K.C. Dyer's Blog

The final day of this book tour took place on a sunshiney Penticton morning, outside the wonderful Hooked On Books. Big thanks to Judy for inviting me, and to my signing companion, children's writer Rie Charles for keeping the day interesting! We chatted with folks walking through the Saturday market and had a lovely morning. And then...? I hopped in the jeep and hightailed it for home!

It was a wonderful tour filled with crazy, magical moments and a wide assortment of the MOST interesting people. Thank you to all the readers who came out, bought my books and provided a peripatetic writer with interesting conversations and more stories to tell.

So.Many.Stories!

The dangling logger in Campbell River...

Chatting with dear friends on Pender Island...

Kissed by James Fraser in Powell River...

Crowds in Calgary...

Trailrunning in Edmonton...

Abootlanders ALL THROUGH Alberta...

Kilted Bookface Friday in Nelson...

Skyping young writers in Radium...

Chillin' with artists and elk in Jasper...

Armchair heatwave in Whistler...

Fifth-wheeling in Williams Lake...

Rollicking readers at the Terrace Library...

Hazelton's incredible beauty and AWEsome readers...

Prince George readers in the rain...

Random encounters in Vernon...

FF fans in Kelowna...

Street Market madness in Penticton...

And I've not even touched on all the wonderful people who made my trip so much fun.

Thank you ALL -- see you next time I'm on the road!

To finish, a little news. This website has been undergoing an overhaul behind the scenes, courtesy of the marvellous CCS-Crystal Clear Solutions [whose hand is all over FindingFraser.com], and the magic will debut before you know it. In fact, the very next blog post will appear on the new site. So stay tuned... I LOVE the new design and I hope you will, too.

More soon...!

Mosaic as in Mosaic Books, of course, found on the main drag of Kelowna, BC. My visit there was lovely, thanks to the terrific staff and amazing readers who came out to meet me. A big thank you to Alicia and all her girls.

It was a steamy day, and the cool aisles of Mosaic were a welcome respite to Kelowna readers. [My car thermometer read 41 as I drove out of Whistler, so I thought it wouldn't get worse than that. Wrong. Kamloops? 43.] 

I so enjoyed meeting and chatting with all the Kelowna gang!

Had the very exciting experience of awarding a prize to this lovely lady for Scottish Knitwear Worn In Summer -- you'll notice her cane is lovingly yarn-bombed -- the first I've ever seen!

A wonderful penultimate day to my tour -- thank you Kelowna! And tomorrow? On to Penticton!

More soon...

~kc

The final leg of this amazing book tour takes me back into the Interior, and the first stop is in Vernon at the marvellous Bookland. Bethany led a great group of booksellers, and I had such a fun visit.

Nearly one of the first people to walk in the door was this lovely lady, Leila -- who had JUST won a copy of FINDING FRASER from CBC Radio.

[I did a fun interview a few days earlier with Rebecca Zandbergen of CBC's Radio West afternoon show.]

It was great to meet and chat with Leila in person!

I had a lovely time visiting with other local readers, and my day was totally made by the unplanned arrival of a group of my sister's friends who showed up and then loyally bought books en masse!

Thanks for the support Linda, Gary and Val!

It was a wonderful visit to Vernon, and after a cool Bookland afternoon I headed out into the scorching heat and off to my next stop -- Kelowna. See you there?

More soon...

~kc

Armchair Books, man. This store has been here in Whistler, run by the same family for 35 years!

Named for a nearby glacier rather than a piece of furniture, this wee store is a focal point for all things literary in town.

As Whistler is a skiing and biking destination spot, I expected there would be a few tourists. What I didn't expect was Crankworx...

Crankworx is a mountain-biking event held annually, and it brings riders in from all over the world. It was fantastic to meet people who were there for the festivities.

Also? We had a prize winner, with the FIRST sighting on the tour of a Utilikilt!

Congratulations to TJ Anderson!

TJ also introduced me to the work of Jennie Breeden, a webcomic artist whose work I plan to check out soon. I love learning about new writers and artists from readers I meet on tour!

Many thanks to Dan for hosting my visit, and to all the lovely denizens of Whistler [and the wide world!] who came to chat and buy books. Next stop: Vernon!

More soon...

~kc

Home of cowboys and a Stampede, but also ... in BC!

Luckily for me, Williams Lake ALSO has a great bookstore full of readers, all of whom welcomed me with open arms to this central BC town.

Special thanks to Angela for the invitation to The Open Book, and to Jen and Mackenzie for being so great to work with during the signing.

And a great big hug goes out to Teila Turko who encouraged me to stop in Williams Lake in the first place, and provided me with my first experience sleeping in a fifth wheel. Thanks, Teila!

Next stop on the tour is Whistler, and then a final jog east to the Okanagan before the tour wraps for good at the end of this week.

What an adventure! And, as it isn't over yet...

There'll be more soon!

~kc

Holy crow.

This has been one amazing tour. I have met the most remarkable people, and seen the most remarkable things.

And driven remarkable bridges...

Hazelton is now officially the furthest north I have ever been in British Columbia. It's just a couple hours drive from the Alaska border, and man -- what a beautiful site.

This wee town is located at the confluence of two of BC's most beautiful northern rivers -- the Skeena and the Bulkley. It was the bridge over the Bulkley that won my heart.

Currently, to drive into the old townsite of Hazelton, this is the bridge you cross:

[What? You weren't expecting an action shot?]

Okay, here it is from the side:

Beautiful, right?

The Hagwilget bridge is a suspension bridge, single lane, metal deck. SO Much Fun to drive on! This incarnation was built in about 1931, and reinforced in the 1990's.

But check this out. Here's a shot of the bridge that this one replaced.

[image error]Yeah. I know. This picture was taken sometime in the 1890's.

