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BOOK TOUR & EVENTS ITINERARY for Blasted

* Copies available for purchase at events or online at creativebookpublishing.ca *
      (Please see Writing page for details on where else to purchase your copy.)

Throughout the tour, Kate will be reading from Blasted - with musical stylings
by Curtis Driedger and Derek Bell - songs from and inspired by the novel.
Underscoring the reading, original compositions morph into traditional and
contemporary songs and back again, evoking the moods and themes of the novel.
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June 15 and 16 - Canadian Book Expo   bookexpo.ca   Toronto ON
Kate will sign advance copies of Blasted at the Literary Press Group booth
and  the Newfoundland & Labrador booth

Thursday, August 7 - 7pm-9pm
Sadleir House - Poetry/Prose Readings On The Lawn
751 George St. N., Peterborough ON   sadleirhouse.ca

Tuesday, August 26 - 8pm
The Central, 603 Markham (S of Bloor, 1 block W of Bathurst), Toronto ON   thecentral.ca

Thursday, August 28 - 8pm
Official Book Launch in Peterborough ON at Artspace,  3/378 Aylmer St. N.   artspace-arc.org
Presented by The Cooked and Eaten Reading Series  cookedandeaten.com

Saturday, August 30 - 11am
Chapters - Lansdowne St. W., Peterborough ON
Book Signing Event

Thursday, September 4 - 6pm
Atwater Library and Computer Centre, 1200 ave Atwater, Montreal PQ
atwaterlibrary.ca/en/node/628

Friday, September 5 - 8pm
Molly's Coffeehouse, 554 Queen St., Fredericton NB

Watch for a book-signing to be scheduled at Chapters in Fredericton.

Saturday, September 6 - 5pm
The Woodpile Carvings & Cafe, 181 Main Street, Liverpool NS   woodpilecarvings.com

Sunday, September 7 - 3pm-5pm
Best Coast Coffee Gallery, 771 Hwy 331, Broad Cove NS
Featuring special guest - musician Nick Jeffrey    nickjeffrey.ca

Monday, September 8 - 8pm
Oakdene School Community Centre, Bear River NS

Tuesday, September 9 - 8pm
Economy Shoe Shop (Cafe, Lounge & Bar) - as part of the Shoestring Reading Series
1661-1663 Argyle St., Halifax NS   economyshoeshop.ca

Watch for a book-signing to be scheduled at Chapters in Halifax.

Thursday, September 11 - 4pm-6pm
Official Killick Press Book Launch in St. John's NL
(condensed version of presentation)
Bianca's, 171 Water St.   biancas.net

Friday, September 12 - 4pm
Sweet Relic (bakery / bookstore / antique store)
42 Powers Court on Signal Hill, St. John's NL
Located in the oldest house in St. John's (1804 - it survived two great fires)
(full version of presentation)
sweetrelic.com

Saturday, September 13 - 9am
Table at St. John's Farmers' Market
Lion's Chalet, Bonaventure Ave., St. John's NL
stjohnsfarmersmarket.com

Thursday, September 25
Byron Branch Library, 1295 Commissioners Rd. W., London ON

Sunday, November 2 - 7:30pm
LiT LiVe,  litlive.blogspot.com/
The Sky Dragon Centre, 27 King William St., Hamilton ON
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Click for publisher's website
Team Blasted Tour
Photo Gallery & Travelogue
Upon the release of Kate's first novel, Blasted, she embarked on
an Eastern Canada adventure with "Team Blasted" -  from
Ontario to Newfoundland and back again.  What follows is her
record of their journey...





Click on each photo to see much larger images.
Full tour itinerary with venue links is listed below.
Team Blasted Tour

