Bio (long version!)
Art in all its forms has always been a real passion for Mandy. In her youth, and at the tender age of 12 years, her art teacher, Miss Randall submitted some of Mandy’s artwork to the Royal College of Art in London, UK. They accepted her for the next intake – unfortunately it was not to be at that time, due to Mandy still having another four years of school to complete and later due to parental guidance. Her path took Mandy in another direction. When she left school she went into training as a State Registered Nurse, however afterwards she made the decision to try something else. After a couple of administration jobs she took a deep breath and started up a company with a business partner. This venture proved very successful for nearly twenty-nine years although along with family life and commitments her creative outlet was sadly lacking during that time. Economics played a large part in Mandy’s family’s decision to immigrate.
So the family moved to Canada from England in 2007. It was a great leap of faith for them to find a new life and a better future for their children. Along with this new life, Mandy promised herself she would find an outlet for her creativity, which had taken a back seat for decades, apart from the occasional dip! So when the family had settled into their new Canadian home, schools and work, she began looking for a creative outlet. By chance she found the Writers Foundation of Strathcona County and attended her first meeting – which turned out to be a revelation in finding such a friendly bunch of people all passionate about writing and immensely supportive. Thus Mandy’s writing career began and she hasn’t looked back since. She is quoted as saying, ‘My creative void is now overflowing’.
Mandy’s writing journey has taken her, in a very short time, on a journey she never thought possible. Initially her ‘publishing’ was restricted to small articles, such as on espressostories.com and the Albertan web site (www.albertabrand.com). Mandy succeeded in completing NaNoWriMo in 2009, 2010 and 2012, which resulted in three novel length manuscripts, all of which are presently awaiting representation. Her children’s print book, Rumble’s First Scare was published in 2011 and an e-book, The Rython Kingdom, an adult fantasy was launched August 2012. She is a contributor to Strathcona Connect and the Never Been Better page in the Sherwood Park newspaper.
Mandy has attended the WFSC annual conference every year since 2009 and the PWAC conference/workshop in September 2012. In February 2012 Mandy attended a writers retreat at Strawberry Creek Retreat.
As to where Mandy’s creativity comes from, it would have to be said it is drawn from the essence of the several continents where she has lived. Each has left a trace upon her soul. The heat and drum beats of Africa, the lushness and history of England and the changing seasons and vastness of Canada. Each has given Mandy a gift – a treasure trove of sights, sounds, smells and experiences from which to weave her stories.
Bio (short version!)
As a recent Canadian resident, Mandy Eve-Barnett has a wealth of experiences to draw from for her writing. She has lived in South Africa, England and Canada and the uniqueness of each continent left its essence within her. An avid reader her whole life, it wasn’t until she joined a local writing group, the Writers Foundation of Strathcona County, that the writing ‘bug’ gripped her. Now Mandy writes with an all-encompassing passion and is deeply involved with the foundation and its members. Writing in various genres, Mandy has been published in anthologies, on numerous web sites and in the local newspaper as well as regularly blogging about her writing journey. She has successfully completed three National Novel Writing Month challenges in 2009, 2010 and 2012 with the subsequent volume of work resulting in three novels. September 2011 saw the launch of her first children’s book, Rumble’s First Scare and August 2012 her adult fantasy e-book, The Rython Kingdom was released on Smashwords. Currently, she is working on a magical/fantasy children’s book.
Mandy’s Publications -
The Writing Prompt Journey includes 20 writing exercises designed to challenge and improve a writers skills. Mandy contributed five pieces of prose for this book. She read several at the Books as Beacons author reading at Second Cup, Sherwood Park on 7th March 2012. Purchase this book from www.dreamwritepublishing.ca
Rumble was published in September 2011 and officially launched at The Bookworm, 62 Athabascan Avenue, Sherwood Park, Alberta 29 October 2011.A delightful story of a little monster being taken by his mother to experience his first scare on All Hallows Eve. Rumble can be purchase at www.dreamwritepublishing.ca
Life in Slake Patch is a speculative fiction novel set in an alternative future. The result of Mandy’s first NaNoWriMo challenge in 2009 and awaiting publication.
The Twesome Loop is an erotic romance novel with a re-incarnation twist. Another NaNoWriMo challenge creation awaiting publication.
The famed troubadour, Guillem, attends the king’s court to recite a marvelous tale but his suspicions are raised by a strange servant. With the help of a wizened old woman and her beautiful granddaughter, Guillem attempts to outwit a witch to save the kingdom from murder and mayhem. He then finds himself part of a ritual for life everlasting with the entrancing and mysterious Juliana.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/214247
Other publishing credits:
Alberta Brand – Newcomer stories – “An Alberta Newbie” dated 14th June 2010 http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/choosing/people-stories.aspx
Sherwood Park News – Never Been Better page- several articles published in 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013.
Writers Foundation of Strathcona County – http://wfscsherwoodpark.com/ - regular blogger and creator of the weekly writing prompt.
Strathcona Connect – http://strathconaconnect.ca/index90.htm
http://strathconaconnect.ca/strathcona-county-gets-writing-p219-96.htm
http://strathconaconnect.ca/practical-support-for-lifes-changes-p268-172.htm
http://strathconaconnect.ca/strathcona-connects-contributors-community-p291-146.htm
http://strathconaconnect.ca/index95.htm
http://strathconaconnect.ca/giving-back-to-the-community-p297-90.htm
Appearances/Events Attended:
Words in the Park, Sherwood Park 4th December 2010.
Pride of Strathcona Awards 2011, Sherwood Park. Recipient as a member and Secretary of the Writers Foundation of Strathcona County under the Arts & Culture category.
Summer Writers Social – Cafe Reading at Second Cup, Sherwood Park. 23rd August 2011 where Mandy ready Rumble’s First Scare.
Alberta Arts Days, Sherwood Park. Held 30th September through to 2nd October 2011.
Books are Treats event at The Bookworm, Sherwood Park. Author reading. 29th October 2011.
Words in the Park, Sherwood Park. 19th November 2011. Rumble’s First Scare official launch.
View my online interview with Bill Roberts – Arts Talk Online – 7th December 2011 Go to 8.23 on time bar.
Books as Beacons held at Second Cup, Sherwood Park. 7th March 2012.
Art in the Plaza – throughout summer of 2012.
Words on the Street, Saskatoon, September 2012
Fall Author Reading, Second Cup, Sherwood Park, October, 2012
Words in the Park, Sherwood Park, October 2012
Strathcona Connect Contributor event, January 2013
Writers Guild event, January 2013
Arts Expo, February 2013
International Women’s Day Author Reading, Second Cup , March 2013
State of the County Address, April 2013 (Honored guest as Vision Statement contributor)
Photographs -
Book signing & reading at The Bookworm, Sherwood Park.
Author reading at Second Cup, Sherwood Park.
Official Rumble launch Words in the Park 2012
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Celebrating my ebook submission to Smashwords August 2012
Words on the Street with fellow author, T.L. Wiens. 2012
Justus accepting your prizes – Rumble’s First Scare book & hand puppet. 2012
Arts Expo – 2nd & 3rd February 2013
Book Review -
This review means the world to me. A child’s honest review of Rumble’s First Scare.
Guest Blogs & Interviews
http://brha99.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/a-parent-passing/ 5th September 2011 – “A Parent Passing”
http://www.magdaolchawska.com/entry/236 16th January 2012 – Interview
http://authoradduling.blogspot.ca/2012/05/author-spotlight-author-mandy-eve.html 29th May 2012 – Author’s Spotlight
http://thirstythursdayblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/that-certain-spark-guest-post-by-mandy.html 5th June 2012 -That Certain Spark – A guest post.
http://www.kevinrau.com/i/MandyEveBarnett.asp 6th August 2012 – guest interview with Kevin Rau
http://wp.me/p2pf5s-1Fj 7th September 2012 – guest review on bunnysreview.com
http://elizabethbarone.net/2012/10/07/writers-work-spaces-mandy-eve-barnett/#comment-11330 7th October 2012 – writing space feature – Elizabeth Barone’s blog - http://elizabethbarone.net/
http://mandyevebarnett.com/2013/02/03/love-to-spook-blog-hop/ Rumble Blog Hopping…3rd February 2013
Blog Awards :
Sunshine – 3rd March 2012, Versatile Blogger -4th April 2012, Inspiring – 11th August 2012, Liebster – 7th September 2012, Versatile – 29th September 2012, Booker – 26th January 2013, Liebster – 31st January 2013. Liebster – 23rd Feb 2013, Inspiring – 9th April 2013.
This is great Mandy! I like the flow and the effort you put into this shows – my blog is http://pattytmitchell.com/ and is about 2 weeks old. It has taken me some time to get it organized and word press is somewhat easy to use- though my editing skils late at night are lacking at times.
Looks like you are well on your way- much continued success!
Thanks Patty, blogging is a perpetually learning arc but enjoyable – I wish you success with yours. I’ll keep tags on it. Happy writing
Same here! Best wishes
You have organized and layed this out well! Gives all your endevours and experience Mandy. Very well done !
Thank you Sharon as my very first media kit – I took quite sometime to organise it.