 New in 2009!
Shivers and Shakes
- The 6th book in the Salt & Pepper Chronicles by David A Poulsen
... details
Published by
Key Porter Books |
 A Day in the Life of.... is there a typical David Poulsen day? Not really as any given day could include heading out the door to a rodeo or bullriding, presenting a creative writing workshop for Junior High students or researching and writing his next novel. And if none of those possibilities exist, David can generally be found at home in the Porcupine Hills relaxing on the deck, riding or trying to catch up on writing and fencing.
May/June, 2010 – As winter reluctantly moves on, we head into my favourite time of year—spring. I love the emergence of the green grass, the arrival of the new crop of foals and calves and, most of all, not having to bundle up in coats, mitts and toque for that morning coffee on the deck.
As you will see elsewhere on this page, I am still enjoying the excitement of having The Prisoners and the Paintings chosen as the winner of the Golden Eagle Children’s Choice Book Award. I was a finalist on two previous occasions for the award and to win it this time meant so much to me.
And I was really proud to have Numbers, my latest Young Adult novel selected as a finalist for the R. Ross Annette Award for Best Book for Young People in Alberta. The story, which takes place in a high school where the most popular and influential teacher is a holocaust denier, has been getting a lot of attention.
I’m really pumped about obtaining my Master’s degree (MFA) in Creative Writing from UBC (I’m off to the graduation ceremony in the next few days) and hope to be able to do more teaching of creative writing in the years ahead.
Rodeo season has kicked off and the miles are already starting to pile up. It will be a busy few months as I make my way to some of my favourite rodeo and Bull Riding stops including the 98th anniversary edition of the Calgary Stampede (my 24rd appearance there), and great rodeos at Millarville, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, Airdrie, Morris, Medicine Hat, Pincher Creek, Lethbridge, Hanna and Barrhead (the Wild Rose Rodeo Finals). And I’m looking forward to PBR Bull Ridings at Wanham, Asquith, Lashburn, Coronation and Stavely.
Returning to the Canadian Finals Rodeo in 2009 after an awfully long absence was a huge highlight last year. It was a tremendous event and I worked with so many terrific people and, on top of that, it was a great Finals—I won’t ever forget it. Then came my fourth appearance at the PBR Canadian National Finals in Calgary in early December. That too was a real pleasure as the PBR here in Canada continues to evolve and grow. This year’s PBR Finals (November 19 and 20) is slated for Saskatoon and I have a feeling the ‘City of Bridges’ will be a fabulous home for the Finals
Back on the writing front, the reception has been excellent for Book 6 in The Salt and Pepper Chronicles. This one is called Shivers and Shakes and is set in this totally cool (and spooky) underground street in Edinburgh, Scotland called Mary King’s Close. The street actually exists and is called ‘the most haunted place in Scotland’. Guess who or what Salt, Pepper and annoying little brother Hal meet up with in that street!!
Still with writing—I was honoured to be one of the guest authors at the Saskatoon Literacy For Life Conference recently. It was wonderful to participate in an amazing event that involved thousand of Saskatchewan kids, and my time there gave me a chance to see family and long missed friends—people who mean a great deal to me.
Well, I’m heading outside to do chores, go for a run and then settle on the deck with a good book and that first coffee of the day…and no toque…ahhhh!!
All the best to all of you throughout 2010. May it be your best year ever.
... David
Site updated May 29, 2010 |
