Category Archives: Uncategorized

Farmers’ Market Food Prices Mean I’m Not a Starving Artist

But amidst all the rapidly rising cost trends at grocery stores, the same thing doesn’t appear to be happening – at least not nearly to the same extent, if at all – at my local farmers’ market. That has definitely surprised me.

I Finally Got to See the RCMP Musical Ride (Eeeeee!)

Last month, I finally got to see the RCMP Musical Ride. I’ve wanted to see it for as long as I can remember, and I finally had the chance at the Barrie Fair that took place in August at the Essa Agriplex in Ontario.

A Socially Anxious Author and a Local Farmers Market

I absolutely love my local farmers market.  It’s my Disney World.  I’m not exaggerating. I look forward to it every single week. 

“An Ogre Ate My Sparkles” is Now Available!

An Ogre Ate My Sparkles is the first book I’ve written with my sister, Laura Campbell. I’m proud to say that we illustrated the whole thing too! Neither of us are professional artists, but it was a lot of fun creating the drawings of Eddie, a cute kid dealing with a lot of emotions in their life, and the Ogre, whom Eddie imagines is eating their sparkles when things seem to be going wrong.

Darius the Great is Not Okay: Audiobook Review

The Darius the Great is Not Okay* audiobook was written by Adib Khorram and was narrated by Michael Levi Harris. It’s a young adult fiction story about a “Fractional Persian” American boy named Darius Kellner who travels with his family to Iran for the first time to visit with his maternal family.

3 Audiobooks that Fueled my Passion for Vegetable Gardening

I absolutely love vegetable gardening. I live in an apartment, but by mid-February every year, the entire area in front of my balcony door becomes my makeshift greenhouse.  I start planting seeds in egg cartons and tend them daily, watching for germination well before the seed packets say they should start growing (I just know that my seeds are smarter than the rest). Once the seedlings are hardened and the frost risk is gone, they’re planted in pots out on my balcony, so I can move my tending obsession outdoors. But it wasn’t always this way.

How the Word is Passed: Audiobook Review

The How the Word Is Passed audiobook was both written and narrated by Clint Smith. It’s a steady-paced, thoughtful, fascinating read that fills every line with knowledge and emotion. At the same time, its style is subtle, personal, and respectful. It looks widespread ignorance directly in the eye, offering the uninformed the opportunity to inform themselves. It assumes nothing and offers an engaging, curious, and important message.

The Martian: Audiobook Review

The Martian audiobook was written by Andy Weir and narrated by Wil Wheaton.  This science fiction book is in the form of astronaut Mark Watney’s log six days after his arrival on Mars, when he is left there for dead.  Mark is an engineer and botanist with incredible skills for MacGyvering just about anything, which is important, because he faces pretty much every possible Martian challenge aside from little green men. His sharp sarcasm and unwillingness to quit make this a fast-paced page-turner from beginning to end.

First Blog Post

My name is Julie B. Campbell. I’m a Canadian author from Ontario. is blog to share my thoughts – in the rare instances that I have some worth sharing – and as a place to tuck the book and audiobook reviews I’ve wanted to start writing for some time now.