Sneak peek at the Acknowledgements

As I await the results of the professional and final proofread of what they call the “book block,” I thought I’d share the Acknowledgements section that will appear at the front of the novel. I figure the folks who deserve my thanks and gratitude should not just read about in the novel but here in the blogosphere as well. Here’s how it will appear when the novel is in print next month:

Aknowledgements

Writing seems the most solitary of pursuits, particularly late at night when you’re clacking away on the laptop as your family sleeps. But eventually, it dawns on you that, in fact, your ability to bind up your story into a book turns on the support of so many others. My thank-you list is long, and I’ll be forever grateful to the family members, friends, and, yes, to several strangers who helped me.

For being brave enough to read my words when I was barely brave enough to share them, I thank Christine Langlois, Catherine Shepherd, Tom Allen, and Kathleen Naylor. For advice and comfort in trying to navigate the publishing labyrinth, John Lute, Steve Paikin, Beverly Slopen, Ben McNally, Mike Tanner, and Bill Kaplan were there. Camille Montpetit, retired Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons, spent time with me to ensure that the parliamentary procedure portrayed in this story honoured the standing orders. I’m grateful to him and to Audrey O’Brien, the current Clerk of the House, for bringing us together.

While I would never suggest that you judge any book by its cover, I’m thankful for the early design work of my friend and colleague Steve Palmer on both the novel and the podcast blog page. Ron Boisvert was also generous in allowing a perfect stranger to use his amazing photograph, which I found while trolling the Internet. Many podcasting and blogging friends helped to promote the podcast series of The Best Laid Plans, which, in turn, should help to promote the printed version. I owe a debt to Shel Holtz, Neville Hobson, Donna Papacosta, Mitch Joel, Bryan Person, Scott Sigler, Dan York, Joe Thornley, David Jones, Keelan Green, Mark Blevis, Bob Goyetche, and many others. Novelist Mike Tanner, veteran Member of Parliament the Honourable Paddy Torsney, and the Honourable Allan Rock, former Justice Minister and Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, were very kind to provide glowing quotations to help promote the novel. Tom Allison also played a role in this. They all have my gratitude.

Thanks to my father, Dr. James C. Fallis, for passing on to me a love of our language. To all my friends and colleagues who endure my passion for proper English, you can’t fight DNA, so blame him. I’m quite sure my mother would have loved this book—regardless. As for my identical-twin brother, Tim, I certainly appreciate his support and encouragement along the way, but wish he would stop telling people it’s his book (unless of course they hate it, and then, by all means, he should carry on).

Writing—a solitary pursuit? Hardly.

Finally, this novel, from stem to stern, is a work of fiction—a complete fabrication. Though I worked alongside many interesting characters in my time on Parliament Hill, you’ll find none of them in this story.

To my wife, Nancy, and our two sons, Calder and Ben, who gave me the time, space, and inspiration to write—this is for you.

There you have it. I’ve now seen the final cover design layout of the hardcover and trade paperback. I like them and will post them for all to see in the coming days.