Lori Lansens - "The Girls"

Just to be fair - if I can say that Anthony Bidulka is a very handsome man, then I can equally say that Lori Lansens is gorgeous! But it's all about the book, right? You may remember the name 'Lori Lansens' from the 1991 Canadian film, South of Wawa, which she wrote. It starred one of my favourite Canadian actresses, Rebecca Jenkins. More recently, in 2002, Lori came out with her first novel, Rush Home Road. Not normally big news, in and of itself, but I believe it was propelled in the media especially by the fact that Whoopi Goldberg's production company optioned the film rights to this first novel. After that stunning debut, Lori devoted much of her time to motherhood and began work on her current novel, The Girls:
"...the story of Rose and Ruby, twenty-nine-year-old conjoined twins. Born during a tornado to a shocked teenaged mother in the hospital at Leaford, Ontario, they are raised by the nurse who helped usher them into the world. Joined to Ruby at the head, Rose's face is pulled to one side, but she has full use of her limbs. Ruby has a beautiful face, but her body is tiny and she is unable to walk. She rests her legs on her sister's hip, rather like a small child or a doll. In spite of their situation, the girls lead surprisingly separate lives. Rose is bookish and a baseball fan. Ruby is fond of trash TV and has a passion for local history. Rose has always wanted to be a writer, and as the novel opens, she begins to pen her autobiography."
Lori is off to Montreal to round off the week and many other locations near you in the coming months. Be sure to see her in person and you won't disappointed if you pick up a book or two (which comes in two colours of dust jackets, representing each of the conjoined twins.)