Vaccinations are a Pain

We are trying to update our vaccination records.

Trying.

To update.

Our vaccination records.

Trying.

Holy old moly.

Just looking at that declaration will give most military families stress. In fact. I discussed vaccines as one of the 7 Reason's Military Wives Out are Stressed All of the Time.

I was really keen two postings ago--gathered all of our bits of paper, tiny booklets and photocopied records and had our local public health office (which was actually NOT local, had to drive almost 45 minutes to get there..but that's a different story) update their system and print off a copy for each of the kids. This was not easy. In fact, it was so complicated that from that day on we've kept our vaccinations records in our fire-proof safe.

From there, we moved...within the same province but to a new school district. Easy, right?

WRONG. About a week into our new school year I got a nasty finger-pointing letter from the local school board saying if I didn't get our records updated (remember, they were updated) my kids would be suspended. Yup. Suspended. You'd think they would be kidding about this. But no, they are not. Ask my friend who just a week ago got a suspension letter for her kids because of the school board's vaccination clerical error.

So on top of moving stress, new job stress, new everything stress, there was the added stress of proving that yes, indeed, we are good parents and our children have had all of their required vaccinations on time. We are very pro-vaccine. Just have difficulty keeping things organized when we move every two years.

Back to our current situation. I wasn't as keen on our last move, and forgot to get an updated vaccination record as we packed five humans and one horse into a truck and trailer for a cross-continental move. My bad. Like I said, moving is stressful. I figured when the time came, it would be just a quick phone call or request. Once again, wrong (will I ever learn?). Provincial public health authorities do not talk to one another. My friend over at Canadian Army Wife blogged about this problem here. In order to access our records from our previous post, we need the doctor's notes...but the doctor has moved. Yep. No longer at that clinic.

The saga continues.

Anyway, at this point, I would just like to say that I have the most wonderful husband on the planet. 

Why? Because he has made it his job to get our records sorted out, so that I don't have to.

I love him. Do I ever. He is the best.

Now if only he could offer up his arm for the list of about four needles I need to have updated.

Alas, that is a pain I must bear myself.


Brenda

Thoughts on a New Year... And an Announcement!

Another Christmas (or holiday, if it's your preference) season has come and gone.

Ski season is here!
Enjoying the view from Mount Washington.

It was a bit of a wacky one in the Dunne household, what with my day job, hubby's work, kids performances, parties and the like, but it was so good to at least have a few hours to sit on my tushie and think. A few quiet moments in the insanity to reflect on the ups and downs of 2015, and make some plans (or at least attempt to make plans...more on that later) for 2016.

So. 2015. Was it a good year for you? It was for me. Looking back over my year, the word that comes to mind is BUSY.  I finished a manuscript. I got my power sailing license. I started a choir (and we sang for 23,000 people in November!) I worked, I wrote, I sailed, I sang, I skied, I sold a few books and I spent a whole lot of time moving forward. It was a great year, all in all. But, wow. I hardly stopped.

After a year like that, you can see why sitting on my tushie for a few hours was a good thing. I was ready for a break. Ready to sit and reflect and make plans (and eat...there was lots of eating...).

As I look ahead at 2016, it's difficult to make any real plan for one reason--it's a posting year for us. That's right, once again the Dunne clan will be packing up shop and moving forward, to some yet-unknown destination. In all likelihood we have another cross-continental move ahead of us. It makes me cringe a teeny tiny bit inside, thinking of another summer of boxes and fast-food meals, but it's also exciting. We have a pretty good idea where we will end up...but I can't share it with you until we have that marvellous piece of paper in hand that tells us for sure. Let's just say it will be a big change for us, but one that will be amazing in many ways. :)

But a new home is not the only thing that will be happening for me this year. I have a surprise for you all! Something pretty darn exciting. Something I've been considering, thinking on, mulling over and pulling my hair out about. But finally I've come up with a plan, and today you get to hear it!

So...

In late May, 2016, I will be publishing a NEW BOOK! 

Time to charge up the presses!

Yes! After much thought, and lots of soul-searching, I've decided to warm up the Fortunate Frog Fiction printing presses, and self-publish (yes, SELF publish) my third novel. It's a new story (sorry, TREASURE fans...still working on my sequel, but more on that another time), which I've hinted at before, a modern-day YA fantasy set on the beautiful shores of Prince Edward Island. I can't wait to share more about it in the next few weeks! 

It's called SKIN. 

So there you go. 2016 is going to be a GREAT YEAR. It's so good to be back at the self-pub table, getting ready to move forward. January and February will involve some work with graphic designers and editors, some final edits and I hope to have a cover reveal by the end of February. 

I'll leave you with this photo...a scene for warmer days, and wondrous possibilities...one you might just see in SKIN...

The beautiful dunes of Prince Edward Island.

Stay tuned!

Brenda

A Day Off

It’s Monday. My schedule is flexible—changing every week—but for this week, Monday means a day off.

“Lucky you,” you say. “I never get a day off!”

Well, believe me, you have my sympathy and utmost respect. I applaud any parent who can manage to keep their house from self-destructing whilst working full time. I don’t know how you do it. Seriously, I don’t.

As for me, I work part-time so that I can manage the day-to-day life of a military family with teens (hubby is away…frequently), but really, my days off are supposed to be writing days. 

With two published books and numerous manuscripts in various stages of completion, I still cringe inside when I call myself a writer, but in reality being a writer is a job. A career. Some extremely fortunate people get to write full time. I am not one of those fortunate people (YET) so for now, my days off are technically working days, just with a different career path. Days off are days supposed to be spent in my favourite writing spot, hammering away at the keyboard while building worlds and creating magic. Days off are creative days, quiet days, productive days while the kids are at school, hubby is at work and my mind has a few blissful hours to focus on the screen in front of me.

Ha ha ha ha.  HA! HA!

Lets just take a look at how today started out...

Yell at kids to get their butts in the car. Frantically make coffee because I NEED CAFFEINE. Dishwasher full of clean dishes, countertop full of dirty dishes. Scrounge to find a cup. Pour coffee. Discover there is no milk to put in coffee. Yell at kids to get in car.  Skip breakfast—no milk for cereal. Too late for toast.

Take milk-less coffee with me. Drop kids at schools. Go to grocery store to get milk. Spend an hour in grocery store because I need a meal plan to get me through a crazy week. Buy a gazillion dollars worth of food. Light goes on in car—need gas. Stop to get gas. Drive home. Start putting groceries away, fridge is too full of last weeks leftovers. Empty fridge of science experiments to make room. Garbage is full. Empty garbage and put in new bag. Pantry is full of empty boxes, dismantle boxes and put in recycling, but recycling is overflowing so empty that. Put away rest of groceries.

Realize my coffee is cold. Make new coffee and leave sitting on counter. Try to find a recipe for chicken-creamy-something-put-it-all-in-a-crock-pot-and-leave-it so I can at least get an hour or two of writing done before kids need to be picked up. Give up on recipe books and find something on pinterest in ten seconds. Chop and dump and put nutritious food in crock-pot.  No space, so empty dishwasher and refill it first. Finish crock-pot meal prep. Realize coffee is cold. Nuke it in the microwave.

Remember that kid needs gym clothes washed. Reset laundry that I washed yesterday because it’s been sitting there overnight and has a bit of a smell (I have a thing with smelly laundry...). Trip over cat. Feed cat. Realize dog is outside in the rain. Let dog in and dry his muddy, disgusting paws.

Remember coffee is still in the microwave, cold. Nuke it again.

Sit down for two seconds to take a breath and realize I don’t have coffee. Go to get coffee. Look at the clock and realize it’s now noon and I haven’t had breakfast. Grab a banana. Sit down. Hear the washer finish it’s cycle, go switch it over, but the dryer is full so empty that and fold clothes. Put gym clothes in washer.

