After seven long weeks in a small rural island community over the summer, the past week was spent on a quick return trip to the city, ostensibly to attend a friend’s wedding, but also to take care of a hectic round of shopping and errands in preparation for the start of the school year. The experience […]
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Read More »
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON ROMANCE FICTION Recently I occasioned to re-examine a blog post that I’d bookmarked some time ago, two actually. The first, by Kat Latham, and a second, in a guest blog post by Sara Megibow. Both make enlightened and persuasive arguments against detractors of romance fiction, in response to the typical negative feedback
Are Real World Heroes Hard Done By Romance Ideals? Read More »
Come in, sit down, have a cup of tea. I want to tell you a story. Truly, I tell you, I’ve been absconded by fairies this past three days, and taken on a fanciful journey. My body aches with fatigue, my head spins, my spirit soars, and my feet have not yet returned to the
Corporal versus Cerebral Temptations Read More »
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Last year when I took The Ring Screenwriting workshop, we were asked to view the newly released Silver Linings Playbook and come prepared to dissect and discuss it in class. I loved the movie. It was incredibly well written and directed, with a first class ensemble cast, as subsequent awards proved. But
Mental Illness: Coming to a Family Near You Read More »
ON THE OTHER HAND In a recent blogpost, I was celebrating the joys of staying close to home, and enjoying the simple pleasures to be found in a small, rural island community, where: “There have been community meals, live performances by local and visiting musicians, a readers and writers festival with recitations and readings of both
CONSOLATION PRIZE Long ago, when I was just a child, I desperately wanted to learn to play the piano. But because we didn’t have one, and couldn’t afford one, and somehow nobody in my family had the imagination to arrange for practice time in a church basement, I was offered a consolation prize. Accordion lessons
A Hurdy-Gurdy Tale Read More »
AUTHOR ESI EDUGYAN Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting Esi Edugyan, the author of Scotiabank Giller Prize winning Half-Blood Blues at the Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival, and to hear her read excerpts from her latest novel. At that time I had only just begun reading it, and as of last night,
Half-Blood Blues: Book Review Read More »
