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!

Box of Shocks Cover Revealed

Here's a sneak peek at the cover of my new book due out this fall with Orca Books.

Tabloidology Hits Korea!

Tabloidology has arrive in Korea. With a complete make-over of the cover, Vidam Publishing has produced a fine edition complete with cover flaps, high quality paper, and a textured cover. Of course, the great paradox here is that I now have a book I've written but can't read. Who said life always makes sense?

Returning Home

Have you ever gone back to a house you used to live in? It’s a strange experience. The furniture’s all different. Maybe the walls have been painted. The pictures on the walls aren’t the same. Maybe some renovations have been done to significantly change the insides. No matter what, the house just doesn’t look right.

It doesn’t look right because you’re comparing the house now to the house then, when you lived in it.

Pictured above is a house I lived in when I was between the ages of about four to eight. When I was writing my upcoming novel Box of Shocks, it was this house I re-imagined for the setting. Of course, the beauty of creative writing is that you have free license to twist, reshape, chop, glue on, and generally refabricate reality. It's like cosmetic surgery for your memory.

But even if I wanted to accurately represent this old house in my novel, I couldn’t– my memories of this house are like a patchwork quilt with a bunch of missing panels. I have vivid memories of parts of the house and events that took place. But I’m quite willing to admit, there are huge gaps in my memory for many details. To fill the gaps, that’s where the imagination comes in very handy.

It’s been said that History is part fiction, and Fiction is part history. In the case of this house and my new novel Box of Shocks, never was this statement more true.