Thursday, June 16th, Will and I set out our mini-book tour of southern Alberta – four stops in twenty-four hours, organized and co-ordinated by my sister, Lynn, who lives in Beaver Mines and works in Calgary. 

First stop: Tumbleweed Coffee House in Nanton, a cafe that opened this March. Owner Leslie Elder invited me in for a signing between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. Before the event, I designed and printed 12 posters; Leslie displayed one by the cash at her store and distributed the rest throughout the town. 

Tumbleweed is a lovely spot, with an inviting atmosphere. There’s a couch in front of the fireplace, comfy chairs, barrel tables and regular ones. The patio in the back will be great when it stops raining. 

Our two hours was a steady stream of talking to customers, most of whom seemed relaxed and approachable. Two people, each with a friend, came specifically to meet me and buy Deadly Fall. I sat at the table and chatted with a pair about writing and their far-flung travels, leaving Will to tackle new arrivals. The take-out crowd tended to brush off his approach with, “I just came in for coffee.”   

A man en route to Fernie bought the book. Someone else picked up a copy for her sister and gave me her business card. She’s a sales consultant for a radio station in High River and Okotoks and invited me to contact her for an interview.  You bet.

We wrapped up the afternoon chatting with a couple of avid readers who are renovating their historic home. This coffee shop signing felt more engaging than ones I’d previously done at bookstores; there was time to talk longer. At the end, Leslie kept four books to sell on consignment in the store. After I got home, she e-mailed to say some people had expressed regrets over missing the session; a couple were sorry the books weren’t signed. Yesterday, when we happened to be in the area, we stopped by so I could sign the three remaining copies.    

We ordered soup and bagels with egg and cheese for dinner and headed down to Pincher Creek, where Lynn had arranged a video-conference at the Pincher Creek Library. Since no other libraries signed on, the conference didn’t materialize. Instead, I read and talked and answered questions by the Pincher residents who showed up – two of them. As we were preparing to leave, a cameraman from the Pincher Creek Echo newspaper arrived and took a picture of me with the attendees. It was to appear in the paper this week.

We spent the night at Lynn’s home in Beaver Mines, west of Pincher Creek. A former mining community, Beaver Mines village is now popular with urban ex-patriates and nature enthusiasts. Fifteen minutes down the road is Castle Mountain, a ski-hill, where Lynn’s husband spends his winter mornings.

Friday, 9:00 AM, we gathered in the Beaver Mines General Store, a very attractive premise. Attendance was similar to that of the previous night. Owner Rebecca Holand set out coffee and snacks for the pleasant hour of conversation and questions.   

Late morning we drove to the Crowsnest Pass, stopped at the art museum and left them a few books on consignment. I’ve started a new folder of consignment sheets for the Deadly Falls I’ve scattered over the southern province.  This event was a joint reading at Exhilarate!, an eclectic boutique in the former theatre in Bellevue, Crowsnest Pass. The promoter provided lunch for the gathering of about 15 people, many of them members of the local writing community. Two short story writers read, followed by another novelist and me. We ended with questions. A reporter from the Crowsnest newspaper took notes and photographs. I’ll be interested in reading her piece.

Tired and satisfied, we left for home, up highway 22. A detour for a latte at Tumbleweed seemed a fitting conclusion.

Author Sharon Wildwind invited me to write a guest post for the blog site: Poe’s Deadly Daughters. Here it is: http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com/2011/06/canada-calling-susan-calder.html

For the trip home from Victoria, I organized one book promotion event: a presentation Tuesday evening, June 7th, at Hooked on Books, Main Street, Penticton, BC. As Will and I drove there, I thought how fortunate it was that we hadn’t scheduled this event for Monday or Wednesday, hockey playoff nights. All of British Columbia is wild about the Vancouver Canucks’ bid to win the Stanley Cup. At the Bloody Words banquet, people couldn’t settle down until they heard the game result (a win).

What I didn’t consider on Tuesday was the effect of rain. Will and I had avoided serious drizzle the whole trip. That Tuesday, the southern Okanagan skies grew ominously dark. We managed a walk along a self-interpretative boardwalk, a picnic by Osoyoos Lake and visits to several wineries before rain started battering our windshield. In Penticton, we parked in front of Hooked on Books, lugged in my presentation material during a respite from the rain and set out for the waterfront, carrying our umbrellas.

