Merry Christmas, happy readers!

Hello everyone! Dionne Warner and I recently spent two days signing Never Leave Your Wingman books at the Pasqua Hospital Gift Shop in Regina, SK. - just down the hall from the Allan Blair Cancer Clinic.

It was an emotional, awe-inspring, sometimes heartbreaking but mostly fun time as we talked with cancer patients, hospital staff and visitors. Dionne shared her personal story of battling cancer seven times (she's fighting Stage IV liver, lung and bone cancer right now) and we were privileged to talk with patients about their own cancer journeys and how they can stay stronger to fight this devastating disease.

Time and time again, I watched in admiration as Dionne gave these patients a little dash of her courage and hope, some heartfelt hugs and a few laughs to boost their strength and encourage them to keep up the good fight. As Dionne would say... "Show your cancer who's the boss!"

So from us to you.... have a wonderful Christmas and a happy holiday season! Enjoy each precious day you have been given. Share it with loved ones and appreciate all that you have.

Take care,

Deana and Al Driver, DriverWorks Ink

Two funny cats - will live on forever

We are saddened by the deaths of Oliver and Maudie, beloved cats of author Sharon Gray. These precocious, gentle Siamese cats passed away within days of each other at the age of 18 years. They were the inspiration for the beautiful book Letters to Jennifer: From Maudie & Oliver in which Sharon Gray presents her cats' look at the world - for the express purpose of amusing and soothing humans, especially her dear friend Jennifer who was ill at the time.

Maudie was the beautiful prima donna cat - watching for suitors from her perch in the living room, never causing any problems for anyone (in her own modest opinion), and chastising her brother Oliver for being kind of dumb sometimes. Maudie knew how to properly handle toy mice - by ignoring them completely and letting her silly brother and her LIP (Live-In Person Sharon Gray) deal with them - and how to gain favour with every man she ever met - feline or human. 

Maudie (above)

Oliver never got enough love - because he lived with his prima donna sister Maudie, of course. He had a penchant for making messes and causing havoc, but his loving nature and speech impediment endeared him to his LIP and all other humans. Maudie always enjoyed it when Oliver snuggled up beside her and helped her with her grooming.

Oliver (above)



Maudie and Oliver had specific views on how the world should operate - giving advice to humans and cats alike:

"Naps are best taken on top of the TV... Short naps are good, too.... Dogs are noisy and do not know how to groom themselves.... Green wool tastes the best (in Oliver's opinion).... It is possible to go around a table onto every lap without ever touching the floor.... Structured board meetings with your LIP are necessary to make your rules known.... Computers each come with their own bald, boring mouse. Imagine!"

Maudie and Oliver will be missed, but their amusing and loving personalities will live on in Letters to Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver by Sharon Gray... available from www.driverworks.ca

The little coat is 67 years old!

Sixty-seven years ago during the Second World War, Canadian soldiers who were fighting the Nazis in the Netherlands gave a 10-year-old Dutch girl a special Christmas gift. They asked a seamstress in that village to take a wool Canadian Army blanket and make it into a coat for young Sussie Cretier, who had become a little sister and a good luck charm for the soldiers during their stand in that part of Holland. On December 25, 1944, Canadian tank commander Bob Elliott from Calgary, Alberta, handed little Sussie a Christmas gift package that included the coat and a few other items. Then Bob continued shooting at the Nazis and Sussie ran home to show her parents this amazing gift.
More than 35 years later, Bob Elliott returned to the Netherlands to visit some of the Dutch people he had met during the war, including Sussie's family. Bob and Sue quickly reconnected. He was surprised and delighted to see that she still had the little coat. To Sue, it was the most precious gift she had ever received. Within a short time, Sue followed Bob back to Canada and brought her coat with her.

Saskatchewan author Alan Buick wrote about this fascinating true story in The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story. Here, he talks about the book:

  

Author Alan Buick talks about The Little Coat

Dagnabit, doodles and doots!

To get a true appreciation of the hilarity and clever humour writing in Ron Petrie's book Running of the Buffalo, one only needs to look at the Index (sort of)...

This is just under the letter 'D':

'Dagnabit, Danny DeVito, Davidson, Don Cherry, doodad, doodie, doodled, Doodles, doodling, doots, Drake, Drinkwater, Duck Lake, dumbass, and Dummer.'

And one of my favourite sections of the Index (sort of)... under the letter 'P':

'Palmer, Paradise Hill, pee, pfft, pickamaniac, Pipestone Creek, Pile-O'-Boners, Plato, Plenty, pobbycock, Porcupine Plain, Primate, Prince Albert, and Psst.'

And what exactly is Ron's book about? Now you can hear it from Ron himself....

Video of Ron Petrie speaking about his book