Weekly Update: Nov 3 to Nov 9

Weekly word count: 22 752

A very productive writers' retreat.  I even spent a day sightseeing in Charleston.  I'll have pictures in my newsletter for anyone interested.  It's always a good time hanging out with the other authors at the retreat.  They are a great group of women.

The big announcement: the project I was working on is done.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the editor I was working on it for is no longer accepting new authors and projects.  So the home I was planning for it is no longer an option.

However, the publisher is still accepting new books, so I can still submit it generally.  And Carina Press is accepting pitches from ORWA authors in February, so I can pitch it to them as well.  Or even self-publish if that's the route I want to go.

It's disappointing, but I'm wondering if it was predicted by my cards for last week.  I had the Ace of Swords, the 3 of Coins, and the 10 of Wands.  I interpreted it as the start of a project, recognition of talents, and recognition of limits.  However, the 10 of Wands can also be interpreted as taking a pause before success.  So the path I thought was laid out is not there any more, but there are other paths available to me.

For the week starting November 10th, my cards are The Wheel Reversed (disappointment), the 3 of Cups (celebration), and the King of Swords (professional support, authority).  That certainly sounds promising for good news this week.  The Court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King) often refer to specific people, so it suggests that I can look forward to some help from someone at the top of their professional field this week.

Reclaiming My HEA: Reigniting Romantic Hope

Reclaiming My HEA is a regular feature about my separation and divorce.  I'm learning a lot of lessons about myself and finding the balance between romantic hope and practical reality.

As I write this, I'm sitting on a beach with the warm sunshine in my face and my toes curled in the soft sand.  For any Canadian in November, this is already an unexpected and welcome treat, but what's drawing my attention are the other people on the beach.  Particularly the couples.

There are all kinds to watch here.  Young teenagers playfully navigating their first romantic relationships.  Parents working together to corral their children.  And the sweetest of all, an elderly couple walking hand in hand, where he keeps pausing to present her with the prettiest shells on the beach and she's saving every one in her handbag.

Some of these couples are obviously deeply in love with one another.  Others are caught up in the thrill of holiday freedom and enjoying a little commitment-free flirting.  Some seem to have settled into a comfortable partnership but still take a moment for a shared glance or passing touch.

I'm sure there are unhappy couples here as well.  Ones where it seems impossible for them to remember what drew them together in the first place or where the day-to-day grind has extinguished their connection.  I've been half of one of those couples.  I would look around and see people in love all around me and I would wonder what I was doing wrong and why my relationship had become so empty.

Now I find myself in the position of being entirely outside the romantic circle, looking in as an observer.  Dating in your forties is a daunting prospect and there are legions of toads out there which no amount of kissing will transform into a prince.  I've had to take stock of myself and ask myself the question: what is it that I really want?

Then as I was people-watching, I saw something which clarified it for me.  A younger couple (I would guess late twenties or early thirties) standing in a close embrace.  I couldn't see her face, but I could see his.  The expression on his face would be hard to describe, but as a romance author, I will give it my best shot.

His hand was cradling her face as if she were something unbelievably precious and rare.  He had a tender smile, as if this moment was making him happier than he'd ever believed would be possible.  And his eyes were smoldering with full-blazing passion.  Anyone whose partner was looking at them like that couldn't help but feel like the most beautiful, special, and loved person in the world.

Being a non-voyeuristic sort of person, I snuck away before they realized I had seen their private moment.  But the image lingered with me.

That's what I want.  I want to experience being on the receiving end of a look like that.  Because I find it impossible to believe that anyone could fake such a potent combination of affection, attraction, and passion.

There have been times when I've cynically wondered if those kinds of feelings ever occur outside the carefully scripted world of movies and books.  But now I've had a reminder that they do.  And that has given my little flame of hope a fresh spark.

Romance is all about tiny sparks in the darkness.  Because in our stories, no matter how black the night is, those sparks are just waiting to find the right circumstances to create the fires that will warm a heart forever.

