Friday Round-up -- Contests and a Hark Back to Summer Dream

I'm deep in the bowels of Ontario at the moment, seeing to a little family business and a bit of workishness and other skullduggery. Poor timing on my part, as I am in the midst of a couple of contests right now requiring dexterity of email ability. But it is fall, and fall is the Prime Time for the writing community -- no one sleeps at this time of year. Much running about, attending, reading, writing, promoting. Such is the life I love!

A recap...

First: The SiWC 2009 Writing Contest closes tonight ...last chance for entries to be submitted by email is essentially right now. Check it out online at www.siwc.ca and send entries to contest@siwc.ca. If you do submit by email, entry fee must follow via snail mail in cheque or money order form. Website is there for details. Do not think you are alone in last-minute submissions -- you are legion, my procrastinating writer friend!

Next: The intrepid Darby's interview this week on Darby Speaks is with Princess Meg, star of THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS  and the just released smash sequel THE RUNAWAY DRAGON. You can win a copy of the latest novel by leaving a comment on Darby's blog HERE. Spread the word! You have until tomorrow night.

And finally, a fond remembrance of this year's wonderful Summer Dream in Stanley Park. This is one of my favourite images -- my friend the zany author Lee Edward Fodi, reading from his latest book Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard From Greeve, whilst a young woman signs the story to a group of clearly mesmerized children.

You can see more of my pix from Summer Dream 2009 on my flickr page HERE.


More catching up soon!


~kc

Christianne's Novel Knickers, and Darby plunges into new waters

Had a completely fabulous time at Christianne's Lyceum last night, chatting with the Novel Knickers (and a few Knicker Parents, too)!

We held a very thorough and wide-ranging discussion, encompassing history, writing, reading and punctuated with extraordinary food and truly appalling pictionary. I loved every minute -- thanks for having me, Christianne!


The best part of the night was hearing Maddy Richardson's incredibly perceptive and carefully written book review of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW. Maddy starts with a summary of the novel and then moves on to her thoughts. With her permission, here it is:

A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW is about a girl named Darby who is sent away to live with her grandparents on Prince Edward Island for a summer. At first she is mad that she has to stay in a little old town instead of her amazing home in Toronto, though I suspect her irritation really was because she suspected that her parents were planning a divorce and needed her out of the house. Anyway, she goes to PEI to spend the summer with grandparents she doesn't know. Her Nan is strong and kind, but her Gramps is on the verge of losing all reality and this makes Darby's journey all the more lonely.

One thing leads to another and she meets a boy named Gabriel who leads her through a window that takes her to different times and places. Gabriel actus as a kind of guide in teh sci-fi part of the novel, and it seems his role is to 'open her eyes' in more ways than one. In the end, Darby grows up in ways she never expected and never could have imagined.

I think that the book was amaing and led me on terrific adventures. I liked the fact that Darby was an avid writer -- it was a good contrast to the 'skateboarder' stereotype she seemed to like to associate herself with. The book described Nan as a strong, maybe even a hard person, but I get the feeling that she had a huge heart, but was too protective to show it.

I give this book an 8.5 out of 10. It did not get a full 10 because I found myself confused in some parts. I didn't understand why Darby didn't play with Fiona's gift more than once and why when she went on her first journey there was all of the white mist. It never really made sense and I kept expecting the fog to relate back to something. Finally , Gramps was an amazingly strong person for someone with Alzheimer's but I found it sad to see him losing his sense of reality. But for all the confusion, I was very curious and this was a really good read.

Thank you, Maddy!

And you know, the best thing about being face-to-face with one's (very brave) reviewer is the opportunity to talk about the story --about the concepts of metaphor and imagery, and how they help a story to unfold. It was a real treat to meet Maddy and all the Novel Knickers -- and the Inuksuk brownies were amazing!

One final note: If you hie on over to Darby Speaks, you'll find she and Maurice have embarked on a new adventure -- interviewing characters from other novels. If you'd like to win one of Lee Fodi's Kendra Kandlestar books, or if you'd like to suggest a character for future interview, leave a comment!

~kc

Battling the Germ...

... and I'm winning, so far, but at some cost to my energy levels. Thus, a brief (and yet somehow entertainingly informative) blog full of fascinating information, not all of it arcane.




Apologies to all whom I owe email. (There are at least 159 of you out there...) Will be back to you as soon as I can!

And now, the news...


Darby has a new contest up at her blog. Full details will emerge tomorrow, but apparently she's looking for a haiku -- featuring a skateboard. Prizes will be good, though, guaranteed! (I stole the cherry tree pic from her, too...)

A few April events to note:

April 18, 2009. My friend Linda's birthday. (She'd kill me for that, but she never reads my blog, so I'm safe. Ha! Some friend, eh?) Also the soiree for the BC Book Prizes. I'll be there along with a whole pile of other local BC authors who like free parties. (You'll need a ticket to attend the actual prize banquet). At the Metropolitan Hotel on Howe.

April 20, 2009. 7 pm. Science Fiction phenom Robert J. Sawyer will be signing (and reading, I believe) from his new book WAKE at the White Dwarf bookstore in Kits. 3715 West 10th Avenue.
I'll be there!

April 25, 2009. 11 am. Chapters is opening a new store in White Rock this month, and I'll be joining in as a part of the celebrations. Love to see you!


And to finish, a dogblog, of course. I've seen canine singers, but never one who accompanies himself on the keyboard... (tip of the hat to a Raincoaster tweet for this one)




~kc

Fantastic Friday

Forget Good Friday -- this day is going to be a Fantastic one -- at least for one winner over on Darby Speaks. For today -- this very evening -- the draw takes place for the winner of a copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW (my latest opus), and NEVER A STRAIGHT LINE, a wonderful book of poetry by Canadian author Bernice Lever. In order to get your name in the draw, you were required to submit a poem -- a limerick, to be exact, on the subject of skateboards and boarding.

I'll be posting the winner's name shortly -- did you enter?

If not, you'll have another chance next week, but with a format change. In honour of National Poetry Month (NaPoMo), Darby will be asking for a haiku (though I do believe you'll be spared the struggle of waxing poetic on the subject of skateboards this week...). Check over on Darby Speaks to find out more!

In other news, there's a couple of new posts up at the Surrey International Writers' Conference blog, as things progress apace for the early opening of registration this year. Find out more HERE.

Now, let's see...just for fun. Found this very cool site via Mark Frauenfelder (of boingboing fame) -- it's by Chrome Experiment, and is a lovely musical amusement to take more time out of your day.

And if that isn't enough to pique your fancy, how 'bout a live cam view of a nest of hatching eaglets? The Hancock Wildlife Foundation has their webcam up, and the eagles are parenting one baby so far, with hopefully more to come. I spent a lot of time watching last year... hope you enjoy.

Finally, the picture (above) is of a very cool door Lee Fodi and I spotted in False Creek building (NOT a church) en route to the opening of his friend Alex's art show last week. As the title of my latest book attests, I'm particularly fond of interesting portals, and I have a strange feeling this one just may show up again sometime...

More on Alex Walton and his artwork soon, too.

~kc

These Eyes....

Are going to show their true colours over on Darby Speaks, just moments from now.

But in the meantime, much to do, many tabs to close.

The first month of celebration is coming to an end for the arrival of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW, but the fun does not end here. This Sunday I'll be doing a book signing with authors James McCann and Lee Edward Fodi at the Strawberry Hills Chapters in Surrey, BC from 1-4 pm. I'll put a copy of the poster up here tomorrow.

We're thinking up something fun to make it a special event -- hope you can make it!


I make an appearance today on Liviania's In Bed With Books blog today. Stop by and leave a comment to grab a chance to win a copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW.

And lastly, a link to the reason I am not flying Virgin Airways when I head off to the UK in May....HERE. (THE funniest airline letter ever...)

~kc

Friday the 13th -- Draw Day!

Lots going on around here at kc dyer central....


Tonight is the BIG draw for a week's worth of books over on DARBY SPEAKS, plus a bonus draw for a special reader. That's 8 prizes to be given away! You must add your entry before 6 pm tonight to be eligible to win.

Check out Darby's blog HERE.


The book launch for A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW was a success last night at North Vancouver Kidsbooks -- many thanks to Susan and Diana for all their help and support, and to my sweet friend, writer Kathy Chung, who arranged for childcare, made the trek from Richmond, helped set up and stayed to clean up. A true friend! And thanks to all my other friends who came to celebrate with me and share the evening with Darby.




Speaking of Darby, over at writer Linda Gerber's blog, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW is being featured (along with an interview of its author) on Linda's Freebie Friday. You can win a copy of the book, too! Check it out HERE.






Now -- the question of the moment. Just who is that woman hiding behind all the BC wildlife in the photo above? I can see a bear, owls -- even fish....

Care to make a guess? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below for a chance to win a signed copy of her new book! Once you've done that, head over to DARBY SPEAKS to read an interview with this amazing author.

Celebration of Darby's new book continues with interviews and book draws all month on Darby Speaks . And I have to say, some VERY -- uh -- interesting facts about some very popular writers are emerging in Darby's interviews. Make sure to join in the fun!

~kc

Pardon the Interruption (Again...)

...but I just have to note that the selection of amazing, wonderful, astonishingly talented authors who blog and who have further agreed to be interviewed by Darby Christopher is ...well, it's enough to go to a young character's head. Darby is becoming all puffed up with her status as an interviewer, and she's gathering more books and prizes than she thought possible for give-aways.

Forget Launch Week -- it looks like we're going for at least a MONTH of celebration around here!

I just want to take a moment to thank all the wonderful people, readers and friends, who have taken the time to send congratulations and share the excitement of this new story with me. I wrote this book nearly three years ago, and am beyond delighted to see it emerge today. Thank you all so much for being a part of this with me.

Now, please join Darby over on her blog, where all the fun and prize-giving is to be had. You just need to add a comment there -- or one here -- to have a chance to win big.




And, as small hint of things to come, check out this hockey-helmeted dude. This mystery author is the subject of Darby's interview tomorrow.

I'll give you one other little hint. His book is about a sport...that is NOT hockey.









See you tomorrow!

~kc

We Interrupt these Launch Week Festivities...

...to remind you to make sure you comment on one or more of the posts, either here or on Darby's blog -- and be eligible to win some AWESOME books (and other) prizes.

All it takes is one little comment, and you could be a winner!

We'll do the first round of draws on Friday -- so tell your friends and let's get those comments in!

~kc

Exciting Times...

My new book is set to arrive next week and exciting events are happening all over to celebrate the new arrival.

I'll be running a series of guest blogs here and on the Darby Speaks page (the blog celebrating Darby Christopher, the main character in the new book) with give-aways galore. Darby and I will both be twittering and blogging all the news.

(You can find my tweets @kcdyer, if you're looking.)

Next post I'll put up a proper-sized copy of the beautiful poster the folks at Doubleday have done for my launch, but for now, here's a sneak peek.

As (I hope) you can see, the date for the first official launch is March 12. More details tomorrow -- be sure to check back then!

Also...

New post up on Darby Speaks with a link to a very funny article from the Times Online regarding the translation of caveman-speak to modern English. Might have been a bit helpful for Darby if she'd had something like that!

More soon.

~kc

The Kid Gets in the Picture...

Man.

This is one mouthy kid.

Darby Christopher, star skateboarder and diva with a serious chip on her shoulder, can now be found with her own blog page HERE.

It's called Darby Speaks. Read it if you dare.

Can her own Facebook page be far behind?

~kc