Known as a music journalist and rock singer with the long-running rock band The Smugglers, Grant Lawrence took many by surprise when he wrote a book that had nothing to do with music.

Instead, he chose to write about his experiences in Desolation Sound, which led to the book being rejected by almost every publication house in Canada, only to become a national bestseller.

Lawrence discusses the novel — Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound — at Bookland on April 29 starting at 1 p.m.

"I always believe in giving some sort of performance or show no matter what I do," he said Wednesday, adding the event will be a mix of conversation and readings from the book.

Adventures In Solitude is split into two parts. The first deals with his love-hate relationship with Desolation Sound as a boy. Coming from a Conservative, West Vancouver family, summer trips to the isolated, hippie community were a trial for the young Lawrence.

It wasn't until he returned to the family cabin as an adult that he grew to appreciate the calm and quirky getaway for what it is, he said. These stories make up the second half of the book.

Lawrence made a name for himself performing as the lead singer for The Smugglers, which brought him to Kamloops for several performances during the band's 17 years in the industry.

He also hosts a daily music program on CBC Radio 3 and can be heard throughout the week on programs like Q, DNTO and Sounds Like Canada.

It's his association with music that led publishers to expect a book on music. Harbour Publishing picked up the memoirs and released it to great success in the fall of 2010. Adventures In Solitude is a national bestseller and spent most of last year as a No. 1 bestseller in B.C.

Not writing about music was easy, said Lawrence. He didn't want to spend his free time writing about his job.

"If you work at Burger King Monday to Friday your first inclination on Saturday night isn't to chomp down on a Whopper," he said.

Lawrence is working on two more books. The first, about his career with The Smugglers, is scheduled for release in 2013. A book about hockey will be published in 2014.