‘Legend of Zelda' cast revealed, with young CBC star to play Link upcoming live-action film
Bo Bragason ('Renegade Nell,' 'The Jetty') will star alongside him as the titular Hylian princess in the film, which is slated for release on May 7, 2027.
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CBC
9 hours ago
- CBC
Cambridge author Melanie Stevenson talks about blending faith and fiction in her writing
Cambridge author Melanie Stevenson published her first book, One More Tomorrow, in September 2019 after years of writing just for herself. The book garnered praise and earned multiple awards, including best new Canadian author at the 2020 Word Guild Awards. Here most recent work is a novella that appeared in a Christmas story collection last all fall. While she's known for romance, Stevenson also writes devotional books, non-fiction, poetry and articles. Stevenson spoke with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's Josette Lafleur on The Morning Edition about the process of switching between genres and how faith plays a role in her writing. Audio of this interview appears at the bottom of this page. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Josette Lafleur: So your most recent story is Where My Heart Belongs. It's in a Christmas collection called I'll Be Home. Tell us about that story. Melanie Stevenson: That story follows Christmas with Portia Ivy, who is actually trying to avoid Christmas. She's in Quebec City over the holidays. She's giving a keynote address, which she thinks has failed miserably and is leaving on a train to go back to Toronto to escape Christmas in the Bahamas. But an ice storm comes in and she actually gets stranded. It shows the story of her actually meeting this bell ringing Santa on the streets while she's slipping around in her high heels. He actually ends up being the one who quasi-rescues her for Christmas and brings her back to his family home and she ends up having to face Christmas and all that it entails. Josette Lafleur: This is written in first person, which is a little different. Why did you decide to do that? Melanie Stevenson: Well, it was the first crack I actually did at first person. I actually took a real risk in talking directly to the reader on several occasions throughout the book. So you kind of are right beside her, kind of hand holding her and she's talking to you as though you're becoming friends a bit. So it's a bit of a different approach. It takes a moment to get used to, but it's quirky. It's a romantic comedy. It's kind of a laugh out loud romp. It's a lot of fun, a nice light read. Josette Lafleur: You've also written One More Tomorrow, which is a novel. What's that one about? Melanie Stevenson: That one was actually my first book. I wrote that at the age of 31 when my kids were little and then waited to publish it. It follows about a 10-year span in the life of Katie Banks. She's an aspiring artist and we see her first at her first year of university. She has basically put up walls. She's been hurt and she said, you know, I'm not letting love in. So she's keeping her distance. Justin Burke comes into the picture and sort of knocks at her defences and she ends up leaving for Paris to study abroad and places some much needed distance. She ends up returning to Cambridge and she reunites with her first love. A bit of tragedy happens in that part of the story. In about a 10-year span we see her as an established artist and we find out who she ends up with. Josette Lafleur: You also have a book that's very different called Soul Focus, which is a devotional book. Can you explain what that book is about and how people can use it? Melanie Stevenson: It's sort of 31 days of daily readings that will help you. It's catered to if you're struggling or you're going through a hard time. These are daily encouragements that you would read. It has a verse and then a little blessing at the end to sort of uplift you for the day if you're struggling through certain things. Josette Lafleur: Your books are all published by a Christian publisher. What role does faith play in your writing? Melanie Stevenson: It threads throughout all of my writing. I write a blog and I also write magazine articles and all of them have a faith element to encourage you in your walk with God. One More Tomorrow is a bit more overt and Where My Heart Belongs is a little lighter. She's not a believer until a certain portion in the book. Soul Focus is definitely to encourage you and your faith. Josette Lafleur: What happens in your brain when you're writing all of these different things? Melanie Stevenson: I find that writing articles, the blogs and the devotionals are very short. So what it does is it makes you tighten up your writing. Even in a book you're still always like, is this driving the plot? Is this moving along? Is this on the topic that I'm dealing with in this chapter? So it all kind of overlaps and helps each other. Josette Lafleur: You also write poetry, but you haven't published it. What pushes you to write so much? Melanie Stevenson: I started writing when I was young. I spent copious amounts of time in my room doing all the arts. So I just naturally started writing poems, especially throughout high school and university. I have binders of poetry. It's just the beauty of words, especially poetry. I find that you have to choose the exact word and just the beauty and succinctness that poetry offers. It translates into my fiction because I find that as you write sentences it can be really quite literary and poetic, depending on what you're writing. Josette Lafleur: Are there plans to publish a poetry book? Melanie Stevenson: Not at this point. Sometimes I'll take a photo and put the poetry to it online. That's as far as I've gone with that. Josette Lafleur: Most people might see writing as a pretty solitary experience, but you actually have a group of author friends and you guys all support each other. Tell me about what it means to have that kind of a connection with other authors? Melanie Stevenson: It's massive. The actual act of writing is very solitary. I have this group, we call ourselves the Fab Four, and we get together several times a year. We'll go to a cottage retreat and we'll just write, we'll share our work and we'll brainstorm. This has been invaluable for me. These relationships are incredible. We actually wrote I'll Be Home. We're actually going to do another one this Christmas. Josette Lafleur: What is next for you aside from the Christmas release? Melanie Stevenson: I have two novels that I've written that are waiting in the wings. One is a lovely British romantic comedy that follows a fuddy duddy fellow called Oxford Dunnigan. The other is a real departure. It's telling the story of a girl who is trafficked. I have a marriage book that I'm working on. It's kind of like Soul Focus, daily readings to enrich your marriage. Soul Focus is meant to be a series. The first one was on trials, but I'll also cover forgiveness, humility and releasing control, stuff like that. All to encourage you in the difficulties or things that we struggle with in life.
Ottawa Citizen
11 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Jim Watson: This is the summer to spend your tourist dollars in Canada, eh?
Many Canadians prefer Anne of Green Gables to Donald Trump's America, when it comes to travel. Photo by TIMES & TRANSCRIPT I recently returned home from a wonderful and refreshing week in Canada's smallest province, Prince Edward Island. Everything in this beautiful part of our country is best described as quaint. From lobster dinners in church basements, to the red sandy beaches and rediscovering Anne of Green Gables, you would be hard-pressed to find a better place to visit as a tourist. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Just like Charlottetown depends on visitors and tour groups to sustain its economy, so too, does Ottawa. It is estimated that tourism is the third-largest employer here (government and Crown corporations, followed by the tech community, come in first and second). In 2023, visitors to Ottawa contributed $1.5 billion to our city's GDP. That works out to 24,570 jobs created thanks to visitors who travel here to see everything from the Parliament Buildings to our world-class festivals, to our amazing museums, galleries, restaurants, attractions and sport and cultural events. Ottawa offers something for every age and demographic. Unfortunately, more Canadians have been to Disney World than to Yukon or Nova Scotia or even our own backyard: Eastern Ontario and West Quebec. There are lots of reasons for that and some have to do with high travel costs to fly from one part of Canada to another. The United States also outspends us significantly in marketing their destinations. When I was president of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), now called Destination Canada, the City of Chicago spent more on marketing than the government of Canada through the CTC. The current trade war with our biggest external tourist customer is frustrating and unfair. But we can all play a small role to fight back and we can start by choosing to see our own country and its many marvels. The current trade war with our biggest external tourist customer is frustrating and unfair. I know our weather will be a challenge for those of us who want to escape February and its frigid climate. We are about halfway through our summer and there is still time to book a Canadian holiday either near or far. Day trips to beautiful spots in and beyond the borders of Ottawa are plentiful: the villages of Manotick or Cumberland or Merrickville or Westport, for instance. The list is endless and you'll experience small-town charm while helping the local economy. I give credit to Prime Minister Mark Carney for introducing the Canada Strong pass that offers free VIA train travel for children, deep discounts to older children and free admission to national museums and parks, among other significant discounts, making it more attractive and affordable for individuals or families to discover the beauty of our home and native land.
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
OPINION: The CBC is a bloated and unaccountable blob
The CBC/Radio Canada sign on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations building in Vancouver is pictured on May 28, 2013. Photo by Gerry Kahrmann / Postmedia Network files Remember the classic sci-fi movie The Blob, and how the blob keeps getting bigger and bigger, while oozing over everything, heedless of the screams around it? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account That's what's happening at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2023, the CBC said it was issuing layoffs and cutting costs. 'CBC/Radio-Canada … will reduce its English and French programming budgets for the next fiscal year and cut about $40 million,' CBC wrote about itself in December 2023. But its taxpayer costs went up anyway. The CBC cost taxpayers $1.3 billion in 2022-23. The CBC cost taxpayers $1.4 billion in 2023-24. Despite claims it's shrinking, the CBC's blob is getting bigger. Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation show the CBC handed out huge pay raises while doing away with bonuses. Its layers of management have also swollen to monstrous proportions. The CBC caught heat for handing out bonuses last year. It paid $18.4 million in bonuses, including $3.3 million to 45 executives for 2023-24. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Former CBC CEO Catherine Tait was grilled about the bonuses by the House Heritage Committee and on the CBC's own news program. The CBC fan group, Friends of Canadian Media, said the bonuses were 'deeply out of touch and unbefitting of our national public broadcaster.' The CBC caved and did away with the bonuses, earning praise in headlines. Not so fast. After cancelling bonuses, CBC handed out record-high pay raises of $38 million in 2024-25. The raises went to 6,295 employees for an average raise of about $6,000 each. No employees received a pay cut, according to records. These raises are much higher than raises in previous years, as the CBC spent $11.5 million on raises in 2023-24. The CBC blob is also growing bigger. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Currently, 1,831 CBC employees take a six-figure salary, costing taxpayers about $240 million, for an average salary of $131,060 for those employees. In 2015, 438 CBC employees took home six-figure salaries, costing taxpayers about $60 million. That's a 318% increase since 2015. The CBC quadrupling the size of its top payroll blob is scary enough for taxpayers, but the roles these employees play will also raise eyebrows. There's a journalist anecdote that says for every reporter working in a regular newsroom, there are about a dozen CBC managers. Documents obtained by the CTF show that the narrative checks out. The CTF asked the CBC for a list of employees paid more than $100,000 per year. The list is 65 pages long, depicting offices full of managers and support staff. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The CBC has more than 250 directors, 450 managers and 780 producers who are paid more than $100,000 per year. The CBC also employed 130 advisers, 81 analysts, 120 hosts, 80 project leads, 30 lead architects, 25 supervisors, among other positions, who were paid more than $100,000 last year, according to the access-to-information records. The CBC redacted the roles for more than 200 employees. Let's tally the CBC blob's body count so far. The state broadcaster is costing taxpayers more than $1.4 billion this year. Its new CEO, Marie-Philippe Bouchard, is paid at the same level as Tait, at about $500,000 per year. The CBC said it would cancel its bonuses but jacked up salaries. The CBC has swelled its ranks of highly paid employees by 318% since 2015. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The CBC is blacking out data on documents and refusing to tell Canadians how much it's spending on advertising. Plot twist finale: Next to nobody is watching the CBC. CBC News Network's share of prime time is 1.8%, meaning 98% of TV-viewing Canadians choose not to watch it. No CBC entertainment show cracked the Top 10 in the latest Canadian ratings. The Murdoch Mysteries, which isn't produced by the CBC, has the CBC's biggest audience with about 734,000 viewers — about 1.7% of the population. In the movie, The Blob was stopped by freezing it and dropping it in the Arctic. The CBC blob can be stopped from eating taxpayers' wallets by defunding it. Franco Terrazzano is the federal director and Kris Sims the Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA Canada
