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The Poetry Project
I’ve been writing poems lately. Some days I’m surprised and pleased by what I write and think I might someday have something worth submitting somewhere. Other days a voice in my head says: You can’t write poetry. Whatever made you think you could? Why are you torturing yourself trying to write something no one will…
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Why “Genitals”?
I love to hear from readers of my books, whether they’re expressing delight in what they’ve read, or questioning some aspect of what they’ve read. In 2019, a reader who liked The Bare Naked Book (the 1986 version) expressed disappointment with the inaccuracy of the “penis” and “vagina” spread. — “Our identity does not always…
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Holiday Book Shopping Made Easy
Many readers are enjoying the pleasures of browsing their local bookstores for holiday gifts these days, others the pleasures of shopping online. New buttons on the book pages of my website will make it easier for you to quickly find what you’re looking for, whichever your shopping style preference. You are looking for books by Kathy Stinson for all…
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“I Read Canadian” 2022
For this year’s “I Read Canadian” Day (that’s today), I decided to list books by Canadian authors I’ve read in the past year. And — to adopt a phrase used by the cheesiest of stories online — you won’t believe what I discovered! More than half of the 100 books I read were Canadian! Here are some favourites: Canadian Fiction Butter…
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Close But No Cigar
Ever wonder where the expression “Close but no cigar” originated? I had two occasions last month to wonder. This is what I learned. Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players who succeeded at fairground games of strength, accuracy, and skill were commonly awarded a cigar as a prize. The games were notoriously…
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Where Was I This Summer?
Name the location of one of the photos: town, city, or body of water, and I’ll email you a sneak peek at the cover of my next book—weeks ahead of when I reveal it in a blog post!
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Another Peek at Where I Write
Last month I told you about my desk and the wall beside it. The wall behind my desk tells more stories about my life as a writer. The Painting For my first young adult novel, set in Nova Scotia, Thistledown Press hired Iris Hauser, a Saskatchewan artist to create a cover. They knew the setting was…
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A Peek at Where I Write
All around me in the room where I write are things that act as symbols for much that keeps me going when the writing gets tough: who owned my desk before me; writer-friends; illustrators whose art has perfectly extended the stories I’ve written; the determined minds and open hearts of writers and artists who’ve participated…
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Canadian Independent Bookstore Day
Saturday, April 30 is your chance to celebrate heroes of the Canadian book business, Canada’s independent sellers. Read my take on why they deserve celebrating, and I’ll then tell you what they’re doing to celebrate you, their customers. My friend says, “Books are cheaper somewhere else.” But when people buy cheaper, author royalties are correspondingly…
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“How terribly strange to be seventy”
… as Paul Simon wrote in the lyrics of “Old Friends” while still in his twenties. My birthday is this month. Friends older than I am smile or even laugh when I say how strange it feels to be on the brink of seventy. “You’re so young,” one said to me recently. I suppose in…
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