Speaking Out and Standing Out with Canadian Children's Authors at CANSCAIP Prairie Horizons conference

The 2025 Prairie Horizons conference of the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Association of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers was a great success! Set in beautiful downtown Saskatoon, conference attendees explored the theme of Don't Drop Out: Speak Out, Stand Out. I am grateful to organizers Yvonne Denomy, Mary Harelkin Bishop, and Maureen Ulrich for inviting me to speak as part of a publishing panel and to share notes on manuscript evaluations with three of the attendees.

The publishing panel addressed these topics (some of my responses are in parentheses):  

- What are the challenges for publishers and editors? (Cost of production; selling and marketing the books; lack of financial support for indie publishers & authors)

- What helps an author or manuscript/illustrator stand out, and what is a publisher looking for in a manuscript? (A unique topic/storyline/approach to a subject; great writing that tells the story and helps the reader care about the characters; for DriverWorks Ink books, a story that readers can learn something from, to help make the world a better place)

-  What are tips to encourage aspiring authors and illustrators to stay the course? (Keep going; try to not be discouraged by a rejection letter; try to look at comments or criticisms of the written work as opportunities for improvement; keep searching until you find an editor/publisher who is a good fit for you and your work)

- What do authors/illustrators need to know about Artificial Intelligence (Be careful; use it sparingly and cautiously; add an AI clause in your contracts to protect yourself and your publisher; know that AI  copies sources without permission or compensation to the originators of the ideas; check for the source of the information to confirm it is correct and not plagiarized; be cautious that you are not stealing the creations of others)

The conference had numerous sessions and events in addition to those in which I participated. It's always nice to learn something new and connect with other writers, authors, and publishers. Thanks again to CANSCAIP Saskatchewan for hosting a great conference.

Enjoy these photos from CANSCAIP's 2025 Prairie Horizons Conference.

Blogger and Book Editor Brian Henry, Deana Driver of DriverWorks Ink, Emma Sakamoto of Groundwood Books, and Edward Willett of Shadowpass Press 

Author and Spoken Word artist Khodi Dill inspired the audience to speak out against injustice

Author and Storyteller Cort Dogniez shared why authors should speak out about history and injustice

Three award-winning DriverWorks Ink authors (left to right) Mary Harelkin Bishop, Deana J Driver, and Jennifer S Wallace at the 2025 Prairie Horizons conference

A view of downtown Saskatoon and the South Saskatchewan River, May 2025

Eat Dessert First and Fly into the Grand Canyon

Plenty of people create a "bucket list" of activities they want to do or achieve in their lifetime. I am not one of those people. During a recent vacation, however, I did remember a couple of things I thought would be fun to do. And I was delighted to be able to do them! 

Both happened because of the new man in my life, which also makes me happy to report.

Even more fun-loving and adventurous than I am, Marlowe acted quickly when I commented to him and some friends that I've always wanted to eat dessert first.

Although my friends thought it was a good idea and were game to try it, I chickened out when the server brought us menus at a restaurant in Oceanside, California. I felt like I should not force my whims onto everyone else at the table. But I should have remembered who I was with.

My friends and Marlowe are not people who are prone to backing away from a fun experiment. I am grateful that they can be silly like me.

The server was befuddled when our dessert requests came first, but we convinced him we were serious, and away he went to place our orders.

The chocolate mousse, mudpie, bananas foster, and crème brûlée were delicious!

I highly recommend eating dessert first. You end up ordering a lighter meal afterward while still getting the deliciousness of dessert into your tummy. Win-win! 

Thanks to Roy, Carla, and their daughter Alicia for playing with us!

A couple of weeks later, on this same vacation in the USA, a second item on my non-existent bucket list was fulfilled - my desire to go on a helicopter flight into the Grand Canyon.

When I mentioned this idea to Marlowe, he was also interested and made it happen! Yes, I am a fortunate woman.

During a trip to Las Vegas to see some shows, we booked a flight to the Grand Canyon with Maverick Helicopters. It was my first time flying in a helicopter, but I was assured that the flight would be smooth and safe, so the nerves were quickly gone as soon as we took off.

We were lucky enough to be seated beside the pilot on the first leg of the trip, so we had a fabulous view as we flew into the canyon. Wow!

We landed at the base of the canyon, beside the Colorado River, and had a small snack plus photo opportunities before taking off to head back to Vegas.

Such a wonderful, memorable experience. 

 

As widowers, both Marlowe and I know that each day should be treated as precious. We are committed to doing what we can, together, to enjoy each moment as best we can. I am grateful to Marlowe for coming into my life and for helping me live my life to the fullest.

I hope you can travel your road and check off items on your bucket list with a fun-loving someone too.

A Surprise Connection to Reg "Crash" Harrison's Family Farm

Selling my books at craft and trade shows on the Canadian Prairies is usually a fun and fascinating exercise in which I meet avid readers and get ideas for future stories to write and/or publish. Sometimes, people praise my publishing efforts and the nonfiction or historical fiction books they particularly enjoyed. But the lovely surprise at a craft show in Swift Current in October 2024 was a unique experience.

