tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62634303085341182122024-03-12T19:49:24.831-07:00Another day in ParadiseMusings of Spec Fiction author Paul Burns.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-16034353586504653472020-09-23T10:36:00.001-07:002020-09-23T10:36:36.514-07:00Dobson Trail - a path from Riverview NB to Fundy National Park<p> I really enjoy the area where my wife and I live for many reasons. Lack of traffic, lots of outdoor recreational opportunities, dozens of golf courses, several excellent coffee shops and so far, a real lack of COVID-19.</p><p>The three local communities, Town of Riverview, City of Moncton and the City of Dieppe have done a good job of developing parks to give people green space in the urban and have established a great network of walking and biking trailsas well. </p><p>The Riverfront trail, which is part of the Trans-Canada Trail system, starts on the north side of the Petitcodiac River in Dieppe, works its way westward along the river, passing through Moncton. It then crosses the river and proceeds along the south side of the river on the Riverview side to cover a total of over 30 km in length. Since it is relatively flat along the river it is an excellent biking trail as well.</p><p>From Riverview you can cross the river again, and catch more trails along the river or go north through Moncton out to the Northerly boundries of the city. A very large majority of this route is on trails with only a few bits and pieces on actual roads.</p><p>Now Riverview has nearly completed an connection to the south which links the Riverfront Trail to the Dobson Trail. The Dobson trail is a beautiful, well marked trail that is approximately 58 kilometers in length and terminates on the northerly boundry of Fundy National Trail.</p><p>Last week my wife and I, accompanied by our old Belgian Shepherd Quest, walked a section of the trail starting in Riverview. One of the many nice things about the Dobon Trail is the number of access points making it easy to do portions of the trail as a day trip. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiONRXU3MuBlhMRzsSHF2PFdueu98DZXNELiydh89keAviTNavIwF-oM-sb2JFPiMJdWmYvLT0I8vhssxbTrMwcmy8zPa3dBqc_3rmnm3qUoGhLnU8FD0eaUlyMZlCNOKOb-RGnZS0Yka8/s2048/IMG_2949+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiONRXU3MuBlhMRzsSHF2PFdueu98DZXNELiydh89keAviTNavIwF-oM-sb2JFPiMJdWmYvLT0I8vhssxbTrMwcmy8zPa3dBqc_3rmnm3qUoGhLnU8FD0eaUlyMZlCNOKOb-RGnZS0Yka8/w284-h320/IMG_2949+%25281%2529.JPG" width="284" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfv7_jymc4V4M0O1rsS5EpBJJWQqYHSJ1O_KDaSrMIh8lxFiu6lrliJoDJ3KT_BUjDlQgQrXbL8dzEYuV1QRRwLDAOvH-Utu3zsDcRE03MmI2MXxPOy4v_X9yA5X2kMWUHtKa5tQXmz4/w257-h320/IMG_2953+%25281%2529.JPG" width="257" /></div><br /><p></p><p>As always take some pictures along the way. The sun on some ferns by Mill Creek caught my eye and here are my hiking companions; my wife Gail and our old dog Quest. The sun was in my face and an iphone can only do so much. We hadn't hiked on the trail for a few summers and we had forgotten how pretty the trail is.</p><p>If you are in the area, or looking for a new trail to try I highly recommend the Dobson Trail. Maps and booklets describing the trail in detail are available at several local stores in Riverview.</p>AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-35362550145153729142020-04-28T11:02:00.001-07:002020-04-28T11:02:24.172-07:00Mind mapping a storyI recently completed a writing course by C.S. Lakin called, "The 12 Pillars of Novel Construction - Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story". It was excellent and I recommend it to anyone who is putting a book together.<br />
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I have mentioned in the past that I'm still in the learning stages of being a writer. If it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to be an expert, I figure I'm half way there. So I found this course to be great since I had written enough to understand where she was going, but still learned a ton of new information along the way.<br />
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One concept she introduced to me is the idea of "Mind Mapping". She described how she does it and it's one of those processes that everyone does a little different and there really isn't a <i>wrong</i> way to do it. I'll tell you how I did it, but you will work out your own way I'm sure.<br />
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I bought a piece of Coraplast about 24" x 18". Any business store sells them for making light weight signs. A piece if bristol board would work too. I used Coraplast so I could reuse it.<br />
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Now, either by drawing directly on the board, or using coloured sticky notes as I did, map out your story. Create a spot,, near the center, for each of your primary characters and put your ideas for your story on the board in a way you can move them around. Draw connecting lines between characters and plot points. As you go along, you will begin to see patterns form and linkages come together. You can add little character traits (or flaws) and connect them to the character.<br />
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I'm very much a pantser, not a plotter. However, my current WIP is more complicated than any of my previous projects and I find my Mind Map helpful with keeping the story moving forward. All those ideas that coming floating from The Muse at inconvenient times can be jotted down and placed on your Mind Map and then moved to the correct place later.<br />
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Each time I sit down to write, I start by looking over my Mind Map to orient myself in the story. I'm just doing the first draft now, so when I beging to edit, I'll keep my Mind Map handy to ensure I can keep the story flowing in the way as I want it and that I don't forget any of the tidbits The Muse sends me. Also, I'm finding it is keeping me on track as I work through the middle of the story. As many of you know, this is where writers go to die.<br />
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Hopefully this is something you find helpful.<br />
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Happy writing.<br />
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<br />AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-6248610292527283052020-04-17T07:09:00.001-07:002020-04-17T07:09:03.114-07:00Writing during a pandemic ...I'm sure, like many of you, I'm spending more time on social media than I should. My socil media "flavour of choice" is Twitter. I have been tweeting since 2008, back when dinosaurs still ruled the earth. I started during the Arab Spring movement since I found it interesting what the journalists on the ground had to say versus what was published in the news. I also find there are more writers on Twitter.<br />
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I need to share a tweet I saw a couple of days ago. "This is a leap year, so Feb has 29 days, Mar has 300 and April is 5 years." I know how they feel and I bet you do too. Staying at home is necessary but it isn't a whole pile of fun.<br />
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As I mentioned before, I live in a small town where getting out for a walk, and maintaining social distancing is quite easy. If you can doo this, please do. It's good for you. However, as my wife and I finish up our 5th week of working at home, I'm finding I'm getting a little shack wacky.<br />
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I have more time to write (and still get my work done) however, I feel I'm getting flat creatively. I do have a semi-productive solution that I'll share with you. It works for me and it might work for you as well.<br />
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Since I've never had the opportunity to write full time, I have a tendency to work on several things at once. I keep a couple of journals just to record random ideas and thoughts so that I don't forget them - I have a good memory but it's short and we all know that ideas can come from anywhere and at anytime.<br />
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Sometimes, some of these ideas connect together and then I start a journal for that specific story and all the ideas related to that story go in there. Finally, I have one manuscript that is officially my work in process (WIP).<br />
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So with my WIP, I push that along in the journal until the story gets to a rudimentry form, almost a skeleton of the story with a few bones missing. This is draft 0.25. From here, I write with pen and paper to get a first draft in place. I think of this as draft 0.5. Finally I type draft 0.5 into my lapyop to create my first draft.<br />
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I'm not the type of writer that can do a completed manuscript in two drafts. Not my talent, might not ever be. I write and polish and add and edit and cut and add again until I'm done - at least as far as I can go, with the talent I have. Manuscript three and four are in that state at the moment. Once I go back and rewrite on more time, I need to find an agent willing to help me go forward to get these published.<br />
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So, what I'm saying is that I purposely have several places to work on my writing, depending on how sharp I feel. Sometimes I work on new stuff, sometimes I just type draft 0.5 into the laptop. Each is a necessary part of the writing process for me and it allows me to do something productive regardless how sharp I feel at the time. If you are working at your writing part time, this may give you an option to do some writing regardless.<br />
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Be well and stay safe.<br />
<br />AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-14408050958487084502020-04-06T11:55:00.000-07:002020-04-06T11:55:08.413-07:00Working from home - it's not as easy as it looks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So we have all been working from home for about 3 weeks to a month - depending when you started to self quarintine - and I think we are all getting a bit shack happy. My wife is working out of her office upstairs and I have set up in the dining room.<br />
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Things are going reasonably well, for example she hasn't killed me yet, but I'm finding it surprisingly difficult to stay motivated.<br />
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I'm of an age that I grew up "going to the office". Even in my surveying days, I went to the office before going out to do whatever survey job we were doing. Since switching over to real estate about 28 years ago, I have always had an office.<br />
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My wife always worked from the office. She is an introvert by nature, but she is missing her friends at the office. I guess everyone is going through this in one way or another.<br />
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Work full time at home is a challenge. Sometime in the next few years, I plan on retiring from my current position and becoming a full time writer, so I'm trying to see this as good practise. For example, I have already learned that I will need to find a spot to where the cats can't help (see Luna helping in the above photos). What is it about cats and notebooks or keyboards. Merlin, Luna's brother, likes to help my wife by sprawling across her keyboard, or just walking across it causing all sorts of havoc.<br />
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Now before anyone says anything, my recognize that my problems are so very small compared to some people. None of my family are front line workers, their jobs are safe, and they are as safe as any of us are. We have enough money and we can pay for our food and homes. Anything after this, is really just a bonus.<br />
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Like my previous blog I reiterate for everyone to try to help out where you can, even if it's just a kind word of thanks to a grocery store clerk or a thumbs up and thank you to a front line worker. If you can, support a local restaurant by getting some take out. Try to down load some music or buy a book on-line. Everything you can do will help.<br />
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This pandemic is going to change us all, much the way 9-11 did. This time I hope it changes us all for the better. Be safe, be healthy.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-15198588123512746732020-03-20T07:35:00.000-07:002020-03-20T07:35:54.739-07:00COVID -19 This is for realHow is everyone holding up? I know social distancing and self quarantining are certainly something that makes our days more difficult, <b>but they work!</b><br />
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We are in the early stages of a pandemic like the world hasn't seen since the breakout of the Spanish flu in 1918. In that particular pandemic approximately 50,000,000 people died world wide largely because of soldiers going home and spreading the virus. Granted, at that time the medical knowledge was not like it is now, but there currently isn't a vaccine available yet and the virus is spreading.<br />
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Social distancing and self quarantining are excellent for "flattening the curve". The same number of people may still get sick, but it will be stretched over months instead a few weeks. Our medical system is stretched at the best of times, so having thusands get sick in a few weeks would completely engulf the system. It's up to us to try to give our front line workers a chance.<br />
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In my part of the world the schools are closed, all sporting events are cancelled, retail storesexcept grocery stores, gas pumps etc, all restaurants except for drive through or home delivery. Bank branches are closing and ones remaining open are reducing their hours.<br />
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Here's some things we can do to help our community:<br />
* Keep up with social distancing<br />
* Reach out to friends and family via social media to see how they are doing<br />
* STOP HOARDING THE ESSENTIALS > you don't need 400 rolls of toilet paper. Think of your others in your community who can only afford to buy once a week and can't buy ahead.<br />
* Everytime you can, thank the front line workers for their dedication and that the groceries, etc. for staying open so we all can survive.<br />
* <b>IF YOU FINANCIALLY CAN:</b><br />
* go to a restaurant offering take out and leave a bigger tip than usual<br />
* buy some music on-line, especially from smaller up and coming bands. Like many artists they live day to day and having the bars and other small venues close takes away a major source of income for them. If they have swag, buy a t-shirt.<br />
* if you bought a ticket to a concert that has been cancelled, consider not asking for a refund.<br />
* buy some books on-line<br />
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Finally, if you are a young person, you can catch this too. You are not immune just because you are under thirty. So please be smart about social distancing and not going out unless you have too.<br />
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If you do catch it, you will probably will be alright. However, if you then give it to your parents or grand parents, they may not be. Be smart for them if you can't for yourself. A day hanging out with your friends is just not worth the risk. Get together virtually. That's not a difficult thing for you.<br />
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Be smart and be safe. Let's work together to mnimize the danger to us all.<br />
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<br />AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-56838117885844028582020-03-04T11:01:00.001-08:002020-03-04T11:01:23.039-08:00Wild Lights at the Magnetic Hill Zoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, here is my wife and I at the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton, NB. It is mid December and it is as cold as it looks, but we never miss an opportunity to go the the "Wild Lights" event put on each year during the Christmas Season.<br />
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With approximately 170,000 visitors per year, the Magnetic Hill Zoo is the largest in Atlantic Canada and the locals are justifiably proud of it. Since the 1970's it has grown from a "Game Farm", where orphaned local wild critters were looked after, to a full fledged award winning zoo.<br />
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The Magnetic Hill Zoo is spread over 40 acres in the north-west part of the city, and boasts 70 different indigenous and exotic species divided into four global zones - Americas, Africa, Asia, and Discovery. They host many seasonal events as well as educational summer camps. By the way, it is also an awesome place to just spend a sunny afternoon strolling around.<br />
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However, I'm writing specifically to tell you about one event that happens during December called "Wild Lights". It is brilliantly done, well worth the low price of admission. Dozens of volunteers spend thousands of person hours putting up lights and displays throughout the zoo. It is an amazing thing to see. As a bonus, on nicer evenings, some of the animals are out where you can see them as well. When it happens to be very cold, they stay in their nice warm habitats and laugh at those crazy two legged animals wandering around in the cold.<br />
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Of course the Siberian Tigers are usually out regardless of the temperature. They are big, beautiful kitties and I'm always thankful for the two tall chain link fences between them and me!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1aqoMBrHrMlfAnxTtvkbpnwZT1EWWx39RDPsNsgkWH9kxj_6qz45cdNDaNGNpGpDxLLORlgcqmAYfqwj1hePt1OMIUq9l9g96Zyva15T6Dmjv3uY5G7zgjDHnIhKa51kohBqga0Tm3s/s1600/IMG_1432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1aqoMBrHrMlfAnxTtvkbpnwZT1EWWx39RDPsNsgkWH9kxj_6qz45cdNDaNGNpGpDxLLORlgcqmAYfqwj1hePt1OMIUq9l9g96Zyva15T6Dmjv3uY5G7zgjDHnIhKa51kohBqga0Tm3s/s200/IMG_1432.JPG" width="150" /></a>Part way around there is a coffee / hot chocolate station and a couple of large bonfires run by volunteers to help you warm up. When you leave the gift shop is open as well.<br />
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It takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to walk around and admire the sights. Since it is dark by 5:00 in December, this is definitely an event the younger children can take in as well. Just make sure everyone dresses for the weather. Remember there is no bad weather - just bad clothing! Get out there and take it all in.<br />
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Here are just a few of the many displays that have been set up. The blue globe is new this year. They continue to add to their displays so it's a great excuse for you to go every year!<br />
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AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-75270349913998657392017-07-25T06:09:00.000-07:002017-07-25T06:09:13.483-07:00Down Memory LaneWe are in the process of doing something most married people get to experience once in their lifetime - cleaning out the family home we grew up in so that it can be sold.<br />
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In my case it is a little easier to do as my daughter and her fiance are buying my parents home so we don't have to clean it out completely and strangers will not be living in my old bedroom! My Dad is still living but old age - he is 92 - has necessitated him going to a nursing home, so my wife and I are cleaning out 52 years of accumulated "stuff" that our daughter doesn't want or need.<br />
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We came across a stack of postcards in one of the dresser drawers which caused this trip down Memory Lane. A couple of them, one from Montreal and one from Winnipeg were sent home by my older brother when he was heading for Regina in 1965 to learn how to be a Mountie which he did very successfully for close to 40 years. There was one from my brother-in-law from a hotel in Oshawa when he was just beginning his new career with GM in 1973. He retired from there in 2005 ish.<br />
