Feast of Flash

It's been a long week of scrambling, trying to squeeze as much as possible out of those shortening days. Some of that pre-holiday madness I guess. 'Tis the season of shopping, parties, Christmas concerts, parades, and in my house, birthdays. And it isn't even December yet!

I didn't even get a chance to wish my American friends a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all enjoyed the Holiday and are just now emerging from that turkey induced stupor.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I arrived just in time to announce that my piece - Lucky. Thankful. - is up at the NOT for Michael Solender's second annual Feast of Flash. However, I am two days late in announcing its arrival, so if you missed the first two, be sure to check them out. Linda Wastilla's Thanksgiving and First Place Winner Adam Henry Carriere's Giving Thanks in the Land of Roses. I hear that Adam is ill, and so along with congratulations, I wish him a speedy recovery.

Cuffer Anthology II

Back in June of 2009 I submitted a story for the Cuffer Prize, a short fiction contest sponsored by The Telegram and Creative Book Publishing. The winners of the contest were announced in October of last year - Chad Pelley’s "Holes to China", Jillian Butler’s “The Fairest Season,” and Josh Pennell’s “Songs My Grandfather Taught Me.” Three fine stories, worthy of the honour.

Fast forward. A couple of weeks ago I was informed that my story, Fledgling, was chosen for the Cuffer Anthology II - a collection of stories selected from the contest entrants. I had written off this story and it was collecting dust in my "reject" pile. This news was quite a pleasant surprise.

To make the event all the more exciting, my good friend Alan Davidson's story, The Inscription, was also selected for the anthology.

The book was launched this past Thursday. The purpose of the event was twofold: launch the new Cuffer Anthology, and announce the winners of the 2010 Cuffer Prize. This year's winners were "Conflict of Interest" by Joel Thomas Hynes, "Mrs. Wakeham" by Michael Collins, and "Do You Hear Me?" by Sam Martin.

The anthology is available through Creative Book Publishing and will soon be available through online bookstores. All the stories included are set in the province. A portion of the proceeds goes to Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canadian Literature Giveaway Winner!

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know. I'm late. The traffic was terrible, and then I got a flat. My alarm didn't go off either.

I picked the winner on Saturday with the intention of announcing on the weekend. What actually happened was a lot of birthday fun for my five year old and some really good outdoor weather.

So I'm not going to waste one more moment of your time. The winner of a lovely new copy of Lullabies for Little Criminals is ...

Chris Allinotte

Congrats, Chris. I will have that book off to you as fast as you can say Canada Post.

I would like to thank my lovely assistant, Ellen, for helping pick the winner from the magic hat.

Remembrance Day

I wanted to write something for Remembrance Day, something meaningful. Something profound. I tried, but three words kept coming to mind that made everything I wrote seem hollow.

I visited the memorials at Beaumont-Hamel and Vimy Ridge, walked the rows of white gravestones, and read those three words again and again.

Known Unto God.



Young men left everything they knew to fight for their country. They were buried, nameless, in tidy white rows. Known unto God.

How could I even begin to express the depth of those words?


---

What I can do is tell you about my grandfather. He left home at the age of twenty-one to represent his island in the second world war. He was not a soldier, he was the son of a fisherman. Though he knew nothing of war, he knew of the sea - knowledge that would serve him well in the British Royal Navy.

Home on leave, he married my grandmother, a lively young woman who dearly loved her red-haired boy.



When the war ended, he put it all behind him and began to build - a house, a family, a life. He would often talk of his years in the navy, of the places he saw, the people he met. He never spoke of the war.

Sill, each November he puts on his Legion uniform, visits the memorial, and lays a wreath. He remembers.

And so do we.

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This year, Pop is 92 years old and will once again put on his Legion uniform for Remembrance Day. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are all very proud of him.

Canadian Literature

With the upcoming announcement of the Giller Prize winner, there has been quite a bit of talk about the best Canadian books - of the year, of the decade, of all time.

So what's all this buzz about Canadian Literature? Well, why not? Our country boasts some of the best authors in the business. I've never read a Giller nominated book I didn't like.

What's that you say? You don't know much about Canadian literature. Tsk tsk. For shame. Well, of course you've heard the name Atwood thrown about, or David Adams Richards, maybe Robert Munch if you have little ones. There are so many more.

Atlantic Canada alone is overrun with writers of the finest quality. But don't take my word for it. Head on over to Salty Ink and see what Chad Pelley has to say about it. He runs a top notch site that extols the virtues of Atlantic Canadian literature, complete with interviews, profiles, reviews, and contests. You might want to check out Chad's award winning book, Away from Everywhere, as well.

And let's not forget the little ones. During my foray into the Canadian Blog Award madness, I came across this lovely little blog about books for the littlest readers. Word of Mouse Book Reviews spotlights books for young readers, from board books to YA, all authored by Canadians. It's a warm, friendly blog, and I encourage anyone with children of any age to stop by and see what the Canadians have to offer your kids.

The CBC released its list of the top ten essential Canadian novels of the decade. Check out the Canada Reads nominee list to get you started on some great Canadian Literature. The winner will be announced on November 9th.

Wait, let me help you out. In the comments section of this post, tell me about your favourite Canadian author or book, or one you would like to read. On Saturday, November 13, I will pick a comment at random, and the winner will receive a copy of Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill, the 2007 Canada Reads winner and one of my favourite Canadian books.

So, don't just sit there. Get reading.

No Nano for me

It's that time of year again, when writers fire up their keyboards, imaginations and coffee pots for some serious work. The Nanowrimo frenzy has started.

I will not be one of the many who will put aside all else to focus on that much mulled over WIP. I participated in Nanowrimo last year and finished with just over 52,000 words. While I did learn a valuable lesson in time management and self-discipline, my newborn pseudo-novel suffered. I started out with characters that I loved and a story that was fluffy but fun. By November 30 I was so sick of it that the last thing I wanted to do was finish, let alone edit.

The moral of the story here is that I am a long distance runner, not a sprinter, when it comes to writing. 1500 words should be done in a week, not a day. And I really, desperately need to edit as I go. For all these reasons, Nano is not on my radar for this year.

So I will be standing on the sidelines, cheering on the sprinters, handing out water and encouragement. I wish all those participating the best of luck. Have fun!