First of all, welcome back if you were here last week. And, well, if you haven’t checked in since December because you were taking time away from the daily routine, a great big welcome back to you, too, and Happy New Year! I did four fresh journals last week and it feels good to be at this well-worn keyboard again. Check ’em out!
 
As we get set to embark on a brand new week here together, I have to tell you a story about my favourite author, a man I’ve never met, but with whom I’ve been in touch thanks to me being a fan who’s also active on social media. His name came up here last week in connection to a remark he made about a crazy cooking mishap. Linwood Barclay’s regal name also came up in our house around Christmas, as in how I almost ruined my own husband’s gift.
 
Many of you will know Linwood as a former (and hugely popular) columnist with the Toronto Star who has gone on to great success as a writer of mysteries and thrillers. I first got hooked on his writing thanks to a book called Trust Your Eyes. Soon to be a film, its entire premise is fascinating: a man suffering from schizophrenia won’t leave his home but views the world through a Google Street View-type software and thinks he’s seen evidence of a crime. My synopsis doesn’t do it justice, but trust me when I say that there’s a reason Linwood gratefully counts Stephen King among his biggest (and most vocal) fans.
 

 
So it was that when I tweeted I’d just bought Rob (who, thankfully, steers clear of my feed) the latest Barclay book, Parting Shot, this internationally bestselling author very kindly messaged me and offered to personalize the book. All I needed to do was send my address and he’d fill out a sticker with his autograph on it, inscribed to Rob. Sweet!
 
I sent our address and, after a few weeks’ time and an accumulation of things on my mind, managed to forget about Linwood’s kind offer. 
 
Fast forward to a few days before Christmas, when Rob and I were retrieving the mail together. As I pulled a red envelope out of our Canada Post mailbox, excited for more holiday tidings, Rob remarked how strange it was that that particular envelope had no stamp on it! What sorcery was this, we wondered, that allowed a card to travel to us without a stamp? Was it government? Magic? 
 
I looked at the back of the envelope with its little gold sticker and the name “Barclay” with a return address. That’s when my brain shut off and my mouth went into overdrive. 
 
“Barclay? Barclay? Who do we know named Barclay?” 
 
Rob couldn’t come up with anyone. I suddenly remembered a kind lady I used to see for facials a few times a year and wondered how Patricia Barclay found us in BC!
 
And then, when we got home, I opened the envelope and, peeking out from the Christmas card inside, were three personalized labels with different inscriptions. IT WAS LINWOOD BARCLAY!
 
I slapped the card shut and said, “Oh! I remember…” and left it at that. I’m pretty sure Rob saw the labels too, but certainly did a good job of pretending not to have put two and two together on Christmas morning. 
 
Once again proof that I am, to quote a Tweet, “like, really smart.” A real stable genius, depending on which horse farm I’m visiting! Have a great day and I’ll be back with you tomorrow.