ENGAGE

Resist the urge to buy ready-made costumes this fall—conjuring them up yourself is one of the quickest cheap thrills I know to satisfy the creative urge! My sibs and I grew up trick-or-treating in the flashiest outfits (a skunk that sprayed, a ballerina remade from a pawn-shop wedding gown) and my own kids stuffed their […]

An antique ceramic bowl of ripening tomatoes-on-the-vine usually sits on my counter, the rich and heady smell tickling my nostrils when I walk by. But if I enjoy the scent too long, they wither, so recently I made a fabulous veggie stew. I tossed the softening tomatoes (including skins) into an enamelled cast-iron pot along

Have you ever noticed that Snow White (in the forest of the Seven Dwarves) and Eve (in the Garden of Eden) were both undone by an apple? This curious literary fact has long intrigued me: Does the fictional tale inform the Bible story or vice versa? The subject of the forbidden fruit is theologically disputed; a modicum

(Marilyn Monroe) Cinderella and her glass slippers aside, I think Marilyn had it backwards. She should have said: Give the girl the world and she can conquer the right shoes! My Prince Charming has whisked me off (or sent me on) some great international travels where I’ve purchased footwear that reads like a travel guide:

This is so fantastic! Watch the new, professional, two-minute book trailer for my novel, THE THIRD GRACE.

Our years of ranching in the arid Sand Hills of Saskatchewan gave me a deep appreciation for the scant wild fruits of summer—Saskatoon berries for pie, chokecherries for jelly—and taught me how to prepare for the onslaught of winter. It’s a pioneer skill lost to today’s city populace and a habit carried along when we

I pepper my novel, The Third Grace, with references to French and Mennonite food. On page 140, I talk about crêpes sizzling on a griddle, drenched in butter, then folded up in a cone of waxed paper. Try my favourite recipe, which feeds a hungry family: * CREPES SIFT TOGETHER: 3 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon

I was born for uptown living.  True, the view from the maternity ward of the Mennonite village that first heard me squawk showed only flat Canadian prairie—not a mall in sight. But my parents soon moved me and my sibs to the big city, and, by the time I was a teen, I could shop

The shortlist of competitors for the 2012 Grace Irwin Award *** Deb Elkink: The Third Grace Erin E. M. Hatton: Otherworld Greg Paul: Close Enough to Hear God Breathe Jayne E. Self: Murder at Hum Harbour Ann Voskamp: One Thousand Gifts