It was mostly a coincidence that I read three new novels within a month that are set in the Maritimes and involve the supernatural. A most satisfying and happy coincidence. I started with Rose Sutherland's A Sweet Sting of Salt, which I read for my Real Life book club. Historical fiction, set on the south … Continue reading The Supernatural: Rose Sutherland, Nancy Taber, and Michelle Hébert
The Atlantic Book Awards took place at the beginning of June, as did the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island Book Awards. The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards are in progress. For me, the highlight of the Atlantic Book Awards is the Thomas Raddall Prize for Atlantic Fiction. Here are the five shortlisted … Continue reading Michelle Porter, William Ping, and the Atlantic Book Awards 2024
With the exception of Claudia Dey and Logan Steiner, all of these authors are either living in the Maritimes or are from the Maritimes. The settings range from Yarmouth, Barrington Passage, and Dartmouth to Ontario, Norway, and medieval England. The topics and characters include: a clandestine affair, a family scandal, a missing man, the daughter … Continue reading Catch-Up: Ian Colford, Jill MacLean, Bruce W. Bishop, Elaine McCluskey, Kate McLaughlin, Claudia Dey, Odette Barr, Colleen Landry, Beth Weatherbee, and Logan Steiner
Kilmeny of the Orchard is a novel that arose from the short story "Una of the Garden," which was published in 1908. In Magic Island, Elizabeth Waterston writes about the changes that were made by LMM as she re-worked the story. For example, the setting change from "garden" to "orchard" suggests "a development in Montgomery's … Continue reading #ReadingKilmeny: “She was, after all, nothing but a child…”
Sarah and I have been re-reading some of L.M. Montgomery's novels. We have re-read The Blue Castle, the Emily books, Jane of Lantern Hill, The Story Girl, and The Golden Road. This May we are going to be reading Kilmeny of the Orchard and we'd love for you to join us! Kilmeny of the Orchard … Continue reading #ReadingKilmeny: A “Kilmeny of the Orchard” Readalong
The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief by Steven Mayoff Samson Grief is an artist who has been living a quiet, solitary life in Prince Edward Island for almost twenty years when he is visited by three red-headed figments of his imagination. Judas, Fagin, and Shylock have come to convince Samson that he has been … Continue reading Two from Radiant Press: Steven Mayoff and Meghan Greeley write about love, loneliness, and the new Promised Land
In my post about The Story Girl, I mentioned that LMM did not enjoy writing The Golden Road. As Sarah points out in her post "The Golden Road of Youth: #ReadingStoryGirl", The Story Girl was written when LMM was still living in PEI, but The Golden Road was written after LMM was married and had … Continue reading #ReadingStoryGirl: The Golden Road
One of the things I mentioned liking about The Story Girl in my introduction post is 'watching' the children play. Maybe because--between raising and working with children most of my life--I think a lot about how children play. Is it better now? Was it better then? Maybe somewhere in between? I feel sorry for children … Continue reading #ReadingStoryGirl: “There is such a place as fairyland – but only children can find the way to it…”
Because we all need more to read in the month of November, Sarah Emsley and I are hosting a Readalong of The Story Girl and The Golden Road next month. What are one or two more books in your stack? The Story Girl narrates the adventures of a group of cousins and their friends in … Continue reading The Story Girl Readalong: #ReadingStoryGirl
It's May 31 at 9:00pm and I am still working on my contribution to the readalong Sarah and I decided to host back in March. I have been writing it in fragments, using my post to respond to the thoughts of others. Today's writing mostly involves cobbling together my bits and pieces to present to … Continue reading #ReadingLanternHill: My thoughts on Jane of Lantern Hill, anthropomorphism, and Squishmallows
Consumed by Ink 