August 2019

A Very odd Summer

Well, maybe not that odd, we've had summers like this before: wet and cold, but not for a while. If this follows true to form the winter will be both sloppy and snowy. Not something the incomers to this island like, especially the almost constant grey gloom that coats our skies. For some reason they think an island, even one that reaches further north than Toronto (or even Calgary,) must be tropical. We have cold weather trees growing native here, but they insist on importing palms and other tropical plants for the proper "look." Thanks to unnaturally warm winters over the past ten years they honestly believe it a) never rains here [in a north western rainforest] and b) never snows here. Both belief systems were, until 2009, completely erroneous. 2009 was the first winter I remember that did not have any snow, and I was born here!  I will not say how many years ago that was as it was decidedly before the 1990's. As for my writing it's coming slowly as my outside job takes up a great deal of my time and energy. Writing only truly pays if your name is either Nora Roberts of Steven King. Anyone else requires a day job.
One of the things I've been doing is going over a lot of the unpublished work I've stockpiled over the years including a children's mystery series I started to write involving ancients myths and legends invading the modern world in a suburb of Victoria (probably Sooke, although I've never stated exactly where it is.) The mysteries are investigated by an unusual cat, a group of three dogs and a garden sculpture that isn't. Maybe I should see about finding a literary agent for those as well as my Science Fiction & Fantasy novels. To be frank, I threw out a lot of Christian folklore when writing the series and concentrated of the actual pagan religions from which the myths originated. My purpose was to teach these cultural myths within the context of a slightly goofy story with the animals. I wonder who would be interested in that? As for my published work, this month's excerpt is from Separated Soul chapter seven. It is now posted on the excerpt page.