Title: Have-Not, Want-Not by Dina Desveaux, March 31, 2011 Dear Stuart, It’s taken me a little longer than most, but I think I’ve finally figured something out. That’s also why I listen to your show, Stuart. Listening to the letters on the Story Exchange or to your stories about Dave and Morley does something to my soul. And when the old soul stirs, well, you just never know what might come out of that. . . Life’s been a tad stressful this past year, Stuart, so it’s a joy in times like these to listen to the music on your show and to those stories you tell, but last Friday night I witnessed the kind of soul-stirring that makes the heart sing with as much gusto as Matt Anderson did on one of your last shows down East. In fact, it was the kind of night that made me want to scream out the motto of Dave's store, but I’ll get to that later. First, I’d like to give you some background to what it is that made me want to scream like a banshee. You see, Stuart, last August, my family buried our beloved Mom, Thérèse and I’ve attached the obituary I wrote for her WHICH IS NOTHING EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO A SIDE NOTE because she truly was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. So far this is sounding fairly commonplace – after all, we all lose parents, right? And besides, I promised you a story about my heart singing, so I’ll fast forward to two months later. The phone rings. It was a crisp October Sunday morning - the kind of morning when an early frost shines like diamonds on maple trees that themselves look like they’re decked out in red organza dresses and ready for the ball – in other words, the kind of morning one never forgets. It was my brother Paul on the phone asking if I could please head over to the VG hospital to sit with my (then) 32-year old niece, Renée? Well, my first thought was that something had gone wrong with her pregnancy – Renée was about 5 months pregnant for her second child. No, it wasn’t the pregnancy, but a tumour—larger than the baby—that had to be removed. But that emergency surgery would precipitate contractions and so the baby would have to come out first… That was in October, Stuart, and I’m writing this letter to you as the crocus and the lily-of-the-valley are peeking at us here in Halifax. April’s just around the corner. On Friday, my husband and I made the five-hour drive, or four-hour drive depending on which one of us is driving, to my hometown of Chéticamp, located on the most beautiful island in the world, which in case you didn’t know is called Cape Breton (no bias here whatsoever, Stuart, if you don’t believe me just ask Morley). We were heading there to attend a benefit dance for my niece Renée and her family who are now in Toronto where she is undergoing treatments for a rare type of cancer following her recovery from three surgeries, including the first one, the C-section that delivered an early, but healthy baby boy Isaiah Marcus Boyd - 3 lbs 4 oz & 16" long. But here’s the thing, Stuart: Renée didn’t grow up in Chéticamp, or even in Cape Breton for that matter. Her parents moved there when my brother retired whereupon Renée spent one year completing her grade twelve and then moved away. But, the people in Chéticamp are so generous, they wanted to help this struggling family in any way they could. I’d like to remind you that there are less than four thousand people who live there, probably way less than that at this time of year when you count all those snowbirds who haven’t flown back yet. The evening started with a steady stream of musicians walking in dropping their instruments by the stage. I wonder if anyone counted. But, I’m thinking there were between twenty and thirty guitars sitting in front of the stage at one point. Just to give you an idea of some of the folks that turned up: Colin Grant, Mabel Chisholm, Clarence Deveau, Brian Doyle, Groupe Lelièvre, Glen Bourgeois and many more including a young man all the way from Aix-en-Provence, France who’d just landed in Chéticamp the day before, heard the story of my niece and thought he’d bring his guitar in case the family needed musical back-up – this last part could indicate there may be more to the age-old debate between nature and nurture, Stuart –do you think it’s possible there’s something in the air down there? More than $13,000.00 in cash was raised for Renee & her family, not to mention all the volunteer hours by organizers, musicians (backed by an AMAZING sound technician), meat-pie makers and deliverers, and money tabulators. That’s right Stuart, a village on what MoneySense Magazine confirmed again last week was a have-not island. While I was driving back to Halifax, I kept thinking of a quote I once read by Robert Fulghum. It goes something like this: “I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge, That myth is more potent than history. I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts, That hope always triumphs over experience, That laughter is the only cure for grief, And I believe that love is stronger than death.” And so, in closing Stuart, I’d like to raise my glass with heartfelt gratitude to each and every person, whether from Chéticamp, or Sydney, or all the other parts of Cape Breton and the world who give of themselves so generously: Long live the motto of the Vinyl Café: "We May Not Be Big, But We're Small". Sincerely, Dina Desveaux aka TartanFrog (from Chéticamp, now living in Halifax) PS Did I mention my niece Renée is a fan of yours? She had your book in the hospital to lift her spirits:)
