Your Help Is Needed!

Well.

I’ve been planning for a while to crank the engine on the blog again, but I have to say, today’s story is NOT what I’d expected to be writing about. This week, in fact, I’ve been working on an open letter, expressing horror and outrage at events unfolding in the world around us, but I need to save that for another day. Instead, I’m going to talk about an issue a little closer to home.

Though not completely unrelated.

My friend, the much beloved writer, artist and teacher Lee Edward Födi, has been caught up [along with several other Canadian families] in a bureaucratic mixup that has trapped his family along with his new baby son, in Japan.

Here’s his story:

Lee here.

We are one of five Canadian families that have been stranded here in Japan with the children we are in the process of adopting because the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decided to delay issuance of permanent residence visas to the babies being adopted in Japan while they engage in a lengthy investigation that has no defined end date.

Why?

We only learned Thursday of last week that the source of the investigation into Japanese adoptions came from a US State Department notice, which outlines new requirements for the US with regard to inter country adoptions. US immigration laws are starkly different from Canadian immigration laws. The information on the website is merely a change in interpretation of US immigration laws under the current Trump administration. To date, the IRCC has not provided the five families, or our legal counsel, with any other documents or legal opinions that undermine the process we have taken. On the contrary, we have provided numerous legal opinions based on Canadian, BC, and Japanese law, which support the process we have taken.

We have followed the same process that has been in place for ten years. The adoptions are in accordance with BC’s adoption laws and each family received a letter of approval from the British Columbia Adoption Branch before we travelled to Japan.  

We have also met all of the federal requirements in order to be issued the visa. The federal government has stopped issuing the visas, without advance notice to our families, who relied on an approved process.

Simply put, we traveled to Japan with love in our hearts, to give homes to five children. Each of us came to the adoption journey from a different starting point, but we have all arrived at the same destination, not only geographically, but emotionally. Between the period of late April and mid-May, our five families travelled to Tokyo, Japan, and took care and custody of our children within one day of arriving.

For us, these are not our children to be adopted: they are simply our children. Like any other Canadian family, we love them deeply. We have spent weeks bonding with them, nurturing them, waking at all hours to feed them, burp them, change them. We have taken them for medical appointments. We have taken them for immunizations. We have taken them for long walks through the park. We have read to them, sang to them, soothed them.

We have done all of these things in Tokyo, Japan. It is a beautiful city in a wonderful, welcoming country. But it is not our home. We want to spend Canada Day with our children in Canada.

The pressure grows with each day, financially, emotionally, physically, and relationally. Worst of all, there is no end in sight. The IRCC seems content to watch us bleed out, providing us with no timeline for resolution. In their own words, our children are merely “prospective”—it’s as if, from their point of view, as if our babies don’t really exist.

We appreciate everyone’s support during this difficult time. If you want to help us and the four other Canadian families, you can contact the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with the information that appears below. We also ask that you forward our email to anyone that you think will be willing to help, asking them to also email the Minister. We want to bombard the Minister’s office with our story.

Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

House of Commons

Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6

Minister@cic.gc.ca

and

Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca

Telephone: 613-954-1064

When emailing, please copy Justin Trudeau:
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca

You may also want to copy your MP. You can find out your MP’s email with this link:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/parliamentarians/en/constituencies/FindMP

You can use the text below, but please feel free to personalize and customize it, especially to add your own opinions on the matter or if you want to specifically reference us.

Subject Line: Outraged to learn that 5 Canadian families have been stranded in Japan after the IRCC suspends visa issuance in reference to US policy

To the Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen,

I am writing as a concerned Canadian citizen, outraged and alarmed to learn that five Canadian families have been stranded in Tokyo, Japan, while bureaucrats in your department have delayed issuance of permanent residence visas to the babies they are in the process of adopting because of a decision to take authority from the US Department of State website.

Why is the Canadian government looking to the United States for guidance on our own immigration laws and policies? This alarming decision has trapped five Canadian families in a foreign country, casting them into ongoing uncertainty AFTER they have received custody of their children.

I understand that the families have done everything in accordance with Canadian, British Columbia, and Japanese laws. They undertook this journey in good faith and conscience, following a prescribed system that has been in place for 10 years and for dozens of adoptions from Japan into Canada. They completed a rigorous program with a registered BC adoption agency and did not circumvent any system, regulation, or process. Each of the families received a letter of approval from the British Columbia Adoption Branch for their specific child to come to BC before they left for Japan. The only missing piece is their permanent residence visa for their child.

Without the visas, the five families are forced to remain in Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world, being drained financially and emotionally—and there is no end in sight.

These families have spent the last several weeks nurturing and bonding with the babies who would have otherwise ended up in state care. It seems cruel and callous to prevent them from coming home. What should be a joyous time of sharing a new addition to the family with friends and relatives has been inverted into a crisis situation.

There are children involved in this situation—babies all under the age of four months—and yet they are being treated as mere pieces of paper. Case files. The treatment of these five Canadian families—and their babies—seems counter to every value purported to be so important to the Canadian government.

This process had not been in the best interest of the children and I urge you to issue the visas and bring them home.

Sincerely,

Your name and address

 

kc again.

Lee and Marcie and the other families have been working for weeks now, and have reached a point where, even after meeting every requirement, there is still ZERO forward motion from our government. This week, here at home, Canadians have been expressing shock and horror at the treatment of the children of refugees at the hands of the American government. The idea that these American policies may also be having fallout on the lives of these Canadian families is astonishing and terrible. And, unlike American legislation, we can do something about this. In the weeks and months ahead, I’m going to be talking about some of the other ways Canada and Canadians have failed our own citizens. But today?

I’m asking you for your help. For my friends, and their new baby Hiro. And for their friends. Let’s send up a chorus to let the government know this is an issue we care about. Let’s bring these families home for Canada Day.

You can see further coverage here:

CBC British Columbia

Global News

YouTube: The National

Lee Edward Födi’s’s Blog

Lee’s Facebook Page

Thanks for reading this far, and for any help and hope you can offer.

~kc

Popping in here to add more links.

CTV [right at the top of the newscast]

The Province [print and video]

To reiterate: A change in AMERICAN policy should not dictate Canadian actions.

ISSUE THE VISAS!

#SiWC17 — Start Your Engines!

Today’s an exciting day for all of us involved in the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. Registration opens at noon — and it is CRAY-ZEE!!! I’ve been involved in this conference since <koff> before the turn of the century, and next to the conference itself, this is my favourite day of the year.

The brilliant, best-selling Jasper Fforde gives writing advice to an attendee.

If you are a writer and you haven’t attended yet…why NOT? It’s the best professional development you’ll find anywhere, and you get a LOT of bang for your buck. FIFTY EIGHT presenters this year– writers, agents, editors, poets, playwrights, social media experts — all prepared to give up their secrets.

[If you ask, I’ll even show you my scars! I will be, of course, also open to taking money to NOT show them…]

Full details are at siwc.ca — presenters, program, costs — everything you need to know. Registration starts at 12 sharp, Pacific Standard Time. We fully expect to sell out this year, but just so you know — last year’s prices are locked in for 4 days only. After this week, our regular early-bird pricing goes into effect.

Snow White and SteamPunk Cinderella flank their Steamy Godmother at last year’s Friday banquet.

And if you know a person who identifies as a diverse writer — we offer a scholarship! We also do our best to invite young writers to come at a reduced rate on the Friday of the conference [a province-wide pro-d day, carefully timed!] AND offer scholarships for young writers, too.

It’s all on the site at siwc.ca. See you online this afternoon — and at the conference in October!

 

More soon…

 

~kc

Confession time…

Okay here goes.

A week ago today, while on a hike up the mountain as a part of my broken-leg in rehab, I turned my back on my god of war. I have since come to regret this action.

