The rain outside my window is falling heavily now after days of bright sunshine and beautiful autumn foliage. We are clearly into the west coast rainy season.
It’s been a good time for literary festivals in our area over the last month or so and I’ve been pleased to both attend and present at some of them.
First up, was CapFest at Capilano University where they were celebrating the 50th anniversary of their school. As part of the festival day, I was invited to kick off their storytelling series and speak to the public about what stories mean to me and to share some of the books I have written. It was lovely to see so many aspiring writers in the crowd!
Next, I attended the Vancouver Writers Festival and had the opportunity to listen to some talented children’s authors including: Christopher Paul Curtis, Susan Nielsen and Rachelle Delaney. It’s always inspiring to hear authors talk about their books and where their stories come from, and this was no exception. It was an excellent session!
And yesterday, I had the great pleasure of participating in Authorfest UBC, presenting to Education students as part of their Language and Literacy studies. This is one of my favourite audiences – all student teachers and keen to use books by local authors in their practicum classrooms. It’s always an enthusiastic group and a real privilege to be invited to speak to them.
Rainy days and books: Is there any better combination? I don’t think so. Happy fall reading!
My friends have been busy! It is fall book season and I’ve been attending launches of talented local writers to hear about their new books. It’s exciting to have my desk piled high with copies of their original and compelling stories.
Other local fall books I’ve been enjoying or looking forward to reading include: 
For the last year or so, I’ve been hard at work on a combination story and cookbook for young readers. It’s been oodles of fun, spending much time in the kitchen, both on my own and with the eager kids in my family, testing out all sorts of yummy recipes. The work has almost wrapped up and the book is about to go to print, with an anticipated release date of April 2019.
In my corner of the world, on the lovely west coast, today is the first day of school.
The sun is shining brightly and students everywhere are on field trips, camping adventures, picnics and many other fun end-of-year activities.
I recently attended a launch of new spring books published by 
After a very long fall and winter of rain, we west coasters are happy to see the sunshine! Along with the sunny days comes warmer temperatures and, best of all, trees in full blossom. My magnolia tree is blooming brightly and the ornamental cherry trees are decorating the streets of our fair city.
The great thing about having young children in the family is that I get to spend time with them and see the world through their eyes — much fun for me and also excellent professional development for my day job as a writer of books for kids.
Hooray! 
