Winning An Award For My Writing

 

 

https://books2read.com/The-Art-of-Growing-Older

It makes a writer happy to have their novel, short story, non-fiction book, poem, children’s book, or any other form of writing acknowledged by readers and peers either in person or by way of a review. And it is an honour for a writer to win a contest for something they’ve written or to have their writing chosen for an award. In the past, I won a flash fiction contest put on by the now-defunct Ascent Aspirations Magazine and was given a cheque for one hundred dollars. At the time I wasn’t sure enough of myself to say I was an award winning author. But now I can claim that title.

Below is a letter I received by email from the CEO and Founder of the International Impact Book Awards, where I had entered my non-fiction book The Art of Growing Older: It’s Not Age, It’s Attitude and Ability in the Aging Category. I received the email just before Christmas and it was a great present. It will also keep me going for many years knowing that one of my works was considered good enough to win an award.

 

Dear Joan,

I am delighted to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you for being selected as a winner at the International Impact Book Awards! Your exceptional talent, dedication, and creativity have set you apart in a competitive field, and it is an honor to recognize your remarkable achievement.

This award is a testament to the impact your work has made in the literary world. Your story, your voice, and your commitment to excellence have resonated with readers and judges alike, and we are proud to celebrate your success. Winning this award is not just a moment of recognition but a significant milestone in your journey as an author—a reflection of the countless hours, passion, and perseverance you’ve invested in your craft.

To honor your achievement, we are hosting the International Impact Book Awards Gala on February 23, 2025, at the Courtyard Phoenix Downtown. This prestigious event is designed to celebrate you in person as part of a vibrant community of distinguished authors, publishers, media professionals, and industry leaders.

Attending the gala offers you the unique opportunity to step onto the stage and receive your award in person, surrounded by peers who share your passion for storytelling. More than just a celebration, the event is an invaluable chance to connect with media professionals, offering the possibility of gaining additional media coverage and further promoting your book. Networking sessions, keynote speakers, and an elegant dinner will create an atmosphere where meaningful connections and collaborations can flourish.

We would love for you to join us in celebrating your success at the gala. If you are unable to attend the in-person ceremony, we still want you to have a tangible reminder of your achievement. You can order your award trophy and emblem to be shipped directly to your address.

Enclosed, you will find your certificate and digital emblem as a symbol of this significant milestone. We will be promoting your book on our social media and winners page to be featured on our website on December 23rd, so be sure to check back for updates.

Your success is truly remarkable, and we are honored to have your work as part of our award-winning collection. Whether in person or from afar, we look forward to celebrating your achievement and supporting you as you continue to make an impact in the literary world.

Once again, congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. We are excited to celebrate with you and to help you seize the opportunities that come with this prestigious award.

Warm regards,

Nim Stant

CEO and Founder
International Impact Book Awards 
www.internationalimpactbookawards.com

Facing Fears

 

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https://bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

Facing Fears

I have a fear of flying, a fear of heights, and a fear of falling from heights. My motto: I believe in terra firma. The more firma the less terra.

Because of those fears, it took years before I would fly and more years before I trusted the plane I was on not to crash. Even now I still worry each time I get on a plane. Recently, I was on vacation in Mazatlan with my son and daughter-in-law. Their timeshare is right on the beach so I would watch people parasailing out over the ocean and landing safely back on land. It is something I’ve watched before and thought I would like to try-someday. Well, that day arrived while I was there. I gathered up my courage and with my son at my side, went to talk with the men on the beach. I paid the money and was given a life jacket to put on. Then I was hooked up to the sail and a rope from the boat knotted to the equipment. I was told to sit and the boat started pulling me over the sand and soon I was rising up in the air.

My stomach clenched, I held on to the straps for dear life, and I started to hyperventilate. But I looked at the view and it was amazing: the ocean, the city, the mountains in the distance. However, each time the wind whipped at the sail and I went sideways I would gasp and may even have done some swearing. I had been told that once I was up in the air I could relax and let go of the straps. No %$&# way. I was taken in a loop over the water and eventually the boat slowed and I began to descend. I had a walkie talkie and was told to pull on the ropes of the sail to guide me towards the beach (I’d been given instructions how to do it) and I made a safe, stand-up landing. And I felt exhilarated. I had done it, faced my fears and had a new experience.

Fear is fear and many new writers face the fear of sitting down and writing the story they want to. Many don’t tell anyone about their writing aspirations. Part way through their manuscript they doubt their abilities as a writer and think about scraping the whole process. If they finish the manuscript, they worry that no one will like and are afraid to put their ‘baby’ out in the world where it risks rejection. If they do find someone to read it and get back some negative feedback, they are tempted to quit writing altogether. If they get far enough in the process where they think about trying to find an agent or publisher, all the worries surface again. Each of these is a big step in a writer’s life and fear and doubt rule them all. Even once a book is published the writer wonders how it will be received by the readers.

If I didn’t face my fears of flying and heights, I would never go beyond the oceans that surround Canada. As a writer, if I hadn’t overcome my fears of rejection I wouldn’t have over twenty books traditionally published.

Even if my first writing hadn’t been accepted, I would still consider myself a winner for I had been brave enough to try something new and different. Just like flying, and walking across bridges that span canyons and gorges, and parasailing, I have done something that scared me and won. So I advise every new writer to follow your dream and don't let fear stop you. Face it and overcome it and enjoy being a writer.

And never let age stop you from doing anything. I plan on skydiving when I am 90 years old. Gives me a few years to psych myself up.

Christmas Eve

 https://books2read.com/The-Twelve-Dates-of-Christmas
 

https://books2read.com/Single-Bells

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Christmas Eve includes the full day December 24. In some religions, celebrations begin on Christmas Eve because of Chapter 1, Verse 5 in The First Book Of Moses, called Genesis: And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. They believe because of that verse, the day of worship begins in the evening. Many churches ring their bells and hold services in the evening.

Also, according to Luke Chapter 2 Verses 6-8, Jesus was born at night. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger: because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

A small nativity scene is set up indoors or a larger one outdoors and has figurines showing Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. There may also be a lamb and the shepherds mentioned in Luke.

Christmas Eve day is considered a partial holiday and part of the Christmas celebrations. The two days are significant to areas in the world where Christianity is widespread. Families and friends gather Christmas Eve to go carolling, or walk their neighbourhoods to enjoy the lights, or go to church. Many even have their turkey dinner and unwrap gifts that evening.

Children go to bed Christmas Eve hoping they have been good enough throughout the year to receive a gift from the man in red. There are many different names around the world for the man who delivers to gifts: Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, St. Nicholas, and Father Christmas. May everyone who celebrates have a wonderful Christmas this year. And happy holidays to everyone having a celebration this season

Our Christmas Novels

 

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https://bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

My sister, Gwen Donaldson, and I wrote these two holiday/comedy/romance novels together. They are about women who try dating sites and the strange, wonderful, and unexpected men they meet. We had fun doing this, joking that they are loosely based on Gwen's love life: she does the research while I do the writing. Most of the stories, though, are made up. I don't think anyone has had that many dating disasters. At least, I hope not.

Here are the blurbs from the back of each book. 

The Twelve Dates of Christmas

Stacy Martin, who has been married three times and had many relationships, doesn’t want a man in her life right now but her friends have other ideas. As a forty-ninth birthday present they pay for her to join three dating sites on the Internet. She just has to fill out the forms and pick the men she wants to meet.

The only stipulation is that she must find a man by Christmas Eve so that the two of them can join Kate, one of her friends, and her boyfriend in Hawaii for New Year’s Eve. “All you have to do is pick twelve men to date in December,” Kate said. “After the first date you can decide if you want to see each again. In the end you should be able to choose one for our Hawaii trip.”

Stacy has a full life with owning a flight attendant school, owning a rental condo, and owning a cat. Will she choose a man from a dating site, the man who has accused her female renters of being prostitutes, or the stranger she meets as he is leaving the rental condo building?

Single Bells

Simone Bell-Watson owns a literary agency in Vancouver, B.C. It is just before Christmas and she has discovered her husband is cheating on her. This sends her into a frenzy of starting a divorce, changing her name, selling their condo, and moving in with her mother. She also has to contend with her sister trying to set her up on dating sites to get her back in the dating scene.

Serena Bell owns a popular pub in Richmond, B.C. After many years of dating she is still hopeful of finding the ideal man or at least a man who doesn’t try to change her or who doesn’t point out her faults. She has a profile on many dating sites and has her own rules about when to take texting with a man to the next level of actually going on a date with him.

Their mother, Patricia Reed-Bell is a widow who writes historical romances.

Join the sisters and their mother in this holiday romantic comedy as Simone deals with her new life, Serena dates a number of men, and Patricia flirts and freely talks about sex.

We Are All Growing Older

 

https://books2read.com/The-Art-of-Growing-Older

https://bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

A centenarian is a person who has lived to be 100 years-of-age or more.

       A super centenarian is someone who has lived for 110 years or longer and 90% of the super centenarians are women. One in one thousand centenarians reach the super status but only 2% of them attain the age of 115 years or more.

       According to studies most of the centenarians have many character traits in common. They have been strong, resilient, and optimistic people all their lives and still are. They have a sense of control, are more relaxed, adapt to changes, seldom get angry, and are emotionally stable. They don’t indulge in self-pity.

       Throughout their lives they have dealt with emergencies better than most people and they have coped quickly without much hostility or aggression. Getting their emotions back to normal and accepting everything as part of life have been two survival techniques they have used. They get their life on track again before physical and mental damage can be done, because that is one of the essentials to successful aging.

       Women have a different personality than men and this could be why 80% of all centenarians are women and 75% of those are widowed. Most are living on their own, either alone or with the help of a family member or home care.

       The Guinness Book of World Records has had a category for the oldest person in the world since 1955, which was usually filled by women. It began the separate classification of oldest man in the year 2000.

     Jeanne Louise Calment was the oldest recorded person to have lived. She was born on February 21, 1875 in Arles, France. She died on August 4, 1997 at age 122 years and 164 days. She claimed it was port wine, olive oil, exercise, and a sense of humour that made the difference. She had a brother and sister who died before she was born. Her other brother lived to ninety-seven years. Jeanne’s only child, a daughter died at age thirty-six, and Jeanne’s grandson also only lived to thirty-six.

       *Kane Tanaka of Japan was born on February 21^st 1875 and died April 19^th 2022. She lived for 119 years and 107 days and is the second oldest person ever next to Jeanne Calment. She is the oldest Japanese ever.

       *Sarah Knauss of the United States was born on September 24, 1880 and died December 30, 1999 at the age of 119 years and 97 days. When she celebrated her 119^th birthday her daughter was ninety-five-years-old, her grandson seventy-years-old, great-granddaughter almost fifty, great-great-granddaughter in her late twenties, and her great-great-great-grandson was four.

       One of the reasons for Sarah’s longevity could be explained by one of the staff at the home where she lived. “Sarah has an attitude of live and let go. She has a real serenity. She's also very kind. She's very grateful.”

       *Lucile Randon of France ranks as the fourth longest living person at 118 years and 340 days. She was born on February 11^th, 1904 and died on January 17^th, 2023. She was known as Sister Andre and also has the honour of being the oldest survivor of the Covid pandemic. She tested positive a month before turning 117.

       *Lucy Hannah lived from July 16, 1875 to March 21, 1993. She was 117 years, 248 days old when she passed away. Lucy was the second oldest verified person to have ever lived in the United States and the world’s fifth oldest person to have ever lived. She was never the world's oldest living person because Jeanne Calment was five months old when Lucy was born and Jeanne was still alive when Lucy died.

       *Canadian Marie-Louise Meilleur was born on August 29, 1880, thirteen years after the confederation of Canada on July 1, 1867. She was 117 years, 230 days of age when she died on April 16, 1998. Marie-Louise had ten children and at the time of her death had eighty-five grandchildren, eighty great-grandchildren, fifty-seven great-great-grandchildren and four great-great-great-grandchildren.

       Marie-Louise cited hard work as the reason for her longevity and she did enjoy a glass of wine. She also quit smoking at the age of 90.

       The average time that a person has served as the oldest living person in the world is 525.5 days.

       If these people can live to be over 115 years or even 120 years, why can’t everyone? They prove how long our bodies should work. In my book, The Art of Growing Older: It’s Not Age, It’s Attitude and Ability, I talk about my quest to live as long as possible and what I have done right and what I have done wrong in my journey. The book also points out that everyone should be able to live long and healthy lives.

The Art of Growing Older

 

 

 

https://books2read.com/The-Art-of-Growing-Older

https://www.bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

I am 75 and my husband is 77. In August we headed north, in our motorhome, on a three week trip to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada, to see the Arctic Ocean. I put my feet in the ocean while my husband dipped his shoe.

Some people think we were too old to have made the trip. I think I am never too old to do anything.

This book tells how I went from thinking 40 was old to realizing that I could do anything at any age. It just takes attitude and ability both of which I have in abundance.

And I am not the only one. My mother was 86 when she went to Europe with my sister and climbed the 251 winding steps of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was on a bus tour through Spain, Portugal, and Morocco and one of the other passengers was a 94 year old woman who was with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. On one of the walking tours we took we made over 22,000 steps. She kept up with everyone because she had the attitude and ability to do so. Everyone can do the same. Age should not stop anyone from doing anything, because age is just a number. And a number shouldn't rule our lives.

Here is the blurb from the back cover:

After her ninth grade class served tea to a bus load of visiting seniors who were to be the students adopted grandparents for the afternoon, Joan Donaldson-Yarmey decided she didn’t want to grow old and have to be adopted by someone. So at the age of fifteen she resolved that she would end her life when she reached sixty-five.

Over the years, Joan read books, surfed the Internet, and watched documentaries about aging and learned that human beings have the ability to live to be over one hundred years of age and to be healthy and alert while doing it. This book is her journey from that decision at age fifteen to realizing that she didn’t have to grow old, that at a certain age some sick, decrepit person would not step into her shoes and take over her life. She is now in her mid-seventies and so healthy that she never gets any sympathy from her family and friends because she has nothing, health wise, to complain about. She has no illnesses, no aches or pains, and takes no medication, not even ASA or ibuprofen.

Read about Joan’s journey in what she playfully calls her futuristic aging memoir and find out what it is that she believes is her fountain of aging.

Canadian Authors-Quebec

 

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      I am a proud Canadian author of over twenty fiction and non-fiction books in my long writing career. But I am just one of thousands of published writers from this huge country. Canada has had a long and illustrious history of producing world renown authors and books going all the way back to the 18^th century.

     Frances Moore was born in England in 1724. She was a well-known poet and playwright in England before she and her husband, Reverend John Brooke moved to Quebec City in 1763, for John to take up the post of army chaplain. During her time there Frances wrote The History of Emily Montague, a love story set in the newly formed Quebec province.

     The story is told through the voices of her characters by way of personal letters between the two. This is known as epistolary (of letters) type of writing and it was popular during the1700s in Europe. The Brookes’ returned to England in 1768 and the novel was published in 1769 the London bookseller, James Dodsley. The History of Emily Montague was the first novel written in what is now Canada and the first with a Canadian setting. Frances died in 1789.

 

Quebec

Marie-Rose-Emma-Gabrielle Roy was born on March 22, 1909, in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, which is now part of Winnipeg. After her early education she took teacher training at the Winnipeg Normal School. She taught in rural schools in Manitoba until she was appointed to the Institut Collegial Provencher in Saint Boniface. She saved her money and moved to France and England to study drama but after two years returned to Canada when WWII broke out in 1939. She settled in Montreal and earned a living as a sketch artist while writing. She became a freelance journalist for La Revue Moderne and Le Bulletin des agriculteurs.

     Ms. Roy’s first novel, Bonheur d'occasion (1945) was an accurate portrayal of Saint-Henri, a poverty-stricken neighbourhood of Montreal. It was published in French, earning her the Prix Femina award in 1947. The book was also published in English under the title The Tin Flute and won the Governor General Award for fiction as well as the Royal Society of Canada’s Lorne Pierce Medal. It was the first major Canadian urban novel.

     The novel sold almost a million copies in the United States and the Literary Guild of America made the novel a feature book of the month in 1947. Because of all the attention the book received, Gabrielle moved to Saint Boniface to escape the publicity. There she met a doctor, Marcel Carbotte and three months later, in August, they married. They headed to Paris for the next three years where Carbotte studied gynecology and Roy wrote. On their return to Canada in 1950, they settled in Montreal for a couple of years and then moved to Quebec City. Carbotte took up a position at the Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement and they lived in an apartment. Wanting a quiet place to write, Grabrielle bought a cottage in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Charlevoix County. There she wrote the bulk of her work. In total, she wrote twenty books.

     Gabrielle and her husband didn’t have any children. Besides writing she travelled around the world and spent time visiting her family.

     Gabrielle Roy is considered to be one of the most important Francophone writers in Canadian history and one of the most influential Canadian authors. She became a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1967 and won many awards, including the Governor General Award three times. She was on the panel in 1963 that gave the Expo ’67, Montreal World's Fair and Canada’s 100^th birthday celebration, its theme: Man and His World (Terre des hommes).

     Gabrielle Roy died of a heart attack on July 13, 1983, at the age of seventy-four. Her autobiography, La Détresse et l'enchantement, was published posthumously in 1984 and the English translation, Enchantment and Sorrow won the Governor General Award in 1987.

In 2004 the Government issued a $20.00 bank note in its Canadian Journey Series which had a quotation from her 1961 novel, The Hidden Mountain: Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?

 

Mordecai Richler was born on January 27, 1931, in Montreal, QC. He was raised on St. Urbain Street and learned how to speak English, French, and Yiddish. He studied at Sir George Will College (Concordia University) but left before getting a degree. He moved to Paris at nineteen and lived there for two years before returning to Montreal. He worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) for a short time then moved to London, England in 1954 where he married Catherine Boudreau. She was a non-Jewish French-Canadian divorcee who was nine years older. Just before their wedding he met and was infatuated by another non-Jewish woman Florence Wood Mann, who was the wife on his close friend, Stanley Mann.

     While in England he wrote and had published seven novels, the most well-known one being The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959). The story was about Richler’s favourite theme: the hardships of Jewish life around St. Urbain Street in Montreal in the 1930s and 1940s. He wrote a screen play for the novel and it was made into a film in 1974 starring Richard Dreyfuss. In 1960 Richler divorced his wife and Florence divorced her husband and they were married in 1961. Mordecai adopted her son and they had four more children.

     Richler and his family returned to Montreal in 1972. A compilation of his humorous essays was collected into Notes on an Endangered Species and Others (1974). He also wrote the Jacob Two-Two series of children’s fantasy books (1975, 1987, and 1995). His novel Joshua Then and Now was published in 1980 and made into a film in 1985.

     Besides writing novels, Richler also contributed articles to magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Look, The New Yorker, and The American Spectator. He wrote a column for The National Post and Montreal’s The Gazette and wrote book reviews for Gentleman’s Quarterly.

His last novel, Barney’s Version (1997) was based on the events surrounding his divorce and remarriage. Barney’s Version was made into a film in 2010.

     Richler was awarded the Order of Canada in 1999. He died of cancer on July 3, 2001, at the age of 70.