a life-list first: sandhill cranes

As the result of a posting on Facebook (in New Brunswick Birders), my husband and I took a drive to the Canaan Forks area of New Brunswick to see if we could see any of the sandhill cranes spotted there. We had given up on finding them and were on the road out of the area when my husband spotted two in a field between us and the river. I wish I was a better photographer: they were so elegant and deliberate, walking the edge of the field. As they walked and fed, their legs and necks were in a strange sort of synchrony. They appear quite ‘muscular’ and could be confused with a deer if their heads are down feeding.

~

~

Both birds had the red patch on the front of the head. They stayed together, turning to retrace their steps when they came to a small ditch between fields.

~

~

The sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) can now be added to my life list!!!!!

~

~

Have fun watching the birds now returning from their migrations!

~

All my best,

Jane

Cover Painting for ‘Meniscus: Reckoning’

In preparation for the release of ‘Meniscus: Reckoning,’ the next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series, I have finished the painting for the cover.

~

The painting is based on the pencil drawing ‘Travelling the Lip.’ It shows six travellers as they cross the treacherous El’ban Elevations, on their way to rescue James, imprisoned in El’ban. The group, in order, are Kotildi (the wild alien ‘wolf’), Belnar (one of the Slain), Odymn (heroine of many of the stories), Daniel (also a Slain), carrying Danny (Odymn and Daniel’s baby), and Don’est (the Dock-winder child, with her long neck).

~

~

To be consistent with other covers, I need a distant view of the Meniscus moons (Cardoth roe and Cardoth grill’en), a mid-range view of the travellers, and a nearer scene from the book. Campfires are a common theme in the story and who better to sleep by the fire than wolf-like Kotildi?

~

~

I was pleased with the painting. For a couple of days, I showed the travellers as black silhouettes against the Elevations. In the end, I gave them some colour, to suggest clothing and hair. I love the browns, blues and yellows in the painting. 

~

To make the painting fit the space on the book cover, I made some alterations in GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). I brought the moons closer to the mountain silhouette and moved the fire and sleeping Kotildi closer to the travellers. In the end, the image fit well with the cover design. Here is a sneak peek at the final cover.

~

~

I am now re-reading Meniscus: Reckoning for the last time, making a few revisions as I go. I have also sent the proof to my beta-reader for her reactions.

~

I plan to release Meniscus: Reckoning in early May. I am looking forward to my reader response!

~

All my best!

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane) 

bookmark

In March, I promised information on a new project I am undertaking, Bookmarks and Dog Ears. I have lots of projects on the go, at various stages of completion, but I find I need something new and creative to invigorate my writing process. In April, I began a new endeavour, a poetry manuscript about bookmarks, those bits of ephemera left to mark a place in a book.

~

I first became interested in this project when the owner of Dog Eared Books in Oromocto, showed me a binder full of the bookmarks she has collected from used books coming into the store. Perusing the binder is fascinating: it contains photos, grocery lists, cash register tapes, old letters, money, even a dreidel. I imagined a manuscript of poems and drawings built around the variety of the bookmarks – their physical structure, purpose, history and symbolism. After a little research, I was caught up in the way bookmarks are an expression of the Human activity of reading a book. I am interested in the historic use of bookmarks, the past of a well-used bookmark, how bookmarks are linked to feelings about reading and the fate of the bookmark in the digital world. 

~

With the help of the Library Director at the L.P. Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, I have been able to identify some libraries where bookmarks are also collected, so I will have no shortage of subject matter.

~

To give you an idea of the type of poem that this project could generate, I will tell you about my response to a bookmark collected from books at the Saint Paul Public Library in Minnesota. To see a short video of some of their bookmarks, click here. 

~

The bookmark that interested me the most was a 3” by 3” black and white photo of a woodland scene. Perhaps my preference is related to the many photos I took of the canopies of woodland trees during my Master’s thesis research. In the photo, you can see the trunk of an older poplar and, in the background, a group of about eight younger trees, their trunks curved and bent dramatically downwards. The photo is a study in contrasts between the dark trees and the bright skylight filtered through the leaves. 

~

bookmark from the Saint Paul Public Library in Minnesota

~

After a little research I discovered that Minnesota had a strange winter last year, with heavy snow and rain over a five day period after a relatively mild winter. Some of the woodland trees, burdened with over 20 inches of heavy snow, bent under the weight. Many have not recovered, according to the Extension Department of the University of Minnesota. To read about the effect of the winter on these trees, click here.

~

I don’t know if the photo is actually a response to the snowstorm, but most bookmarks are anonymous and speak to different people in various ways. To me, the photo represents the photographer’s need to document the result of the snow event. The owner of the photo may have been unhappy at the memory of the storm or the consequences to a well-known bit of woodland.

~

I am still feeling my way in this project, but here is an early attempt to capture this particular bookmark in poetry.

~

storm damage

~

tried to take a photo 

in black and white—

bent trees in the summer woodland

birch over-laden by winter snow

~

a photo to capture

desecration of forest—

behind a straight and sturdy

trunk of aspen

a clump of saplings craft

an archway in forest

usher of summer light

trembling leaves

against sky

~

no wish to remember

five endless days of storm

heavy snow, burdened with rain

a charming path through woodland

rendered impassable

~

abandoned

the photo

in a book

about despair

after alteration

no recovery, no hope

~

A rather dismal interpretation of why the photo was forgotten in a book. What does the photo-used-as-bookmark say to you?

~

All my best,

Jane

solar eclipse

On Monday we joined other people of New Brunswick, all eager to view the total eclipse of the sun. We planned carefully, arranged to pick up our son and drive to our chosen viewing place, at the picnic grounds of the Department of Agriculture Experimental Farm. Other people had the same idea so we were among a small crowd of viewers.

~

We had obtained the necessary ISO eclipse glasses (ISO 12312-2 standard) to protect our eyes from harmful rays but I take extra care since I have several problems with my vision. So I did not look continually at the sun but glanced at it occasionally with the glasses on. The sequence I saw was:

1. the sun in normal mode – seemed much smaller than usual since ordinarily when we glance at the sun, we see the sun itself and a glare of light;
2. a curved black shadow at the right edge of the sun;
3. a bigger ‘bite’ of darkness from the sun;
4. a larger ‘bite’ of darkness so the sun resembled the crescent moon;
5. a creeping towards totality where the crescent became smaller and smaller;
6. the moment of totality when you could see nothing at all but darkness through the glasses;
7. with the glasses off, totality, a dark disc with a thin rim of light;
8. a moment when the edge of the sun re-appears, a sort of flaring diamond on the edge of the ring.
9. glasses on, a gradual return to the crescent, through the bite of darkness to the disc of the normal sun.

~

Between my glances at the sun, I gazed at the scene before me, the shadow of twigs from a young maple tree on the gravel road. As I watched, the area around us darkened and all along the horizon in every direction was a rosy glow, as though evening had arrived. But the effect was not really like that of evening, more like a wan darkness, eerie. On the road, the shadows looked like those cast by a full moon.

~

taken with cell phone (copyright)

~

And now, all this in a poem:

~

total eclipse of the sun

Fredericton New Brunswick

April 8, 2024

~

twig shadows drowse on road

red maple carved into gravel

sun dazzles against blue sky

~

first moment of eclipse

a nibble from a dark cookie

a bite

~

crescent like a waning moon

creeps towards

totality

~

image

through special glasses

goes dark

~

evening settles on the hill

russet sky at every horizon

street lights blink on

~

a white bird climbs, confused

whisps of corona

around silhouette of moon

~

eerie lull in murmuring

as a diamond sparkles

along the lower edge

~

twig shadows

tremble, pale-washed

beneath full moon

~

taken with Nikon camera, see rosy glow at horizon; the black line is the top of a chain link fence (copyright)

~

Hope you enjoyed your look at the eclipse if you were in an area to view it!!!!

All my best,

Jane

new book coming soon! Meniscus: Reckoning

Today, after many hours of editing and formatting, I sent for a proof of my new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. Meniscus: Reckoning will be out in early May. This will be the story of a perilous journey to a distant city, over difficult alien landscape, to rescue a member of the Human Resistance. The book is set in the El’ban District of Meniscus, a city mentioned but not visited in other books in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series.

~

the adventurers of Themble Hill rest by a fire in the El’ban Elevations

To find out a little more about the steps from draft to proof, have a look at the whole story here. Below is a peek at the first draft of the cover for Meniscus: Reckoning (the final cover will be a painting of the scene).

~

~

All my best!

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

soundscape and birdsong

These last two weeks have been fun for bird watchers. I saw my first dark-eyed junco, just back from a winter spent to the south. I also heard that lovely, impossible-to-imitate song of a winter wren. And I have cleaned up our feeding area so the spring birds will be easier to watch.

~

This weekend, I am looking forward to talking with other bird watchers about my new poetry book ‘mnemonic – soundscape and birdsong.’ 

~

~

I am looking forward to the event, hosted by the folks at the L.P Fisher Public Library, who have been so supportive of my writing through the years! Wish you could come and hear me read …

~

All my best!

Jane

an alien flora

Subscribe to continue reading

Subscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.

Already a subscriber?

soon! a new children’s alphabet book

On my list of goals for the year is a project I haven’t talked about before. A friend and I have been working on her new book, A Child’s Botanical Alphabet.

~

I have known Jenn for years, since we both worked on Fredericton’s WordFeast in 2017. Jennifer Houle is a seasoned author, with two award-winning poetry collections, The Back Channels and Virga (Signature Editions). Her first children’s book, Un logis pour Molly/A Home for Molly, was published by Éditions Bouton d’Or Acadie in summer of 2022 in both French and English.

~

Here is what Jenn is saying about A Child’s Botanical Alphabet:

~

This book started out as a little rhyme I made up for my boys when they were toddlers. I loved teaching them to name common flowers & trees around the yard & neighbourhood. Having a vocabulary for things helps deepen imagination, sense of relatedness. I imagined it as a book that caregivers could read with children as they explored … the pages are meant to be coloured on & leaves & flowers pressed between pages. So it’s a book meant to be used. Oh! And there are Luna Moths fluttering throughout. . .presiding spirits. 

Jennifer Houle, Facebook, March 20, 2024

~

When Jenn asked me to do the illustrations for her book, I said yes because I loved the concept and I had some suitable pencil drawings already done. I knew from the start I wanted the illustrations to be in colour, so I did my first work of this sort in the digital world. I used GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) to colourize each pencil drawing. I have learned so much about colour and its presentation. Jennifer was easy to work with, so in spite of some learning curves, we are very happy with the result.

~

draft cover for A Child’s Botanical Alphabet

~

As we work on the last small edits, we are excited to see A Child’s Botanical Alphabet in its final form and show it to you. Stayed tuned for more information!

~

All my best,

Jane

including ‘sound’ in writing

I am so proud of my new poetry book ‘mnemonic – soundscape and birdsong’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2024) because it focuses on including sound in writing. Of the five senses (vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste), most creative writing focuses on vision. It is a bit of a challenge to include the other senses in order to give a more complete idea of the sensations contributed by your surroundings.

~

~

My book includes bird song as a main part of the soundscape. It also includes other sounds: the singing of a rock skipped across a frozen pond, the call of the spring peepers, the clinking of ice in glasses, the sound of a kettle boiling over a woodland fire.

~

~

For ways of including sounds in writing, you can look at some of my earlier posts here, and here.

~

I think my favourite poem in the ‘mnemonic’ collection is about my Dad who took us along the Yarmouth shore to find iron pyrite (fool’s gold). The sounds in this poem focus on the shorebirds. Here is a short excerpt:

4.

he takes us prospecting

we wedge into crevasses

keen for pyrite gold

cube within cube

embedded in stone

we always forget the hammer

we chip and scratch with fingernails

reach across rock

dare the waves

5.

a sanderling cries

quit quit!

6.

shorebirds

befriend me

a dowitcher sews a seam with her bill

bastes salt water to shore

the sanderling shoos back the tide

terns

plunge into the ocean

and complain they are wet

~

~

I hope you will have fun incorporating sound into your writing.

~

All my best,

Jane

setting goals for writing in 2024

As usual, I have lots of writing plans for this year. I find it helpful to set goals at the first of the year (well, at least by March!) and keep track of my progress.

~

In setting your own goals, make certain they are realistic. As a rule, goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. For a lesson on setting SMART goals, see the Participaction website here.

~

My writing goals this year are 9 in number. This number of goals is realistic for me since I am quite productive. I will plan to report on how well I did at achieving these goals in December.

~

1. Continue to introduce my new poetry book ‘meniscus – soundscape and birdsong’ to the world. By mid-summer, I will attend at least six reading and signing events and feature my book in 5 blog posts. The manuscript for this book won the WFNB Alfred G. Bailey Prize for Poetry in 2016 and I have been enjoying the readings and book signings I have done so far. To purchase a copy of this book, go to the Chapel Street Editions webpage here.

~

2. A new poetry project – details soon!

~

3. Continue to work on my suite of five Urban Mysteries. By the end of the year, I intend to complete the draft of all five books, edit the five, and format them in KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). These adventures are set in cities where I have lived or worked: Halifax, Fredericton and Saint John. They are short books, about 20,000 words each, entitled ‘Urban Green,’ ‘Roundabout,’ ‘Stately Elms,’ ‘City Grotesque,’ and ‘Hollow Hotel.’ Eventually they will be released as a set of novellas.

~

4. Meniscus: The Reckoning – By the end of May, I will have completed the editing and formatting for this book and published it on KDP. This book is in final format with all the illustrations complete. I have to incorporate my editor’s comments and paint the cover art before it is published. This will be the last novel of thirteen in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. In this book, several of the characters introduced in the previous novels take a perilous journey to rescue the leader of the Human Resistance.

~

5. A Glimpse of Sickle Moon – By early December, I will review the final proof of this book and publish it with KDP. This poetry manuscript won Third Prize in the WFNB competition for the Alfred G. Bailey Prize for Poetry in 2020. It works through the imagery of each of our four seasons, cycling through 15 years of my life.

~

6. A new children’s book (as artist) with a writing friend – details soon!

~

7. writing in the dark‘ manuscript : Each month this year, I will workshop 2 poems in my ‘writing in the dark’ manuscript with my two writing groups. The poems are about my encounters with writings on stone in three cultures. Included are poems of my reactions to the stelae of the Maya, the runestones of the Vikings and the pictographs of the First Nations peoples of North America. My editor has commented on the manuscript, and I am in the process of reading and discussing the poems with my two writing groups, Wolf Tree Writers and Fictional Friends.

~

8. ‘Meniscus: A Flora‘ – Complete a list of the alien plants featured in my Meniscus Science Fiction Series and check this against the drawings I have done to see if more drawings are needed. This will push forward my work on a manuscript featuring coloured drawings of plants encountered on the planet featured in my science fiction series.

~

9. More frequent blog posts! This year I will do four blog posts per month featuring elements of my writing goals. This allows a lot of scope since it will explore my interests in writing, drawing and painting, botany, bird watching and history.

~

I am energized and looking forward to my writing life this year. In my next post, I will look a little closer at ‘mnemonic’ and the inclusion of sounds in poetry.

All my best!

Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)