Thanks for Supporting Introverts

I’m pleased to have received a creation grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec this summer to draft an experimental novel, “Introverts R Us.”

The novel is about two men: a wealthy professor who retreats to the woods to finish a paper on the lies we tell ourselves; and the salt-of-the-earth retreat host who challenges his ideas and identity(ies). The 30-day retreat branches into different endings that take their relationship through literary, romance, adventure, comedy, and horror genres. (I can’t wait to get to the horror!)

It’s a superfun and challenging book to write. So I’m thrilled to be able to focus on the project, thanks to a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. I’m foregoing most editing and teaching jobs this fall and winter to finish my draft.

The novel “Introverts R Us” is an expansion of a short story of the same name, currently out on submission. Fingers crossed on that finding a home. (Samesies for my collection of short fiction on submission, Aging Disgracefully, which I completed last year with the support of a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, and which I should write more about here….)

I still work on short fiction at least once a week while I WISH (Write in Silence Hour) every Friday morning. I’ve written a few new stories this year, and I just signed up to an “Edgy Fiction Workshop” with Tracey Waddleton offered through the Quebec Writers’ Federation to keep me keen and brief. (It’s an online workshop and there might still be spaces available, if you’re interested. The first offering filled immediately but they opened a second session on Mondays — check out “Writing Outside the Box”.)

And learn more about CALQ while you’re gathering info online. This year, the CALQ awarded over $2million in literature and storytelling grants. You can read some of the CALQ success stories here.

Thanks, Québec! I’m thrilled to retreat into my characters as summer dies.

Today is Friday, so I’d better get WISHing.

Wishing you a highly creative final weekend of the season.