Monday, August 31, 2020

“Ode to My Body” by Julie Kim


Ode to My Body

Dear Body, My body
Nobody but me
Lived through or fathoms what lies beneath
My magnificent silky sheath
Passed down from my father
Endures all my years
As mother, wife, sister, daughter
Each scar, all my bones, every ache, every creak
The stories they’d tell, if only they could speak!
Of pain and the losses, battles, victories untold
Of strength I possessed unknown to behold

Dear Body, My body
I myself, I embody
My landscape transforms down to its core
I’m weathered like rocks
Time runs, not walks
Unkind to the woman I was before
With no choice, I embrace
To age with courage and grace
Whatever may come my way
God grant me time, my body I pray
Be good to me the rest of my days


Julie Kim is on the go as a busy mom and an occupational therapist.  When she hits pause, she relishes in music and singing and her penchant for writing poetry.  These days, she’s becoming familiar with the art of sitting down, thanks to Brian’s writing classes.


See Brian Henry's schedule hereincluding online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.


Thursday, August 27, 2020

“You & Jimmy” by Janine Elias Joukema


As if ordered by a strict and disappointed teacher, you stand with your back against the pocked and battered living room wall.  Your stomach bulging, making it difficult for your brown polyester pants to keep your rippled flesh under cover.  The red long-sleeved shirt you wear clings to your deflated breasts and documents your comings and goings over the last three days.  Each stain and smudge and drip having its own story to tell.  On the white cuff of your left sleeve there are crusty green stains mixed with the dampness of wiped tears.
For hours now, Jimmy has incessantly whispered, “They took it. They took all of it.  I told them to do it and they did it.  They hate you.  It’s true, it’s all true.” 
This makes it difficult for you to look at your children as they play and laugh, especially now that you know all about what they’ve done – to you. 
Over, and over, and over again you heard Jimmy tell you, they did it... they did it for me…  they hate you… it’s all true.     
And now, you clench your jaw, rub and press your temples, move repeatedly from side to side, trying hard to cope with the news, but it’s impossible for you to ignore what you’ve heard, to ignore what’s happened.
Bursting away from the wall, you break into their play circle and accuse them of taking your purse, taking your money, of working with Jimmy to make you – their own mother --  a penniless beggar on the streets of this small and ugly town, where everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everything.
They try to convince you that they didn’t take your purse, that they aren’t working with Jimmy, even swear on their father’s grave, but you don’t believe them.  It’s his word against theirs.  Jimmy got to you, and they know it.  They’ve seen it before.  The way you pause in the middle of a sentence to listen to what they can’t hear, the way you move your head from side to side as if witnessing a fast and violent argument, the way your eyes dart from corner to corner in an empty room. 
Jimmy is whispering the unbelievable to you, and you, are believing.  You have no choice. 
Corralling them from the living room out to the hall closet, you demand that they look for your purse, find your purse, give back your purse!  
They do look.  They can’t find it.  It’s not there to give back.
As you jostle, push, and pull them up the stairs, you spit accusations and threats and conspiracy and betrayal from your thin lips – it can’t be helped.  You force them to scour and ransack every corner of every closet in every room but one, your own.  
Huddling close together, they wait and watch as you sink into a concentrated silence and lean in to listen to what is being said.  Then, as if startled by an unexpected discovery, you straighten up and then storm into your own bedroom and yank open your own closet.  
You find what you are searching for.
Slouched against a dust-covered paper shopping bag, sits your black purse.  As you bend down to grab it, you can smell the newness of the men’s clothes that will never ever be worn.  You stop, take a deep breath, then kick the bag deep into the closet.
You shake and spill everything from your purse onto the bed and floor. Open zippers, search pockets, and pouches, and tear through your wallet.  You sort and pile coins, separate each dollar with a licked thumb, and count -- not once, but three times -- a total of twenty-seven dollars and eighteen cents. 
Then, you slowly and carefully return each of the spilled items to their rightful place and hug your purse, pressing it so tightly against your chest that the silver clasp leaves a red and swollen mark.  Your shoulders ease, you smile, they smile, thinking it’s over.
But in a flash, you swoop down on them thrashing your loaded purse against their bodies.  With each accusation you bring your purse down on them -- it was wrong to take your purse, it was wrong to hide your purse, it was wrong to help Jimmy. 
Heaving and out of breath, you collapse onto your bed, still clutching and cradling your precious purse.  
Then, in the quiet after your rage, the air-gulping sobs of your children break through.  You crawl to the edge of the bed, and from behind the pillow you dare to look down at them.  Cautiously, you slip from the bed onto the floor and curl up beside them, but you do not touch them, not yet.
Still holding your purse, you finally bring your lips to each of their heads and with softness in your voice you plead with them to stop crying, to stop shaking… to just look at you. 
You caress and gently press their small shoulders, their thin arms, their slim legs, all the while telling them that there are no bruises, no cuts, no broken bones -- see, no need for all this crying, you say.
Pulling them closer, trying to wrap them all in your arms, you swear that you know now that they didn’t take your purse, that it wasn’t them, that they are good and sweet and helpful children, yes, the kind of children that love their mother.  Right? 
A small hand braves to break the silence, to answer your question, it reaches over and touches yours.  Its weight and warmth a gift. 
You lift that hand to your lips, kiss it, then hold it tight against your wet cheek, whispering, “It’s not your fault.  It’s Jimmy’s.  He’s the one making all the trouble.  He’s the problem.  Not you.  Not you, my children.” 
***
Janine Elias Joukema has been writing privately for many years. She is a Strategic Management Consultant and, for now, spends more time writing business reports than writing fiction. 

