Things I got right today, this year, in my life.

by Sylvia McNicoll | Oct 25, 2016 | Sylvia McNicoll

Received this journal from a young writer friend Tiffany Short. The lines are made up of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s writing in tiny, weeny print.

When I walk my dog, I often pick up dog do bags others leave behind–they drive me nuts. Why would you go to the trouble of bagging excrement and then just leave it mid path or park or even in the trees. But when I deposited the bags in the recycling bin by error, not once, but twice, I became even more annoyed. This time with myself. That was the beginning of my mystery series The Great Mistake Mysteries. The Best Mistake Mystery will be coming out January 7.

The idea being that we should celebrate our mistakes because it means we have put forth effort, possibly even taken a risk, stepped outside our comfort zone.  Each chapter is a mistake the main character Stephen Noble and/or his associates make and of course the errors lead to the solution of the mystery.

Flowers from Jennifer Irwin, a genius writer I accidentally met and bonded with at a signing in Pointe Claire, Quebec. A signing that only occurred due to a miss-scheduling.

But now I’m also thinking about something else. Errors are the conflict in life, how we resolve them shows our character. Easy to remember what we get wrong. However we should also celebrate what we get right. Sometimes it’s the resolution of the error, sometimes it’s something else entirely. Could be something little.

Like when I finally remembered that a friend’s mom wanted autographed books to take to England for some great nephews and nieces. I was annoyed that I kept forgetting but when I delivered them, she was just thrilled that I brought them a week before her departure. False deadlines, my friends, are the way to go! Here’s my thank you gift (as if buying my books for kids in England weren’t thank you enough!)

Pauline’s homemade banana bread to thank me for delivering Canadian souvenir autographed books. Only two weeks late.

So I put use to the new journal a young writer Tiffany Short gave me as a gift. Her favourite author is Lucy Maud Montgomery and she purchased a journal where the lines are tiny words from LM’s books. For me! Inspiring such a treasured gift is something I got right for sure. What an honour! At first it was hard to mark this book up. Those words are so perfect. But then I decided on days of overwhelming feelings of inadequacy to write in it or on these words as it were.  I would write all the things I got right that day.

Notice the first line if you can make it out is that I deposited those little bags of dog excrement in the right bin that day. Eventually I learn from my mistakes.

I gave away a Blueberries and Whipped Cream at a library reading. My husband ordered the 2000 or so remainders many years ago–big mistake at the time. The young reader was very grateful. The photo itself is the crazy face picture you let them make after the real shot. I always hope they relax and I get that photo immediately following. Not this time. Mistake? Nah! I love these kids.

 Maybe this will give way to a new series: Things I got right today.

Do More of What You Love

by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 6, 2016 | Sylvia McNicoll

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Sciatica–a word I’d heard mentioned along with pain and back–suddenly became the only topic on my mind. Started just before the Canadian Writers’ Summit when I had to walk all over Harbourfront. It felt like my hipbone was poking out through my skin. Somehow that pain sent a numbing tingling down my leg.

I love walking, especially with my Jackapoo Mortie, so I hated life. But I heard swimming was good for your back so even while at the writer’s conference I swam in the morning and at night in the hotel pool. When I returned home, I bought a swim pass and swam at public pools every day with my grandchildren or not. At my friend Lynda’s pool whether she was home or not.

On a walk at Kernscliff Park, I discovered that strolling on softer grounds was easier on my hips and there were tons of turtles at the end of the boardwalk in the wetlands there. I love swimming, and I love turtles.

So I walked there every morning and swam every afternoon. And yes I wrote. And read. I ate more chocolate and drank more wine.

Then I saw my new motto somewhere on the Internet: Do More of What You Love.

Nine long weeks later my Sciatica pain left but some extra weight and my motto remains. Will keep swimming in my life and run with my Jackapoo! Somehow we all need to fit doing more of what we love in our life.

Would you swim in goose poop to save your dog?

by Sylvia McNicoll | Aug 7, 2016 | Sylvia McNicoll

Tiny white dot is Mortie’s head. Other brown dart three metres behind is my head.

A nice walk down the lake, that’s what we were after.  Spencer Smith Park offered no parking and the Beach Road was closed. “Let’s go to Lasalle Park,” my photographer husband said.

“Great idea,” I said, knowing I’d be in charge of Mortie and Bob would take pictures of swans and geese.  As we approached the marina, I noticed all the warning signs “Don’t let your pets near the water!” “Don’t feed the water fowl!” There was also lots of detail on e coli pollution from these geese and ducks. No worries, we’re not idiots. We strolled past the marina through the woods to enjoy all the squirrels and chipmunks skittering this way and that.

Bob hung back along the shore to take photos which always stresses Mortie out.  He wears a shoulder harness and a leash meant for a bulldozer dog but he has shed some weight. Mortie not Bob.  At one point, he pulled his usual bucking bronco routine in the harness because he wanted to head back to our photographer.

