I recently reported that The Best Laid Plans was going to be made available as an ebook. Well, TBLP has just now appeared in the Amazon Kindle store and in the Sony Reader store. It has yet to appear in the Kobo ebook store here in Canada but it shouldn’t be too much longer. When The High Road is published in early September, it will be available right out of the gate in print and electronic forms. However you read it, I hope you enjoy it.

All of sudden, The High Road seems more real. The good folks at McClelland & Stewart have been busy. Both Chapters/Indigo and Amazon now feature preliminary listings for The High Road. It’s also listed on the M&S site. As soon as cover design and cover copy are completed, These listings will be filled out with graphics and more information. We’re getting there…

Authors write to have their work read. So hearing nice things from actual readers is just so gratifying. I happened to check last night and the seventh TBLP reader review has just appeared on Amazon.ca.

“The Best Laid Plans has to be one of the best books this year. The author has an insiders knowledge of the Canadian political system. Without boring us with the day to day minutae he is able to give us a clear picture of what is wrong with the system and lets us form our own opinions on how it might be changed. Mr. Fallis has a delightful sense of humour and has no difficulty letting us in on the joke. How wonderful life would be if only we really did have a few politicians such as are described in this book. I shall be seeking more books by this author.”

Burtine Kendall, Alberta

Makes it all worthwhile.

If you’ve read TBLP, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Alexander Graham Bell.  In the novel, Angus reveres Bell and honours him by naming his hovercraft  Baddeck 1.  Bell summered in Baddeck in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  It was the site of many of his triumphs as an inventor.  Whether building his record-breaking hydrofoil or testing various kite designs, a whole lot of ingenuity and innovation unfolded on the shores of Bras d’Or Lake.  On February 23rd, 1909, the Silver Dart, a rickety plane of bamboo, string, wire and silk, lifted off the ice at Baddeck making the very first controlled, powered flight in Canada.  The Silver Dart was designed and built by the Aerial Experiment Association, a group founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1907.  One hundred years later, almost to the day, a replica of the Silver Dart flew again, taking off from the very same ice.  Aided by my interest in, and respect for, Bell, I found the re-creation of this historic first flight to be quite moving.  It was a fitting and worthy tribute to Bell and his team of intrepid adventurers.