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
FollowThe Right Advice at the Right Time
Sometimes things come together. Thanks to my good friend Susan Blakeney, I had an out-of-the-blue opportunity last week to attend a free writing workshop hosted by Driftwood Theatre. I don’t write plays, but I do like to learn about different
Razorbills, Cupcakes and Kindred Spirits
Last night, I was part of a focus group at Penguin Canada (thank you, Twitter!), talking about books and marketing and specifically about Penguin’s new YA imprint, Razorbill. This morning I’m still giddy and wired with that after-prom feeling. Maybe
Rock Star Writers
Today Maggie Stiefvater visited the Oshawa Chapters location. I found out via Twitter, half an hour before the event, and turned puppy dog eyes on Husband and Daughter. “Can we go? Can we, can we, can we?” I loved Shiver.
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
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.
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
How my Writing Group is like a Bumblebee
Because we’re always buzzing about something? No. I was actually thinking about that old saying about how a bumble shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bee doesn’t know that, so it flies anyhow. However, a quick Google search put
Scribbling Women: who inspired you to write?
Last week I asked some of my favourite female children’s writers if there were any “scribbling women” (authors or otherwise) who inspired them to write. We’ll start with Marthe Jocelyn. Tomorrow I’ll be posting an interview with her, so this
Cows and the YA Mafia
I don’t keep up on Twitter very well. I follow too many people. When I’m away for a few hours (say, writing) I end up scrolling past a great number of comments that I’ve missed. Every now and then, though,