“Girls from Away” is the untold true story of how hundreds of young women immigrated from Central and Western Newfoundland, to Hespeler, Ontario, during World War One, and began a wave of change that resonates in Ontario to this day. Hardly anyone knows or remembers how these inspiring women were recruited to work at Dominion Woollens in Hespeler, at that time the largest textile mill in the British Empire. The mill was crucial to the war effort, and the women replace the scores of men who were going overseas to fight. Currently one in four residents in Cambridge trace their roots to Newfoundland because of those young adventurers. This original musical presentation is a long overdue celebration of these Newfoundland pioneers, and will be seen on stage in the summer of 2022 at the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts in Grand Falls-Windsor as part of the Kitchen Party Theatre Festival. It’s co-written with myself and Nicole Smith (we are also co-creators of the festival) with the original music composed by Tim Matson and Kiersten Noel.
This year I had the surreal experience of having two books published within weeks of each other. The pandemic disrupted all my best laid plans for each book over the last years, but it all came together with two gorgeous books.
“Love, Life” is now available at book stores and directly from www.breakwaterbooks.com. This made-up mostly true fable is inspired by my time in Italy before the pandemic. It’s a travel/food/love letter to life.
“Girly Muckle and the Queer Hands” is from Problematic Press and can be direct ordered from either me, or Amazon.com. The illustrations are done by Nicole Smith. This is my first book for young adults. It’s a coming out, coming of age adventure for Selkies and other young creatures.
