MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2016.

Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone who happens to drop by. I hope your year has been meaningful and healthy and that the challenges in 2017 you will be able to manage. I look forward to another interesting year and hope that it will include time with grandchildren (the two boys who live in different places, one in Montreal and the other in Blenheim - below), a bit of travel and completion of some more writing projects.  At the moment, a mystery is scheduled to come out in 2018 and I have just submitted a memoir.

Maurice's drawings.

Maurice.

Max and Grammaloutoo

LITERARY TALKS: Toronto

	24 November 2016 LIFE BULLETIN: LITERARY TALKS A series of author readings and presentations of books, plays, and poetry Presented as part of the year-round Programs for 50+ Lecture Series Date: Friday, December 2, 2016 Time: 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Location: Ryerson University Admission is free Register now: ryerson.ca/ce/literarytalks Join us for a special Literary Talks session as we discuss novels written by two of our very own LIFE Institute members, Kenneth Smookler and Mary Lou Dickinson. Farr and Beyond: Lawyers for the Otherworldly* Kenneth Smookler's first book, Farr and Beyond: Lawyers for the Otherworldly, is a wonderfully inventive comic fantasy that applies Ken's knowledge of the law to our most familiar and beloved tales with hilarious results. When Jack chopped down the beanstalk, where might it have landed and could issues of negligence be involved?  Might Captain Hook have had a legal case against Peter Pan for the loss of his hand in their duel? Kenneth Smookler, Q.C. has practiced law at every level of court, from Magistrate's Court and Small Claims up to the Supreme Court of Canada, written for varied periodicals, and lectured for many decades.  But now Ken has moved on in an exciting new direction as a writer. Would I Lie to You?* Mary Lou Dickinson's latest novel Would I Lie to You, is an authentic and moving story that explores the reality of family secrets -- huge issues that are kept quiet under the veneer of polite society and that affect the individuals and families involved for generations.  The novel also raises the question of who is family and how do we create one. Mary Lou Dickinson studied Arts at McGill University and Library Sciences at the University of Toronto.  She has participated in many workshops and residencies in creative writing and has been a member of the Moosemeat Writers Group since 2005.  Her fiction has been published in the University of Windsor Review, Descant, Waves, Grain, Northern Journey, Impulse, and Writ. *Available for purchase at event. Part of the year-round 50+ Lecture Series presented by Programs for 50+ at The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education ryerson.ca/ce/programs50plus For more information contact: Mena Carravetta Tel: 416.979.5000 x3850 mena.carravetta@ryerson.ca   MC/rb
The LIFE Institute - 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 2K3 telephone: 416.979.5000, ext. 6989     web: www.thelifeinstitute.ca

Rowers Readng Series: Toronto. You Are Invited! December 6, 2016

An Evening with Author Mary Lou Dickinson. Oct. 25, 2016

An Evening of Secrets and Revelations with Author Mary Lou Dickinson

Tue Oct 25, 2016
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
60 mins

Queen/Saulter branch of Toronto Public Libraries. 765 Queen Street East
 

Join author Mary Lou Dickinson as she reads from her novel "Would I Lie to You?" and discusses her writing process. "Would I Lie to You?" explores the reality of family secrets hidden under the veneer of polite society that can affect families for generations. Who is a family and how do we create one?

Copies of the book will be available for sale.

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT260905&R=EVT260905

Manitoulin Island. August 2016

Summer Time on a Northern Lake. Reflections.

Summer is in the throes of passing.Too soon over! It is hot in the city now. It is humid. But to complain is to wish for winter. And I do not really want to experience ice, wind and cold weather yet for quite a while. Although it was not always true, I like summer. The thought of reflecting while feeling the wind blow through my hair as I sit on the edge of a northern lake seems to open as well the possibility of imagining characters and stories that fuel my writing.


Tell me what content you want to find on this blog.  I may meander through my own thoughts and miss telling you something you want to know. Or read about. Are there aspects of writing you are curious about? Are there things about writing you would like to ask? Let me know!

Please leave your comments below. I appreciate feedback. Indeed, you do me a favour when you let me know what you think, hopefully as well giving me ideas for what to write about here. Sometimes you are the source of such ideas. Really!

Life of a Writer: Branding!

I have been struggling for some time with Branding. It is a foreign  concept in my world, but so necessary if fiction is to stand out at all. So I have been playing with it as well as struggling. Life is supposed to be fun as well as a struggle, is it not!

Here is a first attempt. I am more than happy to receive your comments. I need all the help I can get to spread the word and will appreciate any feedback you care to give!

Dickinson enlightens her readers with compassion for and understanding of the human condition. She understands the deeply felt emotions of people longing for communication and connection as they deal with both small and huge problems.  As a former crisis counselor, she uses her experience to create fiction in her novels “Would I Lie To You?” and “Ile d’Or” that is authentic and moving. Through Dickinson’s characters, we understand their difficulties and embrace the possibilities and potential for change in our lives as well as in theirs. Dickinson loves having fun, too, and in spite of approaching a venerable age many consider the twilight zone is often seen on the dance floor cutting some amazing figures in ballroom, Latin and swing!

Note from my website:

The author's fiction has been published in the University of Windsor Review, Descant, Waves, Grain, Northern Journey, Impulse, Writ and broadcast on CBC Radio. Her writing was also included in the anthology, We Who Can Fly: Poems, Essays and Memories in Honour of Adele Wiseman. Inanna published a book of Dickinson's short stories, One Day It Happens,  in 2007, and her first novel, Ile d'Or, in 2010. Her latest novel, Would I Lie to You?, launched in October 2014. A mystery, The White Ribbon Man, has been accepted for publication in early 2018.