My Current Initatives
- A Note from Christine -
I've always been told that I am a creative thinker. Spreading awareness of Canada's early romance novels is a passion of mine, and it has become a behemoth of a project. I'm grateful for all the support and enthusiasm I have received. You can see the list of initiatives down below and how I am prioritizing them.
#1 The Northern Romance Collection
Having selected five of Canada's early romance authors, I am hoping to elevate Canadian romance both at home and abroad. They were the most romantic and the ones that I could be the most passionate about. Many of the novels take place in Canada and were all written by Canadian women. They will either be reprinted with the assistance of a publisher, or with the use of Kickstarter.
#2 Heritage Minute for Julia Hart
As Julia Hart was the first fiction author and the first Canadian author to write a romance it's only natural that a lot of my focus goes to her. I am working on a submission for Heritage Minutes to hopefully recognize her as Canada's first fiction novelist.
#3 Archival Landing Page for Julia Hart
As announced on the Kingstonist, I am gathering archival information to create an archival landing page about Julia Hart. There will be some never before seen photos of archives associated with Elizabeth Ruttan, who ran Hugh C. Thomson's newspaper once he entered politics.
#4 The History of Canadian Romance
With Dr. Carole Gerson (SFU), who created Canada's Early Women Writers Database, I will be presenting an overview of the history of Canada's first romances. We will be covering works from 1824-2000. Official date to be announced, but it will be early 2025.
It will be a free online event.
#5 Play adaption of St. Ursula's Convent
As a fan of live events, it would be a dream to adapt the first romance into a play. This would be my first foray into playwriting, so I am rather positive this one will take the most time out of all the five. However, I am hopeful that the right people will make this happen!