authors, books, short stories

Online Launch of Tesseracts 17 – this Wednesday

Want to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate? Want to chat with authors of speculative fiction from across Canada? Want to celebrate longstanding independent book publishers? Then please come to the virtual book launch of Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast, hosted by BittenByBooks.com on October 23rd through 24th, from noon to noon CST.… Continue reading Online Launch of Tesseracts 17 – this Wednesday

authors, books, middle grade novels

Hello Hackmatacks!

Next week I'll be in Atlantic Canada on an author tour as part of the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award celebrations. My middle-grade comedy, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6 (Lorimer) is a nominated title in the 2012/13 English Fiction category. Classes all over the eastern provinces have been reading my book and other nominated titles this… Continue reading Hello Hackmatacks!

writing

Suddenly a blog post

"World is suddener than we fancy it." (Louis MacNiece, "Snow") We've long been warned not to build tension on the cheap by spattering our manuscripts with the word "suddenly." Lately I've read a few posts advising writers not to use the word at all - ever - because it's meaningless. These are posts from editors… Continue reading Suddenly a blog post

Friday Fables, writing

Friday Fable: The Writers’ Group Driver and his Three Passengers

You may have heard the classic fable, "The Lion and his Three Councillors:" A lion caught a whiff of his own rancid breath and thought, "Maybe I'm not as kingly as I ought to be. I better check." He called to a sheep and asked, "Say, does my breath stink?" "Yes it stinks terribly," said… Continue reading Friday Fable: The Writers’ Group Driver and his Three Passengers

authors, books, middle grade novels

QWF Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature

I'm taking a breather from picking up after the puppy to say, wow, it was such an honour to win the Quebec Writers' Federation 2012 Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature for my middle-grade comedy, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6 (James Lorimer & Company, 2011). The book was shortlisted with Monique Polak's Pyro (Orca Book… Continue reading QWF Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature