Back to the drawing Board

During the last few weeks I've been watching the Olympics and wishing I lived in Vancouver. It is so great to see Canadians win all those medals and get so excited about the country.

Visiting Toronto again was great. The roads were slushy and the 401 was getting slow in the Pickering area so I took the GO train to Union and relaxed in the train, watching the world go by. The GO train was filled with mysterious individuals with dark pasts, intriguing talents and miraculous futures - despite their ordinary looks. I didn't actually talk to any of them, but I'm sure I was right about them. The places beside the train tracks were also fascinating. I love how people use every space in the city, that no matter how crowded, the kids in a neighbourhood will find a spot for a fort in a small group of trees besides the tracks, or on a steep hillside, or under a bridge. Homeless people also make shelters and pitch tents in these places. In the most dismal crowded neighbourhoods, there are trees growing freely and places for birds to hide during the night and skunks during the day. Leave a parking lot alone for a few months and the grass and trees will reclaim it. That's just great. Go trees go!

I got to meet a lot of authors at the O.L.A. Superconference. I signed some free copies of Leaving Fletchville and then I began meeting other writers and collecting their free and signed copies to give to friends at my old school. Among others I met Robin Stevenson, Liam O'Donnel, Mahtab Narsimhan and Eric Walters. I had some great conversations. Carrie Gleason of Lorimer Books made me think of a new project I might do, and Monique Polak, an old friend, was there as well. As soon as I got home I went to the computer and...