November Recommendations

I’ve just finished the most rejuvenating weekend at the Tap In Writers Retreat at the Glacier Valley Farm in Squamish, BC. I met my goal of writing 4500 words, stretched my body and mind with different creative activities—painting, drawing and singing—and even did yoga with baby goats. I made friends with writers at all different places in their writing journey. I highly recommend attending a future retreat if you are looking to make space and time for a project and find a wonderful community of creative people.
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Adult Book Recommendation

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

In 16th century China, a young woman from an elite family is trained to be a doctor by her grandmother. When she moves into her new husband’s family compound she is forbidden to practice medicine, but still finds a way to treat those around her. This book is based on a real woman. The intricate family dynamics and medical detail had me fully immersed in Lady Tan’s world.

Children’s Book Recommendation

Maybe a Whale by Kirsten Pendreigh, Illustrated by Crystal Smith

After a grandfather’s death, mom and daughter go on a kayak trip on the Pacific coast and find the space to grieve as they look and listen for humpback whales. Beautifully illustrated and lyrically told, this would be a good read aloud for any child who has recently lost a loved one.

Behind the Scenes

Book publishing as strength training

This month we completed our third reprint of Mountain Machines. Because we chose to do offset printing instead of print on demand, that meant a delivery of 2300 books to my garage last week. I store the books in a small crawlspace we have on the third floor of our house. 23 boxes X 17 stairs = very tired legs!

Halfway there!

September Recommendations

Adult Book Recommendation

​Tom Lake by Ann Patchett​

I devoured this book, which is set on a cherry farm in Northern Michigan. During the pandemic, three adult daughters return home to help harvest the cherries on their family farm, and their mother tells them the story of her relationship with a famous actor. I loved how the information was doled out in small, surprising snippets as the story flipped between present and past. I always enjoy learning about different professions and this book delves deep into the worlds of both cherry farming and summer theatre.
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Children’s Book Recommendation

Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories by Elise Gravel

I enjoy all of Elise Gravel’s books—her funny, simple creatures and her straightforward writing make for great non-fiction books for kids. In Killer Underwear Invasion she explains what fake news is, why people create it, why it’s a problem and how to spot it. Her sense of humour in her writing and illustrations will keep kids interested as they learn about this important topic.

Behind the Scenes

Rhythm and Rhyme

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I recently came across an early draft of Sounds of the Ferry and it made me so thankful to my critique group for helping me improve it. They helped me understand the importance of stressing the right syllables and sticking with one rhythm. Here’s an example of the changes I made in the last stanza.

Early draft:

Generator vibrates,

Cleaner sweeps,

The ferry boat never sleeps.

Final draft:

Deckhands shout,

Cleaners sweep,

Busy ferries never sleep.

The changes are subtle, but mean that a reader automatically reads with the rhythm I had in mind and doesn’t have to pause or force the words to fit. One more reason to be happy for my critique group!

August Recommendations

Adult Book Recommendation

​Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

A wounded stranger arrives at a pub on the river Thames, carrying the body of a small girl in his arms. An hour later, she miraculously returns to life but doesn’t speak, and is claimed by three different families. The gothic unwinding of the truth follows as many twists as the Thames. It would have been hard to find a book less suited for summer beach reading, but it was a testament to Setterfeld’s storytelling that I was drawn in regardless!

Children’s Book Recommendation

​Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

In this sophisticated young adult romance novel, Jessie K is diagnosed with autism shortly before her first day of high school. As she tries to fit in to her new school and make new friends and hide her diagnosis, she keeps a list of to-do items to keep herself on track—like getting rid of her unibrow and having a perfect first kiss. At the beginning there is a lot of teen drama, but by a third of the way into the book I was completely rooting for Jessie and had to stay up way past my bedtime to find out how she’d navigate her new and complicated friendships and first love.
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Behind the Scenes

I’ve just returned from several weeks on my favourite island, the basis for the setting of both Jake Reynolds books. My current work in progress is also set on the island. Having a real location makes the writing so much fun. I have the freedom to include strong details like the sun glinting off whitecaps when a strong west wind is blowing—while making up outlandish characters and dialogue. Part of the problem with using a real setting is that everyone thinks my characters are based on people I know. I promise in advance—this book is fiction and all characters came from my imagination!

June Recommendations

News

I was happy to learn that author Janelle Diller chose Penguin Days as one of her favourite books on Shepherd.com. You can read her description of why she chose it here. https://shepherd.com/book/penguin-days​

​shepherd.com is a website that is trying to reimagine online book discovery and is definitely worth a look.

Adult Book Recommendation

The Morning Bell Brings the Brokenhearted by Jennifer Manuel

I eagerly awaited this second book by Jennifer Manuel, since I loved her debut, The Heaviness of Things That Float, and it didn’t disappoint. First year teacher, Molleigh moves to a remote Nuu-Chah-Nuulth village on the west coast of Vancouver Island, full of good intentions. But after a month of teaching she finds that good intentions aren’t enough and she is ready to quit. When she commits a major cultural transgression, mysterious, creepy things start to happen in the community. I loved the way Manuel, who is also an educator, captured the difficulty in being your best teacher-self when working with students who have faced trauma. The story is told through a white-settler outsider's point of view. Manuel is careful not to tell someone else’s story and in fact the importance of story and who gets to tell it is a major theme of the book. At the same time, she draws a poignant, heart-wrenching, joyful picture of life in a Nuu-Chah-Nulth community.
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Children’s Book Recommendation

Hot Dog by Anh Do

This first book in a series of early chapter books has been hugely popular with the grade ones and twos at my school recently. Hotdog and his friends Kev, a cat in a cow costume, and Lizzie, a lizard who is scared of heights, embark on an adventure to save a small bird who has fallen from a tree. The book is silly and sweet, with a few lines of text and two-colour illustrations on each page, which make it accessible for children who are transitioning to chapter books.

Behind the Scenes

Last month I managed to spend some more days on my favourite island. Below is a photo of the beach which features in both Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle? and Jake Reynolds: Against the Tide. See the boulders in the water? Imagine a seal pup resting on one at a higher tide, or a strange blue-footed bird hiding behind one at low tide.
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Have a wonderful summer! I’m going to take a break in July, so you can expect my next newsletter in your inbox in August.

February Recommendations - Train wrecks, peacock pies and creating conflict

Adult Book Recommendation

​Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver​

Spoiler alert—there is a mild spoiler about the tone of the ending below.

This is a brick of book—540 pages of dense prose—but so worth it. Barbara Kingsolver is a master storyteller and world builder. In this modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfied, Kingsolver delves into the world of institutionalized poverty and the foster care system. The voice of the main character, Demon Copperhead, is unique, funny and compelling and kept drawing me back into the story even when I felt the need to put the book down because I could see yet another train wreck coming in his life. I sometimes wanted someone to read the next ten pages and tell me what happened so I didn’t have to go through the bad parts with him, but it was always worth sticking with it. Here’s the spoiler—I wish someone had told me in advance that the story ends on a hopeful note. Knowing that would have made it easier to watch the train wrecks!

Children's Book Recommendation

​Alice Fleck’s Recipe for Disaster by Rachelle Delaney​

I have enjoyed all of Rachelle Delaney’s middle-grade novels and this one didn’t disappoint. Alice Fleck and her food-historian father love cooking recipes from the past like medieval peacock pie. But she’s learned to keep her hobby a secret from her classmates if she doesn’t wanted to be branded as weird. So when her father’s new girlfriend enters them in a reality TV show cooking contest, Alice is more than a little freaked out. This book has many of the usual tropes of a middle-grade novel—struggles with making new friends, accepting a parent’s love interest, and getting ready for middle school—and they are all dealt with well. But what made the book stand out is the behind the scenes detail about the cooking contest and filming of a reality TV show.

