My post today on my publisher’s website is about how I came up with the titles for my mystery novels. 
New Year’s Resolution
Happy New Year
Happy New Year!
The holiday season was a cold one in Calgary, good for staying inside. I’ll be getting out soon to some writing events, starting with the January 11th launch of Loft 112’s Print(ed) Word Project. My short story “When a Warm Wind Blows off the Mountains” is privileged to be included in this creative and original collection.
Then, on Saturday, Jan 13th, 7:00 pm, I’ll participate in the first Loft Salon featuring artists and writers involved in the project. I’ll read from “Warm Wind” and my artist partner, Sylvia Arthur, will discuss how she turned my story into a work of art.
For more details, visit the Loft 112 Facebook page.
I wish you a happy and healthy 2018.
Endings
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Conclusion of a poignant Love Actually story-line. To me, all of the movie's story-lines are perfect and what a stellar cast of actors 
- Sue Grafton 1940-2017
- Prime Minister Hugh Grant’s story-line ending
This year I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve with Will, sipping almond Tequila, playing a few rounds of Phase 10 with our son before he left for his New Year’s Eve party (Will is winning so far), and watching the movie Love Actually for the 3rd or 4th time.
Despite staying up past midnight I woke early this New Year’s Day and plunged into a couple of activities worthy of a new year – sorting through some boxes, throwing out old papers and dragging my blog into 2018.
An email from a friend brought sad news. Author Sue Grafton, author of the Kinsey Millhone ‘alphabet mysteries’ series, died on December 28th, from cancer. Grafton published books with titles ‘A’ is for … to ‘Y’ is for … in her series but was struggling with ‘Z’ during her two years of treatment. Her family says there will be no ‘Z,’ but I hope Grafton found a way for someone to complete her vision.
My apologies, South America
After my long holiday to Ontario and South America this fall, it was hard to meet the deadline for my regular Books We Love Author Blog Post.
Will poses with stone bust of poet Pablo Neruda, Isla Negra, Chile 
- Girl from Ipanema Bar and Restaurant, Rio de Janeiro
Today I blog about my embarrassing knowledge of South American writers.
Names
On today’s Books We Love Author Blog I discuss my process for naming story characters.
cSpace
Write a postcard story - literally 
- King Edward School now cSpace
Last month, Will and I attended the open house for cSpace, Calgary’s new hub for over 30 tenants involved in arts-related activities. cSpace is housed in the former King Edward School, a 113 year-old sandstone building in the neighbourhood of Marda Loop. Will and I went because one of my writing groups, the Alexandra Writers Centre Society, moved there this year from its long-time premises in Inglewood.
The open house was a lively event, with hundreds of people coming to learn what this concept of creativity, community and collaboration was all about. Most of the tenants opened their doors to visitors. We started with the Alexandra Writers on the top floor. The AWCS set up a number of creative areas for visitors to get started on freefall writing.
From there, we saw the party room in the building extension. This space would be great for a summer reception, with its outdoor corridors on three sides.
We worked our way down the building, visiting artists’ studios, a sewing room, a Montessori classroom, Making Treaty 7 and Alliance Française, which has a huge library of French books and offered us a delicious croissant. The two rooms beneath the top floor party space feature a divided workshop area, with lots of light, and a bar with a stage for shows.
It all made me eager to spend lots of time in the future at cSpace.
My Story With Illustrations
Today I guest post on the BWL Insider Blog about how my short story “When a Warm Wind Blows Over the Mountains” was turned into a book-as-art. Here’s Sylvia’s description of how she decided to incorporate the words into her work:
- I contemplated for many hours on how to include the written words in my Print(ed) Word book. It wasn’t plausible to hand write the entire book, so I wrote only the lines that inspired the images. The words are written on delicate hand ripped Kinwashi rice paper. Although tricky to write on, I love the beautiful texture and how the words frame a ghost of the print that shows through from the next page.
A bargain!
My publisher, BWL, is always looking for new ways to promote our books. From now until December 17th, you can purchase an ebook of Ten Days in Summer through Smashwords for $2.99 USD using the coupon code RX82T.
New Downtown Library
Last Sunday, Will and I took a tour of Calgary’s new downtown central library, which is on target to open Fall 2018. Our guide told us that, rare in today’s world, the project is under budget.
The building’s inside, still under construction, isn’t open to the public yet. The young guide walked us around the building exterior, sharing information along the way.
We learned the building design was chosen, in part, for its rounded style, which is more interesting than the usual square. My first impression is that the structure resembles a ship. I had assumed there would be a C-train station with direct access to the library. The city opted against this for several reasons, including cost and a desire to connect the building to the adjacent East Village’s tradition of walking. Library patrons will have a short walk across the street from the existing C-train station. Attractive pedestrian routes will also lead them west to City Hall and Stephen Avenue.
An interesting architectural feature of the building is the façade made of white panes. Many of these are one way glass, allowing library users privacy while looking outdoors.
Inside will feature multi-levels for different uses. Zones for children and teenagers, a café with patio, an old fashioned reading room and, of course, a high tech area. Our guide told us the library is designed to last 100 years.
It looks like it will be a great place to hang out for Calgarians with a variety of interests.
Lively East Village square a few steps from the library
