NEWS ABOUT GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE

I AM GRATEFUL TO REPORT THAT THE ERROR IN TIMING HAS BEEN CORRECTED BY THE PUBLISHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS’ NECKLACE IS NOT AVAILABLE ON AMAZON OR BARNES AND NOBLE AT PRESENT. PLEASE CONTINUE TO BUY YOUR COPIES OF THE BOOK FROM OUR GROWING LIST OF SOURCES, INCLUDING THE ON-LINE POSSIBILITIES LISTED at www.valleyartisans.com/grandmothersnecklace.htm

If you live in the area of one of the businesses providing hands-on book-buying opportunities, or are travelling nearby, even if you’ve already bought copies of the book, please consider thanking them on our behalf by dropping in.

The books are selling well. This week, a store called the very next day after placement for a double refill supply. So often, if a person actually starts to read the prose and poetry, then more books are ordered for friends and relatives. GN is that kind of book. Isn't it great that people can actually enjoy the fruits of giving to the Stephen Lewis Foundation by adding to their treasure chest of reading material? One sharp customer had the idea of typing up her own related piece and pasting it into the back of the book, then giving the book as a gift to her granddaughter.

Some tiptoe into the book thinking "poetry?" (twitch, twitch)or,"I don't want to read a pile of soppy, sing-song birthday card verses about grandmothers! Honestly, I only bought this because it will help fight AIDS/HIV." And then, if they actually dare to look, they receive a very pleasant surprise.

One interviewer called it a "bathroom book".
I thought, "What are you saying about our book?"
I discovered that what he meant is what I'd label a "bedside book"; the kind you settle down to savour in small segments before going to sleep.In fact, although the gems are widely varied, it is too rich a collection to be read too many pieces at a time. No stomach ache, no calories, no damage to the teeth, but rich fare, nevertheless.

Sorry for my delay in entries. I've been editing lately (for money, this time, my wallet is happy to say), with no time to blog. I'm also hoping to get some new writing of my own submitted before my second carpal tunnel operation.

I have my own favourites, but I'd be very interested in hearing which stories and poems people liked best in Grandmothers' Necklace, whether serious or amusing, hilarious or poignant.

Thank you for waiting and for reading, you patient souls.

Patricia

Greetings, Incredibly Loyal Person,

It is 5:47 a.m. on Monday, June 14th. I’m feeling guilty. Unless the phenomenon of intermittent reward* is in operation, it’s highly unlikely that anyone is reading this after so long a delay on my part, but I’ll feel better for having apologized.

The “blog” was established to communicate, but that which is being communicated could seem to be indifference. Apart from the daily effects of my husband’s illness, and a couple of preaching and worship leadership opportunities, what seems to have temporarily taken over my life is the Grandmothers’ Necklace anthology and all its related bookkeeping, launch arrangements, e-mail and telephone communication, radio and newspaper interviews, etc.

If you have been travelling to www.valleyartisans.com/grandmothersnecklace.htm, then you know there has been a flurry of launches: Petawawa, Deep River, Belleville, Ajax, Guildwood (Scarborough), Kitchener, Smiths Falls, Ottawa, Ontario. There have been sales tables at special events like Girls’ Night Out in Pembroke, post-World Day of Prayer service luncheons, Chapel luncheons, CFB Petawawa, Artists and Authors in the Park, Stittsville, ON.

I’ve been shipping books on request to contributors for selling when they make presentations as part of their own career, as well as for renewal of store site supplies. There’s a launch in Truro, NS on June 19th.

I can’t be there, but the preparations and program sound very appealing. Joyce Gero, a very talented Nova Scotia writer/poet, is responsible for that one. It will include, among others, contributors Dianne Collier of “Hurry Up and Wait” fame, Theodore Christou, on faculty at UNB, and area radio personality, Rod Deviller.

