This is just want Russell looked like when we first met him in Desolation Sound.

One of the most common questions I get asked at the Adventures in Solitude book events is “whatever happened to Russell?” (if you haven’t read the book, “Russell” is one of the primary characters, a hermit we found living in a musty canvas tent beside our Desolation Sound cabin many years ago, who eventually became a good friend).

My answer is always the same: Russell is getting older, but doing well, driving his taxicab around Powell River, living the life he wants to lead, up at the end of the road, spending as much time as he can around his little home, with his beloved dog Lucy. On Tuesday nights he can be found at the Lund Hotel Pub playing euchre and sipping on a pint of Guinness.

Just the other day, I called Russell on the phone to see if he needed any copies of the book for Christmas presents. He almost never answers the phone, so I was surprised when after just a couple of rings I heard a cheery, creaky old “hello!” at the other end of the line. We chatted for awhile, and I asked him repeatedly how he was doing, and each time he answered “oh, fine, just fine”. I asked him if he had been receiving much feedback on the book, to which he answered “oh yes, everyone is coming up and talking to me about it, everyone seems to really like it”. I asked him how he felt about that, to which he answered “it’s ok, but you know me, I’m a pretty private person, I don’t want too much attention”.

Then shortly after he told me he was driving a couple of people around in his cab and they said “hey, are you the ‘Russell’ from that new book?” Russell then told me with a chuckle “they thought it was pretty cool when I said ‘I sure am!’”

So, if you ever find yourself in the Lund Pub on a Tuesday night, be sure to buy my old friend Russell a pint of Guinness or a glass of red wine. Is there a “Russell” in your life?

Amor fati.

OK. So in this latest video I am pretty much fully dorking out on a gorgeous Thanksgiving Sunday 2010, planting my spring flower garden. And yes, it’s possibly a stretch that it will be “cool” to check in on the results in the spring, but hey, I was in the moment, and yes I do intend to follow up in March 2011. Huh!

Thanks to everyone who packed out my hometown West Vancouver Memorial Library yesterday for my last book event of 2010. It was great to see old friends, parents of old friends, Nardwuar, members of The Smugglers, my grade one teacher (who taught me how to read and write) and my parents and sister.

It’s been an absolute whirlwind ride since Adventures In Solitude came out in September, to Halifax and back again, and I thank everyone who has been a part of one of the most exciting times of my life. You know who you are!

Me with one of my all-time biggest heroes "Captain" Kirk McLean of the Vancouver Canucks backstage at Urban Rush TV show.

Um… I can’t say it any better than this, nor do I want to, so I’ll let the media moguls at Killbeat take over… thanks folks:

CBC Radio personality and first-time author Grant Lawrence continues to make strides with his debut book Adventures in Solitude. First released on September 27, 2010 to universally rave reviews, within one month  the book was the #1 Bestseller in BC. Within two months it was #2 on the National Bestsellers List for non-fiction paperback in Canada. In November, Grant Lawrence completed a successful coast-to-coast book tour which touched down in Victoria, Vancouver, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and many other spots in between, events which have included live performances from such musicians as Jim Bryson, Matthew Barber, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Aidan Knight, Said The Whale, Andy Swan,  Del Barber (no relation), Belle Plaine, Jill Barber (Lawrence’s wife) and others.

“To say I’m shocked by the reception the book has received is a huge understatement“, said Lawrence. “I’m truly flattered, and I profusely thank the book buyers of Canada for proving a lot of naysayers wrong… including myself!” Lawrence has two more book events in his home province of BC before Christmas break, including an event in Lawrence’s hometown of West Vancouver. Upcoming book event dates in 2011 will include Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Fredericton, Powell River, Sechelt, London, Kingston and Charlottetown.

Adventures in Solitude was recently listed as one of the Top Ten Canadian Books of the Year in the Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, and Calgary Herald. The book is published by Harbour Publishing and is currently in its second print run.

Critical praise for Adventures in Solitude:

“A hilarious and touching memoir [told] with an effortless storytelling style”. – Exclaim Magazine

“Adventures in Solitude is a study in dualities, none stronger than the timeless conflicts between old versus new and man versus nature.” – Vancouver Sun

“Funny and insightful, Adventures In Solitude is chock full of outrageous and quirky rural stories.” – Telegraph Journal

Upcoming Events

Wed Dec 15, Heriot Bay Inn, Quadra Island BC, w/ Jill Barber 7pm, free

Sun Dec 19, West Vancouver Memorial Library, West Vancouver BC, w/ Jill Barber 2pm, free