Jen Gilroy's Blog, page 6

A date, a day trip & February fun

Canadian winters can sometimes seem endless.

This year, amidst a succession of grey, overcast days filled with work and the regular routine, a special day trip made for much-needed February fun.

Although I love my small-town world, there are times I also crave city life. So on a recent Saturday, Tech Guy and I headed to Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, less than an hour away.

It’s where we met and began our married life. Nowadays, though, visiting is like playing tourist, albeit close to our own backyard.

As it turned out, spending several hours wandering around the National Gallery of Canada looking at art was what we both needed.

It was a “date” and with just the two of us (no daughter or dog), we rediscovered parts of the couple we were when our romance was new.

A shared activity outside the usual domestic routine reminded me why I first fell in love with my husband. He’s fun to spend time with, looks at life differently than I do which helps me learn but, like me, is curious and has a zest for adventures large and small.

As we explored the vast gallery, too big to experience in only one visit, there were also quiet moments to talk, dream about the future and enjoy each other’s company.

It was fantastic to see paintings by favourite artists including Canada’s famed Group of Seven (featured in my 2023 desk calendar) and discover new favourites too.

In this season of snow and ice, there were also welcome reminders of summer’s warmth via an indoor garden and tranquil pond.

And when we left (after a browse in the gift shop for me with Tech Guy waiting patiently on a bench as is his wont), I felt renewed in myself, my marriage and my creativity.

This little break from the everyday was a “date” in the best sense of the word.

D for “duo”; A for “activity”; T for “time together”; and E for “energized” in life (and writing).

We also had a wonderful lunch in the gallery’s café, although testifying to one of the more important things we have in common? There was no cake on the menu and a slice of British Victoria sponge to share would have gone down a treat!

Whatever the season, plan your own visit to Canada’s beautiful capital and national art gallery via the following links:

National Gallery of Canada / Ottawa tourism

Books, beer and “Secrets, Spies & Family Ties in WWII and Today”

If you subscribe to my monthly reader newsletter, you may remember in January I mentioned a podcast chat with author Laura Vosika and Certified Cicerone (beer sommelier) Michael Agnew, hosts of “Books and Brews: Where Literature Meets Beer.”

In that chat, I read three excerpts from The Sweetheart Locket, my Second World War, dual-time women’s fiction novel, and Michael chose beer to pair with aspects of the story.

Until meeting Laura and Michael (virtually), I’d never thought about matching beer with books.

However, taking part in “Books and Brews” resulted in an unexpected benefit. I now have a new way of looking at fiction that’s shaping my writing.

Although I’ve never been much of a beer drinker, I have happy memories of times spent with family and friends in cosy pubs across England, Wales and Scotland.

In my British-set fiction, my characters visit pubs too so from now on I’ll make sure they try local beer as well.

Fascinated by the types of beer Michael paired with The Sweetheart Locket, a story of family secrets, wartime suspense and romance, I only regret that, because of being on the other side of a computer screen, I couldn’t join the “taste testing.”

From British Fuller’s London Pride to a craft beer from Minnesota (USA) and one from a family-run Belgian brewery, the latter aligning with my 1940s heroine becoming a spy in German-occupied wartime Europe, Michael’s choices aptly capture the international, cross-cultural feel of my book.

Of course, the podcast interview wasn’t solely about beer or even book excerpts.

We also chatted about how a “what if” question from my family history sparked the story that became The Sweetheart Locket, wartime “sweetheart jewellery,” including my own vintage Royal Air Force locket which also features in the book, and how I researched the French Resistance movement and women’s roles especially.

There are more personal elements too, like my interest in ballet and how I returned to writing fiction after a long absence.

Find out more and listen to the podcast episode here (aptly titled “Secrets, Spies & Family Ties in WWII and Today”) and see outtakes on YouTube here.

If you haven’t yet read The Sweetheart Locket, get an e-copy or paperback on most platforms, including Amazon, here.

As for the western romance I write for Harlequin Heartwarming like my upcoming release A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy (out in April 2023 and available to pre-order now)?

I’ve discovered that Montana has a big craft beer community.

And with beer varieties like “Moose Drool and “Slow Elk,” made by the Big Sky Brewing Co. in Missoula, Montana, I know what I’m doing when I next visit that western US state!

Best & hardest things about being an author: Are they what you expect?

I’m speaking to my local writing group next week about life as a traditionally published author and moving from writing as a hobby to a job.

As such, I’ve been thinking about what being an author means and the best and hardest things about this career.

