April 2023: Round Up

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Karyn Good

We’re back from a much needed vacation. For me, vacations include time away from social media which is why there wasn’t much happening here in April. So, this round up is about our trip to Palm Springs, California. We’re big fans of California.

Palm Springs, California

This was our first time staying in Palm Springs instead of staying near the ocean. I love vacationing by the water but it’s just warmer in the desert, go figure.The desert resort city of Palm Springs lies in the Coachella Valley of southern California. It’s got a very mid-century modern vibe, which I immediately embraced.

In fact, we stayed in a VRBO that was immersed in the mid-century modern style from the architecture to the design details. I loved how the teal tones blended with the brown and orange tones. There was a tiny patio off each bedroom and a lovely landscaped yard with a view of Mount San Jancito State Park.

MCM became popular in Europe post WWII as cost effective way to move forward in function and style. A wide low footprint, flat roof lines, and an abundance of windows put the focus on blending in with nature. The style made it way to America and was embraced by the West Coast, particularly, and Palm Springs quickly became known for all things mid century modern.

Honestly, we didn’t do a lot of exploring and kept it very low key. We swam, we read, we dined. We shopped. We did do a self guided tour of mid century modern homes. Below is the Edris House. You can see and read more about this fabulous house here.

Now it’s back to reality and back to writing.

Until next time…

It’s finally looking like spring has sprung. Time for spring activities. What’s everyone looking forward to doing after a long winter?

March 2023: Round Up

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Karyn Good

Technically it’s spring but still very much winter. As in there is still a lot of snow here. But spring is coming! That’s why when we went to buy furnace filters I also bought gladioli bulbs and dahlia tubers.

The Round Up

March saw us through Pi Day, the Ides of March and St. Patrick’s Day. Also, International Women’s Day, World Poetry Day and International Transgender Day of Visibility.

In fact, today is Transgender Day of Visibility, so here are some things to be aware of:

1. Trans people are valid.
2. Trans people are not a threat.
3. Trans rights are under attack.
4. Trans people need active allyship now more than ever.

Here’s a great list of transgender and non-binary romances from Word Wilderness.

I read some books this month. You can find my thoughts on The Bodyguard by Katherine Center here.

I also read Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade and I really enjoyed it. Plus size heroines for the win! Heroines who identify as fat, even better. We need more positive representation for fat people. Can you tell I’ve been listening to the Maintenance Phase podcast? But also just yes to love stories for all of us.

We went to see Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion at Globe Theatre this month, too. It was written by the very talented Drew Hayden Taylor, a leading Indigenous playwright, and the Globe’s performances were directed by Erin Goodpipe and Jayden Pfeifer.

About Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion:

A ‘buddy’ adventure that is part road trip – part grand heist – this story follows two Ojibway men, Bobby Rabbit, and his wannabe rock star friend Hugh, who leave their reserve and head out on the TransCanada highway to right a cultural wrong. To retrieve his grandfather’s medicine pouch from the British museum, Bobby and Hugh will steal precious relics to hold as ransom – Sir John A. MacDonald’s bones. Along the way they pick up, Anja a white student from a prestigious university with opinions on absolutely everything. These three sort historical fact from fiction to chart their own terms for reconciliation. First premiering at The National Arts Centre, this is a funny and inquisitive piece of theatre that invites us all to brush off the cobwebs of history with grace, courage and a few laughs along the road.

All the performances were so good. We have such talent in our small city. It was funnier than I expected it would be, but with a hard look at the past and present damage inflicted by colonialism. I learned a few things about Sir John A Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, that I didn’t know. And I will never again listen to The Romantics song, What I Like About You without substituting What I Like About Hugh.

Until next time…

Who’s ready for spring?

March 2023: Whisper Creek Book 1 Mood Board

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Karyn Good

March is flying by. Not much to tell you about except that the writing is going well. So, yay!

Mood Board

My heroine is not only looking to open up her family home as a bed and breakfast. She has a sideline gig as a baker. She also makes petit fours, which are delicate little cakes, for her friend, Clare, and her ladies aid group to sell at the Whisper Creek farmer’s market.

So, if you’re in the mood for tiny cakes inspiration, check out this recipe tutorial for stencilled petit fours from Cake Journal. Aren’t they adorable? And made with store bought pound cake!

Photo Credit: Kristen Finley Source: Cake Journal September 20, 2022 Recipe Credit: Kristen Finley

The great thing about being a writer is getting to incorporate ideas into a book that I can’t make happen in my everyday life. I love the idea of stepping through a large metal ring into another part of a garden. I’ve given Charlotte that dream and Ridge, the hero, is just the person to make her landscape dreams happen. I love the idea of a moon gate leading to a midnight garden. It sets a very romantic mood. Who knows what can happen when one finds themselves in such a garden? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Landscape Design: Davis Dalbok & Tim O’Shea
Photo Credit: Davis Dalbok
Source: SFGate

There is both a parlour and a library in the book. Below is my inspiration for the library. I love the dark blue colour of the builtins combined with the rug and the light. I could spend hours in this room curled up with a good book. In the early days of Darcy House, which was built in the early 1900s, this room would have been Charlotte’s great great grandfather’s office. I like to think this maintains the mood of what would have been his domain and turns it into something that appeals to everyone looking for a cozy spot.

