One Summer when I was a teenager, my best friend invited me to her family’s lakeside cabin in northern Alberta, Canada. The location was 370 km (230 miles) north-east of our families’ neighboring farms. The lake was named after a bird…whose name I can’t remember…but I do remember the lake was a smaller one near a … Continue reading North of the Border: my rustic cabin inspiration #GetLostInAStory
My Canadian Inspiration
I find inspiration EVERYWHERE but, hey/eh?, I’m Canadian so this is the inspiration from my childhood & my everyday life. Check out the category “My Love for History” for my WORLDWIDE HISTORY inspiration.
Cree Syllabics: Giving My Heroines a Secret Language
Once you know a secret language exists...the cat's out of the bag; it's no longer very secretive. Or is it? What if hardly anyone else can speak or write that language? That might present an opportunity and a complication. In A Bride for Brynmor, my heroine, Lark (an Irish-Cree Métis singer and musican born in … Continue reading Cree Syllabics: Giving My Heroines a Secret Language
Feb 18: was it Presidents’ Day, Louis Riel Day, or Maud Lewis Day? Or all of these and more?
February 18th was a holiday for many people in North America, but depending on where you lived it was called something different and honored someone different. In at least one location, this difference is different EVERY year! Here are some of the differences... In the United States, it was PRESIDENTS' DAY. And in Canada, it … Continue reading Feb 18: was it Presidents’ Day, Louis Riel Day, or Maud Lewis Day? Or all of these and more?
Thanksgiving: a celebration shaped by an English Privateer, the American Revolution & More
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, one week late! Celebrating Thanksgiving last Monday (October 8) here in Canada got me wondering... What's the HISTORY behind Thanksgiving? Who are the PEOPLE who shaped it? 1. A Lost English Privateer & his Crew Some historians believe the first Thanksgiving celebration in North America occurred in 1578 during English privateer Martin Frobisher’s search … Continue reading Thanksgiving: a celebration shaped by an English Privateer, the American Revolution & More
North of the Border, a new Blog Series #GetLostInAStory
Last month, I had the honor of being invited to join 2 group blogs. Today, I launched a NEW GUEST BLOG SERIES called North of the Border on the Get Lost in a Story blog 🎉 To read how Canada inspired my first guest blogger (me!) and to learn what Canadian item (and a Welsh … Continue reading North of the Border, a new Blog Series #GetLostInAStory
Canada Memories: The Log Driver’s Waltz #CanadaDay
The Power of Music & Memory Last Friday while working at my parttime job at the bookstore (hey, an author needs other jobs if she wants to eat regularly), the usual question came up: what music should we play today? Since Canada Day/July 1st was only a few days away, I thought of these two … Continue reading Canada Memories: The Log Driver’s Waltz #CanadaDay
Questioning History is Never Simple
The heroine in my story-in-progress has lived most of her life on the run, but in 1862 her home was a mining camp in… Here’s where it gets complicated. What do I call British Columbia in 1876 (my heroine’s present day) when she’s thinking about an event from 1862? It’s complicated because of a name … Continue reading Questioning History is Never Simple