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Email“You’ve Got a Friend”
Posted Mar 19 2021 in About Jen, Friendship, Gratitude, Music, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, Writing, Writing Community, Writing Life
The popular song, “You’ve Got a Friend,” written by Carole King and first recorded in 1971, has been on my mind lately. Owing to stresses in both my family and writing spheres, I’ve needed friends more than ever in the past few weeks—and just when I needed them most, those friends came through for me. […]
Read More...Finding baking memories
Posted Oct 2 2020 in A Wish in Irish Falls, About Jen, Baking, Christmas, Community, Family, Small town life, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
As summer’s warmth becomes a distant memory, I’m doing more baking, a favourite pastime but one I haven’t had much time for in the last few years. To bake, though, I needed to sort through my overflowing kitchen cupboards and the boxes stacked at the foot of the basement stairs, a legacy of clearing out […]
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...A world of kindness
Posted Dec 21 2018 in About Jen, Back Home at Firefly Lake, Firefly Lake, Kindness, Publishing, Summer on Firefly Lake, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, Wishing Tree, Word for the year
Several weeks ago, and to celebrate the first birthday of Back Home at Firefly Lake, I offered a giveaway on my Facebook author page. For a chance to win a signed paperback and holiday ornament, I asked my readers to leave a comment about a random act of kindness they’d either given or received. With […]
Read More...Disconnected from a connected world
Posted Oct 12 2018 in About Jen, Books, Community, Reading, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
If you follow me on social media, you know that I was unexpectedly offline for most of last week when work to lay underground fiber optic cables cut existing cables that deliver landline phone and internet service to my home. As someone who is almost always connected to the wider world, I was all of […]
Read More...Summertime…
Posted Jun 22 2018 in About Jen, Books, Family, Friendship, Reading, Small town life, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
With temperatures topping 30 Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Rideau Valley this week, it’s indeed summertime in my small town. From the fishing spot off the town dock, to the outdoor swimming pool, and lines at local ice cream shops, everyone is savouring seasonal joys. I’m writing this blog post on my porch (to […]
Read More...Advice for life after the happy ending
Posted May 11 2018 in About Jen, Family, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, Writing
In romantic fiction, happy endings are a given. However, one of the reasons I enjoy writing (and reading) epilogues, as well as books in a series, is because I can dip into the lives of characters after the main story ends and they’re living their happy ever after (HEA). In the book I’m currently writing, […]
Read More...Happy first birthday to The Cottage at Firefly Lake!
Posted Feb 2 2018 in About Jen, Back Home at Firefly Lake, Blue Ridge Literary Agency, Firefly Lake, Gratitude, Publishing, Summer on Firefly Lake, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
This week I marked a very special anniversary. It’s been a year since my first book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake came out, and I realized my childhood dream of becoming a published author. Publication day, 31 January 2017, was a day of excitement and a profound sense of achievement, mixed with a big dose of […]
Read More...Celebrating my second book birthday: Summer on Firefly Lake
Posted Jul 28 2017 in Firefly Lake, Publishing, Summer on Firefly Lake, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, Vermont, Writing
The second book in my Firefly Lake series, Summer on Firefly Lake, was published this week. It’s the sequel to The Cottage at Firefly Lake and, although connected by the setting and some recurring characters, each book also stands alone. In Summer on Firefly Lake, Mia, the heroine, is recovering from a painful divorce and […]
Read More...The Latest News
- Mar 20, 2021: I’m one of twelve women writers contributing to “What is the One Thing the Pandemic Has Taught You About Writing?,” an essay by Sweta Vikram in Brevity Magazine
- Mar 02, 2021: I’m a contributor to “Lockdown Writing,” a blog post by romance author, Emma Bennet
- 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