New and Cool in the City...

A huge supporter of the writing-for-kids community in Vancouver is embarking on a new venture. Dr. Christianne Hayward, who has worked for Vancouver Kidsbooks for years, has also headed their Book Club programs since way back in 1996. She has a dream coming true these days in the form of her new Lyceum of Literature and Art -- a new site for Book Clubs and more literary events than you can shake a stick at. She's having an open house tomorrow at the new location: 3696 West 8th Ave., Vancouver.
I'll be there.

And now -- the feature SiWC presenters of the day...

This shadowy figure belongs to the nefarious writer Michael Slade, a crafter of strange fiction and amazing tales. This man can tell a story like no other, and his voice is a welcome one in the halls of the SiWC. This year, attendees will get a special treat, for not only will Slade be pairing with Diana Gabaldon to do a workshop, but he will also make a special appearance with the even shadowier Pink Slade -- his collaborator in all things fiction.

All things Slade can be discovered at www.specialx.net

New to the conference this year is Kelley Armstrong. This amazing author is a wunderkind in the genre of paranormal suspense, and will be a natural when she pairs in a panel with the shadowy Slade to talk about putting the Fear into contemporary Fantasy. Kelley's first book BITTEN appeared in 2001, and she has produced seven more books since then -- an astounding output from a talented new voice. Check out her website at www.KelleyArmstrong.com

More on other SiWC 2007 authors and presenters coming soon to a blogspot near you.

~kc

Contest Time again...

...and I'm doing a bit of reading. This year there are fewer entries than in past years, as we fiddled with the deadline to make things easier for all involved. We'll likely change it back next year -- people just associate the fall with the SiWC writing contest, I think.

Anyway, there are a bunch of folks getting bloodshot eyes this year as each category goes through a long-list, then a short-list process before going off to the judges.

All this reading doesn't leave much time for blogging, so it's on to our feature presenters for the day.

One of the wonderful new faces who will be joining us this year for the first time is Jacqueline Mitchard. Jackie's first book THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN was a NY Times bestseller, and a featured pick on Oprah. She's had a series of other bestselling books since then, and has even written a y/a novel or two for teens. You can check out what Jackie is up to lately on her blog, which you can find at her website: http://www.jackiemitchard.com/

If you are a regular attendee at SiWC, you'll know that the board likes to keep things fresh by inviting new presenters every year. But popular demand means that invitations have to go out to some favourites as well. One of those particular favourites is the affable and laconic Don McQuinn.

Don has a special place in my heart, as a few years ago he served me up an unforgettable combination of embarrassment and pleasure, by presenting me with the SiWC /Surrey Board of Trade Special Achievement Award. Unfortunately, I happened to have just come in from a run and promptly spilled a hot chocolate down my shirt, so I stood up to accept my award looking pretty much like I always do, but perhaps not exactly as an award recipient should. However, I do believe my ensemble that day inspired board members to ensure that winners are now discretely notified enough ahead of time to allow appropriate dress for the occasion. Let's hope so, anyway.

Drawing a veil across that sorry incident in McQuinn's past, let us focus on his remarkable achievements. He's a published writer of nine novels and spends a lot of his time teaching people how to write -- and write well. Don will be teaching a beginner-level workshop this year in Surrey -- beginning writers and beginning stories. He'll also sit in on a panel or two. And I can pretty much guarantee he'll help make someone's day when he presents the Special Achievement Award this year. Hint to the winner: wear black.

~kc

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

The last whole bottle of beer I drank was in Amsterdam at the Heinken factory at 9 am, sometime in July of 1983. Not much of a beer drinker, I'm afraid -- but what the heck -- this is my ninety-ninth post, so let's raise a bottle to celebrate this particular blogging habit I've picked up.

I promised I'd start to offer profiles of some of the presenters coming to visit the Surrey International Writers' Conference in October. I'm coordinating the conference this year, with the help of an able and widely experienced board of directors, and the event promises to be a special one.

So here's a chance to celebrate some of the people you'll get to meet if you come to Surrey this year...

Let's begin with the reigning Queen and King of our hearts -- and of the Storyteller's Award -- shall we?

The Storyteller's Award is the prize offered to the writer of the best fictional short story as judged every year in the SiWC Writing Contest by Diana Gabaldon and Jack Whyte.

