Brrrr........

Winter, although not officially arrived, has certainly settled in.  We are in the deep freeze, with a good layer of snow on the ground and more falling as I write.  Can we say “White Christmas?”….how nice that will be for a change.   Christmas is fast approaching, and the hustle and bustle is increasing to frenzied proportions.

With so much activity in these weeks and days leading up to Christmas, both Pam and I find it’s hard to concentrate on much writing.  However, I’ve recently discovered “Bit Strips” on FaceBook and am using them to poke some fun at our writing world.   We plan on a writing day early in January to get back on track and see what the New Year will bring for Jamie Tremain.

I don’t often get to the movies, but have seen two in the last two weeks.  Philomena with Judi Dench (love her!) and Steve Coogan, is a heart warming tale based on true events.  A gentle movie that could require Kleenex, and one I’d watch again.   And last night my oldest son, William, and I met at our local theatre to take in  The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug.   Even though we had to sit quite near the front, it was a fast paced adventure.  More enjoyable than the first instalment and now am waiting for the third.   Since watching The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey last year, I’ve become a huge fan of Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch through  the BBC series “Sherlock”.   So that added an extra layer to my enjoyment of the film last night.

On the home front I’m looking forward to experiencing Dickens’ Christmas Carol with two of my grandchildren next week at the RiverRun Centre and then later in January it will be Peter Pan for the other two.   My daughter, Christine, will come along as well, and I’m really looking forward to both productions and hope that it will ignite a love of live theatre in the younger ones.

With Christmas comes expectations, family gatherings, excesses of all kinds, and stresses.  This year in particular I am sobered by the thoughts of friends and co-workers who are battling serious illnesses.  There is never a good time to be ill, but Christmas time seems to really tug at the heart, especially when there are little ones involved.  My thoughts and prayers are with one family in particular and it’s put a different perspective on what’s truly important.  Not just at this time of year, but every day. 

I hope you’ve been enjoying the series of interviews which Pam has done so well.  Don’t go too far away, because there will be more in store for 2014!

We’re looking forward to Bloody Words in 2014 and becoming more involved with this amazing community of writers and authors we’re fortunate to be part of – a more encouraging, educational, and fun group I’ve never known.

So from this half of Jamie Tremain I wish you a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas, Happy Holidays and all the Best for a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Cheers!

Liz

The Day After

I second all that Liz has to say on her last post. Bloody Words /2012 was awesome. Putting a face to a name from either FB or a book you had read was neat. The panel discussions were great and one of my favourite sessions was the three hour’s we spent with Cheryl Freedman on self –editing. www.crimewriterscanada.com/bios/members-lists. The subject matter was just what we need to get our book ready to roll. It helped that I could hear what was being said. I use a personal microphone and receiver that doesn’t always cooperate. Sitting through three hours at the banquet was difficult but I just laughed when everyone else did and smiled a lot. I could hear Linwood Barclay’s jokes and stories but I missed most of the punch lines from Rick Bletcha who was a super MC.

I was going to add some pictures here today but for some reason I can’t get them attached from camera to computer. I only took a few at the conference, so another time. I intended to add a picture I took this morning of a white resin Buddha. He is about 5 inches high and laughing his head off. He has plentiful breasts and a large stomach. How he manages to cross his legs in the lotus position is beyond me. My husband Peter gave me this .....token this  morning to commemorate our forty sixth wedding anniversary. Yes, forty six years of wedded bliss! Never a cross word or argument. And if you believe that....

So what is the significance of this object d’art you might ask? Was he thinking of me as he gazed upon this Buddha with his ample physique? Or was it the laughing smiley face? I think I’ll assume that he liked it and thought it would give me pleasure. Phew... Another crisis aborted.

We did meet another couple of women at the conference that collaborate as we do. Mary Anne Wollison and Michelle Cooke. They’ve just finished their first book together and we wish them well with it. It was probably the most asked question for us at the conference. “How do you write together?” The writing is still the lonely act it always is but we do get together face to face to iron out any ideas or problems with the plot line. Once we have decided on a general story the characters emerge. We are nearly always in agreement with the characters. Some characters Liz owns and some are mine but we can both write using them. It’s just that; a collaboration (The action of working with someone to produce or create something) We also trust and respect each other. That helps.

Look for these authors new books.

C.B Forrest - The Devil’s Dust- www.cbforrest.com  Dundurn

Mary Jane Maffini – The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder- www.maryjanemaffini.com -  Berkley Prime Crime

Erika Chase-A Killer Read- www.erikachase.com Berkley Prime Crime

Janet Bolin- Threaded for Trouble- www.threadvillemysteries.com   Berkley Prime Crime

Deryn Collier- Confined Space- deryn@deryncollier.com Simon & Schuster

Vicki Delany- Gold Mountain- www.vickeydelany.com  Rendevous Crime

Happy reading,

Slainte,

Pam

Drafty In Here!

After three months its finished – well the fifth draft, at least,  is done of Body Perfect.  As mentioned before Pam and I have put ourselves under the gun to submit Body Perfect for a contest before the end of April.   I vowed to have the version complete by the end of this weekend and earlier this morning dispatched it to Pam for her to review.  We plan to get together in mid April  for any final tweaking..and then send it off!  When that’s done, I’m putting Body Perfect on a shelf for at least six months!   Well, unless a publisher wants it re-worked of course.

We have learned so much with this story and both of us feel we’ve honed our skills immensely – not that we’re perfect, but progressing.  And are anxious to jump into our third story – with lessons learned.  

And then in a few short weeks it will be time to attend BloodyWords!  Exciting and glad its closer to home this year.

The past few weeks have been tiring to say the least.  Work eight hours and then come home and log on to keep going with Body.  Perhaps now life will settle somewhat and I won’t feel as guilty if I want to waste an evening on Facebook!  Today has basically been a pajama day in order to get the draft complete.  I rewarded myself with a viewing of new-to-video “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”...great movie, but long!  Very true to the book, but even at 2 and ½ hours couldn’t include everything.   I think I’d like to watch it again, just not today.

Speaking of Facebook, does anyone like the new Timeline concept?  When I logged on to our JamieTremain page, I had to update it and find a new cover photo – hope Pam approves!  But I find the Timeline hard to follow at times – oh well that’s progress I suppose.  While Pam reviews Draft Five, I plan to go over it and ensure we have our timelines in order – at least that’s one that makes sense to me.

Weekend’s half over –  do enjoy what’s left.

Cheers!

Liz

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Unbelievable – March 17^th in Ontario and we’re enjoying early summer weather!  St Patrick's Day celebrants might be downing their green ale outside today – shorts seem to be in order.   Grass is turning green, bulbs are up and trees are budding – but I’m not taking my snow tires off just yet.  Love having windows open and a gentle spring breeze flowing through the house.

Writing update – Pam and I have submitted our 30 page evaluation of Body Perfect to Bloody Words.  The next item on our to do list – finish editing the final draft of Body Perfect before the April 30 deadline for a contest submission to Poisoned Pen Press.   We both agree that we are dangerously close to not wanting to read any more of this story so we must really push to get it done.  Most of the pushing needs to be done from my keyboard as I continue with the tidying up of the manuscript.   Its a challenge for me during the week; recent demands at work have left me feeling pretty exhausted at day’s end.  But with no winning lottery ticket in sight, there’s nothing for it but to suck it up and soldier on.

Enjoyed a lovely lunch with my daughter Christine earlier today – nice to have an afternoon with her.  She is in the process of moving to a new apartment and I got a tour of the location she is about to call home.  She will be farther away from me, but closer to her work, which is a blessing for her.

Tomorrow afternoon will be a family celebration of March birthdays. Grandsons Michael and Noah marked their 9^th and 5^th birthdays respectively earlier this month and my daughter in law’s birthday was on the 12^th.  And as Pam mentioned tomorrow is mine.

     *****Phone rang while I was writing – tomorrow’s festivities are now being postponed until next Sunday – poor Noah is down with strep throat and big brother Michael is showing signs of it developing.  Poor guys..that’s a miserable infection – I hope the antibiotics will do their job in record time.

So I guess now I will take advantage of unexpected free time tomorrow for revising.  Pam and I are scheduled to have a day together on Saturday the 24^th so it would go great to have as much done as possible..even dare I hope it could be completed?  Keep your fingers crossed.

Happy St Patrick’s Day - May your day be touched by a bit of Irish luck, brightened by a song in your heart, and warmed by the smiles of the people you love.

Cheers!

Liz

A Plane Weekend

So nice to see the days lengthening – amazing how a few extra minutes of daylight can lift the spirit. Now if only one could figure out how to lengthen a weekend!  


Hopefully Pam has been enjoying her weekend away and didn’t become snowbound in the process.   We are scheduled to have a mid week get together on Tuesday and compare notes on our progress with the changes to Body Perfect.

Yesterday I visited the Canadian War Plane Heritage Museum and spent an enjoyable afternoon there.  They are doing a remarkable job of keeping history alive; maintaining these vintage aircraft to keep them participating in air shows as well as being loaned out for films.  While there I picked up a couple of DVD’s; one of which was lengthy documentary on the Battle of Britain. 

My mother lived through the Battle of Britain and I grew up hearing stories of her war time experiences – spending nights in the bomb shelter, food rationing etc. And the older I become the more interested I have become in that part of history, with a special appreciation for the sacrifices made.  A favourite recounting was of how she and my father met.

He, a Canadian infantryman, was assigned a billet in London, where he was stationed.  The billet was with my mother and grandmother, who were willing to share their home with one or two soldiers, in return for the comfort of having  trained soldiers nearby during these scary, but exciting, times.

Early evening and a knock at the door announced their arrival.  My mother went to the door and was happy to see two handsome soldiers.  As introductions were made, my mother commented on how these two single women were glad to know they would now have a couple of brave Canadian soldiers on the premises.  And then the nightly air ride siren screamed into life – a routine occurrence for residents of the times.  The women prepared to trek to the shelter in the backyard and turned to get the men to follow.  They had disappeared from the doorway! Quickly glancing around the room they were soon spotted – cowering under the dining room table.

He must have redeemed himself at some point as they were married some years after the end of WWII, and he brought her to Canada to begin a new life.

There were countless other stories, most amusing in one form or another. Both my parents often said it was still the best time of their lives, and I wish now I’d paid more attention to the stories they loved to recount. Even my oldest son now has remarked he wished Grandpa was still alive so that he could learn firsthand of a soldier’s experience.

But back to the present and with it another work week.  A week of vacation in February is just around the corner and that helps me stay motivated on those cold and dark mornings when its so difficult to throw the covers back and start all over again.

Registrations are done for Bloody Words and we are excited about that. For my part, I’m still inspired to get the work done on Body Perfect that we vow to complete.  But oh, the distractions – I’ve just started A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny and its promising to be a page turner -  I must be strong!

Have a good week

Cheers!

Liz

2012 Here We Come

Tick, tick, tick...the minutes are slipping away faster and faster as 2011 draws to a close.  We live in such a fast paced world and our days ahead seem to get pre-planned with meetings and events and things to do.  More than one person has recently commented that this past Christmas seemed to arrive and depart at break neck speed – not always leaving time to nurture and enjoy the spirit of the season properly.  Although health issues with close friends are a good reminder that we do need to treasure the moment we live in and that blessings that surround us amid  challenging times.

For Jamie Tremain, this past year saw the biggest change with Pam’s retirement and her opportunity to attend writing classes which have benefited us both.  We look forward to Bloody Words2012, held this year in Toronto and are definitely planning on attending! 

Polishing Body Perfect as much as possible is the goal in order to have it appeal to a publisher or agent to work with.  While we do have a second story involving Paul and Dorothy brewing (four chapters and more already) and are anxious to get into some ‘new’ writing, we both feel it is worth investing time and energy into an already well-liked story so that it sells!   We are very grateful to our loyal readers who have read both Madelaine and more recently Body Perfect.  Their feedback and suggestions are taken most seriously and always welcomed.  But if we have entertained any readers with our tales then that is a source of pride for sure.

