Pens, Paints and Paper

Happy August!
Mine has been a busy summer between writing, editing, trips to Georgian Bay, and getting my youngest son ready for college in a week. Eeep!! Here we are ready for another episode of the Round Robin Blog Fest as we face the end of summer. It's only natural we write about Vacation and Travel...
August 24, 2019 -- Post an excerpt from one of your books dealing with travel or vacation.


I've been very blessed this summer. This has been my view for several weekends as I get to spend some time with my honey. Not only have I been able to put my feet up and relax, do some writing while I gaze at Lake Huron, and do some fossil hunting, I've also come across something that totally made me happy!





Gilda's Log from my Gilda Wright Mystery Series!!! All it needs is to be further back on the beach. I won't complain.
That is why my excerpt this month is from a novella I'd published a couple years ago that has since been taken out of print. The good news is, I plan…

I'm so grateful this summer that I've had lots of time to write and edit! Some days in the coffee shops, some days up at the lake...


My latest work in progress, Written in Stone, is nearly ready. I'm in the editing stage right now and will give it one more good read before I send it off to a publisher in September. This one will be my first novel set in Canada on the shores of Georgian Bay. Fingers crossed it does well. I'm loving this book!


I'm working behind the scenes on a newsletter which will appear this fall.
I'll also be on a Mystery Panel at Orangeville Public Library on September 28 with 5 amazing ladies from the Crime Writers of Canada. It'll be a great time!

In the meantime, I'm working all next weekend at an incredible performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Island Lake. I won't get a lot done writing wise, but it'll be fun to hang out with co-workers at a nice venue. Outside under the sun!

After the long weekend, I'm ba…

Happy August!



I hope you've all had time to enjoy the wonderful weather and take a break from the ordinary. I was lucky enough to get to go away for a week and enjoy the shores of Lake Huron, some beautiful sunsets and the company of my wonderful other half. I also spent time writing while he fished and puttered around on the property.



Book #9: I’m in the process of renaming and revising my Thistlewood Mystery. Why? Because I’m planning to publish it with my Canadian publisher and want to find a Canadian location! All of my books to date have been set in the U.S. which was supposedly an easier sell. While that may be true, I’ve decided to take a sharp turn North and am looking for a similar location to the one I wrote about A.J. Cadell for her new mysteries. This one will be released in early 2020!


Book #10:This one has a name, Dead Without Shame. Yup, Gilda Wright is back for Book 4! This time, she is grading for her Brown Belt in karate, finding the killer of a store clerk at Happ…

Welcome back to another episode of the Round Robin Blog Fest! Pour a cuppa coffee, sit back and check out what all of our amazing authors have to say. This month's question posed by our illustrious leader is:

"Has an event in your life, or one of someone you know, or one covered in the news, ever worked its way into one of your stories?"

Definitely! As a writer, I'm not unaffected by the world around me or the things that happen in the media. I love the phrase "truth is stranger than fiction." Many times writers may take ideas and events from reality and put them into their stories. Some of these may even be called unbelievable by editors even though the writer may have actually lived through them or know someone who did. I have a few of those stories, but haven't found the right book idea for them just yet.

My Gilda Wright Mysteries has some basis in fact. I trained in karate for several years while I worked at a martial arts school. While nobody died …

Summer is taking a long time to arrive here. It's been cool and damp all spring with only the odd day of sunshine.

In the midst of finishing my draft of Book #9 and the start of summer vacation, my youngest son graduates from high school. It's been just he and I for the past three years since his older brother moved out and went to college. His oldest brother has lived 4 hours away for several years now. They have all become amazing young men and I'm excited to see what life holds in store for them.

So now, as I told a friend today, it will just be me and two cats. Apparently, I'm not officially a crazy cat lady until I have three cats, so I'm holding off on making that leap. I'm not ready for three fur babies just yet.



What I do have, are my books, my ideas for building my writing career and filling a few shelves with my own novels. I also have a great partner who encourages me every step of the way and attends a lot of writing events with me. I'm even ge…

Round Robin Blog Fest April 27
I'm off and running today. Going to check out the college my youngest will attend this fall. Hopefully, I'll catch up with everyone soon! 

At some point spring will arrive in Southern Ontario. Just when we think it's sprung, we get hit with snow and/or freezing rain. Suitable since this month's Round Robin Blog is:
Does the season every play a part in your setting? How do you think seasons affect setting and plot either physically or metaphorically? 
Yes, the seasons have definitely played a part in a few of my novels. I think, metaphorically, the seasons evoke different emotions in readers. Spring is about rebirth, new life, and growth. Summer always feels more laid back and we all look forward to trips to the beach, camping, and a change of scenery. Fall is about back to school, chillier days, ripened fruit and getting ready for winter hibernation. Winter...who in their right mind wants to be outside when they can curl up in front of a crac…