This is Tyr. You’ve met him before. Ten months old, just under 90 pounds, some growing to do yet.

On that bright, sunny, Monday last, Tyr, who had been frolicking in the bushes, suddenly decided to join his brothers Silas and Puck, and launched himself at full speed down the side of the mountain.  Unfortunately,  I stood between Tyr and his puppy brothers.

This didn’t bother him at all.  Why dodge when you can charge right through?

I will spare you a look at my hideously broken arm, as some things can never be unseen. Instead, I’ll provide this photo as proof that, a week later and even with Fat Bastard fingers, I can still hold a pen.

Life as a writer goes on!

2017 has brought me a plate, five screws and a tight rope in my right ankle, and now plate and screws in my right wrist. I console myself with the fact that my surgeon assures me my bone density is fine. My klutziness, however, appears to be off the charts.  At worst, I plan to write it off as an excessive bonding experience with my brilliant writer friends Susanna Kearsley and Elizabeth Boyle, [who may or may not be my sisters in calamity].

But that’s it, man. I am done suffering for my art.

See you in physio!

 

~kc

 

[Smart-assery aside, I do owe a vote of great thanks to my rescue crew, which in the end included dog-walk pal Magdalena K, my son Peter, American hikers Bob & Hannah, paramedics Connor & Dave, and not one, but TWO movie-site supervisors who happened by. Only in the wilds of BC… Thank you one and all!!]

 

 

 

 

Solace Island celebration!

It’s May 1st — we’ve made it! The long winter is behind us, and it’s time to run off to an island and have a little fun. And have I got the perfect island for you!

SOLACE ISLAND is the debut novel by romance author Sara Flynn. But let me let you in on a little secret. Sara Flynn is the alter-ego of a writer who loves romance, but has never written one before now. To celebrate the launch of the new book, we had a chat about it, where all — except plot spoilers, of course — will be revealed. AND — stay tuned, ’cause we’re giving a copy away at the end to one lucky reader!

kc: Welcome Sara! Congratulations on the publication of your DEBUT romance novel! How does it feel to have this new book baby out in the world?

SF: It’s a mix. Excitement, nerves. Hoping people like it and that SOLACE ISLAND finds its audience. Also, a sense that I’m stepping onto sacred ground, as I have been an avid romance reader for years.

kc: You’ve had some AMAZING feedback already, including a starred review from the Library Journal and a glowing endorsement from Jayne Ann Krentz. Were you expecting this kind of response?

SF: Absolutely not. What a thrill it was when I heard that Library Journal had given SOLACE ISLAND a starred review! I had hoped, that if I was lucky, maybe Nancy Berland, publicist extraordinaire, would be able to convince a blogger friend or two to review my book. Never imagined Library Journal would review it, let alone give it a starred review!

And then Cissy Harley who conceived of and runs the online romance community, Writerspace, built a beautiful author website for me. BUT that wasn’t all. Out of the kindness of her heart, Cissy gave my novel to the one-and-only New York Times best-selling author Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle!!! Who BLURBED my book! Holy cow. I was in a giddy stupor when I found out. Was blown away by her kindness. You see, I ADORE her writing. Have been reading her for years. I never, ever imagined in my wildest dreams that she would ever read anything I’d written, let alone BLURB it! I felt as though I’d accidentally stepped into an alternate universe where anything and everything is possible. Magical. One of the best days of my life.

kc: Well, it’s totally deserved. I am about half-way through the book now, and loving it. SOLACE ISLAND is a mystery and a romance all rolled up into one. What took you in this direction?

SF: I knew I wanted to write a romance. I read a lot of different romance genres. Really enjoy both romantic suspense, romance and regency romance. When I committed to writing a romance novel, romantic suspense is what came out.

I found I really enjoying writing contemporary romantic suspense. It feels like what I was meant to do, and I’m now working on the second novel in the series, SOLACE STOLEN.

