Always something to write or publish

The greatest thing about being a writer who is also a small publisher is that there is always something new to explore and consider writing about or publishing. About a month ago, we (the Mom and Pop of this mom-and-pop business) made plans to spend a few days in Manitoba, our neighbouring province. We just came back from that trip, and it was a blast!

We intended to visit and do a book signing with one of our authors - and we did that on Saturday with Sharon Gray, author of the funny Letters To Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver.

It was a chuckle once again to watch the reactions of bookstore patrons as we told them the book is a series of letters written by two Siamese cats. Yes - cats wrote the book! (With a little help from their LIP - Live-In Person Sharon - who turned on the computer for them, she claims!)

We also brought my Never Leave Your Wingman book to the attention of Winnipeggers again. Everybody loves the concept of seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner and her wingman husband Graham dancing into Dionne's chemo treatments dressed in costume. "Seven times?" and "Wow! That's amazing!" are the most often-heard comments.

We had a couple signings in Winnipeg last year, and it's always great to remind people of the great Prairie books we produce. We talked to at least 80 people (and handed out at least 100 leaflets that show details of all our books) in the two hours we were in the bookstore this weekend, so we are watching southern Manitoba sales in the next few weeks to see the ripple effect from that effort! Come on, Manitoba! It's time to be inspired by our great Prairie stories!

Two other items were on our agenda for the weekend trip to Manitoba.
# 1 - Meet with a person writing a book about a 100-year-old marvel of engineering. We visited the site and met the author and his collaborator and were in awe and appreciation of all three of them.
#2 - We also stopped on our way back to Regina to meet a 90-year-old war veteran in Brandon, Manitoba. He has a unique, heartwarming Christmas story to tell, and I am honoured that he and his wife are allowing me to tell that story in the form of a children's book - which we hope will be published this fall.

So here's to a great weekend full of new ideas and options ... and many more wonderful experiences on these great Canadian Prairies!