Tag Archives: Christmas

GOOD WORDS VIRTUAL BOOK FAIR

26 Monday Oct 2020

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This virtual event will take place Wednesday, November 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. The online event will give you a chance to get to know the more than 20 authors taking part as they talk about the books they have for sale. You’ll have all the fun of attending a book fair and none of the worry about social-distancing.

Keep checking back for updates as we add more authors to the list

Barrie Doyle

Musick for the King

The incredible true story of George Frederick Handel’s struggle to compose and produce The Messiah becomes entertaining and powerful novel. www.barriedoyle.com 

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Robert White

Christmas With Hot Apple Cider

Inspirational

Christmas with Hot Apple Cider: Stories from the Season of Giving and Receiving is an eclectic collection of true stories, short fiction, and poetry that features the short story “No Room?” stonechurchesofdowntownguelph@gmail.com

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Ann-Margret Hovsepian

Restore My Soul: A Coloring Book Devotional Journey

Devotional (or Colouring Books)

Restore My Soul is a beautiful, interactive devotional designed to celebrate our unique creativity and connect us with the ultimate Creator. Find refreshment in short reflections on Scripture and be inspired as you color accompanying intricate illustrations created for meditation and prayer. Both contemplative and imaginative, Restore My Soul is the perfect space for the artist in us all. www.annhovsepian.com / ann@annhovsepian.com

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Josh Tiessen

Josh Tiessen: A Decade of Inspiration


Hardcover coffee table art monograph

The story and art of Josh Tiessen, the only known male art prodigy in North America, are presented for the first time in this 200-page hardcover coffee table monograph, featuring over 60 full-colour original works of art and their accompanying stories, which reflect Tiessen’s love for God’s creation. With design and layout by Tiessen, the book itself is a beautiful keepsake and makes a great gift for artists, art-lovers, and anyone interested in a story of finding artistic inspiration amidst adversity. www.joshtiessen.com/book / info@joshtiessen.com

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Janis Cox

Tadeo Turtle

Children from birth to 7

Tadeo (TAHD-ay-OH) Turtle longs to be different. Through an adventure find out how Tadeo learns to accept how God created him. There are activities in the back of the book and more activities on the author’s website: www.janiscox.com. Children need to know they are special. Tadeo helps them see clearly that they were created perfectly just how they are made. Watercolour pictures by the author. https://www.janiscox.com/bookstore/

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Ruth Smith Meyer

Chains of Shame

Novel

Chains of Shame, tackles a very sensitive, largely ignored subject matter of husband abuse with great sensitivity and empathy.  Abuse is a fact, and children who are the victims of abuse often become abusers in adulthood or continue to be victims. Ben’s and Alma’s reactions to their childhood ill-treatment takes them in different directions and results in a dysfunctional family. smithmeyerbooks@gmail   Smith Meyer Books on facebook  https://smith-meyer-books.myshopify.com/

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Janet Sketchley

Tenacity at Christmas: 31 Daily Devotions for December

Nonfiction: Christmas Devotional Book

Need a little daily encouragement this December? Give yourself five minutes and pour a cup of your favourite hot beverage. Let’s read a Bible verse or two and remind ourselves of the Reason for the Season. In your busyness and life circumstances, good or bad…In your relationships, sweet or strained…These short, uplifting readings will strengthen your spirit and inspire your heart. May this Christmas season bring at least one new treasured memory, and may you be blessed to be a blessing. Available in ebook and print. Print version includes prayer journal pages. https://janetsketchley.ca/books/tenacity-at-christmas-31-daily-devotions-for-december/

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LD Stauth

Snowsqualls and Missing Elves (Lighthouse Landing Trilogy #3)

Mystery/Romantic Suspense

From the moment Coral Prescott encountered the agitated man, warning bells dinged. Why wouldn’t Officer Luke Degroot trust her intuitions? Compelled by an inner urging, Coral set out to search for the missing elves in a twenty-thousand-acre swamp … alone … and weaponless. Fear clawed it’s way up Detective Jace Kelly’s throat. Why had she taken such a foolhardy risk? Darkness closing in and bad weather hampering, Jace was frantic to locate Coral and the missing twins. Was the swamp truly haunted as his partner Luke feared? If something happened to Coral, Jace didn’t know how he’d ever survive.

ldstauth@gmail.com / www.amazon.ca / www.facebook.com/ldstauth.8/ / www.ldstauth-author.com/

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Ruth L. Snyder

Equipped: Ephesians 6 Devotionals to Empower and Make You Victorious in Everyday Struggles

Adult Devotional

Is spiritual warfare real?  Are you aware of how you’re being attacked? If so, what can you do about it? Equipped takes a detailed look at God, at our enemy, and at our response. Everyday struggles happen, but you can be victorious. In Africa, people believe in spirit beings. Witch doctors cast spells. People dance barefoot over red-hot coals without being burned. Spiritual warfare is obvious. In other cultures, the spiritual battle is not so evident. Still, it is very real. Homes are divided by discord and divorce. Parents are overly busy. Children are lured into drugs and sex-trafficking. Churches are complacent and powerless. Is there hope? Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). What’s stopping you from living life to the full? Read Equipped. Become aware. Put on your spiritual armour as described in Ephesians six. Stand firm. Pray. https://ruthlsnyder.com / ruth@ruthlsnyder.com

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Angela C Charles

When God is Silent 

Adult

Naomi Sullivan has all the visible trappings of success, but her life is a mess. As a wife and mother, she tries to navigate her way through the storms that threaten to overwhelm and plunge her into darkness.  Her husband, Peter, a successful lawyer, is dealing with the consequences of a temporary lapse in judgement. Their only hope for happiness is to find a way to heal the rift and mend the marriage. As Naomi faces one tragic event after another, instead of leaning more on God, she pulls further and further away, to the point of despair. Will Naomi learn to forgive? Will she renew her faith and find hope for tomorrow?  When God is Silent is a passionate story of redemption, forgiveness, hope and second chances. www.angelacharlesauthor.com / acharles05@gmail.com

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Laurie Haughton

Through the Lens of Motherhood

Biography/Memoir

It wasn’t supposed to unfold this way. Raising kinds was to be all about playdates at the park, kitchen-table crafts, with the odd scraped knee and late-night stomach flu posing the greatest threat. It was to be a great adventure, not a terrifying ordeal. In a daily battle on the frontlines for the life of her son, Laurie Haughton faces a parent’s worst nightmare: a critically ill child. Expecting their first child and dreaming of the future, Laurie and her husband Tim were stopped in their tracks when a 20 week ultra sound and fetal echocardiogram revealed that their son had a rare complex congenital heart defect that made survival unlikely.  Trusting in God and committing young Joshua to him, they continue the pregnancy and, after Joshua’s arrival, walked through multiple surgeries and terrifying moments. Through her blog and in these pages, Laurie transparently shares the raw anger, fragile hope, and crushing disappointment that were her constant companions for years. She shares her journey in a way that is real, hard-hitting, inspiring and even humorous. Readers will witness faithfulness of God in the lives of his servants as they continually bring their hearts to him. A story that acknowledges the lack of easy answers yet the presence of God in their lives. Through the Lens of Motherhood will touch lives, inspire faith, and encourage understanding of those who walk through some of life’s darkest valley’s. https://lensofmotherhood.blogspot.com/p/order-book.html

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Eunice Cooper-Matchett

Behind Her Name

Christian Fiction

Pain from a beating ebbs in days, but emotional abuse lingers a lifetime. In a few short years, Sage Bush become a best-selling author, traveled the world, and built the home she’d dreamed of owning all her life. But in one moment at a book signing event, three teenagers unknowingly sent her world on a one-way collision course. Physical and emotional wounds from an abusive parent and the bulling she’d suffered in school she’d safely hidden in a vault somewhere in her subconscious broke loose, threatening her life as she knew it until one of her worst teenage tormentors helped her find healing. https://albertastoryteller.com

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Glynis M Belec

Jesus Loves Me When I Dance

Juvenile Picture Book

The sweetness and innocence of childhood echoes throughout the precious photo illustrations and the gentle rhythm of JESUS LOVES ME WHEN I DANCE. Turn each page and celebrate Jesus through the eyes of a child. Whether in stripy socks, boots or shoes with ‘Jesus love’ we’ll never lose! www.glynismbelec.com

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Sally Meadows

Beneath That Star

Children’s Picture Book ages 5-9

Saray longs to be a shepherd just like her three older brothers. But when God speaks to her in a dream to look out for and follow the bright star, what she finds underneath it is of far greater value than anything she could ever have imagined. An uplifting story for all ages about obedience, patience, trust, healing, and above all, God’s immeasurable love for each one of us. For more of Sally’s award-winning/nominated children’s books, visit https://sallymeadows.com/store.

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Tandy Balson

Another Perspective

Creative Non-Fiction, Inspirational Adult

“Tandy is a master at turning the everyday into an inspiration in such a relatable way. In this book she shares from her own personal experiences in a way that is open and vulnerable, as well as captivating and motivational. She has a gift for finding a nugget of wisdom in each experience. This is a book that can be read many times, as its lessons will continue to unfold with each reading.” https://www.timewithtandy.com / tandy@timewithtandy.com

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Lynne Collier

Abundant Life – If you see it does it exist?

Christian Suspense

Maddie wants nothing more than a quiet, peaceful life in her small Canadian town but her husband is getting bored with his early retirement and searches for a project that will pocket him a few extra dollars for a trip abroad. He accepts an invitation from a newcomer to the church who has been talking about an innovative business opportunity. When Maddie gets drawn into the marketing group, she begins to see things which shouldn’t be happening and fears she may be losing her mind but others suspect it may be something much worse. https://lynnecollier.com/ / lynnecollierauthor@gmail.com

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Grace Wulff

Words of Faith to Live By

Devotional 

This little spiral-bound book is designed to be a devotional guide, to reflect, to pray, to journal, even to colour! It began as a monthly resource for a support group for women with cancer, but I soon realized that it could be shared with many. I have found it helpful to pick a word for each year, and reflect on that word throughout the year. This devotional guide breaks it down to 12 words: a word for each month, or you could dwell on a word each day, if you choose. There are verses for each word, and I like to choose a verse each week to think about. However you use this resource, my prayer is that it will encourage you and be a reminder of God’s faithful words to each of us. www.gracewulff.com

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Sara Davison

Lost Down Deep, book one of The Rose Tattoo Trilogy

Inspirational Romantic Suspense

BCC: She is the only one who can tell the police who attacked her in her home. If only she could remember …Summer Velasquez is on the run from a man she has no recollection of after an attack she can’t recall. Every face in the crowd is a potential suspect, so how is Summer supposed to know who is a threat to her and who isn’t? After fleeing her assailant and the parents who lied to her about what happened, she changes her name and seeks refuge in Elora, Ontario. The small town feels familiar, although she has no memory of ever having been here. Even in what should be a safe place, she can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched. When Ryan Taylor strolls into the Taste of Heaven Café where she works, Summer is immediately drawn to him. However, he may not be who he says he is either. As her suspicions grow, Summer prepares to run again. But at least one person is determined to stop her. Permanently. And if she can’t remember who he is, this time he may succeed. www.saradavison.org  saradavison@bell.net

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Barbara Heagy

10 – A Story of Love, Life, and Loss

Inspirational memoir/cancer journey/love story

10 – A Story of Love, Life, and Loss is the true story of a couple in midlife who found each other and then, after receiving a cancer diagnosis, learned to face losing each other. Their story is a reminder to all of us to live life with gratitude and zest, fulfilling all our hearts’ desires in the time we are given.  barb_mcquarrie@hotmail.com / www.facebook.com/barbaraheagywriter

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Donna Mann

Discover your Story: Family History or Memoir

Non-fiction, 12 and up

Are you wanting to discover a story? Whether you’re looking deep within your memory or considering someone’s life – you will find your way in this book. https://www.donnamann.org/carolynwilkerdiscoveryourstory.html /  ddmann@bell.net   https://www.donnamann.org  / cari.edit@rogers.com    https://www.carolynwilker.ca 

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Carolyn R. Wilker

Sophie and the Giant Boy

Picture book for children, age 3-7

Sophie’s biggest thrill is to swing as high as she can and let her imagination fly! When a giant boy tumbles into her back yard, she is neither imagining it nor is she afraid. Instead she is glad to find a friend. The fun begins when Sophie does what she can to to help the giant boy who is lost, hungry and tired. https://www.carolynwilker.ca/  / cari.edit@rogers.com

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Susan Harris

Touched By Eternity: A True Story of Heaven, Healing, and Angels.

Memoir

Most people have to imagine what Heaven would be like. Susan Harris doesn’t have to imagine. She knows. Not once, not twice, but three times she has entered the other life, and came back to tell about it.

On October 16th, 1998, at thirteen weeks pregnant Susan collapsed in her doctor’s office. Immediately she found herself walking on green grass in Heaven. On November 3rd, 2015 while in hospital she tunneled up to Eternity and witnessed divine mysteries of God. On June 24th, 2017, in the aftermath of dental surgery she is rendered unconscious and crosses to the other side as Jesus, the Light of the World, approached her. 

Touched By Eternity invites readers into the dramatic and awe-inspiring accounts of Susan’s miraculous healings— two of which occurred in Heaven—visions, including one of Hell, and encounters with angels. Together with the insights she received from her visits, the reader is lifted on a faith-filled and inspirational journey as none other recorded. This book will bring hope to the broken, challenge skeptics, and enthrall believers. A must read for anyone longing to know more of the life that awaits us. https://www.susanharris.ca / susan@susanharris.ca

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Marcia Lee Laycock

Christmas and Love in the Room

Short stories and Devotionals

Love in the Room, is a collection of 30 devotionals centred on the Christmas theme, plus 2 pieces that deal with looking forward to the New Year. Most are reflections on my own experiences, like a story about the time my son-in-law put a specific set of baseball cards on his Christmas wish list. Or the time God and I had a conversation in my car as I drove home after sitting at a Christmas market where I sold only two books.
Christmas is a collection of 4 short stories, which have also appeared in various publications. Two of these stories, which are set in the far north, in Dawson City, Yukon, have won awards from the Word Guild and InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. These are 2 slim little books that can easily fit into a Christmas stocking, like this one. They’d make great gifts for the readers on your list this year. marcia@marcialeelaycock.com / www.marcialeelaycock.com



The Son of a Carpenter

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

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For the past few years, the Arts Connection Christmas broadcast has featured a mixture of music and story. Here, for your reading pleasure, is this year’s narrative: “The Son of a Carpenter.”

I never intended to be a father. At least not as soon after the engagement as it happened.

Maybe I should introduce myself first. I’m Joseph. You know, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The one who seems to be in the background of the Christmas story. In operatic terms, I’d be a spear carrier—a singer who has a couple of minor roles with a few lines, but mostly stands in the background as part of the scenery.

I’m the person portrayed by the tallest Sunday School pre-school male, or the boy who can’t sing “Away in a Manger.” Or the Christmas pageant volunteer who can’t act, so the director has them stand beside the person playing Mary.

Most of my story has been lost to history. Even in the Bible, I’m relegated to a few verses that describe me as a carpenter, a righteous man who wanted to send Mary away to hide her pregnancy and a descendant of King David. I even had a supernatural encounter…

But I’ll get to that in a few moments.

Legends and myths have filled in the gaps left by the Scriptures. Some say I was a widower with children. Some say Jesus transformed wooden doves that I’d made for him into real birds. Some say I was more than 100 years old when I died.

Whether legend, myth, or reality; spear carrier or integral part of the Christmas narrative, I was there when the babe of Bethlehem was born.

Whether I was a widower or single, the time came when my parents felt that I needed to be married. I’d followed in my father’s footsteps and had also become a carpenter. But even that’s a bit of a misnomer, because the word you translate as “carpenter” has a broader meaning than one who makes tables or chairs. I was more of an itinerant artisan who could create everything from a table and chairs to windows and shutters. One legend supposes that much of my time was spent rebuilding Sepphoris, a nearby town that the Romans had destroyed.

Whether you believe I was a widowed woodworker or a tradesman, the fact remains that I was gainfully employed and single. And it was time to take a wife.

Again, it’s speculation, but chances are my family and Mary’s family knew each other. Nazareth was a small town and, like all small towns, it was difficult not to at least know of everyone, if not know about everyone. Mary was a young woman, not much older than a teen when we were introduced to each other.

We went through the formal introductions by our parents and our engagement was announced. Even though it was an arranged marriage, as we got to know each other—during chaperoned meetings of course—we fell deeply in love with each other. I found her to be a sweet young woman who was entirely devoted to God. And, in the beginning, I thought she was the wife God intended for me.

I was gobsmacked by the news. I know, now, how much courage it took Mary to tell me that she was with child. But at that moment all I could think of was how this was going to affect both my and my parents’ reputations. And it was hard to imagine how anyone in that small town would believe that we hadn’t sinned.

The strange thing is, that as incredible as Mary’s story was—an angel announcing her pregnancy and that it was the spirit of the Most High who would overcome her and create the child—I believed her. I had no reason not to.

But still. The practical aspects of being engaged to a now pregnant woman, with a child that wasn’t mine needed to be taken care of. If the synagogue leaders had any say in the matter, Mary would have been stoned as soon as the pregnancy became apparent. And, legally, I could have ended the engagement, claimed the dowry and had her shamed. But I loved her too much to follow the letter of the law.

After a few sleepless nights, pondering her fate, I decided the simplest solution was to send her away until she had the baby. What would happen after that would be anyone’s guess, but it would, at least, save our reputations.

Until…

If I’d found Mary’s tale of an angelic announcement incredible, then it’s difficult to find an adjective to describe mine. After deciding to send Mary away, as I slept that night, I too was visited by an angel, who affirmed everything Mary had said about the child being the Son of God and that it was my responsibility to care for both Mary and the child. In Nazareth.

But then Caesar Augustus brought chaos to our peaceful life. It wasn’t as if we weren’t paying enough in taxes to the Romans when the emperor decided to find out if he was getting his rightful take. So he decided that everyone had to return to their ancestral home for a census.

And here we were, with Mary only days away from giving birth when we found out we’d have to travel to Bethlehem—because I was fortunate enough to be a descendent of King David. I took the few extra shekels I’d been saving to buy a lamb for sacrifice after the child’s birth, and purchased a donkey. There was no way I was going to make Mary walk on what would have been a four-day journey for a healthy woman. I knew it would take longer for a woman in her condition.

By the time we arrived in Bethlehem, every spare room had been taken. Those who ran inns had filled every square cubit, sometimes with more than one body. And those who had room in their homes, or on their roofs, made a few extra shekels renting the space out. We had nowhere to go.

Finally, I came across an innkeeper I hadn’t yet met while getting supplies at the market. I explained our plight, but like everyone else in town, he had no room. But he did have an idea. He owned a small grotto the outskirts of town that he used as a manger. All he asked was a few hours to clear the animals and dung out and put out a few blankets and fresh straw for us and we could use it. I was desperate. Mary was so close to giving birth, that the grotto sounded like a palace. I took up his offer and by nightfall we were soundly ensconced in the manger.

You probably know the rest of the story: Mary had the baby, angels visited the shepherds, the shepherds came to the manger and I stood in the background. And while the Bible says that Mary remembered every moment and treasured them, it’s silent about my reaction to that night.

So. I’ll be silent as well. All I ask you to do is to imagine what any father would be doing under similar circumstances.

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If you want to hear the broadcast, complete with music from Mike Janzen (“Once in Royal David’s City”), Glen Soderholm (“Will You Wait for Me?”), Carolyn Arends (“Everything Changes at Christmas” and “Long Way to Go”), Kevin Pauls (“Mary Did You Know?”) and Trevor Dick (“Do You Hear What I Hear?”) go to http://tinyurl.com/oppu8un

And have a Merry Christmas

 

Latest Lost & Found Theatre play destined to be a Christmas classic

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

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LF - Charles Dickens WritesDescriptions such as “a holiday classic” or “must-see theatre” have been used so frequently that they seem hyperbolic this time of year.

This isn’t the case with Lost & Found Theatre’s latest production: Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol. If tonight’s performance is any indicator, this play is destined to be a Christmas classic and certainly is must-see theatre for the few performances that remain.

Written by L&F company member Richard Quesnel, Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol tells the story behind the now-classic story of the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge.

“Written in 1843, a time when the celebration of Christmas was considered out of fashion in London, A Christmas Carol became one of the most popular books of the English language and has been credited by some as ‘almost single-handedly reviving the Christmas holiday'” writes Quesnel in the playwright’s notes.

The play depicts the challenges Dickens (Gareth Potter) faced in providing his publisher with a story as successful as The Pickwick Papers – which had been published seven years earlier. Drawing inspiration from a group of carollers and a tightfisted publisher who insisted on new and publishable work by Christmas morning, Dickens slaves through the night to produce A Christmas Carol.

Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol  seamlessly weaves the story of how Dickens crafted the story with the story itself

Quesnel, who also directed the play, seamlessly weaves the story of how Dickens crafted the story with the story itself. Potter assumes the role of both Dickens and Bob Crachit while L&F company member Christy Ziss is memorable as Mrs. Dickens and Mrs. Cratchit. Both veteran actor Ted Follows (Jacob Marley/Old Joe) and L&F’s Kathleen Sheehy (Mrs. Dilber/Mrs. Fezziwig) are unforgettable.

For me, the challenge of any actor depicting Ebenezer Scrooge is meeting the standard set by Alistair Sim in the 1951 film Scrooge. Vince Carlin’s portrayal of Mr. Hall/Scrooge meets and, dare I admit it, exceeds that standard. In his own way, Carlin shows Scrooge’s self-centred approach to life in which only his business is preeminent. By the end of the visits of the three spirits, Carlin is able to demonstrate Scrooge’s repentance in which mankind becomes his business.

From a cast which effectively handles British accents and Victorian dialogue, to a simple set which transforms itself from Dickens’ study to the Cratchit’s cottage to Scrooge’s bedroom, the play shines. A particularly memorable scene, often missing from film versions of the story, is the Ghost of Christmas Present’s visit to those celebrating Christmas: a pair of miners, a lighthouse keeper and those aboard a ship at sea. Under Quesnel’s direction, the scene features carols in German, French, another language I couldn’t quite catch and ends with an English version of the the traditional Austrian carol “Still, Still, Still” in a moment which brought the audience, including  myself, to tears.

The acting is superb. The set is stunning. The original music is moving. Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol will become a Christmas tradition. And that’s a prediction, not hyperbole.

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Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol continues its run at the Conrad Centre in Kitchner until Saturday, December 12. For ticket information check http://www.lostandfoundtheatre.com/

To listen to playwright/director Richard Quesnel talk about the origins and production of Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol check http://tinyurl.com/ojf22xr

You’ll look at Christmas differently after reading “The Yuletide Factor”

27 Friday Nov 2015

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Yuletide Factor - coverNormally, I don’t review a book until I’ve finished reading it. But because of the subject matter, and time of year, I’ve decided to make an exception for Tim Huff’s The Yuletide Factor.

For close to three decades, Huff has ministered to, and been ministered by, street-involved youth and adults and has become one of the Canadian Church’s leading resources on poverty and homelessness. Huff is also a musician (performing with the band Outrider) and an artist whose work has graced the pages of the Compassion series of children’s books The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge, It’s Hard Not to Stare, and the forthcoming The Honour Drum (co-authored by Cheryl Bear).

The Yuletide Factor is the third in a series of books that Huff has written about his experiences in street ministry: Bent Hope: A Street Journal and Dancing with Dynamite: Celebrating Against the Odds. Each of these books have introduced us to a number of people that have been touched by Huff’s care and compassion as he shares in their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. They also tell how these people, in spite of their own struggles with poverty, homelessness or sexual exploitation, have touched Huff’s own life.

The Yuletide Factor parallels the themes of poverty and homelessness with both Scripture and many of the cultural stories now part Christmas tradition

His latest book, The Yuletide Factor, touches on many of the same themes while, at the same time, noting the parallels between those themes and the Christmas narrative…whether the traditional Scriptural account of Jesus’ birth or the cultural stories that have become so much a part of North American Christmas tradition.

The Yuletide Factor also seems to be the most personal of Huff’s trilogy. Among the examples of his own story are:

  • His re-telling of how his annual stint as a Christmas Eve Santa for friends and family takes a poignant turn in a nearly-empty laundromat.
  • His tale about spending his teenage years years selling Christmas trees, leading to a new appreciation for retail workers during the Christmas season.
  • The memory of a Kindergarten craft for Christmas reminds him, and the reader, about one of the most down-to-earth needs of those living on the street.

As with Bent Hope and Dancing With Dynamite Huff has collaborated with other voices who share in his compassion and care for those in need. Television personalities Moira Brown and Lorna Dueck bookend The Yuletide Factor with their foreward and benediction. Singer/songwriter Steve Bell and Greg Paul (pastor and founder of Sanctuary Ministries) provide interludes to Huff’s narrative. And, after finding out that his previous two books were being used for study and discussion, Huff asked Ann Brandner to provide a reflection and discussion guide for each chapter.

Huff has the ability to write about crucial issues with care, compassion and, in some instances, humour…without laying on the guilt. But his stories do carry a sense of urgency and need, leaving many readers wondering if they are part of the problem and asking how they can become part of the solution.

The Yuletide Factor will have you looking at Christmas in an entirely different way. Maybe that’s why the book has been subtitled: Cause for Perpetual Comfort and Joy.

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For more about The Yuletide Factor: Cause for Perpetual Comfort and Joy check http://tinyurl.com/jsk2wo8

 

 

 

Stretching creative muscles may ache, but they’ll be stronger in the long run

21 Wednesday Oct 2015

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PSX_20151017_132529[1]Around the time the Audience of One Christian Theatre Company was holding auditions for this year’s Christmas production, I came across the link to an article titled “How to be a Playwright in the New Play Rehearsal Room.”

The article was full of great advice, especially since this was the first time a work I’d written was being produced. I was quite willing to put into practice the advice playwright Stephen Spotswood suggested:

  • Be around for the first few rehearsals so you can answer questions about character, plot and structure
  • Get to know your director (which had already been done while we worked on the initial drafts of Meet You At the Manger).
  • Be ready to listen to actors who may either ask questions or make suggestions.
  • See the script as a blueprint which can be modified (instead of quoting Pharoah from The Ten Commandments by saying “So let it be written. So let it be done.”)
  • Know when to put some distance between you and the play to allow the director and actors to develop the play.

This project has opened new avenues of creativity for me. First, it was taking two short stories I’d written and crafting them into a script. Second was working on song lyrics which were edited, polished and put to music by Audience of One artistic director Kim Pottruff. Second, in my conversations with Kim, I shared my long-standing interest in directing, so she invited me to take on the task of assistant director. Third, once auditions were over, we found we still needed a male actor/singer for the role of the play’s antagonist. Despite my reservations and limitations, I was cast and began learning the lines I’d written (and realized the remainder of Spotswood’s advice was now irrelevant).

This project has opened new avenues of creativity.

Rehearsals have been underway for a few weeks now. Recently the cast and musicians gathered for a Saturday rehearsal and worked through the first half of Meet You at the Manger. Up to that point, the cast was working on individual scenes or working with the musical director (who initially auditioned for a part, but whose background suited him to his current role). The “stumble through” allowed the cast to see the sum of the parts.

The stumble through also demonstrated the collaborative side of workshopping a new production. The songs Kim created had initially been transcribed by a musician who is now back home in Ireland. Those transcriptions are being worked into shape by the musical director. As we put roles, music and blocking together, ideas come to the fore — from everyone: director, musicians, actors, writer. Working through one section, where we moved from one scene to the next for the first time, a blocking idea came out that brought out some humour and foreshadowing.

As I’ve said in previous posts, being involved with this production is an adventure. And it’s an adventure that’s stretching my creative muscles. Yes, sometimes those creative muscles ache but I know, in the long run, they’ll be stronger for the experience.

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For more information go to http://www.audienceofoneguelph.ca/

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Post-interview chat leads to new Christmas musical

25 Tuesday Aug 2015

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOne of the joys of my work is the chance to meet with all sorts of interesting people. And also never knowing what will be the outcome of one of those meetings.

One of my latest projects, a Christmas musical titled Meet You At the Manger began as a conversation with Audience of One Christian Theatre Company artistic director Kim Pottruff. She had come to the Faith FM studios to take part in an Arts Connection interview. In the conversation that followed, I found out the new Guelph-based amateur theatre company was looking for new material.

My interest in theatre goes back to high school where I was part of Ridge Players, a community theatre company that, by the time I landed in the chorus, were producing shows like Oklahoma, Carousel and Fiddler on the Roof. I was also involved in a number of church productions and when I started attending Lakeside Church, I became part of its now-defunct drama team and landed the role of Caiphas in Lakeside’s production of Dust of the Rabbi.

This production is a fresh look at the Christmas story

 

Along the way, I’d written a few unproduced sketches and even a full-length play – something I mentioned in the conversation with Kim. Whether I offered or she asked, copies were sent to her in the hopes that one would be produced.

She wasn’t interested in any of the ones I sent. Instead, she asked if I could write a Christmas musical. I knew I take a shot at writing the script (or “book” as commonly known in musical theatre circles). But it had been a while since I’d tried songwriting. Still, I said “yes.”

Skipping to the salient parts, I wrote the book and took a stab at the lyrics. Kim honed the lyrics and came up with the music. Et voila, a musical was born:

Ro’i never wanted to be shepherd. Sharar never wanted to be an innkeeper. When they were childhood friends, neither expected to become each other’s sworn enemy. Meet You At The Manger follows Ro’i’s and Sharar’s lives from their boyhood escapades and adult animosities to their reunion at the manger in Bethlehem. This production is a fresh look at the Christmas story and its impact on the lives of those who encounter the Babe of Bethlehem

The journey, to date, has been exhilarating and challenging. And we’re only at the halfway point. Kim and I will meet later this week to go over last minute details before next week’s pre-production meeting. Then, from September 10 to 12, auditions will take place before rehearsals start later that month.

What’s been going through my mind lately is: “this is really happening.” And a mixture of trepidation and triumph. I’m still anxious about what the audience reaction will be once the curtain goes up on opening night. But I’m excited that there will be an opening night.

I hope to see you there.

For more information about auditions, check http://www.audienceofoneguelph.ca/productions

 

Exposing ourselves through our art

14 Thursday May 2015

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Meet You at the Manger scriptLast night ranked among the top 20 of the most exciting and most anxiety-inducing experiences I’ve had as an artist.

I’ve dabbled in theatre, starting in high school as an extra with the Ridge Players, which started out with Gilbert & Sullivan works, eventually expanding to contemporary musical theatre. I started out as part of the chorus in my first couple of musicals, graduating to Boy #1 in the next two. I took part in church-produced production as an adult and became part of a church drama team.

Even though I enjoyed treading the boards, writing was still my first love and began writing sketches and plays. All, at the moment, unpublished and unproduced. But God intervened last December when, through an Arts Connection broadcast, I met Kim Pottruff, artistic director of Audience of One (http://www.audienceofoneguelph.ca), a new Christian amateur theatre group in Guelph.

While researching the company’s website, I noticed they were looking for playwrights. So I mentioned to Kim that I had a few plays gathering dust in my computer and wondered if she’d be interested in reading them. By the beginning of February, I was writing the script to a musical which, if all goes well, will be staged in December.

Which brings me to Wednesday, May 13, where nine people gathered to read through, aloud, for the first time the script of Meet You at the Manger.

You’d think after three decades as a journalist and author, I’d be used to setting my words free for others to read

You’d think after three decades as a journalist and author, I’d be used to setting my words free for others to read – never knowing what readers thought of them. A table reading is an entirely different experience. You’re sitting there, with your words exposed by another’s voice, disappointed when a particular word or phrase didn’t quite work and excited when people laugh at the right time.

But that’s the tension we face as artists. Without a reader or an audience or a viewer, the book or play or movie or music or painting are simply exercises in self expression that will gather dust. And for those of us who are trying to impart a Christian worldview through their art, that message is muted and our calling is unfulfilled.

While we may worry about the reaction to our work, we can’t let that prevent us from making it public. We do need to make sure our art has been polished and perfected as much as possible. But there’s a point when we have release our art even if we don’t think it’s perfect.

And that’s the point I reached with Meet You at the Manger . I know it still needs work. But I also needed to hear other voices speak the words of the characters. And I dreaded the first read-through. I feared the changes that might be suggested. I worried they wouldn’t understand what had been written.

All in vain.

For the most part, the readers gave positive feedback. Except for a few words or lines here and there that needed to be changed, and a section that relies more heavily on the still-to-be-completed song than the script, they liked it. They really liked it.

This is only the first step setting the play free. There’s still opening night and the play’s run before a live audience. And the jitters that will come.

For now, it’s back to proofing and polishing.