WordWorks Magazine Spring 2018

06

Members' Corner

Deb Clay

07

All About That Page

Veronica Knox

08

Pitch and Roll

Judy Millar

09

Turn Your Pages Into Performers

JP Mclean

11

Getting Started With Amazon Publishing: A Primer

Michael Grand

13

Not Waiting Tables Yet: Musing of a TV Writer

Barbara Black

14

First Place, Literary Writes 2018

Chelsea Comeau

15

Interview with Barbara Black

16

FBCW Faces

19

Honorable Mentions for Literary Writes 2018

Valorie Lennox

23

The Letterpress Then

Garth Matthams

25

Crowdfunding: Changing The Rules of Self-Publishing

Ian Cognito

27

Flora, Fauna, & H. Sapiens: A Collaboration In Four Parts

Donna Barker

29

Contests: Why Bother?

George Opacic

31

Ghost Writing: Have Pen, Will Write

33

Launched!

WORDWORKS IS PROVIDED FREE, TRIANNUALLY, TO MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION OF BC WRITERS. IT IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE & IN BRITISH COLUMBIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES, HIGH SCHOOLS, AND HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA TO JOIN THE FBCW, OR PURCHASE A SUBSCRIPTION TO WORDWORKS, GO TO BCWRITERS.CA

Page 1 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

Publication of The Federation of British Columbia Writers 2014 Bowen Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9S 1H4 bcwriters.ca Editor in Chief Shaleeta Harrison, communications@bcwriters.ca Business Manager Sherry Conlu, business@bcwriters.ca Interior Designer/Illustrator Coby McDougall Visuals Editor & Cover Designer Chris Hancock Donaldson FBCW Board Advisor Ann Graham Walker

I

learned so much at the 2018 New West Festival of Words, but the most improant thing was just how engaging writers in BC are. In my snug

home office, I sometimes forget the joy and inspiration that can affect you when you interact with a true community of writers. So many ideas originated in the hallways outside the classrooms, and they’re a drop in the bucket next to those crafted behind those doors. New Westminster was a treat to visit, and thank you so much for having us.

This issue, we honestly could not fit all of the lovely articles and

creative works that we wanted to publish. We expanded WordWorks to 40 pages to fit more of them, but we still had a handful of articles that we needed to save for next issue. For that, I say thank you: thank you, writers across BC who have produced so much engaging and exciting content. Thank you also to those who suggested ideas—these ideas, coming from outside the editorial team, are often some of the best.

WordWorks Editors Doni Eve Chelsea Comeau Ellen Niemer Jacqueline Carmichael Barbara Pelman Cover Artist Esther Park © The Federation of British Columbia Writers 2018 All Rights Reserved

ISSN: 0843-1329 Submissions

Content of WordWorks Magazine is, with very occasional exceptions, provided by members of the Federation of BC Writers. If you would like to submit something, or if you have a story idea you would like to see included in WordWorks, please visit bcwriters.ca/wordworks/submit

Advertising

Shaleeta Harrison

WordWorks is pleased to advertise services and products that are of genuine interest to writers. Space may also be provided to honour sponsors, whose generous contributions make it possible for the Federation of BC Writers to provide services to writers in BC. For information about advertising policies and rates, see bcwriters.ca/WordWorks/advertisers

Content

Editorial decisions are guided by the mandate of WordWorks as "BC’s Magazine for Writers", and its role as the official publication of the Federation of BC Writers. WordWorks will showcase the writing and poetry of FBCW members'; provide news and feature coverage of writing and writers in BC with an emphasis on writing techniques and the business of writing; carry news about the Federation of BC Writers, and its work supporting and advocating for writers.

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 2

JUDY MILLAR Judy Millar is a writer, speaker and comedic storyteller. She's been published in Reader’s Digest, Writer's Digest and in anthologies like Flash Nonfiction Funny (Woodhall Press, 2018). She entertains audiences with comical stories based on her life experiences—solo, and as part of the storytelling duo “WordChickz.” Judy has worked as a puppeteer and songwriter (100 published lyrics) and leads workshops on humour (“Finding Your Funnybone”) and creativity (“Sparks 101”). She authored Beaver Bluff: The Librarian Stories in 2012 and is working on her second book, Millar Lite: A Comic Look at Life, Love, Sex and Survival. View performance videos or say hello at judymillar.ca or wordchickz.com.

GEORGE OPACIC George Opacic is a writer and publisher at Rutherford Press, rutherfordpress.ca. He is proud to have been a past president of the Federation of BC Writers. Many years ago, George co-founded a magazine now called Recreational Flyer, editing it and writing both technical and narrative articles. While traveling on business around the world, he wrote numerous short stories and many filmscripts, including Shroomtown, Patina, Hellenic Digits, Hammurabi, L5, World HQ, Where There's Smoke, and Protocol Omega.

IAN COGNITO

DEREK HANEBURY

SUSAN BRALEY

JP MCLEAN

Derek Hanebury is a writer and retired college instructor living in Port Alberni. His first book of poetry Nocturnal Tonglen was published in 2006 with Ekstasis Editions. His first novel, Ginger Goodwin:Beyond the Forbidden Plateau, (Arsenal Pulp Press) went to a second printing. His new novel Custodian of Souls will be launching soon.

Susan Braley lives in Victoria, BC. Her poetry has appeared in literary journals such as The Antigonish Review, Arc Poetry Magazine, Literary Review of Canada, and Room; and in several anthologies, including Poems from Planet Earth and Walk Myself Home. Susan was the winner of the 2015 Cedric Literary Award for Poetry.

In 2010, her poem “Traces” was shortlisted for Arc’s Poem of the Year, and was selected as Readers’ Choice. She placed first in the 2012 Literary Writes poetry contest. Her poems have also been shortlisted in recent Malahat Review and Freefall contests.

JP (Jo-Anne) McLean writes contemporary fantasy thrillers from her home on Denman Island.

Reviewers call The Gift Legacy series, addictive, smart and fun. Her debut novel, The Gift: Awakening, received Honourable Mention at the 2016 Whistler Independent Book Awards. Find her at jpmcleanauthor.com

Ian Cognito is a writer from Yellowpoint and a founding member of 15 Minutes of Infamy. He has been writing for over 40 years, but has only come out as one in the last few years. Ian has read at WordStorm, Words on Fire, and the Hazelwood Writers Festival and recently went on a book launch tour with Andrew Brown and Pat Smekal in a celebration of Andrew's latest collection of poetry.

DEB CLAY

Deb Clay is a website and book designer by day and a writer/artist by night. She lives in a rural area just past the town of Sooke on Vancouver Island. For the past several years she has been a board member with the Sooke Community Arts Council and instigator with the Sooke Writers' Collective. The collective has published five annual anthologies of member's work and prize-winning student work. Deb can be found at dlclay.com and sookewriters.com.

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LEANNE BOSCHMAN DONNA BARKER

Leanne Boschman is a prairie transplant to the West Coast. She currently lives in East Vancouver. Her poems have appeared in Other Voices, Dandelion Magazine, Geist Magazine, Prism International, Room, and Rhubarb. They have also been included in Creekstones: Anthology of Northern BC Poets, Half in the Sun: Anthology of Mennonite Writing, Rocksalt: An Anthology of Contemporary BC Writing, and Unfurled: Collected Poetry from Northern BC Women. Leanne’s first collection of poems entitled Precipitous Signs: A Rain Journal was published by Leaf Press in 2009. Leanne is a sessional instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University where she teaches academic writing and literature courses.

BARBARA BLACK

VALORIE LENNOX

VERONICA KNOX

Barbara Black recently won first prize in the 2017 Writers’ Union of Canada Short Prose Competition and was a fiction finalist in The Malahat Review 2017 Open Season Awards. Other publications include Freefall, The New Quarterly, and Kaaterskill Basin Literary Journal. A recipient of the $1000 first prize in the 2017 Don’t Talk To Me About Love Poetry Contest, her poems have also appeared in Contemporary Verse 2, FreeFall, Forage Poetry, The Dying Dahlia Review, and Poems from Planet Earth. She lives in Victoria, BC, where she’s currently busy riding the twisties on her new motorcycle. barbarablack.ca

Valorie Lennox is a Nanaimo-based writer, self-confessed nerd, graphic designer, and web developer. She was a journalist for 20 years, working on newspapers and magazines and picking up regional and national awards for articles/editorials. Recognizing that print journalism was a sunset industry, she switched to technical writing and then earned a diploma in web development. For the past 17 years she has worked online and in corporate communications. Her interests include history, calligraphy, and letterpress printing, so she was delighted to dive into a series on the history of print, from Gutenberg to current boutique and artisanal print shops. Her chief weakness is Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties), who have trained her in a variety of dog sports.

Veronica Knox has written and self-published 10 novels of fiction and one book of poetry. She is a freelance developmental editor with PEAVI, a private writing coach, the former owner of an art gallery in the Scottish Highlands near Loch Ness, and a former resident of the ecological Findhorn Community in Morayshire, Scotland.

Prior to that she was a graphic designer for CBC television (Edmonton), a graphic designer for CKVU television(Vancouver), and art director for CITV television (Edmonton).

MICHAEL GRAND Michael Grand is a Vancouver based documentary and factual TV writer, story editor and story producer who has written on programs like the 10-part documentary series "Abandoned" for VICE, "Unbroken: The Snowboard Life of Mark McMorris" for CBC, ABC and ESPN World of X, as well as shows for HISTORY, OWN, NAT GEO, INVESTIGATIVE ID and OXYGEN.

GARTH MATTHAMS Garth Matthams is an indie comics creator from Nanaimo, British Columbia. His first graphic novel, The Living Finger, was published by Darby Pop. Garth lives with his beautiful, supportive, hypochondriac wife, and their two skittish rabbits.

Donna Barker is a published author, career technical ghost-writer, writing coach, and co-founder of The Creative Academy, an online school that helps writers at all stages on their path to publication. Her novel Mother Teresa's Advice for Jilted Lovers won the Chatelaine award for best Mystery/Suspense in Women’s Fiction and was nominated for a Whistler Independent Book Award. She is currently working on a non-fiction book in the gonzo journalism-style called Girls Who Get Themselves in Trouble. Learn more or say hello at DonnaBarker.com.

ESTHER PARKER // COVER ARTIST Victoria-based artist Esther Parker was born and raised in England but has lived most of her life in British Columbia. Esther’s artwork reflects her ongoing interest in geology, geomorphology and the colossal forces that shape our landscapes.She is a largely self-taught artist, although she has studied part-time at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design and most recently at the Vancouver Island School of Art. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geography from the University of Victoria. Esther’s work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Sooke Fine Art Show, the Sidney Fine Art Show, and the Slide Room Gallery.

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 4

ANN GRAHAM WALKER honoured to be invited back for a second term and final term, thank you for your trust).

Jaqueline Carmichael, Vice President Janice Meeks, Treasurer Adrian Giberson, Co-Secretary Sheilagh Simpson, Co-Secretary Alex Boldizar, Greater Vancouver Rep Chris Hancock Donaldson, Islands Rep Norma Kerby, North Rep Keith Liggett, South East Rep Barbara Drozdowich, South West Rep Cynthia Sharp Director at Large Emily Olsen, Director at Large Doni Eve, Director at Large Luanne Armstrong, Director at Large Craig Spence, Director at Large

Dear Writers, Beginning with last year’s Spring Writes writing festival in Nanaimo, we might have started an exciting new AGM tradition—with the help of some municipal funding. April 13-15 we folded our second Spring Writes into the New West Festival of Words, an exciting partnership with several New Westminster art groups. (We plan on sustaining that partnership in creative ways in months and hopefully years to come so, if you are in the Lower Mainland, we look forward to seeing you at more events).

During that April weekend, we had a wonderful Annual General Meeting, bringing together a talented new team of fifteen board members from around the province.

Let me introduce to you this new team: Ann Graham Walker, President (Yes, I’m

Thank you to all our directors for their huge generosity, donating their time and talent to serve other writers.

I am happy that we have Regional Representatives in almost every region now, and while we still don’t have one in Central or Sunshine Coast, we now have very talented area reps looking after members in those regions. (Area Reps cover only portions of a region, and they do not have Board responsibilities).

Members—thank you for your patience weathering our glitchy membership software system over the past—well I guess it has been two years now since we got it.

We just switched to a more expensive but we hope way better system that I hope will be kinder and more user-friendly all around. It also does a better job of counting us and I can tell you that as I write this we are 830-strong and growing! The FBCW is BC’s only province-wide writers’ organization—a provincial non-profit and federally

registered charity and this is what enables us to get grants to do work and provide services on behalf of writers. We keep striving to do more and really appreciate that you support us.

It is very important that we do the things that you think serve you best, not just the things we hope and think will be meaningful. We are going to be setting up some processes to make sure members are able to give us feedback and share creative ideas. Part of that will be ongoing, making sure you always have a place, maybe on our website, to lodge your suggestions. Part of it will be more immediate, because we are undergoing a strategic review right now and we need your input for the so-called ‘SWOT’ analysis. (Pinpointing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

An area rep in your community might ask you if you want to participate in that process over coffee—it only takes an hour or so. Or you can contact Shaleeta or myself if you feel like participating on your own by email and want us to send you the form.

We’d love that.

The FBCW keeps evolving into a better and better organization. With your input?

We can only fly that much higher.

Eat. Breathe. Keep writing!

Ann Graham Walker President Federation of BC Writers President@bcwriters.ca

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MEMBERS' *

CORNER

SHALEETA HARRISON COMMUNICATIONS@BCWRITERS.CA

TODAY'S TOPIC: WE'RE CHANGING OUR MEMBERSHIP SYSTEM!

T

his section provides information about accessing and getting the most out of memberships. The topics are compiled from the most common problems and questions that we see. Let us know if you'd like something specific tackled!

WHY ARE YOU CHANGING? Thanks for asking. We had some problems with financial and other reporting with our old system (one day we'd have 680 members, then 705, then 690—no consistency) and it was creating problems with budgets and with our written reports to grant agencies. Besides that, many members expressed frustration with the system we were using, and we wanted to ensure we were listening to our membership; this is your organization, and it should work for you.

WHAT IS THE NEW PROGRAM LIKE? Well, we're just learning that now. A board member and volunteer, Barbara Drozdowich, is heading the installation, and is working on it as I type this. It's called WildApricot, so please feel free to look it up! The League of Canadian Poets switched to this program just last year, and reports it is very easy for members, and has some exciting features.

We've also looked up many other reviews. It's more expensive, but we believe you get what you pay for.

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 6

IS IT GOING TO BE MORE DIFFICULT? Just the opposite. WildApricot has been around for nearly two decades, which is an incredibly long time in this industry. They are made specifically for organizations like ours, and service thousands of non-profits. There will be a learning curve for us, but everyone here spent months deliberating over which company to choose, and we all are confident that this is the right choice for the FBCW. WHEN WILL WE SEE THIS NEW SYSTEM? We are working on the change now, and hope to be using Wild Apricot by mid-May of this year—before you even receive this issue of WordWorks! We have nearly three months left on our subscription with our old system, just in case we need any additional time or information.

Come back next issue to read about our new tri-annual contests! and email me* any time if you have questions or problems!

Shaleeta Harrison Executive Director 250-741-6514

DEB CLAY

C

onsider the page. Not the one you face when writing but the other one, the one you see when your writing is in print.

It's drilled into us that cover appearance is important. It's the first look, the come hither of a bold cover, that attracts the reader. But the cover is a representation and not the whole story. It's what's inside that counts and your writing deserves to look as good as it reads.

By paying attention to layout and typesetting the appearance of the inside pages can help lead the reader into the story.

One of the best ways to think about book design is to look at books. Visit your bookstore or your book shelf. What is the average size of fiction and non-fiction books? Does genre have anything to do with appearance? How do books appear inside and out? Find a few you like to inspire your design choices.

The most important factor in layout is white space.

Too little of it and the words look dense and jammed onto a page—this makes reading difficult. For a lighter look, your outside margins (those to the outside of the book pages) should be one half inch to one inch wide.

The inside margin close to the spine (known as the gutter) needs to be slightly wider (depending on the book’s thickness) so text does not disappear into the bound spine.

Top and bottom margins often mirror the size of the outside margins but can be larger to accommodate page numbering, chapter title or author name. Let your text flow and breathe with generous, balanced margins and a book page size that suits the content.

When you're self publishing you might be on a budget and want to keep the number of pages in your book as tight as possible to cut costs. In some cases, tight can appear "uptight". Crowded margins with small print makes a book difficult to read no matter how good the story.

Give your text easy reading space by formatting in a page size with good white space along with a decent font size.

Typesetting involves font choice, size, and line spacing. Your type should be clear and large enough to read.

Traditionally serif fonts (those with "tails") such as Times, Garamond and Cambria, are used in print as they help the eye flow over the letters making reading a smooth experience. Sans serif fonts, such as Arial and Helvetica, are most often found on webpages because of their sleek lines and their ability to look clear at small sizes and resolutions. They work well for captions and other areas of small print in books but increasingly you can find sans serif used in various books wanting a modern look.

There are many fonts to choose from but it is wise to pick something along traditional lines with easy reading in mind. For size, 11 or 12-point fonts are common with consideration also given to the space between lines (called "leading"). A little space between the lines enhances reading ease and looks good on the page. Leading is usually 40 to 50 percent more than the font size so a 12-point font would have a leading of 16 to 18 points.

Also consider the font to use for title and chapter headings. If you're using a serif font for your text a nice choice is a sans serif for chapter titles. Often two different serif fonts can look awkward together. There is a plethora of fancy fonts designed for visual impact that can also be used for titling but make sure they are a visual complement to the font used in your book and you have the commercial right to use them. Google "free fonts" and "traditional printing fonts" for inspiration.

An attractive book is a collection of small decisions from cover content to interior layout. Your cover asks the reader inside. Once opened, a book's page design invites the reader into your story.

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TAKING THE STING OUT OF CONFERENCE ANXIETY VERONICA KNOX

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he writers’ conference is in full swing. Between lecture halls, a large room is set aside for writers to pitch to agents, editors and publishers who have heard everything. Twice.

Tables are arranged against the walls. It looks like a stage for speed dating. It’s speed pitching. No pressure, but you’re up. You are the narrator of a novel that must be told in one sentence. Go. To put this harrowing situation in perspective, deconstruct the physics of a conference. It’s secondary school but for writers emerging from disciplined writing caves. It’s recess—time to stretch your writing chops and play.

A pitch is a verbal query letter—a unique premise with a promise. It’s not an attack, a contest or a soap box. It’s not a regurgitation of what you’ve memorized and rehearsed.

Please. It’s a conversation.

There you are, a walking query letter. You’ve paid for this courageous shot with cash. Congratulations. You have bypassed the slush pile. You have won the three-minute lottery. You now have 180 seconds to spend and the agent wants to be dazzled.

Think Zen… be the book. What would a smart book do? The agent is looking for a compelling read. Your goal is to lure them to your first page. But wait. Timing is critical.

Settle down. Offer your hand to shake, state your name and take a seat. Pause. At this juncture your title is superfluous.

Your characters need no names. You have just seconds to shine.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK • Study the conference website to read the agents’ bios in advance.

• Rate agents in order of preference.

• A pitch is a test of a story’s premise.

Write, rewrite and rehearse both pitch and synopsis aloud without notes.

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What comes out of your mouth next, is your pitch, genre first, followed by the gist of your back blurb, written in third person, condensed into one juicy sound byte to pique an agent’s interest. Stifle the urge to launch into a diatribe of the plot’s turning points.

Have the presence of mind to deliver the pitch, stop talking and listen for priceless feedback. The art of listening is the essential white space on a page. Deliver a brief synopsis only if invited. Overwhelming details can muddy your pitch and turn a tentative yes into a ‘not for us’.

Remember, you’re introducing a story by delivering a clear premise with an intriguing promise. Leave either of these two key elements out and your pitch is a balloon without helium. Polish both pitch and synopsis until blood trickles from your ears… then let them go. Completely. Be natural.

My best advice: pitching is a conversation not a speech, and not a competition. You’re not an author carrying a ticking bomb. Share rather than promote. The phrase ‘not for us’ is not an outright rejection. It’s not a judgement; it’s an assessment.

If you are the delightful surprise an agent can’t wait to buzz, they will request pages. The clincher is weeks away when your writing must speak for itself.

And at the end of the day, roll with the accolades as much as the punches. One expert’s opinion is neither verdict nor guarantee. It’s a day in the life. And tomorrow is when the rewrite begins.

ON APPOINTMENT DAYS • While waiting, observe the agent you’re about to pitch.

• Listen for feedback from writers who have pitched.

• When possible, pitch to other agents on your list before your first choice.

JUDY MILLAR

S

ooner or later, those pages you’re producing and characters you’re creating must make their way into the wider world. There, they need to perform for you. To do that, they must “perform for”—and captivate—your intended audience.

When it comes to captivating audiences, stage and screen performers seem to have the knack. Oh, but they’re naturals, you say. Extroverts. Born with “star quality.” Sometimes—but often they’re just shy people who love their craft so much they’ve persevered in honing strategies for successfully delivering it. Writers—even we, the introverted—can apply performers’ strategies to make our pages and characters command attention. Strategies like these: PLAY UP THE PARADOX Tetsuro Shigematsu, the multi-talented writer and star of the brilliantly acclaimed one-man-show Empire of the Son, wasn’t what you’d call a “natural” performer. He says he suffered from debilitating shyness. When he once heard himself described as “an odd bird: shy but cocky,” he realized he was actually a walking contradiction—“a long-haired/conservative, funny/angry, white-sounding/Asian guy.” Why not play up the paradox?

Shigematsu recalls that when he worked as a reporter and then as host of The Round-up on CBC’s Radio One, the personalities that producers and listeners couldn’t get enough of were the people he terms “walking oxymorons.” Contradiction intrigues us, he says, citing Eminem (a white rapper), Terry Fox (a one-legged marathoner), and Madonna (sex object yet feminist) as examples of paradoxical people who radiate a potent kind of charisma.

Contradictory characters like Saint-Exupéry’s

little prince (a young kid who’s wise) and Darth Vader (a creepy villain who’s cool enough to say Who’s Your Daddy?) stand out. So how charismatic are your characters? Are they walking oxymorons? If not, try pumping up the paradox in your “personalities.” Then watch them perform.

HONE YOUR FUNNY BONE I was a shy child. I’m told I never spoke in the presence of strangers. My parents would be gobsmacked to see me now, performing for audiences as a comedic storyteller. Yet in some ways I instinctively performed for my family as an anxious little girl. When there was tension in our home, I found I could almost magically lighten the mood by sharing something surprising, personal or absurd to startle my parents into laughter.

But I’m not funny, complain participants in my “Finding Your Funnybone” workshop.

If that’s you, that’s fine.

Your goal here isn’t to develop a stand-up routine.

It’s to trigger a receptive reaction to your writing.

Don’t try to be funny.

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Just check your pages to see where you could introduce surprise, incongruity or exaggeration. There are many tools in a humorist’s toolbox, but any of these can work wonders.

Could one of your supporting characters provide an unexpected twist or have a habit of exaggerating the situation? (Human foibles make great fodder for humour.) You don’t have to elicit belly laughs, just see if you can draw out a smile or nod of recognition. In non-fiction, search for incongruity or irony in your subject matter (e.g., a 2014 article revealed that a tobacco plant’s natural defense mechanisms could potentially be harnessed to kill cancer cells).

Your pages “perform” when they trigger a reaction in your reader. Audiences who react stay engaged.

characters sound alike, repeat themselves or speak robotically in same-length sentences? Do you drone on in author voice in your third-person fiction or non-fiction?

Now listen to the professionally produced audiobook of a writer whose written work you admire.

How do your rhythms sound in comparison? Narrator Richard Rieman, who has produced over 100 audiobooks, says storytelling is a performance art.

Your written words are always performing on the stage in the mind. They should grab your reader by the ear.

GRAB YOUR READER BY THE EAR

BE BOLD, YET VULNERABLE

As a puppeteer, I had to switch my voice between the falsetto of Lammi, my female sheep puppet, and the tough-guy tenor of Lambo, her black-sheep brother. When I blew it, my audience knew it. Readers are also quick to spot fictional characters who don’t sound right.

How do you and your characters sound to your reader’s ear? Have a listen, by performing a section of your work as a voice actor would. Record your reading, then playback and listen. Do your

All performers put themselves out there. Writers can stand out too, with bold subject and thematic choices. The first piece I sold to Reader’s Digest was about my colonoscopy. Maybe you never want to be quite that open (!), but be bold in what you bring to the page. People respond to bravery, vulnerability and authenticity. Tetsuro Shigematsu says he performs, despite his shyness, “because I want to connect. I want to feel less alone in this world.” And deep down, isn’t that why we all write?

Better Books by Design

KATO DESIGN

& P H OTO

JAN WESTENDORP katodesignandphoto.com Artist • Technician • Production Maestro 2017.03.12_Ad horiz one-third page_WordWorks.indd 1

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 10

Publishing support for independent authors Distinctive covers, elegant page layouts, refined typography A passion for creating beautiful books • fiction

• production scheduling

• non-fiction

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• art books

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katodesignandphoto.com 604-521-1066 17-03-12 10:59 AM

GETTING STARTED WITH AMAZON PUBLISHING: A PRIMER JP MCLEAN

A

mazon makes it free and easy to publish your book, but there is still a learning curve. I speak from experience, having published five books on Amazon using both their Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and CreateSpace platforms. KDP is Amazon’s digital arm and CreateSpace is Amazon’s print-ondemand (POD) arm. (Amazon is currently in beta testing for a POD service offered through KDP, but as of this writing, it does not yet distribute to Canada (Amazon.ca) or Mexico (Amazon.mx).)

To publish an ebook on Amazon, you must create an account with Kindle Direct Publishing.

From your KDP dashboard, you will upload two files: your manuscript and your cover. Each file must be formatted properly to convert to Amazon’s Kindle specifications. To learn how to format your cover and manuscript, download Amazon’s free Building Your Book for Kindle guides. (For PC ASIN B007URVZJ6. For Mac ASIN B00822K3Z0.)

The manuscript file you upload can be a mobi, HTML, or MSWord document (PC or Mac). Your cover file can be a jpg or tif(f) file. Within days of uploading your files, your book will be available for purchase and download from Amazon worldwide.

To publish a print book on Amazon, you must create an account with CreateSpace. From your

CreateSpace dashboard, you will upload two files: your manuscript and your cover. Both of these files are designed around the trim size you select.

Trim size is the final size of the physical book. The manuscript file and the cover file you upload must be Adobe PDF files that conform to CreateSpace’s specifications. CreateSpace offers free templates for both interior and cover files specifically designed for the trim sizes they offer. You can find these templates under the help section of your dashboard. Three to five days after uploading, your book details will show up on Amazon and be available for purchase in the countries you choose through your dashboard.

Payment: With KDP, if you price your ebook between $0.99 and $2.98 you will earn a 35% royalty.

If you price between $2.99 and $9.99 you will earn a 70% royalty. KDP deducts a small delivery charge based on the size of the download file.

With CreateSpace, you must set a price above the cost of producing the book. When you are setting the price, CreateSpace’s interactive program calculates the royalties you can expect based on the price you input.

Royalty payments for KDP and CreateSpace are made sixty days after the sale. Payments to Canadian banks are converted to Canadian funds and deposited directly into your bank account. If you opt to be

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paid by cheque, royalties will accrue until you meet the $100 threshold.

Canadians and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service): Amazon is an American company. If you are not a US citizen you’re subject to a 30% withholding tax. Canada has a tax treaty with the US that can reduce or eliminate the withholding tax, but you have to apply for it. To do that, you must complete an IRS Form W-8BEN. Thankfully, Amazon (both KDP and CreateSpace) makes it easy. You can fill out the form online from your dashboard. There is no need to apply for an IRS tax number—you can use your SIN (Social Insurance Number). W-8BEN forms are good for three years, after which you will need to complete a new one.

International Standard Book Number (ISBN): If you plan to sell your book in bookstores, to libraries, or through online retailers, you will need an ISBN. Amazon offers free ISBNs or you can provide your own. It is important to understand that the publisher owns the ISBN. If you use an Amazon ISBN, they will be the publisher of record and you cannot use that ISBN to publish with

another publisher. Therefore, I recommend using your own ISBN. Canadian citizens can request free ISBNs online from Library and Archives Canada.

Exclusivity (applies only to ebooks): You can choose KDP Select and list exclusively with KDP on a 90-day renewable-term basis. Exclusivity means you cannot sell the ebook on any other retail site (e.g. Kobo, Apple, Nook or your own website).

Opting into KDP Select will enable you to take advantage of some of Amazon’s powerful marketing tools, like Kindle countdown days and free-days. You can also enrol your book in the Kindle lending library program and earn page-read payments from book borrows. These options are not available to non-exclusive clients. The downside is that, although Amazon controls approximately 60% of the ebook market, exclusivity prevents you from selling to the other 40%.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Amazon, there is no denying their prominence in the book marketplace. If you have a book to sell, you need to be on Amazon.

An Invitation An Invitation to Writersto Writers to Step out of Your World to Step out of Your World Retreat to the beauty and creative silence attoYasodhara on the Retreat the beautyAshram and creative shore of Kootenay Lake, BC. silence at Yasodhara Ashram on the

shore of Kootenay BC. Take Take time to work Lake, on your latest project thison award-winning time to in work your latest project sustainable community. surrounded by the support of this award-winning sustainable We also tailor retreats for groups. community. We also tailor retreats g For more information: for groups.

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Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 12

NOT WAITING TABLES YET:

MUSING OF A TV WRITER

MICHAEL GRAND

I

n the fall of 2017, my colleague Trev Renny wrote “A Briefing For Would Be TV Writers” about his experience in Vancouver’s shrinking factual TV industry and what those changes mean for freelance storytellers who’ve enjoyed a steady diet of work over the last decade on everything from true crime dramas (The Devil You Know, Very Bad Men), to diverse doc series (Ice Pilots, Yukon Gold, Border Security, Emergency Room) to canuck versions of hit US reality shows (Real Housewives of Vancouver and The Bachelor Canada), and many others that I don’t have the word count to list. Factual TV Writers have had it pretty good in Vancouver since the specialty channel boom in the 2000s, but the boom is over. With online streaming disrupting broadcast TV and CRTC Cancon changes adding a double whammy, there’s a lot of fear out there amongst freelance Writers, Story Producers and Story Editors. Lately, I’ve been having a lot of flashbacks to my time waiting tables. It wasn’t that bad was it? How would this bald spot impact my tips? But I digress… between CRTC slashing Cancon, online streaming dominating our screens, and successful production companies like Paperny Entertainment and Force Four Entertainment vanishing, I’m not the only factual TV writer coming down with a bout of existential crisis.

The fear is real. I’ve seen it on the faces of my colleagues at nervous networking events and I’ve definitely seen it in the mirror. It’s not a good look, but the anxiety was right on the money for me. It’s been a full calendar year since I’ve worked on a Vancouver based TV series—after 8 years of steady gigs. I haven’t been out of work though, and I haven’t been waiting tables either.

This past year I’ve been busier than ever, but none of my writing work has been for Vancouver companies. I’ve worked remotely for clients in Montreal, Toronto, LA and Saskatchewan.

The only work I’ve done for Vancouver companies in 2017 or so far in 2018 has been as a producer not a writer, and it hasn’t been for TV. That’s the thing.

People watch stuff on the Internet now, a lot. And they listen to podcasts, like… all the time. Currently I’m producing documentary and mockumentary content for online platforms and working on podcasts. That doesn’t mean I won’t write for factual TV anymore or that being a storyteller in that part of Vancouver’s entertainment industry is a dead end road, but for me and several other writers I know, branching out into different roles and different types of content has become crucial. Plus, it’s really exciting to branch out and expand as a storyteller and content creator.

Does my journey in the last year reflect that of other factual TV writers? I reached out to a few of the most sought after writers in Vancouver to get their thoughts. Is the sky falling? Has the bottom fallen out? What apocalyptic metaphor should I use in my article?

The answers suggest it’s not quite that dramatic. It’s true that for even the most accomplished and experienced writers, this past year has been the slowest in memory, but things seem to be picking up again in 2018 with new greenlights announced and new companies getting in the mix. People seem more optimistic than they were a year ago. To paraphrase one colleague, the sky isn’t falling, but it’s always changing colours and we have to change too.

To quote another, “it's scary right now because we don't know what the future is going to look like. Until we do know, there will be uncertainty and the industry will be tumultuous, but at some point in the future I'm guessing we'll look back and wonder what we were all so afraid of.” Cautious optimism, I like it!

I’ll leave the final word to another anonymous source who was joking when he quipped, “I think we’re all gonna be unemployed and have to go back to the service industry”. At least I think he was joking …

Page 13 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

CHILD BRIDE, HAWKESBURY, ONTARIO, 1918 BARBARA BLACK MOTHER. A September apple. Conical, elongated, medium in size, yellow background, bright red mottling (as cheeks can be). Bears fruit when young. Perfumed flesh—when ripe. The old apples that still pass lips are: Lady (tender flesh, fruit of aristocrats). Mann. Maiden Blush. Knobbed Russet—potato-pocked, ugly welts and knobs. This I do not like. There is Seek-no-Further. It hangs on the tree until overripe. All the while, Mother is stripping an apple, a pale green eye.

The toes of her boots laden with layers of peel. Lies upon lies upon.

You will sleep together in a bed big as the moon, so big you can never reach the other side, she says. The knife sweeps round and round, skinning the eye. I would not. I took to the cellar, the ripening room.

Above, the season sloughed, rabbits flushed white to match the snow.

Breathe. Cellar gas. Breathe. What other things are heavier than air?

Unwilling womb shedding velvet; jar-pickled desire; a hope boiled dry in a cast-iron pan. Breathe. In the dark he will whisper to me My dear you are like a lamp in the night. Ethylene, kerosene, the names of lost girls. He will be Wolf River, roots solid on the shores of Lake Erie, sweeter in the cold. I’ll climb into his crown, make darkness my blanket. A captive heart must sleep with one eye open.

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 14

LITERARY WRITES WINNER 2018:

CHELSEA COMEAU

B

arbara Black is breathing new life into her ancestry. Having come from a family that was never one for story-telling, Barbara became inspired, after scouring her grandmother’s memoirs, to begin crafting something creative out of what she calls “rather dry” material. Her family tree “extends back to Sweden, France, Ireland, Scotland and even Kenya”, branching so broadly that it's impossible to imagine the history would be one without intrigue.

Still, Barbara found herself laden with facts and not so many stories, which quickly put a stop to her project. She came to the realization that the only way her family tree could bloom was with “a good dose of imagination”.

Barbara first began writing in high school, where she filled notebook after notebook with what she called “dreck” peppered with “the occasional glimmer of originality”. Although life got in the way for a time, and Barbara had little time to devote to her own literary pursuits, she remained deeply immersed in the creative fields, engaging in musical endeavours that included jazz and opera. She fed her soul with various forms of art, which remained a constant thread that wound its way through her every day life.

Believing that every great writer is also a reader, Barbara spent months at a time consuming the works of Heaney, Gluck, Marquez, and Transtromer.

She attended writing workshops both local and international. She credits Canadian poet Patrick Lane, especially, whose Honeymoon Bay retreats taught her “both the stillness and fury that can reside in po-

etry”. Through the workshops and retreats, as well as the Victoria reading series Planet Earth Poetry, Barbara found inspiration from the “mysterious content swirling about, like strands of ectoplasm in a seance” that is conjured when a group of like-minded writers gathers to share.

This scaffolding of experience was precisely what Barbara needed to weave something marvellous out of her grandmother’s memoirs. The collection, she says, began, initially, with poetry, but has since expanded to include prose poems and microfiction, staging “personal-historic moments in time”.

Authentic Fabrications of My Ancestry aims for a “tapestry” effect, rather than relying on chronology, and employs a “certain theatricality in which readers will feel a chorus of voices rising up from the page”.

Some of these voices will seem comedic, while others will “convey an intensity of being”.

As she delves deeper into the project, Barbara realizes that she is “largely writing the family history [she’d] like to have” and is doing her best to continue conjuring ancestral voices while manifesting a new history “in [her] own likeness”. For the future, Barbara is considering a staged reading of the poems.

She is excited by the idea of the off-the-page magic her family’s mythos will create. One of the strikingly vivid pieces from Barbara’s growing collection, Child Bride, Hawkesbury, Ontario, 1918, was awarded first prize in the Federation’s Literary Writes contest, a success that bodes well for the project’s future. We hope more branches on Barbara’s family tree will blossom their way soon into the literary world.

Page 15 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

FBCW FACES

1

A look at writers and events around the province! You can submit your photos to Jackie Carmichael anytime: carmichael.jacqueline@gmail.com 1. Participants gather at Vancouver Island University after an open mic and workshop with Sheri D. Wilson organized by WordStorm and 15 Minutes of Infamy in Nanaimo.

2. FBCW meet and greet at Chameleon's Restaurant in Parksville on Valentines Day. Attendees included: Barbara Botham, Darlene Opacic, George Opacic, Sheilagh Simpson, Janet Miller, Linda K. Thompson, Dorothy Collins, and Jackie Carmichael.

3. Writer Bernice Friesen and her books, including Sex, Death and Naked Men, at North Island College (NIC) in Courtenay.

4. Judy LeBlanc and her book, The Promise of Water.

5. Jane Wilde and Joline Martin with their book, Gumboot Girls.

6. Betty Annan with her books, including The Girl from Old Nichol.

7. Lily Hoy Price with her book, I Am Full Moon.

8. Dave Young and his book, The Uchuck Years.

9. Candice James, poet laureate emerita of New Westminster, and Richmond poet Synn Kune Loh, at Poetic Justice New Westminster.

10. Stephen Novik, organizer of Alberni Valley Words on Fire, at Char's Landing.

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Spring 2018 â—† WordWorks â—† Page 16

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17 FBCW Faces Continued...

11. Barbara Gowdy reading at The Whistler Writers Festival at our Doug Saunders in Conversation event, with Michael Harris and Monia Mazigh in the background. Photographer: Joern Rohde.

12. Helen Humphreys performing with musicians at The Literary Cabaret at the Whistler Writers Festival. Photographer: Joern Rohde.

13. In Conversation with Doug Saunders event with Barbara Gowdy, Monia Mazigh, Frances Itani, Michael Harris and Lee Maracle.

14. Short Story Workshop with PJ Reece at Gibsons Public Library 15. Steven Heighton performing at The Literary Cabaret, where live music is paired with readings at the Whistler Writers Festival. Photographer: Joern Rohde.

16. KC Dyer, Diana Gabaldon, Michelle Barker and Jack Whyte at the Surrey International Writers Conference. Barker was receiving the 2017 Storyteller award at this costume party. Photographer: Faye Arcand.

17. The Vancouver launch of the Love Me True anthology at the Heatley on February 28th. In the photo are BC contributors Luanne Armstrong, Monica Meneghetti, Lesley Buxton, Jane Munro, Evelyn Lau, Rob Taylor, Karen Shklanka, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Jane Silcott, Gina Leola Woolsey, Betsy Warland and Tana Runyan!

The photographer is Ted Belch.

18. Before the Short Story Workshop with PJ Reece 19. Norman Nawrocki's musical manuscript reading. He gave a series of dramatic readings from his newest unpublished novels while accompanying himself on sampled/looped violin. Photographer Cynthia Sharp 20. Vivian Nawrocki, a local singer and ukulele player, opened and closed Norman Nawrocki's dramatic manuscript reading. Photographer Cynthia Sharp

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21. Timothy Shay, FBCW board member Cynthia Sharp, Jónína Lynn Kirton, Sho Wiley, and Elee Kraljii Gardiner at Poetic Pairings. Photographer Wendy Bullen Stephenson.

22. FBCW member Edythe Anstey Hanen with her book, Nine Birds Singing.

Edythe is next to a fountain in San Miguel, where she is attending the Writers' Conference.

23. Ica Iova reading from her novel during the reading event "Tellers of Short Tales" organized by the RCLAS. Photographer Lozan Yamolky.

24. Sharon McInnes is introducing authors Gerritt Verstraete, Pamela Moreside, and Jane Reddington at the Triple Book Launch on Gabriola Island.

Photographer: Tom Cameron 25. FBCW-sponsored Memoir Workshop, Prince George, March 10th, presenters and FBCW members Barbara Robin and Joyce Helweg 26. Prince George Memoir Workshop, March 10th—Group Picture

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26 29 27. Gerritt Verstraete, Pamela Moreside, and Jane Reddington meeting readers at the Triple Book launch. Photographer: Tom Cameron 28. Terrace Writing Workshop, March 18th, group photo 29. FBCW-sponsored Writing Workshop, Terrace, March 18th, presenter FBCW member, Jane Stevenson from Smithers

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 18

DEREK HANEBURY “It’s work that saves us.” Joseph Conrad Another Friday evening ferry line, the boat late to chug into Horseshoe Bay, my wife, the acupuncturist, has tipped her seat back and seems asleep until she starts reciting a diagnosis of the guy in the next car over complaining of a rash.

Meanwhile my daughter’s emotional support dog has conked on the seat beside her, and all up and down the line, the drivers fidget and check their phones.

The ferry guy with his Grecian hair and fluorescent green vest works the change in his pocket and dreams of shift end, the final boat loaded and launched.

I note the snow on Black Tusk’s peak and wonder should I write it into this poem or mark the ninth last term paper of my career?

Next week they’ll throw me a party, present me with a talking stick and my walking papers.

Come September will I still have that recurring dream where I’m about to lecture on astrophysics or some other subject I know nothing about?

I look across the choppy water as it worries the shore and strain to see what will crack the horizon—the refitted Queen of Alberni trimmed out and keen to slip into its berth or some rusty trawler limping into harbour its hold empty as semester’s end.

Still nothing comes and I catch myself proofreading bumper stickers: The dog stirs and whines to ward off some imaginary threat, on guard even in his sleep.

Sometimes I wonder if there’s nothing but an image between me and some astonishing other I have never met.

Page 19 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

SUSAN BRALEY The buck in our yard. So grand you want to write a sonnet for him. His rack— implacable – a first-Viking crown, towering, tined, trophy. Forked, as though it might divine silver, ruby, deep spring waters, other-world rivers. Webbed phallus. Enviable to Zeus. All this on a slender head, muzzle brushed satin. Sometimes he lies down, stretches his neck along the ground, rests his chin on the grass; aggravated as Hamlet, with the weight, the weight of his title. Larger than most, limbs fine-boned, lethal. Haunches whitened. Today, while he grazes, a front leg, disjointed at the knee, dangles. The other legs bewildered.

His eyes, unblinking, follow us when we rake leaves in the garden. We speak in low tones, let him sleep over, veiled by old rhododendrons, canopied by acuba, abutilon. Enough water in the fountain, clover in the lawn.

Maimed leg folded, he settles. Knowing.

A COUNTRY GIRL

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Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 20

LEANNE BOSCHMAN i.

Grammar Lessons

a.

Use Shadow as a Verb Rain fell every day that month, fell slantwise, riverward, earth tilting.

Soon we learned to paraphrase its mesmeric dialect, shedding our night clothes, how to shadow our way towards one another.

b.

Use Shadow as an Adjective The thin whisper above Frida Kahlo’s lips is so shadow.

Consider also the following items: a foghorn’s moan before midnight, river ash, night-scented stalk, black eggs of the honeycreeper.

ii.

Eye Shadow Try this—you don’t need much, my older sister would say when she instructed me in the arts of deception.

On any given day we would slip out of the house, our eyelids the hue of Ripe Damson Plums, the Mediterranean at Crete, or Verdant Young Tea Leaves.

Did I say my favourite was Railway Tie Grey? Did I mention I never had an older sister?

Page 21 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

iii.

Shadow Bird In China’s south-western Xinjiang the Vaurie’s Nightjar has not been seen since 1929, a specimen that once could be held in the hand.

It is perfectly possible that this elusive bird has evolved as a species that can be identified in the wild only by other Vaurie’s Nightjars.

Still, you may find yourself imagining its song.

iv.

Shadow Colours Shadow pink less lustrous than shell pink, more naked than earthworms after an early morning shower, echoes like wet zinnia petals on the same morning.

Shadow brown more scuffed than a leather valise, is found knee-deep in bracken, can be described as shaly and be shed like a vagabond’s coat.

Shadow blue is a distant cousin of mirthless blue.

Prolonged exposure to this hue may cause distrust of certain expressions such as ‘win-win,’ ‘a happy occasion.’

Shadow orange, brighter than topaz mined in ancient times, cannot be hurried, like waking up in that bed in Mexico where your parents, gone these many years, once slept.

v. Shadowland This tour is not for the casual adventurer or week-end cave explorer.

You will rappel down an underground waterfall so deep you may lose track of centuries, be startled by what feels like the cold flutter of a leathery wing, realize it’s your own heartbeat.

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 22

THE LETTERPRESS THEN VALORIE LENNOX

The Earliest Depiction of a Printing Press: 1499

I

f putting together 120,000 words for a book seems daunting, imagine having to assemble every letter. Plus every space, punctuation snippet, post-sentence nothingness, and the horizontal lines between sentences.

Given an average word length of five letters, with spaces fore and aft, and an average sentence of 15 words, producing a 120,000 word book via letterpress would require the assembly of approximately 860,000 individual pieces.

For more than 400 years, that is how books were crafted: one tiny piece at a time.

Between the introduction of moveable type by Johannes Gutenberg in 1454 and the invention of the linotype in 1882, every single book, pamphlet, newspaper or broadside in western civilization was created by collecting and assembling the required letters, spaces,

punctuation, and lines into a printable plate of raised letters packed tightly inside a metal frame.

Prior to Gutenberg, books were works of art created by hand, most often on vellum (calf or sheepskin) in beautiful scripts with exquisite illumination. The most expensive and profusely illustrated were usually made on order for the very wealthy or nobility. Access to both to the books and the time-consuming means of production was restricted.

Thus, if there were new ideas hidden amongst the pieties and babewyms, few people would see them.

The moveable metal type created by jeweller Gutenberg was a game-changer, blowing access to printed information wide open. Once the printer had a set of cast letters, a press, ink and paper in hand, any text could be reproduced multiple times.

Gutenberg’s first known print document was a 31-line indulgence, dated 1454. To print it, he also had to invent an oil-based ink that would adhere to his metal type.

The new print process demanded skill and considerable initial investment in letters and press but could be

reproduced by any print shop. First, text was individually laid out letter by letter and space by space for each page, raised type was inked with wool balls, and the paper laid on top and pressure applied to transfer the inked relief to the page. Letters and press were reusable for multiple print runs.

Compared to current technology, with letters are accessed at the tap of a key and fed to a connected printer, letterpress appears tediously time-consuming, But compared to hand-copying, it was lightning fast, bringing mass production and making printed works widely available.

The revolution was also aided by another innovation: rag paper, which had slowly seeped into Europe from the east starting in the 12th century. By 1309, paper had even reached England.

Not only was it less expensive than vellum, but better suited to the printing press.

Three years in development, Gutenberg's renowned masterpiece— The Gutenberg Bible—was published in 1455 in Mainz. An estimated 180 copies of the 1,286-page bible were produced, some of them unbound.

They caused an unexpected sensation since print duplication was unknown. A possibly apocryphal story is that Gutenberg’s financial backer Johann Faust was charged with ‘witchcraft’ when he brought 50 of the bibles to French Court in Paris. He tried the pass the bibles off as hand-lettered but recipients noticed the pages were ee-

Page 23 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

Managing Editor Shaleeta Harrison holding a copy of The Compleat Ambassador printed in 1655. This book is from Valorie Lennox's personal collection of antiques (which includes the hand-carved Jacobean Court Cupboard behind Shaleeta)

An English Common Press from 1720

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 24

rily similar, beyond the skill of human scribes. The witchcraft charges were only dropped after Faust revealed the new print process.

The first printers maintained the look of illuminated manuscripts. Typefaces echoed hand-lettered scripts.

Early books—known as incunable if printed before 1501—often featured blank borders so buyers could hire artists to add illuminated borders.

It only took six years from the printing of Gutenberg’s Bible for the embellishment to also become mechanized. Printer Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg is credited with the first use of a woodcut for book illustration in 1461.

The raised relief image of the woodcut integrated smoothly with the raised type to reproduce the manuscript look of elaborate initial letters and illuminated borders.

Print technology spread rapidly outward from Gutenberg’s shop in Mainz. Between 1460 and 1468, print shops were opened in Strassburg, in Subiaco, Italy, in Cologne, and in Basel.

In 1472, the first book was printed in Spain; in 1476, William Caxton established the first press in England; and in 1478 printing began at England’s Oxford University in England, with the first English paper mill established in 1495; and the first print shops reached Denmark and Sweden in 1489.

Notable achievements by the end of the century were: • 1473: Music was printed in The Constance Gradual; • 1493: The Nuremburg Chronicle combined text with illustration; and • 1499: Aldus Manutius of Venice’s Aldine Press introduced the first ‘pocketbook’, an easy-to-carry small scale book measuring just over 8 by 11 inches.

As the technology spread, books, pamphlets, broadsides were suddenly everywhere, encouraging literacy and

spreading new ideas, some of them dangerous.

Governments and monarchies took note and either set up their own presses and/or enacted regulations to control privately-owned presses, including the following: • By 1563 in France, printing without royal permission was punishable by death; • In England, Henry VII appointed the first ‘printer to the crown’ in 1504. His son Henry VIII and granddaughter Elizabeth I controlled the press by issuing royal privileges which allocated the printing of specific publications to favoured printers. For example, a 1543 license gave Grafton and Edward Whitchurch the right to print liturgical books for church use, an undoubtedly lucrative monopoly; and • In 1600, Spain undercut the industry by outlawing production of paper in its colonies.

Clearly, Renaissance Princes would have hated the Internet.

Sometimes, opposition helped spread the technology. When Ulrich Haan printed a lampoon against the mayor of Vienna, his letterpress shop was destroyed. Haan fled to Rome, where he set up a print shop in 1467.

Other printers moved into Vienna.

Although there is no surviving image of Gutenberg’s press, there is an early woodcut image of a press in La Grande Danse Macabre, printed by Matthias Huss at Lyon in 1499. That remained the model for centuries, with very few major changes.

The Smithsonian’s English Common Press, which dates back to 1720, is surprisingly similar to the 1499 illustration. But within a few decades, the new materials and processes unleashed by the industrial revolution would also transform Gutenberg’s press.

Look out for Part Two and Part Three of this saga soon!

GARTH MATTHAMS

W

HAT IS CROWDFUNDING? Crowdfunding has been around for a while; online crowdfunding, on the other hand, has been gaining popularity since 2000. There are many platforms, but the current king-of-the-hill is Kickstarter; as such, most of the information here will deal with Kickstarter, though it can be adapted to similar sites.

Crowdfunding is the act of taking a product, idea or business venture to the populace with the intention of raising money for the creation or execution of said product, idea or business venture.

Crowdfunding lets you get your work in front of people you may not have reached otherwise—but it is also hard work.

The problem with crowdfunding is that you need a crowd. If you don't have a pre-existing crowd of people behind you, clamouring to support you, successfully crowdfunding your project can be difficult (but not impossible).

THE BASICS Aside from a crowd, you'll need a video.

Remember that potential backers haven't read your book. Sure, you might tell about it, and it might sound interesting, but there are a lot of interesting-sounding books out there. What makes yours different from all the others? You. If you come across as a sincere, passionate, and likeable person, people are more

likely to back your project.

You also need a good pitch. Telling people you “have a great idea, trust me, you're going to love it,” will end in failure. You need to pitch your story to backers the same way you'd pitch it to a publisher: professionally and concisely.

One of the best pitches I've ever heard was for a comic called Ghost Island. The author described it as, “Jurassic Park with ghosts.” Boom, I was sold.

Tell people who you are, why you're passionate about your project, and where the money's going. This should all be in your video, as well as written out on your project page.

DO YOUR RESEARCH Knowledge is power—this was true in the 1500s, when Sir Francis Bacon said it, and it's true today. Find projects that are similar to yours and pay attention to what's working (and what's not). Back some that interest you—even if it's just at the one dollar level—and see what kind of updates the creator's sending out. In short, learn what others are doing, and emulate their successes.

IT'S ALL OR NOTHING One of the most important things to consider is setting a realistic goal. You need to ask yourself, With my existing crowd, how much money can I expect to raise? How does this amount compare to

what I actually need?

If your goal, for example, is $5000, but you only think you can raise $1500, then you need to figure out a way to reduce your goal to $1500 and still make it work. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform. If you set a goal of $5000 and raise $4999, the project fails. This isn't an “Aim for the moon; even if you miss you’ll land among the stars” scenario. This is a scenario where aiming for the moon may leave you stranded in a ditch.

There are other crowdfunding platforms that are not all-or-nothing, like indiegogo. The problem is, if you need $5000, and you raise $2000, you're still on the hook to deliver the rewards. So... where will the remaining $3000 come from? How will you fulfill the rewards?

This is one of the reasons Kickstarter's all-or-nothing structure works: if you fail, the backers aren't charged, and you aren't under any obligation to fulfill rewards. Also, you can just try again.

There have been numerous projects that failed in their first attempt, only to return and succeed later on. The key is to learn from your mistakes.

KICKSTARTER IS A BUSINESS Like any business, it requires money to operate and grow. It earns this by taking 5% of the funds raised—but they also only get paid if the project is successPage 25 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

ful. As such, Kickstarter will promote popular projects, because these are the projects that are more likely to succeed and, as a result, pay them.

Knowing this, you can stack the deck. In short: You want to launch big.

Call in favours, text friends, call your family, email your mailing list... Because as soon as your project goes live, you want as many people as possible to back and support it. The more attention the project receives, the more likely Kickstarter (or its algorithms) will promote the project.

BACKER LEVELS Backer levels are the various “reward tiers” you're offering. I'll break them down into three categories: Good, Better and Best.

“Good” is your entry level reward tier, like an eBook version of your novel. If you're a new creator, pricing your eBook at $1-$2 might help expand your reach. After all, $1 or $2 becomes an impulse buy. Something you're not making any money off of, but you're getting people through the door. If they like it, they're likely to come back for future campaigns, and might even upgrade to physical copies of the book later. If you're not concerned with the “impulse” backers, you can set the price point higher.

“Better” would be the physical copy of the book.

“Best” would be some sort of deluxe reward for the “super” fan–it's meant to add value for the backer, but not necessarily add much expense for the creator.

• •

Two examples of “Best” rewards: BECOME A CHARACTER: one backer will have a character named and styled after them.

CORRESPONDENCE: a one-ofa-kind, hand-written letter from a character in the novel.

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 26

You can also consider other rewards. For example, there could be an audio version of the book. The beauty of an audio book is that the primary cost is time. It can be delivered electronically, which removes costs like packing and shipping—and, if done well, you can use it in the future.

Don't be afraid to think outside the box. In the end, the only limit to rewards is your imagination.

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR GOAL Let's say you want to print 100 novels.

You've found a local printer that can produce them at $6 each—and, because they're local, you can save on shipping by picking them up.

So your goal should be a modest $600... right? Not really. If you set the price of your novel to $20 (plus $10 for shipping), and exactly 20 people back at this level, you would end up with $600 and your campaign would be a success.

But, as mentioned, Kickstarter takes 5% of that. Your $600 is now $570—and $200 of that was to cover shipping to the backers. In the end, of $600 raised, you only really raised $370, leaving you $230 shy of your true goal.

Make sure you take everything into consideration. It's good to set your goal as low as you can, but not to the point where you end up paying for things out of pocket.

EXPECT A LULL The busiest times for any campaign will be the first and the last 48 hours. Things slow down considerably the rest of the time. There may be days where you don't get a single new backer!

A plan should have been created well before your launch, and you should have sent out things like press releases, news letters, etc—but during this expected lull you should be continuing to push forward with promotions. (Note that prior to launching your Kickstart-

er, you will have a “Preview Link” that can be shared. Once you hit Launch, the Preview Link will automatically forward anyone clicking on it to your Kickstarter page. This allows you to include links with press releases that will still work once your Kickstarter goes live.)

So, yes: post about your campaign in Facebook groups. Tweet about it.

Use Instagram, or any other form of social media you belong to. Write guest articles for websites. Be a guest on podcasts. Most of all, long before you hit that Launch button, research. Figure out what other people are doing during their campaigns, and figure out which of those strategies might work best for you.

AND REMEMBER...

Thank people. They're giving you their hard-earned cash, and placing faith in you to deliver something they'll enjoy. Remember to send out updates throughout (and after) the campaign.

Celebrate wins. Communicate. But don't inundate backers with emails.

Be transparent as to how you plan to use the money (ie. for a print run, to pay for the cover art, etc). Continue being transparent, even after the campaign is over. For example, if you're not going to hit your deadline, let people know. Most people are pretty understanding, as long as you keep them in the loop.

Also, be a part of the Kickstarter community. When a potential backer clicks on your profile, what are they going to see? Zero backed projects? Is this a one-sided transaction, in which you're attempting to take-take-take while giving nothing in return? Or will they see that you've already backed 11 other projects?

Remember that Kickstarter is time-consuming and tiring. Remember that it's okay to fail. It's okay to succeed.

And it's okay to ask for help. Good luck!

FLORA, FAUNA, & H. SAPIENS:

A COLLABORATION IN FOUR PARTS IAN COGNITO

H

ow does a writing collaboration come together?

Well, there’s the ember that sets the whole process alight. For me, this moment occurred when I first saw Pat Smekal performing her poetry at a Wordstorm event at the Vault Café in Nanaimo. She had just published a collection of poems, another collaboration, with David Fraser. Maybe We Could Dance was the result of an exchange between Pat and David, where they took inspiration from each other’s poems to create a chain of interconnected poetry.

The catalyst for me was in seeing Pat perform her work in public. I remember being struck by her frailty; she was recuperating from surgery for a broken femur and using a walker to get around. She was also more fully immersed in her senior years than me.

Me, sitting precariously on the outskirts of middle age, lapping tentatively at the prospect of retirement.

What struck me about Pat’s performance and her work was her humour and accessibility, the simplicity with which she could capture and explore lofty ideas.

I was, at that point, able to check off humour and accessibility in my own, as yet, unpublished work.

But, simplicity is something I still aspire to; I have a tendency toward verbosity in my writing, enjoy discursive excursions, and can sometimes over-indulge the purple hyperbolist within (See what I mean!)

The revelation came from witnessing Pat’s ease at being herself in front of an audience, how effortlessly she connected—notionally, poetically, and personally. I thought to myself, “She’s my kinda’ gal,” not realizing we would one day become collabora-

tors. I was new, very new, to the scene; Pat seemed quite established and respected, and I could not have imagined myself travelling in the company of such a sage presence.

The rest became our story—more readings, open mics, a poem of mine here and there that made its mark on Pat, that she responded positively to. In other words, I had begun to create a blip on Pat’s radar.

One day, Andrew Brown, who had just published Shadow Road, and with whom I had a poetic exchange underway, asked Pat and me to open for him during his book launch tour. This is when Pat and I discovered we had a lot in common. We both have a love of word craft and whimsy, and we recognized this in each other’s writing and performances during the tour.

I was about to do two sets at 15 Minutes of Infamy, a word-craft cabaret, which I produce each month with Carla Stein, and thought it would be fun to do a couple of ‘dueling’ poet sets with Pat. When I asked her, Pat responded with the first of several ‘Why nots’, which in Patsmekalese, translates as, ‘Sounds like fun.’

I proposed a process to Pat: I would send her five of my poems, and she could look for five poems in her poetry ‘archives’ to respond to my suggestions— thematically, image-wise, tonally. Pat would do the same with five of her poems, and I would find works within my collection to match her proposals. It went off without a hitch; the audience really seemed to enjoy our pairing and to recognize the threads linking

Page 27 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

2AN0N1U8AL

WRNITTEINSTGS CO

our respective poems.

This was so successful and so much fun that I proposed we put together a longer version of our poetic match up. And guess how Pat responded? We created two more sets, which gave us four in total—two in which Pat would lead off; two in which I would do the same. Then we took our performance to a couple of local libraries and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Where to next? I felt like we should find some way to preserve our work, and Pat, as ever, was amenable. At first, we considered a radio broadcast, but neither of us had any connections in this area and not the first idea of how to go about it. So, I said to Pat, “Why don’t we put this collection of ours into a book?” scaring the heck out of myself because I had not, hitherto, thought of myself as a print poet. Pat responded in perfectly articulated Patsmekalese…

And so, a book was born. We preserved the feel of our original showcase by dividing the book into sections to represent each of the four sets of our performances.

I think I speak for Pat and myself when I say this project was a delight from start to finish. Our book, flora, fauna, & h. sapiens, is a record in print of a wonderful, effortless collaboration and is a manifestation of fun made flesh.

How does a writing collaboration come together? Well, there is, of course, that initial glimmer. But, after that?

A succession of ‘why nots?’ ‘yesses’, and ‘let’s give that a whirls’ to stoke a shared desire to play.

,000 $6 IN CASH PRIZES! 1ST PRIZE $1,250

in each category

2ND PRIZE $500

in each category

3RD PRIZE $250

in each category

THE BANFF CENTRE BLISS CARMAN POETRY AWARD* (up to 3 poems per entry, max. of 150 lines total)

Judge: Jordan Abel

SHORT FICTION

(one story per entry, max. 10,000 words)

Judge: Lisa Moore

CREATIVE NON-FICTION

(one essay per entry, max. 5,000 words)

Judge: Myrna Kostash

DEADLINE: NOV. 30, 2018 Fee: $32 per entry, which includes a one-year subscription to Prairie Fire

Complete guidelines at www.prairiefire.ca For inquiries: prfire@mts.net

423-100 Arthur St. Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3 Ph: (204) 943-9066 www.prairiefire.ca Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 28

CONTEST WINNERS AND HONOURABLE MENTIONS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN PRAIRIE FIRE

* The Poetry first prize is donated in part by The Banff Centre, who will also award a jeweller-cast replica of poet Bliss Carman’s silver and turquoise ring to the first-prize winner.

DONNA BARKER

B

ecause there just wasn’t enough space under my bed for any more manuscripts, I was determined to have my dark humour, paranormal, social commentary, women’s fiction, murder mystery become a novel—agented and traditionally published.

And so, after paying for a professional development edit and following all of the very good advice I received, I started the joyful task of querying agents.

I was buoyed by the immediate, positive responses I received: several requests for partial and full manuscripts. I was less floaty when agent-after-agent—55 in total—passed. Many wrote back with comments that all sounded pretty similar, “You have an engaging voice as a writer and the characters and story are interesting, but I can’t think of a single publisher who would publish … whatever this genre is that you’ve written.”

Blub, blub, blub. Discouraged, and with my confidence swimming with the fishes at the bottom of Howe Sound, I tossed out the Irish sweater my grandma knit me when I was 17 to make room under my bed for one. more. manuscript.

Almost a year after receiving that last agent’s, “thanks, but no thanks,” I was tagged in a tweet, “Congratulations to @donnabarker, winner of the Chatelaine award for best Mystery/Suspense.”

Huh? I didn’t even remember having entered a contest. But I had, 15 months earlier.

Looking at all of the other category winners, I realized that my entry was in the minority, being only a manuscript — that most of the other award-winners were real books being read by real-life readers. This gave me the boost of confidence that I needed to say, “to heck with being an agented author with all their silly rules about needing to write in one clear genre,”

and to self-publish Mother Teresa’s Advice for Jilted Lovers.

While my contest win gave me what I needed to make the leap from aspiring to published author, I realize that many authors have different “Why bother?” reasons for entering writer’s contests. So, I asked a few for their thoughts.

Why bother? BC Authors share their thoughts on contests Lawrence Verigen, multi-award-winning author of the Dark Seed Trilogy says he has “no doubt that writing contests are of great benefit to authors and their creations…

“Being a finalist and winner of an award gives you third-party, respected recognition for your work.

That means someone out there thinks your book is better than the other books entered. The intent is for readers to have extra confidence that your book will be time well-spent and enjoyed, which adds up to more exposure and sales.”

Kath Curran, author of Before It Was Easy, and a Finalist for the Whistler Independent Book Awards, believes that, “To be successful, a new book by an unknown author needs two things: writing that is good enough to charm or at least engage its readers, and a bit more good luck than bad.

“By putting our name and our work in front of many individuals at once, whether we win or not, a writing contest amplifies our book’s chances of finding its audience. Yes, even if we win the contest, the odds of success remain small. But they are bigger than before, and it is by such active measures that we incrementally build our own luck.”

That’s the same reason why Mary Ann Clarke Page 29 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

Scott, author of the self-published, Having It All, romantic women’s fiction series, enters contests. And wins!

“In an overcrowded marketplace, exposure for your work and your brand is more important than ever, for all writers, but especially for self-published writers. You have to try everything available to you within your means, contests included.”

Caitlin Hicks, whose first book, A Theory of Expanded Love, has won more contest awards than I’ve had lovers, says, “I’m hoping the success of Theory will make my next book more attractive to agents and put me in a better bargaining position to land a larger publisher for my second book. Being an author… it’s all about hope and desire, isn’t it?”

Luck + Hope + Research = Recognition + Exposure. Maybe.

There’s no doubt that winning the right contests can help you achieve all of the benefits that motivate the award-winners above (or their publishers) to pay the entry fees. Of course, there are no guarantees that you’ll be a finalist or win every, or even any of the contests you enter, but there are a few things you can do to improve your odds, aside from submitting the best book possible.

Some contests lean toward more literary works while others award genre-writing. Know where your book fits and submit accordingly.

Some treat self-published books as equals to traditionally published, while others don’t. Don’t waste your money with the misbelief that you’ll be the author to buck that trend.

Some contests are judged blind with the author unknown to the judges, while others allow the judges to know who wrote the books. Does this impact who walks away with an award? Sometimes it’s easy to figure out by looking at a few years’ history of wins.

Luck can be biased.

Good advice, read between the lines Lawrence Verigen (www.lawrenceverigin.com): “As long as you think your writing, editing, interior layout and cover are worthy of an award, you should put in the effort to enter as many categories as you can find that your book(s) fit with.”

(Take away: Submit your best possible work!

Contests are not a place to send an unedited, poorly formatted manuscript. Details matter.)

Caitlin Hicks (www.caitlinhicks.com): “Kirkus Reviews (technically, not a contest, but absolutely Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 30

a competition) is expensive but essential. Foreward Reviews Indies Book Of the Year Awards and iBooks Best New Fiction are also important contests. High profile contests like these help libraries and bookstores make the decision to acquire your book.”

(Take away: Do your research about who uses the contest results to make buying decisions. If your big goal is to get your book into Chapters, know which contests Chapters buyers’ respect.)

Mary Ann Clarke Scott (maryannclarkescott. com): “Contests are a dime a dozen and not all of them are worth your time and money. Make sure the contest organization is ethical, professional and has the clout you need. In the end contest wins are just a stepping stone as you attempt to lift your head above the crowd. Ultimately it’s readers who will determine your success.”

(Take away: Have a plan to use your contest to help you reach your next goal. Which begs the question that you know what your next goal is! Otherwise your winning status will be virtually invisible to the broad reading community mere seconds after the congratulations Tweet’s been posted.)

Kath Curran (http://kathcurran.com): “Everything about writing is a kind of contest. You train, you practice, your work is never ‘finished.’ And then there’s a contest. With a deadline. The work is ready after all. Whether or not you win a prize, you are a winner now—you have a completed draft … and you’ve taken part in a community that supports other writers like yourself.”

(Take away: Being a writer is a solitary act. Becoming a successful author is so much easier with a community. Build relationships your co-contest winners to cross-promote or support other’s goals in other ways. (I met Caitlin, Kath, and Lawrence due to our shared contest wins.))

How to answer your own, “Why bother?”

So, “why bother” entering book contests? I think the real questions to ask yourself before you pay your money to take your chances, are, • What do you hope to gain from a contest win? and • How will you leverage a win if you do walk away with a prize?

Answer those questions, take the advice of your award-winning peers, and then hope that your luck is more good than bad on the day you’re assigned your judges.

GEORGE OPACIC

H

ave you been tempted to help someone with a great story but who cannot put it into a manuscript, or should not be allowed unrestricted access to a keyboard?

Ghost writing can be looked at as the merger of two imperfect sides of a mirror: the idea-person and the writer.

One person has a life-story or an interesting topic in mind. It may be a memoir, possibly a business promotion concept, or an incident that begs to be placed in the light of day. The idea is there, but the skill to write it into a readable story may not be. A “writer” is needed.

At the beginning, from the viewpoint of one side, there is a story to tell but the teller has either too little time or confidence to set out on the literary excursion: “I know that I need to write a book about this. I want my family and friends to be able to see what a fascinating story I have, but how do I get that first sentence out of my reluctant though brilliant mind and onto paper?”

From the other side of the mirror, a writer may be thinking, “I need to make this profession pay, somehow. Even if my name doesn’t get out there.”

Thus, an Author (Ghostwriter) is born! This new entity is a merger of the

two mirror images. One side has money and the ghost of an idea; the other side needs money and the ability to place many ideas onto paper in a readable manner. One side has a need to see their name in lights; the other side needs to pay the rent.

An agreement should be arrived at —and it is highly, strongly, recommended that a strong agreement be written for this project. A fortunate situation would be where both sides recognize that there are flaws in each mirror and that a synergy may occur where one side’s flaws are masked or even crystallized into a sparkling gem by the other side. In reality, the idea-person usually feels all they need to be able to do this on their own is to see an example.

As the project proceeds, there are a few possibilities. In may be that a respectful understanding develops between the two. Each will come to rely on the skills of the other.

They could realize that the task is difficult and even if the oil seems to mix into the water, given a short period of rest, the two will separate to different levels. That realization could prompt them to a quick and more-or-less acceptable conclusion, before the inevitable happens. Or they could say, “We

were not meant to be.”

Ok – so we are talking contract.

How much is it worth? Let us go back to the mirror. From which side are you looking? If you are the writer, it’s informative to place your mind’s-eye on the other side. The funder wants a conclusion for which family and friends will say, “Wow! That’s really good! I didn’t know you had it in you.” How much is that worth?

The funder will have a budget.

During contract negotiations it is the writer’s job to establish clearly understood expectations and timelines. Some agreements have regular monthly payouts, or, perhaps, payments by the page.

If this project has the potential to sell well or to be converted into another medium (script, audiobook or a serial of books), the writer will want to have a percentage of that.

How much to charge? There is a very wide range that depends on a plethora of factors (i.e., I am be recompensed for this article by the number of multi-syllabic words).

The Writers Union of Canada has a recommended fee schedule: “Contracts with ghostwriters are negotiated on an individual basis. The Writers' Union has established a miniPage 31 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Spring 2018

mum fee schedule. For a book of 60,000 to 90,000 words, the Union recommends a total minimum fee of $40,000, payable as follows: 15% on signing; 10% on delivery of detailed outline; 25% on delivery of first draft of one chapter; 25% on delivery of first draft of entire manuscript; and 25% on delivery of revised manuscript.” writersunion.ca/ghostwriting Patently, these types of fees would not apply to Uncle Hardeep’s memoir of his time in the Kush.

The Professional Writers Association of Canada has a detailed list of possibilities, as well: pwac.ca/What-topay-a-writer A search of internet possibilities will provide the low-to-high range. The main problem for a new ghostwriter will be in speaking with a potential client from a position of knowledge and authority. Please do perform your due diligence; take the time to establish what you feel would be a comfortable bargaining range, before talking with a client about the money.

This basic equation may be of more use to newer ghostwriters: (time X effort expended) X experience factor So, for example, if we assume 3 hours per day over 10 days, with an ex-

pectation of worth being $10 per hour, and for a newbie, let’s say a fudge factor of 60%: (total hours X “expectation of worth”) X 0.6 = (300 X $10) X 0.6 = $1,800 Play with the numbers as you feel appropriate. It could be humbling for the writer, and instructive for the funder, to do so during negotiations.

The next question is timing. It is recommended for the sake of both parties that weekly or monthly milestones be established. As each period is confirmed via the submission of something substantial – number of pages or chapters, for instance – the funder is satisfied that something is happening; and the writer is forced into actually writing to a deadline. Very few writers seem to combine both a facility to write plus the self-control needed to produce X number of words to a schedule, so the forced aspect will be very useful.

Do not forget to get sign-off from the funder for each completed section.

Even if it is “sign-off in principle”, subject to final editing and minor adjustments.

This will work, again, to the advantage of both parties. The funder provides tacit agreement as to the trajectory being taken in the work, and the writer

confirms the wishes of the funder. No problem if global rewrites need to occur during any such submission, as long as both sides are in agreement and the payments cover the extra work.

Will there be other contributors to the work? Illustrators, editors or book designers will need to be paid. There may be special expenses, perhaps for research or travel. The original agreement must detail who is responsible for paying as well as for managing such extra work.

Will the writer be responsible for publishing? Small publishers are available for the task and if you have time, you may be able to do it yourself through IngramSpark, CreateSpace or other print-on-demand (POD) service.

There are a few special tricks there, but I don’t want to train too many competitors.

Are you done? Not until the funder is satisfied. But, with a well-written agreement, such satisfaction cannot be unreasonable withheld. If you have complied with the agreed milestones, and acceptance has been signed off, the funder must have a substantial reason to hold off final payment.

ISLAND MOUNTAIN ARTS Wells/Barker ville, BC • Cariboo Countr y Writing About Your Place June 23 - 24, 2018 with Heather Ramsay Breathe life and story into special places in this two-day workshop with creative writer and journalist Heather Ramsay. Come and explore the beauty of Wells while learning about the writing craft and practicing different techniques.

Making Your Writing Fly: A Self-editing Workshop for Prose & Poetry July 7 - 10, 2018 with Betsy Warland Author of the award-winning book, Oscar of Between —A Memoir of Identity and Ideas, Betsy Warland has been a professional creative writing teacher and manuscript consultant and editor for the past 30 years. Join her in this four-day workshop to learn how to effectively edit your work.

Whether you have a few strong pieces, a portion of or a full manuscript, you will gain the skills and even pleasure of self-editing.

Scholarships & bursaries are available. For more info on this and other programs:

Spring 2018 ◆ WordWorks ◆ Page 321-800-442-2787 • info@imarts.com • www.imarts.com

NEW TITLES BY FEDERATION OF BC WRITERS MEMBERS

If you are an FBCW member with a newly published book, (self or traditionally published) let us know! We'd be happy to promote it here. Please visit bcwriters.ca/launched to learn more. Due to space constraints, we can only post books that have been published 12 or fewer months before the deadline.

DEADLINES TO SUBMIT: FALL JULY 1ST WINTER NOVEMBER 1ST SPRING MARCH 1ST

"Oh, Not So Great": Poems from the Depression Project Rob Taylor | Leaf Press, December 2017 | ISBN: 978-1-988811-02-4 | $16.95

These poems are the result of a years-long project designed to create for physicians a doorway to empathy with patients who suffer from mental illness. Here are people speaking from deep within the isolating world of depression, their stories transformed into poetry by Rob Taylor’s considerable talents. From the heart-rending admission to a friend in the first poem (It’s the one gift / I do give you, every day / I don’t call), to the final lines (You walk alone / across the room, sit by the fire, / and wait there for the longest time), this collection unveils a reality lived by far too many people, one most of us don’t know how to handle — not when we experience it ourselves, not when loved ones are going through it. Read this book. It will help. (Sandy Shreve, author of Waiting for the Albatross and Suddenly, So Much). Rob Taylor is the author of the poetry collections The Other Side of Ourselves (Cormorant Books, 2011) and The News (Gaspereau Press, 2016), which was a finalist for the 2017 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Rob was the recipient of a 2015 City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award.

He lives in Vancouver with his wife and son.

Caribbean Moon: Shipwrecked in Paradise

Jeanne Ainslie | Self-Published | October, 2017 | ISBN: 978-0-9948290-2-3 | $4.88

Carribbean Moon is the story of Laura, a divorced woman in mid-life, who is ready for love and discovers romantic adventure when she meets a black steward on the cruise ship Ecstasy. Romance turns to disaster, when later sailing in the British Virgin Islands their yacht hits a rock in a violent tropical storm and sinks. Adrift in the sea and marooned overnight on a deserted rocky island they survive, but it is Laura's resilience and passion that changes her life.

unSUPERvised: growing up in the 1950s

Beth A. Skala | Pacific Qi Consulting, | December 2017 | ISBN: 978-0-987696-47-2 | $20.00

It was the 1950s—the era of the Cold War and Sputnik, when family cars had no seatbelts and children roamed as far from home as their bicycles would take them. This is the world that Beth and her brother navigated. Sometimes they got it right. But not always. Like the day the toaster caught fire . . .

Described as "fresh, charming, and forthright," this childhood memoir is a collection of episodes written as haibun, a combination of haiku and prose. Skala successfully captures the concerns of children and shows us how a family works through problems. There are no drugs, no abuse, no violence or deep trauma. Yet, in the very ordinariness of her family, we realize that her childhood was extraordinary. The inclusion of the short haiku poems gives the stories deeper meaning, leading us to realize that there are complex issues beneath the simple tales. For those who lived through that time, this book will generate many memories. For those for whom the 1950s and early '60s is history, the stories open a door into a very different time and place. Order from Beth Skala at bskala@shaw.ca

Canadian Ginger: an anthology of poetry & prose by and about REDHEADS

Edited by Kim Clark & Dawn Marie Kresan | Oolichan Books | November 2017 | ISBN: 9780889823228 | In this exciting new anthology from Oolichan Books, editors Kim Clark and Dawn Marie Kresan comb the Canadian landscape for its redheaded writers. Only 2% of the world's population is born with red locks, and Canadian Ginger explores what it means to be red in the head. Whether it is a poet, a playwright or a prose writer in between, each has a particular take on the myths and stereotypes of having red hair. The anthology includes established and emerging writers, from nonfiction

by Penn Kamp to a short play by Jordan Watkins, from poetry and prose by Bruce Meyer to nonfiction by Christine Lowther.

and emotionally engaging (and finding) “tiny points of adow.” Her calm voice offers ful company.

nd, Broken Ground,

e numerous books that have us an original, startling and ntimacy to her writing that What we hear are our own a sense of peace – the kind e darkest places, we are not

Minerva’s Owl

memoir, including The First Journal of Child and Youth d (Hedgerow Press) and a chan Books). Her short story nal’s 2017 Jacob Zilber Prize

Carol Matthews

Hegel’s observation that the m, spreads its wings only at as Hegel suggests, the past ews, the knowing is helpful. t is an exploration of how e experienced as part of an

Minerva's Owl: The Bereavement Phase of my Marriage

Carol Mathews | Oolichan Books | November 2017 | ISBN: 978-0-88982-325-9 | $17.95

Minerva’s Owl The Bereavement Phase of My Marriage

By Carol Matthews

in

In Minerva’s Owl, Carol Matthews reflects on Hegel’s observation that the owl of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, spreads its wings only at twilight. Understanding comes late in life and, as Hegel suggests, the past cannot be rejuvenated, only known. For Matthews, the knowing is helpful. Part grief memoir, part love story, this account is an exploration of how bereavement after a long-term marriage can be experienced as part of an ongoing relationship.

Carol Matthews is the author of four books of memoir, including The First Three Years of a Grandmother’s Life (Relational Journal of Child and Youth Care Practice) and Reflections on the C-Word (Hedgerow Press) and a collection of short stories, Incidental Music (Oolichan Books). Her short story “The Boat, as it Happened,” won Prism International’s 2017 Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction.

$17.95 ISBN 978-0-88982-325-9

9 780889 823259

Love Me True: Writers Reflect on the Ins, Outs, Ups, and Downs of Marriage

Edited by Fiona Tinwei Lam & Jane Silcott | Caitlin Press | March 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-987915-66-2 | 24.95

What keeps us together? What breaks us apart? In Love Me True, 27 creative nonfiction writers and 20 poets explore how marriage and committed relationships have challenged, shaped, supported and changed them. The stories and poems in this collection delve deep into the mysteries of long-term bonds. The authors cover a gamut of issues and ideas–everything from everyday conflicts to deep philosophical divides, as well as jealousy, adultery, physical or mental illness, and loss.

There’s happiness here too, along with love and companionship, whether the long-term partnering is monogamous, polyamorous, same-sex or otherwise. From surprise proposals, stolen quickies, and snoring to arranged marriage, affairs, suicide, and much more, the wide-ranging personal stories and poems in Love Me True are sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing, and always engaging as they offer their intimate and varied insights into the complex state that is marriage.

Refugium | Poems for the Pacific

Edited by Yvonne Blomer | Caitlin Press | November 2017 | ISBN: 978-1-987915-53-2 | 22.95

While in the world of politics there are still climate change deniers, the poets watch the warming seas, the dying birds slicked in oil, the whales, the jellies, the sea otters and the octopus. They stand, as close to the shore as possible, watch the slow turning tide. In this collection of poems from the coast of B.C., California, Washington State, to Alaska and as far away as Auckland, New Zealand and as far back as early 19th century Japan these poems explore our connection to the Pacific, what we know and don’t know, how we’ve already changed the shore and the sea and what we fear losing.

Poets in this anthology include John Barton, Brian Brett, Bruce Cockburn, Lorna Crozier, Brenda Hillman, Gary Geddes, Steven Heighton, Patrick Lane, Arleen Paré, Melanie Siebert, Anne Simpson, Rob Taylor, Patricia Young, Jan Zwicky and many more. In Refugium, editor Yvonne Blomer explores her deep concern with our sixth extinction and how stoic humans are continuing to wreak damage on the planet and her oceans.

Wildwood

Elinor Florence | Dundurn Press | February, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-4597-4020-4 | 17.25 Broke and desperate, Molly Bannister accepts the ironclad condition laid down in her great-aunt’s will: to receive her inheritance, Molly must spend one year in an abandoned off-the-grid farmhouse buried in the remote backwoods north of Peace River, Alberta. If she does, Molly can sell the farm and fund her fouryear-old daughter’s badly-needed medical treatments.

With grim determination, Molly teaches herself the basic pioneer skills. But her greatest perils are presented by the brutal wilderness itself, from blizzards to grizzly bears. Only the journal written in 1924 by her courageous great-aunt, the land’s original homesteader, inspires Molly to persevere against the odds.

This is the second novel by career journalist Elinor Florence of Invermere, B.C. Her first novel Bird’s Eye View, published by Dundurn Press in 2014, became a Canadian bestseller, listed in the Toronto Star.

Both novels are available in bookstores everywhere.

For more info: www.elinorflorence.com.

A One-Handed Novel

Kim Clark | Caitlin Press | February, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-987915-62-4 | $24.00 When Melanie Farrell visits the neurologist she is told her multiple sclerosis is progressing. She isn’t surprised by the diagnosis, but what does shock her is the related prognosis. It seems, based on a new study, that she only has six orgasms left. Six! Fortyish and single, Mel must decide how best to spend, save or at least not waste those precious orgasms. Mel’s plans to make the most of her sex life proves easier said than done when other realities of living with MS demand even more of her attention. Should she max out her credit card on an experimental procedure in Costa Rica? How can she work to financially support herself and get the care she needs when she can hardly leave the house? Where are her friends when she needs them? Her choices become even more confusing when one day she meets a man who loves butterflies and is good with his hands. But is romance what she’s really looking for right now? Or is she looking for something even more? Funny, honest, heartbreaking and hopeful, A One-Handed Novel offers a fresh take on independence and disability, ambition and love, and the communities that help us cope when our bodies and our desires are ever-changing.

Breaking Boundaries: LGBTQ2 Writers on Coming Out and Into Canada

Anthology edited by Lori Shwydky | Rebel Mountain Press | November 2017 | ISBN: 978-0-994-7302-7-5 | $13.95 What does it mean to be LGBTQ2 in Canada? The voices in this anthology give an answer to that question. Two African women immigrate to Canada so they can live and love each other openly without fear. There are stories of refugees, of two-spirited First Nation Peoples, of Americans immigrating to Canada in search of equality and a better place, and Canada-born LGBTQ2 who share their challenges and celebrations via prose and poetry. The common thread throughout is that for LGBTQ2 people, Canada is that better place. Excerpt from foreword by Robin Stevenson: "There is struggle in these stories and poems, but there is also strength and resilience and compassion and determination.

Woven together now in my mind, these voices leave me with a sense of hopefulness: a belief that the creativity and fierce commitment of our community will carry us forward as we work to create a Canada that lives up to the dream of freedom and safety it represents to so many people around the world." —Robin Stevenson, author of Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community (Orca 2017)

Under The Covers

Patricia Hetherington | Rosepointe Publishing | January, 2018 | ISBN: 978-0978279516 | $19.95 This evocative collection of linked stories explores the hope, heartache, and messiness of life and love, revealing how, in the deepest corners of our beings, we long for healing. Patricia invokes the presence of her deceased grandmother in a reverie and they reminisce while waiting for a resistant story to emerge. When she navigates the treacherous terrains of family sewing traditions and Spain’s gruelling cross-country pilgrims’ trail, unexpected truths are found in the depths of transformation. A woman’s quest for the perfect cinnamon bun becomes a metaphor for living without regret. Lessons passed from mother to daughter hinge on choosing the perfect coat. But when a crisis inspires the wrong purchase, a mysterious appearance delivers redemption. Through dance comes reckoning-with yearning for fatherly love, with confronting her own raw sexuality, and by accepting the harsh truths of aging.

"Though the language is elegant and refined there is something raw sitting solidly beneath the shining paragraphs. Hetherington makes herself quite vulnerable to the reader.” —Coast Reporter

Discovered in a Scream, 2nd Edition

Ben Nuttall-Smith | Rutherford Press | March, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-988739-29-8 | 24.95 This 105,000-word story of personal growth relates a journey of healing. It documents a lifetime of running from the debilitating guilt of childhood sexual and physical abuse. Throughout most of his life, Paddy didn’t know why he was running or from what. This autobiographical novel chronicles the tumultuous journey from silence and denial, to acknowledgement and acceptance, self-forgiveness and eventual wholeness.

Accounts are raw, authentic, and interspersed with humour and understanding, illustrating that sometimes one must break down to break through and that it is never too late to reclaim a thriving and joyful life.

The Promise of Water

Judy LeBlanc | Oolichan | October, 2017 | ISBN: 978-0- 88982-320- 4 | The ocean beaches, rain-splattered sidewalks, damp basement suites and deep forests, emblematic of Vancouver Island, provide a constant backdrop in this short story collection. Water inundates the lives of the characters, both literally and metaphorically. The ephemeral quality of life, like that of water, is revealed; people die, dreams are shattered, and redemption is found in letting go. “Always compassionate with her characters, rich in flesh-and-blood detail, and ringing so true, Judy LeBlanc’s stories take us to some of our darkest places—which also hide our best glimpses of grace, light, and joy. A mature and powerful debut.” Bill Gaston Judy LeBlanc’s short stories have been published in numerous literary journals. In 2017, she was longlisted for the Prism Short Fiction contest, and in 2015 she won the Islands Fiction contest. In 2012, she won the Antigonish Review’s Sheldon Currie Fiction contest and was longlisted for the CBC short story prize.

She teaches English and Creative Writing at North Island College and is a founding member and former artistic director for the Fat Oyster Reading Series.

The Haida Gwaii Detour

Alfred Cool | Self-Published | February 2018 | ISBN: 1983713724 | $19.95 The Haida Gwaii Detour is the story of an eager, young hand logger surrounded by an unlikely community in the heart of West Coast wilderness. Detailing a wild ride through life in and around Haida Gwaii between 1979 and 1985, this travel memoir is based on real-life events and packed with a colourful cast of characters.

This story is told through the eyes of both a narrator and the protagonist named Ethan, who has escaped the concrete jungle of Vancouver in the hopes of earning enough money for Journalism school tuition.

It is tourist fare to wander among the remains of structures and totems after kayaking to ancient Haida settlements, but only a fortunate few ever get to go west to do something meaningful; to work, to earn, to harvest. To live. Ethan felt privileged, that he was one of the luckiest men alive on that day, because he was going to work with the land, rather than destroy it. – excerpt from the novel

Broken Trust

CB Clark | The Wild Rose Press| March, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-5092-1952-0 | 16.99 After five years of hell with an abusive husband, Natasha Hartford vows never to trust another man.

Then she stumbles onto a murder scene and meets sexy, stubborn Homicide Detective Chase Brandon, a take-no-prisoners tough guy who’ll settle for nothing less than the truth. Sparks fly, but Chase’s suspicions and Natasha’s innate distrust block the way to happiness.

The detective struggles with his own troubled past and is determined to find the truth behind the shadows dimming Natasha's eyes. As more murders occur and a possible connection to her ex-husband appears, Chase fears her life is in danger.

Natasha and Chase race to find the killer before he strikes again. Their survival depends on their willingness to overcome their mistrust of one another. Will they overcome their fears and find love again?

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Naomi Beth Wakan | Shanti Arts Publishing | February, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-947067-28-8 | $18.95 USD In this inspiring memoir, Naomi Beth Wakan takes the reader on a journey through her lifelong experiences writing various forms of Japanese poetry, especially haiku and its related genres. She explains the rules and structure that distinguish the various forms, providing many examples of her own work, along with poems from well-known historical and contemporary poets. Very importantly, however, Wakan shows by example that the “rules” are not to be taken as impediments, but rather as guideposts on the journey to discover and explore oneself. Looking back, Wakan realizes that her practice of poetry writing has enabled her to develop awareness, dispassionate interest, personal healing, and compassion. In her own words: “I have come to see that in creating poetry, I am creating myself.”

By sharing her insights, she encourages us to discover for ourselves the gifts of haikai.

— Christopher Herold, founding editor of The Heron’s Nest

Today The Waiting

Dorothy Collins | Tellwell Publishing | January, 2018 | ISBN: 9781773705255 | $3.99 Days can be years when danger is near.

Harry & his son Todd's quiet lives were changed by two children Jason six and Bethany three when they accidently appear on their doorstep. Their lives change again with a need when the mother, Laurie enters into the picture.

Days can be a life time when danger metes out it's fury and throws these two families together not once, not twice but a third time. Each path cross is a dramatic and dangerous situation.

Will dangerous perils win?

Missing Pieces

Ken Cathers | Ekstasis Press | September 2017 | ISBN: 978-1-77171-221-7 | $23.95 In this, his sixth book, Ken Cathers confronts the idea of loss, the sudden disappearance of a child or loved one and all the emotional chaos that can entail. Writing in different styles, speaking in different voices he creates a mosaic of possibilities but with the inevitable few Missing Pieces.

Beyond the Blue Door

Kay McCracken | Gracesprings Collective | January, 2018 | ISBN: 9780994990235 | 24.95 Kay McCracken’s memoir Beyond the Blue Door: a writer's journey is a sequel to A Raven in My Heart: Reflections of a Bookseller. McCracken moved to Salmon Arm from Vancouver in 1993 to open a bookstore named Reflections and A Raven in My Heart is about that incredible experience—a behind the scenes look at life in Salmon Arm as a newbie bookseller in a town that, at the time, was polarized: the old guard hanging onto conservative values vs. the many artists, writers and free thinkers.

Through a series of unfortunate events that she couldn't have foreseen or prevented, McCracken had to close her bookstore after five-and-a-half years. Beyond the Blue Door picks up where Raven ends; the book is for all those people who asked “What happened next?” The Blue Door symbolizes anything we want to get beyond: our fears, anxieties, illness, failures & even hopelessness. This book is about becoming the writer that McCracken always, secretly, wanted to be, and the story is bound together with her mother's journey—something of a blessing as it turned out.

Landed

Gerhard Winkler | Rogue Literary Press | December, 2017 | ISBN: 978-0-9878003-7-4 | Two of my previous books dealt with my life before immigration. My last book, published in December 2017, tells the story of my life over sixty years after becoming a Landed Immigrant. I named the book: 'LANDED' which seemed an appropriate title. It reports about my and my bad experiences over that period of time.

At this time, when the media is talking a lot about immigration and its problems it felt important to me to reflect on the long history of being a newcomer to this beat country in the world.

Choosing Canada as a new home was the best decision I ever made in spite of some bad experiences I encountered.

Dunmora – The Story of a Heritage Manor House on Vancouver Island Valerie Green | Hancock House Publishers | December, 2017 | ISBN: 978-0-88839-008-0 | $59.95

Built in 1922, Dunmora tells an intriguing story of life through ten decades of six ownerships. Included are tales of faithful Chinese servants who took care of the first family to many famous visitors to the house from Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to movie stars such as Jack Nicholson when movies were shot there in the 1970s and 1980s. The house today is valued as “the grandest early 20th century estate home in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island, BC.” A beautiful coffee table book, it is available in both soft and hard cover through local book stores and the publisher Hancock House in Surrey, BC at www.hancockhouse.com I am also delighted to announce, after writing over twenty non-fiction published books, my debut novel Providence (Book One in the McBride Chronicles Series) will be released by Sandra Jonas Publishing House, Boulder, Colorado, later this year. Watch this space!

Out of Silence

Ruby Monroe | AuthorHouse | January, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1-5462-1568-4 |

Ruby, a sweet-sixteen bride and mother, had her innocence stolen away by the love of her life.

Her more experienced nineteen-year-old husband had deep-seated anger issues. In spite of his intermittent beatings, rapes, and threats, Ruby worked hard, studied, took courses, and eventually, enjoyed success by becoming a department manager in a major company. A “white knight” came into Ruby’s life. Clandestine meetings and long chats with her prince charming gave her the courage and motivation she needed to seek a better life for herself and her two children.

While rummaging through some old women-in-management motivational books, Ruby realized forty years later that these books would be solutions for women in business today. She eventually understood that her abusive husband wasn’t the only male who came into her life and made unsolicited decisions about her and her career. This challenged Ruby to fight for survival at home and in the business world. But would she win?

Harvest | A Josh Ingram Novel

t.g. brown | Thriller Reads | October, 2017 | ISBN: 978-1928029021 | A PREDATOR IS ON THE LOOSE . . .

A full year had passed since the closure of the O’Henry file and life had returned to normal for Josh Ingram, or so he thought. Stranded on a Louisiana back road, Ingram gets word that Rachael Tanner of the FBI Special Crimes Unit is trying to reach him. There’s been trouble in northern Minnesota, not far from where Mary Kowalski, a close friend of Ingram, spent her formative years. Driven by a morbid obsession and a need for closure, someone or something has begun the Harvest, and those on its list will never be safe. Ingram is about to enter a world of deceit and rage where the lines between good and evil shift, while madness lurks in the shadows . . .

Gateway to Obscurity

Ken Westdorp | Self-Published | May, 2017 | ISBN: 978-1-48084549-7 | $11.95 Life is filled with abstract concepts that we often ignore as we grow older; hurdles like love, rejection, break-up and the biggest challenge death. Gateway to Obscurity deals with these obstacles and others such as childhood and aging with the eloquence of poetry and the rawness of confession that bleeds from a wounded soul. Breakdown the enormity of a subject on a personal basis that many can relate to as each verse is woven like fabric in a quilt that shields the reader from the nightmares that lurk in our subconscious. The depth of life has a richness that molds the very person we are as we interact with others on a daily basis. From the masks we wear to the shadows we retreat to during times of recovery the world can often be a place of nightmares if there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Life is an abundance of feeling that if filtered by catch phrases and plastic smiles has not the wisdom that lies at the end of the journey.

Gateway to Obscurity can be ordered online from the publisher Archway Books.com as well Google, Amazon and Chapters/Indigo.ca or as an e-book from Kindle.

Give Out Creek

JG Toews | Mosaic Press | May, 2018 | ISBN: 9781771613057 | $24.95 Back in the small mountain town of Nelson BC, news reporter Stella Mosconi never talks about her crippling fear of deep water. Now spring runoff is in the alpine, Give Out Creek is on the rampage, and Stella watches the lake rise outside her door. When a new friend is found dead in her rowboat, she is drawn into the investigation despite a complicated history with the police officer in charge. The death of a second woman—a suspect in the case — brings more trouble Stella's way as she struggles to hold her family together. Head-on with the killer, Stella meets her ultimate challenge as she is plunged into the deep, cold lake that haunted her childhood.

Give Out Creek is the first in a series of Stella Mosconi mysteries. It was shortlisted for the 2016 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished Crime Novel. Visit Judy at www.jgtoews.com.

A Parkinson's Life: And a Caregiver's Roadmap

Jolyon Hallows | Self-Published | January 2018 | ISBN: 978-0-9950259-0-5 | $19.95 Parkinson’s disease is hard on those who have it and on family members who provide care for them. A Parkinson’s Life follows one courageous woman’s battle with the disease and her husband’s struggle to learn to become her caregiver. Sandra Hallows was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1996. In the years since then, she brought her “never give up” attitude to her fight with Parkinson’s—a fight that led her into a wealth of therapies and treatments. In those years, Jolyon Hallows, her husband, learned how to give care, how to structure their home environment to ease both their lives, and how to deal with the emotional turmoil. A Parkinson’s Life is part memoir and part “how-to” guide for those thrust into the chaos of giving care.

The Woman From Dover

Betty Annand | Amberjack Publishing | December, 201y | ISBN: 978-1-944995-40-9 | 18.99 From a childhood in the London slums in the 1820s, Gladys Tunner rose to high society, only to have it all taken away from her. So ended The Girl from Old Nichol, Betty Annand’s first novel, published in 2017.

The Woman From Dover picks up where the first book ended; part two of the trilogy. Like the first book, The Woman From Dover is set in England. Gladys, now in her 20s, has landed employment as a housekeeper for a wealthy widower. A chance one-night encounter with her first true love produces an unplanned pregnancy, and when she confesses the situation to her employer, he offers to marry her and legitimize the child. All is well, until the biological father of the child returns to England and is introduced to his son, leaving Gladys with difficult and heart rendering choices to make. .

The book was launched in December at the Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Ave. in Courtenay.

Arcadia Falls

Ken Stark | Self-Published | November, 2017 | ISBN: 9781775181538 | $17.53

Something is wrong in Arcadia Falls. The first boy vanished without a trace and with just as little fanfare. Even the second disappearance amounted to little more than a few passing remarks and another name skipped over in the classroom roll call. As far as Riverside High and the rest of Arcadia Falls were concerned, it seemed, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

Tyler John was no different. He had barely given the matter a second thought, but then a wrong turn sent him on a path straight into the dark heart of the mystery, and the deeper he peered into the shadows, the more he realized that something was looking back. Now, the hunter has become the hunted and time is running out. With nowhere else to turn, it's up to Tyler and his handful of friends to stop the evil thing that's been preying on Arcadia Falls, and if they fail, they might just be the next ones to vanish. Yes, something is desperately wrong in Arcadia Falls, and it's like nothing anyone has ever seen before.

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