Beauty in the Berry Patch

This International Women's Day, I'm remembering my mother. I've been thinking about my mom a fair bit lately. She's been gone for many years, yet her spirit lives on in me and speaks to me almost daily.

She was a strong one, that woman. Of Polish descent, with a calm nature, she was kind and gentle and rarely raised her voice at the chaos that occurred with five children underfoot. She'd lift one eyebrow or stop whatever she was doing to look directly at us for a second, which was usually enough to settle us down and remind us to do what we were supposed to be doing at that moment.

My mom was a hard worker and went about her daily chores with grace and a strength that inspired others. She volunteered in the community and for her church. She sang and laughed. She joked and routinely made up new words and sounds. As a child, she created "soap opera" stories for her siblings, with them as main characters, while they walked along looking for the cows on their farm. I owe my love of language and creativity to my mother.

In her later years, Mom commented on how she enjoyed being a farmer herself. Although I saw that she loved plants and nature, it was only in rereading parts of a family history book that I had renewed insight into her love of farming. My mom wrote that after teaching for a few years in various districts in central Alberta (before she had any children of her own), she took two courses from Queen's University by correspondence, which she worked on during the weekends. "After passing the exams, I was given my 'Permanent Standard E Certificate. I secretly wished I would never need to use it, for I was much happier being a farm wife. I preferred the hard work on the farm to the stress of teaching," she wrote.

Hmmm... I had never considered that any woman in my family would want to stay on the farm rather than do something that was less strenuous. My dad and brother were fine with a life on the farm. But it was a surprise of sorts to learn that Mom was happiest there too. I and my three sisters were certainly not cut from that same cloth. 

A while ago, I was thinking about my childhood days of picking berries with my mom. Those were sweet moments, not just because we could eat our fill of the delicious fruits, but because we were spending time with our mom. Many times, Mom went out picking berries on her own. This led me to write this poem, an ode to my mother...

Thanks, Mom. For everything.

Therapy Dog Saves A Life

Murphy, the English Springer Spaniel, is a very special dog. He’s the first Therapy Dog to help patients in a Canadian hospital emergency room. He did that in 2015. Last week, he saved a life outside an emergency room in Regina.

Murphy is the subject of the wonderful children’s picture book Murphy Mondays: The First St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog in a Canadian Emergency Room, written by his handler/owner Jane Smith and published by my company, DriverWorks Ink.

Jane contacted me in 2018 to ask if I would help her publish a book about her and Murphy’s volunteer work as a certified therapy dog team. Murphy moved with Jane and her husband Preston to Saskatoon from Nova Scotia in 2014. Since the fall of 2015, they have been visiting the Royal University Hospital Emergency Room in Saskatoon. They have been the subjects of several research papers and studies as well as being models for other therapy dogs.

With financial support from the Royal University Hospital Foundation, we published Murphy Mondays, which has three chapters about their true story: The Child Patients; The Adult Patients; and The Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff. The book is illustrated by Wendi Nordell and also includes 16 photos of Jane and Murphy and other people and places connected to their therapy dog work. Jane has donated proceeds from the book’s sales to the RUH Foundation and St. John Ambulance.

As a therapy dog, Murphy has helped children and adult patients feel more comfortable in emergency rooms and other healthcare facilities, including vaccination clinics and some communities after disasters or traumas.

In November, I was privileged to accompany Jane and Murphy while they visited a young man they had come to know years earlier. I watched as Murphy was his usual calm self when he walked into the room beside Jane. When he saw this young man and heard his voice, Murphy’s tail began to wag rapidly. We all enjoyed watching as this young man lit up with smiles and laughter as he hugged and cuddled with his favourite dog.

Jane wrote about that visit, speaking for Murphy, on their Instagram page murphymondays: “So excited. I haven’t seen this gentleman in years since he moved to another city. I visited him weekly for many years. I love ❤️ him and he me. What a great reunion. He kept asking daily to see me. Finally, we got to hug and cuddle. Found out he travels bi-weekly to Saskatoon, so we are setting up visits at an organization he is a part of. Within minutes of leaving, I was snoring in the car. Gave him my whole heart as usual.”

A few days ago, Jane and Murphy were taking part in a St. John Ambulance crisis response training session in Regina. What happened one night while they were on a break is a remarkable story that highlights the value of these wonderful, gentle animals.

Jane Smith wrote about this event on Instagram, as though her dog Murphy is talking:

“I helped save a life tonight! So getting needed rest on Jane’s lap. In Regina, for crisis response training so I just happened to practice tonight. Went out for a pee and a man who petted me suggested I cheer a motionless person on a bench. It was -26 degrees Celsius with the wind chill. Even I was cold. The man came with Jane and I under a fence and over and through snow. The person did not respond to Jane or the man. However, I got a few grunts when I licked her face. 911 was called. I stood still as could be and didn’t mind the sirens as Jane waved down the fire truck. The firepersons and paramedics got her standing and moving and took her to the ambulance. They thanked us.”

