What a crazy time it is, in the world in general, in Canada, in Alberta and in the world of publishing. That has been my experience as spring arrives this year. While I don’t intend for this space to be a political forum, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the news and the events around me have been a huge distraction. It’s not that I don’t have time to write. I do. But my mental space has been scattered and focus has been hard to come by. I hope that we are moving to a period of more stability, while admitting this is probably wishful thinking.
On a more personal front, there has been some confusion over the fate of a recent manuscript that was sent out on submission. I can’t go into detail at this time, except to say that publishing is not for the faint of heart. Still, I hope to have good news to share soon.
Writing continues on my new fiction novel. The plot has taken some interesting turns as I explore how I want the point of view character to change and make changes in this final push to the end. More strength is needed. I’m also back to wondering if I should be adding layers by including other points of view along the way. I am determined to get to the end of the story with this main character, however, before going back to the beginning to see how the plot needs shaping for the second draft. This first draft is very much a loose stream of consciousness telling of the story and there are many layers yet to add with thematic threads to pull and to strengthen.
In other literary endeavours, I am working with a young woman in a mentoring/ghost writing capacity. That has provided its own unique challenges but it is very rewarding to see her story evolve and come together.
Cozy Reading Corner
Two Henrys and two of my favourite authors. Both of these novels I enjoyed as audiobooks and interestingly enough, both were read by one of my favourite narrators, Julia Whelan.
There were other similarities in that both involved mysteries and a love interest, although Great Big Beautiful Life leans more into the Romance genre (of course) and The Story She Left Behind is Historical Fiction/ Women’s Literature. The most surprising part, given these two authors is that the books are similar at all. For a romance genre, Emily Henry did an amazing job of developing the characters in this one.
The lyrical prose, the magical moments and the historical smog event were all reasons to love The Story She Left Behind. The biggest weakness was probably the big reveal of the mystery. Perhaps not the most plausible plot twist. That said, I totally enjoyed the story and was willing to suspend my disbelief and just go with it. I was more than willing to love these characters and to root for them.
In Great Big Beautiful Life, I enjoyed the characters, two writers who are in competition for the opportunity to write an elderly lady’s biography. I was engaged in the stories of the writers and I also found the twists and turns in the biography portion intriguing. Again, there was a lot of build up to a mystery that fell a little flat. All in all, the writing captivated me and the story was good. Maybe not quite my favourite from this author but enough to keep me reading her books!
My new audioread is My Friends by Fredrik Backman. Already the main character has captured my attention and I can’t wait to meet the friends. Stay tuned for more from this one.
Until next time…. Savour the moments!
