MOUSE BRADFORD AT HAMILTON’S BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

MOUSE BRADFORD AT HAMILTON’S BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

At Hamilton’s Battle of the Books this week Jean Rae Baxter dressed up as my heroine Mouse Bradford in The Western Light. Jean is a writer too. (Some of her fiction titles include: The Way Lies North, A Twist of Malice, Broken Trail.) Here’s Jean wearing a cowboy hat. Mouse always wore the Lone Ranger hat her father gave her. Jean also hobbled around the stage on crutches talking about why she liked my novel and wanted it to win this year’s Battle of the Books. Mouse limps around in a Boston brace because a bout of polio left her with a weak leg. For anyone who doesn’t know, Hamilton is one of the most enthusiastic literary kingdoms in Canada and possibly in the US too. They take their books straight up.