What an incredible story about some pretty amazing people who make up one marvelous St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Team! I’m so honoured to know Jane and Murphy and to help them share their stories.

To read more about Murphy, follow him (and Jane Smith) on Instagram at murphymondays and purchase the book from DriverWorks Ink.

 

Shredding the past and moving into a new year

There's a certain satisfaction that comes with shredding old business files. You see where you have come from, what you've accomplished, who you touched, who touched you, what did not go so well, and what you learned from it.

In shredding business files that are older than seven years, the timeframe after which CRA says you can shred your business/income tax files, I came across many memories. Things I’d forgotten. Things I needed to be reminded of. Things I might want to try again, but maybe in a different way.

I found lovely notes from authors, readers, fans, work colleagues, and family. Little winks were hidden in expense and sales sheets from craft or trade shows and posters for dozens of author readings across the Prairies. I remembered mental images of children and adults who were enthralled to hear about my books and those of the authors I publish. What a precious gift of memories.

The new year will bring more terrific new books to my business. Four marketable books are on my DriverWorks Ink publishing list at present, along with a few that will be produced only for the authors and/or their families. There will be new growth – for my authors and readers, and for me as we learn new concepts from writers who are known and beloved or are new to us.

Onward and upward! Welcome, 2023!

  

Gift ideas for the Book Lover

Searching for a great gift for someone who loves to read? We recommend these terrific books written by Canadian authors. And they’re less than $30 a book!

All titles are available from https://driverworks.ca/books/

Tunnels of Time – Moose Jaw Time Travel Adventure #1. By Mary Harelkin Bishop:

Synopsis: This first book in the five-book series finds thirteen-year-old Andrea unhappily attending a boring family wedding in boring Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Andrea is annoyed that she is not on a class field trip to the mountains, and she barely listens when a local restaurant owner talks about the old days of gangsters and gamblers hiding in the tunnels below Moose Jaw. But when Andrea accidentally falls into one of those tunnels and finds herself back in 1920s Moose Jaw, the stories and danger become real. How will Andrea outsmart the gangsters who are demanding that she work for them? And will she ever see her family again?

Genres, subjects: Juvenile Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Time Travel, Family, Change; Co-operation; Friendship; Determination; Canadian History; Literacy; Education; Learning Resources; Prairie Provinces; Saskatchewan Author; Canadian author.

Audience: For ages 9 to adult

Fun On The Farm 3 – True Tales of Farm Life! Compiled and edited by Deana J. Driver:

Synopsis: Cranky cattle, ornery pigs, curious farm kids, tricky technology, and head-banging farmers are some of the hilarious memories shared by 20 Canadian Prairies writers, including author/ publisher Deana J. Driver, in this third and final volume of the popular Fun On The Farm series. Even more pranks, unexpected events, tricks, and delights of living and working on Western Canadian farms are recorded for posterity and the enjoyment of readers, bringing a satisfying end to this amusing series celebrating the lighter side of farming.

Genres, Subjects: Nonfiction; Anecdotes; Humour; Prairie Provinces; Canadian history; Fun; Farming; Rural life; Family life; Canadian authors.

Audience: Ages 13 to Adult

Don’t They Kick When You Do That? Stories of a Prairie Veterinarian. By Dr. Gary Hoium:

Synopsis: After graduating from veterinary college in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1984, Dr. Gary Hoium joined a mixed animal clinic in Weyburn. He spent the next almost 40 years serving animals of all shapes and sizes, and their human owners/handlers. He collected humorous and heartwarming stories of the creatures he met along the way, and he shares them in this compilation of his real-life adventures, mishaps, and successes. From cattle to hogs, cats to dogs, the creatures and men and women who love them have wormed their way into Gary Hoium’s heart … and his stories.

Genres, Subjects: Humour, Nonfiction; Veterinary medicine; Prairie Provinces; Canadian history; Farming; Rural life; Family life; Canadian author.

Audience: Ages 15 to Adult

 

Cream Money - Stories of Prairie People. Compiled and edited by Deana J. Driver:

Synopsis: In Western Canada in the 1900s, money earned from selling cream helped purchase groceries, fabric, farm supplies, and other items that could not be produced on the farm. While children cherished the occasional candy treat purchased with cream cheque money, children and adults alike enjoyed delicious foods cooked with homemade butter or covered with rich whipped cream. Cream Money honours this bygone era of Prairie farming, celebrating the work of farm families through true stories and poems of how cream money was earned and spent. Stories are written by: Deana J. Driver, Irene K. Bingham, Dora Shwaga, Cornelia Mary Bilinsky, Bryce Burnett, Jean Fahlman, Truus de Gooijer, Brenda Garbutt, Maurice Giroux, Jerry Holfeld, Janice Howden, Ryshia Kennie, Betty Harkness, Marilyn (Brown) Meyers, Linda Mikolayenko, Theodore D. Mikolayenko, Laurie Lynn Muirhead, Marion Mutala, Clara Puddell, Carrie Schemenauer, Carol McCullough, Lilleth Shantz, Eleanor Sinclair, Glenn Swallow, Roy Tollefson, Dexter van Dyke, Eleanor Wagner, Clifford Walker, and Ruth Wildeman.

Genres, Subjects: Nonfiction; Prairie Authors; Canadian Nonfiction; Biography; Prairie Provinces; Anecdotes; Farming; Rural Life; Canadian History; Family Life; Education, Canadian author.

Audience: For ages 13 to Adult

 

Miss G and Me. By Jennifer S. Wallace:

Synopsis: Author Jennifer Wallace explores the background of her mother, Ruth Williamson, aka “Miss G”, who grew up in Jamaica and left there at a young age, under her mother's direction, to pursue a nursing education in England. Ruth then chose her own path, which led her to Canada in the late 1960s. Unlike many immigrants from the Caribbean at that time, Ruth ended up in rural Saskatchewan, working as a nurse while adjusting to the culture and climate of the Canadian Prairies. Jennifer unravels some of the mysteries of her mother’s life, with the use of anecdotes, journals, poetry, and personal essays to weave together the story of Miss G and her mother’s impact on her own family.

Genres, Subjects: Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, Essays, Journals; Black history; Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / African American & Black; Family & Relationships / Multiracial Families; Canadian history; Prairie Provinces; Canadian author.

Audience: Ages 12 to Adult

You Are Enough – Activate Your Angels & Magnetize a Soul-FULL Life. By Lisa Driver:

Synopsis: In this, her fourth spiritual guidebook, award-winning author Lisa Driver will help you reconnect with your spiritual radiance, reminding you of your Divine perfection. She shares her personal journey along with spiritual tools – such as channeled meditations, Angel Activations, exercises, and journal prompts – to help you heal your need to achieve, stop sabotaging yourself, and make room for pockets of rest, reflection, acceptance, and clarity. Feel the love of your angels and ancestors as they encourage you to let go of the past and the pressure you feel. You are loved. You are supported, You Are Enough.

Genres, Subjects: Spiritual wellness; Nonfiction; Healing; Angels; Faith; Health; Biography; Alberta author; Canadian author.

Audience: Ages 15 to Adult

  

Flight - Stories of Canadian Aviation, Vol. 3. By Deana J. Driver & Contributors:

Synopsis: Canadian aviation enthusiasts, pilots, and other aviation personnel share stories of tense flights, perilous routes, historic achievements, impressive flying adventures and more in this salute to Canada’s aviation industry and people. In this third volume of the series, stories revolve around precarious landings, hidden airstrips, annoying passengers, the joys and perils of aerial crop spraying, and more. Six stories and introduction are written by Deana J. Driver and 27 stories are written by 14 other Canadian writers: Bill Cameron, Will Chabun, Richard Dowson, Peter Enzlberger, Mary Harelkin Bishop, Dave McElroy, Vincent Murphy-Dodds, Curtis Penner, Don Riekman, Ralph Tweten, Walter D. Williams, Ken Wilson, Mason Adam Wray, and Bill Wunsch.

Genres, Subjects: Nonfiction; Transportation; Aviation; Short stories; Anecdotes; Aviation history; Military; Canadian history; Prairie Provinces; Canadian authors.

Audience: Ages 13 to Adult

Running the Riders - My Decade as CEO of Canada's Team. By Jim Hopson with Darrell Davis:

Synopsis: In 2004, offensive lineman-turned-educator Jim Hopson was hopeful that the floundering Saskatchewan Roughriders directors would hire him as the team’s first full-time president and CEO. He believed that the team, with its incredible fan base, could become a successful business that consistently posted strong annual profits while playing in and winning multiple Grey Cups. And it happened. After a decade under Hopson’s leadership (2005 to 2015), the Roughriders became the Canadian Football League's strongest franchise. This is Jim’s story of the struggles, successes, and steps taken to victory. Darrell Davis, an author and long-time sportswriter and Roughriders-beat writer at the Regina Leader-Post, assisted Jim in co-authoring this book.

