Tag Archives: writing life

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. 🙂

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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 . . .

 

 

 

You don’t have to bend the knee…

22 Monday Jul 2019

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The other day, I was getting ready to go get groceries, and I called to my husband, who was in the other room, “I’m leaving now! I need someone to kiss me and tell me I’m pretty!”

From the bathroom, I heard my son heave a sigh. “Okay, Mom. You’re pretty. Bye.”

LOL! Obviously, the “someone” I was referring to wasn’t my son. My husband came to kiss me, told me I was pretty, and off I went.

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You see, I live under the very strong conviction that while I might not be treated like a stunning beauty anywhere else, I definitely deserve it in my home. I mean, really, where else do I get to be prettiest girl in the room? And where else do I want to be?

I married a man who thinks I’m beautiful, and I still draw his eye. He says, “Never marry a woman who isn’t gorgeous.” At first, I thought this was rather shallow, but he explained that if you marry someone you aren’t besotted with, then what’s the point? Marry a woman you think it just stunning, and you’ll always wake up happy. And beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

In my home, I get to make demands like “kiss me and tell me I’m pretty” before I slog out to get the groceries. I get to be the beautiful one, the one who draws her husband’s eye. And he gets to be the handsome one, the strong one, the guy I go out of my way to flirt with.

It may only be a regular middle class home, but here, I’m QUEEN!

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9781335510747He’s in over his head…

And calling for backup!

Police officer Mike McMann is always cool under pressure, but taking custody of his infant nephew has left him in a cold sweat. Coming to his rescue is social worker Paige Stedler. Paige gives him a crash course on parenting—and a tempting glimpse into a life beyond the badge. But is Mike ready to trade in his SWAT team aspirations for a white picket fence?

 

 

 

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

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.

Pass the crayons

11 Thursday Oct 2018

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I stumbled across this a few days ago, and it made me laugh out loud!

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Anybody else feel like it all piles up sometimes?

I’m an author, a wife and a mom to a ten-year-old. And there are some stresses that aren’t really negotiable, you know? Like parenting stress–you can’t exactly let the ball drop when it comes to your child. And there are a few stresses that I’m not willing to downgrade–like the writing. So, every once in a while, I just need to vent some stress.

Oh, did I mention that I’m an introvert? So going out and getting social doesn’t do that for me.

Lately, my favourite release is going alone to my parents’ place and watching their TV. My parents record a few of my favourite shows, and I go there to watch them. It sounds so trivial, but it drains the stress away, and when I get back home, my husband has taken care of the parenting stuff for me.

It’s more effective than colouring would be… I think. But then again, maybe I should get an angry red crayon and give it a try. 😉

 

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.

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!

Don’t eat that

12 Monday Mar 2018

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Families insist upon eating, and since we’re allergic to so much, I don’t have a lot of easy meal options, unless I’ve got a casserole in the freezer. So when I run out of creative steam in a day, you’ll generally find me cooking.

And not because I’m a passionate cook, either. I’m just hungry, and family will be, too, once they’re home again.

In fact, I have a writer buddy whose kids go to school with mine, and whenever we see each other, we ask the same thing: What’s for dinner? Because we both need ideas to keep the growing hordes fed!

So, in the spirit of sharing dinner ideas, I thought I’d share my stovetop with you.

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On this particular day, I’d made some spaghetti squash to go with the rest of the leftovers in the fridge for dinner (a casserole, some potatoes), and a nice pot of oatmeal (with mango and black cherries) for a warm snack when my son got home from school.

The pot in the back? Don’t eat that! It’s laundry soap. I make my own, since it’s dirt cheap to do it myself, works very well, and saves me about $20 a month. And if I can save the money on something as boring as laundry soap, I can put it into something much more fun–like books!

So what’s for dinner at your place?

 

 

Cheaper than Therapy

02 Monday Oct 2017

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I often wonder how much of myself—my fears, my frustrations, my hopes—that I reveal in the books I write. I tell myself that it’s just a story and that because I’m working with a certain structure that I’m safe from revealing too much about myself to strangers. But I’m not sure that’s true!

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The above meme applies to me—except, I don’t perch on the ledge of tall buildings. But I do work out all of my internal stuff in my writing, and that writing ends up on the shelves of your local bookstore a few times a year. When I look at it that way, it’s a bit intimidating!

In fact, when I starting writing books professionally, I stopped writing in my personal journal. The reason was that if I worked out my stuff on paper in my journal, there was nothing left to pour onto paper for my novels. And my writing was much better if I saved it up.

I find that it’s easier to explore my thoughts and feelings through fiction than it is to do it head on. I come at things sideways with fiction, and the things that never happened are more true than the things that have.

Writers say that their books are “a little piece of themselves.” And that sounds poetic and sweet. Maybe even a little bit sappy. In real life, it’s actually more daunting. Who knows what we give away without knowing? Everyone else gets to hide behind a nice veneer of respectability.

We authors gave that up long ago.

 

It’s a Canadian pass time

11 Monday Sep 2017

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Last week, I was in the doctor’s office picking up some test results. I’m perfectly healthy–no cause for alarm. I’m just Canadian, so we do this for fun once a year. 😉

Anyway, doctor’s office waiting rooms (and then the actual exam room) can be a bit of a wait on a bad day, so I took my computer along and did some writing.

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The above manuscript is one for Love Inspired–the last book in my Comfort Creek Lawmen series. The first book, Deputy Daddy, came out this summer, and the second book, The Lawman’s Runaway Bride, will be hitting shelves in February 2018. And this one… well, it’s in process. 😉

This is how it’s done–not wasting precious writing time on things like waiting rooms! You know, unless you’re taking a selfie. LOL!

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I hope you are all enjoying the last of your summer weather. 🙂 As for me, I’m writing hard, as always.