Tag Archives: Moving On

Gifts real and intended

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Gifts real and intended

Gifts real and intended

Most of my gifts are wrapped. Most of my shopping is done. But very few cards have been sent. And I intend to write individual notes in each card to indicate that I care about friends and family. I have copied photos of my family to include in some cards. I have convinced myself that cards received after Christmas receive more attention because the recipient won’t be as busy. Or is it like a consolation prize?

I have reasons of course, don’t we all. I am on a time line trying to have novel number 3 ready to send out by the end of December. There are parties and family to visit. There is shopping and of course fitness to plan into a day, as well as short stories for submission to an anthology.

For instance today I finally completed my webpage for The Writers” Union of Canada. I submitted my application and fee in July while I was at the Sage Hill Writing Experience during the Fiction Colloquium lead by Lawrence Hill . He encouraged me to submit my application because Woman of Substance was in print.

From Dec. 17 – 23, The Romance Studio is having a Christmas Party, I will post throughout the party along with many other authors and different style of books. So drop on by, register and have chances to win many prizes, including copies of Woman of Substance and Moving On.

I also posed in front of our son’s Christmas tree and sang “we wish you a reading Christmas, we wish you a reading Christmas, we wish you a reading Christmas and a happy new year” for a fellow Soul Mate Publishing author, Karin Shah. She is trying to put together a Christmas video Christmas card. One of the authors suggested giving us a key. Unfortunately, I don’t know one key from another. This is one of those hmmm, should I really have participated? I’m not sure if the project will come to fruition.

 

But most of all there are moments to reflect on life. The accomplishments, goals and improvements.

 

Now I am off to find batteries for a child’s toy.

 

Holiday Greetings and Christmas Wishes for you as you continue to prepare for your personal celebration this year.

 

photo courtesy of Mei Teng 

 

Remembrance Day, 2014

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Remembrance Day, 2014

It was a cold day as you can see by the sky, however hundreds of people gathered around the City of Regina Cenotaph in Victoria Park. There were children on parents’ shoulders so that they could see. There were babies in strollers. There were elementary and highschool students and young and old adults. When you listen to this short clip of Slt Matt Field playing the trumpet you will notice there aren’t any other sounds.

In my novel Moving On Nick Donnelly is an injured Canadian soldier. He is home recovering from the effects of an IED explosion. This story takes place in the spring, however when November 11th arrives you can be sure that he will put on his uniform with pride and will remember all those who fought before him, and those who fought at his side.

During the message of remembrance we were asked to remember those who were broken along with those who died.

During my research and also through the time leading up to this day, it was often said how the armed forces personnel came home but didn’t speak of their time. How could they? I don’t think those of us who have not experienced the horrors of war could understand. They share with those who know.

I have a son in the Canadian Navy. So very many years ago during a family dinner I asked a question I had been asked in a philosophy class. “Who was I prepared to die for?” My answer was my family. My son’s answer was his country.

Of course we  hope that it will never come to this but so many families have experienced the pain of loss.

Anna, in Moving On, lost her fiancé due to injuries he sustained during a fire. He was a firefighter. These front line workers are also to be honored.

Nick and Anna feel an instinctive pull toward each other. They have both known a deep pain of loss. They help each other heal and grow. Join them on their journey.

 

It is official, Moving On, A Prairie Romance is re-released by Soul Mate Publishing

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Cover for the re-release of Moving On, A Prairie Romance

Cover for the re-release of Moving On, A Prairie Romance

On September 29, 2014 Moving On went live on Amazon.com for three months and then it will be available on Kobo and Barns and Noble. And then six months after that, a print book will be available.

What has changed since Moving On was published in 2011? The story is basically the same. Different editors request different consistencies in the writing. In the first book, I shifted points of views between the characters and may have caused confusion for the reader. My editor, Char Chaffin assisted me in staying in one character’s view point for longer periods of time.

There is a slightly different ending, but in the main it is a sweet contemporary romance novel between two people who suffer loss.

Anna Jenkins’ dream of the future she would have had is destroyed when her fiancé was buried on their wedding day. As an heir to a cottage at Regina Beach, she believes that here is where pity will no longer find her.
The small town residents of this resort town want to know why this woman has arrived when she doesn’t have any family connection. Anna isn’t telling them. She wants a fresh start away from sorrow.
Nick Donnelly came back to his home town to recuperate after losing his left lower leg to an IED during the Afghanistan war. He uses his experience to help out the town while he is home.

Nick and Anna know there is a connection because of their loss, however they are trying to move toward a different future. Nick shares the good things about the town with Anna and they become friends. Nick begins to dream of a possible life away from the army, something he would not have considered before meeting Anna.

Anna learns that life does go on and she begins to grow again in her new community. When she discovers that Nick plans to return to active duty, she withdraws into a shelter. How can she risk loving someone who could be killed on the job again? She can never go through that kind of pain and survive.

Nick and Anna must find a way toward a future together where they can both realize their potential and love.

For my friends and fans who read Moving On, A Praire Romance the first time around, I thank you. For new friends and fans who would like to experience a sweet romance, set in Regina Beach, Saskatchewan, join Anna and Nick on their journey away from loss toward love.

How do you hide an elephant in a pile of Smarties? You paint her toe nails, of course.

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Here is my elephant

Here is my elephant

I’m not sure why this joke has been swirling around in my head. Perhaps it was something to do with my writer’s fatigue.

the pile to hide my elephant

the pile to hide my elephant

I can’t call it a block but a feeling as if I had put my life on hold while getting ready to attend Sage Hill Writing Experience, to work through the energy of Sage Hill. To wait for and accomplish the edits for the re release of Moving On, A Prairie Romance scheduled for September 30, 2014.
To knowing that other things were happening in the world around me.
It wasn’t as if I didn’t participate in many events and enjoy them but writing was always sitting on my shoulder.

I also think I was internalizing everything I learned about writing from Lawrence Hill, the facilitator of the fiction colloquium at Sage Hill and from my editor, Char Chaffin, for Soul Mate Publishing.

Today, I heard Barbra Streisand on CBC radio in an interview with Jian Ghomeshi, on his program Q. Barbara said she was vulnerable and still had self doubt about her craft. Jian countered that people may be surprised at this stage in her career she would still have these feelings.

Barbra seemed to say that she needs vulnerability to balance the confidence in her craft. The vulnerability keeps her open to her sensitivity.

Today this seemed to describe how I was feeling. When someone says you can do something better, the vulnerability can get in the way of making gains in the craft.

So perhaps I was hiding from the writing elephant in my brain.

As a writer I need to remember that I am not chained.

As a writer I need to remember that I am not chained.

I have opened my file and I am revising Designed for Love.

Let the celebration begin

Let the celebration begin

The second round of edits are returned!

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Cover for the re-release of Moving On, A Prairie Romance

Cover for the re-release of Moving On, A Prairie Romance

My editor Char Chaffin with Soul Mate Publishing went through my manuscript with an editor’s eye for detail and mechanics. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.
If everything goes as planned Moving On, A Prairie Romance will be available as an electronic book at the end of September and then nine months later, it will be available in print. I’m looking forward to loading it onto my e reader and then holding it in my hands.

I have friends and relatives who still read in print copy.

Here is my first endorsement:
“Moving On is a delightful and emotional tale of love and loss. Trauma nurse Anna Jenkins on stress leave after the death of her fiance and Nick Donnelly, a soldier who lost a leg while serving in Afghanistan on a peacekeeping tour, lean on each other to rebuild their lives. Together they discover a future to live for.” — R. Barri Flowers, bestselling author of Forever Sweethearts