Quinquennial Greetings

If this is your first newsletter, welcome! If we’re reconnecting after a long spell, welcome back!

You may recognize my patio office from newsletters past. This has been my view for the past five+ summers. Same décor, same dog, new flowers!

I’m grateful for this write place, a constant in this changing world.

My Work-in-Progress

Postcard from the Past

This vintage postcard gives you a glimpse into where I’ve spent the last few years. At least in my imagination. This is Winnipeg’s famous Exchange District ca. 1910. Notice that tall grey building in the distance? That’s Winnipeg’s first skyscraper, the Union Bank of Canada.

This is where my new book begins. It’s historic fiction inspired by real places, people, and events. Weaving fascinating research into a compelling story has been a journey all its own.

P.S. I’m not done yet. I’ll keep you post(card)ed.

Separation Anxiety

It’s been over 10 years since my memoir Separation Anxiety went out into the world. Oh, the places it’s gone lately . . .

IPNE Book Awards 2024

A proud moment for Separation Anxiety winning a Gold Legacy Award from the Independent Publishers of New England. It was an honour to Zoom into this awards ceremony that, literally, transcended borders. Just like books.

The Ties that Bind

When Separation Anxiety was published, I could not have predicted that one day I would receive a letter from a woman that revealed something both heart-wrenching and mind-blowing. She was my half-sister Kim Mooney.

So it was a special evening in 2022 when Kim and I shared a book event at Vancouver’s Upstart & Crow bookstore celebrating the publication of her memoir. We shared a motherlode of stories with family and friends – and forged a lasting bond between us.

Learn more at: Kim Mooney.com

Writeshops in the Community

Series Summer Arts School 2025
We gathered, we wrote, we read. My thanks to this wonderful group of writers at Series Summer Arts School at Red Deer Polytechnic. It was a privilege to create and share with you! 

Celebrating Alberta Writers – Literary Launches

Red Deer Public Library, January 2025

It’s always a thrill when the authors visit Central Alberta to celebrate their new books. Samantha Jones Attic Rain poems and Kirti Bhadresa An Astonishment of Stars stories braved -30°C to warm us with their words.

Special shout out to super-host Fran Kimmel. A wonderfully engaging moderator and tireless supporter of Alberta authors.

Lacombe Performing Arts Center, June 2025

Authors Lee Kvern and Blaine Newton drove through heavy rain and tornado warnings on QE2 to bring Catch You on the Flip Side and Rag Pickers to an appreciative crowd.

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays [Alberta writers] from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Sunworks Living gift shop, Red Deer May 2025

Fabulous Fran Kimmel launching her third novel Cattail Lane. Fran’s been criss-crossing Alberta on a summer book tour, delighting audiences. From the first page, I was hooked. “It was all a whopping mistake. Anyone with half a brain could see the fourteen-year-old kid was not his…Billy was anemic pale, like he was allergic to the world, tall and weak and shaped like an out-of-control dandelion.”  

Thanks to the crew at Sunworks for hosting and supporting local authors. 

Bookends on the Summer

Writing is a solitary act. But writers need their people. Conference, anyone?

AWCS When Words Collide, August 2025

Upcoming Events for Writers

Map your Creative Future: Writing Workshop
Sunday, September 21, 2025
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Red Deer Public Library – Downtown Branch
Co-sponsored by Red Deer Arts Council
FREE
Further information: Map Your Creative Future

Read into Fall

All of the books above and . . .

• The Crow Valley Karaoke Competition Ali Bryan
• The Cleaning Woman’s Daughter Alexina Dalgetty
• Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For Leslie Greentree
• Flicker Lori Hahnel
• Uncontrolled Flight Frances Peck

Before you go . . .