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October News, Reviews, & Interviews

October was a busy month. I travelled with Random House on its Fall Preview tour in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, and made new friends amongst the guests from Indigo, Chapters, and Coles. On the eve of the Vancouver Writers Fest, L’amante del papa was reviewed at mangialibri.com and Erin McPhee’s lovely profile of me was published in the North Shore News. The festival was amazing this year, thanks to the wonderful staff, volunteers, and awesome artistic director, Hal Wake. Known amongst writer for organizing “the best writers’ festival in Canada,” Hal is an expert at picking good topics and authors for his panels, and choosing knowledgeable moderators. I was honoured to be a  guest author at the Literati Gala Cabaret, a literacy fundraiser held in the Italian cultural centre. On the next day, the opening reception was packed with authors and book-people, and the Grand Openings event, with its all-star cast, was dazzling. All week, the events boasted exciting themes and authors, and large enthusiastic audiences. I was pleased to be on stage in two sold-out events, As the Past Comes to Life with Sarah Dunant, Roberta Rich, Claire Mulligan, and Janie Chang and The Afternoon Tea with Eleanor Catton, David Macfarlane, Claire Mulligan, Chad Pelley, and Maria Semple. Alicia Copp Mokkonen wrote an interesting blog about our readings.

On All Saints’ Eve, I flew to Toronto for my first appearance in the International Festival of Authors, buoyed up by an interview in the groovy on-line mag, Hazlitt. Once settled in the authors’ hotel, I walked over to the festival site to check it out, then back to the hospitality suite, where authors unwound every night from the day’s activities. One of the perks of staying in the same hotel was author-spotting. A highlight was eavesdropping in the bar as Joseph Boyden skyped a friend to report on the Zoomer interview with Conrad Black! On Friday,  I was squired around to bookstores to sign copies of Muse, treated to a posh lunch with my editors and publicist, and appeared in a Reading with Rodge Glass, Catherine Bush, and Meg Wolitzer. A bootleg video of my reading appears here. On Saturday, I had a free day to attend IFOA events, tuck into a three course authors’ dinner at Le Select, then perch in the balcony for the Tribute to Alice Munro. My second event, on Saturday, was a round table, Ahead by a Century, with Elizabeth Ruth and Justin Cartwright, nimbly moderated by Brendan de Caires. The authors’ final dinner at a brewhouse was subdued, with regretful leavetaking and exchanging of contact details. IFOA knows how to treat its authors and it was intriguing to discover, googling some of my companions afterwards, how famous some of them are. As is so often the case, the best-known authors are the most friendly and humble.

For more details about reviews/interviews, please see Resources and Critiques, where you’ll find additional support material as well.

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September News, Reviews, & Interviews

Mary Novik, The Globe and Mail

Events for Muse began with a pleasant book club evening at Book Warehouse (Black Bond Books). This year at Word Vancouver, the driving rain and gale-force winds drove us inside the Vancouver Public Library. I read from Muse in the Blenz coffee shop, a much warmer venue than the Canada Writes tent would have been outside. The first West Coast Bookstravaganza, held in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, was as glamorous as promised. About 200 women attended and Vancouver blogger Zoe captured the evening. We’re all hoping that Random House and Chatelaine bring Bookstravaganza back next year. A review of Muse by Dana Hansen appeared in the September issue of Quill & Quire and a substantial profile of me by David Chau appeared in the Best of Vancouver issue of The Georgia Straight. My blog, “Getting into the Mindset of Solange,” was included in Shaun Smith’s Fiction Craft column at Open Book Ontario, and my influence interview (with a caricature of me) came out in The Globe and Mail. A review of L’amante del Papa (the Italian translation of Muse) appeared in Economia Italiana. For more details about these reviews/interviews, please see Resources and Critiques, where you’ll find additional support material as well.

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Vancouver’s First Bookstravaganza

On September 30, I’ll be appearing at the first Vancouver Bookstravaganza hosted by Random House and Chatelaine at the Hotel Vancouver (Fairmont), 900 W Georgia (tickets $30, 1-877-422-2292). Apparently the tickets are selling out fast, probably because there’s $100 in swag, including books by the authors. Talk about glitz and glam! The fun begins with cocktails at 7 pm, followed by appearances by Mary Novik, Roberta Rich, and Rosie Daykin. Afterwards, you can get your books signed by the authors. This YouTube video shows Toronto’s 2012 guests having fun at “book publishing’s most glamorous event”. The 2013 Toronto Bookstravaganza was attended by 400 women and three men.

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September 2013 Events

On September 18 at 9 pm ET, I will be in a tweetchat hosted by the YummyMummyClub.ca and @BookaliciousCA, using the hashtag #MuseNovel. On September 19, from 7-9 pm, Roberta Rich and I will visit Book Warehouse, 632 W Broadway, Vancouver, for a special book club evening. On September 29, at 2:45 I’ll be appearing in the Canada Writes tent at Word Vancouver at Library Square, Homer and W. Georgia. On September 30, I’ll be appearing with Roberta Rich and Rosie Daykin in the first Vancouver Bookstravaganza hosted by Random House and Chatelaine at the Hotel Vancouver (Fairmont Hotel), 900 W Georgia. Call 1-877-422-2292 for tickets, $30. The fun begins with cocktails at 6:30 pm, followed by the entertainment, then a book signing. Here’s a YouTube video showing last year’s guests having fun at “book publishing’s most glamorous event”.

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Mary Novik’s Blog Tour for Muse

The nice people at Random House have set up an exciting blog tour with book giveaways for Muse that will take me to seven bloggers’ sites, beginning at their Retreat website on Thursday, August 22. I’ll be guest-blogging at a different blog every day between Monday, August 26 and Saturday, August 31, writing about the backstory and inspiration for my novel. Here are the links:

• August 22: Retreat by Random House

• August 26: Cozy Up with a Good Read

• August 27: Good Books and a Cup of Tea

• August 28: GailAnderson-Dargatz.com

• August 29: Sukasa Reads

• August 30: Your Hidden Shelf

• August 31: Be Nice or Leave, Thanks

This cute little widget will give you a crack at winning a free copy of Muse: a Rafflecopter giveaway

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August & September 2013 YummyMummyClub.ca Events

Muse has been spotlighted by YummyMummyClub.ca as a featured book club read with this groovy headline,  Gratify Your Addiction For Historical Fiction.  Lots of yummy things are going on here, including a book draw if you ”click here to spill it”. Also, twenty lucky Twitter Book Club members can win free copies by retweeting the @BookaliciousCA #MuseNovel contest on Friday, August 23 until midnight ET. The Twitter book club chat will take place on Wednesday, September 18 from 9:00-10:00 pm ET using the hashtag #MuseNovel. Not only will you get a chance to chat with other yummy readers, but you can ask me–that’s @MaryNovik2–any question you want, as long as you stay within 140 characters.

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August Reviews of Muse

Reviews of Muse are coming in daily–three on August 17 alone! Athena McKenzie reviews Muse in the Globe & Mail, Robert J. Wiersema reviews Muse in The Vancouver Sun, and Jennifer Pawluk reviews Muse in the Winnipeg Free Press. And there’s more. Teresa Goff reviews Muse in the August issue of Trek Magazine and I am interviewed by Tracy Sherlock of The Vancouver Sun (reprinted in Calgary Herald, Montreal Gazette, and Windsor Star.) Muse is reviewed at the blog Buried in Print, and Andrea Modolo reviews both Muse and Conceit on her blog Cozy Up With a Good Read. Reviews of L’amante del Papa (the Italian translation of Muse) appear on-line at Lettera43 and Thriller Magazine. For highlights (quotations) from the reviews, see Muse Reviews. And for a detailed list of reviews, articles, and interviews for both novels, go to Resources and Critiques.

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Reviews of Muse

Reviews of Muse are coming in daily–three on August 17! Athena McKenzie reviews Muse in the Globe & Mail, Robert J. Wiersema reviews Muse in The Vancouver Sun, and Jennifer Pawluk reviews Muse in the Winnipeg Free Press. And there’s more. Teresa Goff reviews Muse in the August issue of Trek Magazine and Dana Hansen reviews it in the September Quill & Quire. Muse is reviewed at the blog Buried in Print, and Andrea Modolo reviews both Muse and Conceit on her blog Cozy Up With a Good Read. An Italian review, by Francesca Bussi, of L’amante del Papa appears on-line at Lettera43. For highlights (quotations) from the reviews, see Muse Reviews. And for a detailed list of reviews, articles, and interviews for both novels, go to Resources and Critiques.

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October 2013 Events

Already, October is shaping up to be a busy month. When Random House hosts Indigo employees in Calgary (October 8), Edmonton (October 9), and Vancouver (October 10), I will be part of the entertainment. If you’re an Indigo employee, please register to join in the fun. The Vancouver Writers Fest will take place from October 22-27 on Granville Island. This is always a fabulous festival and I’m delighted to be appearing in event 59, As the Past Comes to Life, at 10:30 on Saturday, October 26 (with Sarah Dunant, Roberta Rich, Claire Mulligan, and Janie Chang) and in event 80, The Afternoon Tea, at 3:30 on Sunday, October 27 (with Eleanor Catton, David Macfarlane, Claire Mulligan, Chad Pelley, and Maria Semple).

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November 2013 Events

I am delighted to be making my first appearance in the International Festival of Authors in Toronto. I will be in a Reading with Catherine Bush, Rodge Glass, and Meg Wolitzer on the Lakeside Terrace on Friday, November 1 at 8:00 pm, and in Ahead by a Century, a discussion with Justin Cartwright and Elizabeth Ruth in the Studio Theatre on Sunday, November 3 at 3:00 pm. It looks like a good weekend! From 6:30-8 pm on November 7, I will be visiting the Bigger Book Club at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, 1740 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets (include a copy of Muse) must be purchased in advance.  And talk about fun–Roberta Rich and I will be doing a road tour of Vancouver Island. At 6 pm on November 12, we will be appearing at a Mulberry Bush Books dinner in Parksville; tickets and info 250-248-1193. At 7 pm on November 13, we’ll be reading at Bolen Books, 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria, and at 7 pm on November 14, we’ll be visiting Laughing Oyster Bookshop, 286 Fifth Street, Courteney.

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