The Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-06-04, Page 9Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, June 4, 1986—Page 9
Mystery author visits Lueknow Central School
SPECIAL
By Alan Rivett
Children all over Canada have grown up
reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew
mysteries. Now, they're experiencing the
adventures of Tom and Liz Austen, the main
characters in Canadian author Eric
Wilson's popular collection of mystery
novels.
The Austen's practically jumped off the
page for students p:t Lucknow Central
Public School as Mr. Wilson, an author of 11
mystery novels for children, gave a presen-
tation at the school on May 29.
Ontario -Wide Tour
Mr. Wilson, a native of British Columbia,
is currently on an extensive Ontario -wide
tour with his books, sponsored by the On-
tario Arts Council. However, he credited
Lucknow librarian Nancy MacIntyre for ar-
ranging his visit to the school.
During the hour-long presentation, Mr.
Wilson read passages from some of his
action -packed mysteries, and also fielded
questions from the students about writing
while teaching in British Columbia as a way
to motivate a Grade 8 English class to read.
Refrigerator
Through his first five years of writing in
the early 70s, he juggled both his career as a
remedial teacher in Vancouver with his
work on the mystery novels, but has since
given up teaching to devote his full attention
to the task of writing, he said. As an anec-
dote to his early years of writing, he worked
on his novels in a log cabin and, after
finishing the day's writing, he would store
the manuscripts in his refrigerator.
"I kept them in the refrigerator because I
thought it would be the last thing that would
be destroyed if there was ever a fire.
However, it never happened, but I still keep
them there when I'm not writing," he said.
although he admitted the papers got a little
"gooey" from time to time.
Turned Down
However, the first five manuscripts he
sent to the publishers were turned down. He
told the students these manuscripts were
unsuccessful because he failed to plan the
book before writing it. Prior to the
publishing of his first novel, Murder on the
Canadian, a lot of research and planning
was done beforehand, including a trans -
Canada trip on a passenger train from
which he plotted the whole story.
It usually takes eight. montns of work bet-
ween the time you first start writing until
the time the book is published, he said. For
his latest novel, The unmasking of `Ksan,
(which will be available in October) he took
two months to research the book, which en-
tailed describing the events, characters and
settings in great detail, before sitting down
to write the novel, which also took two
months.
The final four months, after the
manuscript has been completed, was set
aside for editing and re -writing the material
into a publishable form, said Mr. Wilson.
For students aspiring to be writers, he of-
fered three tips which were useful when
writing. He refers in his novels to places he
knows rather than imagining a place. Also
important is to draw on personal ex-
periences, and have the characters in the
novel go through similar experiences. When
writing detailed descriptions of places, he
says he imagines he is writing for someone
in Manitoba who has never seen B.C.
NGDIING
BUT THE
BESF!
You must be pleased
every time -
or your money back !
TENDER WELL TRIMMED TOP QUALITY
BEEF PORK VEAL CHICKEN
FREE Home delivery to the
LUCKNOW/ KINCARDINE AREA !
FREE
- Cut & Wrapped to your particular needs,
WEEKLY SPECIALS
7he aee6» ?i/ay
Cali us COLLECT- 396.2415
Information and Ordering
then ask for Betty-Jane,we will be pleased to accept your call I
ffatItftS$PeciaI
E -Z TRIM
BRUSH CUTTER
Reg. $329.95
ONLY lasts
27995
while stock
Carrying
strap & tool
kit included
TURNBERRY SALES
AND SERVICE
(north end behind Royal T) Lloyd Benninger
Wingham (519) 357-2277
"It's like writing a story telling someone
about another part of the country or the
world," he said about describing places.
While his stories fall into the mystery
genre, he feels important topics concerning
children can run parallel to a good mystery
novel. In one book, The Kootenay Kidnap-
per, the story is loosely based on the Clifford
Olsen murders which also tells children
about streetproofing.
"In the context of a mystery, you can also
write about serious topics as well" he said.
•
The students of Lucknow Central Public School received a visit from author Eric Wilson
who has written 11 mystery novels for children. During the hour-long presentation he gave
reading from his books, including a sneak preview of The Unmasking of Ksan which will
be published this October. (Alan Rivett photo)
f
EnNvFssTnlErris
FINANCIAL CENTRE Goderidh
524-27 3 1-800-265-5503
2
Filter
Queen
"IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VARNA"
482-7103
NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS
Township of Kinloss
DESTROY WEEDS
Notice is hereby given to all persons in possession of land, in accordance with the
Weed Control Act, R.S.O. 1980 Sections 4, 14 and 21, that unless noxious weeds
growing on their lands within the Municipality of the Township of Kinloss are
destroyed by date of June 16, 1986 and throughout the season, the Municipality may
enter uponthe said lands and have the weeds destroyed, charging the costs against the
land in taws, as set out In the Act.
The co-operation of all citizens is earnestly solicited.
LORNE ROBINSON W. F. HAWTHORNE
Weed Inspector aerk
MUNICIPALITY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF KINLOSS
1
NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS
DESTROY WEEDS
Notice is hereby given to all persons in possession of land, in ac-
cordance with the Weed Control Act, R.S.O. 1980 Sections 4, 14 and
21, that unless noxious weeds growing on their lands within the
Municipality of Village of Ripley are destroyed by date of June 9.
1936 and throughout the season, the Municipality ,may enter upon
the said lands and have the weeds destroyed, charging the costs
against the land to taxes, as set out In the Act.
The co-operation of all citizens is earnestly solicited.
Weed Inspector Lorne Robinson
Clerk Wm. McCreath
Municipality of Village of Ripley