Snow Day in Whistler

Just back from Whistler. I have to say -- deepest sympathies to anyone who has to make that drive with any regularity. It is truly brutal to do the full Sea to Sky Highway. The trip to Lions Bay is fraught with many stops and trecherous sections these days, but the Whistler and Pemberton North gang certainly have the worst of it right now. Let's send all our collective good karma out to Peter Keiwit Sons so they can get the job done expediently and safely.

Whistler Secondary was a blast. They had their first big snow last night, and I brought Seamus along for the ride, so we spent the lunch hour on a quick walk with him alternately frolicking merrily or rolling ecstatically. A born snow dog.

In the school, I worked with the Comparative Civilizations class (grade 11s and 12s), a grade 8 CAPP class, a grade 10 English class and the Creative Writing club after school. Fantastic kids plus great teachers added up to a fun day. Thanks for having me!

Book tour starts Saturday. Received my itinerary today and will be blogging where I can. I think I have thirteen presentations over five days. Will bring my running gear to help keep my brains in my head...

~kc

Lots Doin'

Smack in the middle of insanity season -- just bolting from one thing to the next and hoping it all holds together.

McKee was...uh -- well, I really like his book. And it was a good time for me to take the seminar -- just in time to help tie a few things up for the submission draft of DEADLINE. Let's just say old Bob is not recommended for the faint of heart. This week is more re-plotting, twisting and getting ready for the approaching onslaught.

Upcoming Events:

Writing.wise -- looks to be a fantastic evening with an amazing panel discussing all things writing. (Sue Thomas, a new media expert from the UK; Shari Ulrich, singer-songwriter; Mira Sundara Rajan, musician and Canada Chair in Intellectual Property Law at UBC; Ian Verchere, founder of Radical Entertainment, games developer and Whistler ski dude; Kaare Andrews, comic book writer and artist.) November 13, 7 pm Radha Yoga, 728 Main Street in Vancouver. You can register for this event on-line at sec@westcoast.ca Check the previous post or email me for details.

Hycroft -- This year's CWILL BC / Vancouver Children's Roundtable Annual Event, filled with all the new and exciting books for kids and teens produced by BC authors and illustrators. November 14, 6:30 pm, Hycroft House on McRae St. in Vancouver (just near 16th and Granville).

Then on Thursday, I'll be heading up to Whistler to hand out at the high school for the day. Can't wait -- Libby McKeever the assistant librarian has all kinds of fun stuff planned.

On Saturday the 17th, I'm off on my CCBC Book Tour of Ontario. My slice of the province will be mostly in and around Toronto -- Brampton, King City and Lindsay are also on the agenda. I'll be doing a number of public library readings and school visits. You can check out the Canadian Children's Book Centre site at http://www.bookcentre.ca/ for more details.

I'm bringing my trusty laptop, so I will try to keep a bit of a running commentary going.

And to close, in the spirit of Hallowe'en, or perhaps Samhain might be a better reference -- this is my friend Delia, a Cornish Rex by breed, though a trifle (one might venture to say, out of her hearing, of course) demonic by nature. I took this picture a couple of weeks ago when she wasn't really in the mood. At least 19 years old, she's not in the mood for much of anything but sleeping these days. Delia will feature (respectfully fictionalized, of course) in the upcoming Ceilidh stories, the first of which will be set in Edinburgh. I can't wait to get to work on them -- I'm ready for a little magic.

~kc