Jen Gilroy's Blog, page 21

Meet me at the diner: Kate Field author of The Magic of Ramblings

In the second of this occasional series on my blog, I’m chatting with my friend Kate Field whose first book, The Magic of Ramblings, was published in September 2016 by Accent Press.

Like me, Kate is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) in the UK. She lives with her husband and daughter in Lancashire in northern England and, in addition to being a debut novelist, she’s also a “debut kitten owner,” and I often get my “cat fix” from her Facebook page. We connected via Twitter and, apart from writing, have much else in common including a love of chocolate (Fry’s chocolate cream bars in particular), Jane Austen’s Persuasion and reading in bed.   

Kate writes contemporary women’s fiction, and The Magic of Ramblings, a story about a woman who runs away and finds her future (including a mysterious and intriguing hero), tugged at my heart from the first page and didn’t let go.

I’m delighted to have Kate here today and, in her honour, have brought out my best vintage tea set, and added Victoria sponge cake, homemade scones, jam and clotted cream, and imported English tea to the diner “specials.”

Cassie, the heroine of The Magic of Ramblings, takes a job as a companion to Frances, an elderly lady who lives at “Ramblings,” a wonderful Victorian Gothic mansion.

As someone who spent much of her time in the UK visiting stately homes at National Trust properties and now follows Country Living UK and BBC Homes & Antiques magazines from afar, I definitely have “house envy.” Is Ramblings (which even has its own library!) purely a product of your imagination or was it inspired by a real house?

Ramblings is purely fictional, but when I was thinking about what sort of house it should be, I knew I wanted it to be something out of the ordinary, but also a house that could conceivably be found in Lancashire, where the book is set. I spent many happy hours researching the stately homes of Lancashire, and came across one called Scarisbrick Hall. It is now used as a school – for some very lucky students! – and isn’t open to the public, but it’s a Victorian Gothic house, featuring tall chimneys, turrets, towers and arched windows, and as soon as I saw it I knew I had found the right style for Ramblings.

I then searched for more examples of Victorian Gothic architecture and found Tyntesfield, a National Trust property in Somerset. It’s a glorious building, and although it’s larger than my Ramblings, I used it as my inspiration when writing the book. 

Tyntesfield, Copyright National Trust Images/Steve Stephens

I’d read about Tyntesfield but knowing that it inspired your book, it’s now on my list of places to visit on my next trip to the UK.

One of the things I most enjoyed about The Magic of Ramblings is its vivid sense of place. There’s some beautiful sensory writing in your book (“the sky had darkened to the colour of squid ink” intrigued me) and, having lived briefly in the north of England (the Lake District), I was delighted to note the reference to Herdwick sheep.

 How have your Lancashire roots influenced you as a writer?

On a practical level, the Lancashire climate – predominantly wet and windy! – gives me plenty of time to stay indoors and write!

When the rain does stop, I love walking in the countryside, and I think the landscape has definitely influenced me. From one side of my house, I look onto bleak moors, whose tops are frequently masked by cloud; from the other side, I see rolling fields of sheep and cows, leading down to the village and the beautiful reservoirs in the valley bottom. It’s impossible not to look around and imagine the sort of people who would live and work in this landscape.

I took this photograph on a walk near home, because I could immediately picture my hero, Barney, striding through these fields with his dog at his side. 

You live in a beautiful place, Kate, and having read the book, I can indeed picture Barney in those fields. Not only has Ramblings given me “house envy,” I also now have “view envy!”

I discovered The Magic of Ramblings via a blog post by a mutual friend, Susanna Bavin. The cover drew me in because it was reminiscent of one of my favourite children’s books, The Secret Garden. Do you have a favourite book from childhood?

I don’t think I can limit my answer to one book! I grew up in the days before computers and video games, and spent most of my time reading, but out of the hundreds of books I must have read, a few stand out from various stages of my childhood.

Enid Blyton’s books about The Magic Faraway Tree were my early favourites, and later I loved her books about The Famous Five too. I read Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome many times – it’s set in the Lake District, not far from Lancashire, and there’s always something special about reading books based in an area you’re familiar with.

As I grew older, I loved Anne of Green Gables, and the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys stories. While you were reading about England, Jen, I was longing to be in North America!

We share many favourite books, Kate. When I first visited the Lake District, I was so excited to see Swallows and Amazons country. If you’re able to visit Canada one day, I hope you can tour Prince Edward Island. It’s so much a part of the special world of Anne of Green Gables and even today, it’s easy to imagine the characters there. 

In North America (my own books included), small towns are a popular setting for both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. The Magic of Ramblings is set in an English village, but it has a similar “feel” to these small-town stories because of its cosy pub, network of family and friends and caring sense of community.

Did you draw on personal experience of village life to depict your fictional world?

I love reading books set in small communities and I find it hard to resist a book that has a map of a fictional town or village at the front! There’s so much scope for drama in a small town or village setting, when everyone knows each other’s business – something I think you show so well, Jen, in The Cottage at Firefly Lake. It’s also fascinating to think about the impact it could have on a character to be surrounded by people who have watched them grow up, and to have the weight of previous generations resting on their shoulders.

I do live in a Lancashire village, but the one in Ramblings is purely fictional, as are the characters! The idea for the community library that Cassie starts at Ramblings came from personal experience though; there’s a library held in my village hall on Saturday mornings, and I’m one of the volunteers.

Thank you for your kind words about my book. I’m glad you enjoyed its small-town setting. Your reference to a library in your village hall makes me remember with fondness aspects of my life in England.

The Magic of Ramblings is your first published book. Did you write any books before Ramblings or (and unlike me) did you find your writing voice straight away?

Ramblings is the sixth book I’ve written, over a period of about 25 years, so it has taken a long time to find my writing voice!

I started off by writing a couple of Regency romances, because those were the books I loved reading at the time. I then tried two contemporary books, which I thought were romantic comedies, until I sent off a couple of chapters of one of them for a critique and was told it was “simply not amusing.” That hurt, but in hindsight I can see that it was exactly the tough feedback I needed. I’d chosen to write romantic comedies because they were popular with readers, not because it was the style of book I wanted to write. Once I’d accepted that, I started to write book 5 – which will be published later this year!

I well know how tough feedback hurts but you’re right, it’s sometimes needed (although ice cream and chocolate can help soften the blow!). Thanks for sharing how it takes time to learn how to write from your heart.

And on that topic, for me, one of the many strengths of your book is its believable, multi-faceted characters and emotional depth. Without giving away any spoilers (or the mystery), the three main characters, Cassie, the heroine, Barney, the hero, and Frances, the elderly woman for whom Cassie works as a companion, all have troubling—and intensely emotional—secrets in their pasts.

Do you think writers need to be able to feel strong emotions themselves to depict them realistically for readers?

Thanks for your kind words about my characters. It’s important to me that they are realistic. I want the reader to believe that the characters existed before they picked up the book, and that their lives will carry on beyond the final page.

I haven’t experienced the particular difficulties that Cassie and Frances faced in the past, and their stories are based on imagination and a great deal of research. But I do think that living through troubled times has affected my writing. There’s one difficult year that I can clearly see marked a change, to the extent that my writing can be divided into ‘before’ and ‘after.’ The books that came ‘after’ are richer and have more emotional depth, to my mind.

That’s something else we have in common. My life has also had its share of “troubled times” and you’re right, those difficulties have helped give more emotional depth to my writing.

On a lighter note, I enjoy visiting places that inspired much-loved books, and the UK has such a rich literary heritage. Have you gone on any “literary pilgrimages?”

Yes, many! We certainly are lucky here. My first pilgrimage was probably to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare country. I studied several Shakespeare plays at school, and my incredibly kind parents often took me to Stratford on holiday, and sometimes for the day (a long journey from Lancashire!) so that I could watch some of the plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

My favourite pilgrimage involved visiting Jane Austen’s house at Chawton, an amazing place to visit for any fan. As you’ve mentioned our shared love of Persuasion, Jen, you’ll understand when I say I’ve visited Bath many times to retrace the steps of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth!

