Next time we are upset, remember people are people

Since starting social media accounts eons ago (remember My Space anyone? MIrc?) I have seen posts from people (who I don’t personally) bullying me. Have also received long emails about how I suck, etc. For a while I was angry, but anger is such a destructive force. I’ve learned to channel this energy into other things, such as writing and making books – basically creating stuff.

The other day I played Depeche Mode’s People are People in the car and this made me think about such past events of cyberbullying. In the end it’s not productive to hold onto the anger or to do revenge stuff. As much as I like watching The Glory or Revenge, let’s be honest, who has time to do this revenge stuff?

People are People selected lyrics:

I can’t understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand

People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
People are people, so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully

Although this song was released in 1984, the message still holds true! Have a listen next time you are upset to help let go of the negative emotions!

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How COVID affected Librarians, Authors & Poets/Performance Artists

In May I will be hosting an event for Canadian Author Association’s Toronto branch to discuss how librarians, authors & poets/performance artists were affected by COVID. Academic librarians from The University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) will discuss the disruptions they have faced and how libraries have responded to the pandemic. Author Dan K Woo and Poet/Performance Artist Johnny D Trinh will share how the pandemic has affected their writing life and what opportunities were missed or gained. These writers will also read from their works.

Registration for this zoom event is free and link is here: https://canadianauthors.org/toronto/events/

Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop is the sponsor for this event and there will be a draw for a $50 Indigo gift card. Dark Helix Press will also be giving away an eBook sampler. Links to these are on the event page.

If I don’t post in the next little while it’s because of this…

Recently I volunteered to be the judge of a literary contest and all the entries of physical books were sent to me in multiple boxes! A few days ago I was wondering what to read and well, now I have my answer. My child was very excited to help me organize the titles and declared that any titles with the words “emotional,” “fire” and had a nice graphic should win because they judge by the cover! But I will read through most of them since experience had taught me the cover isn’t everything!

Looking through the books I see seasoned award winning authors and also a variety of self-published authors competing against each other. This is going to be tough to judge but I will do my best and keep an open mind!

As a person who also enters contests, one has to have thick skin. Judging, similar to editing is very subjective and depends on the person’s experiences. There are also other judges so we will come together at the end to compare our shortlists. This is an interesting experience to go through and we’ll see what happens! Meanwhile I will be reading a lot over the next little while!

Meeting in person to geek out on publishing!

This is the first in person event I will be doing post pandemic! If you happen to be downtown Toronto on Thursday, April 20, I will be at The New Common (around Wellesley/Bloor) speaking to the Toronto Writers Community.

We are going to talk about “Which publishing path is right for you?” which will detail options about publishing in today’s mad world. We’ll cover traditional (literary agents, publishing companies, online), self-publishing and vanity presses. After the talk, lots of time to chat about your projects and what you want to pursue!

Register for the event here: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-writers-community/events/292552466/

SWSW Birthday Bash Events!

Strong Women Strange Worlds, a literary promoter of female writers is turning two! They have a variety of virtual events and a great swag bag of free ebooks for all participants! Visit their website to register: https://strongwomenstrangeworlds.weebly.com/

I’ll be participating in two events and giving out prizes:

​Thursday, March 16, 6:00-8:00pm (EDT) Birthday Party Fun & Games!

Saturday, March 18, 12:30pm-1:00pm (EDT) Facebook Party!

For the first event on Thursday night, me and a few authors will be playing Bluff the Audience. We will be reading a passage from our book and making up passages for other people’s books. The audience has to guess who is the correct author!

For the second event on Saturday, I’ll be playing virtual Facebook games by asking people to write funny memes and guess songs from musicals.

Hopefully we’ll see you virtually for this online party!

Nastasha Alli answers “Why is research important in your “Exploring Filipino Kitchens” podcast?”

Nastasha Alli was born and raised in the Philippines and came to Canada in 2007. For her writing at the intersection of food and diaspora communities, she won a Food Sustainability Media Award from the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Her work has been featured on CBC Radio and her recipe published in a “top cookbook of 2018” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

She answers the question “Why is research important in your “Exploring Filipino Kitchens” podcast?” on the Artsy Raven podcast, Episode 12. This clip is an excerpt from the episode.

Nastasha’s website is https://www.nastasha.ca/  

The Artsy Raven podcast about writing & publishing episodes are on Spotify & Youtube: https://jfgarrard.com/arpodcast/

Moni Brar reads “Fault Lines” and tells us what inspired it on Artsy Raven Eps 11

Moni Brar’s works have appeared in PRISM international, Hart House Review, Existere, The Maynard, untethered, Hobart, and other publications. She is a member of the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, The League of Canadian Poets, and the editorial board of New Forum Magazine.

She reads “Fault Lines” and tells us what inspired it on the Artsy Raven podcast, Episode 11. This clip is an excerpt from the episode.

Moni can be found on Instagram @monibrar.

The Artsy Raven podcast about writing & publishing episodes are on Spotify & Youtube: https://jfgarrard.com/arpodcast/

Kathy Quyen Pham answers “Why did you want to pursue a MFA?” on Artsy Raven Eps 10

Kathy Quyen Pham is a Vietnamese Canadian writer currently based in Saigon. She has published fiction in Ricepaper, Cagibi, and NōD Magazine.

She answers the question “Why did you want to pursue a MFA?” on the Artsy Raven podcast, Episode 10. This clip is an excerpt from the episode.

Kathy’s website is https://kathypham.ca.

On Twitter she is @kqphm and on Instagram she is @kqphm

The Artsy Raven podcast about writing & publishing episodes are on Spotify & Youtube: https://jfgarrard.com/arpodcast/

Kevin Wong answers “What inspired you to write stories about Hong Kong?” on Artsy Raven Eps 9

Kevin Wong was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia: the same hometown as Sidney Crosby and Sarah McLachlan. He has always loved writing and creating art, and even as a child he was constantly drawing, painting, writing stories, and telling tales to his friends and family.

He answers the question “What inspired you to write stories about Hong Kong?” on the Artsy Raven podcast, Episode 9. This clip is an excerpt from the episode.

The Artsy Raven podcast about writing & publishing episodes are on Spotify & Youtube: https://jfgarrard.com/arpodcast/

Bianca Weeko Martin answers “What makes you decide to make a piece of artwork versus writing?”

Bianca Weeko Martin is a designer with Filipino, Indonesian, and Chinese ancestry. She was educated at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Canada, where she has been based since immigrating with her family from Jakarta in 2000.

She answers the question “What makes you decide to make a piece of artwork versus writing?” on the Artsy Raven podcast, Episode 8. This clip is an excerpt from the episode.

Her latest publication is Belief: http://www.darkhelixpress.com/acww/belief/

The Artsy Raven podcast about writing & publishing episodes are on Spotify & Youtube: https://jfgarrard.com/arpodcast/