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Cora-spondence
March 1st, 2009
Here’s a catch-up on the news since
my last letter.
I had an amazing time touring Prince Edward
Island in November for TD Canadian Children’s Book Week. I
visited four libraries and ten schools in ten different cities and
towns across the Island in five days! From Bloomfield Corner in
the West to Georgetown in the East and up to North Rustico and down
to Borden-Carleton – it was an amazing trip. Wonderful enthusiasm
from the hundreds of students and teachers I met. Walls were adorned
with illustrations students had made from my books. It seems that
students at every school were reading a different one of my books
so the questions were outstanding. Some students at Amherst Cover
School, after reading Ghost Voyages IV: Cartier & Champlain,
had written their own stamp traveller stories.
Of course Canadian Children’s Book Week
wouldn’t be Book Week without a blizzard. I arrived to perfect
Autumn weather but Wednesday night a major snowstorm dumped 15 cm.
of snow on Summerside. A school at Kinkora that I’d visited
earlier had to be closed because of power outages. I feared that
I might have to miss the students as Miscouche but, although the
school didn’t open until late, I was so glad I didn’t
have to disappoint them. They’d been reading the Angelique
series and had wonderful questions and comments.
I am often asked if the best moment of being
an author is when you finally hold the published book in your hand
and, although that is very nice, the best time for me is when I
am able to meet with students who’ve been reading my books.
I love to hear their comments and questions. It makes being an author
so exciting for me.
Who cared that another storm in Charlottetown
Friday night meant that my plane couldn’t leave on Saturday!
I would have loved to stay even longer. I hope I am invited to come
back again some day.
December meant flying back to Edmonton for Christmas. I know that
the Web-page tells you that I’m a collector. Christmas gives
me a chance to bring out my Nutcracker collection. One hundred of
nine so far, all sizes and types from big ones on the floor to little
ones on the tree (they are joined there by cardinals, of course!)
I love Christmas.
After my birthday it was back to Florida and
back to work. By the time you see this the Victoria Callihoo: An
Amazing Life book will be in the printing process.
That means I’ll have two books out in
the Spring. Victoria Callihoo (Eschia Books) is a biography of a
remarkable Metis woman who was born in 1861 and died in 1966. The
other book is number three in The Spy Who Wasn’t There series:
Chaos in China (Coteau Books). After travelling to Greece and Turkey
(Adventure in Istanbul) and Mexico (Murder in Mexico), Sam and the
twins (Jennifer & Maggie) take another ‘educational holiday’
with the girls’ grandmother. Of course things never quite
work out as planned and Sam unknowingly takes a picture of a terrorist,
Jennifer falls over another body and things get worse after that!
Hope everyone enjoys the latest adventure of my travelling threesome.
What’s next? I’m hoping to do
another historical fiction but right now I’m working on a
novel called Finding Melissa about a little girl who’s been
kidnapped and grows up not knowing who she is. This has a bit of
a horror touch and I hope that doesn’t scare away the publishers
so that you never get to read it!
Let me hear from you if you read this. You
can write to me at the Webpage or at <waif@connect.ab.ca>
Happy Reading!
Cora
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