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EmailLaughter is indeed good medicine
Posted Nov 13 2020 in About Jen, Canada, Covid-19, Family, Writing
When I was a child, my grandparents had a subscription to Reader’s Digest magazine and, once they finished with each issue, it came to my house to be read and enjoyed again. Back then, a favourite column was “Laughter is the Best Medicine!” and as an adult, it’s one I always turn to whenever I spot […]
Read More...Why writing is like kayaking
Posted Aug 21 2020 in A Wish in Irish Falls, About Jen, Canada, Holiday, Writers Life, Writing craft
As many of you know, I was on holiday last week. For me, a highlight of that time at a lakeside cottage was kayaking, previously new-to-me but something I enjoyed and want to do more often. And as I paddled on a tranquil lake near Canada’s famed Algonquin Park, a place that has inspired artists, writers […]
Read More...Meet guest author Anita Kushwaha & celebrate her new book, Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters
Posted Feb 7 2020 in Anita Kushwaha, Books, Canada, Womens Fiction
I don’t often host guest authors on my blog, but this week I’m happy to be celebrating with a dear author friend, Anita Kushwaha, whose new women’s fiction novel, Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters is now out in Canada before releasing on February 18th in the US, UK, Australia & New Zealand. Like me, Anita is […]
Read More...“Death and taxes”
Posted May 3 2019 in About Jen, Canada, Family, Writing
Here in Canada, taxes were due on April 30 this year. As such, the phrase “death and taxes” (usually attributed to a 1789 letter by Benjamin Franklin in which he said they were the only two things certain in life), has been much on my mind. Multiple currencies and tax years As someone who both […]
Read More...Sightseeing, shopping snacking and more: Celebrating a mini vacation
Posted Mar 22 2019 in About Jen, Canada, Family, Travel
English Rose had a school holiday earlier this month so we spent a long weekend in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, forty-five minutes by car from where we live. Although we visit Ottawa every few months, it’s usually for medical appointments, brunch with family, or to visit a specific store. And then we go home again, […]
Read More...Celebrating grandmothers
Posted Mar 8 2019 in About Jen, Canada, England, Family, Friendship, Small town life, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls
Earlier this week, English Rose bounced into the house with the kind of teenage excitement usually reserved for a meme, ‘tea’ (gossip between friends), or afternoon at the mall. “Look what Grandma J gave me,” she said, gesturing to the colourful bracelet on her wrist. “It’s from her trip. She brought back presents for all […]
Read More...My life in laundry
Posted Feb 22 2019 in About Jen, Canada, England, Family, Home
As you may have seen on Twitter, Tech Guy and I got a new washing machine last week. Not only did it mark a milestone in my complicated relationship with laundry but, and in a clear indication of advancing middle age, few things in recent years have brought me so much excitement. The wringer washer […]
Read More...Prayers for Humboldt
Posted Apr 13 2018 in About Jen, Back Home at Firefly Lake, Books, Canada, Community, Family, Firefly Lake, Home, Prayers for Humboldt, Small town life
A week ago, on a remote Saskatchewan highway, sixteen people were killed and thirteen others injured in a crash between a semi-trailer truck and a bus carrying players, coaches, a trainer, a local radio announcer and others associated with a Canadian junior (ice) hockey team, the Humboldt Broncos. Before then, Humboldt was a small […]
Read More...Springing forward
Posted Mar 2 2018 in About Jen, Canada, England, History, New beginnings, Spring, Travel
When February slips into March and, irrespective of whether the new month comes in like a lion (as it has for my friends in the UK), or a lamb (here in the Rideau Valley), it’s the time of year when my thoughts always turn to my life in England. Although there are many things I […]
Read More...Family ties
Posted Oct 20 2017 in About Jen, Canada, Family, History, Home, Small town life
My mom grew up in a picturesque Canadian village in rural eastern Ontario—twelve miles from where I now live. Dotted with stone buildings and tucked into a rolling landscape of century farms and historic waterways, it’s a place that shaped me as a person, as well as the writer I’ve become. Several weeks ago, […]
Read More...The Latest News
- Jan 04, 2021: Check out my contribution to “3 Goals Every Writer Should Make in the New Year!,” an essay by Sweta Vikram in Brevity Magazine
- Nov 06, 2020: Guest post for Writers First: Why Work with a Writing Coach?
- Oct 30, 2020: Interview with North Grenville Writers Circle for Ontario Public Library Week 2020 (YouTube video)
- Oct 27, 2020: Interview with The Writer’s Pet about my dog, animals in my fiction & ‘A Wish in Irish Falls’
- Oct 22, 2020: Author interview: Chatting with Ruby Moone on the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) blog about ‘A Wish in Irish Falls’
- Oct 13, 2020: Finding Your Writing Voice: Guest Post for Frost Magazine
- Aug 07, 2020: Friday Night Drinks with A Little Book Problem: Chatting about writing,books & life
- Aug 06, 2020: New book news: ‘A Wish in Irish Falls’ releases September 16 & is now available for pre-order
- May 01, 2020: Reading (and Writing) for Hope, Comfort & Happy Ever After: Guest post for Women Writers, Women’s Books
- Apr 22, 2020: Author Q&A: Chatting with Anita Kushwaha about ‘The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls,’ favourite authors, lockdown life & more