“A Day in the LIfe” with Toronto author Yvonne Blackwood

May 30, 2018 Joel Levy Artist Profiles, Arts

Yvonne Blackwood is an award-winning short story writer, author and editor who lives in Richmond Hill. No one was more surprised about going from banker to author than the author herself. While still working full-time as a bank manager she embarked on a trip to West Africa. The urging from friends to share her experience resulted in her penning her first book, Into Africa A Personal Journey, in 2000. Fast forward years later to an encounter with squirrels in a city park and the joy of grandchildren, resulting in the authoring of three children’s books in The Nosey Charlie Adventure series. The stories are as delightful and engaging as the author. The books are terrific for young readers and the young at heart.

Ms. Blackwood is a world traveller and we have done some trips together―she’s fun to travel with. I admire her for her zest for life and knowledge. After retiring from banking she returned to university to do a major in English. She is a mother of two and grandmother of four.

-By Donna Benjamin, Cousin

Yvonne Blackwood - Posing with my first children’s picture book, Nosey Charlie Comes To Town — Posing with my first children’s picture book, Nosey Charlie Comes To Town

YS Falls, Jamaica: a get-away is important to get rejuvenated. Jamaica is the country for the setting of my upcoming novel

Quiet reading in my bedroom: authors read more than they write and a comfortable relaxed spot is key to do it.

Book Signing: Promoting one’s books is never done. Here I’m doing a signing at Chapters, Scarborough.

Admiring ice on the trees: One good thing about being a writer you can admire Mother Nature’s deeds from indoors!

A lovely view of the wet lands behind my house. It’s a part of the Oak Ridges Moraine and I enjoy the view in the summer and love to watch the geese frolic there.

Book Reading: Little Jessie reads Nosey Charlie Goes to Court during March break and enjoys it immensely

Yvonne Blackwood - Sitting at my desk in my office writing a story. I like to write my thoughts with a pen first, then I type them. — Sitting at my desk in my office writing a story. I like to write my thoughts with a pen first, then I type them.

What ‘hood are you in?

I live in a quiet house in Oak Ridges that backs on to a part of the moraine. The postage-stamp backyard has a deck where I love to lounge and watch a gaggle of geese frolic in spring, summer and fall. I occasionally enjoy the full moon in summers while the fire pit burns. I do some writing here also.

What do you do?

I write adult and children’s books, article for magazines and newspapers, book reviews, and I edit peoples’ works. I spend quality time with family and friends.

What are you currently working on?

In addition to actively promoting my children’s books, I have written a fourth book in the Nosey Charlie Adventure series and am waiting on the illustrator to complete his work. I am also editing (final) a novel―set in rural Jamaica in the late 1950s, it’s an intriguing saga about the Moreland family, about country living, murder, romance, and how a matriarch’s ambition leads her precious daughter to make a bad decision which affects their lives forever.

Where can we find your work?

https://www.amazon.com/author/write1

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/790872

http://www.yvonneblackwood.com

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/search?Query=nosey+charlie+comes+to+town

http://www.facebook.com/Yvonne.blackwood.92