Writing the Rollercoaster

May 3, 2021 Please see updates in Submissions regarding the selection process and publication.

May you live in interesting times.

Ancient curse or overwrought cliché? Either way, the meaning is clear – interesting times are never easy or peaceful. And like it or not, this pandemic has dropped us smack into the middle of one of the world’s most interesting times.

Covid-19 turned our lives upside down bringing lockdowns and closures, uncertainty and anxiety; demanding change, creativity and new ways of thinking about the way we live.

Everyone has been impacted by this pandemic, and we all have stories to tell. Stories that deserve to be explored, recorded, and shared because nothing helps us make sense of our lives and our place in the world like story, which is why we created Writing the Rollercoaster.

This project offers a way to tell your story, to make sense of everything you’ve been through, and share your experience with others.

We’re looking for stories from all age groups. A moment that made your heart soar or break, things lost and found, lessons learned about yourself, about others. Make us laugh or cry or nod our heads and say, “Yes, yes! I understand completely.”

Don’t worry if you’ve never been published or can’t remember the last time you wrote anything that wasn’t a report or a grocery list. If the story is yours to tell, we want to read it, and we’re here to help you with videos offering writing tips and tricks on this site.

Once you get started, we’re confident you’ll find that telling your story is as natural as talking to a friend, and just as important to your physical and mental well-being.

We’ll choose fifty stories to be published in a book titled Writing the Rollercoaster – Stories of riding out the pandemic. The goal is to release the book in September 2021. With luck, we’ll be able to hold a live book launch to celebrate the joy of writing and the release of what we know will be a wonderful book.

For more specifics about the project, the book, and how to submit your stories, please see the Guidelines and FAQ page. Then put your fingers on the keyboard, lower the safety bar and come write the rollercoaster with us!

Writing the Rollercoaster is made possible through a grant from the City Of Burlington’s Community Support Fund, and we are indeed grateful.

Writing the Rollercoaster is the brainchild of Lynda Simmons, a Burlington business owner, teacher and author with a long list of novels, serialized novellas and novelettes published by Penguin, Kensington, Quebecor and more. As a writing instructor at Sheridan College and Ryerson University for over twenty years, Lynda is always proud to be invited to the book launches of novels that took shape and blossomed in her classrooms. In addition, she has conducted writing workshops and appeared on author panels at libraries and writing events across the province and regularly takes part in Peer Review panels for the Writers Union.

With Writing the Rollercoaster, she hopes to use her experience in both publishing and teaching to give something lasting to the people of Burlington, the city she has called home for over thirty years.

Sylvia McNicoll has written over 35 internationally published novels for young audiences. She has given writing workshops and talks across Canada as well as in South Korea for Canada’s 150th anniversary spotlight at the Seoul International Book Fair and Colombia for a book tour of Venganza contra las moscas/Revenge on the Fly.

All set right here in Burlington, her 2017-19 Great Mistake Mystery Series (Dundurn Press) includes The Best Mistake Mystery, The Artsy Mistake Mystery,The Snake Mystery and The Diamond Mistake Mystery. The series features an anxious 12 year-old who rides his own roller coaster of emotions by counting and analyzing mistakes while walking dogs and solving mysteries. These stories have recently been translated and published in Russia.

Soon to be released in South Korea but also set in Burlington, Body Swap (Dundurn Press),winner of the 2019 Hamilton fiction award, features a 15 year-old and an 82 year-old who meet at a roller coaster in the afterlife.

Sylvia is an experienced arts educator, judge and selector of stories for Canadian Children’s Book Centre, CANSCAIP, as well as Arthur Ellis and many libraries and schools. For more about Sylvia, visit her website at www.sylviamcnicoll.com

Strange New World
A flu named The Covid invaded
Round the world it was thoroughly hated
Changing theatre and sports
Holidays at resorts
And the ways that we met and we dated

by Lynda Simmons

The book lives!

On September 11, 2020 we held an in-person launch to celebrate the release of Writing the Rollercoaster. Because of the overwhelming interest by the authors, we held two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The sky was blue, the sun shone and the enhanced ventilation we ordered arrived on a good stiff breeze.

A fabulous time was had by all as you can tell by the smiles in the pics. Afterward, the book was made available free of charge at local libraries, Burlington Mall Guest Services and Different Drummer books.

The response and demand for the book has outstripped anything we imagined. Thanks to the generous support of our major corporate donor, 600 more copies made their way into the community. A Gofundme to print more was launched on November 1, 2021 with a goal to print as many more copies as possible and have them out in time for Christmas. By November 30, we had raised $5,400.00 and 800 more copies are now available at the following distribution points:

All branches of Burlington Public Libraries
Burks Falls Public Library, Burks Falls, Ontario
Burlington Centre, Guest Services Desk, 777 Guelph Line, Burlington
Different Drummer Books, 513 Locust Street, Burlington
Fortinos Supermarket, Appleby Line and Dundas Street, Burlington
Fortinos Supermarket, New Street and Appleby Line, Burlington
From the Attic Interiors, 48 Grand River Street N, Paris, Ontario

This print run will be the last. Once the books are gone, they’re gone, so get one while you can!

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the businesses and institutions that supported this project through donations, distribution or both. Writing the Rollercoaster could not have made it into so many hands in the community and beyond without you.

Burlington Public Library
Burks Falls Public Library, Burks Falls
Burlington Centre, Burlington
Different Drummer Books, Burlington
Fortinos Supermarket, Appleby and Dundas, Burlington
Fortinos Supermarket New and Appleby, Burlington
From the Attic Interiors, Paris Ontario
W.H. Kingsmill Ltd., Burlington

Updates

A PDF copy of Writing the Rollercoaster is available here. Just click the link and enjoy! If you have any difficulty, please send an email to writingtherollercoaster@bell.net

A PDF copy of the Table of Contents is available here. Just click the link and print.

We hope you enjoy the book!

Cheers,

Lynda

FAQ

Who is Bluefoot Press? Bluefoot is a small Canadian publisher located in Burlington, Ontario.

Is Bluefoot publishing Writing the Rollercoaster? Yes, and is proud to be part of the project. Like the bird of the same name, Bluefoot prefers to keep a low profile, so all information about the book will be found here on the Writing the Rollercoaster website.

How many books were printed? Initially, 250 copies of the book were printed as part of the grant agreement with the Burlington Community Support Fund.
Two subsequent printings were funded by a generous business donor.
The final printing was funded by a Gofundme campaign.

Will there be an e-book? Yes. A PDF version of the book is available for download on this website for one year.

What about copyright? The authors retain the rights to their stories. Bluefoot will ask for first rights only for the printed book, and one year for the electronic copy.

Where will I be able to find a copy of the book? There will be distribution sites all over the city. The details are posted on the website. Please be aware that there will be no subsequent print runs of Writing the Rollercoaster.

Are the books free? Absolutely, with love from Writing the Rollercoaster and Bluefoot Press.

Tip #1: Getting the Idea with Sylvia McNicoll

Tip #2: Taking Control with Lynda Simmons

Tip #3: Developing Your Idea with Sylvia McNicoll

Tip #4: Finding Time with Lynda Simmons

Tip #5: Creating Scenes with Sylvia McNicoll

Tip #6: Reading for Writing, with Lynda Simmons

We hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and we look forward to reading your story!

January 11, 2021

Thrilled to be interviewed by Susan Hay on Making a Difference, Global TV. It certainly made a difference to us!

January 13, 2021

Shout out to Stephen Hurley for having Sylvia and me on Hurley In The Morning to talk about Writing the Rollercoaster. The support is greatly appreciated!

Have a listen here:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/43096480

January 22, 2021

Thank you to Kathy Yanchus at the Burlington Post for her piece in the Friday paper. https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/10307690-burlington-author-looking-for-your-covid-19-pandemic-stories/

January 30, 2021

Thank you to Jeff Mahoney and the Hamilton Spectator for featuring Writing the Rollercoaster in the Saturday edition! https://bit.ly/3tKR8RR