This was the book for which I had the most difficulty choosing a passage to read.  I had sections that I’d performed successfully before, but they tended to be long, require explanations, and lack any shorter sections that had internal arcs.  This latter is very important in readings, at least for me, because I want […]

[Read more →]

That’s the perennial question for an avid reader. My “to read” list is always much too long but now I’ve got a new way to make it longer. I was contacted by Shepherd, a new site for connecting readers, authors, and books. Authors are invited to provide a list of five recommended books on a […]

[Read more →]

Here’s the second installment in my collaboration with my husband on “words and music”. This passage for COLD HILLSIDE is the most description-heavy of the excerpts I chose for this project.  It’s the first introduction to the fey and I wanted to try to capture their elusive, unreal qualities before the later part of the […]

[Read more →]

During the pandemic, an opportunity arose to get a grant to do some digital creative work. That never happened, but it seemed like a great project to work on anyway, especially in the middle of ongoing COVID restrictions. I’ve had some experience recording myself reading but now I had the opportunity to add music, as my husband’s […]

[Read more →]

I did A LOT of reading this year. I suppose being stuck at home during a pandemic will do that for you. Total books read: roughly 160 Fiction: 62% Non-Fiction: 38% Below are some of the ones I liked best, in no particular order. While I read fewer non-fiction titles, more of them stuck with […]

[Read more →]

Well, I made my target of 10,000 words in November for Nanowrimo, though I have done not a thing since. Even without any more writing in December, I’ll beat 2020’s total word count by a bit. Does this matter? Some of the words aren’t very good. Some of them will end up having nothing to […]

[Read more →]

In the thick of my Nanowrimo drive for 2021 (target: 10,000 words). But I’m still getting some reading done. Here are my favourites of the last two months. FICTION The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo. Absolutely loved this novella about empires, hidden magic, and power in unexpected places. Bonus: Mastadon cavalries. Black Water […]

[Read more →]

It was almost like “the before times”, but with added masks and vaccine passports. A planned family reunion in Picton, Ontario was cancelled but, as we have friends there, we kept our hotel reservation and went to “the county” for a few days. Observations: Clearly, a large number of Ontarians had decided to do the […]

[Read more →]

Sadly, there was no pretty picture this year, though I did read a few physical books. But here’s what I read and enjoyed on my vacation. FIction: The Last True Gentleman on the Planet Earth by David Keyes. I’m not objective about this one, as David is a dear friend. But this is a wonderful […]

[Read more →]

The heat continues and it has managed to sap a good deal of my motivation to do much more than read, lie under the fan, and watch Youtube videos. On the positive side: wrote 5,000 words in July. went to the museum for a safely-masked visit of two excellent new exhibits. had lunch on a […]

[Read more →]