I was wondering, kc, if you found that true as well when you wrote your Best-selling novel, FINDING FRASER? We both had written different types of fiction, before. And yet, once I started writing Solace Island, it was a sense of coming home. Like this was the type of fiction I was meant to write.

kc: Haha! Well, you know it’s true. I had a ball writing FINDING FRASER, and when it did so well, I was completely thrilled, since it was a new genre for me, too. But back to SOLACE ISLAND. What’s the most compelling part of the story for you? 

SF: For me, I like romantic suspense novels that have a warmth to them as well. So that’s what I tried to do with Solace Island. I like walking the tightrope of cozy with a bit of humor. All the while the suspense element is keeping you slightly on edge. And then of course it is romance so I get to throw in a bit of spice for good measure.

I like how the relationship develops between Maggie and Luke, but am equally fond of the closeness between the two sisters, how they love and look out for each other.

kc: Romance, suspense and humour! You’ve got it all. [I like to think there’s a little suspense happening in this very interview, too. You did, after all, hint at writing in another genre before…]. So tell me, how was the writing process for this story? Easy, tough, lots of research…? Did one element of the story — either the mystery, the romance — come more easily than the rest? 

SF: I’ve been reading romance novels since high school, so I know what I like my romance novels to contain. The story flew out. Fastest first draft I’ve ever done. However, I wanted it to be good, and eight more drafts were done before I felt satisfied with it. I was very lucky to have Nancy Berland on my side, because not only does she do PR but she had many romance novels of her own published. She was such a blessing for me. She knows the romance do’s and don’ts inside and out, and went through my manuscript slashing and burning. Her suggestions and comments made my novel a million times better.

kc: Okay, I’m going to give our readers a little hint, here. I happen to know you’ve had a bit of experience living on an island, yourself. Does the setting of SOLACE ISLAND reflect any special places in particular, or does it spring purely from your imagination?

SF: Hee … hee … hee … Well, they always say, write what you know!

kc: Indeed they do. Though just who are ‘they’ anyway? On that note, let’s talk about inspiration. Was there something special that inspired you to write this story?

SF: I have attempted to write romance a couple of times, but never got past the first couple chapters. Nothing ever felt good enough. My critic yardstick was super-high because I read so much romance.

kc: Who are your favorite authors? Do you read to find your inspiration?

SF: I never read romance for inspiration. More because I just really enjoy the writing, the stories, knowing that even when bad things happen, everything will turn out Happy Ever After.

As far as favorite authors, clearly, I love Jayne Ann Krentz! And now, because of her kindness to me, an absolute stranger, I love her even more. I’m pretty sure I’ve read everything she’s ever written as Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle. I just finished reading her most recent novel WHEN ALL THE GIRLS HAVE GONE. Really enjoyed it! I’ve read and loved Lisa Kleypas, both her modern and regency, Eloisa James, Karen Hawkins, Elizabeth Boyle, Lorraine Heath and a handful of others.

kc: Sara Flynn is the pen-name you’ve taken on for this story. Has it been fun and freeing to write under another name?

SF: Absolutely. One hundred percent! I’d made several stabs at writing romance. People always say, you should write what you read. But when I sat down to write, other types of books emerged. Then, last spring, I came up with the pen name, Sara Flynn. It opened something that had been blocked inside and words started flowing out.

kc: Do you have any plans to go out in the world to promote the book in person? Is there a way for your readers to get a signed copy?

SF: Yes! I am going to be debuting SOLACE ISLAND at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Atlanta in the beginning of May and will be signing at the RT Book Fair, May 6, 2017, from 11AM-2:00PM. I’m in the process of looking into setting up media in New York and LA. I might see about going to Toronto as well. I also will be attending SIWC this Fall to help ring in their 25th Anniversary, and will be signing at their Book Fair as well, along with you, kc dyer! Hurrah!

kc: And then your secret identity will truly be out of the bag! Okay, let’s talk about the sequel. Without giving away too many details, can you tell us a bit about what’s coming next for the denizens of SOLACE ISLAND? 