Within minutes, we had the umbrellas open. Viewed through downpour, the misted lakefront wasn’t particularly inviting. Seeing no restaurants in the vicinity, we returned to Main Street and ducked into a family run restaurant across from the bookstore. For most of our dinner, we were the only patrons. We enjoyed a delightful home-cooked turkey meal and had a chat with the owners’ son who works in computers during the day and helps his parents by waiting on tables in the evenings.

At Hooked on Books, Judy and Marcel, the owners, had set up chairs by the front window. Jerry, a bookstore patron and our first guest, arrived. Jerry has written about 300 pages of a book on meditation, inspired by his experience of living in Korea, and wanted to find out about getting published. I advised him to finish the book and join a writing group to get feedback. Judy gave him information on a Penticton group that Jerry hadn’t been aware existed. A problem with writing groups is that you tend not to hear about them unless you’re plugged into the writing circuit.

I shared my getting-published experience. Unlike many unpublished writers, Jerry appreciated the work involved with writing a book and finding a publisher. He said his former oilpatch job had involved working on presentations that routinely got rejected and he’d learned not to take rejection personally, as you never know where it’s coming from – a useful attitude for writers. So many get squelched by the submission process, which is mostly about rejection.

After an hour of conversation, Theresa arrived. She is writing a memoir and belongs to the Penticton writers’ group, but doesn’t have time to participate much in their meetings or pursue her writing. Theresa’s memoir subject and passion is the rescue of feral horses, a problem endemic to the Okanagan. Many of these beautiful creatures are being rounded up and sold for meat. Theresa worries that nothing will be done until someone is killed in a collision with horse. She belongs to Critteraid, an organization trying to save the wild horses through Project Equus. For more information visit criterraid.org.

Both Jerry and Theresa asked about the pros and cons of traditional publishing and self-publishing. I told them I had viewed self-publishing as a last resort due to the benefits of traditional: validation by people with experience in the field who will handle editing, production, distribution and more.

I wrapped up with a reading from Deadly Fall. Jerry noted that he writes too much description and needs to add dialogue; Theresa said she tends to leave out description.

Judy and Marcel were marvelous hosts. I wish them the best with their year-and-a-half old store. At the session, Jerry felt he got what he needs for the next step in his writing, Theresa talked about the cause that drives her writing and Will and I learned about Okanagan happenings from people who live there – not bad for a rainy evening in Penticton.

The Bloody Words conference ended today. Many thanks to the organizers, especially co-chairs Kay Stewart and Lou Allin, for putting on a terrific event. They even arranged for sunny, warm Victoria weather. From my room in the conference hotel, I had beautiful views of the ocean and snow-capped mountains in the Olympic Peninsula, USA. At night on my balcony, I glimpsed the lights of the Legislature building and cruise ships in the docks.

At the conference, I enjoyed a number of interesting panels and interviews, an old-time radio show – complete with sound effects – and the banquet, seated with friends from Calgary and some new people we met. A highlight of the weekend for me was finally meeting my publisher, Ruth Linka, and my editor, Frances Thorsen, in person, along with a number of Crime Writers’ members I’d only connected with before by e-mail.

This afternoon, Will and I had lunch with a long-time friend we hadn’t seen in years. The three of us drove up the coast to Sooke and walked along French and China beaches. We weren’t the least bit tempted to swim in the cold water, but got our feet wet.

Tomorrow, Will and I catch the ferry to the mainland and begin the trip home.

Sunday, May 29th, Will and I drove through pretty farmland and hills from Vernon to Kamloops. We arrived in time to do 20 minutes of the downtown Kamloops historic district walking tour and have a picnic in Riverside park before crossing the river to Bookland North.

The Bookland staff had set copies of Deadly Fall on a cafe table facing the entrance door. They added a second table for my posters and handouts. Since it was a warm, sunny day, Will left to complete the walking tour rather than stay inside reading.

It seems that Kamloops residents shared Will’s desire to take advantage of a fine weekend day after a week of rain. Customer traffic in Bookland was slight. I started at noon; forty minutes later I’d only handed out a few Deadly Fall postcards. During my two hour stint, quite often there was only one customer in the store; for periods there were none. I removed my addiitonal table when I noticed it was blocking the pathway in, encouraging people to veer in the other direction even more than they were already doing.

