First Lake Swim of 2012

I did it! After working in the garden all day ,before getting supper I decided to head to the lake. Last year I went in on June 7th and I remember the water being leg numbing at first as I waded in but this year it was fine. Today it felt pretty much like it always does when I just tell myself "just get wet and it will feel wonderful". And wonderful it was. Back in the lake for another season. I love it ! Next plan is to get my kayak to the shore and start my daily paddles. This time last week I was in St. John's and was celebrating my win. Congratulations to my friend Riel Nason for her Commonwealth regional win.

Home From the Rock

I am home from my first trip to Newfoundland. What an amazing place! St. John's was everything I expected it to be. The whole trip was wonderful. I was greeted at the airport by a man holding a sign with my name on it. He took us on a quick tour of down town St. John's and up to Signal Hill then to our hotel all the while entertaining us with his wit and story telling. I knew we were in for a good time.After getting settled we went to a small restaurant called Zachary's a place I knew right away was where we needed to eat on this day of honouring a book with Zachary at the heart of it. I actually returned there a little while later with Gloria and enjoyed a delicious piece of cheesecake. Later we were whisked away to the VIP reception by a capable and down to business driver who took us the short distance to Bianca's with the skill of a Nascar driver.From the reception Gloria, Burton ,Mary Rose and I walked to the LSPU Hall. The night began with the awarding of the Ann Connor Brimer Award and I was thrilled to have been the one selected. Thrilled, shocked humbled and honoured for my book to receive such a tribute. Gloria Wesley was sitting right beside me and was so gracious and Vicki Grant the other nominee came right over during the intermission and congratulated me as well. Thank you to both of them. I feel so lucky to have been in such company with two such

wonderful writers. The rest of the night and days that followed rounded out a terrific experience and memorable first trip to a beautiful part of our country that I hope to return to many times . Today back home and trying to come down from such a great experience. I am so grateful for everything that has come about since the launch last year. I have so much to look forward to. For now though I have to get outside, tackle the task of cleaning out my garden shed, get mowing and tending to gardens. Our neighbour is tilling our large garden with his tractor and the days ahead will be filled with planting. I will relish the memory of the last few days as I take on the chores of garden time. Just like writing you have to plant the seeds and do the work to see a harvest.

Atlantic Book Awards Week

This time last year I was getting prepared to launch my first book "The Year Mrs. Montague Cried" on May 19th. I remember very clearly the excitement and nervousness of holding it for the first time when my ten author copies arrived in the mail. I didn't know what to expect as I looked forward to the night of the launch. It had been planned to fall on the week of Atlantic Book celebrations and I was thrilled to see a line in the brochure with my name and my book and the date , time and place of the launch. On the night of the launch a huge crowd showed up to support me and I was overwhelmed by the response. For the next few months I watched the steady sales and recieved many postive reviews and comments. I made several school visits which were always very rewarding. Now here I am in May one year later and my book has been nominated for an Atlantic Book Award and I am caught up in the celebration week as a nominee, doing readings and getting ready to fly to Newfoundland next week for the festivities. I am very grateful for what the year has brought and look forward to seeing where the next year takes "The Year Mrs Montague Cried" and me. On Thursday I met Gloria Wesley the author of "Chasing Freedom" one of the other two books nominated along with mine for the Ann Connor Brimer award. I had the pleasure of spending the evening with her as we stayed at the lovely Willow House Inn in Pictou before reading together on Friday at the Pictou Public Library. We were both a bit apprehensive to meet each other but after spending time with one another felt better about the possibility of losing out to the other. Good luck to Vicki Grant and her book "Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret" as well.Can't wait until next Thursday night to relish every minute of the Award ceremony.

Busy,Busy , Busy

I am getting geared up for a busy two weeks . This week I have two readings. On Thursday I will join Riel Nason at the Saint John Public library . I look forward to doing a reading with her. I always enjoy her company and the opportunity to hear her read from her very successful first novel The Town That Drowned.From there I will drive directly to Pictou Nova Scotia to meet Gloria Wesley. Gloria's novel Chasing Freedom has also been short listed for the Anne Connor Brimer Award. We will do a public reading together at the Pictou Library on Friday at 1:00. The following week Burton and I fly to St. John's early Thursday morning. I am very excited about going to Newfoundland and plan to enjoy every second of the Atlantic Book Awards and Festival. I am thrilled to have been invited to participate and will be happy whatever the outcome. This time last year when I was about to launch The Year Mrs. Montague Cried and was anxiously awaiting to hold the first copy in my hands,I had no idea how well it would be received. I am very grateful for everything that followed. I just got a draft of a cover for Ten Thousand Truths and now see the reality of cracking the spine of my second book and anticipate whatever that will bring. I will probably only have a few more writing days before I put my fourth book aside until September. I will fill my summer with gardening, swimming, kyaking. reading and my July book launch.As my former colleagues look forward to their summer holidays from the challenges of teaching I too will step away from my writing and let those summer months fill me up. Busy is good when that busy is filled with things you love. Bring it on!

On To the Next Chapter

March was a challenging and extremely busy month. I had no writing time but was lucky enough to have spent every day enjoying the company of my amazing three year old granddaughter Emma and my precious six month old granddaughter Paige. I loved every minute of it.It was great to have Meg and Cody with us and it was hard to see them go back to Alberta. Can't wait until October when they plan to return.I have a wonderful family and am thankful for each and every one of them. A huge thanks to Ashlie, Caleb, Brianne and Chapin for all the love and support they offered. Burton as usual was the anchor I can always hold on to. Now for a bit of writing time before things get crazy around the Atlantic Book Week celebrations. I am so thrilled to be a part of it all. June will bring hours of garden time and I look forward to that season.Can't wait to jump in the lake and get out in my kayak again. I look forward to a July launch of Ten Thousand Truths.

Ann Connor Brimer Award

I am thrilled to have been short listed for the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children's Literature. As a part of the Atlantic Book Awards I will travel to St. John's Newfoundland on May 17th for the celebrations. Congratulations to my fellow nominees Vicki Grant and Gloria Ann Wesley. I look forward to a great weekend in Newfoundland!Congratulations also to my friend Riel Nason on her nomination for the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. See you in St. John's!

Another Great School Visit

On Thursday I visited Quispamsis Elementary School and spent a very rewarding day with students from K-5 . Some of the younger students including Isaac in Kindergarten,who is already a great writer, shared their writing and their thoughts on writing with me.I visited the grade three and four classes and read from The Year Mrs. Montague Cried ,talked about how the story came about and had a wonderful time of answering their insightful questions. I am always amazed by the depth of discussion I get during these class visits. Actually it does not amaze me a bit as I learned from my years of teaching that kids given an opportunity to talk about the important and meaningful things in life always show wisdom and compassion.I was so impressed with the principal Janet Miller who seems to be everywhere at one time running a very busy, kid centred machine. Watching her I remembered the frenzy that is elementary school and unless you have been there you have no idea the amount of energy and commitment it requires. Parents, teachers , and above all the kids are very lucky to have Mrs. Miller at the helm. I wish her, her staff and all the students a good March Break!