The Bar Code Tattoo and LFB Reviews

One of the nasty (or beneficial, depending how you look at it) things about following my military husband from place to place in what seems like a never-ending sequence of moves is that sometimes it takes a while to re-employ myself. Being a physiotherapist by trade, usually this is just a matter of filling out the paperwork for the local licensing board, putting my name out to a few places looking for PTs, and voila! I have a job. Often it's faster than I'd like it be, sometimes it's not. Being a Canadian in a different country, I need a little more than proof of my degree and experience. I need THE CARD. This card is not easy coming. In fact, it's been a bit of a challenge.

So, to make a long story short, five months into our new living arrangements, I remain unemployed.

Don't take this as I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I'm not. I'm writing. I'm social-mediaing. I'm still spending several hours a week on Canadian volunteer positions I haven't given up. The social obligations of being married to my husband are not to be taken lightly. I drive a mean SUV in the high school kiss and go lanes, and am an avid supporter of extra-curriculars. I am the opposite of a twiddler.

But still, I need something to focus my days and the extra funds in our bank account do not hurt. So I wait.

In my quest to fill my days with unpaid meaningful things while awaiting the chance at doing paid meaningful things, I sort of fell into a volunteer position. I was dropping off books at the local library's donation box (by necessity, not by desire--there was literally no room on any of our bookshelves), and the lovely woman who was in charge of the Library Friends said they were looking for volunteers and gave me their info.

Books, organization, self-determined hours? What's not to love about that? My junior high school-day friends will remember the wonders of being a library helper (oh, the power of charging a late fee! Getting first dibs at new books! And first looks at the Scholastic book fair!) and my librarian friends (I have a surprising amount of friends with Library Science degrees) will appreciate the joy of putting a book on a shelf exactly where it belongs--well, in my current situation, where I THINK it belongs. Library Friends Bookshop is only slightly picky about things like alphabetization.

So starting two weeks ago, I walked into a room full of crazily disorganized donated books and began my journey as a Library Friend Bookshop (LFB) volunteer.

Now I will preface what I hope will be many blog posts by saying that I had no idea, when I signed up, that one of the perks was an honour system of hours worked = books. I just thought the act of organizing and selling donated books would provide me with a different view of the book world, introduce me to other bibliophiles, and perhaps expose me to books I had never noticed before, later to be signed out or purchased (very cheaply) for my personal reading pleasure. Imagine, doing something you enjoy, and getting 'paid' in something else you enjoy?

There are just SO. MANY. BOOKS. What is a girl to do, but read them? So I've vowed to bring home a few a week (and likely return them, as there is still no room on my bookshelves) and challenge myself to read differently. To read books I wouldn't normally pick up. To expand my brain, while waiting for meaningful employment.

I figure the least I can do is tell you my thoughts about them.

And so...thus begins the LFB Reviews*.

Week 1
The Bar Code Tattoo 
YA Dystopian
by Suzanne Weyn

It's no secret that the world is a wee bit shaken up right now. 2016 was a year of bizarreness. And this week is, without a doubt, going to go down in history. How that history will play out has been wildly speculated, and I am not the one to discuss the pros and cons of any side. But the last few months have felt mildly dystopian. And with one of my yet-unsold finished manuscripts dealing with similar world-gone-crazy scenarios, this book jumped out at me on the shelf as I was trying to cram two Harry Potter books and a Maze Runner book in beside it. I've seen it before, and was curious...but not curious enough to buy it. Yet there it was, in the pile of crazy mixed up MG and YA. Not hugely out of my comfort zone, but not something I would normally have purchased. And then, SURPRISE!, it jumped into my pile and came home with me.

I wish I could say I loved this book. I really do. I wanted to love this book, I wanted it to be the first of a love affair with Library Friends Bookshop literature. The premise is so real right now--adults (over 17) being forced to be tattooed and DNA typed and having their entire lives dictated by said tattoo and the company which administered it. It could happen. It's a strong storyline.

But the book got mired in relationships and when the main character, Kayla, started having visions and speaking telepathically with a mystical leader of the Resistance. At that point, I found it increasingly hard to follow. And it seemed less and less realistic. There were some deep questions--Should our genetics dictate our employment, our livelihood, our existence? And some scary possibilities, including that of a society which 'euthanizes' its elderly. Frightening and thought provoking. But the writing did not highlight those issues, and sadly I had to fight to finish the book.

On a scale of Total Keeper (10) to Back to the LFB Post-Haste (1)?

I give it a 4/10. I'll take this one back for someone else to enjoy.

Enjoy the week, folks. From where I sit, it's bound to be a doozy.

Brenda

*Please note,  the views on this blog are my own, and do not, in any way, indicate opinions of the Library Friends, the Canadian Forces or anyone. They are mine. Also note, I tend to be perfectly awful at regular blogging. You probably know this already, but I warn you in advance that there will likely be weeks I miss. Maybe months I miss. So I apologize in advance.

Book Release! All the Way Home

Adult romance BY KIM MILLS

So a while back (five years ago? Maybe more?) I started following a sassy Canadian soldier's wife (@reccewife) on Twitter. She shot from the hip, and told it like it was, and I liked her style. Her resolution to treat people to dinner while her husband was deployed was intriguing. And her blog posts were poignant and real.

Fast forward a few years, and Kim and I have become virtual friends through several other platforms, including a group of Canadian military bloggers on Facebook. She recently MC'd a national event to mark the 25th Anniversary of Canadian Military Family Services. And her name has been mentioned more than once since I arrived in the US--she had spoken the year before to Canadian military families here in the US National Capitol region.

While managing a busy family, a well-visited blog, speaking engagements and a meaningful life as a military spouse, Kim has written a novel--a Canadian military romance novel, to be exact. And I'm so happy to be able to support her as she releases it to the public today. In her words:

"I wrote this book because I wanted to read a story about average Canadian combat soldiers and the people who loved them during the war in Afghanistan.

I’m hoping that maybe there’s a few others out there who were looking for stories like that, too." 

Kim's bio:

Kim Mills intended to grow up to be a psychologist with a loft apartment and 3 cats. Instead she dropped out of college and married a teenage soldier and had babies. No one ever asks her to speak on career day.

After working and volunteering in Social Services for years, Kim began writing in 2011 on what is now the Canadian military family blog She is Fierce. Somehow, that led her here. No one is more surprised than she is.

You can find Kim with the childhood sweetheart she's been married to for over 15 years, along with her 3 kids and their border collie Trooper, making home wherever the army sends them.

ALL THE WAY HOME is book one of a series of books (The Way Home Series), and today is it's Book Birthday! 

More about the book (from Amazon):

Juliette has been walking through life broken and hurting for years, always relying on her friend Tavish to be there for her when she needs him. As soon as he met her, Tavish knew he would do anything for her, that is, until he enlists in the infantry and leaves town, and possibly Juliette, for good.
Soon the events of 9/11 change everything, and an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan prompts him to reconnect with Juliette 5 years later. Despite the time apart she soon finds herself leaning on him again as their reunion leads to something much more. That’s when tragedy strikes during his deployment, and Tavish comes home shattered. Is Juliette strong enough to offer him the support he has always given her? Will it be enough for both of them to find their way home?

All The Way Home is a Canadian-based military love story, the first in the Way Home series but is a stand-alone with it's own HEA. 

This book is intended for audiences 18+. For those dealing with combat related PTSD, some scenes may be triggering. 


You can purchase ALL THE WAY HOME on Amazon. And find out more about Kim on her blog: She is Fierce which is well worth a read.

Congratulations Kim!

Brenda

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! 

What am I thankful for? A whole day to spend with the people I love...My husband has the day off, my eldest is home for the weekend from her university, my two live-at-home teens have no activities, and the fridge is full to the brim of goodies for us to eat (although I had a bit of a time trying to find a turkey in the US in October...). My cup continually runs over, and I am so blessed to have all of the opportunities I do. 

To celebrate all of this largess, and as a toke of my gratitude to you, my readers, I've lowered the price of both SKIN and TREASURE IN THE FLAME Kindle ebooks for a whole week! Just $2.99! This week is also #TeenReadsWeek, and yesterday was #IndieAuthorDay, so what better time to have a sale on my indie YA's? If you haven't read them, now is your chance.

If you are in the US, click here. In Canada? Try here. Elsewhere in the world? Check out your local Amazon. :) 

Hope you all have a good book to read, a comfy couch to snuggle into and a thankful heart today. 

With love,

Brenda

From Here (Part two)

This time of year two years ago, I was in a new place with boxes all around me, squishing a big house's contents into a much smaller military residence, and trying to support my kids as they started new schools.

Only the schools didn't open, and the kids didn't start.

Grown adults were unable to sit in a room and compromise, and their employees and their students suffered for it. I was FED UP, and I wrote this blog, stating how important that first day of school was to our military kids.

And then someone commented on said blog, implying that because I wasn't FROM HERE I didn't get an opinion.

OH. EM. GEE.

Seriously.

If you follow my blogs, you'll know I LOST IT.  What the frigging heck? Not FROM HERE? No, I'm not FROM HERE. I went against my usual rule of DO NOT ENGAGE, and responded to said comment. Nicely, of course...I AM Canadian and all. I posted my muted outrage on Facebook, and had a tremendous outpouring of support from friends and readers alike, and then posted another blog response here.

Anyway, why I've brought this moment in my blog history to the table today is that --guess what?-- my family is now in a different house, with kids in a different school (which, thank heavens, started on time), and we are all experiencing the NOT FROM HERE in a whole different way, because we actually AREN'T.  Considering several of us were born here, and we've vacationed here, lived here, worked here and played here before...it should be pretty easy to transition. But the questions outlined on my first blog are the same...only multiplied now that the kids are teens: 

"Will I like my teacher? Will I be able to play the trombone in band? Will I make the soccer team? Will I be behind or ahead in Math? Will I have too much homework? Will the kids on the bus be mean or nice? Will they tease me because I'm new? Did I get the course selections I asked for? Will I have enough time to get between classes? Are there good books in the library? 

And the most important question for kids... Will I meet a new best friend?"

Add new things like the fact that this time we are living in a city (our first in ten years), one of us is missing (off to university), American high school culture (holy cow, different), a completely new curriculum (yes, the Math is VERY different), and different brands at the grocery store (no Kinder eggs here, folks...but there's WINE) it's been an eye opener. 

via GIPHY

The good thing about this posting, though, is that it's ABOUT not being FROM HERE. We're here because we are different. We are here to learn and to share and to expand ourselves. And other than some, um...interesting political postulating (oh, boy), it's GOOD that we are here. It's exciting. It's scary. It's educational and enriching.

And we are not alone. America, like Canada, is a country of others. Especially here, in the capital region, there are many, many people not FROM HERE. 

There have already been hiccups, and we've already changed (my laid back Canadian driving skills have had to go--it's every driver for themselves on these roads), but I hope the end result will be positive. Especially once those boxes are all empty.

We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Brenda

Military Monday: Civic duty

So this weekend heralded the municipal elections in the province of BC. In Canada, these elections fall under the jurisdiction of the province, and the rules are therefore provincially oriented. Depending on the province, cities and towns vote on a predetermined day every 2,3 or 4 years.

One of the neat things about our current post is the connection we have with the local community. The local mayors are very active in wing/base activities, and the wing supports the community in every way it can. It's a win-win situation that provides huge benefits, and the civilian mayors and councillors are often well known by the military residents.

In my case, for the first time since I left my hometown almost 30 years ago, I actually knew several of the candidates on the ballot--people I've met through different social events and gatherings. I was looking forward to voting for the simple fact that I could finally take my civic duty seriously, and vote for the candidate I truly believed deserved the position. I also have some strong opinions about the school system here, and had researched the school trustee candidates carefully.

When we arrived and registered at the polling station...I proudly marched in beside my husband, British Columbia ID in hand, explaining to my teens how important it was to vote, how it was our duty to make our mark on the local government...

And then I was turned away.

I was not allowed to vote.

