Nothing better than curling up with a good book on a rainy day.... Check out these four ..

Fretta and Thin by Susan Krupp

The following three books are my babies.

To order your copy of any of the above books just email.

Received from my brother-in-law today -- have to share it because it cracked me UP :-)

UP


Read until the end ... you'll laugh.


This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is'UP.'

 

It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].


It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?


At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?  We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. 

We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.


At other times, this little word has real special meaning. 

 

People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.


To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: 

 

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. 

 

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!


To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. 

 

In a desk-sized dictionary,

 

it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.


If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.  It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.


When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. 

 

When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. 

 

When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. 

 

When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. 

 

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now . . . my time is UP!


Oh . . . one more thing:  What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?


U

P!






Did that one crack you UP?


Don't screw UP. 

 

Send this on to everyone you look UPin your address book . . .

or not . . . it's UP to you.


Now I'll shut UP!

Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival .........

The Elliot Lake Writers' Fall  Festival is going to be an amazing event.

And thanks to all who are stepping up to participate and to assist us with all our early planning.

The Book Fair vendor tables are already all rented to wonderful authors from Elliot Lake; Blind River; Webbwood; and Manitoulin.

And already 15 of the 16 Reader Spots have been filled for our Podium Presentations.

The cover design for Elliot Lake's first publication titled Penpourri, Elliot Lake Writers' Anthology of Stories and Poems is beautifully complete by local artist, Susan Krupp, and has been submitted to Wynterblue Publishing Canada.

So much has been accomplished already but there is still much to be done.  Saturday, October 22nd is going to be an amazing day so please mark your calendar early.

Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival -- Calling All Writers to participate in our free Podium Presentations ..

October 22nd may seem far off but time has a way of disappearing.  I believe early planning will help to ensure the success of the Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival.

Already we have rented the 7 vendor tables in our Book Fair.

Now I am focusing on what we are calling Podium Presentations ......

If you are an author and you would like an opportunity to read from your work to the public I will slot your name into my "readers' roster" for a half hour.

Perhaps you are presenting or attending a workshop in the morning?........then maybe you would like to schedule your 1/2 hour to read in the afternoon or vice versa.

Perhaps you have a vendor's table to sell your books but want to take a half hour away from your table to read.  This reading will help promote your sales.

Perhaps you are a member of an out-of-town writers' group.  Here is your opportunity to promote your work and to hopefully sell some books.

I am hoping that our own ELWW members will want to read from their work.   I plan to talk, promote & read for half an hour and I hope you will want to as well.

The scheduling of the Readers Roster will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Readings will take place  October 22nd  from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the entire day.   Each reader is allotted a half hour to talk about, promote and read from their book. 

To participate is free of charge.

So get back to me ASAP   with your name, your story, poem or book title; and your preference for morning or afternoon reading, okay?

Keep in mind from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. comprises 16 half hours.  Already three authors have booked their time --  therefore the first 13 authors I hear from will have their names slotted into the roster.

Not only will this be an excellent opportunity for authors to present and promote their stories, poems or books.......the "Podium Presentations" will provide wonderful free entertainment to the reading public.  With this in mind all readings must contain language that is suitable for families.

The date of the Writers' Festival is October 22nd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre.  Beside the podium there will be a table where for a half hour you can display some copies of your book to the public.

This free offer is open not only to Elliot Lake Writers but also to authors living out of town who plan to attend our Festival.

Thank you.  And again I will post this email in my blog.   And, remember, word of mouth can go a long way.

Audrey Austin,

    Co-Chair/Secretary Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival.

Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival at the Lester B.Pearson Civic Centre, 9 am to 5 pm with Gala Dinner following at the Renaissance Centre ...

Hi everyone,

At our Book Fair there will be space in the Civic Centre Lobby for 7 vendor tables where authors may sell their books at our Fall Festival Saturday, October 22nd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Those seven tables have been booked by the following authors:

1.  Pen Pourri,  Elliot Lake Writers' Anthology of Stories and Poems

2.  Gloria Hansen

3.  Robert Kucey

4.  Anne K. Albert & Pat Lee (sharing table)

5.  Susan Krupp & Audrey Austin (sharing table)

6.  Blair Sterling (author Blind River)

7.  Manitoulin Writers' Circle

To those of you who have  booked a table please make your payment of $25.00 to ELWW Treasurer, Goldie Luckey,  ASAP.  If paying by cheque please make your cheque payable to Elliot Lake Writers' Workshop.   These monies will go toward helping to pay Festival expenses.

And if I can just say to everyone, in a beautiful town like ours word of mouth goes a long way.  Please tell your friends about the exciting ELWW Fall Festival.   Tell them we will not only have this exciting Book Fair & the launch of ELWW's  first ever Anthology titled Pen Pourri but we will also be offering an exciting morning workshop from 9 a.m. to noon presented by Dr. Ross Pennie on the topic of Memoir Writing and an afternoon workshop from 1 pm to 4 pm presented by Brian Henry on the topic of How to Get Published.  These three hour workshops cost only $25 each with a maximum of 20 participants in each  session so early registration will assure you a place in the classroom.

Tell your friends about the in-place flash writing competitions; one for children and one for adults where entries will be judged and prizes given in both categories.

There will be "Podium Presentations"  where throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. authors will be reading their stories and poems (open mic concept) to an audience.

The writing competitions and "Podium Presentations" are free to the public as is the great entertainment lined up including pianists Ken Little & Denis Morel and Mime Artist; Fran Perkins.

We will have a J. Breen coffee bar set up where people can buy a cup of coffee and this purchase will entitle them to enter a draw wherein they could win a great coffee maker.

At 5 pm the Festival will move from the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre across the road to the Renaissance Centre where there will be a cash bar and at 6 pm a Gala Dinner will be served.   After this dinner our guest speaker, Dr. Ross Pennie; Medical Mystery Novelist, will offer a slide presentation that will be informative and entertaining.   The cost of the three course dinner plus after dinner keynote speaker presentation is $25.  Tickets will be available very soon.

The first ever Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival is going to be a day to remember.  Mark your calendar early, October 22nd and thanks for spreading the word.

Thanks very much and feel free to share this email with your friends who can share it with their friends.   Soon we will have posters and other promotional material available for distribution but It is not too early to start promoting this special event knowing word of mouth is something we can all share with friends in town and out-of-town as well.

I will also be posting this email onto my blog today.  If you have a website or a blog, will you also post this email?  Thank you.

Audrey,

  Secretary & Co/chair Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival.

Sailing the Great Lakes -- a presentation by Jurgen Braunohler will take place June 8th at City Hall ..

Thanks for the notice, and all of your kind efforts
to keep us informed!  I want to let you know that
I have finished the flyer for my June 8th. presentation
"Sailing the Great Lakes" and just e-mailed it to the
Serpent River Region Environmental Association
board for final approval, only moments ago.  As
soon as it is cleared for posting and distribution,
I will send you a copy.

Here's a little more about the presentation itself:
It is a narration of four, major, life-changing sailing
adventures I have had on the Great Lakes.  The
first one was aboard two square-rigged sail training
vessels: The Pathfinder and the Playfair (which I also
helped to build).  The rest, in order, were: an oared
navy whaler with sailing rig that I skippered for the
government to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents;
a yacht cruise with my father; and a sailing dinghy
expedition under a boomtent, during which I
encountered - and joined the Sea Hawks.

Other photos thrown in include dinghy cruising
along the North Shore, crewing (in period garb)
on a replica Royal Navy schooner, a canoe trip,
the submarine adventure, shipping and other things.
It is multi-media, with navigational charts, photos,
artwork, scenery, two short readings of my work and
several humorous anecdotes.  The history, folklore,
geography and environmental issues, as well as the
true nature of the waters at our doorstep will be
presented, from a sailor's perspective rather than the
land-based one we usually see and hear about.

The Poster for Jurgen's Presentation will be posted
soon on this blog.

I am sure this presentation will be an absolute delight
and I hope you will want to attend this event.

Love is .... by Linda Wilkins-Parker

LOVE IS…

LIVING EACH MOMENT IN AWE AND WONDER,

OPENING UP THE HEART AND SOUL WITHOUT FEAR,

VINDICATING THOSE WHO HAVE BROKEN YOUR HEART,

EVOLVING TO SIMPLE, QUIET DEVOTION.

LOVE IS…

LETTING GO OF SCORN AND PREJUDICE,

OFFERING THE HAND OF FRIENDSHIP,

VACATING DARK AND LONELY PLACES,

EXPECTING NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS THAN

          DIVINE, SOUL-SAVING LOVE.

