Workshops - Events - Reviews
April 22 2012
Slide show, author reading and book signing
Main terminal - Boundary Bay Airport
Many thanks to Alpha Aviation for their hospitality and assistance with my book launch. I would like to thank Susan and Danielle for helping with the setup. Lyle, the airport manager for opening the terminal to us, and Fred for flying in from the US and attending my presentation.
The event played host to a number of Ontario Central Airline people, some who had not seen each other for 40 years. It was heart warming to see old acquaintances renwed. For those who traveled from Victoria and Schelt by ferry and from Prince Rupert by plane, thank you again.
I would also like to express my appreciation for all who bought the OCA book. My it provide hours of enjoyable reading and bring back, or create new memories.
Visit my photo album of the event HERE
November 2011 Saturday, November 5, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Starting in ArtSpace (and continuing on every Saturday in November) Quesnel author and writing instructor Ed Zaruk is offering a series of writing workshops! Workshops are $15 each or $50 for all four ($10 each for students). Drop in for one or all! Topics include: Show Don’t Tell, How to Write Dialogue, Developing Characters with Emotion and Mistakes I’ve Made Along the Way. Also on November 12th, 19th and 26th. Pease contact Nicole for more information.
ArtSpace at Books and Company
1685 3rd Avenue
Prince George, BC V2L 3G5
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Write Better 101-
This is an expanded four part workshop covering: Show Don't Tell, Dialogue, Character, and a whole host of items to produce a clean manuscript.
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Hi Folks- Presently I'm doing street markets around Vancouver Island. Aug 6 & 7 I'm at the Sooke Arts show.
Look for me at the Nanimo waterfront on Friday Aug 12 the the next day, Saturday at the Langford street market.
G'day Prince Georgeians!.png)
Continuing with our author visits, we have the pleasure of hosting Ed Zaruk for the afternoon THIS Friday May 13th! Ed, author of Altar and Throne, has just released a new book, Falklands Deadline, that he would love to talk to you about! Or, if you’d rather, Ed would love to sit down and talk about writing with you (he is an absolute wealth of knowledge) .. . . or anything at all! Ed is a wonderful man, a Books & Co. favourite and he will make Friday one heckuva day – stop by and say hello to our “Author of the Day!”
Thanks to all who showed up and especially to those of you who bought my book - ED
Workshop subjects:
Culture Bridge -
This PowerPoint presentation has been designed for high school students taking First Nations study courses. It presents an in-depth look at Canada's bush pilots during the decades from 1920 to 1960 and how they connected the Indian reservations to the rest of Canadian society.
From First Draft to Polished Print -
What do agents and editors want from your fiction writing? This hour long workshop with an open ended question period will provide the answer. Whether you are trying to be published, or just want to improve your writing skills, the information discussed will prove invaluable.
The Art of Editing - Helping high school students to edit fiction writing
Request info on workshops
Past Workshops: (click on date to see review)
March 6, 13, 20, 27 Quesnel Library- 4 week writers drop in workshop
January 28, 2010- Writing workshop FROM FIRST DRAFT TO POLISHED PRINT
University of Northern British Columbia, Learning Skills Center
Dec 10, 2009 - Writing Workshop at DP Todd Senior Secondary School
Altar and Throne reviews:
"It hit so close to home that, at about 3/4's of the way through, I said to my wife
that I thought this was the best book I had ever read."
Bob Mitchell - retired B.C. bush pilot and airline captain
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
Through storyteller eyes
By Annie Gallant
Published: November 04, 2008 5:00 PM
Almost 20 years ago, Ed Zaruk gave up his expensive hobbies and informed his wife Marian he was going to be a writer. Since he always loved reading, Zaruk figured a couple of pencils and a few sheets of paper would be his investment. But his first novel, which now lays in a drawer, unpublished, took 10 years to complete.
“Writing is the hardest work I’ve ever done,” Zaruk said.
A comfy couch in a hotel lobby, yellow lined pad of paper and a few free hours are all he needs to write.
“I drive a lot in my regular job,” Zaruk said. “That’s where I work out my ideas.”
That first manuscript was painstakingly perused by Marian where spelling, grammar and structure were scrutinized.
“I have a stack of rejection letters for that novel,” Zaruk said. He wrote what he loved, a thriller novel.
However, what possibly is the most influential exercise during that process was the couple began attending writers conferences, including the prestigious conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. where they rubbed shoulders and picked the brains of some of North America’s best novelists. Many of which were women.
“I started reading women authors and switched from plot driven work to character development,” he said. “It was totally out of my genre.”
A chance reading of a true story about a pilot who flew a Norseman bush plane, carrying Indian children to residential schools, sent Zaruk on a journey to a completely different world.
On their way to Jackson Hole in 2004, Ed waited anxiously for his wife to finish reading what he had been working on for six months.
“I was prepared to put it in the drawer with the other three manuscripts,” he said.
“She loved it.”
But Zaruk was far from finished, the subject matter was controversial, the character development and relationships complex. The novel was taking on a life of its own and Zaruk followed its lead.
Wanting to set the right foundation for this body of work, research played a big part in his writing, digging for the authentic details about a lifestyle almost gone. Zaruk found through the residential school system and urbanization of First Nations people, much of the Native culture was lost.
His first chapter, where white boy Ted meets Ojibway Native Jack, took three months to develop. “I wanted to portray the universal language of children at play,” Zaruk said. “It took a long time.”
Altar and Throne took almost two years to complete.
Set in Kenora, Ont., Zaruk developed the Native personalities based on his personal experience there as an aviation mechanic, stories from his mother who lived around Native communities before residential schools and his research.
Ed and Marian didn’t always agree on how the story developed. In fact, his wife demanded one very tragic scene be removed, but Zaruk remained firm. “I go where the characters take me,” he said. “The characters are my friends. That scene had to remain in the story.”
Altar and Throne carries the reader through the challenging times when the Canadian government, in partnership with the church, removed Native children from their historical and cultural roots and placed them in the hands of sometimes corrupt and cruel individuals. Zaruk weaves his story based on fictional, but authentic characters in an emotionally gripping tale where friendships and family relationships are tested, and sometimes fail.
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