I love being a Mother! But I’ll be honest, lots of days I fail at the job of mothering. Being a mother is hard. There have been many times I’ve wished I was in possession of a psychology degree or was, at the very least, was a mindreader. There are so many fierce, wonderful mothers out there that have provided me with inspiration. My own Momma included. I love her to the moon and back.

I’m thinking of my favourite books and who the mother characters were or weren’t in those stories. Although, in most of these stories the protagonist is often motherless. Take Anne Shirley, from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. And of course, Disney is in love with the storyline of motherless children and animals.

The lack of mothers, the search for mothers, the importance of mothers is an far-reaching theme in books, movies, art, etc. Everyone, regardless of their origins, needs the warm, loving, protecting embrace of a mother.

In my own writing, for instance, motherhood is often a theme. In BACKLASH (Aspen Lake Series, Book 1), Constable Chase Porter and young Jason McCarran are both motherless and victims of abusive fathers. In EXPOSED (Aspen Lakes Series Book 2), recovering alcoholic Kate Logan’s own mother passed away when she was a teenager. In Gone (Aspen Lake Series Book 3 Work-In-Progress) Grace Bighill’s mother disappeared when she was 12. In OFF THE GRID (The Downtown Eastside Series) Sophie Monroe feels responsible for her older sister, Marnie, and is more of a mother to her than their own mother. Another character, Kellie Andrews, a young woman alone and afraid about to give birth.

Mothers in Fiction

Other books come to mind when I think of various mothers defending their family, their property, or their life. And other books depicting mothers who struggle or fail to give their children what they need. And women who adopt the role of mothering. Mothering isn’t necessarily a main theme of all of them, but these books all included mothers I’ve never forgotten or women who survived neglectful relationships with their own mothers or women who had no mother’s at all. I’ve listed a few of them in the order that I read them.

1. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
4. The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell by Nadia Hashimi
5. Room by Emma Donaghue
6. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
7. We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

I’m beyond thankful for my own mother who’s wonderful at mothering. I’m thankful for books who tell the stories of mothers and mothering. What are some of your favourite fictional mothers?

I’m not the most coordinated person on the planet. I’m also not the strongest or the fleetest of foot. But I’m learning that doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of getting healthy. I’m also realizing that my exercise self can learn a little something from my writing self. Determination and the desire to improve are everything.

I’m a grinder.

Merriam Webster’s definition of a grinder: athlete who succeeds through hard work and determination rather than exceptional skill.

I’m not sure about the athlete part, but as someone who started at the bottom of the fitness rung, I’ve definitely made progress during my five month strength and fitness training journey. Heck, as a person who hadn’t done a squat or a lunge (never mind a plank, because WHAT!) in literally decades, I’ve come a LONG way. I’ve learned being slow, methodical and clumsy doesn’t matter. By showing up and doing the work, even when I’d REALLY rather not, my physical strength is returning and my mental health is improving. I’m increasing my flexibility, balance, endurance, and coordination. So, win!

My writing is following the same path at the moment. The words aren’t flowing and the path forward is often foggy. But I’m determined to get this project done so I will sit my butt in my chair and I will work through my roadblocks. I will grind away until I get where I want to go.

But back to exercising! Here are a couple of things I use for inspiration and motivation.

Harder To Kill Podcast by Steph Gaudreau. Steph is also the force behind Stupid Easy Paleo which focusses on nutrition, fitness, and mindset. Steph’s philosophies also jive with the things I’m learning from my personal trainer (Yes! I have one of the those and more on that in another post).

Nerd Fitness Blog. An excellent resource.

Run, Selfie, Repeat – Kelly Roberts. Kelly is on a mission to help others become the strongest version of themselves. She’s honest and open and lots of fun. She also just ran the London Marathon (it didn’t go well) and got a selfie with Prince Harry.

You gotta be who you are. Own your starting point. Set a goal. And grind away at it until it’s met.

Are you, like me, a grinder?

It’s a party! And a chance to win prizes!

The Romance Reviews Sizzling Summer Reads Party!

Check out the games for chances to win prizes like gift cards and book giveaways! The Grand Prize is a $100 Amazon gift card! Log in at The Romance Reviews to play along.

Kate Logan needs a safe haven, a place to start over after her modeling career disintegrates in scandal. But her hometown of Aspen Lake isn’t the sanctuary she hoped. Her vow of a low-key life is disrupted by a break-in and other strange happenings at her boutique. As the chair of Aspen Lake’s Gothic Revival Festival, she’s also drawn the ire of a religious fanatic. Kate is up to her stilettos in drama and intrigue including one sexy carpenter who’s determined to get in her way.

New to town, Seth Stone is seeking inspiration and solitude to concentrate on his art. Short on funds, he agrees to take on a second job restoring the damage to Kate’s Closet. Trouble erupts along with the desire to get to know Kate better. When he’s used as a pawn in a smear campaign against his gorgeous boss Seth fights back. But now the whole town is watching. Including the man determined to further his own agenda. Time is running out with nowhere to hide.

Here’s a sample of my summer to-be-read pile!

What books are you looking forward to reading this summer?

Here we are and it’s almost June! This spring seemed to be our month for projects and some spring cleaning. I’m guessing it’s the same for lots of people who usher in spring this time of year and have projects in need of doing after a long winter.

And it’s true that physical activity promotes brainstorming, even if I’m not aware it’s happening in tandem with carrying out my other responsibilities. I’m happy to say I’ve had a few ah-ha moments this spring. Little bits I can’t wait to incorporate into my work-in-progress. I love revising! It’s one of my favourite parts of writing – adding in the layers and little details. And the satisfaction of tying all the plot threads together. Sometimes you have to get out of your own head to make that happen. And although I feel like I haven’t gotten much actual writing done lately, I’ve done a lot of thinking.

It’s also raised some important questions about my next writing project. I have an idea in mind for my next endeavour but whether that will be a romantic suspense or suspense with romantic elements is a surprising question I’ve found myself asking. Which has led to thoughts about branding and how I want to move forward.

It’s also helped me figure out which direction my Downtown Eastside series will take. In the beginning I had planned on three separate stories (because trilogies are my favourite) with three separate sets of heroes and heroines. But it’s really Sophie and Caleb’s story. If When I proceed, the next two books will continue with the intended plot lines and new secondary characters but the lead roles will be played by Off The Grid’s hero and heroine. I love those two and I’m not ready to be done with them and I don’t think they’re done with the story. Each story will continue to be a standalone book although the theme of the story will continue through to the next book.

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. —Agatha Christie

It might be the dishes, which I don’t do by the way, or it might be something else. She who cooks does not clean around here. And I do most of the cooking. But here’s a bit more on the major and no-so-major projects happening around the Good household. Projects that very much needed to be done!

Culling and decluttering of closet!

Also, new his and her hangers. Colour coding makes me happy.

Culling and decluttering of garage. Much bigger job! Not quite finished by it’s more than on it’s way to being done.

Before:

After:

Finally, the rest of the old fence has been replaced with new PVC fencing.

And lastly spring planting has begun and the flowerbeds are filling with colour! Fingers crossed the plants actually survive. While I love flowers, I do not have a green thumb!

There were a couple of painting projects we hired the professionals to do. More on that later. Maybe. Unless you’re bored senseless!

What are some seasonal projects you’ve tackled lately?