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Sunday, July 27, 2014

Almost Time

DEPENDENT RELEASES IN TWO DAYS.

TWO.

JUST TWO.



Have you put it on your Goodreads to-read list yet?

Pre-ordered your copy? (<---Links to the left)

Booked LAUNCH DAY (AUG 2nd at Chapters Victoria,BC on Douglas 12-2) off so you can come?

Checked out all of the amazing Blog tour posts?

Can't wait!

Brenda

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Countdown is ON!

On the shores of the Strait of Georgia
So we are now in the Comox area, living in a hotel as our house renos are finished. It's beautiful here...and we've already dunked our feet in Pacific waters to make it official.

But DEPENDENT releases in TWELVE DAYS! And my release party is booked!

Are you in Victoria on August 2nd? Mark your calendar and come to Chapters on Douglas! More details about this and other signings coming up as they are finalized.

And if you are a blogger and want to feature DEPENDENT on your blog...sign up HERE.

If you haven't pre-ordered DEPENDENT, and you would like to, you can find it on any major internet book sales platform. Check out the links to the left, or go into your local bookstore and request it!

Thank you so much for your support in this wonderful adventure. You are all amazing!

Brenda

Monday, July 14, 2014

Writing Process Blog Tour

Fifteen days to DEPENDENT's release day! Today I'm participating in a writing process blog tour, after being invited by my friend and agent mate Yelena Casale. You can find out more about Yelena on her blog, www.yelenacasale.com.  You can also find her on twitter as @Yelena_Casale.

The tour consists of four basic questions about my writing process. Enjoy!

* * *

What am I working on?

Right now? Not much. As this blog goes live my family and I have (hopefully) driven about 4000km across the country and have about 1000 left to go. But when I get a chance, I’m working on two different projects. The first is a sequel to my self-published YA historical fiction (TREASURE IN THE FLAME) now being called TREASURE 2. The second story I’m working on is a new adult/adult fiction about a college student whose military family are posted to Europe. It centers around the meaning of ‘Home’, which is something that military families often have difficulty defining with their frequent moves. I can personally attest to this, as we work our way to 'home' number 10...

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Hard question! When I write, I work hard to convey the emotional responses my characters have, not just the physical. DEPENDENT especially. I started writing it as a way to process my own fears, using Ellen’s (the MC’s) emotions to work through my own. It’s very raw, and I don’t hide behind muted language.

I also have a very Canadian bent to my writing and I draw from my eight years as an Air Force officer and my seventeen years as a military spouse when writing. I am a huge supporter of our armed services. And

Why do I write what I do?

I love to create my own worlds and rules when writing fantasy, so it’s ironic that my first traditionally published work has a more literary bent. DEPENDENT was written because it needed to be written. It was forty pages that wouldn’t shut up in my head…and eventually became a novel. I wrote it because I wanted others to see what military spouses deal with every single day, without fanfare. Military spouses do it because they love their husbands and wives. But sometimes they forget to protect the spark that makes them individuals. It’s really easy to do in a military relationship, when your spouse’s career HAS to come first. But it’s possible. And I think it’s essential.

How does my writing process work?


I usually start with a setting. I have no idea why it works that way, but I write from a picture in my head, and that picture grows from a place. Then I add characters, and a situation. But I rarely outline anything. I just start to write, and see where it takes me. My self published novel (a historical fiction) emerged from a walk through a historical village in eastern Canada—the scent of wood-smoke and fresh mown hay. It’s a very strong image in my mind. From that I added a local legend and worked from there. A month later I had a finished draft.

Other than that...I'm a complete pantser! I don't outline unless it's to keep dates and people straight in my head. I have at least three notebooks on the go at once, and I write little points down here and there, but it's more to remind myself of things I want to revisit later on. It works. But some people would shake their head at my apparent disorganization!

* * *


So next week, I pass the torch to Vicki Morrison, my BFF and writer extraordinaire! Vicki is working diligently on editing her completed manuscript NINE LADIES DANCING, an arson crime story which I hope to get a chance to beta read very soon. Hint, hint, Vicki...





...And by the way... DEPENDENT RELEASES IN 

FIFTEEN DAYS!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Cross Canada Adventure Update

So today my family arrived at our fourth stop on our cross-country trip to our new destination: Portage La Prairie. My husband did his pilot training her waaaay back when, and we were hoping to look around. Only one small problem with this. Portage is under a State of Emergency. They are threatened with huge flooding. The water is supposed to crest tomorrow at 30 cm (1.5 feet) higher than the devastating floods a few years ago.

And into this we drive...the five Dunnes, horse in tow.

We are currently safe and sound in our hotel, and the horse is safe in his stall at a local equestrian facility. There are construction vehicles and workers and sandbaggers everywhere. But the town is functioning pretty much normally other than that. I'm amazed at their resilience. We even tried to find out how we could help, with our limited time here, but it seems to be well under control. So we did what families do when they are driving across the country...we played in the pool and on the  waterslide... while watching the dump trucks full of sandbags drive by. It was a bizarre evening. Tonight we will sleep lightly.

We'll get up in the morning, and hopefully pull out before the water reaches it's peak. But the people here will have to keep going on. You can find out more about the floods HERE, and if the call arises, donate to the farmers and local families who will undoubtedly be hit hard.

Until next time...

Brenda