P'esk'a is out and I was very happy to visit with the great people at Kids Books in Vancouver to see it on display.

I'm very excited to report that 'P'esk'a and the First Salmon Ceremony' is out! This book has been a labour of love.  The story follows a little boy through the village of Hiqelem. He races to get a tray to the chief in time for the first salmon ceremony. On the way we learn what life was like 1000 years ago in a First Nations village.

I'm happy to report two more books are in the works - still waiting on contracts so I won't spill the beans just yet. Don't want to jinx anything!

My House is Alive!

Looks like we have a new title for my book with OwlKids - 'My House is Alive!' I'm pretty excited to see this coming together as it's been a couple of years in the making. But working with OwlKids has been the best - big thanks to the talented Jessica Burgess and Claudia Davila. I'll put up half a page here... since we're still working I should probably wait but, what can I say, I get excited.
Other news about P'esk'a and the First Salmon Ceremony (with Groundwood) - it's not out until September but getting some really nice reaction from early releases. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23846170-p-esk-a-and-the-first-salmon-ceremony

We've been getting some great reviews for Look Where We Live and the clever people at Kids Can Press have come out with a nice video. It's quite simple but really very effective I think. Have a look:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzpMVIYQCJ4

Reviews are in!

Reviews are starting to come in for 'Look Where We Live!' and they're good! I specially liked Kirkus. You can see it here:  http://tinyurl.com/ncruylk
And the CBC has chosen 'Look Where We Live!' as one of their 15 'kids' books to watch out for' in 2015. http://tinyurl.com/nexktn9

Another book I've just finished is called 'P'ésk'a and The First Salmon Ceremony'.  It's out in the fall. The original name was 'Qwuni and The First Salmon Ceremony' but I found out that Qwuni is the wrong dialect for where my story takes place so it had to be changed. It turned out to be a good thing because P'ésk'a means hummingbird. It's a perfect name for the little boy as he runs through the village, poking his nose into everything. I'm really grateful to the Chief of the Sto'lo nation who was kind enough to give his approval to the book - it means a lot to me. 

So that's the latest news - of course there are the usual possible, probable or potential projects that may (or may not) come through - all part of the ever exciting life of a freelancer!