Lisa Guenther's Blog

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the school shooting in La Loche. Unfortunately, the community of La Loche is still struggling with the aftermath of that tragedy, as well as ongoing issues that they’ve been dealing with for years.

Fay Beaman Laing, a fellow writer, contacted me about a project she undertook to support La Loche. She composed a song, Choose Love, which she hopes people will perform to honour the community of La Loche. You can download the score here.  More on Fay’s project below.

If you’d like to lend financial support, the community is raising funds for a rec centre, to honour the four people who were fatally wounded in the shooting: Marie Janvier, Dayne Fontaine, Drayden Fontaine, and Adam Wood. More information on that project here.

Choose Love:  Commit to Being Kind Invitation

by Fay Beaman Laing

In the aftermath of the LaLoche tragedy in January of 2016, I initially felt lost as to what I could possibly do to make a difference after such a horrific event.  It came to me that really, the only thing to do is to “choose love” – in all my life activities, with my friends, neighbors, community and the world.  If there was some way I could become a better person, then that would be one positive outcome; if every person in our society made this decision, then it really would be powerful.

The way to choose love when engaging with others is to commit to be kind, in every possible circumstance, to the best of our ability. It is easy to be kind with people we like, when we are in a good mood, and when things are going our way.  It takes special effort to continue to be kind when we are dealing with people who have hurt us, aggravated us, or when we have a bad day.  Choosing love and committing to be kind can be a new way to live, a better way to live that optimizes positive relationships, enhancing families, communities, schools and ultimately our country.

What specifically can you do?

On January 22, 2017, or as close as possible to this date, you can host an assembly, or meeting, as this is the “Day of Observation” for the community of LaLoche.
A song called “Choose Love” has been written to inspire individuals to gain strength from community members coming together, and to choose loving actions as a way of life.  A complimentary copy of the music and lyrics will be made available to anyone who wishes to perform the song in honour of the community of LaLoche. If you haven’t time to prepare to sing it, then just recite it.
Ask your school, workplace or group to take up the “Commit to Being Kind” invitation. Any number of activities can be designed around this theme for the day.
Email the community of LaLoche and advise them that you are choosing to remember and honour them, so they are aware of your support.

We would like to see as many schools and community groups across the country taking up the invitation.  It’s time for change.  Everyone matters.  LaLoche, you are not forgotten.  Choose love and commit to being kind!

(Fay Beaman Laing is a Saskatchewan social worker and is the author of the “Choose Love:  Commit to Being Kind Invitation” and songwriter of the song “Choose Love.” Special thanks go out to Jan Michael Bourgeois for his assistance in scoring the music.)

Fay Beaman Laing

serenityhopecenter@sasktel.net

A Sask Book Awards jury has shortlisted Friendly Fire for a New Book Award!

On Friday, I traveled to Saskatoon for the shortlist announcement. Author Brenda Baker hosted the event and announced the shortlists. It was a well-organized event, with a little ceremony to it, and I really appreciated the work done by Sask Book Awards staff, and to the Saskatoon Public Library for hosting it.

Several of the shortlisted authors were there, along with their families and friends, and it was nice to start matching faces to names.

Below are a few photos and a video interview I did with Neil Fisher (aka the Saskatchewanderer).

The Sask Book Awards shortlist is available online here. Congratulations to the other shortlisted authors and publishers, and good luck!

I caught up with Lisa Guenther at the @SaskBookAwards short-list announcement, to chat about her book Friendly Fire. pic.twitter.com/v1GhgZYbut

— Saskatchewanderer (@SkWanderer) February 12, 2016

The display at Winnipeg’s McNally Robinson Photo: Ed White

I’m feeling a little guilty for procrastinating on this final post on McNally Robinson. The short version is that if you get a chance to read at McNally’s, do it.

Winnipeg and Saskatoon were both stops on my book tour this fall. Both locations had event coordinators to help us set up. It’s always reassuring to have help from people who’ve got a few events under their belts. And both Mona (in Winnipeg) and Marcy (in Saskatoon) were lovely to deal with.

One of my favourite things about both stores was watching people browsing for books. Sometimes they’d be drawn in by our performance. Carmen’s rendition of Flax Flower Blue was especially powerful in Saskatoon, snaring about a half-dozen strangers who happened to be within earshot. And one memorable customer in Winnipeg lingered at the edge of our crowd for most of our set, bopping his head to her tunes.

Another bonus was finding out that Mona Faith Mousa, our Winnipeg coordinator, is a poet. She has a spoken word album on Bandcamp, which I’ve since downloaded and listened to repeatedly on drives to North Battleford.