I decided to be more outgoing than previously and not wait for people to pass by me. I went over to talk to ones who had stopped to browse the bestseller table. A woman around my age was intrigued. She came to look at Deadly Fall, decided this was fate and purchased a copy.

My other two sales of the day went to Bookland staff. I consider these as having an extra perk. There’s always the chance a staff member will like the book enough to recommend it to customers.

I remarked to Ellen, one of the staff, that a benefit of the signing was getting Deadly Fall into their store. “We would have got it anyway,” she said, “because it’s flagged on our system as a British Columbia bestseller.”

“It is?” I asked.

Ellen pointed out three copies of Deadly Fall on their bestseller table. I hadn’t noticed them there before. She studied her computer screen and recited Deadly Fall sales for March, April and May. “Nine here, four there.” Not high numbers, but I hadn’t been aware of any sales in B.C. prior to my mini book tour.

It later occurred to me that if the sales are recorded on the computer system instantly, the May numbers probably came from my Vernon and Kelowna singings. If other stores in B.C. use this bestseller flagging system, this mini-tour’s sales might be prompting these other stores to order Deadly Fall.

One thing leads to another and you never know where an action will ripple.

Saturday, May 28 – Mosaic Books set me up at a small, round bar table near their store entrance. Fresh breezes blew in through the open door and I had a good view of people strolling down Kelowna’s main street.

A man stopped by the table as I was putting up my signs. He was impressed that I’d managed to publish a book and seemed to have an idea of the work that goes into this. He became my first customer of the day. Deadly Fall and I were off to a good start.

I’d had higher hopes for sales at Mosaic than I had for Vernon. Will had sent the word out to a couple of people we know in Kelowna. A friend sent invitations to relatives. I had contacted two writing groups.

A man from COWS, one of the Kelowna writing groups, showed up. COWS = Central Okanagan Writers’ Society. He’s writing a mystery and thought our books had aspects in common. We also discovered that we were both from Montreal. About ten years ago, he packed up and left for the Okanagan lifestyle.

I had another interesting chat with Maggie. She had driven her mother from Calgary to Kelowna for the summer and knows two of my writing friends -Lori Hahnel and Lee Kvern. Maggie used to attend Calgary readings. Maybe I’ll meet her at one of mine of in the future.

For the rest of the three hours, I talked to customers, handed out cards, received some book promotion tips, advised a woman on book club selections (I was seated next to the store’s bestsellers) and was given a sketch of a fantasy scene by a high school student.

As I was packing up, a woman bought my fifth book and the store took four more to put on their shelves. A little short of expectations today, but Deadly Fall is getting out further and acquiring some new readers.

Before the signing, Will and I managed to fit in some good touring. We spent a couple of hours walking around Kelowna. Despite ominous clouds, the day was mostly sunny. We saw the historic district, the Okanagan agricultural museum, the waterfront and a Korean fan dance in front of the arts centre. The drive from Vernon to Kelowna had beautiful views of lakes and cultivated nature. I hope to return to the Okanagan one or two summers from now, later in the season to enjoy some fruit – and include a couple of singings or readings.

Friday morning, May 27th, Will and I set out on our road trip to Victoria. We left at 5:00 am to make sure we got to Bookland, Vernon, in time for my 1:00 pm book signing.

I had thought driving into the mountains at sunrise would compensate for lost hours of sleep. Alas, it poured rain through Calgary and Kananaskis. Rain turned to snow in Canmore and the mountains were shrouded in cloud. Between the weather and my fatigue, this was far from my best ever mountain drive, but due to minimal stops we made good time.

In the Okangan, the rain cleared over lush farmland and homes backdropped by hills. We got to our Vernon hotel at 11:00, went for a brief walk, settled in and finished the parts of our lunch we hadn’t eaten in the car.

Bookland is located on Vernon’s main street. The store had posters announcing my signing on the front door and an end-aisle display inside. They had ordered 12 hardcover copies of Deadly Fall. I went into this thinking I’d be lucky to sell three, since I was outside of Calgary, where the local setting has been the book’s main appeal, and several people I knew had come to the signings and bought.

Store traffic this Friday afternoon was lighter than it was at the Indigos I signed at in Calgary. By 1:30 I was ready to revise my sales forecast downward, when a woman bought a copy for her 90 year-old father, a retired policeman. My ‘Gift for Dad on Father’s Day’ poster inspired her.

