Mid TD Book Tour Update

The Lakewood Lakers!

I am having the time of my life. No exaggeration. I've now been to five schools and delivered six presentations. I've shared Spy-Like Writing Skills and How to Grow a Story from a Seed of an Idea to a Published Book. I've answered hundreds of questions (only a slight exaggeration) from students in Kindergarten to Eighth Grade!

Holy Cross Students and Me!

I can't imagine how this tour could get any better, but today I visit two branches of the Burlington Library and will help a group of young writers prepare for a writing contest. After that I get to join a group of Brownies and Boy Scouts for an Author and Pizza night! (I hope they have pepperoni!)

Preparing for this trip, I felt waves of excitement intermingled with anxiety that would often make me think, "What have I got myself into?" 

Mid-tour my anxiety is low, my excitement is off the charts and I keep thinking, "How lucky am I to have got into this program?" 

Spy-Like Writing Skills at St. Theresa's School

Filled with gratitude and humbled by the response I've received from the students and staff at every school I've visited in Southern Ontario, I continue across the province, feeling blessed and so proud to be Canadian.

New Pal, Principal Van Laecke at Lakewood!

Thank you, TD Bank for supporting this program, Canadian authors, Canadian literature and Canadian children. Thank you to the Canadian Children's Book Centre, for selecting me to take part. Thank you to my mentor, actor, 1st Vice Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada, Award-Winning Author and friend, Anita Daher. Without you, I would not be sitting in the Holiday Inn in Burlington, surround by my books, preparing to finish my first book tour.

More New Pals!

So excited to begin with the grade 3/4's
at Sacred Heart that I forgot to take pics.
So, here are the scraps of paper
I autographed and the school!

Never Give up, General Byng Barons!

Ready to go!

Prepping for a school visit is no small feat. I like to customize my presentations as much as possible and if time allows, I include a student activity. I often head to the public library to check out books to share with the kids. I am willing to do anything and everything to support and foster a love of reading, writing and following creative passions--heck any passions! 

One of the messages that runs through every one of my presentations is perseverance. Keep working to improve. Don't give up when times get tough. YOU CAN DO IT!

A Family of Spies thank-you for the students.

Today's visit to General Byng School, nestled in the "planet streets" in Fort Garry was no different.

This time I brought in books from Dr. Seuss, Judy Blume, J.K. Rowling and Kate DiCamillo.

Today's lesson from these well-known authors: rejection is hard, but it doesn't have to define you nor does it have to defeat you. 

Dr. Seuss was rejected twenty-seven times before he had And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street published. He went on to write a further sixty books.

Judy Blume had two solid years of rejection, then Blubber, Frecklejuice, Are you There God, It's Me Margaret enriched our lives. J.K. Rowling had  twelve rejections and now the Harry Potter Series is one of the highest selling book series in history and the movies are the TOP selling series.

But all awards for perseverance go to Kate DiCamillo. Rejected a whopping 473 times, yet she persisted. Now her books are classics. Because of Winn Dixie. The Tale of Despereaux. Flora and Ulysses. Thank goodness she didn't give up.

Sharing Spaghetti

I shared my own experiences of rejections, rewrites and edits, followed by tales of triumph and success. The students listened intently, asked so many thoughtful and intelligent questions that they left me wanting to return another day!

My most favourite question was one I often hear from the younger grades and when it gets asked, I know the students feel comfortable with me. I know it means I've done my job. It never fails to make me smile.

"How old are you?"

I smiled. "49."

According to the students and the gasps that filled the library, I am ancient. Beyond ancient.
I am as old as their parents.

****And a huge thank you to teacher-librarian, Mrs. Scibak for inviting me to the school. It was the highlight of my week****
Go, Barons!

I love Primrose!

I Love to Read (and write) - General Byng School!

A little something for the classrooms.

How to Become a Writer
(In 12 to 14 easy steps...)

I am supremely excited to be presenting to two groups of students at General Byng School here in Winnipeg.

Every year, I visit loads of schools and enjoy meeting students and teachers in each and every classroom, but tomorrow I am at my youngest daughter's school. She will act as my "Ambassador" and ferry me through the school.

She is handling it all very well. 

She has yet to die from extreme parent embarrassment and as long as we don't bump into any of her friends, she will survive the day. 

Forever Julia wins McNally Robinson Book Awards for Young People (older categor)

In fact the road was a lot like this,
minus the mountains & the arid landscape.
Otherwise identical, but metaphorical.

It's been a long and winding road, back to this blog!

Apparently moving to another county across an ocean is sort of a big deal. Sometimes it even interrupts your life, even if you are not an organized type A personality. It seems a transatlantic relocation will put a bit of a kink in your everyday goings on.

Go figure.

Sunrise over our Pier in Ponemah.
(The Drew snapped this photo!)

Now we are back to the cottage in Ponemah, Manitoba for the summer, where I get to complete my middle grade novel; Ford and Ellie: Family of Spies along the shores of Lake Winnipeg.

While in England I had the extreme honour of receiving two nominations for Manitoba Book Awards; The John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer and the McNally Robinson Book Awards for Young People (older category). The first award went to the talented Chantal Fiola, but I won a Manitoba Book Award for Forever Julia! 

                              Crazy, right? 

Super bad image, but that signature doesn't lie!
Much Happy Dancing was done.

Come August 30th we head back to our final year in England with full and heavy hearts. Our Winnipeg and lake-time fun with our friends and family will fuel us for further adventures in Europe and carry us back to our new friends and dear family in England.

How can it be, that in 12 short months we now find ourselves stretched between two countries, thousands of miles apart? If only the Concord would come out of retirement and fly to Winnipeg every four months, life would be sublime.

Hmmm. There may be a story in there...

Canada's Bullying Awareness Week

Why not pick up a copy?

I am very proud and extremely honoured that Forever Julia has been included in the 49th Shelf's list of Young Adult titles that deal with bullying. 

If you haven't read many Canadian authors, this is a great place to start. You may be surprised by the breadth and depth of talent found north of the 49th parallel.

And a sincere thank you to Colleen Nelson who compiled this list. Colleen is an award winning author of Young Adult fiction who is getting our teens reading and talking about tough issues.

"Canada's Bullying Awareness Week runs November 15-21, this year with the theme, "Stand Up to Bullying." The focus of Bullying Awareness Week is not about influencing the actions of others, but rather about understanding what we as individuals and community members can do to address the problem of bullying. And one thing that parents, teachers and librarians can do is make the following books, selected by award-winning YA author Colleen Nelson, available to the young people in their lives.

These are stories that can empower readers to "stand up to bullying" once and for all. "

Read the entire article and find links to all the suggested book here!

*Colleen Nelson is an award-winning writer and teacher in Winnipeg. Although she was lured by the bright lights of Japan and New York City, she returned to the Prairies where she and her husband are raising their two sons. Finding Hope is her fourth YA book.

Colleen Nelson's Latest YA

Forever Julia Wins Bronze Moonbeam Award!

Happy Dancing in my English Garden!

Thrilled to learn that Forever Julia won a Bronze Moonbeam Award in the category of Young Adult Fiction - Mature Issues 2015.

And by lucky coincidence The Drew has the day off, so we will wander into town for a latte and sticky bun to celebrate.

Thanks again to Great Plains Teen Fiction for seeing the importance of Julia's story, providing outstanding editorial suggestions, and designing a book cover that still takes my breath away.

Look what arrived today!

Book Signing at McNally's May 23rd!

Quite excited to return to McNally Robinson Booksellers this Saturday from 2-4pm for a book signing. If you missed my launch, this is a perfect time to come and get a book signed. 

I will be sitting to the left of the cash desk, with a bunch of balloons, a pile of books, and possibly in need of coffee and a hug. 

Leaving Winnipeg and the most amazing bookstore a writer could want for a two year European Adventure is bittersweet, peeps.

Hope to see you on Saturday.

xo

I do believe this is a good likeness of me at
our first football game.
Yes, I will be THAT fan.

The FAQ's on a Blog Book Tour!

We are just one stop into the Forever Julia Blog Book Tour and it has come to my attention that some folks have never heard of a blog tour.

Naturally I decided to plagiarise myself and steal from one of my old blog posts from my Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food Blog Tour.


I believe I am safe, as I promised not to sue myself.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions, which should provide a good review of how a BBT works.

Q. What exactly is a blog book tour?

A. It's an online book tour that stops at various blog sites, where the book in question is discussed. In this case, Forever Julia.

This can be done, by posting a book review or by conducting an interview with the writer - aka Yours Truly. Once the host blogger posts their review or Q & A, a lively discussion follows.

Q. Who can post comments or ask questions?

A. Well, anyone - which includes you! Maybe you are wondering how writers come up with ideas. Perhaps you relate to one of the characters and you want to share your experiences with others. Or you may possibly want to know what Julia's favourite colour is - who knows? But if you ask it, I'll try to answer it.

Q. Am I obligated to buy the book if I follow the blog tour?

A. Absolutely not! But, of course we hope you fall in love with Julia and want to read Forever Julia from cover to cover. Or give it as a gift. Or share it with your students. Really the possibilities are nearly endless!

Q. Why isn't there a "traditional" book tour?

A. Although jetting from city to city is a writer's dream, the world of publishing has changed immensely over the past 5 to 10 years. Extravagant book launch tours are a thing of the past and are now reserved for the biggest names in literature.

Q. Who hosts the blog stops?

A. Extremely awesome bloggers, with large followings have graciously agreed to host our tour.

Q. Are there any other benefits to taking a virtual tour?

A. Most definitely. Blog tours create permanent posts discussing Forever Julia. They'll be there...FOREVER. If you're 21 and posted pictures of your Spring Break trip to Daytona Beach, this may be a problem, but for authors this is MARVELLOUS! When readers are searching for information about a book, author, or topic, up will pop these blog posts.

Q. How do I know where the Forever Julia Tour will be stopping?

A. Here are the dates and blogs that I'll be visiting. (Click on the Blog Sites and you will be magically taken to their outstanding blogs.)

Click Here for the
Blog Book Tour Schedule

Order at your local bookseller or

through Amazon!

Forever Julia Blog Book Tour Begins...

Climb aboard the Blog Book Tour for 

Forever Julia!

Hope to hear from you along the way. 

Feel free to comment, share, and tweet with us as we travel the internet, meeting new readers.

Click Here Blog Book Tour Schedule

Order at your local bookseller or
through Amazon!

Forever Julia Launched!

Forever Julia Launched! 

What an event and what a night.

All those happy, smiling faces of family and friends staring back at me!

You have my thanks. 

Forever. 

Jodi

Mom decorated our Prairie Ink table in colours to
 match the book cover.
Of course.

Chef Geoff and I, giddy as fools.

This is truly Cake Art.

The night started with dinner in Prairie Ink restaurant where I was surprised by this book cake. All due to my mom and Pastry Chef Geoff.

It looked too good to eat, but we still found a way to gobble it up!

Suzanne and Mel; two of The Anitas.

My dear work peeps. xo

This was my smile for 3 days prior and 3 days following
the launch. (My face still hurts.)

The original "Anita", mentor and friend.

Karen McKim of Macdonald Youth Services

Lady Gray. I adore you.
My Forever Julia Dramatuge.

Cross eyed excitement.

"I want this moment to last...forever!"

Standing room only!

Week two, going strong;
thanks to the support of Winnipeg Readers!

Forever Julia at #1 out of the gate!

Again, my thanks for your continued support. 

See you again for the launch of...

Ford and Ellie: Family of Spies

(I just have to finish writing it!)

Organization vs Chaos: Creative Minds Unite

It is good to be different. It makes us each unique and stand out from the crowd.

I knew that my brain was like a swirling mass of thoughts, ideas, and never complete to-do lists, but never have I had the chance to "see" how my brains sorts and categorizes things so visually.

Until yesterday.

For 4 solid hours my dear pal and incredibly talented children's book writer and artisan, Christina Janz and I crafted buttons onto my soon to be stale-dated book marks for my book launch this Thursday.

(Yes. I am Scottish to the core and the thought of wasting those book marks was driving me squirrely.)

What a genius idea!

And like all my great ideas, it came to me at 2 a.m. a few weeks ago.

Button those suckers up, just like the book cover, I thought. 

Genius! Unique! One of a kind! 

Then my old pallie Monsieur Procrastination moved into our spare bedroom and stayed until mid day Sunday, when I packed his briefcase and released him into the Park out front.

This is when the reality of my sewing ability came crashing head on into my grandiose Buttoned Book Mark plan. 

9 down, only 91 to go. Captain, we have a problem...

One hour in, and 9 book marks later, I knew I had a problem, so I did what all self respecting authors do, I posted my troubles on Facebook, looking for a laugh and hoping for insights on how to increase my production time. 

What I didn't expect was an offer of help!

Best Invention Ever.

And thank goodness for Christina and her natural artistic talent and her deft use of a needle! And to boot, she introduced me to this fantastic little gizmo that threads your needle for you! What a gift for a 45 year old who is one prescription away from purchasing progressive glasses!

Once we had completed our sweat shop fun crafting morning, I noticed something peculiar as I began counting bookmarks. I started with Christina's pile, and blazed through her beautifully fanned out collection. Then I looked at my share. It was a tad bit more difficult to count as it appeared my side of the table been hit by a wind storm. Needles, button bags, and bent paper clips littered my chaotic pile.

"Look!" I said. "This is the perfect visual of our minds. Your bookmarks are a picture of organization, mine are a frenetic chaotic minefield!" 

Or something to that effect.

Yet, both of us are creative souls with imaginations we feed with writing, reading, and long hours spent day-dreaming up new worlds filled with "what-if" scenarios.

Three cheers for differences! 

And organization! 

And of course to chaos, who runs my creative mind!