Around the campfire, The Magic Mustache by Gary Barwin

This is my daughter Jen reading to her four year old son William at their campfire at the Pinery Campground.  What amazes me is how intent he is in a story that he's had read to him a hundred times, The Magic Mustache by Gary Barwin.  In it the son who is a nose, is given the task of selling the only family possession left, a set of glasses.  His parents, a set of eyes, expect a good exchange in return.  But the nose settles for a magic beard.  The eyes throw it out and it grows similarly to the magic beanstalk.  The nose climbs it to the castle of a mouth who threatens to eat him. Lots of great rhyme and hilarity ensues.

There's a pretty happy ending about a face coming together and staying like that.   The magic of reading, the magic of a great story.

On my living room couch Soames on the Range by Nancy Belgue

You read about all kinds of non-traditional families but you have to wonder how a child feels when their mom or dad announces something like a sex change or in Soames' case a father declares he's breaking up with Mom and moving in with his guy lover.  Soames lives in a really small town and looks and even moves like his father.  I cringe for him as I read about what he experiences.  That's the beauty of books, you can go through all the emotions and come out stronger without suffering the slings physically.

In the end something really exciting happens to Soames and while that might not be the case for every kid who has to experience a lifestyle change like this, it does feel right to me.  Even if everything goes wrong, wonderful things can happen too.

I read a lot more books than I posted about right here on this couch in my living room where the air conditioning makes it perfectly cool.

Who Goes to Literary Festivals

It had been a blistering hot week but for Imagine in the (Gage)Park, there had been a cooling rain the morning of the July 24th event.  Gary Barwin, Jean Little, Gillian Chan, myself as well as facepainters, voice coaches, puppeteer  and Frontier literacy volunteers were on the site to entertain and delight. 

Who comes out for these events?  You just never know. Ozo the dog came attached by leash to his master on a scooter. He has appeared on the screen in various roles, Ozo, not his owner.  For my audience, some very intense young writers complete with their manuscripts showed wanting to me to share some writing tips.  I read some of their work and know they'll be presenting at a festival some time.

I only wish I could have come to one of these events when I was kids.

In a Lazyboy chair, The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll

The lazyboy chair makes a very comfortable seat for reading this gripping but uncomfortable story. It's about a boy who is the only member in his family who gets along with his abusive father  and misses him after he, his mom and sister, go into a witness protection plan.  His new life is his second trial and it spirals downward till he engages in abusive behaviour himself.  Here's where I have to burrow into my chair.  I no longer sympathize with him when he stands by and even helps restrain a red haired boy as he is beaten and set on fire for the colour of his hair. Can you enjoy a read where the character sinks below your level of tolerable bad behaviour? Recently a book of mine was rejected because the main character lied and was therefor unsympathetic to the editorial panel.  I think the only rule, really, is for whatever reason if the reader feels compelled to continue, the story succeeds.   The abusive behavior bottomed out there and was the turning point for the character.  The Second Trial  by Rosemarie Boll is a great argument for adults to read young adult.  The books can be just intense as adult novels but are usually shorter with more of a concrete ending.

Mortie, the Jackapoo, reads The Art of Racing in the Rain

You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but this novel is a Chapters' staff pick fave.  I could have paid way less had I bought it in eversion but then I couldn't have shared it with Mortie.  Honestly, the cover made me smile.  The dog who narrates has an uncanny resemblance to Mortie, my Jackapoo, The story incorporates racing philosophy with life but (spoiler alert) a key person and the dog die in the end. It feels very Marly and Me.  Maybe this is a trick to sell books. So often the cover doesn't match the story but if we stick to favourite dog breeds, maybe the cover can sell the book because the readers, like me, likes pictures of their dogs.

In a stream: The Writer's Life, The Margaret Laurence Lectures

This series on where and what we're reading was started as as kind of personal PR for books.  I think in this fast paced world of technology where you press 1 for English and 2 for French and never get anyone who really wants to speak to you (although the conversation may be recorded for quality ensurance), we're searching for more and more peaceful happy moments. Or is that just me. Yoga, hot and cold, is suddenly popular. Non fiction books that connect to spirituality in a mainstream way get gobbled up: The Book of Awesome for example.

