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February 12, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 4 of 9
The creation of tension and suspense and mood shifts to me are just as important as creating characters and the plot themselves. Tension and suspense is what makes the story come alive. For the short ...
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February 15, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 5 of 9
In the isolation of lockdowns and social distancing where does romance go? For those who are romantically involve it could intensify the bond but for many the opposite has been true since there has been ...
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November 11, 2024
Read an Excerpt from Satellite Image, the New Novel from Michelle Berry
Avid readers who are fans of acclaimed author Michelle Berry will be thrilled to find her new novel on bookstore shelves. The prolific Peterborough-based writer has penned three story story collections ...
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May 05, 2020
Writers As Readers: May 2020 Writer-in-Residence Derek Mascarenhas on His Favourite Books
Told through seventeen linked short stories, Toronto author Derek Mascarenhas' debut Coconut Dreams (Book*hug) traces the lives of a South Asian family through a series of shifting voices and timelines, ...
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November 27, 2017
Mariam Pirbhai on Bringing Invisible Characters into the Spotlight
An earthquake survivor, a resort hotel maid, a migrant worker on a chicken farm. These are just a few of the fascinating and diverse characters in Mariam Pirbhai's short story collection Outside People ...
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October 04, 2016
Reconciling a Double Life: Law and Literature
I’m very happy to be spending the month of October as Writer in Residence at Open Book. I’m also happy that it’s a virtual residency as I was able to skip town on the very first day to attend a ...
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June 07, 2023
When Readers Write
Whenever I do a book event, people tell me things. Sometimes they tell me a bit about themselves or their families. At other times, they disclose traumatic experiences. I respond by holding the moment, ...
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October 18, 2018
My friend Richard
In my last post I talked about some of the influential writers and books that inspired me to seriously pursue my own creative writing. My list is much longer than that, and there are many more storytellers ...
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February 08, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 3 of 9
As I stated before, the writing process for me is an intuitive one. Some people are afraid or intimidated by the blank page, but I see all kinds of possibilities in it. I am a visual writer, so I have ...
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September 08, 2020
Picture Book Magic
People are often surprised to learn that a picture book begins with the words. But every children’s book editor I’ve met has preferred to read a picture-book manuscript without any images. A good ...