About Karyn Good

I grew up on a farm in the middle of Canada's breadbasket. Under the canopy of crisp blue prairie skies I read books. Lots and lots of books. Occasionally, I picked up a pen and paper or tapped out a few meagre pages of a story on a keyboard and dreamed of becoming a writer when I grew up. One day the inevitable happened and I knew without question the time was right. What to write was never the issue - romance and the gut wrenching journey towards forever.

Care For a Drink With That?

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Karyn Good

“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.” Julia Child

The weekend is just around the corner and what’s summer for if not to enjoy? There are tough decisions to be made like what are you going to drink, what are you going to eat, and most importantly what are you going to read. Having trouble deciding what goes best with what. Well, I’ve got a few suggestions.

I could go with a dark, rich ale whose slightly smoky complex flavor goes well with an assortment of foods. But the heck with that idea! Choose a medieval romance or a highland romance to sip your ale by, perhaps while snacking on some chicken wings, nachos, or some other type of delicious finger food. No haggis allowed here however.

Might I point you in the direction of a Chardonnay, the Queen of the whites, with its wider-bodied, rich citrus flavors? Recommended pairings are fish and chicken. I say pair it with a contemporary romance. There’s got to be a Nora Roberts book out there I haven’t read. Sushi anyone?

Then there’s the wine that goes with anything – a Merlot. Its round texture and black cherry and herbal flavors suggest a partnership with a riveting romantic suspense along with a gooey, oozy, cheesy, spicy pepperoni pizza.

How about the granddaddy of them all, a Cabernet Sauvignon? Full-bodied, firm and gripping. To be enjoyed with red meat. Permission granted to sink your teeth into a paranormal romance. Might I recommend a perfectly grilled steak?

Is there anything better then a straight shot of Canadian whiskey? Aged, typically lighter and smoother, you can’t help but marry it with a historical. So grab that jar of fire roasted peanuts for yourself and saddle on up to the couch with a historical.

What weekend is complete without a trip to your favorite coffee shop and a frothy cup of Chai tea latte? Or a London Fog, I can never decide. Back home again with a bag full of ginger cookies and a regency romance and you’ve have all the makings for tea in the afternoon.

If your tastes run more to a sharp, tangy lemonade or sweet iced tea might I propose a traditional romance or an inspirational romance. Enjoy them alongside a slice of a real deal, homemade chocolate cake smothered in rich, creamy chocolate icing.

Or mix and match any of the above!

Are there any other romance sub genres I’ve left out? What about other genres? What would you pair them with?

*For the recipes to those delicious looking drinks go here.

**This post has been recycled. It first appeared on the now defunct Prairie Chicks Write Romance, but I thought it deserved another airing.

Lucky 7 from Backlash

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Karyn Good

Back in the middle of June I was tagged by the wonderful and talented author Monica Enderle Pierceto take part in the Lucky 7 meme. In the mood for some romantic dystopian/sci-fi? Check out her novel that releases this July, Girl Under Glass.

Here are the oh-so simple rules:

Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
Go to line 7
Copy down the next seven lines/sentences exactly as they are
Tag 7 other authors

So here are 7 lines from page 77 of my romantic suspense, Backlash.

Mike continued on, “If you could provide us with a list of friends and places to look that would be great.”

Mike laid a paper and pen down on the cold metal table and pulled out a chair for Lily. Lily sank into it. Mike claimed the one next to her. Chase gritted his teeth as he made his way to the opposite side of the table.

Jason, Lily’s student, is missing. Constable Mike Davenport, Chase’s partner, has called Lily into the station to assist them.

The authors I’m tagging are all talented and engaging writers, some I know in person and some I’ve met online. A bouquet of authors all worth reading.

So, tag! Your it!

In Other News:

Recently my husband and son went on a bike tour of Holland and I couldn’t resist sending a long a little piece of me with them. I hope Chase and Lily enjoyed their tour and I hope someone finds their story in the Amsterdam airport and decides to read it. Perhaps they’ll pass it on and Chase and Lily will continue their travels.

Travelling anywhere interesting this summer?

Decorating Genius or Desperate Decorating

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Karyn Good

I’ve been picking paint colors. The most interesting thing about paint? The inventive names, kind of like crayon colours, with things like purple rain, apple lime cocktail, cocoa sand. I wonder what my critique partners would have to say if I used these color descriptors in my writing.

They were saved from the worst of it. Dry and safe under the awning while purple rain poured down around them.

Because obviously they’re caught in some kind of chemical downpour. Ha. I can picture the circles of red ink. But cocoa colored sand has possibilities, although I’m not sure it exists in nature. I also found pink polka dot and butterfly wing which I thought were cute. And newborn baby which I thought was downright creepy. And guess what!?! There really are fifty shades of grey.

This is currently our kitchen area. Anyway, I decided to start with the kitchen and chose Natural Linen. Okay, Jordan, who’s in charge of the renos, picked it for me. So, fingers crossed. From there I went on to ignore the whole goes-best-with list. Because that’s the way I roll and why make things easier. I came up with meditation, spa, and lapland – all variations on an earthy-type greenish color. Safe to say my career as a namer of paint is stalled in it’s tracks. Also safe to say, I feel the need to relax within the bounds of a monochromatic color scheme.

But what do you do with the freshly painted walls? Soon I’m going to have to hang up some artwork. And isn’t that a terrifying notion? As in how many nail holes does it take to hang a picture properly? What size? How to space them out? How far up the wall? I’ve got a couple of huge walls.

As in match the artwork to the wall size. Don’t hang a dinky little picture on a huge wall. And likewise, don’t cram some huge monstrosity into an itty bitty space, that sort of thing. I found a blog that had some crazy notion I should multiply something by some crazy number to come up with the perfect sized artwork for the wall. Not going to happen. Most reasonable advice: 12 inches above the couch; a palm’s width spacing between paintings, or trace out the size of the canvases on butcher paper and tape to wall as a test drive visual. Those ideas I can manage with my feeble decorator’s brain.

However, I did come across this idea for cheap artwork and I’m going to give it a try. You take painting canvases and cover them with fabric. Brilliant. At least, I thought so. Maybe you’ve already heard of this idea. Here’s another example. If it’s works and I’m successful (aka I’ll ask my Mom to help) I’ll post pictures.

If you have ideas for cheap and wonderful art I’d love to hear them! Seriously, I’m begging you. I need help. And ideas. Just keep them simple.

My Favorite Summer Things

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Karyn Good

We’re all living the life of riley these days. We’ve unearthed the lawn chairs, smeared ourselves in sunscreen, and picked out a great book. It’s summertime! The sun is shining, the temperatures are rising, and the drinks are cold. As usual there is too much to do and too little time to fit it all in. I’m like everyone else and compiling my summertime wish list. The wonderful thing about summer is it doesn’t have to cost a fortunate to be enjoyable. I’m not sure how much watermelon is a pound, but not very much. A bag of marshmallows? Okay, you need to find a fire pit for that last one. How about water guns? I’m a fan of self pedicures – some crazy bright nail polish and a pair of flip flops and it feels like summer. I’ve got some other favorites, too!

The Food (and Drinks): Probably the very best part of the whole food and drink thing? Eating it outside. What is it about fresh air that makes everything, and I’m including burnt offerings in this, taste better? Grilled burgers covered in melting cheese served in a bakery fresh bun. Roasted hotdogs, their skin split from hanging out over a hot fire. S’mores. Beer. Yum. Canada Day pancakes outside with maple syrup and strawberries.

The Flowers: I love flowers. I wish I had a green thumb. There are flowers and flowerpots everywhere overflowing with color. I love the shady greenery of hostas and bleeding hearts or the bursts of color from begonias and the little impatiens. Lilies and roses bushes, not to mention one of my favorites: gladiolas. The hardy petunias that I plant everywhere in the hope that they’ll live!

