Getting published is just the beginning: the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a first-time novelist by Don Butler – Wednesday March 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EST).

My talk will focus on the path to publication at age 70 of my début novel, A Life of Bliss, and what I’ve done to get people to actually read it. I’ll talk about the genesis of my novel, what was involved in writing it and what I’ve learned since the book came out. I’ll also talk about my sequel to A Life of Bliss, which comes out in May. While not a traditional crime novel, it does revolve around a cold-case murder and the efforts of my main character, retired journalist Norman Pugsley, to figure out who was responsible.

Don Butler worked as a journalist for more than four decades at the Ottawa Citizen. During his time at the newspaper, he covered politics at all levels, wrote editorials and held several positions in newsroom management, including executive editor. In 2004, he wrote a ground-breaking series on restorative justice that was nominated for Justice Canada’s prestigious Justicia Award. His first novel, A Life of Bliss, was released in 2021 by Ottawa Press and Publishing. He lives in Ottawa, is married to fellow journalist Christina Spencer and has two grown children, Sean Butler and Meagan Zucco. Norman’s Conquest, the sequel to A Life of Bliss, will be released in May, 2024.