When I speak to my fellow writers, I realize we're all trying to create more to sustain our living when the answer might be to do less and read more. Think of it as both job sharing and job creating. When we go on holidays whether to the tropics or the local beach, we usually most enjoy a quiet read.  And so for my own purposes I slowed down this summer and tried to document my reading.   I still write, edit for Today's Parent Toronto, and work as director on Access Copyright but I am making a point to READ and enjoy it and to document enjoying it in my favourite places.  Planking, writer's style?

Here I am at the Bronte Creek Dog Park Swimming hole reading an appropriate title:  A Writer's Life, the Margaret Laurence Lectures  25th Anniversary of the Lecture Series

I realize that when I invited others to share their reading holes and material how difficult it is to include a photo of themselves with a book.  It requires a photographer, plus a lot of us don't like pictures of ourselves.  So...to make it easier, if you wish to share, send me a photo of your book where you're reading it.

On the Beach (Lake Erie) Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany

We never stop talking unless it's to read.  Sometimes we discuss our books.  Gisela Sherman's reading one on world war II as research for the novel she's working on. I'm reading a mystery set in the Kootenays, one of my favourite parts of the world, by Vicki Delany a writer who once took a course I taught (Creative Writing Its Realities--not my title). While I'm not a serious mystery buff,  I like to follow her cast of small town characters, including Constable Molly Smith, as they fumble through and solve crimes.

As we strolled the beach, we met a lady enjoying the latest Harry Potter before she gives it to her granddaughter.  Next door to us in a hammock lay a man who read his ebook for about four hours straight. One of the problems with those is the next door neighbors can't tell what you're reading!

Summer is one of the best times to relax with a great story, in whatever format.

Under a tree: Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee

Often in between writing scenes, I will walk the dog but in the summer Mortie gets too hot and must pause for a treat and water break.  I now carry a book on the hike and here I am conveniently doing research for my latest project:  Death on Track.  The main character is a 14 year old adopted Chinese orphan and her best friend Jasmin is an Indian girl nervous her parents will discover her Canadian boyfriend.
Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee gave me lots of insight but I also went out for an Indian buffet lunch with a new friend Beena.  Of course I watched Bend It Like Beckham.

This tree is close to the library so I could get a new book once I'm finished if only they allowed dogs.

In the dentist's chair, Beyond Blonde by Teresa Toten

By no sheer coincidence, I needed emergency dental attention on the same day as Margaret Buffie's dog.
I broke a tooth but her literary inspiration needed some teeth removed.  I'm sure he read in the dental chair also 'cause it is so comfy, with a head and foot rest and a nice tilt to it.  Here I'm reading Beyond Blonde by Teresa Toten and it's funny enough to keep me happy while my freezing is not taking.

It's another reason why adults should read YA.  The character is  a combination of my best friend in highschool and me, her being the blonde and me the brunette who aspires to be and yes, we both played basketball. Of course, in my highschool everyone's parents spoke and acted like different versions of Auntie Eva.

The  second needle didn't take either so the dentist continued anyway.  He removed a chunk of tooth and installed a temporary filling and I didn't feel a thing--all because of Teresa's hilarious writing.
You can read Beyond Blonde anywhere.  You don't need to wait for a dentist's appointment.

After Dinner, The Gaggle Sisters River Tour by Chris Jackson on Father's Day

This was intended as a Father's Day read.  Craig McNicoll read The Gaggle Sisters River Tour , by Chris Jackson, to his baby girl, Violet on the deck.  But then his wife continued out loud while we were waiting for dessert. Eireann drew a crowd, all the grandchildren plus one adult squeezed around to hear the compelling story of two geese sisters, Dorothy and Sadie and their sail down Wriggle River.

These are computer kids, even two year old Jadzia knows how to operate a mouse and loves to watch a good YouTube still when Eireann read out loud, they all listened.