Not done, yet. Cause the bridge this second one replaced? Someone took a photo of it in the 1870's. In the winter.

Right?????

Anyway, today Hazelton is just as picturesque, warm and lovely as you might imagine. Home to the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'an First Nations, it is, hands down, the most beautiful corner of my province I have yet seen.

Have a look...

The Bulkley River gorge[image error]View across the Skeena from K'SanSo, yeah. Breathtaking.

My event was the final evening event of the tour, and it was fantastic. Librarians Ruth and Jaimie gave me the warmest welcome ever, and the place was filled to overflowing with readers wearing plaid, Scottish knitwear and giant smiles. A night I will never forget.

After Hazelton, it's time to head south. Next up -- Williams Lake!

More, soon...

~kc

[image error]Had a lovely time at my Terrace event, held in the public library and sponsored by Misty River Books. I spent much of the discussion rhapsodizing about the northern part of this amazing province. Prior to this trip I had never been north of Kamloops in BC, and -- holy crow -- I am SO happy that has changed!

I'll put up a more complete photo gallery once this tour is history, but for now, a peek at the lovely group of readers who came out to meet me and chat about FINDING FRASER. [Somehow Jess and Anna managed to duck out of this shot...!]

Thanks to Anna of Misty River Books [who put the mummy up in her window for the day!] and to all who came out to make me feel so welcome!

And special thanks to my friend Ev Bishop, resident of Terrace, who having just driven more than 6000 km on her family holiday, drove yet again to see me in Hazelton because she got in too late to make the Terrace event. Above and beyond!

Hazelton is up next!

More soon...

~kc

Had a great day hanging out by the old Historic Firehall in Jasper, Alberta.

You can see my table there, set up next to the Jasper Artist's guild, and I got to peek at the work of local artists, including Claude Boocock . Check out her website to see see 'Girl With A Red Phesant' -- I just LOVE that piece!

It was a busy day in Jasper, and I sold a lot of books and chatted with many people -- some locals and some visitors.

Had a couple of brave guys -- Gaelic Guy Chris posed with the mummy, even though he was pretty freaked out by it, and shortly afterwards, this young man brought his own flip-flop je ne sais quoi when he won his prize for Best Legs in a Kilt!

And finally, on my way out of the park, I passed this guy -- feeling chill and having a late lunch like a boss.

Thank you Marianne Garrah for organizing my visit, and Claude Boocock for providing my shady spot, and finally Jasper -- for welcoming me so warmly!

Next stop, after crossing the wilds of Northern BC, will be beautiful Terrace, BC -- my first time visiting. See you there?

More soon...

~kc

Audreys Books

Had a great adventure in Edmonton, visiting Audrey's books and generally soaking up the city.

A shout-out to the more Northern branch of the AB-ootlanders, some of whom came out to meet and chat at my event on Thursday night.

Lovely to meet you all and talk books for a few hours!

I haven't been in this lovely city for a while, but have had a lot of fun exploring on this visit.

River ravine trails for running, amazing markets and bustling city squares -- Edmonton's got it all.

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Last stop in Alberta will be in Jasper. Emma, the kilted mummy and I will be spending this sunny Sunday on the green of the Heritage Fire House.

See you there?

To finish, a couple of quintessential shots from Edmonton streets. Enjoy!

Curling stone this way...

Edmonton TrailGlenn Gould in a tree

More soon, from Jasper...!

~kc

It's been a GREAT trip through Alberta so far.

First stop was with the CTV morning show in Calgary, where I was interviewed by the appropriately-named [but unkilted!] Bill Macfarlane.

This is a shot of my travelling companion, the Kilt-Wearing Mummy, awaiting his big moment backstage at CTV.

The crew at this show were big Outlander fans, as you can see from some of the footage... 

[Not sure it made it to air, but Bill confessed to not only wearing a kilt now and then, but owning one. Needless to say, very disappointing that he didn't remember to dress the part. However, he told me he has to get up for work at 2:30 in the morning, so I guess I can't really blame him...!]

Next, at a VERY busy signing at Signal Hill Indigo, I had the delightful experience of meeting a number of the @AB-Ootlanders -- Alberta's premier Outlander Fanclub, of course! -- who decended en masse into the bookstore and TOTALLY made my day. They are reading FINDING FRASER for their August bookclub meeting, and I could not be more honoured. So, Lee, Ingrid, Karen and Lara -- thanks for coming out to see me! [I am hoping to meet a few more AB-Ootlander members of the Northern variety when I have my event at Audrey's Books on Thursday night.] Thanks also to all my friends and family who came out. It was great to see writers Trish Loye Eliot and Leanne Shirtliff, too, out celebrating Trish's birthday.

A big thank you goes out to event planner Stacy Kondla and store manager Chelsea Amberson for combining to make this Indigo Signal Hill event such a huge success!

Yesterday, FF [and our kilt-wearing mummy] hit the airwaves again, this time on CTV's noon show. Another really fun interview with Marni Kuhlmann -- you can see it HERE.

I'm a little worried all the attention is going to the mummy's head. Since his legs are bound together, he never wins the competition for Best Legs, so this new TV stardom gives him a chance to shine...

Two more events lined up in Alberta before I head west again -- tomorrow night at Audrey's Books in Edmonton, and then a Sunday afternoon on the green this weekend in Jasper. Can't wait!

Before I finish here, I just want to give a shout out to Rachel at Gal-Friday Publicity. I first met Rachel years ago at a reading she organized in Edmonton, and following in the great FINDING FRASER tradition of working with talented friends, she came onboard to help with this tour. And help she has -- most of the media connections I have made have come through Rachel and her hard-working team. So thanks for being my personal Gal Friday on this crazy jaunt, Rachel!

More soon...

~kc