I'm back (from the UK) Part One

Left on May 23rd and returned June 7th, 2018. Only two weeks away from home. Almost not worth going! I've never had such a short overseas trip. I would have liked to stay longer, and go other places, but that was not practical at this time. As a result, I'm warning everyone that I'm half dreaming/planning to go back to the UK next year. By myself. No hiking trips, but maybe a bus tour.

The first part of this trip was five days in London. Strange, because I was just there 16 months ago. (January 2017) My English cousins are going to be tired of seeing me. I almost never see my Canadian cousins--it's been decades! Nevertheless, I'd still like to visit each of them--London, Oxford, Devon, and some place called S...something Coal Mines, or something (Sutton, maybe).
While in London, I had a chance to introduce my friend Genevieve to my daughter. I'd seen Genevieve last time, January 2017, the first opportunity to meet since I'd taken her for pram rides in Battersea Park, when I was about 13 years old.
Last visit with Genevieve, we went to the Tower of London, but I didn't really see as much as I'd hoped. I need more information on the Bloody Tower for a middle-grade book I'm researching. So, my daughter and I went back again this trip (just last month, but it seems like ages ago.) Unfortunately, this time the Bloody Tower was closed for preparations for a display. Drat! But, to make up for it, and even better, there was a dramatic performance of the last days of Anne Boleyn--very relevant to the research I'm doing on the Tower.

SiWC 2017

Yesterday evening I arrived home after four nights in one of my favourite hotels, Accent Inns in Burnaby.
Unfortunately, I didn't get my dates straight in enough time to fulfill my volunteering obligations, and had to cut down my time at the Surrey International Writers' Conference to only Saturday--missing all of Thursday, Friday and Sunday. However, it was not time wasted.

At the conference, I went into the room I would have to be in for the next workshop in order to introduce that speaker. Luckily, the early workshop was ""The Whirlwind Researcher" presented by Kearsley. Very worthwhile! As was Greg Van Eekhout's "Middle Grade: Beyond the Formula."

After lunch, I tried a workshop on writing short stories, but I was very sleepy and had to leave. So that was it for the conference for me.

Next year, I'll reserve the hotel room sometime before summer for the October conference, and I'll sign up as a participant, not a volunteer.

Major category #3 and a tag

Today I was supposed to blog about something in category #3.  That's floods and fires, I think.  I intended that this blog should indicate my research and background information that I did for my middle grade historical novel, Angels in the Flames.  At some point I'll dig all that stuff out.  I know I spent many hours in the special collections of the Vancouver Public Library and at the Vancouver Archives and at the Vancouver Maritime Museum.  (That last one was to research the "ship that saved Vancouver", the Robert Bell.)  For the fire, though, it was mostly in the special collections section that I read folders and folders of articles, watched reems and reems of microfiche films as well as read every book I could find on the subject of the Vancouver Fire of June 13, 1886.  My novel is set in Vancouver on that day.  I even interviewed a Squamish woman whose grandmother was one of the Natives who paddled across Burrard Inlet to rescue some of the people wading into the water to escape the flames.  The Squamish people have a song to commemorate that day. 

Category #4 and its tags

Category 4 "Fact & Fiction" is more about my writing.  Tags include: a) story outlines; b) character back-stories; c) settings; d) biographies; e) history and geography; f) bibliographies & other references; g) markets; h) book reviews.  This could even be two categories, with f, g & h being tags in the fifth category.

Major category #2 & 3 and their tags

Category #2 is Family & Friends.  The tags would include a) travel, languages & culture notes; b) Kids' activities: observation, growing things, cooking; c) school visits & volunteering with kids. 
Category #3 is Fire and Flood:  This would be research notes about the Vancouver fire, also London 1666 and Chicago whenever, and California every year; & forest fires; also floods like Noah's Ark, Nile Delta, other floods both good and bad; d) other natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsumamis, volcanoes, etc.  and e) First Aid; Red Cross/Crescent; St. John's Ambulance, etc.

writing hits and misses

The short story deadline has passed, and it never got written much less submitted.  I did a fair amount of research for it, but every time I started and restarted the story, it always came out more of the beginning of a novel with no place to go (plot-wise, that is).  Just as well I've abandoned it.  Maybe I can use some of the research one of these days.  Hate to waste it altogether. 
I've decided not to do nanowrimo this year.  It was fun last year, but "been there, done that" now, so I'll move on.  After all, I did accomplish the goal of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.  What I want to do now is rework that same novel into a YA novel and maybe, if it's done in time, send it to Delacorte for the YA contest.  That's due by December 31st.  We'll see if I can rewrite the novel in 60 days (minus almost a week, as it's already Nov. 4th). 
I'm still doing suite 101 articles.  I've got 9 published there, and have several more in mind--some more on language learning of course, and a couple of book reviews.  I can see this is an endless project, and that's a very good thing.
If I haven't heard from Coteau Books by the end of January, I'll email them to say that the historical juvenile novel will no longer be theirs exclusively.  Then I can send it on to someone else.  The only way it'll ever get published is if I keep it going.
This evening I'm going to a workshop to learn about internet presence for writers--websites, etc.  So far, my only internet presence is this blog and my suite 101 articles.

