Work In Progress

Wearing Another Hat

2010-10-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

My primary profession might be 'author,' but it turns out I wind up doing various other things as well. Some of my other jobs, like making video trailers for other writers' books, are really cool/fun/challenging and creative in their own right. Earlier this fall I travelled to the Slocan Valley in the Kootenays to shoot footage to be used to promote Margo Talbot's soon-to-be-released memoir, All That Glitters. Margo was a great sport, putting on her climbing equipment, perching on boulders, and repeating her 'elevator speech' about a gazillion times. The footage (and additional audio) we collected over three days will eventually become a series of video interviews and podcasts. Here's the first one, a video trailer for All That Glitters.

Curious about the Slocan Valley? Check out this book by BC author, Katherine Gordon.

Venom Nominated for a Chocolate Lily Award!

2010-06-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well this is quite exciting news! Venom has been nominated for a Chocolate Lily award! This blurb is from the website:

The Chocolate Lily Awards began with a desire to encourage B.C. grade school children to read books by authors and illustrators living in British Columbia. After seven years, Chocolate Lily has grown into a nationally recognized book awards program.

By exposing children to the best of B.C. fiction and introducing them to the creators of these quality books, we hope to ignite a passion for reading that will last a lifetime.

The Chocolate Lily is a real indigenous flower that grows in woodland areas along the west coast of B.C. but no where else in Canada.

***

Karen Ehrenholz

Teacher, Founder of Chocolate Lily

Best of luck to all the nominees and happy reading to all the participants!

Orca Book Launch

2010-05-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

Come One, Come All to Tall Tales Books

On Saturday, May 15, Orca will launch three of its spring 2010 titles at Tall Tales Books, a wonderful children’s bookstore in Victoria, BC. Robin Stevenson, Sylvia Olsen and Mike Deas will be on hand to sign copies of their latest books for readers ages 7–12.
In Ben’s Robot by Robin Stevenson, Ben discovers that having a bossy friend isn’t that much fun, even if it is a real walking, talking robot.
Sylvia Olsen’s A Different Game, is the sequel to Murphy and Mousetrap. Murphy and his three friends are nervous about trying out for the soccer team at their new school, but a diagnosis of leukemia proves more challenging than anything they encounter on the field.
Food Fight is the fifth installment in the popular Graphic Guide Adventures series, all written by Liam O’Donnell and illustrated by Mike Deas. In this exciting story, Devin and Nadia stumble upon a conspiracy involving genetically modified food and unscrupulous scientists. (Visit the Food Fight website for resources, games and other fun, free stuff.)
Come meet the authors, get your books signed and watch a drawing demo from artist Mike Deas. Or, just drop by for a snack!
Event details:
Venue: Tall Tales Books, 795 Fort Street, Victoria, BC
Date and time: Saturday, May 15, 3:00PM
Exciting folks you’ll get to meet: Robin Stevenson, Sylvia Olsen, Mike Deas

Paralympic Torch Hand-off

2010-03-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

How cool is this? Sascha (my youngest brother) handed off the Paralympic flame to Dani (my daughter) on top of Whistler Mountain on the weekend during the torch relay. The day was glorious - brilliant blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and a fresh sprinkling of powdery snow...

Very cool! We're heading over to Vancouver for the Opening Ceremonies tonight and then back to Whistler on the weekend to cheer on our para athletes in some sure-to-be-thrilling downhill events.

Work on the Go

2010-02-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Work on the go – again. Well, you can take the writer out of her office, but you can’t take the office away from the writer. Thank goodness Dani also lives in a world ruled by deadlines. Here we are enjoying some of Seattle’s great coffee opportunities while diligently working on our latest projects.

Dani is busy putting together the new issue of BAB [link] and I’m hard at work on the latest rewrite of Fallout. When I get tired of that, I switch to another nifty project – working with Diane at Sono Nis Press to update the Sono Nis website.

Ferry terminal, waiting for our ride to Bainbridge Island: \

(snacking on amazing leftovers from our dinner last night at Wild Ginger - FABULOUS restaurant in Seattle...)

We’ve been having a great time in Seattle – more on our destinations in another post – and now find ourselves aboard a ferry bound for Bainbridge Island. Great, roomy tables, perfect for – working!

Upon arriving...

...we sought out a great local coffee shop

so we could... yes... do a bit more work...

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

2010-02-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

I’ve never made a pilgrimage to a place mentioned in a novel – at least, not before our trip to Seattle. Having recently read Jamie Ford's Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet I was curious to visit the area now known as Chinatown/International District. One of the locations featured prominently in the book is the Panama Hotel – in particular, the tea room and the basement where Japanese families about to be shipped off to internment camps stored their personal belongings.

Just like in the book, these possessions were discovered after the old hotel was purchased. The current owner installed a see-through panel in the floor of the tearoom. It’s haunting to look down into the basement to see the stacks of stuff left behind.

Leaving Dani to do a bit of homework in the tea room, I headed off to the Wing Luke Asian Museum. I was particularly interested in seeing a display mentioned in my guidebook – a recreation of one of the horse stalls at the Puyallup Fairgrounds that was converted to living quarters for a displaced Japanese family (again, important in the book). Alas, “Camp Harmony D-4-44” was not rebuilt when the museum moved into new digs in 2008.

The current display case and video of stories told by Japanese Americans who had to endure this dark chapter in US history is moving, but I don’t think it has quite the same impact as seeing the teeny quarters assigned to the families while they waited for the construction of internment camps father inland.

That said, the Wing Luke Asian Museum is excellent and I’m glad I checked it out.

Another pilgrimage I’m glad we made was to the Elliott Bay Bookstore. We were lucky enough to visit this fabulous, meandering, wood-floored, homey and packed-to-the-rafters-with-great-books shop while it was still in its old location. According to the website, this Seattle landmark has to move in order to survive. We could easily have spent the whole day lost in the stacks, but forced ourselves to move on after a respectable amount of time.

Seattle’s love affair with books couldn’t be better highlighted than in the amazing public library.

Rem Koolhaas, the Dutch architect, did a remarkable job on this oh-so-very-cool structure. We had a good wander around inside, checking out things like the in-floor way-finding system (the Dewey Decimal numbers are huge and easy to see), the way the main collection spirals up the core of the building, the incredible kids’ section – the awesome auditorium area. No matter which direction one points a camera, there’s some interesting visual combination of light, sky, angles, and Seattle buildings. Definitely worth a visit!

Rent-a-Pet

2010-02-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

Awwww... look who was in our hotel room when we arrived!

Meet Lucia!

The hotel room at the Monaco in Seattle comes complete with a pet! How very cool is that? Provision of a goldfish is part of the hotel's Guppy Love program and is intended to provide guests with "the perfect kind of companionship, relaxed and quiet." True enough - so far Lucia hasn't made a sound.

At Sea - Somewhere Between Here and There

2010-02-04T23:17:00.000-08:00

I’m writing this somewhere in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Vancouver Island and Seattle.

It’s pitch dark outside and every now and then the captain of the Clipper swerves, tipping me sideways before we straighten out again. When we were puttering out of the Victoria's Inner Harbour, the captain announced that when we were moving around the cabin (the Clipper is a large, fast catamaran-style passenger ferry) we were to keep one hand for ourselves, and one for the ship. As in, hang on! He explained that the waters around here are full of debris – logs, mostly – and that they do their best to dodge around such obstacles.

We’re moving pretty fast – the trip from Victoria to Seattle takes less than three hours – so my question is, how the heck do they see logs in the pitch dark? Or whales? Or small boats? Or people who may have fallen overboard? Not that over-boarders would last long enough in these chilly waters to be considered obstacles, but still.

Why, you may ask, am I on the Clipper heading for Seattle? A weekend in Seattle with Dani was her Christmas present for me! Such a lovely child, hey? The fact I’m heading off to meet her to have a few days of fun in a cool city (at least, this is what I am told – I can’t quite believe it, but I’ve never actually been to Seattle - driven through many, many times, but have never stopped there before…) is appeasing me slightly. Dani will be meeting me there after having spent the last ten days or so in California. Highlight of her trip? Attending the Grammy Awards!!!!!!! I am, obviously, quite a bit older than she is and yet – I have not been to anything even remotely so glitzy and cool as the Grammys. Grammies. Whatever. If I had been, I would know how to spell it.

Working in Paradise

2009-12-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

One of the (many) great things about my line of work is that I'm completely portable. Here in Hawaii (where various family members have gathered for Christmas), Dani and I have been finding pleasant shady spots where we set up our virtual offices. When we need a break, the pool is just a few feet away...

Life doesn't get much better...

Lovely Review from the Globe and Mail!

2009-12-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

Wow... this was a very nice way to start the day!

Laura Robinson

Published on Monday, Dec. 07, 2009 10:28AM EST Last updated on Monday, Dec. 07, 2009 10:35AM EST

Reviewed here: Razor's Edge, by Nikki Tate
Razor's Edge is fun to read because the teenage boys in it are forced to confront very difficult situations at Blackdown Park, where they own Three Muskateers, a team of Standardbred harness racing horses. The friends have scraped some money together and organized their time efficiently enough to have their own little racing business, and to go to school. Their days start before sunrise at the stables and end well after sunset: There is no end to the tasks associated with trying to realize their dream.

But that dream gets derailed when it is clear someone is stealing precious things from the stables, the horses don't perform as well as the boys hope, they're not making any money and narrator Travis finds that making out with Sassy feels better than hanging out with his best friends/business partners.

Razor's Edge, by Nikki Tate, Orca Books, 163 pages, $9.95

Add a serious bout of racism as Jasper, the one partner who is First Nations, gets accused of being a thief, plus fist fights between best friends, domestic violence and alcoholism, and you have the lives of way too many kids.

Author Nikki Tate writes a flawless teenage tale. There is no black, no white; just, as is the case in life, only shades of confusing and complicated grey wound around hearts and hormones.

“Sassy's breath is warm and soft on my neck. She presses a gentle kiss against my throat and then another a little higher up. Her fingertips brush the bruises on my cheeks so softly I barely feel her touch. Another kiss and then another and then her lips find mine. By the time I finally pull free my truck windows are completely fogged up.”

Remind you of anyone? What teenager won't have to confront a broken heart and a dream changed to nightmare because of poverty and domestic violence? How timely this novel is as the latest report from Campaign 2000 tells us one in 10 children in Canada lives below the poverty line.

Even though Tate gathers up the loose ends in the final chapter, we see that some characters will understand life in a deeper and more meaningful way while others will become the collateral damage. Tate offers hope and sadness, not as a solution but as reality.

Come One, Come All!

2009-11-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

This Saturday (November 28), come join a whole slew of BC authors and illustrators who will be attending the CWILL-BC Kids' Book Bash! Prizes, trivia quizzes, craft activities, snacks, and, of course, a chance to meet and chat with lots of kids book creators!

The confirmed authors include: Robin Stevenson, Sylvia Olsen, Kit Pearson, Eric Wilson, Sarah Harvey, Diana Bonder, Dan Bar-el, Jeff Rud, Andrea Spalding, Beryl Young, Margriet Ruurs, Sheri Radford, Diane Silvey, Fiona Bayrock, Val Wyatt, Julie Lawson, Nikki Tate, Laura Langston, Pamela Porter, Penny Draper, Bev Cooke, Della Burford, Sheryl McFarlane, Constance Horne, and Laura Trunkey...

Where: Fairfield Community Place, 1330 Fairfield Road (beside Sir James Douglas School at the corner of Fairfield and Moss in Victoria)
When: Saturday, November 28 1:30-4:00pm
What: Kids' Book Bash

The Great Weekly Poetry Challenge

2009-11-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Every week Jane and I set each other a poetry challenge. This week we chose one from the Poets and Writers website. Our instructions were to:
Go to a used clothing store and choose a piece of clothing that you are drawn to or repelled by. Wear the item and a channel a poem from it.
Given the treasures we found (my bowling shirt reads, "Bowl to Keep in Shape"), it's pretty obvious that our poems were going to be very different! Feeling like a challenge yourself? Have a look at the P&W website and have a go - you never know what might you might come up with!

Meanwhile... back at the farm

2009-10-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

Though things have been quiet over here on this blog, the Dark Creek Chronicles farm blog has been busy, busy, busy. I supposed part of that has to do with the fact that fall on the farm is crazy busy, so there's always stuff to write about. And, maybe it's easier to write about life on the farm than it is to come up with something new to say about the writing of books biz.

Razor's Edge is out (yay!) - and, despite the oddness of the cover colour when I upload the image, it matches Venom very nicely in real life. There should have been a third book to round out the set, but you know me and trilogies - I can't seem to count to three. And by the way, for readers who send nasty letters suggesting ways they'd like to see me suffer for my crime of not yet having finished the third of the Estorian Chronicles series, your names have been duly noted. Watch for yourselves in a torture chamber in a future book. As for Jo in that other series without a conclusion, rest assured she is doing well up in Barkerville, making way more money than I am here.

As for the most recent missing third volume, Broken, nothing about that book is proceeding as per the plan. And that includes the title, which is no longer Broken but is now either Awake Enough to Know or maybe Unintended Consequences or perhaps Some Kind of Normal or possibly Lifting the Weight. Not only does the book no longer have a title, it has morphed from a short, upbeat, straightforward member of the Orca Sports series for reluctant teen readers into a full length, stand-alone, terribly depressing novel that has been taken over by a character meant only to be peripheral to the plot... Sigh. How does this happen, I ask you? Is the author not supposed to have some kind of control over this process?

The good news is that the manuscript has not been tossed by Orca and, instead, has found a new place in a completely different section of the catalogue. I have the latest draft back and am about to launch into another rewrite. This, though, will wait until after I have feasted (tomorrow, we're doing our turkey dinner early) and gone sailing (on my brother's new sailboat on Sunday, hence the early turkey). After that, I should feel like I've had a bit of a holiday and should be able to return to work fortified.

The most interesting thing about working on this book is how utterly miserable it has been spending time inside the head of a severely depressed teenager. I will be so very glad when the project is finished and I can turn my attention back to something a little more ... chirpy.

To all you Canucks out there, have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Mini TC Review

2009-09-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

A lovely mini-review written by Barbara Julian appeared in yesterday's Times Colonist... Though, I'm not exactly sure how to interpret the bit about the plot being irrelevant - or, less than captivating - or, something. I've decided not to dwell on that too much and, instead, appreciate the positive vibes and kind words. I do hope this book finds a place with reluctant readers and, perhaps, makes them a tiny bit less reluctant?

READING FOR FUN
Venom
By Nikki Tate
Orca; 168 pages; $9.95
Tate is expert at packing a mass of description into simple but fluent language for the reluctant reader. The right reader for this book will have no reluctance about horses, however, and Tate's followers will find what they have come to expect in this latest of her equine adventures.

Part of Orca's "high interest sports action" series, this tale about teens more keen on horses than school is captivating less for the plot than for the rich description of the horse mind and body, of racing action and of the minutiae of life on the exercise field and in the barns.

New Book on its Way!

2009-09-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Razor's Edge is due out any minute. Come help celebrate the arrival of the new book at one of these events... And, if you aren't interested in Razor's Edge - no problem. Both events have plenty of other, much cooler authors and their way cool new books so you don't have to bore yourself just talking to l'il ol' me.

Oops!

2009-09-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

This wasn't where we were supposed to wind up yesterday! Poor Dani had an unfortunate landing when dismounting during a vaulting demonstration at Metchosin Days. After being tended to by several lovely firemen, including one on whom she unceremoniously threw up, we headed off to the Victoria General Hospital for an X-ray.

The good news is the bones are intact. The bad news is that the sprain is so bad she has to wear an air cast for SIX WEEKS!! This is rotten news, indeed, as the big provincial vaulting competition is coming up this weekend in Chilliwack.

Not only did this unfortunate incident mess up Dani's demo and competitive vaulting career, it also meant I had to abandon Dinny just before the Haflinger breed demonstration! Fortunately, Stella (of Manestream Vaulters) was kind enough to bring the horse and Cyd (who was also involved in the vaulting demo) home again as Dani and I were trapped in a crazy busy emergency room for a very long time...

Beach!

2009-08-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Just ask me how much I love my waterproof camera! And, just ask me how much fun it is to be paddling about Coles Bay on a hot, summer's day...

Stand on Guard for Thee

2009-07-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Dinny watching over his buddies while they enjoy a snooze... Ringo taking full advantage of being able to stretch out without fear of being eaten by a cougar...

On the way to dinner in town...

2009-06-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

we spotted one, two, three deer trotting along Quadra Street! The third one was just behind these two fellows. Just after we passed, the three adventurers headed across the street, halting traffic in both directions. All crossed safely and we proceeded directly to Cafe Brio on Fort Street. Oh my, what a glorious meal that was! Should you ever have a chance - GO!

Happy Trails!

2009-06-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

After spending way too many days in a row labouring on the bathroom reno (which is nearly done - stay tuned for before and after photos!), we headed over to Beaver Lake for a trail ride. What a glorious day! From left to right: Ringo, learning to be a trail pony, me riding Dinny, and Jane on her Appy, Diego. Bonny and Brio hung out back at the ranch with Dad, the dogs, and the new ducks... The hefty Muscovy drakes were procured following a tragic incident with a raccoon and four of our five Indian Runner ducks. The only survivor of the duck massacre was Welly Wellduck who now hunkers down between his two beefy companions, happy for their companionship and protection. Photos to come...

Welcome, Dark Creek Dinny!

2009-05-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

My sister's horse arrived here from Calgary a few days ago. Dinny (formerly known as Danny, but that's way too confusing given we already have a Dani in the household...) will be here for the summer so my niece, Cyd can enjoy some mellow riding and a couple of horse shows when she comes to visit. On the subject of horse names (and re-names), Bonny was also called Danny when we bought her. What are the chances? Whatever his name, the handsome, quiet Hafflinger is happy as pie here on the farm - and we are happy as pie to have him here. We took a ride down the Lochside Trail and he was perfectly behaved. Such a pleasure to ride a horse who does not have a bicycle phobia!

Aussie Under Glass

2009-05-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

Riven under the table on the deck, hoping against hope that a scone crumb might fall his way...

Bathroom renovations continue

2009-05-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here's how my feet have spent the better part of the last several days... Meanwhile, the rest of me has been tiling the upper part of the new shower stall, installing the new ceiling panel, fixing the ceiling fan, installing the new light fixture... Is it any wonder my calves ache?

Honey bees!

2009-05-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we took delivery of 16,000 or so honey bees... Here's Jane playing 'spot the queen' with her new... swarm? Herd? Cluster? Bunch 'o bees...

Dark Creek Diego

2009-05-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

About a month ago (or so) Dark Creek Diego joined our herd... Diego is a 10 year-old Appaloosa who is strangely sane... As in, he isn't freaked out by bicycles (unlike Bonny!), doesn't feel compelled to explore the world mouth-first (unlike Brio), and is actually quiet and thoughtful under saddle (though, Ringo is getting there...) What a pleasure to have an actual pleasure horse around the place!

This photo was taken the day we went to pick him up from just outside Nanaimo. Note, too, the new (to us) stock trailer. Plenty big enough to haul three horses, four ponies, or some combination of goats and ponies... pony and cart... goat and cart... mare and foal... A very versatile oldie but goodie... due to have a new paint job soon. We are thinking perhaps dark blue to match the truck...

Proposed cover design

2009-05-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the proposed cover design for the new Orca Sports title, Razor's Edge. What do you think?

How strange... when I see the cover on my computer, it's deep blue... but it looks very orange on the screen when I upload to my blog... Any computer-savvy people out there who might know what's going on? I like the deep blue version better...

Nosmo at work

2009-05-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Alas, the spot we decided would be perfect for our new stand of giant timber bamboo was a tangle of blackberry canes. Bring in the goats! The crew (including Nosmo) was happy to oblige. The brambles have now been cleared and the giant bamboo planted. Not that the bamboo is particularly huge - yet. It looks rather weedy, actually. But, given our experience with the golden bamboo grove and our modest stand of black bamboo, we know that a little time will take care of everything. Before long, we will be building a new house with our massive, fast-growing timbers!

You're Invited!

2009-04-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all to Orca's spring book launch. Monday, April 20th at 7pm. Bolen Books in Victoria, BC (at the Hillside Shopping Centre). Be there or be square...

Easter harvest continues...

2009-04-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

First duck eggs (found another in the orchard!) and now Kashmir underfluff. I'm sure there is a more technical term for the super-fine undercoat the Kashmir goats are shedding. We've found the dog shedding blade-comb-thingy to be extremely effective in teasing out the loose undercoat. This year the harvest is much better than last. Next on the list of equipment to acquire is a spinning wheel... not long after that, socks!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

Look what we found in the orchard this morning! The ducks were busy last night... And, yes, Colin was right. There is such a colour as duck egg blue. When will I learn not to argue with the artist about colours? We are considering our quiche options for dinner tonight...

Coming soon to an orchard near you...

2009-04-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Beekeepers! To look after the new bees, of course! Said bees are scheduled to arrive in about six weeks. Which means we need to get cracking on hive assembly, etc... Bring on the honey!

Runner Ducks!

2009-04-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

Because what our farm really needs is ducks... five of them, to be precise. Meet Henrik, Daniel, Welly, Baby, and Beauty. Ringo (in the background) was fascinated by the new arrivals.

(I know the title says Runner Ducks, but they are actually Indian Runner Ducks crossed with mallards... which gives the males a more interesting colour and all of them less upright postures.

Living it Up in California

2009-04-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Arrived back from a whirlwind 11 days travelling to Rancho Murieta with Karen Brain and her horse, VDL Odette. Karen was competing at the Golden State Dressage Festival, continuing to develop and train her horse with an eye to qualifying for the World Equestrian Games para-dressage competition next year. What a great trip - the weather was excellent (except for that wind/sand storm!) and it was way cool to see all those high level dressage horses tootling about. At various points I was tasked with taking Miss Odie out to graze. The grass was lush, the sun warm, the horse happy... Life, as they say, is good!

Welcome to the World, Little Book

2009-03-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Venom is out! It's always pretty exciting when the box of author copies arrives in the mail. Venom might not be my first book, but it is a book of firsts.
1. First one I've done for the Orca Sports series (not the last - we're well into editing Razor's Edge, set in the world of harness racing and inspired by one of the oddest crimes out there, horse tail theft...)
2. First high interest, low vocabulary book I've done for a teen audience.
3. First kiss... well, not my first kiss (duh) but first time characters have kissed in a book (most of my other books are written for younger kids)
4. First time I've attempted a first person narrative written from the perspective of a teenage boy... (though, that wasn't as difficult as another book I'm working on which is written in the first person from the p.o.v. of a horse...)

Which just goes to show, it doesn't matter how many books I write, every one stretches
me in some new direction.

Interviewed by a Fictional Character

2009-03-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

I have to say this was rather fun, being interviewed by a character in a book. Darby is a rather precocious character - she has her own blog and seems to have pretty good control of her author, kc dyer. Check out her blog to see how Darby handles several interviews. I particularly like the disguises the authors wear to try to hide their true identities! While you are over at Darby's virtual place, be sure to enter your name in the comments so you have a chance at winning a free book. Good luck!

Crisis in the Blogosphere

2009-02-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well, crisis in my blogosphere, anyway. I blame Facebook, Twitter, and Librarything for the complete lack of action here at Work in Progress. And, I confess, the blog is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. I think the plan initially was to chronicle the day-to-day life of a writer, but I discovered that the life of a writer is actually pretty boring. Essentially, every day is the same.

1. Thing of something to write about.
2. Chain myself to computer until something is written.
3. Check the mail and fret over bills to cheques ratio
4. Get depressed about #3.
5. Go back to computer. Write some more.
6. Print out what has been typed.
7. Scribble all over typing.
8. Re-type.
9. Repeat ad nauseum until the mail arrives again the next day.
10. Get depressed all over again.
11. Take occasional breaks to show up at bookstore signings where immediate family members outnumber legitimate fans. Pretend this doesn't bother you.
12. For fun, muck out the horse paddocks.

Sigh. Is it any wonder I have been having some trouble mustering the urge to blog?

Teens, Titles and Tate - Remembrance Day

2008-11-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

The link to yesterday's All Points West segment has been posted... The theme - Remembrance Day. The books:
A Boy in War - Jan de Groot (Sono Nis Press)
What World is Left - Monique Polak (Orca Book Publishers)

Vancouver Island Author Celebrates International School Library Month

2008-10-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Go Troy!
Hometown author salutes his saviour
Heather Reid, Alberni Valley Times
Published: Friday, October 03, 2008

Troy Wilson grew up in Port Alberni and credits the John Howitt Elementary library among the things that helped him through his childhood. Despite growing up in a nature-lovers paradise, Wilson the boy, loved books and if not for the libraries and librarians of his youth he wouldn't be what his is today, a successful author.

In his Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers bio he says his favourite activities as a child were reading writing and cartooning. "As long as I had a steady supply of food, books, comics, paper and pens I was as happy as a colt in clover," he writes. That's probably why he's become a successful author of books for kids and spearheaded a campaign to support school libraries.

October 2008 is International School Library Month and in honour of that, Wilson has launched a year-long Be a Book Hero campaign. For every $20 donated, Wilson will send the donor a personalized copy of his picture book, Perfect Man, send a cartoon poster to the school of the donor's choice and give $7.50 to Love of Reading in Canada or Reader to Reader in the U.S. Both organizations support school libraries.

Perfect Man is about a boy whose favourite superhero retires, leaving him to discover his own super power, the ability to write really well, with the help of a wonderful teacher. Perfect Man has won a number of awards and his second book Frosty is a Stupid Name has also been published by Orca. Wilson now lives in Victoria.

He attended school in Port Alberni until his last two high school years, when his family moved to Nanaimo. Throughout his teen years he wrote on and off then he started college planning to be a teacher, but didn't complete the degree.

Wilson wandered the work-a-day world for awhile, working as a burger flipper, a private in the army, a gas jockey, a page at the Vancouver Island Regional Library, a daycare worker, a summer camp counsellor, an Internet skills trainer, a radio DJ and producer, a respite care worker and a market survey taker.

In 2001 he started writing seriously and he's found his calling according to the five-star reviews of his books at Amazon. The Be a Book Hero campaign gives Wilson a chance to support something that supported him, the good old school library. Visit his blog at www.beabookhero.blogspot.com to learn how you can help.

HReid@avtimes.net

© Alberni Valley Times 2008

Nominate Your Favourite Children's Books for the Cybils

2008-10-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when Internetters around the world nominate their favourite children's books for the Cybils. Kid-lit bloggers then read the nominated titles, whittle the long-lists to short-lists and, finally, panels of judges select winners in various categories.

The Cybils website is a great source of lists of children's books - some of which originate with small, outside-the-mainstream publishers. Monitor the nominations in your favourite categories and you are sure to discover some nifty treasures!

How Bizarre is This?

2008-09-22T17:31:00.001-07:00

While I was away, this terrible incident hit the news back at home:

Vandals hack off hair from North Saanich stallions
Stolen tail hair was a valuable selling point for breeding
Sandra Mcculloch, Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, September 14, 2008

The vandals who hacked off the tails of two stallions at a North Saanich stable Friday afternoon took more than just a metre or so of coarse black horsehair.

The horses' owners, Jan Sutherland and Kristy Rowlandson, say the thieves robbed Fiddler and Lad of their very identities.

The stallions are gypsy cobs, also known as gypsy vanners, and the small pony-type breed is best known for the flowing hair of its mane, tail and legs.

The two horses were fine at noon Friday in their paddock at Bodicea Farm on busy McTavish Road. A few hours later, Sutherland was told their tails had been roughly cut with a blade.

"I was like 'You're kidding, right?' Then I went out and I just about vomited," Sutherland said yesterday.

The tails had been in protective bags, and someone had cut them off and taken the bags full of hair. What remained was ragged stumps of hair, bluntly cut in varying lengths.

Sutherland said it's distressing to see Fiddler and Lad, both breeding stallions, in this state. "You want to grow their hair as long as you can get it. You never cut a gypsy horse's hair." Now it will be next to impossible to sell the stallions' services, since owners of breeding mares want to know the offspring will have the best traits of a gypsy cob -- and that's primarily lots of hair.

Showing pictures of how the stallions used to look won't be the same, Rowlandson said.

"It's like taking away what the breed is," she said.

Added Sutherland: "For a gypsy horse to not have a tail is totally insulting. If they had cut off the tail of any other horse on the property, it wouldn't be such a big deal." It's a baffling case, said Cpl. Marlene Martin of the Sidney/North Saanich RCMP.

"I wondered why somebody would want to do this," she said yesterday.

"The first thought is it's just malicious." But upon investigation, Martin discovered horsehair is used in First Nations artwork.

Sutherland added that there's a big market for the coarse hair of stallions -- it's popular with makers of bows for string instruments -- with 500-gram bundles selling on the Internet for $200 to $300.

Her two horses were recently at the Saanich Fair, and they had the longest manes and tails of any horses there.

Ironically, Sutherland had a bag full of horsehair she would have given away to anyone who wanted it.

"They didn't need to practically dismember my horses," Sutherland said.

She estimates it's going to take two to four years for the tails to grow back.

Police are looking for witnesses who might have driven past the crime scene Friday afternoon.

Anyone with information can reach Saanich RCMP at 250-656-3931 or Crime Stoppers at 250-386-8477.

smcculloch@tc.canwest.com

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

Jo's Journey in the North Shore News

2008-08-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

With thanks to the North Shore librarians... here's a nice writeup in the North Shore News.

Jo's Journey is full of fun touching on B.C.'s rich history
Rachel Brown, North Shore News
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Read about the young heroes of British Columbia's colourful past, from the gold rush, to China town at the turn of the century.

Celebrate B.C.'s 150th birthday by reading these exciting stories available at any branch of the North Vancouver District Public Library.

- Jo's Journey by Nikki Tate, Orca Book Publishers, 122 pages, $7.95.

Nikki Tate's novel Jo's Triumph (sequel is Jo's Journey) features Jocelyn, a feisty young orphan who escapes from The Carson City Home for Unfortunate Children and disguises herself as a boy.

Little does she know that her expertise with horses will lead her straight to the Pony Express.

"Jo" has all kinds of adventures along the way including an encounter with the meanest man on the route who learns her secret and threatens to reveal Jo's identity.

In Jo's Journey, Jo hears talk of gold strikes in British Columbia's Cariboo.

Together with her friend Bart, they make the journey northward in search of gold!

Jo and Bart encounter the roughness of the landscape as well as some very rough characters along their journey -- with so many obstacles to overcome, it seems they will never reach their destination.

Jo's adventures offer excitement for young readers in grades 4 and up.

Both girls and boys will enjoy the trials and tribulations that Jo and Bart experience and readers will learn lots of interesting facts about the Cariboo region of British Columbia during the gold rush.

Readers also might enjoy Tate's mystery series set in the Gulf Islands, including Trouble on Tarragon Island, which was nominated for a Red Cedar book award this year.

Try these other great historical novels set in British Columbia:

- A Ribbon of Shining Steel by Julie Lawson

- White Jade Tiger by Julie Lawson

- Barkerville Gold by Dayle Gaetz

- Boxcar kid by Norma M. Charles

- An Ocean Apart: The Gold Mountain Diary of Chin Mei-Ling

- By the skin of his teeth: a Barkerville mystery by Ann Walsh

Rachel Brown is the children's librarian/assistant branch manager at the Parkgate Branch of the North Vancouver District Library. She loves reading adventure stories with feisty characters like Jo.

© North Shore News 2008

Age Labels on Children's Books

2008-07-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Well, this is pretty cool... I think this is the first time (and perhaps the last!) that I've been quoted in an article alongside illustrious authors like Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett! The article, by Barbara Julian, is in today's Vancouver Sun and deals with the topic of age labels on books for children. Here's the text:

Kids' Books, Unlabelled
Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett and other prominent writers are urging publishers not to specify age groups on the covers of children's books
Barbara Julian, Special to the Sun
Published: Saturday, July 26, 2008

Reviewers of children's books are often asked to indicate the age range for which particular books are meant. It's usually parents who request this, or childless people wanting to buy books for their friends' children.

It's easy to see why they feel a little lost in the kid-lit world, but they're asking us to do something that doesn't come naturally. We want to share the titles that excite and delight us, but we fear that by steering a particular age group toward them, we could be steering others away.

Pinning reading ability to age level is an inexact science, as any teacher knows. An exceptional book won't stay within an age-defined straitjacket, anyway. A clever, humorously illustrated picturebook gives as much pleasure to the parent reading it aloud as to the child listening and looking.

As for chapter stories, the same themes have entranced us, with age no barrier, since the first stories were acted out by cavemen around the fire.

Children read largely to learn about the adult world, and adults sometimes still choose books for their "inner child." What varies is vocabulary level, and vocabulary comprehension grows at no set pace. Who, child or adult, doesn't read better when hungering to find out what happens next?

A group of children's authors in England (see Notoagebanding.org) feel so strongly about this that they have signed a formal statement against mandatory age labelling in the book trade.

"You simply can't decide who your readership will be," argues Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy. "Nor do I want to, because declaring that it's for any group in particular means excluding every other group, and I don't want to exclude anybody.

"I avoid giving the age of my characters, for that reason. I want every child to feel they can befriend them."

This opinion seems to have struck a chord. More than 3,300 people -- librarians, teachers, editors, booksellers, readers and authors -- have signed the British statement to "disavow publicly any connection with such age-guidance figures."

Some British children's writers have taken the issue to an almost metaphysical level. "The space between the young reader's eyeballs and the printed page is a holy place and officialdom should trample all over it at their peril," declares Terry Pratchett. And to Alan Garner, age banding "insults both book and reader, and attacks the root of literature."

How do their Canadian counterparts feel about "attacking literature" with age labels on book covers?

"Good for Pullman!" says Sandy White of Victoria's Kids In Print bookstore. "I prefer not to have age suggestions on covers. When parents come in looking for books by age, I point out that they have to go by their child's own interests."

Children's author Nikki Tate, who is also a bookseller and a publicist for Sono Nis Press, agrees. "A very young child with a strong interest in a topic may devour a book intended for adults, whereas even the simplest, most attractive book on the same subject won't tempt someone with no interest in the content. A good book is a good book is a good book."

She acknowledges that buyers new to children's literature may need help but says, "That's what knowledgeable booksellers and children's librarians are for. A competent children's-book person should be able to place just the right book into the hands of every child reader."

They'll look at the inside, the blurb, the cataloguing data and the length. So why do publishers put age labels on covers?

One reason is that competent children's-book people aren't always around, even in schools. After budget cutbacks were imposed on B.C. school districts a few years ago, qualified library assistants were often replaced with general clerical staff.

Also, books are increasingly sold in places other than bookstores. As fantasy writer Neil Gaiman notes, "In the U.K., more and more books are being sold through supermarkets. People in supermarkets don't have to know anything about what they're selling. They just need to know where to put it on the shelves."

Authors, of course, are glad to have their books sold anywhere and everywhere, so most are happy to put up with whatever aids the untutored vendor may need.

What the British campaign is attempting to do is stop a mandatory, standardized age band being used across the publishing industry.

Just how prevalent is age labelling at present? Labels are still in the minority. Penguin Books and its children's imprint, Puffin, sometimes suggest an age range beside the price, as do HarperCollins, Scholastic and Simon & Schuster, but selectively.

Books designed for school use, such as Scholastic's various fiction series and Dorling Kindersley's large-format non-fiction titles, make the most use of age guidelines.

Orca Book Publishers in Victoria usually shows not age but discreet "reading level" designations on covers, in response to requests by teachers and school librarians. The company's Andrew Wooldridge says these levels are calibrated minutely by the Fry computer program, which measures words per sentence and paragraphs per page, as well as simplicity of construction.

Do authors write to fit this program? No, says Wooldridge. "The reason our books are popular is that story always comes first."

Phyllis Simon, co-owner of Vancouver Kidsbooks, also feels that what educators want to know is not the age, "since every child is so different," but the reading level a title is aimed at. But even that is just a guideline and "should not be used as gospel."

Judith Williams, the Alberta author of several prize-winning youth science books, recognizes the usefulness of age designations in linking to grade and curriculum levels. Yet she also feels labelling doesn't let children "judge for themselves what they want to read. I believe children are keenly aware of age designations, and putting that on the book itself will discourage some readers on either end of the scale."

Let that information remain in catalogues and on websites like Amazon, she suggests. Book lovers pick up all sorts of clues about a new title or author practically by osmosis.

Age designations highlight the gap between book professionals or book lovers and people who don't know their way around books.

With more than 1,200 new titles published annually in B.C. alone, the latter understandably want some way of narrowing down the choices.

Age labelling may be most misleading when it comes to the "young adult" designation.

A generation ago, kids were meant to go unimpeded from the felicities of Charlotte's Web to those of Jane Austen. Now they may be steered into a ghetto of "issues" plots heavy on crackheads and dropouts, homelessness and shoplifting.

It's a niche for which many writers write specifically, and they find followers.

But as downbeat subject matter, this fare may create as much reading reluctance as it overcomes.

Sandy White, of Kids In Print, gets around that ghetto by instead recommending contemporary fantasy-historical-adventure stories -- a sub-genre that has taken off on the coattails of Harry Potter.

Let's consider that biggest youth seller ever. J.K. Rowling's tales enticed small children to stretch their comprehension abilities. Those who leapt into reading with Book One of the series were grown up by the time Book Seven came out, but many still read it as avidly as they did the first book.

So much for age categorization, we might conclude.

Yet, on occasion, buyers and sellers alike appreciate a guide, and marketers will do whatever makes a product shout, "Choose me! Choose me!"

Book lovers and reviewers simply respond with yet another reading skill: We learn not to see age labels. To us, it's unwanted information and we filter it out.

Barbara Julian is a Victoria writer and former librarian.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

Dark Creek Conbrio

2008-06-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

She's here! Our long awaited foal, Conbrio, arrived June 26, 2008 at 5:15pm. Bonny and baby are doing well...

New Project - Teens, Titles, and Tate

2008-06-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

The following is from the CBC Radio - All Points West website...
Check back for updates each week through the summer. We'll be talking about books for teen readers - the first couple of segments have been posted online.

6/19/08
Going to extremes. Today we hear about a few books that are sure to get your heart racing.
Listen to the interview (runs 8:34)

Dead in the Water by Robin Stevenson (Orca Book Publishers)
Mountainboard Maniacs by Pam Withers (Walrus Books)
How Angel Peterson Got His Name: And Other Outrageous tales about Extreme
Sports by Gary Paulsen (Random House/Yearling)
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston (Atria Books)
No Time to Say Good-bye by Sylvia Olsen (Sono Nis Press)*

Good Luck, Karen!

2008-06-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Lovely article in today's Times Colonist about Karen. It's getting so exciting! We will hear this week whether Karen has made the team and will be Beijing-bound!

Journey from injury to Paralympics an inspiring story
Marilyn Mccall, Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, June 01, 2008

Saanich horsewoman Karen Brain is a world-class competitor whose training is on target for competition in Hong Kong this summer, a city that will host the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events.

Only one small obstacle remains: Though she has earned the required five qualifying scores, she has to wait until June 4 to learn if she has been selected for the Canadian dressage team at the 2008 Paralympics, Sept. 6-17. Considering the much larger obstacles she has already overcome, it is no wonder that Brain feels optimistic about her chances.

Brain represented Canada in the three-day event at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome. When she was long-listed for Sydney in 2000, it was only the sudden lameness of her talented horse Double Take that kept her from the Olympics that year.
Author Nikki Tate, right, has written a book about Paralympic equestrian Karen Brain. It is named after Brain's favourite horse, Double Take, and chronicles the young rider's remarkable recovery from a catastrophic accident. The biography is written to appeal to all ages.

Author Nikki Tate, right, has written a book about Paralympic equestrian Karen Brain. It is named after Brain's favourite horse, Double Take, and chronicles the young rider's remarkable recovery from a catastrophic accident. The biography is written to appeal to all ages.

Determined and positive, she began working with new young prospects, her eye trained on the next Olympics. But in September 2001 she fell from a young horse, breaking her back. Suddenly, even walking again was doubtful.

Seven years later she is preparing to compete in her second Paralympics. Brain brought home two bronze medals from Athens four years ago, competing on a borrowed horse. This time she is training her own 12-year-old Dutch warmblood mare, VDL Odette, for the Beijing Paralympics.

Nikki Tate, friend, author and biographer of Brain, first met her when Brain coached Tate's daughter more than 10 years ago. Tate followed Brain's story when she "went off to take on the world." Because she was in Ontario on a book-signing tour when Brain had her accident, Tate went to visit her in the Ontario hospital.

To her surprise, there was Brain, paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair, being picked up to give a riding lesson. Tate was in awe. "Such high spirits -- determined to battle on."

The motivation to write Brain's biography was clinched when Brain went off to Athens in 2004 to compete on the Paralympic team. Tate said, "This is a great story and more people should know about it."

I caught up with Brain during a one-week window when she was in Victoria. She had just returned from two months of showing in California, and was preparing to move to Langley for four months of training with coach Leslie Reid, a highly regarded Canadian Olympic team member who is also going to Hong Kong.

"My training progresses uphill," Brain said. "I have made some good improvements with my horses. I have four months now. In my two months [in California], I made good progress, now I have double that time."

Brain also has to attend to her equine partner's mental health. VDL Odette was imported from Holland to Ontario when she was six, and Brain got the mare two years later. One challenge will be to sort out the cycles of this sensitive mare, as she has quite a physical reaction when she is in season (receptive to breeding), perhaps because of her earlier life as a broodmare.

Brain will road-ride every day before schooling in the ring, because her mare likes it. As Odette does not like ring work that much -- apparently she is sensitive and has an opinion -- Brain likes to start a training session with something the mare does like.

Brain and Odette have the potential in Hong Kong to win three medals. Will she win gold? As Tate says, "Never count her out. She will rise to the challenge and give it 110 per cent."

Brain could win a medal in the individual competition and in the Kur freestyle event (a choreographed piece set to music), and she and her teammates could win medals in the team competition.

Don't be surprised if an updated biography of Brain appears in the future. As Tate says, "There are great chapters to come."

And, she points out, the subplot of this remarkable rider's accomplishments is that Brain hopes at some point to make a bid for the Olympic team. Her attitude, her determination and her willingness to do the hard work are all on her side.

While the Paralympics organization pays some costs, training and showing a horse at the international level is an expensive venture. If you would like to help Karen Brain achieve the next step in her dream, please go to her websiteto contribute.

How Not to Trim a Limb

2008-05-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

Let's say that there's a huge old cedar, with a huge old branch drooping dangerously low (as in, too low to get the back-hoe underneath, if someone were, say, digging a grave nearby).

This is how NOT to deal with the situation.

1. Fetch a ladder
2. Lean ladder against part of branch closest to tree
3. Because the brush is so thick close to the trunk, rest the top end of the ladder 15-20 feet away from the trunk. This will still leave plenty of heavy branch to get rid of.
4. Start up the new chainsaw - lightweight and gas-powered, it is perfect for this job.
5. Send Bert, your favourite backhoe guy up the ladder with the chainsaw.
6. To be extra safe, brace yourself at the bottom of the ladder. You wouldn't want that ladder to slip.
7. Watch as Bert cuts away smaller side branches. Watch as they fall harmlessly to the ground. Admire how well Bert handles the chainsaw. Think just how smoothly this job is going.
8. Watch Bert cut a "V" up underneath the big, fat branch, which weighs as much as a small tree.
9. Watch Bert cut down through the top of the branch.

What happens next happens very fast. The part of the branch closest to the tree has now been relieved of a great deal of weight. It bounces straight up, well beyond the reach of the top end of the ladder. This means, of course, that for one odd second the ladder is suspended in midair. And then, gravity calls, and the ladder, Nikki, Bert, and chainsaw (still running) sail through the air. They land in a heap in this order: brambles, ladder, Nikki, Bert... Chainsaw lands some distance away, purring happily.

Amazingly, no major damage to anyone - even the ladder survived. I'll let the bruises on my arm blossom fully and then, if I remember, I'll post some technicolour photos. Nothing like a shot of adrenaline to liven up a dreary day of clearing brush.

I Know it's Not Friday...

2008-05-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

... but who declared Friday to be poetry day, anyway? Given that reflecting on this poem for the past couple of days was what tipped my hand this morning when the vet was here, thought I'd post it for all to read. The vet was out to do the normal prenatal check-up for my mare, but while he was here, I asked him to have a look at poor, ancient Emma (40, if she was a day) to see whether he agreed that it was time to Let Evening Come. And, indeed, it was. Emma left us while peacefully chewing a mouthful of grass up in the field, her favourite place of all.

Let Evening Come
Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.

Jane Kenyon (1947-1995)

Ponte Vecchio

2008-05-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

Ponte Vecchio, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

Here we go... a standard issue tourist photo of the Ponte Vecchio... Sigh. Was I really there? When can I go back?

Sculpture by Marino Marini

2008-05-13T23:04:00.001-07:00

Sculpture by Marino Marini, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

One of various cool pieces of sculpture I drooled over at the Museo Marino Marini in Florence. I have been so very, very bad about not posting recent photos and other stuff to blog, Facebook, or anywhere else for that matter (I blame endless travels and spotty Internet access for this problem). Now that I am finally home again for a bit, I shall try to be a better blogger. Here's the first contribution.

Just a Tad Overwhelming!

2008-03-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

Books, books everywhere! The Bologna Children's Book Fair is rather an overwhelming place to wander! Row after row of children's book publishers with booth after booth full of titles from around the world. Austria, Belarus, Argentina, Botswana, Korea, Malaysia, NZ, Australia, the USA, Great Britain - publishers large and small, industry associations, trade publications, etc., etc. all here to showcase authors, illustrators, books, and products...

We cruised through two and a half of the four main exhibition hallsss before retreating to the hotel for a break, heads spinning, backs and feet aching.

A couple of strange 'ain't it a small world' moments included running into Andrew Wooldridge of Orca Books (also from Victoria) and seeing a review of BTS Racehorse in ForeWord, a magazine promoting independently published books.

After we regroup and recover a little, we're going to head back to the fair to try to get hold of a catalogue (they hadn't been delivered yet! someone missed a deadline...), which we will study over dinner and then come up with a strategy for tomorrow.

Yesterday's wandering through Bologna was magnifico! We stumbled into the Museum of Archaeology, which was excellent. Items dated back to the early Paleolithic period (700,000 years ago!) and the Bronze Age. There were also plenty of Etruscan, Roman, and Greek goodies to ogle as well as an impressive collection of Egyptian artifacts.

Off to Italy!

2008-03-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

How fitting that this morning's weather is nasty! A late March storm complete with snow, freezing rain, and high winds is making things pretty miserable here on Vancouver Island! The Malahat is a mess, traffic (and drivers) snarling... Which makes me think I should pack my bags and head for somewhere pleasant... like, say - ITALY! Bologna (and the annual International Children's Book Fair) is clearly the place to be.

Diane Morriss (publisher, Sono Nis Press) and I will meet up at the Vancouver airport later today (the weather is allowed to be unpleasant, but not bad enough to cancel flights...) and from there will head to Bologna via Heathrow and Munich. A loooong trip, yes, but in First Class (!!), so we should survive just fine.

After several days at the book fair, we'll head to Florence for a few days of 'business meetings' - roughly translated as recovering from the book fair, sipping coffee by day and wine by night, and taking in the sights at a leisurely pace...

I'm leaving my laptop at home (which feels a bit like cutting off my right arm), so not too likely to be doing massive amounts of blogging... Will post some pix after I get back.

Ciao!

Great Review of Racehorse!

2008-03-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

CM . . . . Volume XIV Number 14 . . . . March 7, 2008

Behind the Scenes: The Racehorse.

Nikki Tate.
Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008.
72 pp., pbk. & hc., $19.95 (pbk.), $24.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-55455-032-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-55455-018-0 (hc.).

Subject Headings:
Horse racing-Juvenile literature.
Racetracks (Horseracing)-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.

Review by Val Ken Lem.

**** /4

excerpt:

A top-notch breeding farm is a bit like a spa for horses. Mares and foals are given the best of care – roomy box stalls, large paddocks (outdoor enclosures) and fields for exercise, top-quality food, and regular veterinary attention. Keeping a mare at one of these excellent facilities can cost more each month than renting a house. But if the horse turns out to be a winner, the owner stands to make a lot of money in prizes and, eventually, from breeding fees and the sale of offspring after the racehorse has retired.

Tate, an experienced horsewoman and novelist, has written a fine introduction to the racehorse, the sport of horse racing, and the many people involved in the sport. In a brief overview of the history of horse racing, the reader learns about the origins of thoroughbreds, standardbreds used in harness racing, and the steeplechase. Much of the text focuses specifically on thoroughbreds. Tate traces the life of these racehorses from birth at breeding farms, through the training of young horses, their care and training at the track, to the excitement of race day and eventually to post race life – if the horse is fortunate, it will escape the pet food market and find a new role as a riding horse or life in another adoptive home. Along the way, the reader is introduced to an amazing assortment of horse people including exercise riders, outriders, grooms, farriers, track veterinarians, trainers, owners, and, of course, jockeys. Tate includes general information and some jockey facts that are specific to Canada, Ireland, England the United States. She does not shy away from some of the more controversial elements of racing, including the fact that, faced with pressure to win, some jockeys develop eating disorders or drug and alcoholic addictions. The book emphasizes the importance of safety precautions at the track and accurate registration and random drug testing to thwart drug abuse and cheating. Given the amounts of money to be earned from winning horses and their breeding potential, the sport, like others starring human athletes, is prone to illegal activity that is difficult for track officials to stop.

Though the racing industry doesn’t emphasize this fact, horse racing is a dangerous business. Horses die on the track every day, and many others suffer from career-ending injuries.

Tate ends the work on a sobering note. There are not enough homes for failed or retired horses. Some injuries require euthanasia. Nevertheless, horse racing remains a popular spectator sport, with Canadians wagering 1.7 billion dollars on horse races in 2004.

Almost every page includes one or more colour photographs that aptly illustrate the text. Some miscellaneous facts, definitions, and even profiles of individuals such as Julie Krone, the first woman jockey in the Thoroughbred Hall of Fame, are presented in sidebars or pages that are attractively printed on colourful backgrounds that stand out as separate from the main text. Tate includes a citation to the Behind the Scenes website where more information and resources can be found. No other bibliographical references are provided. There is a serviceable index and a list of photo credits. One final observation: uninitiated readers will be amazed at the confusing array of data provided on the racing program that fans use to help them plan their wagers.

Highly Recommended.

Val Ken Lem is a catalogue librarian and collection liaison for English, history and
Caribbean studies at Ryerson University in Toronto, ON.

BTS: The Racehorse Buzzing in New Zealand!

2008-02-19T17:40:00.001-08:00

Wow! Word sure travels fast! This writeup was posted on a website from New Zealand... Thanks are owed to David Aldred of BC Standardbred who a) noticed the book and b) took the time to write about it! An extra bonus is that one of the very, very helpful people who patiently answered my questions (Bill Young) is mentioned, which is extremely cool!

Veteran BC horsemen, Bill Young is featured in a newly released book "Behind The Scenes - The Racehorse".

The two page story briefly takes you back to the start of Bill's career at British Columbia's Ladner track and reflects on his life in the industry that he still actively participates in today as a trainer at Fraser Downs.

The book written by experienced horsewoman and author Nikki Tate and published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, takes you behind the scenes to examine the fascinating world of the racehorse.

Tate takes you on a journey looking at the history of horse racing, from chariots to chuck wagons, the racing breeds, standardbreds, thoroughbreds and quarter horses, the role of trainers, grooms, drivers, riders, farriers track vets, outriders and paddock judges.

The author also shows her readers what a day in the life of a horse at the racetrack looks like and a horse's life after racing.

She also looks at problems that exist in our racing industry.

Almost every page features great colour photographs including a couple of shots of BC's Sandown Park.

Behind the Scenes, The Racehorse is informative and very interesting reading, particularly for the younger reader looking to find out some basics about horse racing.

The book is beautifully presented with excellent photographs.

David Aldred, BC Standardbred

Congratulations Cybils Winners and Finalists!

2008-02-14T23:56:00.000-08:00

The winners of the Cybils were announced today... Check out this amazing list of fabulous books... And don't forget to nominate your favourite books next year!

No Apologies!

2008-02-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

...for not blogging for a while. And, if I don't apologize for not blogging, I can at least honour one of my New Years' Resolutions! Obviously, I'm not doing so well on my other resolution - to blog mroe often!

Anyway, the silence in blogland has nothing to do with a lack of things going on over in the real world. Today, for example, a lovely review of Behind the Scenes: Racehorse in the Globe and Mail by Susan Perren.

BEHIND THE SCENES: The Racehorse
By Nikki Tate, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 72 pages, $24.95, ages 9 to 14

"People and horses have co-existed for thousands of years, though nobody is quite sure when humans realized that horses were capable of providing more than a source of food. Once people saw how fast their new mode of transportation could be, it probably wasn't long before the first horse race took place."

These words set the stage for a very thorough and very readable investigation of racehorses and horse racing, an arcane subject, perhaps, for the young, but in Nikki Tate's hands an engrossing one.

Tate uses coloured photographs liberally and to good effect to take her readers into horse barns and onto racetracks. She tackles the history of and differences between Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds and Quarter Horses, as well as their attributes.

Tate doesn't hesitate to illuminate the dark side of horse racing - drug abuse, cheating, overproduction, inbreeding, abuse - but her enthusiasm carries the day.

Oh, how elusive the Globe and Mail review! And how sweet when the coveted review finally appears! Yes, I am celebrating here today!

The great review made up a little for the terrible, terrible behaviour of Ringo, my young and zany Welsh-Hackney cross. I am not exactly sure what set him off, but wow - our quiet stroll down the road and back (pony in hand as he's not yet broke to ride) was way more exciting than it should have been!

As I type, I wonder if there is even any point in trying to catch up on all the highlights of the last couple of months. It feels like an impossible task - so I'll stick to what's going on today.

The most interesting thing that's going on is the Cybils picture book judging (fiction category). While my own deliberations have been tortured (there are seven excellent finalists), I can only imaging what the next three or four days of group discussions will be like (I am one of several judges). Ack. How on earth are we to decide this one?

In less interesting, but quite fun news, just finished my column for Island Parent Magazine - reviewed a stack of books for kids about dogs - dog training, dog care, dog behaviour, dog breeds... you get the idea. Watch for the column in March.

CCBC Tour - Saskatchewan 2007

2007-11-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks are due to the wonderful folks at the Canadian Children's Book Centre and all the volunteers, teachers, and librarians at libraries and schools all over central Saskatchewan for helping to organize such a wonderful Book Week tour! With my snazzy little red car, I tootled from town to town, visiting with students and chatting about books. Such a tough life! Even better, was able to share some of the Legends of King Arthur at a couple of schools, which made for a great change of pace!

Driving around across the wide open spaces of the region, I was reminded just how much I love the prairie landsape. So much so, I've bookmarked several 'Land for Sale' websites. How much would my horses love all that space to roam? How much would I love all that space to roam? Any rural communities out there who would like to adopt an author in residence, get in touch. About my only requirement is that the nearest town have a coffee shop and a library branch. And I suppose I would also need to be within an hour of a decent airport (don't like those teeny weeny planes too much) so I could head out and tour some of the other cool places in our amazing country!

Go Rourghriders!

Lovely Review - No Bazoongas in Sight!

2007-11-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

This great review was posted over on the Equisearch.com site... Note to self: Make sure these guys get sent copies of the two new books!

Celebrate Children's Book Week

2007-11-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

... with a few of these great ideas from the Tough City Writer's blog (Friday November 16th post).
Add your own ideas to the list via the comments box...

Globe and Mail Follow-up Story

2007-11-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

Author pleased after Sask. school drops book ban

TOM HAWTHORN

November 15, 2007

Victoria -- A children's author is delighted that a Saskatchewan elementary school has reversed a decision to ban one of her books.

Nikki Tate had protested against a decision by the librarian at Elizabeth Elementary in Kindersley to bar Trouble on Tarragon Island, a novel for readers aged 8-13. The librarian had complained to the publisher about inappropriate scenes of bullying, one of which included the use of the word "bazoongas" to describe part of the female anatomy.

Ms. Tate's book has been nominated for a Diamond Willow Award, a prestigious prize voted on by young readers.

The book's publisher, Sono Nis Press of Winlaw, B.C., will continue to honour its offer of a free copy to every elementary pupil in Kindersley who requests one. The offer was made last week as a protest against the ban.

Quill and Quire - Blog Department

2007-11-14T22:43:00.000-08:00

The following post from Quill Blog: Daily updates from the blog division of Quill & Quire, Canada’s magazine of book news and reviews

Kindersley school reverses ban on book

According to a release from Sono Nis Press, author Nikki Tate was relieved to learn that Elizabeth School in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, which had previously banned her children’s book Trouble on Tarragon Island, has reversed its decision and “un-banned” it after a new school principal re-evaluated the content.

Sono Nis told Q&Q Omni this summer that the book had been deemed a problem because it contains a scene of bullying and because the bullying includes words that may be offensive to women.

Tate’s book, the third in her Tarragon Island series about protagonist Heather Blake, depicts a battle in Blake’s B.C. community over clear-cut logging. Blake’s grandmother joins an anti-logging activist group, and poses naked with them for a calendar, embarrassing her granddaughter. At the beginning of the book’s first chapter, several boys in Blake’s school taunt her about her grandmother’s breasts, calling them “bazoongas” and cupping melon-shaped areas around their chests.

The scene, Tate told Q&Q Omni, “sets up the central conflict of the book, which is asking the question, ‘when you step outside the rules of society … what is the impact on your community and on your family?’” Tate said the description shows the pain experienced by Heather as a result of the bullying. “It’s pretty obvious these kids aren’t being held up as an example of fine behaviour,” she said.

Elizabeth School administrators now seem to have come around to seeing it that way too.

Trouble on Tarragon Island has been nominated for a Diamond Willow Award in Saskatchewan, and Tate is participating in a TD Canadian Children’s Book Week tour in the province this month. As a part of the tour, she had planned to give away copies of her book to elementary students in Kindersley, and she says she will still go ahead with the give-away now that the ban has been reversed. She will sign copies of the book and chat with students at an informal event at the Kindersley Mall on Nov. 19.

Article in today's Times Colonist

2007-11-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

CAP: Nikki Tate’s Tarragon Island series focus on the typical preteen tribulations.

Victoria writer’s book restored to school library shelf
— Times Colonist staff
A truce has been declared in the Battle of the Bazoongas.

Last summer, Victoria children’s author Nikki Tate cried censorship when a Saskatchewan elementary school teacher-librarian banned her novel, Trouble on Tarragon Island.

At issue was the book’s reference to “bazoongas” as a slang word for breasts.

The librarian also expressed concern over the issue of bullying in the story, and speculated that children might read the bullying scene and use it as a template to harass fellow students.

Now Chris Oscar, the new principal of Elizabeth School in Kindersley, Sask., has reversed an earlier decision to ban Trouble on Tarragon Island.

“I’m so happy to hear that the school has reconsidered,” said Tate. “The book should never have been removed [from the library] in the first place.”

The move is a relief for Tate’s publisher, Sono Nis, for another reason: Trouble on Tarragon Island has been nominated for a Diamond Willow Award in Saskatchewan.

The judges are school children, who vote on which of several books they like best. If a book isn’t available in school libraries, it’s chance of getting the children’s nod is diminished. “It’s great to know that students will have access to the book through their school library,” Tate says.

Other school libraries across North America have carried the book without complaint.

Latest on The Great Bazoongas Caper

2007-11-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well, right after this article ran in the Globe & Mail, I received a phonecall from As it Happens (CBC news and current events program). We were all set to record an interview when the CBC learned that Elizabeth School has reversed its position on the appropriateness of Trouble on Tarragon Island for the school library. The new principal, Chris Oscar, was instrumental in having the book go through a review process, the end result of which was to put the book back out on the library shelves. This is, of course, great news and a huge relief to know that cooler heads have prevailed in Kindersley! Many thanks to Tom Hawthorn and all the other members of the media who have so diligently followed this story. I suspect that if we had simply accepted the decision and said nothing, the book would still be gathering dust in some dark corner 'safe' from curious children.

NOVEL GIVEAWAY
Author protests book ban over phrase 'generous bazoongas'

TOM HAWTHORN

Special to The Globe and Mail

November 13, 2007

VICTORIA -- Children's author Nikki Tate is taking her bazoongas to Saskatchewan.

The Victoria writer will be giving away copies of Trouble on Tarragon Island, a work of fiction banned at Elizabeth Elementary in Kindersley, Sask.

The publisher learned of the ban this summer after school librarian Debbie Wagner called to complain about scenes of bullying, one of which includes the use of the word bazoongas to describe part of female anatomy. "I feel so strongly that what's happened there is wrong," Ms. Tate said yesterday. "My message to the students is, 'If you want to read this book, here it is.' " The novel will be available free to any elementary pupil in Kindersley who requests the title. The public library in the town of 4,500 is helping with the give-away program (the Kindersley branch carries a single copy of the title, which is currently checked out). The combined student populations of Elizabeth and Westberry elementary schools is nearly 600.

The book was released in 2005 by Sono Nis Press of Winlaw, B.C. The publisher describes it as a work of juvenile fiction appropriate for ages 8 to 13. The book was one of nine nominated for a Diamond Willow Award in Saskatchewan, a reader's choice prize for works suitable for Grades 4 to 6. However, the ban prevents children at Elizabeth Elementary from having classroom access to the title. Voting by pupils ends next February.

The free copies will be distributed at a book signing to be held at the Kindersley Mall on Monday.

Trouble on Tarragon Island is the third in the series set on a fictional Gulf Island in British Columbia. It features a 13-year-old girl named Heather Blake who wrestles with her feelings about her grandmother's behaviour, which includes breaking the law to protest against clear-cut logging.

When the grandmother poses for a nude calendar as a fundraising gimmick, the girl becomes the target of schoolyard taunts.

"What they say about my grandmother is true," the girl says. "She does have generous bazoongas, and all of Tarragon Island has seen them."

Ms. Tate said she chose bazoongas over other more common but ruder slang terms.

"I was looking for something a little humorous without being obscene," she said. "The language that is used by children in schools can be quite foul."

Nikki Tate is the pen name of Nicole Tate-Stratton, a prolific 45-year-old author whose most recent release is a biography of Karen Brain, a horse rider who overcame a broken back in a riding accident to win bronze medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games.

By coincidence, the author learned of the Tarragon Island ban after having already agreed to take part in a sponsored author's tour, including a visit to a Grade 2 class at Elizabeth Elementary next week.

She will be reading from her picture book Grandparents' Day, which is based on a true story about her grandmother surviving a snake bite in the jungles of Brazil. She encourages students to use the tales told by their friends and family as inspiration for their own storytelling.

Neither the school librarian nor the principal could be reached for comment yesterday.

Ms. Tate will be touring Saskatchewan as part of the TD Canadian Children's Book Week. Vancouver writer Dan Bar-el will also be on tour in the province, while British Columbia children will be visited by Teresa Toten of Toronto, Edo van Belkom of Brampton, Ont., and the illustrator Ron Broda, of Sarnia, Ont.

Lovely Article in the Times Colonist

2007-11-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

What a great article to find in today's Times Colonist! Written by Barbara Julian, it talks about our launch at Greenhawk a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if the link (above) to the story works, but you can read it here without the formatting and photo.

Horsewomen share their passion

Barbara Julian
Times Colonist

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Author, Author: Riders and writers Julie White and Nikki Tate flank medal-winning equestrian Karen Brain, whose story is the subject of Tate's book.
PHOTO CREDIT: Debra Brash

Double Take: Karen Brain's Olympic Journey, by Nikki Tate; Sono Nis Press; 143 pages plus Glossary and Index; $12.95

High Fences, by Julie White; Sono Nis Press; 190 pages, $9.95

- - -

Horses are responsible for turning a lot of kids into readers. Kids who catch the riding bug will devour any reading material with a horse in it, whether novels, Pony Club manuals, histories of breeds or horsemanship magazines. The canon of literary horse classics is familiar even to non-riders -- Black Beauty, National Velvet, Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, Marguerite Henry's histories -- and every year several B.C. writers add titles to the list.

Nikki Tate, already known to horse-loving youth for her StableMates series, has written for the general reader a new biography of local-born Olympic rider Karen Brain. This book recently shared a launch party with Armstrong horse breeder and author Julie White. White's story for eight- to 11-year-olds, High Fences, features characters introduced in her earlier novel The Secret Pony.

The launch for these two titles took place in an equestrian supplies store in Brentwood. The powerful smell of saddle leather greeted attendees the moment they opened the door -- a familiar smell to riders but especially evocative for those of us who connect the sport with our youth.

The horsewomen-authors sat signing books at a table among an array of horse care commodities as specialized as are health and beauty products for humans: natural body wash, "ultra fire" vitamins, and "Quietex Powder" read some of the labels.

"It just seemed logical to have the book launch in a tack shop," says Nikki Tate. Now no one remembers who first had the idea -- Glynis, the owner of Greenhawk Supplies, or the authors, who are also her customers -- but there was an excitable buzz among the kids and adults in attendance because they all agree that the next best thing after a horse is a book about a horse. As Holden Caulfield says in Catcher in the Rye (comparing horses to cars), "a horse is at least human."

That horse raising and riding is an art and a lifestyle as well as a sport is reflected in these two books. High Fences contains detail about equine physiology and daily life in the stable, as well as the relationships among the horse and human characters that make up the story. Julie White, whose husband is an ex-jockey and daughter a certified racing trainer, got the details from a life spent with horses.

"The characters come from kids I knew as a child," she says.

Her young heroine Faye suffers the anguish of having Robin, her beloved partner in the show ring, sold out of financial necessity. That loss was a high fence to clear indeed, but whenever she is in the jumping ring Faye forgets everything but the horse she is riding and the competition at hand. "Faye's world narrowed to the sand-covered ring cluttered with brightly coloured obstacles," and so does the reader's, which is the whole point of this short novel for the 10-year-old dreaming of a show jumping career.

Olympic rider Karen Brain was once just such a 10-year-old, but one of the few who did get to the top of the equestrian world. Through drive, sacrifice, hard work and help from the best coaches at top training stables (the names Mark Phillips and Gatcombe Park in England may be familiar even to the non-rider), she progressed through gruelling qualifying shows until she and her horse Double Take made the World Equestrian Games in Rome in 1998. Then the turning point occurred. Brain broke her back in a riding accident, and her next several years were spent in a long rehabilitation program. With characteristic determination, Karen recovered the ability to walk and to ride, and eventually qualified for the Canadian Para-Equestrian Team which in 2004 went to the Athens Paralympic Games, where she won two bronze medals.

As a horsewoman herself, Tate knew Karen Brain before Brain's accident, but it was while visiting her in the hospital that Tate's storyteller's instinct went on high alert. She could "smell" the story bubbling up as the iron-willed champion rebounded from what had seemed like an irrevocable setback.

Nikki Tate's fluid prose takes us through the story at an easy canter, describing in detail the world of top equestrianship against which Brain's ascent, and then disastrous reversal of fortune, took place. Brain's recovery and re-dedication to ambition as a paralympian was a "double take" of another kind. Tate's account also shows us the world of international horse show bureaucracy, the costs of training and flying horses around the world, and the disturbing extent to which they too suffer pain and injury as they train to the max.

Brain wrote the introduction to Double Take. "I honestly do consider myself one of the luckiest people I know," she writes. "I have been blessed with a great family, great friends, and several great horses, and it is because of all of them that I have lived a rich life."

At Greenhawk tack shop and other venues where Tate's book was introduced, Brain delivered inspiring words to young riders which she echoes in her introduction: start now to create the memories for your own biography "by daring to live out your most heartfelt fantasies. If you can dream it, you can do it!"

At the Greenhawk store book launch, Brain's two bronze medals from Athens were on display beside the freshly printed copies of High Fences and Double Take, which looked right at home among the saddles, bridles and bags of "oat cuisine" also displayed for sale. Outside, the fall dusk was closing in and all over the Saanich Peninsula horses were being brought from hoof-churned fields into cosy barns.

Every young horse-loving, book-loving girl knows the special pleasure of reading under a tree in a field while your horse munches grass beside you: "down time" for both of you. Certain books find their way into the barn and look more at home there than in a library.

These two will be among those that belong where hay bales serve as shelves and hoof picks double as bookmarks, and where their equine subjects munch and stomp and blow their steamy breath across the stalls.

Barbara Julian is a Victoria writer who as a girl read nothing that wasn't about horses
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

Double Take - Mini Documentary

2007-11-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

This link is supposed to take you to the mini documentary about Karen and her quest for Olympic gold...

Busy Times!

2007-11-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

Just because there hasn't been a whole lot of posting action going on here doesn't meant there hasn't been a whole lot going on here... In fact, when too much starts happening in the real world, silence falls over blog-land. Facebook doesn't help, of course. The highlights include: the week-long megalaunch of Double Take: Karen Brain's Olympic Journey. Karen and I spoke to hundreds of students at a bunch of schools (the talks continue - we have several more during the next few weeks...) and also took part in a couple of panels. One was about Living the Dream (what does it mean to live a dream life? what are the challenges/the delights?) - another focussed on the joys of publishing with a small (but mighty!) press like Sono Nis. We also enjoyed a spectacular launch hosted by Greenhawk - many, many people came... many, many books were sold... many children's crafts were made... much cake and coffee consumed... A good time was had by all!

The vet came out to our place last week - and $1400 later (and, yes, that would be in beefy Canadian funds!!) everyone has been vaccinated, wormed, palpated, ultrasounded, filed, sedated, irrigated, prodded, and extracted. They should all be good for another year. Touch wood. Saved the gnarly old teeth we had to pull from good old Emma's ancient mouth. How that pony keeps going, I don't know. I am now soaking her hay to soften it up and she's consuming (proportionately) more soft foods like soaked beet and soy pulp and softened senior horse pellets.

Travel plans are being finalized for my Saskatchewan tour. And, yes, I will be going to Kindersley! Who knew that a trip to Kindersley could elicit excited squeals!

More on that as departure day draws closer!

These days I've been alternating listening to novels (most recently, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress) on my Ipod while I muck out the paddocks... with studying Italian lessons. I've been wandering around with my manure fork repeating Italian phrases to the horses and cats and squirrels and ravens and eagles and bunnies and goats and the dog and anyone else who might care to listen... This, of course, in preparation for our trip to Bologna (children's book fair) and Tuscany (recovery from the book fair) at the end of March.

Dani is still making noises about organizing a mini-tour in Japan after I get back from Italy and I have applied for a writing residency next fall in Tasmania... Better make sure my passport is in good shape!

But before I go anywhere, several writing deadlines loom... and I've got some reading to do prior to serving on the BC Arts Council grant jury... and a course description to write for a class I'm teaching in the spring at Malaspina. And stuff. Which, taken collectively, is why I haven't been blogging much of late.

Oh, and I nearly forgot - samples (one hard cover, one soft) of Behind the Scenes: The Racehorse are en route from Toronto as I type! The full shipment should arrive at HQ during the third week of November... Which is all very exciting! Can't wait to see how the finished books look!

Big Excitement!

2007-10-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Lots of excitement around here as final preparations are made for the big book launch! If you are anywhere near the Greenhawk Store in Brentwood Bay, stop by on Saturday, October 20th between 4:30 and 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Come One, Come All - Book Launch Alert!

2007-10-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest things about wearing multiple hats in the publishing world is that I get to be involved with such a range of events and activities. This launch promises to be amazing! Reviews of Sylvia's and Ron's WOTS performance this past weekend in Vancouver were great. Hope to see you there! Read on for more details...

Sylvia Olsen Celebrates Stories With Deep Cultural Roots and Universal Appeal

When Sylvia Olsen launches Which Way Should I Go? at the Mary Winspear Centre on Sunday, October 21st don't be surprised to find her dancing, and not just because she's happy to have another book out. The dance, and the story it tells (which Sylvia has captured in her picture book), have a deeper message to share. Inspired by a family story told to traditional First Nations teacher, Ron Martin, Olsen's picture book is based on a favourite tale from his childhood.

Martin remembers loving the song originally shared by his grandparents. "This song reminds us that everything in life is a choice," Martin says. "In every waking moment of our lives we should be aware that everything that we are doing in the moment is a choice. That is why we sing and dance and then pause. That is when we ask ourselves, 'Which way should I go?' We can stay in bed, or we can get up. We can listen or not listen. We can be angry or not angry. Everything is a choice." Olsen and Martin will perform the song and dance together at the Mary Winspear Centre where Which Way Should I Go? will be at the heart of this celebration of story-sharing. Olsen and Martin will talk about how they transformed song and memory into the written word before signing copies of the book illustrated by Kasia Charko. Children will have a number of activities to try and older attendees can learn more about Ron's background by watching the film, Salt Water People. Some of Kasia Charko's original artwork will be on display and master wool-worker, May Sam (whose likeness and knitting was featured in Olsen's earlier picture book, Yetsa's Sweater) will be on hand to demonstrate spinning techniques while she weaves stories and chats with visitors. Snacks, contests, and displays will round out the afternoon's activities. Families may find themselves inspired to create and honour shared stories of their own.

Both Sylvia Olsen and Ron Martin are all about stories. "I love storytelling," Olsen says. "I tell stories about the things I know, the people I meet, and the faces I see every day." As a traditional teacher, Ron Martin has been telling stories in his community (Tla-o-qui-aht people of Opitsaht near Tofino) for many years. What a stroke of genius to pair up these two powerful tale-tellers to create a unique picture book which speaks to readers of all ages. Publisher, Diane Morriss of Sono Nis Press was drawn to the simple but profound message in this story about a boy who loses his grandmother and must then find a way to cope and move forward. "Through traditional storytelling and a song his grandmother taught him, the Nuu-chah-nulth boy learns that everything in life is a choice. It's a very special story," Morriss says.

The big launch on October 21st will be the final event in a weeklong series of presentations in Vancouver Island schools and community venues.

The Cybils Are Back!

2007-09-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you Cybils organizers. I had a fabulous time last year on the picture book judging panel and am just thrilled you have chosen me again! Click the link above to see who the other panelists are (and to check out their blogs...) And now, I must be patient... though it will be hard. I can't wait to see this year's crop of nominees! And for those of you who are reading this and who also blog, rush over to the Cybils website and nominate your favourite children's book titles. As a matter of fact, I don't think you even need to be a blogger yourself to submit a suggestion - so if you have read something you think is great, be prepared to send in your nominations starting October 1.

Cafe Fairfield - Wacky Families Panel

2007-09-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

With apologies for not posting this earlier (I've been trapped in a parallel universe, which is what happens when one is called upon to do jury duty...)

You are invited to share music, readings, food and laughs at:

CAFÉ FAIRFIELD
September 23rd
1 – 4 p.m.
1335 Thurlow Road

1 p.m. Mural unveiled – meet artist Caroline Stengl
1:45 p.m.: Nancy Swartz will read from: Stories of Secular Humans

Authors Dede Crane, Nelly Kazenbroot, Karen Rivers and Nikki Tate
will hold a panel discussion with questions & answers on “Wacky Relatives and How They Get Into Books”

Book sales of signed copies by KIDS IN PRINT

Food by “YUM”

Welcome back to the GREEN ONIONS BAND

More information: 592 9340 or 382 4604

Could you say that, please?

2007-09-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Have trouble pronouncing author names like JON SCIESZKA? Here's a great article from the Horn Book Review to help you navigate the tricky, tricky world of pronouncing names you've only ever seen on book covers. (There's a reason I chose to write children's books using the name 'Nikki Tate.' :)

The Cybils are Back!

2007-09-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

Any kid-lit bloggers out there? The Cybils are gearing up for another round of judging and need bloggers to serve on selection panels and as judges. This is a great organization and worthy of your time, if you feel so inclined. Last year I was fortunate enough to be selected as a judge in the picture book (fiction) category and was delighted when one of my favourite books (Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt) came out on top. I've applied again this year and my fingers are crossed that I'll be selected: the discussion about the nominated books was great, the mix of books was interesting (included a couple I had never even heard of), and my fellow judges not just knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, but lots of fun, too. So, if you have a little time and if you are a kid-lit blogger (or if you know someone who is), head on over to http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/ for more information.

The Trials and Tribulations of Maureen Johnson

2007-08-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

At least YA author Maureen Johnson gets a special shelf... The best quote in the whole article is this one...
“Promoting righteousness, like having this book taken from everybody, is a step in the right direction.”
Hmmm...

TC Article by Barbara Julian

2007-08-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

This ran in the TC today...

Fiction Shows Youth Two Aspects of Activism

Barbara Julian
Times Colonist

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Scientists and activists aren't the only people working to protect old-growth forests. Many nature-loving writers use fiction to plead for the forest. From Farley Mowat in the 1960s to Diane Carmel Leger today (Who's In Maxine's Tree?), they have opened to youthful readers a world of species, habitats and the threats that endanger them.

One such is Nikki Tate, whose novel Trouble on Tarragon Island depicts a family struggling with both sides of the logging debate on an imaginary Gulf Island. When a grandmother poses nude for a conservation calendar, it is her adolescent granddaughter Heather who suffers embarrassment.

Tate shows us the taunting Heather experiences from boys at school as a result of having a "calendar girl" grandma. We hear and see it clearly -- too clearly for Elizabeth School in Kindersley, Sask., which recently decided that the scene offended their anti-bullying policy. They elected to ban Trouble On Tarragon Island from the school library because the characters display bullying behaviour and show disrespect toward the elderly by using slang terms for Grandma's sagging breasts.

Author and publisher are dismayed that some educators have decided to keep the book from its intended readers. Lost in the censorship debate is the logging issue that the plot is built around. "I couldn't have imagined anyone getting concerned about the word "bazoonga," says Tate. More important, she had supposed, are questions she raises about environmental activism: "What is the impact on your family of being an activist? What is the price you pay?"

Teachers could use the book to discuss, as well as bullying, ecology and the lengths to which anti-logging protesters sometimes go. Originally, creating nude calendars had some shock value in focusing attention on a cause, but now they are a staple of fundraising. For Elizabeth School staff, it seems that the shock is still the point. Does this suggest that they agree with the reaction of the boys who insult Heather's grandmother? Something here is being shoved out of sight, and probably not only the commonplace of adolescent bullying.

Putting critical language into the mouths of her adolescents, Tate presents us with a situation of sexist ageism and makes us think about our own aversion to what physically we will all become -- if we live long enough. We will become as gnarled and battered as those old trees about which some people care so much. For those who do care, it is astonishing that teachers would ignore the conservation debate in Tate's story, preferring to fiddle with bullying-prevention policy while ancient forests burn.

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

Dahlia - Closeup

2007-08-12T17:10:00.001-07:00

Dahlia - Closeup, originally uploaded by nikki_tate.

Glendale Gardens in Victoria hosted the annual Art in the Gardens event this afternoon. And, yes, some of the artwork was great - but nothing beats the colour, forms, design, patterns, miraculous essence of what Mother Nature paints on her canvas! This is one of the dozens of varieties of dahlias on display in the Dahlia Trial Garden. Makes me want to run out and plant dahlias everywhere!

Dad Gone Mad

2007-08-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Prepping for Harry Potter festivities, Dad did a series of experiments involving food colouring, small fans, dry ice, dish soap, and magic spells... Good thing we grew that screen of trees between us and the neighbours or he might well have been hauled off by Ministry of Magic officials!

Fire, Fire Burning Bright

2007-07-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Helicopters are buzzing up and down the Slocan Valley as I type this... a 600 hectare fire is burning just outside Slocan City, about 20 km south of Winlaw. Diane and I kayaked on Slocan Lake today, putting in at Slocan City and then paddling down the lake until we were nearly opposite the fire on the bluffs across the way. Had a great view of the helicopters dipping their gigantic water buckets in the lake and then flying off to drop the water on the fire. Also stopped to see some very cool pictographs on the rock walls right along the side of the lake. All in all, a perfect way to spend a hot summer day! (though, of course, we have our fingers crossed that the fire will soon be extinquished...)

It's All About Harry!

2007-07-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the silence in blog-land. Distracted at the moment by Harry preparations - and can't go into too much detail because, you know, Ministry of Magic officials might zap me for revealing state secrets... Soon, soon it will all be over, children the world over will bury their noses in the book, and we will all enjoy a few hours of well-deserved peace and quiet!

Globe and Mail Article

2007-07-13T12:28:00.001-07:00

Not sure if this link will work - but if it does, here's the full text of Wednesday's Globe and Mail article...

A Teacher-Librarian's Perspective

2007-07-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Stew Savard, a teacher-librarian on Vancouver Island, comments on the Saskatchewan situation...

My initial thought, having been a T/L a at the Elementary, Middle and High School levels, is that the T/L's decision in this case is wrong. I would have bought the book, and placed it in the different elementary libraries in which I was building a collection.

Building a collection isn't about finding pabulum for students and managing their thinking based on that pabulum. That is the worst form of censorship. Bullying happens in every school. Pretending it doesn't happen, by eliminating all references to it, is the worst form of denial. Denial of the hurt caused by bullies, allows both the hurt to continue and grow and allows adults and students to not learn how to confront bullies and help them to change.

The reason T/Ls collect both entertaining and challenging books is so that students can learn from the "fictional" responses of others. There are some books that I do not buy for my library. I use two tests, in the Middle School, where I am at right now. The first involves violence and whether or not it is gratuitous. "Hate You" by Graham McNamee contains violence. The violence isn’t gratuitous. It supports the story. Issues facing children and young teens are faced. Lessons are learned. The second test involves the use of sexual imagery. We don’t buy books with descriptions of sex. Romance! Well that is another story entirely. The characters can “swap spit,” as I describe it (usually with a grimace on my face), but that is where a reasonable line can be drawn at upper elementary and middle schools. Students need to learn how to manage their emotions and how better than from the mistakes of others.

I’ve enjoyed the Tarragon Island series. More to the point, almost all of the students I talked with, who have read this series, have enjoyed it. They like the humour and they like the lessons contained within your writing: don’t judge others by first impressions, have the courage to be true to yourself, and learn from the positive and negative actions of others.

It seems particularly ironic that the lessons you write about have been missed in this case. It also seems ironic that the school closed off an opportunity to deal with inappropriate language and with the malicious ways that language is often used in our culture.

My hope is, that after a summer of thought, the Librarian chooses to reconsider the decision and then deals with the broader topics raised in this series. (Slipping the book back on the shelves, without using the material to teach a lesson, would be a shame.)
Stew Savard

CBC Radio Interview

2007-07-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, here's the link to All Points West hosted by Jo-Ann Roberts. On the book club page is the link to the chat we had about Trouble on Tarragon Island.

I would cut and paste the fabulous Globe and Mail article by Tom Hawthorn, but though I may be subversive and a threat to the purity of young minds, I'm not a law-breaker. The Globe has a pretty clear policy about posting their articles on other websites... Though, if someone else sees a copy lying around the web somewhere, I suppose I could link to that.... Otherwise, if you are really desperate and want to read it, you'll have to go to the Globe and Mail online, search for Nikki Tate, and then purchase a copy. Globe subscribers may play by different rules - not sure about that.

Photo Shoot

2007-07-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how hot it was today! Not exactly ideal for taking photos (can you say sweat stains?) - but the most talented Globe and Mail photographer, Deddeda Stemler put up with the heat, a most uncooperative horse, allergies, and blinding sun coming from just the wrong angle to come up with a really cool series of photos! That's what you get when you send a pro to do the job! Here's a sample...
Visit Deddeda's website by clicking here ...

So Many Supportive Messages!

2007-07-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all who have sent such thoughtful and supportive messages re. the book banning incident in Saskatchewan. Here is a lovely one from Gillian O'Reilly of the Canadian Children's Book Centre:

It’s a real shame that children in Kindersley are being denied access to Nikki Tate's Trouble on Tarragon Island. It was chosen for the Willow Awards list by knowledgeable professionals who felt the book had much to offer young readers.

Kids who read this section of the book will recognize the truths in it – that adult actions can embarrass children and that other mean and hostile kids can exploit that embarrassment. But this section is a very small part of the book. In the bigger picture, Trouble on Tarragon Island explores environmental issues, intergenerational relationships, the creativity involved in writing and other media – all within an entertaining story that kids can relate to.
Gillian O'Reilly, Editor
Canadian Children's Book News

Edmonton Journal - Commentary

2007-07-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Edmonton Journal, Sunday July 8th, 2007

BAZOONGAS: NOT THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH

Using the term "bazoongas" to refer to a distinctly feminine anatomical feature is a major faux pas in Kindersley, Sask., where a local elementary school librarian banned the Canadian book Trouble on Tarragon Island for containing language too bawdy for elementary schoolers. While it is true that the term is still likely a few years away from the pages of the Concise Oxford English Reference Dictionary, one really must question whether, in this case, the quest to insulate youths from such forms of linguistic turpitude is being taken to the extreme.

Indeed, one has to wonder whether it is wise to shelter kids from such language that, while suggestive and a little funny sounding, is hardly profane. More than ever, English is a constantly evolving idiom and young people are its main drivers. Considering some of the terms being bandied about in the new male-oriented "brocabulary" -- the "dude-isms" that pass for male bonding and are ubiquitous on TV, radio and the Internet -- chances are bazoongas isn't going to register very high on the Richter scale of bad words.

*******
While various online discussion groups debate the issues raised by the librarian's decision to keep Trouble on Tarragon Island off the shelves and out of the hands of children, others choose to focus on other terms I might have used in lieu of the dreaded word, 'bazoongas'. My favourite alternative so far is 'bodacious tatas.' Yes, I can just hear those words being flung about the halls of a school in my neighbourhood - not!
NT

Prairie Fire or Teapot Tempest? You Decide

2007-07-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Book by Victoria children's author sets off a bit of a Prairie fire

Adrian Chamberlain
Times Colonist

Friday, July 06, 2007

Battle of the bazoongas? Or merely a tempest in a D-Cup?

A popular Victoria children's author is crying censorship after a southwestern Saskatchewan school banned her novel, Trouble on Tarragon Island.

At issue is the book's reference to "bazoongas" as a slang word for breasts. The librarian who pulled the novel at Elizabeth School in Kindersley, Sask., also objected to a mention of "saggy" breasts and a description of a bullying incident.

"I certainly view this as censorship," said Nikki Tate, 45, an award-winning writer of novels for young people. "I deliberately stayed away from crude language."

Wayne Parohl, principal of Elizabeth School before retiring a few weeks ago, said he does not view the withholding of the book as censorship. He said librarian Debbie Wagner originally ordered the novel, but subsequently deemed it inappropriate for younger readers at the school, spanning kindergarten to Grade 7.

The book will be handed over to the high school in Kindersley, a western Saskatchewan town with a population of 4,500, said Parohl.

He said a major fuss is being made over a minor incident.

"I suppose if you claim your book is censored, it makes it more salable. I don't know. It must be a slow news day."

Winlaw-based Sono Nis Press published Trouble on Tarragon Island, which has sold almost 3,000 copies since its 2005 release and is nominated for three book awards. Publisher Diane Morriss said she was surprised to receive a phone call from Wagner informing her Tate's book would be pulled.

Other school libraries across North America have carried it without complaint.

The Saskatchewan librarian -- who could not be reached for comment yesterday -- particularly objected to a description of bullying, said Morriss.

"She said they have zero tolerance for that kind of behaviour at the school, and by letting the kids read it, they're giving support to that kind of action. That's censorship to me," said Morriss.

The vice-president for CWILL B.C., a provincial organization for children's book writers and illustrators, said the incident is a tempest in a teapot. However, kc dyer added that she considers the book ban to be censorship and overkill on the librarian's part.

Dyer said Tate -- who's past chairwoman of the Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable and was twice voted Victoria's favourite children's author -- is an excellent writer highly regarded within the writing community. Trouble on Tarragon Island deals with the subject of bullying "using language that's fairly mild compared to what's heard in the schoolyard," she said.

The book is about a girl who is horrified when her grandmother joins Ladies of the Forest, a radical protest group aiming to save old-growth trees.

Their lobbying efforts include posing for semi-nude photos that appear in a calendar. These images attract taunts from schoolboys who use the word "bazoongas."

The heroine, Heather Blake, thinks: "What they say about my grandmother is true. She does have generous bazoongas, and all of Tarragon Island has seen them."

Trouble on Tarragon Island is nominated for a Willow Award, with winners being voted upon by young readers in Saskatchewan. It is also nominated for a Chocolate Lily Award and a Red Cedar Book Award.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

News Travels Fast - All the Way to Maine!

2007-07-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Even though it sounds like my books are somewhat hard to find in Maine, this diligent librarian is standing up for Trouble on Tarragon Island! Thank you, Leila -

Quill and Quire Weighs In on Book Controversy

2007-07-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

And this just in from Quill and Quire...

Bullying scene gets kids’ book banned from school library
by Megan Grittani-Livingston

July 6, 2007: A school librarian in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, has removed children’s author Nikki Tate’s novel Trouble on Tarragon Island from shelves because it contains a scene of bullying, which the school does not permit, and because the bullying includes words that may be offensive to women.

Librarian Debbie Wagner of Kindersley’s Elizabeth School contacted Tate’s publisher, Victoria-based Sono Nis Press, last week to protest the cover’s recommendation of the book for children ages 8 to 13. According to Diane Morriss, Sono Nis president and publisher, Wagner felt that readers of that age are too young for the book, that insults calling an older woman’s breasts “bazoongas” and melon-shaped were inappropriate, and that similar instances of rude teasing would not be permitted in the school and thus should not be in the library.

Tate’s book, the third in her Tarragon Island series about protagonist Heather Blake, depicts a battle in Blake’s B.C. community over clear-cut logging. Blake’s grandmother joins an anti-logging activist group, and poses naked with them for a calendar, embarrassing her granddaughter. At the beginning of the book’s first chapter, several boys in Blake’s school taunt her about her grandmother’s breasts, calling them “bazoongas” and cupping melon-shaped areas around their chests.

The scene, Tate told Q&Q Omni, “sets up the central conflict of the book, which is asking the question, ‘when you step outside the rules of society … what is the impact on your community and on your family?’” Tate said the description shows the pain experienced by Heather as a result of the bullying. “It’s pretty obvious these kids aren’t being held up as an example of fine behaviour,” she said.

Both Tate and Morriss said they were very surprised by the decision at Elizabeth School, which has 287 students in kindergarten to Grade 7. Morriss said that the scene raised no alarm bells during the editing and publishing process, and that several editors, readers, and librarians who have contacted her about the removal of Tate’s book have said they are also “very surprised that [Wagner and her library committee] would have pulled it from their library.”

According to Tate, who spoke with Elizabeth School principal Wayne Parohl after she heard about the decision, the school’s administration is standing behind Wagner. Parohl, who retired at the end of the 2006-07 school year and will be replaced by Chris Oscar, could not be reached by press time, nor could school staff be reached at the school as they are all on summer holidays. But Tate said Parohl told her the book would not be available to students, even if they asked for it as part of their participation in the provincial Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Willow Awards.

The Willow Awards are given to books nominated by a committee for each of three age groups, then chosen by student votes. Trouble on Tarragon Island is one of 10 books competing in the middle age group, the Diamond Willow category for children in Grades 4 to 6. Morriss said she submitted the book for the oldest group, for readers in Grades 7 and 8, but she said the organizers felt it was more appropriate for the younger bracket. Wagner herself is a director-at-large for the award’s 2007-08 board of directors.

Morriss said she plans to argue against the removal. However, Tate said she isn’t sure they have any options, because the decision was the librarian’s own for her collection – not based on any parental challenge – and therefore was not accompanied by a formal process that can be reviewed or contested.

The pair has faced such questions before, when several schools and libraries took offense to a book in one of Tate’s earlier Sono Nis series, the horseback-riding StableMates chronicles, which included a positive description of a character who practiced Wicca. While nothing came of those actions and challenges, Morriss said she wants to see how the Elizabeth School decision plays out. “I’m interested in seeing the repercussions,” she said. “I certainly hope they will reconsider.”

Star Phoenix Article About Trouble on Tarragon Island Controversy

2007-07-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Publisher defends Tate novel
'Bazoongas' reference concerns school librarian
James Wood, of The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, July 05, 2007

REGINA -- References to bullying, breasts and the word "bazoongas" have made a children's book nominated for a Saskatchewan award too hot to handle for a southwestern Saskatchewan school.

British Columbia-based publishing company Sono Nis Press says that Trouble on Tarragon Island, a novel by author Nikki Tate, has been censored by Elizabeth School, a kindergarten to Grade 7 school in Kindersley.

Publisher Diane Morriss said the school's librarian objected to a scene where the young heroine is teased about her activist grandmother posing semi-nude in a calendar, with taunts about her grandmother's saggy breasts, or "baz-oongas."

She said the librarian was offended and felt it was not appropriate for the book's recommended readers between the ages of eight to 14.

Morriss said she's bewildered by the situation, saying this is the first objection that has been made to the book.

"It's been nominated for three awards . . . Everyone else that's worked on the book, the editors and proofreaders, they're all extremely surprised too and they felt it was an overreaction to the scene in the book," she said in an interview.

"I think they've made something out of nothing on this issue. I really don't get it."

Morriss said the book's language is tame compared to what would likely be used in real life and could have been a catalyst for discussion about issues such as bullying.

Wayne Parohl, who was principal of Elizabeth School before retiring at the end of the school year, doesn't agree with the publishing company calling it censorship, saying it's common practice for books to be vetted by school librarians before they are made available to students.

In this case, the book was screened and was found to be not suitable for addition to Elizabeth School's library because of the language used in the bullying scene in question, he said.

"Do you work from the assumption that everything that is published automatically is guaranteed a spot in a school library until it's removed? And then if something doesn't make it on the shelves you call it censorship?" said Parohl.

He said the book would be appropriate for older students and would be passed along to the high school in Kindersley.

The book has been nominated for a Willow Award, a Saskatchewan book award that is chosen by young readers.

Morriss said Kindersley schoolchildren who want to vote in the contest won't be able to read Trouble on Tarragon Island unless they purchase the book.

Among the Willow Award sponsors are The StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post and the provincial government's SaskSmart Initiative.

jwood@sp. canwest .com

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

Happy Canada Day!

2007-07-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a Weekend!

2007-07-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I must say that being in Ottawa for the Canada Day weekend is pretty damned cool! And even more so when one gets to hang out with Canada's finest - the RCMP Musical Ride. Just to prove I wasn't just another Parliament Hill gawker, here's a shot that could only be taken if one has friends in high places...

Yup, taken from inside one of the trucks that haul the musical ride horses across the nation and back! More photos and commentary to come soon, I hope. I'm having a bit of a panic attack at the moment relating to Double Take, which is still whipping back and forth through the ethers during the editing process. And, of course, there's still the matter of the mounting media frenzy relating to the Great Book Banning... and I have to go pick up my horses from Bodicea... and maybe unpack... and pull my weight on the Harry Potter Party Planning Committee... and get those CBRA book reviews in ... and stuff. Ack. So fun writing about my amazing experiences over the past week in Ottawa will have to wait. But meanwhile, in case any of the fine men and women in red serge trot through here, a heartfelt thank-you for all your time and consideration while we poked our cameras and noses into your lives.

Future Musical Ride Horses?

2007-06-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

Could either of these two adorable foals someday become members of the musical ride? Only time will tell... but meanwhile, how much fun am I having researching this new book project? Yesterday spent the day at the RCMP breeding farm west of Ottawa... and today hung out with ride trainers, ride members, new recruits, and about 96 horses in residence at the stables in Ottawa. How cool is this job of mine, I ask you?

The Censor is Alive and Well and Living in Saskatchewan

2007-06-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

This just in from Sono Nis Press, publisher of Trouble on Tarragon Island...

A librarian at a school in Saskatchewan called to complain about the age level listing for Trouble on Tarragon Island. She said the committee for their school library feels the book is not sensitive to aging women in its reference to saggy breasts and using the word 'bazoongas.' In particular, the librarian and her committee members are offended by page 11 - line 14, which refers to a boy cupping his hands in a certain way making reference to breasts, etc. The school has zero tolerance for that sort of behaviour and the librarian feels that by allowing students to read about it, the school is giving support to totally unacceptable behaviour. The solution, in this school anyway, is to pull the book from the school library. The librarian went on to say that the book should not be listed as appropriate reading material for young readers.

The school principal agrees that such behaviour is unacceptable and supported the librarian's decision to refuse access to the book through the library. Even if a child specifically requests the book, he or she will not be able to take it out on loan from the library. Not that the school is forbidding children to purchase a copy. The nearest bookstore is a mere 200 kilometers away in Saskatoon, so real keeners can, presumably, hop on their bicycles and tootle to the big city to find a copy.

All this is rather interesting since the book seems to have found many fans among the critics (it's nominated for a Red Cedar Award, a Chocolate Lily Award, and a Saskatchewan Willow Award and has had a number of very positive reviews in the media...) Note that even children who are participating in the Willow Award reading program will not be allowed to take the book out of the library, though the principal assured me in a phone conversation that the children will be given the full title of the book. Whew - that's a relief!

As for the complaint, well, I hardly think that mentioning a negative behaviour in a book condones that negative behaviour. Otherwise, children would never be allowed to read a book about the Holocaust, drug abuse, less than perfect parents, divorce, war, or a whole slew of other less-than-perfect examples of human nature. Do I condone the behaviour my characters exhibit in the challenged part of the book? Of course not - any Grade Five reader will understand that those boys were the bad guys at that point in the story.

What is the message I hoped to share about older women? That they are feisty, powerful, amazing women willing to take on the powers that be in order to stand up for their beliefs. And, yes, sometimes, the most strident among us cause (often inadvertently) some degree of consternation to our relatives. That's life. And isn't the role of fiction to hold up a mirror to what goes on in the world so we can examine what happens from another perspective? Granted, you have to read beyond the first few pages to figure all that out, but it seems young readers haven't had a problem staying interested in the story until the end of the book.

Not that the children in this particular school will be allowed to think for themselves and debate the merits of the grandmother's tactics or the boys' reactions, or the issues surrounding Old Growth Forests... Someone else, apparently, has decided to do the thinking for them. Poor kids.

Surely Not!

2007-06-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

What astounded me when I visited snopes.com was not that the circulating story about this mother tiger nursing a littler of piglets to help her overcome depression was an urban legend (obviously I had my doubts or I wouldn't have visited Snopes!), but that the photo is real! Yes, those really are piglets dressed in tiger skin outfits nursing from a tiger... but they live in the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand (and not California as was reported in the forwarded email I received) where, apparently, such species mixing and matching goes on regularly as a way of entertaining and amusing zoo visitors. Click here to read the full story...

Facebook - What Gives?

2007-06-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

So what the heck is going on over in Facebook-land? A huge explosion of activity, that's what! It seems like everyone is Facebooking these days - yes, me too. This how I found out that KC Dyer has been to Wyoming and wants to go to Pakistan, that Harper Collins Canada is giving away frontlist titles they hope will generate lots of Facebook chit-chat, and that more than 30,000 people have joined the 'You Know You're From BC When...' group! If you are reading this and have not jumped aboard, come on over and join the fun!

In other news, Double Take (Karen Brain's biography) is entering the final phase of the writing process. The past days have been a blur of scanning, entering captions, emailing back and forth with Karen and her mother (who is a saint!) to identify people in photographs as well as give appropriate credit to various photographers, and making changes to the manuscript. Meanwhile, the designer is working on the project (using the penultimate draft) and the second editor (Dawn Loewen) is working away with a red pen. I'll get the edited version back soon and will then make a final (more or less) round of changes before the designer starts finalizing things. Suddenly, this train is moving very fast and I'm getting a little dizzy - and worried that I'll miss something important!

To make matters just a little more stressful, Joan Larson and I are also gearing up to head to Ottawa next week to research a book we are working on together. I'll blog more about that from on the road, but needless to say, my imminent departure is ratcheting up the stress levels as I try to get things finished up on the Double Take front!

Trouble on Tarragon Island Nominated!

2007-06-03T21:31:00.001-07:00

Exciting news!
Check out this list of nominees for the Red Cedar Book Award! Very, very exciting!
Red Cedar 2007 / 2008
Fiction Nominees

* Andrews, Jan. Winter of Peril: the Newfoundland Diary of Sophie Loveridge. Markham: Scholastic Canada, 2005.
* Grant, Vicki. Quid Pro Quo. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2005.
* Heneghan, James, and McBay, Bruce; illustrated by Geraldo Valerio. Nannycatch Chronicles. Vancouver: Tradewind Books, 2005.
* Horvath, Polly. The Vacation. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2005.
* Korman, Gordon. Chasing the Falconers: On the Run #1. Markham: Scholastic Canada, 2005.
* Little, Jean. Somebody Else’s Summer. Toronto: Viking Canada, 2005.
* Mitchell, Jack. The Roman Conspiracy. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2005.
* Nyoka, Gail. Mella and the N’anga: An African Tale. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2005.
* Oppel, Kenneth. Skybreaker. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2005.
* Porter, Pamela. The Crazy Man. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2005.
* Scrimger, Richard. From Charlie’s Point of View: A Mystery. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2005.
* Silberberg, Alan. Pond Scum. Bolton, ON: Fenn, 2005.
*Tate, Nikki. Trouble on Tarragon Island. Winlaw: Sono Nis Press, 2005
* Watts, Irene. Flower. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2005.

Congratulations to all the nominees! Hope to see you all at the big award ceremony next year!

Spring Launch Event in Vancouver

2007-06-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is from the CWILL-BC website... A great event, by the sound of it. So, for all of you who are close enough to attend... don't miss this chance to stock up on summer reading!

Saturday, June 9th, between 1 and 3, hie yourself off to the Alice McKay room in the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library.

There you will find all the new material you need for a summer of wonderful reading. More than 30 authors and illustrators will be presenting their latest works. Blackberry Books will be on site, so you can pick up a new book or six from your favourite BC authors and illustrators.

These will include: Alison Acheson, Dan Bar-el, Dianna Bonder, Vivien Bowers, Della Burford, Kristin Butcher, Linda DeMeulemeester, Maggie de Vries, kc dyer, Lee Edward Födi, Dennis Foon, Diane Haynes, James Heneghan, Melanie Jackson, Heather Kellerhals-Stewart, Cora Lee, Shar Levine, Ainslie Manson, Adrienne Mason, James McCann, Victoria Miles, Max Newhouse, Cynthia Nugent, Jacqueline Pearce, Louise Phillips, Ellen Schwartz, Sima Elizabeth Shefrin, Shannon Stewart, Tiffany Stone, Joan Betty Stuchner, Diane Tullson, Kari-Lynn Winters & Pam Withers.

This event is sponsored by CWILL BC, Blackberry Books, The Vancouver Public Library and Pandora’s Collective, with support from ING Direct and Purdy’s Chocolate.

Each author or illustrator will have a table — so come out and meet your favourites! There will be treats and activities galore.

There will also be a PASSPORT table, where all attendees can collect a passport. If you collect autographs from ten or more presenters around the room, you can tear off a tab at the bottom of the passport and be eligible for a PRIZE! (Plus you get to keep the autographs…)

Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni of Pandora’s Collective have graciously offered to help by emceeing this event. Each author and illustrator will get a brief chance to showcase his or her latest books.

There will be three presentation ’sets’ – one for each age group: Picture Books, Middle Grade/Chapter books, Young Adult/Teen books. In between sets, activity will take place at the tables, books can be bought, autographs can be obtained. Activities around the room will resume between the presentations, giving the authors a chance to sign their books etc.

Come and join us for a couple of hours of great book collecting fun — June 9th at the Vancouver Public Library.

~kc dyer

Iago - Horse Seducer

2007-06-02T11:34:00.001-07:00

Here's Iago - my horse whispering cat...

2007-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is how she plays the game... First, she saunters up to Ringo and stands under his nose until he massages her back. She strolls back and forth until her back has been thoroughly rubbed, sometimes twining around between his front legs. Then, she flops down on the ground and invites Ringo to nibble on her tummy. When she's had enough of that she rolls over in the dirt so he can lip her on both sides... Every now and then she gets up and moves a few feet away. She lies down again, gives him her 'come here, big boy' look, and waits. Sure enough, he follows and begins the grooming process again. If he gets too rough, she swats him across the face or grabs his muzzle with all four paws. This goes on for ages, particularly on warm, sunny days when she's feeling particularly affectionate. Ringo is unable to resist her charms and will follow her from end to end of the paddock and back again just to have a chance to bury his nose in her soft fur!

2007-06-02T11:28:00.001-07:00

2007-06-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

2007-06-02T11:27:00.002-07:00