I got the grant. Or a chunk of it, anyway. It's not ten million billion dollars. I won't be renting a 300-acre castle estate on the outskirts of Edinburgh to finish writing. You won't see me cruising the south shore in a stretch hummer. But it's here. And it helps. For the next couple of months, I can write full-time. With a bottle of champagne waiting on the old desk in the cabin, to be opened on November 15th.

Thank you, Nova Scotia. I can't promise this next book will make people want to visit. There's a lot of piracy here, after all. Not that the prairies fare much better. But culture? Check. There will be banjos.

I'm thrilled to be reading from The Dread Crew tomorrow, Saturday July 3rd, at Privateer Days in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, hosted by Snug Harbour Books. Not only because I get to meet readers and make Hector Gristle's accent out-loud, but because Privateer Days has a midway. I'm going to ride The Zipper ten times. And then I'll read. So if you're there, be patient. Don't laugh at my cross-eyes unless I'm pretending to be Famous Amos.

Privateers were pirates commissioned by the monarchy. Privateer, really, is the polite and sanctioned word for pirate. Which would make privateer a perfectly acceptable insult on the deck of the Barrow. I'll make a note of that for next time.

Will I see you tomorrow? Let's have tea and sweets, right there in those chairs. But only *after* I've ridden The Zipper ten times. I'm smart that way.

Well into the summer and fall, a new season of signings and readings and bookish events begins. Tomorrow I'm all over Halifax and Dartmouth, appearing at bookstores as a part of Atlantic Author Day. Catch me at the following locations tomorrow, Saturday, June 26, 2010:

10:00 - 11:00 AM -- Chapters Mic Mac Mall

11:15 - 12:15 PM -- Tattletales Bookstore, downtown Dartmouth

1:00 - 2:00 PM -- Chapters Bayers Lake

3:00 - 4:00 PM -- Woozles, downtown Halifax

I'm excited to be chatting with readers again. And I've finally given in to signing books with my actual signature rather than writing out my full name. It's a bit loopy and unintelligible. But writing my name makes me feel like I'm doodling on a social studies binder in grade seven. So if you've got a copy of The Dread Crew (or if you'd like one if the gorgeous new softcovers with the new Glossary of Terms), and you're not averse to loopy scrawls, show up tomorrow. I'd love to meet you.

+++

The next book turns its attention to Missy, you might already know. She travels the world and meets new and strange pirate crews, and becomes a spy herself, and encounters a mystery -- in that order. We'll still have Dreads, and Eric and Joe feature too. The deadline for her manuscript is this coming November, and up until a month ago, I was in the thick of it. I'd written one-quarter of the book, by measure of word count -- though I don't write in a linear way, and so those words hop and jump all over the story. But still. I was chugging along the underground of London, England... among the tall grasses of the prairies... in the Chief's office at the union's eastern seaboard headquarters... and way up in the northern forest around Hudson Bay.

Then June arrived, and writing stalled. And Penelope, my editor, kindly read a few snippets of Missy's story and said OMG HURRY UP and THIS ONE'S GONNA BE EVEN BETTER and IF I SEE ONE MORE @*#*%^!*!! BLOG POST FROM YOU I'M GONNA COME OVER THERE WITH MY OWN PIRATE CREW OF EDITORS AND WE'RE GOING TO WHIP YOU WITH BALES OF STINGING NETTLE UNTIL YOU GET BACK TO MISSY'S BOOK.

Penelope actually said the first two of three. She transmitted the third psychically.

I can feel Missy tapping on my shoulder. She agrees with Penelope, and she wants me to start writing again on July 1. And so I'll follow her, back up into the sky.

Or wait.

Maybe this is exactly what I *should* do. Promotion by exasperation. Take your money and never be seen again. This is the height of guerilla marketing. Complete and total distribution breakdown. Broken promises. Crickets and cobwebs. That kind of thing.

This book is the bad boy. You shouldn't want him. But you do. All he ever does is dick you around. He'll stand you up on a Saturday night. He makes you wild with wanting.

That's my strategy. Or maybe not.

overcoming supply glitches: how to get The Dread Crew in America

1)  Order from Amazon.ca. They ship to the States just the same as Amazon.com, often the very same day you order. Apparently, they still have a few hardcovers left.

