Black History Month & Haiti Booklist (Plus a Note to Academics Writing About Haiti)

René Depestre

In the midst of More Important Things, and sometimes instead of them (after all--is there EVER an end to the MITs?), I have here and there been entering favourite books into my virtual library on LibraryThing. (An activity people are as likely to respond to with, "Why on earth would you want to do that?" as with "Oh, that sounds wonderful!") (You see now how the world is divided up?)

In the last few days (while I'm supposed to refrain from typing because my arms are hurting) I've entered twenty or so books about, or set, in Haiti. Most are nonfiction, but a few are novels or collections of short stories. A couple are folktales or YA literature. It has been a great pleasure to go over these books again in my mind, to reconnect them with their titles and author names, where I had forgotten them, to assemble them with each other in a dear library of books borrowed, given, or purchased. I look forward to remembering and entering and rediscovering many of the books that I have read and let go. And to discovering more, as my thirst for books on Haiti is reawakened.

Yesterday I began reading The Festival of the Greasy Pole, by René Depestre, a book I have had for awhile and haven't read. It occurred to me later that this, being February, is Black History Month. In honour of this fine book and that celebration, I want to share my humble list as it so far exists, and an invitation to a reading (if you happen to be in Vancouver, BC) given by my friend Addena Sumter-Freitag and two other local authors at Britannia Library on 18 February 2009. (Details below.)

A brief note about the list:

Most of the books on this list I have enjoyed or found useful in one way or another and would recommend. A couple I had trouble with because of unnecessarily academic language--language which made the ideas hard to understand and the writing difficult to plod through.

When you consider that the majority of people in or concerned about Haiti are not English-speaking academics, it seems rudely elitist to me to truss potentially important ideas about that place in jargon that non-academics (like me!) find mind-numbing.

A word to the listening, therefore, from my biased but doubtlessly reasonable point of view:

Yes! Research your thesis. Struggle to write what you have observed and done and concluded and recommend. Publish it. Defend it. Then translate it, at the very least into common English. You don't need to hire anyone for that; you can do it yourself. Best of all, if you are able, translate your book into Haitian Creole.If you aren't fluent in the language yourself, can you find someone to do it for you? If it's a work you think is of value to Haiti, wouldn't it be wonderful if it was available to the people to whom it would mean the most? (I know, I know. If only we had such money...) (And if there is a reader out there eager to translate my short stories into Creole I'd love to talk!)

Rant complete.

Have a look below at the invitation to Addena's reading, at the bottom of which you will find My Haiti Book List. Suggestions of wonderful books to do with Haiti are always welcome (as are donations of such books!).

Other, more thorough lists of books related to Haiti can be found, of course. Primary are the lists to be found on Bob Corbett's site. Start with Haiti: Book Reviews. If you are interested in buying, check out his Books For Sale. Ebony Grigsby of Tampa, Florida, lists Haiti books suitable for K-12 on Amazon. For books in French, as well as aids for learning Creole, try The Haitian Book Centre. For books of interest to those wishing to aid Haiti and other countries, books that will help you know what is needed, see Sharon Gaskell's list (hi, Sharon!) at Starthrower Foundation. Books for Understanding has a list of books on Haitian history.

One disappointing note, the French Caribbean Restaurant on Columbia Street in New Westminster has closed its doors permanently.

Have a wonderful Black History Month, everyone.

Love,
CJDub

Celebrate Black History Month!

A program open to all ages

Wednesday February 18 7:00 pm- 8:30 pm Free Join us for our 4th annual celebration featuring music, poetry, film and more. Special guests include Addena Sumter-Freitag. Britannia Branch 1661 Napier Street

Photo by Shelley Whitehead

	Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, Karen McCarthy Brown		2001	anthropology, Haiti, Vodou		Tears through a lot of misconceptions. Gives insight into Haitian culture, the religion of Vodou and its importance in the community, and into an individual of real character.
	Finding Creatures & Other Stories, C. June WOLF		2008			I'm not rating it. I'll let other readers decide!
	The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus, Irving Rouse		1993	archaeology, colonialism, Columbus, Haiti, slavery, Taino
	The Kingdom of This World: A Novel, Alejo Carpentier		2006
	Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti, Frances Temple		1991	Aristide, Haiti, poverty, YA		A reminder of the strength of courage of Haiti.
	Reflections of Loko Miwa, Lilas Desquiron		1998	Haiti, Vodou, women, zombie
	The Sun, the Sea, a Touch of Wind, Rosa Guy		1996	art, Haiti, mental illness, women
	Fever Season, Barbara Hambly		1998	African-American history, fever, Haiti, Louisiana, mullato class, racism
	Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, Donald J. Cosentino		1995	art, Haiti, lwa, religion, ritual, spirits, Vodou
	The Beast of the Haitian Hills, Philippe and Pierre Thoby-Marcelin		1964	class conflict, greed, Haiti, lwa, ritual, spirits, Vodou
	Lydia Bailey, Roberts Kenneth		1947	American role in Haitian revolution, Dessalines, fiction, Haiti, Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L'Ouverture
	The Uses of Haiti, Paul Farmer		2003	colonialism, foreign control, France, Haiti, history, poverty, racism, slavery, United States
	Voodoo in Haiti, Alfred Métraux		1959	anthropology, Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	The butterfly's way : voices from the Haitian dyaspora in the United States, Edwidge Danticat		2001	creative nonfiction, fiction, Haiti
	Breath, eyes, memory, Edwidge Danticat		1994	fiction, Haiti
	The farming of bones : a novel, Edwidge Danticat		1998	fiction, Haiti
	Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, Maya Deren		1983	anthropology, Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	Haiti, History, and the Gods, Colin Dayan		1998	Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	Madame Dread: A Tale of Love, Vodou and Civil Strife in Haiti, Kathie Klarreich		2005	Haiti
	Life in a Haitian Valley, Melville Jean, Herskovits		1971	culture, Haiti, history, religion, social structure, Vodou, Voodoo
	All Souls' Rising, Madison Smartt Bell		1995	fiction, Haiti, history, revolution
	The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier, Amy Wilentz		1989	Aristide, Haiti, history
	Open Gate, Boadiba		2001	bilingual, Creole poetry, Haiti
	When the hands are many : community organization and social change in rural Haiti, Jennie Marcelle Smith		2001	community organization, Haiti
	Christophe, King of Haiti, Hubert Cole		1970	Haiti, Henri Christophr, history, Roi Christophe
	Voodoo: Search for the Spirit, Laennec Hurbon		1995	Haiti, religion, Vodou, Voodoo
	Haitian Vodou Flags, Patrick Arthur Polk		1998	Flags, Haiti, Vodou, Vodou Flags
	Voodoo and the art of Haiti, Sheldon Williams		1969	Art, Haiti, Haitian Art, Vodou, Voodoo
	Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance, Beverly Bell		2001	Haiti, women
	Masters of the Dew, Jacques Roumain		1971	fiction, Haiti
	The Comedians, Graham Greene		1967	dictatorship, fiction, Haiti
	The Festival of the Greasy Pole, René Depestre		1990	dictatorship, Duvalier, fiction, Haiti, Haitian fiction

New Stories Seeking Heat; Interview on HiSciFi.com

Hi! Too many silent nights since posting.

Not a lot to report in my quiet little world. A visit to family, four new stories and creeping along on The Novel. (I never pictured myself in that situation. A draft of a novel done and then tons more to do on it. I've always been a hit and run short story gal, myself. Lucky I like the book!)

The stories are "Spirits Rising" (changed to "Dreamcatcher", about a white artist who uses Haidi designs in her work--work that has deeper effects than she dreams, a metaphorical horror story that I am publishing under a pseudonym, a look into Irish culture in "Brideóg"*, and a nonspeculative story of a simple woman and her love of books.
(This wonderful picture, by the way, shows the station at KDLR radio, 1971.)

To my delight, HiSciFi.com has posted the interview they did with me at VCon in October. It is weird to listen to myself, but perhaps you will enjoy it. Here's a quote from one satisfied listener:

Just finished listening, and really enjoyed it. You handled yourself very well. I know the feeling of listening to your own interview--they could do that instead of waterboarding--but truly, you came off as very intelligent and self-assured. The kind of writer where people say, I trust that person to write something I'll enjoy.



Melanie Fogel,
Past Editor, Storyteller Magazine

HiSciFi @ VCon: C. June Wolf, author of Finding Creatures & Other Stories

• Artist: Irma Arkus
• Title: HiSciFi @ VCon: C. June Wolf, author of Finding Creatures & Other Stories
• Length: 14:50 minutes (13.59 MB)
• Format: Mono 22kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
• We got to meet C. June Wolf during V-Con and she is not only an incredible author, but an amazing human being to boot! Wolf travels and often work in Haiti, which is of course, why so many of her stories are filled with the myth and voodoo of foreign lands.
  Tune in and check out her upcoming book: Finding Creatures & Other Stories
  
   

  • Tue, 01/13/2009 - 22:27 Posted by irma | Books | Download audio file
    
  
  
  
  

* "Brideóg" will be published in Escape Clause, edited by Clelie Rich and published by InkOinkArt. The reading period is still open. If you would like to submit your work of poetry or fiction 2000-5000 words, check out this link.Happy writing, reading, listening, and publishing. Be well, all!

Casey

LibraryThing Early Reviewers UP & RUNNING!

Final tally: 977 requests for Finding Creatures. Mmhmm!












Wattle and Daub Books has offered LibraryThing 15 copies of Finding Creatures & Other Stories for review, and the bids have started coming in. Already 252 members have asked to read and review it! Whoohoo! Thanks, Susan at W & D!

10 Dec.: Double Whoohoo! *505* people are now bidding on my book!

12 Dec.: **726** bidding on Finding Creatures!

14 Dec.: Things have slowed down. 773 requests for Finding Creatures on LibraryThing. Still very pleased.

Skeleton Dance

This poem of mine has been rattling around on the hinternet for 9 years now, but has anybody read it? I dunno! So how about I put it here and maybe one of you will plop your eyes on it and have a peek.

why dance this dance of death skeleton jangling hollow bones together brittle bones like flutes that wail lonely in the wind why dance when the grave is cool and deep around you when the grave night sleep is calling you on to lie to rest to slumber leaden why nimbly dance instead shimmy through the interstices wriggle wormlike up through peeks and cracks rattle on your moss grown mound and flail against the night why not die the cricket's death chirrup ceasing stoneblack body growing dry against the hill lifedust trembling in the slightest breeze hollowed out by age why not die this death this death why not just die i will not die the insect's death never dancing to be free i will shimmy through the maze of airholes left inside my grave i will issue from my tomb and sing the hollow song i will rattle with the wind until my bones catch flesh and flesh grows on me until bone and ligament are clothed in silk again until hair sprouts dark and billowing and my eyes spark dark and gay and life flows whole and beckoning from my limbs i will not lie this death of death but dance out from my grave because i live because i live because i live C. June Wolf

©1999 Obsidian Magazine

for the beautiful original setting, go to Obsidian's site (RIP!). Skeleton Dance.

A Mosque Among the Stars

A Mosque Among the Stars, edited by Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad and Ahmed Khan, is on the shelves!

"This anthology is an effort to use the medium of SF to raise the positive image of Islam in the West. The anthology features SF and fantasy stories that portray Islam and/or Muslims in a positive light."

And how is this for a lineup? (Notice anyone familiar in there?)

Table of Contents

Lucius Shepard: A Walk in the Garden
Tom Ligon: For a Little Price
Jetse De Vries: Cultural Clashes in Cadiz
Howard Jones: Servent of Iblis
Andrew Ferguson: Organic Geometry
Ahmed A. Khan: Synchronicity
Camille Alexa: The Weight of Space and Metal
G.W. Thomas: The Emissary
Kevin Miller: A Straight Path Through the Stars
Pamela Taylor: Recompense
C. June Wolf: Miss Lonelygenes' Secret
D.C. McMahon: Squat

Pages: 260
Price: $20 + shipping
To order: email zc.press@gmail.com

ZC Books

Maggie V. Jones: Goddesses, Bugs, and A Twinkle in the Eye

Maggie V. Jones is the creator of the image used for the cover of my book Finding Creatures & Other Stories. I was moved to interview Maggie for two reasons. Most obviously, there is a clear audience. The first thing people do when they see the book is to exclaim about the beauty of the image. The second response is often to ask, who did the cover? And, when I tell them, to frown. They have never heard of her. I wanted to do something about that.

The second reason is Maggie herself. Intensely personable, with a lively intellect and lightness of heart, she is such a lovely person I wanted to know more about her and what better way than to pepper her with nosey questions? Thus this interview, which Maggie kindly agreed to do.

CJW: But who is Maggie V. Jones? Where does she live? What is her life like? How does art fit into it? And where can we see more of it?

MVJ: I'm a forty year old nan, mum, wife, daughter, sister, aunt and cousin to others. I also hold the title of chief bottle washer and dog walker, in the home.

I live in Warwickshire, UK (yep, Shakespeare county). I have three contrary teenagers (bless 'em), dogs that think they own the home (they do), a husband that continuously leaves his dirty workboots on the kitchen floor (good job I love him to bits), and a three year old grandson who keeps fetching bugs into my home from out of the garden (he has a bug fetish).

Check out my latest picture, 'The Bug Collector'. Aston was the inspiration behind that one. My life, with all the people in it, is never boring, and they all provide me with an abundance of ideas for my art. My biggest critic is my daughter Pearl, and I value her input .

CJW: People are very drawn to the beautiful green androgyn on the cover of Finding Creatures & Other Stories, and the soft brown owl soaring behind her. Can you tell me the story behind the image, and its significance for you?

MVJ: It's interesting that you use the word 'adrogyn'. A lot of my artwork features characters in it that are suspiciously like people I know, and some have a mixture of family features in them, both male and female. It's never intentional, it just happens I think on a sub-conscious level. This image is a combination of my older sister Jeanette's features, when she was younger, and my youngest niece.

My younger niece is very petite, waif-like and pale; I'm always telling her she needs more iron. Nevertheless, she's a gorgeous looking girl, but she sometimes hid her femininity when she was younger and she wouldn't wear a dress ever, much to her mum's annoyance. I think I've portrayed her as a very beautiful boy and hid her modesty in the flora to save her embarrassment. She's going to go ape when she reads this

The image came into being after a very good friend of mine, Pen, told me the tale regarding 'flower face'. She had been very supportive of my art in the past, and loved this story of Blodeuwedd, which is from the Welsh Mabinogi. She tried to push me into my art (she's had teacher training, and can be bossy and scary if it warrants), and I hoped the image would not only please her but also inspire her to pursue her own dream of a writing career. So you see Blodeuwedd came about to inspire and empower two women who also happened to be like-minded creative souls, and friends.

On the surface the tale of Blodeuwedd seems to be one of a hard and cruel woman who betrayed her husband. However, it is really a tale of trials for kingship. Celtic tradition is such that kingship came about via matriarchal lineage. In order to be king you had to marry the land, and prove your devotion to the sovereignty, and show his willingness to protect it. The trials that Blodeuwedd's husband endured because of both her and his mother (the goddess Arianrhod) are symbolic of this, and his near-death and healing are symbolic of the ritual death and rebirth usually required of the Druidic priesthood. Many Celtic tales have women within them which represent the land (the land being seen as definitely feminine).

CJW: What a wonderful pair of stories—both about Pen and you and how you support each other's creativity, and of the kingship trials behind the Blodeuwedd tale. And in the end, of course, your image has inspired many more people than you and Pen. I count myself in that number.

...And the truth is out. The image has nothing to do with anything in my book. But it is so gorgeous, and the feel is so right, that we have asked Blodeuwedd to cover for the Green Man, who appears in the final story in the collection.

MVJ: In retrospect it has everything to do with the book, especially the Green Man in your story, and his intended meeting with the like minded soul, St. Francis. Like the Green Man, Blodeuwedd, who was made from broom, oak and meadowsweet, is a spirit of the land, and the land connects us all. My image of Blodeuwedd was looking for a home. Not in the sense of placement, like the hanging of a picture on a wall, but purpose. I originally created her to empower, to inspire and connect. I think Blodeuwedd found you, Casey. Throughout your book there are references to the land, and I have to admit the story of Mr Cowmeadow's Sky made me cry a little.

CJW: Ah... Yes. And you know—I doubt I've mentioned this to you—but we looked at hundreds of images before finding her. Though there was much of great beauty there was nothing that felt like it really connected to the book till Blodeuwedd.

A lot of your art involves myth and faery, but not all of it. In fact, you have quite a wide range of styles and sensibilities in your work. I have a couple of questions here. First, what is the relevance of myth in your own life?

MVJ: For me myths are that connection that ties you to people and transcends time and space. Myths are also a bridge between the living and dead. It is interesting that I place people I know, or aspects of them, unconsciously within my art. By placing my kin within the myth or in folk tales I believe I'm aiming to keep the essence of them alive. Myths and folk tales endure.

CJW: Which really completes the circle, doesn't it? Because myths and folk tales are born of our people, and preserve our kinship with those who came before us and shaped us and our world. Putting your living kin into those myths is like completing a stitch from then, to now, to then.

MVJ: I love how you worded that, "a stitch from then, to now, to then", so apt. Yes it's all about connectiveness. It gives us comfort and strength, I feel.

You know, it isn't always living kin I place in my art, its also loved ones that have passed on. I love seeing my brother Clifford's features pop up in my art (that happens quite frequently in sketches). It's like family are popping in to say hello! One minute I could be drawing a little elf and the next I see his eyes twinkling in its face. He passed over ten years ago, when he was thirty-nine, but I still feel he's close. My art is important to me for providing solace, laughter and warmth and preserving family and memories. It does that admirably, and if I couldn't ever lay a mark on a piece of paper again I'd be lost, I think.

CJW: My second question on style: When you have decided to draw a particular image, or pursue a particular theme, how do you decide what stylistic approach to take?

MVJ: The stylistic approach I take depends very much on who the audience is and the type of art they like. I try to read the person, in an intuitive sense. Whenever I've created something for someone they always say to me afterwards it isn't how they would have envisioned it would turn out, nevertheless they then go on to say it is what they wanted. Funny that.

I also draw a lot for the children in the family, and they love cartoons. And I have a bit of a macabre and wicked sense of humour, which sometimes comes out in my work as well.

CJW: When people look at the cover to Finding Creatures one of their questions is "How was this done?" I give my idea of what you did and it is met with incredulity. So why don't you tell us? What techniques did you use in creating this image? Is that your usual technique, or do you vary in medium as much as you do in style?

MVJ: Blodeuwedd was pencil sketched, scanned into the computer and digitally painted using a stylus pen on a Wacom tablet, and that brilliant software, Corel Painter. This software is the nearest thing you can get to using traditional media with a computer.

Sometimes I mix my media and scan in traditional watercolour backgrounds that I've painted using watercolour pencils, or maybe pastel backgrounds, and then paint over them some more digitally. Mostly I like to keep to a restricted colour pallet, and introduce lots of texture. I've always loved the traditional media of pastels but it can be very difficult putting in details unless you work quite large. Digital art gives you more freedom to experiment, I think, and also has a wonderful undo button!

CJW: Good point!

Finally, the discerning art appreciator will notice that a lot of your subjects have beauty marks (or in some cases, ugliness marks) on their faces. Is that because you have a beauty mark? Are these all parts of the hidden woman who is you?

MVJ: You made me laugh with this one. I haven't a beauty mark or a mole. When I was a youngster an old lady called Rene used to live in a caravan opposite us. My Mum and Dad worked full time, my siblings were a lot older and had left home, I was lonely and so ambled over to see her quite a lot.

I loved it inside her caravan; it was quite old fashioned. She used to make jelly and proper custard and serve me some up in this fancy glass sugar bowl, with this delicate silver scallop-shaped sugar spoon. I used to feel quite regal eating out of that bowl.

She also had some items in her home that fascinated me. There used to be a design used on plates and crockery ware called the 'Crinoline Lady'. Rene had some of this ware, but also had some cushions with the design on as well. She gave me these grownup pens once (better than my usual crayons) and I copied this crinoline lady, over and over again. I liked the oldy worldy large- skirted dresses, and so started looking at history books with pictures of times past. To these ladies I drew I added beauty spots and also sometimes masks, as well as showing them wearing ever enlarging and toppling wigs. So it's a quirk of mine, which connects me to my childhood.

CJW: Lovely! Maybe some day we will see Rene and her wonderful caravan in a piece of your art. She sounds wonderful.

Where do you see yourself going with your art--if that is a fair question. You seem very grounded in the moment, painting by painting. Do you also look ahead and have some sort of plan, or a path that beckons you?

MVJ: I think I'm evolving all the time, ever ready to experiment, try new things, and hopefully improving myself. There's a cauldron of ideas bubbling in my head all the time, I even dream them at night when I'm asleep. Many a time I have to wake up in the early hours and scribble a sketch down. There's never enough hours in the day for me.

I have a goal of mine that I'm working on now, in fact it's two projects. One's an illustrated story called the 'Sun King', and the other is a collection of poems for young children, again illustrated.

My philosophy is that the creative journey in itself is what makes it worth all the effort. Simply, I enjoy it.

