Thursday afternoon I had the pleasure of joining Joy Fielding at Zoomer Magazine headquarters for the Writers Bloc webcast. Upon arrival, the lovely Zoomer team greeted us with tasty treats and whisked Joy away for hair and makeup. (I’ll admit that I’m always a bit jealous watching people get their makeup done professionally.) The webcast was a live show, and with a bit of time before it was to start, we fawned over the latest photographs of Joy’s gorgeous grandson. Shortly before they went live to air, we were brought down to the concert lobby, where the webcast team, made up of various members including a floor director, a sound engineer and several camera operators, scurried around us. Microphones on. Ear pieces in. Final primping. And ACTION!

Joy and editor/host Athena McKenzie sat in two casual chairs on a lush cream faux fur carpet and began the show. Joy’s book trailer introduced her new novel Now You See Her and her daughter Shannon Micol’s music was incorporated. Athena was a wonderful host, guiding Joy through various questions that were pre-submitted by fans and some that were sent during the live taping. As a publicist you hear lots of questions, many that are versions of the same. And as Joy publishes a book a year I’ve had the chance to get well acquainted with her answers. But some of the more original questions asked at this taping included a fan wanting to know if Joy keeps a notebook on her bedside table for great ideas she gets in the night? And what the secret to her 37 year long marriage was. To find out the answers, you’ll have to watch the podcast!

There are lots of obvious reasons for me to love my job: great books, amazing authors and awesome colleagues. A slightly less obvious reason is baking! We have more than a few skilled chefs in our midst and to celebrate the release of the new Martha Stewart Pies and Tarts cookbook we decided to have a Piebonanza! Long time BookLounge blog readers will remember our very first Martha-inspired bake-off, the Cupcake-a-pahlooza. Veteran “Pahloozers” Tan and Ainsley from the Digital department were the first to sign on for this new challenge, with bakers from Editorial, Publicity and Production. Nothing brings people together like pies and tarts both savory and sweet! (pictures after the jump)

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The bookclub I’m a part of has existed in some shape or form for ten years. In it’s current nameless existance, we’re made up of a few original members, a few new members, and even a satellite member who Skypes in from Michigan when she can (and who sends lengthy notes when she can’t). We’re tea drinkers. And we like our water with frozen lemon wedges. We’re also major snackers and have become experts on a variety of cheeses, fruits, candy and baked goods thanks to our monthly meet-ups. Usually we do the book club thing in someone’s barely tidy living room (often mine), and occassionally we class it up a notch meeting at a chacuterie board-style restaurant and sip wine while we eat. Like most book clubs we don’t talk business first. As members trickle in at 7:30pm we catch up on what the kids are up to (there’s two moms amongst the ten), what our partners have been doing to make us crazy, and how work is going (collectively we are three teachers, two book publicists, one physiotherapist, one event manager, one software developer, one fashion consultant, and one project manager). About half an hour in we usually get reigned in by one of the teachers who pulls out her book with several sticky notes. Often our starting point is “whatdja think of the book in general?” or “would you recommend this book to others?” and often “what the heck was going on with…?”

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It was a dark and stormy night as I, a fetching femme fatale, strolled into 501 Bloor Street West in an area of Toronto called simply, The Annex. I found myself drawn to a display of crime novels in Book City - a city without streets - where books I’d never seen before were calling to me. As I stroked the covers, I was approached warily by a bookseller and advised of a contest; they were offering me a chance to win a tote bag full of these very crime novels. Hot diggidy dog.

“That’s swell”, I said in a low voice, while inside I was screaming with delight. The swarthy young man took my breath away as I entertained the variety of crime novels before me. I languidly filled out a ballot to win the prize bag, concealing my inner excitement. This was my chance - I was feeling lucky. I finally made my decision and purchased a copy of Kismet, a brilliant novel about organized crime, immigration, the fallout from the Balkan wars, and the madness of nationalism from one of Europe’s finest crime writers, Jakob Arjouni. As I stumbled out the door, dizzy with delight, I vowed that next week I would travel to a new city in search of another ballot to win the prize. I do love prizes and I adore crime novels from around the world. Where I’m headed is a mystery…

To Be Continued.

Last Wednesday found me at Harbourfront Center in Toronto to hear three authors read from their latest books. I was there officially for Emma Forrest, who is in Canada promoting her memoir, Your Voice in My Head. But how could I help but be eager to hear all the authors on this bill? James Bartleman read from his first novel, As Long as the Rivers Flow. He read about Native teenage suicides on reserves in Northern Ontario in the late 80s. It was heartbreaking, powerful, moving. Joy Fielding read the first chapter from her 23rd book (amazing!!!) called Now You See Her. It was an inspired reading and I was competely swept up in it and by the time she was finished, I was a believer! I can’t wait to read the rest of the book.

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On a sunny Friday afternoon in August 2010, eight Random House of Canada employees stayed late in a large, windowless boardroom for a no-holds-barred bidding war. The catch was, all the money was fake, though the books were real. We called it “Fakefurt” and this auction was the beginning of the Fall 2010 season of PubFight, BookNet Canada’s version of fantasy sports leagues for book people. Michelle MacAleese, Associate Editor, led our downtown league and held us to account with our $200,000 budgets. Equipped with lists of real, soon-to-be-released books from a variety of Canadian publishers, we were fully prepared to shed our day jobs to fight it out as rival fantasy publishers.

I was so eager to buy David Sedaris’ Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk for my list that I barely noticed when Publicity Manager Adria Iwasutiak scored Fall of Giants AND Mockingjay, a deadly combination that put her at the top of the league for the next 5 months. Michelle and Deputy Director of Publicity Sheila Kay waged war over Nigella Lawson’s Kitchen; Assistant Editor Kylie Barker snagged John Grisham’s Confession; and Contracts Associate Kara Bristow acquired They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children. Amanda Lewis, Assistant Editor, won Maeve Binchy’s Minding Frankie. I managed to prevail in the auction over Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, and by the end was feeling good about my list. Really good. (Still blissfully unaware of Ken Follett’s future sales trajectory.) MORE…

Have you ever read a book that touched, moved and brought you to tears? It may sound dramatic, but with no exaggeration, Roberta Rich’s historical fiction The Midwife of Venice, set against the backdrop of sixteenth-century Italy, is that kind of book for me. (Read the first chapter here and you’ll see what I mean!) I was extremely excited when a lunch invitation with the author was extended to me; I would have the chance to tell her personally how passionate I am about her book!

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Jane Johnson has been a favourite author of mine since The Tenth Gift. When her newest historical page turner, The Salt Road, came out I had a chance to read all about Morocco, where the author now lives for half of the year. It became one of my favourite novels, so when an opportunity to meet Jane presented itself, I jumped at the chance!

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Glenn Patterson’s The International takes place in Belfast, a city that conjures more than its fair share of imagery, drenched as it is in a miasma of polemical histories. For a grey and somewhat industrial town, colours permeate everything; even the curbstones are covered in colour: red, white, blue, green, and gold.

I received the following instruction, however, on the cover design brief: no green. I laughed at this, but quickly put the editor’s fears to rest. Despite Belfast’s colourful murals, curbstones, and flags (and there are a great deal of all of these), I would not fall into the age-old tropes of tacky design on books of Irish or Northern Irish interest: no shamrocks, no St Patrick, no balaclavas, no AK-47s, no pistols, no tri-colours, no Union flags, no Yeats, no Joyce, no churches, no four green fields, no uncial type, and no green.

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