January named for the Roman God Janus

 

To find more of my books please click on the image above.

January, named for the Roman God Janus.

January, like Janus, stands at the gateway of the new year. He has one foot still in the departed year  while his other is firmly planted in the new young year. The god Janus was a dual faced figure with one face looking into the past and one turned toward the future and what it may bring. January is much like this Roman god. The threshold of the new year promised opportunity and adventure and so we embrace the forward looking aspect of January. But what is made new has it's origins in what has gone before. With this dual outlook, we can look back on the past year and analyse what we did that was positive and then the things we would perhaps prefer to forget. The forward facing figure reminds us not to dwell in the past but to look forward to what is to come. 

Janus was a god of transition, much as January is the transition from the old year to the new. A gateway god to guard the gateway of the year. January is a  now you see it, now you don't type of month. It blows hot with the ubiquitous January thaw, then it changes over night and the north wind howls with the snow demon's breath while the mercury drops to frigid depths. The flowers of spring and summer hide deep in the earth under their protecting blanket of snow ignoring the fickleness of January weather.

For me, January means the returning of the light, the strengthening of the sun as it makes it slow steady way from the southern skies toward the northern horizons. The light that began its return in late December at the Winter Solstice continues to strengthen throughout January. I'm not saying January is my favourite month...I leave that honour to May and October...but this first month of a new year is always welcome as it heralds new beginnings and the opportunity to shed old habits and emotions that no longer serve me. 

January is also the time of wassailing. The lovely ancient ritual of taking cider (either alcoholic or not) out to the orchard trees and sing to them while sipping hot cider and then offering cider to the trees in the hopes they will provide us with a bumper crop of fruit in the fall. I find it's a magical experience to engage with the nature of the trees and in some small way communicate with them. To stand with one foot in this world and the other in the realm where all things are equal and sentient.

Until next month,

Be well, be happy  

     

Finding a Genre by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Genres

 

Finding a genre for a new book can sometimes be interesting and a struggle. At the moment I'm working on a medical romance where both main characters are Pediatric doctors. She's medical and he's surgical. The pair have two children nearly the same age. He is the father of her son. He is a widower. They did their residencies at the same hospital and were planning on marriage. His father's death and the appearance of an old girl friend change matters. His old girlfriend becomes pregnant and threatens to make their relationship public. He marries her and leaves his residency. Several years later, his wife dies and he completes his residency and moved to the area where he and Lynn had planned to set their practice. The children meet in kindergarten and are so look-alike they could be twins. And thus the fun begins. Now this could be a plain romance. There are elements that could bring a mystery into the story. It could be a woman's fiction story. What did I decide on. I'm not sure.

The Canadian Flag, eh? by J.C. Kavanagh

To purchase your copy (or all three!) of this award-winning series, click here:
https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/series/the-twisted-climb

The flag is only 61 years old. That, in itself, is hard to believe as Canada, the country, will be 161 years old in July.

So, what's up with that?

Canada's history dates back hundreds of years. After many battles between France and Britain and the U.S. for control of the 'new land,' Britain prevailed and Canada's unofficial flag, from the 17th Century until 1871, was the United Kingdom's Union Jack. After that, a newly designed flag, the Red Ensign flag representing the Dominion of Canada, was unveiled, one which added Canada's official Coat of Arms.

The United Kingdom's Royal Union Flag, commonly referred to as the Union Jack.

The Red Ensign flag, commonly used at sea and land since the 1870s.

It wasn't until the 1920s, after World War I, and again after World War II, that the Canadian government moved forward with the development of a new flag. There was much opposition to the idea of a new flag, especially one that did not reflect British history. Nevertheless, three prospective flag proposals were presented to the government in 1963. The idea was to have a new flag designed and approved before Canada's 100th anniversary of Confederation in 1967.

Canada's flag committee, 1964. Hanging above the men are some of the proposed flags,
selected from the thousands of submissions from Canadians country-wide.

After much discussion, the committee shortlisted three finalists.

Dubbed the "Pearson Pennant," this was the then-Prime Minister's recommended flag.

This version included Britain's Union Jack and France's historic golden fleurs-de-lys.

And the winner... inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, which was itself inspired by the red and white stripes of the Canada General Service Medal (1866 - 1870).
The 13 points of the maple leaf were later reduced to 11 points as to be seen more clearly from afar.

The new flag was officially recognized and raised in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, on February 15, 1965. Then Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson marked the occasion with these words: "May the land over which this new flag flies remain united in freedom and justice... sensitive, tolerant and compassionate towards all."

