TUESDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5 Games wrap up
FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 41
110
$
Page 13
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
‘Stop smart meters’ rally planned Wednesday in downtown Trail BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
VALERIE ROSSI PHOTO
Neighbours Darcee O’Hearn (right) and Yolanda Ridge are gearing up to host a publishing workshop in Rossland this week that will explore key factors like market research and how to deal with rejection.
Rossland authors share publishing paths BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
The daunting task of getting published has just turned a page with a publishing workshop put on by two Rossland authors. Neighbours Darcee O’Hearn and Yolanda Ridge are delving into their experiences last year – O’Hearn will touch on the benefits of taking the self-publishing route with her first book “Leonard the Larch” in her “Legends of the Forest” series while Ridge delves into the process of getting “Trouble in the Trees” recognized by Orca Book Publishers. “I’ve learned to not take anything personally in the book business because as you can see as we sit in the bookstore, we are flooded with books,” said O’Hearn. “There’s thousands and thousands of people that want to publish their books and that’s why you have to sell yourself and you have to make people think, ‘I need this book.’”
The $25 workshop held Thursday from 7-9 p.m. at Rouge Framing in the former Bank of Montreal building on Rossland’s Washington Street will explore topics to help writers take the publishing leap, including market research, crafting query letters, making the pitch, working with editors, developing a thick skin and dealing with rejection. “Originally when I started getting rejection letters from standard publishing it was devastating for me and it kind of hit my self-esteem pretty hard and even the reviews I was getting were hard to take,” said O’Hearn. But she didn’t let that break her dream of developing educational fun reads. After selling already 800 copies of her first book, O’Hearn is now pleased to announce the second in her series – “Cedric the Cedar” – is set to hit the bookshelf this fall. The picture book follows the story of a Western Red Cedar (Cedric), who’s a fire
control officer set out to save the forest but also highlights the value of natural forest fires. “We really need forest fires – it’s a way of ridding disease and it’s actually a natural occurrence that we shouldn’t always put out,” said O’Hearn, who has a degree in forestry. Beyond having the freedom of tweaking her work through self-publishing, O’Hearn found that her story hit a target audience that didn’t necessarily fit into what other publishers were seeking. The $5,000 spent on the first 1,000 books printed has already been covered by the sales she’s made – taking home about half the retail price per book. Ridge has learned that though she didn’t have to take the lead on marketing and had more time to continue writing the sequel – “Road Block” (released this spring) – profit does not come trickling in as quickly.
Waneta Plaza
A group of outspoken Greater Trail residents plan to make their voices heard on “smart meters” at a province-wide rally held outside the FortisBC building in Trail Wednesday. Sharon Noble, director of the Coalition to Stop Smart Meters, said she hopes Trail’s efforts will spread word on a process other residents of B.C. have already “unwillingly” gone through. “We – Hydro’s customers – did not have that opportunity since Hydro did not have to apply to BCUC (B.C. Utilities Commission),” said the Victoria resident. “People should take full advantage of this and head this off before it can get started.” The coalition has scheduled its rallies strategically on the same day as Pink Shirt Day, a national anti-bullying day. “The purpose of the rally is to tell people that Hydro is intimidating and bullying and it seems to be an appropriate day because Premier Christy Clark called for the Pink Shirt Day to complain about the bullying that’s going on generally in schools,” said Noble. “We support that entirely but bullying in schools and bullying people in their own homes, neither one is right.” While these meters have already been implemented in other parts of the province, FortisBC is finalizing its application to the BCUC for an
See FORTISBC, Page 3
RDKB backs moratorium BY ARNE PETRYSHEN Rossland News
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) has decided to back a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) motion that called for a moratorium on smart meters until more research is shown. The motion comes after information that the power supplier for the region district, FortisBC, had to put in an application to be authorized to install the meters. Area A Director Ali Grieve brought the resolution to the board of directors meeting last Thursday in Trail.
See FINDING, Page 3
See CONSTITUENTS, Page 3
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