runnerland

Not that I’m freaking out or anything, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pubs three weeks today. Since we have the same publisher, we’re, like, teammates, so I can say I’m very excited on JK Rowling’s behalf. And dying to see how she brings the whole series to a conclusion.

This final countdown reminds me of the Lemony Snicket series (13 shorter books compared to these 7 big ones) and how excited I was for The End, which was, unfortunately, not in the top 5 even, I’d say, for the series.

But I have high hopes for HP7. Speaking of which, wanna win Harry Potter swag?

My employer, the Georgia Straight, in cooperation with CBC Radio and Vancouver Kidsbooks, presents the Harry Potter and the Weekend of Wonder contest.

What do you get? Why, all this…

• Accommodation for a family of four at the Listel Hotel
• Tickets for four to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows party
• The entire hardcover Harry Potter library
• Gift certificate for $100 from Vancouver Kidsbooks
• One year family membership to VanDusen Botanical Garden
• Dinner for four at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company

Seven runners-up will win a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Raincoast Books and two free tickets to the party.

What do you have to do? Why, only this:

To win, write 300 words or less describing your ultimate magical spell. You can choose any character to cast it (or even yourself) and any ingredients. What does it do? For good? Evil? Entries will be judged on creativity and imagination—not writing skills!

Note the contest is eligible only to British Columbians between the ages of 8 and 18. For deets and to enter, click here. No kidding!

So I’ve found nirvana. Two things you have to know that I love: 1) hotels and 2) coffee. I like my hotels eccentric and boutique, and my coffee strong, dark, and also boutique.

So, a block from where I’m staying (I can actually piggyback on their free WiFi from my room - yay!) is the Ace Hotel. I don’t know much about the hotel, except it’s artsy and boutique (there’s a location in Seattle - I’m not to going to research beyond that), but big plus is Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a made-in-Portland mecca for coffee fans. Stumptown’s location here is inside the hotel and you can take your coffee into its big (drafty) lobby, with huge windows, pillars, and old bookshelves. Cool table, kind of old-fashioned and even a private-eye-ish, it’s got atmosphere to burn.

Here’s the table I’m sitting at. I’m (weirdly) in the same spot as the woman bottom right with the laptop.

 Here’s a closeup taken (again, weirdly) exactly from where I’m sitting. I may not be the first person (Shock!) to think of having a coffee and blogging in this exact spot.

Okay, back to writing.

Aargh. I’ve been tagged. Or memed. (See comments from previous post.) I have to come up with eight facts about myself. EASY! I could come up with 800. But I have to tag eight bloggers who haven’t already done this, which is hard. Somehow I escaped the first go-round last year, and now it’s like being the last person to sign someone’s yearbook. No space, nothing left to say, all the good stuff’s been taken… Good thing I’m, like, a writer and all….  If you’re reading this and you’d like to volunteer, send me a comment or a Facebook message.

Had to switch hotel rooms today for reasons that are too ridiculous to go into. This one has sucky WiFi compared to the last one (two floors higher), so will keep this brief so I don’t blow up the Internet altogether.

Things of note: ran 4 miles this morning. Glorious. Entirely out of character. To compensate, ate two (2) Liz Lovely Cowboy Cookies tonight (oatmeal, walnuts, chocolate). It says “2 Big Ones” right on the package and they’re not kidding. Wrote 1,000 words today, hoping to get another 500 before I crash. Thanks for the “Woo hoo!”, Arthur. I feel exactly the same way. WOO HOO!

Having trouble accepting the main character’s name for the new novel. I always scoffed when I heard authors say their characters told them what to do. I mean, c’mon! But really, this kid’s name wasn’t my idea (well, you know what I mean - it wouldn’t be my first choice. Or second. Etc.) And now I’m stuck typing it, like, 5,000 times. Not to be coy, but I will say that 1) it’s a palindrome and 2) it’s easy to type. Those are the pluses.

Here’s a picture of my hotel. My room’s behind the US flag.

Will respond with memeformation once I’ve thought of eight suckers, er, colleages with blogs…

It’s true. And bizarre too, when I think that it was only two hours from me sitting in my airplane seat to me unlocking my hotel door in Portland, Oregon.

Ah, the wonders of jet travel…

I hiked up - well, “hiked” up - Washington Park and environs today, lugging (pointlessly, I might add) my laptop, about five books, and miscellaneous pointless papers in my attractive and affordable laptop bag, courtesy H&M. The view from the top really is beautiful, even on an overcast day like today. Sort of like…

I took my own route, which meant I spent the whole time bushwacking and wandering alongside highways and walking entirely on my own. I finally break out of a stand of trees and find myself in a parking lot beside tour buses and bazillions of tourists, all in line for the rose garden. I didn’t even realize there was a rose garden (it’s beautiful and smells nice). There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.

Oh, the news. Yes. Wrote 2,000 words of new novel today, maybe sort of beginning of first chapter kind of 2,000 words. Very pleased.

Discussed with eldest child, who’s very disappointed there are no Martians (yet) in the story. If Martians do make an appearance, I’ve promised to equip them with rayguns that go “Thzu-thzu-thzu!” It’s a long shot.

Brain fried now, and I’ve got work tomorrow here.

Confirmation in the mail that I’ll be teaching a 90-minute session each day at the Canadian Book Camp, hosted by the Vancouver public library, next month.

The Web site lists the “keynote speakers” but not the authors. Or, oh my God, not me anyway. Imagine if I show up with paper and pens for everyone, all ready and raring to go, like cue cards and sticky notes all over the place, and it turns out I dreamed the whole thing up! Hmmm…possible but not likely. Or, not very likely. And anyway, bonus: I’d have free afternoons for a whole week! It’s a win-win situation, really.

Assuming I am coming (but even if I weren’t…), hit the link and check it out. I’m teaching the 11-to-13-year-olds, and there’s a separate 14+ category as well. Here’s a taste…

Join us for one stellar week of reading, writing and interacting with acclaimed professionals from the Canadian writing world. During the week you will have the opportunity to workshop your writing, experiment with different genres, hone your creative style, and blab about books - all the while meeting new people and having a blast!

Street kids in a dickensian world

Young Adult

Madeline Walker, Special to the Sun

Published: Saturday, June 02, 2007

RUNNERLAND

BY JOHN BURNS

Raincoast Books, 251 pages ($11.95)

- - -

John Burns, of the Georgia Straight, has written a promising first novel. Right after his father’s sudden death, 14-year-old Peter Weir discovers that he’s adopted. He reacts dramatically by running away from home.

In Runnerland, we get to know Peter through his confused thoughts during his long trek to a seaside town where he ends up joining a “tribe” of street kids. Peter is a smart and likable character: ironic, artistic, and self-deprecating. He eschews drugs and uses his talent to paint wall murals in the squat where he and the other kids live.

Peter notices the similarity between Dekman, the tribe’s corrupt leader, who uses the money earned from his “slaves” to support his drug habit, and Fagin of Dickens’s Oliver Twist.

Indeed, there are several parallels between the two identity quests. One of Burns’s strengths, like Dickens’s, lies in capturing the sordid details of marginalized lives. He gives us realistic particulars about the dark anomie of teen homelessness: weird, chaotic parties, odd details of dress, hair and language, and the boredom of panhandling.

The central weakness of this novel is pace. Although Peter’s street moniker is Runner because he’s always running from something, the narrative moves too slowly through the first 200 pages and many of the scenes do little to advance the plot or build character.

The ending, however, is worth waiting for. For months, Peter has been slipping into scary mental blankness. Finally, he discovers how to manipulate that mind world like a video game, opening it up to a maelstrom of colour and action.

Peter feels a God-like sense of agency in this internal landscape that he christens Runnerland. “Now, he’d wave his arms wildly back and forth, like he was doing tae-bo, and things would literally streak in and out of existence. Or mistakes would go away.”

Runnerland is the stage for a frightening final battle with the evil Dekman, where Peter grapples for and gains the strength he needs to reject victimhood and face up to his “real” life.

Unlike Oliver Twist, Peter Weir doesn’t end up happily ensconced with rich relatives, but he does end up with a nuanced sense of self and life. Despite not having all of the answers, “he was working on it.”

Burns puts a satisfying close to a hard journey.

Madeline Walker is a PhD student in 20th-century American literature at the University of Victoria and the mother of three teenage boys.