Welcome to My Blog
A Treasure Trove
A wonderful surprise awaited me in the mailbox last week! A box of letters had arrived from England, sent by an 80+ year old man who had lived in Canada as a child. He and his sister had been evacuated to Windsor, Ontario for the duration of World War II where...
Ford Canada’s Humanitarian War Efforts
During World War II, Ford Canada offered British Ford employees the opportunity to send their children to Canada for the duration of the hostilities. My great uncle, a Ford engineer in Windsor and his wife cared for siblings Jacquie and John Young for five years. "You...
Love and Avarice
Roger and Claire Cohen face danger and peril amidst the sudden appearance of an ominous illness that ravages their community. (Sound familiar?) They struggle to maintain a crumbling marriage while trying to decipher the riddle of this threat and solve the...
What a surprise!
I just received a response to a message I sent eight years ago! In my novel The Medal, I created the character of Sam who is a composite of three Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan. Before the book was published, I wrote to each of their parents to...
Metro’s Goldwyn Mayor
Allan Lamport, mayor of Toronto from 1951-1954 was dubbed ‘Metro’s Goldwyn Mayor’. Like Sam Goldwyn, he had a knack for saying things in innovative and memorable ways. Here are some examples: I get up at five in the morning no matter what time of day it is. You’ve...
Champion of the World – Not!
Taking a break from editing my novel, Finding Home, to participate in a Rummikub tournament. The competition was stiff. I triumphed in the first two games. Sadly, my husband managed to come from behind to become Champion of the World. Maybe I should stick to editing!...
Until the Day We Die – Congratulations, Jockie.
Tea and my newly-arrived book, Until the Day We Die by Jockie Loomer-Kruger. What could be better? Jockie's first book, Valley Child - A Memoir, was self-published in 2016 when she was 80. In it, photos of 33 of her folk-art pieces accompany stories about growing up...
Adjectives
Native speakers of a language usually use adjectives in the correct order, but what if you are trying to explain the rule to a non-native speaker. It turns out that adjectives in English must be in this order: opinion-size-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun....