Suzanne Stengl's Blog, page 5
March 1, 2018
testing testing
Sed quis ipsum vitae metus consequat pharetra.
The post testing testing appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
Sorry about that . . .
You may have noticed I am redecorating my website. Today, one of my blog subscribers let me know that I am inadvertently sending out blog posts! Ridiculous ones with content like this:
Sed quis ipsum vitae metus consequat pharetra. In dignissim varius erat, ac dignissim lorem bibendum et. Sed id placerat odio. Nunc nec felis non dolor pulvinar congue. Nunc dapibus ex vitae dolor consequat, in porta mi vulputate. Vivamus vestibulum dui purus, non efficitur ex iaculis id. Integer auctor dolor eu ex scelerisque facilisis. Sed fringilla, leo a laoreet placerat, urna sapien convallis elit, ut scelerisque mi massa quis mauris.
Sorry about that! I need to figure out how to turn off the blog subscription feature while I am “in development”. That’s a techie term for “working on my website”.
And since I primarily write Fiction—and not websites—you may get a few more rogue posts before I’m finished!
Stay tuned. I should have it sorted out by Sunday night.
The post Sorry about that . . . appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
February 25, 2018
mountains
la de dah the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy red dog or was it the quick red fox and the brown dog. who cares and why am I doing this? la de dah the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy red dog or was it the quick red fox and the brown dog. who cares and why am I doing this? la de dah the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy red dog or was it the quick red fox and the brown dog. who cares and why am I doing this? la de dah the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy red dog or was it the quick red fox and the brown dog. who cares and why am I doing this? la de dah the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy red dog or was it the quick red fox and the brown dog. who cares and why am I doing this?
Suzanne’s Occasional Newsletter
First Name
Last Name
Country
United States of America
Aaland Islands
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua And Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote D'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard and Mc Donald Islands
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey (Channel Islands)
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Moldova, Republic of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
North Korea
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Republic of Kosovo
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa (Independent)
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Helena
St. Pierre and Miquelon
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks & Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uruguay
USA Minor Outlying Islands
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City State (Holy See)
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Email address:
The post mountains appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
February 24, 2018
Snow – copy
snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow
The post Snow – copy appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
February 13, 2018
Snow
We have had so much snow this winter.
Thank goodness for “snow angels” – the people who shovel your sidewalk while they are out shoveling their own.
In this weather, sidewalks often need to be shoveled more than once a day so we seem to be taking turns with the neighbours. Sometimes snow shoveling becomes a “meet the neighbours” activity.
This is what our backyard looks like.
There’s a firepit under that heap of snow . . . much like the firepit in the backyard at Aunt Myra’s in A WEDDING AND A WHITE CHRISTMAS.
Of course, the mountains are benefiting from all this snow. Yesterday, we drove to Banff to ski at Sunshine Village.
Starting out, the car temperature gauge said minus 24 (- 11 F). As we crossed Morley Flats, the temperature rose suddenly to minus 17 (1 F) and the road filled with fog and blowing snow. Traffic slowed and almost everyone was driving with four-way flashers on. I could see the flashers about 8 car lengths ahead. It was as if the cars were “holding hands” as we inched through the fog. Fortunately, that only lasted about fifteen minutes and then we got back to good visibility.
By the time we reached the Bourgeau parking lot at Sunshine’s base, the temperature had dropped back down to minus 24, and there was hardly anyone there. Too cold, I guess.
The gondola whisked us up the mountain in about 17 minutes and when we exited at the Village, the temperature was closer to minus 15 (5 F). So warm, I took off my neoprene mask. And the skies were sunny.
We rode a couple of times on the new Teepee Town heated chair. Once you are aboard, you pull down the orange cover to block the wind. It’s a much nicer ride up than taking the Angel chair which is always windy and cold.
After a couple runs to warm up, we went right to the top of Divide.
The thing I like most about skiing is being outside in the sunshine. When you get a clear day with all that white, I don’t care how cold it is.
Mother Nature gave us a break after lunch, sending the temp all the way up to minus 9 (16 F) Quite pleasant!
Do you enjoy the sunshine on a snowy winter day? Are you dressed nice and warm for the cold weather? Are you a snow angel?
The post Snow appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
February 6, 2018
XOX Valentines
Last Friday night, I was in the central Alberta town of Sylvan Lake to attend a special event at the Sylvan Lake Municipal Library.
For the fourth time, the Library hosted the XOX Valentines—a ladies only event that is the library’s best-attended event of the year.
This is a night of pampering and luxury featuring displays and demonstrations of massage, makeup, soaps, teas, psychic readings and more. Coffee and treats were available, and with special event licensing, so was wine.
There were also six romance authors invited and I was one of them. Here we are. 
Katie O’Connor, Jean Oram, M.K. Stelmack, Suzanne Stengl, Brenda Sinclair and Ellen Jorgy.
For the event, the six of us put together this gift basket: a collection of our books (autographed) along with chocolates, body lotion, a scented candle, socks and more.
We arrived about 5 pm to set up and Moira had a sandwich tray ready for us. We arranged our tables, set out books, and decorated the room. Then there was time to tour the rest of the library displays until 7 pm when the event opened to the public.
Our event was held in the program room at the back of the library—a soundproof room where we did author interviews and readings for about an hour. Ever creative, Moira combined the readings with audience participation. Each reading had “keywords” and when someone in the audience heard one, they raised their hand for a chance to win a book.
I did a short reading from THE THURSTON HEIRLOOM and chose the keywords: Teague, Shredder, hiking, Mariah and maid. It was the three-page scene where we meet Hazel Anderson, first-time hiker. Do you know the passage I’m referring to?
The event officially ended at 10 pm, but attendees were still wandering from one display to the next, sipping coffee and eating treats.
Many thanks to the organizers for a wonderful night!
The post XOX Valentines appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
January 10, 2018
A different take on Goal Setting
It’s that time of year, so I’m thinking about the traditional New Year’s Resolutions. Obviously, I’m not thinking about them too hard, because we are almost two weeks into the New Year and I haven’t done any concrete “resolving”.
In other years, I’ve posted about New Year’s Resolutions and Smart Goals and Setting Intentions and basically planning a Good Year. And, while it’s a neat writing exercise, it’s never been a defining moment in my year.
Recently I came across a different way of looking at New Year’s Resolutions, or Goal Setting in general. Because setting a goal doesn’t only happen in January.
In his 2010 Ted Talk, Derek Sivers talks about goals, and keeping your goals to yourself.
Keeping them to yourself?
In my writing groups, we often set goals at the start of the New Year, or at the end of the old one. We do this because it’s fun, and it’s motivational, and because we think it makes us “accountable”.
However, according to Derek Sivers, talking about your goals does not make you more accountable. In fact, it makes you less accountable.
You can watch the talk here. It’s only about 3 minutes long: Keep your goals to yourself.
Apparently, several tests have demonstrated that TELLING someone your goal makes it less likely for that goal to happen. Who knew?
The study he describes shows you why, and it makes a lot of sense.
But, at the end of each year, I still like doing this round robin thing of naming a goal—of saying my intention out loud to my writing friends. It’s fun, whether or not it works.
Maybe the takeaway is this: Go ahead and tell your friends what your goals are for the New Year. Just don’t talk about any goals that you actually WANT to achieve. Keep those special ones to yourself. 
December 5, 2017
Simple Gifts – Child’s Artwork
A child’s artwork, particularly a very young child’s artwork, can make a great Christmas gift.
All you need is:
The masterpiece — or a section of it
A clip frame (see Michael’s or similar craft store)
The clip frame looks like this:
Put it together and you get this:
This little artist is not yet two years old, and already So Talented!
(Yes, I know, I may be somewhat biased . . . )
When my kids were little, and all these colourful pieces of artwork came home, they ended up on the fridge and on various bulletin boards. After a month or so, new artwork showed up and replacements were made. Nowadays, many fridges no longer have a metal front. Hence, magnets on the fridge are no longer an option. That’s just sad.
Another use for these artwork pages would be as notepaper for a letter to be sent in the mail. The Mail, as opposed to E-mail or text. Mailing an actual physical letter is a cumbersome process. It involves finding an envelope and a stamp and finding a writing instrument such as a pen, pencil or crayon. It also necessitates a trip to the post office or a mailbox. And so, it’s not often done anymore.
I imagine at some point, they will invent transporter beams and these pieces of art could be sent using that technology. In fact, while they are developing the technology, artwork might be the thing to practice on. If anything goes wrong with the transmission, there is always more artwork!
And in the meantime, I think it’s fun to preserve a few pieces with this simple framing method.
More ideas for Simple Gifts
A Bottle of Wine – find it here
Soup Mix in a Jar – find it here
Cookie Mix – find it here
Tea – find it here
Poppycock – find it here
I hope you are enjoying the lead up to Christmas. Happy crafting!
artwork by Bob
The post Simple Gifts – Child’s Artwork appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
November 1, 2017
A Wedding and a White Christmas
Getting from “I do” to “I don’t” before anyone finds out!
On a whirlwind Christmas visit to Las Vegas, and after a long night of merrymaking, Emily and her best friend, Mark, stumble into an Elvis Chapel and get married.
The next morning she realizes her mistake. Although she loves Mark, and has since childhood, he’s not marriage material.
For Mark, it’s not that he has commitment issues—or any issues, for that matter—but marriage would complicate things. He and Emily are friends and he doesn’t want to mess with that. Besides, he knows Emily is on the rebound. She’s not over her failed engagement to Dan the idiot.
On top of that, there’s Emily’s aunt. Myra doesn’t like Mark and if she learns about this elopement . . . well, let’s just say, there will be no Peace on Earth this Christmas!
The post A Wedding and a White Christmas appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
October 30, 2017
Something Old, Something New
When I first published ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING, I had no idea that someday it would become part of a series. I’m calling this series SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW.
Some of the books have weddings in them, some only have the promise of a wedding in the future.
Although I wrote it first, ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING is Book 2 in the series. This story takes place in early June, before the summer solstice, so the season is not officially summer, but it’s close enough. At any rate, this is the “summer” book in the series.
The “winter” story happens first. Ryder has just got engaged and Pro is telling him to get a prenup. Ryder is only a minor character in this story that takes place from the first week of December to Christmas Eve.
If you’ve read ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING, you will meet some of those characters again in Book 1.
All of the books are standalones but if you read them in order you’ll see some of the characters grow and change.
The series is about four friends who met in high school. Pro, Ryder, Logan and Mark. They graduated the same year at Aberton, and then they all went on to the University of Calgary. Logan and Ryder in engineering, Pro in law, and Mark in medicine.
Now Ryder owns a construction company. Pro has his law firm in the Sun Valley Tower. One floor down, Logan has a petroleum exploration company. And Mark is in his final year of residency in orthopedics at the Nose Hill Hospital.
The four friends still meet to ski in the winter or hike in the summer. Sometimes they play squash at the university courts. Sometimes they meet to toss a football in the park.
Covers
Here’s the original cover.
Part of doing a series involves creating a set a covers to tie the books together.
I love my original cover for ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING with that purple lettering.
And I like the way the letters slant. I think it suggests a runaway bride.
But the cover needed to change to suit the other titles.
Now this cover has green lettering and I love this new font.
And here’s the updated cover.
[image error]
On Wednesday, I’ll show you the cover for Book 1.
Book 1 releases on this Wednesday, November 1st. I hope you’ll come and have a look!
The post Something Old, Something New appeared first on Suzanne Stengl.
