This past summer, amid literary events and kitchen renos, I had a visit from two talented musicians, SarahRose Black and Andrew Ascenzo. Together they make up the wonderful duo, Arosa Star. I’d met them last fall while I was on tour in Ontario with the publication of The Virgin Cure. They’d introduced themselves to me after a reading, and said they had some news to share. Imagine my surprise when they told me that they’d been so inspired by Dora’s tale in The Birth House, that they were writing a collection of songs based on the landscape and themes portrayed …
Category: creativity
In the year that’s passed since The Virgin Cure was first published in Canada, I’ve had several readers comment (either in person, via email, or in online reviews) that they’re “glad life for girls isn’t like it was in the 19th century.” Yes, in many ways, life has changed for the better, for both our daughters and our sons. Yet somehow children worldwide are still struggling…to be safe, to be fed (body, mind and soul), and to be heard. Like many people I know, I’ve been trying to make sense out of certain events that have happened in the last …
Family and friends near and far keep me grounded, centered and sane. Then there are the people I’ve never met, (sometimes halfway around the world) who also reside in my heart. Their stories, their work, their dreams, remind me that we are all connected. In 2010 a message came to me via facebook from a woman who had read The Birth House. She’d picked up the book at Box of Delights in Wolfville while on a trip to visit family in Nova Scotia. Her name is Kristen Porter. “I did not know then that a few months later I would …
Last night while I was cruising around facebook, a message popped up from Dr. Peggy Balensuela, voice professor extraordinaire. I’ve written about her in this space before, but it bears repeating – the time I spent in her studio while I was in university made an enormous difference in my life, and I’ve no doubt that she helped me become the writer I am today. One of the many things Dr. Peggy taught me was to understand the power of storytelling through song. And so, when she let me know that she’d just finished reading The Virgin Cure by giving …
“The worst thing I can do when I’m stuck is to start thinking and stop moving my hands.” – Lynda Barry, author of Picture This: The Near-Sighted Monkey Book This past March Break, I had the privilege of teaching a creative writing workshop for tweens and teens at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts. The place was buzzing when I arrived – students and staff ready to dive into a day of creativity and art. My group was filled with keen, young writers bursting with energy and ideas. They happily spent much of their time scribbling character sketches, flash …
Lately I’ve been chasing after the bliss that comes from unfettered art making. That, I’ve learned, is where the “good stuff” lives. For me, the start of a new project means writing page after page of thoughts, ideas, scenes, dialogue etc., just so I can get to something good. I circle around the tale — searching, looking for one shining sentence that will grab hold of my imagination and cause me to say, “this is where the story begins.” The process reminds me a lot of being a voice student in university. One teacher I studied with, the amazing Dr. …