Susan Juby's Blog, page 15

Frank Juby-Waring

July 1998 – October 2013

To whom it may concern,

We would like a lodge a complaint. As I’m sure you are aware, the world’s best dog died on Tuesday night at the Victoria Emergency Clinic. This is a travesty.

Before you try to give us all the usual excuses — He was fifteen, Dogs have to go sometime, etc. — please consider the following.

Frank Juby-Waring had dependents. James and I require a great deal of care. Yes, Frank’s responsibilities have changed over the years. As a young dog he took part in our athletic endeavors such as running, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, cross country skiing, swimming, tubing great rivers and back country camping. As time has gone on his role has evolved to reflect our family’s growing interest in snacking and resting.

What never changed was Frank’s position as the family style and fashion icon. I’m sure you remember the annual Christmas card.

I’m sad to report that without Frank we barely know who we are. I won’t overwhelm you with touching anecdotes, because you are a heartless bureaucrat who allows dogs to die, but I will elucidate the ways in which Frank’s qualities seemed to reflect and perhaps influence our own. He was attractive (me and James); charismatic (me and James); perhaps a bit oversensitive (me and James, especially me); obsessive (me and James, especially James); sometimes standoffish (me); irritable with children (me and James); gassy (best not to say); highly concerned with toys (James); had a large wardrobe (me) and was widely acknowledged by me and James to have star quality and broad-based appeal, similar to ourselves. If we could love the good and the less ideal qualities in Frank, they became easier to bear in ourselves.

We acknowledge that Frank gave us a good home for fifteen years, but that was not enough. We would like to propose that the life span of dogs, in particular dogs with dependents, be raised to between fifty and a hundred years. You may even want to consider making complete exceptions to the mortality rule in the case of the very best dogs.

Please consider this request in the spirit in which it has been sent.

We are cast adrift by the loss of our Frankie dog and want to make sure no one other dependent people have to go though anything like this.

With broken hearts,

Susan and James

In loving memory of Frank Juby-Waring.

Another summer, a new manuscript, a new playlist.

Everybody’s Talkin’: Harry Nilsson

Notes: This is what genius plus stage fright look like.

A Heart Like Mine: Dwight Yoakam

Notes: This is what sexy country magic looks like.

Braids: Lemonade



Notes: None. Just listen.

Hot Like Sauce: Pretty Lights

Hot Like Dimes: Pretty Lights

Notes: Term “woot woot” apparently invented to describe the “Hot Like” songs by Pretty Lights.

Someone to Love Me: Mary J. Blige

Notes: If you don’t love Mary J., you were born without ears.

It’s Like That: Run DMC vs. Jason Nevins

Notes: Don’t know what’s greatest about this: the music or the way the dancers all look like pure, fresh-faced possibility.

Time to Pretend: MGMT

Notes: Don’t do drugs even if druggie music is often excellent. Also, it’s probably best not to date models.

Call Me a Hole: NIN v Carly Rae Jepson

http://youtu.be/q_FrHytWXpw

Notes: Because, obviously!

A hundred twinkling lights of thanks to the jury for the Sunburst Awards which recognizes excellence in Canadian literature of the fantastic for including Bright’s Light on the 2013 shortlist. It’s quite a line-up and I’m thrilled to be included and particularly grateful for the jury’s comments:

“Slyly clever and unabashedly entertaining, Bright’s Light will have you laughing out loud; but don’t be fooled. The novel has much to say about where our contemporary preoccupations with looks, fashion, status, and mindless entertainment might lead, and is one of the most original YA reads you’ll ever see. A pointed, hilarious and yet affectionate satire on popular culture.”

To celebrate this honour, I think we might go camping again. I will bring my needlepoint and mule books. Summmmer tiiiimmme!

I am thrilled beyond measure to report that my next two books, including The Truth Commission, will be published by Razorbill (Penguin) in Canada and by Viking (Penguin) in the U.S.

Here’s the announcement as it appeared today in Publisher’s Lunch:

Sharyn November at Viking has acquired two books from Susan Juby, author of six YA novels, including the Alice MacLeod trilogy, which served as the basis for the Canadian TV series Alice, I Think. The first novel in the deal, The Truth Commission, follows a girl who begins asking her classmates probing questions while denying what’s been happening to her famous sister. Truth is slated for publication in late 2014. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists brokered the deal for world rights excluding Canada.

As noted earlier, a sequel to The Woefield Poultry Collective, currently titled The Republic of Dirt will be out in 2014 as well.

Yes, I have the best agent in the universe and let me express my undying thanks to the wonderful editors who are working with me on these projects. Sigh. Good day.

xoxox

Join me on June 22 when I get to interview local sensation, Chevy Stevens about her amazing new book. Chevy’s first book, the bestselling Still Missing, was a harrowing account of a woman’s kidnapping and survival. Her second, Never Knowing, is about a woman who goes in search of her birth parents with devastating results. The third book, Always Watching, takes us into the murky history of the psychiatrist who appears in the first two books, Dr. Nadine Lavoie. The story goes at breakneck pace and is fascinating from start to finish. I can’t wait to talk to her about her process and inspiration.

I’ll be interviewing Chevy as part of her book launch on June 22 at 2:00 at the Nanaimo Chapters. Everyone is welcome and she will be signing copies of the new book. Please join us!