Friday the 13th -- Draw Day!

Lots going on around here at kc dyer central....


Tonight is the BIG draw for a week's worth of books over on DARBY SPEAKS, plus a bonus draw for a special reader. That's 8 prizes to be given away! You must add your entry before 6 pm tonight to be eligible to win.

Check out Darby's blog HERE.


The book launch for A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW was a success last night at North Vancouver Kidsbooks -- many thanks to Susan and Diana for all their help and support, and to my sweet friend, writer Kathy Chung, who arranged for childcare, made the trek from Richmond, helped set up and stayed to clean up. A true friend! And thanks to all my other friends who came to celebrate with me and share the evening with Darby.




Speaking of Darby, over at writer Linda Gerber's blog, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW is being featured (along with an interview of its author) on Linda's Freebie Friday. You can win a copy of the book, too! Check it out HERE.






Now -- the question of the moment. Just who is that woman hiding behind all the BC wildlife in the photo above? I can see a bear, owls -- even fish....

Care to make a guess? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below for a chance to win a signed copy of her new book! Once you've done that, head over to DARBY SPEAKS to read an interview with this amazing author.

Celebration of Darby's new book continues with interviews and book draws all month on Darby Speaks . And I have to say, some VERY -- uh -- interesting facts about some very popular writers are emerging in Darby's interviews. Make sure to join in the fun!

~kc

Top 8 of '08, with Guest Blogger Linda Gerber

Scooting back down south, we come to amazing YA author Linda Gerber, who currently lives in Ohio. Linda is one of my favourite writers, and with titles under her belt including DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE, who could resist? (I'm pleased to report that DEATH BY DENIM is not far behind!) Her blog is filled with fun ideas and give-aways -- a very popular read.

Linda has lived all over the world (since I've known her, she's lived in Finland, Japan and the US...and I do believe she is plotting some new adventurous destination right now...) and is always open to new experiences. Here's a small taste of her guest-post:

Linda's Top 8 New Discoveries in 2008.

1. Blog parties. Love them! I hosted a couple to celebrate my last two book releases and have participated in many more. They're a great way to connect, share the love, meet new people and have fun. And you don't even have to get out of your pajamas to party!

2. Scrivener. I'm a Mac user, but I had never though of using this software until this year when I heard from other authors how much they love it. Perfect for organizing and laying out the story.

3. The Mentalist. My sister Trish introduced me to the series just this fall. I quickly caught up with season 1 online. Smart, funny, and Simon Baker = awesomeness.

Ah. Simon Baker. Well, I can tell you that if you check out Linda's blog HERE ,you'll not only get to read more, but you'll see the picture she's posted of Simon. Or, if you like, skip on over to her fantastic website HERE.

Thanks for taking part, Linda! I loved reading about your new discoveries.

~kc

Book Launch Fun

Last night I had a great time at the latest Orca book launch, held at Vancouver Kidsbooks. I love going to book launches (especially when they are not my own!). No pressure, get to hang with my friends AND have someone read to me? Not to mention the added bonus of heading home with an awesome stack of new reading material.

Last night was no exception. I had a little trouble with the *&$# bridges, which meant I was 20 minutes late for pre-launch sushi with Meg, but once I'd met her, scarfed a little sushi and headed over to the bookstore, all traffic issues waned as the fun began.

Five authors (including one author-editor) were fete-ing their new novels, of whom are two my especial pals, so it was a great night for me.

I enjoyed listening to excerpts from Kim Denman's new novel SPIRAL, and Robin Stevenson's TEN THOUSAND SHADES OF BLUE, (I meant to high five Robin for her excellent taste in chromatic titles -- but I forgot...) as well as editor/author/emcee Sarah Harvey's THE LIT CLUB.

Meg Tilly read from her new Orca Soundings novel FIRST TIME.


Of all the pictures I shot, this one is my favourite -- Meg is standing to one side, quietly waiting her turn as she is introduced. Then of course, when she takes the stage, she disappears into her character and we were all pulled into the white Toyota Echo along with Hayley and her friend Lyn. I NEVER miss a chance to listen to Meg do a reading. She is magical.







Shelley Hrdlitschka captured the audience in her own way, discussing the parallels between the world of Unity in her new novel SISTER WIFE and those of Bountiful, a polygamous community, long a source of controversy in British Columbia. She wrote her story from the varying points of view of three separate characters, but it is Celeste, the young girl destined to be married at 15 whose voice captured me.

I cannot wait to read these two novels.

And, of course, the beast must be fed, so a few more books made it into the TBR pile that teetered on the car seat beside me all the way home. I bought DEATH BY LATTE, by Linda Gerber (have already had to promise to read fast and send to my girl, as she is a huge Aphra fan...); Cory Doctorow's LITTLE BROTHER (because, hey -- I've been a boing-boinger for more than a year now. I was going to hold out until it came out in paperback, but...well, I'm weak); Karen Autio's new sequel to SECOND WATCH called SAARA'S PASSAGE and Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN (just 'cause I've wanted to read it since it came out).

Now, if you'll excuse me -- I have some reading to catch up on...

~kc

Death By....Penguin?

