We are chugging our way through February. Having Valentine's Day in the middle does make the month that much sweeter. I know. I know. It's a hokey holiday meant to sell chocolate, roses and greeting cards, but I've always loved it. From the time we...
What a difference a week makes (have I said this before?) It was a frigid -40C last Saturday and today we're hovering above zero. Rain, ice and melting snow are making getting around the city tricky if not treacherous. It's another fine day to stay...
Well a lot can change in a week! I had to cancel the book launch at the Granite, which I'd begun to advertise, because the club became unavailable. I was offered Easter weekend but the band couldn't make it, so I decided to try a...
Happy Saturday morning. A bit of good news to share. I'll be having a book launch for When Last Seen on Saturday, April 29 (save the date!) at the Ottawa Granite Curling Club. As many know, the club is closing down for good in May in...
It's been a busy week on the writing front. Putting in a few long days. When Last Seen is now final - all edits completed - and it's uploaded to Ingram, the site where libraries and bookstores order from. The book has also been posted on...
We're a week into 2023 and it's been feeling like spring all week. Rain, freezing rain, grey skies. I'm kind of missing frigid and snowy, something I thought I'd never say. It was another review/editing week along with work on the audiobook. My next task is...
New Year's Eve 2022 and time to look back at the writing year that was. It would be difficult to review the past twelve months without context. Covid 19 was still very much a factor, limiting in-person events, particularly during fall and winter months. As we...
Christmas Eve 2022. This is my favourite day as we prepare for a special evening meal, wrap the last of the gifts, and light a fire. It's a peaceful time -- time to slow down and spend time with loved ones. A winter storm blew...
Blogging this morning in a winter wonderland. Forty centimetres of snow beginning Thursday night, and the city is still digging out. On the plus side, we're going to have a white Christmas! Speaking of which, my talk at the Capital Crime Writers' Christmas dinner went great...
Two events this week. Last Saturday, I was on the police procedural panel as part of the Maple Leaf one-day mystery conference. Glenn Rivard moderated and my co-panelists were Jim Napier and Michael Kent. I spent the entire rest-of-the-day taking in the other panels and...
Three weeks until Christmas. Note to self. Be more organized next year. (I write this same note every December 1st.) And yet, I'm getting to a point in my life when rolling with whatever comes seems the best path forward. So here is a sweet gift...
Good Saturday morning. It promises to be a lovely day here in Ottawa. Sun is out and we'll be hitting five degrees C. This is most unusual for the end of November. It sure is nice to see the sun though - this has been...
A snowy weekend ahead, although nothing like the snowy weather they're getting in Buffalo and in areas around Lake Ontario and other big bodies of water. I plan to stay indoors for the most part, turn on the gas fireplace, light a few candles, read...
This apparently is the last above-temperature day for the foreseeable future. I'm kind of sad about that, but it is time for winter weather to start gracing our region. Also time to pull out the weighted blanket and parkas ...
This has been a plodding-away week. I have lots of work to get through and have decided the only way to accomplish anything is to take off little bites and make small gains every day. I haven't progressed with manuscript number three this week. I've decided...
The last weekend in October with my birthday coincidentally falling on Sunday. Ted decided to celebrate the occasion by taking me to a cheap motel in Westport last night to partake of dinner and a show at The Cove, which has a series of singers...
And we've got a gorgeous end-of-autumn weekend happening in the Ottawa Valley. I've already put my garden to sleep for the winter so nothing to do but enjoy the outdoors for the next few days. A couple of things this week. I spent quite a bit...
Good Saturday morning. Ann Shea, owner of Mill Street Books, sent a couple of pics to me from my talk at the Almonte Library last week. Ann bought Mill Street Books a year and a half ago, smack in the middle (or maybe beginning) of the...
This is one of the best weekends of the year in Canada! Autumn colours are peaking and Thanksgiving means families and friends getting together. We're blessed this year to have both girls coming for dinner on Sunday while Ted and I also celebrate our anniversary...
