Erin Mills Author Festival

OTTAWA. Well it is Monday morning and I am a bit sleepy today. I was up late last night, driving back from the Erin Mills Author Festival near Guelph. Actually I drove right past my home north of Kingston because I was headed along the 401 to Ottawa for a few days of project research and to see my sweetheart, Nancy.

The festival was cool. I mean very cool -- but not in a good way.

And wet. Rainy wet.

There didn't seem to be as many people at yesterday's festival as usual. I was unveilling my brand new juvenile novel, "Bug," which has just arrived from the printers. As usual, I was manning a book display -- selling books for the ridiculously low price of $5 -- but it kept raining. Which meant that the books had to be covered with plastic every time the drops began to fall. Hard for people to buy books when they are under plastic. And for authors to sign them. Usually I sell about 150 books at the festival but yesterday it was only 50.

But, of course, I saw some authors I knew and a few friends too. Author/illustrator Ruth Ohi stopped for a chat (haven't seen her for years). Jo Ellen Bogart visited too. She has just written lyrics for four songs on a friend's new kids CD.

And Sonja Dunn, who was not hosting the children's area this year, almost got past me. I didn't recognize her at first because she wasn't wearing her usual storytelling costume. I can usually spot her a long way off because she normally wears a big floppy hat.

My big surprise of the day was to see my old university pal, Jon Fear, a newspaper editor from Kitchener. We met on the first day of journalism school (Carleton University) in 1971 and have been friends ever since. His wife, Caroline Oliver, another J-school friend, was at a gallery event in Kitchener (she is the big cheese at the KW city art gallery) so John was slumming by himself, listening to authors in the rain.

Anyway, the real treat was talking to kids and helping their parents choose books for them. My best customer was a two year old who threw a tantrum every time he walked by my display until he got a book. His parents bought three books -- 6% of the day's sales. Most of the other kids were a bit older and a bit nicer.

Also met lots of teachers -- they travel in packs. There was a lot of interest in "Bug" which is several years late coming out. But, as usual, my New Reader series for kids just learning to read was the most popular.

Well I am starting a new project today for the Archives of Ontario (on the display windows of the old Eaton's Department store in Toronto) so I had better sign off now.

Cheers.