2013 marks the 30th anniversary of Norm Foster's career as a playwright. I had the good fortune to interview Foster just before he headed to Ireland and Scotland from here in London, Ontario. Here's my Q&A.

The motion-picture adaptation of the beloved global stage sensation Les Misérables has been seen by more than 60-million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the globe and is still breaking box-office records everywhere in its 27th year. Yet, mere minutes in, I went oh, oh, something is off. This is overproduced to hell and back.

Criticism is very subjective. My first editor told me, "I don't care for your writing style. Too personal." A decade later that personal style landed me a publisher's contract for my autobiography, Father's Touch. My advice when seeking out critical opinion is not to sell yourself short -- aim high, not low.

We were tasting a flight of Barbarescos, the northern Italian wine from Piedmont. The guy behind the booth waxed poetic about the wine's nuanced flavours, marveling at its rustic leather notes mixing with dark fruit, tea leaves and rose petal. "I get none of that," I thought to myself.