Comment convaincre un fantôme de déménager?, par Maude Ménard-Dunn, ill. Sophie Bédard

Dans le mur d’une maison patrimoniale de Dunham, un petit village tranquille coincé entre deux vallons dans le coin des Cantons-de-l’Est, au Québec, le père de Dorothée Petit trouve une vieille boîte.

Le trésor qui s’y cache? Euh… un mouchoir douteux, une photo zéro rassurante et une lettre signée Doris Small datée de… 1895!

Cette capsule temporelle inspire la famille de Dorothée à créer leur propre capsule, et ainsi à se demander que/quoi laisser comme trace pour les générations futures.

Ainsi débute l’aventure de Dorothée, une jeune fille de 10 ans qui a une incroyable personnalité, un sens de l’humour fantastique, une répartie savoureuse. Un personnage bien campé, réaliste, auquel on s’attache presque d’emblée.

Je dis presque, parce que, à mes yeux de maman, l’ironie et l’absence (très vraie, et salutaire!) de gentillesse de la part du personnage m’a prise de court. « Bin là, dire ça de ses frères- du prof sévère- du prof de gym, c’est pas gentil-gentil. »
Puis, après deux répliques bien sentie, la réalité m’a sauté à l’âme: je lis le point de vue d’un enfant, qui ressemble au mien pas mal plus que j’aime l’admettre!!!
Débarrassée de mes lourdes lunettes de préjugés, j’ai plongé dans une histoire bien menée, joliment écrite, qui m’a laissé avec l’envie d’un tome 2, voire d’une longue série.

Ce roman destiné aux humains de 9 à 129 ans, un tout simplement délice de lecture, se trouve bonifié par des illustrations hilarantes et parfois irrévérencieuses (à l’image de Dorothée!), qui appuient les propos de la narratrice.

À la recherche d’une chouette histoire qui sort franchement des sentiers battus? C’est le moment de visiter votre librairie indépendante préférée pour mettre la main, et le coeur, sur Comment convaincre un fantôme de déménager? !

Prenez soin de vous, à bientôt !

Writing a children tv show…

… is something I was told I couldn’t do.

Fair enough.

My storyteller thinking is novel-based, and has been this way for almost three decades now.

Fair enough.

Years ago, I would be in tears right now, raging for being rejected, raging for being told my words are not good enough. (Thank you, gray hair. For real)

However (I love this word, don’t know why, it sounds old, wise, sophisticated), it got me thinking about writing habits, the « set as default » turn of phrase we use, words, expressions, way for eyebrows to rise or sink into the deepest feeling of despair. Just before our hero finds the ultimate smidgen of courage to keep going, to try again, another last time.

Trying different storytelling canva to bring back those sparkles

What if, just for fun, and a bit to prove to myself I can write what other people think I can’t write, I’ll try different storytelling canva, with the same main idea.

I’ll try to write a movie script/storyboard for a 8 to 12 years old audience.

I’ll try to write an hour-lenght play for the same age kiddos.

I’ll try to write… two kid tv show, one for 6 to 8 years old, so ten minutes episodes, one for 9 to 12 years old, so 22 minutes episode, again with the same story premise.

Beauty of this writing adventure: a beautiful deadline. December 25th 2026!

Curious to know what happens? Me too! I’ll keep you posted.

Be safe, have fun and until then, dear fellow writers, may all the good words be with you !

Sunday Radio – Storytelling Sparkles

Did you ever fall out of your writing habits? If so, how were you able to get back to it?

Writing was (and it breaks my heart to write « was »…!) not only a habit, but sort of a lifestyle. And despite all the excellent advice on writing you and I can find out there (heck, I posted a couple of these years ago!!!), despite the famous waking up at 5 am, despite that little notebook I keep beside me at all times…

Something is lost.

Overwhelming. All seems to be.
Many dozens of books are published every day, everywhere.
Many dozens of times this summer, the blue sky was grey with smoke, and the sun was red.
Many, many times in the past months – months slowly becoming years-, I found myself in front of this screen, looking for the words to tell stories, to share through them hope, laughter, excitement, drama, and dreams.
In vain.

Then, I heard her voice.

Sunday Radio

An 80-year-old artist explaining how, since she was a kid, her entire being was drawn to drawing, to playing music, to making movies and telling stories.
Her mother bashed and shamed her dreams when she was 9 or 10, telling her she had no talents. Nearly two decades after, the artist was able to move beyond her mother’s shadow to finally embrace what was burning in her : the desire to create, to make art, to tell stories.

This week, this 80-year-old artist, Paule Baillargeon, will see her first book published.

The book highlights her career through her artwork, which she continues to do, even though she lost her independence due to illness, and now lives in a house dedicated to helping seniors who have lost their autonomy.

A long radio interview, which I listened to without doing a billion little other things.
Something was there, in her voice, her will, her strength.

That something I lost, many, many months ago…

Changing Back to Oneself

That something. Where was it anyway?

Well, that something never went far. It was simply hiding, keeping safe.

Hiding from a toxic manager’s influence, financial insecurity, and anxiety. For two years.

Not anymore.
I will not let those noises bash, shame or silence my dreams.
Never again.

Something is found.

Sparkling Stories

Telling stories always made me feel like something was sparkling inside my soul.
Something happy, dancing in my heart.

I’m gonna work less hours. I’m gonna rest. And I’m gonna start writing stories again.

No plan yet. No schedule.

A promise, however… Write every day, for the pure joy of feeling the sparkles shine again.

Thanks for being here, on the long road to achieving a dream: write novels full-time to make people laugh and dream.

Until next time, take care of yourselves.