Jessica Westhead & Cara Hedley (Reading & Signing)
Thursday Nov 08 2007 7:00 pm, Calgary

Join McNally Robinson to celebrate the release of two new exciting titles from the Couch House Books fall catalog!

In Pulpy & Midge by Jessica Westhead, Brian Lembeck – ‘Pulpy’ – takes life slow and steady. He likes his office job, and he likes his gentle, figurine-collecting boss, Al. He even likes the bitter receptionist, though he’s the only one who does. He likes his wife, Midge, too, and their ice-dancing lessons. Midge works as a candle-party hostess – she quit her office job when Al’s dog ate her pet pigeon and Al promised Pulpy a promotion.

But when Al retires and the tyrannical Dan takes over, the promotion vanishes. And then Dan’s oversexed wife, Beatrice, takes a shine to Pulpy, and Dan starts to think Midge is one hot tamale. Soon, the receptionist is smitten with Pulpy, Midge can’t get rid of Dan and Beatrice, and Pulpy’s job is in jeopardy. For once, Pulpy just might have to take a stand.

‘A hilariously deadpan, wincingly funny take on one office innocent’s workplace coming-of-age. Brian “Pulpy” Lembeck is the new hero of the keyboard-and-cubicle set.’ – Lynn Coady, author of Mean Boy

In Twenty Miles by Cara Hedley The Scarlets are hard-hitting, tough-talking hockey players. There’s brash Toad, confident and witty, and there’s troubled Hal, unofficial team captain, whose mother is terminally ill. There’s French Pelly and there’s hilarious Heezer, who waitresses at Hooters to pay the rent. And then there’s Iz.

Iz has a long, fraught relationship with her sport. Her dad, who died before she was born, was a hockey star, and her grandparents have shaped her life around this game that is supposed to be her destiny. But when she leaves her grandmother behind for the university team, she can’t quite find her own place in the game.

From the rowdy hilarity of the Scarlets’ locker room to quiet, lyrical contemplations – and with a little beer-bonging and a lot of hockey along the way – Iz tries to navigate the ways loss plays out on the ice. Both fast-paced and hesitant, Twenty Miles celebrates women’s hockey and offers an uncompromising look at the ways in which the sport haunts the women who play it.

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