Is it Spring yet? by Nancy M Bell

 

To explore more of Nancy's work please click on the cover above.

This is the cover for my next novel which is releasing in April of 2025. Night at the Legislature is the first book in the new collection of paranormal novels being released by BWL Publishing Inc. This collection joins the Canadian Historical Brides and the Canadian Historical Mysteries collections already available.

But now to my point. Is it spring yet? I know, I know,  you're all thinking 'what else could she expect? she lives in central Alberta'. This is the time of year when I get antsy, wanting to buy flowers, bedding plants, bulbs for the garden. Only problem is there is about three feet of snow over my gardens right now and the temperature is in the -20 degrees Celsius. Yup, no digging in the dirt for me for  awhile. Somehow, I always manage to make it through the dark days when the sun is sinking further and further to the south, the hours of daylight shortening with each passing day. It's not Christmas that I look forward to (although that is of course part of it) but the winter solstice. The moment when the Holly King at the height of his reign gives over to the Oak King. 

Slowly, the light returns, the days getting longer and the sun strengthening. Gradually, the sun will make its journey into the northern skies, the sunsets will slant shadows in different directions. Winter will release her strangle hold and the snow will begin to melt, dripping in diamond tears from the trees and the eaves of houses. Creeks and streams will find their voices again as snow melt swells their ranks. The bright chatter and music of running water will fill the air...and finally...the earth will warm enough that snow drops and prairie crocus will push toward the light , followed by daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. The brilliant gold of forsythia will wave beside the pearly grey pussy willows.

But for now, I'm stuck in the middle of February with its frosty nights silvered with moonlight  and starlight. While I watch Orion stalk across the eastern skies headed toward the west as the dawn light approaches. And the jewels of the planets burning in the cold winter skies, somehow more sparkling than in the warmth of summer. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and if I'm lucky enough to see it before he slips beneath the horizon, Mercury. 

Winter can be spectacular with motes of fairy dust floating in the sunlight as the moisture in the air freezes in the breeze. Snow reflecting the moonlight and starlight. Tall evergreens mantled in heavy frost like hoary giants guarding us.

But, oh spring...spring...the renewal of life, the return of the light...young animals starting their lives, the song of birds growing ever stronger. The return of the hawks and geese and that harbinger of spring the robin. My heart years for spring in the midst of February. So...is it spring yet?

Until next month, be happy, be wise, be healthy 

    

'til... something freezes over, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

To purchase the award-winning Twisted Climb series, click here:

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

I live in central Ontario, Canada - where winter is a months-long celebration for skiers, snowmobilers, and outdoor enthusiasts. However, last winter (2023/24) was not the typical celebration-type weather. No no no. We saw precious little snow because the temperatures were higher than normal, which means for Canadians, it's t-shirt weather. 10° Celsius (50° Fahrenheit) is a balmy temperature for us hardy souls. And because December/January/February seemed like a prolonged Autumn, I refer to it as "the winter that wasn't." 

This year is a totally different story. It snows and snows and snows and snows... and gets colder and colder and colder... well, you get my point. 

Will it ever stop? 

My partner, Ian, clearing a path to the bird feeder - December 2024

Baby it's cold outside :) 
-21° Celsius but with the wind-chill, feeling like -30°
(-6° Fahrenheit feeling like -22° F)

January snowbank on our driveway

Map of the 5 Great Lakes surrounding the border of Canada and the U.S.

But will the Great Lakes freeze over?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as of January 25, approximately 23% of the Great Lakes were covered in ice. That breaks down to:

Lake Ontario: 15% ice coverage

Lake Erie: 85% (was 28% on Jan. 15. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, averaging 19 metres, or 62 ft. In mid-January, a 663' freighter hauling wheat from Buffalo, New York, to Sarnia, Ontario, got stuck in the rapidly building ice. An ice-breaker ship had to carve a path to 'rescue' the freighter and free it from the 4-foot thick ice. The boat and crew were not harmed!)

Lake Michigan: 22%

Lake Huron: 25%

Lake Superior: 9% (Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, averaging 147 metres or 483 ft. The deepest part is 406 metres, or 1,332 ft.)

Apparently the above stats, with the exception of Lake Erie, are normal for end-of-January.

By the time you read this blog, the lakes should be 40 or 45% covered in ice. That is, if the temperatures remain steady. Another 'arctic blast' may drastically, and for the better, increase the amount of ice building over the lakes. Higher water levels are better for shorelines, shipping lanes, and marine life. The last time the Great Lakes almost froze over was 2014 and 2017. During last year's winter (2023/24), the average ice coverage was less than 5% across the Great Lakes - a significant drop since the NOAA began recording ice statistics in 1979, and sadly, confirmation about the negative effect of climate change. You see, it's the melting ice that contributes to higher water levels. Without ice cover, snow simply evaporates on the lakes. 

I'm standing about 100 feet from shore on the partially frozen Georgian Bay,
adjacent to Lake Huron.

'Ice wave' formations - where waves turn into ice (Georgian Bay)

Sun setting over the frozen shoreline of Georgian Bay.
Blue Mountains of Collingwood, Ontario, are in the background.

My home base in central Ontario has been blasted with about 140 cm of snow since December. For my American readers, that's a little over 55 inches, making our property a true winter wonderland. Kudos to my partner, Ian, who has the good fortune (?) of being 'in charge' of snow clearing :)

Fortunately for the characters in The Twisted Climb trilogy, the story does not occur during winter months - so they don't encounter snow or ice monsters. What they do encounter, though, will bring chills up and down your spine. Check it out! 

Until next time, stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :) 

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Instagram @authorjckavanagh

Well, I did it. It's done. I got my book published. by Tobias Robbins

 

 

Available now at your favorite digital store!

And in Print from Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Ingram

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0228634644

Well, I did it. It's done. I got my book published. 

 

I am honestly still in a state of shock about it, like it isn't real yet. 

 

You spend just about every day for the past handful of years thinking about something then suddenly it's just finished. It feels weird. I can't escape the feeling that I'm forgetting to do something, but nope, there is nothing to work on, no revisions, no plot problems to solve, and no formatting. It's similar to when you work several long shifts at your job all in a row then you get a day off and wander around in a stooper looking for something to do. Free time is a new sensation. 

 

I am grateful though. So many people helped me get here and I owe them big time. Everything good in my life is the product of the assistance I was lucky enough to get from other people. It's not really my success, it's more like "our" success. Now to help make their efforts worth it, I want to push the book as much as possible. 

 

In case you haven't heard, my book is a sci-fi/fantasy, geo-political drama, telling interconnecting stories through a variety collection of ancient documents that span the full history of their lost civilization. 

 

And if that is up your alley it’s now available in ebook format. 

What the World Needs Now

 

Find my books here...

Happy Valentine's Day! Romantic love is usually spotlighted, but I like to think of the holiday as celebrating all kinds of love. 

I have been surrounded all my life with love from my parents, siblings and extended family. 

my dad visits his Irish cousin Bridget--cousin love!

 My husband and I then made a family of our own who we love, as the Irish say, "beyond the beyond." 

newest member of our family and his library

Friends come in to become family of choice.

my friend Maria treasuring my mom as her own

We love what we've chosen to do to make the world more beautiful...our callings. And the beloved teachers who helped us find them.

my sister Kate...a gifted Art teacher

We love the beauty of our country and the living creatures that share it with us and become companions.

my brother Dave introduces horse love to his daughter

And of course, a love of story is what we all share.

A champion reader...my Aunt Cece

So let's celebrate all the loves in our lives dear readers. The world will never have enough love.

My Book Launch is Planned

 

                                        Please click this link for book and author information

I've picked the date and venue for the official launch of my new novel, A Killer Whisky. Tuesday, March 25th, in the RGO Treehouse at cSPACE, Marda Loop. The Treehouse is a whimsical name for the 4th-floor meeting room in Calgary's creative arts incubator. I held my last book launch in the Treehouse and the views are beautiful, especially at sunset. Thanks to the spring forward to daylight savings time, we'll be there again for sunset and twilight for A Killer Whisky's launch. 

City view from the Treehouse at twilight

Signing a copy of my book for a friend at my last launch

I'm planning a launch program similar to the ones at my last few book launches, with a twist. I'll do a PowerPoint presentation showing photographs related to A Killer Whisky's time frame and setting locations, interspersed with readings from the novel. Some photos will be images of Calgary circa 1918; others will be photos I've recently taken of 100-plus-year-old buildings featured in the story.    

A character in my novel moves into an apartment in the Hicks Block, Tuxedo Park. In the 1970s, the building was renamed the Kelly Block. My friend, writer and literary historian Shaun Hunter (crossing the street in the photo) will introduce me at the launch. 

It's customary at book launches to serve wine and light refreshments. Since "whisky" is in my novel's title and plays a large role in the story, a twist to the beverage service will be whisky instead of wine. Attendees can try a "wee dram" of whisky or a signature whisky cocktail. One of my tasks for the next month will be to develop cocktails named for my novel's characters. It's a tough job, but I'm up for the challenge. 
   

 

Another task will be to continue to work on online promotion to promote the book launch. If you missed Shaun's interview with me, check out her blog post.   

On Feb 22, 10 am PT, everyone's invited to my online reading and conversation with two other authors from Sisters in Crime Canada West. It's a free event, but you need to register here.

The week before my Calgary book launch, I'll get to practice my PowerPoint presentation at the Pincher Creek Library in Southern Alberta. I've titled this talk "War, Pandemic, & Prohibition: how historic events inspired my novel." Unfortunately, the library doesn't allow liquor service, so this event will reflect the novel's Prohibition theme.  

Cheers! I hope to raise a glass with some of you at these events.