“If you call yourself a writer, you can read all you want and people think you are working.”
Katherine Paterson
I came upon this quote from Katherine Paterson, children’s writer extraordinaire, this afternoon. It’s only in the past year or so that I’ve become a “conscious” reader. Before, I simply read books, quickly, without giving much thought to things the author had done that worked or didn’t work, or how he/she used words, plot and character to draw readers into the story. I recently read two books that inspired me: “Watching Jimmy” by Nancy Hartry (Cdn. Library Assn. Book of the Year) and “So B. It” by Sarah Weeks. Both books have a pre-teen female main character, as does the manuscript I’m working on now, and I absolutely loved the voices of Carolyn and Heidi, as created by their authors. Voice is such a difficult thing to explain and understand, but I really have come to believe it’s the single most important factor in creating a believable, compelling book people will want to read. Voice is the reason people root for the main character; it allows the reader to become part of the main character’s world, and it’s the reason you feel let down, and maybe even lonely, after turning the final page of a great book. Well-written main characters are people we want to continue to know, long after the end of the book. I’ve always loved to read, but it’s a different experience reading while paying attention to what the author has created, and how – now, if I could just start remembering titles and authors’ names…

Just had my final pre-printing chat with my Red Deer editor, Peter Carver. I’ve read this manuscript soooo… many times, that it’s completely impossible to be objective. There has to be a point of no return on revising, and the paltry fifteen or so changes I made during this final pass-through probably didn’t really matter in the big picture, but I’m content that I’ve done the best I can with the story. Now it’s on to the book launch (Oct. 13th at St. Mary’s U. in Halifax)…and more writing!

I just came upon the following entry on Verla Kay’s Blueboards for children’s writers (an amazing source of writerly information of all varieties, btw):

“I heard Bruce Colville speak at a SCBWI conference several years ago. What he said has inspired and motivated me ever since:

“I write books to help children become braver, kinder, and gentler.””

Exactly!

The book launch is set for Wednesday, October 13th in a conference room at St. Mary’s University. Jacob and I are working to get together lists of people to invite. The marketing person at Red Deer Press was asking for numbers, but it’s tough to estimate. Jacob’s going to try to arrange for some Sudanese musicians to play for part of it, I’ll read and he’ll speak about Wadeng and his visits to Southern Sudan in 2005 and 2008.
I think my part of the editing is finished; Peter should be back from vacation and hopefully we’ll touch base in the next few days. It’s a little scary thinking the novel is about to go to print; there’s no looking back at that point…
I’m having so much fun with my WIP, tentatively called “A Pregnant Orphan Mother”; I know my protagonist so well, and it’s fascinating to follow her around on the page as she makes her way through the story. When I met with Laura Best in New Ross last weekend, we were talking about different styles of writing a novel. Some people have the entire plot structure worked out before they even begin; this one is evolving on a daily basis. Laura and I hadn’t met before, but I’m sure the women working at the coffee shop were convinced we were long-lost friends the way we were laughing and carrying on over coffee. I don’t know very many writers, so it was a real treat for me to meet her. Her novel, “Bitter, Sweet”, has just been nominated for the Geoffrey Bilson award for historical fiction for young readers (one of only five nominees), so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for her.

If you have a minute and a half to spare, check out my book trailer on YouTube, which only took several hours to create…

I’m not sure why this site has a  “Blog” page, as my new entries seem to automatically go on the “Home” page. If you’re interested in what I’ve been up to, check the Home page!

I’ve been reading through the “proofs”; basically the book as it will appear in its final form.  It’s a little scary, but exciting, too!  The whole thing will be close to 300 pages; before I began this project, I would never, ever have thought I could write that many words.  I wrote and researched so much of it quite a while ago now, and I still can’t believe I wrote that many words! I hope some people will be interested in reading them!!

I met with Jacob for a couple of hours in Halifax Tuesday.  He’s finished the courses for his business degree from SMU and is beginning to think about his career.  He was going to chat with Red Deer publisher, Richard Dionne, that afternoon about the relationship between Red Deer Press and Wadeng Wings of Hope. I’ll be sharing royalties with the foundation, and Jacob’s also hoping to sell copies of the book during his speaking engagements  and through the Wadeng website. Jacob was also planning to meet with Dr. Dodds, President of St. Mary’s regarding the book launch, so I’m interested to hear how that goes. I’ve been compiling a list of email addresses for everybody I can think of in hopes of getting a good crowd out for the launch, which I  expect will be held in late October/early November.

Jacob sent me an email about our pending launch in October/November, and he included an image of the cover that he’d found on the internet.  I had a vague idea in my mind which was different from this, but I do like it, and I think it will pique people’s interest.  I’m not very artistic, nor do I know anything about marketing; fortunately Red Deer Press has professionals to look after those things!

Liam and I are spending the night at Horseshoe Lake.  Other than the bugs, it’s been perfect!  We took the canoe to the end of the lake, checking for beavers.  We ventured into the Gold River end (and could hear the water literally rushing out of the lake) and discovered a steel bridge over the river.  We got out and looked around, but couldn’t see that the bridge, which was big enough for a car, led anywhere.  We walked up the grassy road on the other side and eventually came to the New Russell Road.  Maybe the bridge was once used to transport logs or Christmas trees?  We were amazed by the heavy-duty steel used in it, although the bulk of it was covered with plywood.  I’m pretty sure it’ll turn up in my writing someday…

This morning I’m up early writing – researching a picture book story with Nova Scotia roots.  I’ve also been looking into my Mingo family roots, and it seems the first of the Mingos (Matthew and son John) didn’t actually live in NS (River John) until 1809, although I’m sure my grandfather and father believed our Mingos had come over on the Speedwell from Montbeliard in 1752.  Our branch, with patriarch Christopher, lived in Philadelphia before making their way to NS, as far as I can tell from my Googling.  My dream was to find some sort of primary resource, a diary or notes, but I haven’t turned up anything yet. I hope to get to the Tatamagouche area this summer to see what they have in their new museum. What I remember from the graveyard tour Gramps Mingo took me on before he died was that one of my great-great-great grandfathers died on May 26, 1860, exactly 100 years before I was born. Cool!

The thing about the lake is the quiet – other than the tapping of my keys, there is no sound whatsoever at 8:30 in the morning.  Last night, the spring peepers were singing up a storm, but the loons must have been sleeping.  When I first got up this morning, to let Bailey out, the lake was perfectly flat, the trees had identical twins in the water, but I see the breeze is picking up already.  Liam was trying to take some author shots of me last night, but the bugs and our lack of knowledge about the camera, didn’t help the process.

I love when I have a new idea for a story – now to apply some self-discipline and make myself actually work on the first draft…