Tag Archives: Quaker parrot

Quarantine life

30 Thursday Apr 2020

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Quarantine life isn’t too much different from regular life for me. The main difference is that our son is homeschooling with the rest of North America right now, so he’s at home. This slows down my writing. I’m someone who likes to work in dead silence and absolute solitude. But I’ll survive. 😉

Mr. Johns is still working since his job is a necessary service, so he still heads out to work every day. And I’m still writing, as usual.

Pichu is the big winner right now, because he MUCH prefers our son over us, and so he has his favourite person in the whole world with him every single day, and the two of them play together endlessly.

This is Pichu playing with a pencil, upside down in my son’s hand. It’s very cute! If I tried that with him, I’d lose a finger. That is a very strong beak. 😉

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Sometimes, Mr. Johns has to work late, and when that happens, it turns into a dinner free-for-all over here. This particular dinner, Mr. Johns was working late, my son was eating in front of the TV (please don’t judge!) and I was eating and going over a book manuscript at the table.

Deadlines loom, after all! 😉

editing supper

And this is what life looks like in the Johns home right now.

If you’re looking for a good book to read during all this staying in, I’ve got the book for you! It has a forty-ish heroine trying to recover from a nasty divorce, a seventeen-year-old stepdaughter who knows every single nerve to pluck, and a hero our heroine knows better than to fall for… It’s bursting with family drama, intense kisses and has a dinner club of women who’ve gone through it all before, and believe wholeheartedly in second chances.

I think you’ll love it!

***

Releasing May 5, 2020

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3.295155.512.9781335889706A new start…

With an old flame?

Fifteen years in an unhappy marriage showed Melanie Isaacs exactly what she didn’t want. Now she’s in Mountain Springs to figure out the rest of her life—even if it means facing her former sweetheart, Logan McTavish. The spark between Logan and Melanie is stronger than ever. But is it enough to heal two weary, damaged hearts…and show them the way to a new happiness?

Harlequin

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 

 

 

 

He’s just checking…

30 Thursday Jan 2020

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I think most writers have a little writing buddy, especially if they write full time. It’s nice to have a bit of company around while you’re writing–the kind of company that is incapable of reading over your shoulder. 😉

My little buddy is my Quaker parrot, Pichu. He’s adorable, and very cuddly.  (At least now he is, after we’ve had him for over a year. He’s really gotten snuggly in that time.) I took a couple of pictures while he was checking out my teacup. He was hopeful that there was something in there for him. (There wasn’t.)

 

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But I just love this little guy! He’s so full of personality, and there is nothing quite so cozy as a fluffed up bird sitting on your arm while you type. 🙂

***

Coming in April 2020!

Pre-order now!

Thursday's Bride MMFor a proper young Amish widow struggling to begin again, encountering her reckless first love will test her forgiveness, resolve—and heart . . .

Overwhelmed by grief and tending twin baby daughters, Rosmanda Lapp is without options. She still blames her brother-in-law, Levi, for her husband’s accidental death—but she and her aging in-laws need him to keep their farm going. Yet as Levi takes on his responsibilities with a new determination and steadiness, she can’t help but regret that she chose his serious-minded brother over him. For Levi is still very much the passionate man she loved—and Rosmanda now has even more reasons to keep him at arm’s length . . .

Levi can’t blame Rosmanda for staying clear of him. He has mistakes to make up for and must finally do right by his parents. Still, he never got over his brother stealing Rosmanda away. And he can’t  deny the feelings that even now tempt them back to each other. And when a mistake from her past threatens her reputation, Levi will do whatever it takes to help her—and trust that faith and courage will at last help them claim a future together . . .

 

 

 

My writing buddy

21 Thursday Feb 2019

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Right now, I’m editing. I have two first drafts I have to revise this month, and then hand in, so I’m busy with the less dramatic side of things. Once you sign those contracts, you have to write the books… and edit them!

But it still keeps me in front of my computer, working away during my office hours. My parrot, Pichu, loves cuddling up with me while I write. Sometimes he’s on my shoulder, sometimes he’s on my wrist so he can feel the jiggle of my typing, and other times, he likes this spot. 😉

 

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And sometimes, me clattering away at my computer gets boring for the little guy and I have to find something else to occupy him. He has stuffed animals he plays with, and I try to change up his toys, but he likes nothing better than that satisfying crunch of a business card.

 

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Don’t forget to check out my March release, Falling for the Cowboy Dad. It already has some great reviews on Goodreads!

4.282079.512.9781335510570

Creative recycling

03 Thursday Jan 2019

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Last month, I received the page proofs for my May 2019 release, THE BISHOP’S DAUGHTER. Basically, this is what the book will look like once it’s on paper, and I had to look through everything to find any typos.

All 300 pages.

This is what it looked like mid-process.

