The Secret of Grim Hill

written by
Linda DeMeulemeester

Check out the Resources page for an interview.

Linda writes:

Imagine: Your best friend is on a ship that gets torpedoed and begins to sink. Everyone on board rushes to the life boats but there are not enough. What do you ask – Will my friend escape?

Danger makes great suspense.

Imagine: You walk into a mysterious shop and inside are the most amazing things you ever saw. The shopkeeper calls you over and opens a huge box. You lean over, itching to see what might be inside.

Mystery keeps it interesting.

You’re on top of the rollercoaster that’s about to plummet and you get that weird feeling in your stomach because adventure is all about the thrills.

For me, danger + mystery + adventurous thrills = my favourite kind of book!

HERE’S WHAT LINDA WANTS YOU TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING:
I grew up and live in the lower mainland of B.C. a very rainy place. The fog and mist that rises from the forest has a mystical and dreamy appearance. Watching my son play soccer on the hill in the middle of the rain forest inspired me to think of Grim Hill and its overall spookiness.

Reading has always been important to me from that first moment in grade one when I realized I was doing more than sounding out and connecting words - I was reading! I’d always wanted to share reading and that slowly changed into also wanting to write.

I always ask students what they think is the most important quality for succeeding in writing. We discuss talent, skill, hard work, and that\'s all true; writing is like an apprenticeship that begins with reading. Afterwards, it\'s about learning the craft. But then I tell them what I absolutely believe is the single most important quality to succeed.

Yes, I know you\'ve heard it before, but it\'s true. Persist - do not give up - not if that\'s what you really want. Many people get close and then they give up. Except remember, many writers publish after hundreds of rejections.

That includes me...

Contact Linda DeMeulemeester at:
ldemail@shaw.ca

Cat Peters just transferred to Darkmont High and is already desperate to get out. When she hears that Grimoire, the private school nearby, is offering scholarships to the winners of a Halloween soccer match, Cat jumps at the chance. Her little sister, Sookie, and their bookworm neighbor. Jasper, try to tell her thereís something just not right about the old school on the hill, and their worries are confirmed when they uncover a mystery about an entire soccer team that disappeared many years ago.

Further investigation leads Cat to a book about ancient Celtic myth and fairy lore, and she soon realizes that there is something truly wicked at work inside the walls of Grimoire.

Please click here to download this year's poster.