2)  Order from Halifax's beloved Woozles. Call them at 1-800-966-0537. They ship internationally. They have four signed hardcovers left, and a bottomless supply of signed new edition softcovers (with added features like the Glossary of Terms).

3)  Order from Chapters.ca. They're yet another monolith, but they appear to have both hardcovers and softcovers. And they ship internationally.

4)  Order directly from our American distributor, Orca Books. Currently, they have hardcovers. Once those sell out, they'll have a steady supply of softcovers.

5)  Wait. The shipment of Dread Crew hardcovers has left Orca bound for the American warehouses of Amazon.com. It may take a few days (or weeks) for Amazon to stock it and relist the book for sale, but it will be straightened out eventually. At some point in the distant future. God knows when.

+++

This kerfuffle has done something great. The softcover, full-release of The Dread Crew in the States has been accelerated. There will be no more supply gaps, and no October release of the next batch of books. The tap has now been turned on full-blast -- once the hardcovers are gone, America will enjoy an immediate and steady supply of softcovers. In fact, the first shipment of softcovers has already gone south.

This means no more broken promises. Which means The Dread Crew is going to turn all reliable and stuff. No more bad boy. Pleated khakis. Button-down collar shirts. Penny loafers. That kind of thing. Which is, when it comes to the view from here, the very definition of fantastic to the extreme.

Never mind patience. Thanks to everyone for their impatience. It warms the heart.

(A more detailed update on book distribution is here -- trucks are moving. It's almost there.)

I just had to share with you the winner of an exclusive Dread Crew t-shirt, chosen randomly from comments last night: Freckle-Free Fiona the Fabulous Fairy Queen of Massachusetts. Her very own copy is warehouse-bound. She looks like a tough customer. I hope she digs it. I hope it makes her roary and delightfully difficult.

That Freckle-Free Fiona won a Dread Crew t-shirt is convincing me that all is right with the world today.

Be a pirate. Tell Amazon to stuff it. Well. Not so much stuff it. Tell Amazon to be cool. Tell them to fret not. Offer them some handmade bark jerky while they wait for shelves to stock, 'cause you've got the inside line on The Dread Crew's print and shipping schedule. Or you do now.

AMERICANS: GET RARE

The last few hundred of the hardcover first editions are enroute right now to our distributor's warehouse in the United States. From there, supply will be divvied up to the warehouses of Amazon, Barnes & Noble (listing to appear soon), and other retailers. And from there, those retailers will ship to you.

Keep your order, ignore warnings of 'unavailable', and watch for your hardcover in the next few weeks.

Supply of those precious hardcovers is limited, but in September, the softcover will be widely available in the US. If you'd prefer a softcover now, though, simply order from a Canadian retailer (see below).

CANADIANS: GET SOFT

Can you smell that? Smell that. Go ahead.

Yep.

That's fresh ink. The second edition of The Dread Crew has just rolled off the presses and is being packed now for shipment across Canada. This special edition includes a brand-new Glossary of Terms as well as a softcover price to match: $12.95. Order now from Amazon (softcover listing to appear soon) or Chapters, or call your local indie favourite such as Woozles.

Also, watch sweet | salty over the next few days for news of giveaways and fun stuff to thank everyone over there for being so pirate-happy, and to send the newest Dreads off in style. Cause there's nothing that ushers in spring like a bit of maritime goop.

It was a great quiet. The publishers' warehouse sold out in three months. You can't get a better quiet than that. Not that it was a million-book first edition. But still. It was a great quiet.

But with no books left to sell, and with store inventories scattered at best, we were in a holding pattern until spring. Until the second edition -- an expanded softcover -- would replenish supply and mark the beginning of broader distribution.

I'd been thinking of The Spring like some distant, ethereal thing. Which is always is in a Nova Scotian January. But the other day someone asked When should I post my review? and I said You can wait a while, like, say... and I looked down at the calendar. It was the end of March. Jan-Feb-Mar- - - April.

April?

APRIL!

April 17, to be exact. The ink is drying right this second.

And so it all starts up again. Readings and workshops, school visits and signings. And somewhere, in the middle of all of that plus lego-play and client work, the finishing of the second book -- the manuscript for which is due in November. Can I do this again? A small voice chirps back yep! from underneath an unceremonious pile of debris thrown there in the last flurry.

I'd almost forgotten. I have a book, and it's about pirates. Pirates in the woods.

Yes, and all over again.

My heart stopped, and I looked away before I was spotted, before my attention brought any sort of self-consciousness to the scene upon which I had stumbled. I had gotten this book for Graham. He had said, upon receiving it 'Oh, cool,' and redirected what small part of his attention he had used to respond to me back to whatever he was doing- much more interesting. Obviously.

But here he was, sitting at the kitchen table with his usual shades-of-tan dinner and...wait, what's that in his hand? OH NO! It's the DREAD CREW! There he sat, happily smacking his lips, eating his pizza with ketchup or chicken nuggets or similarly kid-approved meal item, patently unaware of anything but the grubby, swarthy, gnarly, brazen adventures unfolding on the projector-screen just behind his eyes.

"Look Mom, he's reading the pirate book!"

"I know, he hasn't put it down. He loves it."

(Beams with victory and delight)

++++++

"Hey Alex!"

"Hey Graham."

"Do you know what my favorite part of 'The Pirates of the Backwoods' was?"

(Oh no, he's already finished it, and I'm not even half way done! He's going to spoil it! Make him STOP!!) Errr...what? (holds breath)

"The 'honey lessons.' Like, 'the undiscovered joys of occasional bathing.' Huh huh huh."

(Whew! Already read that part. The irony, however, is not lost on me. Maybe you could take a lesson or two from Joe yourself; Eh, Mr My-Hair-Only-Looks-Cool-If-It-Hasn't-Been-Washed-For-A-Week? Undiscovered joys of bathing indeed!)

Many thanks to Alex of Blood Poppies Roses Rubies for sharing this Dread Crew moment. Warms the heart, it does. He likes the stink! (wipes tear from corner of eye)

The distribution plan for 2010 is a three-step release that frees the last of the sumptuous hardcovers and rolls out the new, special-edition softcover first in Canada, then in the States. But remember: you can always get what you want. If you're Canadian and you're desperate for a hardcover, search inventories or order from the States. If you're American and you want the softcover sooner, go Canuck.

photos by the lovely cafemama (left, right) and the other jackson 5 (centre)

April 2010: America gets a small shipment of rare 1st edition hardcovers

In April 2010, the last few hundred of The Dread Crew first edition hardcovers will be distributed exclusively to the United States. If you want one of those rare editions, pre-order from Amazon.com now.

April 2010: Canada gets first crack at the 2nd edition special feature softcovers

Also in April 2010, the 2nd edition softcover will be distributed in Canada with a new Glossary of Characters, Ships, and Flotsam of Piracy, just in case you needed to know the definition of 'beaver puke', the recipe for sun-dried baby slugs, or the story of how Ironbound Ike lost his tongue.

Fall 2010: America is fully-stocked with 2nd edition softcovers

In Fall 2010, the 2nd edition softcover will land in the U.S.A., unleashing a steady supply of books as well as rosy cheeks and hooliganism continent-wide.

Questions? Confusions? Desires? Shoot.

The Dread Crew is a children's book, but like all the best children's books, that means that adults can ostensibly buy it for someone else and read it themselves on the sly.

The book as a whole was...... I find it hard to pinpoint the precise, correct word. Entrancing, I think is closest. I would not want to even try to describe the plot, involving as it does exceptionally smelly pirates, a fearsome wood ship, peacocks and goats locked in low-key warfare, an adventurous, talented and insightful grandpa and a Gooperator.

It's the kind of book that, as a child, I particularly loved: a clever and resourceful child (that would be me, of course) discovers that behind the facade of normal life, strange and wonderful things not only exist, but thrive, and are there for the discovering. ... Kate's unique, startlingly original turns of phrase, her vividly quirky descriptions and most of all her sly, earthy humour are all there. With pirates. Pirates! How can you resist?

Loth of The Gym Isn't Working was one of the Stories That Stick meme winners, a blogger with Canuck connections who lives in Nova Scotia's motherland. Or put more properly, a blogger who is the target of this Canuck's envy for living in the motherland of sticky toffee pudding. Read her sweet and spritely review here. Thank you, Loth, for the lovely feedback and for getting your copy of the book properly dented and scruffy, as it should be.

The Gym Isn't Working ::: I love my elder son sometimes. Wait. That sounded wrong. I love him ALL the time, but sometimes he does something that makes me look at him more fondly than usual.

You have to love that boy.