While I write my first Neil Flambé mystery I'm doing character sketches of the main characters. That's Angel Jicama, a chef who quit the crazy restaurant business to simplify his life and his food.

Every year I freeze a rink in my backyard. My friend Anna (originally from Trinidad) made her first trip on frozen water in 20+ years!

Our mutual friend Jack and I gave her a helping hand or two.

You can also see a glimpse of the "playoff beard" I'm sporting while I write my book.

I'm working on an article on bike snobbery for the Toronto cycling magazine dandyhorse http://dandyhorseweb.appspot.com/

I'm a believer that cycling should be egalitarian but I find that tribalism seeps into the two-wheeled world as much as anywhere else. Still, I have prepared one Utopian vision of cycling freedom and I'll share it with you.

Keep cycling!

I was listening to Rich Terfry on CBC Radio 2 (my afternoon buddy when I'm writing) and he mentioned that Neil Young has a new album coming out with songs based on the electric car. Crazy after all these years! So here's a pic of Neil I did for the Literary Review of Canada a year or so ago.

get ready for Neil!

I'm now in the process of writing the first Neil Flambé mystery. Neil Flambé at the Marco Polo Murders will be published by Key Porter in Spring 2010.

Neil is a 14-year old wunder-chef who also solves mysteries.

Fans of the dearly departed CBC Radio Program Sounds Like Canada may remember that I originally wrote Neil as a summer series. Some of that is still on facebook and on my redundant web site.

http://sylvesterartwork.googlepages.com/

back at work

After working at the CBC for a couple of weeks to pay the bills, I am now rushing against some deadlines. The first draft for Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders is due in two months (publishing date, Spring 2010!)

I'm also pining for baseball. Here's my vision of what baseball post-steroids looks like.

Computer is fixed!

And with Photoshop working I've even entered the New Yorker's Eustace Tilley contest!

http://www.newyorker.com/online/photocontests/eustace_tilley_2009