The Voyage is the whole experience

by | Mar 23, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll




This all started because I wanted to watch the first ever Saskatchewan CANSCAIP mass book launch but I couldn’t get a grant for any readings before April 1– so Regina Public Library kindly agreed to host a couple of readings on April Fool’s day only I would being SK for days between the conference and their visit. So I emailed and called schools and somehow I got a Calgary reading. If there’s anything I like better than the prairies it’s the mountains. Only I love both and the

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combination in one day is breathtaking.

So today we flew to Saskatoon–see cloud shot. Then we drove to Calgary. I love the prairie in between. The brush under a certain light is now purple, the wheat can be frosted or bright gold depending on the temperature and sunlight. The buildings look so lonely.

As we drove closer to Calgary we hit the worst winter road conditions ever. The wind blew huge drifts of snow across the highway so it felt like I was steering through a field–yup my turn to drive. Plus the drifts would stop with the advent of a farm house or strand of trees–the street would be bare pavement. Where the trees ended you could see ghosts of white streak across in some places piling pretty high.

New Project

by | Mar 18, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll



By Wednesday I received an email saying the editor loved The Nine Minute Disaster Zone. By Thursday I pitched her another idea. In this book a girl named Jazzy stands accused of murdering an Alzheimer’s patient during her 40 hours of volunteer work. (the girl’s not the patient’s0

Tentatively, the editor has said she’s intrigued but requires an outline and three chapters. For this project, so do I because I want to narrate it with clips from Jazzie’s volunteer journal as well as trial testimonies. I want to be sure I can do it myself before I become locked into a noose tightening contract.

So It was off to court I went to observe a 17 year old on trial for manslaughter. I could not photograph the inside which was exceedingly bland anyway, masking tape coloured walls with no pictures except for a coat of arms.

The sculpture on the outside was cool I thought.

The trial itself did not resemble Ally McBeal or Boston Legal. Instead the crown interviewed witnesses on miniscule obscure details they had to remember from a year ago. It’s a sad story. One teen teased another until the second teen, full of alcohol, got into a shoving match with him. The first teen hit his head. The injury was not evident till he began vommitting later that night. The next day a catscan revealed a cracked skull and a brain bleed. The young man went into a coma and after eight hours of surgery and a week on life support, died when his family made the decision to pull the plug.

The End…Again

by | Mar 9, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll

Finally I finished the last book in the wild life series: The Nine Minute Disaster Zone. For six books, I have viewed life from the point of view of 14 year old Zanna. It’s pretty emotional for me to leave Last Chance Pass in Alberta and head for Europe, first for Zurich Switzerland, then for Paris France. I had to say good by to my wolf dog and my boyfriend Tyler as well as my glaciologist father. Also I had to conclude a kind of mystery about Tyler’s mom and how she died.

And I did this twice as the first ending didn’t have enough tension.

Now the awful part. Waiting. Will the editor like it or not? Am I free to go on to new stories?

The CANSCAIP Pin–a great honour

by | Mar 5, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll

Not sure how it was that the whole economy suddenly flushed down the toilet but certainly the publishing industry was having its problems for a few years now. 2009 perhaps won’t be a year for lots of contracts. Still on February 11, at a CANSCAIP general meeting Gillian Chan, one of my favourite partners in projects with no profit, officially awarded me with the highest token of esteem the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers has, their pin. I believe Mark Thurman designed it and the three entities represent writers, visual artists and jugglers…I mean performers.

Gillian mentioned all my executive positions in the past, recording secretary, treasurer, vice-president and president; as well as my current position as programs officer along with Gillian O’Reilly and Andrea Wayne Von Koningslow. I learned things from each of these positions but my favourite pet projects were the mass book launches at the Mississauga Public Library, OLA, Book Expo and coming soon at the Saskatchewan Reading Conference in Saskatoon.

May there always be books to launch no matter what the economy does.

Sunrises on a New Year

by | Mar 5, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll


So 2009 begins. Lovely eiderdown snow blankets. So far the most exciting thing we’ve done is go to an Ontario Science Centre Sleepover. Can we ever get enough of wheelchair races or forming face and hand sculptures out of red metal pin thingies?
We got there at 4 in the afternoon and explored till midnight. Here’s Hunter competing in a balloon race.

Much more excitement to come.