Fairy Fiction an Environmental Tale

Fairy fiction an environmental tale – Writer draws inspiration for novel from Lake Winnipeg

Article written by Danielle DaSilva – News Reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press (Sou’wester)

Book Launch at McNally Robinson’s in Winnpeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Local writer Mary Mikawoz’s new novel transports young readers into a world of fairies, magical time travel, and environmental responsibility.

The Waverley Heights resident has penned Northern Lake Adventures: The Encounter, a 202 page fantasy-fiction story for 10 to 14-year-olds.

The inspiration for the self-published novel comes from Mikawoz’s personal experience building the family cottage off of Lake Winnipeg.

“The creative process was physically building our cottage, but also we were thinking about how we were impacting the environment. So that’s one of the messages in this book, the impact of people in the environment,” Mikawoz said.

The story follows a set of triplets as they realize how their actions are affecting the fairies that also inhabit the land. The narrative is told from three perspectives — that of the triplets, the fairies, and the narrator — and uses both first and third-person voice.

Along with fairies, the characters also encounter time portals that transport them to the past where they meet Vikings and other historical figures.

“I think that’s cool because the kids can travel anywhere in time and space and also the lessons they can learn along the way,” she said.

Mikawoz is also a substitute teacher in the Pembina Trails School Division and noticed some of the content she encountered in the classroom was not engaging. That got her thinking about telling a story that would get students interested in history and geography.

“I was teaching Grade 5 in one of the school divisions and we were reading a book in the classroom and I kept reading and I kept thinking I could write better than this and that was really my inspiration,” Mikawoz said. “I thought the material that we were reading in the classroom was inadequate and I thought I could write something that kids were more interested in and at the same time learn something.”

Mikawoz has also learned a bit about the publishing industry along the way. She single-handedly designed the book and the illustrations. The images were drawn by hand and then scanned into the computer where Mikawoz touched up the pictures with Adobe Illustrator.

She also had to search out an appropriate self-publishing company to get the hard copies printed.

She said it was quite the process and required countless hours, but made the decision to move forward.

“If you’re focused on spending a lot of time doing it you can’t do other things, so I just took the risk and did it,” she said.

Mikawoz plans to write a series of Northern Lake Adventure novels and has already started the second instalment.

To pick up a copy of Mikawoz’s book you can go to McNally Robinson Booksellers at 1120 Grant Ave., where it sells for $12 or get a digital copy for $2.99 in the iBooks store.

Northern Lake Adventures – The Encounter

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The Top Ten Things Dead People Want to Tell You

The top en things dead people want to tell you.

Book: “The Top Ten Things Dead People Want to Tell” by Mike Dooley

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

I start off this review by mentioning what Mike Dooley signficantly writes in the Epilogue: “Some of what I shared might be extremely offensive to those who are not ready (or don’t want) to hear it.” Mike indicates that what he has written about may be hard for some people to see, hear and acknowledge.

Mike normally writes about the Law of Attraction where “Thoughts become Things” or TBT. He was a teacher on “The Secret” produced by Rhonda Byrnes. He is able to present how our thoughts plus actions in a positive direction will help manifest our desires. Our vibe is very important in how we end up getting what we want in life.

Mike covers ten things that dead people would want you to know. They are:

1. We’re not dead
2. There’s no such thing as a devil or hell
3. We were ready
4. You’re not ready
5. We’re sorry for any pain we caused
6. Your dreams really can come true
7. “Heaven” is really going to blow your mind!
8. Life is more than fair
9. Your “old” pets are crazy as ever
10. Love is the way; truth is the path

Life is a school and we are here to learn. Mike Dooley speaks of reincarnation and the fact that most of have lived many times. He explains some of the victimization problems as to very young souls who have most likely not lived many lifetimes and so are scared and deal with anger and other hostile emotions. He indicates that life is fair because we do attract absolutely every experience to us although he does try to deal with the “unfairness” of being a victim. However, he says that love is the ultimate goal and that love is in everybody and everything. He believes that initially people have the right intention of being good but that some people get lost or misdirected.

Mike supports his beliefs based on a number of books that he has read which he included in a recommended reading list at the back of the book. I would recommend the books of Dr. Michael Newton who is a hypnotherapist and has regressed people to in between lives. His website is here: http://newtoninstitute.org/ The interesting point is that despite different people’s religious and cultural references, their view of “heaven” is very close to one another. Mike seems to discuss some of the points that Dr. Michael Newton also speaks of.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I received the book from Hay House for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.