Patti Grayson

Please join us for January’s Book Chat, which will feature local author Patti Grayson. Come and listen as they read from and discuss her new book The Twistical Nature of Spoons.

To be a part of this event, please email for the Zoom instructions.

Patti Grayson reflects . . .

There are many days when I feel as if I am brand new to the writing path. But then I am prompted to consider twenty-five years of milestones, ranging back to enrolment in my first writing course, my first poem in print, acceptance into the MWG mentor program, an arts grant award, and right on through to three published works of fiction. In turn, this career inventory review forces me to face the somewhat humiliating question: “Shouldn’t this process be easier by now?”

I am deep into the second revamp of my current manuscript – an adult narrative where magic realism and myth flit about in the wings, eager to play their parts. When I began the first draft years ago, my intention was to avoid massive rewrites by working methodically and getting it right. Ironically, I am certain now that I could have achieved the resulting level of wrongness in a lot less time. But therein resides the joy of writing. The discoveries never stop. I am grateful to be enamoured enough with my novel’s weird little world to continue striving for its sake. And I am thankful for the Manitoba writing community that has both inspired and supported me over these many years. (Note to self: Employ more precipitancy when punching out any future first drafts).

Patti Grayson has worked as a copywriter, puppeteer, actor, and school librarian. Her publications include a short fiction collection (Core Samples, Turnstone Press), a novel (Autumn, One Spring, Turnstone Press; German translation, Hochzeit mit Elch, Fischer), and a juvenile novel (Ghost Most Foul, Coteau Books). Her poetry and stories have appeared in CV2, Prairie Fire, Zygote, Other Voices, and The Fiddlehead. She has been nominated for five Manitoba Book Awards. Patti lives in St. Andrews, but also spends time writing in the wilds of Northwestern Ontario where she was born and raised.

About The Twistical Nature of Spoons:

The Twistical Nature of Spoons was launched at McNally Robinson Booksellers, and hosted by my editor, Sarah Ens. I was joined by so many friends and family members, both in the room and virtually. My thanks to everyone who made it such a memorable evening.

Blisse has guarded the family secret for her entire childhood. No one can know the origin of her unconventional birthday gifts. Her mother, Ina, has insisted that Blisse never tell a soul – believing it’s the only way to keep her daughter safe from a dire fate. Together, mother and daughter must sift through their own versions of events to understand how the secret has led to the unravelling of their lives. Chock-full of masks and curses, art and magic, seduction and spoons, their stories are both fraught with misdirection and awash in whimsy. Can their revelations negate a tragic prediction? Or is the dissolution of love and family inevitable?

A chance encounter. A family secret. Lives bound together and torn apart. Blisse and Ina cordially invite you, the reader, to pick a side.