author of more than a dozen books for kids & teens
28 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in News
Just back from Galiano. Beautiful weather, wonderful freshly smoked salmon, and fresh veggies from my dear friend Marci’s garden. Add in wine, and lovely sunsets and you have perfection. Check out my friend, Marci DeVicque’s fuzed glass works. They are totally gorgeous. 
And these tiny tree frogs are everywhere and super cute!
25 Jul 2012 3 Comments
in News Tags: outdoor DIY art project
Ta Da! Here’s my latest outdoor art…faux stained glass windows.
This is what I spent yesterday afternoon doing instead of writing. I’m thrilled. It makes my shed look like a mini cottage.
What you’ll need:
an old window, simulated liquid leading, glass paint in several colors (available at craft stores…), paint brushes, a glass scraper or one-sided razor blade with a handle, and plastic containers for the paint.
1. take an old window. Paint the frame (I had already done this since it was one of the original windows from my house. I kept a few of the windows when I replaced my old windows with new double glazed ones).
2. clean the glass with vinegar and water.
3. create a design on paper (you can skip this step if you are using a simple design like mine)
3. use simulated liquid leading to “draw the lead lines”. It’s easiest to use straight out of the bottle by squeezing the paint through the tiny nipple. This requires a steady hand though. Touch up the lead lines using a small paint brush.
4. let the faux lead dry for a few minutes then clean up your line with a glass scraper or one-sided razor blade. Don’t worry about a few wobbles in your line. No one will even notice once you’ve finished the faux glass.
5. fill in the spaces between your leading with the colors of your choice.
Voila!
Of course it’s nowhere near as beautiful as my real stained glass windows, but hey, it’s perfect for the garden, and it only cost me $17.00 for the paint and an afternoon outside!
Tip: I used a stippling technique for the colored panels since I didn’t want the wall behind the windows to show through. But if you use regular brush strokes, you will see some brush lines in your window. Don’t worry about that either because it looks great no matter which technique you use.
Keep in mind that the paint will need to cure, so it will need to stay dry for a few days.
24 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Parents, for teens Tags: NPR, teen novels
NPR is holding a “Best Ever Teen Novels” vote so hustle on over to vote for your top 10 out of the 235 on the list chosen by both the public and a panel of experts. You’re encouraged to reminisce and/or lobby for your favorites.
Not only that, but they have put together a printable list. Now when you’re looking for a great read, you only need to pull out your NPR List.
There are so many books that I love on this list that it’s going to be tough to narrow it down to 10! Abhorsen Trilogy, An Abundance of Katherines, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Anne of Green Gables, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Beauty Queens, The Book Thief, Boy Meets Boy, The Catcher in the Rye, The Dark is Rising!
YIKES…I haven’t even gotten up to “e” and I already have 10! This is going to be super hard!
Yep. You have a whole summer of reading ahead…and more!
24 Jul 2012 1 Comment
in Help for writers Tags: Debbie Ohi, Inkygirl, interview, Jocelyn Shipley, writing process
I just finished reading a great interview with Jocelyn Shipley over at Debbie Ohi’s Inkygirl blog. It was interesting to read that in Jocelyn’s first draft of How to Tend a Grave, there was one main character but in a subsequent draft, a second main character emerged. Jocelyn concluded that she would achieve more depth by telling two merging stories in two voices, but this conclusion required some time and distance from the manuscript.
I love hearing about a writer’s process, and can’t emphasize enough that first drafts are a beginning point.
23 Jul 2012 3 Comments
in News Tags: Margaret Mahy
I’m so sad to hear that Magaret Mahy is no longer with us. The world has lost a wonderful woman and one of the great children’s writers of our time. I don’t doubt for a minute that she had more stories in her, stories we’ll never get to hear. Fortunately, she left more than a hundred books in her 76 years. Some of her stories delighted younger readers, while others were intended for older audiences. 
I met her many years ago in Calgary. She sat next to me at Kaleidoscope, an international children’s literature conference held every four years. She had been invited as a keynote speaker and she was truly inspiring. I was a young author with only two books under my belt, but when she sat down at my table, she was far too interested in everyone there to talk about herself. She was thrilled to be in Canada and she glowed with enthusiasm for the people she had met and the landscapes she had seen. Her curiosity about everything and everyone was childlike and refreshing. She was one of the most engaged people I’ve met, and that feeling was confirmed a few days after the conference when we were travelled with our hosts (who were both on the organizing committee) for a short hike into the Rocky Mountains.
Margaret’s books are as current today as they were the day they were written. These are are some of my favorites, and I hope you will pick one or two of them up for yourself, or for a young reader who will enjoy a brief visit to one of the many worlds Margaret Mahy created for us.
22 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in Writing Life
I’ve always had an addiction to scrabble, but I’ve gotten worse, and it’s all the fault of Facebook. I’ve recently rediscovered it on Facebook. I can play with all sorts of people, some of whom I know and others who are complete strangers. Some of these guys are really really good, and I love that I’m learning new words. I confess to having more than a dozen games going at any one time. I guess it could be considered a time-waster, but it is related to writing right?
21 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in News Tags: DIY with books
Two things that I truly love are books and home renos/decorating. Here’s a great idea that combines the two, but be sure you’ve already read the books cuz it could be a disaster if you pull one out! It comes from one of my favorite DIY sites, Apartment Therapy.
20 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in News
A gorgeous hot day yesterday so went on a lovely bike ride from Mattick’s Farm to Island View Beach in Saanichton with my friend Janet Daines. It’s only about a 7 kilometer ride, but it requires quite a climb along Island View Road which is followed by a long curvy downhill section. Janet had no trouble with the hill, but I had to get off my bike about half way up the hill because I don’t have great hill climbing gears. The ride is pretty much through farm country so it was gorgeous. And, arriving at Island View Beach, the views were even prettier. It was clear enough to see Mount Baker today too, a bonus.
Of course, having come down the hill required another climb back up, but the views were worth it.
19 Jul 2012 2 Comments
in News
One of the cool things I love about the Vancouver Folk Music Festival is the lantern parade they do towards the end of the night concerts. The lanterns are carried through the crowd, and then light our way as we leave the park at the end of the last set. These lanterns are crafted from paper, sticks, glue and paint and have grown to be an art form in and of themselves. This year the lantern theme was children’s literature. Lanterns featured included The Stinky Cheese Man, the spider from Charlotte’s Web, The hat from The Cat in the Hat, Peter Rabbit, Little Red Riding Hood, and many more. Here are a few pictures I managed to take.
I just wish you could have been there….it was magical.
19 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival last weekend was fabulous, and now I have tons of very cool new music to explore. The downside to being away at this time of year is trying to catch up on work and keep up with my rather large garden. I’ve managed to get a lot done though, even if I’m not totally caught up. I’ve done some critique work for CANSCAIP’s Blue Pencil Program (established writers mentor new writers for a modest fee), I’ve had to do a some tweaking of the text of my new picture book (Island Santa) to work better with the illustrations, I’ve put together a slide show for a short Skype visit with a Pakistani library, and I’ve fit in a bit of crisis gardening including, picking a batch of peas, salad greens and artichokes, as well as making a dozen jars of strawberry jam with my very own strawberries. It’s totally delicious by the way.
So, on my ‘to do’ list is to revise a picture book manuscript and do a major overhaul on my novel in progress. Fortunately, I have notes for the latter two revisions from my critique group’s meeting of a few weeks ago to help me get going. If you’re a writer, or are trying to be, and you don’t have a trusted critique group that you periodically work with, I’d highly recommend that you either look for one or start one of your own. I find the process invaluable.
Sheryl McFarlane 