Genres, Subjects: Nonfiction; Saskatchewan Roughriders; Sports; Canadian Football League; Prairie Provinces; Business; Leadership; Education; Saskatchewan teacher; Saskatchewan author; Canadian author.

Audience: Ages 15 to Adult

The Sailor and the Christmas Trees - A True Story. By Deana Driver:

Synopsis: As a sailor in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, John Hanlon of Brandon, Manitoba, knew they would be at sea on Christmas Day 1944. So when they docked in St. John's, Newfoundland, he decided that he and some other sailors should go up a nearby hill and cut down a few evergreen trees, then hide them on the ship. ​On Christmas morning 1944, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on their way back to Canada from England, John and his friends pulled out those trees and surprised their fellow shipmates with a hearty “Merry Christmas” wish! They also shared this unexpected Christmas gift with some small English children on another ship in that convoy, who were being transported to safety in Canada.

Genres, Subjects: Children's nonfiction; Second World War; Canadian history; Canadian sailor; Royal Canadian Navy; Royal Canadian Legion; Canadian war hero; Inspirational nonfiction; Early reader; Manitoba sailor; Saskatchewan author; Canadian author.

Audience: Ages 8 and Up

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

Synopsis: Bob Elliott, a 19-year-old Canadian tank commander, met Sussie Cretier, a feisty 10-year-old Dutch girl, during the Second World War. Sussie's family had run across a minefield, dodging German bullets to seek refuge with the Canadian soldiers. Sussie quickly became a good-luck charm and beacon of hope for the weary Canadian troops. On Christmas Day 1944, the Canadians honoured their little adopted soldier with a special Army-style coat they ordered from a local seamstress. Decades later, the relationship between Sussie (Sue) and Bob not only endured but flourished. Due to this book, Sue’s little coat is now a Canadian artifact in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Genres, Subjects: Nonfiction; Canadian history; Second World War; Canadian hero; Dutch girl; Canadian Armed Forces; Netherlands; Inspirational nonfiction; Biography; Love story; Literacy; Canadian War Museum; Canadian wartime artifact; Sussie Cretier's child’s coat; Royal Canadian Legion; Saskatchewan author; Canadian author.

Audience: Ages 10 to Adult

Reconnecting with a special friend and unique story in Brandon MB

As an author and book publisher, I am often asked, "Where do you get your stories from?"

Sometimes, I find the stories or book subjects by researching and asking questions, the way I did when I was a freelance journalist writing for various Canadian newspapers and magazines.

Sometimes, the stories walk into my line of vision or hearing, as was the case when my daughter Lisa told me about the indomitable Dionne Warner, the seven-time cancer survivor who was about to speak at a Relay for Life rally in Regina in July 2011 (which made me think Dionne's story was worthy of a great book, which I would go on to write and publish - Never Leave Your Wingman).

Sometimes, as in the case of the book I wrote about former Royal Canadian Navy man John Hanlon of Brandon, Manitoba, the story comes to me through a friend of a friend.

In about 2011, a dear friend of mine, Dexter van Dyke, suggested that he knew of a story that his friend, Elaine Rounds of Brandon, had told him about an elderly man who did something wonderful during the Second World War. 

In November 1944, John Hanlon was a wireless operator on the HMCS Royalmount, which was docked in St. John's, Newfoundland at the time. John knew their convoy would be at sea on Christmas Day, so he and a couple crewmates walked up a hill in St. John's Harbour and cut down some evergreens. John hid those trees in the belly of his ship and pulled them out weeks later, on Christmas morning, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean - surprising his crewmates as well as some English children who were on another ship in that convoy, coming to a safe home in Canada. John's forward-thinking made that wartime Christmas a very memorable day for many people for decades to come.

John had been telling this Christmas 1944 story to his children, grandchildren, his United Church community, and Royal Canadian Legion members at Christmastime for decades after the Second World War ended.

Elaine had told Dexter about the story. Then Dexter told me. We all knew it would make a great book. So I asked Dexter to connect me with Elaine and, thus, John Hanlon.

I met Elaine Rounds in Brandon in May 2012, based only on an introduction via Dexter. Elaine became an instant friend and we have spoken and seen each other several times in the years since then. That first day, she took me and my husband Al to the care home in which John Hanlon was a resident. John's wife Audrey told me the story while John, unable to speak at times at age 90, nuzzled in beside me and bumped my leg when the story got interesting.

Before I left John's room that day, I promised him and Audrey that I would write his special Christmas trees story before that Christmas and I would donate some money from each book to the Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund, which helps veterans and their families). John Hanlon passed away a few days after our meeting.

I fulfilled my promise and wrote The Sailor and the Christmas Trees book a couple months later in a style as though John was telling his Christmas trees story to the reader. When I phoned Audrey to read her what I had written, to make sure I had the details correct, she said, "I can hear John's voice." This brought tears to her eyes and to mine. A nonfiction writer cannot receive a bigger compliment.

I added a biography of John to the back of the book and invited artist Catherine Folnovic to illustrate the first half of the book, with family photos completing the biography. In a spur-of-the-moment decision that first day in Brandon, I had asked Al to take a photo of me with John, Audrey, and Elaine in John's small room. That photo has been a precious memory ever since.

This past weekend, I was storm-stayed in Brandon after a successful weekend at the Brandon's Big One Arts & Crafts Sale. Deciding to not take a chance on driving back to Regina in bad weather, I opted for a hotel room and I also made a phone call to Elaine Rounds to see if we could connect again. We met for supper and spent three glorious hours bringing each other up to date on our lives, relishing in our friendship, and celebrating the wonderful people who brought us together.

Thank you to Dexter, John, and Audrey. But thank you, especially, to Elaine, who knows a very good story when she sees one.

Elaine Rounds and Deana Driver
in Brandon, MB - Oct. 24, 2022

Angel Signs and a new Spiritual Healing Book

Hello, beautiful souls.

I thought I'd share some fascinating angel signs that happened to me/ for me this week.

I don't ask for angel signs often. Maybe a couple times a year.

Perhaps it's because my daughter Lisa Driver is a spiritual healer and angel card reader, among other talents, or because of my own intuition and spiritual views, or the things I've learned in editing and publishing Lisa's first three amazing spiritual guidebooks. (This is also a hint that her fourth book, You Are Enough: Activate Your Angels & Magnetize a Soul-FULL Life - being released in October - will blow your mind! Here's a link to her Kickstarter crowdfunding project, where you can preorder the book at a discount and receive other offerings including channelled meditations and private readings - http://kck.st/3AQVknK)

Anyway... Angel signs have just kind of appeared in front of me randomly since my mom passed away in 2011 and Lisa began training in spiritual healing the following year. Coins, feathers, dragonflies, butterflies...

But back to this week.

I've been pondering something for the last few days, overthinking it as usual (cause that's what I do and it isn't annoying at all).

So I finally decided to ask for a sign while I was driving one day and listening to the radio.

"If I'm meant to go this way, I need to hear a song about an angel," I stubbornly thought. "Good luck with that, Universe," was my follow-up thought, putting no pressure at all on the Universe to deliver.

So I kept driving. I changed the radio station a couple times, then I zoned out and began daydreaming about this and that and this again...

Then I noticed the song playing on the radio...

"My blood runs cold

My memory has just been sold

My angel is the centrefold

Angel is the centrefold..."

In that uptempo song by J. Geils Band, the word "angel" is repeated many, many times.

Well played, Universe. Well played.

The next afternoon, I was standing in my backyard, watering my flowers, when a big, gorgeous blue-green hummingbird flew in. It landed on one and then another zinnia flower, then flew over to a second patch beneath my sunflowers to touch on three more flowers!

I haven't seen a hummingbird in my yard for at least 10 years!

I didn't have a camera, so I'm sure it flew slower than usual and stayed longer than usual so I could imprint the images in my memory.

(Below is a photo of my zinnias and sunflowers. Imagine the lovely bird enjoying the end of this year's flowers.)

I guess I got my answer, huh?

P.S. Lisa Driver's first three spiritual guidebooks can be purchased from this page - https://www.driverworks.ca/healing--wellness.html

Our books won Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Three of our books published by DriverWorks Ink in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada have won Next Generation Indie Book Awards!

Such exciting news!

Fun On The Farm 3 - True Tales of Farm Life, compiled and edited by Deana J. Driver, was a finalist in humor/ comedy.

The book shares more funny stories of growing up on, working on, visiting and/or living on a farm. Twenty Prairie writers including author/ publisher Deana J. Driver tell their tales of annoying cattle, overly curious farm kids, stubborn pigs, confusing technology, and more. This is the third and final volume of the popular Fun On The Farm series and has been described as "even funnier than the first two!"

(A donation form books sold is being made to the Lung Association of Saskatchewan in honour of the Driver family's history of respiratory illnesses.)

Flight - Stories of Canadian Aviation, Vol. 3, by Deana J. Driver and Contributors, was a finalist in the anthology category.

This third volume of the Flight series shares stories of dangerous landings, mid-air optical illusions, hidden airstrips, irritating passengers, and long-distance flights carrying rehabilitated birds and other animals. There are 33 short stories plus an introduction – 6 stories and introduction written by author/editor/publisher Deana J. Driver and 27 stories written by 14 other Canadian writers: Bill Cameron, Will Chabun, Richard Dowson, Peter Enzlberger, Mary Harelkin Bishop, Dave McElroy, Vincent Murphy-Dodds, Curtis Penner, Don Riekman, Ralph Tweten, Walter D. Williams, Ken Wilson, Mason Adam Wray, and Bill Wunsch.

