Author Archives: Deborah Hodge

Sneak Preview!

“Many of the Kinder believe that their parents gave them life twice: once when they were born and a second time when they were sent to safety on the Kindertransport.“

Who were the Kinder and why were they in danger? Find out more here.

I am delighted to show you the cover of my upcoming book, Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport. It will be published by Tundra Books and Random House on Oct. 9, 2012, in both hardcover and e-book forms.

It is a book I’ve been working on for the last couple of years and I am thrilled that it will soon be available. If you’d like to learn more about it, please check out the description on my website.

Cheers!

Thank you!

The school year is drawing to a close and I have finished the last of my school presentations until fall. A big thank you to the schools and teachers who invited me to visit this year. It was wonderful to meet you all!

I wish you a happy, relaxed and well-deserved summer vacation.

Cheers!

Visit to Harry Hooge School

A big bouquet of thanks to Pam Rose, teacher-librarian, and the primary students and teachers at Harry Hooge School for a lovely day. It was great to meet you all and chat about books. You were a wonderful audience!

I wish you a happy June and a relaxing summer.

Salt Spring Island

I’m back after a wonderful couple of days in Salt Spring Island schools. Thank you to Deb Nostdal, teacher-librarian, who invited me and organized my trip. Thanks also to the students and staff at Fulford and Salt Spring Elementary Schools. It was lovely to meet you all!

And speaking of lovely, the photo above is one I snapped at a local beach early one evening. My friend and fellow author, Margriet Ruurs, lives on the island and she took me to see her favourite beach (shown in the photo). She also has a B&B with a literary focus. It’s called Between the Covers, a booklovers B&B.  A great place to stay!

Every time I go to Salt Spring, I check out the real estate listings and dream…

Hello Saltspring!

I’m looking forward to meeting the students and staff at two Saltspring Island schools this week. Hello to Fulford Elementary and Salt Spring Elementary! (It’s interesting that the island’s name can be spelled as either a compound word or as two words. Apparently, both are correct.)

See you soon!

Toronto

I’m just back from a trip to Toronto where I was visiting my publishers. There are many changes going on in the publishing world right now and it seemed like a good time to catch up and chat with people face-to-face.

A few highlights, in a nutshell:

– Spring has arrived in Toronto. It was great to sit outside and eat lunch under a bright, yellow sun.
– My publishers are so smart! They were very hospitable and gave me lots to think about.
– Toronto is a vibrant, multicultural city. It was fun to see areas, such as Rosedale and the fashion district, that I had not visited before.
– I enjoyed strolling through the historic St. Lawrence Market.
– I had a chance to meet my web designer and most recent editor, who were both lovely people.

My conclusions? I need to go back soon. Lots is happening in that great city!

I hope spring sunshine has arrived where you are, too.

Thank you, Lord Kelvin Kids!

I had a wonderful day at Lord Kelvin Elementary in New Westminster. It was an amazing school with children from all over the world. Their teachers told me that, collectively, the students speak more than 40 different languages. I wish I had been there for their multicultural celebrations held the week before Spring Break. Next year!

Thank you to the students and staff (especially Marie Stevens who invited me) for the warm reception and lovely welcome to your school!

Hello Shaughnessy Elementary!

I’m looking forward to meeting the students at Shaughnessy Elementary next week.

Here’s a photo of their lovely school. It looks like a school I taught in years ago in Armstrong, BC.

Below it is a wonderful drawing of the school made by one of the students, Zoe Luke. (I hope Zoe doesn’t mind me posting it here.)

See you next week, Shaughnessy!

Happy Holidays!

The holiday season is upon us, and this blogger is taking a break. I wish you all a happy, relaxing time with family and friends — and many good books, too!

I’ll be back in the New Year. Until then…

Cheers!

Holiday Gifts for Writers

Not that I’m asking…

Yesterday, I read a funny article in Publisher’s Weekly called, Holiday Gifts That Writers Will Actually Use, by Hannah Gersen. If you’re stuck for ideas, check out her post for some great gift-giving tips. My personal favourite:

4. John Cheever famously donned a suit every morning in order to write. But as Ann Beattie recently revealed, and as a generation of bloggers already knows, most writers wear awful clothing while they are working. Help your writer friend out by giving her a beautiful robe to cover up her bizarre ensembles. Even if she already has one, she probably hasn’t washed it in a long time, and could use another.

And while I’m on the seasonal theme, I have been checking out Christmas/Winter books for the youngest book lovers in my life, and have come to the conclusion there are very few that I would consider buying. Perhaps it’s time to write one myself. (Will ponder that idea over the holidays.)