Behind the Scenes

Creating conflict

In my school presentations, I always tell my students that life is great without conflict but a book without a problem is boring. When I’m plotting a book I think about my character’s strengths and more importantly, their weaknesses, because that will often lead to conflict. Lauren has difficulty dealing with change, so in Penguin Days I sent her family to a new setting (a farm in North Dakota) with new people (cousins she doesn’t know). Another source of conflict is thinking about what a character most wants and then setting up obstacles to make that a challenge. In Slug Days, Lauren wants a friend. Her challenges are internal (her difficulty interacting with other students) and external (one of her classmates is a right little stinker). She needs to overcome both in order to get what she wants.

January Recommendations - Best books of the year, caterpillars and sticky notes

Happy New Year!

I keep a notebook beside my bed with a running list of all the adult books I read. (For some reason this system has never worked for me for kids’ books.) On December 30th I realized I’d read 51 books. In order to make it an average of exactly one book per week, I picked up the very slim book of poetry that had been sitting on my bedside table for months and I’m glad I did, not just because it made for a nice even average. See below for the recommendation.

I star the books that stand out—ones I read quickly because I couldn’t wait to get back to reading them.

Here is the list of my starred books for 2022, many of which have made it into my recommendations in this newsletter. I'm trying something new with the links. If you click on them they will take you to IndieBound, a website that will link you to your local indie bookstore. Send me an email to let me know if this works for you. I don't receive any commissions from the links.

​The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman​

​My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows​

​Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr​

​Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. Jonn Mandel​

​The Guest List by Lucy Foley​

​Still Life by Sarah Winman​

​Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity​

​The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn​

​Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus​

​The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson​

​Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak​

​The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley​

​A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson​

​A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny​

​Nevertheless: Walking Poems by Gillian Jerome​

Adult Book Recommendation

​Nevertheless: Walking Poems by Gillian Jerome​

I heard Gillian read at the Whistler Writers Festival and her poems really struck a chord. I usually prefer to listen to poetry rather than reading it, but Jerome’s poems are straightforward, visual and touching and I found myself reading them quickly and then dipping back in to appreciate them further. I especially liked her poems about her daughters.

Children’s Book Recommendation

​Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn​

Since her father’s death, Cat has been the glue that holds her family together. She keeps her brother, Chicken, safe from harm and protects him from the triggers that set off his tantrums while their mom works to keep the family afloat financially. When they unexpectedly have to stay with their estranged grandparents, Cat isn’t ready to trust anyone else with her brother’s care so she can be a child herself. This book is set on a small island on the coast of North Carolina and I loved the evocative descriptions of the ocean, the complicated relationships and heartwarming ending.

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Behind the Scenes

Mapping out a manuscript through scenes

I’ve started on a new, longer project and I’m tackling it by doing writing sprints—short bursts of writing during which I try not to stop to think too much about what I’m typing. In order for that to work I need to know what scene I’m going to write in any given sprint. I’ve been keeping lists of scenes in a notebook, but today I decided to write out the scenes for two of my characters on sticky notes so I could play with the order. Just the process of writing down the scenes helped me come up with 10 more scenes I’ll need to write. When I sit down to start a sprint, I choose a sticky note and start typing.

December Recommendations - Drug rings and coyotes

Adult Book Recommendation

​The Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

This engrossing book, which I believe is marketed as YA but is definitely a crossover read, sucked me in from page one and didn’t let up until the very last page. Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in with her Ojibwe community or in her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. When she witnesses a horrific murder she is convinced to go undercover to help an FBI investigation into a lethal new drug. The thriller/mystery is only part of the story, though. Even more interesting was the exploration of the modern Indigenous experience and the celebration of community. I always think the sign of a good book is when you wonder about the characters long after the end of the book. I’m still pondering Daunis and her relationships and hoping they’ll work out.

Children's Book Recommendation

​A Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King

This is an older book—published in 2009—that I reread recently. With his signature humour and biting commentary, Thomas King uses Coyote as a warning against the dangers of over-consumerism. When a young girl arrives at Coyote’s house, the animals escort her home and discover a gigantic mall. Coyote is thrilled to buy anything he wants, until he learns he has to pay for the goods. Adults might appreciate the warning more than kids!

October Recommendations - Awkward jobs, a graphic memoir and books that are easy to write (Copy)

Children’s Book Recommendation

​The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson

Lou spends her last summer before university working at her family’s ice cream shack with her ex-boyfriend and her best friend who has just returned to their prairie town after he took off without a word three years earlier. This awkward situation isn’t her worst problem, though, when she receives a letter from her biological father, who has been in jail her entire life. This is a sophisticated young adult novel which deals with some heavy topics, including sexual assault, institutional racism and violence. Having said that, I loved it and thought the issues were dealt with in a way that was age and emotionally appropriate for late high school. The characters are deeply complex and I was completely immersed in the location.

Adult Book Recommendation

​The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This graphic memoir of a young woman growing up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran is funny, sad, informative and beautifully told. It was published in 2002, but is a timely read given what is happening in Iran right now.

Behind the Scenes

I’m often asked which of my books was the easiest to write. I wrote Warm Up very quickly because my publisher asked for a chapter by chapter summary prior to signing a contract—a different process than for my other books which were accepted for publication after I wrote them. Since I had the whole book plotted out I knew exactly what I had to write next and the whole thing came together quickly. You’d think I’d do the same for each subsequent book since it was so easy, but somehow I’ve never managed to be so organized since!

November Recommendations - spies and treasure hunts

Adult Book Recommendation


​Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak

White House correspondent Sophie Morse quits her job covering the dysfunctional President Henry Caine and almost immediately gets a call from mysterious First Lady Lara Caine, asking her to write her biography. As Sophie is drawn closer into the First Lady’s inner circle and learns more of the secrets of her history, she wonders: why is Lara Caine releasing such sensitive information, and why to her? This is a smart, page-turning spy novel with great character development as well as intrigue and plot twists.

Children’s Book Recommendation

​The Fabulous Zed Watson by Basil and Kevin Sylvester

Wacky, exuberant Zed Watson and their quiet, plant-loving friend Gabe embark on a road trip/literary treasure hunt to find the remaining chapters of a lost manuscript. As Gabe’s sister Sam drives them from Ontario to Arizona, they chase clues, meet quirky characters and grow their friendship. This is a fun romp of a feel-good story for middle grade readers.

September Recommendations - Chemists, dress codes and writing sprints

Children's Book Recommendation

​Dress Coded by Carrie Finestone

When Molly Frost’s friend is unfairly called out and embarrassed by the middle school principal, she embarks on a mission to change the discriminatory dress code. What starts as a podcast escalates into a full-scale protest. The issues felt real and I was full of frustration for the characters and cheering for the girl power. Tween girls will relate to many of the themes of this book.

Adult Book Recommendation

​Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

After brilliant and unconventional chemist Elizabeth Zott is horribly treated by all her male coworkers and superiors, she winds up as a television cooking show host where she teaches cooking, chemistry and a subversive view of the role of women in the world. Some pretty awful things happen at the start of the book, but the fast pace of the writing, funny dialogue and well-rounded support cast, including sections told from the dog’s point of view, make this book a delight.

Behind the Scenes

The First Draft

For me, the hardest part of writing is staring at a blank page. I need to trick myself into writing the first draft. Some of my tricks include allowing the writing to be terrible (because I know I’ll be doing a ton of revision), setting a weekly word count goal and doing writing sprints. A writing spring is a short, timed writing session during which I try not to stop typing. Usually I set my timer for fifteen minutes. Before I start I think in general terms about the scene I’m about to write—the motivations of my characters and the major plot points—then I remove distractions, set the timer and go. Thanks to 9th grade typing camp (yep, really) I’m a very fast typer and can achieve 500 words in that time if I don’t stop to think. It doesn't feel like much but it adds up. I've written nine published books plus the five unpublished manuscripts still on my computer that way.

June Recommendations--an insightful parrot, a track star and connecting with my readers

Adult Book Recommendation

​Still Life by Sarah Winman

Still Life is a sweeping story with a large and eclectic cast of characters, including a parrot who always has just the right thing to say. It travels from Italy at the end of World War II, to a dreary street in England, back to Italy and explores the many ways love manifests itself. It was a bit of a slow start for me, until the story returned to Florence, from which point I was hooked. The story is full of wonderful coincidences and plot twists that literally made me gasp with delight.

Children’s Book Recommendation

​Ghost by Jason Reynolds

This is the first book in a series of novels about an elite middle school track team. Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost, an African American pre-teen, discovers the team by chance and is chosen for his raw talent. But his anger issues might get in the way of his success. Ghost makes a lot of really bad choices, and at one point I put the book down because of the choice he made (although it wasn’t quite as bad as the time I threw Gone With the Wind across my room in frustration). But it is a children’s book so I knew it would end with hope and it didn’t disappoint. Ghost has reason for his anger issues—some awful things happened to him in his past. As a result I would recommend this book for older middle-grade readers.

Behind the Scenes

What’s Your Favourite Part of Being An Author?

I’m continuing with my theme of answering FAQs. This is a two-part answer. My favourite part of the writing process is revision—specifically, when I read something I’ve already written and it makes me laugh or makes my heart rate go up because of the tension. My favourite part of being an author is connecting with my readers. This month a dad from Ontario sent me a lovely set of videos of his daughter’s book report on Duck Days. It was amazing to see her thoughtful responses to the book (and made up for the fact that the students in the Chocolate Lily Book Club I run at my school overwhelmingly voted for one of the other books, not for Slug Days. Hahahaha.)

September Recommendations--chemists, dress codes and writing sprints

Children's Book Recommendation

​Dress Coded by Carrie Finestone

When Molly Frost’s friend is unfairly called out and embarrassed by the middle school principal, she embarks on a mission to change the discriminatory dress code. What starts as a podcast escalates into a full-scale protest. The issues felt real and I was full of frustration for the characters and cheering for the girl power. Tween girls will relate to many of the themes of this book.

Adult Book Recommendation

​Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

After brilliant and unconventional chemist Elizabeth Zott is horribly treated by all her male coworkers and superiors, she winds up as a television cooking show host where she teaches cooking, chemistry and a subversive view of the role of women in the world. Some pretty awful things happen at the start of the book, but the fast pace of the writing, funny dialogue and well-rounded support cast, including sections told from the dog’s point of view, make this book a delight.

Behind the Scenes

The First Draft

For me, the hardest part of writing is staring at a blank page. I need to trick myself into writing the first draft. Some of my tricks include allowing the writing to be terrible (because I know I’ll be doing a ton of revision), setting a weekly word count goal and doing writing sprints. A writing spring is a short, timed writing session during which I try not to stop typing. Usually I set my timer for fifteen minutes. Before I start I think in general terms about the scene I’m about to write—the motivations of my characters and the major plot points—then I remove distractions, set the timer and go. Thanks to 9th grade typing camp (yep, really) I’m a very fast typer and can achieve 500 words in that time if I don’t stop to think. It doesn't feel like much but it adds up. I've written nine published books plus the five unpublished manuscripts still on my computer that way.

May Recommendations--World building, cute babies and a lifetime-long writing process

Adult Book Recommendation

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

This book has some of the same characters as Mandel's previous novel, The Glass Hotel, but isn’t quite a sequel. It can easily be read without having read the first book, but does contain some spoilers. Part of the genius of this book is the way it carefully doles out clues as to what’s going on, so I won’t say much about the plot. A young man wanders into a forest in 1912 and hears violin music and strange noises and discovers the world is not what he thought. The book is short and quick to read, with great world-building and compelling characters.

Children’s Book Recommendation

Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee

This has long been one of my favourite picture books. I received it as a gift when my first child was born, read it to both my kids dozens of times and now gift it to expectant friends. I love the message, the illustrations (which show a wide variety of family types and sizes) and the rhythm and rhyme. It is a pleasure to read aloud. The book was recently on a list of books deemed unsuitable for schools by a conservative group in Florida. Fortunately, the controversy has caused the book to skyrocket to the top of Amazon’s bestseller lists.
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Behind the Scenes

Students often ask me how long it takes me to write a book. That depends, of course. Do they mean how long does it take to write a draft? Somewhere between a few hours (Sounds of the Ferry) and a year (Count Me In). Or do they mean how long to get a book ready to send to a publisher? That could take a few months or nearly a decade (I still have some manuscripts languishing on my computer that aren’t yet publishable). What is more consistent is the publishing process. It usually takes 18-24 months from the point a book is accepted by a publisher to having a physical book in my hand. Most students stare at me in horror when they hear my answer. It can literally take as long as their lifetime to make a book!

