In support of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month (September) and Sheryl Gordon’s book project in support of Alzheimer’s Disease.

I spent this past weekend at Calgary’s When Words Collide Writing Conference. As always, it was inspiring, informative, exhausting and fun. Already, plans are underway for next year’s event. I’ve registered already. Three days of full programing for $45 is a price that can’t be beat.

At When Words Collide next weekend I’ll be on a panel of judges for the conference’s annual short story contest. We’ll discuss the ten stories that made the finals and announce the winners. The panel takes place at the Carriage House Inn, Calgary, at 11:00 AM. Judging a writing contest was quite an experience. I plan to blog about it after the conference.

On Sunday, August 10, 3:00 PM I’ll be on a panel at When Words Collide writing conference titled Boomer Lit – An Overlooked Market – Romance, Mystery, and More. Boomers created the YA market when they swept through their teens. Today there are over 83 million baby boomers in North America. Here comes Boomer Lit. Boomers have time to read and money to buy books, but what do they want?

Are they seeking protagonists who are boomers and problems relevant to boomers? Do they want action, sex, mystery?

Join me and my fellow panelists  Brenda Collins, Ilonka Halsband, Eileen Bell and Mahrie G. Reid (Moderator) for a lively discussion and revelations about this growing market.

On Sunday, August 10, I’ll be sitting on a panel about Baby Boomer Literature at Calgary’s When Words Collide Writing Conference. In anticipation of the event, the panel moderator, Mahrie Glab Reid, invited me to write a guest blog post for her website. Mahrie gave my piece the catchy title: What if Trixie Beldon Turned Fifty?
Thanks, Mahrie, for this opportunity and for making me see there might be such a market as Boomer Lit.

I’m back from a terrific trip to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. The highlight was my son’s wedding on June 13 in Toronto. The day was wonderful from start to finish and filled with memorable moments for a loving mom.

After the wedding and associated festivities, Will and I spent time visiting friends in the area. Knowing that Will is a baseball fan, our Kitchener friends suggested a day trip to St. Mary’s to visit the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. I confess, before this I hadn’t known that either St. Mary’s or the Canadian Hall existed.

As it happened, this was the day before induction weekend. Former players and announcers were due to arrive that night for some exhibition innings. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for that, but we were able to tour the hall, an old home packed with Expos, Blue Jays and other baseball memorabilia. Now I know what a home plate looks like.

Our enthusiastic guide through the museum was Kevin Glew, a writer working part time at the museum this summer. Kevin and I traded business cards and writing stories. You never know where you’ll find a kindred spirit. Canadian baseball fans will want to check out Kevin’s website.

On Saturday, I had the honour and joy of introducing my friend, Pamela McDowell, at the launch of her first fiction book, Ospreys in Danger, a picture book for children in grades 2-3. The story, based on a real event, features two plucky girls who save ospreys in Waterton National Park. Pam’s launch, approppriately, was held at Calgary’s Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

Equally appropriate was her choice of launch bookseller –  Owl’s Nest Bookstore.

Here are a couple more photos taken at last weekend’s Creative Non-fiction Conference. I attended the pre- and post-conference events that were open to the public.

Below, I am fiddling with my camera while author and educator Aretha Van Herk speaks at the statues of the Famous Five.

A little drizzle didn’t diminish my enjoyment of Sunday’s Literary Walk of old Calgary hosted by the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society to wrap up their 10th anniversary conference weekend. Here’s writer Shaun Hunter talking about Calgary’s near-forgotten painter and author, William S. Bates, and his connection to the Grain Exchange Building (1909), now the home of Freehand Books.

After the walk, we warmed up in the James Joyce pub.