News and a wee LinK Fest

Another nutso day, but I can't let it slip by without doing a little link-fest here.

Had a GREAT chat with members of the North Shore Writers' Association. Thanks to event coordinator Joyce Goodwin for inviting me, and all the members of the NSWA for the warm welcome. I am a past president, and was in that position when my first book was published and the support I garnered from this group was wonderful. Nice to see you all again!  Shout outs and good publishing karma sent back  to Penny and Elaine and Dorothy and Gerhard and to all the new members.

and now...a few items of interest, to allow for some tab-closing on my machine!

First -- a write up in the New Westminster Record of the Rock solid plays that have come out of my writer-in-residence experience at NDub Secondary. Traci Cave and MJ Hunt were the teacher-brains behind the operation, but the writing and acting all came from the kids. It was so much fun to work with this group!

Next, a nice little review of MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK, on the blog of Sarah Wethered, the Amazing Knitting Librarian. Thanks Sarah!

And to finish, a few choice words from Ill Doctrine on the situation in Haiti. And please remember, if you are Canadian, the federal government is matching all donations that are going through registered charities until February 12th. My money went to Medecins Sans Frontieres. [I've supported this group for years -- Darrell's mother in my very first Eagle Glen series is a doctor who donates her time to MSF...]





More soon, of course...

~kc

Hanging in a Steaming, Spitting Underworld

Yep.

That's where I've been.

Of course, I haven't had to leave home to be there. But I have had to avoid my email and the time-sucking internets as much as possible, hence the paucity of posting here.

I can say, though, that the new book is tripping along. Hope to be finished any day now. [Actually, if I can have something tangible to present to my agent and a few compatriots by next month sometime, I will be Very Happy.] It was supposed to be finished with 2009, but as you know, sometimes Life Interferes. I actually started researching this book four years ago next month, with my trip to Edinburgh during the Turin Games.

And then... *Bang!* Flash!*... it's suddenly time for the Vancouver games. So I guess I'd like to finish the book before that actually happens.

So while I spend my time digging through the Victorian undergrowth for rusty cogs and a watch chain, here are a few interesting things to keep you busy...

To begin, my buddy the very talented [and creepy] Michael Slade has a new book out, just in time for a decent slaughter at the Olympics. It's called RED SNOW.  Details HERE. And please ignore the minor detail of the main slaughterer's name. I would like it to go on the record that she was NOT inspired by anyone you know. And for all you Sladists out there, you know there's got to be blood in the snow. You've been warned.

I'll be speaking at the North Shore Writers' Assn meeting this month -- the evening of January 18th. Come by and heckle, if you'd care to! Details HERE.  

Also, later in the year ... I'm going to be a featured speaker at the Canadian Authors Ass'n CanWrite 2010 in Victoria this summer. More details HERE, and as anything new emerges, I'll keep you updated.

And to finish -- a very cool initiative... with a great beat:



~kc

Apropos of not much...

This is Seamus, in a state of such total relaxation that he cannot close his lips over his teeth.

I envy this state.
I am not there.

In actual fact, I am currently a brain in search of a pensieve. Too many thoughts -- not enough cognative material left in which to make sense of any of 'em. If you don't get the allusion, you are definitely behind in your Potter reading. Better get on it -- July 21st is looming!

I may have expounded upon this subject in this space before (and if I have, see above mental state for explanation) but the reason that I love reading JK Rowling is her express adoration of language. Dumbledore's pensieve is a case in point. The word evokes the state of mind one requires for deep thought, the vessel in which to do it AND the emotion one might experience whilst in such a state. Pure genius. And as a liguist, she also creates brilliant voices for her characters.

I am lucky enough to be reading another story by my friend Michael Hiebert, who in this case is giving the most human voice to his main character, who happens to be Jesus. Michael is brilliant at voice -- the most important weapon in a writer's arsenal (other than a stellar ability with a decent military metaphor, of course...). If you want a taste of his efforts, check out My New Cardboard Box, his blog. (The link is over to the side -- just on the left over there somewhere. No...further down. You've got it.) The Jesus Book Tour is amazing, funny and poignant and wicked. I can't wait to see how it ends.

The amazing women of Pandora's Collective have also picked July 21 as the date of their Summer Dream event, this year to be held in Stanley Park. My buddy James McCann and I will be a part of it, representing CWILL BC. I am pretty sure I'll also be doing a reading for the North Shore Writers' Association and possibly even the CAA. James and I are also working on the details of a book co-launch -- perhaps to be held that day in defiance of the Rowling juggernaut. More to come as things coalesce.

~kc