JP McLean

Writing Addictive Fiction

On Festivals and Readings

By 5 Comments

On Festivals and Readings . . . When you don’t hear from me for ages, you can assume the writing is going well, but even so, where did August go?

JP's luggage inside the Vancouver airportI’m at the Vancouver airport on an extremely long **yawn** layover to Toronto, and thought I’d take the opportunity to catch up with you.

In July, at the Denman Island Reader and Writer Festival (DIRWF) I had the great pleasure of introducing award-winning author, Eliza Robertson. She read three short stories from her book, Wallflowers. I also had the opportunity to introduce eight of Denman Island’s local writers to the stage, and I then shared a reading from Penance (now titled Lethal Waters).

I also attended the DIRWF writer-in-residence program with Steven Price. You might remember that I’ve got a few writing projects on the go. One of them is a companion piece to Secret Sky. It’s the story told from Jackson’s perspective with the working title Sins of the Father. I took Sins to Steven Price’s workshop and the participants’ feedback improved and inspired the story. Can’t wait to finish it.

A New Story is in the works

Dinosaur hanging inside the Comox airportI also have a new work in progress tentatively titled Witness. I’ve worked out most of the outline and even written a number of chapters. Interestingly, because I’m writing Witness from the third person point of view and Sins from the first person point of view, I’m finding it a challenge to work on both at the same time.

Last week I attended When Words Collide in Calgary and had the opportunity to meet the extremely personable Diana Gabaldon and hear her read from the as yet unpublished ninth book in her Outlander series. What a treat.

Which brings me to now . . . waiting to board a plane to Toronto and from there, points north. In addition to visiting family, I’ll be doing a reading at McKellar Public Library on Monday, August 24th at 1:30. If you’re in the neighbourhood, please stop by (701 Highway 124, McKellar, Ontario). I’ll be reading from Lethal Waters and offering a few other surprises. Come and check it out, and then check out a fishing rod and head down to the river to catch your dinner.

See you there.

The Gift Legacy books are available to borrow from the McKellar library, but if you’d like your own copy, you can pick up Lethal Waters for Kindle with one click right here. And if ebooks or Amazon aren’t your preference, other purchase options are available under the Bookstore tab.

Fogged in

By 2 Comments

Full moon rise through the fog on Denman Island
Full moon rising through the fog on Denman Island

I’ve been squirreled away again. Fogged in. Granted, it’s easy to hunker down in lousy weather—like this dense fog that’s enveloped our part of the coast for the past ten days—but it’s not good. The burrowing in, that is, especially when I’m so narrowly focused.

Multi-tasking is something I know I can do; I routinely prep carrots for two meals and onions for three; I weed and fertilize while I set aside seedlings for next year’s plant sale; and I’m guilty of putting phone calls on speaker so I can make a bed or iron while catching up.

So, why is it that when the proof for my latest book comes in, my world stops rotating while I attend to it – and pretty much nothing else? Maybe it’s more than the weather that’s fogged in? I barely make time to eat and sleep. It’s a little bit crazy, I have to admit. What is it about me and writing that brings out this single-minded behaviour? No—don’t answer that!

I’d read somewhere that women were excellent multi-taskers. If this conclusion is based on averaging, then I  apologize to womankind for lowering the average.

The up-side to the crazy is that book 3 of The Gift Legacy, Redemption (now titled Burning Lies) is back in the hands of the publisher and only weeks away from release. I can’t wait!

And wait until you see the cover. Gifted artist, Viona Halim has, once again, painted a suitably ominous scene for Redemption’s cover. It’s breath-taking…and I’ll reveal it as soon as the fine-tuning on the title lettering is complete. The first people to see it will be my newsletter subscribers, who also receive free short stories. Sign up now if you haven’t already.