European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Canadia author collecting for next novel Story and Polo by Joseph Owen Stuttgart bureaus British born author Janice Cowan does t let the grass grow under her feet or the cobwebs collect on her keyboard. She go a baptism of lire As a Stringer Lor. I he daily newspapers in London s Fleet Street Sho honed her skills further As a journalist in Australia then As a writer Lor a television network in Canada now a Canadian citizen wit h our children s novels to her credit she is contemplating a fifth one White living in Germany. All Tho Lime i m collecting things Lor my next Book you know it s really great for me. I d move to a different spot then while about that said Cowan an editor Al Dei Kanadier the weekly Canadian farces Europe newspaper. Her husband air Force maj. Ian Cowan was stationed m six places Between Nova Scotia and Manitoba during the 1970s and Early 1930s, and has served since 1934 As base intelligence officer Ai Canadian forces base Baden Soellinger. And Janice Cowan has adapted her writing Talent to each change of address she taught news writing at Saint Lawrence University in Ontario and journalism at red River Community College in Manitoba she was a Iree Lance writer in Nova Scotia and won Grants to hold children s writing workshops in various Ontario schools. Juggling those projects with raising three children Angus 16, Kyra 16 and Hamish 12cowan nonetheless squeezed Oul the four books each set in a different part of Canada Janice Cowan it now living near Baden Baden her Many Whan aha it gathering material Tor her Hooka. Thai s the Good thing abort being a writer she said. You can do it at Home or you can do it outside. You can do it Lill you re 105 thai s Good because in s the Only thing i can do Cowan incorporated the same fictitious family Rno each Book s plot the family s children find pirate treasure off he Nova Scotia coast in Maple Island mystery foil a Toronto Bank robbery in the mystery of Castle hotel. Discover an escaped German prisoner of War hidden 40 years on an Island in the secret of Ivy Lea and became a spy s prisoners on a soviet ship in mystery on the Miramichi some characters Bear har own children s names a device which Cowan said thrilled her family. The characters also aged with each successive adventure. The novels also use Canadian historical events and real locations for Pool salting. Colonial Era pirates really did Bury treasure off the coast. Toronto has. A Castle hotel. German prisoners did escape in Ontario during the War and russian ships really do ply the Waters of new Brunswick s wide Miramichi River her husband s current posting gives Cowan Lime to Studst the opulence of nearby Baden Baden Lor use in a future Book although she won t divulge the plot and does t plan to finish in before returning to Canada. She Only suggested that the City s narrow lanes spas and elegant Homes seem to swim in the Aura of past intrigues Cowan politely deflected a question Aboul her age. But said she spen her childhood in Awe shot England with newspapers of every description All Over the she got her press raining with the National Union of journalists before tackling Fleet Street then moved to Perth. Australia and wrote stories about entertainment Slars Lor an australian broadcasting co. Magazines Louis Armstrong. Eartha Kilt the rolling Slones and others whom she interviewed failed to hold her attention the Way Ian Cowan did however they Mol while a was vacationing in Perth married three months later and moved id Toronto. Cowan has directed most of her spare time writing toward children Ever since then i whole an adult Book in Australia but it was one of those horrible first novels that people she said. I just lost interest in it and put it under the bed. And that was the end of getting children a books published is no easier however especially Lor a Canadian writing about subjects unfamiliar to most English speaking audiences. American and British publishers deluge he Market with several thousand childrens books each year she said but Canadian publishers manage o Issue Only a few Hundred you re competing against Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys she said. The Ideal situation would be to be picked up by an american publisher. Mind you i Don t want to say that because Canadian publishers Are tying. I think in probably boils Down to promotion More than anything the cultural Gap made lit tie difference last month however when she used her books to teach a writing course to children at the Allied forces Central Europe International school in Brun sum. Netherlands. They just loved the stories and there s no harm in them earning about Canada said Cowan who discovered that Hersell As an immigrant. Cowan s books Are available Al the Canadian forces Exchange stores in and Baden Soellinger. Erma Bombeck a couple of years ago a woman in Vermont tiled a $25,000 suit charging she was struck from behind by a shopping cart while grocery shopping. The sutly said another customer failed to keep her shopping cart under control and thai she suffered Ini unos to her Bach and legs Fiat made it impossible for her 10 work 1 say in s Aboul time we got bad Drivers off Tho streets and the aisle ways. Everyday our lives Are put in jeopardy by thoughtless operators who Are never held accountable Lor the pain they inflict. It in t Only shopping carts that leave wheel Marks on the Backol your Knees and across your eel. But did you Ever get in the pain of a baby Carriage being operated by a Little brother or sister believe me. You la never dance the Poi a again. Umbrellas Are lethal when put in the hands of unlicensed duvets who figure ii god had t wanted them of carry an umbrella into an elevator then How come he gave people two eyes Luggage is being taken Over by amateurs and the potential is there Lor mass extinction. Golf bags and boxes Are thrown off Airport carousels with no thought of who is in their path. In ticket lines huge stacks of Luggage arc piled up directly behind you so that your chances of remaining upright Are nonexistent. For years i be watched men behind the wheels of Power mowers who have no business there. Bulldozers maybe but never in control of a motor driven machine that within seconds Levels every Shrub and Flower including the 5-year-old Blue Spruce that is jus beginning to Peck above the grass. As a professional Domestic i be seen some women Wheeling a sweeper around like a crazy person sucking up everything in ils path. And if you Don t know what you re doing Don l even think of renting a cleaner to shampoo your Rug i be Tost two or three friends to foam. Possibly the worst offenders of careless driving Are the kids who mount skateboards and proceed to terrorize pedestrians we re Lalk Fng a vehicle i h no steering mechanism no brakes and no reason for being other than a broken Bono wish. People with no experience whatsoever turn a key push a switch grab a handle and they re off the other Day m a doctor s office a Small child scaled a water cooler and proceeded to Spray the office with water where was a policeman when you needed him probably out giving someone a Raffic ticket Ift of and Latoya Tom synd Cal Page 16 the stars and stripes wednesday april 1,19h7
