October 1st, 2021. VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: STORY STRUCTURE MADE EASY. 10 a.m. $15 

Presented By AfterWords Literary Festival: https://sidedooraccess.com/shows/lEMWAVVMD9YcSSC8S1KT?fbclid=IwAR3shdo7ONuSyK33QJF6NJ24SCftuKKKyJu-x4B-kcL9a5tnAbYqrtb4zPg

___________PAST EVENTS______________

October 3rd, 2019. Reading at Cafe Lara, Halifax NS 8:30-10:30 p.m. Free! 

As part of the first annual AfterWords Literary Festival, I will give a short reading of my work before hosting local writers Kris Bertin, Jaime Forsythe, Nolan Natasha and Deirdre Lee.

______________________________________

Monday, July 1st, 2019 @ 2 p.m. Reading at Canada Day Literary Festival

Coady Tompkins Memorial Library – Margaree Forks, NS

______________________________________

Tuesday, December 6th @ 2 p.m. Reading and Q&A

Nova Scotia Community College – Truro Campus – Library, McCarthy Hall.

______________________________________

Festival season approaches! This fall I’ve been invited to two of the literary scene’s most picturesque venues.

September 15th-18th, I’m riverside at the Eden Mills Writers Festival in Eden Mills, Ontario. View the lineup of “diversified and eclectic” authors.

September 30th-October 2nd, I will give a reading and a workshop and take place in a panel discussion at the Cabot Trail Writers Festival at Gaelic College, St. Ann’s, Nova Scotia. Here is the full schedule.

_____________________________________

Thursday, June 23rd @ 7:30-9:00 p.m.

Writers’ Soiree (Hubbards Writers Festival.)  Hubbards Writers presents Writers and publishers and guests are invited to gather with Hubbards Writers at at the Hubbards Sailing Club for an evening “Celebration of Writing.” Special guests include Budge Wilson, George Elliott Clarke and Sarah Mian. Music provided by John Gabriel McDonald – writer, lyricist and classical guitarist. Limited spots available. For info email: hubbardswritersfestival@hotmail.com. Hubbards Sailing Club (http://www.hubbardssailingclub.ca/) 215 Highway #329 Hubbards, NS

_____________________________________

Monday, April 25th @ 7 p.m.

Telling Our Stories: Atlantic Women Writers in Conversation

As a part of the regional Atlantic Book Awards festival, shortlisted authors Carole Glasser Langille (I Am What I Am Because You Are What You Are), and Sarah Mian (When the Saints) will take part in a panel discussion moderated by author Lindsay Ruck.

Event Location: Paul O’Regan Hall

In partnership with Atlantic Book Awards festival and Scotiabank

_____________________________________

‘Writing on Fire’ Teen Writing Experience

_______________________________________

______________________________________

Author Reading! Tuesday, November 24th: 7 p.m. at the King’s Bookstore. 6350 Coburg Road, University of King’s College Academic Building, G. Peter Wilson Room.

_______________________________________

Read Local Event! Saturday, November 14th in Bridgewater, NS. 11 am- 3 pm. One stop shopping for book lovers and author readings all day.

________________________________________

Fog Lit Festival September 30th – October 4th

Friday, October 2nd:

11 a.m. UNB Book Club discussion of When the Saints at UNB.

2 p.m. Novel Tea at the Saint John Free Public Library.

Saturday, October 3rd:

8 p.m. Authors, Ale & Acoustics sponsored by Picaroons Beer at the Canterbury Lounge.

__________________________________________

Word on the Street Halifax is on Saturday, September 19th and you don’t want to miss it!This year, the “literary theme park” is happening at the new Central Library at 5440 Spring Garden Road where I’ll be reading at 2 pm in Room 301.

___________________________________________

It’s impossible for me to find time to write lately, so I’m fired up about the Independent Writing Retreat at the Tatamagouche Centre August 2-7.  If you also find it difficult to nab golden stretches of writing time, come join me! We will eat, sleep, and breathe writing for a whole week and maybe steal some moments for nature walks and whiskey sips under the stars.

__________________________________________

Box of Delights was, of course, delightful. Hilary Drummond rolled out the red carpet. The shop is as gorgeous and full of character as she is, and the audience was passionate about When the Saints. Giant bonus – a surprise appearance by my roller derby wife, Skatey and the Tramp, who just happens to be a valley girl and Hilary’s childhood best friend. The three of us are going to get wine-giddy soon. Small, awesome world.

______________________________________________

Thursday, June 18th, Wolfville NS 7 pm, Box of Delights Bookshop. Author reading/book signing. Free wine. Ooh la la!

______________________________________________

Ardythe Wildsmith invited me to her book club meeting yesterday and it was SUCH FUN. I was a little nervous, partly because it was my first book club and partly because the members were mostly of my grandmother’s generation (there were a lot of them, too – 15!) But the ladies, all diverse, feisty and lovely, surprised me with their emphatically positive reactions to When the Saints (one said she didn’t even notice there was bad language….hahaha.)

After the meeting, I gave a reading at the Bridgewater library.  Familiar faces in the audience included my fitness instructor (she’d had no idea I’d written one of her new favourite books until I walked in!) and my friend Courtney Cockerill, a fifteen year old up-and-coming poet who surprised me by making the drive from Caledonia.

All in all, a sublime evening.

______________________________________________

Thursday, June 11th Bridgewater, NS 7 p.m.  Margaret Hennigar Public Library. I’ll be visiting with a  book club in the afternoon and then giving an evening author reading. Fun!

_____________________________________________

If you haven’t yet visited Lexicon Books in Lunenburg, I highly recommend it. The proprietors (two of whom are writers themselves) have done an impressive job with the historic space, keeping the exposed brick and beams and adding a few modern touches. Their carefully curated shelves pop with diverse and enticing titles AND they treated Stephanie and I like royalty at our reading last Friday.  Attentive audience members who posed thoughtful questions were the cherry on top.

I’m only slightly ashamed to admit that, with so many amazing books in the room, I left with Coloring for Grown-Ups which includes a picture of an elevator scene under the heading, Who Farted? with instructions to colour in the culprit’s clothing red. There is also a page that features a drawing of an empty mirror with the caption, Draw the person you thought you’d grow up to be before you abandoned your hopes and dreams.  

___________________________________

Friday, June 5th LUNENBURG, NS 7:30 p.m. Lexicon Books!

The Hubbards Writers Festival brought together a wonderful mix of writers from many genres. I had the good fortune of taking Mark LeFebvre’s workshop on marketing skills for writers (I need to get better at social media) and met some lovely, interesting people after my reading at the Shatford library readings. Festival organizer Pat Thomas tells me next year’s event will be even bigger!

_________________________________________

Sunday, May 3rd J.D. Shatford Library Hubbards NS, 12 p.m. Don’t you love it when you move to a small town and they start a writers festival two years later? Take a scenic drive along St. Margaret’s Bay Road to my new hometown (only 35 minutes from Halifax) and check out the inaugural Hubbards Writing Festival. I’ll be reading on Sunday along with Magi Nams, Mark L. Lefebvre and Alice Walsh, and I’m over the moon about it. Have a look at the full festival lineup. You may want to book a cottage and take in all that the festival and Hubbards has on tap.

_____________________________________________

Moncton has the best audience a writer could ask for. Folks at the Attic Owl event listened intently, asked thoughtful questions and bought copies of the books. Stephanie Domet and I mused about it all the way home. Why can’t Halifax sustain a reading series like this? Let me tell you, Nova Scotia, our friends next door in Nouveau Brunswick have got it all over us thanks to writers/organizers like Lee D. Thompson.

Other highlights of the road trip: So-bad-it’s-good t.v. watching in the hotel room, swimming in the salt water pool, getting tipsy with Lee and friends at the Old Triangle while watching a drummer who looks like Animal from the Muppets, enjoying a huge breakfast and great conversation with Steph’s in-laws, and Masstown market on the way there AND the way back. All told, I’d return to Moncton any day of the week.

___________________________________________

Thursday, April 23rd, MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK Cafe C’est La Vie 6-8 pm: Myself and Fallsy Downsies author Stephanie Domet road trip to Moncton for The Attic Owl Reading Series. Featuring live music, readings from our novels (beginning at 7 pm) and maybe a couple of stories about our quirky writing group.

___________________________________________

My book signing in New Minas was a success!The staff at Coles are my new favourite people.

                

Stay tuned for upcoming events in Moncton, Hubbards, Bridgewater, Lunenburg, Halifax and Wolfville.

___________________________________________

Saturday, March 14th,  New Minas, NS. 1-3 p.m. I will be sitting at an ordinary table signing copies of my not-so-ordinary book at Coles bookstore in the County Fair Mall. Come chat with me and nab a book to read during the snowstorm of the century brewing for Sunday!