How I Became a Published Author

 

 

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I took a few writing courses and began my published, writing career (as opposed to my unpublished writing career) with a short story titled  A Hawk's Reluctant Flight, in a small magazine called Western People. With that on my short resume, I had travel and historical articles accepted by other magazines, one of which didn't pay anything to the author. Then I took another writing course and one of the speakers was Grant Kennedy owner of Lone Pine Publishing in Edmonton, Alberta.

       At the time Alberta was divided into tourist zones and I had been thinking about doing a book on what there was to see and do in each zone. I sent a query letter to Lone Pine Publishing and the senior editor responded with a phone call. We set up a time for me to go to the city and meet with her and Grant Kennedy.      

      I outlined my idea and Grant said yes it was a good one but he thought that the books should be more on the people and culture of each zone. He liked his idea and I liked mine so we decided we couldn't work together. As I stood to leave I said. "Well, at least as I research the zones I will see all the backroads of Alberta." He replied. "I've always want to do a book on the backroads of Alberta." I sat back down and that was how I began my backroads series. Over the next ten years I travelled through and wrote two books on Alberta, four books on British Columbia and one on the Yukon and Alaska.
       My favourite books to read have always been mystery novels and after much thought I decided to write one. Since one of the mantras of writing is to write what you know I made my main character a travel writer. She was headed to southern Alberta to do research for a magazine and was drawn into the mystery of a skeleton found in a septic tank. When I was finished I sent it out to a few publishers. One wrote back that they liked it but my travel background was coming out and I had too much travel information in it. I was asked to remove some. So I did and resent my manuscript. Again, I was asked to cut back on the travel info. Again I did. The third time I was told that this was a mystery and I should stick with the mystery and leave out the travel stuff. I wrote back and said that the main character is a travel writer and is working on an article. She is not going to drop that and concentrate on the mystery. So needless to say we parted ways.
      I sent out the manuscript again and another publisher said they were interested in publishing it. They had one stipulation and that was that I should add in more travel information.
      I sent the second novel of what I was calling my Travelling Detective Series to the same publisher. After about a five month wait I received a letter that told me the publishing house had been bought out by another one and that my manuscript and all my information had been sent to them. I waited a few months the emailed the new publisher to find out what was happening. A couple of days later I received an email stating that they had no record of my manuscript. My heart sunk. But a few days after that I received an email from another editor at the publishing house that they had found my manuscript and they wanted to publish it.
       However, in the time between that email and the publishing date for my novel, the publishing house was sold again. The new owner was going to honour my contracts, but in the future wasn't going to publish mysteries. I knew there was no use sending my third manuscript to that publisher and after checking around I sent it to Books We Love. They immediately accepted it and e-published it. After two years of talking with my former publisher I was able to get the rights to my first two novels of the series and now all three are published with Books We Love Ltd. as a boxed set.

     Since then I have published one more mystery novel, two young adult historical, and one adult historical romance, Romancing the Klondike through Books We Love. The sequel to that historical romance, Rushing the Klondike, will be out in September 2022.

 

Virtual conferences VS Physical Conferences

 

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In the time of virtual everything because of Covid, I took part in my first virtual writing conference last year. I was both a panelist and in the audience for some sessions. I have attended physical writing conferences in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton and there is a definite difference between the two. In my opinion each has its own pros and cons.

     There is a lot of coordinating and cost for the organizers of the physical conference. They have to find a venue usually a hotel with boardrooms. This allows the panelists and attendees to book a room and stay close to the conference. There are usually guests of honour who have to be paid. Besides monetary costs it takes a lot of time to figure out the panels: subjects, panelists, and the timing of sessions to accommodate writers or editors publishers who are on more than one panel. They also have to recruit volunteers to look after the rooms. These volunteers make sure the moderator runs on schedule, the audience clears out in time for the next one, and there are fresh glasses and jugs of water for each new session.

     There are also costs for the panelists and audience members of the physical conference. If they don’t live in the city where the conference is being held they have to travel which entails gas, hotel, and meals or plane tickets and car rental plus hotel and meals. If a presenter wants to be in the audience of any of the sessions they have to pay the registration fee just like everyone else. There is the also the extra cost of a banquet ticket if one is planned.

     I lived on Vancouver Island at the time and in order to attend any physical conference off the island I had to drive 1.5 hours to the ferry, and to make sure I get on it I have to be there about an hour early or pay for a reservation. Then it is almost two hours ferry travel to Vancouver. So that is four hours. If I am going to Calgary or Edmonton, it is another day’s drive. I could fly which is quicker but I would still have to pay for the ticket and to rent a vehicle to get around once there.

     Like the physical conference it would have taken a lot of time to plan the arrangement of the panels and panelists of the virtual conference. Monetary costs were probably low because there was no venue, no banquet, and no guests of honour.

     It cost me, and everyone else who took part, nothing to attend the virtual conference either as a panelist or an audience member. I had no plane ticket or vehicle gas and parking to pay for, no hotel room to book, and no new clothes.

     The length of the physical conference has to work around the time frame of the panelists and attendees. Unless they take a day off work the first panels can’t start too early on the Friday because of ability to get there. For that same reason, it has to close early on the Sunday so those leaving can start their long drive home or get to the airport in time to catch their plane.

     Because there is no travel involved, the first session of a virtual conference can start around the time people get home from work on the Friday. The only thing everyone has to remember is the difference between time zones. Being on the west coast the morning sessions started very early for me. The evening sessions ended before my supper time.

     When it was time to be a panelist I set my computer up and clicked on the link a few minutes before the session was to start. Pictures of the other panelists showed up on my screen and we visited a few minutes before the moderator started the session. When I was in the audience I clicked on the link and waited for the panelists to show up on my screen.

     Being on a virtual panel, the guests only see a shoulders and head shot of me so I just have to wear a good top and comb my hair. I have to make sure there was no light like a window behind to put my face in shadow. Also, depending on where I was I could have some unexpected interruptions—pets, children, phone ringing.

     Getting ready for a physical conference I have to pack enough clothes for the weekend. If I am on a panel I have to make sure I have all my material with me when I leave home. If I forget anything, I am out of luck. No packing for a virtual conference and all my material will be in my house somewhere.

     At a physical conference there are many panels taking place at the same time which can be frustrating if I want to attend more than one of them. For this virtual conference only one panel was offered each hour so I was able to take part in as many as I wanted. When I finished my panel or the presentation was over I could leave my office and pet my cats, pick strawberries, sit on my deck, or train my chickens to run an obstacle course.

     The downside to the virtual conference is that the only people I see are my fellow panelists. I don’t see the audience expressions so there is no interaction between me and them. I like to watch them to see if they are bored or glad that they came. I am happy to see that ‘ahah’ moment when something I say answers a problem they have been having.

     At both conferences there is time for the audience to ask questions. When answering a question at a physical conference I can speak with the audience face to face, I can judge to see if my answer is making sense. The questions at a virtual conference are typed so I don’t see the person asking. When I answer it I am only looking at my fellow panelists.

     Part of the fun of going to a physical conference is the contact with my fellow writers. We can meet for meals or a drink or have a quick chat between panels. I can walk through the conference centre soaking up the writing atmosphere. I meet readers, talk about books, and get feedback on my own books. It is wonderful when someone comes up to me and tells me they enjoyed a presentation I made or want some advice, or liked one of my books. This does stroke my ego because we writers need to have our egos stroked once in a while. We spend months, years even, alone writing a book, wondering if a publisher is going to like it and if a publisher does, will the readers like it and if they do will they tell us. It is a great feeling to go to the Vendor’s Room and see my books displayed on my publisher’s table. Even better to have someone buy one of mine and ask for an autograph.

     During a virtual conference, there is a Vendor’s Room showing a picture of all the panelists and their books. There is also a chat room where authors and readers can connect.

     There are a lot of differences between the two conferences. Most physical conferences have been cancelled for this year or turned into a virtual conference which is perfect in today’s time of lockdown and social distancing. In the future I am sure they will return as writers and readers decide what they like best: the convenience of the virtual conference or the comradery of the physical conference. I like both and if, in the future, I am able to attend either of them, I will.

My First and Only Stage Play

 

 

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Over my writing career I have written non fiction travel books, and mystery, historical, and holiday romance novels. One year, after taking a two day, play writing course, I wrote a stage play. I entered my play in the Fringe held in the small town where I lived. It was accepted and then came the hard part: finding actors and props, producing, and directing it.

      I needed a male and a female lead actor and I asked two people who had been in plays in our local theatre before. They agreed and I gave them each a copy of the play. We met and had a run through with us discussing how we each saw the characters. Their interpretation of their character's actions and attitude were sometimes different from mine, but, other than a few places where I felt a certain delivery was needed, I let them decide how to play the part. Through our many rehearsals with the props, which my husband, Mike, was in charge of, the characters evolved and took shape as we discovered better ways for them move, react, and relate.

      I also needed actors for a party scene and I approached people I knew and/or worked with in my quest. Even though I told them that they would only be on stage for less than five minutes, that all they had to do was listen to the male actor beak off about how good he was, and that they had no lines, many gave a flat no, explaining that they could never get up on stage in front of an audience. Some agreed so I gave them the times of our next two rehearsals. Most of them never showed up. I kept asking people: my cats' vet, the owner of a new store in town, the person who donated some props. But I only had the same two people show up for any of the rehearsals and it looked like Mike and I would be making our acting debut. I was beginning to worry. Maybe I would have to drag up some of the audience members.

      On the evening of the first presentation, two of the three who had attended rehearsals, two actors in another play and I made up the attendees of the party. For the Saturday matinee the partiers were, one of my three regulars along with two members of my dragon boat team, the two actors from the other play, a theatre volunteer, and myself.

      One thing I did learn was that for something like the Fringe where plays are being presented one after the other, having a lot of props is not a good idea. Because I was showing a story instead of telling a story, I had over forty props, some large ones being: fridge, stove, desk, computer, sewing machine, two chairs, table; smaller ones being: duster, broom, envelope, paper, boxes, material, pens, wine bottle and glasses, and many more. The play after me had only two tables, two chairs, a laundry basket and some beer bottles. Another play I watched had some tea cups and teddy bears.

      On the first evening there were going to be four separate plays, mine being the first. That was perfect because it gave us time to set up our scene. However, at the end, we had to get our props off stage so that the next play could set theirs up before their showing. Our actors became stage hands and things disappeared in a hurry. The same happened on Saturday afternoon.

      The important thing I learned was that while I had written the words, I was at the mercy of the actors to show up for the rehearsals, learn their lines, and speak those words on stage. My female lead was off book (I did get to know some of the lingo) quickly, but the male lead found it harder to remember his lines. He also missed some of the rehearsals.

      Putting on a stage play isn't like making a movie. You don't get to go back and redo a scene. When asked, the way I put it is, opening night did not go as rehearsed. To be honest, it wasn't even close. The male character kept forgetting his lines or changing them which threw the female character off, as well as the lighting guy and Mike who had to operate a smoke machine.

     The Saturday afternoon presentation went better. He still missed many of his lines but the audience laughed when they were supposed to and they understood, and laughed at, the twisted ending. I was elated and hearing that laughter made the whole process worthwhile. And I do believe I will try another play for next year, but I will keep the props to a minimum and have the actors tell the story instead of show the story.

      While there were many mishaps and problems getting my play to the stage, the most memorable is about our wine bottle. We needed a wine bottle for the opening scene, so I rinsed one out and filled it with water. We used it for our first on stage rehearsal and left it along with our other props for our full dress rehearsal the next evening. When I went to find it for that rehearsal, it was gone. We searched everywhere and couldn’t find it, so we used a beer bottle in its place. We laughed and hoped that the person hadn't decided to take it as a hostess gift to some fancy dinner. I found another wine bottle for our opening night. At the end of the evening I discovered our first bottle by the back door, empty. That person must have thought it was the weakest, worst tasting wine ever made.

New Years Resolutions and Writing

 

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Almost everyone makes New Year’s Resolutions and we writers are no different. Resolutions could be described as promise made by a person to change themselves or something in their lives for the better. It could be volunteering at a charity, spending more time in nature, or cutting down on stress. This change begins on New Year’s Day and is supposed to last for the year.

While making a New Year's Pledge is a custom observed mainly in the Western Hemisphere, it is becoming more popular in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The top ten resolutions are said to be: spend more time with loved ones; get in shape through exercise; lose weight; travel more; quit smoking; stop drinking; enjoy life more; read more; pay off bills; learn something new.

I don't smoke and seldom drink, so I can take those off my list but this is how the rest of those resolutions relate to my writing.

      Spending more time with loved ones:

Writing is a solitary undertaking. I sit in a room alone with my computer (some writers use pen and paper.) I don’t like to be disturbed because that disturbance usually comes when I am right in the middle of a scene and I want to get it all down the way I am visualizing it. In order to spend more time with loved ones, I have tried to set up a schedule of writing in the morning and having the afternoon and evening free. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. If my writing is going slow then it may encroach into the afternoon in order to get my time in. But when there are family events, my writing takes a back burner. Memories of spending time with kids, grandkids and now great-grandkids are so much better then memories of staring at a computer. I read an article about one best-selling writer. Her son asked her if she would go to his baseball game. She said she couldn’t because she had to work on her next great book. I understand a deadline but I thought that was a lost opportunity on her part.

        Getting in shape through exercise.

I spend my writing time sitting in a chair. If the story line is going well, I want to keep at it to the detriment of other activities, so I schedule my exercising as soon as I get up in the morning. I am able to do that because I have a set of weights at home that I use so I don't have to go to a gym and I walk in the afternoons and evenings.

        Losing weight.

Hunger distracts me when I am writing. I find that I write better if I have a full stomach, usually full of chocolates, but anything works. To offset that I try to stop eating after 6pm and go for a walk after supper.

       Enjoy life more and travel more.

For me, these two go hand in hand. I love travelling whether its by motorhome, flying, bus tour, or ship all of which I have done. Its great to see new places and learn the history and customs of different countries. Also, sometimes I've managed to do some writing while on holidays (mainly in motorhome) so its a win/win situation for me. But since I enjoy writing my books and planning more stories, I guess I am enjoying life even when I am sitting alone in my office.

       Pay off bills.

A small percentage of writers actually have best-sellers and make lots of money. Most are happy to have a small income to help pay off their bills because they write because they love to write. That's me. I have an idea and want to write the story around it and I'm lucky that I have a publisher for my novels.

Learning something new.

Most beginner writers take writing courses to learn their craft. For others writing comes naturally. Many writers take a course in something they are writing about so the reader feels that the writer knows what they are putting in their books. When I write my historical novels I do a lot of research—reading books, visiting the places I am including in the book, and checking sites on the Internet. I have learned so much about Canadian history that I didn’t know before. I like to live by the saying: keep learning because it doesn’t cost anything to store the information.

So how do my New Year’s pledge(s) relate to those resolutions? I am going to continue doing my exercises in the morning before I begin writing so that I stay in shape. In spite of liking to write with a full stomach I work at maintaining my normal weight and will make sure that I continue to do so. Luckily at this time in my life, I don’t have any large debts and can write because I love to. I am not going to take up smoking nor will I drink more. But I think the most important one is I am going to continue enjoying life by doing more travelling and by writing more but also by spending more time with family and friends.

Daytripping from Edmonton

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Gibbons, St Paul, Andrew Loop
 

Take Highway 28A out of north east Edmonton and follow it to Gibbons. On the corner of 28A and 50th Avenue in the town is the Emmanuel Anglican Church. The interior, with its U-joint style and large beams, is modelled after the inside of a ship and is unique in Alberta. It was constructed in 1902 and is still in use today.
The Sturgeon River Historical Museum is in Oliver Park on 48th Avenue. McLeans Store has a counter with an antique cash register, shelving full of boxes and cans, books, photographs, desks and an old sewing machine sitting on a hardwood floor. A log building with artifacts from the area and a small home with 1920s furnishings are two of the other buildings on the grounds.
At the opposite end of town is Echo Glen Park. The park is beside the Sturgeon River and there is a hiking/biking trail that will take you along the high banks of the river.
Continue past the park to reach a stop sign on Highway 28. Turn right and head to Redwater.
One of Alberta's major oilfields was discovered near Redwater in 1948. To commemorate the oil industry the town has preserved the Discovery Derrick which was used to drill the first well. The derrick, which at 51.2 metres high is said to be the tallest oil derrick in North America, is in a park on 53rd Street.
Follow 48th Avenue out of town to the junction with Highway 38 where you go right. Turn left at the Victoria Trail sign to head towards Fort Victoria itself. The road is fifty-eight kilometres long and mainly gravel, and although is doesn’t exactly follow the route since some of it has been plowed under, it uses as much of the original trail as possible. The Victoria Trail was part of an overland route from Fort Garry (Winnipeg) to Edmonton dating from the 1820s and called various names such as the Carlton trail, Winnipeg Trail, Fort Pitt and Saskatchewan Trail depending on the section referred to. Victoria Trail is that part between Edmonton and Fort Victoria.
There are signs along the road so don't let the number of twists and turns stop you from taking this enjoyable drive along a trail that natives once walked and, beginning in the 1820s, early settlers travelled in Red River carts. They would probably be surprised at the changes along it: the large, modern homes, the big barns, the rows of metal granaries, the machine sheds with their full line of farming machinery, the open fields of grain, and the animals. The biting smell from the barn yards would certainly be unlike the sweet smell of flowers, trees, and open air to which they were accustomed.
The road winds through farmland and beside farm houses and old buildings. You will come to the original site of the Jack Pine Grove School PSD No. 2051, which operated from 1910 to 1951. Just past that is a cairn for Jack Pine Grove School District No 2051, Eldorena, founded in 1909. The church behind the cairn is the Eldorena Ukrainian Catholic Church built in 1912.
As you continue driving watch for the valley to your right and the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. At one point the road is like a country lane with trees lining it. But it is also narrow and winding with blind corners so keep to your side of the road. At about the half way point you reach Highway 31. It goes to Waskatenau if you wish to get off the gravel road. Proceeding ahead watch for the road to the left that goes to the church and cemetery of the former Lobstick Settlement.
Return to the Victoria Trail and soon you will come to the RCMP Memorial Sculpture. The thick, plate steel statue of an RCMP officer astride a horse sits on a base made of rock. Names like S.B. (Sam) Steele #1, P. Coutts #95, Sub-Inspector S. Gagnon, R.E. Steele #7 are painted on some of the rocks. These are the names and rank or regimental number of the twenty members of the newly founded NWMP who left the main group on July 29, 1874 and headed to Fort Edmonton, passing along this trail in October of that year. The cairn was erected on August 4, 1998.
There are two sharp curves after cairn and then a dangerous curve, with an old house to the left, so proceed with caution. When you reach SH 855, the road to Smoky Lake, continue across and you will be on pavement heading to the Victoria Settlement. Here there are two cemeteries, the Pakan Church constructed in 1906, and the clerk’s quarters built by the Hudson Bay Company in 1864. The quarters is said to be Alberta's oldest structure still on its original foundation. It has been restored and on the inside walls you can see where the Hudson Bay employees carved their initials.
Stroll along the asphalt paths under the spreading branches of the tall maples planted during the early years of the post. If you brought a lunch have a picnic at a table on the large lawn. Or grab your fishing gear and hike down the wide path to the North Saskatchewan River. You can fish from the banks where the fur traders landed their canoes over one hundred years ago.
In Smoky Lake the old CN station, on West Railway Drive, is now a museum. Inside are photographs and posters on the wall, an old telephone and telegraph, the original desk, and the old wood stove.
The town of Smoky Lake was named for the nearby lake which was initially called Smoking Lake by the Cree. In one version of how the lake received it name, the aboriginal people, who stopped by its shores to smoked their pipes during their hunts, called it Smoking Place. In the other story, it was selected because the mist lifting off the lake resembled rising smoke.
Smoky Lake bills itself as the Pumpkin Capital of Alberta. This is because the town holds the Great Pumpkin Fair and Weigh Off on the first Saturday in October. Prizes are given for the largest, the ugliest, and the best looking pumpkin.
Drive into Vilna to see what are claimed to be the world's largest mushrooms in a little park. They are six metres high and are from the Tricholoma family. They are called uspale mushroom which is a traditional mushroom used in Ukrainian cooking in the area. The mushrooms were erected in August, 1993.
Glendon bills itself as the Pyrogy Capital of Alberta. You drive into town on Perogy Drive and in Perogy Park is a giant perogy, said to be the largest in the world. The pyrogy, which is held up by a fork, is over seven metres in height.
The pyrogy was unveiled on August 31, 1991 to coincide with the beginning of the 1992 nation-wide celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in Canada. If you want a sample of the Ukrainian fare, visit the Perogy House across from the park.
As you drive into St. Paul watch for unidentified flying objects hovering overhead, waiting for an opportunity to land on the world's first man-made UFO landing pad. The circular platform, with provincial and territorial flags flying overhead, waits patiently for its first UFO landing on the corner of Galaxy Way. It was erected as a centennial project in 1967 and a time capsule inside the pad is to be opened in 2067.
The land beneath the landing pad has been designated international by the town of St. Paul. Climb the steps onto the UFO pad and walk across the pedway to the visitor information building which has been designed to resemble a UFO. Inside you will see an interpretive display complete with photographs of UFOs and crop circles, and write-ups on the different hoaxes that have been pulled. The town operates a UFO hotline with the number to call being 1-888-SEE-UFOS.
As you enter Elk Point, on your right is a statue of Peter Fidler in the Peter Fidler Peace Park. This park was officially dedicated in 1992, Canada's 125th anniversary of confederation, as part of the Peace Parks Across Canada project.
Fidler joined the Hudson Bay Company when he was nineteen and studied surveying. In 1792, he helped build Buckingham House and became its Factor five years later. He then travelled throughout the west constructing other fur trading posts.
As you leave Elk Point follow the signs to Fort George and Buckingham House. At the parking lot you will find an interpretive centre with replicas of voyageurs, buffalo, teepees, and a gift shop. There is also a map showing the layout of the forts. A short interpretive trail takes you to the sites of Fort George, constructed by the North West Company in 1792 and Buckingham House, built later that same year. Both were fur trading and provision posts providing pemmican for the canoe and York boat brigades.
They were situated on a plateau overlooking the North Saskatchewan River and the fur traders had the difficult task of hauling their supplies up the hill from their canoes. The posts did, however, have a beautiful view of the river valley.
Follow the scenic highway to Two Hills and check out their museum on the corner of 51st Street and 52nd Avenue. In Willingdon is the Willingdon Tourist Park with a campground, picnic tables, and a mural on a huge rock. At the end of town is SH 857 which will take you north to the Historical Village and Pioneer Museum at Shandro. A few of the more than twenty buildings to tour are a blacksmith shop, a post office, a funeral home, and a reproduction of a sod house, all of which are furnished appropriately. You will also see the ferry used on the North Saskatchewan River north of the museum before the Shandro Bridge was constructed.
In Andrew is a small park. Besides a caboose, a playground, mini golf, and tennis courts there is a statue of a giant duck. The colourful Mallard duck was chosen as a symbol for the village of Andrew and this replica was erected on April 29, 1992. It is said to be the largest Mallard in the world.
On the corner of Highway 45 and SH831 is the Skaro Shrine. The shrine was designed as a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes in France and constructed in 1919 by local residents. The first pilgrimage was held on August 14, 1919.
And this ends your journey for today.