Behind the Scenes... A New Book

Not being a "centre-stage" kind of gal, I am feeling a bit shy about this, but here goes.

Today, my lovely publisher, Groundwood Books, has posted a guest blog by moi that is a behind-the-scenes look at how my new book West Coast Wild was created. You can read about my "Thelma and Louise" style trip to the far west coast of Vancouver Island with the amazing (and fun!) illustrator, Karen Reczuch.

Here's the link: Groundwood Guest Post.

Hope you enjoy it.

(Going back into hiding now.)

Back to School!

It is September and in my part of the world, today is the first school day of the year. I'm thinking about all the children and teachers who are gathering in their classrooms, full of enthusiasm and good cheer.

My friend, Margriet Ruurs, has written a wonderful book called School Days Around the World. The charming image above of students arm-in-arm is from the book and created by illustrator, Alice Feagan.

As a writer and speaker, Margriet has travelled around the world, visiting many countries and presenting in dozens of international schools. She has friends everywhere! And she knows what school is like in a myriad of places.

To find out more about schools in other parts of the world, I recommend picking up a copy of her book and sharing it with the young children in your life.

And if you are back at school this fall, I send my very best wishes for a happy and productive year!

Thank you, Munro's Books!

Imagine my surprise (and delight!) upon checking into my Facebook page and seeing a lovely post from Munro's Books — the iconic bookstore in Victoria, BC and one of my favourite bookstores in the world.

Here's what I saw:

"We just adore this gorgeous coastal picture book from Groundwood Books. Filled with stunning art and descriptions of our flora and fauna, this alphabet book makes us feel lucky to live here."

Thank you so much, Munro's Books! I feel lucky to live here too. I hope to visit your wonderful bookstore soon.

Cheers!

My "Staycation" Summer

For the most part, I've had a "staycation" kind of summer (who invented that word anyway???). Other than a trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island in early July, I have been firmly planted at home.

It's not that I didn't want to go somewhere — I would have happily visited Haida Gwaii, the Great Bear Rainforest, Desolation Sound, the Saskatchewan prairies where I was born, or even Newfoundland! All of these places have great appeal for me.

It's just that the sun was shining brightly in our fair city, the sidewalk patios by the ocean were inviting, the garden was in full bloom, and visitors were arriving in town to see us. So, it became a summer at home.

Added to the list of reasons to stay put were a series of small but necessary projects including: updating my website, writing a teacher's guide for my latest book and re-organizing my computer's filing system.

But there is satisfaction in getting these jobs done and looking forward to the fall where I will spend most of my time (I hope) writing something new. I have cleared the decks! No excuses now.

And with thanks to my dad, who is also a writer, here are two great quotes. The first is from C.S. Forester, who penned The African Queen and many other titles. He said, "A man who writes for a living does not have to go anywhere in particular, and he could rarely afford to if he wanted."

And the second quote (again via my dad) is from William Faulkner, the Nobel Prize winning author and stay-at-home writer, who said, "I have travelled far in the town of Oxford, Mississippi."

As I've discovered over the years, we writers can easily wander in our imaginations. No need to book a trip anywhere!

Cheers!

Festival Fun (Looking ahead!)

The program to the Vancouver Writer's Fest arrived in my mailbox last week and it has been fun looking through the wealth of festival offerings. Lots of great authors are coming to town to wow us with their new books. It's exciting!

And from our very own city, are some wonderful authors too. Congrats to my friend and colleague Tanya Kyi! You can read about her festival events here.

I'm a festival member and one of the benefits of membership (a bargain at $25 a year) is being able to buy tickets before they are released for general purchase.

The pages of my program are now flagged with a zillion brightly coloured sticky notes marking the sessions that interest me most. The difficult next step is to narrow down these choices into something more manageable. Help!

(Member tickets go on sale on Sept. 1. Tickets for the public's purchase on Sept. 8.)

The festival is in late October, so it's a long wait — but it is entertaining to contemplate the fall readings schedule as we amble through the remainder of this hot, dry west coast summer. (Where is the rain???)

Cheers!

Dreaming of Rain

Here on the west coast, we live in a rainforest, and are used to rain of every variety: from a fine mist to gentle showers, or from a steady sprinkle to pelting cloudbursts, and even torrential monsoon-like downpours in the long days of winter.

Why do we love the rain? Our trees and plants grow thick and green. Our gardens flourish. We taste the moisture in the air. It just seems right.

So how are we feeling with a three-month drought? Days and days of no rain? It feels very strange indeed.

Our lawns and gardens are brown. The air is dry. We get up in the morning and scan the sky for gray clouds and a sign of rain. There are none to be found.

I used to think it would be wonderful to live in a place like California where the sun always shines. I'm not so sure anymore.

I love the rain. I miss the rain. I hope to see some soon.

West Coast Inspiration...

I'm just back from a family holiday on the far west coast of Vancouver Island (the subject of my new book). As you can see from the sunset photo above, it is a stunning area. I feel fortunate to be able to visit the region every year.

We spent a lot of time beachcombing and exploring tidepools with the small children in our family. It is thrilling to watch them discover all the amazing marine creatures that the shoreline has to offer: brilliant sea stars, pink and green anemones, scurrying crabs, clinging limpets, tiny fish and kelp of every description.

To me, the west coast is always a place of writing inspiration. When I walk down the beautiful stretch of beach, and hear the crashing waves and see the vast expanse of sea and sky, I begin to think that anything is possible. And that is exactly what a writer needs to believe.