Building a writing career requires not only talent but grit, flexibility, perseverance and luck. As someone who’s only been published since 2017, I’m a “baby author” compared to those who’ve been navigating the career author life for ten, fifteen, twenty years or more.

Things to love about the author life

I get to make things up and spend much of my time in imaginary worlds.

I learn about interesting people, places and historical periods.

Along with writing, reading is my job.

Being an author also gives me reasons to eavesdrop on public conversations and ask unusual questions.

It means I’m asked weird questions too but that’s a whole other post.

Author life challenges

Although many people say “author” is their dream job, like any other occupation it has challenges too.

There are physical ones like RSI and tennis elbow from too much keyboard work.

There’s isolation and the mental toll of working alone and inside your own head.

Authors also deal with the same issues as other self-employed people including taxation requirements, administrative paperwork and juggling many tasks beyond actual writing.

But for me, the hardest thing about being an author isn’t any of these. Rather, it’s one that’s more personal.

Living & feeling the job 

Just as actors aren’t the characters they play, I’m not the characters in the books I write. However, as I tell their stories I live through those characters, feeling and experiencing what they do.

When I finish a book, I’m emotionally drained and have to put myself together again in the “real world” after leaving my fictional one.

And unlike writing in other professions, the career fiction author has to put personal parts of themselves “out there” and be open and, to some extent vulnerable, in the public realm. That’s not always easy for introverts like me.

Writing is magic and despite challenges, I’m lucky to be able to share stories with lovely readers like you.

So when I speak to that writing group, I’ll talk about the magic of this career which makes the challenges worthwhile.

And since the talk is being held at a library, I may just leave with a few books under my arm.

It’s part of the job, don’t you know?!

 

 

Looking to 2023 with hope

Hope is a theme in my next Second World War women’s fiction novel, The Secrets of Grey Oaks Hall. In both the historical and contemporary timelines, female protagonists hold to hope and the promise of better times ahead when life—and living it—are dark.

Hope is also the word I’ve chosen to live by in 2023.

If you’re new to my blog, instead of making new year’s resolutions I choose a word of the year. For twelve months, that word guides me as a compass and focus for reflection.

In the last part of 2022, I didn’t feel especially hopeful. Combined with ongoing world events, there was illness, my own and close family members. It also seemed that everywhere I turned things in both my personal and professional lives didn’t go as planned.

Although I’ve tried to see such situations as learning opportunities, when 31 December rolled around, I was relieved to see the end of 2022.

Yet, in the last two months of what was for me a hard year, I kept seeing references to hope and they spoke to me in life and writing.

At my local library, front and centre on the “new” non-fiction shelf was Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism by Canadian author Maude Barlow.

In a box stored in our basement since our move from England to Canada in 2015, I found a ‘Hope’ ornament that hung in my home office in our English house. I bought it when I was trying to secure a literary agent and traditional publishing deal and was writing on hope.

References to hope also popped up in several books I was reading, and I found myself using it with family and friends.

Clearly, these things were signs!

Choosing hope as my word for 2023 has given me a needed emotional boost.

It’s a small word, only four letters, but hope is a powerful impetus for self-belief, motivation and taking action to make changes large and small.

In looking to 2023 with hope, I’m looking forward with the lightness and positivity a hopeful perspective brings.

Wishing you good things in 2023 and your own sense of “hope” in the months ahead.

To end with writing news, while I don’t yet have a publication date for The Secrets of Grey Oaks Hall, I chatted about my previous wartime book, The Sweetheart Locket, where hope also features, with Maggie Smith from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) for their Hear Us Roar podcast series.

Thanks for hosting me, Maggie. We also chatted about more personal things too, including why I collect angel ornaments.

Listen to that podcast episode (for free) here.

The season of giving

Since I live in a small town with no home mail delivery, I receive mail via a box at the local post office.

At this time of year, when Floppy Ears dons her festive red coat and we take our daily walk to the post office, that box is stuffed with glossy catalogues, flyers and other brochures featuring “holiday gifts.”

The season of giving is also a season of “buying” which isn’t new but, with rapidly rising costs of living, is extra hard for many people this year.

One of the things I value about my small-town life, and write about in my books, is being part of an inter-connected community.

Some of those bonds are fostered online via groups sharing local news and events, recommendations for tradespeople or alerts when coyotes are spotted on nearby walking trails.

I recently discovered one such online community dedicated to “giving” and “buy nothing,” a smaller, more personal version of the better-known Freecycle Network™.

In this local Facebook group, members “look for” or post items to “gift.” In the past weeks, I’ve spotted everything from clothing, baby and toddler toys and equipment, crockery and holiday decorations to the more unusual like thirteen vintage telephones and a model of the famous British ship, HMS Victory.

I’ve “gifted” items and benefitted from “gifts” too including a cute teddy bear (now named Cyril) who sits on my front porch dispensing holiday cheer, a kettle for Tech Guy’s home office and framed print by a favourite Canadian Indigenous artist.

What’s extra special about this group is how it exemplifies the true spirit of giving all year, not only during the holidays.

A member posted about needing a crib for a mother who’d left an abusive relationship. In minutes, others responded with not only the asked-for baby bed but offers of additional household items that might be useful too.

Other posts focus on essentials people need but can’t currently afford. A haircut, winter snow-clearing, toddler pyjamas, a sofa, toaster oven and more have all been exchanged.

Community members also collect items for local fundraisers and to donate to schools, childcare centres and charitable organizations.

And during what’s currently an unprecedented wave of children battling cold, flu and RSV, and shortage of children’s cold and flu medication here, available stock is shared between families with sick little ones.

Despite the influx of holiday advertising in my mailbox, my “giving and buy nothing” group is another daily reminder of the true meaning of this season. Or, as in “The GoKart,” a recent alternative Christmas advertisement from the UK, how “Christmas is made, not bought.”

No matter what you celebrate, whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or no special festival at all…Happy holidays!

Watch Sam Teale’s film, “The GoKart,” here.

I’m taking a holiday season break from blogging but will return in January 2023.

 

Time to “Breathe”

Most of us take breathing for granted, exemplified by the expression “as natural as breathing.”

Breathing is natural…until it isn’t.

As some of you know, I have asthma, a chronic lung condition. Although my asthma is usually well-controlled, this autumn I’ve had a series of viral respiratory infections resulting in increasingly serious asthmatic episodes.

Combined with allergies, the airways in my lungs became inflamed and narrow meaning that breathing—something I usually do naturally—was a struggle.

On doctor’s orders, I’ve just had several weeks off work and everything else to put my feet up, rest (with help from furry Nurse Floppy Ears) and recover.

Thanks to this enforced break, I’ve been reminded of some important life lessons.

Creativity comes from quiet moments

I haven’t been writing or even reading in my usual genres, romance and women’s fiction.

When I felt like reading but couldn’t concentrate on an entire book, I turned to magazine articles, short non-fiction (Canadian journalist Marsha Boulton’s Letters from the Country about leaving Toronto for farming life was a highlight) and children’s stories.

They turned out to be just what I needed:

Easy to read and “digest.”Unrelated to my fiction writing.A distraction from medication side-effects.

And the bonus?

Whenever English Rose complained of being bored as a child, I told her that “from boredom comes creativity.”

Taking my own advice, shutting down and shutting off from everyday life gave me new writing ideas.

Not being able to breathe is exhausting

It was only when I started the right medication and treatment plan for me that I realized how tiring struggling for breath had been.

I can now take Floppy Ears for a walk without having to stop several times to rest.

I have enough energy to bake.

My brain isn’t foggy, and I can focus and concentrate as I usually do.

And oh, the joy of a good night’s sleep without waking up coughing.

Life truly is about the little things

Reminders to “focus on the little things” are so frequent the phrase has almost become a cliché.

However, this time of rest has reminded me of the importance of small things I often overlook.

The rugged beauty of the Canadian landscape as autumn turns to winter.

The satisfaction of reorganizing my kitchen pantry one shelf at a time.

Interesting architectural details in my small-town world.

And most of all, the realization that although breathing is natural, it’s also a gift and one I’ll never take for granted.

Heartfelt thanks to…

My doctor, nurse practitioner, respiratory therapist and everyone at Rideau Community Health Services for kindness, compassion and exceptional TLC.

My agents and editors for understanding and support.

Friends and readers for good wishes on social media and privately.

And while I’m now back to work half-days, I remind myself to be in the moment and, as American country music artist Faith Hill exhorted in the hit song of the same name, “Breathe.”

Cover love & a glimpse behind the scenes: “A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy” (coming April 2023)

My next book for Harlequin Heartwarming (following Montana Reunion in the Montana Carters miniseries) is A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy, out next April.

In this post, I want to give you a glimpse “behind the scenes” and share not only how a book cover is created but also why this one is so meaningful to me.

Cover design

Harlequin has the most comprehensive cover design process of any publisher I’ve worked with and it’s one I appreciate.

Around the time I submit the full manuscript to my editor, I complete an “Art Fact Sheet” including everything from how I imagine the main characters look and dress to pivotal scenes, key elements of the setting, descriptive words, a book summary and more.

