Lost on the Prairie – A Blast From the Past

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about what’s been happening with my novel Lost on the Prairie. More than a year after it was published there are still lots of copies being sold and my editor mentioned in our last phone call they are considering another print run.

I am so grateful to my publisher Heritage House who continues to promote my book on social media with unique graphics like this one

I have to pinch myself sometimes when I consider the idea that thousands of copies of my book are out there in the world and my publisher thinks it has a strong enough future to publish more.

I am always excited to hear from people who are just discovering the book and reading it for the first time.

I was out for a walk with my son and his family when a man popped out of a house we went by to tell me he had just finished reading Lost on the Prairie to his son and daughter. My novel had been a gift to his children from their grandmother and when he saw me walking by he wanted to let me know they had really enjoyed the book. I still get a thrill from encounters like that.

I know one of the reasons my book has experienced a surge in sales is because of my nomination for the Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award. (MYRCA) This has meant that many community libraries and school libraries have purchased my novel. Lots of schools have MYRCA book clubs and they’ve ordered copies of Lost on the Prairie for kids to read.

I noticed in recent MYRCA advertising they’ve put the 2023 nominees into groups and mine is in the Blasts From the Past category. I am thrilled to be featured together with Leslie Gentile’s book Elvis, Me and the Lemonade Stand Summer. I LOVED her novel and wrote a review of it a couple of months ago.

This summer I walked into the McNally Robinson Booksellers branch at the Forks to buy a copy of my friend Jodi Carmichael’s new book The U-nique Lou Fox. Jodi is in my writing group and I have written a post about her latest novel which will launch at McNally Robinson Booksellers on September 28th.

Later looking at my photos I realized a book by another member of my writing group was there too, Gabriele Goldstone’s Tainted Amber. Three members of our writing group all displayed together on the same shelf! Marvellous. My book would never have been published without the help of my writers’ group.

Thanks to Teacher Librarian Mrs Dutka and Library Technician Miss Brydges at Highbury School in the Louis Riel School Division for creating this fabulous MYRCA bulletin board that includes Lost on the Prairie.

I’ve been a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators since 2014 but have always been listed as only an associate member because I didn’t have a published book to my name. It was kind of thrilling to log on to the site recently and see that I am now listed as a ‘full member.’

My brother-in-law is outside the James Bay Library in Victoria letting me know they have a copy of my book on their shelves.

However, family stories related to Lost on the Prairie are the ones that never fail to make me tear up.

Like when my daughter-in-law told me she had been at the library with our granddaughter and they had stopped to look at Grandma’s book on display in the children’s area.

Or when my son a school principal and teacher in Saskatchewan sent a text to let me know he’s ordered a class set of my books so he can use it for a novel study with his grade six English class.

Or when my niece who teaches in a community just outside of Winnipeg told me when she saw her school’s librarian unpacking copies of Lost on the Prairie she said, “My auntie wrote that book and I can probably arrange for her to visit our school.”

My marvelous Auntie Louise bought five copies of my book one for each of her children and one for herself

Having Lost on the Prairie published remains an exciting thing for me. I promise I won’t blog about it forever but for now, writing these posts is a good way for me to keep track of the ongoing adventure of being a bona fide novelist.

Other posts……..

Lost on the Prairie in Australia and Saskatoon

Lost on the Prairie Arrives in Hong Kong

Lost on the Prairie in the Great Outdoors