Canadian Book Tour: Part 1

I’m currently sitting in the Regina International Airport (Saskatchewan, Canada) awaiting a flight to Calgary, to make my last stop on this first book tour.

I wasn’t supposed to be in an airport this trip. On May 19th I loaded my luggage and dog, Riker, into the back of my Honda Element. After a four-day solo drive and a pick-up of 10 cartons of books, I arrived in Montpellier in the Laurentians north of Montreal. What was supposed to be a quiet time to regroup and visit with family ended up zooming by. The next thing I knew, I was off to my talk in Montreal the 27th, had my book launch and talk in Ottawa the 28th, and attended the Laurentian reunion the 29th.


Early June 2nd, I piled my stuff, Riker, and my husband Doug (who had flown up from Wyoming) back into the Element and we headed off on the Trans-Canada highway. Unlike the American interstates, this highway carves its way through the Canadian backcountry in single-laned, pot-holed glory. The speed limit is 90kmh (roughly 55 mph).

By noon on June 2nd we made our first stop in North Bay, Ontario at the Discovery North Bay centre. After I did my “superman routine” (changing out of travelling clothes into more authorial gear in the bathroom) local journalist and writer Doug Mackey joined me for a small but enthusiastic group talk on history and our books, and Laurentian pilot Brad Mackie and his family stopped by for a visit.

Then we hopped back in the car and headed to Sudbury with some trepidation. You see, the last time we were in Sudbury in 2005, Doug had a minor fender bender with a taxi at the gas station. We don’t tend to have the best luck there, and this time was no exception. While we had an event scheduled at a local indie shop, One More Bookstore, and we’d all done our best to advertize, the turnout was a little underwhelming. We did have a chance to get to know the owners and left with a bunch of Timbits for the next day’s drive, though.

Me with One More Bookstore (Sudbury) owner, Denis Dupuis

Day 2 (June 3rd) started with us feeling a little unsure of what the day might bring. We loaded everything and everyone back into the car and drove off for Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. (known as The Soo) where I had a signing scheduled at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. My spirits lifted significantly when I saw they had an announcement out front indicating an author signing (me!). We took the dog for a walk, ate our sandwiches at the picnic tables out front, and I impressed the pants off Doug when I guessed correctly that the aircraft out front was a Beech 18 on wheel-skis!


Our time at the Soo went wonderfully. We had a steady stream of folks come in to chat, buy books, and even a member of the local media came by for some photos and an interview. I also made some great contacts with people at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).

By 3:30pm we were back on the road headed for Wawa, Ont. Wawa’s most famous for its huge Canada Goose, which is possibly the most photographed statue in Canada (other than the huge Nickel in Sudbury). After being stopped for speeding by the friendly neighbourhood Wawa police (we were let off with a warning) we spent a couple of hours at the local library chatting with people and selling books. Then we headed to the Northern Lights Motel along the Trans-Canada where humorous, personal touches abound. We couldn’t stay long to enjoy them, though, as we were off to a major bookstore signing in Thunder Bay early the next morning….

408 thoughts on “Canadian Book Tour: Part 1

  1. Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, located on the north bank of the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to preserving the history of bush flying and forest protection in Canada.

  2. When someone writes an article he/she maintains the idea of a user in his/her mind that how a user can understand it. Therefore that’s why this piece of writing is perfect. Thanks!|

  3. Hi, I do think this is a great blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may come back yet again since I saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.|

  4. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner simply because I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this issue here on your site.|

  5. Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say wonderful blog!|

  6. I’m extremely inspired together with your writing skills as neatly as with the layout to your blog. Is that this a paid subject matter or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one these days..|

  7. It’s actually a nice and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.|

  8. I am really enjoying the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility issues? A number of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any advice to help fix this problem?|

  9. I believe everything published was very reasonable. But, what about this? suppose you were to create a killer headline? I am not saying your content is not good., but what if you added something that grabbed people’s attention? I mean BLOG_TITLE is a little boring. You could peek at Yahoo’s home page and note how they create post titles to get people interested. You might add a video or a related pic or two to get people excited about everything’ve written. In my opinion, it could make your posts a little livelier.|

  10. I don’t know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else encountering problems with your website. It seems like some of the text on your posts are running off the screen. Can somebody else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them as well? This could be a problem with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen before. Thanks|

  11. Have you ever thought about creating an e-book or guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog based on the same topics you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my audience would appreciate your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e mail.|

  12. My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a number of websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!|

  13. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.|

  14. Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday. It will always be useful to read content from other authors and use a little something from other web sites. |

  15. Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Extremely helpful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information much. I was looking for this particular info for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.|

  16. I think the admin of this site is really working hard in favor of his web page, for the reason that here every information is quality based material.|

  17. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your blog. You have some really great articles and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Regards!|

  18. Hi! I could have sworn I’ve visited this blog before but after browsing through a few of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m certainly pleased I came across it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!|

  19. You are so awesome! I do not suppose I’ve truly read anything like this before. So nice to discover somebody with a few original thoughts on this subject. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This website is something that’s needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!|

  20. Hi, i think that i saw you visited my weblog thus i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to improve my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!|

  21. Hi, i feel that i saw you visited my web site so i came to return the favor?.I’m attempting to in finding things to enhance my website!I assume its adequate to use some of your ideas!!|

  22. you are actually a good webmaster. The website loading speed is amazing. It seems that you are doing any distinctive trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterwork. you’ve done a fantastic process in this topic!|

  23. Hello, i think that i saw you visited my website so i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find things to improve my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!|

  24. It is appropriate time to make a few plans for the long run and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this publish and if I could I want to counsel you some interesting things or tips. Maybe you can write subsequent articles regarding this article. I desire to read more issues about it!|

  25. Hi there mates, how is everything, and what you would like to say concerning this paragraph, in my view its actually remarkable in favor of me.|

  26. Excellent goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just too fantastic. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it sensible. I can not wait to read much more from you. This is really a terrific site.|

  27. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this outstanding blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this website with my Facebook group. Talk soon!|

  28. Hello everyone, it’s my first visit at this website, and paragraph is genuinely fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these types of posts.|

  29. Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Firefox, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, superb blog!|

  30. Link exchange is nothing else except it is simply placing the other person’s webpage link on your page at appropriate place and other person will also do same in support of you.|

  31. I blog frequently and I seriously appreciate your information. This great article has really peaked my interest. I’m going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new details about once per week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.|

  32. wonderful put up, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector don’t realize this. You must proceed your writing. I am confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!|

  33. You actually make it seem really easy with your presentation but I in finding this topic to be actually one thing that I feel I would by no means understand. It kind of feels too complicated and very broad for me. I am having a look forward in your subsequent put up, I’ll try to get the dangle of it!|

  34. Just desire to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness in your post is just excellent and i could assume you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the rewarding work.|

  35. Thanks for a marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back at some point. I want to encourage one to continue your great work, have a nice morning!|

  36. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be really appreciated!|

  37. I am now not certain the place you are getting your information, however good topic. I needs to spend a while finding out more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent info I used to be on the lookout for this information for my mission.|

  38. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s difficult to get that “perfect balance” between usability and appearance. I must say you’ve done a awesome job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Firefox. Superb Blog!|

  39. Ahaa, its fastidious dialogue concerning this article at this place at this website, I have read all that, so at this time me also commenting here.|

  40. Hi, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any help is very much appreciated.|

  41. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your blog and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently fast.|

  42. I have been browsing online more than three hours today, but I never discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours. It’s lovely worth sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.|

  43. It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you some interesting things or advice. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it!|

  44. After looking at a handful of the blog articles on your blog, I honestly appreciate your way of blogging. I saved as a favorite it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back in the near future. Please check out my website too and let me know what you think.|

  45. Thanks for another informative website. Where else may just I get that kind of info written in such an ideal way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such info.|

  46. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author. I will always bookmark your blog and will eventually come back down the road. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a nice weekend!|

  47. That is really interesting, You are an overly professional blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to looking for more of your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your site in my social networks|

  48. It’s amazing to pay a visit this web site and reading the views of all colleagues regarding this post, while I am also zealous of getting experience.|

  49. Hi there, I found your site by the use of Google while looking for a comparable topic, your web site got here up, it looks great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

  50. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays.|

  51. Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and amazing design.|

  52. I’m gone to say to my little brother, that he should also pay a quick visit this web site on regular basis to obtain updated from most up-to-date news.|

  53. I do not know if it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else encountering problems with your site. It appears as if some of the text in your posts are running off the screen. Can somebody else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them as well? This might be a problem with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen before. Thank you|

  54. I’m not sure exactly why but this web site is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.|

  55. Nice weblog here! Also your site a lot up fast! What web host are you the use of? Can I am getting your affiliate link on your host? I want my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol|

  56. After I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Many thanks!|

  57. Amazing! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!|

  58. I’m not sure why but this website is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.|

  59. Hello, i think that i saw you visited my website so i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!|

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *