Different things matter to me now. I realized this when I opened up this old scrapbook full of articles about me and emails congratulating me for winning awards, and for almost winning awards. The article was great, so I cut it out carefully and scanned it so I […]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This day always reminds me of when I taught Grade 3 at St. Patrick’s School in Grande Prairie, Alberta. It was big celebration and, at night, there was at least one Celtic band playing somewhere in town. That was in the late 1990s when […]
Today in class the topic of my age came up as it sometimes does. The students were saying that I am still pretty young. “Well,” I told them, “I’m not so young anymore,” to which one young man replied, “Nope. You’re not young or old. You’re just mediocre!” […]
We try to sort people into boxes and when they don’t fit, we are not that happy. Human beings sure don’t like surprises when it comes to human behavior. Good luck controlling and predicting that. I learned a lot when I wrote my novel Denby Jullsen, Hughenden about […]
I used to be a full-time teacher and for a long time, that was my identity. In a small community, I was known as the Grade 3 teacher. The teacher box was the one I fit in. Almost two years ago I gave up this position […]
It’s not writers block. I don’t have writers block. If anything, I’m blocking the characters. They’re ringing the doorbell and thinking it’s broken, they knock loudly. Some of them are peering into the lower windows and I’m lying on the floor in front of the couch praying […]
Starting a business is hard! What’s more difficult yet is trying not to become completely self-absorbed while working to start a business. These nights, I dream of advertising. My thoughts constantly turn to content marketing and customer-engagement strategies. I can get a little too focused when undertaking a […]
Patient and selfless, she’s everything I want to be. I met a lady this summer that made me want to change my life, to slow down, and to focus on what matters. I suppose I met a hero, someone I aspire to be like. I’ve watched her work. […]
As I write this new novel, I realize it’s been a while since I’ve written something this long. I’ve written lots of shorter pieces in between this work and my novel Denby Jullsen, Hughenden. These were non-fiction pieces, articles and blogposts. It’s easier to write non-fiction. For me, […]
I Love Social Media I love social media like I love salty potato chips! Even better, social media is like eating salty potato chips with interesting people from all over the world. When I consider leaving most social media platforms, I already miss those engaging people. I […]
