THIN AIR was absolutely fantastic! Such an amazing opportunity to meet readers and writers and literature lovers, including a group of keen creative kids at Vincent Massey Collegiate. The questions they asked after my reading there were better than some posed by adults. I anticipate a few new writers will be emerging out of this group (pictured above) in the years to come!

There are peak moments we all have that we know we’ll remember for years to come and walking out on the main stage on Friday night at my first writers’ festival as a novelist was one of them. So many times I’ve been to events like this, eagerly handing over my purchased novel to be signed, asking as many questions as I could, and this time, there I was: the writer on stage with my novel, newly offered to the world.

It was pretty thrilling.

Knowing how much work I put into Swarm (along with a few others: you know who you are), I felt this incredible sense of accomplishment that will hopefully last even as I face the hard labour and necessary uncertainty of the next book…

But it’s not over yet.

Early, early Sunday morning, J. drove me from the Forks to the airport where I groggily climbed on a plane to Toronto. Tonight, I read at the Orillia Public Library at 6:30 to launch my book amongst dear friends and begin my quick Ontario tour. Ten stops (actually eleven, if you count the workshop I’m giving in Sudbury) in thirteen days. Bring on the caffeine!