We went to Owen Sound yesterday — a journey that I think officially qualifies as “pushing it” when you have a restless toddler in the back seat. London and Burlington, the two places we tend to head toward when we go out on our “writing drives” are at most an hour and a half away, but Owen Sound is two hours, twenty-three minutes, according to Google Maps. But Vivian was a trooper; slept for the first third and was content to watch the scenery for all but the last hellish twenty minutes.
And Owen Sound was well worth the journey. We checked out their downtown which was slightly less dead on a summer Sunday than when we visited on a Sunday in fall. The architecture was beautiful — an old industrial town that is switching gears to a tourist and recreation economy (Owen Sound, like Waterloo, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year) — and excellent views of Georgian Bay. Vivian flirted outrageously with all the people strolling on the waterfront, and we spent a fair amount of time at a wonderful independent bookstore with an attached coffee shop. A possible launch venue, perhaps? Certainly worthy of a return visit, assuming we can be sure that Vivian can sleep for more of her trip.
We also enjoyed the trip up to Owen Sound. We’re heading through Escarpment country through most of it, with some impressive vistas as we top the hills, including decent sized towns nestled at the bottom of river valleys. Durham would have been a great place to stop, but Vivian’s sleep schedule wouldn’t let us. Instead, on the way back, she woke up in time for us to eat dinner in Arthur — another town that rolls up its sidewalks on a Sunday evening, but a pleasant experience nonetheless.
Here’s some more photographs from the trip (link fixed).
So, did you catch the latest episode of Doctor Who, The Lazarus Experiment? You can still comment on my review, here. In my opinion, the episode was competently done, with intriguing developments in the Saxon plot. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the plot has been done before, and done better, even by Doctor Who. Don’t worry: you all still have some gems to look forward to this season.
And, finally, a couple of new promotional items for The Unwritten Girl and Fathom Five. The website Teens Read Too, which gave me a stellar review of The Unwritten Girl sent me a number of interview questions by e-mail. And I do mean a large number. But they were fun questions to answer, and I answered them all, and the interview has finally been posted to the website. Have a read and be sure to check out their other reviews.
Also, CBC Arts Reporter Eli Glasner e-mailed me a copy of his World at Six report on “The Potter Effect” which, among other things, gave me the opportunity to read The Unwritten Girl on national radio. He tells me that there should be no trouble in posting this online as an MP3, as long as I give CBC Radio the proper credit, which I’m doing right now. Have a listen!
I’m getting back into some writing at last, although I find my attention drawn again and again to The NIght Girl (Again, I’d like to thank the beta readers who have written back so far and have given me plenty to think about). I also hope to have a short story posted onto the Unwritten Books’ website as a little extra for fans, so watch this space.
More later!