Allan Hudson's Blog, page 4

The Story Behind the Story with author Doug Dolan of Moncton, NB, Canada.

 

Let’s welcome Doug to the Scribbler.

I had the pleasure meeting him at theTurner's Christmas craft fair and he kindly accepted my invitation to be ourguest this week.

Read on my friends.

 

         Doug Dolan was born and raised in thesmall village of Nelson, beside the magnificent Miramichi River in North-EastNew Brunswick. Doug is a seventy-year-old novice writer. He hasself-published “Stories From the River” a memoir profiling his struggle to find his waythrough a painful gay labyrinth at a time when it was best to keep such asexual orientation to oneself. A wide variety of readers has positivelyreviewed it. He recently completed the historical fiction. “The Mill” It followsthe Burchill family of Miramichi over their 140-year dynasty in the lumberindustry. He is working on an anthology of Christmas-themed stories to bereleased in 2025. He has recently completed a novella looking at the murders oftwo Moncton police officers in 1974. It offers a unique look at the effectstheir deaths had on one of their own. Doug lives with his husband in Moncton,N.B. 

 

Title: The Mill

 

Synopsis: 

                TheMill follows four generations of the Burchill Family from 1840 through the1970’s. Young George, his siblings and parents, sail from Ireland, up theMiramichi River to start a new life. At six years old, he sees onlypossibilities. In his lifetime of grit and determination he makes them real.

John Percival, his son, becomes the youngestperson elected to the provincial legislature. Later in life, he displays hiskeen negotiation skills as other mills collapse along the river

George Percival, the heir to a derelict mill,emerges as the risk tolerant, persistent Industrialist who struggles to keepthe lumber industry alive during a decades long depression. A successfulbusinessman with an outgoing personality, he never forgets his roots and thecommunity around him.

John inherits his father’s irrepressibleoptimism. His secure childhood allows the seeds of curiosity, andinnovativeness to germinate. He emerges as the man who creates a new era inforestry for Eastern North America.

The workers at the Burchill mills integratedtheir home - grown skills to keep the plants working.

The employers and employees kept a strugglingenterprise alive for over 130 years. This story captures the characters, manyof them colorful, who made it happen.

TheStory Behind the Story:  

As a young persongrowing up in a small community, I knew of the Burchills as a main employer. AsI grew up, I learned something of their history spread over a century and ahalf. Through the generosity of a family member, I was given access to personalrecords and manuscripts that detailed the sacrifices and personal struggles tokeep a fading industry alive. I became fascinated with a succession ofentrepreneurs and their unique personalities.

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Doug:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat?

Doug: I admit to being a bit different. I write my stories on a recliner in our Living Room. Initially I cut an odd figure curled up in a fetal position pecking with one finger (three on a good day) on my laptop. I recently upgraded to a fancy lap desk when my aging back acted up. I have to be neat with the little space and a stiff back.



An Excerpt from “The Mill”

“…In a video interview with his son, Derek,John shared the small victories and many setbacks in setting up and operating asoftwood plywood mill in eastern North America. He suddenly pivots and says,almost casually, "We just got things into position, showed a little profitand damned if it (the mill) didn't burn down. " The state-of-the-art plantwas opened one year to the day after the fire. Retelling the story in the videointerview, John quips, "My advice is not to build a plywood mill,"followed by a hearty laugh. John saw, that Burchill lumber and other sawmills weresoon to become a relic of the past. It did continue for a short time after theplywood mill found its legs. It was not easy for him or his father, to let goof this integral part of their lives. Some aspects of its operation had beenknit into the fabric of the community.”

I look forward to reading your story, Doug. Thank you for being our guest this week. We wish you continued success with your writing.

And a Special Thank You to al our visitors and readers.

Feel free to leave a comment below. 

Here's What's Happening.

 

Here’s what’s Happening.

 

Over 1,000, 000 Page Views.

(1,017,974 to be exact)

Wow!

Thank you to all our visitors andreaders.

 

The most popular guest posts of 2025

Luke Beirne – go HERE.

Completely Shattered – Go HERE.

Casey Shelley – Go HERE.

Yvonne Belliveau – Go HERE.

 

April 26th 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

One of the Year’s Biggest BookEvents.

Greater Moncton Riverview &Dieppe Book Fair.

Riverview Lions Community Center.

701 Coverdale Road, Riverview.

50 Authors – 100’s of stories.

Every Genre.

This is a book event not to bemissed.

Please go HERE.

 

The launch of my newest novel willtake place in June.

Code Name: Iron Feather 1942

Cover Reveal

A murder mystery at

Canadian Forces Station, Debert, NS.

Camp Debert is an army base being built nextdoor to Royal Canadian Air Force Base in Debert, Nova Scotia on the east coastof Canada in 1942. Thousands of thousands of men and women will pass through ontheir way to Europe. Units will be mustered, weapons handed out and trainingfor war. The contractors are erecting buildings as fast as they can.

The new mess on the army base is partiallycompleted until work stops when the foreman finds a dead body hanging from therafters. Not a soldier, but an airman.

Everything is hush-hush. The commandingofficer has asked for the investigation to be handled by Warrant Officer StefanKravchenko of the Air Force Service Police. He’s ordered to Camp Debert,immediately. Upon arrival he discovers the scene is all wrong. The medicalexaminer suggests it may look like a suicide, but …

June 21st – The Write Cup

Market Square, Saint John.

June 22nd– Chapters

 Dieppe, NB

 

 This is a sequel to Code Name: Iron Spear 1941

Please go HERE.

 

Watch for the following guests to beon the Scribbler

Author Doug Dolan.

Poet Richard Doiron

Author Robert Stutt

M. A. Ferguson.

Pierre Arseneault

Peter Foote

Tanah Haney

Cathy J. Hopkins

 

The Story Behind the Story with author Matthew Anderson of Antigonish, NS, Canada.

 

Let’s welcome another new author tothe Scribbler.

Matthew will be a participant at theGMRD Book Fair and he kindly accepted my invitation to be our guest this week.I know you will enjoy meeting him. 

Read on my friends.

 

 

Matthew R. Anderson grew up in Saskatchewan in what he later came torealize was Treaty Four territory. He now lives near Antigonish, Mi’kma’ki(Nova Scotia), with his wife, Dr Sara Parks, a Maritimer from New Brunswick. Matthewis Gatto Chair of Christian Studies at Saint Francis Xavier University. Thispart-time contract means that he gets to teach a class a term at StFX while heresearches and writes a murder mystery set in ancient Rome and the Holy Land. His2024 bestseller, The Good Walk, tells of the long treks he initiated withothers across the prairies to help recover traditional First Nation, Métis, andsettler trails. Matthew is proud to announce that this month Pottersfield Presspublishes his sixth book, which is his first to feature his new home:  Someone Else’s Saint: How a ScottishPilgrimage Led to Nova Scotia.

 

Title: Someone Else’s Saint: How a Scottish Pilgrimage Led to Nova Scotia

Synopsis: In 2019, Matthew was in the first group of Canadians to walk the recently revived Whithorn Way, a recreation of a medieval pilgrim route from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland. Slogging along beach, heather, sheer cliff, and soggy moor, they traced ancient paths to the lonely spot where the mysterious Saint Ninian reportedly gazed out over the Irish sea from his cave.

Three years later, when Matthew and his wife Sara Parks moved to Nova Scotia, they were surprised to discover Saint Ninian again: Antigonish’s Catholic Cathedral bears the name of this unusual figure.

Someone Else’s Saint: How a Scottish Pilgrimage Led to Nova Scotia is one of two winners of the 2024 Pottersfield Press Prize for Non-Fiction. You’re invited to set off with Anderson on his two long walks in pursuit of Ninian, one through the Scottish Lowlands and the other along Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore. In alternating chapters you’ll encounter plinths, pubs, crumbling 1960s amusement parks, gypsum caves, and stone-age tombs, as well as the complex intertwined histories of Gaels, Scots, Romans, English, Acadians, and Mi’kmaq. Someone Else’s Saint is a thoughtful, funny, and perceptive travelogue for lovers of walking—or reading. The “slow travel” of pilgrimage on foot reveals two lands linked not only by Ninian, but also by common struggles and successes. Anderson’s account weaves together local and international history, geography, literature, and food culture. It brings together co-ops and currachs to show how a pilgrimage is never just a matter of the feet, but also of the heart.

The Story Behind the Story:

Asa fan and a scholar of ancient history, especially Roman history, I’ve wonderedabout the mysterious Saint Ninian ever since first hearing the name. For yearsI’ve also been a committed long-distance walker, logging a couple thousandkilometers from Norway to Santiago to Holy Island to North Battleford Saskatchewan,striding along every possible kind of trail (you can hear audio from thesetrails on my podcast series “Pilgrimage Stories From Up and Down the Staircase.”)The combination of my interest in Ninian and in pilgrimage is why I got thefirst group of Canadians together to walk the Whithorn Way in Scotland in 2019.As I describe in the book, we had quite the wet adventure.

Soit was pure surprise and delight when Sara and I moved to Antigonish threeyears later, and discovered we were coming to Ninian’s own Nova Scotian backyard! It seemed too much of a coincidence for me not to dig out my books and domore research on the saint. Soon I was digging up info on why the Cathedral inmy new home had been named for him. Before I knew it, I was also deep into thehistory of the Acadian community Sara and I had moved to, the waves of Gaelicimmigration that so influenced the North Shore, and the histories of theMi’kmaq communities first and still here.

Iknew that to really connect the landscapes of these North Shore groups I had towalk a trail as I had in Scotland. So in September 2024 a group of 15 of uswalked the 25 km from beautiful Pomquet Beach, in St George’s Bay, to SaintNinian Cathedral. We arrived just in time to receive a pilgrim welcome and tobe present for the 150th anniversary of the Cathedral.

Thestory behind the story – and one not told in Someone Else’s Saint,although maybe it will be in my next book! – is that the day after finishingthe inaugural Nova Scotia Ninian Way, while Sara and I were toasting the walk’ssuccess, I found myself hit by a minor and then a major stroke. (The stroke wasunrelated to the walk.) My left side was paralyzed. I was in hospital for threemonths, facing my hardest and most unexpected pilgrimage of all: the fifteenfeet I had to learn to walk while holding on to parallel bars.

I’dlike to say that the stroke is behind me and I’m back to my 150-km trails. I’mnot. At least, not quite yet! But the good news is that there’s been slow butsteady improvement daily since last fall. I’m now back to walking (with alimp), writing, and teaching, and I’m working my way up to greater and greaterdistances. Come see me in Moncton...to talk about Nova Scotia, Scottish andRoman history, the Gaels, or about being a pilgrim who learns to walk againafter a stroke!

Website: Please go HERE


A question before you go, Matthew:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?

Matthew: My beverage of choice is a nice, strong tea with milk, although readers of my book Pairings: The Bible and Booze (2021), in which I “pair” drinks with passages from the Bible, will know that on a warm summer evening I’ll also happily partake in a Campari and soda or a Moosehead. But New Brunswick’s King Cole tea is my go-to for any and all occasions.

I probably tend more toward messy, even though my source books and papers get cleaned up and stored in a wicker basket overnight. My favourite spot for writing is the kitchen table. From there I can look out our patio doors at the small tidal finger of marshy water at the foot of our property, where there’s always something going on, whether it’s ducks, eagles, or great blue herons. My wife Sara writes her books and academic papers in the same space. So there’s always some “nerd discussion” going on as we compare notes or look at each other’s work.

Photo by Richard Kotowich


An Excerpt from Someone Else’s Saint: How a Scottish Pilgrimage Led to Nova Scotia:


To simply “go for a walk” becomes an act of defiance when it seems there’s always so much to do. Our dopamine-addicted brains have learned to clamour for the distracting shock and applause of social media. As a pastime, walking seems too ordinary and simple. It’s just step after step, repeated, again and again. What you’re choosing when walking any distance is not pleasure in any normal sense. It’s choosing — at first — to be bored.

Paradoxically, the unhurried pace turns out to be fulfilling. As one walks, the mind quiets. Eventually, if we’re paying attention, we notice things. In the monotony, our breath. In the aching ankle or the blistered toe, the presence of our bodies, so often neglected in front of screens. Step by step, before us, we begin to see more sharply: not only hill, tree, rock, flower, sidewalk, fence, wall, overpass, or garbage, but also, and whether or not we always want to — memories, people, dreams, regrets, and hopes. Unbidden, our inner lives and our imaginations join us, stepping between and around the landscape. If we’re fortunate, we also begin to see nature anew, whether in the quiver of a stem of dewy morning grass, the way the light reflects off the windows of an old building, the smile of a passer-by, the erratic blue flit of a damselfly, or the scurrying of some creature into the underbrush. Revelations sometimes fall into rhythm beside us. Resolutions about some problem sidle up alongside, although they often stay no longer than the next step or the next breath, before diverging from our path again, gone too soon to be recognized.

Keep going. Long-distance walking is not primarily an instrument for exercise or pleasure, although both might arrive with us at the end of our trail. First and foremost, walking is a meditation. It’s a spell our feet cast over us, quieting our brains while step by step by step the rhythm bonds us for good to our bodies and to the body of the world.

If you’ve never been to south-west Scotland or north-east Nova Scotia, you may not know the places described in this book. That’s okay: even locals who have never been on these trails may not have seen, or noticed, all of what’s in these pages. Noticing is part of the beauty of walking.





Thank you for being our guest this week, Matthew. We wish you continued success with your writing.

A HUGE thank you to all our visitors and readers. Feel free to tell us what’s on your mind in the comment box below.

The Story Behind the Story with Joanne Daggett of Quispamsis, NB, Canada.

 

Let’s welcome Joanne to theScribbler.

It’s her first visit and I know youwill enjoy reading about her and her book.

She will be participating in the GMRD Book Fair and looks forward to meeting you.

She will be there signing her books.

Read on my friends.

 

Joanne is a Christian author who livesin Quispamsis, NB with her husband of thirty-seven years, Alex. She callsherself a hesitant writer and an accidental author. Sing, Dance, Pray, whichwas published in 2022, is her first book. She enjoys reading, writing poetryand prose, walking in nature, creating art out of string, beachcombing, andspending time with her loving family.

 

 

Title:Sing, Dance, Pray

Synopsis: Sing, Dance, Pray is a collection of prose and poetry written in simple faith, even in the midst of the complexities of life. Joanne’s faith in God is reflected in her poems and prose, despite a personal story of tragedy and loss many years ago. She pens poems of hope and defiant joy in present seasons of grief, trauma, and crisis. Her writings reflect a personal relationship with her Kind Shepherd, Jesus, with elements of coastal beauty sprinkled with a love of nature.


The Story Behind the Story:

Many years ago, when I faced an unimaginabletragedy that changed the course of my life, people often told me that I shouldwrite my story. But I never considered it, as I was too busy raising a familyand enjoying coastal life on Grand Manan Island. Living in a small village on atiny island, everyone knew my story, so I didn’t feel the need or desire towrite it down. My faith in God, which was planted as a tiny seed when I wasvery young, grew and strengthened over the next years of my life. A tragedy thatcould have made me bitter instead solidified my faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

 In morerecent years, as I (and our family) walked through a season of grief, fear andtrauma, I felt the gentle nudging to write. My counselor, family, and God urgedme to get things out that were “bubbling up” inside me.

Walking with our son through the heartbreakand chaos of addiction, homelessness, and even incarceration left us limpingand struggling. As I began to surrender to God and let go of circumstances Icouldn’t control or even comprehend, I started to vulnerably share my heartthrough poetry. No one was more surprised than me! Over the course of a year Ibravely wrote, shared my writings, and in that process saw hope and joy renewedin my life. What’s amazing is that every writing always finds a pathway back toa place of hope and peace. Only God can do that for me. It was a healingjourney for me, my family, and others who resonated with my vulnerability,defiant joy and stubborn faith. I felt the calling from both God and othersaround me to publish my poetry and prose. It was never something I imagined,but God had other plans.

Sing, Dance, Pray is my story, which is reallyGod’s story told through mine. It is a love story of grace, peace, hope, joyand light.

Website: Please go HERE.



A question before you go, Joanne:
Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?

Joanne: I enjoy writing either sitting outside on mydeck in the sunshine or in my living room, where there is plenty of naturallight.

I amneat, both in writing and in general.

I do not have a favorite beverage so I wouldchoose a couple of pieces of chocolate to savor as I write.

An Excerpt from Sing, Dance, Pray:

BE BRAVE

“So do not fear for I am with you, donot be afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I willuphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 

A pretty journal adorns my nightstand.

I love the way it looks sitting there, all peaceful, with swirlygold lettering. And I love the message on the cover—be brave.

Yes. Brave!

I want to be brave—I truly do.

 

I see bravery in the people in my life: my daughters, husband,family, and friends.

In my Bible, friends like Queen Esther, Father Abraham, and boldElijah meet me, too. But it seems almost impossible to walk in their shoes. 

It’s so easy to see bravery in them, in others, am I right? 

Putting on a brave face has been mine to do a few times in mylife, like when I became a widow and a new mom, (on the same day), atnineteen-years-old. 

When I said yes to my new husband and turned the corner into a newlife, I was also practicing bravery. When I moved away from my island communityto the mainland with my little family—brave. Oh, and when I put on my “big girl clothes”and flew out west, alone, to visit my daughter and her family—very brave. 

Sometimes you just do the brave thing without even thinking aboutit too much, perhaps it’s easier if your bravery will benefit another? 

Other times being brave feels just too hard. Too much.

Overwhelming.

Bravery can look like speaking hope and beauty from the trenchesof grief and trauma. Like writing letters of hope to aloved one in prison.Praying for healing, restoration and “new life.” 

Recently I’ve felt God nudging me to write. To write my story—share the beauty in the broken, the message in the mess.

His story told through mine. 

Singing has always been easier for me, but writing, it feelsawkward at times and a bit stilted.

But God, He pushes my pen. 

Because He wouldn’t give up on the message…or the girl. TheMessenger has a beautiful story of grace, peace, hope and faithfulness—even in the trenches. Especially in the trenches.

So, I write my story which is really His story. 

His story of mercy and grace, peace, healing, and hope.

The Beautiful Healer, He walks with me and holds my hand, thetiny, calloused hand of the common island girl. 

Leaning on Him, I rest and walk on in the light of His beauty.

I can be brave, leaning on His strong arms of HOPE.

Thank you for being our guest this week, Joanne.

 We wish you continued success with your writing.

 See you at the Book Fair.

And another BIG thank you to all our visitors and

 readers. Please leave a comment below and tell us

 what's on your mind.

The Story Behind the Story with Heather McBriarty of Saint John, NB, Canada.

 

Let’s welcome Heather back to theScribbler.

 

She is always a welcome guest hereand she has something new to tell us about.

If you missed her previous visit,please go HERE.

Read on my friends.

 

 

I fell in love with books very early in my life and began writing my ownstories not long after. History has long fascinated me. However, both took aback seat for many years, as my career in health care and life as a mother tookover. Fast forward to 2018, when the discovery of love letters to mygrandmother reignited the desire to write a book, resulting in my non-fictionaccount of the First World War. A novel of the “Great War” followed, about aperiod of history that has become a passion. I have delivered lectures onthe war, and blog about the Canadians who fought in it. I have too many ideasfor new books and too little time. Retirement is coming soon (if the economydoesn’t completely tank) which should free up time for writing!

As a passionate reader, I have reviewed for The Miramichi Reader,currently review for The Seaboard Review and served as a juror for the 2023Atlantic Book Awards. By day, I’m a Medical Radiation Technologist, dotinggrandmother, and avid sailor, and live by the sea in historic Saint John, NewBrunswick, Canada.

 

Title: TheIsland of the Golden Orbs

Synopsis: 
Charlotte and Lucas love sailing with their grandparents, but one day they wake up to find they are on a rather piratical-looking ship and about to set sail on a treasure hunt for the mythical Golden Orbs. With Captain Henry at the helm, they navigate dangerous waters to the Island of the Golden Orbs, only to find the treasure and its guardian are not what they expect! Can the Golden Orbs be saved from the real pirates?

TheStory Behind the Story:

I wrote thisstory as a picture book, about two boys who discover their grandparents are pirates,for my two young grandsons who often come sailing with my husband and me, andlove to raise the pirate flag (of course we have one on board) and “fight offother pirates” with squirt guns! Being an illustrator of severely limitedabilities, it never came to pass and sat for a few years. The boys are now intochapter books, so I thought the time had passed. In November, I was inspired tore-write it with an expanded story line as a chapter book. Working like a demon,I got it ready for a Christmas present for them, adding a fair maiden who hadno need of a man swooping in to save her, spiders (because the younger grandsonadores them), volcanoes, bad pirates, good sailors who only think they arepirates, and a subtle reminder that the oceans and its inhabitants are the realtreasures. Their copies star themselves, but in the “public” version, all nameshave been changed.

Website: Please go HERE.


A question before you go, Heather:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?


Heather: I need peace and quiet with no distractions, no music, so my little desk in my room at home is my most productive - if not exactly “favourite” - place to work. I’m not a write-in-a-coffee-shop person, being terribly fearful of someone peering over my shoulder judgmentally.

My desk is an absolute mess. The bookshelf portion is filled with my WWI library, piled high with other research books. At any given time, there are three notebooks with my story ideas, novel outlines, and research notes on fallen Canadian soldiers. The drawers are stuffed to the brim, and there are two computers (with too many browser windows open). Also, I desperately need to scrub the tea rings off its surface, once I can find them under the papers! Yes, a nice cup of tea – milk, two sugar, please! – keeps me running.




An Excerpt:

Up came the anchor with a rattle of its chain and out rolled the big white sail. Slowly the Golden Orb gathered speed, out between the navigation marks, past the lighthouse on the point and into the open ocean. Over the waves she flew, and Charlotte and Lucas waved to the other sailboats. Overhead, seagulls chased them and once a pod of porpoises swept above the water, leaping and splashing in the sun. All day long they sailed, passing Grampa’s big brass spy glass back and forth so they could watch the big ships way out to sea and the houses on the shore. But soon the sun began to slip lower in the west, and so they sailed into a little cove, furling their sail and dropping the anchor. And when the sun slipped down below the horizon, lighting up the water with orange and pink and purple, they got into pajamas and crawled into their cozy bunks.

It was early the next morning that a creak and a thump and the sound of running feet woke Lucas. Opening his eyes, he saw dark wood beams above his head not the smooth white of Gramma and Grampa’s boat. Shaking Charlotte awake, Lucas was about to ask where they were when their cabin door banged open, and a heavily bearded man poked his head in.

“Awake ye lazy scoundrels!! We’re leaving port and Cap’n says all hands on deck!”




I’ve had the pleasure of reading Heather’s stories and not only are they captivating, but highly entertaining. AH.

Thank you for being our guest this week, Heather. We wish you continued success with your writing.

And a BIG thank you to all our visitors and readers. Feel free to leave a comment.

The Story Behind the Story with Yvonne Belliveau of New Brunswick, Canada.

 

Please welcome another new author tothe Scribbler

 

This is Yvonne’s first visit and wetrust it won’t be her last. She will be participating in the GMRD Book Fair inApril and during our correspondence, she accepted our invitation to be a guestthis week. 

Please read on my friends.

 

YvonneBelliveau is inspiring, uplifting, and empowering. A successful entrepreneur,motivational speaker, and empath. Yvonne has been a leader and expertise in herfield for the past fifteen years, as a coach, mentor, transformational teacher,healer and intuitive. She helps new and seasoned empaths in their spiritualawakening and transformational journey, bridging them into self-enlightenment.

Herprofessional practice approach is focused on helping clients discover theirinner breakthroughs, she helps uncover hidden blockages, and unveil lifemysteries. She brings gleaning new information and long-held challenges fromtheir souls, inspiring long-lasting results.

Yvonneis extremely devoted with her time, to her work and clients. Her work is donewith compassion, empathy, knowledge, unconditional love, and light, shiftingthe empath into a higher soul and consciousness level.

Yvonnewas born in a small town located in New Brunswick, Canada.

To learn more about Yvonne, please visit her website listed below.

 

Title: Empath: Awakening of theSoul (Transformational Journey into Enlightenment)

Synopsis: This book alludes to the soul-awakening andtransformational journey into self-enlightenment of an empath, a transitionfrom the ordinary to the extraordinary—coming into greatness. It serves as ateaching guide and gift to the new and seasoned empath.

The Story Behind the Story: Bywriting this book, in part, it is the essence of my spiritual soul awakening,my transformational journey as an empath into self-enlightenment. A memoire ofmy own spiritual journey. 

My role and responsibilities are to bringother empaths to this level of enlightenment. I share with them my personalstory and experiences on how I overcame the many life struggles, traumas,challenges, inner battle with the shadow self, as well as fears, loneliness andconfusions that I felt growing up. The feeling of alienation that kept me fromseeing my own greatness; that kept me from showing to the world who Ireally am. 

Somewhere deep within, I knew I was differentfor a reason. Everything felt muddled until the day of my awakening, whereeverything became clear, and comprehension finally set in. The empath standingbefore me only needs to know that someone understands, hears them, and confirmsthat they are not crazy, that what they are going through is real. I am able toshare tools, experience, guidance to help them on their own personal spiritualjourney. 

In my practice, I have helped many empathsfind their way home. This is where their path begins, bringing them to theirtrue purpose and life mission. I have helped many empaths open and developtheir own spiritual gifts, while showing them how to use them with grace andsacredness. I can share with them, through my own experiences, that they tooare special and unique, despite what circumstances they have already gonethrough. Opening the door of their soul, connecting to an inner knowing,reaching a higher vibration and frequency is of the upmost importance. I amalso able to share with them what helped me along my own unique journey,bringing them answers to some of their own unique questions, while acceptingthat they too are coming into their own spiritual awakening. What do they needto look for? What event or catalyst helped opened the door of their ownspiritual awakening? A recognition will set in so that they too can see theirown uniqueness and greatness. Bringing them to self-acceptance of theirnew status as an empath, and to help them transition into this unknown worldwith grace and love. 

By going through these transformationalexperiences, the soul is being awakened and a calling to answer the soul’sdesires is being showed to the empath. Through following the desires of thesoul, the empath attains a status of achievement and triumphs that the soul isjoyfully in acceptance. A heart and soul that will soar to new heightsvibrationally and spiritually. I also touch on ways to help the empath managetheir own sensitivities, the importance of self-care, the hidden messages ofthe body, sharing and helping open their own spiritual gifts and so much more. 

This is a gift to the empath, helping themtransition, expand, grow and evolve at the soul level. My deepest wish was forthem to reach their full potential, bringing them to a higher level of consciousness,ready to journey into self-love, creating and manifesting the life they so deserve.

Website: Please go HERE.

An Excerpt from Chapter 1

TheLight Within

Itruly believe we forget who we are at birth, leaving behind our power,knowledge, wisdom, and unconditional love, needing to relearn everything. Froma very early age, I knew things, information and teachings that I’d never seenor heard before. I can’t recall the specifics, as it was so long ago; however,from time to time, inklings of inner knowing kept resurging to the surface.

Ican also recall having serious adult conversations with the angelic realm.Questions were asked, and answers kept pouring in. Through bouts of hurt andsadness, I retreated to this sanctuary of love. Here I felt safe, loved,surrounded, and supported, my home away from home. When I would hang on tootightly to this place, I would be brought back into reality quite quickly. Asan old soul, I journeyed on this earth numerous times. In each of theselifetimes, I gained wisdom, knowledge, love, and light, stored in the cellularmemories of my soul. So of course, the familiarity of speaking with the angelicrealm feels natural to me.

Icame into this world, taking on a small statuesque body; I always felt the needto hide, not be heard or noticed. I understood that some people were loved, andsome weren’t, as I saw others being treated differently around me. I felt myinner light, yet I realized it was sometimes attached to harsh consequences. Ilearned to hide it to survive. Life had a way of showing me that I shouldn’tspeak, so I stopped revealing myself.

A question before you go, Yvonne:
Scribbler: Where is your favouritespot to write? Messy or Neat? Beverage of choice? 

Yvonne: My favourite spot to write is in myoffice at my desk. I am a neat and a very well-organized writer. My beverage of choice is water.

       

Thank you for being our guest this week, Yvonne. We wish you continued success with your writing. 

AnotherBIG thank you to all out visitors and readers.

Feelfree to tell us what’s on your mind in the comment section below.

The Story Behind the Story with Author Diana Stevan of West Vancouver, BC, Canada.

 

One of our most popular guests isback. Say hello to Diana.

 

It’s always a treat to have her joinus. She launched her newest book yesterday, March 15th and everyone is talking about it. 

I look forward to reading it. 

Diana has been here before and if you missed her last visit, please go HERE. 

 

Diana Stevan jokes she’s a Jill of all trades. She’s worked as a family therapist, teacher, librarian, model, actor, and CBC television sports reporter. She’s published poetry, a short story, newspaper articles, a novelette, and five novels: A Cry from The Deep, The Rubber Fence, Sunflowers Under Fire (a finalist for the 2019 Whistler Independent Book Award), and the sequels, Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, and Paper Roses on Stony Mountain (on Miramichi Readers’ List of Best Fiction for 2022). Her latest book Along Came A Gardener (non-fiction) is an inspirational book weaving her experiences working in mental health with her love of gardening. It launched March 15, 2025. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, Robert.

 

Title:  ALONG CAME A GARDENER

Synopsis:
From the author of the award-winning Sunflowers Under Fire, comes an inspirational book with personal memories and stories from the world of mental health. Along Came A Gardener is based on the thoughts and ideas the author Diana Stevan gleaned from her 25 years as a family therapist combined with those she found working in her garden. Stevan shows us that even when life looks grim, there are tools we can use to meet its challenges and move toward a better future. This book explores the nature of loving relationships and the lessons Nature provides in our backyards and beyond.

The Story Behind the Story:  

Along Came A Gardener covers my 25 years of working as a family therapist and more.The people I saw in counselling or therapy were varied, from all walks of lifeand backgrounds. I counselled individuals, couples, and families, and even didsome trauma work with bank employees after a robbery. It was rewarding work andsurprisingly, mutually beneficial.  Thepeople who came for counselling taught me a lot as well. And over the years, Idiscovered that Nature also has much to contribute. Nature shows us daily howto live in harmony and how well its vegetation thrives when it’s cared for.

BecauseI’ve worked in so many different mental health settings, I share stories aboutthose who’ve dealt with addiction, depression, guilt, grief, marital and familyconflict, and other emotional pain. Woven in are thoughts on anger management,stress reduction, and other ways to calm our minds and lift our spirits.

I’mhoping readers will find inspiration within its pages, and if they’ve ever hadquestions about the value of psychotherapy, I hope they find the answers thereas well.

WHATINSPIRED ME:

Ihad thought about writing this book back in the late 1970s, but I’m glad Ididn’t. I wasn’t ready. I had been inspired to write it after a high schoolstudent, who I’d seen for counselling wrote me a beautiful poem, called TheSeed of Hope. Though a bright student, she was failing and had attemptedsuicide. More of how I helped her and how she inspired me is included in theexcerpt below.

Diana's Website - please go HERE.

A question before you go, Diana:

Scribbler: What is the ideal spot for you when you write your stories? Music in the background or quiet. Coffee or tequila? Messy or neat?

Diana: I’m thankful I have a room in the house that serves as my office. Because of back issues, I have a sit-stand desk, which has been a godsend. And though I love music (who doesn’t?), I like quiet when I’m writing. Coffee is my drink of choice in the morning and lemon ginger tea after that. Though I like a neat desk, it invariably gets messy and I have to take time every so often to get it back under control.



An Excerpt from Along Came A Gardener
THE SEED OF HOPE
It's important to note that our capacity for growth is greater than we think. Neuroscientists have discovered that our brains keep growing and stabilize in early adulthood. Our brains continue to develop new neurons even in our eighties as long as we keep challenging ourselves intellectually and socially. Just as we learned in school that we can succeed if we apply ourselves, it is also true we can better our lives through self-examination, therapy, and other forms of knowledge. We all experience bumps in the road. Some seem insurmountable, but it’s not always the case. That’s when hope has a role to play.

Early in my counselling career, I worked for the Child Guidance Clinic in Winnipeg. As a clinical social worker (and later school psychologist), I visited schools and talked to classroom teachers, guidance counsellors, and special education instructors. School personnel referred children who were showing signs that all was not well in their lives. These were students who displayed aggressive tendencies or showed an inability to engage with others, which was especially worrisome if they were teens who could be at risk for suicide. Sometimes, that meant I would see the student alone in the guidance counsellor’s office; other times, I’d arrange to meet with the student and their parents at their home or the clinic.

On one occasion, a high school guidance counsellor referred two sisters, who were gifted academically and artistically but failing miserably. One was an exceptional violinist; the other a talented poet who had attempted suicide. Their mother had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following the referral, I made a home visit to assess the family dynamics.

After meeting with the family, I had a better understanding of what the two sisters faced daily. Their father had a responsible executive position that took him away from home for long periods, leaving the three females of the household to work things out on their own. When the sisters came home from school, they never knew what mood they’d find their mother in. One minute, she was loving, and the next, she lashed out for little or no reason. Meanwhile, their father was of little help when he was home; he was a passive man, trying to hold on to his sanity. Given the mother’s mental illness, family therapy was not practical.

Instead, I met with both sisters and listened while they poured out their problems. They complained about feeling rejected by their mother. They could do no right.

As we know, adolescence is a time for developing a sense of self and gaining more independence. However, adolescents still need their parents’ support while they find their way.

The older sister kept expecting her mother to behave as she thought a mother should by showing love, warmth, and understanding. Given her mother’s mental illness, her expectations were unrealistic. But who could blame her for wanting her mother’s love? We all want our mother’s love; we all need it.

It’s not clear how much their mother loved them. She may have loved them dearly but was unable to show it. She appeared stiff and remote, unable to engage. She could’ve been so preoccupied with her own existence that nothing else registered. Either way, the girls couldn’t get the love they wanted. They kept trying to no avail. All they got for their efforts was an erosion of self, which added to their depression.

I empathized and reassured them that, given their mother’s emotional challenges and erratic behaviour, it wasn’t surprising they were having a hard time at school. In crisis, they couldn’t see the personal resources they could draw on. We discussed strategies for dealing with someone unpredictable. Lowering expectations of their mother helped them step back and see how they could diffuse potentially volatile moments.

Rather than trying to change the people who are important to us, we need to look at what we can do differently about our situation. This way, we take responsibility for our own lives. We find the power within ourselves. The eldest sister did just that, and months later, wrote me the following poem. She gave me permission to share it with you.

The Seed of Hope
They had left me behind
but I did not mind,
for I was content
to live in darkness
and solitude.
No one there to hurt,
no one to start a feud,
no one there to rule me,
somewhere I could be free
I had all the comforts and food to survive;
yet I began to question why I was alive?
I began to shrivel up within and die,
when the gardener happened by.
Most would have thrown me to the wind, as he;
the prey of a ravenous chickadee.
But it was his wife, who reasoned
that it was just patience in need,
for the revival of life,
the emergence of seed.
No matter which direction
I tried to move
the walls of earth kept crumbling in;
it seemed impossible to win.
My world had become corrupt.
My only escape was up.
I hesitated below the surface,
fearing what lay ahead,
afraid I would not find a plow;
abandoned instead.
My determination was stronger than my fear
So I continued more excited
as I grew near.
As I broke through the earth
and met the sunlight,
my heart took to flight
for I’d found rebirth.
Though the tears of heaven
may splash against my face,
weeds try to win my place,
the wind whip and lash me
to the ground,
the sun wither my every leaf
I have faith, it is my belief.
That I can grow,
I have the resources to cope.
for I began below
from a simple seed of Hope.

There are many gardeners out there who are willing and able to plant these seeds of hope. From family members, friends, doctors, priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, counsellors, and psychiatrists to the neighbour next door.

But the seeds we plant in our garden can’t do the work on their own. They need our help; they need nutrients, sun, water, and a decent environment. They need us to nurture the planted seed.

Besides finding empathic gardeners, we can also find the gardeners within when we work to improve our lives. Faith—in others, ourselves, and/or a higher power—can lead us on the path to recovery from the hurts we’ve experienced.

Thank you, Allan, for the opportunity to discuss my upcoming book, Along Came A Gardener. I've been looking forward to the launch on March 15th. It’ll be available for sale on all the bookseller sites.




You are most welcome, Diana. And I thank you for being our guest this week. WE wish you continued success with your writing.


A SPECIAL THANK YOU to all out visitors and readers.Please tell us what's on your mind in the comment section below. Thank you.

The Story Behind the Story with Author Luke Beirne of Saint John, NB, Canada.

 Let’swelcome Luke to the Scribbler.

 

Lukeis another newcomer to our blog and he is most welcome.

He isjust coming from a successful book launch at 

The Write Cup in Saint John, NB.

He is also a participating author at the GMRD Book Fair in April.

Weare most fortunate to have him as a guest to tell us about his novel.

Plusan Excerpt.

Readon my friends.

 

 

 

 

LukeFrancis Beirne was born in Ireland in 1995 and now lives on the Wolastoqey landof Saint John, New Brunswick. His first two novels, Foxhunt and Blacklion , were published by Baraka Books in 2022 and2023 respectively. Saints Rest will be published by Baraka in March 2025. Beirne’swriting has to  Graham Greene, Frederick Forsyth, Ernest Hemingway and John le Carre.

 

 

Title: Saints Rest

 

Synopsis:

Malory Fleet’s son waskilled by bikers and now she’s worried about his missing girlfriend, Amanda.But that case was closed shut by the police a year ago and Frank Cain, theprivate investigator she’s hired, is reluctant to take it on. On the sometimes seedystreets of uptown Saint John, no one wants to talk, even fewer have anything tosay, and the police have cast a blanket of fog over everything. As Franksearches fruitlessly for clues, he learns more about Malory than about Amanda,and begins to grow wary. Throughout, Detective Stuart Boucher is followingFrank and making little effort to hide it, leading Cain to conclude that theofficer may have more to do with the case than he’s letting on. For Frank Cain,as unmoored as a lost ship in the harbour, in unravelling this case he risksunravelling himself.

 

Saints Rest is aneo-noir novel set in a gritty and unforgiving Saint John, a town where fewpeople are prepared for its secrets, least of all Frank Cain.

 

 

The StoryBehind the Story:

In September 2022, I suffered alife-threatening brain injury while boxing and spent five weeks in a coma. Ihad to retrain my body to do everything, from moving my fingers to walking. WhileI was in a coma, my second novel, Blacklion, was accepted forpublication by Baraka Books. With incredible difficulty and determination, Itrained myself to write again. Before I was able to structure my own days, mypartner would hand me a pen and notebook and ask me to write. My father, who isalso a writer, was amazed to see how well my writing had stayed intact, despitethe severity of my injury. I worked with a great Speech Language Pathologist,at the Stan Cassidy Centre in Fredericton, who helped me with this. After myrelease, I structured my days, setting aside specific times to sit down andwrite. I also followed online writing courses diligently. Before my injury, Ihad a rough draft of this book, which gave me something to focus on as Irelearned how to write. As a result, this is the book I am most proud of sofar.

 

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Luke:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?

Luke: At home or the Saint John Free Public Library.
I am neat.
A deep, dark roast coffee, black.

An Excerpt from Saints Rest. 

In Saint John, sunshinewas rare. When day broke, the sky turned grey and shards of light glared through tofront steps where people huddled and smoked, to dockyards where people worked,to park benches where people slept. In the city’s peripheries––the east andwest––people sat in breakfast nooks and morning rooms, and maybe the sun shonethere, rising over pine-crested cliffs and frozen bays as bacon sizzled in thepan and accounts were discussed, as affairs ended in lawsuits and bitterresentment rather than fistfights and broken windows; but, in the heart, SaintJohn woke when the light shifted and darkness retreated behind the clouds,distant but ever-present, looming over the uneven rise of flat-top roofs.

​In our office, Randy and Iwere wide awake. I hunched over a space heater beside the corner window witha double double and a folder of surveillance photos suggesting that DustinColter could walk on his left foot and was, therefore, ineligible for worker’scomp. Randy sat at his desk writing up the delicate details of an infidelitycase.

​Our office was on the third floorof a townhouse on Princess Street. The ceilings were tall and the windowsnarrow. From the corner, you could see over the curve of the road to theplateau of the harbour, where the fog gathered and rolled. 

​Below was the South End. CanneryRow, by another name. In the South End, people were real; ghostly demarcationskept apparitions at bay. I sipped the coffee and looked out. It wasn’t good butit was familiar. 

​Footsteps in the hallway stopped infront of the door, drawing a slouching silhouette behind the glass. When thedoor opened, a woman stood in front of us. Looking forty or way past it, she had distinctsmile lines at the upper edge of her mouth, though it didn’t appear that they’dhad much exercise lately. 

​The woman was worn, beaten. Shewore an old, fur lined puffer coat: once expensive, now stained and torn. 

​“Can I help you, ma’am?” Randyasked. He set down his pen, looking her up and down as he did.

​The woman glanced at me, then backto Randy. “Is this the Cormier Agency?” She spoke with the raspof a lifelong smoker.

​Randy couldn’t help but smile. “Itis,” he said. He closed the file on his desk. “I’m Randy Cormier. Come on in.”

​Randy was a good guy. I felt a kindof obligation to him because I was his first employee and he hired me before we even met. Thewoman looked at me again and closed the door. She was nervous.

​Randy gestured to the chair infront of his desk. “Take a seat.” She began to unzip her jacket but he lifted hishand. “You might want to leave your coat on,” he said. “Landlord controls theheat.”

​She sat down and folded her arms inher lap, pulling the palms of her hands into her sleeves. Yellow fingertipsprotruded from the ends.

​“What can we do for you?” Randyasked.

​I set my coffee on the spare deskin the corner and sat behind it. I opened the folder and began to sort throughthe photos inside. When Randy’s at work, I like to fade into the background. That’s where I feel mostcomfortable, the background. 

​“My daughter in law is missing,”the woman said. 

​“Ok. When was she last seen?” Randyasked. 

​“Over a year ago.”

​Randy nodded. He opened the topdrawer of his desk and took out a thin black binder. He flipped to an emptysheet. “I’m going to start taking some notes,” he said, “in case we open afile. I won’t charge you unless we take you on.”

​She nodded.

​“What’s your name?” Randy began,filling in the blanks at the top of the sheet. 

​“Malory Fleet.”

​I looked up. I did not know Malory but I knewher name. More importantly, I knew the case she was bringing us.

​In 2015, on the night of Halloween, her son Jason Fleet was shot todeath outside his apartment. No charges were ever laid. Jason was not much missed by theSaint John Police Department. One year to the day, his girlfriend, AmandaFoster, was reported missing.

​For a while, the coincidencebrought attention to the case. Then it faded into obscurity, relegated tounsolved mystery forums and half-hearted Facebook posts appealing forinformation.

​Randy glanced over at me and thenreturned his gaze to the woman. “And your daughter in law is?”

​“Amanda Foster.”

​Randy set down his pen. “So,they’ve had no luck then?”

​“The police don’t give a shit.They’re crooked,” Malory said. “That’s why I’m here.” 

​“Are you in contact with herfamily?”

​“You’re looking at her family.”

​Randy nodded. “Ok,” he said.“Malory, listen. A missing family member is usually an easy enough case, asimple matter of asking around. An investigation like this though, with thecomplicating factors––your son, the ongoing investigation, the police––it couldget complicated. It might take a lot of time.” He paused. “It might beexpensive.”

​“You don’t think I can afford it.”

​“That’s no reflection of yourself,”Randy said, exhaling loudly. “I don’t think I could affordit.” 

​Malory shrugged.“Cut me loose when my cheques bounce.”

​For a while, Randy just looked ather, contemplating. Then he nodded. “Ok,” he said. “Let’s open a file. Talk to me.”

 

"Excerpt reproduced with the permission of Baraka Books"


Thank you for being our guest this week, Luke. We wish you continued success with your writing.

And a BIG thank you to all out visitors and readers.Feel free to leave a comment below.

The Story Behind the Story with Author Bernard Bourque of New Brunswick, Canada.

 Let’s welcome another newcomer to theScribbler.

I met Bernard at a book event. Therewas a crowd around his table interested in his books. Now he’s here to tell usabout one in  particular.

He will also be participating in theGMRD Book Fair in April.

I know you will enjoy meeting him, soplease read on my friends.

 

 

Bernard J.Bourque, PhD, was born and raised in Sackville, New Brunswick. He is an AdjunctSenior Lecturer at the University of New England (Australia) and is the authorof eight scholarly books and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles in thefield of seventeenth-century French literature. His fictional works include thenovels in the Mr. Louis trilogy (Mr. Louis, The Shock Reader, and Upper-Case G)and the novels in the Lupine trilogy (To Pick a Lupine, A Tale of Three Lupines,and Corfu Seductions). The primary setting of the six novels is CampobelloIsland (New Brunswick), where Bernard lived for thirteen years. His historicalplay Friend of the King deals with the Acadian deportation and thestory of the Loyalists. He has acted in a number of theatricalproductions and appeared as a background actor in the feature film To Keepthe Light (2016; filmmaker Erica Fae), in the television series Frontier (2016;Netflix and Discovery), and in the television series Mont-Rouge (2024:Ici Télé - Radio-Canada). A strong advocate of literacy, Bernard is a past chairof the New Brunswick Public Libraries Board and a past chair of the CampobelloPublic Library Board. He now lives in Riverview, New Brunswick, with his wife,Sandra.

 

Title: To Pick a Lupine (Book 1 in the Lupinetrilogy)

Synopsis: A moving and delightfully cozy mystery about a purportedly haunted estate on picturesque Campobello Island. Romeo Peppercorn III—young, awkward, and financially independent—has purchased a long-abandoned estate on a small, picturesque Canadian island. This property, which he names The Thousand Lupines, is regarded with trepidation by the islanders. Peppercorn's persevering research takes us back to the late nineteenth century, recounting the moving and enigmatic story of the only previous inhabitants of the large estate: Bez Benjamin, his wife, Lupine, and their extraordinary ten-year-old daughter, Julia Louisa. We learn about the remarkable friendship forged between the young heroine and a mysterious nine-year-old, one-armed boy named Theophilos. Written with humour, the novel explores the themes of resilience and difference. Featuring a cast of amusing and eccentric characters, To Pick a Lupine is a poignant story about the triumph of the human spirit.

TheStory Behind the Story:

I wanted to writea novel which had a similar feel to L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gablesbut with the added elements of mystery and a unique historical perspective. AsI lived on Campobello at the time, the island was the logical choice for thesetting of the story. The lupine flowers are glorious on Campobello in June,and these play an important role in the novel. One of the characters is calledLupine, hence the double meaning of the title To Pick a Lupine. Althoughthe plot takes place in present day, there is a sub-plot which takes us back tothe late nineteenth century, with references to Campobello’s glory days as asummer resort for wealthy American families, including Franklin Roosevelt’sparents. There is a mystical feel to the novel, primarily due to the story ofthe two children, Julia Louisa and Theophilos.

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Bernard:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?

Bernard: I wrote To Pick a Lupine at my home on Campobello Island in an upstairs office overlooking the glimmering waters of the harbour. While I usually like a very tidy desk, a certain amount of clutter and disarray seems to help me in the creative process. While writing, the beverage of choice is coffee. Usually, one cup in the morning and one in the afternoon will suffice. (I rarely write in the evenings.) Now that I live in Riverview, my favourite spot to write is a room which I have commandeered as my office in our third-floor apartment. The large windows overlook a peaceful landscape of trees and hills. While I do miss the water view that I had on Campobello, I have happily adapted to my new writing environment.

An Excerpt from To Pick a Lupine:

InJune of 1882, a blue-eyed South Carolinian, who had made his fortune by illicitmeans, evaded the hot pursuit of legal authorities and fled to Campobello. Atthe time, the Canadian island enjoyed the reputation as a summer resortlocation for wealthy Americans who wished to escape the heat, the humidity, andthe hubbub of city life. Benjamin R. Benjamin—yes, dear reader, that was indeedhis birth name—felt very much at home among the other “fugitives” who had takenup seasonal residence that summer at Campobello’s newly built Tyn-y-Coed hotel.It was there that he fell in love at first sight with a petitetwenty-three-year-old who claimed to have been the sole survivor of a recentshipwreck. No one believed her, of course, nor did she expect anyone to believeher. It was simply her way of telling people to mind their own businesswhenever they enquired about her reasons for staying unaccompanied at the grandhotel. The clothing she wore communicated a certain risqué character, whilestill identifying the wearer as a dignified lady of means. She spoke severalEuropean languages and was extremely adept at five-card stud, a type of pokergame that originated during the American Civil War. Exuding confidence andease, the young lady was popular with many of the gentlemen staying at thehotel and was generally mistrusted by all the other female guests. Herfavourite colour, she claimed, was lavender and her favourite flower, thelupine. Because no one at the Tyn-y-Coed knew her name—the hotel registerlisting her only as Lady L—a fellow card player began to address the mysteriousbeauty as Miss Lupine, a sobriquet which she immediately embraced and which wassoon accepted and employed by the other residents. It must be said, however,that some of the less empathetic guests at the hotel preceded the appellationwith the term so-called whengossiping about the controversial visitor, while others even referred to her asthe “invasive species.”

Thank you for being our guest this week, Bernard. We wish you continued success with your stories.

And a special thank you to all out visitors and readers. Please leave us a comment below. 

The Story Behind the Story with Author Casey Shelley of Saint John, NB, Canada.

 

Someone new today on the Scribbler.

Let's welcome Casey and read about hernewest novel.

 We met through a mutual author friend and I’m certain you willenjoy learning more about her and her writing.

We are pleased she accepted ourinvitation to be with us today.

She will also be participatingat the GMRD Book Fair in April.

Read on my friends.

 

 

My name is Casey Shelley. I was born and raised in Rothesay, NewBrunswick, Canada and currently make Saint John my home. I’ve had a passion forwriting since early childhood (to the point that my mother bought me atypewriter at the age of ten).

After high school, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature anda Bachelor of Education from the University of New Brunswick. I then went on toearn a Master of Education in Literacy from Queen’s University.

I have worked as an elementary school teacher for almost ten years now. Iabsolutely love the ability to support my students with their writing skills.My passion for writing has never waned, and my short fiction and poetry havebeen published in various collections, both online and in print. My debutnovel, Rexwood Rings, is a young adult fantasy being published with CSGPublishing House in the spring of 2025. A detailed publication history can befound at my author website linked below.

When I’m not writing, I can usually be found exploring the great outdoorswith my wonderful husband, son and dog.

 

Title: Rexwood Rings

Synopsis: In a volcanic world hidden beneath Earth’s surface, Landon Rexwood lives an immortal life, protected by an ancient magic. But immortality comes at a deadly price. Every generation, the eldest son of the Rexwood bloodline must journey to the Outside—the human world—and provide a sacrifice before his eighteenth birthday. Failure of this mission means destruction of the Inside world Landon has always known.

Wexton, the eldest Rexwood brother, has already failed to complete his mission, placing the responsibility on Landon’s shoulders. Landon begins his journey, and time starts to run out as he struggles to find the perfect sacrifice. Along the way, he uncovers shocking truths about the human world, his family, and himself.

In a race against time, Landon must face impossible choices. Will he fulfill his family’s dark duty and save his world, or will uncovered truths change his mind?

The Story Behind the Story: My inspiration for this story started from a writingprompt I saw in a writing group online. The prompt was to create a story basedon friendship and a ring. This simple idea ultimately led me to write a muchbigger story.

Ibrought the short story to some beta readers for feedback. One suggested thatthe story seemed like it had the potential to be more—that the characters havea bigger story to tell. She suggested that I should try making the short pieceinto a novel. So, the current novel Rexwood Rings acts as a prequel tothe initial short story. It features the two original characters, but many morelayers have been added.

Website: Please go HERE.


A question before you go, Casey:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?

Casey: My favourite spot to write is at the uptown library in Saint John. Something about being surrounded by other writers and readers, as well as so many wonderful books is inspiring. I find that I am much more motivated and productive when working outside of my home environment.

I have trouble focusing on my work if there is too much clutter around. If I have a clean desk, though, I can get the job done!

My beverage of choice is always iced coffee. I’m not picky about the brand if it contains enough caffeine to keep me writing!



Thank you for being our guest this week, Casey. We wish you continued success with your writing.

And a SPECIAL thank you to all our visitors and readers. We do it all for you!Don't be shy, tell us what you think in the comment section below.