I love June! The weather has turned sweet and breezy and the evenings are made for walking. It’s leafy green everywhere you look, the sun is warm, and the birds are singing. It’s bliss! And any summer fun always involves reading. It’s time to stock up on all the books for reading at the beach, on the patio, in a hammock…you get the idea.
Night Owl Reviews wants to help you out! They are giving away a Waterproof Kindle Paperwhite (USA Only) and 119 $5.00 Amazon Gift Cards (Worldwide) in a Summer Fun Reader Scavenger Hunt.
This time of year I’m busy outside planting flowers then settling back, watering and fertilizing, waiting while they grow to fill and spill over the pots.
I’m also busy at work writing the first book in a new series about another small prairie town with a whole new cast of interesting (I hope) characters. Three entrepreneurs bond while trying to make a success of their businesses. Darcy House (a bed and breakfast), the Shrub Hub (a greenhouse nursery), and The Ugly Duckling (a rustic bar) are at the heart of the women struggling to make them a success.
Ever since a devastating family tragedy seventeen years ago, Grace Bighill has struggled to keep her remaining family from falling apart. Then the discovery of her mother’s body in the woods unearths a connection to a decades old murder case, and Grace is dragged into a politician’s bitter bid for revenge.
Constable Mike Davenport’s days in Aspen Lake are numbered. He’s ready to take his next step up the career ladder somewhere a lot more cosmopolitan. He’s avoided any emotional attachments, despite having fallen hard for a certain stubborn local. But when a body turns up, Mike’s careful intentions collapse in the face of Grace’s grief and her exhaustive efforts to care for her family.
A search for answers leads Grace and Mike down a twisted path proving no one can escape their roots. But someone might die trying.
Have fun with the scavenger hunt! In the comments, tell me a favourite summertime activity.
It’s always good to have a little time away from it all to recharge. That’s exactly what I did a week and a half ago. I took a break and went to Vancouver with a friend. We had a lovely time and shared lots of laughs, meals, and walks.
And we did walk. A lot! On our last night in Vancouver, we gave our tired feet a rest and went on a sunset dinner cruise. We sailed past the gorgeous downtown skyline, the cruise ship terminal of Canada Place, the mountains that guard the North Shore, beautiful Stanley Park, and colourful Granville Island. On top of the incredible scenery, there was live music and wonderful food.
I also managed to get a little reading in, mostly on the plane ride there and back, but by the time we landed I had finished our book club pick for May, Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine.
Gwen Proctor isn’t the name she was born with. She’s changed it to hide herself away from the past. Because the past brings with it a brutal serial killer ex-husband, suspicion that she got away with murder, and enemies she can’t even begin to count.
Gwen is going to protect her kids from that past.
At any cost.
I hope you have a chance to get away and grab a little time for yourself, even if it’s just for a few hours. I know how hard that can be to manage, at times. That’s the great thing about reading. It’s possible to slip into the pages of a book and feel like you traveled to a different place.
Until next time…
When was the last book you read? I love book recommendations!
GONE, my newest release, became available yesterday. I’m super excited to say my book shares a birthday with Baby Sussex, Harry and Meghan’s bundle of joy. Who else thinks they should name their baby Spencer after Princess Diana? Wouldn’t that be great?
Releasing a book into the world is always fun, but very terrifying. However, early readers are saying nice things so I’m calming down. A bit. There’s nothing more terrifying that hearing someone say, “I read your book.” Gulp. So much is invested in those pages. It’s not only about the story. Your books showcase your sense of craft. Your view of the world. And not everyone is going to like what you have to say , or how you say it.
Now that GONE is out in the world, it doesn’t only belong to me. When a reader purchases a copy, it is theirs to interrupt how they wish. I remember when my daughter was small and I was concerned about her eating habits. In other words, I was stressing out because she wouldn’t do what I wanted her to do. There was a definite power struggle going on in our house and eating was the currency being used to manipulate each other. My daughter has special needs and at the time in a program that provided a psychologist. I went to her for advice on getting my daughter to eat. What I was really asking was how do I get her to eat what I wanted her to eat. Her advice has stayed with me to this day and I have applied it to many things. She said I was responsible for what was served and how it was presented, and my daughter was responsible for how much she ate and if she ate at all.
That sums up my philosophy towards launching books into the world. I’m offering a book I’ve worked hard to craft with a story I care about. Readers can decide to read it or not, and if they read it whether they like it or not.
Having said that, I’m overjoyed when readers connect with my stories!
It’s blog tour time where I’ll be sharing excerpts from the first chapter of GONE! AND there’s a rafflecopter giveaway for $25, too.
In every book I write there is a secondary character who’s tried to take over the story. In OFF THE GRID it was Sophie’s sister. I could have written a whole series based around Marnie’s character as a Finder in the infamous Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. In BACKLASH it was Jason, Lily’s student, a teenage boy who was targeted by gang members. In EXPOSED, Sunni, the mistress of Kate’s father, Bill Logan, drew me in and she could have had her own story, too. Ian Connelly in GONE stole my heart from the beginning with his silence and his gruffness.
They are essential in helping tell the story of the protagonists by either supporting or resisting them. They are a great way to drop hints, reveal information the reader needs to know but the protagonist might not, and to foreshadow events. They also represent the state of the world being created in the story. They have essential knowledge of the inner workings of your world, be it contemporary, paranormal, or historical. They have secrets, their own lives, and their own motivations but remain in the background. They are the stalwart mentor, the quirky best friend, the loyal confident, the cynical co-worker, or the jealous family member.
If you’re a Harry Potter fan and I mention Dolores Umbridge, her snickering laugh and pink outfits will instantly come to mind and make you shudder. Large Marge in Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone is a strong, resilient big-city transplant who represents the landscape of Alaska and what is needed to survive there. Often in romance, secondary characters are way to introduce the protagonists of the next book in the trilogy or series. They are a way to carry the theme or premise of the series to the next book and give us a delicious insight to what will happen next.
And, ultimately, they exist to help keep us entertained!
Until next time…
Who are some of your favourite secondary characters?
Ever since a devastating family tragedy seventeen years ago, Grace Bighill has struggled to keep her remaining family from falling apart. Then the discovery of her mother’s body in the woods unearths a connection to a decades old murder case, and Grace is dragged into a politician’s bitter bid for revenge.
Constable Mike Davenport’s days in Aspen Lake are numbered. He’s ready to take his next step up the career ladder somewhere a lot more cosmopolitan. He’s avoided any emotional attachments, despite having fallen hard for a certain stubborn local. But when a body turns up, Mike’s careful intentions collapse in the face of Grace’s grief and her exhaustive efforts to care for her family.
A search for answers leads Grace and Mike down a twisted path proving no one can escape their roots. But someone might die trying.
I’m beyond excited for GONE to come into the world. As the final book in my Aspen Lake trilogy, it’s a pleasure to wrap this series up with Grace and Mike’s story. Two people broken by grief and family dysfunction.
To celebrate, BACKLASH, Aspen Lake Book 1, is available for 99 cents until April 5th!
If you haven’t read the first book in my Aspen Lake Series, BACKLASH, now is your chance. It’s is on sale until April 5th for 99 cents. Or whatever 99 cents converts to in your country!
Chase rubbed at the
grinding ache settling in at the base of his skull. Gang violence showing up in
the tranquility capital of the world proved what law enforcement knew for a
fact: gang activity was escalating in both rural and urban districts. The
infestation extended across the country. Controlling it was like trying to
shovel a hill of shit with a teaspoon. Raphael Tessier seldom left the cover of
his hill. His appearance in Aspen Lake was an anomaly. Chase needed to know
what had necessitated the out of character move. And what a scrawny teenage boy
had to do with any of it? Or his teacher?
He paused in the
open doorway and studied the five feet, six inches of complication seated at
the battered metal table. His jaw clenched as Lily tucked a strawberry blond
curl behind her ear. After a span of ten years the girl-next-door look she had
going on still had the power to muddle with his brain. Instead of focusing on
the bad guys every taste bud he owned was salivating; each fingertip was
coveting a touch.
It was bloody demoralizing.
Fantasizing didn’t have any place in his game plan. He needed to strategize. He had zero time for small town, freckle-faced schoolteachers who smelled like blue sky, wheat fields, and the toughest decision he’d ever made. He cleared his throat and pushed away from the doorframe. Time to put his money where his mouth was.
“Lily.”
She flinched at the sound. He gestured to a chair across from her, waited for her nod of permission. And because he’d morphed into a pathetic loser, he noted the slow slide of her tongue over her bottom lip, the skittish eye movements, along with the infinitesimal head bob. He tossed the file he’d been holding onto the table between them. The slap of sound calmed his nerves as he settled into the chair.
“Can I get you anything?” Coffee, tea, protective bubble wrap.
She lifted up the disposable cup in front of her. “No, thank you.”
“Where’s Jason?” He shifted on the hard seat. “Is he all right?””
“He’s on his way to the doctor’s.”
“Okay. Then what can you tell me about the confrontation in the parking lot?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for one of the officers before getting into that?”
“Right now, I’m it.”
“I don’t understand.” Her fingers tightened around her cup, and the resulting pop from the pressure filled the small space. She glanced back at the door, all confusion, and he knew she was hoping for some kind of intervention. For someone else to join them, anyone else. “What do you have to do with all this? Why are you back here?”
Stalling, he settled his arms on the tabletop. She didn’t trust him. He also got she was the last person she’d want dropping back into her life. The file between them held some of her answers. There rest were buried so deep inside him, it made ignoring them all part of the routine.
He offered her an anemic look of confusion. “Here?”
“Yes. Here. In this
room. In Aspen Lake. In the parking lot of my school.” She spread her hands out
and motioned around her. “Here!” She averted her gaze and inhaled a deep breath
before spotlighting him, apprehension darkening her eyes, deepening the blue
color.
“My job.” To him,
it was that simple.
“Your job?”
“I’ve been
transferred to the Aspen Lake detachment.”
“You’re a cop?” Her
look of skepticism said it all. The air of disbelief pricked at his ego and he
shifted in his chair. Like all the times in fifth grade when his teacher, Miss
Carlisle, had asked him why he had no lunch. Had asked questions about his
father.
“Is that so hard to believe?” He had worked his ass off to get where he was, and he was a damned good cop. The work he did with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, and his reputation, proved his dedication to his job. None of which she’d be aware of, or care about if she did. When he burnt a bridge, the only thing he left behind was ash.
Until next time…
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt and that you come back next week to find out the release date of GONE, Aspen Lake Series Book 3.
Apparently, the best time to be creative is immediately after waking. The best time to edit and proof your efforts comes later in the day, after your brain has let all those creative juices flow and is warmed up, so to speak. Or so science says.
My brain hasn’t gotten the memo. I’m not one of those people who have inspiration hit in the shower, nor does it spark with the first bits of toast. My mind has already started making a list of every single thing I need to get done that day. And every item on that list is seemingly more important than making time for my creative process to emerge. To combat that I make sure I get up early enough to read a couple of pages in a book or of the paper while I wait for my tea to steep. I have breakfast, get dressed, and settle into my office chair. Then I look to inspiration to strike. As I’m usually checking Facebook or Instagram, this rarely happens immediately.
But I’m trying to spend less time on social media and more time fostering creativity. Doodling is one of my favourite things. And watercolours are my new favourite medium despite having a lot to learn. Doodling and playing with colour helps settle my mind. Then I generally take care of marketing and promotion duties. I write for an hour. Then I write again in the afternoon. So, the opposite of what science suggests.
Maybe on of these days I’ll actually get around to listening to Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life that is waiting patiently in my Audible to-be-read pile. But that day is not today.
Until the next time…
When do you fit in time to be creative? Or to read? Or do something that settles your mind or feeds your soul?
Robin Hood is one of my favourite folk heroes. Who could resist stories of an outlaw that steals from the rich and gives to the poor? Displaced, cast out, with a price on his head, the idea of Robin Hood, a rebel for the ages, has infinite appeal. At least, for me!
But I love myths and legends. King Arthur, Templar Knights! Tell me all your medieval favourites. I used to read a lot of medieval romances, Julie Garwood, Johanna Lindsay, Jude Deveraux. Writers with “J” names are very good at this, it seems. Castles, ladies of the keep, witches, knights, villainous villains, swords and poisonings. Oh my gosh, those books have the best bad guys!
Back to the movies and which were my favourite versions and which one was a huge disappointment.
We rented the newest Robin Hood version on the weekend. I was excited! I love Jamie Foxx! I wanted it to be good. It was not. It was terrible. Mine boggling terrible. The costumes were ridiculous. The plot holes were large enough to drive a team of horses through. At one point, my husband asked if we were actually going to finish watching it. We did, but once was enough. More than enough.
I’m not a huge Russell Crowe fan, but I love him as Robin Hood. Sigh. Almost as much as I love Cate Blanchett as Lady Mariann. I love that they are mature characters, in both temperament and age. There’s also a great cast of secondary characters. And I love that the legend begins when the movie ends. This is my favourite version, so far. It’s one of those movies I watch when I’m in need of comfort. It hits all my buttons. Every time.
Followed ever so closely by Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Despite his abysmal attempt at an accent, Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood will forever have a place in my heart. But ahead of him, is Alan Rickman’s Sheriff Of Nottingham and Morgan Freeman’s Azeem. This is another version I could watch over and over again.
My love of the legend probably began with this movie version that I saw in the theatre as a young girl in 1973. It might have been the first movie that I remember seeing in the theatre. I was enchanted by the legend, the characters, and the music.
Until next time…
If there are other versions of the Robin Hood story that you’ve loved, let me know. I’d love to check them out!
It doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure. It can just be pleasurable.
There should be no guilt attached to the things we choose to enjoy. I don’t know about you, but I need things like books and cupcakes and new shoes to balance groceries, laundry, work, and worrying about my kids. We’ve had more extreme cold warnings this winter then I can remember and the coldest temperatures in 80 years. Our daughter-in-law brought over cinnamon buns last weekend. I ate two. I’m not sorry. I enjoyed every delicious bite.
Also, books! Reading is a pleasure for me, as it is for a lot of people. We should be allowed to read anything we wish. We shouldn’t have to apologize for our reading choices. We shouldn’t be made to feel like we have to publicly reject the books we enjoy in private. The literary police can take a hike.
Books should be accessible, and in most instances they are. They are found in libraries, schools, bookstores, online, and a variety of other places. We can read paper books or ebooks. We can listen to audiobooks. We can stick to one type of book or enjoy a variety of stories. We can read memoirs or cookbooks, or DIY manuals. Newspapers. Periodicals. Magazines. But what we want to read must be available to us. The offerings must be there so we can pick and choose. No one has the right to restrict the access of books to others.
My Top Five Guilt-Free Pleasures!
Colouring my hair. Because I love my blonde hair.
My 80s playlist. Including but not limited to REO Speedwagon, Quiet Riot, Chicago, Laura Branigan, and .38 Special.
Watching Forged in Fire. Because modern-day blacksmiths making knives and swords is awesome.
Shoes. Do I really need to explain this one…
Keenau Reeves. Because Speed is the best movie ever made.
It’s Friday and you’re asking yourself: “What should I read this weekend?” If you like small town, contemporary romance, then I’ve have just the book for you! And if, like me, second chance romances are you’re absolute favourite, then this is the book for you! If you like tales of forbidden love, family conflict, and babies, then same! Bonus – you get a chance to enter Jana’s giveaway!
Five Things You Need to Know About the Masonville Series
This small-town series is set in the fictional town of Masonville, North Dakota. I’ve given the town a population of 6,000 because I once lived in a town of that size. It’s big enough to have a lot of services, like a hospital and vet clinic, but small enough that everyone knows your business!
In each of the books, the characters have a past trauma or unhappiness they must work through before they can be whole again. And before they can accept love into their lives.
Right now I have four books planned for the series. Several of heroes and/or heroines in each book work in the town’s veterinary clinic. Two of the heroines and one hero are brother and sisters from the Saunders family.
This is the fourth romance series I’ve written. I think I’m getting the hang of this thing! Each book in the series will be a stand-alone story, but as with every series, I think the reading experience is enhanced when read in order.
I am currently at work on book 2 of the series, Garrett and Blair’s story. Garrett is Lauren’s brother, the heroine from CHILD OF MINE, book 1, and Blair works at the vet clinic with Cole, the hero from book 1. See? It all fits together!
Lauren didn’t intend to sleep with her brother-in-law Cole on the day of her husband’s funeral. But now that she is pregnant, she’s not sorry. Cole’s given her a baby, a long-wished-for miracle. He’s been her friend forever, though she never told him or anyone else how unhappy her marriage to his cheating brother was. And she’s afraid to tell the small town that considered her husband a hero that the baby isn’t his.
Cole’s been in love with Lauren since he was sixteen. It kills him that everyone believes the baby is his dead brother’s. All he wants is to claim the baby, and Lauren, as his own. Though she marries him, will Lauren’s heart ever be his?
Lauren must tell the truth or risk losing Cole. Is her newly-discovered love for him greater than her fear of scandal in her hometown?
