Vancouver Island Writers?

[Cassidy]

Hi,
I'm in Victoria and was wondering if there are others in the area who might be interested in getting together this fall. October, maybe, at a coffee shop? Let's get together and talk about writing and writing-related stuff.
Cheers- Cassidy

[willietheshakes]

I'm in!

(Though I had absolutely NO idea this area of these boards existed till I got your PM...)

[Cassidy]

Ha, me neither until I looked around trying to figure out what forum to post in. I wonder if anyone else will find this or if I should post something in another area as well... Do you know who else is from Victoria?

Anyway, glad you're in. I'm looking forward to meeting up!

[batgirl]

I'm in Victoria - just found this message while searching for something else entirely.
I work at UVic, live just outside Oak Bay.
-Barbara

[Chicken Warrior]

Thanks for bumping it!

I'm in Victoria also, and also writing for the teen/MG market. Maybe we could start a small critique group? If you don't mind the precense of the underaged.

[Cassidy]

hey batgirl and chicken warrior! great to see your posts! i was starting to think that there wasn't anyone else on AW from Victoria. batgirl, i work at u vic too, as a sessional (though not this term) and live in fernwood. and chicken warrior-- another teen/MG writer, that's fabulous. i look forward to hearing more.

what do you all think about meeting for coffee sometime in october? at the black stilt, maybe (easy parking)? or some other coffee shop?

[Chicken Warrior]

Sounds good. Black Stilt across from Bolen Books and that?

[batgirl]

Sounds good to me - Bolens is an easy bike from my place. I'm off work at 6pm Mon-Fri, free weekends, may be previously booked for the first weekend in October, depending.
-Barbara

[Cassidy]

Just bumping this to see if we get any more interest before October rolls around... Hey, Victoria writers? Coffee, Black Stilt, some evening in October.. anyone else joining us?

[britlitfantw]

I may be able to make it, but I'm not sure yet. What fun that would be. :snoopy:

[batgirl]

Should we all wear yellow carnations or something to identify ourselves? ;)
-Barbara

[Chicken Warrior]

Hmmm. Well I'll recognize Mr. Wiersema, and Ms. Stevenson if she props a book or two on the table. :D

So you guys can't be late.

[britlitfantw]

I wondered about the flower idea, too. XD Maybe everyone could carry a certain book. Of course, there's always the standby: "I'll be wearing a blue baseball hat and blue jeans and a green, rhinestone-studded shirt."

[batgirl]

I have an Absolute Write coffee mug - think they'd mind if I brought my own mug? And a Viable Paradise (http://www.sff.net/paradise/) t-shirt in bright yellow.
-Barbara

[Cassidy]

so when should we meet? i guess i'll throw a couple dates out there as a starting point. how about wednesday october 10, 6:30 pm or sunday october 14, 10 am or 6pm? what works for you guys?

and maybe i could get there early and put an AW sign on the table, just in case yellow carnations are hard to find...

[Chicken Warrior]

Both of those work. Might be a bit late on Wednesday, though.

[batgirl]

They both work for me as well.
We could plan for Oct 10, with Oct 14 (10 am slot?) as a backup? Depending what the others say, of course.
-Barbara

[willietheshakes]

Not so good for me, those dates. My wife's having surgery on the 10th, so I have charge of the boy...

[willietheshakes]

Hmmm. Well I'll recognize Mr. Wiersema,

I can't decide if I should be concerned or not...

[Chicken Warrior]

I'm stalking you. Or is it stocking? No, i'm definitely not stocking you. But I would if I was a bookstore.

Seriously, I only see your picture in the paper every month. You're like Nellie Furtado or Steve Nash or Sir James Douglas. A little bit.

BTW, I meant to see you speaking today at Camosun, but I couldn't make it. :( I'll have to go to the Bolens thing.

[Cassidy]

Hey,
Well, after suggesting Wednesday I looked at my calendar and realized I'm supposed to be taking my three year old to a friend's place for pizza that night. Oops. Sorry guys. So between that and Robert's wife's surgery, maybe I should try again with some possible times? How about... Sunday Oct 21, 6:30 pm?