We've been told it's a great addition to the Flight series. "What wonderful reading – astonished at the work you did in putting the book together!"

Don't They Kick When You Do That - Stories of a Prairie Veterinarian by Dr. Gary Hoium was a finalist in career/ memoir.

If you like the James Herriot series All Creatures Great and Small, you'll enjoy Dr. Gary Hoium's amusing stories of his adventures, experiences, and interactions as a mixed-animal veterinarian in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Gary's style of writing is humorous, heartwarming, and illuminating - with fascinating insights into the people and animals he worked with during his 40 years as a veterinarian. Tales of cattle, squirrels, hogs, dogs, cats, sheep, and the men and women who love them are wrapped up in Don't They Kick When You Do That? "This witty vet is highly entertaining," said a reviewer.

(A donation from books sold is being made to the Saskatchewan Cancer Foundation in memory of Gary's sister Lois.)

Thank you to Next Generation Indie Book Awards for these honours!

New Tunnels of Treachery book coming soon from Mary Harelkin Bishop

Author Mary Harelkin Bishop and I are working on our updated edition of the third book in Mary's Moose Jaw Time Travel Adventure series. 

These exciting books for kids, age 9 and up, and adults share the adventures of Andrea and her brother Tony as they go back in time to the dark, dangerous tunnels below Moose Jaw in the 1920s.

Tunnels of Treachery will be released this fall. Stay tuned...

99 Year Old Bomber Pilot an Honorary CF Snowbird

I visited 99-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison in Saskatoon recently to learn more about his fascinating life story, including the four crashes he survived as a bomber pilot during the Second World War. I wrote about those events in Volume 1 of Flight: Stories of Canadian Aviation by Deana J. Driver and Contributors.

But Reg's story deserves to be shared wider and with various audiences around the world.

So this time, Reg and I talked about some other stories that we can share for a new kids' book I am writing about him.

In this video, Reg talks about his first Moose Jaw air show and his special connection to the CF Snowbirds aerobatics team.

Publishing books and sharing the stories of others is no ordinary thing

I’ve spent most of my adult life writing or editing or designing newsletters or book layouts, or publishing and selling books, and I sometimes forget how cool that is. 

So far, I've written five non-fiction books and contributed pieces to more than a dozen other books. And I've published more than 70 books written by 50 or 60 (mostly Western) Canadian writers. That's been my life since I wrote my first book in 2001.

 
My adult daughters sometimes remind me that “most people don’t do this, Mom. They don’t go to a bookstore to sign the books they’ve written.”
 
I've also been reminded that most people aren’t interviewed by the media about what they wrote or published either. Because I was a journalist doing the asking of the questions for 30 years, it was a little strange to suddenly be on the other side of the interviews when I began writing and publishing books, but I quickly got used to it. And since I prefer to put together books that are either fascinating true stories or based on such, members of the media regularly invite me or my authors to talk about our books. Which is wonderful. But, I suppose, not "normal". 

Again, I forget this sometimes ... until I receive a rather panicked call from an author who is facing their first media interview. I then take them through a "pretend interview", with me being the interviewer, and we both relax a little. Usually, it works out well.

So this is the unique sort of world in which I live and work.

But once in a while, I have an interaction with an author or one of the contributing writers for one of the anthologies I've been publishing recently, and I remember the importance and impact of my work again.

Case in point: At a recent open house for the Regina Flying Club, Mason Adam Wray came up to me and introduced himself. We'd talked by email and by phone last year when I edited and published his story (in Volume 3 of the Flight: Stories of Canadian Aviation book series) about sneaking out of a cadet camp in Alberta to check out a derelict aircraft in a nearby "boneyard". 

Mason is a smiley, positive guy who hosts a YouTube channel called Wings of the Prairies. He LOVES aircraft! It was great to meet him in person. We took some photos together and visited off and on throughout the afternoon. 

Mason Adam Wray (left), Deana Driver, and Canadian Aviation Historical Society president Gary Williams at the Regina Flying Club, June 2022

Then Mason told me something that made me stare at him, mouth open, in awe.

He said his complimentary copies of Volume 3 of Flight: Stories of Canadian Aviation had arrived in his mailbox on the day of his wedding.

On his wedding day, people! What kind of crazy timing is that?

He added that his family passed the book between themselves for that entire day and remarked on how proud they were of his achievement in being a published writer.
 
Wow.
 
Let me never forget that story and the beautiful trickle effect of my work.

What I do for a living is not ordinary. Not even close. The books that others and I write and that I publish add significant substance, historical record, and pleasure to readers and to the fabric of Prairie and Canadian culture.

I am often humbled by the people whose stories I share through my writing and publishing efforts. I am honoured that they trust me to do that storytelling. 

I never forget that!

How I published a book by Gridiron Greats Hall of Famer Jim Hopson

On May 20, 2022, Jim Hopson, a Canadian Football Hall of Famer, was inducted into Mike Ditka’s Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame at a banquet in Chicago.

Former Chicago Bears NFL coach Mike Ditka’s Hall of Fame recognizes NFL and CFL personnel for their player contributions and charitable work off the field. Jim was president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 10 eventful and successful years, and has volunteered for numerous community organizations including the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association.

This is the story of how I published a book written by the indomitable, inspiring Jim Hopson.

Running the Riders  - My Decade as CEO of Canada's Team by Jim Hopson with Darrell Davis

One day in early 2015, Darrell Davis, a former long-time sports writer for the Regina Leader-Post, phoned me to inquire about my interest in a book project. “Jim Hopson wants to write a book,” Darrell told me. “I said I would help him. Do you want to publish it?”

The conversation wasn’t as simple as that, and I have liberally paraphrased what we discussed, but that was the gist of it.

I was immediately intrigued.

Anyone who knows anything about sports in Saskatchewan knows the name “Jim Hopson”. Not just that he is a former football player who then led the Riders organization through some turbulent times and toward a profit and a couple of Grey Cup wins during his CEO period, but he is also known as a good guy and a fan favourite. Jim is a big man with a big, friendly personality, who gets things done.

I quickly conversed with my husband, Al, who was helping me in my publishing business at the time. Al would have to agree to this project since he would be the main person to edit this book.

You see, Al had been a copy editor in the sports and news departments of the Regina Leader-Post for decades prior to taking early retirement from his news editor position in 2008. Al was also a sports geek. He could happily spew a long list of sports statistics (alongside his sports editor colleague Rob Vanstone and others at the newspaper), and he had also edited hundreds of Darrell Davis's sports stories over the years as well as two books, Saskatchewan Roughriders – First 100 Years and Regina Pats – A Winning Tradition, for which Darrell Davis was a co-author. I was not surprised when Al quickly signed on to help with this book, which we would come to call Running the Riders: My Decade as CEO of Canada’s Team by Jim Hopson with Darrell Davis.

I had met Jim Hopson briefly at one point prior to this project, but Al knew him on a more personal level. They had both gone to the same high school in Regina and were on the same football team, with Jim a few years ahead of Al. When Jim and his wife Brenda later sent me photos to include in the Running the Riders book, it was a delightful surprise to find the teenage Al peering out of a 1968 Thom Trojans team photo, sitting two rows back and to the left of Jim, who was happily occupying the centre spot in the front row.

1968 Thom Trojans team photo. Jim Hopson is front row centre, #60.
Al Driver is third row, fifth from the right.

By the time Darrell called me in early 2015 about this proposed book project, he had already worked with Jim on creating an outline of the book and Jim had written several chapters in longhand. This handwritten method worked best for Jim, and as Darrell later typed Jim’s words into a computer, Darrell was able to adjust them where needed and add some sports statistics to complete the story.

Shortly after Al and I agreed to take on the project, Darrell provided me with a synopsis, which became the description on the back cover of the Running the Riders book: 

“The Saskatchewan Roughriders were mired in mediocrity, a decent football team that couldn’t advance to the Grey Cup as the franchise worked its way out of financial distress and tried to reconnect with its fan base. In 2004, offensive lineman-turned-educator Jim Hopson was hopeful that the Roughriders directors would hire him as the team’s first full-time president and CEO. He believed that the team, with its incredible fan base, could become a successful business that consistently posted strong annual profits while playing in and winning multiple Grey Cups.

And it happened. After a decade under Hopson’s leadership (2005 to 2015), the Roughriders became the Canadian Football League’s strongest franchise, appearing in four Grey Cup games (winning twice) and selling more team merchandise than the other eight CFL franchises combined. They obliterated their debt and posted a record-setting profit of $10.4 million after winning a hometown Grey Cup in 2013, which has been described as the biggest moment in the 105-year-old team’s history.

Hopson’s book, with the assistance of Darrell Davis (an author and long-time sports writer and Roughriders beat writer at the Regina Leader-Post), describes Hopson’s business plans, the resistance to change within the organization, the interplay with the fans of Rider Nation, difficult decisions made, and the euphoria of winning two league championships.

An emotional man with a firm disposition, Jim Hopson describes the highs and lows that went along with the job and the path he took, professionally and personally, to the biggest office with the franchise known as ‘Canada’s Team’.”

A few months after that initial phone call, Al and I met with Darrell and Jim at a nearby pub to sign our publishing contract and talk more about the project. These three men regularly veered off topic and exchanged tales of the good old days of playing the game, who they each knew, and how those people are doing these days. I didn’t mind. After all, I’d lived with Al for almost 40 years, so I was used to frequent forays into the sports world. He’d taught me all about high school football early on in our marriage, when he was covering that sport for the newspaper, and we’d had season tickets to Riders games in the 1980s – when I found that the most interesting thing on the field was often the players’ butts. Yes, I said it, and it still holds true. The 1980s were not the best years for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. And we were paying a babysitter at the time too – but that’s another story.

Now, back to the meeting with Jim and Darrell…

It was swell. It was a fun get-together that also accomplished our goals of sorting out details of the book’s style, format, selling locations, and more.

DriverWorks Ink publisher Deana Driver with Jim Hopson, Darrell Davis, and Al Driver, ‎June ‎20, ‎2015

The timing was right to publish a book about Jim’s career. He had just retired from the Riders organization and had left the team in a strong position, financially and on the field. We wanted a book out by that fall, in time for Christmas gift-giving, so we worked hard and fast.

I contacted Ian Hamilton, another Leader-Post sports writer, to help Al and me edit the book. He agreed and we were grateful for his additional eyes on the manuscript. Bill Dubecky of Royal Studios had been the Riders’ photographer for decades, and he graciously supplied many photos to use in the book. Erika Folnovic, a local artist, created the beautiful cover design. The Saskatchewan Roughrider organization gave us permission to publish some of their photos and use their team colours, and they later sold books in their stores across the province. Creative Saskatchewan provided us with a book publishing grant to assist with costs. To all these individuals and organizations, we are grateful.

Bad news came in August 2015, at the height of production, when Al was suddenly diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. He – and we – decided to fight it and to stay positive. Amid his stints in and out of hospital, our work continued on the book.

Al Driver editing the Running the Riders book Oct 2015

Al edited the final manuscript in early October as Ian and I met and compared notes on the typos or other details we’d each found that needed correction. I put all the pieces together and sent the layouts to Houghton Boston Printers in Saskatoon, a printer we work closely with on most of our nonfiction books. We had a book in our hands on October 30^th, 2015!

Jim Hopson and his wife, Brenda Edwards, and co-contributor Darrell Davis see their new Running the Riders book.

The Running the Riders book was a big hit!

We had to order a reprint after selling 3,400 softcover books in only two months – an extraordinary accomplishment for a little publishing house, but not surprising given the story Jim and Darrell told. We also created hardcover and e-book editions of Running the Riders, which puts our book into the Canadian national bestseller category with more than 5,000 books sold.

Bad news struck again last year when Jim Hopson was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. Strangely, it is the same illness that took Al in early January 2016, but their cancer stories are not the same.

Jim Hopson recently spoke publicly about his cancer diagnosis to Murray McCormick of the Regina Leader-Post in this article about his Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame induction. 

I’ve chatted with Jim a few times in this last year, and I continue to wish him and his family all the best. Anything I could have said that would be helpful, I have said to Jim.

Cancer sucks. That’s a supreme understatement.

Jim Hopson signing more Running the Riders books, Sept. 2021

It has been and is fun, lots of laughs, and quite an honour to work with Jim and Darrell and their Running the Riders book. None of us could have imagined the journey this would take us on, but I know we are all grateful that we came together for this project. Oh, the things we have enjoyed, learned, and shared.

The last words in this blog post go to Darrell Davis and Jim Hopson, as I quote from the epilogue in their Running the Riders book:

Hopson understood his position put him in the forefront of a franchise whose every move is scrutinized, yet he never ducked a question or avoided an issue. When Hopson said he wanted me to help him write this book, I asked him why he chose me, considering that we often had conflicting viewpoints during the years we worked “together.” He said he wanted to write an honest book, but he also wanted to be challenged while relating his uplifting, positive story of growing up in Regina to become the Roughriders’ president. He ultimately gave the book to me on hundreds of hand-written pages for typing and “embellishing.”

That’s how I describe my contributions, considering that I had already written about many of his Riders adventures as part of my newspaper work.

“It was important that when the book was done, people would say it was credible,” Hopson says. “I didn’t try to gloss over the bad stuff by just talking about the good. We had our challenges and there’s no way I would present myself as always making the best decision. I made more good decisions than bad decisions, but if you’re going to be a leader, you had better expect that you’re going to have challenges.”

(Signed copies of Running the Riders by Jim Hopson with Darrell Davis are available here.)