Meeting other artists was a real gift of the tour. May they all find light on their doorsteps.

Authors and public libraries go together like peanut butter and jelly, so when I had a chance to read in both the Yorkton and Weyburn libraries during the Secret Fire Tour, I was quite chuffed.

A lovely suitcase monster at the Yorkton Public Library.

Both libraries were quite happy to host both me and my touring mate, Carmen Loncar (aka Best Kept Secret Girlfriend).  Interestingly, at both libraries we were surrounded by local art as we played. Weyburn had an Edgar Allan Poe theme, and Yorkton had some funky monsters.

Most importantly, both librarians were very pleasant to work with. Kam Teo, the head librarian in Weyburn, hosts authors on a regular basis. He even has a budget to pay writers, which was a lovely, unexpected bonus for us. We drew about 12 to 15 people. This was a good number considering the federal election was that night, and the Blue Jays were playing.

Meagan Richards, Yorkton’s librarian, was also accomodating. She did some promotional work for us ahead of time. We had a smaller crowd, but I expected that because neither of us knew anyone in Yorkton (and later I thought I should have promoted that stop more before ahead of time). But the local paper sent a reporter out, and he not only interviewed us, but stayed for the entire show. I considered that a nice win for us. And I would certainly recommend the Yorkton library for any touring authors.

I’ve also had a ton of support from the Turtleford Library since my book tour wrapped. Librarian Norma Corrigal has been selling my books, and she also arranged a reading/Q&A with the local book club at the library.

Overall, it was well worth it to arrange events at a few libraries, and it’s something I hope to continue to do in my career.

One day in May, a friend and I strolled into Dr. Coffee’s Cafe for a jolt of java. The coffee was lovely, and we really enjoyed the well-lit, comfy atmosphere. The coffee shop was quite new, and  located in downtown Regina, and I thought to myself that this would be a perfect spot for the upcoming Secret Fire tour. And I was right.

Annabel and Matt are behind Dr. Coffee. The cafe’s name is very fitting because Annabel has a PhD in human geography, focusing on the specialty coffee industry. Carmen and I were planning to roll into town on a Sunday, a day that Dr. Coffee is usually closed. But Annabel was kind enough to open for us that day. We owe her a huge thanks for throwing open the doors to us.

The space itself worked for our small show of 15, but could easily accomodate more. It’s kid-friendly, which I appreciated (I’m not a mom, but support parents bringing their kids to events. And besides, moms read books).

But the crucial thing is that Dr. Coffee is already a part of the community. They launched into Nanowrimo with a “Night of Writing Dangerously.” They hosted a Halloween party.

If you’re looking for a place to do a reading in Regina, do check out Dr. Coffee’s Cafe.  Or even just stop in for a mug of superb coffee. I will likely be stopping in this week for a cup of the dark stuff while I’m covering Agribition.

 

My dad’s family is from the Cypress Hills and I spent the first seven years of my life there. For that reason alone, Maple Creek was on my tour list.

But I also knew that Maple Creek has an arts scene. It stretches back a ways, but there are new things happening, too. There’s a new art gallery, called the Broken Spoke, that we visited while we were there. And Maple Creek has been busy restoring the historic buildings in town, which speaks to the importance locals place on their culture and history.

I had a hunch we might get a few extra people because of this arts scene That hunch was correct – along with my extended family, their family, and a couple of other people I knew, we did get a few strangers. And they loved the show and got what we were doing.

The venue itself was also lovely. I booked a room at the Jasper Centre, an old brick building that was originally an elementary school (I think I went to Kindergarten there for part of the year, and took ballet lessons in the same building). These days it’s a museum, and they rent rooms for meetings and events. I paid $45, which included coffee and tea and about three hours of time.

Cathy, who took the booking, thought the ballet room would be best. When Carmen did sound check, I realized this was the perfect room for us.

Carmen’s voice and guitar vibrated along the tin ceiling. It sounded like she was singing in a cathedral. I wished we’d brought something to record that show, to capture that angelic reverb. It was so unexpected and beautiful.

I think every singer-songwriter from the Prairies should try out this room. Cathy is lovely to deal with, and sings herself, so she has a good idea of what musicians needs. It’s also worth asking her how to promote the event beforehand.

A highly recommended venue.

Carmen and I kicked off the second leg of our tour at Crandleberrys, in North Battleford. Crandleberrys has been around since 2007, and under new ownership since this summer. It has a reputation for good coffee and good food, and from what I’ve seen, the new owners are maintaining that standard.

The coffee shop is a fair-sized space, divided in two by a wall that runs down the centre of the room, stopping short of the counter. We set up in the corner in one side, and so everyone sat on that side of the room.  I think that worked well because everyone was closer together, rather than spread out over a large space. We had about 15 people show up, so it felt relatively intimate.

The other thing I liked about Crandleberrys was that they were easy to work with. They hung our poster in the door (not every venue did this), and they were quite laid-back. I would certainly recommend them to any writer or even singer-songwriter who was thinking about playing in North Battleford.

North Battleford also has a decent arts scene these days. Most of the people at the show were people we knew, but not everyone. And the Battleford News-Optimist gave us some coverage, both before and after the event.

I lived in Edmonton for about a decade, and Audreys Books was hands-down my favourite place to buy books. For one thing, they have two levels full of books. Many, many, many books. And staff who knew all about those books. Plus it’s in a lovely brick building, right on Jasper Ave. I’d usually walk or take the LRT there, buy some books, and enjoy the downtown Edmonton scene.

Audreys lineage dates to the 1950s, when Mel Hurtig was opening bookstores. These days its owned by the Budnarchuk family (I don’t really know the owners, but their son is a friend of my husband and I). It’s a mainstay in Edmonton’s literary community. When I mentioned that I was excited to be reading there, a friend asked it if was like Broadway.

I’ve never been to Broadway, but I can now say I’ve been to Audreys.

One great thing about Audreys is it hosts these types of events all the time, so the staff know what they’re doing. And even though they do a lot of these events, they care that the events go well.

For example, they had us come in the day before to make sure we were okay with where they planned to hold it.  They introduced us. They had coffee set up for people for after the performance.  They promoted the show beforehand.

Everything went quite smoothly. We had about 30 people show, which is what we expected. They’d set us up in the children’s section, in the lower level of the store. I thought it might feel weird to read there, given some of the adult content of my book, but it was a good space. Plus a few of my friends brought their kids, so it worked nicely.

Last week a friend told me Friendly Fire was on the Edmonton Journal’s best-seller list. I’m sure that show in Audrey’s helped bump it onto the list.

Thanks for hosting us, Audreys Books. And good luck with the rest of your fall events.

If you read Quill and Quire, you’ve probably noticed the Venue Hop pieces. These stories feature a pub, coffee shop, or other place known for hosting readings. These articles are really useful for authors, I think, and a nice way to say thanks to great hosts. So I thought I’d do the same on my blog. This post is the first of many.

Sacred Arts in Camrose, Alberta, includes a coffee shop in the front and a yoga studio in the back. We performed in the coffee shop, a pleasant space with large windows onto 50th street and plenty of art hanging on the windows. It had enough room for us to set up our sound system (one speaker, a small mixing board, and mics), but was still intimate.

Lisa and Ravidass are the husband and wife team who own Sacred Arts. Their website states they’ve set out to create a community hub, and I think they’ve achieved that. They’ve started bringing in writers and musicians. They have regular yoga classes. Every three months they put out a call for submissions for the themed art exhibit within the space.

And they cared about our experience at their venue. Alyssa, their communications assistant, had promoted our show beforehand. She was excited to see us, and that was a nice confidence booster for us. She also took photos of us performing and posted them on social media.

We also had a great crowd. It was mostly our friends (and here I have to give a shout out to my friend Mary MacArthur, who not only hosted me at her place, but put a lot of energy into promoting my book and the show. She’d make a great book publicist). But there were also a few people we didn’t know, some working quietly on the sidelines. It was neat to see them look up from their computers or reading when Carmen’s songs caught their attention. Even the people who wandered in for a coffee were really polite, and would often hang out for a few minutes, listening. Overall, a very laid-back, but appreciative, vibe.

Really, I can’t say enough good things about Camrose. There are plenty of venues to pick from. There’s the Bailey Theatre for larger crowds. The local library seems like a good place as well — the librarian I met was very enthusiastic about booking writers. And I would highly recommend Sacred Arts to musicians or writers. They care about the show working well and it’s a lovely space for a smaller crowd.

Lisa reading from her book Friendly Fire, with Best Kept Secret Girlfriend @ Dexter Hall SK last night. Awesome show

A photo posted by @chri5er on Oct 4, 2015 at 11:31am PDT

The All Stars would play at all the little country halls and hockey rinks in the area — Pine Grove, Moosehead, sometimes venturing into Livelong or Turtleford or Walburg (hitting the big time, Dad joked). But their favourite was Dexter Hall, near Turtle Lake’s north shore. Though Dexter could hold only about seventy-five people, the acoustics were perfect and every note rang clear. The hall got so full, and people danced so much, that sometimes they cracked the doors open in the winter. And if you were outside, you’d see the escaped heat clouding the area around the front door.

–Friendly Fire