by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 30, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
Here is my favourite assistant for candle blowing. We celebrated with dinner that his mom, Robin, made. Delicious chicken parmisan and pasta and sauce and then this wonderful cake.
On the actual day, Hunter joined us to do a “Whine and Dine” for Today’s Parent Toronto.
We reviewed the Novatel. As the sole customers, we enjoyed the attention of the wait staff. My fish was delish. The complimentary birthday cheesecake Hunter pronounced
as yummy.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 30, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
My second favourite writing tool, after my laptop, is my digital camera. Â Last week it failed. Â Changing batteries and restarting it didn’t help. But it was a week away from my birthday. Â All I had to do is wait it out.
What I wanted was something exactly the same as my old camera, except smaller and lighter. Â
Two days before the official bday we replaced my old Sony with a pink model. Â Last post showed some photos of fall flowers. This one shows my favourite dog, swimming.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 30, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
The Fly Catcher is a novel I began many years ago
by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 30, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
The Fly Catcher is a novel I began many years ago, wrote the first few chapters and an outline and sent it to a publisher.
Then I forgot about it. So did the publisher apparently. Cleaning out my office, I found the file on the project complete with the newspaper clippings on the contest photocopied. The file disappeared once. I re-researched the story pouring through the Burlington Library archives and then lost it again. I was getting superstitious about the project.
However, I did apply for Canada Council and received the grant. If they believed in me and the concept, than I certainly needed to grow my faith back. I had planned the story to be for grade 3, a shorter 30,000 word story. But a couple of weeks ago as I passed the wordcount, I began to think the story
would never end. Normally I write 1,000 words on a good day, a couple of scenes at most. But I was writing feverishly, two to three thousand words a day. And still no ending in sight. Finally at 11:30 Wednesday, last week I typed the end. However, we all know it’s just the begininning of a different kind of voyage. Rewriting.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 7, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
Usually, the first Sunday in September,the date of the literary festival in Eden Mills, is blessed with golden sunshine.
The horses and lambs amble out on the drive up, the wasps buzz around as you eat your lunch and listen to authors.
This year it drizzled so much I wanted to cancel but my daughter Jen wanted to come with 18 month old grandson William.
I now pictured trying to hush a toddler in a room where a soft spoken author whispered her reading. One of William’s strong points,however, is he’s like my Jackapoo Mortie, you stuff food in his mouth and he’s happy, busy and stops yapping. We sat in the children’s area awhile and heard Christine Tripp, an illustrator who I knew from the CANSCAIP listserve. Awfully nice to meet her in person and I liked the work she showed and the way she presented.
The rain continued to pour down and I felt cold and damp for a while.
We heard a bit of music, chatted with other authors, Jo Ellen Bogart, Janet Wilson, Linda Hendrie–then we meandered over to hear Robert Sawyer read. Wow, he read from a small hand held electronic gadget which almost made it seem as though he had his book memorized. He puts a lot of drama in his reading which we quite appreciated.
Then the sun smiled down again on the festival. I grabbed a cup of coffee and warmed up.
Back at the children’s tent, we got to hear Richard Scrimger, Art Slade and Ken Oppel–great presenters and all so different in what they read as well as how they read it.
I wanted to buy all their books but know I have to cut back. What did I end up with? Susan Jube’s new horse book. I think I’ll go read it now.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Sep 3, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
Before I can write the next scene of my flycatching book, I need to picture the Hamilton Farmers’ Market some 98 years ago.
What does it smell like? What are the sounds? What do they actually sell there. So I drove to Hamilton Public Library and visited the archives. The librarians produced many photos and a book with stories of farmers who went there over a long period of time.
Some things I just have to let my imagination fill in. For example a fire in 1917 caused them to rebuild the market. While the building burned, hundreds of rats made a break for it. So I’m guessing my character might spot a rat when he visited the mrket or my fly catching Jack Russel might. Of course chasing it would cause potatoes to be spilled, crates of chickens to crash, horses to bolt and my character to flee.
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