Why? Because provincial rules dictate that I have to have lived in the province for 6 months to be eligible to vote here.

I won't lie, I was a bit miffed. Okay, a lot miffed. Other new residents--residents who have lived within the town boundaries for 30 days--were eligible to vote merely because they had come from somewhere else in BC. Whereas I, who actually had an opinion about the candidates and what they stood for, could not.

The nice people at the voting station double checked, just to be sure, and were very helpful, but I left without filling out a ballot, placing my "I VOTED TODAY!" sticker in the trash on the way out.

Instead of proving a point to my teens, I had to explain to them how my vote was not eligible--not allowed.

How is this right?

This rule basically disqualifies all military members and their spouses and adult children posted in or out of the province this summer. That's at least 3 families on my street. Dozens of families on the base. And the same would be true for any base, anywhere in the province. That's a lot of people prevented from carrying out their civic responsibilities, merely because they are military. A significant percentage of the local population.

And with the constant flux of postings (moving every three years), some people will never meet the provincial requirements.

Obviously this is a rule that needs some careful re-consideration if municipalities with Canadian military constituents are to have true representative governments. Military families may not be 'from here' but we are Canadians with the same rights and freedoms as our new neighbours. Although there are other ways to make our opinions heard, the ballot box is one of the best.

Hopefully next time I'll actually be able to make my mark, and will walk away with my "I VOTED" sticker proudly worn on my chest. Hopefully next time, I'll be able to show my kids how proud I am in my local community by carrying out my civic duty to vote.

Because I am proud. I love it here. I'll just have to find other ways to make my mark.


Brenda

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

This weekend I've been spending time with my family and an overflowing table. As today is Thanksgiving Monday here in Canada, instead of a Military Monday, today's post focuses on the many, many things I'm thankful for. A sort of blogger's acknowledgement page.

I'm thankful for where I'm from. The outskirts of a tiny town with acres and acres of old forests, imagination and inspiration. Loving parents, siblings, extended family and friends. Sure it wasn't always happy-happy, but it was a great place to learn and grow. And the foundation of what made me ME.

I'm thankful for a brain that works and the ability to support myself. I'm thankful that my job led me to my husband, and I am eternally thankful for my husband who supports me in every possible way (and who is incidentally celebrating a BIRTHDAY today...Happy birthday Tom!). I'm thankful for the children that miraculously arrived a few years later. They are amazing and loving and smart and silly and they keep my life filled with sunshine.

I'm thankful for this amazing career that popped up out of an idea. And I am so blessed that something I love doing is something I can do from here, on my mother-in-law's couch, from a small village in England, or from the top of a fifty story hotel in New York City.

I'm thankful for my husband's career, which may be the cause of many frustrations, sleepless nights and long separations, but it's also the source of exciting postings, opportunities, and a solid, dependable source of income.

And lastly, I'm thankful for YOU, my reader. It constantly blows me away that people actually read what I write. And you come back. And you comment and support and tell me stories that inspire and lead to more stories.

And for that, I'm giving thanks.


Brenda


Don't forget to like my FACEBOOK page. And follow me on TWITTER!

 

Military Monday: Meet Marie Cotter

Happy Military Monday to you!

Today's guest post is by a new friend of mine, a wonderful woman I had the good fortune to meet through my husband while he was away on course in Toronto. She was a student on the same course, and has been a first rate supporter of my writing career since we met.



Marie Cotter: friend and
military spouse!

Marie is a wonderful example of the strength of Military Spouses--she has persevered through some
extremely challenging times, and has a successful career and family. She's lived through some (but thankfully not all) of the experiences my heroine in DEPENDENT lives through, and she's proven that life goes on. Not only that, but life can go on in a positive and enriching way.


Meet Marie Cotter, military spouse and proud Canadian!

                                               

 ~~~~~~~~~~

Background: Tell us about yourself, in relation to the Canadian Forces, that is.

My Mom and Dad met at Stadacona (in Halifax, Nova Scotia), and my Dad had a full career in the military.  Lots of moves as a kid.  I joined the military for a while, and I married the funniest, coolest guy in NATO.  A few more moves.  Sadly, I lost him in a training accident, but was surrounded and supported by the Regimental family.  Now twice blessed, I’m remarried, again to another terrific military guy.  All that time, I’ve been either in the regular force or the reserves myself.  I count the military spouses as sisters, not just friends.
 

Why do you think military spouses are special?

If you’re a military spouse, you already know this, so you can skip over it.  Keeping the home fires burning isn’t just trite expression.  The husbands and wives of our uniformed folks do what most would quickly become discouraged with and abandon – we keep our home going, bills paid, daily tasks accomplished, children cared for and loved.  Oh yeah, and lots of us hold down jobs.  Without our spouse around to pitch in, provide support, encouragement, or call the appliance repair guy.

We do that, knowing our husband or wife will be returning next week, next month, or next year.  We deal with the school problems (hoping it’s the right thing to do), shoulder the household issues, shovel the driveway or mow the lawn.  Accepting invitations to social events, knowing we’ll be alone or maybe with a “stand-in”.  We rely on babysitters to escape the young ones for just an hour or two.  We comfort the kids and keep them happily anticipating their Mom or Dad’s return, and reassure our families who are likely in a different part of the country all together. 

Military spouses and national security? Really?

I’ll bet you haven’t thought of this angle.  Let’s face, it.  A lot of military spouses are wives.  Lots of dudes, too, but the majority are women.  And women aren’t typically the ones to blow their own horn.  So you won’t have heard this often ... or at all.  Well, I just completed a 10-month program examining National Security, and I am convinced our military spouses one of the country’s great strengths.  The same goes for many other nations too.  Here’s why.

Our uniformed folks, the majority being men, go off on deployment to some pretty crazy places.  Here’s the thing.  He (or in some cases she) has the reassurance of knowing that someone is waiting, and keeping a life going somewhere sane, where the rules and expectations are familiar.  And where he (or she) is wanted and loved.  And knowing there is an open pair of arms at the end of the day is what keeps people going.  I’ve been those loving arms, and I’ve needed those loving arms to be folded around me. 

I am certain that knowing there is a beating heart and an open pair of arms allows our uniformed folks to focus completely on doing what they do in those crazy places.  Doing Canada proud. National Security?  Damn straight.

~~~~~~~~

 

Thanks so much Marie, for sharing your thoughts! Hope to have you back on the blog again soon.

 

Brenda 

Up In The Air! A Canada Day Blog Tour Post

Happy Canada Day! For Canada Day this year, I'm taking a slightly different approach, and am hosting Ann Marie Meyers on her Blog Tour for UP IN THE AIR, her soon to be released middle grade novel. Ann Marie is a Jolly Fish Press publisher-mate of mine, and she lives in Toronto. I had the opportunity to meet her while in Toronto this week!

The interview...

BCD:  Hi Ann Marie and Happy Canada Day! And congrats on your upcoming release of Up in the Air!

AMM: Thanks Brenda. It’s wonderful to chat with you today. Oh, and Happy Canada Day to you as well.

 

BCD: So because it’s Canada Day, and I know you hail from Trinidad, I thought maybe you could tell us a bit of your journey that brought you to Canada. What brought you north?

AMM: My husband, no less. And a bit of synchronicity. We had just moved back to Manhattan after spending several years in California (long story there). After all that time, the city felt strange to us. Manhattan was busier, noisier, so much more intense. I think our absence for so long had softened us, though I have to admit that my daughter, who was three years old at the time, took to the city like a shark in water. J My husband, to my utter shock and horror, wanted to leave for somewhere ‘calmer’. Coincidentally, around that time, he decided to fulfill one of his dreams of riding (on his motorcycle) to Toronto; which he fell in love with instantly. And so after lots of discussion, preparation, formalities etc. etc., we ended up moving here.

BCD: Wow, quite a journey! Were there any Canadian influences in the writing of Up In the Air?

 

AMM:  Not at all. I started writing Up In The Air while I was still in the States. The idea came to me while I was meditating one day, and it resonated with me so strongly that I knew I had to write it.  