CJW: And finally, where can people see more of your work, either online or on the hoof?

MVJ: I'm none too quick with this internet malarky. It's a painful process for me, creating and updating web pages, there's much cussing and swearing at the monitor. It seems to take an ever an a day uploading pictures correctly, despite me having broadband.

However, I'm quite proud of myself because I did manage to scramble together an online homestead, so I could gather my family around me on the net and have a place for my art and poems. I have also just created an online blog. Be warned though, I'm inclined to post waffle. There's the odd corny joke, or me mentioning some antic my Grandson has been up to, or sometimes I refer to how many lemon puff biscuits I can eat at once. Some of its about as far removed from artistic professionalism and sophistication as you could get. That's just me though, I have no pretences. I also happen to think eating three lemon puff biscuits at once is a tricky thing, requiring much talent. You can find me at: http://art-by-mags.wetpaint.com/ And my blog web address is: Maggie V. Jones Rabbits And Rambles

CJW: Thanks, Maggie, for taking the time to answer my questions. Best of luck in the future with life, family, art.

Readers' Reactions to Finding Creatures & Other Stories

I keep getting these wonderful comments from readers. (Yes, yes, most of whom are my friends, but who else would be the first readers of a new book?) I've been saving them in a file that I supposedly will go back and thumb through in my old age or something. But why not share a few with you now?

The photo above is pretty eloquent all by itself. That's Tracy Lowe of Victoria, B.C., falling into the psychic entrapment of my prose. (Well...okay not really.)

Comments

Wow!!! I absolutely love the cover. And all those recommendations.

-- Eileen Kernaghan.

I have nearly finished your book. I have been truly amazed at the layers in every story I've read so far. Of course, many I heard you read at our group. Each time I read them, I discover more innuendos, more knowledge, and more delights. Your intellect is so vast and keen. I am thrilled by the changing voices and philosophies, too.

Well done! I hope it sells vast numbers of copies--it really deserves to, you know.

When it's listed on Amazon, I shall write a glowing review.

-- Julie Ferguson.

V-con and you and the whole damn thing were great! And so far your book is blowing me away. Wow. I mean it. Wow.

-- Jo McBride Wilson

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed last night. You read beautifully, and the story was so interesting, mysterious and engaging. And I loved how you handled the presence of the 2 kids. And the music was a wonderful surprise, too.

Thanks for letting me know about it. I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the stories.

-- Anne Hepper

Listen, Casey J, you may get very very tired of hearing this, but Claude and the Henry Moores is just a pure sweetheart of a story; if I never read any further it's been worth it. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Another reason I liked it was I used to live on Beverly Street (in Judith Merril's house), and I knew some of the sculptures in the story. Well, not as well as Claude, but well enough to be on a nodding acquaintance basis. My all-time fave Moore is The Archer outside Toronto's City Hall. I remember him as being a bit curmudgeonly (that's what being around so many politicians will do to you) but quite a student of civic politics. If I run into Claude sometime, I'll introduce them to each other, and he can work his magic.

See, there's the magic in your story. It's completely easy-breezy to assume Claude's a real person and slip into his world, one where among other things aliens live trapped in sculptures. Do you think you'd ever revisit Claude and his project?

Nicely done.

-- Michael Price

Casey I love your book. Powerful messages oozing from the belly of that book, it's like the earth protesting and trembling from below. They aren't just stories for a story's sake, there are messages, there is a purpose - I like that.

-- Maggie V. Jones

I'm excited about sharing your stories with the people in my life - thank you for writing them. They are beautiful, and they change how I am in the world. It's a little easier to look out at the people on the skytrain and the bus and feel at home, and notice possibilities of connection and wonder and just plain good stuff.

-- Patti Powell

Just read Thunderbirds - totally loved it. I think the thing I love most about your writing is your tone - warm, affectionate, funny, compassionate and curious. I also love how erudite (I probably should look this up to see what it means - I think it means knowledgeable) you are, each story is an education. And on top of that you have such a uniquely creative imagination - understanding a tree from the inside out gave me shivers.

-- Samantha Sanderson

I am LOVING it - absolutely superb. DEVOURING it.

-- Gemma Dubaldo.

Your book is a phenomenal accomplishment!! Would you please send me 2 more copies autographed?

-- Sister Cecilia Tallack.

