The Chapters Poster saga continues...

Short post today. I had a ton of meetings, running around to do.
Conference starts for me in a matter of hours.

Passed the ONLY Indigo in town without posters -- they are never sent them, as they have no window space.

Still no winner in my contest.

People.

For the love of all things kc [kanadian and crazy]

...somebody PLEASE get me a picture of my book cover on one of these Chapters posters.

And remember -- if you get a picture of the poster and it is actually up on a window -- DOUBLE the prize!


~kc, dsp*


*kc, deperately seeking poster...

CONTEST! [and protest, while you're at it...]

For those who don't follow my twitter posts [@kcdyer], I just found out this evening from a friend [the astonishing Kari-Lynn Winters] that a picture of the cover of my latest book, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW is featured on a poster at Chapters.

Now, I haven't seen this picture, but I love Kari-Lynn and count on her veracity...so I am having a sudden, twitter-inspired Canada-wide contest.

To win a signed copy of the book, be the first to send me a picture [camera phone or otherwise] of the poster at Chapters.

But wait...there's more!

If you can get a picture of the poster actually up on a window -- bonus kc dyer book, signed, sealed with a kiss and sent to anyone you love through Canada Post.

I'm excited! Any takers?

******

I've missed a few significant things lately what with all the to-ing and fro-ing, and I'd like to redress one of these omissions right now.

The BC Arts community is reeling after a series of stealth cuts have decimated Arts funding in the province by as much as 85%. Read a great article by Crawford Killian on writer Loranne Brown's blog HERE.

~kc

Heigh Ho...

Hola gentle readers.

A quick post to note that lately, the tiny little slips of time I have to communicate tend to be on my twitter feed @kcdyer 

The pictured version of fall [ambleside, last week -- leaves changing, sunshine, brisk fall wind] is no longer with us.

The ocean has risen up to swallow the sky.

And rain, of course, means it's time for the Surrey International Writers' Conference.

I'm in the throes of the last week before Surrey. May change my plans and move down there a day early -- so much to do, so little mobility to do it with!

SiWC 2009 looks to be astonishing. I've just been reading the script for War of the Worlds, this year's Shock Theatre offering from Michael Slade. It is hysterical, and even ends with a truly modern twist. I simply can't wait to be a part of it.

In other news, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW has been nominated for a Cybils Award. It's a great little on-line award program -- the chicken nugget of awards [both nummy and nutritious]. The books are twice-read by a panel and decisions are made in February. So send positive vibes toward Darby, okay?

More soon. Hope to post lots of pix from Surrey, especially on Friday night when There Will Be Aliens.

~kc

This week...

Happy thanksgiving! On my SiWC blog, I put up a turkey [with alien antennae...to go with our theme this year], but here? I'm allowed to let my veggie side show. Yeah, I cooked a turkey breast for my family, but I also had Indian food -- rice and curry and pakoras and salad.

And I was thankful. Yum. Cranberry sauce goes really well with Indian cusine.

Mostly I was thankful for a fairly peaceful day, as now I dive full bore into conference prep. Mostly dealing with details and last-minute disasters, but it's a busy time. I've got Fall Book Harvest and Vancouver BookCamp on the agenda this week, too, along with another writer-in-residence visit lined up with New Westminster Secondary.

Plus, I picniked myself into red-eyed little green writer. Not sure it's a good colour for me...

~kc

The Berlin Reunion

Man -- blogging's been a bit sporadic lately, and poor Darby's not been blogging at all. So much to do for the conference -- hoping to get back to a more regular schedule shortly.

In the meantime, enjoy the spectacle of these remarkable pictures -- a French production, to celebrate [can it be?] 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall was erected right around the time I was born, and I remember rejoicing when it fell, just before the birth of my daughter. I thought hers a much more auspicious time to be entering the world than my own. The world has changed so much since she entered it, and tho' she is not yet quite 19 and a 1/2...this celebration still touches me, on her behalf.

For, whatever has happened since, the world is a better place now that the wall is down. And these magnificent puppets -- well, they just took my breath away. The detail...truly awe-inspiring.

Enjoy. [via The Big Picture in The Boston Post]

The Berlin Reunion.

~kc

CWILL BC Catalogue

The new CWILL BC catalogue is out. The beautiful cover was designed by Lee Edward Fodi and the catalogue was put together by a group of most excellent volunteers.

Isn't it gorgeous?  You can download a copy for your very own here: http://www.cwill.bc.ca/files/pdf/CW.09.p.cat.pdf/ 

It's a compendium of current and recent titles by BC authors of books for kids and teens, and gives a little bio of all the authors, so is a great resource for teachers who want to bring these authors into their classrooms. So, tell all your friends!

~kc

Visene No More!

Hokay -- finally there. All SiWC contest entries read and re-read. Some re-re-read. Contest conclusions come to. Final discussion amongst contest readers still to take place, though, so shortlisted authors will not hear until tomorrow at the earliest.

Had a break from reading entries today to go meet with Sean Cranbury of Books on the Radio fame. We taped an interview for his blog/show, and he tells me it'll go live in a few days. I'll post here when it does.

[This is Sean NOT wearing the Very Cool Hat he had on today. I have dibs on it now -- fair warning!]

What else? You can check out the latest blog post HERE, documenting agent Kristin Nelson's big find at the Surrey International Writers' Conference. [Hint: Local author Janice Hardy shines in the story, too!]

That's it. I'm toast. Tomorrow I need to kill 200 email. It'll be a big-game email hunt. Expect carnage.

~kc

Odds and Sods, This and That, Here and There

Quite a few balls in the air at the mo.

I'm currently Writer in Residence at New Westminster Secondary, and I spent some great time today brainstorming stories with Ms. Hunt's class. We'll be creating plays to be performed by Ms. Cave's drama class, and the process is a gas. More on that, and performance dates as time progresses.

The SiWC 2009 Road Show continues. No stops today, though, as I was dealing with writing contest [see annual bloody eyeballs post HERE] and plumbers and such.

Conference registrations are coming in fast and furious, which thrills me. We are hoping to make SiWC 2009 the best ever, and in light of Publisher's Weekly's view of how things are in the books & writers conference business these days, I am happy to report that SiWC 2009 is strong and healthy and rarin' to go.

For those who have very kindly inquired about the epic fail of a day yesterday; my new modem is en route, the plumber did finally show up today, but couldn't restore my water pressure, and most importantly -- my mama is resting comfortably, with her shoulder relocated to where a person's shoulder should be.

Readers in Calgary take note -- we [and by we, I mean James McCann, Lee Edward Fodi and myself] are planning our annual Fall Into Fantasy tour through your fine city in November. Check it out HERE on Facebook. If you'd like to have an incredible presentation at your school, please email our publicist Angela Crocker at angela@beachcombercommunications.com and she'll organize things for you.

Okay -- I'm sure there are a tonne of other topics I should touch on, but I've got to go read the last few entries in the SiWC 2009 writing contest!

What are YOU reading tonight? My friend Bernice Lever advises you to take a Canadian author to bed...

~kc