Launch Madness...

...continues. My scribe, kc dyer, had a wonderful celebration at the Surrey International Writers' Conference this weekend for FACING FIRE, and I continue to time travel through the ether visiting new websites.

But before anything else, I have winners to announce. So stay tuned -- tomorrow we'll do a re-cap of where things stand now.

More soon!

~Darby

While I am busy touring...

...author kc dyer is at the Surrey International Writers' Conference. Best conference on the continent...according to many!

Loads of news and winners coming about my tour, plus an at-conference lunch-launch tomorrow [today, really]. More on all of this soon -- pix, too!

~Darby

Visiting Bow....James, Bow.

Woo-Hoo! Back across the country at the speed of thought!

This time I've ended up visiting James Bow's blog. James is the author of The Unwritten Girl, Fathom Five and The Young City, plus a whole bunch of others. He lives in Ontario [just like me!] but in a smaller city.

You can check out his blog HERE, and leap in on the chance to win a book.

See you over there!

~Darby

Driving with Deborah Kerbel

Well, you know -- I certainly am getting around! Today I hopped into the hyper-car to drive along with Deborah Kerbel as she toured through Alberta.

Deborah is on the road promoting her new ghost story LURE. En route to Lake Louise, she stopped and I had a chance to add a few words to her blog.

Is this not the scariest cover EVAH?

It's only right, then, that Deb and I talked about ghosts...

Want to read more? Go HERE.
And don't miss out on a chance to win a book!

~Darby

Haiku Hello...

...to writer Jacqueline Pearce, [here disguised as a pirate!] who has very kindly invited me to visit her blog! Jacquie is the author of many wonderful books for kids and teens, including Manga Touch, the Truth About Rats and Dogs, Doghouse Blues and Discovering Emily.

Now, when Jacquie is not dressed like a pirate, she often spends time on her blog Wild Ink, and that's where you'll find me next. You can still comment to win a book or two -- if you hurry.

See you over there!

~Darby

Dead Frogs Ahead...!

The fine author pictured here is Jan Markley, from Calgary, Alberta. Jan's very kindly invitd me across the Rockies for a brief visit to talk about FACING FIRE.

She's also put up all kinds of weird pictures of kc dyer on her site, along with my guest post.

You can find all the craziness HERE, along with links to Jan's book DEAD FROG ON THE PORCH.

Zip on over and have a look!

~Darby

Who Is this Mysterious Man...?

He swshbuckles with the best of them -- an actor, an author, a bon vivant... It's Chris Humphreys, also known as CC Humphreys, and I'm visiting his blog today!

Chris is most recently the author of VLAD: The Last Confession, but he's also written all the Jack Absolute books and many others.

I believe I hold the honour of being his first guest blogger EVAH, so you should scamper on over there and leave a comment.

Just click HERE, and you'll find yourself THERE.

Maybe you'll win a copy of my new book, FACING FIRE...

See you there -- and thanks for having me, Chris!

~Darby

Today's Destination -- stopping to smell the lilies!

Whew -- what a whirlwind! Today, I've jetted through the ether to land in Branford, Ontario -- the home of prolific, award-winning author Marsha Skrypuch.

Marsha is the author of a whole bunch of books for kids and teens -- I have a WHOLE shelf of her titles! -- most recently Stolen Child.

This was a pretty special blog post, because we talk about Marsha's role as a friend and mentor of kc dyer -- and what it's like to face a whole lot of rejections before getting published. A must-read, I'd venture to say...

You can find Marsha's website at www.calla.com and the blog post HERE.
See you there!

~Darby

Hangin' at Hélène's

Look at that smile! Is that not welcoming? I feel very at home hanging with Hélène Boudreau -- and that's where I am today.

Hélène is the author of ACADIAN STAR [nominated for a Hackmatack Children's Book Award in 2009] and her most recent book is KEEP OUT.

Not only that...but she's the first to admit that Mermaid's can't wear toe-rings...and something tells me we'll be hearing more about that in the near future.

Anyway, I'm guesting on her blog today.

Check it OUT!




~Darby

Rockin' Rachelle

Shooshing through the ether again, this time I washed up on the sandy shores of Rachelle Delaney's blog. Rachelle is the author most recently of Lost Souls of Island X, and a pirate lass at heart -- just like me!

[Not to mention that she shares a name with a certain time-travelling dog I know...!]

Join me over at Rachelle's blog and grab another chance to win a book or two!


~Darby

Wowza! It's Linda Grimes...!

Hey -- today I got to visit reality! And it's pretty weird, I have to say...

Kidding! Well, sorta. I actually spent the day hanging with Linda Grimes at her blog 'Visiting Reality'. Linda is one funny writer. She lives in Virginia, and we began things with a little cross-border discussion.

Hop on over HERE to read more. And be sure to check back a few posts -- you'll see Linda's fabulous toes on display. [You don't keep a pedicure like that if you are serious about skateboarding....]

See ya over there!

~Darby

Where We're Going...

...and where we've been. Let's start there, shall we?

Whew! What a crazy first week of the Darby Blog-odyessy! HUGE thanks go out to all the generous bloggers who have shared their space with me as these first seven days have rolled on.

A Novel Woman started the ball rolling with a trip to her cottage on Lake Louisa in le Belle Province, escorted, of course, by the gentle and welcoming Boris the Cat.

Next, I shot through cyberspace to visit Flying Feet author James McCann's site while he was off chasing down zombies. Fun -- and just a little scary.

Following hot on the heels of the zombie-man, I spent some time at the blog of Lee Edward Fodi, author and illustrator, and creator of Kendra Kandlestar.

Back from the land of Een, I schooshed across to talk 'fire' with author Tanya Kyi. Must have had a good influence on her, since she's apparently just finished a book on UNDERWEAR!

Next, I hit the ether all the way up to Terrace, BC to spend some time with author, editor and journalist Ev Bishop.

My most recent visit has been with author and illustrator Kirsti-Anne Wakelin, where we talked about secret elephants ...and looked at dragonflys.

At every single one of these stops we are doing a book draw, with a chance to win a copy of FACING FIRE and even a shot to win BOTH of my books, if you tweet about the post. So if you've missed one along the way -- show a little click love to my friends and check them out!

Looking ahead to the rest of October --  what does the future hold? A whole month of splendors awaits, with visits to the blogs of authors CC Humphreys, Diana Gabaldon, Arthur Slade, Marsha Skrypuch, Rachelle Delaney, James Bow, Helene Boudreau and many, many more.

And don't forget your chance to win BIG prizes in the 'Make a better book-trailer than kc dyer' contest.

Things are hopping here at Darby Central. Come back tomorrow to see where I'm off to next!

~Darby

Darby Communes with the Secret Elephant

This is amazing. Today I get to visit with another author-illustrator -- this one named Kirsti-Anne Wakelin. Kirsti's got THE most beautiful blog I've ever seen. [Check out that dragonfly!]

She usually posts pictures of her illustrations and the process of making picture books, but today she very generously invited me to visit.

I hope you take the time for a good look around while you are there -- it is a beautiful place, and if you look really hard, you may even find a secret elephant!

~Darby

Today's stop...Ev Bishop!

The things I do for this blog. Today I flew all the way up to Terrace, British Columbia, and boy are my pixels tired...

Okay, okay -- it was a virtual flight. But I'm excited because I got to chat with the wonderful writer Ev Bishop. She confesses about how her journals shape her work, and we've got contest entries already.

Go check it out!

Ev's Blog is HERE.

More tomorrow!

~Darby

Tanya Lloyd Kyi offers up space...

...for a few of my more burning questions!

Today I get to visit Tanya's blog space as a part of the on-going celebration of the arrival of FACING FIRE.  Now this is a special day, because FACING FIRE actually hit the shelves of bookstores all over the nation [and beyond!].

Tanya is the author of a whole pile of non-fiction books [including her most recent title,  50 BURNING QUESTIONS, above, from Annick Press], along with a couple of fiction titles, as well. She's doing an experiment these days called 'Crowsnest', which is a serialized novel that she is putting up directly on her site -- very cool!

I'm hoping you'll share the fun and take your chance to win on Tanya's site! See you there!

~Darby

Darby Creeps into Een...

And shares space with Kendra Kandlestar for a bit!

Pop on over there and see just how cool a wee Een with seven [yeah, count 'em -- SEVEN] braids in her hair can be!

Lee Edward Fodi is the amazing author AND illustrator of the Kendra series, as well as a number of other books. It was awesome to share some time with he and Kendra on my blog-odyssey. If you leave a comment behind over there, you'll be eligible to win!

See you there!

~Darby

In Which Zombies are Chased...

...but not by me!

I've been invited to James McCann's blog, while he, apparently, does what he does best -- ninja-stalking zombies. James is the author of a whole bunch of amazing books: RANCOUR, PYRE and most recently FLYING FEET.

He's an awesome writer, teacher and ninja, and I look forward to hanging out with him for the day.

See you over there!

~Darby

P. S. Have you entered the Contest yet? Do it!

FACING FIRE Blog Tour Begins!

This is Boris.

[Not to be confused with my Nan's cat Maurice.]

He is a relative of the incomparable A Novel Woman. I'm visiting her blog today -- check it out HERE!
[Hint: Prizes to be won...!]

Have you entered the Book Trailer CONTEST yet? Better get on it!

~kc

FACING FIRE CONTEST!!!

So, have a look at this...

Pretty lame, eh?

That's what you get when you let an author who only got a B- in her university art class put together a book trailer.

Can YOU do better?

Here's the challenge...

Make a book trailer for FACING FIRE [or for both of Darby's adventures in FACING FIRE and A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW]. The trailer needs to be family-friendly [a bit scary is okay], between 15 and 30 seconds long, and postable on-line. Bonus points if you work in some fire or a stone window...

Then just send a link to me here at Darby Speaks, along with your contact information, and you're IN!

EVERY SINGLE ENTRY to the contest will win a signed copy of FACING FIRE. And on Hallowe'en night, kc dyer will bring her judges together [ghosts and ghouls and a few zombies, likely] and hand out the BIG prizes.

Now, we are going to add prizes as the month goes along, but for today, I'll tell you that one of the prizes is a $100 gift card to Chapters.ca or Amazon.com!

You can enter as often as you like. Spread the word -- let's send do a better job than kc did of sending my new book out into the world in style!

~Darby