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Morning All & Apologies for my absence (still smoke-free: yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!) I see quite a few of you have checked in (probably wondering when the heck this chick would feed you some writing competitions), so here they are: (PS I'll tell you about my crazy friend in the chair ++ tonight's reading after:) 1. Event Non-Fiction Contest! Deadline: April 15th. Although I tend to stick to fiction, I couldn't pass this one up. Despite the steep entry fee ($29.95) for a maximum word count of 5,000, the prizes are as follows: 3 prizes of $500 each + Publication. See here for more details. 2. The Writers' Union of Canada Writing for Children Competition Deadline: April 24; Entry Fee: $15 per entry. $1,500 Prize + Entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three publishers of children's books for consideration. Please see here for more details. Now about my crazy friend!! Tonight, I know a few of you who follow my blog will be at Chris Benjamin's house for a night of readings from the varied voices of Halifax literature where we will carry you to seven new worlds! And I will be resuscitating the world of Isabelle (and her friend Caroline who is based on my crazy friend in the chair:) and taking you to Cape Breton, or what I like to call it: Goddess' country (I let my Newfoundlanders friends have God:) I will be joined by poets Zach Wells and Rachel Lebowitz, as well as novelists Stephanie Domet, Jon Tattrie, Jenni Blackmore, and Chris Benjamin! Oh and Tanya! (aka Caroline) is celebrating a birthday on Monday! Here's to a friendship that has sustained decades and still keeps me smiling! Cheers, TartanFrog P.S. A glimpse of the roads Caroline and I will be driving through in tonight's reading. Even if you can't make it, you can always read the prologue of the book (Garden of the Gods) by clicking here or to read a longer excerpt of the novel you can go to Google Books here. I know, I know - As one of the self-confessed navel-gazing Haligonians, I've been known to snub the other side of the bridge (or anything more than a five-block radius from my perch), but today I'll try to make up for this, one of my MANY faults. . . 1. Tonight (Fri., March 11) from 5 - 7:30, if you're hankering for some muzak, I heartily recommend you head on over to Dartmouth to the Celtic Corner Public House to listen to Dave McIsaac (he's a Cape Breton master of strings) and Louis Benoit (whose style always reminds me of his late father Jarvis). The Pub is at 69 Alderney Drive (464-0764). You'll even get a great view of Halifax from across the harbour:) Unfortunately/fortunately, I won't be there as I'm attending a LOOOOOOONG overdue reunion tonight with some of my dearest group of friends at the Fireside. Beware people who try to capture OUR table by the fireplace. I ALWAYS WIN THAT STAREDOWN!!!!!!!! And now for something different. It's true my passion is for fiction, but who can resist as the thermometer begins to creep up (like a snail, albeit) and the promise of buds lurk just around the corner...A great gift for the gardener in your life: 2. Saturday Book Signing: Jodi Delong will sign Plants for Atlantic Gardens, 2-3:30 p.m., Chapters Bayers Lake. Now, my return into the wacky world of Terry Fallis' The Best Laid Plans -- so far I have to say that the voice in the book hasn't completely won me over, HOWEVER the book has been worth the read if only for pages 1 and 2 of Chapter One -- If you make it to Jodi Delong's signing, do make a point of at least browsing The Best Laid Plans - skip the intro and allow yourself the joy of laughing out loud as you visualize the narrator about falling into dog poop!!!! My favourite line so far: "Airborne, I surveyed the terrain below and, with all the athletic prowess of a quadriplegic walrus, returned safely to earth, touching down on the aforementioned crap cushion." Wishing One & All a FANTABULOUS weekend, TartanFrog Writing Wednesdays: Contests for the writerlies! ++ my two cents on The Birth House by Ami McKay3/9/2011 Ready to submit?! S'Alright, you have a couple of weeks to polish up your contenders - here's the April line-up: 1. April 1st (no it's no April Fool's joke:) Short Grain Writing Contest; Entry Fee: $35; Prizes: $1,000; $750; $500 x 2. For more information, please check out their website. 2. April 15th. From the Shadows Poetry Contest; Entry Fee: $5/3 poems; Prizes: Cash, Membership, Chapbook Publication & Certificates. See their website for details. Two Cents... After listening to Canada Reads I determined to read more Canadian novels. I picked up a few at my local independent bookstore, The Bookmark (great store btw - do check it out if you're in downtown Halifax!!) Last night I finished The Birth House and started The Best Laid Plans. About The Birth House by Ami McKay: In Courtney Klein's review of the Birth House, she began: "Every novel has a message to share, but sometimes the message can come on too strong. The Birth House lacks subtlety and becomes almost overbearing to read." I'm torn by the quote because, on one hand, I agree that instead of letting the message present itself subtly to the reader, the author's opinion shines through the storyline and can prove a little distracting from the plot. Then again, that might not be such a bad thing since the other main weakness I found in The Birth House was its predictable plot points (marrying Hart & falling for Archer - whose characters, like the other men, were somewhat flat). On the other hand, this is a debut novel with MANY fine points, including its writing, which seems to have fallen under the radar amongst the chatter of controversial midwifery and such. McKay is a no-nonsense writer who writes without artifice despite the historical opportunity for flounce and flourish. At its core, The Birth House is a beautiful story with strong female characters. Others have mentioned it, but oh, what's not to love in our techno-age about that rough cut thick paper with all the newspaper clippings, letters, invitations and recipes added in, much the way I imagine a diary or scrapbook would have been kept in that era. And that, together with the fiestiness of Ms. Babineau, is what really drew me in. Set against the historical backdrop of World War 1, the Halifax Explosion (and even the Great Boston Molasses flood), the way Ami Mckay made use of all the stylistics to support the historical content made me want to keep reading despite the fact that I felt the narrative weakened in the last third. All in all, I enjoyed The Birth House (especially timely given the debates going on in Halifax on the topic of midwifery). I would LOVE to see a second edition with an alternate ending that delivers as much spunk as the rest of the novel. In reading about McKay's passion for music, I also can't help wondering whether she might produce another novel set against a musical history backdrop. . . Till then, Pick up some Canadian Fiction!!!!! TartanFrog It's Miscellaneous Mondays - Confused by your own plot, take a break & play with characters instead!3/7/2011 Has the plot of your current story left you feeling a little stumped like this guy above? It happened to me yesterday. So I took a break and worked on a few new characters that will appear in my third novel. So far, my favourite is Dr. Simon Bishop who appears in chapter three: "No one ever forgot Dr. Simon Bishop. Once you laid eyes on him he became a benchmark in your future assessments of how truly bizarre other people you met looked—or came across. Because it wasn’t just how he looked. There was far more to Simon Bishop’s bizarre factor than his physical features though one had to admit his head was quite alarming." So, I've posted two photos below that might inspire you. Personally, I love the photograph of the woman in blue - she could definitely inspire a saga!! If you're looking for more tips on creating interesting characters check out this page from Fiction Factor Magazine. Happy Scribing - TartanFrog I missed yesterday in order to spend time with some special people. Spent the night and first part of my day with my niece and her children as they prepare to leave for Toronto today. I'm sending them off in hopes that my niece's miracle comes true. I then spent the latter part of the day with friends & family of Kim's who passed away earlier this week. A strong personality, Kim always reminded me of the child inside all of us that we sometimes forget amidst the personas we all mirror in adulthood. I look forward to going to Malagash this spring and exploring the places she loved so much as a child and which brought her back here and into our lives. As the song reminded us last night at her place: "Always look on the bright side of life,... ta doump, ta doump, ta doump" A now, I'll post one literary/musical offering for tomorrow: The March Hare Festival Sun., March 6, 8:30 p.m. 422-6335, The Carleton 1685 Argyle Street A travelling festival that will feature poets, authors and musicians (including Alexander MacLeod, Lisa Moore, Ron Hynes, Sue Goyette and more). Click here for more information That's right - as you wait for those spring colours to appear - the purple hyacinths and yellow tulips - why not submit to a writing contest? 1. Novel competition: Chapter One Contest. $500 Prize; Submit January 3 to March 15, 2011. For more information, please click here. 2. The Gemini Magazine SHORT STORYCONTEST GRAND PRIZE: $1,000; 2nd PLACE: $100; HONORABLE MENTION (3) ENTRY FEE: $4; DEADLINE: March 31, 2011 All Five Finalists Will Be Published intThe June 2011 Issue of Gemini For more information on the contest, please click here. Happy Scribing Writerlies, TartanFrog |
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