It’s that time of year – time to promote community spirit and a love of western history!
I’m signing books at Indigo Chapters bookstore in Market Mall, Calgary on July 8th. Please stop by for a smile and an autographed copy of FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK, if you are in the neighborhood. It’s an award-winning children’s picture book that tells the origin story of the Stampede pancake breakfast. Added bonus – the family’s pancake recipe!!
Two years ago I volunteered as a ‘hospitalera’ on the famous pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It had been over 10 years since I’d walked the Camino with dear friends Lanice and Rona. In 2022, Lanice and I ran the parochial albergue/hostel in Estella for 2 weeks [see earlier blog post]. In 2024, the pull of the Camino worked its magic again, and Lanice and I spent 2 weeks at another albergue along the Camino. This time, El Burgo de Ranero was our destination, a village of just over 800 inhabitants that relies almost entirely on the pilgrims who travel through on their way to Santiago.
Famous for its adobe buildings, the municipal-run albergue in El Burgo de Ranero had 32 beds, a large kitchen, and spacious shower/toilet rooms. Busy once again with cleaning, registration and hosting responsibilities, we were gifted in return with brief but meaningful encounters with the pilgrims who stayed with us. The townspeople we encountered were unfailingly welcoming and appreciative [ok, maybe not the municipal secretary, LOL]. So many stories were shared – why they were walking the Camino, what their ailments were and how we could help, or sharing a cold beer and laughs – it all nourished us and more than compensated for the work we did. On some nights we shared communal meals. On several occasions, pilgrims shared their gift of music, either harmonica, guitar or voice. The Camino is truly a unique, spiritual and transformative journey and filled me with hope that despite all the terrible events in the world news, there is much goodness and joy within people.
My favorite time of day was when I gave out the ‘blessings’ I’d prepared (a short prayer or inspirational thought) in 7 different languages – English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch and Korean. Examples: ‘May blessings rise up to anoint you.’ ‘With reverence, gratitude and acceptance, may you behold your life each day.’ ‘In claiming the beauty of your life may you recognize the One in whose image you are created.’
As pilgrims departed in the early morning hours, I would offer them a blessing in their own language. English, Spanish or French usually sufficed if the pilgrim’s own language wasn’t one of the 7 I had prepared. The smiles and tears and hugs I received in return told me that the effort was appreciated. I don’t believe I’ll return to Spain for another stint as an hospitalera, but I will carry forward many memories of people and the places I’ve travelled on the Camino.
The BPAA [Book Publishers of Alberta] held their annual publishing awards night on September 24th, 2024. We were all delighted to learn that Flip, Flop, Flapjack won the award for “Children’s & Young Adult Book of the Year”. Melissa, our illustrator, attended the award ceremony (I was busy scrubbing floors at a hostel in Spain) and accepted the award on behalf of my publisher, Ayesha Clough and Red Barn Books. Thank you, BPAA and thank you, Red Barn Books, for creating such a beautiful book. YAHOO!
All three of these feature prominently in my Work In Progress – a dual timeline adult novel. For many of us, royalty are endlessly fascinating, with their lavish lifestyles, their centuries-old castles and palaces and the intrigues that swirl in their wake. Diamonds have dazzled men and women for as long as they have been mined and almost no one is immune to their siren call. And miniatures – whether dollhouses or trains or furniture or portraits – fascinate me. Imagine a Lilliputian world of secret doorways and passageways, hidden treasures, tea sets so small you need tweezers to pick up a cup – or miniature cars with working piston engines! Curious, now?
JOIN US! My grandchildren are helping me read aloud from Flip, FLop, Flapjack on September 1st, to kick off the Lions Rodeo. Free pancakes, games, live music, branding demonstrations and more. Don’t miss it!
Follow – up: Cochrane Now news gave us a great write-up and video story, following the pancake breakfast. Thanks!! https://youtu.be/dyqY1ixO53Y
Here’s some of our own pictures:
Yes – a genuine chuckwagon, brought here by the gents at Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation. It made an authentic backdrop for our readings from FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK!
I think Wildhorse Jack would be chuffed to discover his story has been on the bestselling books list in Calgary for another week! I know I am, so thank you, everyone who has purchased a copy! And these lists don’t include the sales from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or books sold on the publisher’s website. Flip, Flop, Flapjack is into a second printing, so the news is spreading. And that means readers. And readers are the reason I write books!!
These amazing friends and family members (plus a few camera shy folks) were responsible for our FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK PANCAKE BREAKFAST/BOOK LAUNCH. From left to right, standing – Lorne, Liz, Harriet, Dave, Wim, me, Connie, Sandy, Maureen, Maryse, Peter; front row Ayesha, Joyce, Jane, Lucas.
We had so much fun planning, designing, preparing and setting up for our guests. Approximately 140 folks (120 adults, 20 kids) took part in the fun – pancake breakfast, selfie photo booth, book sales, kids games, illustration demonstration and lesson, and a reading with cameo appearances by Maggie the badger, and my grandchildren Isaac and Abigail. My daughter Maryse and her husband Peter, and their five children, hosted us at their beautiful acreage west of Calgary. The weather couldn’t have been better – sunshine, no rain!
Some awesome local businesses were a big part of the event. Red Barn Books, who published FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK, and Ayesha Clough, the heart of Red Barn Books https://redbarnbooks.ca. Alannah and Trevor, owners of Lannie Rae Gourmet, https://lannieraegourmet.com/ donated all the pancake batter. Melissa Brugelmans-LaBelle, the book’s illustrator and artist behind Touch of Paint https://touchofpaint.ca/, displayed her coffee paintings that she’s famous for, and led children in a drawing lesson. Sarah and Rob, booksellers extraordinaire from Owl’s Nest Books (Calgary) http://www.owlsnestbooks.com/ came out and handled book sales.
We wanted to share some of the fun here with you, in case any readers are interested in how to launch a book with a Western theme. Here’s a taste of last Saturday’s event. YAHOO!!
FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK GOES TO SCHOOL
I’ve had the pleasure of taking my picture book to several area schools now, and I admit to loving it! We’ve done readings for full school assemblies and for small, intimate classes of 20 students. We also presented to over 60 schools through the Calgary Public Library virtual author visit program, LITCON. Invariably, the students know more than I expect about historic Calgary and area. FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK is set in 1923 – 100 years ago, but also deals with sportsmanship and community spirit.
I ask the students if there was electricity 100 years ago, whether there were NHL teams, cars and airplanes, movie theatres and elephants (that last one’s a trick question!) They have thoughtful questions and answers, and listen well to the story. I attribute much of that to preparation by the teachers, that’s much appreciated. In most cases, I’ve sent a Teacher’s Guide in advance so they can prepare their classes and it really shows. I sometimes have my two oldest grandchildren with me to help dramatize the story (Isaac, left and Abigail, right in the above photo), and the kids love having someone near their age act out the story. Isaac also adds lots of hockey trivia to the discussion. 🙂
If we’re lucky, the book’s illustrator, Melissa Brugelmans-LaBelle, joins me for the school visit. She talks to the students about being an artist and gives a short drawing lesson. The results have been dramatic – every student can draw a horse by the end of the lesson! It gives the students a lot of confidence and hopefully inspires them to draw more and more.
Twice, local TV stations have filmed the readings. I’ve been impressed by the camera work, and all the editing the crew does before it is aired. The GLOBAL TV news clip was less than 2 minutes, yet they had filmed over an hour of reading, interviewing, etc. I watch TV news clips with a greater appreciation, now.
I had none of this in mind when I wrote this story, but I’m loving the adventure!
Brenda Joyce Leahy 