Cathy Marie Buchanan marks anniversary

Cathy Marie Buchanan’s Facebook post this week celebrating the thirteenth anniversary of becoming a published author brought back warm memories for me.

It was during her book signing tour for The Day the Falls Stood Still when she popped into a small local library on an escorted trek around the city. During the author’s impromptu visit, the librarian mentioned my manuscript!

I was at the stage of giving up. Discouraged by query rejections, I was ready to burn the manuscript, convinced I’d never find an agent or publisher. This librarian, who had generously agreed to read my manuscript, felt moved by my novel and must have still been under its spell. Whatever she told the New York Best Selling Author prompted Cathy Buchanan to hand over her phone number with instructions for me to call her. Can you believe it??

Of course I phoned, but not before rushing out to purchase her book. I read it thoroughly and appreciatively, gulped, and dialled her number. During our thirty minute conversation, she offered

Old Broad Road and On The Rock – Inside Scoop

The novels Old Broad Road and On The Rock are written in First Person Point of View. This might account for why some readers associate the protagonist Sylvia Kramer with me, being the author, and her life with mine. But this series is fiction and not based on any drama or characters in my own personal world.

Here are my answers to some of the most frequently asked questions: 

Q: Why was it important for your main character to share your love of cooking?

(throat clearing) I love eating, but cooking…not so much. It’s true that in both Old Broad Road and On The Rock, Sylvia Kramer effortlessly throws together spectacularly delicious meals. One reviewer even warned people not to read these books on an empty stomach. I love it! If you were salivating reading about the meals, imagine how it felt doing the research. Of course, I’d sampled many of the Newfoundland and Labrador delicacies during my vacation there.

Q: How long did you live in Newfoundland?

I’ve never lived in Newfoundland. It was through my several pleasurable vacations in the province that I was inspired to write Old Broad Road and subsequently On The Rock. As a sidenote, I'd never visited Chapel's Cove, NL, which is the setting of these books, until after I'd written them. I'll always remember how I felt standing on Sylvia's beach for the first time. It was a profound and magical moment.

Q: Do you have tattoos?