Listen up y'all

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Yesterday, I pretended to be a commuter: so this is what it would be like, dressing appropriately, brushing one's hair, and slogging down the highway to the big city. Yesterday, I met with my publisher, the House of Anansi, one of the last free-standing Canadian independent publishing houses. Their office is large and bright and the hallways are lined with--you guessed it--bookshelves. I enjoyed imagining Juliet occupying space beside other Anansi authors like Rawi Hage and Lynn Coady.

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Anansi publisher Sarah MacLachlan and publicist Kate McQuaid (yes, I took my camera along too)

The meeting was to discuss publicity plans for The Juliet Stories. Ah, the many stages of making a book. So I wrote a book, so I found a publisher, so it's going to print. What now? Indeed. What now is publicizing the book's existence and asking people to read it, and the next few months will find me absorbed in that pursuit. It's a real change of pace, that's for sure. And one hopes it will be a positive change of pace, as my book and I head out into the (largely indifferent) world to make connections. The glass-half-empty part of me made me add the paranthetical aside. Yes, that parenthetical voice hangs out in my head, mostly around 3 o'clock in the morning, but I'm working on suppressing her. Except part of me thinks a hairline of cynicism can be useful too; keeps me honest.

My publicist, Kate, says she hopes this stage will be a happy time, a celebration of all the work that's gone into making the book what it is; the glass-half-full part of me agrees. Here's the thing: Writers are not generally outgoing extroverts. That's why we're good at sitting for many longs hours with only our thoughts for company. Once upon a time, the mere idea of meeting new people overwhelmed me with conversational paralysis. But I've got a decade of motherhood under my belt, a decade of meeting a whole lot of new people--and learning how to ask for things on behalf of my kids, how to demand space and attention when needed, how to listen, how to assess situations quickly, how to problem solve on the fly, how to communicate clearly, how to pinpoint the crux of an issue, how to juggle different needs at the same time, how to be okay with not pleasing everyone. It's been eight years since my first book came out. Eight years. I'm ready to meet and greet and talk and throw a party or two. Thank you parenthood. I think I can handle this.

Out of our meeting emerged a few things I can share with you right away.

News, news, news

**Goodreads is giving away 10 advance reading copies of The Juliet Stories. All you have to do is visit here, and click on "enter to win"; (you probably need to be a Goodreads member too). Please spread the word.

**Also spread the word about the new Facebook page dedicated to all things Juliet. If you are a Facebook user, you can "like" the page and let your friends know about it too. (I always put Facebook "like"s into quotation marks, which basically gives it the opposite meaning, but you know, you're welcome to actually like the page too).

**If you're in Toronto, I will be reading at the Harbourfront reading series on March 7.

**News on the local launch party coming soon.

What else?

**Oh, yes, another reminder about Thursday night's launch of Storywell at Whole Lotta Gelata in uptown Waterloo, 7-9. This is a free event for writers, interested writers, editors, etc. I will be there. Being all extroverted and talking to my cup of gelato. Or possibly to you, if you come too.

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