February 1 2023
"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you."
Walt Whitman
From Pam:
I’m not a winter person by any stretch of the imagination. My idea of winter is sitting by the fire with a good book. Or in the car with the heated seats warming me like toast. I never want to leave. Best invention ever!
The snow is lovely when it’s falling and I can see the joy it brings to kids and dogs. Never knew a dog that didn’t like snow, but as for skiing, skating, snowmobiling and all things to do with snow…not for me. Skiing I’ve not tried. I’d most likely break my neck. Never been on skates but I do enjoy watching the dance skaters.
I tried snowmobiling many years ago and I have to admit it was fun, but as it was New Years day I probably had enough Dutch Courage in me to keep me warm.
When the kids were young we would join a party of friends for a winter barbecue
at a conservation area.The kids would play hockey on the frozen lake and loved to
toboggan. I even tried snowshoes. Disaster!
Where I live, near Lake Ontario, it tends to be milder and although the weather forecasters keep predicting wild weather patterns and heavy snow storms it doesn’t always materialize. Road conditions are another matter. Freezing rain and snow squalls are not for driving in. I cancelled lunch with friends because of the ice on the roads. Even though the sun came out by noon and it was probably fine to drive. Better safe than sorry.
Having noted all my dislikes about winter, one of my favorite books and movies
of all time is Boris Pasternak’s ‘Dr. Zhivago’. I read the book in the sixties
and have watched this movie at least a dozen times. The scenes with the house in
Varykino, frozen in time, is a classic.
You’ve guessed it. I like to watch the winter from my comfy chair either looking out the window, watching movies or preferably lost in a book. When I wrote this the sun was out, and the snow is melting. I can’t wait for Spring but it’s like wishing one's life away.
Busy February is coming up. Liz and I are about a third of the way writing book number four in the Dorothy Dennehy Series - Cultivating the
Truth. Other projects are
also in the works.
Oh, bring on the snow! I’m hibernating at my computer while I wait on Liz’s
next chapter. Maybe I’ll watch Dr Zhivago again or dig out the book. It’s in my
bulging bookcase somewhere.
From Liz:
Book Review - The Newlywed by Anna Willett
I love fictional cold case stories and this latest by Anna Willett checks all the boxes. The Newlywed is a perfect blend of cold case detective work, complex characters, and human emotions. For me a bonus that it’s set in Australia – a setting I always enjoy!
Why did Jane Wilson vanish shortly after her marriage? How is her husband’s twin brother involved? What is causing her so much unease to return as a newlywed to the small seaside town of Seabreak, where she vacationed as a teenager?
Years after Jane’s disappearance, and assumed murder, D.I. Veronika Pope leads a new investigation. Coincidences are not her thing, and the clues mean more questions, especially when similar disappearances are discovered.
Anna Willett has created believable, and likeable, characters with D.I. Pope and her team. The tension and suspense that builds towards the conclusion are brilliantly woven. I cannot wait to read more of this series and would love to see D.I. Pope come to life as a television series.
If you’re a fan of good detective work, police procedurals, and an engaging mystery, read “The Newlywed” – it won’t disappoint!
Jamie Tremain News
As mentioned last month, our Genre 5 Writer Group Christmas get together was postponed courtesy of Mother Nature. But it was worth the wait when we gathered early in January. Over a delicious meal and cozy time by the fire, we enjoyed laughter and also found time for those serious topics that good friends can easily discuss. Did we solve the problems of the world? That would be telling - what gets discussed in our gatherings stays there. The headbands were an extra bonus!
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| Pam Gloria Donna Liz Donna |
And Remember -
Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts another person.
Plato
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