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A Little Breather

Hey there, blog readers.  You may have noticed I've missed my last couple of posts.  To be honest, I needed to take a step back and figure out how best to use my time.  It turns out that if I blog regularly, I don't take much time to actually write. So, because this blog is… Continue reading A Little Breather

Excerpts

Hold Fast: A Dinner Invitation

In this new sneak peek of my work in progress, Hold Fast, a historical novel based on a true story, I imagine Ann McIntyre invited for a visit to Conrad Gugy's manor while her sons and friends live in scarcity in the refugee camp on his land at Machiche.  Let me know what you think… Continue reading Hold Fast: A Dinner Invitation

Excerpts

Everdream: The Dragon’s Vale

Here's another sneak peek of my upcoming YA fantasy novel, Everdream.  Kynan has just entered the Dragon's vale, seeing for the first time just how much damage a dragon can do.  Please let me know what you think in the comments. He moved as quickly as he might, though the uneven ground and the shrouding… Continue reading Everdream: The Dragon’s Vale

Places

Machiche

In my upcoming historical novel Hold Fast, I tell the story of Ann MacLean's real-life struggles in Canada's first refugee camp, Machiche. A place of conflicting identity, Machiche is the perfect setting for the story of a woman from two worlds. The camp of Machiche was put together on the north shore of the St. Lawrence,… Continue reading Machiche

People

Queen Aderyn

In my upcoming Young Adult Fantasy novel Everdream, one of the most important characters spends the whole book sleeping. Queen Aderyn, young Prince Kynan's mother, may be Dreaming quietly throughout her son's quest, but her story is the catalyst for his journey and for a change that will change the face of Everdream and the Wake… Continue reading Queen Aderyn

Connections

A New Nation

The American Revolution wasn't the beginning of only one nation.  It was the catalyst to the birth of a second, too. Think about it.  Without the American Revolution, how different would Canada be? Before the war, Canada was nothing more than an annexed territory, won from the French after the Seven Years' War.  In the… Continue reading A New Nation

Connections

The Mirror

In my novel Otherworld, I introduced a little object that has some significance for the main character, Emma Delaney—a small mirror.  Cale Kynsey gives it to her to show her some important things about herself.  But there are things we can learn from the mirror, too. Emma's mirror shows her three different reflections of herself:… Continue reading The Mirror

People

Jeptha Hawley

One of the fun things about doing research for my historical fiction based on a true story, Hold Fast, is finding out about real-life characters that fit into the story.  Among the people Ann MacLean would have known at the refugee camp at Machiche, Quebec was the Loyalist captain Jeptha Hawley. Jeptha first came to… Continue reading Jeptha Hawley

Places

Castle Cairdrist

In my new YA fantasy novel Everdream, in the middle of the land of Tyernas, on a hill overlooking a wide river, stands its capital—the home of the king, Castle Cairdrist.  Aside from the odd rare trip with his father, Cairdrist is the only place Kynan has ever known. At first glance, Cairdrist looks much… Continue reading Castle Cairdrist