A Writer's Journey (short story) by Leanne Dyck

When did you decide to be an author? What has your author journey been like? This short story was inspired by my answer to those questions...

"On Mayne Island" photo by ldyck

A Writer's Journey

Once upon a time (on October 10, 2010, to be exact), a woman packed a pen and some paper and set out on a journey. She had heard about the hill throughout her life. She'd thought about it... Others had encouraged her to climb... But she'd put excuse after excuse in her way. She'd been too scared to even try. But that day, she shoved her fear out of the way and jumped over her excuses. 

The sun was warm on her back. The chill fall breeze was invigorating. From the base of the hill, it was hard to tell its height. She didn't know how long it would take her. But she put one foot in front of the other and started to climb.

Day after day, week after week, she climbed. Sometimes she felt lonely. But the woman wasn't alone.

Others called, "Hey, do you need help?" and gave her a walking stick, more paper, a pen.

Others cheered, "Keep climbing!"

Others silently watched her climb, and she felt their support.

Month after month, year after year, she climbed. Sometimes she tripped.

"You're going to hurt yourself," people called from the grass beside the path. "That's why I stopped climbing. It's way too hard." 

Those people looked a lot more fit than she was. The woman's legs were too short. Her lungs were too small. What made her think that she could succeed when others had failed? Was it really worth all the effort? How much longer would it take? How high was the hill? The grass looked so soft. Her pack felt so heavy. She bent her knee. She rested, but...

"Don't stop! "Don't stop!" one voice called, and then another. Soon a chorus encouraged her on. "Keep going. You can do it. We believe in you."


Those voices... That support... They carried her. And that's how the woman is still climbing.

"On Mayne Island" photo by ldyck

My favourite graphic novels by Leanne Dyck

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Written by Richard Bach

Photographs by Russell Munson

Published by Avon Books

Publishing date:  January 1973

127 pages

A classic. It's a story about a seagull, but Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary seagull. 

'For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.'

The Tattooed Map

Barbara Hodgson 

Published in Canada by Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd.

Published in 1995

(no page numbers are given)

'A traveler to North Africa is shocked to discover that the mysterious marks on her hand have developed into a detailed and macabre map spreading across her skin. In The Tattooed Map, we follow Lydia's journal entries as she becomes increasingly drawn into the mystery of the map traced over her body. When Lydia disappears and her traveling partner, Christopher, takes up her journal, the situation becomes even more puzzling--until the book's bizarre resolution.'

 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Jonathan Safran Foer

Published by Mariner Books

Published in 2005

Houghton Mifflin Company

 326 pages

'Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhiliarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.'

My review 

 

Ducks: two years in the oil sands by Kate Beaton

In 2005, like the three hundred ducks stuck in a tailing pond, Canadian lives were being chewed up and spit out in the northern Alberta oil sands. But Kate Beaton is quick to point out: 'you can have both good and bad at the same time in the same place.'

My review

Fox 8 by George Saunders

This 49-page illustrated short novel packs a powerful punch.

My review

More...

And newly released by Penguin Random House 
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
48 pages
'An illustrated book on the refugee crisis.'

'Dementia-friendly' picture books
so cool!

A Brief History of Book Illustration

Why I Write Graphic Nonfiction by Jonathan Hennessey

photo by ldyck

On this blog in October...

Sunday, October 7 
A Writer's Journey (short story)
This blog wouldn't exist without your support, dear reader. So it's appropriate that the blog anniversary is so close to Thanksgiving. I wrote this short story to celebrate our 8th year anniversary. I hope you enjoy it.

Sunday, October 14

Canada's Best Books 2018 (list)
The Man Booker, G.G., Rogers trust, the Giller... It's award season. One of the most exciting times of the year to be a reader of books by Canadian authors. So what are the best books in Canada? 

Sunday, October 21
Art Class (short story)

What's it like to be a twelve-year-old student with an undiagnosed learning disability?

Sunday, October 28 
Book review:  Super! by Jennifer Chen (middle-grade novel)
magical realism

'Abby' photo by ldyck

Sharing my author journey...

This summer I took a break from submitting manuscripts, but now