Tumbleweed Skies

A motherless girl, a grandmother who cannot forgive, an injured magpie and a warm prairie summer ...

Tumbleweed Skies takes place in Saskatchewan during the 1950s.  Ellie Stewart, whose home is in Moose Jaw, finds herself having to spend the summer in the fictional town of Weybolt after her father is laid off from his regular job and is forced to take a temporary position as a travelling salesman.

From her first glimpse of the farm that will be her home for the next months, Ellie senses that she may not be particularly welcome.

"I could tell right away that this wasn't a house that wanted me."

The beautiful cover of this book is the artwork of David Jardine. 

This is my first book for this age group, and it was thrilling to write from the perspective of a child this age.  I hope that readers will enjoy meeting Ellie.

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News Updates for Tumbleweed Skies

Shortlisted for the Ann Connor Brimer Award, 2010

Shortlisted for the 2011 - 2012 Saskatchewan Diamond Willow Award

Shortlisted for the 2011 - 2012 Hackmatack Award

Shortlisted for the 2011 - 2012 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award

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There's a GOLDFISH In My Shoe!

What?  Is it really a whole year since the first picture book came out?

Apparently, yes.  And now the second one is in bookstores.

I like to believe that the story is fun, but it's the off-the-wall zaniness of the illustrations that I think will really appeal to children.  They are wild and crazy and quirky enough to delight kids and adults alike.

In his second adventure, Oscar Ollie Brown tries to figure out why it's not always a good idea to do exactly what his mother tells him to!

For example, when Oscar's mom tires of his endless chatter and tells him to hold his tongue ...

A tongue is rather hard to hold
But boys like me do what we're told
I used both hands and got it tight
And held my tongue with all my might.

Then, as I waited to be praised
My mother said, as though amazed,
"Now what on earth is this about?
Don't put your fingers in your mouth!"

You might think she'd make up her mind!
Not my mom, she's the changing kind!

An interview with Oscar and I can be viewed here, as he talks about his earlier adventures in There's a COW Under My Bed!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_hGC2R5EZ4

Oscar and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Watcher

From the back cover:

Sixteen-year-old Porter Delancy believes he has his future figured out, but his nice, neat plans are shaken when a man he believes may be his father suddenly appears in his Toronto neighbourhood.  Porter knows he wants nothing to do with the deadbeat dad who abandoned him and his sister 12 years earlier, but curiosity causes him to re-examine the past.

Unfortunately, actual memories are scarce and confusing, and much of what he knows is based on things his mother has told him.  As Porter looks for answers, it begins to seem that all he's ever going to find are more questions.
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Watcher wasn't an easy book for me to write.  It deals with an issue that horrifies me, for many reasons - that being, Parental Alienation.

Parental Alienation is a form of abuse involving the destruction of a child's relationship with one parent, by the other.  It is, for the most part, an unpunished crime.

Those who pay the highest price are the victims: the children, who are often programmed to become innocent participants in the attack against a parent with whom they formerly enjoyed a loving relationship.  Their real memories are replaced with stories of abuse and abandonment.

Parental Alienation is a hate crime - a crime of lies and manipulation.

Our courts have been slow to recognize and act to protect the children of divorce who are affected by PA.

We pray for justice to prevail through truth and love.