"What Casanova Told Me" was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Canada and Caribbean Region). It was a "Globe and Mail" Best Book; a "Calgary Herald" Top 10; a "Now" (Toronto) Top 10; and a "Sun Times" (Owen Sound) Top 10; and Asked For Adams was named one of Maclean's Top 5 literary characters for 2004. Swan shares a Puritan background with her heroine Asked For Adams. A branch of Swan's family immigrated to America in 1635 and settled near Boston before moving to Canada two centuries later. "What Casanova Told Me" was made into Canada's first five-minute book short by film producer Judith Keenan. It also inspired the song "What Casanova Told Me" by Albertan folk singer Cori Brewster who recorded it on her 2007 album Large Bird Leaving.