Blog
Too many blonds and a magical dog
One of the many wonderful things about being a published author is having the support of a team of people who help me become a better writer. In the past week, I've worked on agent's edits for my third book, Back Home at Firefly Lake (March 2018), and copyeditor's...
Making a joyful noise
As some of you know, I joined a choir last year. Every Thursday night, I gather with friends and neighbours at my church to sing together and prepare to lead the congregation in the musical part of the Sunday worship service. During that practice time, I'm not...
A memory, a bookstore and an “epoch in my life”
My mom loved books and reading. I have cherished childhood memories of not only time spent reading together, but also going to bookstores with her on Saturday afternoons, my carefully saved allowance tucked into a pink purse in the depths of her bag. Those...
Sending my book baby out into the world
My very first published book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, releases on January 31. Although advance review copies are already in circulation, the shiny, finished book doesn’t hit shelves and e-readers until next Tuesday. In the author world, a book release is called a...
“A cup of kindness”— how a memory inspired my word for 2017
If you read my blog regularly, you know that I choose a "word for the year." Sometimes it’s an easy choice and, as the new year turns, I'm anticipating how to incorporate my word as a guiding principle in everyday life. Other years, and as was the case as 2016 limped...
Thank you…
The week between Christmas and New Year is a punctuation mark at the end of the year. For me, it's a lull before launching headlong into the blank calendar pages to come. In a year that's been more surreal (dictionary company Merriam-Webster’s word for 2016) than...
Hope, love and the meaning of life in a Christmas cactus
The past year has been difficult for many of us, and my word of the year, "gratitude," has taken on a poignancy I could never have anticipated when I chose it last January. In some ways, I'll be grateful to see the end of 2016 for it’s been a year of turbulence and...
Meet me at the diner: Debut author Arlene McFarlane
With this post, I'm launching a new, occasional series on my blog featuring interviews with author friends about their new releases. I've called it "meet me at the diner" because in the small communities I write about, diners are gathering places with a special,...
Remembering my mom…and a special giveaway
Sunday, November 20th is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. It's a day I've marked since my mother was killed crossing a street while returning home from an ordinary, afternoon shopping trip. Road death is sudden, shocking, and it forever changes the...
Photo by Robin Spencer, Spencer Studio