Starting a Fun Fall ... with Photos

The busy fall trade show season has begun for us and, if the Carlyle Homespun show on the weekend was any indication, it's going to be a fun fall for DriverWorks Ink publishers!

Al and I were pleased that so many people came to our DriverWorks Ink booth in Carlyle SK to buy more of our inspiring  'Saskatchewan and Prairie Stories' after they had purchased books from us last year. We heard particularly wonderful comments and compliments about Never Leave Your Wingman, The Little Coat and Prairie Pilot.  It was nice to introduce them to three new books: The Inquiring Reporter, Egg Money and Our Lamps Were Heavy, and hear their stories of how much they enjoyed a particular book and why.

Several children had read Seeds of Hope or Moving Forward in school. Some remarked they had giggled while reading Running of the Buffalo or Letters to Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver. And even though I'd written my first book in 2001, Just a Bunch of Farmers was still a popular title as well.

So here's a little photo journey of our weekend. Enjoy!

Businesses in Carlyle, SK had these signs up, welcoming everyone to their excellent Homespun craft show.

 

Here we are, selling our books at our trade show booth, Carlyle Homespun, Sept. 2012.

 

 

This made my writer's heart soar. A gentleman purchased Just A Bunch of Farmers: The Story of Weyburn Inland Terminal - the first book I ever wrote (in 2001) and the one that led me further into this lovely adventure that is now DriverWorks Ink book publishing.  He then promptly took a break from the busy trade show and sat down and started reading it.

 

We drove more than two hours from Carlyle back to Regina after the show, taking the longer way home to enjoy a different drive than we had taken to get there. I couldn't help but pull out my little camera and take a pile of snapshots of our beautiful Saskatchewan as it flew by outside our window.  

 

Straw bales lined up and ready for the winter.

 

The changing of the seasons... the leaves are turning colour and the air is getting cooler.

 

A couple of farm implements waiting to be called into service.

As we turned a corner, a rainbow came into view. How lovely!

Swaths of grain waiting to be combined.

 A lonely but proud barn. What stories could it tell?

 

The sky was dark and ominous... Saskatchewan is known as the Land of Living Skies, after all.

As we headed west, the lighting was more in my favour. Here's a farm yard with all its interesting buildings.

You can see for miles/kilometres in southern Saskatchewan. And if you're lucky, you catch a glimpse of a freight train as well.

 This is my favourite photo of the group. It looks like a painting, but it really is a scene I shot with my little Olympus camera as we drove down the highway. Beautiful!

 

Harvest is coming to an end for this year, but this combine was still working hard.

 

 And here it is... heading into the sunset and entering Regina, Saskatchewan. (Sorry about the bug guts on the window.)

Home sweet home...

Authors - Bring your reader with you

I love how a good book can take you away to another place, on another journey through another person's story.

It is the author's job to bring the reader along on the journey with your characters as they make their way through struggles and triumphs, love and loss. I try to keep a broad group of readers in my head when I write and keep their varied age groups and interests in mind as I construct my sentences and paragraphs.

Don't leave out the grandmother when you tell of young love, and don't ignore the teenager in a passage about death. Let young and old celebrate your characters' birthdays and weddings, discoveries and confusions together.

 

The best way to do that is to write your characters with depth and strength - even if they are weak. I've found the conversations and thoughts of my characters have always had more impact with readers than a description of their hair colour or body build.

 

Help your readers to intimately know your characters and care about them. Your readers will not be disapppointed and a wonderful journey will occur for all.

 

 

The great people of Viking, AB

Last week, we had the pleasure of visiting the town of Viking, Alberta - and meeting some more fine Prairie people. They invited me to talk specifically about the inspiring Never Leave Your Wingman book but all of our books were showcased and much appreciated (as evidenced by the purchases after the talk).

Here's a photo story of our time in Viking:

                       This beautiful mural is painted on a store on Main Street, Viking, AB.

 

 

 

Various businesses, including the local newspaper, were splashed with pink to support the Wild Pink Yonder trail riders - who were coming to town a few days later, raising money for breast cancer research.

 

 

 

My talk was held in the Viking Station Teahouse, a train station that was beautifully renovated to become a tea room and home for the local arts community. (I only had to stop talking once as a train horn blasted in the background outside these windows.)

 

 

Here, I am sure I am saying something profound and wildly amusing!

 

                  We enjoyed viewing the work of local artists, of which trolls were a common theme.

And here we are at the entrance to Troll Park. Note the elaborate head gear we're wearing. More on that later.

 

 

Troll Mountain. Do not climb on it, says the sign.

 

 

 

Three Billy Goats Gruff...

 

 

A Viking longship, of course.

 

 

Ah yes... the Viking helmets. The town of Viking hosted a group that reenacted the Vikings' arrival in North America. The fancy helmets above are some of those used to help the town celebrate its Norwegian history. Our hostess Sylvia Hoffman kindly offered us these helmets to bring home to our grandsons. The hats were happily and humourously worn at the next family gathering!

 

P.S. Did you know that the everyday Viking helmets did not have horns? Face plates, yes - but horns, no.

P.S.S. A special thank-you to Sylvia Hoffman for inviting us. From The Weekly Review (Viking, Alberta) August 21 issue:  'Hoffman says, "We became aware of Deana last year and have placed several of her books in the library. I liked the idea of promoting her books because they are about Canadians and are well written." '

 

 

 

 

Our books are now E-books

A wonderful feeling of acomplishment and anxiety (surprise... I'm a writer!) came over me on Saturday afternoon while we were sitting at an outdoor barbecue with relatives. A woman we hadn't seen for years decided to type my name into her iPad to see if she could find any of the books I've written in an e-book form, because that is how she reads these days.

We had sent one of the books I've written and several of the other ones we've published to be converted and sold by different retailers. Temporarily forgetting the scheduled release dates for the e-books, I told her our titles would not be available as e-books until the end of the month.

Imagine my surprise when my name and my Never Leave Your Wingman book popped up in iBooks! Then Prairie Pilot popped up! It has my name prominently listed as editor because the author passed away years ago and I am the face of that inspiring book as well.

Imagine my further surprise when I realized it was August 18 and it had been a few weeks since I'd sent the files to be converted into e-books!

Holy moly! That was a little surreal!

I once again felt the type of excitement that overcomes authors when they see their newest book for the first time! All their hard work is there - in a published form before their eyes. All the possibilities stretch before them, and a little touch of fear seeps through them when they fleetingly wonder, 'What if no one reads my book?'

Ah, the life of a writer.

So after the barbecue (and an impromptu celebration dance because so many more people can now read these fabulous inspiring books), I went searching to see what other retailers are already selling our e-books.

We've converted these titles to e-books:

• Never Leave Your Wingman: Dionne and Graham Warner's Story of Hope by Deana J. Driver (that's me!) (non-fiction)
• The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story by Alan J. Buick (non-fiction)
• Prairie Pilot: Lady Luck Was On My Side; The Stories of Walter D. William; Compiled and Edited by Deana J. Driver (non-fiction)
• The Inquiring Reporter by Clay Stacey (non-fiction)
• Letters to Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver by Sharon Gray (humour)
• Seeds of Hope: A Prairie Story by Mary Harelkin Bishop (novel)

So far, Nook, iBooks and Copia are selling our e-books. Within the next few weeks, you will be able to purchase our e-books from these retailers as well: Kobo, Kindle, Blio, eBookPie, and Gardners Books.

So we hope you enjoy our work - in printed or electronic format. And keep on reading. It is one of the most delightful ways to learn and to expand your horizons.

Take care,

The publisher and author (now of an e-book, too!)

    

 

Warm welcome in Wolseley SK

There’s nothing quite like a relaxing Sunday drive in the summer that includes some wonderful scenery, friendly people and a chance to share our passion – our Prairie books!

Al and I were pleased to have that opportunity this past weekend when the good folks of St. James United Church in Wolseley, Saskatchewan invited me to speak during their Sunday morning worship service/informal coffee chat.

I talked about my background as a writer since childhood and as a journalist and contributor to the United Church Observer magazine since 1985. I shared examples of my work and how I got involved in writing and publishing books from 2001 to date. It was a show-and-tell sort of talk as I showed each of the great books we’ve published over the years and shared a bit about how the stories came to me and the people involved.

(Imagine a photo of me talking here. Al forgot to take one...)

The audience was gracious and interested, asking at least a dozen questions after my presentation. Many of the questions will eventually find their way into another blog or a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section of either this blog or our www.driverworks.ca web page.

 For now, here’s a little glimpse of our marvellous day in Wolseley and area…

The sanctuary of St. James United, Wolseley SK. We met in a large downstairs Christian Education room.

Al and I shared our books including Never Leave Your Wingman and The Little Coat, pictured above.

Wolseley has a beautiful dam and a famous swinging bridge in the centre of town.

Al's mom grew up in Wolseley and enjoyed our day trip, including telling us stories of the older plank version of this swinging bridge that she walked across as a youngster.

After the presentation, local master gardener and author Shirley Harris kindly invited us to her home. There, we enjoyed a tour of her grand backyard gardens and glorious flowers including this gladiola.

This is a small section of one of the murals on a building in Wolseley.

After lunch, we drove north of town down into the beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley to what was once the village of Ellisboro.

The Ellisboro Cemetery overlooks the valley. What a peaceful resting place. Al's grandparents, one of his great aunts and other relatives are buried here.

Al learned that his grandfather John Brown helped build the stately but simple Ellisboro United Church.

Just east of Ellisboro is this stone bridge, built by Al's great uncle Bill Merrifield and his crew in 1930. A lovely drive and a history lesson, too!

The swallows are enjoying this bridge across the Qu'Appelle River. There are nests like these at every pillar.

Another kind resident of Wolseley, Kit Campbell, went above and beyond during our visit. In learning Al's mom's family history, she not only provided Mom with a copy of a local history book written by her own  mother, but she invited us to visit the property where Mom's grandparents homesteaded. None of us had been on that land before. It was a wonderful historical moment!

 

Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy. This is the scenic Qu'Appelle Valley.

Making Time to Write

I've decided to write my first children's book. Or will it be a children's book? I'm not quite sure yet, but we'll all know soon enough. I've been collecting the information (and getting the other steps in place to publish it) for awhile. I just have to set aside some time to do the writing.

I've been asked many times about the process I use in writing a book. These are some of my thoughts on that... (also see this blog of mine)

As a journalist for getting close to 40 years (Wow! Time flies when you're having fun!), I have always worked with deadlines. I continued setting my own deadlines for projects when I began freelancing and operating my own business. Some days, deadlines are easier to meet than others, but it is important to set up a process that you follow each and every time you write. That will lead to greater success in achieving the result you want.

These are steps I follow:

- Set aside some time to work on the piece. Whether it is a few hours every day for a certain period of time or a few days in a row where you work on nothing but the one project, this will help you to get your writing done. I also find that once I start a project, I want to keep going to get it finished ... so the most important part is really just starting.

- Minimize distractions. Go to a comfortable spot in your room, house, garden or wherever it is that you like to write and remove yourself from distractions if possible. Some people can write well with the TV or music playing in the background. I am not one of those people. I need to concentrate only on what I am writing without interruption from a catchy song, awesome video or chatty friends or family. As much as I'd like to do so, I have to turn off the Olympics on TV so I can concentrate more fully on work right now. (Decades ago, I began working from an office in our home, so my family long ago learned that when I failed to acknowledge their presence, it meant I was working and they should step quietly away or wait until I stopped to chat with them. Thank you, understanding family!)

- Think about what you want to write well before you sit down to write it. What do you want to say? How do you want to make your point(s)? Will you have tips or questions for your readers? Are you going to include comments from one or two or more people? What's the most important thing you want to say and where in your written piece do you want to say it? Some times, it is easier to write than others. If you have at least the beginnings of a plan before you sit down to write, you will waste less time in the writing process and you'll likely come out the other end with a more meaningful piece.


Happy writing!

And here's a pretty distraction for you... a beautiful day lily.