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There were only three mistakes that I could find in the whole manuscript, and at the end of the job, I had 300 pages to dispose of. I didn’t want to toss them out in a bundle together, because that’s a full novel, yet unpublished. And while I did start my son on shredding it, that was taking forever.

So I did this, instead! It was Mr. Johns’s idea, actually.

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Pichu the Quaker parrot, now has novel proof page cage liners. 🙂 He hated it at first. It was different, and he whines when things are different. But he’s used to it now, and I’m set for a while for paper for the various trays he uses around the house.

The life of an author’s bird…

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Have you picked up my book yet? You can get it online or find it on the shelves in your favourite bookstore all this month. 🙂

4.280109.512.9781335478924

 

Two stubborn hearts. One ranch.

Could Montana Twins unite them?

With orphaned twin infants to care for, Casey Courtright hoped to buy the ranch he works on—but he can’t match Ember Reed’s offer. Nevertheless, Casey agrees to show Ember the land she plans to use for her therapy center, but only if she’ll help him with the babies. And as the twins draw them together, Casey might just find that Ember is his perfect partner.

Feeling the jiggle

01 Thursday Nov 2018

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Last New Years, I jokingly wished for a parrot. It was one of those wild wishes that I never thought would come true for me, but here we are–and I’ve got a small parrot of my own–Pichu.

He’s my little writing buddy. He loves to sit with me while I hammer out my novels, and he’s just so much fun. He talks and imitates, which is very cute. He’s such a smart little guy, and I’m so glad he’s ours.

Here he is is dismantling Lego man legs on my shoulder while I write. He has a very big, strong beak, but he’s trained now so that if he gets too nippy or rough, I can hold his beak and tell him to be gentle, and he stops right away. I guess it communicates that I’m the boss, or something. It works!

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And here he is sitting on my wrist because he likes to feel the jiggle while I type. Such a funny guy!

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This is the writing life–lots of time alone. 🙂 But I’ve got a little parrot to keep my company, and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s a good set up. No complaints from me.

My writing buddy

03 Thursday May 2018

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You may recall that I got my little green Quaker parrot a while ago, and he has been settling in ever since. He’s a lot of fun!

He’s also really full of personality and spoiled rotten. He has me home with him all day, so he’s never alone. We have another bird he likes to visit, too, so he’s got lots of interaction. He likes trying any food we eat for dinner, and if we don’t give him any he screams at us and it drives Mr. Johns crazy. So Pichu now has a plate of his own, and we give him a dollop of whatever we’re having so he can eat at the same time, and that seems to have solved that problem.

He’s also smart enough that time outs work. So if he nips or something, he gets a time out. We set the timer on the stove for five minutes and he’s ignored for that amount of time. It’s stopped the nipping, because there is nothing this bird hates more than being ignored. He’s now very gentle. I can hold his beak in my hand, rub his head, touch his feet… He’s very sweet!

So while I write, he’ll either sit on my shoulder, sit on the back of my chair, or sit at his cage. And when he gets bored, he squawks at me until I stop typing and play with him, or he beats up this rag that he likes to play with.

On this particular day, he found my post it notes. I took the picture before he shredded them. 😉

 

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He’s got me by the heartstrings! Such a sweet birdie.

As real as I get

26 Monday Mar 2018

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This is probably the most real photo you’ll ever see of me. My hair is a mess, I’m wearing an apron that I tend to wear all day because it’s a socially acceptable body-sized bib, and I’m introducing the birds to each other.

You’ll notice that bigger bird, Pichu, is sitting on a towel. That’s because I still don’t trust him not to take a chunk out of my arm as he sorts through all the emotions of changing families. But he and Coco, the little yellow bird, were so intent on getting to know each other, that I thought I’d better make sure it was a supervised visit.

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There’s a mild mess in the background… which I hope you’ll forgive. But there you have it–this is Yours Truly in my natural habitat.

This is where the magic happens! 🙂

Meet Pichu

18 Sunday Mar 2018

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So remember in the new year, when one my craziest, wildest wishes for this year was to get a parrot?

Well, I’m a little shocked to be able to tell you that it happened!

On a sad note, our little blue budgie, Little Blue, passed away, and the Johns family was incredibly sad. We really loved her, and that left our little yellow budgie on her own. So on a lark, I googled “parrots” in my area, and what to do you know? There was a family looking to get rid of their Quaker parrot for an absolute steal.

His name is Pichu, and he’s got the whole family by the heartstrings, including Coco, the little yellow budgie. ❤

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Here he is eating a piece of broccoli.

He talks, too. When we introduced him to Coco, we said, “Hey, you guys should say hi!” and Pichu said, “Hello, hello, hello.” After one night under the same roof, Pichu has already started to say “Coco.” He’s absolutely adorable!

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So there you have it–my latest office mate. 🙂 The whole family is in love!