A Literary Adventure

One More Summer Appearance

  

Here is the poster for a fun event on Tuesday, July 30th where I'm joining the Brighton Arts Council and fellow author Eric E. Wright.

If you're in the Brighton/Cobourg/Bay of Quinte region next Tuesday we'd love you to join us. We'll talk about writing, share a few selections from our books, have some refreshments and answer any questions you might have about writing and getting published. And it's all free!

Thank you to author Shane Joseph for the technical help I needed to get the poster here on Blogger! We Spirit of the Hills writers are a supportive bunch.

After this month I hope to get back to writing. I have a couple of out-of-town jaunts planned to do more research on Molly Brant. I love doing research. It's the writing that's the hard part.

Happy summer and happy writing!

A Way With Words

I've been reading Conventry by Helen Humphreys (HarperCollins, 2008), a novel I highly recommend. In 175, pages Humphreys tells a compelling story of love and loss during wartime, with particularly vivid descriptions of the bombing of Coventry during World War II.

It is also the story of a friendship between two women, Harriet Marsh and Maeve Fisher, who meet only twice, each time under very different circumstances, over the course of 26 years. Although they don't know it until tragedy strikes, they share a connection through Maeve's son, Jeremy.

Each woman is creative in her own way: Maeve is an artist and Harriet "writes descriptions." Harriet's writing began as a way to feel connected to her young husband,Owen, even after he is killed at the battle of Ypres in 1914.

Harriet types up her descriptions after hours where she works. Finally, she finds herself growing disenchanted with the process. In Humphrey's words, "She is tired of trying to hammer a moment shut with words." I love that metaphor.

If you've ever tried to write in order to preserve a special time or place, you will be able to relate to that. I know I do. Now that I am doing less writing than I used to (and spending more time on research) I still continue to "write descriptions." In the same way a photographer takes a picture to preserve an event, I write "to hammer a moment shut with words."

Isn't that lovely?

Summertime Events

My Summertime Appearances

Author Presentation

 Laura Secord, Heroine of the War of 1812  

Mary Pickford, Canada's Silent Siren, America's Sweetheart.

Part of the "Discover Your Heritage" series.

Tuesday, June 11  2–4 p.m.

Leaside Branch, Toronto Public Library

165 McRae Ave. Toronto M4G 1S8

Book Signing

Laura Secord, Heroine of the War of 1812

Spencerville Heritage Fair

Saturday, June 22  1–3 p.m.

Spencerville Mill

11 Water St. Spencerville ON K0E 1X0

www.spencervillemill.ca/heritage-fair-2013.html

Author Talk

Laura Secord, Heroine of the War of 1812

Crysler's Farm Battle Re-enactment

A 200th Anniversary Signature Event. July 13 & 14

Sunday, July 14  3–4 p.m.

Battlefield Memorial Building

Upper Canada Village

13740 County Rd #2, Morrisburg ON K0C 1X0

www.cryslersfarm.com

Please join me if you can. All events open to the public. Happy Summer! Keep on Reading!

Behind-the-Scenes Stories from "The Movie Years"

Technical crew in the Trenton studio, 1927.

Occasionally, I still get asked to speak to a group about that time in the history of our town, Trenton, Ontario, when it was home to a flourishing movie-making industry.

The reason for this is the small book I wrote about it back in 1989. Although it was never a bestseller, it continues to sell locally, and once in a while someone who is interested in early Canadian film requests a copy from my dwindling stock.

A person from the audience once told me, after one of my presentations, that it was the little behind-the-scene stories he most enjoyed. It was as if I were "telling secrets." Now I make sure to include a few in every talk.

Like the one about the cameraman from Universal Studios in California who kept a wolf in his backyard while he was here in Trenton.

Or about Tyrone Power Sr. who came to town in 1919 to star in The Great Shadow. He brought with him a "beautiful lady." His secretary, he called her, but the locals had other ideas. Especially when he used to like to borrow a yacht from the local pharmacist in order to take his lady out on the water for a bit of sightseeing.

