Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Montreal Book Launch Sept 2024

Here I am speaking with Elise Moser at the Montreal launch of my new novel, Colours in Her Hands, which was published in September by the Freehand Books in Calgary. Ask for it at your favourite bookstore or library! I want people to meet Mina. 

 


Mina, the central character of the novel, has Down Syndrome. I don't think that's the most important fact about her, but it is what you would notice if you met her walking down the street. What I am hoping will happen as you read the novel, is that you will see the whole of Mina's life--everything else that matters. 

When the novel opens, Mina is living by herself, has a job and a boyfriend. This has been the status quo for almost 20 years, but Mina is now middle-aged and beginning to have difficulties. This raises the question for those close to her whether she is safe on her own. Autonomy and dignity as we age is an issue that we all have to deal with. 

I also explore creativity and disability--how an individual may not be able to explain in words but can still express herself powerfully. 

It felt important to write not only about Mina but also the people involved in her life: her brother and legal guardian, Bruno; his girlfriend, Gabriela; Mina's new friend, Iris, who designs and sews clothes and therefore appreciates the wildly inventive embroideries Mina creates. This is Mina's world.


 




























In this clip, Elise has just asked me about writing in English and occasionally including French.   https://youtu.be/P9mnF2bKuec?si=Qrv1Bki-nOPHS8zM

The launch was held at Librairie Pulp Books in Verdun in Montreal. The top two photos were taken by Jack Ruttan who was at one end of the room; the last two photos and the video were taken by Robert Aubé who was at the other end of the room. Thank you, Jack and Robert.

Elise is well-known in the Anglo Quebec writing community and also farther afield. She's written three great books: Because I Have Loved and Hidden it, Lily and Taylor, What Milly Did: The Remarkable Pioneer of Plastics Recycling. I am also fortunate in that she's a friend. We often go on long tromps together.

Here's the star of the evening:



Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Alice Zorn talking with Kerry Clare about Colours in Her Hands


Kerry Clare, the beloved champion of Canadian books and fine writer of her own books, invited me to talk with her about my new novel on her podcast, Bookspo

 https://kerryreads.substack.com/p/season-two-episode-3-alice-zorn?utm_source=podcast-email%2Csubstack&publication_id=2195992&post_id=148968503&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_medium=email&r=2anmxa&triedRedirect=true

Check out Kerry's books, Mitzi Bytes, Waiting for a Star to Fall, and Asking for a Friend; her substack Pickle Me This; her podcast, Bookspo, where she interviews authors about books that have influenced their writing. She is prolific!  


Monday, September 16, 2024

Colours in Her Hands / new novel by Alice Zorn



Here is the information for the launch: https://pulpbooks.ca/events/660420240924

If you can't come, please get the book from your local indie bookstore or library. If they don't have it, ask for it! They should. 

Or order it directly from Freehand Books who will happily send it to to you. https://freehand-books.com/product/colours-in-her-hands/#tab-description

If you must, order it from Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Fnac... It is available! 

Reviews for Colours in Her Hands

"A moving meditation on love and art and the creative passions and impulses that are so much greater than anyone's disabilities and make us our best selves. An achingly real, compassionate and at times hilarious read, Zorn's novel shreds how we label people and art practices to show how deeply we and they are one. Heartbreaking, uplifting—brava!" CAROL BRUNEAU author of Brighten the Corner Where You Are: A Novel Inspired by the Life of Maud Lewis

"Alice Zorn has placed a singular woman at the heart of a vibrantly coloured world in this beautiful meditation on art and those who make it." CLAIRE HOLDEN ROTHMAN author of Lear's Shadow

"Mina is in my top-ten list of memorable fiction characters. It is fascinating to watch her make sense of the world through her embroidery and fairy tales. . . . a meticulously crafted novel." H. NIGEL THOMAS novelist, poet, essayist, and the 2022 laureate for the John Molson Prize for the Arts