Bl4 Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 20, 1991. Local author’s work published in international collection by Harriett Fjaagesund Local author Ruby McCreight . is becoming something of a ce- lebrity these days. Her latest en- deavor, a short story for child- ren entitled A Smile For Christ- mas, was published in the Seedl- ' ing Series Short Story Interna- tional publication. McCreight also received congratulations from. former cabinet minister Grace McCarthy. The 10 best stories from nine different countries were chosen, with McCreight’s story represen- ting Canada. Short Story Inter- national has published several of her works over the years. McCreight began her writing career after suffering deafness at age 19. She eventually had an operation to restore some of her hearing but McCreight explains that even though her writing wasn’t very successful in those early years, it helped ease some of the loneliness she felt. She didn’t take her writing seriously until after arriving in Canada from England as a war bride in 1946. Her husband bought her a secondhand type- writer, and after teaching herself how to type, she joined a writing club by mail. They encouraged her to continue writing, even publishing a few of her stories in their yearbook. She joined other writing clubs, scanned the pages of newsletters sent out by different organizations and clubs, wrote stories and circulated them on a regular basis. As soon as one story came back from a publish- er, she mailed it out again to another. started piling up, and many times she gave up and quit, but McCreight says something al- ways drove her back for one more try. For awhile she dabbled in poetry, but it wasn’t until she began taking in foster children that she finally found: her ‘‘writing voice’’. The more she studied her young charges, the The rejection slips _more she knew she wanted to write. stories for children. In 1978 she was finally published, but realizing her writing needed more polishing, she took a writer’s course through Writer’s Digest School. She entered a writing contest through Writer’s Digest, and of the 5,000 stories entered, Mc- Creight’s story came in fiftieth, which she says was very encour- aging. McCreight feels that slowly but surely her work is becoming more and more accepted, and that the long haul has been well . worth the effort. And she has sound advice to offer future hopefuls: “Don’t sell all your rights; that’s what I did with my first story because I didn’t know bet- ter. A year later that story made book of the year, but I couldn’t get my rights back because the publishing company had folded. 1 could have been collecting © royalties all these years! ‘It’s a very, very competitive market. Don’t give up, keep writing. Some of my stories come back eight or 10 times before being accepted, and some never do make it, so you have to keep at it, keep writing. You have to find your own voice, what interests you. A publisher once told me to write about scary monsters because that’s what children want, but all my monsters are good ones. I prefer real-life stories that children can learn from. ‘There's lots of ways to im- prove your writing skills and earn a few extra dollars. I’ve entered all different kinds of writing contests through news- papers, magazines, and books. As an example, I won $50 for . placing an eight-word caption under a photograph in a newspaper contest. McCreight still enjoys writing poetry occasionally, and in fact has had two or three small pieces accepted for publication (they Thornhill — Neighbourhood Pub Crib Night Every Tuesday evening mn MINTO Remember our SUNDAY BRUNCHES J am. - 3 p.m. Fine, homestyle cooking 3 Thornhill Neighbourhood Pub 2387 Thornhill St, Terrace phone 638-8404 6 : op . . Sing your ‘way | _ to the top of the charts are not on the market yet). She Come out to Karaoke Night and sing along has also written her autobiog- with the lyrics as they appear on video. raphy about coming to Canada ey as a war bride, but says publish- ers want big names for autobiographies, like actors and actresses. Although she prefers writing short stories for children, Mc- Creight broke away from the mold and wrote a full-length fic- tion novel, a murder mystery based on an actual case in Eng- land. She’s still waiting to hear from the publisher. ‘‘I just hope I can make it big someday and then I can go home,’”’ McCreight says with a laugh. Sundays 8 - 12 midnight & Thursdays 9 p.m. - 1:00 a.m Join the chorus at George’s Pub! Northern Motor Inn, 3086 Hwy 16 E., Terrace phone 635-6375 Northwest Arts and Entertainment Calendar — cee R.E.M. Lee Theatre ¢Until March 23 — Pacific Northwest Music Festival “April 14 — Chinese Magic Circus . *April 18, 19 and 20 — Skeena Zone Drama Festival McColl Playhouse ye ‘March 21, 22 and 23 — “Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon Terrace Community Band ‘April 13 — Cabaret at the Elks Hail. Tickets at Sight and Sound/from band members - | Terrace and District Multicultural Association “April 6 — International Potluck Dinner at the Arena Banquet Room The Terrace Inn s *Gigi’s — The band "Gunner" Oy, *Augie’s — Lee Nicholson "of the Love Boat cruises" on piano. so Northern Motor Inn = «George’s Pub — "Loose Change" March 18 — 30 Dg | — "Bud Country Talent Search" March 23, April 6 — 5:30 p.m. - Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 13 OT *March 22 and 23 — "Rocky Tops" «March 23 — Spring Dinner and.Dance Thornhill Neighbourhood Pub Every Tuesday evening — Crib Night Kitimat Centennial Museum Until Apr. 6 — Kitimat Artists 1991 Os EIS Shi Se *April 10 until May 4 — INSIGHTS '91, a showcase of dynamic art by young artists of Kitimat | 7 Mount Elizabeth Theatre, Kitimat «March 26, 8 p.m. — Kitty Wells, Johnny Wright, Bobby Wright and the Tennessee Mountain Boys “April 12, 7:30 p.m. — Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats and company *April 13, 8 p.m. — Mrs. Bach Show with Mary Lou Fallis "a talk show with a difference" Prince Rupert Performing Arts Theatre *April 4, 5 and’ 6 — Chekov's "The Brute" Harbour Theatre Zone Festival entries “April 13, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. — Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats and Magicians of Taipei This Column Sponsored By: