Tag Archives: Personal

Train Ride through the Rockies

Everybody has one. That dream — that thing you’re going to do someday. I’m thinking about it this week for a couple of reasons. The first is sad. My friend’s father died recently, and the funeral was last week. Mr. … Continue reading

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Happy Halloween!

I have two things to share today. The first is my Halloween/scary book recommendation: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson. I started it yesterday, and had to stay up really late to finish it, because I needed to … Continue reading

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Cliffhangered

I love the fact that my daughter is an avid reader. She devours books. I think she’s reading above grade level; I don’t really know, and I don’t really care. What matters to me is that she picks up books … Continue reading

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Travel Tip: Leave the Sticky Notes at Home

I’m in Vancouver today, jet-lagged and a little foggy-minded. But not so foggy-minded that I can’t learn from my mistakes. Oh, no. And here’s an important one: leave the sticky notes at home. I don’t do well with airport security. … Continue reading

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Bravery

Last night CBC aired a story on my cousin, Mark Dawson, and his wife Yoo Choi. Yoo died a few months ago. She had a gambling addiction that she had struggled with in the past. Things got out of control … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday: We’re Not in this Alone

Today is my husband’s birthday. He doesn’t know I’m writing this. In On Writing, Stephen King talks a lot about his wife, Tabitha. He says that whenever he sees a first novel dedicated to the writer’s spouse, he thinks to … Continue reading

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Scott Cannata’s Run Across Canada

Have you heard about Scott Cannata yet? Not a lot of people have. The only reason I did is that he’s a local boy. He went to my daughter’s school, years ago. He’s running across Canada to raise money for … Continue reading

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Compost

“Write what you know.” We’re told that a lot, aren’t we? Something bad happened in my extended family recently. I’m not going to go into detail because it’s not my story to tell, and never will be. I love and … Continue reading

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Open Letter to my MP

I live in Whitby, Conservative stronghold and home to our current Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty. He’s our MP. And I figure, whatever the outcome of the election Federally, he’s pretty safe. But I don’t know who I’m voting for yet. … Continue reading

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The Wrong Book

After I shared this story in class last week, Lena Coakley suggested that I blog about it. Our assignment was to identify the one children’s book that influenced us most, either as a reader or as a writer. Not an … Continue reading

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