There’s a line from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens that has me thinking about how language changes over time, not just in word...

I’m back from San Diego, feeling deeply quiet, plunging into the chaos of Christmas. The next three weeks are completely booked, with...

I was in a Buddhist retreat session when Rinpoche received a text informing him that Nelson Mandala had died. He immediately began to...

I’m off to San Diego for a meditation retreat. I’m planning some writing, too, in the quiet. And some walking on the beach, listening to...

As part of my Christmas giving, I have decided to donate a buffalo through plancanada.ca. Why a buffalo? Because I have buffalo in my...

At the end of the course I taught on Writing for Children, I asked my writers what they would suggest I keep or change, if I taught it...

I have found the book that exactly captures why I love fantasy. Journey, by Aaron Becker, is a picture book without words, in which a...

I was given a wonderful gift of two nights at a condo in Canmore, for a writing retreat. I leapt in, editing a long manuscript I really...

I’m in Canmore for three days, staying in a lovely condo, on my own, courtesy of a brother- and sister-in-law. This is one of the best...

The city has set up a field of crosses along Memorial Drive, naming Albertans killed in combat. My mom and I went, and found her uncle’s...

Saturday was the perfect fall day, sunny, warm, and ideal for raking. Sunday we had dark skies, rain and then snow, and a multitude of...

I have a cold, a rather minor annoyance, except when the fatigue and headache overwhelm. But to write, with no brain? That’s a killer....

I have survived Wordfest  – five events in three days, a pocketful of bus and show tickets, 2 writing workshops, talks by 6 kid writers,...

It’s Wordfest time, Calgary’s literary festival. After being one of the authors last year, I’m looking forward to watching other writers...

The pear tree outside my office window is radiantly orange, filling my office with a golden light that makes me want to linger at my...

The house next door is almost completed. The sidewalks are replaced. There’s still lots of construction in the neighbourhood, including a...

I have two favorite fall flowers. The first is echineacea ­– purple cornflower – because it always makes me laugh, with its orange cone...

I want stories that pull me in and hold me until the very end when I cry, “Oh, I don’t want it to be over.” So how do I write that way?...

The illustrations in the picture book A Hen for Izzy Pippik enchant me over and over. I adore how the girl and the chicken are visually...

Today is my first day teaching a course on writing for children. The inevitable questions arise: Will I bomb? Will I stumble over words,...