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Weekly Update: October 27 to Nov 2

Weekly word count: 3376 and chapter 17 of edits

Last week was hectic for me.  Monday to Wednesday was about trying to squeeze in an entire week's worth of work for my day job.  And for Thursday and Friday, I was driving from Ottawa to Charleston with some other lovely ORWA folk for the annual writers' retreat.

This beach retreat is one of the things I look forward to each year.  Not only is it a great chance to get a big leap forward on my writing projects, but it is also a chance to enjoy some extra sun and warmth.  Not to mention, I love being on the beach and being able to sit and write and listen to the waves.  And the ladies there are pretty awesome.  We have a great time, laughing and sharing our favourite new discoveries for books, movies and shows.  (This year, I've been introduced to a Turkish TV show with a main character who could give Jason Momoa a run for his money.)

For this year's retreat, I'm putting my edits on hold and focusing on finishing up a project that's been languishing for too long.  After this last year, I can safely say that I do not do well with split attention between projects.  I need to do one project, then move on to the next.  Or pause a longer project to complete a smaller one.  I can't do two at once, no matter how much I adjust my time and schedule.  So, lesson learned.

I've also decided to start sharing something else in these weekly updates.  I read Tarot cards.  I find it's a useful tool that helps me to consider events and challenges in my life from different perspectives.  Once a week, I draw three cards, one each for past, present, and future.

For the week of October 27 to November 2, I drew The Hermit (patience and isolation), the 6 of Swords (travel), and the 3 of Cups (celebration).  That's a fair representation.  I have been feeling socially and physically isolated, I had a trip planned, and I know it's going to be a fun time once I arrive.

For the week starting on November 3, I drew the Ace of Swords (the beginning of an intellectual project), the 3 of Coins (recognition of talent), and the 10 of Wands (recognizing my limits).  That's a pretty good draw for a professional trip.  My first impression is to remind myself that despite my fears, I am actually pretty good at this writing thing.  But I also can't let myself live in the fantasy land of constant smooth sailing for the writing process.  As much as I would like to believe that I can handle editing, promotion, and all the other details without having my writing speed suffer, that's not going to happen.  And that's okay.

So the key message that I'm taking away is to take advantage of opportunities like the writer's retreat, as well as being on the lookout to create such opportunities in my everyday life.

Weekly Update: June 30-July 6

Weekly word count: 4127

Steady progress.  Hopefully next week goes better since I'll have both kids in camp rather than facing a steady stream of "I'm bored."

I have come up with a rather clever parenting plan for the younger.  His teacher commented last year that he was having trouble with the standard five paragraph essay structure.  He would repeat himself rather than explaining his conclusions.

So for this summer vacation, he is allowed to watch movies during the day.  (Usually they have a strict 2 x 30 minutes of screentime each day.)  However, for each movie he watches, he has to provide me with an outline for a five paragraph essay.  So far he's done "Ghost was not really a bad guy" for Ant-Man and the Wasp and "Ways the Cree Made Vers Think She Wasn't Powerful" for Captain Marvel.  He's still struggling a bit but making improvements.

For those worried about his vacation quality time, it's entirely optional.  If he doesn't want to watch a movie, he doesn't have to do the outline.  It's cut down on his complaining and I have the illusion of teaching him something.  Wins all around!

Heroine Fix: Last Holiday with Georgia Byrd

I'm addicted to strong and intriguing characters.  Heroine Fix is a monthly feature examining female characters that I admire and who influence my own writing.  Warning: this post will contain spoilers.

This month's Heroine Fix is actually more about me than my writing.  Last Holiday is my favourite holiday film and it's all because of Queen Latifah's portrayal of Georgia Byrd.  It's a great character film about a woman who is initially trapped in her life.  Every choice is decided by fear.  She loves to cook and dreams of opening a restaurant, but instead is sticking with her dead-end job selling cookware in a department store.  She has a crush on her co-worker, played by LL Cool J, but is scared to ask him out in case he doesn't feel the same way about her.  She cooks beautiful, delicious meals but doesn't eat them, instead taking pictures and putting them in her "Possibilities" book.  Her life is defined by waiting and hiding in the background, not living.

