The rolling hills of Northumberland County in Ontario, Canada, have drawn artists of all kinds for centuries now.
Something about the bucolic countryside of places such as Warkworth and Roseneath — and quaint villages and towns such as Grafton, Cramahe and Port Hope, or lakeside resort living in places such as Cobourg — something about Northumberland has tugged at the hearts of creative people and brought them here in droves. Many well-known painters, sculptors, illustrators, photographers, writers – including famous names such as Farley Mowat, David Blackwood and others have called this area home.
So it’s a great privilege to be invited to be the guest author at the monthly gathering of the Spirit of the Hills Writers group. It represents a wide variety of Northumberland artists. It was a bit nerve-wracking too.
These are serious artists, some with several books and other works of art to their names. Some are publishers. A very discerning group.
And there was even more at stake: Northumberland County – its villages, countryside, homes, people and way of life — are vividly described in my book, A Good Home. What would this illustrious group of Northumberland residents think about me and my book?
Well – Yippee! – Were they ever welcoming of A Good Home, and me! The event took place in the elegant-but-homey Grafton Village Inn, and there were times during my reading when you could have heard a pin drop. Seems I nailed it. Whew!!
Thanks to Felicity Sidnell Reid and her Spirit of the Hills team, who invited me to read excerpts of the book to this group long before anyone knew that A Good Home would become a success, months before it was even published. Spirit of the Hills member Susan Statham and the Writers group are also behind Northumberland’s new book festival, being held on September 7 in Cobourg’s historic Firehall Theatre. Word Northumberland features readings from well-known local authors and others, and a wide variety of books for sale.
I’ll see you there. It’s worth the drive to beautiful lakeside Cobourg! For more information, contact: Susan Statham, sstatham@eagle.ca