Diane Bator on Virtual Tour!

I will be part of Patricia Gligor's "Getting to know you" post that goes live Sunday morning Oct 13 and will run through the following Saturday. Here's the link:  http://pat-writersforum.blogspot.com/
Come by and say hello!

HWG Meeting Notes October 6, 2013

S.J. Faerlind announced that the third book in her Liriea's Children series is now available on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com in both e-book and print editions. The book is called "Destiny" with the first two books called "Prophecy" and "Affirmation".

Jayne, as leader this week, asked us to write down an answer to the following questions:

Name one for each of the following:

A season
A time of day
A colour
Weather
A body part
Mood
Fruit
Favourite place
Scent
Texture
Least Favourite Place
Flavour
Emotion
Sound

We were then asked to write a poem keeping the Thanksgiving theme in mind.

I, Patricia, chose the following words:

winter, dinner time, green, snow, back, miserable, apple, Hawaii, pine, smooth, caves, chocolate, anger, pitter-patter.

And below is my poem. Keep in mind that this was written in 15 minutes with no time to edit. I have not edited here... well, maybe a little. I did not count out syllables. It's not perfect but it meets the challenge:

My family together at dinner time
causes me to break into rhyme.
Their laughter and jokes behind my back,
and the ones we shared; we never lack.

For being miserable is hard to do
even throughout the winter blues.
The fun we have as a family
brings back memories of Hawaii.

Away from the snow and cold weather,
on the smooth sandy beaches together.
No place or cause for anger there.
Chocolate and green apples the midday fare.

At night the pitter-patter of tropical rain
brings memories of Canada to mind again.
Where pine trees grow and caves are dark
Where children play games in neighbourhood parks.

I'm grateful for a country of peace
from the west coast and shores on east.
A land where I was born and raised
and will live until my dying days.

And although I long for Hawaii
With my family is where I want to be.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The next meeting is Sunday, October 20th. Nancy will be leading.

Authors & Armchairs 2013

Every year for the past nine years as part of the Headwaters Arts Festival there is an author night. Four Canadian authors are invited to read from their latest publications and converse with each other about their writing. Then audience members are invited to ask questions. This year's authors were Don Gillmor, whose latest release is the novel Mount Pleasant; Maureen Jennings author of the Murdoch Mysteries series and Bomb Girls. Her latest release is Beware This Boy. Also present was Wayne Johnston, author of Son of a Certain Woman (recently long-listed for the Giller Award); and Oakland Ross, author of Empire Yearning.

The sub-theme for the evening was writing fiction vs. non-fiction as all authors have written both. Maureen Jennings said she loves researching real facts. It's one of the best parts of writing for her. Oakland mentioned taking history and injecting fiction. It wasn't until I read over my notes that I realized what they were referring to when they said fictionalizing history is becoming a growing trend. I am currently reading a book called In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl which speaks of WWI and a real place called Royaumont. It wasn't until I googled it that I found it was a real place. Oakland's story takes place in Mexico where he went to research and use old buildings in his story. Don Gillmor uses Toronto as the setting for his story but avoided being too specific about places. Wayne Johnston wondered allowed whether the address he used in his book, 44 Bonaventure, is a real place and whether some psycho from that address would come after him.

When it comes to locations like London and Mexico, Maureen said she can hardly wait to get writing when she is there while Oakland said he preferred to be "away from the place" before he started writing about it. Maureen Jennings also shared photos she found in antique stores, photos of people who she brought to life as characters in her novels.

The Son of a Certain Woman is Wayne Johnston's tenth novel. It is an engaging, humorous yet naughty novel. Sex, homosexuality, religion, and incest are topics that could offend some people. When asked if, while writing the book, he feared any backlash he said it was not a book he would have written as his first novel especially since 20 years ago it would have created more of an uproar. But while writing the story he felt if he toned it down then why write it at all.

The story takes place in St. John's, Newfoundland, a strong Catholic community. He said he has heard nothing from the people there and as he was heading there the following week he jokingly asked people to pray for him.

An audience member asked about e-books. We were informed that e-books are not as big in Canada as they are in the U.S. Publishers believe it will not get as big. The purchases of e-books vs. hard copy books is 50% in the U.S. and 25% in Canada. Royalties to authors is about the same, however authors like to be in the subway, coffee shop, airplane, or anywhere else, and see someone reading their book.

I had the opportunity to chat with Don Gillmor afterwards about my work-in-progress. I admitted that I was stalled for several reasons - one being some sexually graphic scenes I wrote which have since frightened me off. Mr. Gillmor, after hearing a brief outline of the story, insisted they are pertinent to the story and I must carry on. "Go way out there," he said. "Even with my first novel?" I joked. Another issue I had was that the novel, I was told by an agent, is too short at 55,000 words. He pointed out that another successful author wrote a novel that was only 52,000 words. He encouraged me to carry on.

I have been attending this event for the last 5 or 6 years. I will never miss one. This is the most enjoyable author evening. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I am always astounded as to how funny all these authors are. I said to one of my writing colleagues, "Are all authors this funny? They always seem to be so funny." She has attended several of these events as well and agreed with me. We always laugh our way through the evening. Getting to meet the authors one-on-one afterwards is a bonus.

 Nancy and author Maureen Jennings

Nancy, Judy and Sonja

A Few Lines from The Bookstore Lady

Looking for a fun read? Check out A Few Lines from The Bookstore Lady...

 

 

When the hunched over, balding pharmacist next door called out, “Good morning, Katie,” her hand flinched and her heart raced. It took her nearly a full minute to remember she’d been Katie Mullins for two months and she’d better answer before he got offended.

“Hi.” She nodded.

The drugstore opened at eight every morning and it was now quarter to ten. Must have been a slow morning if he had time to stand in the doorway with a large cup of coffee rather than hanging out behind the back counter. “You’d best convince Ray to get some air-conditioning for that store before your new books curl up and warp. It’s beyond me how he’s never lost half his books every summer.”

“Dust absorbs the humidity.” She smiled wryly. “I don’t think we can afford air-conditioning this year.”

“I know a guy who’ll give you a quote. He’s not bad looking once you get past the bug eyes and scars. I can call him, if you’d like.”

“Maybe some other time.” Like when hell froze over.

He waved and went back into the drugstore.

Katie drew in a deep breath. The air was fresh from last night’s rain and the hint of a breeze mussed her hair. In two months, the only thing to find her was the sunshine and a case of withdrawals that made renovations hell. Nate, bless his heart, had had more compassion while she fought “the flu” than any man she’d ever met.

She blew a strand of stray copper hair out of her mouth and jiggled the door lock. Another thing that needed to be fixed before winter. She should have done it during renovations, but it hadn’t seemed as important as books and workmen. Luckily, Nate worked cheap and she hadn’t had to dig into the money from Dunnsforth. The money was tucked up in a box in the backroom, fastened with half a roll of duct tape. She’d ask him to fix the lock when he delivered her order later.

The door opened with a groan. “It’s about time.”

Want to read more? Order The Bookstore Lady (published by Books We Love) available at:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bookstore-Lady-ebook/dp/B00DWKNGPQ/

 

Richard Scarsbrook Double Book Launch

 The Orangeville Public Library invites you to celebrate the launch of Richard Scarsbrook’s two new books. 

Author Richard Scarsbrook Double Book Launch

Come and celebrate with award-winning Canadian author Richard Scarsbrook as he launches Nothing Man and the Purple Zero,his funny and thought-provoking new novel, and Six Weeks, his first book of prize winning poetry.

Richard Scarsbrook has won numerous awards for his stories and poetry, including the Ontario Library Association's 2011 White Pine Award for his novel, The Monkeyface Chronicles.

Scarsbrook makes his home in Toronto, Ontario, where he teaches creative writing courses at Humber College and George Brown College. He also plays and sings with various rock bands, and has performed at The Rivoli, The Guverment, Healey's Roadhouse, The Opera House, The Tattoo Rock Parlour, The Royal York Hotel, The Hard Rock Cafe and The Black Swan (all in Toronto), The Hard Rock Cafe and The Liquor Store Bar in Ottawa, and The Just For Laughs Studio in Montreal.

No registration is required. Everyone is welcome. Light refreshments will be provided.

• Date: Monday, September 23, 2013
• Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
• Location: Mill Street Branch

September 8, 2013 Meeting

The following announcements were made:

June's two books Kindred and Death Spiral are currently available in e-book on Amazon. Unfortunately I was unable to find Death Spiral at this time.

http://astore.amazon.ca/headwritguil-20?node=16&page=3

Diane announced that her latest novel The Bookstore Lady will be available for free on Kindle from September 12th-14th. This can be purchased through our Amazon.ca bookstore here: http://astore.amazon.ca/headwritguil-20?node=16&page=2. I am not sure whether you can get the freebie during the 12th-14th through our Amazon store or whether you have to go directly to Amazon.

Marilyn announced that a short story she wrote has been short listed to the final five in the Alice Munro Short Story Contest, adult division.

Sonja advised that the Orangeville Public Library has some of our writers' books on their shelves:  Death of a Highland Heavyweight by Jayne Self, Short Tales from a Tall Person by Marilyn Kleiber, and A Softness in the Eyes by Harry Posner.

Please support our writers by posting reviews on Amazon and any other websites where you may post book reviews.

A reminder that Richard Scarsbrook returns to the Orangeville Public Library September 9th, October 7th and November 4th for a Creative Writing Roundtable Series from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

Due to a field trip to Theatre Orangeville for a table reading of "Near Mrs." on Sunday, September 22nd at 3:00pm, there will be no meeting on September 22nd. If you plan to attend the event you must arrive well early in order to get a seat.

Writing Prompts provided by Diane (via Writer's Digest)

1. She looked out the window only to see a face staring right back at her...

2. A fortune teller at the local county fair tells you two things: something good that will happen and something awful that will happen.

3. "Every day of the week I ______________, but Sundays are different. On Sundays ____________"

4. Your kids love watching CSI, so you buy them a forsenic starter's kit for Christmas. They begin running simple, fake experiments, collecting DNA, and dusting for fingerprints around the house. When you look at all of the powder and prints they pull, you find there are more fingerprints there than just you and your family's.

5. On your way into work, you look at the car on the left. Inside are two men dressed in dark suits, wearing sunglasses. They simultaneously look at you and meet your gaze. The one in the passenger seat rolls down his window and says something. Write what he says, and what happens next.

"I write because I'm afraid to say some things out loud." - Gordon Atkinson, reallivepreacher.com

Our next meeting will be on Sunday, October 6th, at 1:30pm. Jayne is scheduled to lead.

The Rubber Brothers in Guelph

Hi all.  Jeremy Grant and I (The Rubber Brothers) will be performing our percussion/poetry schtuff tomorrow night in Guelph at 515 Woolwich Ave. (it's a residence), 7-11 pm. $10 by donation.  Hope to see y'all there.  Cheers.