Then she learns that she has a fatal disease and only has weeks to live.  As expected, she makes some big changes but what I like about this film is that she doesn't immediately throw everything out overnight.  It takes her time to get used to the idea of only having a limited amount of time left and to get used to the idea of acting on what she wants instead of reacting from fear.  It becomes a beautiful unfolding of spirit and self-confidence.  When she decides to book the trip she's always wanted to take, she automatically books it coach and then only upgrades to first class partway through the flight.  The same with her hotel, at first she's booked in a standard room and then upgrades to the Presidental Suite.

I think part of what appeals is that the idea of a consequence-free life is tempting.  Telling off an obnoxious boss or spending thousands of dollars on a luxury vacation or eating a dozen different gourmet dishes in a single meal would be wonderful... if we didn't have deal with the results thereof.  Maybe it strikes a chord with me because I'm a cautious soul at heart and there have been a lot of times that I've told myself "no" on something I want because the consequences outweigh the pleasures of the moment.  But it's so tempting to forget the future and just enjoy the moment.

Some of what Georgia does is predictable.  She withdraws all of her savings, she buys a fancy new couture wardrobe, and she goes base jumping.  She enjoys fancy meals and spa treatments and blunt talk.  

But some of what she does is much more interesting.  She encourages her crappy boss's mistress to stand up to him and reclaim her own life.  She calls out a senator for ditching coming to her church and refuses to cut him any social slack, telling him that he disappointed the people who voted for him.  And she cooks with a celebrity chef, one of her idols, becoming his friend.

She's not selfishly dedicated to her own pleasure.  Even though she would have every right in the world to focus solely on herself, she shows her true heart by helping others to become better versions of themselves and break out of their own self-locked cages of fear.  The story emphasizes this with the counterpoint character, Miss Gunther, the bitter floor valet who snoops through Georgia's things in an effort to expose her.  Miss Gunther tries to make people smaller than they are while Georgia makes them more.

Another reason that I love this movie is the romantic plot.  LL Cool J's character, Sean, loves Georgia long before her transformation into her genuine self.  He's not attracted to her new bold self, he's the one who saw who she really was even when she didn't.  And I'll admit that it's pretty awesome to me to see a plus size romantic lead whose weight is never raised as an issue.  I decided to do the same for my most recent heroine, Martha, where I only mention her size a few times in the book and her hot hero finds her irresistible.

One part of the movie that always sticks with me is Georgia's speech to herself on New Year's Eve: "You have been very lucky.  Maybe we didn't get everything we want, but....  Next time, we'll do things different.  We will laugh more, we'll love more, we'll see the world.  We just won't be so afraid."  And "I wasted too much of my life being quiet."

I say it to myself when I need to remind myself that we aren't guaranteed a "next time" in life.  Refusing an opportunity to laugh and love out of fear isn't being cautious or prudent.  It's robbing ourselves of an opportunity to enjoy our lives.  

So when I'm faced with a situation where the little voice in my head is saying "But what if I look like an idiot?" then I remind myself of Georgia and that confidence is what separates the timid fools from the admired brave.  And that no one ever achieved their dreams by being quiet.  So whether it's dancing until my socks melt, or talking to a stranger or pitching my latest book, I channel my own inner Georgia and seize the day.

(Keep on reading for more information on next month's Heroine Fix and a special offer on my own books.)

Part of seizing the day is sharing my own work with you.  The first book in my paranormal romantic suspense series, Revelations, is on sale for 99 cents US (1.27 Cdn) on all platforms.

Or you can check out some other posts, like last month's Heroine Fix: Kira Nerys from Deep Space Nine.  Or last week's post on how you can boost your word count.  Or visit my Hidden Diamond page to discover new authors who write paranormal romance, romantic suspense, and strong female characters.  November's feature is a sister ORWAn: Jenn Burke.


Next month, I'll be looking at a heroine who crosses the line between good and bad, playful and dangerous.  The woman who always steals the scene from her caped crusader co-stars: Selena Kyle, Catwoman.  I'll be talking about Batman Returns and The Dark Knight Rises, and maybe even the Halle Berry movie.  Join me on January 10th for your next Heroine Fix.