This time he slipped out.

“Bob, get the dog!”

Oh no!  Distracted by the ducks, Mortie leaped past Bob into the water and paddled after a flock.  The ducks swam towards midlake, Mortie followed. Another flock swam after Mortie. He turned and followed them for awhile.

I called for him. Dog training 101 which Mortie earned A+ on.  Not today.

Back and forth. A crowd gathered on shore.  “Should I go in for him?” I asked Bob.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

Not a great answer.  The water must be up to my bellybutton where the dog was swimming. However it’s five Morties deep. We call some more. More ducks follow Mortie.  He focusses only on these birds. He does not look once to my voice or command. What would happen when he tired?

Augh! I went in. With heavy sandals and a long summer dress on I swam among tall weeds and floating mounds of something. I chased the ducks and Mortie. I grew more tired than Mortie or the ducks.

Finally the ducks fluttered off and we ended up near the dock.  Mortie suddenly heard me and swam to me. I grabbed him and lifted him to a kind lady kneeling on the dock which  was pretty high out of the water. Recently I have been suffering from sciatica pain. I tried to hoist myself out once, twice.

Then I did the humiliating and disgusting swim back to shore.

The aftermath err after bath.  Neither Mortie nor I swallowed any water. We shampooed and rinsed well. Later we’ll go shopping for a new harness and leash.  I’m having a glass of wine to make sure to kill all residual germs. No regrets.

Dog gratitude can get slobbery.

Connecting with the Reader–Imagine in the Park Arts Festival

by Sylvia McNicoll | Jun 6, 2016 | Sylvia McNicoll

Festivals make my hair stand on end.

Fy has manuscript wings. Words of latest book face inwards.

For most authors, festivals are way outside their comfort zone largely because there is a loss of control. Weather foremost–even a tent or building may shelter you from the elements but if it’s too lovely, people may head for the beach and if it’s raining people will stay curled up in front of a screen at home.  You can only wish the screen would hold a copy of your ebook.

Some kids are a little in awe of their own creativity!

You don’t know the size of your audience or if you will have one. For children’s and young adult authors, we love the school setting where numbers of the students can be anticipated and participants will be disciplined by teachers. As a rule no drums will beat in the background nor will there be a gigantic mascot type creature walking around distracting your audience. Students will have access to your books.

Muhammed & sister Bareer. Muhammed actually likes to write! Yay!

Imagine in the Park in Hamilton Gage Park rests even further away from my cushy spot.  My fellow artists often compete for the small audience we draw with toilet bands, t-shirt painting and other crafts, balloon tieing and free books. Just for fun a horse, with a police officer on top canters through and even I want to leave to pat the stallion.

But I want to connect with my future and present (sometimes my past) reading public and I’m comfortable being uncomfortable–(I also love oxymorons).

This year especially I wanted to let parents and kids know about Revenge on the Fly, a piece of Hamilton history that never stood a chance against the sinking of the Titanic.  This year I spent a few hours creating black play doh–10 drops red combined with 20 drops green simmered on the stove and kneaded into the doh recipe of your choice. Picture black pot, black hands, black anything that came in contact.  I visited the reuse centre and bought three beaded necklaces to dismember into fly eyes.  The dollar store provided the thick thread for the feet. I found various sparkly report covers to cut into tear drop shaped wings.

The work was worth it!  The crowds of kids who came in and while engaged in fly-making, also listened about this odd chapter in history. We discussed the food chain and the possible offsetting of the Hamilton catch of over 1,500,000 flies (ten and a half million would have born by the end of the summer) We wrote sensory poems from the point of the view of the fly. I encouraged them all to take Revenge on the Fly out of the library.

I acted as scribe for the poetry. That way everyone could participate. Names were written in corner.

I also met a 30 something year old fan who read the third book I wrote at the beginning of my career More than Money. Also a young boy was able to read the Korean version of the novel.

Yes it was an exhausting day–but also exhilarating! Thanks to Sharon Levy-Cohen for all her hard work over the years to make this connection possible!

Judging a book by its cover when there is none

by Sylvia McNicoll | Feb 26, 2016 | Sylvia McNicoll

  This is what a collector’s box of cereal looks like. The picture doesn’t do it justice, there is spot varnish on the Superman logo and texture on the blue of the uniform. I confess I was seduced into buying, of course, I do love caramel.

  it

In grade three, this is what a homework assignment story looks like.

 Studies show more children are reading, less are liking it.  From a publishing,writing, designing, illustrating point of view, there is no longer a payback for producing educational materials. Due to bill C11, “fair dealing exemption”, the school can use this unattractive copy of a retold illustrated folktale over and over again for free.

Jobs lost, eventually no material produced.

But from an aesthetics point of view, wouldn’t you rather read a cereal box?

How do you judge a book when you don’t even get a cover?