Support our local visual artists ........

Time Thursday, June 9 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location Lester B Pearson Civic Centre, Elliot Lake

More Info:  Come and join us to celebrate the 2nd year anniversary of the co-op art gallery in Elliot Lake.

The event is FREE and will take place on Thurs June 9th at the Civic Centre at 7PM.

All the gallery artists will be in attendance to display and discuss their work. There will be a special exhibition for digital photographer Jeffrey Chi. Food and drinks will be provided FREE of cost.

In addition we will be having a one-night only 20% sale of all artwork in the gallery!

Elliot Lake can be extremely proud of its local visual artists.   We will definitely be there the evening of June 9th to enjoy the celebration.

Elliot Lake literary artists have already enjoyed one collaborative event with visual artists and I hope this is something that will happen again.

20% off all artwork in the Gallery is a fantastic opportunity to have the creations of local artists in your home. 

Mark your calendar!  Check it out!   Hope to see you there.

ELWW Anthology - Penpourri

Members of Elliot Lake Writers' Workshop who are participants in the first Elliot Lake Writers' Anthology of Short Stories and Poetry titled Penpourri will be meeting this afternoon to  choose cover design created by local graphic artist, Susan Krupp.

Special thanks to the Ontario Arts Council for their support regarding the book's cover design.

The Elliot Lake Writers' Fall Festival will be happening Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre, Elliot Lake.

followed by a Gala Dinner at the Renaissance Centre with after dinner

keynote speaker,

Dr. Ross Pennie; Medical Mystery Novelist

The launch of Penpourri will take place at the Festival.

Mark your calendar early.  October 22nd will be a day to remember.

Gallery at the Centre, June 9th -- I've marked my calendar & hope to see you there

Time:	Thursday, June 9 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:	Lester B Pearson Civic Centre, Elliot Lake
More Info	Come and join us to celebrate the 2nd year anniversary of the co-op art gallery in Elliot Lake. The event is FREE and will take place on Thurs June 9th at the Civic Centre at 7PM. All the gallery artists will be in attendance to display and discuss their work. Their will be a special exhibition for digital photographer Jeffrey Chi. Food and drinks will be provided FREE of cost. In addition we will be having a one-night only 20% sale of all artwork in the gallery!

Ebooks

Sara, a Canadian Saga  is now an Ebook for sale at Amazon.com

Although I've been doing my best to help promote sales by my comments on Facebook and Twitter and although Wynterblue Publishing is promoting it on their website, my first Ebook published by Wynterblue Publishing Canada has not sold a single copy yet.

If you are a writer and your books have been published as Ebooks, maybe you will be willing to share your successes and failures?   Maybe you will discuss how you & your publisher have gone about promoting your Ebook?  

I'm sure there is much more I could be doing but since the very fact of an Ebook is brand new to me I have much to experience on this new learning curve.

I wish you lots of sales and if you have helpful information to share with me on this topic it will be much appreciated by me and perhaps it will be helpful to other writers as well.

Bits & pieces

This cloudy morning in Elliot Lake leaves me with nothing but memory of the absolutely gorgeous day yesterday which we spent doing spring clean-up duties in the basement and garage.  Lots of stuff out there for the truck to pick up now though many people came by already and picked up a cupboard here, a table there or something that piqued their fancy.  One man's garbage is another man's treasure, as they say.

Another Writers' Festival Planning Meeting will take place this Thursday at the Civic Centre.  Everything is coming together nicely.  It will be an exciting time when we launch the first ever Elliot Lake Writers' Anthology of Short Stories and Poetry titled Penpourri.

And this is a WOW week for me.  I look forward to meeting with good friends at The Fireside Grill. 

My little Godchild celebrated her 1st birthday recently.  She resides with her Mom far away in Peru.  Happy birthday, Audrey.

Those are my bits & pieces for today.  

SARA, a Canadian Saga now available through Amazon.com

SARA, a Canadian Saga is now an Ebook on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YDQXZK   is the link that will take you to Amazon.com where you will find my first novel SARA, a Canadian Saga , now an Ebook, available for sale.

I've yet to purchase my own Kindle or E-reader and learning about this technology is a new adventure for me.

I know that members of the younger generation are sold on E-readers.

