Chris and I will be at the Book Stop, 5-1 Jockvale Rd, Nepean, Ontario, to sign some books on Saturday, September 10 from 1-3 pm. Hope to see you there!

Kilimanjaro and Beyond will be officially released at 7 pm on August 25 at Collected Works, 1242 Wellington St., Ottawa, Ontario.  Chris and I will both be there to talk about the book.  Hope to see you there!

http://www.collected-works.com/

I will be speaking at the Barrhaven United Church Sunday, Nepean, Ontario July 31 at 10:00 am.  The topic is “Why Do We Give?” and will address some of the perceived issues around donating to international aid organizations versus my own positive experience.

Just confirmed a presentation and book launch for 7:30 pm on September 13 at the McNally Robinson Book Store in Winnipeg.  Hope to see you there, Winnipeggers!

Details on Event Page.

I have just established a new author page in Facebook where I will be announcing book signing dates, presentations, etc.  Check it out and “like” it if you like it.

www.facebook.com/authorbarryfinlay

Just in the process of finalizing arrangements for book launches, interviews, presentations, etc. for the fall.  Looks like it could be good, starting with Ottawa, Canada in late August.  Stay tuned.. 

Today signalled a major milestone in the life of “Kilimanjaro and Beyond.” I signed off the interior pages of the book.  This follows closely on the heels of signing off the cover last week. Now it is off to print.

For all the authors out there, Jenny Blake has designed an excellent tool for helping you develop a marketing plan for your book.  I am in the process of doing just that so it was timely that it came to my attention.  Check it out at:

https://docs.google.com/previewtemplate?id=0Aqko7Xi-nxN1dFdZR0FaYmhfVTBKNjJfNkZVLTBiWFE&mode=public&pli=1

Plan Canada has a campaign underway to empower girls and women everywhere.  In their words, the campaign is to “unleash the power of Canadian girls, women – and everyone who matters to them – to
claim a brighter, safer future for girls in the developing world.

• Girls have the right to be educated.
• Girls have the right to eat.
• Girls have the right to be safe.
• Girls’ rights are human rights.

Although girls are often the poorest of the poor, it’s proven that investing in girls is key to eliminating poverty. Empower a girl and she’ll change the world.”

You can see how we are involved in the campaign at the following link:

http://plancanada.ca/becauseiamagirl/page.aspx?pid=3927

Donations can be made to help support the girls but clicking on the link on the right.

Waiting, waiting waiting…  Yesterday I found myself waiting on a few things to happen.  Some things I wanted to happen; others I didn’t.  None of them happened but I did come to a conclusion about myself that I had long suspected.  I don’t wait very well.

One of the things I wanted to happen was the arrival of the second draft of the cover of my book. It was supposed to arrive on June 14 but at 3:00 pm that day, the publisher changed the date on their tracking system to June 17.  Yesterday, June 17, around 4:00 pm it changed again to June 21.  I found myself spending the day willing the time away or making myself busy so that the clock would go faster.  I have to admit to being disappointed when the date changed again.  How old am I, twelve? 

It is a bit counter intuitive because as I get older I find the days are going faster and faster.  We don’t want them to.  They just do.  Yet there are still days when we are waiting for something, whether it is bad or good, that seem to drag. I know that June 21 will be here in no time, the book cover will arrive and life will go on at an ever faster pace.  In the meantime, I have a feeling that some of the jobs I have been putting off for awhile are going to get done…just to fill in the time.