People continued to trickle in. A high percentage of men, it appeared to me. Many went directly to the cash to pick up magazines and books they had ordered. My table was angled toward the cash, rather than at the door. The placement seemed to work well. I hailed most people as they passed by.

Some took cards; others bought books. I think it helped that Bookland was offering a 25 percent discount on the hardcover that day. One man told me his wife, an aspiring writer, was going to the Bloody Words conference in Victoria next weekend. I gave him a card and said to tell her to be sure to look me up there. Another man said his cousin was a homicide detective in Calgary. He took my business card to pass along to her – she could be a new resource. A third man bought the book for his mother as a belated Mother’s Day gift.

A woman who is an avid mystery reader urged me to join two mystery Internet sites to promote the book: For Mystery Addicts – called 4MA – and DorothyL. Someone else had already advised me to join the latter site. This prompting by the customer might get me to do it.

Toward 4:00 PM, my finishing time, Will returned from his touring of Vernon. He’d walked to our hotel and back and stopped at Polson Park, where he witnessed the Vernon tradition of high school grads dressed to the hilt, gathering for pictures. I had seen one of these grads in the store. She clerks here on weekends and evenings.

I began to pack up, more than satisfied with my seven book sales. Will’s cousin’s daughter, Lahaina, came in. We hadn’t seen her in years and hadn’t expected her to turn up. Our chat extended my stay long enough to sell book # 8, to a woman who bought it for a friend recovering from surgery. Four books leftover for future customers seems about right. One of the sales clerks said she’d buy one, after payday.

When Will and I sent out Deadly Fall book launch invitations to everyone we’d ever met, a surprising result was requests from people I hadn’t known well, or at all, to speak to their group.

One invite came from Fran Kimmel, a writer I met in a couple of workshops at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society. A former Calgary resident, Fran now lives in Lacombe, AB, and is a Friend of the Mary C. Moore Public Library in Lacombe. Fran offered to set up a workshop, followed by a reading and discussion at the Lacombe library.

We decided on the two-hour workshop topic: Creating Memorable Characters. Since Fran expected half the registrants would be memoir writers, I studied up on creating characters for memoirs as well as for fiction and found published excerpts from both genres as teaching examples. This workshop could easily be expanded to a full day session or even an 8 week course, which I’ll eventually offer to the Alexandra Writers.

Fifteen women registered for the workshop. It turned out to be a lot of fun. I hope the participants learned something. Fran and Christina, the librarian contact, said they told her they did. A number of the students stayed for the reading and discussion. They were joined by others from the public. We gathered in a lovely, window corner of the beautiful new library complex.

I read Chapter One of Deadly Fall. The discussion topic was supposed to be “Why Do We Read Mysteries?” but we never got around to talking about that. People preferred to ask questions about writing and getting published. As I’d discovered in earlier presentations, the questions were interesting and challenging. I’m getting used to answering on the fly.

At the end, people purchased books – 13 in all. The library paid for my lunch and gave me an honorarium and such a generous mileage allowance that I told them they were paying me too much. I’m not used to getting adequately compensated for what I do.

Another invitation came from the wife of Will’s former colleague. Janet belongs to a book club in Priddis, south of Calgary. Every spring, members of book clubs in that area gather at the Millarville Library to discuss the books they’ve read during the year. They had talked of having an author speaker. I got to be it.

About 30 representatives from 7 book clubs congregated in the small library connected to the Millarville community school. The session began with mingling. I discovered that the Millarville librarian went to my high school in Montreal. Her sister, who was in my grade, also lives in the region and is retired from the Calgary police. She might make a good resource for a future murder mystery novel.

For this presentation, I spoke briefly about Deadly Fall and left most of my half hour allotment for questions, which I find people tend to enjoy best. Will and I stayed for the club members’ favourite readings of the year and picked up some suggestions for our book club’s next session.

The meeting ended with book sales. Nine sold and I expect these readers will pass the book around to their fellow book club members.

I have a Calgary book club gig lined up for the fall. This came from a member of a United Church Women’s group that invited me to speak after their launch invitation. The book club has 10 members and they promise great discussion, food and wine.

Writing is a lonely task. I love my time alone absorbed in writing, but sometimes it’s great to get out and enjoy these fringe benefits.