Today I am in Morninville, Alberta, partaking in the 50-hour Read-A-Thon for Morinville Community Library’s 50th anniversary.

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Between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. today, here’s what I’ve got lined up:

Canadian family travel

• “Two Provinces, Three Weeks, 101 Experiences,” a July family road trip article that will appear in the Canada 150 Book Project by WFSC

Flashback

Not that long ago . . .

A mid-April snowstorm cancelled one of our Spring/Easter Author Reading held on April 15.

Photo credit: Mandy Eve-Barnett. April 15, 2017.

Soon afterward . . .

L–>R progression: May 3, May 5, May 10, May 15, May 18, 2017.

May

During this month, the two big events were the Strawberry Creek Writing Retreat on May 18-22 and the annual guitar ensemble/recital on May 28.

Strawberry Creek Lodge, Writing Retreat 2017

Strawberry Creek Writing Retreat / Guitar Recital

In addition,

• I have been beta reading two books.
• I am helping a young adult at work write two books.
• I’ve written some last-minute letters of reference.
• I’m supposed to be working on my two books.

Apart from the planned and pleasant events, April and May have been marred by high stress and over-commitment. I salvaged the writing retreat (lost last year) and the guitar recital (I’d never get over it if I didn’t take part this year), but this spring marks a number of losses: my garden, two important concerts, and quite possibly my fantasy-adventure book, Druyan, which is unlikely to release at its scheduled time on September 30 and will consequently miss our biggest book event of the year (more on that in the future).

So, it’s been a mixed bag.

New Tabs

You may have noticed that I reorganized my site’s tabs and pages. Books I’ve published are now under the BOOKS tab. The drop-down menu lists the book(s). If you hover over the book title, another drop-down menu provides more options (such as About the Story, etc.). Works in progress are under the BOOKS IN PROGRESS tab, with a similar drop-down menu structure. Beyond the Precipice and Druyan include time-lapse videos of how the book covers were made.

Don’t forget to cast your vote

During May, I released the next set (11-31) of writing inspiration songs. All the songs and the poll to vote on your favourite can be found here.

June

As I’d mentioned, today is

• the 50-Hour Read-A-Thon in Morinville (northwest of Edmonton)

Coming up

• Heritage Day of Strathcona County on Sunday, June 11
• Summer Author Reading on Saturday, June 24
• I am hosting a special guest from Australia, coming to Edmonton after 25 years–the person whose name I stole for my protag in Beyond the Precipice (as mentioned in the back Acknowledgements)

Next month

• Canada’s 150th birthday on July 1. This includes the WFSC Canada 150 Book Project, where my “Two Provinces, Three Weeks, 101 Experiences” family article will feature. The two provinces are Alberta and British Columbia, and the trip began right after Canada Day a few years ago. Rather fitting, I think.

• Joint book signing on July 8. Mandy Eve-Barnett and I will be signing books at Audreys Books, a respected independent bookstore in Edmonton.

The pace will be frenetic until the end of June, but afterward, I hope to relax and restore before summer whizzes past and it’s winter again!

Related

April and May Update