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However, the very best was one Mom had sent to me in 1977, my first year at UNB. They had dropped me off in Fredericton and carried on to do some travelling around Maine and New Hampshire. The card the sent was from Clukey's (pronounced like Clookey's) Motor Colony established by Mr and Mrs Francis J. Clukey in 1931. This was a collection of small cottages on their property in Bangor, Maine.<br />
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The first time I remember staying there I was about 4, so about 1963, and we still lived in Alma. My brother and sister still lived at home and we went there for a small vacation. I remember being so impressed by everything about this place. Big city stuff for a little guy from Alma. Nearby was a public park which ran along the river and there was this large (at least in my mind) pool with a fountain in the middle. At night there were multi-coloured lights shining up through the water. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen!<br />
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There were things on the little black and white TV that I had never seen either. It was the first and only time I had ever seen a show called The Musketeers". I was very impressed.<br />
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I still have some more digging to do and another trip down Memory Lane may be conjured up because of it.<br />
<br />AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-73780581297065771272017-03-30T15:06:00.002-07:002017-03-30T15:06:43.484-07:00A Lovely RejectionJust after Christmas I sent<i> Jimmy and Cinder </i>off to Orca Press in BC to see if they were interested. Last week I received an email from the acquisitions editor saying she had enjoyed the book, especially the "delightful" Cinder. Unfortunately they didn't feel it fit with what they were looking for at the moment but she encouraged me to send it to other publishers as it may fit their current needs.<br />
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I forwarded the email to a freelance editor from Halifax who helps me and she called it a "lovely rejection", It certainly was more pleasing than the previous publisher I sent it to, who had actually asked for it, and I have never heard back from them again. I guess the fact that this editor actually sent me something personal is a very good sign that I'm on the right track.<br />
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Speaking of which, it just never hurts to speak to people in a book store. I was at Cover to Cover books in Riverview (my favorite store) a few weeks ago and there was an author doing a book signing. So I chatted with him for a bit, bought his book, and then had a nice discussion about writing with him, I mentioned I was trying to find a publisher for <i>Jimmy and Cinder </i>and he asked if I had tried a publisher here in Riverview. I told him I hadn't realized there was one. He gave me the name, I looked it up on-line and there it was: Chocolate River Publishing. I checked out their website and saw that they were fairly new, had four or five books under contract but none were even close to the fantasy genre I was writing in.<br />
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Rather than send a full query, I sent a short email saying what type a book I had and if they would be interested in seeing it. If so, I would send a proper query according to their guidelines. About two hours later, I get an email back from the publisher saying she was familiar with my previous two books and to send her the manuscript right away. Actually she told me to drop it off to her house.as I actually know her. My younger son, Fraser, was in her son's wedding party! Here, I didn't know this lady was a publisher! All this from speaking with another writer at a book store.<br />
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So I have dropped <i>Jimmy and Cinder</i> off to her and we will see what happens. If she isn't interested, I think I'll change tactics and look for an agent instead.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-13969849723317645952017-03-14T09:04:00.000-07:002017-03-14T09:11:59.640-07:00Biking in Moncton areaMy wife and I have taken up cycling over the past few years and have come to really enjoy it. We keep threatening to do a "bike trip" but have never got ourselves to the point that we felt we were properly conditioned to do so.<br />
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Metro Moncton (Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe) is a wonderful place to bike recreationally. Depending on where you work, you may not agree that it is always a safe place, however I think all three communities are expanding their bike lanes whenever and where-ever possible. I see a lot more bikes using the road and drivers are slowly becoming more aware of them. I'm now seeing people biking in the winter using the "fat-bikes".<br />
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There are currently 10's of kilometers of off road, graveled or paved trails wide enough for walking or biking in the metro area. Because this area is relatively flat, it is not difficult biking either. My wife and I can go over 50 km around the city on trails and hardly ever be around traffic. A lot of it involves riding along the Petitcodiac River and several kilometers of it are linked to the Canada Trail system.<br />
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One of our son's goes to the University of Victoria. Victoria is a city that has embraced mass transit and biking in a big way. It is a very green city in more ways than one. Beautiful winters, compared to the east coast, encourages people to use their bikes year round, and the large amount of bike lanes encourages using them.<br />
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I'm a big believer in the phrase "build it and they will come". I'm hoping the three communities that make up Metro Moncton will to be aware of the importance of increasing biking infrastructure so that more people can use their bike safely. It could be the start of a green revolution in the area.<br />
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<br />AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-55907878792404640322016-11-23T06:01:00.002-08:002016-11-23T06:08:04.569-08:00Where do you get your ideas?I'm sure you have all had this question asked of you; "Where do you get your ideas?"<br />
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I'm not sure about you but I sometimes find that hard to answer. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm not always sure. Ideas come from everywhere, and nowhere. I'm, much to my dismay, not a real disciplined writer. I admire those writers I read about that get up every morning at 5 am so they can write for two hours before everyone else gets up. Frankly I don't have the energy to do that. I just write when I can find the time during the day.<br />
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I always have a couple of magazines and two or three books on the go at any time and read whichever I feel like at the moment. My manuscripts are much the same way. There is the primary one - the next I hope to publish - but there are also four or five others that are at the research stage or very preliminary stage that simmer on the back burner. Sometimes an idea pops up that works for one of those "back burner" stories and I jot it down. (I always have paper handy for this - always!) These things float up when I'm listening to music, walking somewhere, biking or just using the old 1000 yard stare sitting in my back yard. I never know what will trigger it or when it will happen. (See above note about paper.) These little tidbits go into the appropriate file for that particular story.<br />
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So, by the time I move a story from the back burner to the front one I will have all these random notes collected for it and I'll be damned if I can remember where they came from. So when I get asked the question I really mean it when I say I don't know.<br />
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It is what it is.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-67487736073014148932015-08-11T12:27:00.000-07:002015-08-11T12:27:21.504-07:00Writing, blogging, working .... sleeping???I just noticed it has been a very long time since I posted anything on this site. Waaaay too long in fact. Note to self - more blogs.<br />
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However, I also need to blog more on my real estate site, and I need to write more on my next manuscript, and do a few repairs on the last one before resubmitting to another publisher. Of course there is all the work to do at the cottage, and some at the house as well. Lawn needs mowed - didn't I just do that last week? What's up with that?! Okay, let's all lobby for the 30 hour day and nine day week!<br />
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I don't think my complaint is any different from any of us who haven't quite gotten to the point where we can write as our only job. Imagine, sitting down at the key board and working away for a few hours knowing you can get up, go for a walk and then sit back down and write some more. I think that would be a nice change from trying to grab an hour her, thirty minutes there, and so on.<br />
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The long and the short of it is we all love to write, we do it when we can and we do it the best we can in the time provided and that's all we can expect.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-2897888166635843682014-10-09T17:40:00.002-07:002014-10-09T17:42:27.626-07:00What a great trip!We are back, we are tired and we had fun! We had a great visit with #2 son who is attending UVic. For anyone who has never been to Victoria, BC, add it to your travel bucket list. It is well worth the cost.<br />
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Reason #1: Butchart Gardens<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjguwHwnXOttEnJQILmZL5cjrjxyMKoUxyM3d1xTsLAJ8_81StofdIUaQksCe_AqgOPZ3m6_TjLA_I2K88tYJVN36fa_NUrzqiAVBHMqNDgCzoU2BTmHv3tk93xE7mOsEvAXp5QMJASc/s1600/IMG_0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjguwHwnXOttEnJQILmZL5cjrjxyMKoUxyM3d1xTsLAJ8_81StofdIUaQksCe_AqgOPZ3m6_TjLA_I2K88tYJVN36fa_NUrzqiAVBHMqNDgCzoU2BTmHv3tk93xE7mOsEvAXp5QMJASc/s1600/IMG_0688.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
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Reason # 2: Whale watching</div>
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Yes that's an Orca and yes (s)he is that close. The operator shut the engine down as soon as the whale breached and s(he) turned towards us as I snapped this shot. It was an unbelievable day. You can see how calm the water was and the tour we chose through East Wind was really well done. We had a "whale" of day - heh, heh! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DpbBqdvsGwE5OzWLOekVOvP6kRSoSemzGhflya7A2MKu51Y1rYVY1k3Vvw9gXHlbJazGZ-_P-377vcrGRekJH3yn93rpCiPqc2_hoFaR-PUgzBHAftMemtqyKo_OmDWUM_UlWX0xCk8/s1600/IMG_0552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DpbBqdvsGwE5OzWLOekVOvP6kRSoSemzGhflya7A2MKu51Y1rYVY1k3Vvw9gXHlbJazGZ-_P-377vcrGRekJH3yn93rpCiPqc2_hoFaR-PUgzBHAftMemtqyKo_OmDWUM_UlWX0xCk8/s1600/IMG_0552.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Reason #3: The City</div>
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Arguably one of the prettiest cities in Canada. Lots of flower beds, parks with fountains and the harbour is very nicely cleaned up. One tour person referred to it as the city for newly weds, nearly deads and flower beds! How accurate that is I'm not sure but it is a very pretty spot. However here are a couple of the 499 pictures I took in 8 days.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVUUIEQecYqHik8_0QAZlBUHdNEPerLVoT4EvhnurZ65shWitQXoZypeZk1Dvm9n_DoT3jXvv78IrGNkeLpV4jTY4_uuFNsA44-9w_AyrsIxm4RsitBzhyiLnFcbbs8vjzoNCX837Xjc/s1600/IMG_0659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVUUIEQecYqHik8_0QAZlBUHdNEPerLVoT4EvhnurZ65shWitQXoZypeZk1Dvm9n_DoT3jXvv78IrGNkeLpV4jTY4_uuFNsA44-9w_AyrsIxm4RsitBzhyiLnFcbbs8vjzoNCX837Xjc/s1600/IMG_0659.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGe5hpHtLml0ajdlWSrzSmN35JXwRwfPJtq9cJqM7FBU_RJwmwmH7IVVl6MjYEny1w8Up3pkl9yJQt5xJqMjZELwHXIwaqOB5sC_HfMKmsTNHEa3eJHGiiq39l83bDxeFIwLjxpr1AFjM/s1600/IMG_0795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGe5hpHtLml0ajdlWSrzSmN35JXwRwfPJtq9cJqM7FBU_RJwmwmH7IVVl6MjYEny1w8Up3pkl9yJQt5xJqMjZELwHXIwaqOB5sC_HfMKmsTNHEa3eJHGiiq39l83bDxeFIwLjxpr1AFjM/s1600/IMG_0795.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The top one is the inner harbour. The BC Legislature is ahead in the distance, the Empress Hotel is on the left just out of view. The bottom picture is one of many lakes, in one of many parks. All of them seem to have fountains. It's amazing what you can do when you don't have 5 months of deep freeze to contend with!</div>
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I'll post some travel pictures one I get them straightened out.</div>
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AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-55804439947515844742014-10-09T17:33:00.000-07:002014-10-09T17:33:18.058-07:00AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-80964205239790367952014-08-12T18:35:00.002-07:002014-08-12T18:37:36.579-07:00Vacation so close I can smell it!Tomorrow evening, around 5 pm, AST, my wife and I will start a week of holidays. We were unable to follow our customary practice of taking a week off in late April or early May. This was due, in part, to all of our children being in Europe while we, poor deprived parents that we are, looked after a couple of grand-cats. So we are ready for a little R&R at the cottage.<br />
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Please understand my vacations are a bit odd in that I take lots of work to do with me. This includes my current manuscript, my portable "office" which contains all things real estate plus the cemetery stuff. Oddly enough, our extended family owns a cemetery and I, the one with the flexible work schedule, have the pleasure of managing it for little pay.<br />
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So it is a working vacation, but working while sitting in the shade with a cold drink, beats the hell out of the office any day.<br />
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Maybe I'll get "Jimmy and Cinder" finished and ready to send out.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-26728251847550081992014-07-30T15:39:00.001-07:002014-07-30T15:39:34.750-07:00"Jimmy and Cinder" in final stagesI'm on the home stretch with this one. A few more chapters to review, then one complete read through to check continuity and then I start sending it out. I have one publisher in mind and if they are not interested I guess then I start looking for an agent.<br />
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I now have ideas for two more books in this series and after that it would depend on popularity and so on. Jimmy and Eribeth would be well into their teens by the end of book three which means I may have to migrate the series to a young adult book. I guess that would depend upon the publisher.<br />
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This blog will now start appearing on my new webpage that should be launched tomorrow. I've been seeing more and more agents suggest you need the web presence as well as the social media presence to entice publishers to consider you. I guess that's one more thing to add to the pile.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-60641195561731898882014-07-24T10:49:00.000-07:002014-07-24T10:49:49.251-07:00Chapter 1 of "Jimmy and Cinder"<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">This is Chapter 1 of my next middle grade book. This is undoubtedly not the final version but it's pretty close.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I hope you enjoy it and comments are gratefully accepted. Try to be nice though, writers are fragile. ;-)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">CHAPTER 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy smacked face first into the dirt.
For a moment he lay there stunned, trying to catch his breath. Over the years, countless feet had pounded
the surface of the practice area into a powdery grit that was now working its
way into his mouth and down his throat.
Jimmy coughed and a sharp pain shot down his left side. He groaned and rolled over onto his back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The warm sunshine on Jimmy’s face was a welcome
reminder that spring had finally arrived, but he would have appreciated it so
much more if the entire left side of his body didn’t feel like it had been set
on fire and the fire beaten out with a large stick. The boy who had hit him
suddenly loomed over him, blocking out the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I can’t believe you did it again!” said his friend
Robert who was sprawled across a bench in the shade with his feet propped up on
an overturned bucket. “How many times do
I have to tell you to guard your left side?
Will always fakes right and goes left.
He’s been doing it for years.
It’s really the only move he has.
If you guys had been using real swords, he would have cut you in half
three times already this morning!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Grab a sword, big mouth, and I’ll show you who has
only one move,” growled William while glaring at his twin. “I have lots of moves, but I can just use the
same one to beat you over and over. You never learn either.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Robert waved his hand dismissively at his
brother. Will was the better swordsman,
and they both knew it, but even the cruelest of torturers couldn’t have made
Robert admit it out loud. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy rolled over and up onto his hands and knees
and groaned again. His head hung down,
sweat dripped off the end of his nose and splashed into the dust. “As it is,” Jimmy wheezed, gently checking
his ribs with one hand, “I think you’ve broken a few ribs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Not a chance,” Will said as he reached down to help
Jimmy to his feet. “Those were just
little taps. I didn’t put my weight into
any of those swings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Good thing,” Jimmy said. He reached back down to
pick up his practice sword. Bending over
caused him to wince. So did straightening back up. “I believe it’s considered
bad form to kill your friend on the practice field.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy twisted around a bit. Actually, nothing seemed
broken. The slatted, wooden practice swords rarely broke bones, but they could
leave nasty bruises, especially when swung by someone like Will who really
didn’t know his own strength. Jimmy figured one of Will’s “taps” could knock
over a horse if it didn’t have its feet firmly planted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy, more formally known as Crown Prince James
Henry Phillip Brindleworth IV, had known the twins all his life. Their father, Sir William, was the castle
Sword Master and Jimmy’s father’s best friend.
At fourteen, the twins were a year older than Jimmy but much bigger and
stronger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Sir William was a huge bear of a man. He had darker skin than most of the people in
Burberry and wore a large black beard.
His hair was cropped close to his head and he kept it shaved high above
his ears as was the custom of warriors from Olmur, the mountain kingdom where
he grew up. Sir William could swing a broad sword as if it were
weightless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The twins were just slightly smaller versions of
their father and had been using swords since they were big enough to pick one
up. No matter how hard he tried, and how
much he practiced, Jimmy couldn’t best them in sword practice. This was something Jimmy considered a
personal failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy was tall and lean like his father, the King.
King James was a noted horseman, as were many in his clan, and Jimmy had been
astride a horse as soon as he was old enough to be able to stay in a saddle. There
were very few people in the castle, knights included, who could ride as well as
Jimmy. However, because Jimmy found it easy, he thought it must be. He failed
to notice how Robert and Will were uncomfortable around horses and needed all
their concentration just to stay in the saddle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Since he was next in line to be king, Jimmy felt he
should be better than everyone at everything. No one had ever told him this he
just felt it was the way things should be.
Robert and Will practiced with him until he was exhausted, but he could
never beat them. He rarely even landed a
clean hit. When the twins practiced, they moved as if they were liquid, weaving
and flowing through their practice patterns seemingly without effort. One form merged seamlessly into the next. It
was beautiful to watch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy knew the patterns just as well as they did but
he also knew that his were mechanical and jerky. <i>How can I inspire confidence in my knights if I can’t best them in
every form of battle?</i> The fact that his father would never even consider
challenging Sir William to a sword fight never occurred to Jimmy. The fact that
Sir William would rather fall on his sword than fight James didn’t either. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I think we’d better call it quits,” Robert said
noticing the dejected look on his friend’s face. He had seen that look many
times before and knew Jimmy was beating himself up on the inside for not being
a better swordsman. “If we don’t get cleaned up before class, Lady Carmen will
have our heads on a platter!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“If it wasn’t for this, it would be for something
else,” Will said as he gathered up the practice swords. Jimmy laughed, causing him to wince and rub
his sore ribs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I really don’t think she likes you two,” Jimmy said,
trying to look stern. “You’re always causing trouble. I really don’t think you take your studies
seriously enough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Us?” Will cried. “I can’t believe you just said
that out loud. It wasn’t ‘us’ that put
the horse dung in Lady Carmen’s desk drawer and then tried to blame it on Mary
Elizabeth. Nor, I might add, did we have to write out lines for a month as a
result.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy smiled broadly. “That was a long month! I was writing lines
in my sleep after the first two nights.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The boys walked over to a small stone building with
a steep thatched roof that sat at one end of the practice area. The students used this building as a change
area. Inside the building, Jimmy and
Robert each grabbed a wooden bucket from a shelf on one wall while Will put the
practice swords away. Will then grabbed
a bucket and joined his friends outside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Next to the change room was a well, and each boy
took a turn attaching his bucket to a rope and lowering it down into the icy
water. They dunked their heads in the
bucket of water and half-heartedly scrubbed off a bit of dirt and sweat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A little cleaner, they put the buckets back inside
and changed from the tough leather pants and vests they wore for sword practice
into clean linen shirts and wool pants that were more suitable for the
classroom. They were slightly more
presentable as they went back outside to enjoy the late morning sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Robert looked up at the cloudless blue sky and said,
“You know, this looks like a great day to go for a hike in the woods. We haven’t done that for a while. Maybe we could hunt a few rabbits or
something.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I’m in,” Jimmy said quickly as he pushed his
fingers through his wet hair in an attempt to make it look brushed. He only succeeded in making it stick out in
all directions. “But let’s go for a ride instead. Baron could use some
exercise. I think he’s gotten fat this winter.” The twins glanced at each
other. They hated riding, but they knew their friend loved it so they nodded in
agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Okay,” Robert said trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Riding it is, but I wouldn’t let Baron hear you say he’s getting fat. That horse has a mean streak a mile wide.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Are you kidding me?” Jimmy said. “Not Baron. He’s
as gentle as a kitten.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yeah,” said Will sarcastically. “Maybe like a
mountain lion kitten—with a sore paw.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“No way! You
two just don’t understand him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Us and every terrified stable boy in the castle,”
Robert said. “The ones that even dare go
anywhere near his stall, that is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The boys walked across the practice area and down
the well-worn path that led to the castle. Will said, “You know, I’m not so
sure this little adventure is a good idea. Remember how much trouble we got
into last time? Jimmy, your mother will have a major fit and she’ll make sure
Father has one too!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Jimmy looked down at the ground and then up at the
sky. It <i>was</i> a very nice day. “You’re
right,” he finally said, “Mom will have a fit.” He continued to stare at the
sky for a moment and then he looked at his friends with a grin on his face. “So
when should we leave?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The twins laughed. “I think we should go when the
guard changes at the end of second watch. With everyone coming and going, we’re
less likely to be noticed,” Robert said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The other two nodded in agreement. “We’ll meet at
the stable a few minutes before that then,” Jimmy said. “Sir Charles will be
having his midday meal, and we should be able to grab the horses and go before
anyone is the wiser. Speaking of food, we should get something to eat too
before we go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">This idea was met with great enthusiasm by the
twins, who felt that three meals a day just wasn’t enough. The three friends
changed direction slightly and headed toward the rear entrance to the castle
kitchen, which was located near the back of the east wing of the castle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">According to Robert, one of the kitchen helpers,
named Gwen, had a huge crush on William. “You should see her,” Robert laughed
as he told Jimmy. “She follows him around like a lost puppy when she isn’t
working in the kitchen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“She does not,” growled William. “Just because she
thinks you’re a dolt is not my fault. I
think it shows that she has good taste, that’s all!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Robert nudged Jimmy with his elbow and winked. “I think Will is in love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">William lunged at Robert. “I am not! Don’t be saying
stuff like that. Someone besides Jimmy might hear you and think you’re
serious.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Cut it out you two,” Jimmy said. “We’re almost
there and Will needs to sweet talk his girlfriend into giving us something to
eat.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“She’s not my girlfriend,” protested William as the
three boys went into the castle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A tall, slightly built girl stepped out of the
shadows of the forest that surrounded the practice area and watched Jimmy and
her older brothers go through the door leading to the kitchen. She was wearing
snugly fitting pants and a loose blouse that laced up in the front. Her long cape hung nearly to her ankles and
had a hood that hid most of her face when flipped up. All of her clothing was a
mix of dark green and black splotches, which allowed her to blend perfectly
into the shady areas of the forest. When
she stood still she was nearly invisible. She carried a bow and had a quiver of
arrows slung over her shoulder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eribeth was very pleased with herself. She had been watching the boys practice all
morning, slowly working her way around the practice field. She eventually crept close enough to hear
every word they said, and they had not seen her. She thought this had to be excellent training
for when she joined The Watch in a few years.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She pushed back her hood and stared at the castle
for a moment. Her skin was a shade lighter than her brothers and father, and
everyone told her that she looked like her mother, who had died two winters
ago. Like her mother, she wore her long, black hair pulled back and braided to
keep it out of the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Her mother had grown up in Theonada, a seaport on
the other side of the mountains. Her
mother’s people were all ship owners and sailed the world trading the spices
that Theonada was famous for. Eribeth often wished to visit Theonada, to meet
her mother’s family and see the ocean, but that would have to wait for a few
years yet. For now she had to continue to hone her skills so that, when she was
old enough, she could become part of The Watch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eribeth enjoyed spying on people, especially her
brothers. They were always treating her
like an annoying little sister and she got back at them by spying on them. Besides, she sort of liked Jimmy, and he was
usually with her brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eribeth walked slowly toward the castle, keeping
close to the protection of the forest.
She knew they wouldn’t let her go for a ride with them even though she
was a much better rider than either of her brothers. Will and Robert always
said she was too little and everything was always too dangerous, “especially
for a girl.” That <i>really</i> drove her
crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Well, she would show them! Eribeth had inherited enough of her father’s
blood to be strong for her age and size. Under her father’s guidance, she
practiced every day with a short sword and now she was as quick and lethal as a
striking snake. Her uncle Jonathan, the commander of The Watch, had taught her
how to throw a knife and use a short bow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">These were ideal weapons for someone smaller, he
told her. If she was good with a knife and a bow then larger, stronger enemies
would never get close enough to take advantage of their strength.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Queen had watched Eribeth grow up and saw the
potential in her. She knew Eribeth longed to be different from all the other
young ladies of the court much like the queen had been as a young lady of the
court. The Queen made arrangements so that, unlike the other girls, Eribeth
received training in math, cartography, geography, history, politics, writing
plus weapons training. Eribeth’s uncle had asked the Queen to personally train
her in diplomacy and politics thinking that, as a woman, Eribeth would be able
to go unnoticed to places a man could never go, something that would be a great
benefit for a spy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eribeth was the only girl in weapons training with
the other Watch recruits. The boys sometimes gave her a hard time so she
compensated by being smarter, quicker and faster than all of her class mates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eribeth practiced for two hours every day, and now
she could split an apple in half at twenty paces with her knife and hit the
apple with an arrow while galloping past, guiding her horse with her knees. She
kept several knives concealed on her person at all times, and her bow and arrows
were never far away either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eribeth could look after herself and since she
didn’t have classes with the Queen that afternoon, she planned on going with
the boys when they went out on their adventures. She headed for her room, which
was right across the hall from her brothers’, to wait for them to show up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span>AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-69591335774475623422014-03-21T10:54:00.002-07:002014-03-21T10:56:30.226-07:00"Jimmy and Cinder" and figuring out how dragons and trolls speakMy next middle grade story is titled "Jimmy and Cinder". The main characters are Jimmy, a 13 year old human prince, and Cinder, a dragon prince of similar age, who meet one day in the forest. Cinder is lost and Jimmy agrees to set him on the correct path home. Both have similar backgrounds, both are Crown Princes, both are skipping school when they meet. However, their fathers are life long enemies. Over the course of the story, Jimmy and Cinder find out that their knowledge of the other's race is full of misunderstandings, and things are not as they were led to believe. Their new friendship helps them work together to get out of a bad spot involving Mountain Trolls and ultimately brings their families together as well. Big "Disney" finish.<br />
<br />
The freelance editor I'm working with, a person who is really making me push the envelope, wants me to be very distinctive using dragon language and troll language. I've decided that dragons will speak a form of old English. However, that isn't easy as I thought. I've been learning a lot about "thee", "thy" and "thou". Thank God for the source of all information - Google.<br />
<br />
I've been putting the Trolls farther down the intelligence scale, which may be unfair to trolls, but that's just the way it turned out. I have them speaking a broken, more basic English, hoping it is different enough from dragon language that young readers don't become confused. This is my first attempts to introduce dialects into a story and it has been a challenge for me. I think the different ways of using the languages makes the story stronger, but I don't want younger readers to get discouraged or have a struggle understanding the story.<br />
<br />
I'll keep you posted and next time I'll see if I can post the first chapter.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-8570184769826295092013-11-24T12:24:00.000-08:002013-11-24T12:24:26.751-08:00Travelling the west coastMy involvement with Organized Real Estate requires me to travel some. Over the past month I attended meetings in Vancouver and in San Francisco. My wife went with me to SF and we took an extra week to visit Seattle and then up to Victoria to visit with our middle child who is doing graduate work at UVic.<br />
<br />
The conference in Vancouver was at a hotel near Coal Harbour and so I got to take several early morning and evening walks on the water front - especially down to Stanley Park. This is a very nice, very expensive part of the city. The photo below is from my hotel window.<br />
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See what I mean? Not a hard burden to stay in this area.<br />
<br />
If you have never been to San Francisco, and get the chance to do so, I highly suggest you go. What an interesting city. There are about 860,000 people squished into 49 square miles, so that's about 90,000 more people than NB has and we have them spread over 50,000 square miles. It is a very busy place.<br />
<br />
One of the cabbies told us there were 3200 restaurants in SF so you don't need to go hungry - as long as you have some room on your charge card. I found the west coast more expensive to eat out than it is on our side of the country.<br />
<br />
One night we ate at an Italian restaurant called The North Beach Restaurant. It was awesome. There were 6 in our party and we were seated in the basement with 2 or 3 other larger groups. The basement is done up to look like a funky wine cellar, low ceilings, exposed brick walls, wood beams and so on. My writers eye was working overtime trying to imprint this place in my mind. The place was packed so I didn't feel right about taking pictures.<br />
<br />
The table next to us had a boisterous group of about a dozen who were well into their cups and having a whale of a time. Normally I frown on acting crazy in a restaurant - especially in one where the waiters wear tuxedos, but it just seemed to fit into the atmosphere at this place. We were told the restaurant had been open since 1978 and was considered one of the best in the city. I was sold - my Tuscan Chicken was very good.<br />
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<br />
All of us commented on how safe the city felt. Maybe we were too naive to notice, but we walked around, sometimes in groups, but sometimes in singles and at no time did we feel nervous about being on the street. This is a very artsy town with all kinds of street performers, small shops with art of various types and prices, and lots of really cool places to check out.<br />
<br />
We stayed close to Chinatown which is a must see for anyone. It is large, covering several city blocks in each direction. One thing that struck me as odd was that almost every restaurant had people on the sidewalk with menus, handing them out and trying to convince you to come into to their particular restaurant. Some were quite aggressive.<br />
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<br />
Two things that I feel are "must dos" in SF is the 2 bridges harbour tour and the visit to Alcatraz. Neither is very expensive and both are worth every penny. The 2 bridges harbour tour takes about 90 minutes and takes you under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz and the under the Bay Bridge before returning to the dock. This is a narrated tour and gives you an excellent perspective of the downtown you can't get walking the streets. I'm a sucker for anything involving a boat anyway.<br />
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<br />
We flew to Seattle and stayed there only overnight, about 14 hours, but we walked to Pikes Place Market - saw the original Starbucks - and walked by the Space Needle (below). That is quite a building and the Science Center next door is worth seeing too.<br />
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The next morning we jumped onto the ferry to Victoria. It speeds its way up through the islands, through Puget Sound and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria. It took about 2 1/2 hours. Lots to see all around and we really enjoyed it.<br />
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Victoria is a wonderful city with a totally different feel than Vancouver. It is much smaller but it is still different. It is still very British and as a friend of mine once said, you can smell the 'old money'. We stayed downtown which is full of smart little pubs and restaurants and very walkable. Victoria is, of course, the capital of BC and each night the light up the legislature (below). This was first done to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria around 1898.<br />
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After a couple of days, we rented a car and, accompanied by our son, went to Nanaimo. Just north - west of Nanaimo is a Provincial Park which contains a spot called Cathedral Grove. I have spoken of the Celtic term "thin place" before and this was definitely a thin place. For those of you who have not heard of the term it was a spot, in Celtic lore, where the line dividing this world from the spiritual world is very thin and could be easily crossed.<br />
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Cathedral Grove is a stand of old growth Douglas fir and Cedar. When I say old I mean hundreds of years old. These are trees of huge portions. One of the biggest was over 3 meters across, 72 meters tall, and estimated to be nearly 1000 years old. I took lots of pictures here as this was a magical place. Moss hung from the trees and you expected to see a faerie, or a hobbit peek around a tree at you, or maybe one to speak to you like Treebeard in Lord of the Rings. It was just incredible.<br />
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However, in spite of all the amazing things they have on the west coast, we have many things here too and you need to go away for awhile to appreciate this when you get home. I still love the ruggedness of the Atlantic coast, it feels like you need to be more hardy of a person to live here. There are thin places in Gros Morne National Park to rival Cathedral Grove, and maybe we don't have 3200 restaurants in any city but there are great places to eat. It's nice to travel and its equally nice to get back home.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-63716899099240648142013-05-20T18:17:00.000-07:002013-05-20T18:17:46.474-07:00Back From HackmatackI'm back from the Hackmatack Children's Choice Awards. I didn't win but I certainly felt like one. A huge shout out to the Hackmatack Board of Directors and all of the volunteers who made the participating authors feel special. Writing can be a very solitary profession and the opportunity to speak with the "Hackmatack Kids", and socialize with my peers gave me a real mental boost.<br />
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Thursday evening (May 9th) we all met at The Economy Shoe Shop, a pub in Halifax near to where we were staying, to have a wee nip, share a little food and a whole lot of conversation. I found this to be great since I have had few opportunities to meet other children's authors . Between Thursday evening and Friday morning I had a chance to speak with Catherine Austen who won the category I was in - English fiction - for her book "How to Survive Grade 6". This was her 5th book but her first Hackmatack nomination. I also had a great chat with scientist Don Downer, from Newfoundland, who is the author of "Selby the Lobster and Mike Dias, from Victoria, who wrote "Scandal in Port Angus". On Friday morning, Cary Fagan shared a signing station with me. Cary is from Toronto and wrote "Banjo of Destiny". These are people I would probably never get a chance to meet except at an event like this.<br />
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Friday morning was very special. Somehow the volunteers managed to corral about 300 grade 3 to 6's into a big meeting room at Pier21 and the awards ceremony started. Each author was lead in by a "standard bearer" who carried a small staff with a picture of the cover of their author's book on it. My standard bearer was a grade 5 student named Katerina. She did a very good job and later on she introduced me to the audience using a speech she had written herself. A really awesome job. <br />
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After the awards were given out, all the authors were taken to tables set up to sign autographs. I gave away a large number of my "Emily Finds a Dragon" bookmarks and met a lot of kids. It was great and for an hour or so we all felt like celebrities.<br />
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I have to mention two other people who helped to make the experience special for me. One was my "tour guide" for Wednesday and Thursday - Joanne Head who is Deputy Director of the Western Countries Regional Library. She had arranged for me to speak at the library in Yarmouth and the library in Lockeport, guided me to the Waverley Inn in Halifax and generally kept me out of trouble during the event. She also told me that these books were short listed from all of Canada, not just Atlantic Canada so that made me feel pretty good.<br />
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The second person is Marianne Ward, one of the Hackmatack Board of Directors and an independent editor. She is interested in looking at "Jimmy and Cinder" and perhaps working with me on it. I had a great chat with her and look forward to the possibilities that may arise.<br />
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All in all it was a wonderful experience and one I look forward to doing again. Maybe "Jimmy and Cinder" will be good enough to get me there for another try.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-55687845004467594262013-05-07T07:14:00.001-07:002013-05-07T07:15:17.264-07:00Hackmatack Children's Choice AwardTomorrow I'm heading off to Yarmouth, NS to start my "Hackmatack Adventure". On Thursday I'm scheduled to speak to some of the Hackmatack kids in Yarmouth, then I go to Shelburne to chat with another group. I finish up Thursday evening in Halifax for a get together with the other nominated writers for a bit of social time. The award ceremony is Friday morning.<br />
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The Hackmatack Children's Choice Award is a literary program designed to promote reading and literacy in Atlantic Canadian children in grades 4 to 6. Each year 10 english and 10 french books are chosen to be read by children registered in their school to participate in the program. The children read all 10 and then vote for their favorite. <br />
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This is what makes the award special for authors since it's our readers that are voting. That's the best feed back you could get. My second book, "Emily Finds a Dragon" was nominated for the 2012-2013 school year. This was a big boost for me as it is the first book I've written for this age group. <br />
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I'll continue to post and share my adventure this week as it is all very new for me. AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-66153977385853231642013-03-22T08:18:00.002-07:002013-03-22T08:19:01.832-07:00People watchingI'm sitting in Pearson Airport, in Toronto(a.k.a. center of the known universe), waiting for a flight to Ottawa. I love this airport because it is very busy and gives ample opportunity to one of my favorite pastimes. People watching.<br />
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People watching is a great pass time for any writer as it gives you lots of fodder to develop characters. Pearson is filled with characters. Toronto is the most ethnically diverse city in the world and they are all represented here at Pearson.<br />
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When I see someone that really catches my eye I take careful note of how they walk, stand, dress, speak (where possible) and file this away in my ever present journal for future use. Looking for a grizzled old guy to be the ferryman in your next novel? He'll probably walk by in the first ten minutes you're here. Maybe a space raider for a SF novel. He, or she, is here as well.<br />
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I read an article a few days ago about making maximum use of your day by never "killing time" since you are given a fixed allotment of it and you shouldn't waste a minute. So, for a writer, people watching becomes a great way to fill up those 10 and 15 minute intervals in your day with a productive exercise.<br />
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I have to go. Here comes the ferryman I was waiting for.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-24484755531400680502013-03-18T10:25:00.000-07:002013-03-18T10:25:03.034-07:00I love the way younger kids think!<br />
I had a couple of very cute/funny things happen last Friday at Lower Coverdale Elementary school. Illustrator/author Jennifer Aikman-Smith and I were doing a Writers in the School Program (WISP) for the day. For those who may not have done one of these we meet with the various age groups, talk about writing and illustrating, how we work together as a team to make a book, answer questions and so on.<br />
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In the afternoon we did an enrichment session with a grade 2 class and we met with the students involved in the Hackmatack program. This is usually a more intensive, hands on writing/drawing class with lots of good Q&A. The Hackmatack students are selected because of their interest in writing and illustrating.<br />
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We often get asked our ages or how long we have been writing or drawing and I'm sure we sound like crypt keepers to these young people. After lunch, one young lady in grade two asked me how old I was and when I told her she looked puzzled, and said,"That can't be right, you're shorter than Jennifer." Now that describes a lot of people since Jenn is quite tall but I didn't catch how that related to age. Then I realized that when you're 6, pretty well anyone older than you is taller. Therefore, Jenn is taller than me and must be older. Seems perfectly logical once you figure it out.<br />
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The other thing that I laughed at happened in the morning. Jenn was doing her magic at the flip chart, drawing amazing pictures for the kids when I mentioned a rapper squirrel she had just added to the drawing should have a "boom-box" on its shoulder. One little girl in grade three said, "Boom box! Than's from the eighties! I waited for her to add, "When dinosaurs ruled the earth.", but she didn't. Got a great laugh from the teachers since they were of the same vintage as I am - more or less.<br />
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However, both of these made me think about looking at something from someone else's perspective, something we do as writers all the time. Often, it's little details like the two I mentioned above that makes a story told from someone else's point of view more real. Lesson learned. Again. Thanks kids.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-24392292042070790352013-03-15T18:26:00.000-07:002013-03-15T18:26:42.175-07:00Trying to Get Back in the GrooveSo I guess it's time to get started on this blog again. Posting once every two or three years just doesn't cut it. Time has been a bit scare this past year as last March I started a 2 year term as President of the NB Real Estate Association and now I have to travel a lot more. Any spare writing time I can scrape up either goes into a book or my real estate blog. This poor little orphan has been sadly neglected. That has got to change.<br />
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In the past year my writing career has had a boost by having my second book, "Emily Finds a Dragon", put on the short list for the Hackmatack Children's Award. It was one of 10 English middle grade books selected to be read this year by selected students in grades 3-6. They then vote for a favorite. The award will be handed out in May of this year. I was very excited to have my second book nominated and winning would be very amazing.<br />
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I have finished "Jimmy and Cinder" as far as I can take it. Any more work will be the result of directions from either an agent or an editor. I'm now working on the first draft of the next one. This will be a bit older audience again and should finish out in the 50,000 word range, maybe as much as 60,000. I see this one being for grade 5 to 6 range. I try to get 3000 words a week done but it doesn't always happen.<br />
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I have been doing more Writer in the School visits with Jennifer, my illustrator/editor/publisher. She does a lot of them. Being an illustrator and an author makes her very good at keeping the smaller kids amused. I'm learning more about it and hopefully can do some on my own eventually. I keep getting ideas from Jennifer, and I occasionally think of something myself!<br />
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One message we try to impress upon the elementary school students is that the ability to write clear, concise sentences is a necessary skill even if you have no intention of being a writer for a living. As we embrace more electronic communication, we are actually writing more and not less. Clarity is necessity since it's hard to convey emotion in an email or text. I even see it on the real estate side of my life as more and more REALTORS use email and text to set up appointments. We rarely speak on the phone anymore. Sort of sad, but that is the way society is going. <br />
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I guess that's why writing will never go out of style. Just the format will change.<br />
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<br />AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-86422341573058193032011-11-22T17:56:00.000-08:002011-11-22T17:56:09.055-08:00Book signing are always interestingLast weekend my editor/illustrator and I had 3 book signing sessions; one at Coles in Saint John, another at Indigo in Saint John and one at the Chapters in Fredericton. Jenn brought her sketch book and spent the time having children "boss" her hands to make aliens, monsters and other things that they could take home and colour. I used this time to chat with parents and promote our books.<br />
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One thing we are realizing is that our distributor was right about the way sales work for a picture book versus a middle grade book. "Owen and the Dinosaur" is a picture book and many of the sales are for people buying gifts for preschoolers who need to be read to. They know that small children are just happy to sit on someone's knee and have a book read to them. They usually don't care what type of story it is as long as it's interesting.<br />
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However, "Emily Find's a Dragon" is a first chapter book for children in grades 3 to 5. Our customers are now often parents or grandparents with a child in tow. Now this little person has been reading for some time now and has definate ideas of what they like and don't like. So now, if said child isn't in tow, then people are less likely to take a chance on what book they might like or don't like.<br />
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We are always happy with the results of our book signings. We get a chance to speak with a lot of fans that have read our books and fans that haven't read our books yet. Okay, so that might be a stretch, but we do get some great comments and feedback and that helps keep us going. When a person tells you they love your work, and hope you have another book coming out soon it is an amazing feeling. It certainly makes up for a lot of time beating on the keyboard.<br />
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Jenn and I will be at Cover to Cover Books in Pinewood Plaza, Riverview, on Saturday, November 26th from 1pm to 3pm. I hope you will be able to bring your kids down and have Jenn draw a picture with them and maybe you can find a book too.<br />
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AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263430308534118212.post-39300179421094270282011-10-20T18:48:00.000-07:002011-10-20T18:48:00.440-07:00A Week Without my Blackberry!Gail and I decided to use one of our RCI certificates and take a week off just before the kids came home for Thanksgiving. We settled on the Bethel Inn and Resort, in Bethel Maine. We chose this spot for a few reasons; it was within a days drive of Moncton, we had never explored that section of Maine before, and it was close to North Conway, NH - a great place to do some Christmas shopping.<br />
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The drive down was beautiful. We crossed at Houlton and drove down the I95 to the other side of Bangor where we exited at Newport. From there we followed Rte 2 through Skowhegan, Farmington, Rumford to Bethel.<br />
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For anyone who hasn`t taken this drive before, it is a very picturesque drive on a sunny day. At various times the road parallels the Kennebec River, the Androscoggin and the Sandy Rivers. The road winds through hardwood forests, small towns and is a pleasure to drive if you have some time on your hands.<br />
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Bethel is a quaint little community sitting in the Androscoggin Valley in the eastern foothills of the White Mountain Nation Forest. At one time this was a lumbering town. One of the long time residents we spoke to told us there used to be three saw mills in the area but they had all closed down over the years. One of it's current claims to fame is that it is the home to the world's largest snowman in both 1999 and 2008. <br />
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A major employer in Bethel is the Gould Academy, named after the town's first pastor, Rev. Daniel Gould. It is a private, co-ed, college prep school offering both boarding and day school programs. It was founded in 1835 and has approximately 240 students in grades 9 to 12. It has a well maintained campus, located in the center of the village and is just a short distance from the Bethel Resort and Inn.<br />
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The Bethel Inn first opened it's doors to the public in July of 1913. As I mentioned before, Bethel was founded on agriculture and forestry, but now tourism is it's main industry. This a beautiful part of the world with many golf courses and ski hills in close proximity. While we were there, several tour buses stayed at the Inn as people came to see the fall colours.<br />
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Bethel also has a large number of artisans and some great places to eat. We purchased a lamp and serving tray at Bonnema Pottery. This husband and wife owned business turns out dozens of designs of lamps, dishes, platters and all things pottery. Beautiful work and we took a long time making a final decision.<br />
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One evening we ate at the SS Milton restaurant situated in an old house, almost across the street from Bonnema Pottery. Like many things, it was walking distance from the Inn. The slogan on their sign at the street is "a fine casual restaurant" and they lived up to their name. Our meals were excellent, the service perfect and they had craft beer from a New Hampshire brewery called Smutty Nose. Couldn't resist that. I was a nice red ale with a full flavoured finish so I ordered the crab and shrimp stuffed sole which worked very nicely with it.<br />
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We found out from one of the waitresses at the Bethel Inn that the Fryeburg Fair was going on that week and that we should make it a point to attend. We decided to do so on Tuesday. It was a bit misty and not a good day for hiking so the Fair seemed like a fun way to spend the day.<br />
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We were not disappointed. The Fryeburg Fair is rural America at it's very best. It is organized by the West Oxford Agricultural Society which was incorporated in 1851. Originally 9 communities in Maine were included and in 1888, six communities from New Hampshire joined in as well. After moving around for its first few years, the Fair finally settled in Fryeburg. It now sits on 180 acres and includes a harness racing track and over 100 permanent buildings. Over 300 thousand people go through the gates in six days. It was absolutely amazing! If it had four legs and fur, there were building for it. Cattle, oxen, horses, pigs, goats, even a building full of rabbits. (I wonder if it was full at the start of the week?) We watched a lady brush an angora rabbit. It was sitting on her lap, happy as could be and it looked like it was four feet across. You could hardly find the actual rabbit in there.<br />
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We discovered that it was Woodsman Day and the crowds were out in full to see the competition. One old gentleman, who was competing in the bucksaw competition was 75 years old. Pretty impressive too. They had double bit ax throws, log rolling and more. <br />
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Gail and I wandered around all day. Lunch was no problem at all. there must have been 100 food vendors not counting every church within 50 miles selling desserts. Finding something not deep fried was a little more tricky. A few new things too - at least for us. Deep fried dough which looked a bit like a beaver tail, but deep fried dill pickle? How about deep fried kool-aid? Not sure how they did that unless they mixed the powder into the dough. Anyway, I we went with BBQ and it was great. Finished up with fresh blueberry cobbler from one of the church groups and we were good to go.<br />
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We found a short trail, called the Eye-brow Trail, that went for 1.2 miles up what looked like some steep terrain and hooked onto the AT. The walk back was less than a mile so we figured we could handle that. Well...... were we ever mistaken! The trail started out steep but good walking and we went along easily. As we went it got steeper and steeper, but then it flattened out and things were good. Then we came to a spot where the trail went straight up the side of a rock face. Well, not quite straight up, but the trail designers had drilled steel posts into the rock and ran steel cables through eyes on the top of the posts so you could pull your self up. <br />
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So we got to the top of this, and stood on a natural rock platform about 10 foot square. Nice view from there and I noticed that the mist was starting to look a bit like snow. Once Gail had joined me, we looked to see where the trail went next. Then we noticed that there were metal pipes buried in the rock forming a series of steps we could use to crawl up to the next level. So, we did this as well. <br />
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Now we're standing on a ledge about six inches wide looking out over the tree line. It is getting colder and although we're quite high up, you really don't get a sense of it because we're next to a large chunk of granite that has been worn smooth and curves out of sight so you really don't see a vertical drop.<br />
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To our dismay, the trail leads across this six inch wide ledge with a fifteen foot wall on our left side. This vertical wall had more metal pipes to hold onto. However, with the amount of rain we we had received, there was a lot of water running down this wall. We crept across this ledge, holding onto the metal pipes with rapidly freezing fingers. It was probably not much more than forty feet, but it seemed a lot further.<br />
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We got to the other side and then saw that the surface run-off had created a bit of a brook at the other end of the ledge. We needed to crawl down a few more stairs and then hop over the brook and hope to land on a small metal ladder which disappeared around the corner of the bank. We looked down the stairs, which we would have had to back down, looked at the ladder and then I said,"What if it get worse after we go up the ladder? Can you imagine trying to hop across the brook and landing on these metal bars." We decided to go back. We figured our kids were still too young to be orphans.<br />
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So back we went and we hiked a different part of the AT instead!<br />
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The next day was cool and clear and we decided to try out the Mt. Washington Auto Trail. At 6288 feet, Mt. Washington is the highest point on the east coast and is home to some of the nastiest weather on the planet. The highest wind speed ever recorded on Earth, ever, was at the summit of Mt. Washington. It was the winter of 1932 and it was 332 mph. Companies that build equipment to work in the sub-arctic test them here. The weather at the summit on October 6th was 15 degrees F with a 95 mph wind blowing . The auto trail was icy above 4200 feet so that's as far as we were allowed to go. That put us above the tree line so the view was great but it was cold!<br />
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We had a great time that week and we discovered the first day there that our Blackberry's wouldn't work in the mountain's. After a brief panic we realized this wasn't all bad. After a few days we realized this was actually quite good. For the overworked, and over stressed I highly recommend the Bethel area to help you unwind. Just take a rope with you if you decide to hike the Eyebrow Trail.AnotherDayinParadisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589325964893988924noreply@blogger.com0