Here is a somewhat sketchy photo journal of the reading/music tour undertaken by Derek Bell, Curtis Driedger, Barbara Ratz, and myself between August 26 and
September 16.  The first week we visited Toronto and had our big launch in Peterborough.  Then we hit the road in my trusty car -  first stop, Montreal - on our way to
the official Killick Press launch in St. John's.
1. And we're off!  Our first event took
place in Toronto's wonderful bar
The Central on Markham Street.  
Masterful host David Bateman read
several passages from the novel,
all as if lesbian porn.
2. Three poets opened the evening:
wonderful work by writers Shannon
Maguire, Rod Weatherbie, and
Jessica Westhead.  They were
tough acts to follow - but the
packed-out audience was very
enthusiastic about our
performance and I sold lotsa
books!  A very special thanks to the
beautiful and talented Cathy Petch
for putting the evening together for
us.
3. Pre-show at Artspace.  You can
see the interesting and
labour-intensive work by artist
Immony Men on the walls - yes,
those are post-it notes.  Many
thanks to Iga Janik (Artspace) and
Esther Vincent (Cooked and Eaten)
for putting this evening together.  
Also to Em Glasspool for a
fabulous introduction I do not
deserve.
4. I was overwhelmed by the
number of people who came to the
Peterborough launch, and the
warm response.  People were
actually lining up to get a copy of
Blasted - it was incredible.  And I
got given a bottle of champagne.
5. Next stop, Montreal!  We read at
the beautiful Atwater Library and
Computer Centre, hosted by the
lovely Lynn Verge (also, by the way,
a Newfoundlander).
6. I spoke with many wonderful
people before and after the reading.
 I was delighted to meet writer
Kathleen Winter (in the
background) and many others.  
Here, I am talking to the animated
Ruby sisters, who grew up on the
Southside Road in St. John's and
remember some of the same sorts
of stories as I do, stories that in part
inspired the novel.
7. There is actually a stage at
Atwater! - we felt like royalty.
8. Me, feeling happy after the
performance, and trying to lure
people in to buy books...
9. And we're on our way to
Fredericton.  Isn't Quebec horrible?  
I don't know how people can stand
to live there by that hideous Fleuve
Saint-Laurent.
10. Curtis and Barbara, who lead
double lives as
gardener-musicians, looking at
plants (a theme that was to recur
during our tour).
11. Signing books in Fredericton,
post-performance at Molly's
Coffeehouse, and I'm sweating like a
Wall Street trader.  Molly's is a funky
little organic cafe with great beer and
food.  Unfortunately we only have a
picture of the back of the lovely host
Allison Calvern, and her husband
George.  She runs a reading series
"Odd Sundays at Molly's" but made a
Friday exception for Team Blasted.  A
terrific group assembled for our
performance and books flew out of
the box.  Allison and George put up
with us at their house, and fed us
breakfast the next day.   Our only
regret was not having more time to
spend in this wonderful town.
12. Curtis in a pensive moment at
Molly's.
13. The next stop on our tour was
Liverpool, Nova Scotia - a truly
incredible town.  This photo depicts
the venue we were supposed to
perform in, but last-minute we
received the sad news that it was
going out of business.  Locals were
united in their opinion of the owner.  
We heard phrases like "burning
bridges" "he had it coming to him"
"he had this lovely wife, he used all
her money and then dumped her,
and now she's selling furniture at
Leons!" and my favourite, "The
power's been cut off.  But we know
he's up there.  We've seen him,
lurking up top.  It's like the Phantom
of the Opera."
14. The gracious owners of The
Woodpile Cafe, Liz and Mike,
agreed to let us perform there,
despite our last-minute request.  
Mike cooks, Liz is a woodcarver,
and the place is a treasure.  We
had a wonderful audience and
terrific meals.
15. Rather in keeping with the
Phantom theme, Liverpool was the
only place on the entire tour where
we encountered rain.  It's a
beautiful town, with...
16. ... no less than nine museums.  
I am not kidding.  Nine, in a town
with maybe a few hundred
residents.  Here you see taxidermy
from the Rossignol Cultural Centre.
17. And... the Hank Snow Country
Music Centre.  Here is Curtis
returning from an unsuccessful
attempt to visit the centre, which
had closed for the evening - but we
got there the next day.
18. On our way to Broad Cove, NS.  
Another ugly place.  I feel so sorry
for everyone who lives in NS.
19. In Broad Cove we performed at
the Best Coast Coffee Gallery.  Go
here!  Go to NS to go here!
20. Wendy Michener, who runs
Best Coast with her husband Tony,
gave us an entire house to stay in.  
The sun came out immediately.
21. Here is the lovely Wendy, inside
the cafe...
22. And the handsome Tony.
23. We performed and then
fabulous folk artist Nick Jeffrey
wooed the crowd (and there was a
crowd!).  A wonderful experience.
24. Okay, this has nothing to do
with anything, except that on our
way out of Broad Cove we just had
to take this photo.  Have you ever
seen so many patio lanterns?  
Does anyone else have Kim
Mitchell going through their head?
25. Another example of hideous
Nova Scotia: Bear River.  It's a
magical town on a tidal river, five
miles from the Bay of Fundy.  Here
the tide is, obviously, low - but
when it comes in, the stilts are
completely covered and
sometimes, we were told, during
surges the floors of downtown can
get a bit sodden.  I've never
encountered so much artistic
activity in one small, magical
place...
26. ...nor such a brightly coloured
house.  We all fell in love with Bear
River.
27. Here is our wonderful host
Pamela Barron, in her lush
garden.  She and George
(currently running for the NDP in
that area - good luck and happy
campaigning, George!) created
such a buzz about our event that
the place was completely packed.
28. Here's the place - Oakdene
School, which locals have turned
into a community centre.
29. People came in droves!  Thank
you, Bear River.
30. Sad as it was to leave Bear
River, we headed on to Halifax.  
Curtis and Barbara managed to
find the very place where they
partied down (shortly after tying the
knot) almost exactly 21 years
earlier!
31. We performed at the Economy
Shoe Shop as part of David
Rimmington's Shoestring Reading
Series.  A boisterous barfly actually
bellied up and bought a book (is that
enough alliteration?) - "That was
gutsy," he said.  By the end of the
evening the bartender addressed
me as "you little stevedore, you."  
H'm...
32. And then began our Ride All
Through the Night, to North Sydney.
 Here I am, filling the tank on
almost the most expensive day for
gas in the history of humankind.  
Smiling to keep from... you know.
33. We were a little confused by
having to bust through the glass,
but the Joseph and Clara
Smallwood left Cape Breton at
dawn and carried us safely to
Newfoundland.
34. Goodbye, mainland Canada.
35. Derek and I, high on Gravol.
36. Here's the house I was born in,
on the Southside Road.  It's an
hysteric home, with a plaque and
everything.  My brother Lachlan lives
in the left side, and Aunt Jan lives in
the right.
37. The fabulous Donna Francis
and Janine Lilly of Killick Press
launched the book at Bianca's
Restaurant on Water Street.  Here I
am talking to my
heavy-metal-guitarist cousin Barry,
with my dear 99-year-old
grandmother Edith sitting in the
chair.
38. As in Peterborough, I was
overwhelmed with the number of
people who attended and the
feeling of support and delight in the
room.  This is the aftermath, as the
place emptied out.  Most of those
remaining are my relatives, at the
bar.
39. We had time to do the fun
tourist things you never do unless
you have visitors (this was a first
trip to Newfoundland for Derek,
Curtis, and Barbara.  They survived
being forced to eat seal flipper by
my Aunt Jan).  We walked out to
Fort Amherst (scene of a pivotal
flashback scene in Blasted); here's
the view of Signal Hill.
40. Newfoundland, where even the
graffiti is literary.  We can't help it; it's
in our bones.  All Newfoundlanders
are born spouting poetry and
playing the accordion, or at least
singing ballads and step-dancing.
41. ...and some more typical graff,
with Barbara on the lookout.
42. Cape Spear, the most eastern
point in North America.  On clear
days you can see Ireland, or
something.
43. Derek, the furthest East he's
ever been!
44. Curtis scanning, Barbara
looking...
45. ... and Curtis looking, with
Barbara scanning.
46. A beautiful day at Cape Spear,
with Curtis riding high.  The weather
was uniformly gorgeous, leading
the other members of Team
Blasted to make allegations that
Newfoundlanders lie about the
terrible climate to prevent too many
people moving there.
47. My brother Simon made us tea
in his famous Kelly Kettle.
48. And Lachlan took the rest of
Team Blasted (here, Barbara) on a
tour of the Botanical Gardens.
49. Meanwhile, I sold fresh, green
books at the St. John's Farmers'
Market.  A wonderful event.  I sold
lots of books, and talked with many,
including an Icelander whom I
trapped to trade stories about the
huldufolk.  (This woman did not buy
a book from me.)
50. Our final performance of the
tour occurred at Sweet Relic, a
fabulous bakery, bookstore, and
antique store at the foot of Signal
Hill, run by Russell and Patricia
Florin.  Reading and playing music
outside under a dogberry tree, with
the wind hissing around us, was
the perfect way to end.
51. If you are ever in Corner Brook,
visit this store.  The owner is a
fabulous character, and there's a
resident white cat with David Bowie
eyes.  He (the owner) also
consented to carry Blasted in his
store.
We encountered so much kindness during our tour.  People let us stay in their houses, wined and dined us, and offered their support in myriad ways.  
I send out a special thanks to Lynn Verge, Allison and George Calvern, Liz and Mike Brown, Wendy and Tony Michener, David Rimmington; and Leigh
Kotsilidis, Don Sedgwick, and Leif Helmer for their invaluable help in suggesting connections to organize the tour.  And also and always to my family -
brothers Lachlan and Simon, and my Aunt Jan, were particularly helpful around this tour.

Everywhere on this tour I met wonderful people who seemed genuinely interested in Blasted and captivated by our performance.  It was truly an
outstanding experience.
Kate at Peterborough Launch, Artspace