Patricia Seaman is a writer, critic, editor and designer, and the author of New Motor Queen City (Coach House Books, 1999), The Black Diamond Ring (The Mercury Press, 1994) and Hotel Destiné (gynergy press, 1989). She has also produced an assortment of art books. She adapted her novel Hotel Destiné for film, and starred as the lead. Recently, Patricia taught journalism to kids who were at risk of violence, through the organization Leave Out Violence. She produced a short documentary film, Lost Innocence, written by the kids in the class, speaking candidly about the effect of violence on their lives. Patricia’s writing has been widely published, and her reviews have appeared in the Globe and Mail and eye Weekly. She was an editor at Tessera, a feminist scholarly literary journal. Acknowledgements Special thanks to my editor, Alana Wilcox, and to Darren Wershler-Henry, Stan Bevington, Rick/Simon and everyone at Coach House Books. Thanks to Lisa Sakulensky for the author's photograph, comments, and endless support. Thanks to Kristin Sjaarda for the cover photograph. Very special thanks to Jennifer Henderson and Keith Denny for editorial input and moral support. Thanks very much to Martha Sharpe, Michael Redhill, Esta Spalding and Patrick Crean for comments on early drafts. Thanks also to Reid Diamond, Michael Ondaatje, Marc Glassman, Thérèse Lamie, Rashmi Biswas, Tracy Peters, Kim Harris, Michael Cho, Nigel Hunt, Martin Levin, Margaret Hegeman, Wanda Taylor and the many others who have offered their friendship and support. And thanks very much to my family. copyright © Patricia Seaman, 2001 Edited by Alana Wilcox Author photograph by Lisa Sakulensky Cover photograph by Kristin Sjaarda Web design by damian lopes ISBN 1-55245-954-3 Coach House Books, 2002