Our 2024 White Pines Authors Part 4

The Port Moody Public Library created the White Pines Local Author Collection to highlight and support local authors, poets, and illustrators from our community. We launched the collection in May 2019 with 12 inaugural authors.

Now, with over 100 authors represented, the collection has grown to house even more creative and diverse submissions from members of our community. You can browse our White Pines Collection online to place holds on items, or in person at the Library under the green White Pines sign.

Kathy Wagner

Kathy Wagner is the author of Here With You: A Memoir of Love, Family, and Addiction, published by Douglas & McIntyre in September 2023. She has published essays in The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, and The Sun Magazine and was awarded a literary retreat at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She lives in Port Coquitlam with her goldendoodle, Phoebe, and British Shorthair cats, Nala and Izzy. Kathy writes about grief, addiction in the family, hope, and finding joy at https://www.kwagnerwrites.com/.

Book: Here With You: A Memoir of Love, Family, and Addiction

The powerful story of a mother's struggle to save her son from addiction — and the strength and hope for change that she found in her grief.

When her son, Tristan, began experimenting with drugs at the age of fourteen, Kathy Wagner told herself it was just a phase. But by the time he was fifteen, she had to face the gravity of Tristan's addiction. Unable to get him treatment without his consent, she did everything else that she could to try to save her child, from sending him to China to study kung fu with Shaolin monks, to signing him up for culinary school, to paying for his drugs in an attempt to keep him safe. When Tristan finally began his recovery journey, six years later, Wagner was unexpectedly thrown onto her own recovery path. Learning from other parents of children struggling with addiction, she began, for the first time, to live for herself. But soon her oldest daughter needed help for her own addictions, and Tristan struggled with relapse, eventually dying by accidental fentanyl overdose.

Told with compassion and insight, Here With You is a story about how addiction tore a family apart and how they came back together through shared love and a deep commitment to learning a better way. Timely and honest, it will resonate with those struggling with substance abuse, their families, and anyone who wants to better understand the impact of the current drug toxicity crisis.

Borrow Here With You from the Library.

What inspired Kathy to write?

Kathy wrote Here With You from the deep need to hold onto hope in an unbearable situation, and to share that hope with others. After her son’s death, Kathy was held and supported by other people’s stories of hope, heartache, and survival and wanted to give back by sharing her difficult truth with others. Every word she wrote was in service of helping parents who have a child struggling with addiction, or who died from drug harms, to know that they are not alone. And that there is hope, even if it looks very different from what they ever expected.

What have Kathy’s biggest challenges been while writing?

Kathy experienced two main challenges when writing Here With You: emotional and technical. The emotional complexity of writing a trauma-based memoir cannot be summed up in a few sentences, but Kathy is forever grateful for the supportive writing community that helped her walk into the storm and come safely out the other side. As a life-long professional writer but first-time creative writer, the technical challenges of creating a full-length book felt overwhelming at times: structure, rhythm, setting, dialogue, character development, word choice, and wayward commas sprinkling themselves willy-nilly into sentences — thank goodness Kathy had fantastic teachers and editors along the way!

Cameron Hutt

Cameron Hutt is an educator with Douglas College and a private University, specializing in financial planning, securities analysis, and math. He is a graduate of the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and Honours Business Administration (H.B.A.) programs at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. In addition to holding the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, Cameron also holds the Certified International Wealth Manager (CIWM) and Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designation and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI). Cameron has been in the brokerage industry since 1996 and previously worked with two major Canadian banks in investment and retail banking. Cameron was an instructor of the Professional Financial Planning course at the Canadian Securities Institute, teaching investment advisors throughout Canada. He frequently writes for Wealth Focus and other industry publications.

$Money Math for Growing Minds by Cameron Hutt$

Books: Money Math for Growing Minds and Master Your Investment in the Family Business

Financial literacy is an important topic that will profoundly affect your financial success in life. Your career is very important, but how you understand and master money math will be beneficial to ensure you have the knowledge required to make the right financial decisions. These books provide the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to increase your financial literacy to the next level, regardless of what level you are at today.

Borrow Money Math for Growing Minds and Master your Investment in the Family Business from the Library.

What inspired Cameron to write a book?

Cameron was initially inspired to write a book on financial literacy when Canada celebrated its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary and there was a list of one hundred things to do! Since this initial book, Cameron now writes to educate the public on topics that are appealing, timely, and very beneficial.

What has been Cameron's biggest challenge while writing?

Writer's block is not a myth — it happens on a daily basis. You have to persevere, take a break, refocus, get motivated, and learn to enjoy it all over again!

Gregory Robb

Gregory Robb's journey in communication began with music and turned to words with the publication of his first professional story in 1989. Since then, he has published more than twelve hundred times in print and online. He is proud to have two of his books, Transience: From Failure to Future in a Scarred Family and Oneself: Overcoming Narcissistic Abuse published in the Port Moody Public Library's White Pines Collection. Greg continues to learn, grow, teach English, and write his lifelong story of discovery and wonder.

Book: Transience: From Failure to Future in a Scarred Family

Transience demonstrates how a reasoned examination of family history can assist one generation to repair the painful legacies of its predecessors. No matter what the adversity, the human story is written in experience, presented with reflection and emotion, and concluded upon the individual’s commitment to love and light. Here is one man’s roller coaster testament to the power of healing through expression. It is time to break the chains of abuse.

Borrow Transience from the Library.

Book: Oneself: Overcoming Narcissistic Abuse

Twenty-First Century society has become more narcissistic. The true self is a vital part of all healthy individuals, but personality disordered preoccupation with "the self" has devastated relationships worldwide. The antidote is knowledge and empathy. The strength of oneself, dignified and resolute, will always overcome a narcissist. The battle may take a while, but the tenacious win every time. Oneself is a fearless journey from a doomed narcissistic relationship to the path of insight, wisdom, and love.

Borrow Oneself from the Library.

What inspired Greg to become a writer?

Greg is lucky that creativity is in his family genes. His journey began with music and branched out into acting, theatre, and broadcasting. That was all before he was published. However, strangely, Greg had not really thought about being a writer at the time. That changed in his first semester at Simon Fraser University. He had turned in a personal essay assignment in the first English course he had taken. The topic was very generic: write about a strong memory. Greg had written about a musical performance. The TA (Teaching Assistant - the one who marked the assignment) saw him at a subsequent lecture and asked to speak with him afterwards. Greg immediately thought, "Oh no - what's gone wrong?" She handed back his paper (which got an "A" - yay!). Then, she mentioned that she was a co-editor of a literary journal published by the English department and wanted to publish this piece! Greg stood stunned, mouth agape and said, "Whaaaat?" After some simple revision, the piece was published on December 15, 1989. When he saw it in the publication, Greg was immediately changed. His previous forms of creativity had always been performance-based. Once the show was over, the performance - if it had gone well - lived on in memory only. Published work felt more permanent, and Greg had fallen in love with that. Upon that publication, Greg became obsessed with the craft, and he remains committed to growing and learning.

What has been the most challenging part of writing for Greg?

The craft of writing has innate challenges that Greg believes are resolved through commitment, patience, and practice. At least, that's how it has worked for him. That said, Greg believes the consumer mentality around digitization (of so many things in life) poses the biggest publishing challenge right now. With the tense coexistence of both print and digital paradigms (books contrasted with eBooks, blogs, and social media), too many people think that writing should just be free. Greg has always supported libraries, because that freedom of information is democratic. He’s grateful and proud to have his work available to anyone at the Port Moody Library. However, it takes a hell of a long time and great dedication to write a book. Greg knows, and he is discouraged to find a burgeoning reluctance of people to financially support authors because social media is free (as an example). We support that which is deserving, and our work needs to be good enough to convince readers to support us. Greg also understands that it is increasingly difficult for an audience to distinguish real writers (who have invested in learning the craft) from hackers who "write" because they can "post" (which is very different from being "published"). However, it is a big ask to expect writers to sacrifice so much time and energy for little-to-no return.

Greg asks people reading this to please know that he deeply appreciates any support he gets but to also keep one big idea in mind. Any story that goes untold - for whatever reason - is one less thread in the tapestry to human existence. If a book that opens your mind costs a few bucks, your support helps us to write more of them. It's a great investment in society.

Neil McKinnon

Neil McKinnon was raised in Saskatchewan. He served in the RCN and has been a businessman, archaeologist, university lecturer, and freelance writer. He has worked in China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. and holds a B.Sc. in math and a BA and MA in archaeology. His articles have appeared in Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. publications. He has two previous books. Tuckahoe Slidebottle was short-listed for the Stephen Leacock Medal and the Alberta Short Fiction Award. The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday was published in 2015. A Ticket to the Grand Show is his first nonfiction book. He has served on literary juries and edited/published academically.

He and his wife, Judy, live in Port Coquitlam and have been married for 59 years. They have produced two globe-trotting daughters and inherited two brilliant grandchildren.

Find out more about Neil at https://authorneilmckinnon.com.

A Ticket to the Grand Show by Neil McKinnon

Book: A Ticket to the Grand Show: Journeys Across Cultural Boundaries

A Ticket to the Grand Show, stories of human diversity, past and present, explore the richness of culture woven into the multi-hued fabric of our lives. The variety found across the globe is exciting, and each culture has its own truths that have the capacity to expand and inform our own. An insightful glimpse at the submerged cultural icebergs we may discover when we travel. Some are exotic, some are tragic, some are humorous, and some are dangerous.

Borrow A Ticket to the Grand Show from the Library.

What inspires Neil to write?

Neil can get lost in a good conversation and writing is just that - a wonderful discussion with his characters, even the nonfiction ones. So, he gains ongoing inspiration from the joy of being completely unaware of time passing while he’s gossiping with his characters. Neil became a writer later in life. The year was 1988 and he was forty-seven years old. While working on the Tibetan plateau, Neil didn't have much to do in the evenings so, on the spur of the moment to keep himself occupied, he wrote a travel article. Lo and behold, when he returned to Canada, a large eastern newspaper bought it. So, Neil thought, why not try again? A different newspaper bought it. One thing led to another and two years later, he was writing full-time for magazines and newspapers. Much later, when he was growing tired of writing what he was told, what slant to put on it, and how long to make the piece, Neil decided to try his hand at fiction. He was very lucky. He found a publisher and his first book, Tuckahoe Slidebottle, was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Award and for the Alberta Award for Short Fiction. It was seeing his early efforts in print that gave Neil the get up and go, to get up and go.

What challenges has Neil faced while writing?

What Neil finds challenging is resisting the urge to write to sell. He falls into this trap often enough that he should know that, for himself, writing for the market is unsatisfying. That said, the most challenging (and boring) part of the whole business is ‘getting it out there’. Finding an agent or publisher is time-consuming and not at all part of the sheer joy of writing. The system is not designed to make it easy for someone to break in. Neil was lucky enough to have his first two books published traditionally. But he has gone to a hybrid publisher for his current nonfiction book. This has worked out wonderfully. So, the challenge is not in the writing itself. The challenge is getting the darn thing published.

Margie Taylor

Margie Taylor grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and began her radio career there. As a CBC Radio host and producer, she hosted regional and national radio programs, wrote a syndicated parenting column, and appeared regularly on arts and entertainment programs across the country. Margie’s book reviews and op-ed articles have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Calgary Herald, and Active Adult, and she’s the author of four novels. Margie lives, writes, and teaches EAL in Port Moody and her most recent novel, Rose Addams, was published in 2023 by NeWest Press. Find out more about Margie at https://margietaylor.com.

Book: Rose Addams

Rose Addams is hitting her sixties, but these days it feels like they're starting to hit back. Her daughter, Morgan, has ditched her thesis program and moved back home to Vancouver, while her son Jason's partner has never seen eye to eye with his mother. Her husband, Charles, has decided to take early retirement from the university to work on his long-gestating book, and his rakish best friend, Garnet, has a new mistress who is way too young for their social circle. When Rose encounters a young man panhandling outside of her library office though, a chain of events is set in motion whereby Rose will have to confront all the facets of her rapidly complicating life.

Borrow Rose Addams from the Library.

What inspired Margie to become a writer?

Margie always knew she would write. Her mother wrote short stories, her grandmother kept journals, and her great-grandmother, for whom she was named, wrote stories, poems, and plays. Her earliest memories are of trips to the library. After having read everything of interest in the children's section, Margie demanded (unsuccessfully) to be allowed to head upstairs to the adult section to read more. The rules at home were different - the kids could read anything they could lay their hands on, even if it was only the backs of the cereal boxes at breakfast. Margie’s grandmother revered Dickens and she was raised to believe that writing was, if not the most lucrative profession, certainly the most rewarding.

What is the most challenging part of writing for Margie?

The biggest challenge for any writer is finding the time to write. When Margie’s children were younger and she was working full time at the CBC, she tried to squeeze it in after work or on weekends. This never worked very well, and in the end, Margie had to take extended leave to write her first novel. Nowadays the greatest challenge is keeping to a writing schedule - writing a certain amount each day. People think writers rely on moments of great inspiration to compose their masterpieces; but Margie would say it's actually bums on seats, to put it bluntly. You have to ignore the distractions, sit down, and write. That, to her, is the greatest challenge. There are days she doesn’t manage it but when she does, it's the best feeling in the world.

Hayley Lowe

Hayley is a British-Canadian illustrator and storyteller. She enjoys exploring a range of media but is particularly drawn to pencil, charcoal, gouache, and Procreate. In a previous chapter of her life, Hayley worked as a contemporary dancer and children’s yoga instructor, using storytelling as a tool to teach and ignite imaginations. She lives with her family in Vancouver, B.C. Find out more about Hayley at http://www.hayleylowe.com/ and on X: @hloweart and Instagram: @hloweart.

Book: The Pie Reports

A love of pie brings a young girl and her grandfather together through good times and bad in this moving story about connection and compassion.

Noor and Granddad love pie. Lemon meringue, blueberry crisp, chocolate cream... they have a pie for every occasion and spend a wonderful summer together trying each one. When vacation ends, Noor must say goodbye and fly home. But despite an ocean of distance between them, and Granddad's declining health, the pair continue to connect through their shared passion for pastry by meeting for video chats. These weekly pie reports let them chat about what's new and, of course, discuss and eat pie!

Then one day, Granddad doesn't log in. He's experiencing more blue days and doesn't feel like talking. Noor decides to write down her pie reports, holding space for Granddad until he feels ready.

Borrow The Pie Reports from the Library.

What inspired Hayley to write?

Hayley started her children's book career as an illustrator first. She found as she worked on narrative illustration, her own stories started to pop up, and she decided to start writing so she could tell these stories! Hayley gets a lot of her inspiration and ideas from her seven-year-old daughter and her friends. She also draws from memories of her childhood.

What is the most challenging part of writing for Hayley?

Hayley's biggest challenge is remembering the first draft does not have to be perfect and is all about getting ideas onto paper. She tries to remind herself that the first draft is like a rough sketch.

Doug Matthews

Doug has a diverse background, including twenty-two years in the Royal Canadian Air Force as an aeronautical engineer, nineteen years as the owner of an event production company, and five years as a university lecturer. Throughout this time and up to the present, he has also passionately embraced writing and photography, drawing on his experience in special events and his other areas of interest: archaeology and entertainment. To date, he has published five textbooks on special event production, one book of humorous anecdotes of his entertainment career, a recent book about parades, and four photography books, as well as journal and magazine articles. Find out more about Doug at https://www.dougmatthewsauthor.com/ and on Facebook: /dwbmatthews, X: @dmatthewsauthor, or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-matthews-81713112/

Book: Stumbling Towards Applause: Misadventures in Entertainment

Unusual brushes with celebrities like Michael Buble and Diana Krall, jungle animals on the loose, bar fights, pyrotechnics gone awry, technical glitches at award ceremonies and a sweltering outdoor show for UN troops in war-torn Cambodia – these are a sampling of the stories that await within Stumbling Toward Applause. This inspiring book is the first to reveal real-life, backstage experiences within the relatively young industry of special events. With the consequences of human frailty and, conversely, human determination as the themes, it takes readers from hilarious live, onstage mishaps to the poignancy of an actor’s untimely death. Under the surface lurk nuggets of wisdom and lessons about life, business and relationships.

Borrow Stumbling Towards Applause from the Library.

Book: Why We Love Parades: Their History and Enduring Appeal

Why do millions of people attend the victory parades of winning sports teams, travel across the world to attend a carnival, march and chant for social justice, cheer homecoming soldiers, or watch enraptured as a princess or celebrity rides in a stately coach to their wedding? The author answers these questions and more in this unique examination of the great parades and processions of history. Part chronology, part social history, this book outlines why parades are more than the simplistic, ephemeral entertainment we sometimes assume them to be, as people are often deeply affected by regalia, costumes and uniforms, dances and floats. The book traces the fascinating origins and development of carnival parades, religious processions, protest marches, victory parades, circus parades, parade floats, ship sail-pasts, and aerial fly-pasts.

Borrow Why We Love Parades from the Library.

What inspires Doug to write?

Doug has boundless curiosity in a lot of subjects but mainly those that deal with history and human performance. Any subject that he senses does not have coverage in these areas and in which he has an interest usually inspires Doug to put fingers to keyboard.

What has been the most challenging part of writing for Doug?

Challenges for Doug have been self-criticism and the need for extensive re-writing. However, the joy of researching a subject keeps him going.

About the White Pines Local Author Collection

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