Monday, November 8, 2021

A Struggle for Hope officially launched Nov 4

Many thanks to Belle Jarniewski, Executive Director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, for doing such a terrific job of hosting the virtual launch of A Struggle for Hope as part of Holocaust Education Week. We had a "packed house," and I have received so many congratulations and so many enthusiastic responses to our presentation. I hope you will take the time to click below and watch it.

Attention teachers: The video is a wide-ranging discussion about the Holocaust, racism, and how fascism can take hold in any democratic society. It also talks about "story" and how stories can be used for good or for ill. 

This event was jointly sponsored by Scholastic Canada, McNally Robinson Booksellers Winnipeg, The Winnipeg Jewish Federation and The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. 


First Review for A Struggle for Hope – Highly Recommended!

"The action keeps readers on the edge of their seats. A touch of romance softens some of the harsh realities the characters face. And the comfort, compassion and belonging to a communal family sustains their struggle for hope in the face of adversity."

Highly Recommended. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Click here for the full review from CM: Canadian Review of Materials. 

Plus an interview on CTV!

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Struggle for Hope Featured on the CBC's Fall 2021 Middle-Grades List

Delighted to find my newest Holocaust novel from Scholastic Canada featured on CBC Book's list of the 35 Canadian Middle-Grade Books to Watch for in Fall 2021. Now available at McNally Robinson and other Canadian booksellers. 

Thursday, July 8, 2021

Holocaust Education Week 2021

I am really honoured that my newest novel from Scholastic Canada will be launched as part of Holocaust Education Week, with the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. 

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Cloning Miranda Rights Sale to Korea/Sakyejul Publishing

Cloning Miranda
was originally the first of a three-book series I published with Scholastic Canada. The series was translated into numerous languages all over the world and is still used widely in German schools in an English edition.

A few years ago I had the idea to update the science and revamp the book. A small independent publisher, Fictive Press, also liked the idea. We decided we would combine all three books into one big story. Then I began an extensive revision. I'd say about half the book has been revised – including sentence by sentence. But we didn't feel it was enough to rename it as a new book, so we stuck to the original title and published it.

This is our first big foreign rights sale and I couldn't be happier.

The novel asks some big questions – like, what does it mean to be human? It delves into the moral issues of genetic engineering and cloning and would be a fun book to read and discuss in schools.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Science Fiction can tackle the big questions.

I love to think about the big questions and I love to write about the big questions. 

Thanks so much to Lindsey Carmichael for hosting me on her blog so that I can talk about science fiction and how it is perfectly suited for tackling big questions like, "What does it mean to be human?"

The 2023 author edition of Cloning Miranda is available in Kindle and print.