Welcome to My Blog
My new bookmark
My new bookmark has had a lot of use. Thanks, Mireille Chiasson. The little turtle reminds me of the ones who plod up from the water to lay their eggs in our lawn each June.
Drum Camp
Djembes, Ashikos, doumbeks, congas, tars, shekeres... last weekend had them all and more at the drum camp held at Camp Oconto on Eagle Lake, north of Kingston, Ontario. From Thursday afternoon to Sunday's closing circle, the days and nights were full of workshops,...
Orphan Train
Orphan Train, a best-selling novel by Christina Baker Kline, features an unlikely friendship between a girl in foster care and 90+ year old Vivian. A community service position helping the widow clean out her attic is meant to keep Molly out of juvie for the theft of...
Signs of Spring
Did we bypass spring and go directly to summer? We might assume so from the weather, but the arrival of the lambs and angora kids at Pine Hollow Farm would indicate otherwise. New life burgeoning from the wombs of sheep and goats, the smell of hay, the bleating of...
Upping the ante
Abandoning the last draft of Finding Home for months turned out to be a wise move. Why? When I re-read the manuscript last weekend, I realized that once Sarah arrives in Canada to find her family, I lost interest in her in favour of Richard's story. If a writer loses...
Coincidence, coincidence
I got a phone call this morning from a stranger. She introduced herself as Ina. She had just finished reading The Medal, a Christmas gift from her grand-daughter. She told me how much she enjoyed the book, and asked me a question about the acknowledgments. She had...
Where fact meets fiction…
Canadian political assassination, a flamboyant Prime Minister, controversy and responsibility in government. Last night had them all. Gordon Henderson, Roy MacSkimming, and members of the SALON Acting Company presented a night of historical fiction at the Kingston...
Lost Interviews
In 2012 and 2013 my dear friends Jo and John died. They were 94 and 98 respectively. A few years earlier, I had interviewed them about their lives. The recordings were intended to be used as part of a project that would feature Cheryl-Ann Webster's artistic...