For your signed copy of ‘Providence Point’ visit me this weekend (September 27-8) at the Tellwell Publishing booth, Word on the Street – David Pecaut Square, Toronto. (Computer-generated images)
Category: blog
Hank, Rex and I “always knew that August’s parade of lazy days must finally come to an end. For Granny, as well… the conclusion of summer aroused powerful emotions.” For as she watched our late-summer exploits, “the freedom we enjoyed must have reflected opportunities totally beyond reach for even the most intrepid of Victorian daughters…
Granny recalled that at the Reigate summer festival, a pugnacious bully had mocked a young girl’s singing, but Great-Grandpa Barnaby would not stand for it. From the front row, “he glared down to the back of the tent” in which the performances were taking place. “He very deliberately took off his blazer. Then he rolled..
Autumn’s here and it’s time to treat yourself to a wonderful read! So why not dip into Providence Point? Nature, friendship, romance and excitement… you’ll find them all. This inviting Canadian novel, set in the beautiful Georgian Bay region, is just what you’ll need on a crisp and sunny fall day. Find Providence Point online..
“If the weather cleared, the barometer would rise. In that case, the fishing would pick up …” “But half an hour without strikes confirmed what the gradually darkening skies suggested. The air pressure was dropping. Soon, the rain would return. And worse, there would be few if any fish. Already, no other anglers were in..
“Christie’s Bluff was a towering island almost ten miles out from our side of the Bay. Its peak was a beacon for anyone who ventured onto the open water. It watched over us all year long… In return we never disregarded it. All whose plans required fair weather commenced their day with a nod to..
I’m thrilled to be part of Toronto’s Word on the Street Festival this September 27-8! Come say hello and check out Providence Point at the Tellwell Publishing booth in David Pecaut Square. Let’s celebrate Canadian storytelling together!
Reminiscing about earlier years on the Bay, Mrs. Birmingham tells Rob how his grandparents spent their evenings with his Auntie Lou and Uncle Harry. “What a crew those four made! Harry and Lou built their cottage just across from the Point… It had a nice lookout over the water, but the whole place was crammed..
Robbie and Uncle Harry were fishing a few hundred yards off the shoreline of Évariste Leduc’s farmstead. As they watched the patriarch’s elderly spouse working in the sizeable garden, Harry broke the silence: “Here’s a thought, Robbie. What if, in fact, we were living our lives almost the same as the folks in that house?…..
“As traditional as it might be, Thanksgiving was not the autumn highlight. For Granny and Grandpa, it paled in comparison with Harvest Festival, a kind of lower-key English Thanksgiving three weeks before its Canadian counterpart…. [but] it did have a drawback. Its September date frequently coincided with early frosts that shockingly nipped less hardy vegetables..
One spring day Robbie and his grandmother returned to the cottage from a ramble along the edge of the Wash… “We slipped quietly into the living room. The hearth gave off precisely the right warmth for an early May afternoon. A roll-your-own smouldered between my grandfather’s dozy fingers. On his lap I saw a spreadeagled..
“My grandmother assigned herself the task of setting me on the path towards accomplishments she felt were indispensable for any full-grown man… A case in point was handling snakes deftly and with confidence.” For example, after a little encouragement, “I edged forward and swept my legs through the grass. A telltale ripple slid away, then..