Market Gardens and Fresh Produce: Who doesn’t love wandering the aisles at local markets? Fresh greens, baked-that-day goodies, canned pickles, and a whole lot of other stuff. But one of my absolute favorite summertime offerings is the bright red tomato. OMGosh, I love them. There is nothing better than a sun-ripened tomato white-bread sandwich. A little salt and pepper, a smear of mayo and you’re got the best thing ever!

Long Days, Hot Nights, and Thunderstorms: It’s one of those super hot days that’s leading into a super hot night. But clouds gathering and shifting on the horizon and the weatherperson is forecasting a storm. The air smells different. The clouds stream closer and it gets darker. We get some whoppers in this neck of the woods. On July 1st which is Canada Day, we had a thunderstorms that lasted about three hours complete with sheet lightning and strike lightning. It outdid the fireworks. My parents always told us to stay away from the windows when these kinds of storms visited us on the farm, but it’s impossible not to watch.

Football: Here in Canada our national football league (CFL) starts at the beginning of July. And here in Saskatchewan we go a little bit nuts. On game day it’s a sea of green everywhere you go. We are the Saskatchewan Roughriders and our colors are green and white. Some say we bleed green. In our resourcefulness we have devised an alternate use for the watermelon. We hollow them out and carve it into a helmet. I kid you not.

So of my other favorites are:

sundresses
lemonade
sunflowers
canola fields
iced Chai tea lattes
reading outside
open windows
sand castles

and the list goes on! I’d love for you to share your favorite summertime thing(s)! Come one, I know you want to. Don’t be shy and add to the list!

Catching Up!

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Karyn Good

A little housecleaning before things get back to something that resembles normal next week! With the release of my romantic suspense, BACKLASH, things have been a little crazy around here. Add in the beginning of the long awaited summer and a complete kitchen renovation that extended into a total main floor update and all regular scheduled programming goes out the window. Crazy can be a good thing, but it’s always reassuring to get back into a sort-of-routine. Consider this my first attempt.

Carnivalesque: The Travelling Blog Show is on hiatus for the summer! BUT some of us are getting ready for our Carnivalesque Summer Reading Challenge: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. If you’re interested in following along and checking in for our thoughts as we read through you can go here. And if you’d like to join the challenge, feel free! We’d love to read along with you! Either way, please know we love to hear your comments!

Lucky for me, Jane Eyre came free with my Kobo ereader! So, I’m ready to read. I have to admit to never making it through one of the classics so I’m super excited for this challenge. As a longtime book club member I love reading books in the company of others. For me, it’s the only way to read books you might be hesitant about but really want to try. Looking forward to talking it out ups the chances of success.

Congratulations to Janet who’s my June contest winner for a $10 Gift Certificate to Amazon.

Also, you can win a copy of BACKLASH tomorrow at The Romance Reviews Sizzling Summer Reads Contest. You do have to be registered with Romance Reviews but I hear it’s painless. You will need to answer a little scavenger hunt question but that will be pain-free as well! There are over 400 prizes available with the Grand Prize being a $100 gift certificate!

Have a great weekend! My husband and son return from a bike trip to Holland on Saturday after a ten day absence! That’s going to the highlight of my weekend! I can’t wait to hear all about their adventure. Until then the sun is shining and the lounge chair by the pool is beckoning! Jane Eyre is waiting. And my in-laws have offered to cook us supper. Again. Life is good!

The Romance Reviews Sizzling Summer Reads Contest

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Karyn Good

The Sizzling Summer Reads Party starts tomorrow (July 1) at 12:00am EST. There are more than 400 prizes up for grabs during the whole month of July. Grand prize is a $100 Gift Certificate!

You’ll have a chance to win a digital copy of my romantic suspense, BACKLASH, on July 7th!

Channeling Ferris Bueller

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Karyn Good

This Thursday on our travelling blog we talked about our favourite places. So, as a tie into that I thought I’d blog about playing hooky. Come on, we’ve all done it! Maybe it’s a mental health day from work? Bowing out of a social engagement? Or skipping out of Sunday supper with the extended family? A class?

We all have a little Ferris Bueller in us!

We don’t make a habit of it and the reason has to be a very good one. But if you’re not comfortable telling a little white lie to your boss, friend, or family member, there are ways you can take some time to yourself without the guilt. Take a paid one-day holiday from work, send the rest of the family off to supper without you, give your tickets away to someone else who’d really enjoy the show but might never get there otherwise.

Sloane: What are we going to do?

Ferris: The question isn’t “what are we going to do,” the question is “what aren’t we going to do?”

Now I don’t know about you but my favourite way to play hooky is to hideaway with an awesome book. The book that I’ve been eagerly waiting for and counting down to until release day. All I want to do is call dibs on the living room couch and settle in to read. Then I pretend I’m invisible. And deaf.

Bueller?… Bueller?… Bueller?

The fact remains that it would have to be a pretty special book to go to all the trouble to carve out considerable hours of your hectic day to indulge. So what book would be worth skipping out of something? For me that would be JR Ward’s next installment in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I can’t wait for Blay and Qhuinn’s story. Can. Not. Wait. Maybe it would be JK Rowlings next offering. Thankfully, the possibilities are endless.

Added to that summertime is the perfect time to play hooky in my neck of the woods. The hot weather is here. Today marks the start of Canada Day weekend. Let the festivities begin. Here are a few facts to prove just how vast of a country Canada really is!

The border between Canada and the United States is officially known as the International Boundary. At 5,525 miles, including 1,538 miles between Canada and Alaska, it is the world’s longest border between two nations.
At 3,855,103 square miles, Canada is the second largest country in the world, behind Russia.
Alert, in Nunavut territory, is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world.
Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 151,600 miles.

But my personal favourite fact is this one:

Cryptozoologists claim that Canada is the home of several cryptids, including Sasquatch, a giant sloth-like creature known as the beaver-eater, a cannibalistic wildman named Windigo, and a number of lake monsters, such as Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia.

Find more interesting Canadian facts here

So grab a mickey, or a 2-4, some Timbits and lets get this party started. Happy July 1st to my fellow Canadians and Happy Independence Day to my American friends! Feel free to share an interesting fact about your place in the world.

Carnivalesque: Your Favourite Place To Be

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Karyn Good

Everyone needs a favourite place. Somewhere to kick back and relax! I’m sharing my mine over at Hayley’s blog. Join us and share yours!

Six Sentence Sunday

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Karyn Good

It’s Sunday! Yay! That means six sentences from many different authors are up and waiting for you to read them. Whether they’re from published or pre-published works, they’re sure to entertain! Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday!

The following comes from a work-in-progress and is my second Aspen Lake story. This is Kate Logan and Seth Stone’s story. They are about to be introduced.

“Can I help you?” She plunged into the Kate Logan act. Relished the comfort of the fit. The shaky Kate disappeared behind a raised brow and the strut that had made her famous.

He said something to Grace before turning towards her and the full impact of the whole package hit her square in the chastity belt. She beat down the urge to smooth a hand over her skirt. Instead she put one stiletto in front of the other and advanced.

I love reading your comments and be sure to tour around to read other wonderful snippets.

Carnivalesque: 50 Shades & The Temptation to Write Erotic Romance

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Karyn Good

It’s Thursday and Carnivalesque is making a stop at Joanne Brothwell‘s blog. Everyone is talking about 50 Shades of Grey and so are we. At least, in terms of huge success and whether we’d consider trying our hand at writing it. Join Jana Richards, Hayley E. Lavik, Janet Corcoran and I as we go were none of us has gone before!