On Reviews (and more collage...)

Thanks, Canadian Materials and Gillian Richardson, for the very thorough review of Planet Ark. At a time where reviews and reviewers (especially of children's non-fiction) are short at best and otherwise almost non-existent, it is so wonderful to have a Canadian resource that takes the time to review books for young readers.

And I've been going through a lot of glue, matte medium and exacto blades around here. A few results:

King of the Nerves

Geisha

Double Island

Playing With Paint and Paper

For a variety of reasons I haven't been writing too much lately. Partly it's because of time (I work at an NGO; doing a job that brings me a great deal of satisfaction) and partly it's because writing a non-fiction book for adults, such as Long Beach Wild, is very (very) labour intensive and, well, I just need a break to re-charge. I have been exploring visual arts as a creative outlet a bit more though. I've painted and drawn here and there, taken the occasional course, dabbled in fits and starts. This round though, it seems to be sticking a bit more. I even feel brave enough to launch them into the Blogosphere for all (or whoever wanders by) to see.

Abstract Flowers

Creating these abstract flowers was fun and a very relaxing way to spend a bit of time on a drippy weekend. It is the result of an on-line tutorial by Carla Sonheim. She has other great tutorials and books you should check out. Lots of fun.

And it's been a little collage crazy here in my office since I've been taking an on-line course by Berlin-based artist, Stephanie Levy - 30 Days of Collage. I won't bore you with all of my creations, but here are a few. Some from the course and some created just because.

Exercise: warm colours

Exercise: use of fabric

Just because.  

Exercise: use of tape

Reset

John Steinbeck wrote, "Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen." If you replace the word ideas with "blogs" or "websites" or "Twitter accounts" you will realize the dilemma I've been in for the last year or so. I am slightly overloaded with social media and it has pretty much stifled me to complete inaction. The time away has been good, but I'm ready to jump back in so I'm re-setting and re-activating my online presence in, I hope, a slightly more strategic way.

Part of the dilemma is that I have a pretty partitioned life. I have the side of me that writes books for children, the part of me that writes books for adults, the part of me that writes for museums and interpretive centres, the part of me that is passionate about all things Tofino and west coast history, the part of me that has a small publishing company with an amazing friend and artist, Marion Syme, the part of me that dabbles in art (you probably don't know that person yet). Okay, you get the picture. O v e r e x t e n d e d.

So, I'm determined to get this house (er, houses; and virtual at that) in order so that I can continue with blogging and posting and tweeting without getting hung up with whether I'm posting in the right place. Some blogs I am just going to ditch - without anyone ever really knowing - but others I'm going keep active. It's probably silly to think I need to partition everything off so much. I am who I am. To some people, I'm a writer of science books for children, to others I know a little bit about the history of the west coast, to others I'm a bit publisher. It doesn't really matter. I'm all of those things. So let's get back at it. But first, just so we have a record of where everything is at present, here's the list. Amalgamations probably coming soon (but this site will stay active). My primary website. Postelsia Press, the little publishing house I run with Marion Syme. For all things Long Beach, visit here and for all things Tofino, check out The Heart of Tofino. My primary Twitter feed will be Tough City Writer and you can find me on Instagram under the handle, you guessed it, toughcitywriter.

Planet Ark Sets Sail

In 2013, I vow to post here more than once a year. Even once a month would significantly improve my recent record! I have a plan. We'll see how it goes. For now, I have a new book to share. Planet Ark: Preserving Earth's Biodiversity is (hopefully) in (or shipping to) a bookstore near you. There are already a few reviews in the ether. One from Kirkus Review, and a nice surprise - a starred review from Publishers Weekly. It's been a few years since I've written a book for children. This one was a nice departure from my usual "straight up" science books as, being more of a non-fiction picture book, it gave me some more scope to be a bit lyrical. And it was nice to be in a partnership with a very skilled artist, Margot Thompson who has illustrated other books for Kids Can Press as well (while also managing to be an exhibit designer at the Royal Ontario Museum!). More soon. Really.

Long Beach Wild Launches

Thank you to Mike, Jana and Lindsay from Mermaid Tales for last week's launch of Long Beach Wild in Tofino. It was a great evening and it was wonderful to be surrounded by friends. If you missed it, or if you live in Ucluelet, please consider joining me Thursday evening at Wild Heather Books for the second west coast event. It begins at 7:30 and I give more of an "illustrated talk" than a reading. I know you can all read. Hope you can join me!

Events During Whale Fest

Today is the first day of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. I'm often out of town for these week, but this year I'm staying put and I'll be busy reading from a few of my books. Here's where you can find me:

Today! Saturday, March 17 12:30-4 at the Taste of Tofino Community Market. Marion and I will be there with our table for Postelsia Press. We're delighted that our long-awaited book, Historic Tofino: A Walk in Time, is now out.

Sunday, March 18 - 3:30 pm Wild Heather Books in Ucluelet. I'll be reading from a few of my books, including Tales from the West Coast, West Coast Adventures and the soon-to-be-released Long Beach Wild.

Wednesday, March 21, 12:30-1:30 pm at Long Beach Lodge in Tofino I'll be reading from Long Beach Wild: A Celebration of People and Place on Canada's Rugged Western Shore.

Sunday, March 25 at 10:30, I'll be leading a guided historical tour of Tofino. This tours based on Historic Tofino: A Walk in Time and we'll have books on hand to sell. Meet on the deck of the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust office at 316 Main Street in Tofino.

Hope to see you at one or more events!

Long Beach Wild: The Book

Finally. This baby has been a long time coming. (In fact, at times I referred to it as the Long-Suffering Beach Book.) Anyhow, it's here and I'm happy to finally be sharing the news. Here is the cover of Long Beach Wild: A Celebration of People and Place on Canada's Rugged Western Shore.



The official release date is April 10, although I am doing a little pre-release event on March 21 as part of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. It's at 12:30 at the Long Beach Lodge and I will have some books for sale.

There's lots more to say about Long Beach than I could fit in the book, so I've set up a website specifically devoted to Long Beach news. I'm posting about the book and events, but, more importantly, other news and stories about Long Beach. (Hopefully I'll soon have people contributing their own memories. How about you?) Here's the link to the Long Beach Wild website.

Farewell, YES Mag and KNOW

As I mentioned last post, these two fabulous magazines are done. I'm angry and sad. Angry at how it all came to a screeching halt thanks to the new owners and so very sad for Shannon Hunt and David Garrison who started YES Mag on a table in their basement suite 16 years ago and built the company to two excellent, award-winning science magazines for children with a healthy subscriber base in Canada and beyond. I loved my six years working for KNOW, helping launch a new magazine taught me an awful lot. I'm sorry for my colleagues who are now out of work, but they're a talented bunch and will, no doubt, spring back. And then there were the dozens of artists and writers I had the pleasure of working with over the years. Here is a post from one of those talented people, Glen Mullaly, who I worked with on almost every issue of the magazine.

I am also very sorry for our fabulous and loyal readers who so appreciated that science was not dry and dull, but interesting, endlessly engaging, and, a lot of the time, a whole lot of fun.

YES and KNOW magazines R.I.P.

Yes, the rumour is true. I'm still in a bit of shock. More soon.

Bribing Kids with Banned Books

An interesting take on how to entice kids to read. Give them banned and challenged books.

The Joy of Books

The Joy of Books, indeed. What happens in your local bookstore at night?



This is what the owners of Type wrote re. the video:

After organizing our bookshelf almost a year ago (http://youtu.be/zhRT-PM7vpA), my wife and I decided to take it to the next level. We spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating books at Type bookstore in Toronto. Everything you see here can be purchased at Type Books. Grayson Matthews generously composed the beautiful, custom music. But none of it could have been done without all the volunteer hands who shelved and reshelved books all night, every night.

Thanks to Patricia Storm via Quill and Quire.

A Book Cover Love Story

Such a great short film for bibliophiles (and lovers of bookstores, cheesy love stories, Paris, fabric art and such). (Disclaimer: The last few minutes aren't for children!)

Spike Jonze: Mourir Auprès de Toi on Nowness.com.

You can read more about how the film, Mourir Auprès de Toi, came to be over at director Spike Jonze's site.

Thanks, once again, to the fabulous Brainpicker for putting me onto this. You should subscribe to her feeds and support her. Really. Her compiling of all things fabulous is so good.)

Like I Need Another Project

But this is a short one! A project to celebrate (or perhaps, mark, is the better word) my half-century on this planet.

The Elements of Style (rap version)

Terrible moustaches, good advice.

Ampersand Love

Ah, I love a beautiful ampersand. I can't decide which one on this link I love more though, the tattoo, the eye chart or the book cover?

The Great Sci/Why Giveaway

Want a chance to win a children's science book? Head on over to the Sci/Why blog — a blog hosted by a group of Canadian writers of science books for children — and take the quiz.

Bat in Hat

Last year I received a very interesting gift and it spurred the start of a new Christmas tradition around here:



Yup, that's a bat in a "hat" on the top of our tree.



It's a very cool bat puppet that my sweet sister got me last Christmas. (By artist Susan Cain of Hornby Island.) The hat is actually a sock I knit for one of my girls when they were little. It makes a good stand-in for a Santa hat.

So what's on the top of your tree this year?

PS This is the beauty that the bat replaced.



What do you think? Did we make the right decision?

(Apologies for the poor quality of the photos. I have a new camera and am too impatient to read the instructions.)

Kids Need Books (and many don't have them)

This is a pretty startling report from the UK.

So I learn with despair of the latest findings from the National Literacy Trust which show that a third of all children – nearly four million – do not own a single book.

It's a simple thing we can all try to do something about. (One easy idea that we started at our local school -- where I suspect this issue is a reality for some children -- is to set up a bookshelf near the front door of the school. We ask people to drop off gently-used children's books. The children can take a book if they'd like. What they do with it then is up to them. They could keep it, return it, share it with someone else. It doesn't matter.)

A New Year, A New Cover

I'm excited to finally be able to share this, the cover of my forthcoming book: Long Beach Wild. You can find out more here. The release date is April 2012. Details on launches and parties coming soon!

YES and KNOW on Sale

Yes, I am biased here, having been Managing Editor of KNOW for six years, but they are wonderful magazines. And a bargain at full price, but here is your chance to get YES Mag or KNOW (or both!) at 40% off.

For the first time in 15 years, the publisher is having sale. A big sale! Until November 23, you can save 40% on a subscription! Learn more here. Act fact. It might be another 15 years before the next sale.