Ottawa Author Brenda Chapman plays Bad Girl for Bloody Words X

Ottawa, ON- For those interested in murder, thrillers, bad girls, and yes, even forensic dentistry, the Bloody Words X Mystery Conference will be just their cup of tea. Canadian and U.S Mystery authors are converging on Toronto to celebrate 10 years of top notch mystery books and their authors.

 The conference, being held May 28-30 at the Hilton in downtown Toronto, has attracted special guests Giles Blunt, Deon Mayer and the Master of Ceremonies, Lynwood Barclay. Ottawa author Brenda Chapman will be sitting on the Bad Girls panel to discuss the characters in her new book In Winter’s Grip.

 “The character of my book, Maja, is a female protagonist who really pushes boundaries. That’s why I was thrilled to be asked to be part of the Bad Girl panel. It’s a chance to talk about what really makes women tick and how their roles in mysteries are gaining strength in the genre,” says Chapman, whose mystery In Winter’s Grip from RendezVous Crime is due out this September.

Brenda is no stranger to mystery conferences, and attends at least a few each year both in Canada and the U.S. She is the author of four books in the Jennifer Bannon mystery series for children. In Winter’s Grip is her first adult mystery and is already garnering accolades from other authors in her genre.

 “It is exciting to be part of the Canadian mystery writing scene during a period when our work is gaining national and international prominence,” says Chapman.

For more information about Brenda and her books visit: www.brendachapman.ca
For more information on the Bloody Words Conference X visit: http://www.bloodywords2010.com/

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To book an interview please contact:
Rachel Sentes -Publicist
 780-270-1211   rachel@gal-fridaypublicity.com                                 

Child Emergency Fund- and Eroding Canadian Values

 This morning my sister showed me a great site- scamorama.com. Pretty cool stuff with scammers and the fun people have with them. Twenty minutes after reading that site I was contacted by a Charity that was collecting money to give to children so that no child in Alberta would go hungry. It sounded good, but I failed to catch the name of the charity, and indeed they never mentioned it. I thought it was interesting and after being handed over to a secure line ( so I could give them a credit card if needed), I asked them exactly to what charity would I be donating? Who were they? The man replied: The Children's Emergency Protection Fund. And he gave me a website to check- www.childemergency.ca- so I punched that in and entered another site.

Turns out that this charity falls under a larger group called the Institute for Canadian Values. 
Immediately I told the man that I really was going to have to think about donating, because there was a lot on that website that I wasn't sure I was in agreement with. He was fine with that and said he would send me out a package if I reconsidered. 
The Institute for Canadian Values is located at:
http://www.canadianvalues.ca/CEPF/index.html

At first glance everything that this group is offering sounds really good.
For the CEPF- it reads:
"The Children's Emergency Protection Fund (CEPF) is a program of the Canada Christian College / Institute for Canadian Values, a federally incorporated non-profit organization and a registered Canadian charity. CEPF partners with programs to help children in serious need across Canada. We believe in trying to help any child in extreme need regardless of race, religion, language or culture. CEPF is dedicated to protect children from hunger, poverty, and sexual abuse. CEPF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, and foundations."  

It sounds just fine. But if you look a little more closely at the other aspects of the website, I found a few sections that didn't sit well with me.
Here's what the site actually supports: 


What has become of our democracy? Same Sex Marriage - Definition Of The Family - Polygamy - Morality - Child Pornography - Prostitution - Sex Houses - Sex Tourism - Abortion - G20 - Global Warming Scam - Freedom Of Religion - Freedom Of Expression - Freedom Of The Press - Judges Now Lawmakers Freedom is the most valuable right a government can ensure. Tragically a paradigm shift has occurred in western nations and with every hit of the judge’s gavel our freedoms are being eroded.

HMMM.....
So tell me, what is the difference between scammers in Nigeria and this type of subtle yet disguised request for money?


You decide. I have.

Small Business Owners face less Stress- Really?

So this was in the Toronto Star today:

A recent survey conducted by Desjardins Financial Security reveals that while self-employed Canadians tend to have more debt than the average Canadian employee, this is having limited effect on their stress and work levels during this recession. A survey of small business owners found:

5 per cent of Canadians have more than $50,000 of debt compared with 21 per cent of self-employed Canadians who have more than $50,000 of debt.
54 per cent of self-employed said they didn't have enough disability coverage.
80 per cent said they were not familiar with business insurance.
56 per cent of self-employed Canadians feel their stress level is higher now compared to a year ago.
44 per cent of self-employed Canadians feel it is harder to be competitive now compared to the start of the recession.
72% of self-employed Canadians have not felt the need to work significantly more hours since the start of the recession.

I agree with the debt part. Fortunately I don't have anywhere near that amount- cross your fingers!
I completely agree with the disability coverage, and in fact until last week I had never even considered disability ( One too many trips over the marrow bones and slamming my finger in my door- convinced me). Now I'll be signing up for it!
I am familiar with business insurance, and as soon as I step out of the freelance business I will be looking at that for sure!
So where does the less stress come in? How is there less stress if 56% feel more stress now than a year ago?
I think it's always hard to be competitive when you run your own business!
And I completely disagree with the 72% have not felt the need to put in more hours. HELLO? Did they ask me what I thought? No!
As a small business I am averaging about 12-13 hours a day. That is NOT less hours.
So why do I have my own business? Because I get to do what I love, and duck out for lunch whenever I like!!