See Brian Henry's schedule hereincluding online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Dawn Frederick of Red Sofa Literary seeks middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction and adult fiction

Red Sofa Literary
St Paul, Minnesota

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the Follow Brian by Email box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. If you’re not yet on my newsletter list, send me an email, including your locale to:  brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian

Red Sofa is a boutique literary agency. Its mission is “to celebrate a life of reading and geek culture, where brains always win over brawn.” 

Dawn Michelle Frederick is the owner of Red Sofa Literary. She brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table from multiple years of experience in an independent bookstore. She was previously an agent at Sebastian Literary Agency, and she’s a teaching artist at Loft Literary.

Dawn is seeking various kinds of nonfiction: 
Biography-Historical, media related, political. No personal memoir. 
Creative Nonfiction. “It needs to be smart,” says Dawn. The book should be commercial and the author should have a noticeable platform.
History – Books that will engage the commercial reader. 
Humor – Dawn loves a good laugh. She represents the CHOOSE YOUR OWN MISERY series)
Pop Culture – Especially Americana, and anything quirky
Social Issues/Current Affairs—Women’s Studies, GLTB Studies, Social Sciences, and more
Sports — Less mainstream, more extreme sport, ex: Roller Derby, not so much into traditional sports
Women’s Narratives – women’s nonfiction, diverse stories please!

Young Adult – Fiction, Nonfiction

Middle Grade – Fiction, Nonfiction

Query Dawn at: dawn@redsofaliterary.com 

Send a query only; no sample chapters until requested.
Note: Dawn was recently the victim of cancel culture. See the story here.
Literary agent Paige Sisley en route to
our 2018 workshop in Collingwood
If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our upcoming How to Get Published workshops Saturday, Oct 3, in Toronto with Evan Brown of Transatlantic Literary Agency (see here) and Saturday, Oct 24, in Guelph with Paige Sisley of the CookeMcdermid agency (see here).

And if you’re specifically interested in writing and publishing Kid Lit, don’t miss Writing for Children and for Young Adults, with Anne Shone, Executive Editor, Scholastic Books, Saturday, September 12, in Mississauga (see here) and the Writing Kid Lit weekly class this fall on Thursday evenings, online (see here).

Beyond that, Brian’s schedule continues to take shape...

Two writing retreats:
Algonquin Park Retreat: Join me for a magical weekend at Arowhon Pines Resort, an outpost of luxury in the middle of the wilderness,  for a writing retreat. Friday, Sept 4  Monday, Sept 7. Details here.
Jackson's Point: Writing Retreat at the Briar's Resort & Spa on Lake Simcoe: 
The ambiance of a country estate and the comforts of a modern resort  a perfect place to write.
     Friday, Nov 13  Monday, Nov 16. Details here.

Workshops:
Burlington: Raising the Stakes How to increase your story's tension, Saturday, 
  Sept 26. Details here.

Classes:
Online: Writing Personal Stories, Tuesday evenings, Oct 13 – Dec 15. Details here.
     ~ Spaces still available. 
Online: Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Sept 24 – Dec 3. Details here.
Online: Writing Kid Lit, Thursday evenings, Sept 24 – Nov 26. Details here.
Online: Intensive Creative Writing, Tuesday mornings, Sept 15 – Dec 15.  Details here.
Online: Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, Sept 16 to Dec 9. Details here.
Online: Intensive Creative Writing, Friday mornings. Sept 18 – Dec 4. Details here.
     ~ Spaces still available. 

More workshops:
OnlineHow to Write Great CharactersSaturday, Oct 31. Come in costume!          Details here.
OnlineHow to Write a Bestsellerwith New York Times bestselling author
     Kelley ArmstrongSaturday, Nov 7. Details here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including Saturday writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, New Tecumseth, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor,  Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. If you're searching for more interviews with literary agents or a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post.


Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Online Writing Personal Stories class, Tuesdays Oct 13 – Dec 15


Writing Personal Stories
9 weeks of sharing and writing
Tuesday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m.
October 13 – December 15,  2020 {no class Nov 17}
Offered online and accessible wherever there's Internet
See all courses offered this fall here.
If you've ever considered writing your personal stories, this course is for you. We’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history ~ personal stories of all kinds. Plus, of course, we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it. 
Whether you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We'll reveal the tricks and conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

We’ll have a guest speaker for this class: Jennifer M. Smith, author of Green Ghost, Blue Ocean. This story of Jennifer’s 40,000-mile nautical adventure won the 2019 Pottersfield Prize for nonfiction and was published by Pottersfield Press this year. Jenifer has also been published numerous times on Quick Brown Fox. For more on Green Ghost, Blue Ocean visit the distributor, Nimbus Publishing, here, and visit Jennifer’s website here.

Note: This class will be held live via Zoom. To participate, you'll need Internet access and a microphone and a camera {i.e., a webcam} on your computer, tablet or smart phone.
Fee:  $176.11 plus 13% hst = $199
To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 
Read reviews of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

See Brian’s complete current schedule hereincluding online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.


Sunday, August 23, 2020

Space available in – online – Intensive Creative Writing class starting in September


Intensive Creative Writing
Tuesday mornings, 10:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
September 15 – December 15, 2020 {no class Nov 17}
First reading emailed Sept 8
This class was going to be in-person in Burlington but will now be online and accessible from  everywhere

Intensive Creative Writing
 isn't for beginners; it's for people who have been writing for a while or who have done a course or two before and are working on their own projects. You’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback, including three long pieces. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on. 
Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Fee:
 $229.20 + hst = $259
To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca 

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 
Read reviews of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

See Brian’s complete current schedule hereincluding online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Writing Kid Lit and Raising the Stakes – 2 in-person workshops this September

Guest speaker Anne Shone

Writing for Children and for Young Adults
  ~ The world’s hottest market
With Scholastic Books Executive Editor
  ~ Anne Shone 
Saturday, September 12, 2020
10:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. {or maybe a bit later}
St Stephen’s on the Hill, 998 Indian Rd, Mississauga, Ontario, in the Common Room (Map here)
If you want to write the next best-selling children’s books or just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love and find out what you need to know to sell your book. Be sure to bring all your questions – we'll have lots of time for interaction.
Special option: You may, but don't have to, bring 3 copies of the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or up to 750 words if that gets you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot!
Note: This workshop was originally scheduled for June in Alliston, but we needed a larger space to allow for physical distancing. But even with the larger space, we will still need to be a small group, so this will be an outstanding opportunity to network and get feedback on your manuscript from one of the most experienced Kid Lit editors in Canada.
Guest speaker Anne Shone is the Executive Editor at Scholastic Canada, where she acquires books for publication. Scholastic Canada does not usually accept un-agented manuscripts, unless you’ve heard Anne speak at a workshop, so for anyone considering submitting to Scholastic, this workshop is a great opportunity.  
Anne has worked in book publishing for over twenty years, concentrating on children’s books for the last fifteen. In that time, she has worked with many of Canada’s top children’s book authors and illustrators. 
Recent highlights include: picture books (Friends for Real by Ted Staunton, illustrated by Ruth Ohi; Can You Imagine? by Wallace Edwards; and Nibi’s Water Song by Sunshine Tenascoc , illustrated by Chief Lady Bird); novels (My Best Friend and Other Illusions by Suri Rosen; Waiting Under Water by Riel Nason; and the Almost Epic Squad series); nonfiction (Keep Up, Katmai by Barrett Hedges and Pili Palm-Leis; and It Seemed Like a Good Idea….  by Ted Staunton and Will Staunton), to name just a few. 
Fee: $45.13 + 13% hst = $51 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or $48.67 + 13% hst = $55 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Raising the Stakes
How to increase your story's tension 
Saturday, September 26, 2020
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
St. Elizabeth Anglican Church, 5324 Bromley Rd, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)
Ever stayed up all night reading a book? In this workshop, you’ll learn you how to build that kind of tension.  And we'll help you put into practice the techniques professionals use – on every page and in every kind of story – to create drama and raise the tension in each scene they write.
Note: To allow physical distancing, we will of necessity be a small group and enjoy ample opportunity for interaction. Participants are asked to wear a mask, and I'll bring the hand sanitizer.
Fee: $40.71+ hst = $46 paid in advance 
or $44.25 + hst = $50 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor, author, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers and is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 
"Brian’s the real deal.  He isn't just an inspiring teacher – he's plugged into the publishing world! He got me an agent who sold my first novel, to publishers around the world.  My 13th novel, The Awakening – a YA urban fantasy –  hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. Currently, Random House Canada, Bantam U.S. and Little Brown in Britain have contracted my next seven books.  So it looks like I’ll be writing for a while."
~ Kelley Armstrong, Aylmer, Ontario
Read reviews of Brian’s classes and workshops here.

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. ~ Brian

See Brian’s complete current schedule hereincluding online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.