I thought I’d post today in case it gets a lil crazy to get online tomorrow.
A Canuck Christmas
I thought I’d post today in case it gets a lil crazy to get online tomorrow.
A Canuck Christmas
For my blog, I came up with the idea of listing my 12 favourite Christmas songs.
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!
Muah!
In Canuckville, we’re still without snow (just because I said that, a blizzard will whisk through here). We got dumped on at the end of October and enjoyed the white fluffy stuff for a couple of weeks since the temp was hovering around -12 Celsius. Then a warm spell wooshed in and stole all our snow. Do I sound like I’m complaining? Maybe a little bit. I do enjoy walking through a winter wonderland with the Mals. They are arctic freighting dogs, so snow for them is an exciting time.
Anyhoo, this is when I list some of my fave Christmas movies. In the spirit of the twelve days, I’ll supply twelve that I’ve enjoyed over the years. Keep in mind I’m not a big watcher of Christmas movies. These are ones that stayed with me through my youth.
What’cha Watching?
And her name is Frankie Drake. The producers of Murdoch Mysteries have developed a new TV series starring a female sleuth and her savvy sidekicks. Follow Frankie, her partner Trudy, morality officer Mary, and morgue attendant Flo, as they take on cases the police won’t handle, or can’t handle, in 1920s Toronto.
Be on the lookout for reporter Ernest Hemingway, who always wants the inside scoop on the latest scandal, and Nora Amory, Frankie’s unorthodox, back-from-the-dead mother.
Airing after Murdoch Mysteries on CBC on Monday nights, The Frankie Drake Mysteries is a new series not to be missed, as the women take on Toronto and its criminals.
This is a great place developed by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, creators of Writing Helping Writers and their most famous tool for a writer out there–the Emotion Thesaurus.
One Stop for Writers
One Stop for Writers is what it says. You have access to all of the thesaurus’ written by Becca and Angela (besides the Emotion Thesaurus), such as: colour and pattern, physical features, setting (urban or rural), shapes, textures, emotion amplifiers, and a host of others. All are a click away as you write. Even better? Members get first crack at the newest books developed by Becca and Angela. Currently, they are working on an occupation thesaurus, and when it’s finished, as a member I get access to it before the general public does.
Heads Up!
Looking for a new author? Enjoy contemporary romance set in Canada? Why not give V.J. Allison’s Stricken a buy?
Blurb: Love deserves a second chance…
Ewan Campbell once thought he had it all – he was a rising star in the real estate field, popular with his peers, and engaged to his employer’s cousin, the shy and quiet little Marti Marlowe.
A heartbeat later, he was alone – shattered, confused and suicidal. Why had Marti walked away from him?
Years later, in another place, and a new chapter of Ewan’s life, fate brings them face to face again. They start building a friendship, but Ewan wants more. He wants Marti as his wife, and she seems to prefer their current status as friends.
Can he convince her that taking another chance at their failed future will be the start of the best part of their lives?
Stricken is available at: Extasy Books, Amazon, Amazon.ca, Kobo, Smashwords, iBooks, and Nook.
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th Month
Remembrance Day
Based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by author Louise Erdrich, this book store is a great place to shop for Native American and First Nations fiction such as Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend by Erika Wurth, Dirty Copper by Jim Northrup, and a host of other exciting titles. If you’re looking to learn more about the Anishaanbe and Dakota people, try the non-fiction selection, including Chippewa Customs by Frances Densmore, Dakota Life in the Upper Mid-West by Samuel W. Pond, and lots more. There is also a great selection of memoirs and biographies: Crazy Dave by Basil Johnston, Portage Lake by Maude Kegg, and too many others to name.
Birch Bark Books
Available for purchase is a selection of Indigenous jewellery, crafts, and art. The store also hosts reading and book release gatherings.
If you can’t get to the Twin Cities, check out Birch Bark Books online shop. If what you desire isn’t available, contact the staff, because they’ll order it for you.
Although I’ve never visited the store in person, the knowledgeable staff provide me with great service through their online store.
Waterlily by Ella Cara Deloria
I’m taking a wee break before starting Sue Harrison‘s Storyteller Trilogy, because something else caught my eye while I was browsing through Kobo the other day. Actually, two books caught my eye. The first is what’s currently in my e-reader, Waterlily, by the late Ella Cara Deloria.
Written in the early 1940s and published well after her death, Ms. Deloria spent a lot of time recording Sioux oral history and legends. Her novel is written in the spirit of traditional storytelling. Only half of her novel made it to publication, because Western books focus on plot, while cultural storytellers weave a winding trail filled with wisdom, teachings, and learning. The publisher felt it was better to have a true plot. Personally, I’d rather read the full manuscript. Plot doesn’t interest me when I’m immersed in traditional stories or listening to a storyteller.
The novel reads as if one is sitting in a tipi on the plains, cozying up to the fire while an elder shares a tale about everyday life for Indigenous women from long ago. I highly recommend. It’s a great story with strong, vivid female characters.
Here is the blurb: When Blue Bird and her grandmother leave their family’s camp to gather beans for the long, threatening winter, they inadvertently avoid the horrible fate that befalls the rest of the family. Luckily, the two women are adopted by a nearby Dakota community and are eventually integrated into their kinship circles. Ella Cara Deloria’s tale follows Blue Bird and her daughter, Waterlily, through the intricate kinship practices that created unity among her people.
Waterlily offers a captivating glimpse into the daily life of the nineteenth-century Sioux. This new Bison Books edition features an introduction by Susan Gardner and an index.
Buy links: Kobo, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, and Google Books.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Ivory Carver Trilogy by Sue Harrison
I’m starting another trilogy, this one by Sue Harrison. She has two trilogies available, one being the Ivory Carver and the other The Storyteller. I’m knee deep in Mother Earth, Father Sky, the first book in the Ivory Carver trilogy.
So far this is an amazing read. Ms. Harrison breathes life into all of her characters. You can hear them speak and experience their many emotions. Her vivid descriptions draw you back in time to a place long forgotten on North America’s harsh northwest coast. I highly recommend her books. You won’t be disappointed.
Blurb: In a frozen time before history, in a harsh and beautiful land near the top of the world, womanhood comes cruelly and suddenly to beautiful young Chagak.
Surviving the brutal massacre of her tribe, she sets out across the icy waters off America’s northwest coast on an astonishing odyssey that will reveal to Chagak powerful secrets of the earth and sky and the mysteries of love and loss.
The books can be purchased as a series or individually.
Buy Links for the Ivory Carver Trilogy: Amazon.ca, Chapters/Indigo, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and Google.
Buy Links for the Storyteller Trilogy: Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Kobo, Google, iBooks, and Barnes and Noble.
Heads Up!
If you like small town contemporary romance about close-knit families, pick up a book by Nancy Stopper. In January of 2017, her debut novella for the Oak Grove Series, set in a fictional town in Pennsylvania, hit the book shelves.
The Oak Grove series revolves around the Bennett family: Mom, Dad, eldest son Lucas, middle son Michael, youngest son Joey, and the baby of the family, the only daughter Rachel. You’ll meet a host of interesting people, from friends and shop keepers to villains and those who keep the town fed and safe. Nancy paints a brilliant picture with her prose, whisking you to a special place where a cup of fresh coffee and a delicious doughnut from the local bakery hang-out invite you to take a seat and immerse yourself in Oak Grove.
There are a lot of great bands out there today who write some great ballads. So if you’re looking for some inspiration during writing time, or are a reader who enjoys hard rock, here are some recommendations from my own personal playlist.
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!
Brave Beginnings by Ruth Ann Nordin
I read the first book, Restoring Hope, in Ruth Ann Nordin’s Native American Romance series and was impressed enough by the hero’s sister that I purchased Brave Beginnings, Julia’s story. And yes, I’ll be buying the last in the trilogy, Bound by Honor, Bound by Love.
Here is the blurb: Julia Milton has said good-bye to two men in her life. Ernest who was a part of her safe and familiar world, a childhood friend who shared her background. Then there was Chogan who stirred her passion but came from the Mandan tribe–a man who lived a life foreign to her own.
How can she possibly choose between two good men? Will she choose the safe and familiar path or embrace her passions? And what will happen when the loser doesn’t like her choice?
Buy Links: Smashwords, Kobo, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks.
Anishinaabekwe in 1901
When I’m reading, I flip between fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is what I take to bed before going to sleep. While on my lunch hour, I prefer to delve into non-fiction. The MMIW (missing and murdered Indigenous women) is a great problem in Canada. To find out more, I encourage you to visit this web site.
I’ve been reading as much as I can about the MMWI and have three books recommendations for those who are interested.
I did a post on my favourite ’80s power ballads. This time I’m listing the best grunge ballads from number one to twelve.
Get out your flannel…
After doing a post about my favourite heavy metal ballads, I have to include power ballads from the 80s. I’m more of a “b” side kind of lady, so my list isn’t filled with popular songs. I have quite a few, so this is a list of twenty.
I Wanna Rock
Destiny Mine by Janelle Taylor
I’ve been enjoying Janelle Taylor. She has a few books that star an Indigenous heroine. I’m only four chapters into the novel and liking what I’ve read so far.
Blurb: By the age of 20, the maiden called Kionee can ride, fight and hunt better than most men. Yet, she feels a secret loneliness knowing she can never marry or know a lover’s touch. Until an extraordinary vision brings her face to face with Stalking Wolf, the sensual half-breed whose passion will set her free, yet whose love can never be hers.
Set against the majestic Wyoming wilderness, this is the haunting tale of a woman caught between honor and desire. . .and of her gradual awakening to the bittersweet joys of love.
Interested? Here are some buying links: Kobo, Amazon, Amazon.ca, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks,
I enjoy spooky vampire movies. So I thought I’d do a post about the best songs, in my opinion, about vampires and Dracula.
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!
In my last post about heavy metal ballads, I mentioned the song by Disturbed was a cover. Sometimes a band does such a great job putting their own stamp on a tune that it blows away the original. Here are a few of my faves…
I Wanna Rock
Maggie Blackbird 