December 26, 2008 – 6:27 pm
Would the world be a better place if people read more books? I think it would. This year I challenge you to:
- Read a book to learn more about another part of the world. Recently I enjoyed The Book Thief about a young girl’s experiences in World War II Germany.
- Read a book on a non-fiction topic that you think is important. Read about the economy. The environment. Breaking health issues. Whatever you care about.
- Read a historical novel. I’ve chosen Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth which is set in the Middle Ages.
- Read a book of poetry and rediscover the beauty and power of words. My daughter gave me Leonard Cohen’s Book of Longing as a Christmas gift and I’m planning on savoring the poems and drawings.
- Read a book that reminds you of all the good things there are in the world. Read a romance and remember that love is the greatest gift.
May we all be wiser and kinder people a year from now.
December 2, 2008 – 11:46 am
I just found out from my friend, Harlequin Author Donna Alward that eharlequin has a “bargain basement” section and that Matthew’s Children (The second title in my Three Good Men trilogy) is now available for just over $3! There are lots of great books here…the perfect place to go shopping for Christmas Stocking Stuffers. Check it out: eharlequin.
November 15, 2008 – 5:21 pm
Most of us have at least a passing interest in astrology. We know our “sign” and can’t seem to pass up the chance to read our horoscope if we see one in a magazine or newspaper. But how familiar are you with numerolgy? Do you know that you have a life path number? How to calculate it? What it means?
When I was writing Christmas With Daddy, I wanted my heroine to have special skills that would allow her to assist the detective hero in finding a missing teenaged girl. I wanted these skills to be unusual…something that the hero might find hard to take seriously.
Having recently read The Power of Time by Pauline Edward, I decided to make my heroine a numerologist. Based on my research (primarily reading Pauline’s book and with additional help from Pauline) I know the following neat stuff:
My life Path Number is 3. According to Pauline’s book this means I have “excellent communications skills, a lively and positive outlook, resilience, lots of charm, wit and enormous creative potential.” Hey…I like that! On the flip side, I’m prone to speaking before thinking, tend to hog the stage and need to work on being responsible and organized.
If you want to calculate your life path number, it’s quite easy. Basically write down your birthdate in numbers (month, day and year) then add them up and keep adding until you end up with one number. Here’s how I found mine: Birthdate: 3 (March) + 3 (day) + 1 + 9 + 5 + 9 (my birth year is 1959) = 30. Simplify to 1 digit by adding 3 + 0 = 3. Now, that’s a little simplified, so if you want to make sure you’re doing it right and find out more about the meaning of various life path numbers, you’ll have to check out Pauline’s book.
See the cool stuff you learn when you’re researching romance novels?
November 5, 2008 – 6:03 pm
When I read “The Year of Pleasures” by Elizabeth Berg–a novel about a widow’s first year without her husband–I marked this passage as especially moving:
Outside, it had begun to snow: tiny flakes that made it look like the earth was being salted. Tomorrow I would need to buy a new shovel–the one John had used was too heavy for me. He’d appreciated hard manual labor, saying he liked to do work that was outside his head, for a change. I liked reading a good novel while he cleared the walks, popping up every now and then to look out the window and see how he was progressing. That was my contribution. Of course, I had reciprocated–bringing him dinner on a tray when the Sox were playing an important game. Sewing on buttons for him. Finding things he insisted weren’t there when they were actually right before him. I wasn’t sure Lorraine and other like her–ones who were so despairing of marriage, ones who were so sure their expectations could never be met–understood that it was these small moments of caretaking that meant the most, that forged the real relationship. The way one pulled the blankets over the sleeping other, the way one prepared a snack for oneself but made enough to share. Such moments made for the team of two, which made for one’s sword and shield.
So often it is the little things in life…and in writing…that really count.
November 5, 2008 – 2:38 pm
Hitting The Trails
I live in Canada, so when I got the bright idea to set my next book in New England a research trip was in order. I set aside some time in October…who wouldn’t love a trip to New England in the autumn? I’m a big hiker, so of course my version of this trip included hitting several of the beautiful mountain trails in the region.
My guy and I put in hours and hours in the Squalm Lake area and we even hiked up several of the bigger peaks in the White Mountains, including Mount Washington.
After all that work, I deserved a little relaxation, didn’t I?
Relaxing
November 5, 2008 – 2:17 pm
A writer’s office is a special place. For me it’s the only place I can actually write. I’ve tried taking my laptop (a) outside to the deck and (b) to my local coffeeshop…but I only end up with (a) a sunburn, and (b) a caffeine high. No pages. No progress on the story.
So…I need my office. Between projects I like to organize, file and dust. The place can look quite lovely. While I’m deep in the writing process though, the clutter mounts and chaos reigns. But one thing I can always count on to look good is the view. Here are a couple photographs I’ve shot from the deck right outside my office.
In the fall all the leaves in Calgary turn gold, with just a few special splashes of red and orange. My office also faces downtown. One morning I caught the moon hanging out with the skyscrapers. This is still one of my favorite photos.
Pretty inspiring huh? But guess what…when the words are flowing, I don’t even look out my window.
When the story is jammed, however, I appreciate something else about my office. It’s right next to the kitchen…
October 23, 2008 – 12:13 pm
Favorite Fall Activities:
What do you look forward to doing once Labor Day has passed and the heat of summer is gone? I’ve always found September to be the best month for hiking in the Rocky Mountains around where I live. This fall I was lucky enough to do three spectacular hikes. Let me tell you about the first one…Burstall Pass on September 13th.
This is a hike we’d tried to do before only to become hopelessly lost. This time though, we took the correct fork in the trail and had beautiful views for almost the entire hike. Fall arrives early in the high altitudes …and so does the snow! The day was actually sunny and warm, though you might not guess it with all the white stuff in the photo below.
