Note: I often write a little something for my grade 12s at the end of the year. This is this year’s letter — a bit of a parting life lesson from Ms. MacKenzie. Hi, grads of 2019. I want to…
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For the grads of 2019
Life, unscripted.
When I go to a hockey game, the only thing I’m ever sure of is that someone will win, and someone will lose. Everything else is unscripted. Breakaways. Saves. Finding out an old friend has taken their own life. It…
Organic Diversity Done Right: North Surrey as a Setting in Fiction
Years ago, I was praised for the organic diversity in one of my manuscripts. I took the compliment, but I’ll be honest: I didn’t see it as an especially rare way to have written the story of a bunch of…
A Brightness in Surrey
Well, another SiWC has come to a close and I desperately need a nap. Maybe some tea, too. With honey. But definitely a nap. I’m exhausted, achy, and about to surrender to whatever cold virus I’ve been fighting, but none…
Why, yes. I am a writer.
Sometimes, when I tell people that I write, it gets uncomfortable. Not for me, really, but for them. Because people have a habit of asking me what I write and, almost always, if I’ve been published. That’s where things get…
This is what the premier is calling a success.
I haven’t blogged about education in a while. And I won’t lie – it’s been a glorious break. Writing about all the bad parts of my job isn’t fun. Letting myself think about the difficulties doesn’t make me excited to…
2016′s Bookish Adventures
With 2016 winding down, it’s time for me to share where I’ve spent my year. Sure, I could blog about the adventures I went on this year (Mexico! Norway! Denmark!), but that would just remind me that I’m no longer…
The Day After in a Canadian High School
After the first Presidential debate, I promised my grade 12 French class that we could re-hash the American election results en français on the day following the election. It’s something they wanted to do as Canadians. Because they were watching.…
The Potential for Awesome — and for Thumb Cramps
Sometimes, I look at my students on their phones and I can’t even say anything. Because I get it. That need to know what’s happening, when it’s happening. The inability to wait, because waiting means not knowing and not knowing…
Pitch Wars 2016
Greetings, Pitch Warriors! Welcome to my little nook of the web. Feel free to take a look around, but you’ll probably to notice one teensy thing: my post frequency majorly dropped about a year ago. And for good reason. I’ve…