It’s a long document and an important one because it helps the art department design a cover that fits the story and will appeal to readers.

Seeing the cover 

As an author, it’s a special thrill to see your book’s cover for the first time.

The cover for A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy was no exception and I actually gasped when I opened the email attachment.

It was as if the characters who’d lived in my head for so long, animal physical therapist, Melissa (Mel) McNeil, retired rodeo cowboy Cole Carter, and Mel’s adorable daughter, Skylar Mary Margaret McNeil, had come to life.

Grouped around Mr. Wiggins, the black and white “tuxedo” cat who lives in the barn at the Carter family’s Tall Grass Ranch, this cover evokes everything the book is about:

Family.Rural and western life —I especially like Cole’s cowboy hat!Animals.Children.And love wrapped up in warmth, joy and fun.

Cover love

Sharing the cover for A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy on social media, using the popular romance hashtag #coverlove, I’ve been heartened by how positively readers are responding to it.

“They’re having so much fun,” commented one.

“Just makes you smile,” said another.

Going behind the scenes

There are always bits of books that have hidden meanings to their authors and this cover captures two of mine.

Skylar’s middle names, Mary Margaret, honour a much-loved family member who passed at age 105.

Feisty, independent and with a wry sense of humour, there’s a lot of that Mary Margaret’s personality in my fictional Skylar.

And Mr. Wiggins the cat?

His moniker was inspired by American children’s author Kate Douglas Wiggin who wrote Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, first published in 1903, and which Mary Margaret, born in 1910, read as a girl.

Rodeo is his past…Is she his future?

Read the blurb and pre-order A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy in paperback of e-book from Harlequin and other vendors here.

A note for UK & Ireland readers: Although Harlequin Heartwarming titles unfortunately aren’t sold in the UK & Ireland, you can order a paperback of A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy (with free delivery worldwide) from The Book Depository here.

An author’s internet searches & five things I learned this week for writing

Authors, including me, jest that it’s lucky nobody in authority checks our internet search histories.

Since I’m not a crime writer, I don’t have the browsing history that comes from wanting to find out things like “poisons made from everyday household items.” However, I likely have a wider range of “interests” than the average Google (or other search engine) user.

This week, I kept a list of my writing-related search topics. For a (hopefully) fun insight into my author life, here are the top five.

Is a “seam ripper” called a “seam ripper” in England?

Since I’m writing a women’s fiction book with several British characters, it’s important to use UK-appropriate terms.

Not having needed to chat about sewing when I lived in Britain, Sew Essential came to my rescue.

Site confirmation confirmed a “seam ripper” is the same in the UK as in Canada and US, and gave me more buying options than I’d imagined or expect to need.

What type of handbags did women carry in the 1940s? 

When I wanted my elegant 1940s heroine to carry a similarly elegant handbag, I found plenty of choice on 1stDibs, a luxury (and primarily vintage) marketplace.

I found plenty to salivate over too, from Chanel with 24-karat gold hardware to Tiffany brocade–and eye-watering prices to match.

What’s Montana’s state bird?

My sweet western Harlequin Heartwarming romances are set in Montana, and I want to make local references accurate and engaging for all readers.

Since Montana’s state bird is the western meadowlark, I called a park in my fictional small town Meadowlark Park—and thanks to State Symbols USA discovered it’s the state bird in Kansas, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming too.

What are the most popular horse names in the United States? 

Like first names, popular names for horses differ between countries. I rely on and this week populated stalls in my fictional horse barn with a Tucker and Dakota.

Scout and Daisy(-Mae) already feature in Montana Reunion as well as the sequel, A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy, out in April 2023.

What’s a trench cake?

When a wartime book reference book mentioned the new-to-me “trench cake,” I went straight to Google.

As I soon learned, it’s a homemade fruit cake from the First World War which was sent from England to military personnel serving in the European “trenches.”

Since Remembrance Sunday/Day is coming up in both England and Canada, if you’d like to make this cake yourself, here’s a recipe for British kitchens from the Ministry of Food (UK) and for North Americans from Ask a Prepper (a UK recipe converted to US measurements).

For the love of learning

I’ve always loved learning. Whether online, in archives or via published books, “finding out things” is one of the most interesting parts of my author life.

And although I’ll never have this stunning Cartier platinum and diamond Art Deco wristwatch in my jewellery box, I can give one to a character because imagination is (thankfully) always free!

Magic, myths and miracles (and celebrating “The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls,” now available in audiobook)

Soon, many of us will mark Halloween and Samhain, and this week I’m also celebrating the audiobook release of The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, one of my sweet contemporary romances with magical elements.

As such, I’ve been thinking about psychic and other paranormal experiences—magic, rooted in myth or miraculous—that have shaped my life in ways I don’t try to understand but welcome and accept.

A sixth sense or second sight

Second sight has a long heritage in parts of Scotland, Ireland and in my Celtic family too.

My grandmother and father often sensed events before they happened and perceived things impacting distant loved ones.

From half a continent away, my grandmother woke on a winter’s night certain that my father, her son, then a young man serving in the Canadian navy, had been in an accident at sea.

Desperate for news, she called radio stations and military personnel, none of whom in that pre-internet era were yet aware that two vessels, one of which my dad was on, had just collided in Halifax harbour.

And although my dad was safely rescued from the icy Atlantic Ocean (if he hadn’t been, I wouldn’t be here), some of his friends weren’t so fortunate.

Magic and miracles

The last time I saw her, in Canada several weeks before her death, that same grandmother, to whom I was very close, told me she’d always watch over me and be there when I needed her.

Fifteen years later, in the wake of traumatic life-saving surgery, I saw her at the foot of my British hospital bed. Amidst the bustle of medical staff and beeping machines, her familiar gentle smile wrapped me in love, comfort and support—both reassurance and reminder that magic and miracles are all around.

Myth and cultural traditions

Magic, myth and the miraculous feature in my writing too, particularly The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls and A Wish in Irish Falls (both free in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited).

These sweet small-town romances (albeit a higher heat level than my Harlequin Heartwarming books) are set in a fictional Irish American small town in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

Irish Falls has a wishing tree, one that in Celtic and other cultural traditions people make offerings to believing their wishes will be granted.

In these stories, and with a bit of wishing tree magic, my characters don’t always receive what they wish for but the happily ever after they need.

I’m delighted that The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls has just been released in audiobook by Blackstone Audio, with this gorgeous new cover too.

Narrated by Samantha Desz, it’s available on Audible (free with an audible trial) and all other sites. Find out more (and listen to a snippet) here.

As for me? 

I’m blessed to have a bit of that familial sixth sense too and have learned to trust my instincts and inexplicable connection with the spirit world.

Last month, with English Rose eighty miles away at university, I told a sceptical Tech Guy that something was wrong with her.

When she later called to report she’d torn several ligaments in her ankle, I was (unsurprisingly to me) proven right.

Wishing you your own magical times, spiritual blessings and a happy ‘spooky’ month. 

My blog made a “best of” list plus audiobook news & why I took a week offline

30 best women’s fiction blogs and websites

Like most bloggers, I often wonder if my posts resonate with readers. As such, it was both an honour and fantastic surprise to learn that this blog has been chosen by Feedspot as one of the “Top 30 Women’s Fiction Blogs” on the internet.

You can see the whole list here where “Jen Gilroy” is at number five.

It’s especially meaningful to spot author friends and colleagues like Laura Drake and Lainey Cameron from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) on the list too, as well as several bloggers (Bookish Jottings and Harlequin Junkie) who have generously read and reviewed some of my books over the years.

I have a range of new-to-me bloggers to follow as well.

Thanks to Feedspot for including me in this list of popular women’s fiction blogs and also helping me reach new blog readers.

Will you listen to The Sweetheart Locket in audiobook?

In case you missed it in my September newsletter, The Sweetheart Locket, my dual-time Second World War women’s fiction novel, will soon be available in audiobook.

Narrated by Polly Edsell and Regina Reagan, the audiobook is being released by Isis Audio on 1 October (primarily for the UK library market), and subsequently, on 6 October, by Orion Publishing Group for the general market.

From Isis Audio, the book has this new and gorgeous cover with a strong historical feel.

If you’re in the UK and spot a copy in your local library I’d love to see a photo.

The Orion trade audiobook retains the existing cover, and you can find it on Audible and all other sites.

Although it’s always odd to hear others read words that until now were only inside my head, I’m excited to hear these talented narrators, who sound as I imagine my main characters do, bring The Sweetheart Locket to life in a new way.

Why I took a week offline

If you follow me on social media (I usually post daily on my Facebook author page and Twitter), you’ll have seen a post from Tech Guy indicating I was offline.

Although I returned this week, I’m still pacing myself and having to take regular screen (and other) breaks.

Diagnosed with an inner ear problem, Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), I’ve experienced severe vertigo, nausea and other not-so-fun things.

And while there is no identifiable cause, this episode seems to have been triggered by bending over to load the dishwasher.

Finally, evidence that housework can be bad for your health!

I’ll be back with a regular blog post in two weeks but, in the meantime, cosy October wishes to all.

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