Pam is planning on joining up with myself and a couple of good friends for lunch today so it will be nice to wish her Happy New Year in person. 

My wish for all of you as we close the door on 2011 and open up 2012 is to count your blessings, be kind to one another and have a safe, healthy and Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Liz

Well done Pam!

Great photos Pam!   And a super write up on your time spent at Bloody Words this year…here’s looking forward to 2011 in Victoria!  I'm so glad you represented Jamie Tremain at this year's venue and networked enough for the both of us.

Pam has also been honing her interview skills lately.  As may have been mentioned before, I edit a newsletter for our department each month.  The usual social information of birthdays and anniversaries, plus some health or computer tips.  Last month Pam took it upon herself to interview two of our staff and submitted very nice write ups for those interviewed.  Many positive compliments have been received and those chosen for next month’s interviews seem quite flattered by the attention. It’s a wonderful way for us to get to know each other – we number about two hundred – and perhaps see others in a different, non-work related, light.

Hard to believe we are now into the month of June, accompanied by thunderstorms and far too frequent humidity.  Although the rain today seems to have lowered the temperature some…perhaps a better night’s sleep may be in store for yours truly.

Right now amidst packing and organizing for my upcoming move, I am reading “Burden of Memory” by Vicki Delany.  This is the second book I've read by this author and I am really enjoying the tale; its hard to put down.   I’ve had to keep out one or two books to tide me over until the unpacking can begin later this month.  And not in small part due to the fact that (horror of horrors!) I will be offline for just over a week.  I look forward very much to organizing a new office space and feel confident it will be a good motivator to wrap up the first draft of Body Perfect.

As well this is a busy social month, my granddaughter’s 5^th birthday; my daughter’s birthday (just a little older than five!); some good friends as well.  Not to mention Father’s Day on the 20^th!  Get your shares in those greeting card companies asap.

Time to call it a night and return to “Burden of Memory” for a chapter or two before lights out.

Good night and cheers.

Liz

Printers ink and black hands!

The volcano in Iceland has stopped spewing ash and the travellers are back on track. The devastation in Haiti continues with families still living in tents and looking for their next meal. Local politicians are up to no good and the Mayoral race is heating up. And I get all this news before my breakfast.

I have always read the morning newspaper with my breakfast and there is nothing like reading the weekend paper before everyone wakes up. My first pot o’ tea of the day would not be the same without the smell of printers ink and my black hands marking everything in my wake. Even when it makes me late for work most mornings!

Maybe it is a generational thing. My colleagues at work, some a few decades younger and born into the age of computers and the Internet find it hard to understand why I don’t click on to my newspaper of choice and read all the news and weather, catch a short video of real time, 24 hours a day.

I feel the same way about books.

Discussing the publishing industry with a friend who has just finished her third book (in the paranormal genre,) she is trying to decide to publish her latest as an e –book. Well I am not quite ready for that yet. I know, I know, times are a-changing but I still see books as something tangible. My friend whipped out her I-phone and showed me what she was reading. Well, I will work on that but don’t look for Madelaine on line yet.

Today was a beautiful day and I spent it at a fashion show that was different from the norm. Put on by the Multiple Sclerosis Society they had a designer demonstrate clothes that were specifically made for women in wheelchairs. My friend Sandra, who has had MS for 42 years, was the model. The majority at the luncheon were either in wheelchairs or had walkers or canes and the crowd were made up of friends or relatives. I was with a party of seven very with it ladies. Ages were from 55-93 and such a well put together bunch. They had all been in the fashion business at one time or another, from retail women’s wear, direct selling of a major brand to company buyer of ladies wear. They were most impressed by the quality of the designs and the ingenuity behind them. It is enterprising women like this designer that makes living with MS just a little bit easier. Very enjoyable day.

Tomorrow the plan is to proof read the chapters Liz has been sending me. No decision has been made yet regarding the Bloody Words Conference but will decide this week as we have to book if we are going. Sounds like a great lineup.

Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam