Middle Beach, Tofino BC.

WHOA. WHOA. WHOA. I hadn’t been back to Tofino in over a decade (I used to surf there with members of The Smugglers and the Evaporators – we’d drive up in a convertible dune buggy, camp overnight, and sleep right on the beach), but was finally able to make the trip back this weekend. Spectacular.

My wife Jill and I steered our little VW westward over the craggy mountains of Vancouver Island to very end of the road on the very western edge of Canada this  to hook up with the very cool Mermaid Tales Bookshop for a book event at the Clayoquot Community Theatre on Saturday night.

We had an exceptional time the entire weekend, and we thank the theatre, the bookstore, Sobo Restaurant, the Middle Beach Lodge, my brand new beer sponsor Phillips Brewery (makers of my all-time fave beer Blue Buck Ale), Katrina from Tourism Tofino for spreading the word, and everyone who came out to fill up the little theatre. A special thanks to Eileen from the theatre for lending me her computer when mine decided to take a snooze break.

We make a quick stop into Curious Coho Books in rough ‘n’ tumble Port Alberni on Sunday afternoon and met some more friendly Vancouver Islanders, including Bodhi Jones‘ mom! Check out a few more photos from Tofino here.

Thanks to all who continue to support the book tour. Next up… Whitehorse this weekend!

Holy smokes! I woke up this morning to find that, to my amazement, Adventures In Solitude “leads the way” with TWO BC Book Prize nominations!

The book is nominated in the categories of Roderick Haig-Brown Award for Best BC Book (“to recognize the author(s) of the book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia”), and the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award (“presented to the originating publisher and author(s) of the best book in terms of public appeal, initiative, design, production and content”).

It’s a stunning honour to be nominated along side some of my Canadian writer heroes, such as Douglas Coupland (Marshall McLuhan), John Vaillant (The Tiger), and George Bowering (My Darling Nellie Grey). The complete list of nominees can be seen here.

The winners will be announced at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala on Thursday April 21 in West Vancouver BC (my hometown), and I’ll be there!

Thanks as always to Harbour Publishing, Samantha Haywood, Naomi MacDougall, Christy Nyiri, Russell Letawsky, Vancouver Is Awesome, Dave Bidini, and everyone who has kindly either take part by being a character in the book, and to all those who have supported it!

Here’s the latest in my series of Home Movies from Desolation Sound BC, where my book Adventures in Solitude takes place. Due to the severity of our rocky coastline, we have carved out a network of trails through the woods behind our cabins. The trails meet up at several junctions, and so no one gets lost, we’ve put up a few little sign posts, like I’m doing here… kind of a cross between Mr. Dressup, Indie Craft Attack, and LOST.