A few minutes before the show closed on its final day, a woman came running up to my booth, clutching her copy of my book Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death. "I made it!" she said. "I told my husband I met you yesterday and it was too bad I didn't have my book with me. He asked when the show ended today and told me I still had time to get back here!" Which she did, and I promptly autographed the book for her.

But that wasn't the only reason for her return visit. This time, she brought her cellphone, which contained photos she wanted to show me of an important farmhouse.

You see, Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld was raised on a farm at Lorlie, Saskatchewan, just down the road from Reg "Crash" Harrison, the 102-year-old subject of my book. Reg was a bomber pilot in England in the Second World War who had survived four plane crashes and numerous close calls. I wrote the biography about Reg's childhood on the farm at Finnie, SK, his adventures during his war years, and his life afterward, including being made an Honorary Snowbird by the famed Canadian aerobatics team.

Author-publisher Deana Driver and Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld

When Arlie first spoke with me, she said her sister Loretta was a friend of Reg's youngest sister Sylvia, so she wasn't sure if Reg would know her. Arlie then asked when Reg had last been to the area where they grew up - a question I did not have an answer for. She talked about how she'd been out there recently and had taken photos of the farmhouse. She would have shown them to me except she'd left her phone at home.

So here she was on Day Two of the show, posing for a photo with me and the book, and showing me photos of the farmhouse - the Harrisons' farmhouse, not the house her family lived in!

I was astounded and pleased. I had thought Arlie was talking about photos of her family's farmhouse, not Reg's. This was a great surprise!

Harrison family's farmhouse, Finnie, SK, 2024
Photo by Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld

Side view of Harrison family's farmhouse, Finnie, SK, 2024
Photo by Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld

Harrison family's farmhouse, Finnie SK, 1960
(one of the 98 photos in the Crash Harrison book)

I wish I'd had those recent photos for the book, but I didn't know the house was still standing or I probably would have driven out to take some photos myself.

Oh well. The things you learn after a book has been published.

Thanks, Arlie, for coming back to the craft show and sharing those images with me.

Reg and his daughter Laurie, and his sister Sylvia were all tickled by the reconnection and the photos. They all say, "Hi, neighbour! And thank you!"

Reginald "Crash" Harrison and author Deana J Driver, 2023

Inspiring Crash Harrison book goes to England

An author's wish is that their book will travel to destinations unknown and be appreciated by readers everywhere. In November 2023, my author friend Mary Harelkin Bishop helped my latest book get to England, to the hometown of the subject's parents. And I am grateful.

Reg "Crash" Harrison is a 102-year-old former bomber pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He survived four plane crashes - none of which were his fault - while serving in England during the Second World War. While writing Reg's life story in my award-winning Crash Harrison book, I learned about Reg's family background and his connections to England.

I wrote the book as though Reg was telling his story to the reader:

"My father, William Harrison, was born in the village of Bishop Wilton, about 14 miles east of York in northern England, and my mother, Nellie Harding, grew up in a village called Givendale that was just down the road. Both villages are in Yorkshire county...

"...England lost the cream of its youth in that war. My dad’s village of Bishop Wilton has a church that was built in 1916. There’s a cenotaph there (a memorial to people from that village who died in the First World War). All four sides of that cenotaph are covered with the names of men who never came back, including a family of five sons who were all killed. What a senseless, bloody war," Reg told me.

He went on to say, "As I mentioned, my parents knew each other in England. They dated while my dad was a soldier in the First World War. They got married in 1917, when my dad went home to Bishop Wilton on four days’ leave. After the First World War, my dad had an opportunity to go to New Zealand to work as a policeman, because his father was a policeman in Bishop Wilton. However, my dad really liked Canada and thought there was more opportunity for him here, so he and my mother packed up their belongings and moved to Canada."

Reg was born in 1922 in Saskatchewan, Canada, in the hamlet of Pheasant Forks, southeast of Yorkton. He began sharing more details of his war years when he was in his 80s, and his story has since become the subject of numerous news articles, documentaries, and my book.

Mary Harelkin Bishop has known Reg Harrison for decades, since they attended the same Presbyterian church in Saskatoon. I have worked with Mary for almost 20 years, as an editor and publisher of her work, and she has become a dear friend. In November 2023, Mary and her partner Pete took copies of my Crash Harrison book to England on their vacation. She sent me the photos below.

Thanks, Mary, for making this author's wishes come true!

Mary Harelkin Bishop with Crash Harrison book by Deana J Driver, at Bishop Wilton, England Nov 2023

Mary Harelkin Bishop with Crash Harrison book by Deana J Driver, in Bishop Wilton, England Nov 2023

Mary Harelkin Bishop donated a Crash Harrison book by Deana J Driver to the Pocklington Library, England Nov 2023. "They were pleased to receive it," Mary reports.