Thank you for all the kind comments and emails about the new dolls, and thank you of course to all who adopted them - they are now on their way to their new homes in Canada, the US, France and - for the first time - Norway. I love thinking of the dollies living in places in the world I've never seen.
Now for a Big Pimpin' edition of the Black-Eyed Suzie blog. I'm super-excited about the release of my friend Tom Ryan's first book, Way to Go, from Orca Book Publishers. Woot! Congratulations, Tommy! I'm so proud of you!! Tom's family are our neighbours in Cape Breton. His parents are good friends of ours, and Tom is one of my favourite people. We have spent many nights driving around dirt roads trying to amuse ourselves. Our houses are connected by a long, wooded dirt road, and at the risk of sounding all sentimental and nostalgic, there is even a shortcut we can take through the woods to get to one another's houses.
Tom lives in BC now, but I keep tabs on him through his very well-written and funny blog, Tom Wrote That; it even has these very fancy, new-fangled things called 'vlogs' (musings via video) that I'm very impressed by. His book is currently available on Amazon and IndieBound. Though I usually order books online, I'm going to go to an actual bookstore this weekend and buy a copy because I feel like this is an event worthy of traveling beyond the boundaries of my sleepy little neighbourhood. So, while I haven't read it yet, here are a couple of glowing reviews:
"This book is a truly life-changing one. It will make you question your views and the way you inflict them on others." (YALSA YA Galley Teen Review )
"A very well done book about a front-burner topic, it makes a fine addition to the 'I think I'm gay' genre. Danny is very believable, and unlike so many 'issue' novels, the supporting characters are fully realized and multi-dimensional...A lot of kids will benefit from reading it...It's a story that absolutely needs to be told, and the author's approach succeeds beautifully. Excellent." (John Wetterholt Follett Library Resources )
Can't wait til you're back East, Tommy dear!