April Recommendations - An ode to books, a trans cyber sleuth and the grind of revision

This week we had a surprise snowfall that returned us to full-on winter conditions. After spending half a day grumbling about the weather, I went out for a snowshoe with a friend. I didn’t expect to spend a day in early April breaking trail through 20cm of new snow, but once I embraced the conditions, it was a wonderful day.

The return to winter weather will help me with a new reading goal. I'm not bringing another book into the house until I've read the stack that has been building on my bedside table since pre-pandemic days. I've given myself permission to discard the books after 50 pages if they aren't grabbing me. I'll post an update next month.

Adult Book Recommendation

​Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

How could I not love a book dedicated to librarians and described by the author as a paean to books? Multiple characters in 15th century Constantinople, present-day Idaho and a future interstellar starship find hope and solace in a book. At 600 pages it is a weighty tome, but I was so invested in each of the characters, their struggles and their worlds that I ripped through it.

Children's Book Recommendation

​Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

Zenobia July is a trans girl starting at a new school in Maine. Previously homeschooled by her angry father in Arizona, she’s now living as a girl for the first time in her life. As she struggles with new friends, a new family and presenting herself in her new gender she gets embroiled in solving a cyber mystery involving hateful memes on the school website. This book is a sophisticated middle-grade read with a wonderful cast of larger-than-life characters which left me thinking long after I finished the last page.

Behind the Scenes

Revising

My first book, Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle?, took seven years and 17 drafts before it was accepted by a publisher, and then another three drafts with my editor at Orca Book Publishers. There was only one chapter from the first draft that made it into the final book and even that chapter was heavily edited. Thankfully, with 20 years of writing experience under my belt, I no longer need so many revisions before publication. However, I still revise at least three times before sending a book to a publisher and go through three rounds of revisions with my editor. There is nothing fast about the writing process. It’s a good thing revising is my favourite part of the process!

Thanks for reading!

Sara

March Recommendations

​Shepherd is a new platform for readers to find books. In their words, the site “is like wandering around your favorite bookstore but reimagined for the online world. We make book browsing fun and all the recommendations are made by authors, experts, and creators.” I have a list of five of the best books featuring neurodivergent characters posted on the site. You can see it here:

​https://shepherd.com/best-books/neurodivergent-characters​

Adult Book Recommendation

My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton and Cynthia Hand

A funny, irreverent take on the history of Lady Jane Grey, who ruled England for eight days after the death of Edward VI. I listened to this on audio and laughed out loud multiple times. Narrator Katherine Kellgren amplifies the sarcasm and hilarity of the story. This book has magical realism, social commentary, historical fiction and plain old fun.

Children's Book Recommendation

Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan

This 12-book fantasy adventure series is set in an alternate world similar to medieval England. Young Will is apprenticed to Halt, a grumpy Ranger. The Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom and Will begins his training in tracking, archery and surveillance. The plots of each book are fast-paced, full of tension and action-packed. There is also a lot of humour and banter between the characters. I’ve read the whole series twice and was sad to reach the end both times.

Behind the Scenes

Plotting vs. Pantsing

It is often said there are two kinds of writers--those who outline their stories before they write and those who write by the seat of their pants. I’ve tried both methods, but the more books I write, the more I like some kind of outline to keep me on track. I often free-write at the beginning of a project to get to know my characters, but once I have a vague idea of what the story is about I outline the major signposts of the story (what does the character want? what stands in his or her way? how will he/she solve the problem?). For a longer project I create a list of scenes or write a one-line description of each scene on a cue card. That way, when it comes time to do the actual writing I can look at my list, choose a scene, and dig right in.

