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EmailWhen tragedy strikes close to home
Posted Jun 26 2020 in About Jen, Community, England, Family, Friendship
I’ve now lived in Canada for almost five years and although England will always be one of my ‘homes,’ my English and Canadian lives rarely intersect. Last weekend was different, though, and I was reminded that despite being geographically distant, my English ‘home’ is, and always will be, close in heart. In England, we lived near […]
Read More...Life and writing in lockdown
Posted Apr 3 2020 in About Jen, Covid-19, Family, Friendship, Home, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, Writing
When this is all over… I hear that phrase often these days as everyone, me included, wants life in 2020 to go back to ‘normal’ as soon as possible, whatever that ‘new normal’ will be. For the moment, though, life (and for me, writing), have to go on in lockdown. As such, I’m finding new ways […]
Read More...Celebrating women who have gone before
Posted Mar 6 2020 in About Jen, Family, Friendship, Womens Fiction, Womens History, Writing
To mark women’s history month (celebrated in March in the United States, UK and Australia), I’m this month’s featured author on my friend Mel Greenberg’s ‘Notes from the Nest’ blog. I’ve written a personal piece about what ‘women who have gone before’ mean in my own life, and how their example has helped me become […]
Read More...A different kind of Christmas
Posted Dec 13 2019 in About Jen, Christmas, Family, Friendship, Holiday, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls
With less than two weeks until Christmas 2019, the few presents I’ve bought are still in a drawer, unwrapped. My holiday cards remain in their packaging and apart from a vintage Santa candle and musical angel, my cherished Christmas decorations are still tucked away in boxes. I’ve seen plenty of holiday decorations and heard non-stop […]
Read More...In praise of ‘virtual’ friends
Posted Nov 15 2019 in About Jen, Friendship, Social Media, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, Writing
While I’m blessed with many friends in my ‘real’ life (including one who goes back to my high school years and often reads this blog), my author life means I also have many ‘virtual’ friends—people I’ve connected with via social media who, at the click of a mouse, have been a source of encouragement, inspiration, […]
Read More...Finishing a book, ‘nesting’ for winter, and celebrating writing milestones
Posted Nov 1 2019 in About Jen, Books, Family, Firefly Lake, Friendship, Reading, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, Writing
Last week, I finished writing the sequel to The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls. For those of you who have read the first book in this series, the sequel is Annie’s sister Tara’s story. It will be my fifth published book (or eighth including the German editions of my Firefly Lake series) and together with the […]
Read More...Community, connections and crisscrossing a continent
Posted Oct 4 2019 in About Jen, Friendship, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, Travel, WFWA, Writing
As many of you know, I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week attending my first Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) retreat. Held annually, it offers independent writing time, but also includes workshops, discussion and working groups, and social events to help writers foster new connections and community. This year’s retreat focused on the writing […]
Read More...A time of losses and gains
Posted Aug 23 2019 in About Jen, Family, Friendship, Home, Reading
One of my favourite series of books, loved in childhood and which I still return to as ‘comfort reads’ as an adult, is the Little House stories by American author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Those books taught me about resilience, cheerfulness in the face of difficulties, and finding a silver lining, no matter how grey the […]
Read More...What I learned on my summer vacation: Author life meets real life
Posted Jul 26 2019 in About Jen, England, Family, Friendship, Holiday, RNA, Travel
When I was at school, the first writing assignment after the long summer holiday was usually about what I learned on vacation. While I never enjoyed that exercise—the dullness of distilling those magical eight weeks on a sole sheet of lined paper to a prescribed structure—I thought of it again recently thanks to the two […]
Read More...Counting my blessings
Posted Apr 19 2019 in About Jen, Family, Friendship, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
The past month or so has been filled with what one of my grandmothers would have called “things sent to try us.” A viral infection for the entire family topped off with strep throat for English Rose. A broken tooth for me and multiple dental appointments for necessary repairs—including three weeks and counting when I’ve […]
Read More...The Latest News
- 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
- Mar 10, 2020: Penguin Verlag buys German rights to The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls
- Mar 06, 2020: Celebrating Women’s History Month & ‘Women who have gone before’: Guest post on Mel Greenberg’s ‘Notes from the Nest’
- Mar 05, 2020: Paperback of The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls releases April 12, 2020 & now available for pre-order
- Feb 26, 2020: Meet me at the Local Author Showcase, North Grenville Public Library, February 29, 2020
- Dec 20, 2019: Talking about life & writing on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat
- Nov 18, 2019: Chatting with author Maggie Blackbird about my writing life & ‘The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls’
- Nov 15, 2019: Interview with author Susan B. James about ‘The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls’
- Oct 30, 2019: Asking ‘what if’ and building a book: The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls