All Toronto stands and shakes its communal fist at the heavens. “Will this rain never end?” they cry. But then we read in the paper about tornadoes and other natural disasters, and a bit of rain doesn’t seem so bad. Well, a lot of rain. But still, not so bad.
The canyon in the front yard has been filled; my lilies of the valley are squashed but will, I’m sure, survive. The internet functions. The next hurricane about to hit here: my very tall son is moving out of his apartment on Tuesday and has not yet found another, so will be living here in the interim. I’m preparing a gentle list of roommate suggestions: replace what you eat; cook double so your aged mother can have some too; no beard hairs on the sink. Important stuff like that.
Yesterday’s great treat, in the rain: my friend Marilyn, who has spent her working life in the book business, is not only kind, generous and fun, she’s a gourmet cook. So when she proposed a networking dinner at her place to a bunch of her friends, all freelancers in the publishing industry, every busy woman said yes.
What a stellar group assembled in Marilyn’s chic and funky flat – writers, publishers, editors, publicists and contract experts, including the founder of the publishing program at Ryerson and a former editor of “Chatelaine.” Many of us knew of each other or had had email or phone contact, but had not met before. It’s hard to say which was more filling – the conversation (how to survive and whither the business) or the food (a whole Chinook salmon, extraordinary salads and cheeses, sublime lemon squares for dessert.)
The evening was so stimulating and valuable that we decided we need a name and regular meetings – though for the next hostess, Marilyn has set the bar for food and ambience extremely high. If you have a question about the book business in Canada, any question at all, someone in this group has the answer.
Today – off to the Writer’s Union of Canada AGM.
In the rain.
