YAPS

I took the one hour trek to Kitchener today to present at Word on the Street. The nice thing about Kitchener is that it isn't Toronto. It was ever so easy to park because I had a parking pass with a giant R on it, so even though it was pouring rain, I got to my own tent in record time. I haven't been to WOTS in Toronto lately (dare I admit that I avoid it?) because the last time I went, I had to park so far away that it was a real hike to get to the tents. Not fun.

Even though it was pouring rain, there was a good turnout. I did a presentation of Aram's Choice. Because of the venue (open tent, lots of noise) I didn't do a reading, but instead talked about the story behind the story of Aram's Choice. The organizers had put together a craft table for the kids to participate in once my presentation was finished. I was pleased to see that the kids were given materials to make their own individual carrying boxes. I explained during the presentation the significance of boxes in Aram's Choice: each child, upon leaving their temporary refuge in Corfu to begin their journey to Canada was given a wooden box. In that wooden box they placed all of their worldly belongings. Also, the children were not known by their names, but by the number on their boxes. After I did my own presentation and signed some books, I trekked over to a panel discussion on blogging featuring James Bow, Derek Weiler of Q&Q, Aimee Morrison, and Alex Good. During the discussion, Aimee mentioned that most livejournal users were 13 year old girls writing about angst. I think she's wrong about that. What do you think? I have a livejournal account, and I am definitely not 13.

Posted by Marsha Skrypuch at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

As a writer, one of my jobs is to create characters that readers will want to stick with for an entire book or series of books. These characters must be interesting. Something about them must be special or unique - larger than life. I like to read about these types of people, too. I look for books with gutsy heroines - you know the kind; they face the world head-on. You could throw every obstacle imaginable at them, but they will keep on keeping on. They're strong. They're determined. They're what we wish we could be.

Sometimes, those kind of characters pop up in real life. They're usually not flashy and loud about it, but you can just tell just by looking at them that they are the ones to watch. They're going to take the long road, to face disappointments and set backs and keep standing tall. They're going to lead the way so the rest of us can follow.

The new women members of the US Ski Jumping Team are a prime example of what I'm talking about. For most of their athletic careers, they've faced inequity and ignorance, prejudice and discrimination, but they haven't let it slow them down. They dreamed of a chance to compete on a world stage, even when there was no guarantee it would ever happen. They've shown - and continue to show - a man's world what a woman can do.

You want gusty heroine types? Let me introduce you to a few:

LINDSEY VAN started jumping when she was seven years old, back when the Winter Sports Park in Park City was first built as part of the bid to bring the 2002 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake. Lindsey was hooked, and told her mom she wanted to pursue the sport and compete in 2002. She never stopped working toward that goal, even when it meant moving to Lake Placid to train when the jumps in Park City were being reconstructed for the Olympics. 2002 came and went, and Lindsey never got to compete in the Olympics. There is no women's ski-jumping event, you see. It's the only Olympic sport (along with Nordic combined) wherein women are not included.* Still, Lindsey kept at it. The number two jumper in the entire world, she set her sights on the 2006 Olympics. Stil no inclusion for women. Now the goal is 2010.

One of the first things I noticed about JESSICA JEROME was her sense of humor. Even in the face of a lot of disappointment as far as the Olympics are concerned, she always seems to have a smile on her face. Jessica got a little taste of the Olympics in 2006 as one of only two girl frontrunners for the ski jumping event. (This basically means she jumped the hill before the (male) competitors to test speed, wind, etc. As the number three women's ski jumper in the world, she should have been able to compete, not just forerun, but I digress...) Jessica is a role model for scholar athletes everywhere - managing to maintain top grades even with a tough training and competition schedule. Sports Illustrated listed her as one of 2005's 'Noteworthy Faces in the Crowd.' Interesting, but I contend that hers is a face that stands out from the crowd.

ALISSA JOHNSON has guts. In 2003, she wiped out on the K90 and ended up unconscious with a concussion, missing half the skin on her face. A week later, she tied with Lindsey Van for 2nd place on the K90 jump. Later than season, she had another accident, this one requiring surgery and physical therapy and taking her out of the circuit for five months. But if you think that's hard, try this; in 2006, Alissa traveled to Italy for the 2006 Olympics... but only as a spectator. Her younger brother Anders, who will freely admit Alissa is the better athlete, got to jump in the Olympics, but Alissa couldn't because she is a girl. No stranger to pain, Alissa took it like a pro, cheering for Anders and fielding interviews from the international media without letting bitterness overwhelm her. She continues to train hard and looks forward to Vancouver, where, IOC willing, she will not have to watch from the sidelines.

ABBY HUGHES is another tough cookie. She may be the youngest member of the US Ski Jumping Team, but she's not one to let age - or gender - slow her down. Get this - in 2004, she competed as the only girl on the boys' team. (And helped bring her team a second place finish, I might add. In the girls' division, she placed first.)


BRENNA ELLIS isn't afraid to compete in a guy's world, either. When she first started jumping, Brenna competed in the Nordic combined event, which combines ski jumping with cross country (Nordic) skiing. She was often the only girl among all the boys. And she kicked butt! Check out her smile. This is how I always saw her - smiling. Gotta love the attitude.

Here's to gutsy heroines. May you all live happily ever after. Go Vancouver 2010!


* The reasons for Olympic exclusion are complicated and varied - from the downright silly ("It... seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view") to the misinformed ("there may not be enough interest internationally in women's ski jumping.") The FIS (International Federation of Skiing) recently voted to give women a world class event in 2009, which they needed to have in order to qualify for consideration by the Olympic committee. Now the decision rests in the hands of the IOC, who, one presumes, will be wise enough to bring the Olympics into the twenty-first century and include women in ALL Olympic sports.

Posted by Gerb at 1:08 AM | Permalink | Comments

Hi Gang!

Back from my second trip to the UK this year -- this time _mostly_ holiday with a little research thrown in. I am working on a new series that will be set in and around the UK, past and present. The first book of the series is set in Edinburgh and the second is set in London, and I have done a bit of preliminary research on both.

In other news, I do have a new book that will be coming out this spring. More on that when we get the title settled...

Right now, along with the new work-in-progress, I am focusing my attention on the upcoming Surrey International Writers' Conference. I am coordinator of the writing contest this year and this week is the final deadline. I have _stacks_ of stories, articles and poetry around my desk, so it's off to deal with that right now.

Until next time...

~karen

Posted by kc dyer at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know this blog is supposed to be dealing with things literary, so I'll try to make this relevant. As writers, we often look at things differently. We scrutinize things. We try to discover motivations and underlying emotions. And then, in a moment of simplicity, we are presented with an opportunity to see things as they really are. To understand a little bit more about places and the people who live there.


Monday was such a day. I had the priveledge of helping the American School host a group of kids from Kabul, Afghanistan. The only thing I knew about Afghanistan is what I saw on the news - and not much of it good. War, poverty, the Taliban hiding about. Not a very happy place. So it was with great pleasure that I got to meet the extraordinary kids from the MMCC... and to learn how truly ordinary they are.


In explanation, MMCC stands for Mobile Mini Circus for Children, which is an international NGO. In Afghanistan, there are a lot of kids who have been left without homes or families because of war. They seldom smile, let alone laugh. A majority of the towns there don't have schools or even teachers, so the kids we hosted travel around to these areas and try educate other children by acting, singing, doing magic shows and acrobatics - and most importantly, giving them something to smile about. This way, they're able teach the importance of peace, diversity, and women's rights and to educate about health issues such as malaria prevention.

The MMCC kids gave a special performance for the kids at the ASIJ elementary school. In their fancy costumes, they looked different than the other kids. Their beautiful language sounded different than the many other languages we might hear in the ASIJ community. But when they were done performing and they changed into their "regular" clothes, the differences fell away. They played, just like everyone else. The boys played soccer (pheonominally, I might add) and the girls played in the gym, shooting baskets or practicing volleyball serves. Outside, they especially liked the swings and the slides. Just like all the other kids. For all their ethnic and cultural differences, these kids were... kids.


Now, this is nothing new to me. We have about seventeen different nationalities represented at this school at a given time. But it drove home a point. We are all the same. We want the same things. We want to have fun, to be loved, to be happy. That doesn't change according to ethnic group or nationality or culture. For example, as one of the parent volunteers, I helped serve a vegetarian lunch to the MMCC guests. Guess what foods were the favorites? Potato chips and Pepsi! Also, the girls in particular really attached to the volunteers, touching our faces and telling us we were 'cute' or 'beautiful.' (They had learned a little Japanese in preparation for this trip and used the Japanese word for cute, but tried to explain beautiful.) Believe me, I was sincere when I would touch their faces in return and tell them they were beautiful, too. They liked to hold our hands and hug us and call us 'mom,' which was particularly poignant since many of them have no family of their own. They needed that physical contact. Just like any other kid.


That night, I turned on the TV and watched the latest on CNN about a car bombing in Kabul, and my eyes filled with tears. I can no longer see Kabul as some obscure, far away place populated by nameless, faceless people. It is the home of my new friends - Abida, Roona, Mishina, Samira, and little Ansar. This is what they have waiting for them when they return to their country. It breaks my heart.

To my new friends and to all kids wherever you are, from every nationality, ethnicity, culture or religion, may you find peace and joy and all the love you deserve.

Posted by Gerb at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

From August 21 to 25, I was plunged into the midst of Brantford's 3rd annual children's Book Camp and also our first annual adult Book Camp. By Friday, I was exhausted -- in a good way. The week was an outstanding success. Our best Book Camp yet.

Instead of resting after such a busy week, on August 26th, I signed at the Bloor West Festival. I was honoured that the Festival featured Kobzar's Children. It seemed that every 15 minutes or, the announcers broadcast the fact that Kobzar's Children had a booth and that I was there as well as Natalia Buchok, one of the anthology contributors.

Natalia and I decided to get there together. We wanted to arrive at about noon, so I drove to Natalia's Oakville apartment, arriving at 11am and from there we drove to the Kipling subway station. We figured there was no point in driving into Toronto, seeing as the parade was from 11am til noon and roads would be closed. Natalia brought some books with her -- 35 to be exact -- because the organizers only had about 100 copies and we were afraid of running out. Natalia fit her 35 copies into a rolling suitcase.

When you travel with a rolling suitcase, you find out all sorts of things about the public transit system. Like where the elevators are (and that there are elevators) and that it's impossible to roll a suitcase through the subway turnstiles.

So we got there. Our booth was supposed to be at the corner of Bloor and Glendowynne Streets. We got there just before noon. We saw a booth, but it was abandoned. We also noticed that the Festival stopped at Kennedy -- a full block east of where we were supposed to be.

So, with rolling suitcase in hand, we fought our way through the crowds, looking for someone (anyone!) identified as a Festival volunteer. We got to almost what we thought was the end of the festival before finally landing upon the Festival volunteer booth. There we met Natalia Wilson, volunteer extraordinaire. She explained to us that she was not happy with the placement of our booth and was waiting for a new booth location. No sooner had I used the portapotty and Natalia had purchased a plate of perogies than Natalia W and another volunteer led us down the street to the new location. I felt sorry for the other volunteer. He had a cart filled with boxes of books (and also Natalia B's rolling luggage) and he had to maneuvre it through dense crowds and heaving sidewalks. He valiantly pushed forward until Natalia Wilson found the ideal spot -- at Durie and Bloor, immediately to the east of the children's midway and close to the centre of the whole festival!

I stood there with the boxes and Natalia B's suitcase (Natalia was still struggling down the street, perogies in hand) while Natalia W went to find a table and accoutrements for our booth. In the meantime, I stood there with the boxes, feeling like a street hawker. I did get some interesting stares, so I took out one copy of Kobzar's Children and held it in front of me, smiling like an idiot.

Once the table arrived, in a flash, Natalia W got the tablecloth on, the display up and books spread. Within moments, clusters of people arrived. We had a steady cluster til after 4. In fact, neither Natalia B nor I even got a chance to sit down for the whole four hours because it was so busy!

In the midst of our signings, Melanie Melnyk fetched us to be interviewed at the CFRB booth with Ted Woloshyn. What a lovely man! Natalia B had never done live radio before and he put her immediately at ease. He asked intelligent and perceptive questions about the anthology and commented on the fact that such a collection was needed. And then Natalia had an opportunity to talk about her story contribution, based on her father's experience in a DP camp after World War II.

Natalia's story is fabulous. It's called A Bar Of Chocolate and is about a Ukrainian teen in a DP camp who dresses as a girl and goes on a date with an American soldier in order to get some chocolate. Not only is the story true, but it's hilarious.

Many people came to our booth and many had already read Kobzar's Children. Those people had lots of enthusiastic good things to say about the collection. This was Natalia's first signing experience, so I was glad that it was such a positive one. We also sold every book in Natalia's suitcase and almost all of the others on hand.

One problem we had was that both Natalia and I wanted to sign our names plus "Enjoy!" so we had a bit of a contest to see who could grab the book and sign first. Whoever got it second signed "best wishes".

On the Sunday, Connie Bilinsky and Sonja Dunn signed. I heard that their signing was also very well received.

Posted by Marsha Skrypuch at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments