Toronto book launch for The Austens, Dec. 3 at Flying Books on College St. I’m thrilled that George Elliott Clarke—who calls The Austens “painstakingly crafted and enthrallingly plotted”—is going to introduce me. Please come and celebrate with us!

A lovely evening in Yarmouth, NS.

Here’s the link to the interview I did for CBC Radio’s Information Morning about Jane Austen’s connection with Halifax.
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

If you missed the chance to hear Alexander MacLeod talking about Budge Wilson and the Project Bookmark Canada plaque on CBC Radio's Information Morning yesterday, you can find the link to that segment on their website. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Today! Please join us for the unveiling of the Budge Wilson Bookmark today, Oct. 18th, at 3:00 p.m. on the Dalhousie University campus, on the east side of Shirreff Hall (6385 South St.) The plaque honours Wilson's story "The Leaving," a powerful narrative of a quiet act of rebellion & emancipation.

Please join us for the unveiling of the Budge Wilson Bookmark on Saturday, October 18th, at 3:00 p.m. on the Dalhousie University campus. This Project Bookmark Canada plaque honours Wilson's short story "The Leaving," a powerful narrative of a quiet act of rebellion and emancipation.

“In those divine woodland solitudes one can hear the voice of one’s own soul—the voice of nature—the voice of God. I wish I might go there every day of my life—I always feel better after a stroll under those green arches where nature reveals herself in all her beauty.”
– L.M, Montgomery, 1893

I’ve been working on my novel The Austens for a long time, and I’m having a big party to celebrate the launch (& Jane Austen’s 250th birthday & the Austen family’s connections with Nova Scotia). October 21st, Regency Ballroom, Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax.
www.facebook.com/events/13893...

“Anne treads a singular path, a journey from fortitude and resignation to one of hope and blossoming. Anne’s sweetness of nature, her wisdom and stoicism earn our admiration as she navigates a frivolous world, and the machinations of others.”
– Amanda Root
(Unexpectedly Austen, August installment)

A peaceful evening.

Unexpectedly, The Austens…
So, my book has starting arriving in bookstores—about a month before the official publication date, and two months before the launch. Might as well start celebrating now!

It was such a pleasure to listen to readings from Jane Austen’s novels, poems, and prayers in the Halifax Public Gardens yesterday. Happy 250th!

With thanks to Susan Kerslake for the photo.

I'm delighted with the cover of The Austens, which features a detail from an early nineteenth-century watercolour of Government House, Halifax, by J.E. Woolford. I love that the image also includes a glimpse of Halifax harbour.

One of my aunts was the first person to pre-order my first novel—in fact, she ordered it decades before I dreamt of writing a novel about Jane Austen and her family. When I was in high school, I used to invite friends and family to sign their names on the ceiling of my bedroom.

Sunny Sunday at St. Paul's and Point Pleasant Park, Halifax.

Open House at St. Paul’s, the oldest building in Halifax, Sat. June 7, 10am to 1pm. Come & learn about the parish past & present, including their role in relief efforts after the Halifax Explosion. And get a free postcard (while supplies last) with my photo of the famous Halifax Explosion Window.