Find out more about my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket
In case you missed my Sept. 19 Spoken INK reading on Zoom, you can watch it here on the Burnaby Writers’ Society YouTube channel. About 20 minutes long, it features excerpts from three sources: my essay “A Slow Goodbye,” about love and loss; my romantic visit to the Taj Mahal, from my memoir No Letter…
Want to join a supportive group of committed writers in a class that focuses on content feedback? Still spaces left in my Mon. night program at Kyle Centre, Port Moody. Sept. 27-Dec. 6, 5:30 to 8 pm. Many students have published books and/or contribute regularly to publications. All genres and levels welcome. Participants find in-class…
Hello Everyone, The Burnaby Writers’ Society is sponsoring me as a featured writer on Zoom, Sunday, Sept. 19, starting at noon. I’ll be reading short excerpts from three sources: my essay “A Slow Good-bye,” a visit to the Taj Mahal from my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket (Guernica Editions 2023), and my picture book…
I’m offering a two-hour online workshop Wild Mind: Freeing the Writer Within on April 10 from 1 to 3 pm. Designed to cure writer’s block and access your deepest writing self. For all skill levels. Contact the Royal City Literary Arts Society to register.
I’ll be one of six writers reading live on Zoom on March 16, as part of Port Moody Public Library’s Writers in Our Midst program. The theme is love stories. I’m reading “Lost at Sea,” a love poem. Many thanks to my student Eric D’Souza for putting this together. See @WritersinourMidst for details.
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT: SUNSHINE COAST — I’ll be one of six authors reading a 10-minute selection on Zoom on Feb. 11, sponsored by the Federation of BC Writers. My excerpt is from the chapter “Assault” in my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket, to be published in 2023 by Guernica Editions. Free event runs from 7…
Want a signed copy of a fun story for kids? I’ll be selling and signing copies of my new picture book Six Stinky Feet and a Sasquatch on Saturday, March 21 at the Chapters bookstore in Coquitlam, BC. Watch for me from 1 to 3 pm at the Chapters store in the Pinetree Village on…
I’m one of five authors who will be doing a reading and presentation to kindergarten and grade one students at Gibsons Elementary School in Gibsons, BC on Wednesday, Feb. 26. I’ll be sharing my new picture book Six Stinky Feet and a Sasquatch and talking about “Picture Books: Fact and Fiction.” I look forward to…
It was fun presenting my new picture book, Six Stinky Feet and a Sasquatch, to an audience of young and old Dec. 7 at Sechelt Public Library. Andy Johnson, storyteller for the shishalh Nation, shared a sasquatch song he composed and told a sasquatch story. I’m honoured to know that he plans to read my…
Did you know that some residents of Churchill, Manitoba consider Thanadelthur, an early 1700s Chipewyan guide and peace negotiator, the founder of their town? That is one of the many fascinating historical facts I learned while writing profiles of accomplished Métis, Indigenous, and Inuit people for Canadian Encyclopedia. I discovered the many achievements of politicians…
As my late husband Frank McElroy was dying at home through 2018-19, it was tough to write about my challenges as a caregiver. Although I couldn’t distance myself from the ongoing experience, I wanted to describe both my conflicting emotions and the overwhelming support and generosity of my local community. The result became the essay…
Some people could never imagine offering comfort as a bedside companion to a stranger who is dying. Or sitting in an all-night vigil for someone’s final hours. In hospice training, we learn that compassion, deep listening, acceptance, and non-judgment are core traits needed to remain truly present with those who are dying or grieving a…
Want to know what hospice has done on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast for the past 30 years? Come to an Oct. 5 event in Sechelt and see the video that I wrote, produced, and directed called “Legacy of Love: 30 Years of Compassionate Care on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, 1987 – 2017.” The seven-minute documentary…
I’ll be teaching “Writing Short Documentaries” and helping students brainstorm a group documentary project from Feb. 27 to March 2 in Powell River. This is an annual appearance I make as an instructor at Powell River Digital Film School. Every year, the content varies, depending on the wishes of school founder and director Tony Papa….
