Welcome to Canadian writer Wendy French's web site. You might want to peruse a chapter of her debut novel, sMothering. You can even order it online! You might wish to read her bio, or a synopsis of future work. It's all right here, waiting for you! You might feel like signing her guest-book. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can!

Can you dig it?

The paperback edition of After the Rice is available for pre-order right this second at all the usual spots, though it won't truly be "out" until April 1.

I rather like the new look, I must say...

The time is now!

"Full of It" is hot off the press and available at a bookstore near you, virtual or otherwise.

For the record, I had a wonderful time in New York. Highlights included a lunch date with my editor and publicist, an abundance of subway travel, a couple of shows (Tarzan, anyone?) and the tiniest hotel room on the face of the earth. The bed was approximately one foot off the floor and I had to grip a teetering TV stand to maintain my balance when making my way to the washroom. I felt like Gulliver.

I'm working on a couple of new writing projects at the moment and will be sure to keep you posted...

Has this been the worst lapse ever? Indeed it has!

Spring has sprung and summer is fast approaching, along with the release of Full of It at the end of June.

I just visited my hometown of Vancouver, B.C. for the North Shore Writer's Festival where I was on a chick lit panel at the West Van Memorial Library, along with fellow Canadians Susan Juby and Robyn Harding. The event was oodles o' fun and it was rather grand to be back on my old turf for a bit.

Up next is a trip to New York at the end of the month, where I'll visit my editor in the Flat Iron building (otherwise known as the office of The Daily Bugle, for any Spiderman fans out there) and partake in all things touristy.

More soon...

A new look?

The cover for Full of It is ready to roll, so I thought I'd post it. A step in a new direction, for sure, but I'm digging it!

A synopsis of the book is hiding in the "Recent Work" section, should you be interested...

Enjoying the break from monthly updates?

Okay, okay. I know need to stop using the word "monthly" to describe my sporadic bursts (though allowances should be made for the exaggerations of a fiction writer).

So, it's on to news, in the form of foreign language rights. I've just learned that sMothering and Going Coastal are going to be published in Russian! I'm tickled pinker than the sMothering cover by this development and I'll post both the Spanish and Russian covers when they... well, when they exist.

And on a personal note, I've just returned to Portland after two years of living on the Oregon Coast, and as much as I loved it out there, I'm delighted to be back in the Big Smoke.

I'll try to be better about updates, I swear...

New book?

Yes, After the Rice has hit the shelves, in all of its pale yellow-ness, and I've got some good news to share on the sMothering front. Spanish rights have just been sold, which means my long-awaited dream of flipping through my own book and not being able to read it will finally come to fruition!

As mentioned, I'm off to Colorado this month, and a couple of Canadian dates for After the Rice events are now posted in the Appearances section.

I contributed a short story to the anthology "Girl's Night Out", which will be available in Canada at the end of May or early June. Here's a sneak peek at the cover. Proceeds of book sales will go to War Child...

Good gravy, is it March already?

Indeed, it is, which means that After the Rice will be available next month! Hard to believe, but there it is. I'll be having a couple of events in Washington and Oregon to promote the book in April, followed by some activity in my hometown of Vancouver BC and Victoria in early May, and will add info to the Appearances section shortly. Woo-hoo! I'm on the road again.

I'll also be at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs in late April, and looking forward to some fun, frolic and snow there (details in the Appearances section right this minute!)

On a personal note, I can't resist posting a photo from a recent trip to Mexico with my old college roommate. Here I am, a couple of margaritas to the wind, with the teeniest mariachi I've ever seen. Quite a trip.

Until next time...

I had a fun-filled visit to Long Beach, California last month, where I was all a-twitter because Jack Klugman and I were both guests at an author feast. I was there to promote "After the Rice" to independent booksellers, and he was there for "Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship". Too excited to contain myself (or the ten-year-old "Quincy" fan within), I tracked the poor man down between courses and asked him to pose for a photo. He was very kind and even managed to look genuinely pleased to be with me, the stuttering goon he'd met mere seconds earlier. Now that's acting!

On the update front, I'll be at the Write on the Beach conference in Ocean Shores, Washington in January. Details are in the Appearances section.

Until next month...

Monthly journal? Who am I kidding?

Okay, I missed September, but that doesn't mean nothing happened. I had a fabulous time at the PNBA author feast in Portland. The event began with twenty authors signing 26,000 copies of their newest books (okay, it was only 120 copies, but it felt like much more), then we dined together. In what I can only call a wise move, I opted for the safety of a chicken entree, because I couldn't wrap my wee brain around the concept of "vegan Wellington". (Good gravy! What will they think of next?) The chatter was most entertaining, as my table included "Goosebumps" author RL Stine and my pals Jennie Shortridge ("Eating Heaven") and April Henry ("Shock Point"), among others. After we'd eaten (and enjoyed a lively debate about the expression "panties in a twist" and its British counterpart, "knickers in a knot"), independent bookstore owners and employees filled the banquet hall, and we authors (yes, I still feel like a fraud calling myself one) spent twenty minutes per table talking about our books and ourselves. It was rather like speed dating, right down to my sweaty palms and panicked commentary.

I'm off to another author feast this very month, in Long Beach, CA (see Appearances/Events for details), where I'm supposed to be charming (a taller order than the mashed potato tower I marveled over on the Walmart tour).

Lastly (for now!), I'm finally going to share the "After the Rice" cover. I'm digging it, and I hope you do too...

Jet-setting?

Kind of. I'm a little behind on the "monthly" update, due to some travels, houseguests, and even some writing adventures. I was the luncheon speaker at the Willamette Writer's Conference in Portland earlier this month, which was loads o' fun, despite my frayed nerves and limited appetite. Thanks to my hosts for a lovely time.

And how zany is this? I've just returned from a whirlwind tour of the Columbus, Ohio area, where myself and 14 other authors spent our evenings in swish restaurants which were far too hip, hep and happening for the likes of me (though I did enjoy the girly-drinks), our nights in a swank hotel with turndown service and chocolates on the pillow, and our days. . .in Walmart stores. Yes indeed, we traveled by tour bus from one store to the next, signing books and telling tales from the publishing trenches. It was a fun and hilarious week (though the only male writer on the trip may disagree - I doubt the shrill tones and giddy laughter of a busload of women isn't every man's dream vacation) and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'll post a couple of photos for your amusement.

Myself and Julia London (who is a hoot and a half) sipping what were not our first cocktails of the evening.

Ivy Larson and Cherry Adair bonding in Walmart.

Trouble. Myself, Julia and Erin McCarthy working the table.

It's due to be September next week, so I'll leave off until then.

Toodles, eh...

Am I a hob-knobbing elbow rubber? Well, no. But I did have a wonderful time as a faculty member at the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference this month, and even received an invitation to return next year. Woo-hoo, I'll be there! It was a week of chit chatting with delightful attendees and a terrific staff, hearing some great writing, and thoroughly enjoying evening speakers including Fannie Flagg and Jane Smiley. The week also included a bit of time travel, as I returned to a dorm life much like the one I left behind in Victoria many, many moons ago. In Santa Barbara, the beds were built to sit high above the floor, leaving room to store eighteen friends and family members or a couple of chest freezers beneath. Unfortunately, my room was not equipped with a bedside lamp, which meant that every night I had to flip the light switch near the door and run blindly across the room, then leap into the air with the vague hope of hitting mattress rather than cinderblock wall. No major injuries, thank you very much. Dorm living also meant spending time in the cafeteria, but a "Workshop Leader" badge seemed to grant me something akin to temporary popularity, as folks were willing to share a meal and talk writing, rather than leaving me to grip my tray at the front of the room, searching for a friendly table. Sadly, I've discovered that the badge has no power off campus, and in fact it doesn't mean jack in airports, grocery stores, or even my own living room. In other news, I've been invited back to the PNBA trade show in Portland this September. I had a lovely time last year, meeting booksellers and scoping stacks upon stacks of soon-to-be-published books. This year I will be part of the Author Feast. Mmm, authors! (details in the Appearances section)

I've been invited?

Indeed, I have! Penguin Canada will be publishing a collection of short stories in 2006 and I'm a contributor. I'm thrilled to bits at the opportunity, as there are some great folks involved and proceeds of book sales will go to War Child. This should be an interesting writing experience t'boot, since short stories require a little something called "a point" and I am better versed in the meandering ways of the rambler.

Then again, if this very entry is any indication, perhaps I do have the power to be concise...

Why not judge a book by its cover?

I've seen my future, and it is yellow. Yes, Ed Fotheringham has worked some more of his artistic magic for the cover of After the Rice. It's darn tootin' terrific, and I'll post it when I have the official go-ahead. I've finished up the final revisions, and it's only a matter of 26,000 months before the book hits the shelves (well, 12 months, anyway).

And now that summer is on the brink of arriving, I'm looking forward to being part of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference in June and the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland in August (details in the Appearances/Events section).

So, it's back to work on the next book, which is currently only about 100 pages long. It's called Full of It, a tale of love, taxidermy, and other natural disasters. Yes, indeed, I'm having fun with it.

Until next time, it's back to clickety-clacking away...

What on earth happened to February?

No, I don't mean my journal entry, which is late. I mean the month itself. What has always felt like the longest 28 days (to me, anyway) slipped by like I was a waitress and it was pulling the ultimate dine and dash. What gives?

Anyhoo, I had a lovely month that included a trip to my former home of Victoria, BC, where literally begging folks to attend my reading paid off in spades. Many thanks to all who appeared! While in town, I spoke at a bookseller's luncheon, received a parking ticket, suffered windburn, and managed to visit a few old haunts. I even stopped in at a large grocery store and offered to sign the copies of my books they had on their shelves - an offer that was met with a rather incredulous "If you have time!" from the clerk. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the next stop on my high-falutin' author schedule was the Denny's around the corner - for lunch. Oh yeah, I had time.

After Victoria, I was off to a writer's conference in San Diego, feeling like a real jet-setter. The weekend proved to be delightful - the attendees were friendly, the staff was lovely, and my room was pretty darn swish. Following a fabulous banquet, I had my first ever turn as an evening speaker, which was utterly terrifying. Believe it or not, I survived without falling from the podium or having a seizure. In other words, a success.

Apparently, February had gone a bit too well, so it was time to fall off Cloud 9 and land on Cloud 2 - ending the month with a reading for an audience of no one beyond my husband, the bookstore owner and her gal-pal. All was not lost, however, as the four of us managed to swindle an unsuspecting customer into buying a copy of sMothering without the threat of violence.

Book promotion. You've gotta love it...

Will this ever get easier?

Sweaty palms, a herd of butterflies, and nervous twitching. Yes, touring for Going Coastal proved to be as much of a challenge as promoting sMothering, minus the ill-timed lattes. Huge thanks to those of you who ventured out to cheer me on! In addition to the bookstore events, I spoke at a number of high schools, and while a dear friend told me not to worry, that "teenagers are just people with fangs and acne", it turned out that I didn't need the reassurance. In fact, I had a lovely time talking with the kids. Sorry, I mean young people. (Young adults? Youths?) Well, you know what I mean. The experience was rather delightful and there may be more school appearances on the horizon.

Now that I've safely returned home, After the Rice is trucking along, with a confirmed publication date of April, 2006. Just around the corner! (Well, a corner on another continent, perhaps.)

New events are now posted in the Appearances section. Feel free to take a peek...

Got pink?

Yes, sMothering is officially out in paperback, available at bookstores, grocery stores, airports, etc. That little pink beast is just about everywhere, begging to be shoved into Christmas stockings, handed over for Hannukah or, according to the angry character who reviewed me on Amazon.com, used to line birdcages. (I'm compelled to ask: If they hated the book as much as they say, isn't that animal cruelty?)

At the moment, I'm preparing myself to promote Going Coastal, beginning in January (see the Appearances section for scheduled events). Gearing up for a wee tour, it's hard to imagine surpassing the last one. Can I expect another batch of laryngitis? Will my beloved vehicle be violated once again? Might hundreds of shoppers order fancy coffees requiring foam in the middle of my readings? This time, could the Bookstore Baristas stage a revolt in my name? Only time (and I) will tell.

Stay tuned...

Pre-order? Did someone say pre-order?

Yes, the paperback versions of sMothering and Going Coastal are now available for pre-order at various online locations, not to mention your local bookstore and/or library.

For the Canadians among you (and those adventurous enough to make that treacherous border crossing), I'm going to be at the Surrey International Writer's Conference in Surrey, B.C. on Friday, October 22nd. It would be grand to see you there! Details are in the "Events" section.

Now, I'd better scoot. The tide is on the way out and my guy and I are heading south a little ways to dig for clams. Yes, I'm serious...

I'm running behind again. So much for a monthly journal!

For those of you in the book trade, I'll be appearing on a panel and an autograph table at the PNBA Fall Trade Show on September 10th. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

As the rest of you, thanks so much for your lovely e-mails, not to mention your requests for more books! I'm in the midst of revising After the Rice (which has a tentative publication date of April, 2006 – light years from now! Believe it or not, there's already been film interest, and I'll keep you posted on that front, for sure.) sMothering will be out in paperback this December at a cheap and sassy $6.99, and Going Coastal is right on schedule for a January, 2005 release. The wheels are turning.

On a more personal note: As of July, my fella and I have literally gone coastal, leaving Portland behind in favor of new small town digs on the Washington coast. We're loving it, from the locals and scenery right down to the fish n'chips. And don't get me started on the chowder...

Yes, the cover for Going Coastal is in my hot little hands, so I figured I'd share the view. The book will be in stores next January. It's going to be published in trade paperback format, which is a little easier on the old pocketbook, not to mention the wrists.

For those of you in Canada, you can hear me chattering away in an interview on CBC Radio's "North by Northwest" on Sunday May 9th (Mother's Day!) between 7:12-7:30a.m. (otherwise known as ungodly o'clock). Here's hoping I don't sound like a kook on the air.

Be nice to your mums this weekend...

sMothering is doing very well on the library scene, and I'm thrilled to report it has even made some "Librarian's Choice" lists in various parts of Canada and the US. I've been receiving e-mails about the book from readers (which is an excellent surprise), and doing my best to respond to all of them as quickly as possible. Thanks so much for taking the time to write, folks!

My second novel, Going Coastal will be available in hardcover in January, 2005 (sMothering will come out in paperback at the same time). The book jacket is in the works, and I'm rather anxious for a peek. We're using the same artist (Edwin Fotheringham, who did a lovely job on sMothering, despite my intense fear of pink) and all I know right now is that Going Coastal will be blue. The rest of the details remain a mystery...

After the Rice doesn't have a publication date just yet, but I'll post that info when I've got it. I'm currently keeping busy by clickety-clacking away on a new book called Full of It, laughing at my own jokes, then chastising myself for doing so. I'm not one to plot in advance, (which is probably a bad idea, like baking bread without a recipe) so I'll just cross my fingers and hope it all turns out okay in the end.

Until next time...

Let's start with an update. sMothering was published in November, 2003, and I immediately embarked on a wild and woolly book tour/road trip through Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Highlights included a big batch of laryngitis, receptive audiences (including a transient character in Seattle who urged me to keep on reading after the first chapter, just so he could stay out of the rain), a CBC radio interview (North by Northwest - air date will be posted when I know it), and in my very own hometown of Vancouver BC, my car was broken into by hooligans who stole an advance copy of the book! (This would be flattering if it wasn't an accident. The book just happened to be inside the bag they filched.)

In the meantime, if you'd like to recommend the book to friends, family, or strangers on the street, it's on sale dirt cheap at Amazon.com (60% off, for crying out loud!)

Thanks for stopping by...