Tag Archives: Write Canada

Caught Dead: A Dean Constable Mystery, by Jayne Self

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Dean Constable is a Presbyterian minister and a former cop. He lives alone with his dog, Hamlet, but as the story opens he has a house guest: his father, who’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

It’s midnight, there’s a freezing rain storm outside, and his father says there’s a car in the cemetery next door.

Caught Dead, by Canadian author Jayne Self, is a cozy mystery and a two-time finalist in the Best New Canadian Christian Author contest. You can read chapter one online at the Presbyterian Record site.  The novel will run as an online serial. [Edit: perhaps the easiest way to keep up with these weekly installments is to start at the Caught Dead page, where you can find each chapter’s listing. Note that the newest one will always be at the top.]

Jayne and I have been classmates at numerous Write! Canada sessions, and I admire her work. If you like mysteries, I hope you’ll check this one out. I think we’re in for a good read.

Praying for Connections

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As prayer team lead for The Word Guild, one of my responsibilities right now is to organize advanced prayer for the upcoming Write! Canada conference.  A small group of us will pray regularly for the faculty, staff and attendees, from now until the conference takes place this June in Guelph, Ontario.

We’ll be praying for safety, preparation, logistics and technical issues, open hearts and spirits, and anything else the Holy Spirit brings to mind. In their registration packets, attendees will be encouraged to pray “for safety in travel, the ability to hear God, and the ability to make wise decisions. Pray also that you will meet people who will help you on your journey, people you can connect with as peers, and people who need what you can offer them.”

The morning before the conference opens, a few of us will take a prayer walk around the conference grounds and through the facilities. And of course there’ll be plenty of planned and impromptu prayer times before the conference ends.

I was thinking of this, last Sunday morning at church, when the speaker reminded us of the fellowship time planned for after the service. I took a few seconds to ask the Lord to direct our conversations and steer me to people He would encourage. And He did.

Prayer coverage for Write! Canada and other special events makes a big difference. What do you think would happen if we prayed for our weekly worship gatherings, not just for our teachers and leaders but for the connections between Spirit and spirit, and from person to person?

What’s so special about Write! Canada?

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Write! Canada is a unique opportunity for Canadian Christians who write and/or edit to gather for professional development, networking, encouragement and more. It’s the largest conference of its kind in Canada.

Here’s a video from 100 Huntley Street, done at the 2008 Write! Canada. Watching it made me homesick… glad there are only five more days….

Write! Canada

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This is the 25th year for Write! Canada, an annual conference for Canadian Christians who write and/or edit. To learn about how the conference started and how it’s changed over the years, check out this article in Maranatha News.

There are still a few spaces left, but time is running out….

Write! Canada

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Write! Canada is Canada’s largest conference for Christians who write and/or edit, coming up June 18-20, 2009 in Guelph, Ontario.

Wondering if you should go? Check out this video:

For me, Write! Canada is three events bundled into one: professional development conference, worship retreat, and now that I’ve been there a few times, it’s a family reunion too.

Got my registration in, my flights booked… can’t wait.

Writing Conferences in Canada

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Write! Canada

  • Canada’s largest conference for Christian writers. This year’s conference marks 25 years of developing Christian writers.
  • “The conference features inspiring keynote speakers, in-depth continuing classes and wide-ranging workshops, as well as a host of other learning and promotional opportunities. Choose from classes for professional to beginner writers. Meet editors, publishers and agents from Canada and the U.S.”
  • Check out the website for program information, faculty and testimonials, and for online registration.
  • Sponsored by The Word Guild, a national association that connects, develops and promotes Canadian writers and editors who are Christian.
  • June 18-20, Guelph, Ontario.

Spring WorDshop

  • “Freelance, fiction, novels, creative non-fiction, poetry, journalists, whatever gets you to the page. This weekend is for you. “
  • Check out the website for faculty, schedule and registration.
  • Sponsored by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship.
  • April 17-18, Calgary, Alberta.

Write! Saskatoon

  • “Learn about marketing your book, writing for newspapers and magazines, self-editing, fiction writing, poetry and more. This streamlined conference gets you into workshops and gets you the specific information you need to take your writing to the next level. Songwriters and poets have their own workshops.”
  • Check out the website for faculty, schedule and registration.
  • Sponsored by The Word Guild.
  • Saturday, May 9, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

In All I Do

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Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. …And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. …Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.
Colossians 3, MSG*

Last week I made my annual pilgrimage to Ontario for Write Canada. It’s a “double your money” event: professional development and spiritual retreat. Quality instruction, meeting old friends and making new ones, worship and excellent food-all in a beautiful setting.

By Friday morning I was tired and experiencing a degree of brain overload. Did I really want to work this hard to develop excellent writing?

In my brief devotional time before leaving my room, these verses from Colossians jumped out at me. Then, to be sure He had my attention, He echoed the theme in our worship session an hour later.

Father, please help me do my best, from the heart, for You. Help me not be sullen or reluctant, but to remember it’s You I’m living for and to embrace the leading You give. It’s not my place to decide if I like it or if I’m willing. I’m to be willing, because I’ve surrendered to You and can fully trust Your goodness. Please give me discernment to know Your leading so I don’t waste time and energy on rabbit trails.

The song He used was “You Are My King (Amazing Love),” written by Billy James Foote and performed here by the Newsboys. Note the “honour You in all I do.”

*The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson