I am a Writer and Author–a mom, an auntie, a friend. I am me.

COFFEE…
It was a very busy week! In British Columbia, the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry recently lifted the travel ban and gatherings outside of ones immediate bubble. So the texts started flying back and forth and the phone started to ring. Whoop whoop…I’d finally get to visit with someone I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Well….First thing was to have coffee with a couple of writers friends and get caught up on life.
I got my chai latte and we settled in but it wasn’t long enough. I had company coming and the timeline was too tight. We did however, get to discuss Indigenous People’s Day and the poem I wrote for my Auntie Says… blog that day.
If you haven’t had a chance to read it, please do. It speaks from the perspective of not knowing what our history contained. A hidden history of concealment, denial, and force fed lies is a rough awakening. It explains a lot.
You can read the poem HERE. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

The other Auntie Says… post this week was all about change and ridding your life of toxic company. It’s a quote that you can read over and over to relate back to taking control of your own life. You can see that HERE.
This is a picture of a fence with orange ribbons. This was in the city of Penticton on Indigenous People’s Day. This is to represent the recently found buried bodies of children at the residential school in Kamloops.
The sad thing is that this week in the province of Saskatchewan, they found 751 more unmarked graves at a residential school.
This is a dark piece of Canada’s history and one that I fear will continue to grow as time passes. We can’t fix what we don’t acknowledge (someone really smart said that…)
COMPANY

My niece Samantha and her friend Michelle popped in for a quick hug and a Hi. They were on their way back to Vancouver but I’m sure will be back in a month or two.
Then as Sam left, my niece Kara and her gang came for a couple of nights of late night movies, laughs, and great food.
We hadn’t visited for what seemed like forever. It was great to catch up.
Look at this moon we spotted one night. It was HUGE! Unfortunately my phone doesn’t take the best night pix. You’ll have to trust me…it was gorgeous.
Even with company, I make sure I get my work done. This week for My Twisted Writer Brain I talked about having to do an edit on a full 80k manuscript. You can see it HERE. It’s a wee bit whiney but you may be able to relate. It was fun to write.
And, if you didn’t check out Piper with her writer wit then you’ll want to look HERE. It’s fun and light-hearted. If nothing else, go say Hi to Piper. xo
CONTESTS
I set a goal at the beginning of 2021 to enter a minimum of 12 writing contests. This month I entered one contest but three pieces… so I’m counting that as three. The contest is the Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Contest.
I entered a short story and two poems. Fingers crossed.
I think I’ve now caught up and am around eight entries (I think).
I’ll let you know as soon as I know.
WRITING FESTIVAL AND CONTEST FOR YOU
So are you signed up for the virtual Wine Country Writers’ Festival Yet?
Check HERE
Check out the site here: http://www.winecountrywritersfestival.ca
I’m the Director of the Festival.
The workshops offered are of high quality and they’re FREE!!
Can you believe it? Yes. They’re free.
If you want to attend the Master Class about publishing and agents presented by a top Toronto based agent and CEO of The Rights Factory, it will cost only $20
Do you want to do a pitch to an agent or publisher? only $25
How about a blue pencil session with an author? only $15
You can also ENTER the WRITING CONTEST for only $15 (two for $25)
Don’t wait too long because it will sell out.

Thank you so much for stopping by. If you enjoyed this post please like, comment, share, and follow. It really is appreciated.
Curious about the workshops… Will some of them be held simultaneously or will it be possible to attend them all?
Hey Sally. At this point, the plan is to run two classes simultaneously. We are thinking though of having video for one week after so you can see those you missed….but we’re not 100 on that yet. So at this point you’d have to pick between two. xoxo
I’m looking forward the Wine Country Writers’ Festival. And good luck with the contests you’ve entered! (Note that I used the plural there, because you’re counting three entries. 😂)
Did you register yet? and yes it was DEFINITELY Three….yes, 3! entries. Lol….I can count the “contests” or I can count the “entries”….ummm….rocket science? yeah. lol xoxo