Today, my lovely publisher, Groundwood Books, has posted a guest blog by moi that is a behind-the-scenes look at how my new book West Coast Wild was created. You can read about my “Thelma and Louise” style trip to the far west coast of Vancouver Island with the amazing (and fun!) illustrator, Karen Reczuch.

Here’s the link: Groundwood Guest Post. Enjoy!

Imagine my surprise (and delight!) upon checking into my Facebook page and seeing a lovely post from Munro’s Books — the iconic bookstore in Victoria, BC and one of my favourite bookstores in the world.

Here’s what I saw:

“We just adore this gorgeous coastal picture book from Groundwood Books. Filled with stunning art and descriptions of our flora and fauna, this alphabet book makes us feel lucky to live here.”

Thank you so much, Munro’s Books! I feel lucky to live here too. I hope to visit your wonderful bookstore soon.

Where did the year go? I took what I thought was a short break from regular blog writing and to my astonishment, an entire year has past!

What brings me back? I’m happy to say I have a new book on the horizon. West Coast Wild: A Nature Alphabet is a celebration of nature on the glorious Pacific west coast — a place I have been exploring for more than 40 years, first as a teenager, then as a university student, later as a mom with young kids and now with my adult children and their little ones. I feel as though I’ve gone full circle with this magnificent place. Decades of beachcombing!

There will be more book news to announce soon and some previews of the lovely art, by the wonderful illustrator, Karen Rezcuch.

Back soon! (In less than a year — I promise.)

It’s that time of year again!

If you are interested in writing or illustrating books for children, and are in the Vancouver area, you might like to attend the annual “Getting Started in Children’s Books” panel. It will be held at the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library on March 10. Panel members are published authors and illustrators who tell their story of how they got published and then answer audience questions about the publishing process. It is always an inspiring and informative night. I highly recommend it!

Check out this link for more details, or see the poster above.

If you are in the Vancouver area, and interested in the future of children’s book publishing, you might want to mark March 8 on your calendar. This date is the annual conference, Serendipity, hosted by the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable. It is always an inspiring event. In fact, it was at this conference many years ago where I first decided I might try my hand at writing a book for children. That’s how inspiring it is!

This year’s conference, held at UBC, is titled “Children’s Literature in a Digital Age” and has a program of speakers who will talk about their own books and also what they see on the horizon in terms of social media, apps for children and electronic publishing. Lots for us to learn!

One of the best books for kids I read last year was called Better Nate Than Ever, and guess what? The book’s author, Tim Federle, will be speaking at Serendipity. Very exciting!

So get your registration in and get ready to be inspired. See you there!

I stopped by the post office to mail a package this week and was excited to see brand new stamps featuring the art of my colleague, Marie-Louise Gay. What an honour for her! Imagine having your work on a Canadian stamp!

The illustration is from Marie-Louise’s award-winning children’s book series that feature charming stories of a sister and brother, named Stella and Sam.

If you’d like to read more about Marie-Louise and her work, check this article from the National Post or her website.

Congratulations, Marie-Louise!

I’m pleased to announce that three books in my Who Lives Here? series were released as e-books today. It’s great to see them get a second life! If you are interested in the e-book version, they are available at iBookstore, Kobo, B&N Nook and Amazon. And if you’d like to read more about the series, please go here.

Look what came in the mail!
It’s my new book from China, called Who Lives Here? (in English) and is a compilation of the six little books from the earlier series of the same name.

I wish I could read Chinese, but in spite of my shortcomings, I can tell that the publisher, Shanghai Xiron Media Company, has done a lovely job. I’m thrilled that kids in China will be reading my book!

To see the original books in the Who Lives Here? series, please go here.