I'm off

I'm excited to be spending the next few days with a group of women that I have been going away once a year with for the last 22 years. What a treat it will be to have some down time with these women from near and far to catch up on what everyone has been reading, where they've travelled, how their families are doing, and what they are up to professionally and socially. Our group began as a weekend get-a-way for a loosely connected group of professional women who were raising children and never seemed to have time for themselves. This was some "just us time." Over the years, some of us have retired, some have changed professions and some have lost loved ones. We've shared sad times and happy times, grown grayer, and I like to think a little wiser. The thing that has always been the one constant in our little group is the mutual support and respect we give each other. I suppose as long as that happens, I'll be heading out to see these wonderful women year after year.

Canadian Children's Book Centre announces a change in dates for Canadian Children's Bookweek.

The Canadian Children's Book Centre has announced that Canadian Children's Bookweek will be moved from the fall to the spring. This is great news as touring in November can sometimes being a little dicey; especially if you happen to be touring in the north and get caught in a snowstorm...something that's happened to a few of us.

Sadly, that means this year there won't be a touring program this year since it will take CCBC a little time to make switch things over. But don't fear, Canadian Children's Book Week will be up and running by next spring (2011). To find out more, visit the Canadian Children's Book Centre.

New York Times article about reading.

Here's a link to a New York Times article about a dad and daughter who read together from grade 4 until she moved into a dorm for her first year of university. It brings me back to the years when I read aloud to my girls and has me wishing I'd carried on a little longer. It really speaks to the power of sharing books.

Sad news about Sid Fleischman

Sad news. Sid Fleischman, who has been ill for some time, passed away March 17 in his home. His humor has been a light in the life for so many young people. Although he was 90, he will still be missed. Here is a link to an article about one of children's literature's favorite sons.

New review of Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls posted on my teen blog

Not much news aside from gutter cleaning and a few more pages done on my novel.

I've just posted a new teen review of Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls so check it out.

Off to Vancouver

I'm off to Vancouver today. So excited to see my girls although I'll be doing a fair bit of schlepping scrubbing and painting since one of them is moving. Before I go though, a couple of the girls I met at Pueblo Ingles in Spain last year are showing up for a weekend in Victoria, so we are going to rendezvous downtown. And I have to keep my commitment to my running buddy for the upcoming 10K, so I have to fit in a 25 minute run this morning on top of a dog walk. But, the sun is peeking out between the clouds, so it's all good. I'll even have time to read a book on the ferry. The trouble is, that when I popped into Cadboro Bay Books the other day I picked up 6 new young adult titles and I have to figure out which to bring. I think Wintergirls by Laurie Hals Anderson might win out because I've really been wanting to read it. For all you Halse Anderson fans out there, the cover is fabulous. Here's a peek. There's also a pretty cool trailer that you can see at Amazon, but I'm not sure how to download it, but do check it out because the author talks about her approach to writing and it's quite interesting.

BC BOOK PRIZE SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED

BC BOOK PRIZE shortlists were announced today:

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize
- Counting on Hope by Sylvia Olsen, Sono Nis Press
- The Gryphon Project by Carrie Mac, Penguin Group Canada
- Inferno by Robin Stevenson, Orca Book Publishers
- Return to Bone Tree Hill by Kristin Butcher, Thistledown Press
- The Ship of Lost Souls by Rachelle Delaney, HarperTrophyCanada

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize
- Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock
Illustrated by Carolyn Conahan, Charlesbridge
- Ella’s Umbrellas by Jennifer Lloyd
Illustrated by Ashley Spires, Simply Read Books
- Maggie Can’t Wait by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Dean Griffiths, Fitzhenry & Whiteside
- On My Walk by Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrated by Christina Leist, Tradewind Books
- Vanishing Habitats by Robert Bateman,
Scholastic Canada Ltd.

Congratulations to everyone!

Awesome news.

Got some awesome news yesterday. My grant application for Professional Writers was successful. That means less work time, and more writing time. I'm so thrilled and thankful for living in a country that supports the arts.

Bird in flight

If you're into kids' books, chances are you've read or at least heard of Besty Bird and her amazing blog, A Fuse #8 Production. Not only is Betsy prolific and quirky, she's usually right on in her reviews. As knowledgeable about kids' books as she is passionate, she's a shining light for readers, sifting through a sea of books and directing us toward the best. By day, Betsy is a librarian in New York City, but after hours she's all about her blog which she was enticed to move to the School Library Journal website a while back. Bird has been a juror for the Newbery Book Awards, tackled the issue of "review as promotion in disguise" in Amazon.com's "Vine Voices," and been involved in Blogger Awards. I'm pretty sure is a super duper speed-reader judging by the breadth of the books she can talk about intelligently. Not surprisingly, this one-woman wonder of kids' books has been flying under the radar for years. Now though, Bird is finally causing a flap outside the cosy world of children's books with the recent Forbes article. Check it out. Besty, you deserve these cu-does and more...

This is the Dog makes it's You Tube debut

Here's a You Tube Link sponsored by the Oshawa Public Library of Chrissie Wysotski reading This is The Dog; a book that I wrote and Chrissie illustrated.

Back from Hawaii

Arrived back home from Hawaii to daffodils, magnolias, and forsythias in full bloom. It was such a treat to be away, touring volcanoes, swimming with dolphins, and watching the sunset at 13,803 feet on Mauna Kea. What a wonderful place to spend a week!

I must confess that despite bringing my running gear, I didn't run once. In my defense, I did do quite a bit of walking. And yes, I did come back with some new story ideas, so it wasn't all play. Now, I'm back to work finishing up a novel that began with a trip to Spain and a 300 kilometer walk that I did more than a year ago, proving that travel and inspiration can go hand in hand.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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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.

Yeah!

Yeah! Just got word that I've gotten the Writing Grant I applied for. Thank you thank you BC Arts Council.

The Catcher in the Rye

I was so sad to read in the paper this morning that J.D. Salinger has died. For those of you who are saying, "Who?," he was the author of The Catcher in the Rye; one of my all time favorite books. This is one of those classics about not fitting in that is well worth the read.