Jan. 16, 2022 One hundred years ago today, tales of ghostly fires at a tiny community south of Antigonish reached the ears of the local Halifax Herald reporter. “Do you want a story?” Harold Whidden, a First World War veteran and business man, queried of his editor. And so, the story of a fire-setting spook… Continue reading 100 years ago: strange fires at Caledonia Mills
When a film crew visits
A few days ago, a film crew arrived at my house to – obviously – film. (What else do film crews do?) This particular bunch, Simple Films, produces a series called Final Draft, which examines Nova Scotia’s book industry: the writers, the publishers, the illustrators, designers, editors and anyone else who may contribute to any… Continue reading When a film crew visits
Art and me
In this case, for this post, Art is not a person – although I know a few human Arts. This post is about “art,” defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary (the one on my shelf is actually quite old) as the “human ability to make things… creativity as distinguished from nature… skill, craftsmanship (or their… Continue reading Art and me
I love this book
Small in the City by Sydney Smith, already the winner of one of Canada’s biggest literary awards, was just selected as the winner of the UK’s Kate Greenaway award for children’s literature. Here is the link to the CBC story with all the information: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/sydney-smith-cilip-kate-greenaway-medal-win-1.6067505?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar I didn’t start this website to promote (and gush over)… Continue reading I love this book
Writing it down
On this date five years ago, I told Facebook that in the previous week I had seen: 1. a dead skunk under the yellow line on the highway; that is, the painting crew painted right across it. 2. A groundhog galloping down the middle of my lane. I clocked him at 10k. 3. two steaming… Continue reading Writing it down
Here we go again…
Nova Scotia has just entered a pandemic lockdown – the second since the coronovirus pandemic began wreaking havoc in this area just over a year ago. For me personally, and immediately, the “close-everything-order” means I had to make new plans to launch my book. Instead of being in-person, with guests carefully masked, sanitized and counted… Continue reading Here we go again…
Launch, officially!
You are invited to the official launch of my book, Senior Moment, which will take place at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, 1919 Highway Six, River John, NS, on May 2. Senior Moment is my personal account of settling my elderly mom in a safe and happy senior residence; including from tips arising from the experience!… Continue reading Launch, officially!
Released!!!!
I did not expect to receive copies of my newest book, Senior Moment, until the very end of April, or – more likely – early May. Nimbus Publishing had set the print date for April 27, and it takes time to pack books in boxes and load them onto trucks to take them to bookstores.… Continue reading Released!!!!
One hundred years ago – Bluenose!
I usually read my daily news, often from the CBC app on my phone – because I can read faster than TV or radio journalists can talk, plus reading allows me to skip whole bits when I please. Imagine my surprise last night, when I saw my name in an article about the schooner Bluenose… Continue reading One hundred years ago – Bluenose!
A virtually real (and really good) festival
Like many events during this pandemic, Read by the Sea Summer Literary Festival has met some rough patches. Granted, the festival has had glitches in the past: the author is late, someone gets sick, the tents fall down, the toilets clog, pens go dry, the afternoon turns as cold as a mid-March day – or… Continue reading A virtually real (and really good) festival