At this time of year there are gains and losses to remember.

I remember the times when I used to complain at the number of cards to be sent to friends and family across the world. Now, when I go to the store to buy festive greetings I must bypass several sections because I no longer have a mother, sister and a cousin or friend for whom I can buy a card. That is sad.

A new gain is that I have found a whole set of friends through my writing and I also discovered electronic greeting cards from  jacquielawson.com that are bright, tuneful and happy little videos which allow the sender to write a personal message. Best of all these can be sent very quickly, in advance if necessary, and they also have my birthday list for reminders!

Sometimes the losses overwhelm the gains and special occasions are hard to endure when that particular chair is empty.  I have not yet written a book with a Christmas title, specifically to rack up sales, as is common at this time of year. I do include Christmas gatherings when they are appropriate to the story and I prefer these to be happy times rather than the disastrous events sometimes portrayed in movies or in Coronation Street television episodes, for example It is wonderful to be able to set characters around a table and bring good surprises to at least one or two of those in attendance.

I enjoyed the Christmas at Glenmorie Castle in ‘Return to Oban; Anna’s Next Chapter’ and, more recently, an especially wonderful celebration in the winter dining room at Harmony House in my Home Sweet Home series, when everyone around the table had good news to share.

I hope you will have a memorable holiday celebration with those you love and cherish.

Take time to appreciate the season and remember the gains whenever possible.

Ruth.

Season’s Greetings

Dear Readers

It has been like Spring here in Ontario of late. Usually we are deep in snow at this point in the year but I am not complaining. Last year was a tough one for me in many ways and milder weather helps me look ahead with renewed hope.

I just finished writing a book. Gwen’s Choice is a sequel to Gwen’s Gentlemen and if you remember how Elijah’s secret hidden journal was found, you will definitely want to discover what happens when Gwen goes to Australia to track down the last parts of his life!

I do love writing. It is my joy and brings me great satisfaction. Letters from readers across the world are an unexpected thrill for me. As a wee lassie in Scotland trudging up the hill from our local Carnegie Library, I could never have imagined the life  I now lead.

Spring forward after your dreams.

My son recently asked what I would like for Christmas. As we were sitting at a family dinner table at home I thought of asking for a meal out where preparations and clean up were not required. But then I realized what a privilege it is to be able to share a meal with a grown son in his chilhood home and talk freely of many of his interests without interruption.

I discarded that first option and began to think seriously of an answer. What I really want at this season of celebration and contemplation, would be to open the newspaper in the morning and read about peace, prosperity for all, enlightened leadership, magnanimity, generosity of spirit and   a true sense of a world where there is respect for  the planet and all its living things.

As I grow older I find I have no tolerance left for stories of animal and child cruelty. It may be weak minded of me to pass over these items but my heart simply cannot contain that pain any longer. Perhaps a heart gets full and there may be a danger of insufficient space left for the truly good things in life.

So, what  I really want for Christmas is no terrorist attacks, no bombing of innocents, hospitals free do their humanitarian work, a day or two or three when peace reigns in all our hearts.

It’s a time for miracles. Do you agree?

Falling leaves are now covering the green grass here in Ontario. Who could complain when the colours are so vibrant and the leaves have stayed attached for such a long time this year?

I have enjoyed raking in the cool air although I am being cautious as it can really mess up the back muscles.

Have I been writing, you ask? Well, it has been a very productive summer for new books, despite many family problems and issues that required me to cross the Atlantic to England a total of three times. I always say the writing keeps me sane as I can shape the lives of my fiction characters as i wish them to be, instead of being  hostage to fate, as we all are from time to time.

Gwen’s Gentlemen is a third in the Seafarers Series and a fascinating glimpse into history

Seven Days Destinations completed the Seven Days series.

Return to Oban; Anna’s Next Chapter is an addition to my prime Time Series which i believed was completed till this came along!

Borderlines.

The last one is just finished and is a special cautionary tale for women based on actual information I was able to observe closely. It’s a fiction story wrapped in some good advice and lots of contemporary context. Watch for it next month.

If you haven’t already signed up for my Newsletter please do as it has all the up-to-date information.

What’s next?  A new Gwen book is in the wings. It will follow Gwen’s journey with her new career and is titled provisionally Gwen’s Decisions.

It’s June and the garden is blooming at last. I will be blooming too, soon after recovering from a  major writing stint to finish a book that is dear to my heart and will, I know, touch my readers’ hearts also.

RETURN TO OBAN: ANNA’S NEXT CHAPTER        appeared from nowhere but it took hold very quickly and it would not let go. I wanted to do justice to all those who have written to me about Anna, telling me how important Auld Acquaintance has been to them. Of course, it was my very first book and obviously equally important to the author! 

So, time has marched on for Anna Mason Drake and she returns to her second home in Scotland where she finds her great-niece Ashley with a project in mind. This is unexpected and involves Anna delving into memories both powerful and painful. Will she agree to open her heart and make her precious memories public? Or will she prefer to keep silent and take what she knows about the artist, Lawren Drake to the grave?

WARNING: To fully enjoy this startling book, you must first read at least the first, fifth and sixth books in my Prime Time series.

I think it is time to provide  chronological list of the books in all my series. This will make it easier for you to navigate through books when you know the correct order.

PRIME TIME.   Auld Acquaintance   Time Out of Mind   Now or Never   Sand in the Wind   With This Ring   

The  Seas Between Us          and now…. Return to Oban: Anna’s Next Chapter.

SEAFARERS.   Sea Changes   Sea Tides   Gwen’s Gentlemen.

SEVEN DAYS.   Seven Days There   Seven Days Back   Seven Days Beyond   Seven Days Away  

Seven Days Horizons   Seven Days With Jillian   Seven Days With Zoe.

As many of you will know, my main characters pop up from time to time in other books and series. It’s a sign that they are real in my mind and won’t let me go.

What comes next?  We’ll all have to wait and see!    Meanwhile, you have a lot to catch up on my friends!

Enjoy!

So, last night I had to cover up all my recent plantings. Yes, I know, it was too soon to be buying new tender plants. In Canada we are cautioned to wait until after May 24 before starting a summer garden and this year was not the year to jump ahead.

I did it because my husband loves the look of our patio with colourful planters right in front of his favourite seat. I enjoy selecting the plants and planning which will make the best combinations. My best trick is to buy a large hanging basket stuffed with pretty items which I then carefully disentangle and replant as separate additions to flowerbeds or large pots.

Now that I think of it, this is probably the way I compose my stories. I have lived large chunks of interesting life experience in Scotland, Canada and England. Out of these vivid memories I tease individual events, feelings or characters and nourish them with little snippets of my imagination. Hopefully, the final effect is bright, charming and involving, with contrasts but no jarring elements.

I call myself a Contemporary Women’s Fiction writer and I always incorporate current events of one kind or another. This derives from my reading habits. I read two newspapers every day and a UK one on the weekend. I watch 60 Minutes faithfully, as well as other television series, (mostly sci-fi! Escapism, I think!) and try to keep up with what is going on in the world. Often this is not the most pleasant reading. These days there are wars and rumours of wars everywhere. I find something positive if I can and cling to that, as I am sure most of you do also. This is how Jake’s MS story arrived in Now or Never, the American Lottery Club’s economic problems in Sea Changes, and mental issues were highlighted in Seven Days There and Seven Days Away .      (Just wait till you read the novella Seven Days With Zoe! Can you guess what will happen to her?)

You will always be sure to discover solutions to problems in my books. It’s the way I compensate for life’s uncertainties and the reason why I write fiction. Who else, other than an author, can shape the world the way she wishes it to be?

What exactly is reading? As a teacher and librarian, I can tell you the ability to read the printed word is a skill akin to magic. As far as I have been able to discover, NO ONE knows how this magic happens.

It was always my desire to make readers of students. Some just needed the right piece of print material, such as a magazine on racing cars for boys. Some found the way through good illustrated books. Others wanted to be read the same story over and over again until they finally got the connection between the words and the sounds. There are many paths to this magic but acquiring the skill is something that brings information and pleasure for a lifetime.

For me, reading is a solace, a comfort, an entry into the minds of people I will never meet and places I may never see. It is a time for my own thoughts to be submerged and my learning brain to be activated. It is possible that the tens of thousands of books I have read in my lifetime have made my novel writing such an easy chore. I have never intended to copy anyone’s work but who can say where ideas come from. The main thing for me is that as long as the ideas flow, I will be able to immerse myself in the creative act that thrills me every time I start or finish another book.

In this age of brilliant movies and television series derived from a beloved author’s series, it is an added pleasure to watch while the written words are made visible on screen.

Currently, I am awaiting season 2 of Outlander, which starts again very soon. I know I will be driven back to the books as I often am.  Does this happen to you?  My only problem is that some of these books are huge in size and my hands get weary of supporting their weight. I guess it’s well worth it or I would not be devoting time to this pursuit.

This is the title of a bulletin board I used to put up every year in my library when I was a teacher-librarian in London, Ontario schools. You can tell it was a time-saver idea as part of it could be used later for Spring into April! In our uncertain spring climate here, milder weather came late rather than early, so it was best to be prepared.

I am thinking of this because I just found out I am going to England in a few days to visit family. I was told on the phone there are daffodils to be seen there already. I am looking out at snow in Ontario but who knows by the time I return home in mid March? Our weather has been so changeable this winter.

The good part about this is that it is grand weather for hunkering down and writing. I have two projects on the go and a third waiting in the wings. It’s s first time for me to divide my writing focus between a novella for the Seven Days series (Seven Days With Jillian), and a lovely return to an Anna story set in Oban. (No final title yet. Suggestions welcomed).

So I am packing my bag and filling my case with stories to tell at my great-nephews’ pre-school on March 11 as well as another chapter in the e book I am writing for the boys called Two Little Monkeys….and yes, they are! The monkey theme is one that has now transferred from their mother’s childhood to theirs and I have been privileged to see it all.

Despite the huge space of land and sea between us, family connections are so important. I know many of you feel the same. This is a theme that runs through Prime Time’s final novel,  The Seas Between Us, and continues for me to this day.

Are you anticipating a holiday or short break this winter? I know, there’s hardly a reason since our Ontario weather has been highly unusual with spring-like spells followed by sprinklings of snow. I keep feeling there’s a big storm in the wings!

I have just returned from a week in a luxury Mexican resort with two good friends. It was booked months ago and I am not sorry we went. It was the most pleasant, easy travelling I can ever remember in wintertime and I feel the benefit of it already.

I did a lot of thinking, writing, and meeting with possible readers. There’s always someone in a lounge chair with a book in hand!

So, I am back at work with three, yes, three, new writing projects to do. I think the winter will fly fast from here.

IF you would like a peek at the Nuevo Vallarta resort, just read Seven Days Away which is set there. It’s the story of three generations of a family on holiday together for the first time with a variety of different agendas to  fulfil.