Find out more about my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket
I’ll be part of the Oct. 19 event “From Pain to Power,” a two-author reading celebration in West Vancouver, shared with my friend Roxanne Davies. She’s author of the narrative nonfiction book The Blue Riviera, a poignant tale of her mother’s death under mysterious circumstances. In her words: “This is also the story of a…
Want to hear my stories of solo travel in India, from touring the Taj Mahal under curfew to visiting an exorcism temple? Come to my reading “A Story of Thriving Empowerment” at Powell River Public Library in Powell River, BC. It’s on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 2 to 3 pm. I’ll focus on my 2023…
Had an excellent time at this year’s 3rd Annual Art and Words event, held at the Gibsons Public Market Aug. 22-25. This event, hosted by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society, started with the Book Fair, where more than a dozen authors and artists shared their wares on the main floor. Some participants came…
How do you find my Book Fair author table? Look for the sasquatch tablecloth, Bigfoot figures, and tree full of animal hand puppets. I was among about a dozen authors and artists, all members of Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society, who sold and signed books Aug. 16 at Trail Bay Mall in Sechelt, BC….
The following is my final post in a three-part series addressing the sexual assault of Alice Munro’s daughter by her stepfather. Alice Munro’s daughter Andrea Robin Skinner has said that she does not want her public revelations regarding sexual abuse by her stepfather Gerald Fremlin to destroy her mother’s legacy. Instead, she would like her…
Some have called author Alice Munro a “feminist icon.” The devastating revelations about how she stuck by her second husband who sexually abused her daughter Andrea certainly show otherwise. Again, this does not surprise me. I consider myself a feminist and yet even so-called ones, presumably evolved beyond misogynistic values and role rigidity, can reflect…
As the world still reels over the horrifying news that the late Nobel-prize-winning author Alice Munro supported, and remained with, her second husband who sexually abused her daughter, I have decided to weigh in. This is part one of a three-part response. Munro’s behaviour didn’t surprise me. Like my mother, she grew up in the…
Wood carver Derek Georgeson in ch’atlich (Sechelt, BC, Canada) creates stunning cedar masks, poles, and furniture. This summer, he and his cedar-weaver wife Shyanne (“Shy”) Watters will appear on Coastal Carvings, a documentary series on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Find out more about Derek and see his art in my profile of him in…
In the spring 2024 issue of BC BookWorld, reviewer Steve McClure writes of my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket: “Conn’s soul-baring honesty and writing skills compel you to keep reading and keep learning. The arc of her narrative …. is one that anyone with the slightest amount of empathy will be drawn in by…
I will be reading from my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket on March 24 at Mission Point House in Davis Bay, BC. This free public event is part of the monthly writing events hosted by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society. I like what BC BookWorld has said about my book: “Above all,…
It was a pleasure to profile activist filmmaker Liz Marshall for the spring 2024 issue of Sunshine Coast Life magazine. As a director, she collaborated with three Indigenous multimedia creators — Kawaya7 Ecko Aleck of the Nlaka’pamux Nation (Lytton, BC), Kwamanchi Alfonso Salinas of the shíshálh Nation and Charlene SanJenko of Splatsin of the Secwépemc…
If you’re looking for a fun kids’ event, come to my author reading of Six Stinky Feet and a Sasquatch on March 9. I’ll be at Village Books and Paper Dreams in Bellingham, WA. at 11 am. There will be lots of audience participation and a Q&A. Books will be available for sale and signing….
It was a delight to be one of five BC authors who read short memoir excerpts Feb. 21, as a Canadian Authors, BC Chapter Zoom event. Topics ranged from poignant reminiscences of a mother and her sudden death to a Lancaster fighter pilot who survived two years of duty in the Second World War. One…
My memoir No Letter in Your Pocket recently appeared in the “New & Notable” book section (winter 2024 issue) of Goucher Magazine in Baltimore, MD. That feels like a birth notice, of sorts, because Goucher College is where I began to birth this book, in their creative nonfiction MFA program. Lynn Satterfield, Goucher’s director of…
It was a delight to interview shíshálh cedar weaver Shyanne (“Shy”) Watters for Sunshine Coast Life magazine. Shy’s unique cedar hats range from a sasquatch version with long black hair to a red-dress-themed one honouring Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Shy is perhaps best known for her culturally modified graduation cap whose pattern reflects ocean…
I’m honoured and flattered that Anne Marie Bennett, creator of Massachusetts-based online company KaleidoSoul, has included my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket in her list of Top Ten Nonfiction Books for 2023. I’m in great company, along with Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry and titles like The Soul of Place by Linda Lappin…
I was one of 34 authors at the Writers Fair hosted Nov. 5 by the Port Moody Public Library in Port Moody, BC. It was great to share a table with one of my writing students, Doug Matthews, and to meet new authors and readers plus writing students past and present. Former student Erik D’Souza…
“Sexual violence is still, to a certain degree, a hidden issue for the average woman,” I told Meggie Royer, editor of the U.S. publication Persephone’s Daughters, during a recent interview. “The #MeToo Movement has been predominantly embodied by very privileged white women. I think it’s wrong that it was a Black woman who came out…
It was a delight to discuss my memoir, the #MeToo Movement, toxic masculinity, forgiveness, and more with Meggie Royer, editor of the feminist publication Persephone’s Daughters. Meggie asked me if I felt comfortable using the term “toxic masculinity” and I said yes. Since then, I’ve learned that it can alienate some men. To me, it…
Interested in a stimulating discussion about toxic masculinity, healing from trauma, and finding inner peace and forgiveness? Come to my free author reading on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Gibsons Public Library in Gibsons, BC. I’ll read short excerpts from my incest memoir No Letter in Your Pocket (Guernica Editions, 2023) and encourage attendees, who have…
Have you thought of writing a memoir but don’t know where to start? Are you in the middle of writing one but feel stuck? I can help writers at any stage of the process. Find out lots of helpful tips at my free workshop “Writing a Memoir: Do You Dare?” on Saturday, Oct. 14 at…
I’ll be reading brief excerpts from my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket at noon on Aug. 19 at the Seaside Art, Photography and Book Fair in Sechelt, BC. This new free event, held Aug. 18-20 at the Seaside Centre, will feature visual arts, workshops, readings and live music by local creatives. Check it out…
It was a delightful surprise to win the Audience Favourite Award at the 2nd Annual Art and Words Festival, held Aug. 10-13 at the Gibsons Public Market. Photographer Karen Morgenstern‘s evocative image, which became the event’s PR centrepiece on T-shirts, posters etc., inspired my accompanying poem Solo Writing Retreats. Many thanks to all who voted…
I interviewed and photographed ch’elkwilwet (Raquel Joe), shíshálh Nation councillor, teacher and weaver, for the summer 2023 issue of Sunshine Coast Life magazine. It was fascinating to learn more of the history of the shíshálh people through their museum artifact kikilim lhe tan (The Grieving Mother), the burial site containing 4,000-year-old remains of a chief…
It’s rare to be asked, in an interview with a businessman, about your spiritual beliefs and how they’ve influenced your life choices. Thankfully, author and executive Ken Hannaman is no ordinary businessperson. He’s the author and host of the podcast Ungraduated Living and like me, drawn to eastern philosophies and religions. That’s part of what…
I’m pleased to be appearing again at the Annual Art & Words Festival. I’ll be sharing the poem I wrote inspired by local photographer Karen Morgenstern. Her image appears on this year’s festival T-shirts and I love it. Come out and hear dozens of writers read and discuss their collaborative team work with a local…
Bill Arnott, author of B.C.’s best-selling Gone Viking trilogy, has just gone live with his Summer Showcase interview series. This month, he’s featuring me and my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket, and Roxanne Davies, author of The Blue Riviera: A Daughter’s Investigation. Roxanne delves into the mysterious death of her mother while exploring her…
Many thanks to Michael Gurney, Coast Reporter arts and culture writer, for introducing me at the April 15 launch of my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket. He provided insightful Q&A questions and I appreciated his understanding and sensitivity. About 50 people attended the event, held at Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt, expressing gratitude and…
It was a treat to interview Andreas and Kendra Tize, owners of Secret Cove Marina in Halfmoon Bay, BC. I got to luxuriate, albeit briefly, in their 5,000-square-foot float home and discover the cozy seafood restaurant The Upper Deck. (I knew Andreas as the Roberts Creek rep for the Sunshine Coast Regional District.) Their marina…
I’m lucky that my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket recently appeared on air on the book shelf of Keith Baldrey, Global TV’s bureau chief in Victoria, BC. Keith tells me that this means a viewership of approximately 400,000. What great free promotion! Each year, Keith gets hundreds of books sent to him from publishers…