We saw the new year in pretty quietly… after a game of Scrabble my 11-yr-old and I dragged sleeping bags into the living room to sleep under the xmas lights I’ve strung everywhere. There was really nothing good on the radio, so we just counted down to midnight ourselves, then climbed into said sleeping bags and chatted a little before falling asleep. By 12:30 it was all over. Party animals!
Category Archives: Author Info/Biographical
2018: Taking Stock and Making Plans
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More Eldritch To Come…
So true! (Bill Watterson)
Okay, I think I can finally make it official… I have signed with Dundurn for two (yes, two!) Eldritch Manor sequels. I am nearly finished writing Book 2, actually sprinting/stumbling to the finish as we speak. Which would be why I’ve been neglecting this blog and not leading a writing club at the library this fall. Must… focus…
(Obviously on the to-do list: come up with a title!)
Thanks to everyone who urged me to write more about Willa and her friends, and thanks of course to Dundurn, for agreeing to more of this creepy foolishness!
Stay tuned for more details about release dates! I’ll pass them along as soon as I know more.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to work.
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Writing Process Blog Tour: My Fiddly, Neurotic Way of Doing Things
The summer disappears into the sunset and here I am, back with something called a Blog Tour post… it seems to be kind of like a chain letter but without the promise of quick easy cash. Oh well.
When I attended the Festival of Trees events in London and Toronto in May I met many talented and enthusiastic children’s authors, including Ria Voros, who was nominated for the Silver Birch Fiction Award for Nobody’s Dog. Ria teaches in Nanaimo, BC, and her young adult novel-in-verse The Opposite of Geek came out in 2013. She also co-created Fork and Fiction, a blog about the love of food and books. Visit her at www.riavoros.com or www.forkandfiction.com.
BC beach bums
Recently Ria came with her family for a short visit to my little Salt Springy Island and we sat on a beach and talked of serious, writerly things. (Well, not entirely.) We did chat vaguely about starting some sort of writing support group for curmudgeonly BC writers (or maybe it was just me who was curmudgeonly). Anyhoo, now she has tagged me in this blog tour about Writing Procedure. You can find her post on the topic here.
And now it’s my turn…
Question 1: What are you working on? Continue reading
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Entering Summer Slacker Time!
Oh I wish I was slacking off! I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be posting much in the next while because I’ll be busy teaching my summer camps, and after that I’ve got me some overdue writing to attend to! (An Eldritch Manor sequel is on the top of the pile…)
Have a terrific July everybody!
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Forest of Reading Trip: the final chapter
The day after the Harbourfront hoopla (or was it more of a hootenanny?), I hopped on the GO train to meet more students in Ajax… Another fun day with wonderful authors and fabulous readers.
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Forest of Reading trip: On to Toronto!
After London we all traipsed into Toronto. I visited a couple of libraries and chatted with students… a very lively group at the Danforth/Coxwell branch had a ton of great questions for me, grilling me mercilessly about how I wrote my book, and about the cartoon shows I’ve worked on.
Then it was time for the Main Event – the big big big Festival of Trees at Harbourfront.
A total zoo. In a good way. And here was the most astonishing thing of all… Continue reading
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Forest of Reading Trip, first stop London!
Wow, what a week I’ve had! From my quiet country life to the raucous, celebratory hullabaloo that is the Forest of Reading Festival! And now that I’m back home, on my sunny deck listening to the wee birdies twitter (actual birds, not the 140-character ones), I’m ready to share my adventures.
First stop was the mighty city of London, Ontario, and their first-ever Festival of Trees event.
Kevin Sylvester (author of the Neil Flambe series) and I arrive at the Progress Building fully caffeinated and ready to go. (photo by Kevin)
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Travelling! Next week’s events…
So on Sunday I’m off to Ontario for the OLA Forest of Reading Festival events! Here’s what I’ll be up to…
May 12 – Forest of Reading, London
May 13 – school talk at the Danforth/Coxwell library branch, Toronto
May 14 – school talk at Northern District branch, Toronto
May 15 – Forest of Reading Festival at Harbourfront, Toronto
May 16 – Forest of Reading, Ajax
Holy marimba, by this time next week I’m going to be tired! But it will be a good kind of tired, the best kind, after meeting about a zillion eager young readers and talking about storytelling and books. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this!
Unfortunately, however, preparations for my trip have left little time for other things, like posting on this blog… sorry! I promise I’ll have lots of photos and stories when I get back. Until then, keep writing!
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Upcoming Talk at SSI Library
Looking forward to this!
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The Anxiety of Reviews
Okay, so reviews of my book make me anxious. Really anxious. Wincing, cringing, whinging anxious. I mean who likes being criticized for something you worked really hard on?! I prefer my days to be serene and content, so I don’t go out of my way to hunt down reviews, but if someone sends me a link to one I summon all my courage and take a look. (I also figure that if someone sends it to me, it won’t be terrible.)
So I was glad to read the lovely Open Book Toronto review of Eldritch this morning. The only complaint the reviewer had was with how sudden the reveal at the end is, a criticism I’ve heard from others. It’s a valid point, but I don’t regret ending that way, really. I just didn’t want the book to trail on and go out with a whimper, so I saved a bit of a bang for the last page.
What I especially loved in this review was the fact that the reviewer, YA author Kim Firmston, and her daughter both liked the book and found it kept them guessing. I think it’s fantastic whenever parents and kids can share enthusiasm for a book, and discuss it together.
“…this was an awesome read — when I was finally able to read it. My twelve-year-old daughter snatched the book away after reading the first chapter over my shoulder. I didn’t see it again for a while.
So if you have a fantasy lover, put a little Eldritch Manor in their stocking this Christmas, and when they are done reading have a crack at it yourself.”
(Kim Firmston, Open Book Toronto, Nov 13/2013)
(Phew!)
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