That author, me, should put her “BICFOK” Bum in chair, fingers on keyboard.

When I went to my first Romance Writers of America conference, I can’t remember where or when but I did purchase a charm with that same sentiment on it. I recall when I wrote and rewrote my novel Woman of Substance, I had sat so long that I created compression fractures in my spine. A good lesson to learn. We need to take a break from our chairs on occasion. I suppose that is why it is now called the new smoking.

Since writing Woman of Substance which is the book that stemmed from my women’s studies class and at the university I attended after my children left home. Soul Mate Publishing contracted the novel and published it in, 2012.

Prior to that my first novel publication was Moving On published by XOXO Publishers in  Toronto in 2011. Unfortunately, that small press went out of business and I received my rights and Soul Mate agreed to edit, give it a new cover and published it in 2014. Moving On was the novel of the community where my husband and I raised our sons. Regina Beach is a very special place as a resort town on a long narrow lake in a valley scoured out by the ice age.

In 2016, Fearless Destiny my novel exploring what happens to a small community when a natural resource is developed on the doorstep. I situated this novel in Apex in the same vicinity as Regina Beach, but drew from examples of many communities in Southern Saskatchewan. I integrated the main characters from Moving On. In 2017, Fearless Destiny was nominated for a RONE award in Sweet Contemporary. The novel won first-runner up.

Ponytails and Promises released in the fall of 2019 was a little longer in coming. I lost some writing mojo. But with perseverance and Soul Mate publishing belief in my writing I set the story in the same area as Regina Beach, Apex but on a farm. This year, Ponytails and Promises is also nominated for a RONE award. I am in the gathering votes stage. The procedure is the top five novels with the most votes proceeds to being read and judged. One book is dropped but the next four are finalists for the award in October.

During this process, I am pleased with the time readers have taken to vote. I feel blessed by the support.

I am hopeful that the judges will deem the writing in Ponytails and Promises worthy of the prize. However, I am honoured to have this opportunity.

I graduated as a nurse and worked in health care for many years. I use these experiences in my stories as well. As an author, I use the familiar and research, research.