Archive for the ‘books with a strong sense of ‘place’’ Category
little libraries
Do you have a ‘little library’ in your neighborhood? We have a few in the Fredericton area. A community-based book-sharing system, these places encourage reading and neighbourhood spirit. The little library is usually small, a dry place for books on a post. Sometimes there is a stone or stump in front so children can access the books.
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On Sunday, I placed a signed new copy of three books in the little library on University Avenue in Fredericton: ‘within easy reach’ (Jane Spavold Tims, Chapel Street Editions, 2016), ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Jane Spavold Tims, Chapel Street Editions, 2017) and ‘The Back Channels’ (Jennifer Houle, Signature Editions, 2016).
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If these books have already been claimed at the little library, they are available at the Fredericton Public Library. They are also available at Westminster Books in Fredericton. Books make great gifts!!!!!!!
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For more about little free libraries, see https://janetims.com/2016/07/06/little-free-library/
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All my best,
Jane
tweeting about writing
Every day, I write. Today I worked on the story for Book Six in the Meniscus Series — Meniscus:Encounter with the Emenpod. I also did some editing of an upcoming mystery novel I refer to as HHGG. Tomorrow I will be writing poetry for a series about abandoned communities and what happens to plants in abandoned gardens.
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Working back and forth like this between projects at various stages of completion is a great strategy for me. I never get bored, I never get writers’ block and I think shifting projects keeps my writing brain refreshed.
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Besides blogging, I participate in Twitter, sending a tweet almost every day to #amwriting … if you’d like to find out what my writing life is like, follow me at @TimsJane … I report on what I am doing and share a bit of writing wisdom. I’d love it if you would follow along!
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A little about the mystery novel since I tweet most often about it. HHGG is one I wrote in 1997. I have learned a lot since then, so editing makes me laugh. HHGG is about a woman and her two kids who seek summer solace at her old family home. She never dreams she is walking into a village rife with mysteries, some of them stretching back more than a century. I have a few human antagonists, but one who is anything but human!
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Hope you are enjoying your summer and your own writing life!
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All the best,
Jane.
book festival and fair
This weekend, I will be part of the Metro Moncton Book Festival, a great event for all booklovers! Just have a look at all the authors who will be there with their books.
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I will be there with all my books. All my books are illustrated so you can have a look at some of my artwork too.
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Are you interested in edible wild plants? Do you love covered bridges?
Do you love science fiction or a good love story?
If you are the Moncton area, I hope to see you there!
All my best,
Jane
writing with a sense of place
On Thursday this week (March 1,2018) at 7 PM I will be joined by three other authors to celebrate “Writing with a Sense of Place“. The readings are part of an art exhibit at the R.P. Bell Library, Mount Allison University, featuring the book cover and book design work of thirteen graphic artists from New Brunswick working in conjunction with eight regional publishers. My books covers for ‘within easy reach’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2016) and ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2017) have been included in the exhibit. I will be reading poems from in the shelter of the covered bridge and talking a little about the role these bridges play in our landscape.
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Press Release
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The New Brunswick Book Design Exhibit will open at the R.P. Bell Library, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB on March 1st and run through April 19th. The Exhibit showcases the book cover and book design work of thirteen graphic artists from New Brunswick working in conjunction with eight regional publishers.
The Exhibit will open the evening of Thursday, March 1st at 7 pm with a program of readings by NB writers Beth Powning, Allan Cooper, Peter J. Clair, and Jane Tims, all of whom have books included in the display. The theme of the program will be “Writing with a Sense of Place.”
The New Brunswick Book Design Exhibit consists of sixty-three enlarged book cover images mounted on panels for wall display and twenty-nine books for table display. The book cover images illustrate a wide range of design approaches. The books on display provide an engagement with the design and graphic features of high quality printing and fine bookmaking.
A second program of readings will be held on Saturday, March 17th from 10 to 12 p.m. with authors of books for children that are also included in the Exhibit.
The Exhibit will be set up in the main entrance of the R.P. Bell Library and can be viewed during library hours: 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Bell Library is located at 49 York Street on the campus of Mount Allison University. The Exhibit and its programs are open to the public without charge.
The New Brunswick Book Design Exhibit was created Brendan and Keith Helmuth for Word Feast 2017, a St. John River Valley literary festival based in Fredericton. The Exhibit was first on display at the Andrew and Laura McCain Gallery in Florenceville-Bristol and then at Connell House in Woodstock. In September it moved to the Fredericton Public Library. The Exhibit has since been enlarged to include additional examples of NB book cover design.
The Exhibit has been created with the cooperation of Goose Lane Editions, The Fiddlehead, Gaspereau Press, The Anchorage Press, Rabbittown Press, Monster House Publishing, and Chocolate River Publishing. Financial support for the production and display of the Exhibit has been provide by the Royal Bank of Canada, the NB Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism and Chapel Street Editions.
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My book in the shelter of the covered bridge explores the part the covered bridge plays in our New Brunswick landscape, both for plants and animals who live there and for the humans who leave their marks within. I am so proud to be part of the exhibit and the readings. I hope you will be able to attend.
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Jane Tims 2018
Pokiok Falls
Pokiok Stream, about 2011
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On one of our family summer excursions across Canada, my parents stopped along the highway in New Brunswick to see the Pokiok Falls near Nackawick. I remember the white churn of water below me, so steep it looked like the water was falling into a pipe. In 1967 the Mactaquac Dam submerged the falls and now they are only a memory, visible on old post cards and in photo albums.
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For a fictionalized account of the changes resulting from the building of the Mactaquac Dam, read Riel Nason’s excellent coming-of-age book ‘The Town That Drowned‘ (Goose Land Editions, 2011).
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Pokiok Falls
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my mother held me at the railing
to see the Pokiok
plunge
from highway
to river
granite pipe
roiling water
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later, when the dam went in
they moved the churches
to higher ground
so the church bells
wouldn’t gurgle
when they rang
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now the river slips sideways a notch
to fill the round drowning of the falls
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water cannot fall within water
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I cried when I left
I hadn’t seen the pokioks
I said
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
free book – Meniscus: Crossing the Churn
Want a quick read? A chance to explore a distant planet with two spirited characters? The first book in my science-fiction adventure series Meniscus: Crossing the Churn (Kindle version) is available for free for the next five days on Kindle. From January 27 to January 31, you can meet Odymn and the Slain, and learn about their meeting and their first travels together across the landscapes of planet Meniscus.
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From the dangerous streets of Prell-nan to the dark woods of the Themble, this is a dystopian adventure, set on a planet where Humans are slaves to an alien race. Their only hope for freedom is to work together, foraging for their food, running from the nasty Dock-winders and battling the wild life. The only way to survive will be in their growing love for one another.
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A sample from the story …
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She watches the fire,
the space where flames
feign glowing eyes.
The creature speaks and she startles,
then knows the words are the endless friction
of two close-growing limbs of banyan.
High pitched squeal, low grown.
She peers at the Slain.
“I’m Odymn,” she says,
points to the place
between her breasts,
the now-charred microchip.
Points at him.
“Who are you?”
Emphasis on ‘who’ and ‘you’.
Unwavering stare.
His eyes not black, but amethyst,
dark rings around the iris.
At the edges a pale film,
nictitating membrane.
Long lashes.
“Odymn,” she says.
“Named by my father.
“Rare earth metal, Neodymium.
Atomic number 60. Silvery,
soft, tarnishes in air.
“Common as copper.
Makes a reddish dye,
colour of my hair.
“Now you,” and points at his chest.
Blue sparks snap to the tip of her finger.
Faint vibration through hand, along arm,
deep into torso.
Penetrating stare.
Lazy double blink.
Membrane and lashes close and open.
“OK. I’ll choose a name for you.
Daniel. Or James.
Not quite right, too common.
“You need an alien name.
Something deep from Dock-winder mythology.
Amblyn, god of fire. Or De-al, water-weld.”
Steady stare. Double blink.
One hand lifts. One finger raised to lips.
Be silent.
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To get a free Kindle version of Meniscus: Crossing the Churn (from January 27 to January 31), just click on the book icon in the margin. This will take you to the Amazon website where you can get a free copy downloaded to your Kindle device.
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If you like Meniscus: Crossing the Churn, you will love the continuing adventures of Odymn and the silent Slain – Meniscus: South from Sintha, Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb and the newest book Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days, available January 31, 2018.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
Authors Coffee House – a reading and book signing by Ian LeTourneau!
I hope you can join us for the Authors Coffee House on January 26 (Friday) at noon in Nasonworth (see poster) to hear readings from Ian LeTourneau, well-known poet and Cultural Laureate for the City of Fredericton. Ian will read from his books Terminal Moraine and Core Sample. You can also enjoy a hot lunch of soup , rolls, and dessert.
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More than a year ago our church, Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Nasonworth New Brunswick, began the Authors Coffee House as a way of reaching out to the community. Once every two months we have gathered to meet new people in the community and celebrate the work of a local author. So far we have heard from Roger Moore, Shari Andrews, Nick Guitard, John Leroux and Jane Tims (me). The Authors Coffee House includes a reading from the featured author, a chance to buy a signed book and a free will and/or author donation to a local charity. Charities benefiting from this event have included Grace House for Women, Fredericton Food Bank, Fredericton Community Foundation, Fredericton Hospice and the Uganda Outreach project of Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
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Nicholas Guitard speaks to an attentive audience about New Brunswick’s waterfalls (Authors Coffee House, May, 2017)
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Ian Letourneau is our guest author for January, 2018.
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Ian LeTourneau, reading his poetry
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Ian is Poetry Editor of The Fiddlehead ( a renowned literary magazine), the Cultural Laureate for the City of Fredericton, Chair of Word Feast – Fredericton’s Literary Festival, and an avid supporter of the writing community in Fredericton. He is also a wonderful poet with three books of poetry: Core Sample (Frog Hollow Press, 2017), Terminal Moraine (Thistledown Press, 2008) and Defining Range (Gaspereau Press, 2006). I know Ian as a great teacher, having taken a course from him at the Maritime Writers Workshop. I also love his poetry – it sparkles with images from the natural world. His beautiful poem Murmuration: Starlings on the St. John River is on display beside the walking path along the St. John River in Fredericton.
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image from mutualresponsibility.org
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If you live in the Fredericton area, I hope you will come to the next Authors Coffee House, January 26, 2018 at noon at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Nasonworth. Hear Ian read, buy a signed copy of one of his books, contribute to Ian’s chosen charity the Friends of the Fredericton Public Library and enjoy a hot lunch (soup, rolls, coffee or tea and dessert). I hope I will see you there!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
a day getting ready for Christmas
I have been so busy lately, all duties associated with my new book. But occasionally I need a day to just catch up, and to pay attention to the season. So last week we drove out on a Christmas adventure. We did four things:
1. Bought a balsam fir wreath for the front of our house. These wreaths are hanging outside most of our local quick-stop stores, so our wreath was easy to find.
2. Bought a Christmas turkey. I am not much for preparing meat for the stove, so we bought a ready-stuffed Butterball turkey. I will still have to cope with the ‘gizzard’ bag but mostly I can just peel off the plastic, put the bird into the pan and shove it in the oven. What a wimp I am!
3. Visited the Atlantic Super Store and got a sampling of their fancy hors-d’oeuvres. Coconut shrimp! A treat for a cold winter evening.
4. Drove to our camp and gathered cedar boughs to make a Christmas garland. We sat in the camp, ate Clementine oranges and talked for an hour or so. We even heard the loons on the lake call three times. A very pleasant way to prepare for Christmas.
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our Christmas wreath
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What small things do you do to get ready for the Christmas season?
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
announcing the winner of a copy of ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’
I have a winner in the 500th follower contest! (Anyone who entered a comment on my blog between October 15, 2017 and November 20, 2017 inclusive was entered in the draw to win a signed copy of my new book ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’).
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We drew for the winner at my reading at the Authors Coffee House on November 23, 2017.
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signing books at the Authors Coffee House where we drew for the winner of the book …
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I am happy to say the winner is ‘Rebecca’, writer of the blog ‘walking on a country road’. I will be sending Rebecca her copy of my book in the next couple of days. Rebecca is an avid bird watcher and naturalist and I know she will enjoy the book. If you love bird photography and would like to know more about the natural history of Tennessee, visit her blog at https://walkingonacountryroad.com/
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Thank you to everyone who entered. I will be having another contest soon, so keep reading!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
book launch for my covered bridge book!
I hope you can join me for the launch of my new poetry book ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2017). The launch will be at Westminster Books in Fredericton on December 2, 2017 at 2:00 in the afternoon.
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Anyone who buys one of my books will be entered in a draw to win one of my paintings. This painting (11″ x 14″, ‘apple orchard green’, acrylic, gallery edges) is a companion to the painting on the cover of my book.
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Hope to see you there. For those of you so far away, perhaps there is a book reading in your own area to attend.
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All my best!
Jane
nichepoetryandprose 