By the way, if any of you are interested in coming to my book launch, the details are confirmed-- it'll be at the Cornerstone Cafe, corner of Fernwood and Gladstone, on Thursday Oct 18, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. If you do come, introduce yourself so I know who you are!

And I just wrote Robert's Oct 30 Bolen Books thing on my calendar-- that sounds like an interesting evening; I'm looking forward to it. Actually, if others are going too, maybe we could grab a coffee together afterwards? Would that work?
-Robin

[willietheshakes]

Well, I'll be there on Oct 30...

[Chicken Warrior]

Hopefully, yes.

And that would work for me or I could do Sunday.

[batgirl]

By the way, if any of you are interested in coming to my book launch, the details are confirmed-- it'll be at the Cornerstone Cafe, corner of Fernwood and Gladstone, on Thursday Oct 18, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. If you do come, introduce yourself so I know who you are!

And I just wrote Robert's Oct 30 Bolen Books thing on my calendar-- that sounds like an interesting evening; I'm looking forward to it. Actually, if others are going too, maybe we could grab a coffee together afterwards? Would that work?
-Robin
I can make a good try for both of these - if you don't think you'll be too tired and 'peopled out' after the socialising?
Robert? Are you free after, or dashing off? And hoping here that all is going smoothly with both surgery and child-minding today.

-Barbara

[willietheshakes]

Well, if I schedule it in I should be all right...

And yes, the surgery went well, and child-minding... well, the boy and I are both enjoying season six of Smallville a great deal (hanging out with my son is sort of like a boy's weekend, minus the scotch, strippers and cigars.)

[willietheshakes]

Oh, and while we're looking at possible dates, I can't make Sunday Oct 21 -- I've got an event with Kathy Reichs that evening, then dinner with her afterwards.

[batgirl]

I'm off at the Vancouver Science Fiction Convention Oct 19-21. Peter Beagle is the Guest of Honour, I'm a humble attendee. There's no writing workshop this year, alas. Last year they had a day of seminars by Matt Hughes, Barbara Hambly and Alma Alexander, which was excellent.
Um, sorry, got distracted there.

I should make it to the launch and the readings. Robert, while finding the info for the Bolen do, I noticed that your website's tour schedule gives the date for that as Oct 20 rather than 30 - 30 is correct, yes?

-Barbara

[willietheshakes]

I'm off at the Vancouver Science Fiction Convention Oct 19-21. Peter Beagle is the Guest of Honour, I'm a humble attendee. There's no writing workshop this year, alas. Last year they had a day of seminars by Matt Hughes, Barbara Hambly and Alma Alexander, which was excellent.
Um, sorry, got distracted there.

I should make it to the launch and the readings. Robert, while finding the info for the Bolen do, I noticed that your website's tour schedule gives the date for that as Oct 20 rather than 30 - 30 is correct, yes?

-Barbara

30 is correct. All the tour information is for last year (time to revamp the pages, apparently).

The SciFi Con sounds cool. I might check it out (I'm thinking of being in Vancouver on Saturday, but that's for the writer's fest -- as an observer...)

[batgirl]

VCon is fun - a smallish laid-back con. Info here (http://www.vcon.ca/) - day-pass is $25-35 depending on the day.

And while I'm nudging people about their websites (don't ask about mine, okay?) Robin, there's nothing about your book launch on yours - good thing you told us here!

-Barbara

[Chicken Warrior]

Awh dang, my calendar is crapped up. Sorry I missed your launch, Cassidy, I really wanted to be there. So, to sum up...are we meeting at the end of the month or did I already miss it?

