New Beginnings - Barbara Baker

 

 

I tied my manuscript up in an electronic bow and sent the final version off to BWL Publishing. Let me tell you, there were days during the last edit when I had panic attacks about practise and practice, passed and past—had I used the correct one? Two periods should have been question marks and three commas should have been periods but finally, Jillian of Banff XO was done and will be released on July 1^st, 2024.

I thought writing The End was my goodbye to Jillian and I was excited to see what story would be next. But damn her. While I was enjoying a perfect spring ski day with gorgeous blue skies and slushy snow, Jillian popped into my head and would not leave. 

 

She’s a few years older now, a bit more worldly and … very persistent. So, I skied faster. But Jillian was relentless. And when I finally couldn’t take her badgering any longer, we agreed to try another book. I already love the opening scene. 

My fictional character, Jillian, is like a favourite child who wants to spend more time with me so I will see where her story takes me this time. I’m sure she’ll be tapping me on the shoulder with more suggestions while I’m out and about but that’s enough about Jillian for now.

After a great ski day, there’s still lots of daylight hours to see what spring is up to—who’s blooming, who’s sunning themselves and who’s busy mating.

Of course, the crocus leads the bloomfest and no one ever said, “You have too many crocus pictures.”

 

Painted turtles are my next big find. They stretch out on logs to dry the itchy shit off their shells which accumulated after spending months under water. Turtles go into a state called brumation in the winter—their metabolism slows down; they go without food for months and absorb oxygen from water through their skin ... their version of hibernation. 

  

After cleaning the winter debris from my flowerbeds, I turned the garden hose on and the tiniest ball of fluff hopped out from a patch of tall ornamental grass. It was a very wet baby hare. I knew not to touch it, so I stood back and guarded it in case a raven or hawk flew by. After the youngster dried off in the sun, it hopped back into its nest. 

 

I Googled hares and learned the babies are called leverets. What? Chicks, fawns, cubs … how come they get cute names, and a hare gets stuck with leveret? Apparently, it means ‘a young hare’ in French but it still doesn’t seem fair. 

Unlike rabbits, hares are born with a full body of fur, their eyes are open, and they can survive on their own a few hours after birth. The young have no scent and Mom only comes back once every 24 hours to feed them for a few minutes, so she doesn’t leave her scent in the nest. No wonder she's okay with mating again while she’s nursing. Parenting seems to be pretty easy for hares. 

 

Next fun find in the spring is garter snake balls. The snakes slither out of their dens when the ground warms up and congregate in balls for warmth and sex … a lot of sex. The female lets off a sex pheromone and males rush to please her.

As many as a hundred males will attempt to mate with a single female. It’s an athletic endeavour and they get all crazy and hence, the mating ball is formed. During this orgy, male snakes go without food and show no signs of aggression until after they’ve mated. How gentlemanly of them.

I’ll leave you with these visuals because there is such a thing as too many snake pictures.   

  

There's almost two months before Jillian of Banff XO is available. What fun activities do you plan for your book release days?

You can contact me at: bbaker.write@gmail.com

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

What About Me?: Sequel to Summer of Lies : Baker, Barbara: Amazon.ca: Books

 

Writers, Authors and a Bookstore - Barbara Baker

 

Writing is a solitary process. So, when you get a chance to meet up with writer friends and participate at a bookstore author event you jump on a plane and fly to Ontario.

First stop, the Stephen Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario. My friend goes into the office. “I know the museum isn’t open, but she’s come all the way from Calgary.” She points at me. “Is there a chance we can take a look?”

“Of course,” the cheery lady says. “Give me five minutes. I’ll open it for you.”

I grin at my persuasive friend, and she winks back.

While we wait, we head to Leacock’s Boathouse. Painted figures resembling characters from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town align the pathway.

And then we’re off to check out Leacock’s home. With no one else around we’re able to take our time and read all the plaques. 

        Stephen Leacock facts:

        - 1869-1944 born in England, 10 siblings, family moved to Ontario in 1876, father became an alcoholic and abandoned the family in 1878.

        - Leacock was a teacher, political scientist, writer, humourist (best known English-speaking humourist of his time).

        - In 1900 he married Beatrix Hamilton, an actress. They had one son, Stephen Lushington.

        - Leacock’s colleagues warned him his reputation would be ruined if he published humour. Beatrix encouraged him to publish it regardless of what others thought.

        - In 1990, while completing upgrades on the Leacock house, love letters from Beatrix were found in a secret panel in the bedroom closet. They were written before she died of breast cancer in 1925 at 46 years old. The letters tell of their love story and depict a side of Leacock few people were privy to.

        - Beatrix passed away before the house was complete.

                 Okay, enough Leacock trivia. We’re off to meet the others. There’s much to catch up on so a simple supper of nachos and fixings, red wine, Hawkins Cheezies (no substitutes) and assorted chocolates carry us late into the night. My cheeks hurt. Tears fall. Weight is lifted off shoulders. Exhausting good fun.

Early the next morning we leave in the rain, headed for Uxbridge, Ontario for the Independent Book Store celebration at Blue Heron Books. I get to promote my book, hang with authors and try to appear unterrified.

 

At the bookstore, I get a name tag which helps me remember who I am when fear nails my tongue to the roof of my mouth. I pull up my big girl panties and approach authors, ask them questions about their book(s) and writing journey. It’s not a walk in the park for anyone – this book writing gig. It’s hard work. A lot of hard work. 

From a distance, I watch Canadian bestselling author, Terry Fallis chatting. He’s relaxed. Smiles like it’s not painful. I want to go over and tell him I follow his newsletters and enjoy reading how his career didn’t just fall in his lap. But I’m too shy. He’s…well, he’s Terry Fallis. I can only hope in my lifetime to look that comfortable. Be that confident. Did I mention he’s a two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour? How awesome is he?

I recognize two authors chatting in the kid’s section. I approach and say, “Would it be okay if I hang with you gals?” They smile and say, “sure” in unison.

Time flies and then it’s over. I leave with a bag full of new books and notice my friends purchase my books and discreetly slip them into their bags. I’m a lucky lady to have them as friends.

On the drive home, the rains stops. The sun shines. The chatter continues. 

We make plans to put together an anthology of our short stories and publish them in a book. It’ll be a lot of work. But I know there will be another trip to Ontario to review the hardcopy draft. I can hardly wait. 

You can contact me at: bbaker.write@gmail.com

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

What About Me?: Sequel to Summer of Lies : Baker, Barbara: Amazon.ca: Books

 

 

Animal Friends in Life and Literature By BC Deeks, Paranormal Mystery Fiction Author

 

Growing up my favorite fluffy toy was a purple bunny, but we only had stray cats as pets. I was well into adulthood before I realized how much I love animals of all sizes.

It wasn't until I transitioned to a writing career that our lifestyle could provide a stable home for a pet. We went to visit a breeder, and instantly fell in love with a 12-week-old Bichon Shih Tzu named Kipper (aka my little dead fish). We later adopted a 3 1/2-year-old Bichon rescue named Benny, who quickly became known as The Knickernapper. Benny and Kipper have since passed away two years apart, both having reached the ripe old age of 14.

When I began writing books, my love of animals seeped into that aspect of my life as well. Buddy, a stray dog, showed up during a raging blizzard to be rescued by the heroine, Police Officer Joey Frost, in Chapter 1 of The Holly & The Ivy in the Frost Family & Friends series. This loveable canine brings moments of tears and joy to the holiday tale that can only come from the relationship between people and their pets.

I can't imagine my upcoming series Beyond the Magic without Busby—the mysterious, but loyal and loveable canine Familiar. In my fictional world, an animal Familiar spontaneously appears to a witch who needs help or protection and is believed to be sent by a more powerful witch or spirit. Busby is the Familiar for my heroine, Avalon [Avy] Gwynn, a young woman whose parents have been murdered and who doesn't know she's an extraordinary hereditary witch. Busby is one of the main story characters and shows up even before my hero, a powerful warlock (Marcus Egan). I modeled Busby's behavior on Kipper and Benny, but he developed his own personality. He and Marcus have a funny dynamic to their relationship that I had nothing to do with; they just acted that way whenever they were together in Witch Unbound. I can't say more without spoiling it for readers, though. Keep an eye out for Beyond the Magic books beginning in October 2022.

When my hubby and I moved to Canada's cowboy country, Alberta, in 1997 we spent many weekends learning to ride and exploring the backcountry of the Rocky Mountains on horseback. These mountain-bred horses allowed me to see area that I never could have accessed on my own. There was one instance when we needed to descend a steep shale slope. Our guide told us we had two options; slide down on our behinds or stay on our mounts but let them have their head (meaning let go of the reins, lean back on their rump, and trust them to take you down safely). Most of the group opted for the bum option. Not me! I decided the horse was much more sure-footed than I, so I lay back across Ginger's rump and closed my eyes. It was like floating on a cloud. The guide told me later that Ginger was nicknamed 'The Babysitter' because she was so conscious of her charges that she never let one fall off her back. Who knows, maybe my next Familiar will be a horse!

I've also worked for my local municipal department that oversees the city zoo, and that allowed me special access to the exotic animals on occasion. I've hand fed elephants, petted camels, snuggled jaguar cubs and had a sleepover with the hippos - no cuddling with those guys let me tell you. We don’t have a pet at home right now, but I am registered as a foster parent for dogs with the #CalgaryHumaneSociety.

I believe that illustrating the special relationship between humans and animals in my stories adds a significant dimension that is just as important as the interactions between the rest of the characters.

I write heartwarming stories of mystery and magic. To learn more about my upcoming Beyond the Magic series or my author life, please find me on my website at www.bcdeeks.com or on Facebook.