February 1965 - raising the new Canadian flag for the first time
in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario.
Photo credit to the National Film Board of Canada.

If the name 'Lester B. Pearson' rings a bell, the international airport in Toronto, Ontario, was named after him. Mr. Pearson served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1958 to 1968 and was Prime Minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.

There you have it. This info could very well contain a winning answer for all you trivia buffs out there.

Question for you trivia people: In which country is The Twisted Climb series' Dream World / Un-World located?

I do hope that this new year, 2026, brings peace, compassion, joy and prosperity to you and yours. 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
https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/series/the-twisted-climb

 

Joanie on a Pony Welcomes All to Mardi Gras!

 

Find my latest books here!

Have you ever been to New Orleans? I am discovering new treasures with every visit. Mardi Gras is a season here, not a day! It begins every year on January 6th, which happens to be the birthday of the city's unofficial patron saint, Joan of Arc, also known as Jeanne d'Arc and Joanie on a Pony, after the wonderful statue that was a gift from France to the city.

Joanie on her pony

The Krewe de Jeanne D'Arc starts off the parade season with a walking tour through the streets of the French Quarter, led by a lovely lass as Joan...

Joan of 2026, on birthday 614

The parade features scenes from The Maid of Orleans's life, her accomplishments on behalf of France. Marching bands, both 15th century and modern, dancing gargoyles, a dragon, angels, French peasants and plenty of wrong-minded clerics to boo at! They all pass out lovely home-made gifts to parade goers. 

Joan's Angels

Did you know that St. Joan had to wait 500 years for the church to declare her a saint? By that time the suffragists had adopted her, so, yes, they were represented at the parade...

And it looks like New Orleans has decided not to wait another 500 years to declare our own Saint Dolly Parton!

Krewe of Dolly, founded 2020

Happy Mardi Gras from your very own (self-described!) Mardi Gras Museum Queen of New Orleans...

 

Muddling Through a First Draft

                              Please visit the BWL website for book and author information

Last summer, I started a new novel. I got half way through the first draft by Christmas and set the manuscript aside for the holidays. My New Year’s Resolution is to finish the first draft this spring.

The novel’s story begins in Czechia aka Czech Republic three months before the start of World War One. I chose this time period to make use of the research I’d done for my last novel, A Killer Whisky, which was set during WWI. This era also ties the new book to my maternal grandparents, the inspirations for the story. They emigrated from Czechia (then part of the Austria-Hungary empire) shortly after The Great War and settled in Canada. 

Matous & Emilie Slovacek 

Unlike A Killer Whisky, this novel-in-progress isn’t a whodunit mystery. A murder will take place – I think – but it won’t happen until later in the book. My original plan was to kill off the victim at the book’s one quarter mark, prompting my protagonist and her friends to escape to North America to avoid the police and imminent war. But as my writing of the story progressed, I didn’t want to rush the killing and stumbled upon a different first quarter turning point. My characters remained in Czechia and hatched a criminal plan, but it still didn’t lead to murder half way through. Their prospective victim was also becoming fun, in an evil way, and I wanted to keep him in the story.  

Before my Christmas break, I outlined enough future action to take place in Czechia that I’m pretty sure my characters won’t cross the Atlantic Ocean before the end of the book. There are advantages to keeping them in one location. Sending them elsewhere would mean creating a new supporting cast and researching another historical setting. Instead, I can develop my existing support characters more deeply and give them larger roles in the story.

My Czechia setting of Karlovy Vary will also become more important. A positive will be the opportunity more richly describe Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad in German), a beautiful spa city known for its hot springs and healing mineral waters. Goethe, Beethoven, Chopin, and Peter the Great were frequent visitors. A negative is that I don’t live there. I visited Karlovy Vary thirteen years ago but feel a need to return to check out the locations in my story and learn more about the spa city’s history. 

View of Karlovy Vary from Diana Lookout 

So, this spring, I’ll be adding a week or so in Czechia to a holiday in southern Germany. In Karlovy Vary, I’ll soak in some spa baths, drink the (extremely salty) mineral water from a classic sippy cup, visit the history museum, trace my characters’ footsteps on forested hill walks, stroll the river promenade, dine in the luxury hotel murder site, and absorb the city’s baroque architecture that hasn’t changed since the era of my story.  Not a bad incentive to finish the first draft of a book. 

Sippy Cups for sale - (above) Drinking hot mineral water from a sippy cup

Susan on the promenade