Nancy Figueroa Writes

March 26 is Purple Day for Epilepsy, a day to wear purple to show your support for the 1 in 100 people living with epilepsy. Yes, epilepsy is that common! Education, epilepsy awareness, and the elimination of the stigma surrounding epilepsy is greatly needed. For far too long epilepsy has been misunderstood and underrecognized, two ills that endanger the lives and well-being of those living with this neurological condition. Let's change that: Wear purple on Tuesday, March 26 to show your support! Getting our purple on! Even the Ontario government is getting into the act. I recently received an invitation from the Premier to attend the PC Caucus Purple Day reception in support of global epilepsy awareness. This exclusive reception, for a select few from across the Province, is being held Tuesday at Queen's Park in the Government Caucus Boardroom. I was delighted to be invited and would love to network with elected officials to expand their awareness of the unique chall...

Ola! I’ve just returned from an amazing writing retreat in magical Sintra, Portugal, led by Canadian editor extraordinaire, Allyson Latta. The stunningly colourful Pena Palace, one of many palaces and castles in Sintra. On the last day of the retreat Robert Wilson, award-winning, best-selling British author and his wife, Lucy, speak with us. Wilson, with intense eyes that gaze into yours when he speaks, towers above Allyson as she introduces him. Dressed in navy jeans and a navy shirt, he looks every bit the rugby player he used to be. He charmingly begins his talk by presenting each one of us with a plump, gorgeous orange from a tree he planted at his home in Portugal. He advises us to pierce the skin of the orange and soak in its tantalizing aroma. It smells almost too good to eat. We’ve been reading his psychological crime thriller, The Blind Man of Seville, as it’s a great study of the ins and outs of character development. “The search for exceptional char...