One of my oldest writing buddies, Linda Gerber, is blogging this week over at the Penguin USA blog. She's talking about Aphra and her 'DEATH BY...' series.

Now's your chance to pop by and ask her a question!

Here's the link:

Linda Gerber's Penguin Blog.

~kc
(No actual penguins were harmed in the writing of this post)

All Hallow's Eve...

How are you spending this spooky night?

My current weirdness-in-progress is a step back into high fantasy, with a little history and a lot of ghosts thrown in for good measure. A slightly re-worked excerpt of it is to be found here, on Linda Gerber's blog, to celebrate this eerie day. She's run spooky stories all week, and I believe if you leave a comment, you'll be eligible for one of her Freebie Friday gifts...if you make it in before the witching hour.

Earlier this month I spent a long time trying to photograph a skull by moonlight -- sadly, to no avail. Instead, I offer you a shot of a most excellent house on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Calton Hill is the site of much mystery and mayhem on Hogmanay each year -- first night rather than the night before All Saint's Day. It is well suited to today's post all the same, since said wip is set in and around the environs of this, one of my favourite cities in the world.

Happy haunting...

~kc

Spooky Doings...

My dear friend and colleague, Linda Gerber is currently celebrating Hallowe'en by running a series of scary stories in her blog. I have re-worked a little episode of the current work-in-progress and submitted it for her approval -- it should appear sometime this week.




In doing so, I remembered that the last time I blogged for Linda (in September, she sez, hanging her head) I was supposed to make a draw for one of my books. In the spirit of better-late-than-never, I hereby proclaim Lucile (of Book Spot) the winner. Drop me a line at contact@kcdyer.com, Lucile, and I'll send you a copy of MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK.

Are you keeping up with all the doings now that SiWC is over? Check out the blog at the conference site for all the latest, including winning entries to Lisa Rector's Young Writers' scholarship, folks looking to join writing groups and new pictures of the conference.

~kc

Death By Latte

One of my favourite authors, Linda Gerber, has a new book out! DEATH BY LATTE is the follow-up to her smash hit DEATH BY BIKINI, and follows the adventures of Aphra and Seth in a rollicking adventure in Seattle.

To celebrate, Linda is having a wild and rousing cyber-launch over at her blog. Loads of giveaway books and other cool prizes to be had.

I'm giving away a copy of MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK in a random draw, so pop into Linda's site and leave a comment on my guest post -- and you could be a winner!

~kc

We have a Winner!

Last week I put a little contest up on Linda Gerber's blog to celebrate the advent of her new book DEATH BY BIKINI. Mine was (in true Canuck fashion) the only snowy beach scene, so (in part to compensate) I asked participants to comment by sending in the name of their favourite beach.

The results were amazing -- beaches from all around the world. Thanks to all for participating!

And the winner of a copy of MS ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK is...

Daniel!

So Daniel, if you just send me an email with your mailing address at contact@kcdyer.com, I'll get a signed copy of this book off to you right away.

~kc

Typing Between Coughs...

The other night I was invited to speak with The Novel Knickers, a book club at Christianne's Lyceum of Literature and Art in Kitsilano.

I was there to speak about my novel Ms. Zephyr's Notebook -- and I must say I had a fabulous time.

The group was made up of 11 or 12 avid readers and their parents, and they all ensured I had a wonderful time, sharing thoughts, observations and questions about my book. The treats were splendid (I even got to take home Purdy's chocolate!), the conversation sublime. Many thanks to Christianne Hayward and her marvellous staff for hosting such a wonderful evening. And thanks to all for putting up with my alternatingly squeaky and gravelly voice.


Posts are flying fast and furious over at Linda Gerber's blog, in celebration of her new book DEATH BY BIKINI. You can check out my guest post here -- and if you leave a comment, your name goes in a draw not only for a personalized copy of MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK, but for a bunch of other prizes, too.

I noticed that one of the early winners was sister writer, photography nut and blogger extraordinaire A Novel Woman -- who also, I recall, seems to have remarkable luck when it comes to winning things.

Not much else going on around here. I am currently stricken with some dreadful plague, the details of which I will spare you. Am trying to work with the SiWC's amazing webmaster (and Drupal genius) Dale McGladdery to help get our new site up and running, and pull together the 2008 brochure to deliver into the hands of designer and web genius Laurel Hickey...but mostly I am coughing, napping and reading PG Wodehouse.

I have to send out a huge thank you to sister scribe Meg Tilly for stepping in to take on a big speech off my germ-laden hands. Thank you, Meg!



And to finish, here is one of my favourite recent pictures of my own little mermaid, doing one of the things she does best -- the backstroke.

Just last weekend, she got her triple A (provincial standard) time in 100m Back, a feat which has made us all very proud.




~kc

DEATH BY BIKINI

One of my most amazing author friends, Linda Gerber, is launching her new book this week.

She is celebrating this exciting event with a cyber-beach party on her blog.

I'll be a guest blogger over there (I think my post goes up tomorrow).

She's giving away tons of prizes this week, including an Ipod shuffle, so for a chance to win, hie on over to her blog and check it out!

You also have a chance to win a copy of my book, MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK -- the winner will be announced here, too, on Thursday, May 22.

Check out Linda's new book -- it's fun in the sun!

~kc