Today is the launch of Hell and Gone!
A lot has passed since the release of Cut You Down, including firing an agent and hiring a new one, securing a new publisher…and also jury duty, the death of two family members, working four jobs and buying a home, COVID, an anti-vax family member living with an aged relative…it’s been a long half decade.
The book reflects all of this, in a way. I think it’s the richest of the Wakeland novels.
Some events news, both in person and virtual:
Today I’ll be at Pulp Fiction Books on Main Street from 4-6pm, to hang out, sign books, drink a little whiskey, and talk to anyone picking up their order.
November 10th is the launch party at Open Outcry, a bar in the old Vancouver Stock Exchange Building, 811 West Pender. (The VSX was the most widely corrupt stock exchange in the world, which makes this way more ‘criminal’ than any fake bootlegger bullshit.) There will be limited book sales, but please pick up a copy before that, bring it, and I’ll be happy to sign.
Every Thursday in November, I’ll be “in conversation” on Crowdcast with a different special guest. These will not be typical boring book events, with the same reading and the same questions about plotting vs. pantsing.
Instead, each conversation will focus on a different topic, and will be sponsored by a different independent bookstore across Canada.
November 4th I’ll be talking with Charles Demers about writing a series detective. Charlie is the author of a series about cognitive psychologist turned detective, and a comedian featured on WTF with Marc Maron and CBC’s The Debaters. Sponsored by Munro’s Books in Victoria. 7pm Pacific start.
November 11th Naben Ruthnum and I will talk about the paradoxes of the literary crime genre. Naben is the author of Curry: Eating, Reading and Race, and the upcoming lit novel A Hero of Our Time. He’s also written thrillers under the name of Nathan Ripley, was wrote for the CTV series Cardinal. Sponsored by The Bookshelf in Guelph. 4pm Pacific start (7pm Central).
November 18th Carleigh Baker and I will discuss noir and writing endings. Carleigh is the author of Bad Endings, a story collection which won the City of Vancouver Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Rogers Trust Prize. Sponsored by Owls Nest Books in Calgary. 6pm Pacific Start (7 Mountain).
November 25th Janie Chang and I will talk about history and real life in fiction. Janie is the bestselling author of Dragon Springs Road and Library of Legends, and the mastermind behind Authors for Indies. Sponsored by The Sarnia Book Keeper. 4pm Pacific start (7 Central).
Do me a favor and register for some or all of these. And come out to as many as you can. I think they will each be unique, and also fun. (Remember when book events were fun?) If they come off without too many hitches, I’d love to do more.
Hell and Gone is my sixth book, counting Vancouver Noir, and I’ve never had a book launch day go off without a hitch. And today’s won’t, either.
But that’s OK.
Compared to Last of the Independents, where the book shipped with a page missing, this is nothing. Also much more serious was having Cut You Down shelved by Chapters in the General Fiction section, nowhere near the first book in the series. (And still isn’t).
If you pre-ordered from Chapters, or are picking up from there, I hope there’s no added hassle. If there is…well, I think Hell and Gone is worth it.
Thanks.
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