Rainforest Writers Retreat ~ A Little bit of Heaven

 

This is my latest novel. The first offering in BWL Publishing Inc's Paranormal Canadiana Collection.

I spent a few days in early March at the Rainforest Writers Retreat at Lake Quinault in the Washington Rainforest. It is a wonderful magical place and to spend 4 days surrounded by other writers and just soaking in the creative juices was amazing. It's a pilgrimage I try to make every year, but lately it hasn't happened as often as I would like. 

I fly to Portland OR and meet my dear friend. Then we road trip up to Lake Quinault where we meet up with the other writers who are taking in Session 3 of the retreat. Patrick Swenson (Fairweather Press) hosts the retreat which runs for 4 weeks in late February and into  mid March. It is such fun, chasing tree squids and enjoying the raucous Cabin Party on Saturday night. I usually managed to get in about 20,000 words, but this year I didn't have a ms on the go as my latest novel (see above) released on March 1. So instead, this year I took in more of the social aspects and didn't spend most of the time in my room glued to my computer. And this year I also managed to write some poetry. 

I got to be a bar fly on Saturday night- enjoying laughs and some new cocktails : Sidecars, green tea shots (which incidentally had NO green tea in it at all.)

I let the pictures speak for themselves.

    

April - Is it Spring yet by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #April #Spring

 

When I was outside today, the wind was so gusty, I thought we had been blown back to March. I don't know if anyone else feels that winter has lasted long enough. At least it's not snowing again.

Spring is one of my favorite times. At least the daffodils are blooming but not in my yard. My flowers are mainly roses and peonies. The peonies have breeched the ground and soon will be larger and perhaps bloom. My dogwood has finally begun to leaf and can't wait until the tree looks white with flowers.

I would take pictures but looking at shoots isn't colorful  and the roses are a month or more from blooming. Last summer wasn't great for them since it was so dry.  Butt enough complaining. Spring will arrive in it's time.

I'm finally on the last draft of the book that seems to have taken forever with a few spells of bad health to halt the progress. The horror writer ahs demised and the case is almost solved. My next book will be a romance triggered by a phone call from an old friend who called after about 20 years. This may also trigger some other romances featuring a phone call. I'll have to wait until they pop into my head.

Beauty vs Devastation, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

To purchase these award-winning books, click here:
https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

If you recall from my previous blogs, Central Ontario experienced one heck of a winter - true-North Canadian-style. We've had snow, more snow, ice, freezing rain, more snow... And now it appears that "Spring" is going to be a prolonged extension of Winter. 

A couple of weeks ago, we experienced a major ice storm that wreaked havoc everywhere. Roads were closed, hydro lines went down - not just from ice accumulation but from trees falling on them. Conditions were so bad that plow/salter trucks were ordered to 'stay put' as the roads were treacherous even for the salt trucks. Power outages affected over one million homes. Wind gusts were 80 km/hr (50 miles/hr) which, combined with the ice, knocked down trees and over 2,300 hydro poles. According to The Weather Network, some areas received 25 mm (one inch) of freezing rain over 35 hours and six regions declared a State of Emergency. Almost 5,000 hydro workers, including those brought from other provinces, dealt with repairing downed lines and restoring power. 

Freezing rain on top of snow

The poor wee frozen buds.

Good thing this fellow's not real.

Schools were closed due to lack of electricity. (FYI, schools in this region experienced more 'snow days' in one season than the last five years combined. A 'snow day' results in school buses being cancelled due to weather).

Gas stations were closed due to lack of power.

Grocery stores were closed. (Frozen items eventually thawed and had to be disposed of).

Some Convenience stores were open - cash only.

Roads were obstructed with downed trees and fallen branches. Even four days after the storm passed through, travelling from 'A' to 'B' may take you through 'C,' 'D' and 'E.'

For me, it was a very long and taxing six days without hydro. 

Think about it. Six days without running water. Without flicking on a light switch. Without refrigeration. Without showering.

And even worse:  six days without FLUSHING THE TOILET. 

Okay - you can flush the toilet, but you have to use an entire 4-litre bottle to eliminate your #2. And guess what? When the grocery stores finally had their power restored (and you were still waiting for your power) - all the bottled water was sold out.

And if you needed fuel to power your home generator, the line-up for an operating gas station was about 100 cars long, or 90-minutes.

Finally, when the power was restored, we ventured out to survey the damage to our 10-acre property.  Trees in the front of the house lost some branches, but none were snapped or uprooted. Temperatures were rising and the snow was melting so we headed to the back, feeling quite pleased with our 'sturdy' trees. 

And it went downhill from there.

Spider?

We did discover a few beauties, though. 

Do you see it? Check out the next picture.

The CLAW!

The hole in the tree.

Hmmm, a goblin face above the claw-root?

But how do they grow this way?

And then there was this... 

A tree giraffe?

Three dens... didn't stick around to see what animal lives here.

And just down the road, this wee girl was spotted...

Photo credit to Nicole St Amant.
Residents here call her "Mary Moose."

Life is always an adventure when you live in rural Ontario, or as some people call it, "The Boonies." But if you're looking for an adventure that doesn't involve cleaning up 10 acres of downed trees, pick up your copy of the award-winning Twisted Climb series. Enjoy!

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, 2022
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
Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)
Instagram @authorjckavanagh

Writer’s Block by Paul Doucette

https://bookswelove.com/doucette-h-paul/

Hi again.

Writer’s block. The bane and nemesis of all writers. It comes at the worst of times in

the writing process, causing varying degrees of anxiety and frustration. That is the

downside and, yes, I am suggesting there is also an upside.

It might be easier to see this if you remember the ‘old saw’, “can’t see the forest for

the trees.’. This particular adage could have been coined with writers in mind. After all,

what is writer’s block? Simply put, an abrupt stop; a brick wall that suddenly appears in our

mind. For myself, and I suspect many other writers, it comes at when we reach an

impasse in our story telling when we no longer see what comes, what happens next, and

so on.

We try to break free by re-reading the story so far in the hope that it will remove the

‘block’ and reveal the next step. In my case, this does not work very often, and usually

ends up with me re-writing parts which just messes up the work and adds more work and

frustration.

I have found a solution that works for me: step away; get a cup of tea; pick up a

book by one of my favourite authors and find a quiet park bench. Put my story out of mind,

relegating it to my subconscious and let it ‘stew’ for a while. Sometimes this process may

take a few days or even a few weeks, but when it is ready to return it usually does so with

a clearer vision of what I want to tell.

If you are finding yourself struggling with a story, I recommend you find your own

escape from the ‘writer’s block’ trap. Take walks with friends or alone; read; go for drives

on the back roads of your town, anything, but remember to leave the story at home. I think

you will be surprised by what your mind will be like when your story decides it’s ready to

come back.

I hope this makes some sense to you and is helpful. At the very least, you have

enjoyed a short hiatus and an airing of your thoughts.

Good luck and good writing.

Until next time,

Paul

• Doucette, H. Paul - BWL Publishing Inc.

Awards Time, Even Better Shared

 

                                                                 My BWL author page

In a gala award ceremony in Bellingham, Washington, three of our BWL authors' novels were honored by the Chanticleer International Book Awards this month. 

The Dante Rossetti Young Adult Fiction Award First Place went to the book I co-authored with my friend Jude Pittman! It's the Newfoundland and Salem, Massachusetts-set tale of family love and rescue during the Salem Witch Trials. The Title? Spectral Evidence. 

The Chaucer Historical Fiction Award First Place went to Liz Sevchuk Armstrong for the first book of her Hotspur Trilogy, To Remain Vigilant, chronicling the last kings of the Plantagenet Dynasty of England and the brave knight, Sir Harry Percy, who questioned their claim to be above the law. "Sound familiar?" says Liz, observing how the past has deep relevance to our own day and politics. 

Liz's novel

PS: Sir Harry is a DISH, and gets a wonderful love story!

The Chanticleer Book Awards recognize outstanding books across a variety of genres. The group sponsors a yearly conference where writers gather for workshops, networking, and community. And of course, the awards ceremony. This year's keynote speaker was renowned thriller author J.D. Barker. It was more international than ever with authors from Australia, the U.S., Scotland, Canada and India gathering and enjoying each other's company. The conference truly presented a world view of writers and publishing. 

Liz and I were grateful to be among our fellow wordsmiths. We enjoyed representing our now award-winning novels and BWL!