Approximately 25 bookselling locations have been established, to be listed at valleyartisan site as soon as I am able. I know, I know. I promised some time ago. I’ve been too busy creating displays and actually arranging agreements and book supplies to list the wonderful businesses who have agreed or offered to carry copies of the book for sale as a charitable deed for little or no percentage. May they be mightily blessed!

On Wednesday, I’m to leave for Burlington and Guelph to participate in the annual Write!Canada conference. The Grandmothers’ Necklace books are an important part of that experience this year. I’ll be caught up in the whirl of classes and readings and plenaries, with some personal writing/editing and spiritual renewal opportunities, knowing that the books created to raise funds to fight the wave of AIDS/HIV in Africa are being sold on the behalf of the Petawawa Grannies in The WordGuild’s on-site bookstore.

The following Wednesday, I’m to be in Toronto for the SLF Grandmothers to Grandmothers Afrigran event, with another sales table opportunity at their market. THEN, I hope to take a deep breath and arrange for my second impending carpal tunnel operation before going back into the breach.

The GREAT about all this is that the contents of the book itself are being very well received.

The best ad is word of mouth from repeat customers. There is something, and usually, plenty, for everyone. I defy anyone to not find at least one poem or story or article or letter or that moves him/her to tears, laughter, admiration, or determination, if not all of the foregoing.

Now, I’ve important things to find, items to pack, cat care requirements to spell out, and then, perhaps I’ll get that list to the Valley Artisans site!

Thank you for reading.

Patricia

*Behavioural Psych Experiment: If little white mice only receive a pellet periodically when they push the correct little bar in their cage, they tend to repeat the bar-pushing more frequently, perhaps even frenetically, than if the reward is consistently delivered. Go figure. No human similarities, surely. Wait, that sounds like the lottery, gambling. Nah.

Grandmothers' Necklace - Second Printing

Greetings to you on this soft spring morning!

I know. I know. I’ve been delinquent. Now, however, I understand that there will be a link to this blog as a result of my having finally registered for the Write!Canada 2010 conference in Guelph. NOT the thing to have people check out a moribund blog.

I’ve been so book-bound (pun intended) for the past year, there has been no time to “blog”.

Apologies, but not for the book; I’m very happy about its contents. My focus is on getting it out there — once one has sifted through its jewels, it sells itself.

“What book?” did you say? Thought you’d never ask. Grandmothers’ Necklace, the anthology for which I sent out the Call for Submissions over a year ago, has had a 2000-book printing and the printing of the second 2000, with some alterations, is about to be completed! The poetry and prose contributions are many and varied and captivating…a veritable treasure chest.

It’s about grandmothers, being grandmothers, aging and intergenerational relationships. Laugh-out-loud or chuckle humour, empathy, lyricism, nostalgia, close calls, even a recipe — It’s all there!

There have been newspaper and periodical articles and radio interviews, launches in Ottawa valley communities and Belleville, with many more launches and reading events to come, in Ontario (see below), and at least one Nova Scotia site.

The talents and energy of the contributors are amazing. This is a Petawawa Grannies project but other Grannies groups are adding their support when the sales and special events occur. The Granny groups all exist for the same purpose. Our Irish contributor, also a song writer, is right now promoting the books while she is in the Southern U.S. right now. (You read that correctly.) I’m waiting for event reports back from our United States contributors.

As you’ll know, if you’ve Googled “Grandmothers’ Necklace “or “Grandmothers’ Necklace + launches”, these gems have been gathered so that ALL of the profits go to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, a part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, to fight AIDS and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa .

The particular focus of this campaign is on the Grandmothers (no surprise there!) and the AIDS-orphaned grandchildren they are working so valiantly to raise under conditions that most of us would not even want to think about, let alone endure day in and day out in our final years (and I think I’m tired after an Easter weekend of very energetic grandchildren!).

“Where can I hear these gems being read and buy a signed book?”
Local contributors read their own in their area. Some travel to other areas. Some favourites by distant contributors are also read by local readers so guests can enjoy them. So far, the launches have been very successful events, lasting two to two and one half hours if people feel like staying to chat after the munchies, buying and signings.

From my What’s Up.doc, firmly on the calendar for the near future:

Saturday, April 24th 7:30 pm – 9:00/9:30 ToGoGo Grannies SLF fundraiser concert. Our book table for sales at intermission and after concert.
Toronto, ON.
Linda Dawn Pettigrew, writer and now a ToGoGo Granny, in charge of the table. linda.pettigrew3@sympatico.ca

Sunday, April 25th - Post a.m. service, READINGS, SALES, SIGNINGS at St Timothy's Presbyterian Church, 97 Burcher Road Ajax,ON L1S 2R3 - (905) 683-6122
June Stevenson junestevenson@sympatico.ca

Saturday, May 1, 2-5 KITCHENER LAUNCH Authors’ readings & book sales, St. Philip’s Lutheran Church, 236 Woodhaven Road, Kitchener, ON on Sat.,May 1st, 2-5 pm.
Carolyn Wilker ari.edit@rogers.com

Friday, May 7th 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., TORONTO LAUNCH - Authors’ Readings & Book Sales, Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church,140 Guildwood Parkway in Scarborough, ON
Cori Mordaunt,cori_mordaunt@rogers.com

Sunday, May 9 MOTHER’S DAY Hint! Hint! Hint!
If you are going to buy the book later at a launch, and wish to have a little gift card attachment with the book's picture that you can print off to give to your mother, grandmother, aunt, etc. to tell them that the gift is coming, contact me at granniesnecklace@hotmail.com

Saturday, May 29 1:30 to 3:30 OTTAWA LAUNCHreadings, refreshments, signings and sales, OTTAWA, ON, Main Library 120 Metcalfe, Ottawa ON K1P 5M2
LIBRARY NUMBER 613-580-2945
Patricia at granniesnecklace@hotmail.com

Sunday, May 30th "Artists & Authors in the Park", 12:00 Noon - 5:00 p.m., STITTSVILLE, ON Displays, barbecue, concert
Petawawa Grannies and the Kilimanjaro Grannies are sharing a book table
Patricia at granniesnecklace@hotmail.com

Thursday,June 17th,BOOK TABLE!at WRITE!CANADA GUELPH Writers' Conference Participants only
Friday, June 18th BOOK TABLE!at WRITE!CANADA 2010 Writers' Conference Participants only
Saturday, June 19th BOOK TABLE! WRITE!CANADA 2010 Writers' Conference Participants only

Thursday, June 24th AFRIGAN,TORONTO - BOOK TABLE, African and Canadian Grannies only.
Friday, June 25th, AFRIGAN, TORONTO - BOOK TABLE, African and Canadian Grannies only.

“Where else can I buy copies of the book?” Dear reader, you ask all the right questions. The number of outlets increases daily, but I’ll pass those we have so far on to you tomorrow:

“Can I get them on line?” Yes. Check out www.presbyterian.ca/bookroom/ (The book is one of those featured in their April e-letter - Hooray!) OR http://essencebookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1381

Another place to keep up on what is happening concerning the book itself is at http://www.valleyartisans.com/grandmothersnecklace.htm , a page being managed for us as a kindness by Leslie White, Valley Artisans, on their Gallery site: http://www.valleyartisans.com/.

So, tomorrow, you'll be let in on the outlets. Thank you for caring.

HERE IT IS --THE COVER! PETAWAWA LAUNCH OF GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE ANTHOLOGY

<-- Here is what the Grandmothers' Necklace cover looks like.

The first launch is at the Petawawa Public Library, on Saturday, February 20th, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

You won’t hear all sixty-one contributors, but several local writers will present excerpts from their pieces in the book, as will a couple of guest contributors from other areas, weather permitting.





