Ups and Downs?

Plenty of updates from the busy world of Dumpy Grace.

Number One - We moved! From the wilds of Eastern Ontario to the bliss of the Near North, we have relocated to the shores of a small, private lake. We were able to keep everything that was marvelous about our old place - the privacy, the wildlife, the wide open skies - and have added the astonishing diversity that comes from living on the edge of an aquatic ecosystem. Ducks galore, including Bufflehead, Ring-Necked and Wood ducks. Loon calls at night, Blue heron fishing in the reeds, American Bittern, Pileated Woodpeckers, Beavers, Otters....and that is just the beginning. Insect season hasn't started yet and when it does, I'm sure I'll discover creatures even more exciting than the Sammy the psuedoscorpion and moldy baby-carrot pine beetle. Can't wait!

Number Two - I received the Advanced Uncorrected Proofs of Blown Red from Simon and Schuster. Very cool to see it in book format. Once the final corrections are made the book will be printed with its gorgeous red cover.


Along with the proofs, I also received a copy of the manuscript that had been given a thorough one - word - at - a - time reading by a copy editor in NYC. The accompanying letter asked me to please read through the entire manuscript one more time to make sure that all the corrections made by the editor were indeed correct - oh, and by the way could I have it back to the publisher within two days because failure to do so might push back my publication date.  No problem! Did I mention that I received the package four days before our move date? No matter....ya gotta do what ya gotta do - and I did. Re-read Blown Red VERY CAREFULLY all in one day and got it back to the publisher with time to spare. Phew!



Number Three - I FINISHED the final draft of Dark Territory and it was approved by my editor, Becky Toyne. She pronounced it a great read. It has now gone off to Alison Clarke at Simon and Schuster for her final approval. I'm hopeful there will be no glitches but I'll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I must say it is quite something to know that I have completed two fairly decent novels!










 Number Four -  Here comes the not so good news. Anne McDermid took several copies of Blown Red with her to the London Book Fair to try and sell it to the European market. Unfortunately, she did not have any luck. She reported that reaction was mixed. One publisher told her it was too violent while another told her it did not have enough hard core sex and violence. Another said it didn't grab her hard enough by the throat.

I am not too disappointed by the lack of success in Europe. Anne told me ahead of time that books by North American authors often must prove themselves in the NA market before being picked up in Europe. What is more discouraging is that she has yet to find an American publisher willing to take on the series. Still, her team is heading down to NYC in the next few weeks for another publishing event and she hopes they will have more success there.

I think the one thing that gives me pause is whether Simon and Schuster Canada will rethink their sales strategy based on the feedback from other publishers. They had been willing to go full tilt in the promotion of Blown Red. Will that still be the case given the lack of immediate enthusiasm from other publishers? I have no idea how the publishing industry works - but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that S and S Canada will carry on with their original strategy regardless.

But no matter what - nothing that happens from this point on could possibly be a downer. I've already reached goals far beyond my wildest expectations. Whatever happens now is icing on an already extraordinarily delicious cake.

I'm not stressing one tiny bit.















Number Five - we are off to Florida for a week of R and R. Life has been a whirlwind lately and a week of mindless beach reading sounds perfect just about now.

See you soon!