Lorina Stephens's Blog, page 96

The View Today from the Old Stone House

It's been awhile since I've updated you on general news around here. Thought I'd take a moment this morning to do so.

Recent Reading & Signing at Neustadt Public LibraryWhile it would seem I was prepared for the event Saturday, March 28 at the Neustadt Public Library, the local residents were not. Four people attended, one of whom was my dear, long-time friend, Vandy Simpson, who, with her husband, Darrell Markewitz, were coming for an overnight visit. My three other guests were familiars in the

Guest Artist: Laurie-Lynn Percy

It never fails to amaze me how many Canadians make all or part of their living in the arts. We write, we paint, we sculpt, photograph and choreograph, compose and create, sing and act. We can't seem to help ourselves. By day we may earn our bread and shelter by serving the retail sector, tallying numbers, upholding justice and caring for the infirm. We may labour in the cold on construction sites, submit ourselves to the repetitive world of the production line. We work in office towers and educa

Indie vs. Corporate Music Careers

An old acquaintance of mine, Heather Dale, posted this insightful article on her blog recently, and I thought the parallels between indie music and publishing were quite remarkably similar.


A decade ago when I started writing a series of articles called 'IndieTips', I called the first one "Label or Independent?" But in the 21st century, that title is no longer appropriate: every working musician these days has (or should have) a record label. The correct question is: "whose label do you work for?

60 Days Review, by Franklin Carter

Paul Lima has written a thin paperback called How to Write a Non-fiction Book in 60 Days . If you are an aspiring writer of non-fiction, you should read Paul’s book and take his advice.

How to Write explains the steps you should follow to create the first draft of a 25,000- to 50,000-word manuscript. Paul’s advice can help you spend time more efficiently, reduce unnecessary frustration and write a well-organized manuscript in just 60 days.

Paul is a business writer in Toronto. He has more than 15 y

An Afternoon with Lorina Stephens

Join the staff at the Neustadt Public Library for readings from, discussions about and book signing of my books, And the Angels Sang, and Shadow Song.

45% of the proceeds from the sale of my books will be donated to the Neustadt Library.

Location: Neustadt Library, 511 Mill Street, Neustadt Ont. N0G 2M0
Phone: 519-799-5830
email: neustadt@wightman.ca
Date & Time: Saturday, March 28, 2009, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.Refreshments will be served.Map[image error]

Some Fun Today

On a completely frivolous note, I've added a Guest Map from Bravenet to the blog, which can find on the right sidebar and scroll down toward the bottom. I encourage you to 'pin' yourself on the map, leave me a note if you like. Would be great to see where all of you are from.

I've been Twittering a great deal the past few weeks. If you Twitter, add me to your list of people you follow. There's a widget on the right sidebar to connect, or I can be found at: http://twitter.com/5rivers.

I'm on Facebo

Guest Author, Simon Rose

I’m pleased today to feature Simon Rose, Canadian young readers author, who was born and raised in Derbyshire, England, and now resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As well as being an author, Simon is an advocate for literacy and the deaf child, helping to raise awareness in association with Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services in Calgary. He also offers a variety of services for writers as well copywriting for the business community and is an instructor with the National Writing for Children Center

Review: Milk

Not since Tom Hanks' s Academy Award winning role in Philadelphia has such a remarkable film been made. A stunning, sensitive, subtle and gutsy performance by Sean Penn, who carries this film almost single-handedly. The story of Harvy Milk, what he stood for, what he advocated, is one that will resonate throughout society for decades to come.

Definitely one of the 'must-see' films for anyone with a social conscience.[image error]

Insightful, Deftly Crafted

With a subject like the controversial George W. Bush, and the directorial pedigree of Oliver Stone, W captured my attention right from the first trailers.

Watching the film was capivating. Without descending to stand-up comedy punches, or perpetuating cliches, Oliver Stone presents a frank, spell-binding film, with remarkable performances by Josh Brolin (George W. Bush), Richard Dreyfuss portraying a convincingly spider-like Dick Cheney, and Scott Glenn the cool trough-guzzler Donald Rumsfeld.

T

Review from Robert Runte: Shadow Song

The following review of Shadow Song appeared on Chapters Community from Robert Runte, former editor of Tesseracts, and sometime reviewer at NeoOpsis.

Superior writing backed by meticulous research and authentic characterization elevates this cultural fantasy to candidate for Great Canadian Novel. Historical romance has ten year old girl thrust into life in 1830s Upper Canada (after sheltered aristocratic upbringing in England) and eventually into learning from First nation's shaman. Fantasy elem