Eden Mills Writers' Festival - Publisher's Way

What a terrific event.  Dozens of authors wandering the streets of Eden Mills, the idyllic setting of the 22nd Eden Mills Writers' Festival.  I couldn't imagine a more appropriate setting to peacefully sit and listen to some of favourite authors and some that are bound to become favourites as soon as I get my hands on their books.  In all I listened to thirteen authors read selected passages from their works.  What a pleasure. 

If you haven't attended the festival, I need to set the scene.  There is one road that passes through the village and it was closed off at both ends.  There were plenty of volunteers to help with parking and to get you where you wanted to be.  Thanks go to almost every resident of the town and of the local Armed Forces Regiment.  Several families opened their yards to visitors and hosted the 'reading stages'.  Visitors were encouraged to bring their own chairs/blankets/ and water bottles (the event is trying to be as green as possible).

Authors were grouped into: Adult, Young Adult and Children's authors.  I'll tell you more about the authors in an upcoming post.

Along the main street of the village was the 'Publishers Way.  This was populated by a variety of author's tables, publishing companies, and The Book Shelf, one of the sponsors of the event.

I took pictures of most of the booths, though I did miss a few and I didn't get all the names.  If you attended and can fill the blanks, please leave a comment with details and I'll gladly add them.

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Margaret High

of

Margaret's Poetry Korner

Margaret creates inspirational and personalized poetry.  Her book of poetry is titled Heartstrings.

Heather Wright ( front table)

Writing Fiction: A Hands-On-Guide for Teens

Books launched at the Festival (back table)

So, you want to go Carbon Neutral: It takes a Village! by Linda Sword, Illustrated by Linda Hendry

Our Earth: How Kids are Saving the Planet by Janet Wilson

Brick Books

The New Quarterly: Canadian Writers and Writing

Artist and Author Rene Meshake

I purchased his book Blueberry Rapids and will review it in the next week or two.

Couldn't resist buying one of his t-shirts for hubby.

Doggfucius by L.H. Chang and Vesna Dokmanvic

These books are designed to entertain children while teaching them the Chinese language.  The dog characters in these books are adorable.  I expect that these books would quickly become a child's favourites so that they could see these cute dogs.

Usborne Books

A wide range of children's books (newborn - 11years) covering a huge range of topics.

Dakotaroo

This is a six book series written by author Krista Michelle Breen about an Appaloosa horse. 

Room to Read

Our Mission

"Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. "  (copied from the Room To Read website)

Books by author Stephen B. Pearl (left end of table), that's his wife Joy.

Stephen writes in a number of genre including :paranormal romance and erotica, science fiction, post apocalyptic, science fiction, environmental fiction, fantasy, modern fantasy.  Visit his website to read sample chapters of his works.  I read the opening chapter of his first book, Tinker's Plague, and it promises to be a riveting read.  I sat at my computer breathless.  (note to self and my readers, I need to get this book.)

  

 Comedy writer Ira Nayman is pictured to the right.  This is one very prolific writer who loves to share his work.  I visited his web page and spent the better part of an hour clicking and reading.  There is so much there that it would take me weeks to read it all.  A good place to start would be to visit his archives and chose Book Fifteen - ARNS (Alternate Reality News Service) and My Toronto or My Toronto, Book 2.

Hope that you have enjoyed browsing the Publishers Way with me.  Next time I attend the festival I am going to have my note book in hand and spend more time speaking with all the authors and vendors, and I'll have to make up a card with my blog name and address to share with them.

Needlework Tuesday

Last week I showed the three blocks that I had pieced using the Propeller pattern from Marti Michell.  I worked on making additional blocks quite diligently.  I pressed the blocks and realized that one block was a duplicate.  Search high and low for more oriental fabrics and pieced a tenth block.  Put them on the wall and one stuck out like a sore thumb.  It was too dark.  Another search and luckily found another fabric and pieced block eleven.  (Remember, most of my sewing room is packed in boxes in the basement and not easily searched).  The photo on the left shows the nine acceptable blocks.  The other two will be used to make a small gift bag.

The blocks together measure approximately 18" square.  Needs a narrow dark border and then maybe a 3" print border.  Will have to shop to find fabrics that work.

I did a bit of work on the snowflake afghan and ran out of the variegated blue.  Either I lost a ball somewhere or the pattern is wrong.  I searched all over the house and camper and not an errant ball to be found.  Returned to the shop I bought the yarn, and they have de-listed it and the rest went on clearance and are long gone.  I checked several other shops in the adjoining towns and none of them carried Red Heart Super Saver in variegated.  arg.  I called my sister in London, Ontario and she went to her store and luckily found and bought me two balls.  I'll see her in the next few weeks and will get to work on my project again.  Yippee.  I will weigh the afghan and do the calculations and let you know whether an additional ball is really needed.  This is such a nice pattern that I will probably want to do it again.

The other week I did a post all about coffee and the paraphernalia cluttering my counter that allows me my morning joe. (click the above link if you somehow missed that post)  Surprise, surprise when my monthly shipment of fq's arrived.  Ten coffee prints.

These lovely fabrics are from several different companies including: "Java Beans" from Benartex, Wilmington Prints, and "Cafe Bistro" from Benartex.  Not all my pieces have the printed selvedge.  I received my fabrics from Sew Sisters Quilt shop and the selection is from "The Bargain Lover" club.



I'm sure with 2 1/2 metres of co-ordinated fabrics I'll be able to make a lovely wall hanging or lap quilt.

Join me again next week to read updates of my current projects or any new needle related projects that I may have started.  Leave a comment about your current project or a link to your weekly update.

The Scarlet Plague by Jack London - audiobook

This book is set in 2072, sixty years after the scarlet plague has ravaged the world's population.  The remnant survivors struggle to live and increase their numbers.  James Howard Smith is the last plague survivor.  Through the course of this story he tries to impress upon his grandchildren and other listeners, that it is important that they learn about and remember the past.  That they need to know more about their world than the basic skills of survival.

I really enjoyed this story, though at the beginning I found it a bit difficult to figure out what was going on. Will definitely be looking for a paper copy of this one.

I downloaded this  free audio book from LibreVox.  click here to download The Scarlet Plague.

This book was read by James Christopher.  It was originally published in 1912 in London Magazine.

To learn more about Jack London and to read my earlie review of The Call of the Wild, click here.

September 21, 2010 - Sorry, I forgot to tell you that Miri from Milk and Honey Quilts recommended this audio book.  Click the link to her site and read the excellent review and comments about Jack London.

The 10 Essential Classics: Redux - Penguin Group (USA)

Penguin Group is celebrate their 75th Anniversary. They compiled a list of the top 10 Must Read Classics.

The Inferno
Walden
Oedipus Rex
Metamorphosis
Moby-Dick    
Hamlet   
the Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice     - read years ago, though worth a re-read
Jane Eyre   - read years ago, also worth a re-read
Of Mice and Men    -  read decades ago and can't remember much


Readers disagreed with the list, so Penguin is giving readers a chance to vote for their own top 10 List.

Click the link below to see the 100 books on the long list, vote for you favourite 10 and be entered to win cool bookish prizes.

The 10 Essential Classics: Redux - Penguin Group (USA)

Be sure to leave a comment telling me your favourite Penguin Classic.

I am tossed up between Twelve Angry Men and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Eden Mills Writers Festival Today

Today is the day. In a few minutes daughter and I are off to the Eden Mills Writers Festival.  We have our camera, books for signing and faery wings.  Don't you wish you knew what those are for.

Will be posting later with photos and any interesting details I hear.

Link to my earlier post with festival details.

You mean I have to feed them Every Day!

What is it with these family people, they actually expect to be fed every day, in fact three or more times a day.  arg.

Some days I just can't face another trip to the grocery store and determine to cook using whatever I can find in the house.  Thursday was such a day.  I started with the thought of making spagetti.  Ok, no bottled sauce in the house, but I did find a 28oz of can of diced tomatos.  Good start. 

First I diced two small onions and two large cloves of garlic.  Into the frying pan with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  I then added two diced stalks of celery and a diced up slightly wilted red peper, since it was sitting in the fridge going unused. 
After a few minutes on medium heat the mixture was getting yummy fragrent.

I then added a good measure of Italian style seasonings: basil, oregano, parsley and thyme. Cooked that for a minute and then added the canned tomatos.  A search in the freezer found a contained with about one and half cups of ground tomatos. In that went as well.  After this cooked for a while I took out a cup or so for the vegetarian.  Now was time to add the half bag of meatballs, again from the freezer.  I also found two hot Italian sausages.  After browning them in a frying pan I sliced them thin and added them to the sauce.

The meal was finished up with some slices of garlic bread that I toasted in a small frying pan and a bag of salad.  I chose penne instead of long spagetti as it tends to make less mess of everyone's shirts.

On friday, my nieces, who are visiting from New Zealand, wanted to make 'Canada Cookies'.  That means maple leaves.  I found them a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, "Sugar Cookie Mittens",  and they did the rest.  I mixed the frosting colours and decided that it would be most fun to go neon, so they are not to blame for that part.  They look great and they taste even better.

Michelle's Cookies

Laura's Cookies

Hope you enjoyed reading about our thrown together meal.  Leave a comment and tell me about your favourite meal to throw together.

Do you love to cook or read about food, then click on over to "Weekend Cooking", a meme hosted by Candace of Beth Fish Reads.  You are invited to add a link to your food related post, whether it be a recipe, restaurant visit or foodie book review.

Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson

A lot has changed in the almost 200 years since Emma, by Jane Austen, was first published.  I don't imagine that she ever considered that vampires would invade her idyllic setting of Hartfield Estate, in Highbury, the home of Emma Woodhouse.

Author Wayne Josephson has transformed that peaceful village to one stalked by terror and blood lust.  While staying faithful to the matchmaking efforts of Emma, he has introduced vampires at every level of society, from gentleman, to farmers, to vagrants.  When out walking, Emma has taken to carrying weapons to protect herself from vampire attacks.

It's been years since I first read Emma, though recollections of its events came flooding back as I read this 'mash up'.  I remember loving the original and I equally loved this version.  There were a number of times I roared with laughter at the turn of events.  I can just picture this very proper and gentile English woman jamming a sharpened stake into the heart of a decapitated vampire, and then calming reclaiming the stake and tieing back upon her thigh under her voluminous petticoat while maintaining her strict modesty.  I would have thought she might have been dismayed by the blood splatter on her gown, but no, she is so calm and cool and collected at all times.  Mr. Josephson managed to keep Emma in perfect character no matter the gore and mutilation.

I absolutely loved this book.  I can't wait to read more of this genre.

You can read an interview in the Daily Herald, "Vampires continue to show life, even as parodies roll out" that quotes Wayne Josephson several times.

There are Jane Austen societies all over the world.  Visit the Jane Austen Society of North American to learn more.

Authors Sharon Lathan and Abigail Reynolds has recently conceived and published a website AustenAuthors.com that further explores the re-newed interest in Jane Austen and the re-writes of her novels.  Launched on September 6, 2010, they plan daily posts by their 20 member authors as well as new book celebrations including give aways and contest.

Thank-you to Sourcebooks Inc for introducing me to this genre of books and for my review copy.