2026 Leo Awards

At the 2026 Leo Awards banquet, it was wonderful to see the work of BC filmmakers, writers, actors, designers, and technicians be recognized. I was proud to represent my family there, and cheer on the folks from Murder in a Small Town, the series based on my mother’s books and shot in Gibsons (and elsewhere on the Sunshine Coast).

This was Season 2 for MIST. The show led nominations with 14, and received awards for Direction (Amanda Tapping), Screenwriting (Dennis Heaton and Derek Thompson), Picture Editing (Simon Davidson), and Stunt Performance (Zandara Kennedy).

We’re looking forward to Season 3, coming out… sometime this fall, I guess?

When my mom was writing her first novel, I was in grade 7. Or it might have been grade 8. Anyway I made this sign in Woodworking class for her to hang on her door. When it was there, we were not to interrupt her unless the house was on fire (and possibly not even then – after all, we had a fire extinguisher…).

At the time I didn’t really think about how important this sign might be to her. It just seemed like a good and useful gift. But I think I get it now. Yes, she got uninterrupted time to work, but the sign also meant she had her family’s support and respect for what she was trying to do.

By example, my mom taught my sister and me that our time, our creative lives, had value. It wasn’t an era when women were supposed to work “outside the home,” let alone spend time writing a book that may or may not ever be published, or even finished. Mom never apologized for taking that time. She valued her own voice as a creative person, so we did too.