Fiction Friday | What’s the deal with Celebrity books?

Lights, camera, action! I recently heard my new release Muskoka Spotlight being described as a celebrity romance book. I suppose it is, as it’s about a famous Hollywood actor hiding out in Muskoka, Canada where he meets an aged care nurse, and sparks fly, etc. It’s just I hadn’t really thought about it in that …

Fiction Friday | What Makes a Strong Heroine?

Today I am talking about What Makes a Strong Heroine? It takes a special kind of woman to cope with all the flak, so it was interesting to consider what kind of qualities a woman might need to deal with situations where she could face anything from misogynistic remarks to having hot dogs thrown at …

Fiction Friday – The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese

Today for Fiction Friday I’m sharing my book recommendation for The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese. Here’s the book description: Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript. As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic …

Writer’s Inspiration | Exploring the Past

A few weeks ago I was presented with the opportunity to take my daughter to the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, NSW. I might’ve grumbled at the time (my other daughter was returning from India that same day and I wanted to know All The Things!) but I went, because I realised this was …

Book Review | Within These Walls of Sorrow by Amanda Barratt

Within These Walls of Sorrow is about the Apteka Pod Orlem – a pharmacy operated by Poles who wouldn’t abandon their premises in the heart of the Krakow ghetto in WWII, choosing instead to risk their lives to serve those within the ghetto walls. Based on a true story, the characters are fictional amalgamations of …

Discovering New Books to Read

Back in the good old days, last century, the library was my go-to place to discover new books. I knew the floor plan layout and had memorised the shelving systems via genre and book category. I’d gravitate to the shelves that held hidden treasures waiting to be explored. I’d talk about books and pick up …

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Our Writing

Recently, I did a workshop with Annie Gicchuru from Uplifting Studios on how to write a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. Annie encouraged us to write our statements, even if we don’t get it all right at once. Even if we make mistakes. She encouraged us to write, review, keep learning, keep adapting. It’s important …

Friday Fiction | Writing A Series

I’ll forever be grateful to Narelle Atkins for talking at an Omega conference in 2015 about the value of writing in a series. When I heard this, I’d just finished writing my third historical (Winning Miss Winthrop), and was primed to write a sequel to this as a NaNoWriMo project in November that year. Little …

Fiction Friday | Romance in Christian Fiction

I recently posted in a Facebook group a question that I’ve been pondering for a while now. Does it bother you as (presumably) a Christian reader to read about Christian characters pursuing relationships when they don’t know if the other person is a Christian or not? I recently read a contemporary novel by a hugely …

Fiction Friday | The Great Escape by Carolyn Miller

Have you ever felt crushed by circumstances, work or expectations? Recently my husband and I returned from ten nights in Fiji. This was a very necessary mid-year escape ostensibly to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, but it also proved a majestic motivator to complete a huge range of tasks before limited internet and email capacity …