Eve Lazarus and Canadian Authors Association

Eve Lazarus is not only a brilliant and talented journalist she's extremely attractive and a very articulate  and captivating story teller.
Margot Bates, president of our Vancouver CAA branch,  introduced her at the latest monthly Canadian Authors Association meeting at the Howe Streets Arts Alliance.  Jean Kay had just announced our short story writer contest with cash prizes and called for material for this years Anthology.

Eve Lazarus, a truly professional writer and award winning business writer, is author of several books. These are Sensational Vancouver, Sensational Victoria, At Home with History, Life and Art of Frank Molnar, and Frommer's with Kids Vancouver.

Her idea, which isn't all that novel  after you've heard it, (like so many great ideas) was that houses have stories. Being a great researcher she hunted through archives and libraries and actually visited owners, and sons and granddaughters of owners. This gave rise to "At Home with History: The Secrets of Greater Vancouver's Heritage Homes."  In British Columbia, especially Victoria and Vancouver, we have a variety of grand old mansions and unusual little cottages with the most intriguing histories.  Eve Lazarus wrote about the mysteries that occurred in some, the scandals in others.  Sometimes she about  ghosts, sometimes murders, or sometimes, just the famous people that made a house history. One thing lead to another after her first book on houses.  Her latest book is Sensational Vancouver with lots more pictures. She even developed a tourist map of the Emily Carr house and environs. 

I liked her stories of the ships captains, rum runners, rock musicians, gun toting politicians and famous sons.  She's such a gifted raconteur that I found myself thinking that listening to her was like be at a house party with perhaps Mark Twain, the Bronte Sisters  and Edgar Allen Poe thrown in for good measure.  Sensational!

http://www.evelazarus.com

Another great night for writers at the Canadian Authors Association, Vancouver Branch.

Victoria

The Canadian Author's Association Conference was in Victoria this year. I confess that while I wanted to go to the conference and was indeed a presenter Victoria was a major attraction. I love the city. I've been going their for years.  I love best sailing into the harbour and staying on my sailboat in the waterfront. Second best, well the Empress for sure. After that I've stayed in several of the 5 star hotels around he harbour and loved them all. I have even stayed in the motels further out from the centre of the city and loved the quick access to downtown. It's such a manageable city.  Everything is within walking. And it's a pretty city.  Really. It's like Kingston and Quebec City. All the old with the new and a real tourist treat.

Laura and I loved the Harbour Towers.  Gilbert was allowed to stay and he says it's a great place for a dog. At least until I was presenting during the luncheon and some cudmudgeon complained that there was a dog under the table.  I'm sure I saw this person, rodent featured person, obviously terrified of the ferocious cockapoo hidden under the table, at this private function. That said there are these anti human and anti animal health regulations that would never fly in civilized parts of the world where people share kitchens with goats and pigs but would exclude the  rodent featured persons who complain about cockapoos.  Besides Gilbert is a person.    Away from food the Hotel was terrific about Gilbert.

We all loved the conference and when we weren't involved directly we enjoyed walks along the seawall and through the city. The Empress, covered in Ivy during the day, or lit up at night is always a pleasure to the eyes.   The parliament buildings are truly beautiful.  I loved the buskers about Victoria. This year the Sax Quartet and the Piper by the totem were especially good.  The art being sold on the street, especially the First Nations is of high quality too.

We had lunch at the Old Deli and tea and coffee at Murchies. Munro Books is the best.  We shopped at Roots and Tilly and Levi and just had a very fine tourist holiday. Who needs to go thousands of miles away when there's Victoria?

The conference ended on Sunday but Laura and I left early with Gilbert to attend Mass at Christ Church Cathedral.  Gilbert likes that the Queen loves her corgis.  She's attended Christ Church in Victoria.  Gilbert on his way to being an Anglican was a model dog throughout the service except when he tried to join the procession and had to be kept on a short leash. The Dean's sermon  was  profound and thought provoking in the most refreshing way.

CanWrite 2010 – Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites

The ferry over from Vancouver to Victoria was crawling with writers. Some were clinging upside down from ceilings. Others were dragging along the sides of the boat. I saw Perry Wilson and that Kenyan writer, Sandra Harper, plotting together. Others were being shooed out of closets by the ferry crew. One writer was clearly editting. He was trying to disguise it but his furrowed brow gave him a way. We were all simply in a mad dash to get to CanWrite 2010 for registration today.

Laura and I and Gilbert the dog made it to the Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites despite my frequent stops for delusional hallucinations in which complete strangers appeared desperate for my autograph. Laura tried to keep the police out of it. Little Gilbert, still a puppy chewed on these tourists pant legs, because he could. Meanwhile I was clinging to their appendages begging these complete strangers in the end to ask me for my autograph, offering as a last resort to pay them if they would. .

Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites at least knew who I was. After we sorted out that I had to give them my credit card and they weren't paying me to stay here, things went even more smoothly. I was very sorry the German desk girl, Katy, had not read my Canadian book of poetry. I told her that 100 had been sold or given away and that if only I'd had the money to buy 400 more I might have had a best seller.

Resident Poet Bernice Lever was already surrounded by fans in the lobby. She just had another book of poetry published adding to the obscene number of books she's already written.

Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites is just too nice a place for an authors conference. Entering the gorgeous rooms with spectacular harbour view I already have had thoughts of barricading the doors and ordering in large quantities of booze, drugs and paper so I can hole up here to write a much needed rock concert. It's that sort of upscale place. Give peace a chance!

Something is happening later tonight but Gilbert wants to go for a walk now. Amazing how a puppies bladder and bowels can humble even the great unknown poets.

It's a great hotel that lets dogs under 20 lbs in the rooms. He's growing so fast I've got to stop feeding him through the conference or he may outweigh his welcome.

Victoria meanwhile is an idyllic city. A great place for a writer's conference. I can't wait to find a outdoor coffee shop where I can posture. If I'm really lucky I'll spot more of the actually famous writers who are attending this conference.

Cold Vengeance

This a superb Canadian action adventure movie filmed entirely in Victoria BC, starring Christina Cox. Ms Cox is an intimate actress whose many facets light up this gangster arson flick with Josh Barker, Bryan Genesse and Darren Shahlavi. I found myself proud to be Canadian seeing the quality of film produced here. I thoroughly enjoyed the fighting love story romp with gangs and girls and ice skating. Only in Canada. Well done!

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808469750/info