Last night following the first half of the Mainstage I decided to buy featured writer Jon Paul Fiorentino's recent novel Stripmalling.

And I figured, since he was standing there with a pen anyway, I'd ask him to sign it.

He thanked me for the support and while I told him I enjoyed the reading and the cover of his book, and how the parents described in the novel are very similar to my own he was writing something rather lengthy on the inside of the book.

We thanked each other again and shook hands and I made my way to the bar and the cheese table and then back to my seat.

I opened the book and immediately burst into laughter at what he had written:

Brandon!

Let's make sweet love behind the 7-11 on day street--3 am ok?

xo Jon

And while I'm honoured by the proposition, the answer, Jon, is no. Sorry.

***

Jon Paul Fiorentino's most recent novel is Stripmalling. ECW Press: Toronto, 2009.

****

Brandon James Bertram is an English/Creative Writing student at the University of Winnipeg. He reads, writes, rides bikes, and drinks coffee.