Lois Donovan

BIOGRAPHY

Lois has been an avid reader and writer for as long as she can remember. When an elementary teacher read her mystery story to the class, she decided that one day she would become an author. On her way to becoming an author Lois has had an extensive teaching career in which she has been a classroom teacher and a music specialist.

Lois has lived in various towns and cities in Canada including the Maritime provinces, Quebec and the Prairies. This has sparked her passion for making Canada's past come alive for young people. School audiences in Calgary, Tomahawk, Edmonton, Nova Scotia and Toronto have been enthusiastic about the interactive, informative author talks.  Audiences usually range from Grade 4 to Grade 7. She has participated in many conferences and literary events including: Calgary City Teachers' Convention , Calgary Young Writers' Conference, TaleBlazers (Young Alberta Book Society), Story Avenue  (Edmonton), Hackmatack Tour through Nova Scotia including Hackmatack Award Ceremony, Word on the Street (Calgary) and Ontario Library Association Super Conference (Toronto).
Currently, Lois teaches and writes in Calgary, Alberta. She is married and has an adult son and pre-school daughter.

For author bookings you may use the following link - writestuff@loisdonovan.com

When sixteen-year-old Sarah from Toronto learns that she is to spend the summer with her grandparents in Nova Scotia, she is convinced that it will be the most tedious summer ever. She gets off to a rough start when she meets Luke, the nephew of her grandmother’s friend, and one unfortunate event leads to another. Just when she thinks her summer cannot get much worse, she finds herself transported to Acadia in 1755. Here she meets Anne and learns much about the Acadian culture and history and the Acadians' relations with the Mi’kmac people. She also experiences the warmth she has always wanted of a closely knit family. When Sarah realizes that the peace-loving Acadians are about to be torn from their homes and banished to distant shores, she is desperate to find a way to help them. Forced to abandon her pampered, stylish lifestyle, Sarah uncovers a strength and determination she did not know she possessed. Although Sarah has to come to terms with the fact that "you can’t change history," she is willing to risk her life to do everything in her power to help her Acadian family, and finds a surprising ally in Luke. Winds of L’Acadie, a historical novel for readers ten and up, reveals a painful part of Canadian history through the relationship of two young women from different centuries.

AWARDS

Winds of L'Acadie is a finalist for the 2009/2010 Golden Eagle Book Award (Alberta)

Winds of L'Acadie was a finalist for the 2008/2009 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award!

Winds of L'Acadie has been selected by the Canadian Children's Book Centre as a

"Best Book for Kids and Teens 2008"

Winds of L'Acadie is one of the novels that is included in the list of literature of the fantastic written by Canadians. Only those which are novels or novel-length collections are eligible for the Sunburst Award.

PRESENTATION TOPICS INCLUDE:
* Acadian History including daily life, the deportation and beyond. The grade 2 presentation includes pictures of Meteghan, N.S.
* Alberta Heroes of the 1920's (Wop May, The Famous Five, The Grads women's basketball team)
* The Writing Process and the Roller Coaster ride to publication
* Time Traveller’s Tips
* Creating Quirky Characters – How to create memorable characters
* Keys to Successful Writing - a workshop
* Taming the Muse – pre-writing activities to inspire and motivate even the most reluctant writer
Cost: $250.00/half day $400.00/full day (ask about school discount)

MEMBERSHIPS
CANSCAIP – Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers
YABS – Young Alberta Book Society
Writer’s Guild of Alberta

Release Date: May, 2007

ISBN-10: 1-55380-047-8

ISBN-13: 978-1-55380-047-7

YA fiction, ages 10 and up

Winds of L'Acadie and This Web Site is under Copyright © 2008 Lois Donovan