The Official Book Launch Poster

The Great Box of Shocks Book Hunt!

The Box of Shocks Book Hunt is officially off the ground . . . er . . . in the ground . . . or whatever . . .

Anyway, thanks to a small army of dedicated GPS-slinging book hiders, copies of Box of Shocks are scattered in remote and not so remote locations throughout British Columbia.

Would you like to find one? Of course you would! Just go to www.boxofshocks.blogspot.com and you can get all the details of how it works.

A special thanks to Amy and her friends in Victoria, Nancy in Nelson, Ivor in Williams Lake, Sheena in Prince George, Chris (not me) in Armstrong, Shannon in Salmon Arm, Karen and Geoff in Whistler, Gord in Golden, and Peter in the Lower Mainland for all of their efforts and enthusiasm.

Box of Shocks Ready for Take-off!

The official launch of Box of Shocks will be taking place on Friday, November 18th, 2011 at 6:30 pm. Come and join us at Highland Park Elementary School in Armstrong, B.C. for a great evening of joyful jollity, hilarious hilarity, and an all-round fun time. Proceeds from book sales will be donated to Right to Play.

Be there or be rectangular!

Box of Shocks Unleashed!

My latest novel with Orca Books, Box of Shocks, has now been officially unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. It's available online from Orca Books, Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, other fine brick and mortar bookstores, and pretty much everywhere that sells new books. Stay tuned for details of the book's official launch, as well as the Box of Shocks Book Treasure Hunt, coming to a forest near you.

North Okanagan Shuswap Young Writers

Congratulations to all of the young writers who participated in the School District #83 North Okanagan Shuswap Young Writers Project.

At the outset of the project, I had one primary goal:

Have students write a short story and go through the experience of revising it a number of times (three) with the help of an editor (me).

In terms of personal growth as a writer, working closely with an editor has had the most profound impact upon my own writing. I've read dozens of books on writing and taken countless workshops, but nothing can replace the experience of working with an editor on one's own writing.

I wanted these talented students I was working with to take their writing to the next level. The way to do that was to go through a series of intensive revisions, re-examining their work from the broader aspects of plot, characterization, and setting, to the specifics of word selection.

I was wondering how open to such intensive criticism of their work they would be. Many young writers (and old ones, as well) aren't open to the criticisms of an editor.

These 40+ students that began the project ALL came through the revision process with determination and dedication. Every single one responded extremely well to the editorial critiques I presented and raised the level to their writing to stratospheric heights. Hats off to them all (and, of course, their very supportive parents!)

Thanks also to Shera Niewenhuizen for her organizational wizardry in pulling the project together and in the production of the anthology.

We're already looking forward to the 2011-2012 version of the project!

Four Excuses for Not Updating This Blog Over the Summer

Enough said.

Summer?

What is one of the best ways for a writer, artist, scientist, accountant, ballet dancer, photocopy repair person, circus contortionist . . . anyone for that matter . . . to rejuvenate? Head for the mountains for some rambling and scrambling, that's what.

Pictured above is Lake McArthur, situated in Yoho National Park. Mid-July and the ice is still on the lake. And I packed my swimsuit all the way up there for nothing!