CALLING ALL BOOK LOVERS!

An Event to Add to Your Summer 2026 Calendar!
Friday Aug. 14 from 1-3p at The Verni in Caledonia!

South Shore Nova Scotia authors Teresa LaBella and Vernon Oickle will read from “Danger Noted”, a tale of international intrique; “Capital Strings”, political drama set in Ottawa and chosen selections from Mr. Oickle’s thrilling Crow Series. Signed books available for purchase. Reader to author Q&A welcome! Enjoy an event exclusive mocktail courtesy of our host The Verni Art Gallery Gift Shop and Cafe, located at 9853 Nova Scotia Trunk 8 next to the Caledonia Pharmachoice.

NEXT GENERATION AWARD FINALIST!
I am pleased and excited to share that my short story “What About Meggie” – a fractured family’s struggle to decide who will parent their suddenly motherless five-year-old sister: an older sibling burdened by careers and complications or an absentee father with a shameful past – was chosen as a finalist in the 2026 Next Generation General Fiction Short Story under 2,000 words category.

Shoot The Breeze About Books REVIVED!
AWESOME LOCATION! The Verni Art Gallery and Gift Shop
9853 Nova Scotia trunk 8 in Caledonia, Nova Scotia

Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and lively conversation while we talk about what we’re reading, what we like to read, what we’re writing or want to write …

SHOOT THE BREEZE ABOUT BOOKS ONLINE!
Join our private group on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1043894627506621

TWO NEW PROGRAMS! MARCH 2025 THANK YOU! Thomas H. Raddall Library, Liverpool, NS

How to Hook Your Reader

Crime novelist extraordinaire Mickey Spillane said it best: The first page sells the book. The last page sells the next book. Join a sample by example discussion of blind first page introductions to plot, setting and characters. No titles told. No authors revealed. Only the words written on page one to grab and hold readers.

10 Clues to a Great Story

What makes a story pop from the page or screen? We’ll explore the elements that connect readers to characters that live on in our mind’s eye long after the book’s cover closes and the film’s credits roll.