SF: The sequel, SOLACE STOLEN, has had four false starts where I get to around page sixty and then go, oh phooey, this isn’t right and throw it all out. I am on my fifth attempt and it is going well, but I haven’t gotten past the resistance wall yet, so we shall see.

kc: Well, as a fan of your other books, I think it’s time to let your secret identity out of the bag. What’s next for you? Are there other Meg Tilly and Sara Flynn books in your future? 

SF: I have a Meg Tilly commercial women’s fiction manuscript that I need to send out. I love this project and have been working on it off and on for around 12 years. And Solace Stolen, of course. I also can be seen in the Netflix movie, War Machine starring Brad Pitt that will be released May 26th. I saw a screening of it and was very impressed with everyone’s work in the film. It’s really wonderful. And what’s next for you, kc? When we last spoke you mentioned you were doing the finishing touches on a new novel. I’d like to know more.

kc: Hahahaha. Okay, so that’s an interesting little tidbit. I can’t wait to see you on the screen again! As for me, I’m still at the ‘dark and mysterious’ stage of this new manuscript. I have an epic middle grade fantasy in my agent’s hands right now, as well. No rest for the wicked, eh? Before we finish, anything else you’d care to share about ‘SOLACE ISLAND’? Where can we find you on-line?

SF: Well, I hope all you romantic suspense readers out there love my new offering! I had so much fun writing it.  You can find me on twitter @saraflynromance or @meggamonstah and my new website is: www.saraflynn.com. My old website that I don’t really post on anymore but has lots of stuff on my other books, tasty recipes and old blog postings is: http://www.officialmegtilly.com

kc: Thank you so much for sharing the excitement of launch day with us, Sara [aka Meg!] I hope everyone loves your new book as much as I do! I know you’re en route to Romantic Times today, but I hope you have time to celebrate. Cake! Confetti! Champagne!

And for you, dear reader, we have a wee contest. If you’d like to win a hardcover copy of Sara Flynn’s debut novel SOLACE ISLAND, either leave a comment on this post, or tweet using #SolaceIsland. You’ll have to answer a skill-testing question, just to make sure you’ve been paying attention here. How about the title of Meg’s new Netflicks movie, in which Brad Pitt is lucky enough to be her co-star?  I’ll draw and announce a winner this Friday, May 5th. Go for it!

And, as always,

More soon…

 

~kc

 

 

 

Mobility Update

Quick update: bionic leg on the mend. Seven weeks post-break, [six post-surgery] and I expect to get the all-clear from the surgeon this week to progress to physio. I’ve spent the down-time sleeping more than usual, writing less than usual [but still writing], reading, and taking French lessons. But as soon as the all-clear sounds, I’m hoping for back to business-as-usual. [Apart from my daily run, which apparently is still at least seven months away.]

I see a lot of walking in my future…

In the meantime, in kc dyer news, I’ve got a few events lined up locally, in case you’d like to come out and say hello or get a book signed.

On April 4th, I’ll be at the New West Library reading and chatting. FB event is HERE.

And later in April, I’ve got at least two bookstores lined up for ‘Authors for Indies’ day. I missed this very special day last year because I was in Iceland, so I’m super-stoked to take part this year.

More deets once the timing and locations are set in stone. I can tell you that Authors for Indies day is April 29th this year, and every independant bookstore in the province should have a local author or two to chat with. A fun way to meet writers in person and help out our independant bookstores! See you there?

More soon…

Hop-along kc update and a PSA for puppy owners

Broken leg, kc-stylez

Update first:

Breaking a leg is no fun. I do not recommend it, particularly when surgery is involved. Last Friday I became the proud new possessor of a plate, several screws and some kind of trapeze-thingy tying my broken fibula together. The surgery was not too bad, the drugs afterward were awful, but I’ve made it through.