Gawthorpe Hall

Closer to home, I live about an hour away from Haworth in Yorkshire, home of the Brontë sisters, which is a fascinating place to visit. 

There are Brontë connections in Lancashire too: Charlotte Brontë frequently stayed at Gawthorpe Hall, which is a beautiful Elizabethan mansion not far from my home. 

Chawton…bliss! When I lived in England, I was within an easy drive of Chawton and it’s a such wonderful place to visit. Thanks for giving me and all my readers a bit of armchair travel. I’m restraining myself from booking a flight immediately!

I know your second book is scheduled for publication later this year. Please tell us more about what’s next in your writing life.

 My next book is called The Truth about You, Me and Us, and is due to be published at the end of August. It’s based around a small group of craftspeople and the heroine, Helen, is a crazy patchwork artist. Crazy patchwork is one of the many things I intend to try when I have spare time!

Such an intriguing title and premise. Although I’m not a quilter, I inherited several quilts from my mother’s family and one is a “crazy patchwork.” I shall read with even more interest now.

Thanks for joining me here today, Kate. The Magic of Ramblings is a wonderful book, and I’m very much looking forward to The Truth about You, Me and Us, too.  

Thanks for inviting me, Jen, and for providing the delicious English afternoon tea!

You can connect with Kate on Twitter (@katehaswords) and Facebook 

Buy The Magic of Ramblings for Kindle or in paperback on all Amazon platforms including Amazon.com  as well as The Book Depository (with free shipping worldwide).

Here’s the blurb for The Magic of Ramblings 

When Cassie accepts a job as companion to an old lady in a remote Lancashire village, she hopes for a quiet life where she can forget herself, her past and most especially men. The last thing she wants is to be drawn into saving a community that seems determined to take her to its heart – and to resuscitate hers…

Frances has lived a reclusive life at Ramblings, a Victorian Gothic mansion, for over thirty years and now Barney is hiding away there, forging a new life after his medical career ended in scandal. He doesn’t trust the mysterious woman who comes to live with his rich aunt, especially when she starts to steal Frances’ affection – and maybe his own too.

Thank you to my readers…and a giveaway to celebrate kindness

It’s been a little over two months since The Cottage at Firefly Lake was published. In that time, many of you have taken my story into your lives and hearts.

Thank you for buying my book and asking for it in stores. Thank you for asking your local library to order it. And thank you for leaving reviews on Goodreads, Amazon or elsewhere and sharing my book with your family and friends.

Thank you for contacting me on Facebook, Twitter or via email through my website. Your kind words about The Cottage at Firefly Lake have warmed my heart.

Word of mouth is one of the best ways for authors to gain readers, and for a new author especially, you can play a big part in helping get the word out about not only my first book, but also those to come—Summer on Firefly Lake (published on July 25, 2017) and Back Home at Firefly Lake (now with a new release date in December this year).

In whatever way you’ve already done or can do in future, thank you for being cheerleaders for my work.

Over a year ago, I wrote about the transition to calling myself an author. The transition to “published author” and seeing my book “out in the wild” has been similarly life-changing.

Although I’m glad I look like my author photo, it still surprises me when people I don’t know recognize me from it. It’s also surprising (but wonderful) when people ask about characters in my book as if they are real.

And, not least, it’s humbling when readers tell me what my book has meant to them.

Whether Firefly Lake has allowed them to “escape into another world,” given them respite from medical worries, or meant they’ve put off domestic chores to read one more chapter, each such comment makes all the hours I spend in front of my laptop worthwhile.

Since becoming a published author, my working day is much the same as it was before. I still have a word count, deadlines and social media and marketing commitments. I still do my most productive work in yoga pants and slippers. And I still angst about the blank page to be filled and how to tell stories in the best way I can and grow as a writer.

