October 16, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

A long awaited parcel arrived in the mail today.

Sam Spud: Private Eye — AKA Splash of Mystery for those of you who remember EJH productions from yesteryear – has finally been published by Baker Plays out of New York. Baker is affiliated with Samuel French in Canada.

This brings my official publication list to . . .

. . . two items.

I sent Baker a second manuscript a year ago – The Banes of Darkwood AKA  Splash of Horror. We’ll see how that one fares.

Rehearsals for Mitch’s Crossroads Café are going well. We have five left before Play Week, which entails three dress rehearsals and three performances. Our plans for set are coming together – with minimal expense. There’s great satisfaction to be gained from making things out of nothing for little or no money.

So, the posters are up, the advertising is out, the T-shirts and anniversary mugs are on the press, and now the search for our audience begins. We know our loyal supporters will find their way to their seats, but it wouldn’t matter if we performed for just a handful of them. We’ve learned over the years that we are truly doing this for ourselves . . .

And to help support the Lampman High School drama club . . .

And the Lampman Hospital Auxiliary . . .

And the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency . . .

So let’s hope for a good turnout!

Posted in On Student Productions, On Community Theatre, On Writing | 3 Comments »

September 19, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

. . . and then there’s Stanley – Jeanie’s father-in-law. He’s a ninety-five year old WW II vet – a former bomber pilot – who’s gradually losing his independence.

Tyler is Alma’s son. He still lives at home, but his relationship with his mother is parasitic. He has no ambition to go to work or to school.

Bert Smith is the new cook. His character – always upbeat and positive – counterbalances Alma’s negativity. There is something magical about him. Or is it just the fact that he makes great desserts?

Ray, who rides a Harley- Davidson, is part of the highway crew. He comes into the café most days to pick up a Denver sandwich to go – and hopefully Alma!

Dr. Delilah Forbes is a professor from the archaeology department at the University of Saskatchewan who’s interested in Mammoth’s ancient history.

Add to the mix an assortment of customers – and a cheerful delivery guy – played by three actresses.

Rehearsals are going well, and we are all looking forward to “bringing it” to our audience in less than two months.

Posted in On Community Theatre | 1 Comment »

September 9, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

This month I am embarking on my first community theatre effort in four years. The cast is nearly in place, and rehearsals begin in earnest tonight.

We perform November 6th – 8^th.  I would like to do dinner theatre on Friday and Saturday night and then have our usual Sunday matinee with home-made pies.  

 I started writing this play about a year and a half ago, and it has undergone many changes. My daughters told me the first version was far too dark for an audience expecting light entertainment after consuming a heavy meal – and they were right, as usual. I have lightened this version up a great deal.

This comedy-drama explores a number of themes: friendship, forgiveness, change. Past and future are juxtaposed, as are inertia and movement, youth and age, strength and weakness.

Jeanie is the owner of Mitch’s Crossroads Café, an establishment which rides the rollercoaster of boom and bust on the prairies. Jeanie is tied to her past with Mitch, whose influence is still seen in the café’s interior design and menu. Mitch’s ghost inhabits the fridge, which is found at center stage, and he rattles the beer bottles inside whenever he’s ticked about something.

Alma is Jeanie’s cook, waitress, and friend. Alma has ghosts of her own – thanks to her battles with alcoholism and spousal abuse. Alma has emerged through all of this with her wry sense of humour intact, but she has lost her children along the way.

Zoe, at nineteen, still hasn’t found herself, but she comes looking. When Jeanie hires her, Zoe has already had numerous jobs and proven to be a disaster at all of them. She naively endures Alma’s harsh criticism, and emerges stronger for it.

Check in later to hear about more characters . . .

Posted in On Community Theatre, On Writing | 1 Comment »

July 20, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

If you are a Saskatchewan writer or reader and have never attended Moose Jaw’s Festival of Words (as I had not until this year), you are missing an amazing showcase of Canada’s finest writers — including Gail Bowen, Fred Stenson, Jerry Haigh, Jack Whyte, Thomas Wharton, Andrew Nikiforuk, Anna Porter, Tom Wayman, David Carpenter, and numerous others.  This year’s event was dedicated to the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2009. I was drawn to the event because of a writing workshop — given by Sharon Pollock — an accomplished actress and playwright from Alberta. I studied Walsh in a Canadian theatre class several years ago, and fell in love with Sharon’s style. Her playwriting workshop was immensely helpful to me, and having just finished a second draft of Crossroads Cafe, I am ready to employ her very practical suggestions in my third. It’s so nice to know what questions to ask myself when I am trying to judge whether or not a scene or character “works.” You can bet I’ll be attending the full festival next year. It’s well worth the time and money, since Moose Jaw is truly a beautiful and vibrant city.

Posted in On Travel, On Writing | 2 Comments »

July 13, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

Yes, that’s when it’s going to happen.

I am referring to the release of the sequel to Power Plays – a manuscript currently titled Face Off – which Coteau Books has kindly decided to publish.

