Writing...Just because!

MT and me at my graduation from MSVU in 1990 I would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, especially the amazing woman who brought me (and 4 older brothers and sisters) into the world. We call her Mother Theresa or MT for short. Her name really is Theresa so it wasn't a stretch to nickname her after the famous nun who healed the sick and cared for the poorest of poor. We think our MT is pretty special too. It's hard to describe how I feel about her without getting a big lump in my throat. She fills my heart with love, she's my best friend, my confident, my counselor and supporter. Reading my favourite book, Teddy Bear's Picnic, with MT At a very early age she instilled a love of reading in us that kept us entertained over the years right up until this very day. Being an avid reader herself, she is also my biggest fan, of course. I should dedicate every single book I write to her as she has also been the most enthusiastic ...

Please welcome author Samantha Bryant as a guest on my blog today to share a little insight into her journey to launch her debut novel.  What I Learned from Rewriting my Novels Samantha with fellow superhero Writing a novel is a learning process. Rewriting one, even more so. Whenever I am working on a rewrite, I get mad at my earlier self for not being more careful with continuity and pacing. "What idiot wrote this gobbledygook anyway?" I shout to the heavens. Oh yeah…it was me. I've been through the writing/rewriting cycle a few times now: for two, as yet, unpublished novels, for Going Through the Change , a novel which is being published right now, as I write this (Release date: April 23, 2015 from Curiosity Quills Press), and for a fourth book (a sequel to Change ) that I'm working on right now.  Here's what I have learned in all of this work: 1. Each novel is its own specific puzzle. You can't put this one together the same way you...

Book launch for @Home in Dubai at Central Perk, Dubai (2012) I'm writing a bit of a different blog today that puts the spotlight on the publisher of my first book, @Home in Dubai - Getting Connected Online and on the Ground . Jo Parfitt of Summertime Publishing was among the first to see a proposal I had written for a book I had in mind called 'A Year in Dubai'. I'll never forget the rush when she told me she thought I had a great idea and then how my bubble burst when she suggested I shelve it! She quickly brought the light back when she asked if I would write about life in Dubai from a bit of a different perspective... more of a 'how to' peppered with my personal experiences and interspersed with interviews with other expats and lots of links to online resources. The contract was signed and @Home in Dubai was born! And, Jo and I have since become great friends and collaborators ;) Expat Books Fast forward four years and Summertime Publishing has c...

Now with three self-published books under my belt I thought it might be a good time to share a few of my favourite self-publishing tools that I have in my repertoire. There are hundreds to choose from and these are a select few that keep cropping up each time along with a couple new ones I found (or that just evolved) as I prepared to publish Deep Deceit .  Photo of me and Burj al Arab in b/g by Katie Foster, book covers all designed by Creation Booth Kindle Formatting Template from Shelley Hitz It was about three years ago that I started following Shelley Hitz and getting her newsletter, participating in her ebook publishing webinars (Get Your Kindle eBook Done!) and reading her books. Since then she has partnered with Heather Hart and they continue to offer great resources to indie authors through their company Training Authors . I still pull out her template and re-watch the video each time I get ready to convert my manuscript into a Kindle ready document for uplo...