The wonderful woman who has been acting as my fiction Book Agent suggested that I attend an event for authors in Collingwood. Knowing good advice when I hear it, I got tickets for Derek and me and we made a getaway of it.
I haven’t been up there in, oh, more than two decades. Back then, I was a skiier. (HAHAHAHA! I’m laughing at my own exaggeration! I would PUT ON skis and run into and over things until someone finally mentioned hot chocolate! I was a gold medalist in Après Ski.)
Like Port Stanley grew out of the fishing trade, Collingwood was known as a ship building centre. The MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry was built at the Collingwood Shipyards in 1974. The yards were permanently closed in 1986 and only a couple of drydocks remain. They have a lovely harbour and lots of newish condos with spectacular water views. And of course, there’s that mountain just a few minutes outside of the city.
Collingwood and Blue Mountain
Collingwood’s downtown is thriving. We saw only one empty storefront and as you’re probably aware, many downtowns are suffering. Collingwood has shopping plazas and big box stores. But do you know what it doesn’t have? A mega-mall outside of town.
It’s really a treat to enjoy a busy downtown area, with cool architecture and interesting stores, all sparkly for the season. We had a wonderful breakfast at MEK Breakfast House. Really good coffee, wonderful service, an extensive menu. Both of us are always so grateful for a happy, friendly server.
Of course we visited Blue Mountain a few minutes away, and toured the village. The weather was dreary, cold and wet but that didn’t stop us from seeing all of it. We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner there at Firehall Pizza where another wonderful server took care of us. Gee, it’s as if they WANT to be there!
We didn’t really have the place to ourselves but it definitely wasn’t busy. There are wonderful shops to browse and a whole bunch of places for food. Gondola rides were idle and there was only a trace of snow on the hill. But they all know what’s coming.
The Author’s Thing
But before we did all of the above, we attended our original reason for going north. It was called An Author’s Gathering. A mother/daughter team of writer/publishers put on a series of these events in various towns and cities. It’s a chance to hear from a publisher, a book marketer and perhaps most importantly, other writers. They promised we’d leave inspired and we sure did. The atmosphere was supportive and full of ideas. And they fed us, which was appreciated!
Derek has a book or two in him, we both know it. He has started projects that have blown me away. He’s an excellent writer but in order to become an author, you have to be disciplined about it. It’s just not his priority yet. But maybe now it will move up on his to-do list.
We met authors who have sold thousands of books and some people who are only thinking about taking writing seriously. One woman didn’t start writing until she was 65. She’s 80 now, and so successful that she was hand-picked by Amazon to become part of a special subset of their authors.
Cheryl Rankin of Fit for Business gave us all dozens of tips for sharing our stories and selling books. The publisher – Maryann Thomas of The Ginger Press – gave us hope that we could find a publishing partner as long as the writing and story were worth the effort. They also reaffirmed that self-publishing is totally legit these days and a great way to go. And they stressed the importance of hosting books on one’s own website in case the Amazons and other booksellers of the world ever go bust.
Derek and I purchased a Ginger Press book titled A Magnificent Failure. It’s about a massive hotel near Owen Sound that opened around 1902 and was demolished a little over a decade later. It’s a fascinating piece of Ontario history from the days of heavy ferry traffic and crowds of thousands flocking to shorelines. (Port Stanley enjoyed that heyday as well.)
The Best Part
It was all good! Even getting cold and wet on the second day was alright because we were both pretty tired. We were quite content with a night in drinking hot water and lemon and finishing the Diplomat season 2 on Netflix.
But before that, we got to spend some time with a couple of wonderful beings. One, I worked with at 680 News. The other, another broadcasting professional who’s her husband. Jaime Pulfer and RJ Broadhead are the kind of people we wish lived closer to us. Oh the memories we shared, the industry gossip – and the promise that what was told at the table, stays at the table! There’s nothing like catching up in person at a funky coffee shop down an alley in Collingwood. Highly recommend.
We laughed so hard and almost cried a time or two. The. Best. We’re so glad we did this little jaunt. Cuddles hasn’t forgiven us yet but we know he will. He always does.
In the meantime, my muse has reawakened and I’m almost ready to get back to my novel-in-progress. Sometimes I feel I’m overflowing with ideas and I can’t wait to get to the keyboard. Other times, I wonder – why have I spent so much time on this crap? And I’m learning that this emotional ping-pong ride is quite common among new fiction writers. The trick is to simply keep going.
Keep at it, my friend. You have a story worth telling!
Thank you, Dan. I love that you believe in me with no evidence whatsoever! That’s a good friend. 🙂