The Coral Heart at the Toronto Hakka Festival Saturday July 11th, 2015

The Coral Heart will be available at the Toronto Hakka Festival 

For other up to date info on The Coral Heart, please go to its facebook page here

Swans along the Avon River in Stratford, Ontario

It felt like summer in Stratford. With the breeze cooling us off as we sat by the river watching swans fluffing their wings, gliding gracefully along the water. Precious moments shared with good friends.

Only an hour and a half away from Toronto, Stratford is a get-away haven. Not only to catch a play but also to relax in a laid-back atmosphere surrounded by lush greenery and majestic swans preening along the river. 

Spring Blossoms in High Park

High Park was swarming with people snapping up photos of spring blossoms ... It is indeed exhilarating to be out there walking under a canopy of cherry blossoms as the fading sun casts its last rays on the profusion of lacy flowers, and yes, I love that feeling of stepping softly on fallen petals sprinkled on our paths, a sensual delight imbued with poetry.

Magnolia blossoms

Nature lovers under a canopy of cherry blossoms

The Coral Heart at U of T, Toronto Public Library and Beachcomber Magazine

Some updates on The Coral Heart

It is listed on the page "Great books published by the school's instructors & students" on this U of T site

Thanks to Lee Gowan, Director of  Creative Writing at U of T, for his support and for being an inspiring teacher. Thrilled to be in the company of my good friend Terry Fallis, and my wonderful instructors, Michael Winter and Ken Babstock.

The Coral Heart is now available at the Toronto Public Library

Here's an interview about the novel in Beachcomber magazine

Wishing you a happy holiday season and all the best for 2015

The Coral Heart ebook on amazon kindle stores

The Coral Heart ebook

My novel, The Coral Heart is now available as an ebook worldwide on amazon kindle stores  Canada, US, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Australia, India, Brazil, and Mexico.

The Coral Heart paperback

MAURITIUS

Bookcourt

Store locations: Caudan, Trianon, Flacq, Bagatelle, Cascavelle, Airport, and Grand Baie. Please see Bookcourt's website for addresses and phone numbers. Bookcourt will mail orders to customers abroad.

Tel: 230 468 8039

Librairie Le Cygne

Magic Lantern Complex, Rose-Hill

Tel: 230 464 2444 

L'Atelier Littéraire

12 Rue St. Louis, Port-Louis

Tel: 230 208 2915  

CANADA

Book City

Yonge and St. Clair branch, 1430 Yonge Street, Toronto

Tel: 416 926 0749

Stella's Lunch Box

145 Lauder Ave, Toronto

416- 651-2109

Ellington's Music and Café

805 St. Clair Avenue West

From the author in Canada

email peggylampotang@yahoo.ca

WORLDWIDE

Amazon.com

Click on The Coral Heart to go directly to the page

Neighbourhood Portraits: Florence Watts of Regal Heights

An article I wrote about a woman who has been a positive influence and an inspiration in the Regal Heights neighbourhood. Click here to read  it.

Neighbourhood Portraits: Tony Merante of Desotos

Here's another article I wrote for the online magazine, Living Toronto. Click on Tony Merante of Desotos to read it.

Birthday celebration at Desotos

Musicians performing during open mic at Desotos

Coffee break at Stella's Lunch Box

Where to purchase The Coral Heart

MAURITIUS

Bookcourt

Store Locations: Caudan, Trianon, Flacq, Bagatelle, Cascavelle, Airport, and Grand Baie. Please check Bookcourt's website for addresses and phone numbers. Bookcourt also mails orders to customers abroad.