Isn't that last one fun? She was my teacher in Grade 4. I was a little worried she might not like it...

Casey, your book arrived here yesterday and I've been reading it at every spare minute since! It's great! I'm up to beginning 'Miss Lonelygenes' and I've loved all the stories so far. I certainly won't ever see a Henry Moore sculpture in quite the same way again! Great! I love it! When is the next volume coming out.....?!

-- Julie Bond.

Wonderful, imaginitive and varied, an endlessly interesting collection of short stories, that linger in the mind. Ms. Wolf writes in a fresh modern way, her sense of humour a friendly delight! Thanks Casey! (Review from LibraryThing.)

--Krista Reich

I am treasuring your book and enjoying being with you on this journey.

-- Esther Hisza

Finding Creatures & Other Comforts:

Hi, Casey, I _know_ it's "other stories" but still. I finished reading the collection this afternoon--at least all the stories original to it--and am finding myself feeling uplifted. Not in a David Brin way but rather in a quiet, yes, that's the way it could be manner.

Thank you.

--Peter Halasz

Warmest of hugs to you, with a grateful heart.... I am n the 3rd reading of your book btw.

--Gemma Dubaldo

Sorry for not having emailed you yet to say how much I enjoyed Finding Creatures. Also, it's a beautifully made book--congrats to all concerned. A real review in SFC (Science Fiction Commentary)--when I get around to it.

--Bruce R. Gillespie

Cheers, love, hugs, whatever works.

Casey

Some Launch Photos I Didn't Get Around to Putting Up Before

Mine is not to question why. Blogger wants to put the later photos before the earlier ones, who am I to argue?

So, in reverse chronological order:
Me reading at Pulp Fiction, 11 October. (photo Nick Zenthoefer)
Alison of Jonathan Teague & Friends, warming the crowd at Pulp Fiction. (photo C. June Wolf)

Eileen Kernaghan reading from Finding Creatures at White Dwarf. 28 September.
Me again! Signing at White Dwarf. (both photos, Julie Ferguson)

Internet Interview

I was interviewed at VCon by Irma Arkus of Hi-Sci-Fi (Friday is Alright for Nerding): The Ultimate Geek Radio Show. We were in the swanky penthouse boudoir of Con Chair Danielle Stephens at Surrey's Compass Point Inn. The show airs on the internet Fridays 5-6 PM PST at 90.1 FM (CJSF) and my interview will be archived on the website when it is done being edited.

I am as curious as anyone else to know what I said. I'd been told it was for a student radio program, so I thought, great! No one will ever hear it! Consequently I was fairly playful and unguarded in my thoughts...

Oh, oh.

Well, time will tell.

Writing Group Glories

photo copyright Julie Ferguson, Beacon Literary Services, 2008
Eileen Kernaghan, Wild Talent, Marja Bergen, A Firm Place to Stand,
C. June Wolf, Finding Creatures, Debra Purdy Kong, Fatal Encryption

Gloria Barkley got the ball rolling at the Writing Group at Port Moody Kyle Center today. She brought a draft press release celebrating the fact of five new books published by members in the last handful of months. She and Julie Ferguson got us up and posing with our Hot Off The Press tomes, and before you could type "Bob's Your Uncle" Julie was at home posting one of her photos to her blog, along with a pithy reminder of the value of writing groups.

I have to agree. I am a longtime member of Helix, Vancouver's oldest speculative fiction writing group, and have been with Kyle for three or four years. The members of these two very different groups have contributed enormously to my writing and have filled in the tremendous gaps in my knowledge around critiquing and self-critiquing, publishing, promotion, etcetera. More than that, having a supportive and enthusiastic group of varied individuals to meet with weekly has given me both a regular deadline to meet and a continuous infusion of inspiration and joie de l'écriture.

By the way, Julie is a font of useful information--I have leaned on her expertise rather heavily from time to time. Anyone new to the writing and publishing scene, or anyone wanting to update their knowledge of publishing, have a look at the new edition of her Book Magic: Turning Writers into Published Authors. It's fun, well-written, and packed with helpful tips.

Wattle and Daub Books

Finding Creatures & Other Stories is being published by the brand new publisher "Wattle and Daub Books". For more about the book (including very pleasing comments from authors and reviewers) and for preordering information, please go their site at www.wattleanddaubbooks.ca.

Counting down to the launch. (Gulp.)

Cheers!