On a Garden Swing on the Deck, Karleen Bradford reads This Body of Death

Karleen Bradford, author of A Desperate Road to Freedom, the Underground Railroad Diary of Julia May Jackson, Scholastic Canada is my guest reader/blogger today.  I'll have to read that one.  The Dear Canada books come with their own ribbon bookmark which is wonderful because no matter how many bookmarks I own, I never have one at the right time. My favourite story of Karleen's'  is The Other Elizabeth which I'm desperately waiting to get on my ereader sometime this summer.  Currently, Karleen is writing another Dear Canada.  Well, ahem, ahem, currently she is reading.

WHAT I AM READING NOW

I’ve been on vacation, so have been indulging in my favourite holiday reading: mysteries. The one I’ve just finished is This Body of Death, by Elizabeth George. It’s a long book—873 pages—and densely plotted. The kind of book you can only really read when on vacation because there’s no way you can put it down to do mundane things like make dinner or do the laundry. When I finished it, I sat and thought for a long time about how Elizabeth George developed that dense and complex plot. How she kept the story moving and the reader’s interest high. At the end of the book there was a blurb for a non-fiction book of hers, Write Away: One Novelist’s Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life. I decided to order it and find out how she did it. That’s what I’m reading now and I’m finding it interesting and instructive. There’s always something new to learn about the art and craft of writing, there are always problems that we all share.

One thing that she brought out is how she works on the development of her characters before she begins to work on plot, then the characters show her the plot. Not the way I would have thought a mystery writer would work, but very intriguing. I have had the germ of an idea for a mystery running around in my head for a long time, but not ever having written one, I was at a loss as to how to tackle it. I think I will follow her advice and just do some work on the characters—their problems, their motivations, their fears—and see if they can show me the way into my story.

Karleen Bradford
karleenbradford@bell.net
www.karleenbradford.com
http://karleensblog.wordpress.com

My Guest Reader: By her Garden Pond Gisela Sherman Reads The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Let me just introduce my guest reader/blogger today.  You have to run to the library and get King of the Class, Snake in the Toilet, or my personal favourite Grave Danger,  Gisela Tobien Sherman wrote those.
One of the things you might not know about Gisela is that, besides being able to bring words to life, she can coax herbs, vegetables, flowers and trees into a much richer more colourful life.  If you step into her lush green garden you will hear the water babbling, too.  Ahhh!  Here's what she says about where and what she's reading:

In my garden, with pond and flowers, reading The Lacuna. Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favourite authors. Her use of language is brilliant and beautiful. Loved her Poisonwood Bible, and especially Prodigal Summer.  Lacuna's first chapter was a work of art. The book was a bit harder to get into than her others, but ended up fascinating me. It wove the lives of the fictitious writer Harrison Shepherd, with artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the final days of Leon Trotsky in Mexico and his betrayal by Stalin, and showed how easily a life could be destroyed in the McCarthy Era. So many gems of wisdom and perception. "Don't just listen to what someone says, pay attention to what is left out," has stayed with me.

In a Tub, Reading That Summer in Franklin

Lots of times I read my friends' books and it's a way of staying in touch with them or getting to know them better.  My writing buddies are all Canadian so often I enjoy a fairly local setting too.  Here I'm reading That Summer in Franklin by Linda Hutsell-Manning.  Franklin seems a shoe-in for Cobourg where Linda really lives (and so does my brother).

The two main characters are struggling with failing aging parents, one a father and one a mother. I can identify with that.  They both share a history that involves a death in a hotel during their summer job.
Three-quarters of the way through...must read on to find out what happens or happened in the case of that murder.

In a tree The McGillicuddy Book of Personal Records (Colleen Sydor)

Today I snagged a guest reader, 10 year-old Hunter McNicoll, who was enjoying The McGillicuddy Book of  Personal Records (Red Deer Press)in a tree near the library.  "I like that what happens is unexpected," says Hunter.  He also enjoys the interesting quotes from random famous people at the beginnings of chapters.

From Chapter Seven:  Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover.  (Mark Twain)

I had the pleasure of driving author Colleen Sydor from a Mississauga school to Paris (yeah I wish the Eiffel tower one) Ontario.  Immediately I asked the Canadian Children's Book Centre which books she'd written and when I heard about the personal records story thought it might be for Hunter.  Why?  Because he likes the Guinness Book of Records.

Even during her tour for Children's Book Week not one Chapters or Indigo had a copy on hand,
so I crossed my fingers that she had brought some and would autograph a copy in time for Hunter's birthday the next day.  Hurray!  She had!

Now I was warned the book was perhaps for advanced 10 year old readers.  Hunter is a lively enthusiastic sports a holic and I passed the warning along to him, not as a comment on his own reading habits, more in case he found it slow slugging.

My honesty worked like some kind of  reverse psychology and he snatched it up as a challenge, calling out to me during the good parts.

I can't wait to read it myself.  We're lucky that nowadays we can just order books like these online, we don't have to depend on the boxstores' buyers' decisions.

My email is sylvia.mcnicoll@cogeco.ca if you want to show/tell me what you're reading, where and why.

The perfect passtime for summer, reading.  Ahhh!!

Reading Karma on the Deck

This is one of my favourite spots to read, on my back deck overlooking an overgrown garden, Brant Hills and in the distance a sliver of blue, Lake Ontario.  I met  the Calgary author, Cathy Ostlere, at The Writers' Union AGM and also while writing an article on book trailers.

You don't have to read Karma (Puffin Canada) in a sari but I was attending an East Indian/Asian themed wedding shower and was dressed this way for the event.  The 500 or so pages are in verse and follow Mata as she travels to India with her (Sikh) dad to bury her (Hindu) mom's ashes at the time when Indira Gandhi is assassinated.

There's a passionate yet innocent love story and in fact Mata's sari gets unravelled at least twice.
My friend who showed me how to wrap mine promised me that this NEVER happens.
While at the shower, however, I suddenly found myself unravelling. I had to do some quick tucking.

This summer find yourself a beautiful spot and read a wonderful book like Karma.  Send me a photo and an email and I'll post it on my blog.

What I'm reading and where and why

For Death Goes Viral, my character 16 year-old Paige Barta gets hit by a train when she walks along a track listening to an Ipod in a snowstorm. She gets another chance to relive the last week of her life and she visits BodyWorlds as she did first time through; this is an exhibit hosted by the Ontario Science Centre which features plasticized bodies, real cadavers mumified with polymar. (Oh yes I have been there for Today's Parent Toronto.)  In researching details for the exhibit as well as the character who wanted to work in biological research of some kind I emailed Sarah Miyata, a research doctoral student who is author Cathy Miyata's daughter.  Turned out she had volunteered at the heart, lungs, and liver table where visitors actually get to pick up a real plasticized organ.  She told me exactly what the organs looked and felt like and she also suggested I read Stiff by Mary Roach.  

It's fascinating stuff.  The author has a wicked sense of humour in writing about all the different ways in which a dead body can be reduced, reused and recycled.  I didn't realize that plastic surgeons sometimes practise on cadaver heads (picture them in an aluminum roasting pan on a rolling wagon with a white table cloth) or that crash test bodies (not dummies) save 147 lives a piece.  There's a chapter that talks about how scientists grafted a head of a puppy on another dog--made me feel the same way as when I was reading Arthur Slade's Hunchback and the dogs were partially mechanized.  

I could only read a chapter a night--as you can see I like to read it in bed.  Afterwards I had to read something fictional to cleanse my mental palate as it were.  Still I do recommend Stiff.

What are you reading and where and why?

CANSCAIP: Bob Barton Makes Fifty Kids' Authors Free Write

Me without my camera!  For CANSCAIP's last meeting before the summer break, Bob Barton came to introduce his new historical fiction Trouble on the Voyage with Napoleon now turned Dundurn. His introduction was also intended to show authors how to introduce their work to kids in an interactive way.