And there was Louise Cardi, the actress who played the temptress, the estaminet girl in Carry On, Sergeant!" (1927–1928), who comforts the lonely soldier. Cardi had had no previous acting experience before this movie. She was a shop girl the director's wife had spotted in a New York City department store.

The early film stars were familiar figures on the streets in town, shopping in the local stores, looking for rooms to rent. And if you happened to own a coonskin coat you could sell it for almost any amount to one of the movie people. Or so the story goes.

More on School Visits. My May Events.

A successful author visit.

"I trust you are still expecting me to make a presentation at your school next week."

If you're a writer who does school visits I hope you've never had to send an email like the above. I have, and it's most uncomfortable. All the arrangements had been made a couple of months prior to the date of the event, and then — nothing. I was left to wonder if it was still "a go." I'm sure I'm not the only one this has happened to.

In my opinion, one of the most important elements in a successful author visit is frequent contact between the host and the guest. Every couple of weeks is good. Don't worry; you're not bothering me. It gives us both the opportunity to make sure we know each other's expectations.

How many students will I be talking to? Which grades? Where will I be speaking? For how long? Will I have the use of the school's digital projector? A Smartboard? Are the students familiar with any of my books?

I would like to suggest the contact person be someone other than the administrator or principal. She already has too much to look after. The librarian or library technician, even a classroom teacher is a better choice.

If you are the contact person at the school, remember to let your guest know where they may park, which door to use (many schools keep doors to the outside locked). Hopefully, the guest author has told you her ETA. It's a great idea to have someone at the door to greet her, perhaps a responsible student. The greeter might show her where to hang her coat and sign in, and then take her to the place where she'll be presenting. Remember to introduce her to any staff members present.

A memorable visit with school classes at Campbellford Library

The best visits are when the whole school is aware that there is an author in the building. It creates excitement. How lovely to be greeted with huge smiles in the halls. "You must be the author!"

I've visited schools where they've even posted a "welcome" on the outdoor display, or hung a banner in the entrance hall. But even a mention in the morning announcements over the PA is special and makes the author know she is appreciated.

And here's a tip to presenters who are new to this game. Get the matter of your fee out of the way early on in your conversations with the contact person. I hope they will ask you outright what you charge, but otherwise, it's up to you. It's the professional thing to do.

My May Events

Reading from Growing Up Ivy at the Community Living Book Club
Wednesday, May 8th. 1:30–2:30
3rd floor Meeting Room. Belleville Public Library. Belleville

Presentation on The Movie Years, my book about Canada's Film-making capital, Trenton ON, 1917–34
Brighton Probus Club
Wednesday, May 22, 11 a.m.
King Edward Community Centre, Brighton

Some Thoughts on School Visits

A school visit from last year.

I was privileged last week to give two presentations at an elementary school in a village about forty minutes from my home. At this stage in my writing career, school visits are few and far between. One reason for that could be that for the past three years I've concentrated on writing biographies for an older audience. But it's still a pleasure to get to interact with children in the schools, and I count myself lucky if I get to do at least one presentation each year.

The busiest years for this sort of thing were those years when I had a book nominated for one of the Forest of Reading awards. It strikes me as odd that even then, most of the visits I did were in school board districts other than my own. Around here,  it seems as if the schools aren't aware that authors are available to deliver entertaining, educational, and enlightening programs for their students. Or that there is a subsidy program administered by the Writers' Union to help finance said visit. I don't know why that is, except perhaps because where I live we no longer have full-time librarians in the schools.

If you are considering inviting an author to visit your school, a good place to start is with the Writers' Union website. www.writersunion.ca. Under Programs, look for Ontario-Writers-in-the Schools Pregram for information about subsidies. On this site you'll also find a list of members who give presentations, what type of programs they offer, and how far they might be willing to travel.

You can also find information about children's writers available to do school visits at the website of the Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP): www.canscaip.org and at the website of the Canadian Children's Book Centre: www.bookcentre.ca. A couple of these sites will also give you the amount of the author's fee.

The vast majority of Canadian writers also have their own personal websites, so if you know whom you'd like to invite, be sure you check these out.

Stay tuned! More on School Visits next time.