Category Archives: juvenile fiction

Old School

With a couple of weeks to go before school lets out for the summer, the students at Balmoral Hall School must have thought I was crazy when I exclaimed how GREAT it was to be back!IMG_2012

But, really, it was.

I began in Kindergarten and left in Grade 7. The memories are rich and textured and, although the school has changed quite a bit with brilliant new wings and lofty ceilings,

 

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the exterior of the old school is still there and the memories are visceral as I remember how it felt to push out the heavy doors and run down the stairs to the playground.

 

 

 

 

IMG_2007 I was struck by the feeling of belonging as I noticed the beautiful, bronze plaque from a capital campaign years ago, and chuckled at my name engraved on it. I felt proud of the connection

 

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My presentation in the beautiful Sifton Theatre Auditorium went off without a hitch as I reminded the girls to believe in themselves and to fight the fear that holds them back from living their best lives.

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After, I really enjoyed meeting the girls and hearing their DSC00675.JPGdreams of being a writer. There was zero doubt in my mind they would go places and have a significant impact on the world.

DSC00674It was an honour to put a note in a beautiful writing journal.

 

 

 

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I stood under the pictures of the Head Mistresses who were there so many years ago with me. There have been five more Heads of School since and I felt like I entered a time warp.

There is nothing left of the old senior school as I signed in at the new entrance. Complete with a buzz-in system and guard at the front, I wondered, what has the world has come to? as I clipped on my visitor tag.

 

Gone are the days when I used my crutches with my broken leg in Grade 1 and won at “Mother, My I?” under the glass passage. The old swing sets are gone and with them the original and all engrossing pastime of swing tag. The kilts are still there, though, and the prefects and Closing Exercises, and I am convinced the facilities, ethics and dedication toward our leaders of tomorrow are new and improved.

As I walked to my car, I glanced at the old Junior School. Still the tindlestone brick and the many windows we all looked out of, almost every day of our formative years. I paused and looked at one window in particular and a hilarious memory flooded in of when a schoolmate climbed out of it, causing quite a stir as she inched along the outside of the building and climbed in the next one. I remember telling my mom about it and she just laughed along with me. She was definitely NOT old school.

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Many thanks to Balmoral Hall for the warm welcome and the warmest of new memories. There is something definitely intriguing about going back … to the place of your foundation and the seat of your ideals and values and friendships and aspirations … to your old school.

My Hometown

 

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Sweeping, swamping memories flood in as I drive around the old, familiar streets. Anyone who knows River Heights understands when I say how the cavernous, verdant arches of the tree-lined streets whisper, “Welcome home, welcome home.”

I can’t help but drive by my old homes as my son now lives on my old street and as I go to visit friends, they live on another old street and as I drove into town and went to the car wash, I couldn’t help drive by another as it was on the way. Seeing the places where I once lived tugs at my heart as I remember the visceral details of switching on certain favourite light fixtures, the feel of opening a window in the spring or the heft of opening a front door, all insignificant at the time. All were just moments and motions in an ever-changing life that always moved too fast. Moments and motions that were torn and shoved into memory as life abruptly moved on. Now, as life is a little calmer and I am much more at peace with all the loss and change, I look at my old homes, not with sad nostalgia, but a reverence for the pace and resilience I developed in those years.

Winnipeg has a way of drawing old friends together as we all lived up or down the streets from each other. We have generations of tales of antics down the back lanes. “We trudged to school in minus 30 degrees up and downhill both ways…” was the joke of our parents and we laughed at the part about being in the hills, not about the temperature that earned Winterpeg its nickname. Close to the longitudinal centre of Canada and also on the pancake flat prairies, I actually have a lot of respect for anyone who can drive decently in snow. We played and grew and loved and lived in an urban forest and never realised how incredibly special the quality of air is from all those trees. Years ago an out-of-town  friend said Fess up – there are only five streets in Winnipeg and you have lived on all five! Pretty much.

My hometown is a place of constancy. Not a large city, it boasts beautiful women, bountiful nearby lakes, and culture to rival anywhere. The fans of the Winnipeg Jets are renown for their loyalty and that love and devotion just spills over into lifelong friendships.

I am here to share my book, Gifts of the Crysnix. This is big for me! It will be so poignant for me to look into the eyes of old friends and read my words – my heart – to them. I have chosen the biggest, most beautiful bookstore in town and it thrills me to think I will finally be launching at McNally Robinson Booksellers. If you would like to read more about it go here.

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A blurb about me from McNally Robinson was in the Winnipeg Free Press weekend edition. Out of the blue, I heard from an old friend, actually, someone I was never really close to but knew many years ago. She took the time to track me down through my website and say hello. It was so great to hear from her as she congratulated me and promised to read my book. An acquaintance from the past, in this harried, busy life, made the time to send me a lovely note. That is the kind of quality of people who live in my hometown.

I am so proud to be back in Winnipeg.

Story Monsters Ink Review

“Great reads for growing minds” in the subtitle of this thick, high-quality magazine, “Story Monsters Ink”. I was so pleased to see the end result of an ad I placed there. They created the ad for me and I think it turned out great!

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Below is the review they gave me. It’s always such a treat to see that people have enjoyed the book and have something original to say about it.

Story Monsters Ink Review

April 2016

Beautiful creatures from a parallel universe watch over the humans in a small seaside town. A breathtaking new world-so perfect, so enchanting that we want to believe-unfolds as we witness the journey of new friends, who lead us toward our own personal triumphs. They have harnessed the power to bend time and grant wishes. “Elixir will do just fine,” Marsuveus said with conviction. “He doesn’t know it yet but he has tremendous power behind him. He is fulfilling his destiny.” At that moment, the storm hit full force, and the animals and Crysnix cowered for cover. The hurricane whipped and tore at Galvin Cove and shredded the young trees of Castle Forest. It seemed it was only a matter of time before the Dark Prince Onyx would win. The king flew above them all on the back of Marsuveus and shouted to the expectant faces below. “Take heart! Remember our strategy! Fight the fear! Fight the fear!” All it takes is the will to believe.

“Gifts of the Crysnix” is a wonderfully entertaining and original story that will have for young readers an immense appeal to their imagination and sense of wonder. Very highly recommended for school and community library fantasy collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “Gifts of the Crysnix” is also available in a paperback edition (9781504339650, $16.99) and in a Kindle format ($4.99).

I really appreciate the line, “Very highly recommended for school and community library fantasy collections…”

The people at FiveStar Publications, who produce the magazine, were really nice to work with and I was surprised at the quality of the magazine when a complimentary copy arrived at my door. Cristy Bertini, the Editor-In-Chief was just a phone call or email away and she came across in a very friendly way. So nice to be dealing with people one-on-one and not feeling intimidated.

Thanks again to all the folks at “Story Monsters Ink”!!

A Creative Writing Challenge!

I’m taking time off writing to write about writing … Yeah, that’s been my focus these days!

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Working til past midnight these past few days, I have had the house to myself (as my husband is away) and I have lived on oatmeal and blueberries and crackers and hummus. I finally got out of the house this morning and treated myself to sushi for lunch. California crunch rolls! Awesome!!

I am having a ball working on a power point presentation for my upcoming gig at the every WOMAN Conference in Whistler in a couple of weeks. Click here to see more. Here is some info on my workshop from the conference website:

Chart Your Best Life! {Navigating new territory to reach your full potential} | Lisa Shore | Author, The Gift of Crysnix | Calgary + Phoenix

Using themes from my book, Gifts of the Crysnix, we will explore how quantum physics can make wishes come true. Through the powers of letting go and positive intention, we will break new ground in the search for creating our best lives. Adventure awaits as we travel to a place where true manifestation begins. Oh, and did I mention space travel? That too.

I  have been researching fun stuff like the effects of quantum physics on the power of intent, how the brain works and scientific backup of electromagnetic impulses and positivity.

It will be a great way to take the messages from my book and share them with women who are looking to change their lives for the better! The whole 3-day conference is super-charged with hikes, skiing, water sports, biking, and inside workouts of every kind imaginable, as well as wonderful dinners and spa options.

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Here is a picture I found in “Resonance”, a fabulous book I read to hone my presentation skills. It sums up the gist of my presentation. Powerful words from an exceptional lady.

 

 

 

 

 

And here are some screen shots from my presentation.

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My points are emphasized through the ancient musings of Marcus Aurelius, the profound wisdom of the Eastern concept of Ikigai and beautiful imagery from the web to bring my message home.

 

 

 

 

 

I include excerpts from The Harvard Business Review and cite the experiments of Drs. Joe Dispenza and Masaru Emoto to demonstrate the power of our mind.

One such experiment involves targeting thoughts to two different containers of rice in water. In Tokyo, 2,000 people directed loving thoughts and hateful thoughts to the two different containers that were in California!

The rice with loving intention sent to it was white and fluffy while the sad, hated rice became black and rotten. This experiment has been recreated on YouTube several times and the same result happens.

I decided to put the trial to the test myself so here are my rice containers. They’ll hopefully be showing some results by the time I get to Whistler!

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I’ll have to get back to you on whether this worked or not!

Check out the every WOMAN conference details. everywoman.ca You may want to attend! If I don’t see you there I’ll be sure to let you know how the conference went. 🙂

Bye for now – I have to get back to work!

 

 

 

Reviews with a personal touch.

I knew that when I finally published my book, Gifts of the Crysnix, I would be “putting myself out there”, leaving myself open to criticism (both good and bad) and becoming vulnerable to sharing my life with the masses. Being a very private person, I think that is the reason it took me so long to pull the trigger, so to speak.

I took so many years, in fact, I began to ask myself if I would live to regret not publishing it at all? My answer was, YES, and so I steeled myself as I went about answering the promotional questions my publicist put to me with honesty, candor, and the silent hope that I was doing the right thing. Although it went against my core of being happy to stay under the radar, I realised that I would never be able to reach my potential readers and share my message if I didn’t just suck it up and go for it.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the tremendous, positive response and support I have received from friends, strangers and (wow?!) the reviewers. Below are a couple of reviews I have received recently.

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I am so touched that someone took the time to snap a couple of pictures of my book in their home – on a table and in the hands of a reader who is my target audience. My heart swelled to see that picture! My book … there in the hands of a young woman comfortably settling in for a good read …

Thank you so much to the gals at GROOVINMOMS for the time and effort they put into the review.

Here it is:

GROOVINMOMS review

 

The second review reveals some personal points from my past that are tender issues. After I lost both of my parents, I grew into womanhood feeling that no one had my back. I had to figure out life on my own. The life lessons I learned are some of the ones I wrote the book around. They are the reason why I wrote it. If I can help a young person figure out life a little by reading Gifts of the Crysnix, then I will have had their back. It means everything to me.

Many thanks to the people at Mystic Living Today, an e-zine about our mystic life. They wrote a very sensitive article about my book and me.

Have a look:

The Gift of Life Lessons

The Crysnix made a visit to Webber Academy!

Heading out the door, early Monday morning last week, I drove alongside school buses, kids with loaded backpacks and moms holding hands of little ones while walking through the green light traffic. I was headed to school too and loved the early morning anticipation.

I was going to Webber Academy, one of Calgary’s leading private schools. Lucky me! I knew I was in for a treat.

Nerves started to set in as I thought about the presentation I was about to give to 154 eager-eyed middle-grade students. Would the timing work? Would the message work? Would the projector work? Would my voice work?

Then I thought of the opportunity to look into the faces of the people I wrote Gifts of the Crysnix for and connect with each of them! My nerves disappeared as my excitement grew. As I pulled into the parking lot I couldn’t wait to get started.

The library is a huge, beautiful space with soaring windows and lofty heights, comfortable sitting areas and thousands of books! Smiling faces of greeting staff welcomed me as we set up.

The students were wonderful. I saw three groups and each was attentive, polite and really fun to discuss the book with. Their questions were bright and one stumped me when I was asked which character was most like myself! Had never thought about that angle before – but after some consideration, I realized that all the characters had a bit of me in them.

I handed out bookmarks with a wish candle attached to them. Homework that night included lighting the candle at the dinner table and have all the family members make a wish to blow into the universe!

I hope all the wishes come true. Maybe a Crysnix was watching?

 

Owl’s Nest Books “A Taste of Local Authors”

There is something special about being surrounded by authors and book lovers. We are a different breed. We all know how much time we spend alone, either in front of the computer working or in a comfortable chair reading, and when we come together there is an appreciation for camaraderie. Owl’s Nest book store was the perfect venue for an intimate evening of nine readings. Each was outstanding and entertaining. A glimpse into different worlds through the voice of the author who dreamed them up.

We had wine and nibbles (check out the purple sparkly cupcakes and “C” cookies, courtesy of you-know-who)

 

and were entertained by live music by Ted and Paul Holmes between “sets”. I had a couple of friends join me and we waited (nervously) for my name to be called. Finally, I was the finale! I wanted to read to music as a lot of my book was written to music as a screenplay in its first incarnation. I had found the perfect music from the WALL-E soundtrack. It is dreamy and beautiful and was the perfect background for my Prologue. Below is the You Tube clip from the movie, Wall-E where the music comes from.

I had tech difficulties with adding the video of me reading to the music. Maybe I’ll figure out how to upload it and will post it another time. In the mean time, if you have the book, read the prologue to this music and feel the magic. 🙂

Thanks to Randy McCharles for bringing us all together at Owl’s Nest Books for a great night!

 

A Peek at a Night Light

I wrote a bedtime story years ago after I was kept up one night by a bright light in the distance through my window at the lake. It was one of those times when a poem came to me and wouldn’t let go. I actually made it up as I was trying to fall asleep and, miraculously, it was still with me the next day. My family drove the two hours home from a busy weekend and as I tried to fall asleep again that Sunday night, I finally got up and wrote it down in one hour flat. Done.

It was a sleepy tale that drew you from your warm bed far and farther away into the universe and ended with a sweet surprise. Although I loved it, I tucked it into the back of my mind where it collected dust for years.

Recently, I ran across a website for writers, Scriggler,  that was calling for submissions – chapters, poetry, short stories – whatever. On a whim, I sent in Night Light and was amazed at the response I got!

Over 390 people read it within hours of me posting it and then many shared and tweeted it out to the world! Social media can be astounding! Thank you to all who felt touched enough to finally do what I never did.

I’d love to share it through Scriggler with you now.

Night Light Lake view

Hi from Signal Hill Indigo!

Hi Folks!

Check out the video on the link below for an introduction to my latest blog entry. 🙂

Hi from Signal Hill Indigo
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Recently, I had the immense pleasure of walking into my local big bookstore, Calgary’s Signal Hill Indigo, and seeing my book on the shelf there. Imagine how thrilled I was!

The staff at Indigo were incredibly welcoming. Stacey Kondla was a pleasure to work with and through the day, different members of the staff came up to me and introduced themselves to make me feel like a part of the gang.

My table was set up next to the Starbucks so, you can imagine how good the traffic was! I had my best day of sales ever and absolutely loved meeting so many people who were interested in my book.

 

 

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The day was magical as I soaked up the buzz of a big, beautiful book store and soaked in the aroma of coffee. The traffic was constant and I finally sat down for a quick bite at 2:30 across from my set up. It was pretty cool to look over at it and think to myself, “Hey, that’s MY stuff!”

My colouring page was a hit too. It’s always nice to give out a free gift. I also brought along my guest book which gave me the lovely opportunity to meet a lady from out of town who invited me to her town when I drive to Winnipeg this summer! I will take her up on her offer and look forward to meeting the people of Medicine Hat, AB!

 

 

As ever, the day was one to remember. I love talking about the messages in Gifts of the Crysnix. I get so excited to see the faces of the people I’m talking to light up with the desire to learn how to create their best lives.

 

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We truly have tremendous power over our destinies. Let the Crysnix  show you how.

 

Press Releases -“Gifts” are flying out to the world!

Wow! I just googled myself and there were 4+ pages about me! Crazy! I guess my publicists are doing a good job. I was kind of tickled to see, not only my books offered to countries all over the globe, but also the press releases starting to swarm like butterflies out to the world.

Have a look at a couple:

Broadway News

prweb release

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Butterflies are very cool and they exemplify the reward of setting your sights on a goal and the merits of tenacity to get there. I am writing a book about their journey through life that takes them great distances. I hope that my books will travel as far and more.

The life lessons offered in Gifts of the Crysnix are for every age and every culture. They take us on a ride where we see the metamorphosis from being self-centered to self-giving, from being shallow to magnanimous, from feeling insecure to feelings of tremendous self-worth. I may not know how to speak all the languages that my book is now offered in, but the message is universal.

Gifts of the Crysnix coverAs my novel is read, I hope people will come to understand that as we mature, everyone struggles with the same issues. It doesn’t matter where we are, what country or culture. I wrote the story to be set in a small seaside town that could be in any country in the world.

Let us all remember to believe in ourselves, to wish for the right things and live our best lives. Let us remember the lessons of compassion and selflessness, and how it feels good to live by a moral code of ethics. And let us know the strength that comes from humility and the power of forgiveness.

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It is the message I wish for humanity.

 

For more information about the magic of the Monarch Butterfly watch:

Flight of the Butterflies trailer