friend's book launch

Yesterday evening I attended a book launch at the Vancouver Public Library, in the children's section. My long-time friend, Gail Edwards has written, along with Judith Saltman, an important book about Canadian children's books. It's called Picturing Canada. It's such a pleasure to see a friend achieve this success. Gail is the head of the history department at Douglas College, and also teaches at the Library School at UBC. She has a PhD in Library Science. The book will be an important reference text for anyone interested in the history of children's illustrated literature in Canada. Of course, I bought a copy. I'll see if I can find a link to put here to help you find more information about it.

research continues

When I first completed my novel, Angels in the Flames, I thought I had done all the research possible. I had found all the information there was about the Vancouver fire, 1886. But, having been asked to add more about the little boy in the story, I've found that I need to know a lot more about that strange afternoon. And I've been learning a lot lately. Yesterday and the day before, I spent many hours in the Special Collections of the Vancouver Public Library, researching the Squamish (Coast Salish) native people, the Chinese in Chinatown, and a town near the Squamish village, called Moodyville. So much rewriting to be done, and in so little time if I'm to keep my promised date of "by Easter". So the novel is still progressing, ever so slowly. Good thing I love research.

Stanley Park

Catching up on last month's activities! It was the month of birding, but also the month of Stanley Park. First, on February 15th, I went to the Vancouver museum to see the exhibit called "Unnatural History of Stanley Park"--documenting the changes the park has gone through over the past 150 years (more or less). A few nights later, at the Vancouver Historical Society meeting, we had an information session on the plight and future of Stanley Park's Hollow Tree. It has been dead for over a hundred years, but has recently started tilting and the Parks Board had voted to cut it down. The tree, about 1000 years old (yes, one thousand years old) is well-loved and has always, from day one, been one of Vancouver's most popular tourist attractions. The men who spoke at the meeting are part of a group who have researched the possibilities of saving the tree as it has been for the past century. They also have raised most of the money to save it. The Parks Board has reversed its unanimous decision to destroy the tree, and work is now progressing to save it. I think the link is http://www.savethehollowtree.com . Finally, on February 28th, our last birding field trip, I went with our instructor and classmates to see the varieties of birds around Lost Lagoon, in the forest, and in Vancouver Harbour adjacent to the Stanley Park seawall. The big treat of the day was the barred owl in the forest. One event I wish hadn't happened is that a gang of irresponsible "runners" ran me down, yelling that we shouldn't be on the forest trail. Actually, I was OFF the trail but the hooligan that ran me down--literally flat on my back--was cutting the corner. One of his fellow runners came to me later and apologized, but the guilty one didn't bother. At age 70, I don't bounce as well as I used to. My companions were very concerned about me, and the woman who had driven me to the park offered to take me home, but I refused to let my day be spoiled by one unfortunate incident.

Wednesday evening

I signed up for a birding course, the first session is Wednesday evening at Kitsilano High School. We saw lots of slides--an amazing number of slides of various birds. I had no idea that there were so many different varieties of birds in the Vancouver area. The next session will be Saturday morning at Boundary Bay.

Tuesday research

Tuesday afternoon I spent a couple of hours researching the British barque, Robert Kerr, celebrated in 1886 as the ship that saved Vancouver. I'll be able to make use of that in one of the chapters in Angels in the Flames. In fact, I think the book was incomplete without this information.

Vancouver history

Still working on that novel, Angels in the Flames. One of the chapters I'm adding to the original novel (at the suggestion of editors and other advisors) is about the British barque, the Robert Kerr, that was in Vancouver harbour at the time of the Vancouver fire, June 13, 1886. I've contacted the Maritime Museum to see what they have on the subject, and I have an appointment with the librarian/archivist next Tuesday afternoon to learn all about it. Meanwhile, I have to work on other chapters so as not to get too far behind. I need to have the whole book done (all rewrites in order, etc.) by Easter.

disappointment

This morning I got a phone call from a lady I've spoken to only once or twice before. She's a member of the Squamish Band (Nation) in North Vancouver. I wanted to visit her church and get some more information about the Squamish involvement in the Vancouver Fire of 1886, the setting for one of my novels. However, it seems that all the historical information about the Squamish rescue efforts are subjects of songs and stories belonging to individuals in their tradition. It's not for outsiders. So, my historical fiction is going to be more fiction than historical in the couple of chapters I have set for the Squamish heroes. It's sad, for me and for others who are interested in that sort of history, but I respect their "copyright" tradition. I'll look elsewhere for something similar that will neither trespass on their rights nor misrepresent their culture.