Each spring, young students in B.C. get very excited about books published in Canada. Several provinces grant special awards (often named after trees! - The Silver Birch in Ontario, The Red Cedar in B.C.) - decided upon by the kids themselves.

This year, local students get the chance to meet one of the nominated authors, Linda DeMeulemeester, writer of the tremendously popular Grim Hill series. The first in the set, "The Secret of Grim Hill", is shortlisted for the Red Cedar this year; it has already won The Silver Birch.

On Tuesday, April 27th, DeMeulemeester will read from 'The Secret of Grim Hill' and answer students' questions at Gordon Terrace Elementary School, from 9 - 11:30 am. Later that day, Linda will visit McKim School in Kimberley from 2 - 3 pm.

DeMeulemeester has worked in the fields of literacy and education for many years as a teacher and program advisor, and judging by her questions and answers on the grimhill.com website, enjoys answering student's questions about everything from the future of the characters, to how to get published. She lives in Burnaby, and credits her storytelling abilities, in part, to her grandmother, who kept her on the edge of her chair with stories full of danger and suspense.

Cat, the mystery's main character, is a soccer player with a precocious kid sister, Sookie. They live in Grim Hill, where the magic is often eerie and evil, and it's Cat's job to protect her friends, family and school, engaging a host of friends and older people in the village.

On the Red Cedar Award website, Grace, one of many student reviewers, clearly admires Linda's work. Under the headline "Really Intriguing Book", Grace says that after she read the first sentence "it was as if I was under a spell! Every time I sat down to read I would read The Secret of Grim Hill. P.S. I enjoyed this book so much that now I am reading the second book in the series."

"DeMeulemeester does an impressive job of weaving in sports, academics, an entertaining cast of characters, along with authentic Celtic fairy lore," says CM: Canadian Review of Materials, a publication of the Manitoba Library Association. "Sookie's character is deliciously eerie...and Cat's character is truthful and feisty without being brazen...."

"The Secret of Grim Hill" is followed by "The Secret Deepens", "The Forgotten Secret", and "The Family Secret" (coming out this spring). As the Globe and Mail says, "the adventure isn't quite over yet, which is good news for readers...solid tween appeal..."

Linda DeMeulemeester's tour is sponsored by the Cranbrook Public Library, the Kimberley Public Library, School District 5, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Kootenay Library Federation.