Friday, February 19, 2010

Hawaii


So exciting. Only one more day before a week in Hawaii...sunshine, snorkeling, whale/dolphin watching, checking out the volcano and sunset and stargazing on Mauna Kea, the highest mountain in the world (if you consider the height from the sea bed that is), the conservatory which is supposed to be stunning, and of course lots of beach reading. I'm in the middle of The Astonish Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, which is so interesting, although I'm thinking of bringing something a little lighter for the beach.


Ruby is lucky too. My dog sitter has a year old pug that she's bring along so Ruby will have lots of company.

Can't wait despite the crazy early flight. This time, I'm going to remember my camera...I'd so love to set a book there.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Connecting with collegues



Yesterday morning I had a surprise visit from Andrea and David Spalding from Pender Island. They were on their way to an appointment, so the visit was short and sweet, but so nice to see them. They were just back from The Yucatan in Mexico, and we traded travel stories before they rushed off.

After a full day of work, I took Ruby for a quick walk before I headed downtown to pick up Ann Walsh, a writer and editor from Williams Lake who is in town for a mon
th reprieve from the snow. We had a hilarious adventure trying to figure out the GPS (neither of us had our reading glasses) and arrived late at our Island CWILL meeting (CWILL being Children's Writers and Illustrators).
I so love kid's writers. No one was phased by our late arrival. Such a wonderfully supportive group. It was good to see Michelle Mulder whose social justice books for kids are really filling a void as well as Adrienne Mason, a great science writer and the editor of Know Magazine. I don't get a chance to see Adrienne often as she lives in Tofino, a five hour drive from here, but fortunately, she was on her way to a science education conference in San Diego. I also met Heather Sander, a local fantasy writer, for the first time. The evening flew by with each of us sharing news and information about recent changes in publishing as well as meaningful ways to connect given the issue of distance. All in all, a great evening.


Monday, February 15, 2010

Cybils Announced

Looking for a good book? It's your lucky day...The 2009 Cybils Awards were just announced. For those of you who don't know, The Cybils are a grassroots award for kids/teen books created by avid book bloggers. Lots of categories, like picture book, early reader, teen fiction, poetry, non-fiction mean that there is something for everyone. For more great books, be sure to check out the short lists too.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Lambs

Off to Galiano Island this weekend. Love it there. I can walk and think and write. My friend tells me it's lambing season and I can't wait to see them. Two more were lambs were born this morning. They are going to be so cute and cuddly. I'm definitely bringing my camera as well as my laptop, so expect pictures.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

running

Not exactly book related news, but I'm so pleased that I'm now one month into training for the Times Colonist 10 Kilometer run. One month down, another couple to go. The best advice I had from one of my writer friends was to run with a buddy. I'm so glad I took her advice. It's so much easier to keep up with running 3 or 4 times a week with my buddy. We encourage each other, especially on days when one or the other of us is inclined to poop out. Maybe there's a book in here somewhere...

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Wordle is so cool. Try it.

I just discovered this very cool site that plays with words. Here is a puppy poem I did this morning. Isn't it cool! So check out www.wordle.net to create your own fun poems.
.Wordle: Ruby

Monday, February 01, 2010

Victoria Book Fair

What fun. I love book fairs, and I especially love book people. Once a year, all the book sales reps. meet up in Victoria to showcase what's coming up for the spring season. While the event is aimed at booksellers, I usually manage to get in to have a peak at what's coming and say hi to some old friends. I made it to last night's wine & cheese, where I caught up with all sorts of people I hadn't seen for a while. Mel Bolen of Bolen Books was there celebrating 35 years of bookselling. Congratulations Mel. Sadly, so were some of the folks from Duthie's books; a Vancouver bookseller that has weather their share of hard times and recently closed it's doors. I was pleased to see that Jim Munro from Munro's Books is still going strong. I met up with the folks who rep. my books, ran into Susan Juby who will be speaking at this morning's author breakfast (wish I could have gone to that; she is so funny), and the always charming David Buchard in his buckskin jacket. All in all, a lovely night, and best of all, still home in time to read a few pages of a good book.