Some Cool Things

And Save the Date for the Toronto Launch of The Fall-Down Effect

The winter is feeling long, but soon—soonish?—eventually—it will be spring.

If you’re here reading, you may already know that my debut novel, The Fall-Down Effect, is coming out in a couple of months. It’s all very exciting, and somehow less nerve-wracking than it seemed in the fall. The novel made a few spring preview lists, which is a pretty cool thing. I’m so grateful to Quill and Quire, 49th Shelf, MER Journal, and The Grind for including the book on their lists. It’s also been a trip to see a few Bookstagrammers sharing pics of the advanced reading copies they received.

Another cool thing was answering some fun questions for Kathyrn Mockler’s I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You series on her wonderful Substack, Send My Love to Anyone. I wrote about my first memory, a favourite dream, and what I consider the best and worst emotions.

I’m also super lucky to have gotten blurbs for The Fall-Down Effect from two writers I deeply respect and admire, Madeleine Thien and Alissa York. I shared these on social media last month, and please indulge me as I do so again here:

I can’t tell you what it means to be read and supported by these brilliant writers. I cried when I saw the beautiful words they’d written about my book.

I feel like I should also do a little bit of a pre-order nudge. Pre-orders are crucial to a book’s success these days. They can put a novel that might otherwise have been overlooked on a bookseller’s radar. They create anticipation and pre-publication buzz. Consider ordering from an independent bookstore, as they do so much to support Canadian authors and publishers. (In Toronto, I love Flying Books, Another Story, Type, Queen Books, Ben McNally, Book City...) You could also order the book directly from Book*hug or, you know, wherever you usually get books from.

Meanwhile, planning is underway for a few events to celebrate the launch of The Fall-Down Effect. I hope, dear reader, that you might be able to come out for one! Save the date(s), and I’ll share posters when I have them:

Toronto Launch
When: Tuesday, April 21, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
Where: Flying Books (784 College Street)
Featuring: Guest readings by Phillip Dwight Morgan and Ana Rodriguez Machado, and a conversation led by Khalida Hassan

Ottawa Event
What: Triple book launch featuring Laurie D. Graham, me, and Aga Maksimowska
When: Saturday, April 18, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Where: Anina’s Cafe (280 Joffre-Bélanger Way)

Peterborough Event
What: Triple book launch featuring Laurie D. Graham, me, and Jennifer LoveGrove
When: Thursday, April 30, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Where: Take Cover Books (59 Hunter Street East)

Another Toronto Event
What: Junction Reads
Who: Kerry Clare, me, and Alice Fitzpatrick
When: Sunday, May 3, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Type Books, Junction (2887 Dundas Street West)

Kingston Event
What: Triple book launch featuring Laurie D. Graham, me, and Aga Maksimowska
When: Saturday, May 23, time TBA
Where: Novel Idea (156 Princess Street)

I’m hoping to make it out west to do some readings in B.C., Victoria, Vancouver, and Kelowna, and will, of course, update if and when I’m able to set something up. In the meantime, thanks for reading!