Diana Gabaldon is the New York Times Best Selling author of both the Outlander and the Lord John series. There are some fabulous pictures of Diana on her website at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~gatti/gabaldon/gabaldon.html but I like this one that I took of her at the conference a couple of years ago, with another writer of great renown, Pamela Patchet. Pam has won many prizes for her writing over the years, and is a multiple-awardee in the Bulwer-Lytton fiction competition, (details of which can be found here: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/). This particular shot of Diana and Pamela was taken very late one Saturday night, after a day of much hard work and revelry. This year, Diana will be participating in panels on the subject of genre-bending and the use of history in fiction as a reflection of present-day issues. In addition, she's sharing a workshop with the effervescent (and deadly) Michael Slade on the subject of plotting stories against the turbulent events of history. Diana will also give the closing keynote speech this year -- an event not to be missed. When she is not traipsing around the globe promoting her books, or being hauled off to shine at SiWC and other conferences, Diana can be found at home in Arizona, writing her astounding and vivid stories. (I am currently in the middle of the final story in her latest Lord John collection right now -- LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS. The book will be available in stores this fall, and I can tell you it's a great read.)

Jack Whyte, Diana's co-sponsor (and co-judge in the contest) will also be present in fine form for this year's conference. Jack's new book on the subject of the Knights Templar has just hit the shelves --STANDARD OF HONOR. Sequel to KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK AND WHITE, this book continues the chronicles of the St. Clair family during the crusades. Like his Dream of Eagles series, these new books are filled with heart-in-the-throat adventure and are must-reads. Jack is trying something new at the conference this year. He is taking on a Master Class -- that is, a class offered to writers who have some wide experience with writing -- but with a twist. In order to attend Jack's Master Class (on the subject of learning how to best accelerate tension in your novel), you must earn a place in the class. To find out more, check out the Master Class page of the SiWC website, found at http://www.siwc.ca/ . There are those who swear they come to the conference just to hear Jack speak, but if you really do want to learn to improve your writing, this is the man to listen to. You can read more about Jack, the man and his books, at his website http://www.camulod.com/ These days, he spends his time writing (with the odd round of golf thrown in) in Kelowna, BC.

I'll try to profile a couple of presenters every day until the conference gets here. If you have a special favourite, let me know and I'll see what tidbits I can dig up. And if you want to find out more about the conference, check it out at www.siwc.ca

As for me, I have a little contest reading to catch up on...

~kc

Chocolate and Chat

I LOVE this picture.


Meaghan took this shot, on a beautiful summer day, of James McCann discussing his books (RANCOUR & PYRE) with fellow author Meg Tilly and her partner Don.


This shot was taken at the second of our Chocolate & Chat Teacher Appreciation Travelling Road Show events. The Road Show found us at Edgemont Kidsbooks in North Vancouver for this particular event, and because the day was so beautiful, we set up our books outside. Meaghan was sitting behind the book display table when she took this shot. We had a great time talking with people who dropped by, and everyone (teacher or not) got their share of chocolate and chatting.


We have four more teacher appreciation events coming up on September 30 and October 1 in the Chapters stores in Surrey, Langley; the Park Royal Indigo in West Vancouver and the Chapters at Granville and West Broadway in Vancouver.

Please come to see us! We're launching our new books, but we are also sharing ideas with teachers as to how to get authors into the classroom. (And don't forget the chocolate!)

~kc

Travel...

...booking, organizing, liaising...

for the Surrey International Writers' Conference right now.

The SiWC will be bringing in writers, editors, agents, publishers and more from all around North America for the conference in October.

But before that happens, flights have to be lined up, tickets have to be organized and many MANY emails must be sent.

This is my life at present. Starting tomorrow, I will do up a small feature on some of the presenters that will be gracing our conference here in this blog.

Will also try to get some pix up from the first two stops on the Terrific Teacher Appreciation Travelling Roadshow that happened over the course of last week. James McCann and I will be doing it all again on September 30 and October 1 in Surrey, Langley, Vancouver and West Vancouver.

Stay tuned for more details. (I can tell you this...the chocolate was luscious.)

~kc

Blueberry Season?

The interview I had with Suzanne Lieurance late last week for Book Bites for Kids showed up on the Blubrry.com podcast site today. It's a cool site -- I hadn't seen it before and had a bit of fun poking around.



MS.ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK and PYRE got off to a quiet but fun start tonight at our first Terrific Teacher Appreciation Event, held at Vancouver Kidsbooks on Broadway. Chocolate hearts courtesy of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory -- made the event complete. Anybody who is anyone in the Vancouver literary community was there, so you'll not want to miss the next event, this Sunday at Kidsbooks in Edgemont Village, North Vancouver. See you there!




~kc

Podcast of Interview now Available

I was recently interviewed by Suzanne Lieurance of The National Writing for Children Centre for one of their 'Book Bytes for Kids' segments. You can listen to a podcast of the interview here:

http://writingforchildrencenter.com/2007/08/22/book-bites-for-kids-welcome-childrens-author-kc-dyer/

The Centre is a very cool on-line resource for readers and writers. Their stated goal is to "help educate and connect aspiring and successful children’s writers, elementary school teachers and/or librarians to provide books, stories, and opportunities for literacy development for children everywhere."

You can find the home page for the site at http://www.writingforchildrencentre.com/

~kc

Rocky Mountain on Board...

Just a quick note tonight (as I am still writing, writing) that Chris from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory contacted me today -- and they are on board as a sponsor for our 'Chocolate & Chat' Teacher appreciation book launch events!

This is thrilling news, both because we are now guaranteed to have a great selection of chocolates at our first launch on Thursday night, AND because I am typing this with a bite of dark chocolate cashew cluster melting in my mouth. (Technique tip -- let the chocolate dissolve before crunching up cashew...).

A good chocolate omen, wouldn't you say?

~kc

Meetings, Launches, Chocolate...

Great meeting yesterday with CWILL exec, planning for a fun year. We're going to raise the profile of this organization and have a good time doing it. Or that's the plan, anyway. Had another fun little get-together with some CWILLers today, celebrating the return of Julie Burtinshaw from the wilds of the North. Sounds like she had a terrific experience in Dawson City and other hotspots in the coolest place on earth.



James McCann and I are gathering our forces for the first of our book launches this Thursday night. If you are in the vicinity of Vancouver Kidsbooks on West Broadway around 7:30 pm, make sure you drop by. We'll do it again on Sunday in North Van. Lots of books to be had and chocolate for all.



Now I am off to finish my critique of The Jesus Booktour -- a little piece by my buddy Michael Hiebert. This one has breakout novel written all over it.



~kc

This and That

Got a lovely review of Ms. Z this week, courtesy of Marsha Skrypuch. Marsha, who founded and is currently in the throes of running the Brantford Writers' Camp, submitted a series of book reviews to her local paper, The Brantford Expositor. They did a beautiful job of laying out the page. I wish more Canadian papers would devote this kind of space to great books for kids by local authors. Go Brantford Expositor! Go Marsha!

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=640375&catname=Books+%26+Literature&classif=

In other news, I've got two new blogs to add to my regular reads, both by excellent writers for young people. Mahtab Narsimham is a new Dundurn author and her blog can be found at http://mahtabnarsimhan.blogspot.com/

And the Most Excellent (and prolific!) author Shelley Hrdlitschka is now blogging too, at http://shelleyhrdlitschka.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check both these new sites out!

~kc

Ms. Z. Blasts Off!

Launching at last.

It's been a busy summer, but Ms. Z. is finally going to get a chance to formally make her way out into the world.

She will be joining hands with PYRE, James McCann's new novel for teens in a series of launches around the Lower Mainland.

James and I have decided to celebrate teachers as a theme for our launch, and so are welcoming all our colleagues, friends and relatives to grab their favourite teacher and bring 'em along for the celebration.

Here's our press release:

Teen Authors Launch Books with Teachers in Mind

Authors James McCann and kc dyer love teachers.

“Teachers and librarians spend a lot of time directing young readers to our books,” says McCann. “As authors of books for teens, we appreciate how important they are in getting our books into kids’ hands.”

McCann is the author of a new book for teens called PYRE, a prequel to his hugely successful debut novel RANCOUR, both published by Simply Read Books. He has teamed with fellow author kc dyer, who is launching her fourth novel for teens, MS. ZEPHYR’S NOTEBOOK, published by The Dundurn Group.

“We want to let teachers know that Canadian authors appreciate the work they do in getting our books out there for kids to read,” says dyer. “So instead of a conventional book launch with just families and friends present, James and I have created the Terrific Teacher Travelling Road Show. Our goal is to bring good chocolate and good books to the teachers out there who deserve a little appreciation for all they do.”

With books from her earlier Eagle Glen Trilogy nominated for The Chocolate Lily Award and a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice designation, dyer is no novice to the world of the book launch. “I’m looking at this Travelling Road Show as a warm up for the Children’s Book Week Tour this fall,” she says. “This is our chance to thank teachers in the Lower Mainland for sharing our books with their students.”

McCann and dyer were a part of a cross-Canada Mock Protest earlier this summer, urging readers to pick up a book by a Canadian author after closing the cover on the last Harry Potter novel.

The Chocolate & Chat – Terrific Teacher Appreciation Travelling Road Show will be making stops at both Vancouver Kidsbooks locations in August, and will move to Chapters bookstores in Vancouver, Langley, Surrey and West Vancouver in September and October.

Who: kc dyer, author of "Ms. Zephyr's Notebook" (the Dundurn Group) http://kcdyer.blogspot.com James McCann, author of "Pyre" (Simply Read Books) http://www.jamesmccann.info/Where:
Vancouver Kidsbooks, 3083 West Broadway, Vancouver, Thursday, August 23, 7:30 pm
Vancouver Kidsbooks, 3040 Edgemont Blvd, North Van, Sunday, August 26, 2:00 pm
Chapters Strawberry Hill, 12101 72 Ave., Surrey, Sunday, September 30, 1:00 pm
Chapters, Langley, 20015 Langley Bypass, Sunday, September 30, 3:00 pm
Chapters, Broadway & Granville, Vancouver, Monday, October 1, time TBA
Chapters, Park Royal South, West Vancouver, Monday, October 1, time TBA

-30-

James put together an awesome melded graphic of our two new novels, and we've turned it into a poster to celebrate the events. This particular version is aimed at our Kidsbooks launches, as they are coming up first.

Everyone is welcome -- we'd love to see you there!

~kc

Back From a Brief Hiatus...

Happy summertime to all!

Here's some news courtesy of Marsha Skrypuch, who is currently busy as a bee running her Brantford Book Camp.

Check out this new publishing resource for young writers...

Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off! is a new print magazine devoted to publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, and artwork by children ages 6-12. We do not charge teachers, children, or their parents any sort of publication fee.

The magazine offers children a wonderful opportunity to get published!

Children do not have to pay to submit, and we do not charge any sort of publication fee for works that get accepted. Successful contributors receive a free one-year subscription, three additional copies of the issue containing their work (also free) to share with family and friends, a free T-shirt, and a free bookmark. We also send a letter (free of charge, of course) of commendation to their school principal, favorite teacher, or other individual. At present, we do not pay successful contributors.For more information, go here:
http://www.readingrockets.org/newsletters/rrnews
http://blog.reading.org/archives/002905.html

More soon.

~kc

Rats...

I meant to post before midnight, but it's suddenly tomorrow. This happens a lot, somehow.

I am going dark for a week to finish the final draft of DEADLINE. Don't know if it will sell. I hope so...but, you know...new genre and all that. Who knows?

I'll likely still be around here -- a writing thing, after all, but putting work stuff on hold for a few days to get this thing done.

In the spirit of things I won't be doing, here is a picture of what my house looked like the morning after a little Ms. Zephyr Gets Released celebration I had a couple of weeks ago. I forgot to take a picture of it before the party, of course, or during, when the candles brought a little magic to the night outside. In this shot, Seamus is very kindly offering to help me with the dishes. Since it's pretty hard to get good help with two teenagers in the house, I may take him up on it this week.

~kc

One Week to SiWC Contest Deadline

Have you sent in your story yet? There is still time!!!



















Here are the guidelines in a nutshell. (For more detail, go to http://www.siwc.ca/).


Submission Rules and Guidelines
All submissions must contain original material, and may not have been previously published, accepted for publication, or have been a winner in another contest prior to the August 3 deadline.