Tel: 230 468 8039

Librairie Le Cygne

Magic Lantern Complex, Rose-Hill

Tel: 230 464 2444 

L'Atelier Littéraire

12 Rue St. Louis, Port-Louis

Tel: 230 208 2915  

CANADA

Book City

Yonge and St. Clair branch, 1430 Yonge Street, Toronto

Tel: 416 926 0749

Stella's Lunch Box

145 Lauder Ave, Toronto

416- 651-2109

The Coral Heart can also be purchased directly from the author in Canada by emailing peggylampotang@yahoo.ca

WORLDWIDE

Amazon.com

Click on The Coral Heart to go directly to the page

The Coral Heart at the Hakka Festival, Saturday, August 9, 2014

I will give a talk about finding my roots through my novel at the Hakka Festival on Saturday August 9, 2014, between 2:30 to 3:30 pm. It is free and everybody is invited. The event is organized by The Toronto Hakka Heritage Alliance, and my book will also be available for sale there.

For location and other activities, check poster below. Hope to see many of you there.

Meet and Greet: The Coral Heart at Indigo Bookstore, Manulife Centre on July 19, 2014

Summer is here already and there are so many wonderful events in Toronto. At Luminato's Literary picnic at Trinity Bellwoods Park on June 15th, I listened to authors Terry Fallis and Michael Winter reading from their books. Saw Neil Brathwaite and his band perform at Harlem Underground during the TD jazz festival.  Last Sunday, at Woodbine Park, bands from Ghana and Mali at Afrofest got me dancing ...

Now, I'm gearing towards a Meet and Greet on Saturday, July 19th from 12 to 5 pm at Indigo Bookstore, Manulife Centre, Toronto for my novel The Coral Heart. My books will be available for sale and I'll be there to meet and chat with readers and answer questions, etc. I hope to see many of you.

The Coral Heart now available on amazon.com

My novel, The Coral Heart, is now available at amazon.com for the convenience of friends abroad and out of town. Click here to check it out and order.

In Mauritius, it is available at Bookcourt, (tel: 230 468 8039) and Librairie Le Cygne (tel: 230 464 2444).

In Toronto, it is availbale at Book City, Yonge & St. Clair (tel; 416 926 0749). You can also get it signed if you purchase it at  Stella's café on Lauder & St. Clair (tel: 416 651 2109). I'm there on some Wednesday mornings and Saturday afternoons. For more information, please contact me at peggylampotang@yahoo.ca

Neighbourhood portraits: Winston Ho Sang of Ellington's

Here's an article I wrote for the online magazine, Living Toronto. It is the first one in a series of neighbourhood portraits. This one is on Winston Ho Sang of Ellington's

Winston at Ellington's

One of the highlights of Ellington's: the jazz jam every weekday morning from 10 am to noon.

Fireworks over Toronto on Victoria Day 2014

Contact Photography Festival at Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art

I love spring, that smell of renewal in the air. In Toronto, the Contact Photography Festival breathes freshness and creative flair into our busy city life. While checking the photo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, I was thrilled to be greeted in the courtyard by this gigantic 17-meter long mural by Jim Naughten.

The Coral Heart at Toronto's Ellington's Café

My novel is also available in Toronto at Ellington's Café at 805 St. Clair Avenue West, near Winona. I will be there on Monday mornings from 10 am - 1 pm during the month of May.

The Coral Heart at Toronto's Stella's Lunch Box

My novel is now also available for sale at Stella's Lunch Box, a café at 145 Lauder Avenue, just south of St. Clair. If you want to pick up a book, and have it signed, I will be there on Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4 pm and on Wednesday mornings from 10 to 1 pm in the next month.

And if you want me to sign the book at a more convenient time for you, email me at peggylampotang@yahoo.ca and I will see whether we can arrange a different time.

The Coral Heart at Toronto's Book City, Yonge & St. Clair

My novel is now available at Book City Yonge & St. Clair. 

Book City Yonge & St. Clair

One block south of St. Clair St. on the west side of Yonge Street.

Address: 1430 Yonge Street

Phone #: (416) 926-0749

Email: stclair@bookcity.ca

Parking: Municipal lot just east of Yonge across from store (on Pleasant Blvd.)