I enjoyed introducing SoulCollage® Jan. 27 to a group of job placement students at M. Magas and Associates, an employment agency in Sechelt, BC. We did a guided visualization, identified their respective dream job, and discussed accountability, victimhood and what archetypal influences might resonate with them. I appreciated their openness and willingness to share what…
I was delighted to receive one-day training in Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) on Dec. 6, 2016 in Sechelt, BC. Roughly a dozen of us attended, including local teachers and providers of an after-school teen drop-in program. The event’s co-facilitators were Wayne Spychka, my boss as an SCCSS gender violence prevention worker, and Keely Halward, Wayne’s boss. Both are experienced MVP mentors and…
NEWS FLASH (Feb. 13, 2017): A Vancouver publisher wants to publish this book. Hurray! It all depends if their grant comes through in March. Here’s hoping . . . I`m currently looking for a publisher for my new picture book Dirty, Smelly, Feet. It features the mischievous antics of little Annie and her sasquatch…
Virginia Woolf was right: Every female writer does need “a room of one`s own.“ Find out what my stand-alone writer`s studio looks like in this feature I wrote in the summer 2016 issue of Writers Studio article summer 2016.
I was honoured to organize and host Canada’s first Mentors in Violence Prevention program in Sechelt, BC on May 5. Here’s a story that I wrote for the local media: A former B.C. Lions player, open discussions and hands-on scenarios recently helped about 40 local high school students learn what words and actions can…
I was honoured to organize and host an April 15 screening of the documentary Salam Neighbor in Sechelt, BC. This by-donation event, held at St. Hilda’s Church, raised $887, which will go to the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Committee and two other groups on the Lower Sunshine Coast working to bring Syrian refugee families to this…
What can happen to a nonfiction story when you add a fictional narrator? Discover the pitfalls and benefits of this approach while viewing the 20-minute documentary A New Way: An Organic Garden Changes Lives. I’ll be hosting a 1.5-hour seminar April 23 at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alta. It’s part of the 2016 conference…
I am thrilled that my mixed-media collage, entitled “No regrets, Coyote,” has sold to Gibsons, BC resident Del Lobo. The collage appeared in the recent juried exhibition Both Sides Now, which ran from Nov. 12 to Dec. 6 at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery. The show, inspired by the musical repertoire of Joni Mitchell, featured…
I will be signing and selling books at Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons on Saturday, Dec. 5 from noon to 2 p.m. Look for my author banner and display table outside the Windows on the Water Gallery. The following sale items will be available: Vancouver’s Glory Years hardcopy book Gracie’s Got a Secret picture book Emails…
I’ll be selling and signing my books on Saturday, Nov. 28 at the Roberts Creek Legion’s Christmas Craft Fair. You can choose from two anthologies, a photo history book, and my picture book Gracie’s Got a Secret. I’ll also have copies of the 20-minute DVD A New Way, which Ivy Miller and I created, my…
I’m delighted to have my mixed-media collage No Regrets, Coyote in the current Joni-Mitchell-themed art exhibition in Gibsons. The juried show called Both Sides Now runs Nov. 12 to Dec. 6 at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery. Joni Mitchell, who lives half the year on the Sunshine Coast, had planned to attend the event but…
The winner of my free two-hour editorial consultation is Tanja Scott. She wants to write about father-daughter relationships in the Balkans. I look forward to working with Tanja and helping her make her writing and publishing dreams come true. Many thanks to all who entered my contest at this year’s Word Vancouver event outside the…
Have you always wanted to write a family history but felt overwhelmed? Thought of writing a memoir but didn’t know how to start? Would you like to document the highlights of your organization’s past? I’ll be sharing both practical and inspirational tips — and how to avoid research pitfalls — in my new Vancouver School…
Life’s challenges can sometimes bring fear and doubt. How do you sustain your faith, allowing it to flourish? What symbols or metaphors represent your faith journey: e.g. a mighty rock, flowing river or immovable mountain? What does faith look and feel like for you? Who or what tests or strengthens it? Please note that as…
Look for me outside the downtown Vancouver Public Library on Sunday, Sept. 27 at the annual Word Vancouver event. I’ll have a Meet the Author banner and a display table with all of my books for sale, including anthologies that feature my writing, such as Emails from India and Raincoast Chronicles 22. Win a chance…
I’m pleased to be hosting a new workshop FROM GODDESS TO GAIA: Celebrate the Divine Feminine with SoulCollage(R) on Saturday, April 18 at a private home in Gibsons. This workshop, held from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., is open to anyone who wants to explore her deeper, feminine self. All materials are provided. We’ll briefly cover…