All alone

It's one of those all too rare afternoons. I'm home alone. What to do? I light a candle. Then answer the phone. Yes, I tell my overly-health conscious university-going son. I'll marinate those chicken breasts for you. Then I sneak myself a glass of wine - in the best house glass. Right. I don't have to sneak. Only the black cat - who's too old to see properly - and the golden dog - who doesn't care - can see what I'm doing.

The phone rings again. Teenage daughter at her weekend job. She forgot her cellphone. Could I drop it off when I walk the canine? Sure. Then I wait. Will the husband come home, saying he forgot his wallet? I listen for the sound of wheels in the snowy driveway. But the peace of silence stays on.

And then I walk around the house and think. Things aren't so bad, are they? I have a house, warm with twenty-some years of memories. I've finally got myself that new couch I promised to get when my first book came out. I have books - okay, just one of mine - but shelves and shelves and shelves of wonderful books that I've spent countless hours reading. I have a sweet little laptop which lets me access the whole internet for way more time than I should.

But this time alone is too precious to share with my laptop. I stare at the little candle - my fireplace substitute - and I think. Things aren't so bad. Things really aren't so bad.

And then I marinate the chicken, fold some laundry, sweep the floor, and pile on the gear to face a prairie January walk with the dog to drop off the cellphone.

Marie Halun Bloch

I recently discovered the author Marie Halun Bloch. Several of her books focus on 20th century Ukrainian issues, which was what attracted me to her work. Bloch was born in Ukraine in 1910 - making her a bit older than my mom. She immigrated to the States in 1914 - so that would be before the Bolshevik Revolution. Very good timing on her parents' part. Bloch died in 1998.

I managed to track down two of her books for young people. The Two Worlds of Damyan (published by Atheneum in 1966) tells the story of a young student living in Kiev who uses the Dniepro River to practice swimming. In his dreams, he's swimming at the Olympics against the Americans. Considering this was written in '66 - this Soviet competition against the Americans would be strong.

The two worlds mentioned in the title are the Soviet world and the private family lives. In the Soviet world there is no religion and no Ukraine. In the private family world, they celebrate Christmas and also the dream of Ukrainian independence.

In Displaced Person (William Morrow, 1978) Bloch explores the confusion of a young boy - a Ukrainian refugee. He, along with the Ost workers - young people forced into labour by the Nazis - don't want to return to the Soviet homeland. The climax occurs when the Soviets and the Americans share and divide the many war refugees from eastern Europe. At one point, Bloch refers to the forced repatriation and massacre at Lienz, Austria in May of 1945.

It's an important book because it tells a true story about the casualties of war that has received little attention. Here's a quote:

"It would appear ever so neat and orderly - for only orderly wars are fought in history books - with dates fore and aft to box them nicely in. But everyone who had been there would know it all for a lie. Because the truth was anarchy and chaos, friends where enemies should be and enemies among one's own..." (page 103)

My only question is: why did it take me until 2012 to read these books? I hope they get reprinted, because interest in these issues is continuing to grow.

Off the couch and into the cold!

I wanted to just be lazy. I wanted to curl up with the characters of a good book. I wanted to spend some quality time doing nothing with my canine. Instead...

I headed out into the cold, windy Winnipeg night. I scoured the Exchange District for a parking spot. I slip-slided over the ice-covered sidewalks. I went for the discomfort of attending an event, where I would hardly know anyone and feel nervous and awkward. And...

I had fun. Had some good Christmas baking, and mingled with some local writers - warm and friendly, not at all intimidating - kind of like my good dog - minus the cold nose.

I suppose my biggest thrill was meeting Dora Dueck. Dora is the author of This Hidden Thing. The novel won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award in 2011. It's an excellent book - one of my favorites - about an immigrant woman's experience coming to Canada. The storyline is compelling and the writing is exquisite. I'm sure I've posted about it earlier.

I also got to re-connect with Carla Keist who writes a regular landscaping column in a local newspaper. I was very happy to hear the story of how she got to have this regular writing gig and what it's doing for her writing career.

Another person I met was Sally Ito, contributor to a Pacific Rim blog about children's lit. The Paper Tiger is definitely worth repeat visits. During the open mic, Sally shared part of her grandfather's memoir about the Pearl Harbor attack. Very fitting since December 7th is the anniversary.

Speaking of open mics, Jodi, from my critique group (we call ourselves The Anita Factor - in honor of our inspiring mentor, Anita Daher) braved the unknown and read from her WIP. She had the audience laughing out loud, which isn't surprising since Jodi is a very funny writer and animated speaker. No doubt she'll post her experience on her blog.

All in all, the evening was well worth the effort. Thanks to Anita Daher for doing so much organizing on behalf of the Writers Union of Canada. Thanks to the Manitoba Writers' Guild for hosting the event. I'm proud to belong!

Reading Local

I'm on my last book - the last of my Prairie Horizon shopping spree. I bought seven novels and two picture books. I have so enjoyed these books. All are by Canadian publishers. Several of them are by Coteau Books - a Regina publisher. One was by Thistledown from Saskatoon, another one by Dundurn Press and finally, the first of this grouping, was by Tundra Books.

It's been fun reading local. Kind of like eating local, you know. Just gives me a great since of community. They've all been historical fiction up until now. This last one, Drummer Girl by Karen Bass, is contemporary. Back to the present!

What fun it would be to teach novels to kids. You can cover history, science, geography, social issues, family relationships, etc. just by reading novels. I'm sure math could be worked in there, too. Books! One of the most amazing inventions ever created!

Prisoner of War memoir

Just finished reading a memoir called The Night is full of Stars by Friedrich Schmitz-Herberg. The book was first written in German in 1949, shortly after the author's release from Soviet captivity. The English translation didn't come out until October, 2009.

This book appealed to me because both my parents were prisoners-of-war in the USSR. My mom was released in 1947 due to failing health and my father came out in November, 1949. The final transport of German prisoners-of-war from Russia, didn't go home until 1955.

My father had a friend who was captured by the Americans and spent several years in continental USA. He has fond memories of his prisoner-of-war time. Clean, white sheets and an opportunity to take courses.

Now I'm reading the diary of a Canadian taken prisoner-of-war by the Germans. Interesting to compare the experiences.

Made in Manitoba

Fellow Manitoba writer, Jodi Carmichael, has a started a Made in Manitoba series of author interviews. (Yours truly is her first guest). I look forward to reading interviews of other local authors. It's fascinating to learn how writers work to achieve their goals.

There's a lot of Made in Manitoba talent. Maybe it's our long winters, or our bright clear skies, or maybe it's the saskatoon berries, or the great Shoal Lake water, or ... whatever. We have an energized and varied bunch of authors, and there's another bumper crop just ripening.

Here's the link: http://writingandotherlifelessons.blogspot.com/

Jodi's blog is a witty, inspiring place to spend some time. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Comparing three historical books

I just noticed that the last three books I read were historical fiction. So, being into historical fiction writing myself, I thought it'd be prudent of me to take a moment and reflect on the differences and similarities with these three books.

The books are (in order of my reading them):

*Shane Peacock's Eye of the Crow

*Karen Bass's Run like Jäger

*Adele Dueck's Racing Home

Similarities:

I picked up all three at the recent CANSCAIP event in Lumsden.

All three are by Canadian authors. Peacock comes from Ontario, Bass from Alberta, and Dueck from Saskatchewan.

All three books are published by Canadian publishers. Peacock by Tundra in Toronto and the other two are published by Coteau in Regina.

All three books have a male protagonist. Peacock's book features a thirteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes. Running like Jäger has seventeen-year-old Karl. And in Racing Home the main character is twelve-year-old Erik.

All three are told as third person narrative - except for the excerpts in Bass's book where Herr Brandt shares his stories. These are told as first person.

Differences:

As you can imagine, there are many, many differences. I'll just mention the obvious.

*Peacock's story happens in 1867, in London, England.

*Bass's is set in mostly two places - Berlin and through-out WWII battle scenes - with a focus on the eastern front; and in two time periods - now and during WWII.

*Dueck's is set on the Saskatchewan prairie around 1908/9.

But in the end all three stories solve an external mystery, while learning something about themselves. Not all the mysteries were as obvious as solving a crime, like in the Peacock book. Bass's book attempts to solve the mystery of what it really was like to be a German during the war. And in Dueck's book, the external mystery to be solved is quite minor, while the emphasis is on a much deeper, inner issue. As the reader, I closed each book feeling richer because of learning something about a place and time different than my own; but also richer, because I was privy to a character's development. All three were people books - character-driven.

Aren't we all so curious about why people do things? Writers get to dig into people's psyche and try to figure out the secrets behind the actions. Whether it's fantasy, contemporary, or historical - story is like math. This plus this equals this. Oh, dear. I'm off on a tangent. Time to go.

P.S. One more similarity - all three are highly recommended!