Here in Northern BC, September is a beautiful month. While the mornings can hover around freezing, the afternoons can match hot summer temperatures, with clear blue skies and gorgeous sunsets. But there is no escaping the fact autumn is here, as the leaves change colours and the scent of dying vegetation lingers in the garden. Which led me to suggest this week's topic on the RWW Blog Hop:

Do you read differently in different seasons? Need lighter reads for summer sunshine and save the deep thoughts for dark winter nights?

To be honest, until I thought up this question, I had never really considered I might choose my reading by what time of year it is. But as I pondered, I realized I do have certain trends.

In the summer, when we spend a lot of time outdoors, I read shorter, fun fiction the most. It’s easier to fit into busy days, and who wants to read deep, depressing tomes when the sun is shining?

Not that I read too many of those kinds of books, anyway. But I’m pretty sure that as the days get shorter and the dark comes sooner, I’m more willing to settle in with a story that challenges me to think deep thoughts. I also find I tend to read longer books in the colder season – ones that will keep me in the author’s world and out of the doldrums of winter.

What about you? Do you have seasonal reading habits? What about non-fiction – do you read that all year long or only certain times of the year? I’d love to hear more!

Then, hop over to Caro Kinkead and see what she reads when!

This week’s topic was just too easy. Jenna Da Sie asks:

Do you like to go camping, if so where is your favourite place? Do you camp in a tent or camper?

Do I like to go camping – pshaw! Of course I do. I’ve shared photos before on this blog showing our wonderful trips.

First off, let me say that for me, camping is best with a travel trailer that had a working toilet and hard sides to keep out the larger Northern British Columbia critters. I have tented, but it is so much work to bring everything you need. With our travel trailer, we load up food and firewood and off we go. We rarely camp where there are services such as electricity and water, so we are very self-sufficient.

When I was 12 my parents bought a travel trailer to replace our tent trailer. I remember being there when my dad made the purchase. 17 years later, my husband and I bought that trailer from my parents and spent about 15 years camping with our kids. We have since upgraded to something newer, but it was a wrench to sell that trailer with so many happy memories.

Our favourite place to go is a lake about 45 minutes east of our town called Purden Lake. It is a provincial park and has large, private sites surrounded by lush forest. The lake is clear and clean, the amber colour of many northern lakes, and while the fishing isn’t the best, it is still fun to drop a line in the water.

I am blessed to live in an area with an abundance of beautiful places to camp. This summer we have spent close to 4 weeks camping on a number of trips, and it has been wonderful.

Enjoy these photos celebrating some of our camping memories, then be sure to hop over to Clair Brett and get her take on the great outdoors!

Guess what? I have a cover for my Christmas novella, coming this fall!

An adventurous kitten, a curious dog, and a matchmaking eight-year-old guarantee this will be a holiday to remember.

Luca Tannon’s new neighbour is a sexy but surly single dad. Which is all for the best since she’s focussed on reclaiming her life after a toxic long-term relationship.

Caleb Frost won’t let anything distract him from ensuring his son’s first Christmas as the child of divorced parents is perfect. And that includes the irritatingly intriguing woman living next door.
Everything is going as planned…until it’s not.

The Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop is back! We took some time off to enjoy summer, but we are all set to head into fall full of energy and vigour.

This week, A.S. Fenichel http://asfenichel.com/blog/ asks:

We’re getting into the dog days now. What do you do to relax? Is it a hobby, laying about in the sun or something else? How do you unwind and how does it feed your soul?

Summer in Northern British Columbia has been…odd, to say the least. We started July with record heat. I’m not sure what the official high temperature was, but it was near enough to 40C (104F) not to matter. That is INSANELY hot for where I live.

Since then, we’ve bounced from cool, rainy weather back to unusually hot days and back again. It’s like we’ve been having mini-summers LOL!

This week on the Blog Hop, we’re talking about dreams. Leslie Hachtel says:

Tell us what you dream about.

So, there’s a couple ways of taking this question! I dream about making the bestsellers lists and spending time with the family that doesn’t involve social distancing (we’re almost there!!). But when it comes to sleeping dreams, that’s a different story.

My dreams can be very vivid. They are usually in colour and sometimes even involve physical sensations like touch. Thank goodness I don’t have nightmares – not often, anyway – although I remember one that I had when I was a child where I was going to go over a waterfall and woke up just before I fell off the bed!

Most of my dreams seem to involve not being able to accomplish things. I’ll need a key to unlock a door, and when I open the drawer to get it, it’s not there. Then, when I finally find the key, the door isn’t there anymore. In the days when we travelled more often, I often dreamt about missing our flight or ending up at the wrong hotel.

Now that I think of it, I rarely dream pleasant, relaxing things. Huh. I wonder why that is? How about you? What do you dream!
The next stop in our blog hop is here with Leslie Hachtel!

When I am doing my first draft, I just want to get the story down. I don’t think too much about themes or tropes (I’ll explain that later)…I just listen to the people in my head and put them in situations that will reveal their character and conflict. I usually get stuck about halfway through, though, and when I do, it’s a good time for me to reflect on “What is this story about?” That’s where themes and tropes come in.

This week on the Blog Hop, A.S. Fenichel says:

Lately I’ve been thinking about the story themes that turn me on and inspire me. List your top ten favorite story or plot themes. It can be anything from Dragons to friends to lovers.

Themes are an underlying thread that ties the whole story together. Finding home or good vs. evil or revenge. A trope is the structure the story hangs on. In romance, tropes might be marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, or enemies to lovers.

As a writer, my two favourite tropes are friends to lovers and second chance. I’m not a big fan of insta-lust or insta-love (though if handled well can be great) and prefer a slowly growing realization between my characters. Both of these tropes work really well for that. In my upcoming book, I use both, as my hero and heroine were married very young, broke up, and then thirty years later become friends and work toward a happy ever after.

I read a lot of Regency romance, and in those I love a marriage of convenience trope. It suits the time period, when women were expected to marry and couldn’t always wait to find their soulmate. These often end up being friends to lovers, too, because a sound marriage usually starts with affection.

Other tropes I like to read include forced proximity (can be location or activity, such as career), fake relationship (as long as the two main characters are in it together and aren’t faking out the other), and opposites attract (I think you get this one).

What about you? When you think about your reading, are you drawn to specific type of story? Leave a comment below, then hop over to Leslie Hachtel.

As authors, we tend to focus on sight and touch. But there are other senses that can really evoke a response. This week, Leslie Hachtel says:

Scent is very important in life and in our stories. Tell us your favorite and why it inspires you.

If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome!

As with many things, it is hard to narrow down a favourite scent. I prefer light, herbal scents to heavier perfumes, though. Lemon, mint, and rosemary are definitely at the top of the list. But when it comes to a scent that inspires me, I think I will go with lavender.

I love to put on lavender hand cream before bed. It is soothing and relaxing, and as I always read for a lengthy period of time before going to sleep, I associate the smell with one of my favourite things! The other reason I love lavender is that is reminds me of Provence. In 2017 my husband and I took the trip of a lifetime with my parents and spent time in Belgium (where my mother was born) and the south of France. The lavender fields were just coming into bloom, but the scent was already noticeable. It is a wonderful memory.

This blog is a good reminder to me to put more scent into my writing! It can initiate very strong emotions, and is a great way to set a scene.

How about you? What scent do you prefer? I love to hear from you. Then be sure to hop over to Leslie Hachtel and discover her favourite scent.

Oooh, a recipe swap! Always a favourite for me on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop! Leslie Hachtel says:

It’s picnic time. Share your favorite picnic recipe.

If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome!

I’m a big salad person, especially in the summer. And salads that can be made a head of time are great for summer picnics. Buy a bucket of chicken and bring your favourite bevy and you’re done!

Macaroni salad is always a hit. Just be sure to keep it chilled until you want to eat it, because it is definitely best served cold. Here’s my super easy homemade recipe. Even better made the day before you want to enjoy it!

Cooked macaroni (if I am making this for 5 or 6 adults, I make 4 cups uncooked macaroni and there will still be leftovers). If not using leftover pasta, be sure to run under cold water until cooled before mixing with vegetables.

Your favourite crispy vegetables, cubed or chopped (I like at least as many total cups of mixed vegetables as cooked macaroni). Suggestions:
Cucumber
Coloured sweet peppers (red, orange, yellow)
Carrots (I prefer these shredded in my salads)
Green onions
Celery
Cherry tomatoes (halved if large)

Mix all above together. Sprinkle generously with seasoned salt or non-salt spice mix such as Mrs. Dash. Starting with one cup of Miracle Whip, stir until well coated. Add more dressing if preferred.

I’m feeling hungry! Time for a snack. But be sure to hop over to Leslie Hachtel next!

Jenna Da Sie has set up as FLASH FICTION challenge this week!

Write about someone who unexpectedly comes into $20,000 and include this detail: a small black notebook.

Here you go!

***

Gerard opened his small black notebook, flattened the pages at the correct entry, and licked the end of his pencil.

Yuck. Why did people do that? He thought about it as he smacked his lips and tongue trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Come to think of it, he’d only ever seen it on TV or in movies. Maybe no one really did it in real life.

On the pristine page, in precise letters, he wrote Devlin J. - $20,000 – paid in full followed by the date. It gave him a lovely thrill to see it there in black and white. He hadn’t expected to collect that fee so easily or so quickly. Usually it took multiple attempts to convince his clients that non-payment was a non-option. Devlin, on the other hand, had handed over the twenty grand with barely a whimper.

Maybe I should have asked for more. Gerard prided himself on knowing exactly how much his clients could afford, and how hard to push to get what he wanted. His clients might disagree—no one liked to be blackmailed, after all—but it was just business.

And a very fine business it was.

***

Now I’m wondering who Gerard will blackmail next…

That was fun! Be sure to hop over to Leslie Hachtel and see what she came up with.

We have been enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures this last week in Northern British Columbia. And by enjoying I mean wallowing, bathing, and soaking in the sunshine. We had a lovely winter, but nothing beats those first hot days of spring. That being said, this week on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop, Leslie Hachtel asks:

What is your favorite spring flower and why? Is it the scent? A memory?

If you joined me from A.S. Fenichel, welcome!

The first sign of spring where I live is the appearance of pussy willows. While not the most vibrant of blooms, these tough, furry, grey blossoms are a sure indicator the weather is warming up.

When it comes to cultivated flowers, hardy bulbs like crocuses are next. While they have no scent, they are definitely cheery and bright!

Because these are the first to appear, they rank as my favourite spring flowers. However, I am always thrilled when my clematis begins to sprout. While it will be months before we see the blooms fully open, knowing this rapid-growing vine is ready to grow is one of my great delights.

What about you? What are your favourite spring flowers? Feel free to share below, then hop over to the instigator of this topic, Leslie Hachtel.
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When the last time you took a stroll around my website (other than this blog, of course)? You might be interested to see some changes, especially here. I'll give you a minute to go look...

What do you think? I love these new covers! I'm going to be celebrating by giving away a copy of each book. But you need to be a subscriber to my newsletter to end. You can do that here. I hope you'll join us!