That’s more than a year away, so I’m wondering how I’ll keep myself out of mischief until then.

The logical thing to do is write the third manuscript in the girls’ hockey trilogy – which will tell the story of Jessie’s Grade Twelve/ last midget year. This is where I plan to explore AAA female hockey and tie up all the loose ends created in the first two books. I don’t know if I have enough fortitude to write about Jessie’s Grade Eleven year as well, but that’s always an option. What does one call a series of FOUR books anyway?

I mentioned my YA fantasy Stranger at the Gate in my last blog, and I’m still plucking away at that. Right now I am researching the smelting of cast iron cannons, and trying to find ways to make this process as interesting to the reader as it is to me.

And then there’s always Bad Girls Go to Sturgis. With a little effort I could finish that one in a few months. I’m stuck about halfway through. I know if I just jumped ahead a few chapters, I’d be off and running.

And speaking of running . . . I’m off to Sharon Pollock’s playwriting workshop at the Festival of Words in Moose Jaw in just a few days. I studied one of her plays in a university course several years ago – and loved it. I am hoping she will give the participants some guidance on how to write about ISSUES.

I still have at least four plays to write/finish. And one of those needs completion within a month.

Better get cracking.

Posted in On Writing | 1 Comment »

June 27, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

Is it really?!

It’s been nearly three months since I handed Coteau Books my manuscript for Power Plays’ sequel — unofficially titled Face Off.

And – nothing yet.

But you can be sure I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of Coteau’s deliberations.

In the meantime, I have been working on bits and pieces of a YA fantasy called Stranger at the Gate. One of the issues I am having with this manuscript is the lack of humour. At this point the characters are all taking themselves far too seriously  – something I will have to remedy very soon. So far vengeance is a strong theme, and there’s nothing funny about that.

I have spent some of my time reading the other books nominated for the Willow. So far I’ve read, The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman, Dear Jo by Christina Kilbourne, Alexandria of Africa by Eric Walters, and The Broken Thread by Linda Smith. My favourite so far is Dear Jo. It is very poignant, powerful, and disturbing – a must-read for parents who are concerned about their children taking risks on the internet. Kilbourne has stepped convincingly into the psyche of a tween-aged girl, and I was totally engaged while reading her novel.

After twenty-five and a half years, I have handed in my resignation to the SE Cornerstone School Division so that I can devote myself to writing and doing presentations. I will continue to work for Randy, but now that we have someone else helping out in the office, I am able to step away for a few days at a time.

I recently presented to Grades 6 – 8 at Lester B. Pearson School in Saskatoon. It was a real treat!

I am planning some visits for the fall.  Although we have not yet decided on dates, I will be presenting in these communities sometime in 2009-2010: Alameda, Prince Albert, Loreburn, and Saskatoon.

Power Plays was recently nominated for the Stellar Award – BC’s version of the Willow. Eighteen other books have been nominated, so I’ve got lots of reading to do!

Sorry about the long hiatus. Hopefully I will be back again soon with “good news” instead of “no news.”

Posted in On Writing | 1 Comment »

May 5, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

So here I am in Saskatoon at the Fourth Annual Literacy for Life Conference – along with Deborah Ellis, Wally Edwards, John Lunn, Norman Leach, Bev Brenna, and others.

Tomorrow I will present to approximately 600 Grade 6-8 students. On Wednesday I will present to the same number in Grades 3 – 5.

Eight sessions in total.

I used to teach around seven of these in a day – besides meetings, extra cur, and supervision. Still, I know I’ll be exhausted by tomorrow night!

It’s another one of those “pinch me” moments. How can this still be happening nearly three years after I sent off my manuscript to Coteau?

Two weeks ago at the World Author Day in Regina, writers told me, “What a great year you’ve had.” I don’t think I even KNOW what a great year I’ve had. And let’s qualify that statement. It’s Power Plays that’s had the great year – not me. This book has a life of its own.

After listening to Deborah Ellis’ keynote today, I’m having second thoughts about the way I’ve been doing presentations. Maybe they’re too slick – too well prepared. Deborah just got up and talked – talked from the heart about her visits to refugee camps in Afghanistan and prisons in Uganda. Her encounters with boy prisoners and child brides.

This conference is about so much more than the opportunity to promote my book.

It’s not an ego trip.

One audience member asked Deborah what we can do, as Canadians, to help promote global literacy. She urged us to focus on our own backyard – to encourage young people to hone the ability to make good decisions.

And that is what I will try to do tomorrow. I will focus more on the values of respect and tolerance and forgiveness – and less on salesmanship.

Wish me luck.

Posted in On Writing | 1 Comment »

April 8, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

Last Friday I dropped off a draft of my sequel to Power Plays at Coteau. It was a busy week in all respects, and I would have liked to have proofread it one more time.

It is an honour to be able to walk through the doors of a publishing house and place a 74000 word manuscript in the hands of the managing editor. What a difference from sealing Not Just a Boy’s Game in an Xpress Post with a cover letter in July 2006 and sending it to Coteau, saying to myself “If it gets rejected again, I’m going to self-publish.”

I have done two revisions, and with each one, I am happier. I cut away about 4500 words from the first draft, even though I added a few scenes and rearranged others. For me the revising process is the most fun. I get a feeling of satisfaction when I lop off three or four paragraphs of  “drivel.” If there’s a line of dialogue I don’t like, I get rid of it. It’s sort of like trimming the fat off a piece of steak.

I’m not sure what Coteau will think. In some respects I think this manuscript is superior to its predecessor. But Not Just a Boy’s Game/Power Plays had eight years to evolve. The sequel – as yet unnamed – was written in three stages. I wrote two chapters in February 2008, one chapter in May 2008, and the rest from October to February. Not counting plays, I have never written so many words so quickly.

And the trick for me is to give myself permission to write drivel. When I’m in the midst of drivel, I know it’s drivel, but I just keep telling myself, “I can always cut it later. Maybe something good will come out of it.” I also jumped ahead and wrote large chunks of significant events. I didn’t know how I was going to condense six weeks of Jessie’s life, but I was amazed at how easily it happened.

Now the waiting begins. Will they or won’t they? That is the question.

Posted in On Writing | 1 Comment »

March 3, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

So it’s official. Power Plays has been nominated for the 2009 Snow Willow Award — the winner of which will be announced in February 2010. What longevity you might say. And I would certainly agree. How can my modest little young adult novel (about which I was once asked, “What would ever make you write a book about girls’ hockey anyway?” by a teacher no less) published in 2007 STILL be in the running for awards? It boggles my mind. Anyway, for those of you not familiar with the Willow Awards — they are a young readers’ choice award. Librarians (if there are still schools left in our province that have managed to KEEP their librarians) will encourage students in Grades 7-9 to read all ten books nominated in the Snow Willow category and vote on their favourite. Eric Walters and Gordon Korman also have books nominated in this category. Simply wow. And for those of you think I am beginning to sound more and more like Jessie McIntyre in my blog — you’re right. After four months of immersing myself in Jessie’s world, I find myself unable to write in any voice but hers. I have finished a very rough draft of a sequel to Power Plays. And now the real work begins –going back through it and making sure it all hangs together. Revising has always been my favourite part of the writing process, but it is still intimidating.  I have a subplot which needs to be replaced by another subplot, and I’m not sure how easily I can do this. Oh, I know what I’m replacing it with.  I just don’t know if I can make the events around it fit. However, I did the same thing numerous times in the original, so I am an “old hand” at it. Stay tuned to hear more about “mein kampf” with the revision. 

Posted in On Writing | 1 Comment »

February 16, 2009 by maureen.ulrich.

I recently received this email from a friend in Melbourne, Australia, and I am passing it along to you. Maureen, thank you for your concern.You would understand even more than me (a city dweller) how it would feel to lose nearly your whole community. Marysville for example is where 1/5th of the town died, in some cases whole families. Nearly every building including the school & homes of 1500 people went up like they were hit by an atomic bomb. Yesterday (a week later) locals were bused in to see what happened to their town & homes…but not allowed to get out of the bus. The town is being treated as a crime scene and there are still missing people not found under  the rubble of their homes or the homes and building they ran to seek shelter in.The speed at which the fire moved has everyone amazed and no one has ever seen anything like this before. In some places the radiant heat was so intense it killed people any closer than 200 meters….The stories of heroism are amazing. For example one (as yet unknown) policeman got 200 people who had gathered on an oval in Marysville to leave town with only seconds to spare…if they had stayed they all would have died.The man who was saved by his horse which pushed him through a guard rail & down a hill into a stream. The horse was slightly burnt but lived too.The people who fled to a neighbours coolstore hid inside while the owner put out spot fires around the coolstore & sucked air from plastic bottles to be able to breathe in the oxygen deprived air.A week later the fires are still ranging but at the moment there are no people or properties under treat. The city of Melbourne has been covered by smoke haze all weekend so we have a constant reminder of what is happening. There is very little we can do except donate money & blood. Everyone has been affected by this and most people I speak to are grieving in some way - even if they have not been personally affected. It is a great show of support to offer to donate to the bush fire appeal. The best place to donate is the Red Cross. They and the government are working together to get cash payment direct into the hands of people who have lost everything and those injured in hospital.(From the Australian Red Cross website) “Red Cross will not deduct any funds whatsoever from the Appeal for administration costs with all funds going to people and communities affected by the fires. Every cent received by Red Cross is being transferred on a daily basis to a Trust Account set up by the Victorian Government for distribution.”I cannot believe that in just 4 days the Australian public (not including the Government & corporate sectors) have donated over $50 million.It would be great if you let other people who want to do something  know that the Red Cross is the best way to go. 

Posted in On Our World Community | 1 Comment »