Category: Blog

Dec. 31, 2024 Here’s to those of us that chose to stay home tonight and finish the year off in our comfy casuals, while polishing off another chapter of a great novel. We might be reading it, or even writing it instead of partying into the wee hours of the New Year with the others. […]

The old cemetery across the road often gives me pause to reflect on living and dying. Although we all look at it differently, our life always begins with a heartbeat and in the end, it becomes still. We are born and, at some point, come to realize we will not be here forever. Our passing […]

I’m often asked about how I develop my novels and plot their characters. I’ve learned from a number of best-selling, and some not-so-best-selling authors, that most of us fall into two basic categories: Plotters or Panters (some use Pantsers). Plotters meticulously map out their novel – they compile pages of comprehensive notes or line their […]

My last post was published on July 5th, 2023, just a few days before I was asked to return to my previous role in mental health care. A totally unexpected but important request. So, from August to just a few days ago I worked with a wonderful team of mental health experts. My job duties […]

In my last blog, I wrote about my temporary neighbour “Sunshine”, who laid the foundation for the character Montana in the manuscript I plan to finish this year. It all began with him saying “Well, I’m never going to meet you again, so I might as well tell you this …” His words sparked my […]

            When all is well in my world, I am lucky enough to escape to write. My pre-requisite is always for a safe and peaceful retreat. This year it was safe, but far from quiet. There was everyday ‘people noise’ and ‘street noise’ – and then there was the noise that happened after the sun […]

Before morphing into an author, I looked at book features differently. How did the front cover sell me? What did the back cover tell me? Now, I look to see how visible the words are on a book’s spine, and if it has a classic or trendy cover. I’ve read many books, penned by famous […]

For a while I worked as a nurse, not far from 4177 Park Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. My daily walk took me past this tired building. I wondered how many love letters crossed the Post Office floor (1885-1930), and what kind of manifests needed clearing by the Customs side (1885 -1952) before the local […]

Even though I was born decades before the internet, I quickly embraced its benefit. But when the world of social media exploded, as a nurse I saw people struggle because they weren’t “liked” and “friended” and “followed” enough. In December of 2021, I said goodbye to nursing and hello to the business end of being […]