So since I’m new to blogging I have a lot to say right now! This past Monday (while I was still in Toronto for the IFOA) I found out that “Word Nerd” was nominated for the Red Maple Award and the Golden Oak Award, which are both part of A Forest of Reading. Now, this is very cool, because KIDS will be the judges. Kids from different schools (I think this is just in Ontario) will have a chance to read all the titles (in my case, the Red Maple is for grades 7/8) and vote. That’s right, the readers pick the winners. Pretty cool.
And also nominated for different Forest of Reading Awards are my friends (I hope they won’t mind that I call them that) Arthur Slade and Susan Juby. Arthur is up for the Silver Birch Award for his book, “Jolted,” and Susan is up for the White Pine for “Getting the Girl.”A little history: Arthur and I met last year at Winnipeg’s Thin Air Festival. I wish I had a photo of Arthur and me. It was the first time I’d ever done a reading at a festival (because “Word Nerd” is my first young adult novel) but Arthur’s an old hand (he’s not old. Just experienced. Really, he’s very youthful. Very handsome. Debonair, even). This is a GG Winner for heaven’s sake! (he won for his excellent young adult novel, “Dust”). Anyhoo, we read twice together on stage, and Arthur was so wonderful. He put me at ease and treated me better than I deserved. He made a friend and fan for life, whether he wanted it or not.
Now, Susan Juby – I met her in a whole nother way. See, Susan wrote the fantastically funny trilogy, “Alice, I Think.” If you haven’t read these books, you should. In my “other life” as a TV writer, I was approached to adapt them for television. I could not turn down this opportunity, even though it was very daunting. That’s how I got to meet Susan – who is not only immensely talented and generous, she’s also gorgeous!
See – there we are – Susan Juby on the left, reading one of my scripts, me on the right, reading one of her books. No, this photo wasn’t staged. Not at all.
Best of all, I think she liked a lot of what we did with the series, which sadly only lasted one season. I don’t have a photo of Susan and me together, but I do have a few photos from the TV version of “Alice, I Think.”
This is Carly McKillip, the wonderful actress who played Alice. Poor thing, she had to wear this ghastly wig in the first couple of episodes.
And here are Michael Eklund (Marcus), Haig Sutherland (Finn) and Dan Payne (John)
Awww. We’re friends (umm can I borrow $20.00, pal?).
I think it’s really Susan Juby who’s debonair!
I miss Alice I Think (the TV show). Guess I’ll just read the books again!
No matter how much I love the TV show, the books will always rule the universe!