CAWTHRA PARK AIDS MEMORIAL GARDEN

One of the nicest surprises from the World Pride celebrations last month was the reinvention of Cawthra Park behind the 519 Community Centre. Fronting on Church Street, the park now opens invitingly to the AIDS Memorial it once seemed bent on concealing. At least once a year, I make the journey to those fourteen upright pillars, stopping to read names and recall the passing of so many who crossed my path at some point. Earlier this week, almost serendipitously, distant bells rang as I visited at high noon.

PUMPKIN EATER ON-LINE

If you're just tuning in, the sequel to my Lambda Award winner, Lake On The Mountain, has just been published. Here are some recent links to articles about PUMPKIN EATER and my writing, for which I am grateful.

http://dailyxtra.com/canada/arts-and-entertainment/literary/darkness-and-light

http://www.stageandpage.com/pumpkin%20eater.htm#pumpkin

SAINTS & SINNERS

One of my favourite literary festivals is the Saints & Sinners fest in New Orleans. It's a whirlwind of events, making it hard to choose this panel over that reading, one masterclass over another. Do I want to catch Christopher Rice discussing the ups and downs of book reviews or attend a reading by an up and coming author I've heard about? A panel on genre or a masterclass by someone like Felice Picano, whose life inspires me as much as his work? The festival is equally rewarding to lovers of writing as much as to us writers, whether aspiring or accomplished. What I love most about this fest, however, is the genuine camaraderie I feel here. (Just being in the city is a bonus.) My highlights of this year's festival were meeting and getting to spend time with three legendary writers from the Violet Quill: Edmund White, Felice Picano and Andrew Holleran. To meet the writers you grew up reading and get to chat casually with them about their works is the writerly equivalent of striking gold. And there has been plenty of that on this trip.

LIVING WELL IS THE BEST REVENGE

Let's face it -- writer's don't make a lot money. On the other hand, I agree wholeheartedly with that line in Babette's Feast, "An artist is never poor." Having friends and an amour who enjoys food as much as I do helps too. My friends are always inviting me out for dinner (or inviting themselves in for dinner -- it's all good when you have a grand garden and a BBQ on the back porch.)

It also helps to date someone who appreciates your culinary skills, so when my beau shows up at the door with a bag of goodies and says, "Can you cook these?", plunking down two lobsters, or asks, "Can you make Key Lime Pie?" or "Mango Surprise?" or "Cassava Cake?" (a sweetie with a sweet tooth), I take it as a challenge. Fortunately, it's one I'm up to facing.

OFF DAYS

What do writers do on their days off? I don't know, I don't get any. But what I often do between writing sessions is indulge in the rewards of other artistic disciplines. Today, for instance, I accepted an invitation to the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinberg Ontario with actor Geordie Johnson to share his passion for the works of Fredericton-born painter Mary Pratt.

Mary's work is a careful study of ordinary-seeming objects, often in domestic settings. Food dominates her paintings, with a special emphasis on reflective surfaces--tin foil, saran wrap, glass--used in the preparation and presentation of the subjects. Mary's seemingly off-the-cuff remarks penned beside the works give keen insight into their inspiration and possible interpretation, such as her note about having lost twins in pregnancy not long before creating an eerie but innocent-looking painting of egg shells in their carton.

In addition, the McMichael is the adopted site of Tom Thomson's "shack", as it is called today, a wooden cabin where he lived and worked up until his death in 1917.

Although it's not open to public viewing, you can peer through the windows to see the recreation of his studio.

SPRING 2014

Wow--it's been a busy spring! February saw the long-awaited release of Vanished In Vallarta, third in the Bradford Fairfax comic mystery series. For fans of Brad and Zach, I can tell you that the fourth book, Bon Ton Roulez, has been finished for some time, while a fifth book, Havana Club (a prequel to the series) is in the works. Look for both of those over the next two years, with additional books set in Palm Springs, San Francisco and Toronto to follow.

As well, March saw the publication of Pumpkin Eater, sequel to my Lambda Award-winning Lake On The Mountain, and second in the Dan Sharp series. If Bradford Fairfax is the happy me then Dan Sharp is the dark side of my personality. I an currently editing the third book, The Jade Butterfly, scheduled for a spring 2015 release. The fourth book, After The Horses, is also in the works. 

I hope that's enough reading for you! Oh, and by the way, I'd love to hear from people who enjoy my books, so drop me a line or find me on Facebook.

CALIFORNIA

Yup, that's where I am.

There are so many great songs about this place, and I've been hearing a good number of them while here. (California Dreaming, If You're Going to San Francisco, and Joni Mitchell's anthem, "Will you take me as I am, strung out on another man? California, I'm coming home.")

My publisher tells me I don't post enough blogs for a boy with another book coming out. ;-) Hmm, well. That's largely because I post fotos on Facebook. If you're curious to see what I've been up to, try me there. All fotos and write-ups are open to public viewing.

Cheers!
Jeffrey