A feeling

Listen. I am going to express a feeling.

The Love Monster has been on the shelves for four months now. I wrote this book in fits and starts over six years, while working full time and raising kids. I was trying to get down on paper a story that would explain the basic way I feel about the world: that life can be miserable; that some of us are much luckier than others; that a positive attitude, love, rock and roll, art and fantasy can save us.The warm reception this weird little book has received to date has blown my mind.

So, I feel compelled to compose some thank-you notes.

First: the reviewers, the bloggers and tweeters.
Thanks to Mark Medley of The National Post for letting me guest-edit The Afterword and gush about things I love: Margaret Atwood, Donald Sutherland, Aliens and Mothers.

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/06/25/missy-marston-missy-loves-margaret/

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/06/26/missy-marston-missy-loves-donald/

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/06/27/missy-marston-missy-loves-aliens/

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/06/28/missy-marston-missy-loves-your-mama/

Thanks to Guy Bérubé, owner of La Petite Mort Gallery, for saying that The Love Monster was his favourite book of the year in his Q&A with Ottawa Citizen Style http://www.ottawacitizenstyle.com/category/around-ottawa/the-thursday-qa-with-guy-berube/

Thanks to Cori Dusmann of Quill & Quire for calling The Love Monster "a journey that spirals from bitter loneliness through the surreal before circling back to a world of hope, friendship, family, and love." http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7652

Thanks to Anna Leventhal of Montreal Review of Books for saying that my prose is "unfailingly charming", that it contains "Miranda Julyesque flights of fancy", and that my observations are "wry, funny, and often moving and insightful.`http://mtlreviewofbooks.ca/reviews/the-love-monster/

Thanks to Chad Pelley of somethingdaily.com for saying that "The Love Monster has all the makings of a perfect summer read." and for letting me write about my book and some of the books I love: http://somethingdaily.com/pitch-and-plug-with-missy-marston/

Thanks to Mary Oxendale Spensley who said this in her review on the WordFest blog: "Missy Marston has created a story that is both highly ridiculous and humane. It’s a wonderful read that will have you smiling and feeling good about the human race and the aliens too!"
http://wordfestblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/volunteer-reader-review-3/

To Cailin at The Word on the Street who said she would recommend The Love Monster "especially to those who have experienced a bad break-up, hate their job, or who have just been perplexed by how hard life can be."
http://torontowots.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/what-the-word-on-the-street-is-reading-8/

To Leigh Nash of Coach House Books who chose The Love Monster, when asked which book by another publisher she was excited about at Congress Expo this year: http://congress2012.ca/features/introducing-the-congress-expo/

Thanks to the one and only Vicki Ziegler (aka @bookgaga) for saying she would love to see The Love Monster on the Giller Prize longlist (What?!)
Vicki Ziegler ‏@bookgaga
Would love to see The Juliet Stories, @CarrieASnyder & The Love Monster, @MissyMarston on the @GillerPrize longlist

And -- saving the most unbelievable for last -- thank you to Margaret E. Atwood, towering giant of Canadian literature, for promising to read my book. Never in my wildest dreams. Really.
Margaret E. Atwood ‏@MargaretAtwood @MissyMarston: Missy, I will read your book. Promise, cross heart, juré craché (sworn, spat: an oath). Cause you sure have chutzpah!

Next: the readers.

Thanks to all of you who have bought my book, read it and then tracked me down to tell me how much you loved it. It has been a wonderful surprise.

In particular, thank you to the surprising number of people who have taken it upon themselves to aggressively market my book by:

- relentlessly pressing it on their friends, family, co-workers, book clubs, screenwriters, strangers in the street
- bringing it to every single dinner party they went to this summer as a "hostess gift"
- giving it to their mothers for Mother's Day
- giving it to the members of their wedding party on their wedding day (true story)
- reading it aloud at their yoga class (also true)
- demanding that book store staff get it out of the stock room and onto the shelf
- taking it off the shelf and smuggling it onto promotional tables
- and voting for it as the Readers Choice nominee for the Giller Prize.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/scotiabankgillerprize/nominees-p1/


People: you are spectacular. Your love is fierce and powerful. It is truly humbling. Big kisses to all of you.

Missy