I WILL TELL THE NIGHT Ready to Launch!

I did it! I set myself the goal of JANUARY 7th, 2025 for the release date of my FIRST self-published novel and I reached my goal! It’s all ready to launch.

I just finished the final round of edits on I WILL TELL THE NIGHT and submitted the final final final final manuscript! It was a lot of work getting this ready. More than I thought it would be. All I can do now is wait for the release date to come and hope that readers embrace it.

I put my life into this manuscript! Originally written at the 2016 Muskoka Novel Marathon, I WILL TELL THE NIGHT has had a long life. I wrote it and I rewrote it and I rewrote it. Then I edited it a few dozen times.

I’m most proud of the fact that the original first draft incomplete novel won the BEST ADULT NOVEL AWARD at the Muskoka Novel Marathon. The judges saw something in the raw first draft that warranted giving it that year’s coveted prize. That prize came with another amazing Muskoka chair! And my heartfelt thanks to the marathon organizers.

Now, I’ve set it off into the world. The last draft…the very last and final draft.

I hope you enjoy it!


The much abused ARC of I WILL TELL THE NIGHT. This copy has more red ink and scrawls in it than you could possibly imagine. Wait…I take that back. I didn’t have a red pen. The scrawls are all in blue/black ink. Trust me, this copy is a wreck.

The biggest thing you could do right now, to help me, is to PRE-ORDER your copy of I WILL TELL THE NIGHT!

Otherwise, please consider sharing anything you see relating to the book! That will definitely help. I now know the difference between having an army of publisher personnel behind you and being all on your own. Nobody was cheering me on, helping me make decisions, guiding my way. It was just me. Please consider lending a hand and sharing any info you can on this release! I would be eternally grateful.


Look for this trinket in the story. Its place in the story is fully fictional, but it is real. It exists.

Here are the pre-order links for AMAZON CANADA and AMAZON USA. It is also available in all other countries that Amazon sells in. Just search for I WILL TELL THE NIGHT in your Amazon!

I WILL TELL THE NIGHT – AMAZON USA PRE-ORDER LINK

I WILL TELL THE NIGHT – AMAZON CANADA PRE-ORDER LINK

Click those buttons, pre-order that book, share those posts on social media! JANUARY 7th is COMING! (-;

The Paperback is Ready! I Will Tell the Night Coming Soon!

After much editing and formatting the paperback of I WILL TELL THE NIGHT is finally ready for its upcoming release date of JANUARY 7th, 2025!

I could not find a way to put the paperback up for pre-order. I think this has something to do with changes effecting the printing cost and price. At any rate, it will not be up for pre-order. If you would prefer PRINT, you can order it directly from Amazon on the release date.

The paperback ARC…all 300 pages of it!

The cover you see above is MATTE finish, but after much deliberation I have decided to go with a glossy finish for this cover. I think the gloss will give the artwork a better finish. I haven’t witness this with my own eyes as of yet, but I can sense it. (-;

I WILL TELL THE NIGHT

Finn Barker escaped his family in Miramichi, New Brunswick, decades ago for the anonymity of Toronto. When he learns of his mother’s impending demise, he decides to make the trip back home to say goodbye. But going back will awaken all the sleeping ghosts Finn’s not quite sure he’s willing to stir. With no time to decide, his split-second decision to jump back in has him driving across the country, with his boyfriend Steven behind the wheel. Along the way, Finn begins to unpack the mess he left behind. There’s the grandmother, MyImogene, he adored, and the twin brother who died of cancer when his own parents would have preferred to lose the other twin. There’s also the huge scandal Finn orchestrated with a teacher that gave him the Dutch courage he needed to flee. It was almost all bad.

Finn makes it in time for goodbyes, but then there’s the still very active strife between him and his father, the funeral, the family, and the secrets that shed new light on the cause of the rift between his parents and his beloved MyImogene. Every family carries secrets. Finn discovers they’re the one thing you can’t escape, no matter how far away you run. Secrets always catch up. Often, it’s death that has a way of bringing them back into the light of day. He was able to make peace with his dying mother, but can Finn make peace with all the rest…or is it time to run away for another thirty years?

PRE-ORDER THE KINDLE VERSION NOW! Read on release day – JANUARY 7, 2025!

Kindle available in all Amazon countries.

Amazon Canada | Amazon USA | Amazon UK

Paperback available on release day from Amazon.

I’m doing this on my own this time, so I would really appreciate shares on social media. Any share will help. Thank you in advance!

And if you’re one of the souls who have already pre-ordered I WILL TELL THE NIGHT, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This was a long labour of love and it’s a story close to my heart. I hope you enjoy it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The Camino de Santiago ONE MORE TIME! From Leon to Santiago de Compostela!

I’m always up for doing the Time Warp again. I can’t count how many times I’ve watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s frightening that I know every line from a movie.

But that’s not what this post is about. I’m obsessed with something else just as much, if not more, than I’m obsessed with that fascinating cult movie from my youth. We’ll talk about the Roxy Theatre here in Toronto, and how they played The Rocky Horror Picture Show every week from 1976 to 1983 some other time. (-:

Let’s do the Camino de Santiago again!

Today’s post is about our upcoming pilgrimage! We have marked our calendar for September, 2025! That’s when we’ll make our way back to the Camino de Santiago in Spain!

A photo from 2019 and the first of our two shared arrivals in Plaza del Obradoiro…and the cathedral at the end of the Camino de Santiago. This was my second of three arrivals. In 2014 I did the walk with a group.

This time, we’ll begin our walk in LEON!

Tuesday, Sept 9th-Leave Toronto
START END KM
Wednesday, Sept 10th Madrid Madrid  
Thursday, Sept 11th Madrid Leon  
Friday, Sept 12th Leon San Martin del Camino 22
Saturday, Sept 13th San Martin del Camino Astorga 26
Sunday, Sept 14th Astorga Foncebadon 26
Monday, Sept 15th Foncebadon Ponferrada 27
Tuesday, Sept 16th Ponferrada Villafranca del Bierzo 28
Wednesday, Sept 17th Villafranca del Bierzo O Cebreiro 28
Thursday, Sept 18th O Cebreiro Triacastela 21
Friday, Sept 19th Triacastela Sarria 18
Saturday, Sept 20th Sarria Portomarin 22
Sunday, Sept 21st Portomarin Palas de Rei 28
Monday, Sept 22nd Palas de Rei Arzua 28
Tuesday, Sept 23rd Arzua Amenal 22
Wednesday, Sept 24th Amenal Santiago de Compostela 16
Thursday, Sept 25th Bus trip to Finistere    
Friday, Sept 26th Santiago de Compostela Madrid  
Saturday, Sept 27th Madrid Toronto

There’s the whole schedule of our walk!

Michael, walking up the hill after leaving Portomarin, Spain, in 2019.

This time, I plan to draft a guide book of sorts. We’ll see how it goes. I think the world might actually need more guide books for those who don’t plan to walk the entire Camino. Not everybody can get the time off work needed to walk the entire Camino Frances from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela. I’m going with the thought in my head to take notes and create something out of the experience. We’ll see if it materializes or not. Once you’re out there, putting one foot in front of the other, it’s easy to forget about taking notes. At the very least, I will document our journey here on my blog. I’ll have the intention…stay tuned!

Our arrival at the 100km mile marker just past Sarria, in September, 2019.

Have you picked up my novel set on the Camino Frances? Here’s a link to THE CAMINO CLUB:

THE CAMINO CLUB AT AMAZON! (It’s available wherever books are sold!)