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Judith Millar: A writer of short stories, essays, poems and song lyrics, Judith
is widely published, and has won awards for her creative writing in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Some
of her humorous stories have been produced on CD, Librarian-ITIS. Her children’s song lyrics
are published on performing artist/educator RONNO’s many CDs. She is a frequent reader at spoken-word
events, including Nanaimo’s WordStorm. A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, Judith is a member
of the BC Federation of Writers and SOCAN. A former corporate communications manager, she moved to
Nanaimo, BC from Kitchener, Ontario in 2007.
Website.
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I write to make myself – and, I hope, my reader – laugh. Or at least smile. To lift anyone’s spirits, however briefly, is to give a gift.
Sometimes a great opening line falls into my lap or onto my keyboard. A whole story can evolve from that one intriguing line. I like writing about oddball characters. Sometimes I write with gentle humour; other times, I write with tongue firmly planted in cheek. I love to exaggerate, flirt with the outrageous, and supply a twist at the end.
Erma Bombeck once said, “Writing humour is 50 times harder than writing anything else.” I write both serious and humorous pieces, and I’m not sure about the “50 times” harder part, but I am sure that writing humour is hard work. It is immensely satisfying work, though, when it succeeds. I know I have succeeded when I hear someone laugh during a reading. Or when an editor sends me money. If you like my stories, by all means, send money.
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I live in Deerwood, a 55+ retirement community on the outskirts of Nanaimo, with my husband, Randy, and my little dog, Biker. (Biker is an “honorary member” of the Easy Writers – due to his name, and the fact that he owns his very own leather biker jacket! )
Like many of our neighbours, we “downsized” in order to have a smaller property and home to care for – and more time to do the things we enjoy. We can hear sheep bleating just outside our back gate, and the deer and rabbits wander freely at dusk (and eat our flowers!). Randy enjoys kayaking in the nearby ocean and we both enjoy socializing with our neighbours in the Deerwood Clubhouse.
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Ucluelet, West Coast Ruggedness
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Judith Millar Painting
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Judith Millar's Painting "Sunset at Piper's Lagoon, Nanaimo"
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WRITING EXCERPTS FROM ONE SWEET RIDE
As for himself, Harland Parks rarely gave his mouth-breathing a thought. He was considerably more concerned that he might be a psychopath. Mother had been in the freezer since November 8th. She weighed heavily on his mind. He felt no great remorse – had not then, and did not now – which in itself gave him pause. Apparently he harbored psychopathic tendencies, at least. - From: “Mother’s Fruitcake”
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