Blog
Gratitude for the little things
I’m currently dealing with several personal and professional challenges causing stress and worry. So now more than ever, I’m digging into my metaphorical “coping toolbox” to find joy, practice self-care and remind myself to be grateful for the little things. Smelling...
A date, a day trip & February fun
Canadian winters can sometimes seem endless. This year, amidst a succession of grey, overcast days filled with work and the regular routine, a special day trip made for much-needed February fun. Although I love my small-town world, there are times I also crave city...
Books, beer and “Secrets, Spies & Family Ties in WWII and Today”
If you subscribe to my monthly reader newsletter, you may remember in January I mentioned a podcast chat with author Laura Vosika and Certified Cicerone (beer sommelier) Michael Agnew, hosts of “Books and Brews: Where Literature Meets Beer.” In that chat, I read three...
Best & hardest things about being an author: Are they what you expect?
I’m speaking to my local writing group next week about life as a traditionally published author and moving from writing as a hobby to a job. As such, I’ve been thinking about what being an author means and the best and hardest things about this career. Building a...
Looking to 2023 with hope
Hope is a theme in my next Second World War women’s fiction novel, The Secrets of Grey Oaks Hall. In both the historical and contemporary timelines, female protagonists hold to hope and the promise of better times ahead when life—and living it—are dark. Hope is also...
The season of giving
Since I live in a small town with no home mail delivery, I receive mail via a box at the local post office. At this time of year, when Floppy Ears dons her festive red coat and we take our daily walk to the post office, that box is stuffed with glossy catalogues,...
Time to “Breathe”
Most of us take breathing for granted, exemplified by the expression “as natural as breathing.” Breathing is natural…until it isn’t. As some of you know, I have asthma, a chronic lung condition. Although my asthma is usually well-controlled, this autumn I’ve had a...
Cover love & a glimpse behind the scenes: “A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy” (coming April 2023)
My next book for Harlequin Heartwarming (following Montana Reunion in the Montana Carters miniseries) is A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy, out next April. In this post, I want to give you a glimpse "behind the scenes" and share not only how a book cover is created but...
An author’s internet searches & five things I learned this week for writing
Authors, including me, jest that it’s lucky nobody in authority checks our internet search histories. Since I’m not a crime writer, I don’t have the browsing history that comes from wanting to find out things like “poisons made from everyday household items.” However,...
Photo by Robin Spencer, Spencer Studio