Why Write?
Pat Cher

I've often been asked, why I write, and when did I start. The first story I remember writing was one about a cat who used a mouse's tail for a toothpick. I was in grade one or two. I liked poems, and early on wrote one about this boy who lived in the next village. Wish I had kept those, it would be fun to look at and reminisce. I started with short stories and poems and over the year has grown to include different genres.

On my computer I have a number of children's books; picture books, early reader chapter books, middle reader novels, and a story in verse. I also have an adult historical fiction, complete and ready to publish.

Over the years, I've shared these with family, but other than a few queries have not attempted to have any  published.

Last July, I sent my novel, Mi'kmaq Summer to a Canadian publisher who publishes native fiction.

My submission has yet to be acknowledged. I have emailed them requesting status, but received no response. One wonders if they are in business solely to receive the government subsidy.

Maybe they didn't like the story, but they could have responded.

It took me over ten years to write and research the story. I joined writers' groups (Writers' Village University and Critique Circle) and had it critiqued a number of times. The writers' group experience proved invaluable. I not only learned by my mistakes but by what others wrote as well.

In the past four years, I've been researching Print on Demand (POD), internet marketing, and the different avenues offered by the web for those who want to self publish. I've reached the point where I feel I'm ready to plunge in.

(In my next post, I'll be writing about the different options, and the pros and cons of each. Along the way, I'll let you know how the journey is developing. I'll also post my web site with excerpts from my stories.  I plan to be here at least twice a week. Stay tuned!)

Mi'kmaq Early Years

Mi'kmaq Early Years
Pat Cher

One of my great pleasures is researching Mi'kmaw history. Over the years, I've been awed, surprised and full of admiration for what I've found. 

Fish fascinated me. Why? The abundance of fish, and the sustenance it provided in the early days.

Here are some of the quotes I came across;

...In the middle of March, fish begin to spawn, and to come up from the sea into certain streams, often so abundantly that everything swarms with them. Any one who has not seen it could scarcely believe it. You cannot put your hand into the water, without encountering them. "

.....Biard , Jesuit Relations Volume 3. p.79.

John Cabot reported,' ".. the sea is full of fish that can be taken not only with nets but with fishing baskets. "

"From the economic viewpoint, the sea and its products were of primary importance for the Micmac, the sea providing them with possibly 90% of the food they consumed and keeping them adequately supplied for 10 of the 12 months of the year." Hoffman, "The Historical Ethnography of the Micmac of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century", 1955

" ... at night with their canoes and their torches....The Salmon or the Trout seeing the fire which shines upon the water, come wheeling around the canoe.He who is standing up has in his hand a harpoon...But sometimes the spear did not take hold.... This did not prevent them from taking ahunderd and fifty to two hundred in a night." ( Denys 'The Description and Natural History of the Coasts of North America (Acadia, Greenwood Press 1968)

"They ... do eat it new(freshly caught).... which I believe to be one of the best instrument of their health and long life." (Lescarbot, Nova Francia, p.282)

Some of the early writing also gives us a glimpse of the spirituality of the Mi'kmaq, their connection to Mother Earth, and to all she provided.

"...who know the rendezvous of every one[fish], and the time of their return, go to wait for them in good devotion to bid them welcome..."(Lescarbot, Nova Francia, p.283).

What are your favourite quotes? Why? Do you have others connected to fishing and the early
Mi’kmaq?

 Send them along, and I’ll be happy to post them.

Pat Cher, author, Mi’kmaq Song  www.mikmaqsong 

Facebook, Mi’kmaSong by Pat Cher 

Twitter @PatriciaCher1