Yet, the axis of my world has shifted because now people beyond my agent and editor read my books and are invested in my fictional world to the extent that the characters are like friends. 

Despite the many other things that go along with being a published author, at the end of the day, everything begins and ends with the story and those who read it.

I’m very grateful for each and every one of my readers, and I’ll never take the bond we share for granted.

Now to the giveaway…

Many of you know that I choose a word for each year, and my word this year is kindness.

To celebrate kindness and say thank you to all the readers for what they do for authors like me, anyone who comments on this blog post will be entered into a draw to win either:

A signed paperback copy of The Cottage at Firefly Lake.

OR

A paperback copy of Starlight Bridge, the new release by USA Today Bestselling author Debbie Mason (a second-chance romance and the second book in her Harmony Harbor series).

Debbie is a wonderful author, and if you haven’t yet discovered her books you’re in for a reading treat. She’s also been very kind in sharing my book with her readers, so I want to share her book with you in return.

Note for blog subscribers: If you receive my blog via email, head over to my website and comment on the post on the “Blog” page there.

This giveaway is open until Wednesday, 12 April until midnight ET and I’ll choose two winners at random thereafter. I’ll  mail internationally so don’t forget to tell your friends.

Hitting the “pause” button

For the past few years and, much like the dogs in one of my favourite early childhood stories, my life has been on “fast forward.”

Between moving from England to Canada, launching my career as a published author, managing several family estates, and becoming the primary caregiver for a teen daughter diagnosed with a chronic illness, I’ve been hurtling through my days at warp speed.

While some of this busy-ness has been good (the published author part is a dream-come-true I’m thankful for each and every day), I’ve had little time to stop for breath. At many points, I’ve also been emotionally and mentally exhausted.  

In the past week, I sent the third book in my Firefly Lake series, Back Home at Firefly Lake, to my editor. It releases in March 2018 and is the sequel to The Cottage at Firefly Lake (January 2017), and Summer on Firefly Lake (July 2017).

For the first time in my published author life, I’m between books. While there is still work to do, including checking page proofs for Summer on Firefly Lake, I’m temporarily embracing the kind of “pause” I haven’t experienced in several years.

As someone who finds clutter stressful, I’m sorting out my home and, in particular, the teetering piles of paperwork in my home office.

I’m rediscovering my cookbook collection, and the joy of eating slowly at my (newly uncluttered) dining room table.

I’m watching movies and reading for pleasure. 

I’m reconnecting with friends by ditching the electronics to write several long-overdue letters with a pen and special paper.

And I’m taking rambling walks to see my community with fresh eyes. 

Even though I’m not tied to a daily word count, I’m still thinking about writing, and new characters and ideas are bubbling away.

I’m getting out and about because as someone for whom eavesdropping is an art form, some of the best stories are inspired by random snippets of conversations  overheard in coffee shops and stores.

I’m delving into my “inspiration file” for pictures and news articles that have piqued my interest over the years. 

And I’m going to bookshops both new and second-hand because, well, just because!

Stopping, breathing and reflecting are good for everyone, not only writers.

Soon I’ll hit “play” again and put my fingers to the keyboard to work on proposals for several new books, but for now I’m enjoying this metaphorical spring cleaning for the soul.

And since my local ice cream stands are reopening after a long, snowy winter, some sweet treats are on the agenda, too.

What about you? Like me, is this new season an opportunity for some mental spring cleaning? 

Too many blonds and a magical dog

One of the many wonderful things about being a published author is having the support of a team of people who help me become a better writer.

In the past week, I’ve worked on agent’s edits for my third book, Back Home at Firefly Lake (March 2018), and copyeditor’s queries for the second book, Summer on Firefly Lake (July 25, 2017). Once again, I’m grateful for the often unsung publishing professionals who work with authors to make the reader experience the best it can be.

In Back Home at Firefly Lake, my agent pointed out that there were four blond characters in the first two pages. More popped up as the story progressed. Since the book is set in Vermont, it’s unlikely there would be that many blonds in one small New England town. Back to the editing cave I went with the editorial equivalent of hair dye.

Even though I supposedly write in US English, my agent also picked up multiple instances of British usage. In addition, there were several occasions where characters were standing without having first arisen from where they were sitting, as well as a building with an architecturally suspect staircase.  

In Summer on Firefly Lake, most of these problems, including a dog that magically appeared in a character’s arms without ever having been introduced into the scene, had been resolved in previous drafts. At copyedit stage, though, I’m always reminded of my erratic comma use and unfortunate devotion to sentence fragments. There was also a character wearing a “vest top” and doing the “weekly shop” —more vestiges of my beloved British English.

As an author, I put bits of myself into everything I write. While my life experience shapes my characters and their stories, it also influences how I construct sentences and the individual words I use. And, like all writers, when I get too close to a manuscript, I don’t see the often-funny inconsistencies so evident to those reading it for the first time.

As for those blond characters? I’m a brunette who always hankered after fair hair.

When I was a teen, I tried lemon juice, sunshine and every product then advertised in Seventeen magazine in attempts to lighten my dark locks. Several years later, I went for salon highlights that on one occasion turned my hair orange instead of the promised “sun-kissed” look.

Now in middle age, I thought I was resigned to my brown-haired fate, more concerned with covering grey than chasing my inner blond. However, the subliminal truth was in my fiction all along.

Since it’s unlikely I’ll set stories in Finland (the country often reported to have the highest number of blonds per capita), I’ll have to stick to animal characters with light coats instead.

Among dog breeds, there are Golden retrievers, Apricot Poodles, Yellow Labradors and more. There are also tan cats with elegant cashmere-like coats and, in the poultry world, silkie bantam chickens, cuddly balls of sunshiny fluff. 

Although I’ll never know what it’s like to be a natural blond, for a creative mind, the possibilities—and yes, maybe even future book boyfriends—are endless.

—

And a news flash for those of you who may have missed it on social media…BookSweeps Romantic Women’s Fiction book giveaway (6-13 March 2017)* 

If you enjoy reading romantic women’s fiction (that may or may not feature blonds, animal characters and British English), this giveaway offers a chance to win my first book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, as well as novels by more than forty other authors, and a Kindle Fire. 

Enter the contest by clicking here.

*Runs from 6-13 March 2017 and open to those in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Making a joyful noise

As some of you know, I joined a choir last year. Every Thursday night, I gather with friends and neighbours at my church to sing together and prepare to lead the congregation in the musical part of the Sunday worship service.

During that practice time, I’m not connected to social media. I’m not thinking about writing deadlines, my to-do list, or the myriad of other things that, like all multi-tasking women, usually occupy my mind.  

Instead, tucked inside a stone building that dates to 1878 (old by Canadian standards), life and time slow and everyday worries slip away. I focus on my breathing. I listen. I read the language of music. And I use a different part of my brain than I do during the rest of the week.

The physical, social and emotional benefits of singing are well documented, and I’ve seen many of them in my own life. Singing has helped me better manage stress, increased my sense of community and, as a round-shouldered writer, regular reminders to sit and stand up straight have improved my posture.

The weekly choir practice is fun, too. Although we work hard, there is laughter and I leave feeling happy and centered. And sometimes, there’s cake!

Music was part of my life from early childhood. I sang at home, in choirs both sacred and secular, and it was a bond I shared with my dad and paternal grandmother. Yet, without making a conscious choice, singing was one of the things I lost in the transition to adult life. And as the years rushed by, I never stopped to question why something I’d once found joyous had become an almost forgotten footnote.

We all have turning points in our lives. One of mine came when I took a step back to consider what I really wanted and then worked to get it.

Although that turning point resulted in my writing career, it gave me other good things, too, some of which I never expected. Singing is one.

I have a small, soprano voice. The choir I sing in is also small. We range in age from high school to retired and come from different walks of life. Yet, when we sing, we blend our voices together to create something more than we could individually—a whole that’s bigger and more resonant than the sum of its parts.

No matter what else is going on in my life—or in the wider world—choir practice is a time to stop and simply “be.” For a brief moment, both the place and music co-exist and become timeless. As I lift up my voice alongside those friends and neighbours, that’s perhaps the best and most joyous benefit of all.

A memory, a bookstore and an “epoch in my life”

 

My mom loved books and reading. I have cherished childhood memories of not only time spent reading together, but also going to bookstores with her on Saturday afternoons, my carefully saved allowance tucked into a pink purse in the depths of her bag.

Those book-buying excursions gave me some of my first lessons in budgeting and fiscal responsibility, while also introducing me to the world of working writers—people who wrote stories in exchange for my hard-earned money and inhabited a mysterious world far removed from the one I then knew.

With the release of The Cottage at Firefly Lake ten days ago, I’ve become one of those writers and the writing world, much less mysterious than it once was, is my happy new reality. In this time of “firsts” and joyous moments large and small, one of the most momentous has been seeing my book on store shelves “out in the wild.”

First came pictures. Tech Guy and my literary agent tracked it down in Toronto and Virginia. A  friend spotted it while waiting for a a bus on Vancouver Island.

And then I saw it myself. I was in Ottawa, the Canadian city closest to my small town, for a hospital appointment with English Rose. After her appointment, we detoured to a big, Chapters bookstore. At first, I couldn’t find the romance section so a helpful staff member guided me to it. By a quirk of fate, he stopped in front of the “G” authors where The Cottage at Firefly Lake was displayed mid-shelf and cover out.

“That’s my book,” I said.

Mindful of English Rose and teen girl embarrassment, I refrained from squealing and doing an impromptu happy dance in the middle of the aisle.

“Your book?”

“I wrote it,” I said.

He hesitated, his expression puzzled.

Would I have to flip to the inside back cover to show my author photo? I had better hair in that photo.

Then he smiled. “Sorry, it took me a second to put the pieces together.”

Although I didn’t say so, I understood. As I looked at my book on the shelf alongside books by authors I admire, I hadn’t put those pieces together either.  

Would you like to sign our copies of your book?” he asked. “I can also add stickers with ‘author signed’ to the cover.”

I did.

He did.

And like Anne of Green Gables in one of those books I saved up to buy so long ago, it was “an epoch in my life.”

As I left the store and pulled my woolly winter hat onto my head to cover my non-camera-ready hair, my happy excitement was mixed with another emotion. Sadness. On my best bookstore visit ever, my mom hadn’t been there to share it with me.

But perhaps she was. And perhaps she did a happy dance of her own in a pair of those fabulous shoes we also sometimes shopped for on Saturday afternoons.

And perhaps in the middle of that big store full of books, ending up in front of the shelf with my book on it wasn’t such a quirk of fate after all.

From up there in heaven, my mom may well have given that Chapters staff member a gentle celestial nudge. It was a special day. And she was a special mom.  

Sending my book baby out into the world

My very first published book, The Cottage at Firefly Lake, releases on January 31. Although advance review copies are already in circulation, the shiny, finished book doesn’t hit shelves and e-readers until next Tuesday.

In the author world, a book release is called a “book birthday.” Much like the birth of a child, the excitement, and also anxiety associated with birthing a book and sending it out into the world, are immense.

Although I’ve had months to prepare for this day, it still feels somewhat surreal. The characters who have lived inside my head for so many years (much longer than a nine-month pregnancy!) all of a sudden will have a life independent of me.

When English Rose was ten months old, I returned to my day job from maternity leave and left her at a nursery near our home. The staff were kind, the learning opportunities wonderful, and I knew she’d have experiences that would enrich her life and growth.

Yet, as I left her there and hid behind a door to peer through a high window at her little blonde head bent over a brightly-colored toy, I had a lump in my throat. It was her first big step into the world without me and, even though she was ready for it, I wasn’t sure I was.

As I look ahead to next week, I have a similar feeling about my book. With the help of my wonderful agent, editor and publishing team, The Cottage at Firefly Lake is as good as I can make it. However, once it goes out into the world of readers—via libraries, bricks-and-mortar stores and digital platforms—it’s out of my control.

People I don’t know will read my story and talk about it in ways I can’t anticipate. Some of those ways will warm my heart. Others will hurt because although people never tell you they dislike your baby, that’s not the case when it comes to authors and their book babies.

Much like parents of teenagers, authors must develop a thick skin, effective coping strategies and remember why they write for publication in the first place. For me, it’s about sharing my stories to bring even a small measure of the joy, comfort and hope to other readers that books by my favourite authors have brought to me.

English Rose thrived at her day nursery and soon made friends. That big step towards independence was but the first of many she’s taken in the past thirteen years.

As for me? After release day excitement (and celebratory ice cream), I’ll go back to writing my next book and then the one after that, working hard and continuing to learn my craft to tell my stories in the best way I can.

For those of you who read my book, thank you. I hope you fall in love with the world of Firefly Lake and take the characters into your heart.

If you spot it at your local library or store, or read it on vacation or in your favorite cozy reading spot, please take a picture and send it to me (jen@jengilroy.com). Authors love “shelfies” and seeing our books “out in the wild.”

And if you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for my author newsletter here. The first issue goes out on January 31 and includes details about book inspiration and a special giveaway, just for members of my VIP reader community.

You can also pre-order in mass market paperback, audiobook or digital format via Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo,  Google Play and Chapters-Indigo.

“A cup of kindness”— how a memory inspired my word for 2017

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I choose a “word for the year.” Sometimes it’s an easy choice and, as the new year turns, I’m anticipating how to incorporate my word as a guiding principle in everyday life.

Other years, and as was the case as 2016 limped to a close, it’s been more difficult. In those last weeks of December, I was tired in mind, body and spirit. English Rose was unwell. The winter weather was inhospitable. World news was grim. And, not least, having pulled a muscle in my back, I spent five days either lying flat or sitting bolt upright, popping anti-inflammatories that never quite numbed the pain.

When 31 December arrived, I wasn’t in a celebratory mood and indeed wondered if I’d even choose a shiny, new word to take me forward into 2017. On New Year’s Eve, I slept through midnight but was up several times with English Rose. In that middle-of-the-night haze known to parents everywhere, I reflected on the year just gone as well as the fresh one that awaited.

And in that space between sleeping and waking, when I least expected it, I found the perfect word.

Throughout my childhood, my paternal grandmother sang “Auld Lang Syne” each New Year’s Eve night, her sweet soprano lingering on the words “we’ll take a cup of kindness.” That memory had lain dormant for years, but as I comforted the great-grandchild she never knew, for a whisper of time Grandma’s loving voice was as clear as if she were at my side.

The meaning was clear, too. My word for this year would be “kindness.”

Except at the most superficial level, it’s a word that has nothing to do with writing. It does, however, have much to do with life. Indeed, in many cultures and religions, kindness—that warm-heartedness, consideration, concern and care for others that makes the world a nicer and happier place—is singled out as a virtue.

Throughout 2017, I’ll consciously look for opportunities to show kindness to others. I’ll also try to be kinder to myself, and true to my own feelings, values and needs.

As an author, I’m growing my career one reader at a time. This year, and no matter what it brings in writing and life, I also want to make a positive difference one kind gesture at a time. 

Even though I can’t change the world, in my own, small way I can help make it a better place.

Thank you…

The week between Christmas and New Year is a punctuation mark at the end of the year. For me, it’s a lull before launching headlong into the blank calendar pages to come.

In a year that’s been more surreal (dictionary company Merriam-Webster’s word for 2016) than sparkly, I’m ending it with a different kind of post. Mindful of “gratitude,” my word for this year, and inspired by my friend, historical saga writer Susanna Bavin, I’m taking this opportunity to say “thank you.”

First and foremost, thanks for reading, commenting on, and sharing my blog. I’m grateful for each and every one of you—those who subscribe, those who read via social media links, and those who have come across my musings about life and writing through friends or book clubs.   

Many of you have also been staunch supporters on Twitter (@JenGilroy1) and Facebook. As a new author, I often feel like a minnow swimming in a big and sometimes stormy sea. Each post like, retweet, share, or comment reminds me that although I may be that minnow (in good shoes!), there are other fish swimming with me who care.

I also want to thank you for sharing in my life. One of the blessings of my writing journey thus far is that many of you have also become friends. You’ve celebrated high points with me (cue virtual ice cream), and you’ve also reached out when life has been tough. 

In 2017, I have two books releasing. The Cottage at Firefly Lake (31 January) and then its sequel, Summer on Firefly Lake (25 July). The third book in the series, Back Home at Firefly Lake, follows in March 2018. 

I’m looking forward to celebrating these milestones with you, but alongside them also sharing in the minutiae of the everyday that, when taken together, are the threads that make up our lives.

For me, like many others, the twilight of the year is also about introspection. As such, I want to leave you with the official music video for “Time” by Canadian country artist Dean Brody.

This song resonates with me as a poignant reminder that life goes by in the blink of an eye, and a new year can also be an opportunity to reassess our lives and choices.

 

Hope, love and the meaning of life in a Christmas cactus

The past year has been difficult for many of us, and my word of the year, “gratitude,” has taken on a poignancy I could never have anticipated when I chose it last January. In some ways, I’ll be grateful to see the end of 2016 for it’s been a year of turbulence and loss both personally, as well as on the wider global stage.  

In my own life, relationships have been tested and friendships lost. Health and family challenges have brought a myriad of stresses. Domestic appliances have failed like clockwork, and thanks to a recent leaky pipe and basement flood, even Christmas decorating is complicated, somehow in keeping with this unusual year.

At many points, it’s been easy to feel low, particularly as I contemplated water flowing across the basement floor and bemoaned the delay in occupying the new home office space I’d eagerly anticipated.

Yet, in the midst of that immediate chaos, two things made me stop and take stock.

First was Tech Guy, who after wading through water to temporarily stop the leak, reminded me that in the broad spectrum of life, this was but a temporary setback.

 And then, behind the teetering pile of household goods relocated from the basement to the dining room table, I spotted a tiny, pink bud. It was attached to the Christmas cactus I rescued after my Cousin Mary’s death in October 2015.

She passed away in a care home at the age of 105, and in the few days that elapsed between her death and my arrival in a city many miles away to coordinate her funeral, her possessions had been bundled into large, plastic bags.

When I opened one of the bags, the cactus tumbled into my lap. It was upside down, foliage bent and broken, and with soil everywhere. A less sentimental person would have thrown the plant out, but I couldn’t.

Cousin Mary was renowned for the beautiful flowers and tasty vegetables she lovingly cultivated in her garden each summer. In her memory, I packed the cactus into a smaller bag and brought it home on the plane with me, checking on it almost as frequently as I once did a baby English Rose.  

Once home, I researched Christmas cactus care online, added new soil to the pot, watered it to schedule, talked to it, and waited and watched. When a moving company delivered Cousin Mary’s vintage plant table to my house, her cactus took pride of place on top of it.

 Now the cactus is set to bloom for Christmas, just when I needed a symbol of hope, love, and a tangible reminder of what’s most important in life.  

As it turns out, I’m not alone in my need for such validation. Always attuned to trends, advertisers have seized on the public mood and from Heathrow Airport’s Coming Home for Christmas film to the Christmas Spirit for Allegro, a Polish auction website, many advertisements this year have at their heart a return to the intangible values that transcend individuals, countries and cultures.

No matter what, how and where you celebrate this season (and from my desk tucked in beside our still undecorated Christmas tree), I wish you happiness, love and hope to carry you into the new year.