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

Does This Look Like the Face of Someone Who Knows Where They Are Going?

Everywhere I go, people ask me for directions.

Everywhere.

I have been asked directions in Portland, Toronto, New York, Calgary and Vancouver in just the last couple of months alone. Rural Ontario last November. Kamloops, BC. Red Deer, Alberta.

And I just don't get it. I am virtually always lost. This is my last day in New York, and on this trip I have been lost or headed off in the wrong direction so many times I cannot count them.

You'd think my non-existent sense of direction would hang about my person like a shroud. And yet...

In the past 4 days, I have been asked directions at least a dozen times. Once, I had a map on me and was able to help the person get where they were going. [success!] But the rest? Nada.

Usually the best I can offer is to be lost together, but I have actually stopped offering that -- not because creepy people have taken me up on it, but because the direction-asker generally rolls their eyes and runs off to ask someone else. I must have an honest-enough face for the initial inquiry, but perhaps my appearance becomes increasingly untrustworthy as the conversation continues. Or maybe my karmic shroud of lost begins to shine through my eyes.

I want to tell these poor souls that I make my living being lost -- and that I like it, in fairly small doses, when it doesn't involve dark alleys. (Actually, I rather like dark alleys, now that I think of it. A lot of potential in dark alleys...)

But I digress. Tomorrow I'm off to Toronto, and I can guarantee you that someone will ask me how to get somewhere. I guess I should just consider myself lucky that they aren't telling me where to go!

~kc*

*It's the final week for the SiWC Writing Contest! Check out my blog here for more details, or click on the SiWC contest page to find out more.

What's Happening?

Lots, actually.

I'm working on the edits for my new book, emerging this spring, now called A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW. I got a first look at the cover this week. It needs a bit of tweaking still, but bodes well...

Dale McGladdery and I did our first SiWC podcast yesterday. I think we may need a bit of a re-do, though, for while the traffic thundering along the Kingsway in Surrey didn't prove to be a problem at all, the noisy guys at the next table were.







This is Dale, setting up the equipment at our coffee-shop podcast site.












However, we are meeting again this weekend at Summer Dream, where we plan to buttonhole a few of the other SiWC 2008 presenters for our podcast. (We're currently calling it the SiWC Soapbox, but are offering a little contest prize for anyone who comes up with a name we like better. Check out the SiWC blog here if you have an idea you'd care to share.)

After our abortive podcast attempt, Dale and I attended the July edition of the SiWC Board meeting. Here's the evidence...


This is transportation goddess Sue Goddard, travel and journalism genius Ursula Maxwell and Webwizard Dale. (You might also notice the meeting ended at 6:10 pm...)













And here the irreplaceable Carmen Merrells tells me to 'talk to the hand', while Volunteer Vixen Camille Netherton gives her opinion on Carmen.









The Board is made up of a fantastic group of very talented people -- our meetings are always fun and fruitful. Next time I'll get shots of The Missing...Estelle Bogoch Stelmach, Tara Holt, and Carrie Higgins.

After I get my edits in to Doubleday next week, I'm off to Portland for a few days to take in the Willamette Writing Conference. My first time to Portland (tho' not to Oregon) and to this conference. I'm _really_ looking forward to it and will blog all I see and do while there.

In another editorial note, I'd like to offer a warm BC welcome to Barry Jowett, my editor at Dundurn, who has just announced he'll be leaving the company and moving west. Invermere will gain what Toronto has lost -- Barry is a wonderful editor, and when he gets set up in his new life, I'll make sure to link to his new office here.

~kc

One of those days...

...where a big, sudden project leaps up and bites away the entire day from all the other things that were supposed to get done. But now, all the information is in place for the programming of the new SiWC registration system, so that is a good thing. And my girl has sorted through the morass of registration for university in the fall, and is ready to throw herself on the mercy of the on-line registration system in the morning. Also a good thing.

The writing, editing and promoting that was supposed to happen today, however -- well, they just didn't.

However, tomorrow is the first day that both my offspring are officially done school for the year. Here's hoping the sun shines and the writing (etc.) time stays open while the teenagers sleep in!

And in honour of the Trickster's 9 month birthday which occurs this week sometime...here he is, in all his glory.



It amazes me how he can keep all four feet, tongue and ears in the air with so little apparant effort.

Silas has taken very fondly to his new jail cell, but still managed to get into the garbage twice this week, chew up his new ball AND Meaghan's just cracked HARDCOVER copy of Stephanie Meyer's new novel (the title of which escapes me at the moment, as it is 12:25 am and I have not yet kicked into my post-meridian second wind). Anyway, the book is beyond repair, and Silas is back in the hoosgow.

For those who might like to see what is new on the SiWC front, blog posts are here.

A demain...

~kc