Photographer: Donna Griffith Source: House & Home February 2014 Designer: Meredith Heron

A Whisper Creek Snippet:

Until next time…

Does it look like spring in your neck of the woods? Are the crocus blooming? Or do you still have two feet of snow like we do?

March 2023 Book Recommendation: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Karyn Good

March is flying by, the sun continues to shine, and I have a book recommendation. I think the cover made me think of spring!

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Published: MacMillan, July 19, 2022

Categories: Romance / Contemporary /

The Blurb:

My Thoughts:

I picked up this story for three reasons. 1) It got a lot of attention last year. 2) I was looking to end my reading slump. 3) It was available at the library. Usually I don’t pick books written in first person point of view. Or books that are rom-coms. Or books with yellow covers. But I’m so glad I did. It was delightful and just what I needed. It was heartwarming. A bit ridiculous. So sweet. And, at one point, I laughed. Like out loud. Definitely recommend. Especially if you prefer reading romances without sex scenes.

Until next time…

What’s everyone else reading?

March 2023: Our Anniversary Month

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Karyn Good

Today is our anniversary. I had planned on taking a shiny, new photo of us but we’ve been down and out with sinus colds here for the most of the last three weeks. I guess since my word of the year is space, I have to make room for feeling ill too.

Anyhoo, here we are! Looking forward to another year, one that is going to bring big changes for both of us as Jack is retiring at the end of April. More on this crazy business we call our life in May.

Until next time…

May March will good to you.

February 2023 Round Up

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Karyn Good

The Round Up

Despite the still frigid temperatures, there is something about the light in February that warms my soul. Maybe it’s because January was so foggy and cloudy. Beautiful, but the landscape was snow white everywhere you looked. Luckily, this month the sun has been shining more often than not.

This month has been full of birthdays and valentines but very little reading. I’ve been in a reading slump and not because of the books that I picked but because I’ve been in a slump. Damn you, February in Saskatchewan. To combat that slump, I turned to a favourite author to pull me out. I picked up the first book in Nora Roberts’ The Guardian Trilogy, The Stars of Fortune. And it’s working. This is exactly the kind of story I needed. It takes place on the sunny island of Corfu. It’s fantastical. And sexy. And delightful.

The 100 Day Project

I’ve also signed up The 100 Day Project which is a free global art project that takes place online. You can follow along using the hashtag #the100dayproject. The idea is to pick a project and work on it every day for a hundred days, even if it’s for five minutes a day. I’m working on a cross stitch project that I’ve started. It’s an abstract design centred around a butterfly using leftover threads from other projects. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

I’m also brainstorming an art project for our bedroom. Very excited about that too. And Whisper Creek Book One is coming along and I’m relieved to say the words are once again starting to flow.

Until next time…

How do you pass the February days? Maybe you went on a much needed vacation? Read a great book? Baked a cake? Or watch a great show? Let me know.

February 2023: It’s Still Winter

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Karyn Good

Winter is in full swing. There is still a lot of snow on the ground in these parts. Lots. But the sun is shining and the days are getting longer. And in my work-in-progress it’s May and spring. Writing about spring is giving me a break from winter.

My heroine, Charlotte Darcy, has inherited Darcy House, her historic family home, from her grandmother and she has plans to turn it into a bed and breakfast. First she needs to tend to the neglected and overgrown grounds. She’s hired Ridge Bennett, a local landscaper, to manage the project. Ridge has grand plans for the grounds.

Here’s my rudimentary sketch of Ridge’s vision.

I’m in a bit of a reading slump right now. I started a couple of books that I didn’t end up finishing. So, it’s been too much television and not enough reading. I need my daily break from reality and to be utterly immersed in a book. Things are looking up though, I was approved of two ARCs (advance reader copies) that I’m very excited about: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline and Homecoming by Kate Morton.

Until next time…

Who else is feeling the February blahs? And what are you doing to get through February?

February 2023 Book Recommendation: Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Karyn Good

One of my reading goals for 2023, actually my only reading goal, is to read more Canadian authors who’ve written stories set in Canada. Particularly when it comes to the romance genre, which is my favourite for obvious reasons. But I’m also looking for that criteria in general fiction too. Which led me to Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel.

Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel

Published: Penguin Random House, March 8, 2022

Categories: Historical Fiction / Fiction / Canadian History / Canadian Setting /

The Blurb:

1657. Marie, a gifted healer of the Deer Clan, does not want to marry the green-eyed soldier from France who has asked for her hand. But her people are threatened by disease and starvation and need help against the Iroquois and their English allies if they are to survive. When her chief begs her to accept the white man’s proposal, she cannot refuse him, and sheds her deerskin tunic for a borrowed blue wedding dress to become Pierre’s bride.

1675. Jeanne, Marie’s oldest child, is seventeen, neither white nor Algonquin, caught between worlds. Caught by her own desires, too. Her heart belongs to a girl named Josephine, but soon her father will have to find her a husband or be forced to pay a hefty fine to the French crown. Among her mother’s people, Jeanne would have been considered blessed, her two-spirited nature a sign of special wisdom. To the settlers of New France, and even to her own father, Jeanne is unnatural, sinful—a woman to be shunned, beaten, and much worse.

With the poignant, unforgettable story of Marie and Jeanne, Danielle Daniel reaches back through the centuries to touch the very origin of the long history of violence against Indigenous women and the deliberate, equally violent disruption of First Nations cultures.

My Thoughts:

Set in the 1600s, Daughters of the Deer is a very moving and heart wrenching story of how Indigenous women were stripped of their humanity and culture under colonization. Daniel writes of Marie, an Algonkin woman, who is forced to marry a French settler, whose religious ethics clash with Marie’s Algonquin beliefs. She details Marie’s life and gives us a thought provoking look into an Indigenous woman’s experiences with early settlers that few people have heard or been taught. Daniel’s ability to intertwine those harsh realities with the details of everyday life for Marie and the community make for a very compelling and thought provoking read. This book is going to stay with me for a long time. Definitely recommend.

Here is an interview with Danielle Daniel on CBC’s The Next Chapter about her real life connection to Marie and Jeanne.

Until next time…

What’s everyone else reading?

February 2023: To Do List and Favourite Podcasts

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Karyn Good

It’s -39 C with the windchill today. Enough said. But also, why is February both the shortest and longest month of the year? In a world focused on productivity and hustle, it’s challenging to make space dedicated to rest and recovery and wintering. So, I made a fun little list of things to do. Take that, February.

My Three Favourite Podcasts of the Moment:

Maintenance Phase with Aubrey Jordan and Michael Hobbes. Wellness and weight loss, debunked and decoded.

I Love It But I Hate It with Kat Angus and Jocelyn Geddie. Hateful optimists and loving pessimists Kat Angus and Jocelyn Geddie break down movies and TV shows that they totally despise… but also really adore at the same time.

Fated Mates with Sarah MacLean and Jen from Jen Reads Romance. Weekly episodes include romance novel read-alongs and discussions of the work of the genre, highlighting the romance novel as a powerful tool in fighting patriarchy…with absolutely no kink shaming.

If you’re are curious, have a listen. They’re all so good. And I promise you will laugh and who doesn’t need a laugh in February.

Until next time…

What are your plans for February?

January 2023 Round Up

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Karyn Good

Does it make sense to say the days were long but the month flew by? I’ve been in hibernation mode, or wintering, for most of this month. I baked a couple of things, I read a couple of books and I revised a couple of scenes.

I will say that this January had to have been very pretty, a real winter wonderland. We have had lots of fog here, which is a departure from the norm, which resulted in rime frost.

Book Round Up:

I finished Eden Robinson‘s Trickster trilogy. I loved this book and this trilogy. Eden Robinson’s way of weaving carnage and humour makes for an epic read. The final instalment, Return of the Trickster, was a page turner full of magical realism, complicated intergenerational family dynamics and rich storytelling. So much happening. So many characters. Yet, manageable, if that make sense. And Jared. I kept rooting for him. Kept hoping he’d remain tender-hearted while he figured out how to survive all the time supported by a fabulous cast of fierce female characters.

I also read a book by a dear writer friend, Donna Gartshore. Finding Her Voice is a lovely, tenderhearted story of what it looks like to move forward from trauma. They’re both looking for a fresh start while keeping up the walls that have protected them after life dealt bitter hurts. They both have plans for the clinic where Bridget work and both are at cross purposes. But when Sawyer’s grief stricken daughter bonds with Bridget’s shy dog, they have to look deep to take the next step. Sweet, charming, and set in the lovely town of Green Valley, Finding Her Voice will tug at your heartstrings and have you rooting for Bridget and Sawyer.

And my book recommendation for January is Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn, who is one of my favourite authors and you can read my review here.

Baking Round Up:

I made my favourite muffin recipe, Blueberry Turmeric Muffins from Renee Kohlman’s lovely cookbook, All The Sweet Things. You can find her blog, Sweet Sugar Bean here. If you love cookbooks, Renee Kohlman’s two cookbooks are beautiful and include personal stories and I highly recommend buying either of the them. Bonus she’s from Saskatchewan!

Not shown, Salted Chocolate Chip Brown Butter Cookie Bars from the Butternut Bakery Blog. They were delicious! Will definitely be making these again.

I also made an old fashioned apple crisp, one of my very favourite comfort food desserts from The Chunky Chef.

And just like that January is coming to an end.

Until next time…

How did you fill these January days?