February Recommendations

Adult Book Recommendation

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

This book is the second in the series and it was every bit as much fun as the first. Four offbeat septuagenarians who live at a retirement home in England are part of the “Thursday Murder Club”. This hilarious crew breaks all stereotypes, solving murders as the bodies pile up around them.

Children’s Book Recommendation

Tuesday by David Wiesner

Tuesday is over 20 years old—Wiesner won the Caldecott medal for it in 1991. I read it to my students every year and it never disappoints. In fact, the kids still point out details in the illustrations that I’ve never noticed. One Tuesday night, a group of otherwise ordinary frogs takes flight. Told almost entirely through the illustrations, the book has the feel of a movie and is full of laughs and opportunities for young children to read the pictures and infer the story.

Behind the Scenes

What’s Your Favourite Book That You’ve Written?

When I do an author visit, I’m consistently asked this question by students. And I always answer the same: that is like asking me which of my children is my favourite. I’ve given my heart and soul to every book I write. They all hold something special for me. Even though I can tell you things I’d like to make better about each book, I can’t choose one that’s my favourite!

January Recommendations

Upcoming Events

Booksweeps Giveaway: I’ve teamed up with 30+ fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of Middle Grade and YA books to two lucky winners. The Grand Prize winner gets a brand new Kindle Fire. You can win my novel, Count Me In, plus books from authors like Arthur Slade and Mahtab Narsimhan. The contest closes on January 12. Click here to enter: https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/january-2022/ya-middle-grade-fiction/​

​Adult Book Recommendation

Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

I have to admit, I’m recommending this book because I need to talk to someone about it. It wasn’t always a page-turner, but it made me think. I was invested in the characters and it left me with a lot of questions. Set in the near-ish future in England, the book is narrated by an Artificial Friend named Klara and follows her ‘life’ starting from the storefront window where she observes the world while waiting to be purchased. I won’t say more about it because what makes this book interesting are the clues that are meted out to allow the reader to piece together what’s going on in Klara’s world. If you read it, reach out, because I want to know your thoughts!

Children’s Book Recommendation

Rules by Cynthia Lord

This is an older book which I recently re-read and loved just as much the second time. 12-year-old Catherine’s feelings toward her younger, autistic brother are complicated. She’s at once fiercely protective of him and embarrassed by his behaviour. All she wants is a “normal” summer. When she becomes friends with a paraplegic boy she’s forced to think about what “normal” really means. This book is heartwarming and funny and full of commentary on what it means to interact with someone who is neurodivergent.

Behind the Scenes

When I asked my husband for ideas on what to write in this section, he suggested I describe my system for keeping track of ideas. I’m sure he imagined me outlining a shelf of carefully coded notebooks. Hahahahahaha! My reality is a mishmash of notebooks full of ideas, partly written stories (spread across several different books) all intermingled with to-do lists and notes I’ve taken during workshops and meetings. I’m usually a very organized person, but for some reason my organization does not reach the early stages of my writing. Late last year I bought myself a stack of inexpensive notebooks. My goal for this year is to use only one notebook per project and one project per notebook. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Professional Resource

BC author Lois Peterson has two great resources for writers on her website . The first is a list of 4 months of daily writing prompts with tips for how best to use them (my favourite--do a timed write). The second is a weekly Tip Sheet on promoting your Self-Published book.

December Recommendations

Adult Recommendations

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Andy Weir wrote The Martian, on which the hit movie starring Matt Damon was based. If you enjoyed the movie, give Project Hail Mary a try. High school science teacher Ryland Grace wakes from a coma to find himself alone on a space ship with no memory of what he’s doing there. As his memories return bit by bit, he realizes he is Earth’s last chance to save the planet from an apocalyptic event. Weir does a great job of explaining very complex physics and biology in an understandable way. Having Grace’s memories come back slowly add tension and interest for the reader. Grace gets help in his quest from a surprising character, and the humour and tenderness of their interactions was a highlight of the book for me.

Aftershock written, produced and starring Sarah Wayne Callies

This is a bonus recommendation. It’s not a book, but a narrative podcast. It is unlike any podcast I’ve listened to before—like a modern radio play with cinematic-level audio production. In this fast-paced thriller, a devastating earthquake hits L.A. and causes a new island to rise off the coast. In the aftermath, two strangers embark on a dangerous journey to the island together—but find they aren’t alone. The sound production was so immersive I felt like I was watching, not listening, and the plot twists had me on the edge of my seat right to the last minutes of the season.

Children's Book Recommendation

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

I’ve been a huge Gordon Korman fan since I read This Can’t Be Happening at MacDonald Hall (which he published in 8th grade) at age 13. Since then he’s written close to 100 books. The Unteachables features a group of misfit kids who’ve been given up on by their school and the teacher one year away from retirement who is assigned to teach them. To begin, his attitude is even worse than the kids. But as the year goes on, through chaos and destruction, both teacher and students find a place for connection and redemption.

Behind the Scenes

I’m often asked where my ideas come from. I draw on snippets I hear and gather from all over. In Duck Days, Lauren is working on “going with the flow”, square breathing and letting insults slide off her like water off a duck’s back. My son’s kindergarten teacher used the phrase “Go with the flow”, my friend’s daughter was taught square breathing as a way to control her anxiety and a friend told me she didn’t fit the norm in high school, but she wasn’t bullied because the insults didn’t bother her—they slid off her like water off a duck. Each of those thoughts percolated inside me for years until I put them together in Duck Days.

Professional Resource

The Whistler Writers Festival is offering an All-Access Holiday Pass to the 2021 Whistler Writers Festival video recordings of readings and workshops for the month of December and January. A donation of $30 gets you more than 30 hours of programming and funds will go towards supporting our 2022 Whistler Writers Festival and Authors in the Schools program.

​https://whistlerwritersfest.com/holiday/​

November Recommendations

Adult Book Recommendation

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

I’ve loved Kate Quinn’s books since I discovered The Alice Network several years ago. Her newest didn’t disappoint. I’m a sucker for anything about Bletchley Park, and enjoyed this view into the lives of the women who worked there, and the toll that signing the official secrets act took on them. It’s a hefty book, but I zipped through it.

Children’s Book Recommendation

Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

When the security cameras that cover Dominica’s school are hacked, embarrassing photos of her and other students are posted online. She and her friends start an art-based protest campaign against cameras in the classroom. I thought this story dealt well with the issues of privacy and cyber-bullying which are so relevant to teens today. The Banksy elements and fast-paced plot kept me engaged right to the end.

Behind the Scenes

What’s with all the dead and divorced parents in children’s books?

I still remember the trauma of watching the opening scene of Finding Nemo with my two-year-old. (Spoiler alert - Nemo’s mom is killed within minutes). Disney is probably the worst offender, but a surprising number of children in books and movies have parents who have died or are divorced.

There’s a reason for that.

In the real world, when our kids have big problems, we want them to come to us so we can help them. In the fictional world, our children need to solve the problems themselves. The kids are the main characters. They are the ones who have to struggle and grow. In order for that to happen, the author needs to get the adults out of the way. Sometimes that can happen by sending the child on a trip (like in my novel Count Me In), or by placing the kids in a location where they have the freedom to roam (like Hildalgo Island in my Jake Reynolds books), but an easy way to get the adults out of the way is to have them be completely out of the picture. If there is only one adult at home, it means fewer opportunities for the parent to step in and solve the problem.

​Professional Resource

SCBWI

https://www.scbwi.org/regional-virtual-events/

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has free FAQs on their website with information about publishing. The link above is to their calendar of virtual events held by their local chapters. Find affordable webinars about both the writing and publishing process.

Duck Days Has Been Nominated for an OLA Forest of Reading Award!

I’m honored and excited to announce that Duck Days has been nominated for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Express Award!

The Forest of Reading consists of ten programs distinguished by age group and reading level, each with ten nominated titles. Throughout the program year, the Forest of Reading provides quality online literacy and reading engagement resources that can be used in school and library programming or at home. In April, those who participate in the Forest have the opportunity to vote for their favourite books and select the award winners.