TTC: Moments walk from St. Clair Subway Station on the Yonge Line
Hours of Operation: Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 9:00pm;Sunday 11:00am to 6:00pm

Book Launch of The Coral Heart in Toronto

March has flashed by with action-packed days revolving around my book launch at Confluences, the international book fair in Mauritius.

The Coral Heart, A shopkeeper's journey is my first novel, and I was thrilled by the positive response, especially when I was invited to discuss my work with students at University of Mauritius, one of the highlights of my visit.

I'm now preparing for my book launch in Toronto on April 22nd at Desotos. You can email me at peggylampotang@yahoo.ca if you want to come to the launch as space is limited.

If you're interested in buying the book in Canada, you email me at address above to buy a copy. For those in Mauritius, you can purchase the book from the publisher L'Atelier d'écriture or at Bookcourt stores and Librairie Le Cygne. If you live in a country other than Mauritius or Canada, you can order from the publisher or the stores above or from me, whichever is more convenient for you.

Great start to 2014: My novel will be out in March

I'm so thrilled that my book is being published by L'Atelier d'écriture in Mauritius.

The launch will take place at Confluences, the island's international book fair from March 6th to 9th. I will be there and I'm very excited about meeting Mauritian friends, readers, writers and publishers at the fair.

For my Canadian friends, I'm having another book launch in Toronto at Desotos on Tuesday April 22nd. Invitations and details will follow.

Synopsis of the novel:

In 1911, impoverished Hakka Chinese immigrants arrive on the tropical island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Among the newcomers, a hungry child. The hard-working boy helps his father, a shopkeeper and surrenders his earnings to him according to Chinese tradition. While he serves the islanders, the young man ingeniously builds the business, negotiates his way through racial divisiveness, and falls in love. But his trust in the old system is put to test … This work of fiction unfolds during the overthrow of the Chinese Emperor, the rise of communism, the Japanese invasion of China, and the First and Second World Wars.

Happy New Year 2014

A family of elks

Spent a few days in the country. It was so invigorating to breathe the clean air, relax and work on my novel. But the best part was discovering a family of elks on a vast field on our way back to Toronto. Contented in their natural surrounding, they stared at us, strangers, gaging whether we were a threat while keeping their elegant and poised stance.

Nuit Blanche 2013

Creative minds on display and a huge enthusiastic crowd on the streets of our good old Toronto. Loved it all. The shared adventures of discovering art at night, the wonder in people's eyes, the revelry ... it was so much fun.

Ai Weiwei's Bicycles Forever

Balls? Look closer. It's an optical illusion created from the balance of shadow and light and the angle from which I took the photo. These are carton tubes stacked on a truck. Can't remember the artist or title of the project and can't find it on Nuit Blanche site but love the visual effect. It reinforces the fact that art is everywhere around us if we attune our eyes and imagination to see beyond the mundane.

Stratford, Ontario

Let music sound while he doth make his choice; 
Then, if he lose, he makes a swan-like end, 
Fading in music ...
Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice 

Creole Documentary & Mauritian Sega Band at Island Soul Festival, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto

I went to Harbourfront Centre on Sunday August 4th to see the Creole segment of my friend Christene Browne's documentary Speaking in Tongues: The History of Language during Island Soul Festival. Christene is a talented film producer and director, and you can read more about her accomplishments on her website. Since Mauritius is mentioned in the documentary and I say a few words of Creole in it, I was thrilled to be at Harbourfront that day to see it, and have a chat with Christene.

But as I rushed to the Studio Theatre,  I was pleasantly surprised to hear a familiar sound ... sega music from Mauritius blaring from the speakers. And of course, on stage was a Mauritian band and dancers rolling their hips and flipping their colourful ruffled skirts in rhythm to their gyrations. I was ecstatic. I had not expected my little island would be represented at Harbourfront in the Island Soul Festival. I thought it was mostly a Caribbean celebration since it was happening in conjunction with the Caribana Carnival Parade 

After  the 20 minutes documentary, which was very incisive and relevant, definitely worth watching for anybody interested in languages, its history and influence on our lives, I literally ran towards the stage to catch the last few sega songs. It was a gorgeous summer day, with spectators sprawled on the fake grass. Everybody seemed so relaxed and totally enjoying the music and dancing ... that it felt like  a bit of Mauritius had been transplanted to Toronto.

After the show I met the band, and had a chance to speak Creole, a bit rusty but nevertheless the familiar sounds, and the spontaneous warmth of  the performers brought back the heartfelt connection to an island I left ages ago.

Mew Lake, Algonquin Park

By the lake

we walked by the lake holding hands

precious minutes soon to vanish in the dusk

I wanted to flap my wings like the seagulls and fly

spread my love to the world in the never-ending sky

A misty evening in Toronto

"Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

E. L. Doctorow

Spring ... a carpet of scattered blossoms

Still Blooming ...

Tony Paglia at Desotos Open Mic

Tony Paglia is a very dear friend and talented guitar player who sings with great emotional depth. His music ranges from rock, reggae, R & B, soul, funk and much more. He plays solo, duos and also with his band The Nomads. He's jamming here at Desotos' Thursdays Open Mic. Desotos is one of my favourite restaurants and a friendly venue for musicians.

Dusk in the countryside

Toronto at dawn

It's such a treat to wake up early, and get lost in the awesome sky as it spreads its orange and purple hues over the city. It's also the best time to write, when the mind is fresh and full of possibilities ...

Speaking of writing, Ellington's, a café on St. Clair Avenue West, has become my favourite place to hang out in the morning, not only to write, but to listen to the morning jazz jam, and mingle with musicians, writers and artists. Winston, the owner has created a casual, artsy, world-music kind of atmosphere that is so inspiring. A little home away from home.

Smoky Toronto

Smoky Toronto on a cold winter day.

Wendy Weiler chante Sous le ciel de Paris

Ma chère amie Wendy Weiler chante superbement en français une chanson d'Edith Piaf au Reservoir Lounge à Toronto avec le groupe The Mediterranean Stars. Voyez la sur youtube

My dearest friend Wendy Weiler sings fabulously in french an Edith Piaf song at The Reservoir Lounge in Toronto with the band The Mediterranean Stars. See her on youtube

Fading Toronto

Fire

"There is a slumbering subterranean fire in nature which never goes out, and which no cold can chill." Henry David Thoreau

The path of the night

"One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night." Kahlil Gibran

Best Wishes ...

As the year ends, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, much love, and all the best for 2013.

Chapter from my novel in Immedia's anthology

A chapter from my novel has been published in Mauritius, in Immedia's anthology titled Facing Challenges. The book will be officially launched on December 7th at Domaine Les Pailles by the President of the Republic, Mr. Kailash Purryag, and the former President, Mr. Cassam Uteem.

Now, this is one incentive to finish editing the rest of the chapters. But can anyone whip an artist to produce faster? I'm one of those who crawl like a turtle ... yeah, slowly and surely, I've strung words into sentences, then paragraphs, then chapters. But the polishing part is another challenge. Imagine spending the day bouncing words inside your head, wishing them to turn into pearls, but they often rebel and spin into headaches. I'm thankful to wonderful friends who don't mind whacking me with a good dose of pressure when I'm not on track ...like repeating over and over, "when is that book going to be published?" Okay, it's happening soon, for real. Look, a chapter has been published already. One chapter a year? Let's see, mmmhh it may take over 69 years to get the whole novel out. That certainly puts things into perspective. All right, keep up the pressure. I'll aim for 2013.

Time to get back to the novel instead of rambling on here ... And there's a photo exhibition I'm working on also, not to mention the silk painting. And all the problems around the world that I wish I could solve ... and closer to home, I wish our politicians would move forward and close the Darlington nuclear station and switch to solar, wind and other alternative renewable energy, and I wish there were less greed and more love to spread around ...

A few hardy leaves bask in the last glow of fall