Happy book birthday to Fran Kimmel‘s NO GOOD ASKING, published yesterday with ECW Press! NO GOOD ASKING is a profoundly moving novel about secrets and longings, kindnesses and cruelties, and the remarkable tenacity of the human spirit to find its way home.
Fran Kimmel’s writing portfolio includes fiction, newspaper and magazine features, teen magazine columns, radio drama, educational videos, and corporate writing. In 2013, Fran’s debut novel, The Shore Girl, was shortlisted for an Alberta trade fiction award, named a CBC Top 40 Book, and won the Alberta Readers’ Choice Award. Fran’s short stories have appeared in literary journals from coast to coast and have twice been selected for The Journey Prize Stories anthology. Her radio plays and theatre scripts have also won CBC and Scripts at Work awards.
Advance Praise for NO GOOD ASKING:
“Kimmel’s novel has only a few characters, but they all possess presence and depth and experience honest changes. The strong sense of place serves as an additional relationship for the characters to negotiate.” —Library Journal, starred review
“Moving…The seemingly mundane scenes — a family dinner, for example — are the most powerful in the story and demonstrate our capacity to heal one another through compassion and kindness.”
—Canadian Living
“Quietly powerful…In less careful hands, this story could have come across as sentimental or melodramatic; instead, it takes shape as a guardedly hopeful tale of resilience.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Quiet and honest, No Good Asking is deeply rooted in western community, and in the small virtues that have large significance for people’s daily lives. With grace and clarity, Fran Kimmel shows how the ordinary milk of human kindness, given the minor catalyst of a child’s despair, can generate new life.”
—Marina Endicott, author of Good to a Fault
“No Good Asking is a complex, emotional exploration of the deeply personal aspects of existing within a family. With care and sensitivity, Kimmel excavates the hopes, dreams, secret desires and profound wounds of a winning cast of characters. This is a novel filled with poignant insights into the truth of human hearts. As I read it I kept it close—like a friend I wanted to get to know better. When it was over, I felt bereft for days. I look forward to what Kimmel writes next.”
—Marissa Stapley, bestselling author of Mating for Life and Things to Do When It’s Raining
“Intimate and arresting, honest and profound. From one of Canada’s finest voices in fiction, No Good Asking is a soaring read that explores the messy bonds of family life with humanity and heart.”
—Ali Bryan, award-winning author of Roost and The Figgs
“The humanity in Fran Kimmel’s No Good Asking is as big as the hearts of her arresting characters. In genuine, unaffected prose, this story builds from the first page to its satiating finale. An achingly goodstory.” —Lee Kvern, author of 7 Ways to Sunday
“An inspiring tale of dramatic shifts in human dynamics, compressed into one week. Fran Kimmel compassionately challenges conventional takes on dysfunction, loss, ways to mend, and the definition of family.” —Rona Altrows, author of At This Juncture
“Flawed, human, and fully realized, the cast of characters Fran Kimmel brings to life in No Good Asking will pique your interest, charm, and frustrate you before capturing your heart. This is a book that demonstrates, at a time when we all need it, that sometimes the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.”
—Joan Crate, author of Black Apple
Meet the author at these upcoming events:
Lacombe launch @ Fireside Lounge (5214 50 Ave, Lacombe, AB), October 4, 2018.
Calgary launch @ cSPACE (1721 29 Ave SW, Calgary, AB), October 5, 2018.
Edmonton launch @ Audrey’s Books (10702 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, AB), October 21, 2018.
Library reading and book club @ Elnora Public Library (210 Main St, Elnora, AB), November 13, 2018.