But I was surprised to learn that many seniors prefer the E-books too because of their light weight, ease of handling and I'm told they have the ability to provide a larger print making the reading experience a more pleasant one.  I was also told the chance of waking their sleeping partner at night with the noise of flipping pages has vanished.

If you are someone who prefers to do your reading via an E-book place your order for SARA, a Canadian Saga, via the link above which will take you to Amazon.com

SARA, a Canadian Saga is also still available in paperback. To order your copy just email  me.

Happy Mother's Day

Celebrate the Dance of Motherhood around the world!

Happy Mother's Day!

Good Saturday morning

It is a bright sunny spring morning in Elliot Lake; a perfect day to be outdoors gardening, boating, riding a bike or simply walking with the dog through the woods.

This day is an invitation to  get out the deck chairs and laze in the warmth of the sun's rays; something we have not been receiving a lot of so far this spring.

You've heard the old saying, "Do as I say; not as I do."  

These words are very applicable when I think about the things I will be doing today.   I will be vacuuming, washing, dusting, cleaning ....... you get the idea.

A writer's life can be a busy one and I can say that about my life recently.  There has rarely been a day that I could, with good conscience, set it aside for a needed old-fashioned house cleaning. 

So this is it!  

While you are out there enjoying this day remember the fools like me who are home doing what we think needs to be done.

And while you are relaxing on your deck chair if you feel the desire to read a good book I'm just an email away.  I'll drop the mop and deliver your book to your door if  you live locally.  :-)

Mother's Day is tomorrow.   If you are a last minute shopper consider giving your Mom a book on her special day.  Easy shopping -  just email and we will deliver locally.






So much for my resolve to do housework today.....I could not resist the beautiful weather.   Housework was replaced by yard work and I have the sunburn to prove it. 

Tomorrow is Mother's Day; definitely not a good day for housework.....oh, well, Monday, Monday ....

Computer problems ...........

Due to computer problems I've been unable to do my usual daily posts.   I think (hope) I'm back in business now and I will get back into my daily posting routine tomorrow.

The Silent Star plus a dozen

Thanks to readers who have shared their wonderful feedback with me about the short stories in my anthology The Silent Star plus a dozen.  

Some of the stories included in this book are:  When Bubbles Rise; The Big Book; Freddie's Athabasca;  and of course, The Silent Star.  

There are 13 stories in all and one of them titled In the Forest is a very long poem about domestic violence.

You can learn more about these stories by visiting my website.

To order your copy of The Silent Star plus a dozen I am just an email away.

Cover Design by Susan at Yuneekpix

Election Day and WynLit 24 writing competition

It is election day in Canada.   We are blessed to live in a country where our vote counts for something and where we can vote with confidence and in safety.  My vote is cast.  I hope you will do the same.

The rest of this day has been spent by me writing  a submission for the Wynterblue Publishing Canada Wyn Lit 24 monthly writing competition.   I'm definitely not a horror writer but today I gave it my best shot and had fun completing the challenge.

Election coverage will have me pinned to the TV set this evening.

Osama Bin Laden is now a memory.  Imagine how much sooner they would have caught this man had they not instead wasted time, money and lives destroying Sadam in Iraq.  What's done is done and life goes on:  for some of us anyway.

Congratulations Patricia Scott

Thanks to Darby of Sudbury (pictured above) for drawing the winning entry.  Congratulations to Patricia Scott of Elliot Lake!  She won the free draw; a copy of my first novel titled Sara, a Canadian Saga  at the Trade Show held this weekend.

We had a great weekend.  Blair Sterling, Susan Krupp and myself enjoyed ourselves and thank you to all who purchased books from us.

Last day at the Trade Show

Today is the last chance to meet three local authors at the Elliot Lake Trade Show.  Blair Sterling is there with his two wonderful anthologies of short stories.   Susan Krupp is displaying her beautiful art work and still has some copies available of her first book titled Fretta and Thin.

I'm enjoying myself at my table and have copies of my two novels, SARA, a Canadian Saga  and Reawakening available.  I also have some copies of my short story anthology titled The Silent Star plus a Dozen.

And for those of you who prefer to read Ebooks, my exciting news is that Sara, a Canadian Saga is now also available as an Ebook through Amazon.com

It's a rainy morning here in Elliot Lake.  Come on out and enjoy yourself at the Trade Show.  See you there. :-)