Look for the following area contributors:
Eileen Barber,
Chantal Bigras,
Heather Campbell,
Cheryl Coates,
Dianne Collier,
Patricia Elford,
Gillian Federico,
Erma Johnson,
Charlotte McWilliam,
Jean Ostrom,
Jacinthe Payant,
Marcia Perryman,

and our two guest contributors.

All those who are able, please join us for

Readings – Book Buying - Signings –
Light Refreshments – Door Prize
Remember: ALL profits go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation

GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE ANTHOLOGY!

GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE
Why is the apostrophe after the “s”? Because that’s where it belongs when there is more than one grandmother involved and this is the necklace of many grandmothers.
WHAT IS IT?
A sparkling anthology of prose and poetry containing the humour, empathy, sentiment, irony and drama of many professional and some talented non-professional writers, about grandmothers, by grandmothers and for grandmothers.
ALL profits go to Grandmothers to Grandmothers of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
RELEASE DATE: Due to be released in by the week of February 7th, during the month of hearts. HOORAY! February 15th, apparently now called family day, could be a very appropriate launch date.
PRE-ORDERS POSSIBLE? When the cover appears on the Essence website under the Epic Imprint, and elsewhere, pre-orders will be possible.
EARLIEST LAUNCHES: Expected to take place in Petawawa [location of the Petawawa Grannies, this project’s home base], Deep River, Pembroke, Ottawa, Toronto, followed by Belleville/Kingston and Kitchener/Waterloo and in other locations across Canada and the United States.
Our Irish contributor, Dianna Robin Dennis, will be in the U.S. during launch month, so is hoping to join us there or hop across to Canada. Also in the plans is a preview reading by Canadian author and poet, Kathryn MacDonald, at the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
Specific Launch and Reading Nights information will follow.
A FEW CONTRIBUTORS: Gillian Federico, Dianne Collier, Dr. David C. Schwartz, Judy Maddren, Phil Callaway, Kathleen Gibson. Interested? More names to come in a future blog. It is a valuable necklace, indeed.

I'm very grateful to our contributors for the level of writing which is between the covers of this book. It is a quality product, in addition to its financial value for the Grandmothers of Africa needs. People will want to read it and talk about it, not just buy it for themselves and others to support the cause.

----
Now, occasional browsers of this blogged blog, you know what I've been doing. The blog has remained static because I haven't.

GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE - CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Anyone who has checked into this site hoping for inspiration and conversation will have been disappointed. It is more of an ill-used bulletin board than a blog so far.

I have been busy with recovering from cancer (ALL CLEAR) editing, writing, submitting, planning for a son's wedding, preparing for teaching a new course, preparing for some supply preaching and worship leadership, practising for a drama that will welcome the CFB military back from Afghanistan and . . . you have the picture; I've been too busy doing to also be busy blogging about it or my ideas. Sorry.

Now that the dust has cleared and I can find my computer and much of the study floor, I have some good news:

AN EXCITING PROJECT HAS BEGUN.

People have responded to both the topic and the cause. Some top-drawer pieces of poetry and prose have already been received.
=============================================================================
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS GRANDMOTHERS' NECKLACE DEADLINE: Midnight, May 15th

Are you a grandmother? Have you had/do you have, a grandmother? This, then, is for you.

What is it? An anthology of poetry and prose — gems written by and about grandmothers (hence, the plural title) including some from those in the sub-Saharan African countries. This title stems from the beautiful Emerald Necklace Trail system in Petawawa, Ontario, Canada.

Wanted: A variety of pieces from men and women of diverse ethnic and experiential backgrounds — amusing, touching, encouraging, up-lifting anecdotes, short stories, letters and poetry.

Editor: Patricia (Anne) Elford, B.A., M.Div., editor of various genres of books for adults and children, of newsletters, individual pieces and articles, an award-winning professional poet and writer, frequently published in periodicals (e.g. The Presbyterian Record, Artspaper, Glad Tidings, Esprit, The Link), newspapers and anthologies, as well as on line.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
e-mail attachment preferred. Submit to granniesnecklace@hotmail.com, after March 15, 2009, with “MY GEM” in the subject line. For answers to questions as yet unanswered, please use the same address and “QUESTIONS” subject line.

√Microsoft Word or Word Perfect √12-pt Times New Roman √ one-inch margins
If hard copy: One side only, Address: “The Pines”, 614 Airport Rd., Pembroke, ON, K8A 6W7, Attention: My Gem

Prose: Short fiction, creative non-fiction or brief opinion piece, double-spaced
Word Count: 500 to 650 words maximum (excluding title)

POETRY: (non-rhymed preferred but not required), single-spaced
Limit of Lines per poem: 40

PHOTOS: If submitting related photos (e.g. the grandmother, a special item which belongs/ed to the grandmother), use the camera as an external device and cut-and-paste images to a folder. When e-mailing, attach the image directly from its folder to the email; the way you would a Word document. Preference: digital photographs, 300 dpi minimum, high quality uncompressed JPEGs.
Please do not send originals through surface mail.

A brief bio and photo will be requested from all whose work is accepted for publication

ALL PROFITS WILL GO TO "GRANDMOTHERS TO GRANDMOTHERS", Stephen Lewis Foundation.
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/grandmothers.htm

REMEMBER! ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE, AT THE LATEST, BY THE IDES OF MAY. EARLIER WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.

Patricia Anne Elford

Greetings! I'm Patricia Anne Elford.

This entry was first written for a creativity workshop I was presenting at Write! Canada! At that time, I was on contract as Chapel Life Co-ordinator at St. George’s interdenominational chapel, Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, ON., facilitating all aspects of worship and congregational life, timetabling padres’ and my own preaching and worship leadership. I've been requested to write an article about that unusual civilian woman's experience for an upcoming issue of The Presbyterian Record, have contributed two other pieces since then, and am still trying to think of a suitable perspective from which to write that article.

I'm a clergy person, educator, facilitator, editor and freelance writer who has been published in various genres: short stories, articles, poetry, hymn texts, youth materials, worship services, sermons, book reviews, monologues, devotionals, published in a variety of newspapers and periodicals, have won international, national and area awards for my work, and have enjoyed giving readings in the Ottawa National Library, in Toronto and at Arts Festivals and workshops in other locations.

I edit articles, short stories, devotionals, newsletters, fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, and, some webpage texts. The books reviewed are usually educational or theological in nature. I'm a professional member of The Word Guild. I have two cats, five children, one husband, all loved, but occasionally short-changed, because of the overlapping commitments.

Most Recently Published Work at time of this entry: a devotional in The Fellowship Link and two creative non-fiction pieces in the anthology, The Wisdom of Old Souls, just out from Hidden Brook Press.

I'm in the middle of changing over almost all of my office equipment and will have to make some fast adjustments to meet the requirements for the book to be written for one client and the poetry that is due to be prepared for submission to various publications. A carpal tunnel operation this week will add to the challenge! To help me deal with that, there's an ergonomic keyboard (closing the barn door after the horse has bolted) and an oral dictation device in place (if I can just figure out how to use it correctly!).

My main purpose in starting a blog was that of establishing a presence on the Web, although Googling "Patricia Anne Elford" or "Patricia Elford" will turn up several references to my work . (I am not a brain gymn instructor! That honour is held by a different Patricia Elford.)

So far, the only way you'll see actual work samples is by checking out the following:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Patricia+Elford-a1677 Short Christmas Story

www.presbyterianrecord.ca/index.php?dir=200506&id=feature-09 - 17k, /article

www.presbyterianrecord.ca/index.php?dir=200506&id=feature-01 - 15k Article

www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-14488441_ITM - 26k - Article and book review.

http://fictionmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/Patricia%20Elford Guest Blog

If you read the samples, you'll notice that there's much more life in them than I'm showing here.

I'll become more like myself as time goes on. Thank you for coming by!