Summer in the City

Question: The end of summer is fast approaching. Did you find a happy balance between writing and social/family time? Any humorous/interesting/exciting tales to share from your summer? What are your writing and publicity plans for the fall?

Brenda here.

When I was a kid, summer seemed to go on forever -- and now? Now it feels as if summer only gets nicely started when we're looking at back to school commercials.

This summer did not include any travel, which is unusual, but my husband is still working and wrapping up jobs before he retires on towards autumn. Ted is a sheet metal worker for commercial buildings and they make hay while the sun shines, and this has been a terrific summer weather-wise. I took the time to write as well as work with my editor on Closing Time, the last of the Stonechild and Rouleau books. It's release date is in the spring, but my inbox is already full of requests for publicity material so this is next on the to-do list.

I'm also off to a writers' festival called Women Killing It at the end of this week in Picton, Ontario. In addition to the author speed-dating and panel, I'm teaching a workshop on point of view Sunday morning before I catch the train home. If you don't know Picton, it's a town in Prince Edward County, a beautiful wine-growing region between Kingston and Toronto that abuts onto Lake Ontario with a fabulous beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park.  We used to take the kids camping there and more recently spent a few nights at a winery-motel outside Picton.

As for humorous stories, I guess that would have to be the hot Saturday in July when Ted and I decided to go on a pub crawl. Yup, just the two of us although recruits (including my youngest daughter) joined us at bar five. Can't say I've ever been on a pub crawl before but better late than never. We walked about an hour into a neighbourhood called Hintonburg and worked our way home on foot. The rule was one drink per establishment. We started at 3:30 and lasted until about 11:00, managing eight bars in total. We wisely snacked at three of the pubs and I drank a lot of water, making the next day a piece of cake. We now have our neighbours asking to join us next summer in what could become an annual event. I have to say that walking the route gave a perspective on the neighbourhoods that you don't get in a car.

I managed a fine balance between writing and family time this summer, settling in at the computer most mornings by ten o'clock and writing off and on through the afternoon, sometimes into the evening. I'm working on a thriller and finding it immensely entertaining. I also had to prepare that workshop on point of view and edit and respond to numerous publicity/marketing  requests, including this excerpt from Turning Secrets that ran in the Ottawa Citizen last week.

I have two Anna Sweet adult literacy novellas being released by Grass Roots Press this fall to end the series. I also plan to finish my latest manuscript and will spend some time editing it. I don't have a contract for this one so I'll see about finding a publisher as well. The publicity will heat up after January for Closing Time although behind the scenes work is already underway as I mentioned earlier.

So lots of work and fun behind and lots of each ahead as we round into autumn, which is always a spectacular season in the Ottawa Valley.

website:www. brendachapman.ca
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