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.

Working on e-books

In the process of adjusting three of our books to the correct layout format for an e-book, I have been reminded of how great these books are ... and how wonderful, sometimes funny, but mostly inspirational, the stories are within them.

Here are a few of my favourite pieces of:

The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story by Alan J. Buick:

Chapter Six - Hell on Earth:

     The first Canadian infantry unit landed at 7:30 a.m. at Juno Beach and although Bob and his crew couldn’t see what was happening, they knew by the massive number of shells and bombs exploding that all hell had broken loose for the men on the beach.

     The Germans were well prepared for an attack, with concrete bunkers that protected their machine gun and antiaircraft emplacements. They also had a formidable force set up

in a big house near the beach, firing their guns from that location. The Queen’s Own Rifles were assigned to attack and secure that house. They achieved this goal but lost more than 100 men within the 100 yards from the shore to that house. (The house was later restored as a memorial to the Queen’s Own Rifles soldiers who lost their lives in that battle.)

     Then the LCTs headed towards shore and it was Bob’s turn to join the battle on land. No amount of training could have readied Bob or his comrades for what they were about to experience. Their LCT came to a halt. Down went the loading ramp and Bob’s tank, the second in line, proceeded to drive off. Every previous landing they had accomplished during training had been onto dry land. This time, the vessel had stopped short and they were driving into six feet of water. Bob was at the controls and could feel the waves tugging at the huge Sherman tank. Now he understood the reason for the waterproofing and flotation devices they had installed before boarding the LCT in England.

     Once on the beach, they came to a standstill. What they saw there was not something anyone should ever have to witness. Dead and wounded soldiers were strewn about the sand like broken, discarded dolls at a landfill. The combination of bodies and the burning and twisted wreckage of jeeps and infantry vehicles made progress impossible.

 

 

Chapter Nine - The little coat:

       “So what are we going to do for Sussie for Christmas?” Bob asked his crew a few days later. “She is our lucky charm and we should give her something.”
       “She could sure use some new clothes,” one of the men suggested. “The ones she’s wearing now have pretty much had it.”
       Their conversation turned to other things for awhile but eventually came back to Sussie and her Christmas gift. “New clothes are a great idea, so let’s do that,” Bob commented. “She badly needs a coat, so we should get her that to begin with, but why don’t we get her some other things to go with the coat, too?
       Maybe some shoes, a sweater and hat and scarf?”
       The men agreed.
       “Okay, we know what we want to give her,” Duke noted, “but how are we going to get all these things? There’s nothing in the stores around here. The Germans made sure of that.”
       The crew fell silent while they pondered this predicament.
       “I hear that some of the locals have been making clothes out of wool Army blankets,” George observed. “Maybe we could do that, too.”
       “Good idea. Yeah, a really good idea,” the others agreed.
       “Okay, that’s great,” Atchy said. “We can find a good Army blanket no problem, but who’s going to make the clothes?”
       “Hey, Bob, did you bring your sewing machine with you?” Duke joked...

Letters to Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver by Sharon Gray:

Portraits of Us:

  Dear Auntie Jennifer,

      LIP (our Live-In Person) announced yesterday that she thinks it is time we had a series of photographs taken.

      This is Oliver speaking.

      Immediately upon this announcement, Maudie went into panic mode. (She is very vain and her beauty is very important to her.)

      Maudie stated that she would have to have her nails done professionally.

      LIP said that would not be possible as no Siamese cat pedicurist within a hundred-mile radius would do it as she has such a bad reputation. LIP said we are not driving out of town to some poor unsuspecting Siamese cat pedicurist so that Maudie can put him/her into early retirement, probably with bodily harm and, for certain, emotional trauma. Maudie will just have to do her nails by herself. I don’t see what the problem is here as Maudie spends about two hours a day doing her nails diligently...

More HAL Business:

 Dear Auntie Jennifer,

     HAL the computer has been living with us for some time now.

     We have not yet got a full read on him, but we are working on it.

     This is Maudie speaking.

     We find that he is really quite boring – until LIP starts to push his buttons. Then an interaction between LIP and HAL starts that is really quite X-rated, Auntie Jennifer. We are going to have to remind LIP to close the windows when the weather gets warmer. The neighbours would not approve.

     We call this LIP-HAL computer speak – quite different than normal computer speak. We do not understand it at all but we know that HAL is also pushing LIP’s buttons. LIP speaks in a tongue very

foreign to us. It is like this, Auntie Jennifer:

     “*&^&()^&^^$#??//*&^!!!!”

     HAL says nothing – just purrs along.

     HAL comes with his own mouse. Imagine! This mouse is not like any known to us. First of all, he has no fur. He is very bald and we can’t seem to get our teeth into him. He is about as boring as HAL

as he shows no fear of us. That is not mouse-like. He has the longest tail we have ever seen. HAL sits on it. We have tried to drag the mouse away from HAL, but HAL will not let go. Control freak.

     One day, LIP came home and found the mouse hanging by his tail from the desk – still, HAL would not let go...

Never Leave Your Wingman: Dionne and Graham Warner's Story of Hope by Deana J. Driver:

Dionne - Growing Up:

     Dionne describes herself as a very spirited person. “I can be stubborn. I’m very strong-willed. Is that the same as stubborn? I’m very passionate and very protective when it comes to my family and my friends. If you hurt them, you hurt me and I’m coming after you!” she says with a laugh.

     Natalie Akoon recalls a time when Dionne did some research to make sure Natalie was safe. “While working at an ad agency, I started getting to know the studio manager and we would hang out

together. I found out that his wife was murdered and I was not 100% sure he was telling me the truth about his innocence. I told Dionne the complete story and she had detective skills I did not know about. She found out where, when, others involved, newspaper clippings of the murder and the person who was charged. She could have been an amazing detective!”

     Dionne has also been known to ask friends’ boyfriends or partners whom she feels might become short-term to step away after the first group photo so that she can take a second photo of just the friends or family. “I’ve said to them, ‘You have to step out because if you two break up, it will ruin this picture.’ Do you know how hard it is to crop people out of a group photo?” she asks with a giggle.

     "I love to laugh. I’ve always felt laughter heals so much. It’s good for you and it makes you feel good inside. I don’t care how stupid I look or what people may say. I just enjoy the laughter.”



The Good Life:

     One of Dionne’s favourite stories from her volunteering days at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre occurred when she was working in the wig room one day. A female patient stuck her head in the doorway and told Dionne, “You look too pretty to be looking after sick people.”

     Dionne asked the patient to come further into the wig room, where Dionne pointed to a snapshot of an attractive bald woman. She asked the patient, “What do you think of this picture?”

     The patient was aghast and said, “What woman would let somebody take a picture of her with no hair?”

     Dionne replied, “Actually, that’s me. I am a four-time cancer survivor. I’ve had breast cancer, brain cancer and two liver cancer surgeries.”

     The patient grew very quiet and then she grabbed Dionne’s hand, looked at her and said, “My dear, if I look as good as you after all my treatments, it will all have been worth it.”

     Dionne had put the photo of her bald self, taken by Graham, on the wall of the wig room in 2005 “because I wanted the women to know that I know what it’s like to be bald. I know what it’s like to try and find that wig that fits so you feel better.”

     Dionne and the patient hugged and laughed. “It was quite a moment for the two of us.”

Pobody's Nerfect #2

Here is my second post on some common errors made by writers (including this writer):

- Incorrect use of words:

• 'Was' and 'were'. eg - Instead of 'If I were to do this', the proper phrase should be 'If I was to do this.' It should be I was and We were.
• 'Who' and 'That'. eg - Instead of 'We spoke to the teacher that gave us the assignment', the proper word relating back to the teacher should be'who'. Persons are a 'who' and inanimate objects are a 'that'. You would not say 'we went to the school who was in our neighbourhoud', would you? (Please say, 'No! Of course I wouldn't!')
• 'Who' and 'whom'. This is a rule that I and many others have not mastered. I have a tendency to rewrite the sentence or eliminate the phrase altogether if I am unsure - which follows a rule I learned in Journalism classes many years ago: "If in doubt, leave it out." The simplest explanations for 'whom' versus 'who' I found were on Yahoo Answers:
  "Who" and "whoever" should be used as a subject; "whom" and "whomever" should be used as objects of prepositions.
  Use 'who' where you would use 'he' or 'she' and 'whom' where you would use 'him' or 'her'. It's quite a bit more complicated than that, though... Check out this page to see if it helps you.

- Consistency is important. I can't stress this enough. For example:

•  If you're going to have one character in your story refer to a friend by his nickname only, keep that style throughout the whole story - unless the name changes for effect such as when the person is yelling at him in fear or is angry at him.
• If the fictional character has blue eyes and wavy blonde hair at the start of the story, she'd better have the same characteristics throughout, unless colouring has been added to either part and that has also been mentioned in the story.
• Check and re-check your dates. A person can't be born in 1980 and be 15 years old in a scene that happens in 1992.

Now - get back to your writing...

Canola (formerly known as rapeseed) ripening in a Saskatchewan field

See Pobody's Nerfect #3.

Just Write

Good day!

Last week, I received this question from someone who recently read my 'To Do' blog:

"First off I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question in which I'd like to ask if you don't mind. I was interested to know how you centre yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing. I have had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there. I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints? Kudos!"

So I thought I would reply in today's blog with two simple words: 

"Just write."

It can be difficult at times to come up with the perfect beginning for any written work, so I often find it helpful to just start typing. I'll write down the other things I want to say in the article, blog or whatever I am working on and eventually the beginning will either write itself or at least come more into focus for me. With the technology we have today, it is a simple process to go back at any point to any spot in your text and do some editing or make additions, etc.

I try to read and re-read what I've written at least three times before I hit the magic 'send' or 'publish' button. (Typos creep into my writing all the time. It's quite annoying, actually. Why doesn't every program have a proper spell-check?)

I always set deadlines for myself and I try hard to meet those deadlines so at least something gets done around here (Ha! Ha!)! (It's important to have self-discipline as a writer and especially as someone who is self-employed, making a living from writing and editing etc.)

I consider options for the best way to start writing a new piece long before I sit down to write it - and I rarely sit at the computer to do that thinking. I'll go for a short walk, water my flower garden (one of the advantages of working in a home-based office), rinse out my tea cup, tidy up my office, look at Facebook or Twitter, or do something else for a few minutes until my self-imposed deadline looms very, very close and then I have to do something!

Some times, a good beginning comes easier to me than others. For two of my books, the inspiration came after an interview with someone. I wrote the Prologue of Never Give Up after a particular interview with Ted Jaleta, the subject of the book.

For Never Leave Your Wingman, I came home from the Pasqua Hospital after standing in the cancer clinic waiting area and then interviewing one of the nurses who had cared for cancer survivor Dionne Warner during Dionne's treatments there. It was winter and I came into our home, sat down on the back step - winter coat and boots still on - and typed the Prologue on my Blackberry! I'd never done that before - but the words were tumbling around in my mind and they had to be captured with whatever I had available! It was pretty cool.

And finally - don't be too hard on yourself. In the world of blogs, there is a lot of imperfection and the readers are a pretty forgiving bunch. If you were ever to write something that was to be published in a book or other format more permanent than a blog - that's what editors are for!

To Do, To Do, To Do!

It's early morning and I'm working on some paperwork for our publishing program in the next year. We sent a book layout for proofreading yesterday and we have a couple more queries from new authors that I need to respond to before the day is out.

Also on our To Do list for the next few weeks and months:
- send the approved layout to the printer, check and approve the proof, etc.
- choose one of two companies we've settled on to help us get some of our titles converted to e-books
- make sure our non-fiction book layouts are up to date with the latest information before conversion to e-books
- choose which photos to incorporate and which to leave out of the e-book layouts, and make those changes
- make more inquiries of American publishers and distributors and at least one other jurisdiction to see if they will take a couple of our titles under their banner
- send some photos of recent book launches and signing events to the authors and others involved in those events
- fine-tune our strategy for upcoming trade shows and signings
- check in with our authors on their availability for promotion and signings in the next while
- Tweet about some upcoming events and see what else is going on in that 'universe'
- work through the 'learning curve' of a new accounting software program
- send contracts to a couple of new authors and illustrators
- talk with an illustrator about our hopes for a new book
- sneak in a little vacation and spend some time enjoying the summer in the company of loved ones

Whew!

Everyone Has a Story

Everybody has a story. Some are just more interesting than others.

I recently spoke with an elderly woman who ordered a book from us but also wanted advice on how to finish her own memoirs. “My son keeps asking about what it was like growing up on the farm, so I thought I’d write it down for him.”

These were my answers to some of her questions:

 -        Yes, Microsoft Word is a good program to use to write your memoirs.

 -        Saving your document/manuscript on your computer and backing it up on a memory stick every time you make changes is a very wise move. To make sure that I always work on the latest version, I add today’s date to the end of my document's name when I save it. You might end up with a lot of versions but at least you’ll quickly see which one is the most recent.

-        Yes, we advise anyone who is interested in publishing a book to utilize the services of a professional editor and layout designer. A do-it-yourself project rarely ends up being or looking professional. If you want people to buy your story, a professional look is essential.

-        It is expensive to print only a handful of copies, so think through your options. Decide early on what you want to accomplish by writing your book. Let that goal guide you throughout the process.

Everyone has a story. Even if you never publish your book, take the time to write down your stories. You will be pleased that you did and the next generation will be grateful to you.

So there you go – some of my thoughts on how to publish your story.

We love documenting memories and history. Thanks for asking.

Here are some great books of memoirs that we have published and are available on our web site:

          

Cancer survivor - book signings in Ontario

Seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner was interviewed on CTV's Canada AM today about her story and the Never Leave Your Wingman book. It was wonderful.

One woman's incredible story
of conquering cancer seven times

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/clip697136#clip696760

I am so pleased that I approached Dionne and Graham in 2009 to ask them to allow me to write their story in a book. I am extra pleased (is there such a thing?) that Dionne has travelled back to Toronto, the city where she was born, to further share her story of hope and the wonderful support she found in her wingman, her husband Graham.

This is her schedule of book signings for the next few days. Please stop by and say hello. You will not be sorry that you met this remarkable, strong survivor.

Tuesday, June 12, 6 pm to 9 pm - Indigo Erin Mills Town Centre, 5015 Glen Erin Dr, Mississauga, ON

Wednesday, June 13, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm - Indigospirit Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON

Thursday, June 14, 5 pm to 8 pm - Chapters Stone Road Mall, Guelph, ON

Friday, June 15, 5 pm to 8 pm - Indigo Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 3401 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON

New hope, New books & More

Seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner
speaking to a provincial palliative care conference

We've had a wonderful but busy few days in our little publishing company. On Thursday, we went to Moose Jaw with seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner, to watch her inspire a palliative care conference audience with her story of hope and laughter - including sharing tales of the antics of her wingman, her fun-loving husband Graham. Then we sold some books, of course.

Dionne Warner received another well-deserved standing ovation!

Friday saw us signing a contract with a Saskatchewan author to help tell her story about the beginnings of a specialized local institution, while also working on the layout of another book - an interesting memoir about someone's career (can't tell you details yet - it would spoil the surprise!).

On Saturday, we continued layout work and packed for Sunday's trip to Saskatoon, to launch Egg Money, A Tribute to Saskatchewan Pioneer Women. That was a fun time! We've been working with the Saskatoon German Days Committee for more than a year on this book project that celebrates all pioneer women through the stories of 24 women who settled in Saskatchewan in the 1800s and early 1900s. We worked with the 24 families, who wrote the biographies, and we were happy to hear the compliments and gratefulness from many of them as they opened up the book at the launch to see the stories of their loved ones preserved for all to enjoy.

Reading the back cover of Egg Money

Some of the people behind the Egg Money book:

Seated left to right: Saskatoon German Days Book Committee members Barbara Stehwien, Brigitte Boldt-Leppin, Rosa Gebhardt & Barbara Hoggard-Lulay
Standing left to right: Sculptors Shirley & Don Begg, Saskatchewan German Council President Ilona Beck, Editor/Publisher Deana Driver, Publisher Al Driver

And we're delighted to have spent today packaging Never Leave Your Wingman books to send to bookstores literally from coast to coast. Oh - didn't we tell you? Cancer survivor Dionne Warner will be interviewed on CTV's Canada AM in Toronto, Ontario on Monday, June 11 at 8 a.m. EST!

She'll share some of how she successfully fought cancer seven times - but most of all, she'll share her story of staying positive, keeping a sense of humour and fighting back to show cancer who's boss! We are so excited to share this remarkable woman's story - and that of her strong, supportive wingman Graham - with many, many more readers across this great country of ours. The world needs a little more hope when dealing with this plague called cancer and we believe Dionne Warner - named by the American Cancer Society to be an International Heroes of Hope Ambassador this year - is one of the best people to help lead the way.

Life is great!

Always something to write or publish

The greatest thing about being a writer who is also a small publisher is that there is always something new to explore and consider writing about or publishing. About a month ago, we (the Mom and Pop of this mom-and-pop business) made plans to spend a few days in Manitoba, our neighbouring province. We just came back from that trip, and it was a blast!

We intended to visit and do a book signing with one of our authors - and we did that on Saturday with Sharon Gray, author of the funny Letters To Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver.

It was a chuckle once again to watch the reactions of bookstore patrons as we told them the book is a series of letters written by two Siamese cats. Yes - cats wrote the book! (With a little help from their LIP - Live-In Person Sharon - who turned on the computer for them, she claims!)

We also brought my Never Leave Your Wingman book to the attention of Winnipeggers again. Everybody loves the concept of seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner and her wingman husband Graham dancing into Dionne's chemo treatments dressed in costume. "Seven times?" and "Wow! That's amazing!" are the most often-heard comments.

We had a couple signings in Winnipeg last year, and it's always great to remind people of the great Prairie books we produce. We talked to at least 80 people (and handed out at least 100 leaflets that show details of all our books) in the two hours we were in the bookstore this weekend, so we are watching southern Manitoba sales in the next few weeks to see the ripple effect from that effort! Come on, Manitoba! It's time to be inspired by our great Prairie stories!

Two other items were on our agenda for the weekend trip to Manitoba.
# 1 - Meet with a person writing a book about a 100-year-old marvel of engineering. We visited the site and met the author and his collaborator and were in awe and appreciation of all three of them.
#2 - We also stopped on our way back to Regina to meet a 90-year-old war veteran in Brandon, Manitoba. He has a unique, heartwarming Christmas story to tell, and I am honoured that he and his wife are allowing me to tell that story in the form of a children's book - which we hope will be published this fall.

So here's to a great weekend full of new ideas and options ... and many more wonderful experiences on these great Canadian Prairies!