Laurie Channer makes an author appearance in Ottawa to sign copies of
Godblog at Leishman Books on Saturday, November 29.

Godblog and The Year She Left (see earlier post) were launched at a
fine party at the Gladstone on November 24. A full house turned out
on a cold and rainy night, with barely room to squeeze in the door by
the time the author readings began.

Among the scenes I read was a post-coital scene from the early
chapters of Godblog (with appropriate apologies to my mom in the
crowd). I'm happy to read to an audience of one, so this was
exponentially more fun. It's amazing how signing can keep the author
too busy to socialize with her guests, but they all seemed to have fun
meeting each other as the various parts of my world collided. That's
the real fun of a launch -- when your friends meet your coworkers and
your volunteer buddies meet your family and everyone's there to
celebrate your accomplishment. And pick up an autographed,
coffee-ring stamped copy of the book, of course!

The launch ...

An audience and a microphone….what more could I want?
The Toronto launch of The Year She Left and Godblog at the Gladstone was a blast! Great people, great snacks and two fantastic (if I do say so myself) books.

Aside from getting over the inevitable nerves…like reading Shakespeare out loud in front of your grade nine class (minus all the "thousests" and "wherefores" and "whilsts"), the experience of getting to tell my story to friends, family… and maybe even a new fan or two?… was thrilling.

Can't wait to do it again in Ottawa! If you are in the Nation's Capital on December 6, do stop by the Collected Works bookstore!

Thanks to the Dark Star crew for throwing us such a swell party, and to all the people who came out.

Godblog in stores

Author of Godblog, Laurie Channer, signed books at the World's Biggest Bookstore this week. The novel is now available at Chapters/Indigo across the country.

Praise for Rita Donovan

Praise for Rita Donovan's 'Short Candles' from fellow author Rhonda Batchelor:

"I would recommend this beautifully written novel for any sophisticated young reader who is ready to try a more adult book. It is set in the 1970s and concerns a girl whose ability to predict certain events (usually tragic) is more of a curse than a blessing. Rita Donovan is a major Canadian talent who should be better known."

Laurie Channer, author of Godblog, which explores the theme of the
power of blogs and the internet, was one of a dozen who took part in
an informal face-to-face meet-up of bloggers in Boston in mid-August.
The bulk of those present initially "met" online in the comment
threads of the Webby-award winning site CuteOverload.com, and later
moved en masse to the Vox blogging platform (a mix of blog and social
networking). Laurie signed coffee-ring themed bookplates for the
dozen participants, almost all of whom come from the US, have
pre-ordered Godblog on amazon.com and may not get another chance to have
her sign their books.

Rita Donovan reading

Rita Donovan (and others) will be reading at:

The Yellow Door
3625 Aylmer
Montreal, Quebec
Thurs., August 28, 2008
Readings start at 7:30 p.m.

Rita Donovan workshop

Ottawa Independent Writers presents a Writers' Bootcamp and Retreat May 22 to 25 at the Marguerite Centre in Pembroke. Up to 30 participants can either take instruction from teacher and award-winning author Rita Donovan on The A to Z of Writing a Novel, or work on their own literary projects. For more info or to register, contact Pandora Ballard at pandorabee@travel-net.com or 613-249-9850. Deadline for registration is May 9

Rita Donovan interview

Darkstar Fiction author Rita Donovan recently did an interview with Rob McLennan (for his "12 or 20 questions"). The interview can be found here:

http://12or20questions.blogspot.com.

Rita Donovan reading

Rita Donovan, the author of Short Candles, is going to be reading from her novel at
the SASQUATCH Writers Performance Series on Sunday, April 13, at 2:00 p.m. The reading will take place at the Royal Oak II Pub at 161 Laurier East in Ottawa.