Now that my time under the knife is over, I am starting to feel more like myself again. I was able to work yesterday for the first time, although it turned out to be a chaotic day. Here’s where we get to the public service announcement.

I’ve had an asthma resurgence since the accident, and the other day when I crutched off to the bathroom, my 7-month old puppy Tyr snuck up and stole my inhaler off my desk. By the time I got back, he’d chewed it up and poisoned himself. His heart immediately began racing [200 b/m], but luckily we got to him before any other symptoms arose. We called in the troops and rushed him to Animal Emerg in the city, and after early intervention and an overnight stay, he’s fine now.

Snoozing safe at home.

Tyr [named for the Icelandic God of War] is the Problem Child of the family, and we are forever removing horrifying things from his mouth. Dead animals, garbage, anything he can wrap his lips around. Today alone, I have had to crutch after him to regain my pen case [full of fountain pens], and then later a 3″ rusty nail that he was trying his best to chew up and swallow. He is asleep as I type this, the only time I really feel he is safe. As a result, we are well-practiced at keeping most things out of his reach. I’ve had to puppy-proof my house WAY more extensively than I ever did for my children. My inhaler was under a cloth, behind my computer on my desk when he grabbed it. I had no idea he could even reach it.

I have since learned that ventolin apparently smells DELICIOUS to dogs and that salbutamol poisoning can kill a dog very quickly. Luckily we got our wee god of war into the vet in time, and have a happy ending. But please note — keep your inhalers well out of reach, because even if they can’t see them, they can smell them and for an opportunist like Tyr, that’s enough.

Lesson learned!

So, I guess the TL;DR of the story is — both kc and Tyr are home and safe. We send out thanks to all for the kind thoughts and wishes directed to us both!

More soon…

~kc

 

 

Winter has come…

It’s been quite a week. Lots of radical tweeting, supporting artists world-wide who are taking a stand to #resist the recent political surges in religious intolerance, mysogeny and homophobia. Lots of writing on projects new and old. Lots of waiting on a project out on submission.

You’d think that would be enough to keep me busy. But no, I found the time, last Saturday afternoon, to take a bad step in a snow-storm, and fold my leg in a Very Unnatural Manner between my Jeep and the stairs to my driveway.

The result?

One regular foot, one pink and purple potato foot.

Technically it is my leg that is broken — the distal fibula in a spiral fracture. Unfortunately, I also tore the corresponding ligament on the inner tibia, which means that even with a cast there isn’t enough support for my ankle. So, surgery tomorrow, six weeks no weight-bearing, and at least nine months before I can go for a run again. It’s my right ankle, so no driving.

I’ve spent the past few days phoning and emailing everyone I might have booked a meeting or a visit or a reading with, to let them know the sitch. But — if I missed you, email me, okay? We’ll work something out!

I’m pretty bummed about this, but in an effort not to wallow in the loss of my independance, I am focusing on the increased time I suddenly have to write and to read. I am so lucky in that I have lots of help from my family, and the puppies have a wonderful new dog walker. I’m safe and warm and well-fed and my eyes and typing fingers are still working. All is well. [Here’s a cosy puppy shot, to prove it…]

Three people in my wee village broke legs and ankles on the day I went down, and countless others in Vancouver. I mean, we all knew Winter Was Coming, but it’s like this year, the West Coast is standing in for the Stark family.

Be safe out there, everyone.

More soon!

 

~kc

 

Canadian Call to Action — Refugees

I have talked to so many people lately who are frightened and bewildered by the current political climate in North America and Europe. I feel the same way — shocked and lost and gobsmacked by the way things have unfolded in the US and the UK. I took heart, however, in the astonishing Women’s Marches held around the world last weekend. They have driven home for me an understanding of what like minds, working together, can accomplish.

To that end, in response to the recent heinous executive orders signed by President Trump, I have  just written a letter to my MP, and to the Prime Minister of Canada, imploring them to rescind the current ‘Canada-US Safe-Third Country Agreement’. This agreement, put into place in 2004, limits the ability of Canada to offer safe haven for refugees rejected by the United States.

