Mimi Power and Magnifico: an author's blog

Not your average Joes It's been a season of Joes. First, back in March, was the Joe who gave Daughter #1 her first skiing lesson. Joe Stephens, an instructor at Big White . We were there while Husband took a few photographs; none of us had any plans (or ability, really) to ski. We shared a gondola ride with Joe up to the Village, and his boisterous British enthusiasm convinced our 12-year-old to "give it a go". She did, she loved it, and we'll always remember him as "Give it a Go, Joe". This past week, Husband and I had the privilege of meeting a new Joe-- Joe Calendino (shown above, as photographed by Husband). This Joe's a survivor--he lived through the grim depths of gang life and drug addiction to emerge healthy, sober and now working to help at-risk youth make better life choices. Joe Calendino's life story became the inspiration behind the gritty stage play, Let Me Up! which, after successful runs in Vancouver and Surrey, took full-house aud...

Change is afoot. Mammoth change. Every conversation I have about books these days, I'm looking for the answer to the question: "What is the future of printed books?" No one is entirely sure, whether they become curios of bygone days, or succeed in holding their own as e-books and book apps take their place on the literary stage. Six months ago, I was afraid for "the book". Not so anymore. Because the one thing that everyone who answers the question is sure of is that stories will survive. So I'm going to believe there's room for both, and that readerships will only improve thanks to the online word. One can either sit on the sidelines, or park one's fears there, stride on in and find out what the opportunities are. Thinking this way, I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before I get in on the App. In the meantime, I'm learning all I can. And one mentor I'd recommend to any writer, or creator, is Crystal Stranaghan . That's Cry...

So much better than the trip last year! Scroll down to April 4, 2010's posting to see what I mean.

Just today signed a new book contract with Tradewind Books here in Vancouver! Details, and some teasers from the story, to follow in future entries. Stay tuned!

Finding "Baby Octopus" is our absolute favourite summer memory. Who ever sees them this small? My older daughter found it in a tidepool on a beach on Denman Island. When I was her age (11) we would sometimes see them off the James Bay breakwater in Victoria, but they were full grown giants by then, sculling about. We let this little guy go into his tidepool shortly after the picture was taken, and when a tiny crab tried to pinch a tentacle, he shot away under a rock, feisty as a firecracker!

I've been thinking a lot lately about Nobody Particular while scanning the paper for the latest on the oil leak into the Gulf. Everyone's attention span these days is like a computer, with multiple windows open, one of them constantly fixed on a little window on that leaking pipe and whether or not they've fixed that gushing catastrophe. When the top kill operation failed, something very dark settled in my mind. And that is when a remembered Nobody Particular . Molly Bang's unique rendering of the story of Diane Wilson and her fight to protect the Texas bays from rampant chemical pollution. The story is often dark, and takes discouraging turns, which in real life must have been unimaginably difficult for Wilson. My 11-year-old daughter read our copy of Nobody Particular book after school this afternoon. When I asked her what she thought of Diane, she said, "I think she's strong". (I thought "brave", close enough!) It will take many strong Dian...

One of the things I love about accordion music is that it can go so many places in a single song. Musicians seem to travel with the notes, and where they start is not always where they wind up. It's not all neat and tidy, modern accordionists seem to want to take it everywhere it can possibly go. This conversation with Accordion Noir co-hosts Bruce and Rowan, started in the dark studio of Co-op Radio in the downtown Eastside, and then went a whole bunch of places, over to Strathcona, across the waters to James Bay in Victoria, Oak Bay Secondary (where I graduated high school), Kamloops, where the Candidos finally settled and where my Dad was raised... It was one of those talks that brings a lot of points on your life map together, I really enjoyed meeting the voices of Accordion Noir, and having the luxury of an hour's reflection. There's a special treat for those who listen right through to the end -- Rowan's hilarious takeoff of a Nine Inch Nails tune.

