What a few days it’s been! Went to the schools on Friday, and did two presentations yesterday at the Tuzzy Library. Wasn’t expecting any sort of crowd, it being Easter weekend and all… for goodness sakes I was competing with an Easter egg hunt! And yet I’d say there were close to 35 or 40 […]

This isn’t the first time I’ve presented to a mostly first nations audience. You’d think you’d get used to their reservation–pardon the pun (couldn’t resist!). I think it’s because first nations kids are so trained to be respectful to elders that they’re downright afraid to laugh. It’s kind of funny to see the laughs burst […]

I wonder if you actually do get comfortable with a radio mic in front of you and earphones on your head. I’ve been on radio a few times now. I remember the second or third time was the longest interview till this morning–about forty minutes. Today I spent an hour on radio talking to a […]

The clouds parted and the sun shone down on the sky in valdez! And my flight was able to not be cancelled! Apparently today was the first day back from a two week long spring break. I wasn’t surprised at all that it was a bit chaotic! Luckily a very nice local author drove me […]

Today I had three presentations at a school not far away and one of the teachers told me something that occurred with one of her students that left me momentarily speechless. This teacher was familiarizing the class with my work by reading Silly Chicken. She took out a map and was showing the class where […]

LOL, that’s what one of the speakers at the I.LEAD conference said about me when he began his speech. I was asked by the organizers to talk about youth engagement and empowerment. The whole theme of the conference was youth engagement and empowerment. And the weird thing was they contacted me a few weeks ago […]

You know what the hardest thing of all is? It’s to create a presentation outside your comfort zone. And especially to people you’re actually trying to influence. This Saturday I’ve been invited to Ottawa to speak at a Muslim youth conference. Honestly I can’t believe they’re still having them! I am a product of Muslim […]

Read a very interesting article the other day about how apparently certain authors, especially in the business book writing field, are hiring special services that buy bulk copies of their books in such a way as to manipulate the sales figures and make these bulk sales count towards their sales figures, propelling them onto the […]

Okay, so I’m back home, safe and sound, basking in the glow of an amazing adventure and that little refrain keeps running through my mind because it was the translation of a song one of the international storytellers sang at the end of her performance. Ana Sofia Paiva is a petite and delicate Portuguese actress turned storyteller […]

Because I was chosen as one of the Toronto District School Board’s writers in residence I’ve been going to various schools who’ve won visits from me. On Thursday I was lucky enough to go to a school I’d been to several times before! One of the things I like best about the Toronto School board […]