You can contact your Member of Parliament by following THIS LINK. You can write  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2. You can call the office of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen, at (613) 954-1064.

In case you’d like a template to follow, here’s my letter to the Prime Minister. Feel free to use and share!

To the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau,

As a Canadian, I am writing to ask that your government immediately rescind the current Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, that we may welcome the refugees who are being abandoned by President Trump’s heinous executive order.

Tonight a mosque in Quebec City is paying the price of mindless hate.

Thank you for taking on this challenge. Historically, Canada has not always stood on the side of fairness and equality for all, but today we have the opportunity to lead by example. I am asking you to take this very important step.

Sincerely…*

Okay — hope this helps. These are dark times, my friends. We need to be kind, and help lift each other up.

More soon…

 

~kc

*Edited to add that the PM’s official title is the ‘Right Honourable’ and your MPs are ‘Honourable’.

 

Best Reads of 2016

Best Books of 2016

I feel like talking about books.

[Try not to fall over in a dead faint….]

I’m putting together a list of the books I’d like to find under the tree for Christmas, and it occurs to me I’m probably missing a bunch that I’d really like. I’ve started off with Zadie Smith, Ivan Coyote, Ami Mckay, Mary Roach and Joe Hill books on my list, but this is only the beginning.

So — if you had to recommend your favourite read of this past year, which would you choose? If you can tell me why [without giving too much away…] all the better!

I’m going to keep this post open until Christmas Eve, and let’s see what kind of a list we can generate, shall we? I’ll add in any suggestions from twitter and FB, too. I’ve read a TON of great books this year, and my goal is to increase my reading time in 2017. What should I read next?

Can’t wait to read your suggestions!

[Check the list below — adding new updates twice daily!]

 

~kc

The List:

Danyelle Drexler gives five shiny stars on twitter to Karma Brown’s COME AWAY WITH ME.

Annie Bee suggests Sara Donati’s ‘Into the Wilderness’ series. I haven’t read these books, but I met Sara many years ago, and I know they are very popular with Outlander fans.

On twitter, Tyner Gillies suggests MY SISTER’S GRAVE, by Robert Dugoni. I love Bob’s books — this one goes on the list for sure!

Shari Green, also on twitter suggests an historical YA by Ruta Sepetys called SALT TO THE SEA.

And from @flirtydirtybookblog, a suggestion for Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER, which I can most heartily recommend, as you might imagine. [My friend Emma sorta likes it, too…]

My sister Lisa loved ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, by Anthony Doerr. [I’ve read this one, but adding it here for those who may not yet have. It was lyrical and beautiful, but I have to say I was unhappy with the ending. No spoilers, but happy to discuss in a different forum!]

The wonderful Kathy Chung offers her most recent read: LETTERS FROM PARIS by Juliette Blackwell. I am eager to jump on the Blackwell bandwagon!

And Kaitlyn Till [@Bookful42] suggests UPROOTED by Naomi Novik. I LOVED the Temeraire stories — def this one is a keeper!

On Facebook, librarian Sarah Wethered suggested WITH MALICE by the marvellous Eileen Cook. I heartily concur! This twisty marvel will keep you guessing to the very end.

@KarenEmilson suggests Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. And Jillian Foster is very excited about Leisa Rayven’s ‘Starcrossed’ series!

My fellow lover of the macabre Pamela Patchet says she couldn’t put down YOU by Caroline Kepnes. And Val McDermid fan Mary Fangman suggested THE SKELETON ROAD. I read a ton of Val’s books this year — SO scary I had to stop for a while. Mary also enjoyed Louise Penny’s STILL LIFE.

And the great entries keep coming. See the comments below for lists of faves from Shari Green and Kathleen Ladislaus!

Thank you so much, everyone. Keep ’em coming, please! Ask your friends — let’s DO this thing!

 

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