At a Loss for Words by Diane Schoemperlen

At a Loss for Words by Diane Schoemperlen

In a "he said, she said" story, the writer always gets the last word.

    She is a writer, established and successful, with a full life and supportive friends. Then he walks into a book signing and back into her life 30 years after he broke her heart. This time, things seem different. The pair reconnects through emails, messages and fragments of conversation. But love leaves her with a nasty case of writer's block. Looking for inspiration in the texts around her--optimistic horoscopes, evasive fortune cookies and the inane suggestions from books on writer's block--she tries to find a way through the relationship that has seemingly stolen her gift for language.

    Spinning us through the whirlwind love of her nameless protagonist, award-winning author Diane Schoemperlen weaves a stylish, innovative novel out of to-do lists and text messages. Exploring the different emotional languages spoken by men and women, At A Loss For Words is a charming take on the modern romance, warm and witty right through to its surprising and delicious resolution.

In the Language of Love (1994), Our Lady of the Lost and Found (2001), and At A Loss For Words (2008) are among Diane Schoemperlen's critically acclaimed collections of short fiction. Her collection The Guy of My Dreams, published in 1990, was nominated for the Governor-General's Prize and the Trillium Award. Her collection Forms of Devotion: Tales and Images won the Governor-General's Prize for English Fiction in 1998, and The New York Times Sunday Book Review linked her 2014 collection, By the Book: Stories and Pictures, to Lydia Davis, David Markson, and Padgett Powell's work. The Authors' Trust of Canada awarded her the Marian Engel Award in 2008. She was the Writer-in-Residence at Queen's University in 2012. She currently resides in Kingston, Ontario.