After making the Father’s Day rounds – cemetery to leave flowers for my Dad, out to the house to deliver my step-Dad’s gift (which ended up being left between the doors because he wasn’t home), my husband and I walked from our house to the supermarket at the far end of the high street. After getting home from the writing workshop last night and catching up on other things, I hadn’t taken any meat out of the freezer for supper, and if we wanted to eat tonight, we had to go to the store. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and almost brutally hot if you weren’t in the shade.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take the time to put a sensible pair of walking shoes on before we left. On our way back, when we got to our street, I slipped off my sandals and walked the rest of the way in my bare feet… except when I had to cross one street. The sun-kissed concrete sidewalk was hot enough on the bottoms of my wee tootsies.
Brian’s How to Write a Bestseller workshop was fantastic! Like all his workshops I’ve attended, it was intense but presented in such a way that I wasn’t overloaded with information. I learned lots of tricks and tidbits that I can’t wait to try in my own writing.
After the lunch break, Kelley Armstrong gave an interesting presentation from an author’s perspective and experiences. Again lots of good stuff, I can’t wait to try.
Here’s the scoop on the workshop I’m attending on Saturday in Mississauga. I’ve attended a number of Brian’s workshops in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed them and come home from them energized, inspired and ready to write.
With book editor Brian Henry & New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong
Saturday, June 18
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Chartwell Baptist Church
1880 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga (Map here.)
This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won’t just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you’ll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.
Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get published, including guest speaker Kelley Armstrong…
Expected Cover for Counterfeit Magic
Kelley Armstrong lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Time’s bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens.
Kelley’s principal publishers are Random House Canada, Bantam U.S., and Warner in Britain. To date, she’s published two dozen books, most recently Tales of the Otherworld (all proceeds for which go to Literacy Canada) and Waking the Witch. By June, she’ll have two more out: Counterfeit Magic and The Gathering.
Fee: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
For information about all of Brian Henry’s writing workshops and creative writing courses, see here.
I’ve added photos to my Seven Things: Work, Writing & Research post. I knew I had the older ones here at the house somewhere – it was just a matter of tracking them down. Well, this morning I succeeded and found some other, shall we say “blasts from the past”, some of which might find their way into posts here… or not.
This photo doesn’t really do it justice. The trees behind the neighbour’s house were blowing like crazy from all directions at almost the same time. The rain was coming down almost horizontally, the wind was so fierce.
I have a small roof over my front door – similar to those in the photo – and I was getting wet standing in my front hall, foyer, vestibule whatever you prefer to call it!
I shot this picture with my Blackberry and had it held tight against the screen so that the camera wouldn’t focus on the mesh. Not bad but…
Still pretty freaky sky. I was only home from work about ten minutes when it all started. It was really black north of the 401 and I watched the sky darken in my rear view mirror the closer I got to my wee house.
First it was the wind. Violent. Then the rains came. Then the thunder and lightning. Mostly just rumbling thunder but every now and then, to keep a body on their toes, there was a huge boomer!
Storms don’t bother me. I’ve sat outside and watched many a good thunderstorm over the years. And after the power goes out, what else is there to do? That isn’t to say that an unexpected loud clap of thunder doesn’t make me jump – it does. But unlike some people who have a real phobia when it comes to storms, I’m not that phased by them. Luckily, our lights only flickered a couple of times and the worst was over in time for us to cook supper on the BBQ and better yet, it didn’t interrupt my viewing of Coronation St.
june 8 2011 storm video I shot a video using my Blackberry from out on the covered portion of our deck overlooking the back yard. Because our yard slopes downhill away from the house, the effect of the storm wasn’t nearly as dramatic. The biggest event that happened was my disused, rusted out metal clothesline pole came down. I was hoping that when I was shooting the video I would have captured some good lightning flashes or loud thunder claps but alas, I wasn’t so lucky. However, I did manage to capture some emergency vehicle sirens… in addition to the water pouring out the end of my gutter.
Again tonight there’s a chance of another thunderstorm. Call me weird, but I can’t wait.
Off with my husband for a night out to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The wedding photo above was on the front of the invitations I made for our 25th anniversary that we celebrated in Scotland where we renewed our vows in the church at Quarriers Village (the orphanage where my father was raised).
I posted on Facebook earlier in the week that I had three buds on my purple-flowered rhododendron. Mid week, after all the heat, humidity and no rain, they were looking extremely droopy. However, I’m happy to report that they are doing marvellously now.
One of the fully opened blossomsCatching the sun's reflection
Now my plant might not be as large as the ones in Quarriers Village but at the rate it’s growing every year, it won’t be long before it’s a big as a tree.
It’s still a bit too early to tell but I think my muse (aka George) has come home. I was working on a short story last night and I felt like I was being watched. The hubby was the only other person in the house at the time and he was working on genealogy on the other computer. The dog was asleep on his bed. Well, I’m assuming the dog was sleeping because he was doing a fine job of snoring. Besides, the feeling I had was more like someone was peering over my shoulder more or less reading what I was writing.
I firmly believe my house is haunted. It’s well over one hundred years old so surely at least one person died there. I’ve had a few encounters in the middle of the night with apparitions, spirits if you will – and not the kind that come in a bottle – those kind are a totally different story.
So, back to the feeling of someone peering over my left shoulder. Where I felt it from, the only thing behind me there is my laser printer and a case of paper. So I think it was George just checking to make sure I was actually writing something and not just goofing off.
I have forewarned my hubby that if he hears me talking to myself and the name George is mentioned, it’s only me arguing with my muse and he’s not to worry unless we get extremely loud and start throwing things! I doubt it will come to that but you never know.
My Scottish roots and writing by Melanie Robertson-King
