Finders, how are you all? I hope you are managing to find some joy here and there. This COVID mess is giving us a frightful beating in many ways. The full spectrum of disaster, everything from losing loved ones to the illness to the endless tedium of isolation. Here in Nova Scotia things are relatively calm for the moment although you wouldn’t know it from the buzz of energy radiating from my house today. In this case it’s all good.

For weeks now I’ve been sitting on the news that my super agent (Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists) found a home for my novel, and in record time I might add. The whirlwind of the publishing deal coming together was breathtaking—exciting, terrifying, and completely surreal.

Naturally, on the one day my agent was trying to get my attention, I happened to have my phone off. When I opened it at suppertime there were multiple messages for me to respond quickly as a major editor at a major publishing house (let’s just call it Fancy Ass Publishers until the official announcement is made) was hoping to have chat with me about my book. Could I possibly find time the next morning to talk? I scrolled through the barren wasteland that is my calendar and told my agent I could probably squeeze her in. The upshot is that the editor loved my little book and told me she’d be sending my agent an offer later that day. Well now. I put down the phone and stood like a statue in the kitchen for I don’t know how long just waiting for what was happening to sink in.

So, fast forward to today. The ink on the contract is dry and I’m here to tell you it’s official. Now before you get all revved up about reading a second instalment of goofy adventures with Rusty (complete with excessive use of the word arse) you must know that this next book is pure fiction. While it’s not the romp you might expect from me, I assure you that it is a lovely and life-affirming tale told by a character who is far more interesting than I will ever be. She’s been living in my head for a couple of years now and it’s time for her to make a break for it.

Of course, your expectations are irrelevant because you are all contractually obligated to buy a copy (always read the fine print before you wander into some wacky lady’s website). It’ll be some time before you have to shell out a few bucks to support my lavish lifestyle, perhaps a little more than a year before it comes out as there are many, many fine books in the queue at Fancy Ass Publishing. But as they say, good things come to those who wait. I’ve waited a long time for this particular dream to come true and I have to say it feels like a very good thing indeed.

Stay safe out there, my friends. Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance and keep the faith.