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Gratitude: A new word for a new year
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that each January I choose a word to inspire me for the year. In 2015 my word was "goodness" and in 2014 it was "believe." Both those years had highs and lows but "my word" lifted me up when times were difficult, and was...
Dear Santa Claus
I used to write to you every year. I'd print a letter in crayon and ask my mom for an envelope which we'd address to you at the North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada.I'd include a greeting for Mrs. Claus and the reindeer. I'd tell you what I wanted for Christmas, and ask if...
Lessons in community
The small towns I write about aren't perfect. Neither is the one I live in. There's hunger and deprivation and, as a result of rural poverty and unemployment, there's disenfranchisement and loss of hope.I'm reminded, though, how gestures large and small build a...
Goodness, a word for our time
My word for 2015 is goodness. As those of you who read my blog regularly know, it's been a year when goodness has at times been hard for me to find. At other times, though, I've been blessed with abundant goodness, a reminder that even in the darkest hours, there's...
“The Call”
I've wanted to be a published author since I was nine-years-old. However, although I've always written, it was only in February 2009 that I started to work seriously toward publication in romance. If you're an aspiring writer, "The Call," and realizing the dream of...
Remembering a life
I lost a special member of my family this week, and my last living link with a world that’s now vanished. I blogged about Cousin Mary in August 2014 at the centenary of the start of the First World War. Born in May 1910, Mary didn't remember the start of that...
Canadian repatriation: Month 3
I write about small towns. Both my parents came from small towns, and I spent much of my childhood visiting family and friends in small communities. Since August, though, I've lived in a small town. It's a place where my roots run deep but, like every other aspect of...
What makes a reader?
I've unpacked many boxes of books in the last two months.Books I brought back in my suitcase from the Romance Writers of America (RWA)® national conference. Books I shipped in cartons when I moved from the UK to Canada. And books in storage for fifteen years when I...
The more things change…
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that my family and I have experienced some big changes recently. From a new country to a new house, from a new brand of washing powder to new shoe and clothing sizes, in the past two months almost every aspect of daily...
Photo by Robin Spencer, Spencer Studio