[Cassidy]

Hey,
The launch was fun. I thought I'd be too nervous to enjoy it but I had a blast. And I counted over 75 people if you count the ten or so wee kids, so that was great. And lots of people brought flowers, which was so incredibly sweet and unexpected. And I'm happy that I never have to do my very first reading again! My hands were shaking but I did get into it as I went along and by the end I was actually quite enjoying it. So that was good! I am trying to figure out how to put launch photo's on my website but I have a cold and the technology may be beyond me today. Anyway, yes to the Bolen event on Oct 30! Hope to see you there and maybe we can all go for coffee afterwards...

[willietheshakes]

Dammit, I missed the launch!!! Sorry bout that.

As for the 30th, I'm definitely in for coffee post-event. Now I just have to figure out what I'm reading...

[batgirl]

The launch was packed with people. It's the first one I've been to, I think. Very friendly and neighbourly. Little kids running around at the doorway, a bit of a crush where Robin and the stack of books was. Robin's editor spoke briefly and described her as an editor's dream writer (whoo, I want to be one of those someday), and Robin read an excerpt from Out of Order. It was a good choice, I thought, brief, with a punch, gave a good taste of the girls' characters and the dynamic between them. She also talked about rooting the story firmly in the neighbourhood, down to the shops on the street, and how that firmed up her setting.
I said hi and bought a copy of Out of Order. If I got anything wrong in this precis here, it's because I started reading the book right there and was mildly distracted.
-Barbara

[Chicken Warrior]

Wow, good for you Cassidy. I can't imagine doing a reading, let alone a launch, but it sounds like it went wonderfully.

Hopefully see you guys on the 30th....if we'll have any way of recognizing each other...(?)

[willietheshakes]

Well, I'll be the guy on-stage. Or smoking and drinking Red Bull out front beforehand.

[Chicken Warrior]

Wait, I thought there were going to be three of you on stage. So you'd better be drinking Red Bull.

[Cassidy]

No worries, Chicken Warrior. We'll meet by the guy with the Red Bull. Just in case he switches to Coke or something, I'll wear jeans and a black sweater. And I wear glasses. And unless I'm running late, I'll probably get a coffee from Tim's before the reading starts.

[batgirl]

I'm 5'3", wear wire-framed glasses, and probably the most distinctive thing is that I have waist-length braids. (So did 3 other people at the writing workshop I was at, including one guy, so it's not that distinctive).
-Barbara

[willietheshakes]

Well, yes, there will be three writers on stage, but really, it's all about me, right?

;)

[willietheshakes]

Okay, quick survey -- ten to fifteen minutes to read, neither thing has been read before.
Do I go with
a) the prologue of the new novel, a self-contained section which will definitely pique the interest, but resolves nothing... or
b) the first half or so of a very fine short story which revolves around death, infidelity, haunting, country music and booze - this too will be unresolved...

Hmm. Thoughts?

[CaroGirl]

Okay, quick survey -- ten to fifteen minutes to read, neither thing has been read before.
Do I go with
a) the prologue of the new novel, a self-contained section which will definitely pique the interest, but resolves nothing... or
b) the first half or so of a very fine short story which revolves around death, infidelity, haunting, country music and booze - this too will be unresolved...

Hmm. Thoughts?
Well, I'm almost 5 thousand km away so I won't get to hear this either way, but I'd go with the short story, if I were you. Sounds like it would be the most interesting to read and listen to. Wish I were there!

[Cassidy]

I just read your message now Robert- guess you decided on neither of the above options! Anyway, i enjoyed your reading and the chance to have coffee and chat afterwards. Great to meet you too Joesph-- thanks for all the insights into the home schooling thing. Tori and Barbara, sorry you couldn't make it but maybe another time... It has been nice putting faces (and real names) to your on-line identities.

[Chicken Warrior]

Indeed. Thank you to both of you - Robert for a great presentation and Robin for getting this together in the first place. I know there are so many writers here in Victoria so it's wonderful to meet some living proof :D

[britlitfantw]

Things got kind of crazy around here, so it just wasn't feasible for that night, unfortunately. Glad to hear that things went well, though, and that a few of you got a chance to connect.

Wait a second ... what's this about homeschooling? *ears perk*