The guidebooks all agreed: May and June are the best time of year to visit the Grand Canyon. So we went in March instead. View here the consequences, minus the skin-chapping, finger freezing feeling of standing in a storm at 6,000 feet. It was unimaginable to the four of us that we would arrive at the edge of the Grand Canyon, and still not be able to SEE it. Every photograph I've ever looked at of the Grand Canyon has it bathed in the perpetual warm light. Over a mile deep in places and 277 miles long, it still seems unthinkable that weather can all but obliterate one of the world's most famous landscapes. Never underestimate, dear reader, the visual obstruction of a good snow-plus-hailstorm. Weather trumps all.

November through January is birthday season and of course, Christmas, in our house. It's the time of year when I get the least writing done, but the most cakes baked. And those cakes matter just as much as stories, as all mothers-who-write know.

Sometimes it's nice to turn off the iPod on the way home and just read a book. I finished Hadley Dyer's Johnny Kellock Died Today this way, and it was a welcomel companion. The Norman family may be a bit rough around the edges, but the wise-cracking dialogue and thoughtful observations of main character Rosalie Norman come shining through. It was a treat to spend some time around "Mama's kitchen table" with the Normans while Rosalie figured out a few things about family secrets, friendship and how far someone will go for a fresh start. No wonder Johnny Kellock wound up an award-winner so many times over.

This was such a special visit. I lug the little student accordion that I traded my mother's old wheezy one for to almost every presentation. Just for show. And I always ask if there is someone who might be able to play it, since I can't. This time, at Confederation Park in Burnaby, we were all in for a surprise. One of the students seems to have the knack of it and played the theme song from "Star Wars" as part of her repetoire. It was a great night, I signed books in the parking lot under a cold, starry sky because it was after 9 and the school had to close. I am very glad I met so many book lovers from Confederation Park--parents, staff and kids-- many of whom have a knack for telling a good accordion story of their own!

Now this was a great moment. These two are in the Education Program at UBC. The class they are currently working with is reading Magnifico -- which made me happy to hear. We met at Authorfest 2009 on the UBC campus and they were just brimming with enthusiasm in a way I hope all new teachers are. I'm sure the highlight for everyone was the headliner, Robert Bateman , and his powerful talk about overpopulation and consumerism. Tiffany Stone was the lighter side of the equation and got us all on our feet at one point, I'm pretty sure. Then there's me, sort of a mixed bag of sentimentalism and stories, crammed into 15 minutes. So although an animal theme brought us together, it was a very eclectic program. Bateman had one simple piece of advice for families that bears repeating. "Every family should take a nature walk once a week." In our house, we generally do, but it is easy to retreat from nature in the winter and we haven't been out, really out, in a while....

There is a certain kind of mess in my 10-year-old daughter's room that I have a very high tolerance for. That is, books strewn all over the bed and carpet. Every once in a while I will go up and find books pulled from her shelf and sprawled everywhere. They're all books she's already read, and clearly she's looking for something. I respect it as a private thing, but it makes me curious. It also makes me proud. Quite often, I'll find books in the mix authored by friends, and many times, that means a book of Tiffany Stone 's whimsical, one-of-a-kind poetry. I'm never surprised by how often my daughter pulls these books out, the poetry is perfectly paired with block-cut style illustrations that suit it to a T. I caught up with Tiffany at Authorfest at UBC this week. Her three children are keeping her busy, and she's getting ready to launch a book of MATH poetry. She's also keeping up with what is quite possibly the world's cutest website . I can...

Christmas came for me in November this year, when Magnifico won the 2008 F.G. Bressani prize in the novel category. I was thrilled to be able to attend the awards ceremony at the Italian Cultural Centre (can you see it in my face?). A few days later, I gave an email interview to Anna Foschi, founder of the prize. Here's what she asked, and my replies: What was your first reaction when you learned that you had won the 2008 Bressani prize for the novel category? I am tremendously glad that there is such a prize that connects heritage with literature. For me, the Bressani award is an affirmation of time well spent. It makes me feel that the year I lived every extra moment working on the story was worthwhile. Once a book is published, it goes beyond the author and all that matters is whether it captures the reader’s heart and interest. A prize says this must have happened with the jurors, and they have discovered a book they would like others to know about. There is something else,...

By now you know what a bad blogger I am, that it has to be a really BIG deal to get me to update my blog. Anyone who's done a Barbie cake for the first time knows what I'm talking about. You can't wait for the party to be over so you can throw a picture up on the web, even if your blog is about books, you will do anything to diverge from the subject and show your Barbie cake to the world. There are dozens of websites chronicling the trials and tribulations of doing a Barbie cake. This is just my proof that if I can do it, you can to! All it takes is about $60 of upfront supplies (you could do it for less, but if you are like me and have fear of failure, you will buy more supplies than you need) a night to bake and then the next night to decorate. Give not up if the first hour of decorating leads to a steady strain of self recriminations of the "why did I decide to do this" and mental comparisons to the much better cakes your mother made for you. Persevere! It'...

Remember the feeling you had in school waiting for the cast list to come out, in the hopes you were on it? Or the posting of the honour roll? Making the first string of the basketball team? (I imagine this feels the same, but definitely can't say from experience). Well, when the 2008/09 Red Cedars were announced, that's how I felt. I've wistfully studied the annual Red Cedar poster for years now, hoping that Magnifico would share in the limelight one day. And it has!! I'm thrilled! Of course, the wonderful but dreaded "Cheese Pirates" have made an appearance as well. "Hamish X" won the Manitoba Young Readers Book Award, a well-deserved triumph, which nonetheless gave me my first experience with Magnifico in the truth that it's enough to be nominated. Same feeling with the outcome of the Chocolate Lily awards and Rocky Mountain Book Awards. Still, it's been a great ride for Magnifico , peaking with this year's Red Cedars--the fourth li...

Left to right, this year's Henry Bergh award-winning authors : Barbara Cole; Mary Alice Monroe; Helen Wilbur; Beth Finke; Maribeth Bolts; Sue Ann Alderson; Me; Joanne Ryder and a very talented book designer of "Ape" whose name slips my mind (very sorry!). I was so impressed by these authors. Beth Finke is not only beautifully dressed in this picture, but had us all in stitches with her straight-up sense of humour about life with a seeing-eye dog. It was lovely to see Sue Ann Alderson , also from Vancouver and a talented author on Tradewind Books list. Vancouver has a very close community of children's book writers but I haven't seen Sue Ann in a few years, so it was especially nice to be reunited with awards in our hands. Mary Alice Monroe is the talented novelist of some beautiful books, including "Time is a River" which I borrowed from the North Vancouver Public Library and thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to Joanne Ryder for reminding us all of the impo...

One of the events the ASPCA treated authors of this year's Henry Bergh books was a chance to visit and read at the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA), a local Anaheim animal shelter, on June 29th. So if I look a little flushed in this picture, well, it was warm and I was unlucky enough to have come down with stomach flu the day before. Proceeds from the sale of the books that day were donated to SEAACA and benefit homeless animals in the area. It's an absolutely lovely shelter and every inch is immaculate, what a great refuge the staff provide for those animals. We learned later that they have a very high adoption rate, no surprise in such a welcoming place. The real surprise of the day was "Henry", a little black dog on the loose on the streets of Anaheim. He was running in such a confused and startled way we could tell he hadn't just raced ahead of his owner, he was definitely on his own, skittish and scared. We spotted him when we were just a fe...

A big thank you to the Canadian Children's Book Centre for including Old Mother Bear on their list of Best Books for Kids and Teens 2008 . Molly and I very much appreciate the affirmation!

Years ago, when "Sea Otter Pup' received an "Our Choice" seal from the Canadian Children's Book Centre, a little boy at a school reading pointed to it--I think he was too young to read--and said, "that means it's GOOD!" Exactly. Old Mother Bear now has her own seal of approval, the 2007 Henry Bergh Award from the ASPCA for the category of fiction, ecology & environment. The ASPCA's definition of "GOOD", in Henry Bergh terms, is "to honor books that promote the humane ethic of compassion and respect for all living things." In doing a little "who was Henry Bergh?" research, I came upon this quote attributed to him "Mercy to animals means mercy to mankind." It is one more way we find our humanity, when we extend kindness beyond our own species. I'm so glad "Old Mother Bear" is seen to have done this. So glad.