Living the Dream

I don’t know what it’s like in your little corner of the world, but we’re enjoying an unexpected return to daytime summer weather–plenty of sunshine and heat. Last week’s temps rose to the mid-eighties, and more of the same is predicted for the next two weeks. I know it won’t last, but this weather is so much kinder to my body, and as long as the humidity stays under control, I’m a happy camper.

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Things are moving along quickly as Marina is forced to deal with unsettling news. Our word prompt is BUSY. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones. Enjoy!

Hurrying to her suite, she shut the door and locked it, leaning heavily against it, jumping when Raven pushed her way into the room through the cat door. She bent down and picked up the kitten, her purring barely loud enough to be heard over Marina’s thumping heart.

Jerome knocked on the door, and she jumped, a squeak of fear coming from deep inside her.

“Marina, please let me in. There’s so much more you need to know. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He wouldn’t leave if she didn’t answer him, but what could she say? He could be the man in her dreams, or he could be the terrifying dark shadow … could that be what had been stolen from Bronagh? Her busy mind invented scenarios faster than she could put words to them. But how could she have dreamed of something that hadn’t happened?

“Marina, please? Give me a chance to—”

She inhaled. “I need to be alone right now. I’m sure you understand this is unsettling for me. I’m tired and have the mother of all headaches. I’ll see you in the morning.”

For a second, she thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he did, his voice filled with resignation.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll leave you for now, but you need to know the rest. We’ll finish this tomorrow.”

She listened to his footsteps receding down the hallway. It was a good thing she’d put away the rest of the pot roast when she’d gotten his dessert. She couldn’t face him right now, not even if her life depended on it … and it well might. Still holding Raven, she dropped onto the sofa, reaching for her mother’s shawl folded on the arm. Raven jumped off her lap, and Marina used the opportunity to wrap the shawl around her, seeking comfort and possibly answers from it—not that it had ever happened before.

She shivered. Fear? Desire? Excitement? Possibly all three as she replayed what Jerome had told her about his vision, and the more she thought about it, the more impossible it sounded, and yet … everything within her told her he was telling the truth.

Suddenly, the walls of Fraser Hall suffocated her. She needed air. Going into her office, she was surprised to see Raven sitting in front of the patio doors as if she were waiting to be let outside.

Go. Follow Raven.

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

The bathroom is complete! It took a while for the white counter on back order to arrive but it’s here, and I absolutely love the new look.

I meant to take a before picture of the downstairs bathroom prior to the renovations, but by the time I thought of doing so, construction was underway. Let me describe it for you instead.

For a size comparison, the room sits directly beneath my bathroom. It was painted two-tone, navy at the bottom and offwhite at the top, with a border depicting balls of all sorts dividing the two. When you entered the room, there was a large linen closet, next to a 30 inch, goldtone fiberglass shower stall. Beside that, we had a vanity, sponge-painted in ivory and blues (it was a thing back then) and then the toilet. The overriding theme was sports, and posters and memorabilia decorated the room. Get the picture? It was a boys’/man’s room.

After I had my theraputic tub put in, it was obvious that we needed to redo the downstairs bathroom as well. While I have no trouble showering in it, that wasn’t the case for my son and other guests who stayed over. We needed a proper-sized shower downstairs, so what were our options? Larry Fardy of Seaway Bathroom Renovators, the one responsible for my gorgeous upstairs bathroom, had the answer, and I absolutely love it.

He gutted the room, removed the closet, moved walls, drains, pipes, electrical wires, flooring, you name it and created an absolutely incredible downstairs bathroom for us. It still needs to be decorated with towels, rugs, and pictures, but I couldn’t be happier with the results, and they did it all in 5 days!

What do you think? Recognize the vanity that was temporarily housed in my upstairs bathroom? Even with the closet gone, we have as much, if not more, space. The mirror opens into a double-sided mirrored cabinet with lots of room of the shelves for medication, shaving cream, and anyhting else. Awesome job, Larry. I can’t thank you enough!

So, both bathrooms have been renovated. What’s next? Painting on the main floor and then, we’ll see.

Have a great weekend!

It’s hard to believe that summer is on its way out and fall is on the doorstep, but here we are. The kids are all back in school, the days are getting shorter, and there’s the colors of autumn beckoning us outside to enjoy. This week, the authors of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt SCHOOL. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones. Enjoy.

Marina stared at Jerome, schooling her features as best as she could to hide her shock. Slowly, she let her gaze roam over his face, searching for the signs that he was the unkempt, bearded man who’d terrified her at the airport. There was no mistaking his unusual eyes. Why had she not recognized them before?

But the deceiver’s truth seems believable because he trusts his own lies.

Could she trust him? A few hours ago, she’d been ready to hate him and yet … Hadn’t she had a vision earlier today at the Standing Stones of Calanais? How different was that from the one he’d described? And what about all the dreams she’d had? If it could happen to her, it could happen to others, but his admission that he’d been in London…

“What were you doing there looking like that?” she croaked.

“I was on my way home from New Zealand. My agent loved the ‘wild druid look’ and insisted I have publicity photos taken. She used a cut from our video chat and AI to generate a poster of—”

“I saw it at the airport in London when I was getting ready to leave for Edinburgh. The eyes … I thought the eyes were following me.” Her cheeks warmed. “But how did you know me. You recognized me. I know you did.”

“Because I did, I do.” He shrugged. “But I didn’t know you were Lady Fraser. I asked you if you believed in reincarnation because ever since my first visit to the stones, I’ve had the feeling that the stories are about me, as if I lived in that time, and what the stones provide is a way for me to access repressed memories. You’re part of those memories. William Shakespeare once wrote, ‘Life is too short to love you in one, I promise to look for you in the next life.’ I’ve seen you in my dreams. I’ve been searching for you for years—”

“No!”

It couldn’t be, and yet she sensed the truth in him. If Jerome was the man in her dreams and she had no reason to doubt him now, then who was James? Fear filled her. If what he was saying was true…

“Marina, it’s not a bad thing, but it does speak to a connection between us and the stones. We need to explore this—”

“No!” She raced out of the room.

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Meet Georgia. At sixteen, she is the youngest of my three granddaughters, and she’s in her final year of high school. She wants to be an electrician, and I believe she’ll be a great one because she has the power to excel at anything she chooses.

Below is an unedited copy of a short introductory essay she wrote for her grade twelve English class. The assignment was to describe a traumatic episode in your life and how you dealt with it. Personally, I think she has the makings of a great writer, but I may be a touch biased.

I was about to turn 7 in the year 2014, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep until my birthday. For the first 8 days I didn’t sleep, then suddenly I got some news that broke my heart. I was sitting at the dinner table one night eating, then something weird happened, my mom came back to the table with some ice cream, as a kid I loved ice cream one of my favourite things to have as dessert, so I was excited for it. After we ate the ice cream my mom told us something that we didn’t expect, my grandfather died. We knew he was struggling with cancer, but my dad told us there was nothing to worry about as they had put him in a clinical trial. When my mom told me this, I dropped my spoon and started to cry, as I looked around the table at my siblings, I was the only one crying, I was the only one that really had a connection with him, so I felt more emotions. Keep in mind when this happened it was Eleni’s 8th birthday, the date was November 9th, 2014, the exact date of Eleni’s birthday. There was no funeral for him in Canada, but because he was Greek he wanted to get buried where he was raised. On the tallest mountain in Greece Mount Olympus, he was raised in the highest village on the mountain, he had goats for neighbours. But my dad brought his body there to be buried, after that I didn’t see my dad, because when he came back from Greece he had a cold. 

The date was December 9th, 2014, the exact date, a month later. I was now 7 because my birthday had passed a couple of weeks before, I was in my class at Viscount and suddenly I was called down to the office because I was going home early. My mom showed up to my school with sunglasses on and said, “we are going to grandmas”, we all agreed and got into the car. When we arrived at my grandmothers, we saw that our church minister was there, Ruth was her name. We were told to sit on the couch and listen to what my mom had to say, she looked at us and started crying, because we were so close to our mom we started to cry to, not even knowing why. Then she told us, “I am so sorry, your dad died”, we looked up at her and started to cry. My younger brother was 5 at the time and the only thing he said was “can I go play with Legos now?”, he didn’t know what was happening. We cried for hours and hours until there were no more tears. We got home that night and went right to bed. The next day we were told we will not be going back to school until the last week of January. One of the worst days of my life was his funeral, it was a 3-day event, a wake, then his funeral, then burial, I will never forget the day I stood over my father and said goodbye for the last time.

A couple of years later my mom finally told my sister and I what the actual cause of his death was, and we were told right then and there he had a heart attack caused by a drug overdose, it was cocaine lased with fentanyl. 

Today I am a student athlete with a G2 drivers license about to graduate high school, no thanks to him, but thanks to my mom. This just proves you don’t need a father to be a great person, and that you don’t need 2 parents to have a steady life. You write your own story, even if you had a hard time to begin with. If you believe in something, whether it be to get a new job or to start over you can do it because there is nothing you can’t do.

What do you think? I am very proud of the way my daughter rose to the situation and raised her four young children. We all face obstacles in life, but we don’t all handle them the same way. Be the person you were meant to be. Don’t whine and cry, blame everyone on the hand life dealt you, but instead, pick yourself up, and aim for the stars. Be like Georgia. Be your own success story.

Eight months down in 2024 and four to go. September is here. In the twelve years since I retired as a teacher, I used to smile when the first day of school arrived since I didn’t have to go to work. What a joke! Once I decided to become a writer, everyday is a potential workday. I work far more hours than I ever did teaching, and yet I couldn’t be happier.

But this September is different because my grandson started university in a different city, moved away from home, and we all miss him like crazy. Growing old sucks when it’s me, but I miss my little grandbabies all grown up now. Hannah, the eldest will graduate with a degree in pharmacy next spring, while Nico begins his journey in Health Sciences. Where has time gone?

Now, enough feeling blue. It’s time to answer this month’s question: September 4 question – Since it’s back to school time, let’s talk English class. What’s a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

I learned all the rules of writing in school, and then I taught them for more than thirty years as an English teacher and a literacy coach. I wouldn’t say knowing the rules messed me up in any way; although, there are definite differences between grammar and spelling when in comes to the Canadian/British system I learned and taught and the American system I use in my books. I refuse to give up the Oxford comma, and that’s that. As well, over the years and with the advent of computers and word porcessing programs, there have been formatting changes to deal with, too.

That being said, there are many things that I taught in my creative writing classes that I’ve thrown out the door. The most relevant of them would be plotting the story,chapter by chapter, scene by scene, and writing character profiles. To be 100 percent honest, when I start writing a new book, I have a bunch of ideas floating around in my head and nothing else. The sky’s the limit. Sometimes, it’s a particular incident I’ve witnessed or read about, a person I’ve seen, a place I’ve visited, a comment someone has made often generate the story. Occasionally, it’ll be a song or a title that pops into my head, but once it’s there, I have to work on it.

My current contemporary paranormal romance suspense novel, Listen to the Stones, arose from the feeling I had when visiting the Standing Stones of Calanais on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland last summer. There was an energy surrounding the place that created a sense of awe in me. When I examined the stones and saw how each one was a little different and yet all of them reminded me of people turned to stone, well, my imagination went into overdrive! To discover that one of the prevalent myths about the place involved the idea of people turned to stone as punishement was all I needed to create my fantasy.

I usually write a blurb before I begin or in the early stages of the story to help me focus. The blurb may change a dozen times before the story ends because, when I start to write, I have only a vague idea of how it will end.

Since my books are character driven, what comes next is usually what the people residing in my imagination want. I research to make sure my facts, even in a fantasy, are as accurate as can be. I describe what I saw and what I want my reader to see, and I make a point of planting clues and tying up loose ends. In short, the only planning I do is a basic plot graph: a setting, characters that include protagonists and antagonists, an inciting incident, rising action that involves a few crises unknown to me until they happen, a climax, and a resolution to the story that ends in a happily ever after for the main characters. The characters are ready to end the story, so the book should be ready for its late October release.

The other thing I do, something considered a major no-no by all of the writing gurus, is that I edit as I write and if something pops into my head, I’ll go back and rewrite it into the story before moving on. Conservatively speaking, I probably edit each chapter a dozen times before the story is finished and ready for it’s final edit. Does that take time? Yes, but it’s the way my mojo works. How about you? Which writing rules to you use or lose?

To see other opinions, click on the link. https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

See you next month!

Wow. Today is September 3, and my 53rd wedding anniversary. Where has time gone? Today, the authors of Tuesday Tales are working with the word prompt FUNNY. I struggled to find a way to use the word based on where I am in the novel, but then I recalled that not everything one considers funny is humorous. It can be odd and strange, unusual to sat the least. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones. Enjoy.

He swallowed and the truth tumbled out of him.

“I went to see Bronagh earlier this morning. I was there when her cottage exploded.”

“Oh my God! Couldn’t you have gotten her out?”

“No. It was a miracle that I wasn’t still inside when it exploded and to try to go back inside … The fire was too hot and burned at an incredible rate. I called for help and waited until they arrived, but there was nothing to be done.” He licked his lips. “Before the explosion, I found her door open. That seemed funny to me.”

“The woman’s dead. I see nothing humorous.”

“I wasn’t implying anything of the sort. It seemed off, odd, strange, and incredibly out of character. I knocked on the door, called out to her and heard a moan, so I went inside. The woman had been viciously attacked and badly beaten. The cottage had been searched and something taken, something she’d gone to great lengths to protect, something dark and evil.” He described the inside of the cottage, focusing on the box. “With all the questions I have, her death is simply too convenient. When I touched her—”

She frowned.

“You touched her and yet you didn’t try to save her?”

He shook his head. He was making a mess of this.

“Hear me out, please.” Painstakingly, he explained about his birth, leaving James’s name out of it for now. Then, knowing how ridiculous and far-fetched it would sound, he described the vision he’d had, the thought that Bronagh had taken him into herself and placed the other embryo in the selkie, and then the darkness he’d seen not only at the cottage but at the stones.

Marina didn’t say anything. She stood, picked up their plates, and took them back to the kitchen. Her silence was far more daunting than if she’d laughed at him. A few minutes later, she returned with a slice of cake for him but nothing for herself.

“So was this vision like the ones you had with your books?”

“It was similar, and yet different. Do you agree that someone wants you to leave the island?” She nodded. “The notes, the threats, the vile rubber rodent were the first step. That person would know that eventually Bronagh would seek you out. She’s famous on the island, and I know your housekeeper was a close friend of hers.”

“James called her a crazy, eccentric, old woman who might’ve incited people against me.”

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear or see the words, Protecting the Innocent? For me, it’s complicated. As a child, I would’ve immediately considered angels since having a Guardian Angel was something I was told I had, my own angel who would keep me from making bad decisions and watch over me during the night–her job to tackle the monsters under my bed and let Mom and Dad sleep.

As an adult, my protectors have become more flesh, blood, and lethal. Where so many see soldiers and police officers as the bad guys, I see them as the ones who lay their lives on the line to keep us safe. I have friends who are police officers who do what they can to keep our community safe, and other friends whose sons and daughters are in the Armed Forces determined to keep our country safe. In the past, Canada avoided a lot of the violence of other countries, but sadly, the world has found us, and we now have mass shootings, stabbings, and racist/mysoginist killings, too.

When I was deciding on my next few books, I knew I wanted to get back to writing romance/suspense. My Harvester Files Books, The White Carnation, The White Lily, The White Iris, and The White Dahlia, are still my best sellers, but while I may add a book to them … I had planned to, but the core idea simply hasn’t come to me.

I wish I could blame COVID brain, but I can’t since my head is overflowing with other ideas.

I considered adding to my Vengeance Is Mine Series, but the books I had in mind didn’t quite fit there. On His Watch, Fire Angel, In Plain Sight, No Good Deed, and Secrets and Lies do well for me, but I wanted something different.

I had this idea for a series where the person endangered was completely unaware of what could possibly have caused them to require protection. I had one previously written title that fit that idea, Sworn to Protect.

Four years ago, a car accident robbed Nancy Frost of her child and her mother, taking what was left of her marriage with it in the process. A forensic accountant, she agrees to look at a company’s books in a divorce case, trying to find hidden assets, but her meeting with the lawyer goes terribly wrong when the restaurant is attacked.

The moment US Marshal Neil Copeland discovers his wife has been shot in a Baltimore restaurant, he rushes to her side, determined not to let her down again. As the police investigate, evidence suggests the attack was a ploy to hide a specific hit. When a professional assassin tries to kill Nancy a second time, it’s clear that she was the target and whatever’s going on is a lot more complicated than they think.

When Nancy awakes after a month in an induced coma, not only does she not remember the attack on the restaurant, she doesn’t remember marrying Neil. Faced with the challenge of protecting his wife from a powerful, faceless enemy, Neil must bring her up to date, dredging up all the sorrow that tore them apart in the first place, hoping something will jar her memory.

As he races against time, can he save her from an unknown assassin and convince her to give the love they once had a second chance?

Sworn to Protect is currently on sale for $2.99 on all Amazon platforms, or free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

Come October, there will be another book in the series, Guarding Her Heart.

Someone wants him and his daughter dead. Her job is to see to it that he doesn’t succeed.

Former ski champion turned bodyguard Olivia Cummings has been after an assignment with more meat to it than those she’s had, but when her boss offers her just that, she’s not sure she can afford to take it. The job involves protecting a young girl and her father from an unknown assassin. Not only will it mean she has to get back up on skis for the first time in five years after a disastrous accident that claimed two lives, but she’ll also have to marry a stranger, a man who attracts her and threatens the wall she’s erected around her heart. With Christmas right around the corner and the threat imminent, what choice does she have? She can’t let another innocent person die because of her selfishness.

Andrew Robertson, AKA George Stanton, is an international bestselling political suspense author who’s been targeted by an assassin bent on killing him and everyone he loves. A bomb attached to a car killed the mother of his child and injured fifteen-year-old Sheena, his daughter. He turns to family and Anderson Security for help. He’ll do anything for the girl including changing his identity to Greg Stuart and marrying the security guard assigned to protect her to provide an ironclad cover, but will it be enough?

Thrown together at one of the most romantic times of the year, Greg and Olivia soon find themselves giving in to the attraction they feel for each other, but with a nameless, faceless killer after them, will they get their happily ever after or will Olivia fail to keep the ones she loves alive once more?

Guarding Her Heart will be available on October 21, but is currently up for pre-order. You can reserve your copy. It will be available in Kindle Unlimited and in paperback from Amazon after publication.

So, what’s next? I have a few irons in the fire, and I’m already getting into gear for the next Protecting the Innocent novel. Why not get a jump on things and read Sworn to Protect now?

And if you’ve read any of my books, please take a minute to leave a review on Amazon.

Wow! The end of August is upon us. I hope you enjoyed your summer. I did. Last week, I had a chance to meet with friends in the beautiful town of Alexandria Bay, NY. Great way to say goodbye to summer.

This week, the authors from Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt QUICK. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones.

“The estate has to stay intact. That’s the trust and responsibility Great-uncle Angus left me. It’s a sacred obligation that’s been handed down through the centuries, one I agreed to accept even if I don’t understand everything it entails, but I intend to learn.”

Jerome nodded. It was probably the best he could hope for. Whatever closeness they’d had previously now seemed as distant as the relationship in his dreams.

She focused on her meal, eating in silence, her mind no doubt processing what he’d said earlier. She set down her fork.

“As for you being Mage Lewis Harris … you are an exceptional author, and I will keep your secret.” She pushed her plate to the side even though she’d only eaten a small portion of the excellent meal. “But I sense you’re still keeping something from me.”

He heaved a sigh and put down his fork.

“Do you believe in reincarnation, Marina?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “In the past, I would’ve been quick to say no, but a great many things have happened to me in the last few months that I don’t understand. I never believed in magic and sorcery, but even that’s become a gray area for me. My uncle left a letter for me with Ewen. In it, he asked me to visit Bronagh, but I heard on the radio that the woman is dead, some kind of gas explosion. Odd don’t you think that a woman believed to be clairvoyant would make that kind of mistake?”

He nodded and speared a potato more forcefully than he should have.

“Yes, I heard.” He swallowed. How much of what he knew should he share? He didn’t want any more complications between them, but how could he explain the vision he’d had, the journey quest Bronagh had taken him on with her dying breaths?

Raven meowed, the sound annoyed. He looked at her and swore the cat’s face had taken on angry human characteristics.

You said you’d be honest with her. She needs every bit of truth, not just what you seem willing to share. Her life and yours depend on it.

The voice inside his head was loud and commanding, but where had it come from? It wasn’t Bronagh’s voice, but it carried the same tone of command.

He glanced around quickly, his gaze focusing on Marina once more. Had she heard anything?

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Our word prompt is SWEAT. Things are heating up in Listen to the Stones. Enjoy!

Jerome watched Marina leave the room. She’d only asked the one question, but she’d watched him so intently that it had felt as if she were looking into his soul.

He swiped at the beads of sweat on his forehead. If she didn’t believe what he’d told her, she would never accept the rest.

When Marina returned with the plates, the television announcer informed them that the game had been called on account of the rain and that the teams would play tomorrow. The canceled game would be rescheduled if needed.

“It looks like you can call it an early night if you want to.”

He stared at the roast beef she’d set before him, his mouth watering at the aroma.

“This looks absolutely incredible.”

She nodded and reached for her wine glass.

They ate in silence, if you could call the way Marina toyed with her food eating. She set down her fork and spoke, breaking the uncomfortable quietude.

“Thank you for explaining things to me. I’ve never known an author, so I can’t say whether I agree or disagree about your need to keep it to yourself, but I do respect your right to do so. I’ve heard of celebrity stalkings, and they would concern me as well. As to your desire to keep the stones safe, although I have only seen drawings of them, I too feel the need to protect them. James thinks it’s unnecessary, but … how can I go about getting them registered?”

“I can get the necessary documents for you tomorrow. I thought we might go to the stones in the morning,” he continued, confused by her placid demeanor. “Now that I’ve met you and have gotten to know you, I have no interest in seeing you leave here when your year is up.” He swallowed. “I won’t lie to you again, but I would like you to consider selling me the croft closest to the stones. I want to move back to the Isle of Lewis permanently and make writing my sole occupation. Will you think about it? I will study the stones as an archeologist because they fascinate me, but I will need quiet time with them to sit and listen to their stories and a place where I can work undisturbed.”

She shook her head and met his gaze. “Understand this. None of Fraser land is for sale, at least not as long as I live.”

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.