BCD: I know one of the questions I had as a new author was: how will being Canadian affect my journey to publication? So I’d like to talk about that with another fellow author on the northern side of the border. Do you have an agent in Canada? How did you meet him/her?



Ann Marie and I in Toronto, with
an Up in the Air ARC!

AMM:  Actually, I signed directly with Jolly Fish Press. I had taken a year off from writing to clear my mind and recover from so many rejections. However, in April of 2012 I got this overriding drive to tackle Up In The Air again. In June, I submitted the manuscript to Jolly Fish Press and they signed me up shortly afterwards.

 

BCD: Wow, that's great! I know that Jolly Fish Press is located in the US, what are some pros and cons of living in one country and publishing in another?

 

AMM:  One big pro is that my book will have an immediate and greater presence in the US. I will also have a wider audience where the books can sell and I can even do readings in the US. The flip side is that it takes longer for books to be shipped to bookstores here in Canada, not to mention the added taxes and duties involved.

 

BCD: Good points. On a slightly different tack, what is your favourite place in Canada you’ve been to so far? And why?

 

AMM:  Montreal! Old Montreal, in particular, reminds me a bit of Manhattan, NYC. There is a vibrancy to it, a life all its own that resonated very strongly with me when I visited with my family. Montreal has a certain character that leaps out at you, and which I fell in love with immediately.

 

BCD: Is there anywhere in Canada you haven’t been to yet that you’d like to go?

 

AMM: Many places. PEI, Vancouver, Victoria. One of my dreams is to rent a RV and travel within Canada for at least a couple of months.

 

BCD: All great places! I loooooove PEI. And Vancouver, and Victoria... So many places, so little time. Thank you so much for stopping by on your very busy month, Ann Marie! Best of luck with your book!

 

AMM: Thanks Brenda!

 

A little bit about UP IN THE AIR... (taken from Goodreads)

Ever since she can remember, ten-year-old Melody has always wanted to fly.


And when she leaps off a swing in the park one day and lands in the mystical realm of Chimeroan, her dream finally comes true. She is given a pair of wings. She can fly! Life cannot be any better.


Yet, dreams do come with a price. Even with wings, Melody realizes she cannot outfly the memories of her past. The car accident that has left her father paralyzed, and her unscarred, still plagues her with guilt—she believes that it was entirely her fault.


In Chimeroan, Melody is forced to come to terms with her part in her father's accident. She must choose between the two things that have become the world to her: keeping her wings or healing her father.

 

Looking to purchase this fabulous story? You can find UP IN THE AIR on Amazon here, on Barnes and Noble here, and on Goodreads here. In Canada, it will be able for order at Amazon here and Chapters/Indigo here. Make sure you ask at your local bookstore first!

You can find Ann Marie Meyers online at these links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnnMarieMeyersauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnMarie_Meyers
Website: http://www.annmarie-meyers.com/

Hope you have a great CANADA DAY, wherever you are!

Brenda

Tropical Tuesday: Tir na N'og

The beach at Tir na N'og

 

I have just come in from 10 minutes weeding in the front garden and I am SO COLD. It's 50 F out there and it's more than half way through JUNE. This is wrong. I have SOCKS on. And a sweater and long pants and I'm drinking a hot coffee (what else?) and I'm still freezing. And my son, God bless him, is off on a school field trip to an outdoor water park! Insanity.


In light of this unseasonably chilly Canadian weather, I feel the need to revisit Tropical Tuesday, so I thought I'd find somewhere warm and balmy that I could day dream about as I go about my daily adventures.

THIS PLACE.

Seriously. Ten acres of Bahamian tropical paradise, separate guest houses, pink sand beaches, tennis courts and a name like Tir na N'og? Yeah. Sign me up. I think this is the place for my next writer's retreat. Or family retreat. Or ladies week away. Or launch party...

The 'Main House'

I can almost feel my toes in the sand now. Wait a minute. That's the cat. Sigh.

Anyway, it's a steal at $6k a week, don't you think? Maybe the owner would cut me a deal. Do you feel warmer already?

Have a great day,

Brenda