It was a dark and stormy night.  Bob shakes a thunder drum (what it most resembles) to draw his audience back when he needs to give further instructions--practical point number one: finding a way besides shouting to get kids' attention again when you need it.

But it really did thunder and lightning throughout his talk, proof that the higher powers agreed with him.

At one point he asked some fifty CANSCAIPers to write for two minutes on what they felt about being in the room.  "I've been writing all day and now I HATE having to write again for free," is what I suspect many of us were writing.  At least I and my elbow buddy Teresa Toten were "free writing" about that.

However, it was great of fun with some fabulous tips just in time for the outdoor literary kid festival gigs.
(You know the kind where there's no place to plug in a screen and projector for a Powerpoint presentation.)   Besides the pressure switches off when you're not giving the workshop and kids' authors try everything when roles are reversed, from reading scripts, to giving imaginary lectures and interrupting with imaginary questions.  So competitive too!

The writers even bought-out Bob's supply of Trouble on the Voyage and they didn't use loonies and toonies in ziplock bags either.

Social Media is not this much fun

A lot of writers are struggling between the demands of Twitter, Facebook and Blogging so that when a fun event comes up, well, I suspect they stay at home and Twitter, Facebook and Blog.

The Writers Union of Canada hosts some of the best dance parties in the world.  Writers who have argued bitterly against each other all day jump up the moment the band strikes up. I wouldn't say they are classical ballroom steppers either.  And the bands the Union comes up with!  Whoa!  Who knew Alison Gordon, the wonderful baseball mystery writer, was such a fabulous tambourine diva.

Here I am with BC's fab Chocolate Lily winning author Norma Charles.  In November she'll be back in Toronto touring for her new winner Run Marco Run. This is an author who understands the power of boogie.

Dinner Before Margaret Laurence

The real fun of The Writers Union AGM, or perhaps any day of workshops, is the people you meet over dinner.  Sadly in a bid to save money for writers, there is no forced breaking of bread at current meetings. Except for the banquet which is very, very fun (no one dances quite like a writer) but pricey.

But through the magic of social networking, 17 of some of my closest buddies from across Toronto and Canada got together at Jack Astor's before the Margaret Laurence Address.  Ah, you have to love Facebook sometimes cause it helps us meet up face to face.  Let's see if I can name the writers, Jo-Ellen Bogart, Della Buford, Ann Walsh, Norma Charles, Barbara, Ellen Jaffe, Sylvia McNicoll(me)
Gisela Sherman, Andrea Wayne von Koningslow, Jocelyn Shipley,  Deb Loughead and Jack.
Tucked away at the other table are a few more friends, but the waiter didn't include them in the shot.
Maybe they were late.  Feel free to fill in the last names I'm missing.

Do they laugh? Ontario Arts Council Part Deux

When I wrap a package, I feel like Ms Bean (Mr. Bean's feminine counterpart).  I often have to re-open it to see if I've lost my watch in it or a chicken part.  Or if that extra draft lying around was meant to go in.  I understand my last Artist in Education application did not include a book list. (Even though the jury took note that you were an accomplished writer) Oh come on.  Really? Or enough creative process in how I teach kids.  Or enough detail in how I go about getting schools.  "We regret to inform you..."

Sigh.  This is after making piles of papers on my bed and checking off a list (and mailing said list)
and wrappings the dread parcel.

What adds to the fun part of the process is that the gatekeeper sounds a bit like Inspector Clouseau.
He must be sick of answering my same question every granting season.  "When do you open?"
I imagine him sighing in a Parisian accent. (Quelle idiote)
I just can't believe they only fling the doors open at 9:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m. would be so much more convenient.

I also imagine him shaking his head when he opens my oversized package.  And then while removing the watch and chicken part.
Still maybe this time I'll be lucky. Maybe everything will be there as it should.  All the checky boxes checked.   My "peers" will find me worthy.  Or worthier than the other
peers that applied.

Still hoping for a postal strike to help the odds.