Blog
July 2019
Sunday 7th July 2019
I am super late with my July Blog because my husband Roy, our border terrier Abbey, and I have been to Wales for the past week. This was a completely spontaneous event in direct response to my husband lamenting that we had not made any holiday plans for this summer. My idea of 'going away for a holiday' is to anyplace outside the British Isles. But when I heard Roy say yet again he would like to go to Wales I knew I had to get in…
June 2019
Monday 3rd June 2019
My decision a couple of years ago to start a monthly blog attached to my website was for two reasons—to try and nurture/retain an interest in my books from new and existing readers, especially in the time between book releases, and as a way of instilling some discipline into my life. I need deadlines and I do try to work to them, but every so often, such as this month, I miss one. I'm late with my blog, and while no one is going to punish me, I'm not very happy about it. I feel as if I've let a bit of June get away from me-…
May 2019
Thursday 2nd May 2019
Last month I wrote about the satisfaction I got from typing the words THE END as I finished my latest book, Those Who Wait. After the…
April 2019
Monday 1st April 2019
One of the greatest satisfactions in my writing life is when I type the words THE END. I did this two days ago when I finished the novel I began writing last May. I am hoping THOSE WHO WAIT will be available on Amazon by this May. I had been using a working title up until the day I finished my novel, and then not only the title, but the cover design for my book came together in rapid succession. I do actually love the entire creative writing process. I write because it is what I am driven to do. Regardless whether words are actually being typed…
March 2019
Saturday 2nd March 2019
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.—Charles Dickens. Growing up in and living in a number of states bordering Canada, March was often a month of winter's last gasp—heavy snow full of moisture as we neared spring—a real pain to shovel! By the end of the month I would be fed up with the white stuff, but knew spring was…
February 2019
Sunday 3rd February 2019
My husband and I recently attended a showing of The Wife at our village movie night. If you aren't familiar with it, it's the story of an American who has just won the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. As he travels to Stockholm with his wife and son to accept his award, his relationship with his wife and her relationship to his writing is revealed. I don't want to give the story away, but lurking in the background were the ideas that authors struggle to write and how it's almost a pitched battle getting words on the page. The movie left me thinking not so much about its plot but about writing in general, and my relationship…
January 2019
Saturday 5th January 2019
The tree is down. Ornaments and decorations are all gently packed away for next Christmas. Our house looks refreshingly stark,…
December 2018
Monday 3rd December 2018
Every year at this time I write a reasonably short letter to go with our Christmas cards. With family on both sides of the Atlantic this has always felt like a good way to keep in…
November 2018
Tuesday 6th November 2018
When I first started to do BLOGS for my website, I set myself the goal of trying to always turn out a new one the first of every month. Plans this month have gone haywire. I started November's BLOG on October 31st and I'm still struggling. It isn't that I don't have any thoughts—it's just that I'm finding it difficult to organize them. First, we are approaching the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I, and although I had a pretty good schooling on The Great War (always wondered about that title!) I have felt the need to learn more. I had a great uncle (British)…
October Blog
Monday 1st October 2018
My husband and I did a fair amount of traveling in September. The travel proved to be very nostalgic for me, returning first to Seattle (last time was in 1995!) and then Minneapolis (last time was in 1998!), visiting friends and family. I lived and worked in both locations and had good memories of those experiences. But in both Seattle and Minneapolis, I felt a real sadness. I've lost dear friends in those cities- friends who passed away far…
September Blog
Saturday 1st September 2018
It's here again! September! It's always been a month of changes for me, with many new beginnings in my history. I've always been very peripatetic, finding it difficult to settle in a home or even in a state. And…
August 2018
Wednesday 1st August 2018
ON THE MOVE My novels always involve some form of movement. My "Breaking Camp Mystery Series" takes a retired couple travelling all across America. My novels As Clear as Glass and Running from the Moon move readers through centuries. For a Rainy Day moves across countries and Winter Pursuit takes readers across decades and continents. The journey is what shapes my characters, changing them as my journeys have changed me. Their travels are always undertaken with a purpose, with an end in mind, even if this is not evident from the outset. I'm presently working on a novel that is a real 'road trip' novel. My characters are forced to…
