2nd printing, New Denver, Mansfield

My last day in the Kootenays. On Wednesday I went back to visit the Grade 5/6's I worked with a couple weeks ago. They all made books of their poetry and stories and wrote me individual letters. So I read the books, wrote them back individual letters, and popped in to drop it all off. I love those kids. They have such amazing sensibilities. Even the troublemakers are wonderful.

Good news from Sarah at Freehand. Buying Cigarettes for the Dog is going into a second printing. The first printing was 1,500 copies so this is incredible news for me, especially given that the book has been out less than two months. A friend from the Randy Newman listserv is buying it on German Amazon!

Yesterday spent a nice couple hours visiting with Diana Hartog, a writer I have admired for a couple of decades, but who I've only met briefly in the past few years, since I've been coming to New Denver (where Diana lives). So we finally got to talk, and it was real inspiring.

Also excited about the next installment of the Mansfield Revue, the blog that Denis, Leigh and I have been developing to let people know about Mansfield and to help promote good Canadian poetry by other presses through our monthly guest reviews. Anyone wanting to get on the Revue email list can drop a note to info@mansfieldpress.net.

I didn't get as much done on my novel as I had hoped while out here in the Kootenays, but I did have a few minor breakthroughs. The perhaps-success of Cigarettes gives me some hope now for the novel. I'll soon need to decide where to send the thing, which should be done, in this new version, by the end of June.

Over and out.