Q: In a room full of international citizens, how might you ferret out the Canadians? A: Ask the date of Queen Victoria's birthday! In a strange but probably harmless historical twist, we are the only country in the world to celebrate the birth of Victoria of England (1837-1901), which falls on May 24. Presumably, Canadians really feel the need for a holiday in May and are happy to snatch at … [Read more...]
My home landscape
Hello, friends. We were recently in Tofino, B.C., and I took a walk along the beach at sunset. Here are some shots of the landscape I love best; the one I consider "home". Kingston is beautiful, too, but today I'm really missing the Pacific Northwest. See you next week, with a more substantial post! … [Read more...]
Cover story: Rivals in the City
Hello, friends. Happy Canada Day, and Happy Fourth of July this weekend! This week, I'm very excited to bring you some behind-the-scenes images from the cover photo shoot for Rivals in the City. These pictures were taken in New York by Candlewick Press designer Heather McGee. As you can see, Candlewick used the same model, Amber Ahlquist, to represent Mary Quinn on every cover in the series. … [Read more...]
Best-case scenario
Hello, friends! Today, I'm visiting the Oshawa Public Library as part of its Suspects and Sleuths Mystery Festival. The other day I was thinking ahead, planning my presentation, wondering what the day would be like. That's the lovely and exciting thing about public appearances: who will come? What will they ask? What bizarre and unpredictable events will pop up to enliven the day? It's a cliché, … [Read more...]
Thankful
Hello, friends. It seems like every autumn, my family experiences a maelstrom of work- and school-related insanity. Things are INTENSE. This year, we made some strategic choices to minimize negative stress (for example, we didn't sign up the children for any after-school activities. No team sports. No music lessons. No nature camp. What on earth do we do after school? We read books, draw pictures, … [Read more...]
One Match
Hello friends, and happy September! I hope it's begun well for you. I have two blog posts for you today. The first is my debut post with The History Girls. My essay, "Ahistorical Fiction", is up on our group blog now. I hope you enjoy it! From now on, I'll be blogging over at the History Girls on the 3rd of each month. Over here, I'm stepping away from reading and writing and gardening to … [Read more...]