2007 Contest Categories
Each of the following four categories has a first prize of $1000 and an Honourable Mention prize of $150.


1. Storyteller’s Award: short stories 3,500 – 5,000 words


2. Non-fiction Award: maximum length 1,500 words


3. Poetry Award: one poem per submission; 36 lines max.


4. Writing For Young People Award: short stories, max. length 1,500 words.

Standard manuscript format - double-spaced, typed, one side only of white 8-1/2 x 11" paper (letter-sized), each page to include title and page number only. No staples, please. Poetry may be single-spaced.

Blind submissions - the author's name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript except cover page.


Include a cover page listing the writer's name, address, email address, phone number, entry title, word length, and award competition category.


In addition to hard copy, all entrants must be able to submit their work by email if requested.

Entries are also accepted by email. Please follow the submission guidelines as noted above and copy your submission into the body of your email. Send your email to contest@siwc.ca .

Attachments will be deleted, unread.


Send your cheque or money order for $15 per entry to Surrey Conference Centre, Unit 400, 9260 - 140 Street, Surrey, BC, Canada, V3V 5Z4


No entries will be returned. If you want the receipt of your entry acknowledged, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard.


DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: All entries must be received at the addresses noted above by 4 p.m., Friday, August 3, 2007. No late entries will be considered.

Winners will be informed by October 1, 2007. Prizes will be awarded at the Awards Ceremony on the first evening of the Conference, Friday, October 19, 2007. Winners will be listed on the conference website http://www.siwc.ca/ in the week after the conference.


Writers under 18 years of age should check out Surrey Public Library’s Young Writer’s Contest.

And the best of all luck to those who enter.

~kc

Jeffrey and Sloth...

...get a great review!

The Georgia Straight's John Burns reviewed my friend Kari Lyn Winters picture book this week -- check it out at

http://www.straight.com/article-102884/jeffrey-and-sloth

Kari is a multi-talented person -- founding member of the Tickle Trunk Players, playwright, actress, teacher and one of the most cheerful and upbeat people I know. A month ago we taught together at the CWC summer camp. It was there that I was the lucky recipient of the first reading of a new Jeffrey and Sloth book -- a most excellent story that some clever publisher should snap up right away.

Congratulations, Kari!

~kc

SiWC Registration Opens Tomorrow!

July 26th, 2007. The big day -- registration for the Surrey International Writers' Conference opens up. Our brochures came back from the printers today -- if you want one, email me at kcdyer@siwc.ca and I'll make sure you get one. Or better (and faster) still, check out the website at http://www.siwc.ca/ and you can download your very own copy.

It's accurate to the time of printing, but as with any human endeavour, things will likely change a wee bit by the time October rolls around. The website is the surest, most accurate source of info at any time.

This also brings us closer to the deadline for the Writer's Contest associated with the conference. One week and a day away-- August 3, 2007. Entries are starting to pour in -- more than $4000 in prizes to be won.

For the best detail, check out the website, but if you have any questions, feel free to fire them at me with wild abandon -- and I will answer in kind, I'm sure.

~kc

The Bridge

Stayed up far too late last night watching a documentary called 'The Bridge', and then reading the end of 'Deathly Hallows', discussion of which will be left to another day.

'The Bridge' is the end result of a year of filming, day and night, at San Franciso's Golden Gate Bridge. The film-makers caught 23 of the 24 suicides that took place there in 2004 on the more than 10,000 hours of tape they shot. Very disturbing, and somewhat controversial -- but I'm very glad I watched it. Much food for thought: were the film makers exploiting the last, black moments of the people who chose to end their lives by jumping off the bridge? The executive producer Eric Steel admits to lying about the reason behind his filming in order to get permission to shoot his film around the bridge for a year. Was he glamourizing the deaths to fill his own pockets?

My take is that the film deals sensitively with a very bleak subject. It doesn't offer facile answers, but looks at the lives, families and friends of a half-dozen or so of the people who died that year. And a look at the interviews (included on the disc) of the people who worked on the film shows that they thought deeply about the subject matter they were filming. All of them had access to the suicide prevention line and made use of it.

The question they were left with was why money hasn't been set aside to put up jump-barriers on this bridge -- by all accounts one of the most common sites of public suicide in the US. A person jumps off the Golden Gate an average of once every fifteen days. There have been more than 1500 suicides since the bridge was built. It makes me wonder about the Lions Gate bridge...

I took the picture above when I was in San Francisco in April this year.

~kc

8.3 Million...

...copies sold of Harry on the first day, according to a report I just read from Scholastic US. Wonder how Raincoast did? CBC reported that more than 7,000 people attended the Vancouver Kidsbooks event at Van Deusan Gardens alone.


Wonderful news for all, especially the readers.


But remember, [she sez, still waving her Potter Pooper Placard] -- when you've closed the book on Harry...

And now, since I am making myself sick on Hot Tamales (the candy variety -- not the savoury) I will head back to reading Harry. I am only on Chapter 12...

~kc

Potter Poopers

...that's what they called us. The 'Potter Mock-Protest' made the CTV news last night for a brief appearance, where James McCann and I tried to make a case for Canadian authors who have books coming out in the Summer of Harry.

I thought it was pretty funny, until I realized (by Googling) that the joke has been made many times before. And in our case, it was not even applicable, since the three of us (James McCann, kc dyer & James Bow) are all actual fans of JKR and her magical creations.

Here's a shot of James McCann at today's dampish but still fun Summer Dream event in Stanley Park. James is parked beside our 'Potter Mock-Protest' poster, wearing his 'Ministry of Magic approved' t-shirt (demonstrating that the Ministry, at least, knew we were on-side...)

But, when you've closed the book on Harry...consider reading one by a Canadian, okay?

This was my first drive-through of Stanley Park since the devastating storms of last winter. The devastation of Prospect Point was mind-boggling. The power of that November wind was truly awesome. I was so gob-smacked by the wreckage that I forgot to take a picture.

The east side of the park remains almost untouched, though, and it was there Summer Dream took place. Did two readings of Ms Zephyr today, and added a brief return to SEEDS OF TIME in the children's tent. The rain held off for most of the afternoon, but returned to a deluge by 5:30 or so. Had a chance to reconnect with some old friends, so it was a fun afternoon in the end. Thanks go out to Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni of Pandora's Collective for organizing and overseeing such a successful event.

As further proof of my Positive Potter Point-of view, here is a shot of the two beautiful witches I took to the launch last night -- one of whom has been planted on the couch all day today, blissfully reading the final installment.

The other witch had to work this afternoon, but at the moment, she is reading, too.

And to finish -- a picture of a group of rowdies at the Canadian Authors Association table before the rains returned -- writers Anthony Dalton, Gordon Mumford and Bernice Lever (doing her bit to promote literacy by flashing her Word on the Street T-shirt).

More proof that Canadian writers continue to thrive despite the Potter juggernaut!

~kc

The Protest Moves Forward...

...word today of an impending interview tomorrow with CTV regarding the mock Potter Protest scheduled for this Saturday at the Summer Dream Literary Festival in Stanley Park. And James Bow has been garnering attention on the same topic from his end of the nation...check out his blog (Bow, James Bow -- it's off on the side-bar there, if you need the link.)

And, of course, amid all the hype of the leaked pre-releases and spoilers, I am running from anything that smacks of Harry in the press right now. I want to find out what happens when I read the book myself the first time!

But after you close the book on Harry -- consider picking up a book by a Canadian author, will you? (That IS the point of the protest, after all...) We have the most incredible selection of writers producing books for young people -- and BC is a particular hotbed.

If you can't think of a BC writer off the top of your head, you might try having a peek at the CWILL BC website at http://www.cwill.bc.ca/ or even try moseying on over to Alan Twigg's encyclopedic site of BC authors: http://www.abcbookworld.com/

A reminder that Summer Dream is coming up fast -- this Saturday, in Stanley Park, near Lumberman's Arch. For the whole scoop, check out Pandora's Collective website at http://www.pandorascollective.com/ and find out all the cool stuff that Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni have in store.

Hard on the heels of Summer Dream will be the collective book launch of 'Ms. Zephyr's Notebook' and 'Pyre'. More details as soon as I have 'em.

It's back to regular weather here -- cool and rainy. Hopefully summer will return in time for the weekend. Here's a shot of what it looks like around here when the weather cooperates...

~kc