writer like me.

So here I am now, ten years after working for the festival for the first time, attending as an author whose first book is about to come out. I have two events on May 3rd. One is called “Becoming a Writer”, which also features Alix Ohlin, Padma Viswanathan, Zoe Whittal and my good friend Daniel Baylis (more info on my events an be found here). I’m looking forward to it immensely.

CBC TV spoke with me at the press conference about appearing at the festival. You can watch the video below.

MRB Launch

Montreal Review of Books launchOn Friday the first review of my book was published. It appeared in the spring edition of the mRb (Montreal Review of Books). You can read it here.

Reviewer Rob Sherren did a great job. It was three months ago when the two of us sat down over beers and whiskey to discuss my characters. It was a thrill to talk with him then, and it is a thrill to read his article now.

Normally I don’t like reading book reviews. Generally, I’ll only read the first and last paragraph. Some reviewers give away too much in their summations and if I really want to read the book I want to be surprised. But Rob gave nothing away. He talked broadly about what the book was about, capturing its spirit and ambition, without giving away the plot. I appreciated that.

Friday night I got to read the first chapter of the book at the mRb launch. There were less people there than my reading the week before, but many more familiar faces. I read alongside other writers who were featured in the edition – fellow Cormorant author Ann Charney and mRb covergirl Elaine Kalman Naves. I was more relaxed this time. And I tried to add more emphasis and life to what I was reading.

I’m thankful to the mRb for inviting me to read when my book still isn’t out yet. Cormorant informs me that it should be out in 3-5 weeks (in fact it went to press the morning of the reading).

Last week I got to see the final front and back cover of the book, and the French flaps too. It’s quite exciting. The product looks beautiful. I had no idea what the book would look like when I was writing it, and now it has the perfect image (thanks to my friend Vincent and Cormorant’s designer Angel). I could think of no other, better, representation for the book. I can’t wait to hold it in my hands.

First Reading

On Friday night I read from my novel for the first time in public.

I think it went well. There were about 50 people in the room, all there to celebrate our friend Alan’s recent Ph.D. I was one of a number of (mainly musical) performers taking to the stage.

I was extremely nervous. My reading was mid-way through the line-up and I could feel my anxiety grow as the room filled up. Had I chosen the right excerpt? What should I first say to put the scene into context? Would they like it?

I don’t know how actors do it: perform in front of a crowd. Many of the ones I know are quite shy and soft-spoken people. However, they’re effortlessly able to turn all of their nervous energy into a compelling performance. I wish I could do that.

Whenever I have to speak in public, I go a little blind. I may jump right into it, but I am also not sure at the end what I did or how I came across.

I chose to read a scene from the book’s third chapter, where Angie and Will go to the strip club for Izo’s birthday. It was the perfect length and I thought it might be a fun story for a queer audience. Largely, I think it went over well. No one spoke while I was talking. Everyone paid attention. I was hoping for the occasional chuckle at the funny bits, but those never came.

I learned several things that night. I learned that I need to add emphasis to a sentence if I want a laugh. I learned that reading scenes with dialogue is problematic. No one can see the quotation marks so not everyone knows who is saying what (I had to add a few extra “he said” “she said” while I read). I learned that it’s important to “act” some of the dialogue to help the audience along.

I couldn’t see anything while I was on stage, the lights shining on me, but I wish I still had looked up more. Attempted eye contact with the crowd. Also, a couple of times I felt like rushing through a line or a paragraph. Thankfully, I quickly recognized what I was doing and ignored the voice and took time with each sentence.

I have another reading this week, on Friday. It’s the launch of the mRb issue with the first review of my book. I can’t wait to read it. And take another shot at reading.