Remember coffee is still in microwave. Nuke it again.

Sound familiar? I’m sure you’ve all had similar days. Big, empty days off that suddenly evaporate and it’s fifteen minutes before you have to go again. How does it happen? Some days that coffee is never warm enough to drink it, and I’m lucky if I write a hundred coherent words—today being one of them.

The good news is, I’ve finally managed to sit down with my laptop and I’ve got two hours left to write. The dog is dry. The crock-pot is cooking. The laundry is doing it’s thing, the counter is clean, the groceries are put away, the recycling is out, the fridge is full and I’ve turned on some peaceful music to write by.

And guess what?  My coffee is beside me.

Cold.

Brenda

The Art of Just Sitting

Attwood Bay, BC

Life is busy.

Life with three teens, two careers, and a husband in the RCAF sometimes borders on the insane. I love my life, though, and all of the amazing opportunities it presents. I love that I get to meet so many interesting people. I love that at my day job I can comfort the elderly in their final stages of life. I love the unique experiences that come from being the mom of three active kidlets and the wife of a serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces. And I love that we've seen so much of the world because of the fact that my hubby serves.

But sometimes--like now, for instance--I need to just sit.

Okay, maybe I'm not just sitting. I'm writing. But, For me, writing's like reading. It's an escape. I'm one of those extroverted introverts, and my batteries require a few minutes of calm and peaceful now and then to recharge themselves. A coffee, a comfy chair, some quiet music, a book or a laptop, and--my special treat--a warmed hot pack on my back. Oh, yeah. Bliss with a capital B. Heaven.

I need that time to rest my brain. Free time is so rare these days that when it happens it's almost a shock.  Wow! Is that really an hour in my schedule where I don't have to drive, work, organize or clean? I don't have groceries to buy, or checks to write, or meetings to attend, or laundry to do or kids to pick up or phone calls to make or forms to fill out or prescriptions to pick up or appointments to make...

Today, I have a day off. Imagine! What a strange concept.

Daddy-daughter moment

The problem is, in today's society our brains and bodies get so programmed to go a thousand miles a minute that it's hard to do nothing. It's hard to put the smart phone down (are they really that smart?), forget about the to-do list (oh yeah, we need bread...Must. Write. That. Down.) and be comfortable with simply existing. We may understand that the world will not cease because we are stepping away from it, but it's darned difficult to let ourselves pull back. We have to force ourselves to just sit.

So here's a scenario. Five days on a thirty-five foot sailboat. In a place so isolated it's called
Desolation Sound.

If you follow my Facebook page, you'll have seen some of the pictures. It took months of planning, hours and hours of preparation, and a big, circled no-you-may-not-book-anything-here slot on the calendar, but the Dunne Family were able to sail away to a place where there was no cell phone service. No wireless internet, and sometimes the mountains were so tall around us that they blocked our GPS.

Three teens, three books...

When you are that far from civilization on a tiny boat with four other people, just sitting is not just a necessity, it's an art.

We read a lot of books. In the five days, my eldest daughter read six. We played cards. We scanned the water for sea creatures (we saw porpoises, seals, thousands of jellyfish and even a pod of orcas), and the shore for bears (sadly, didn't see any). We snacked and fished and slept and sailed and at times we just sat.

It was awesome.

And when we came back, even though our bodies were tired and our laundry bins were full, our brains were rested...and our familial batteries were recharged for the insanity of the fall.

It's been two weeks since we returned from our holiday, and there's been barely a moment to think since, so days like today--with empty day planners and kids at school--are a treat to be savoured. Precious time to reflect on a summer well-spent, and maybe to read a little, write a little and just sit. I don't think you can ever perfect the art of just sitting...but I perhaps today I'll give it a shot.

And now to re-heat that hot pack...


Brenda

Strange humans...what are your rushing for? 

One year of Dependent: Seven Lessons Learned

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commenting below!

It's DEPENDENT's anniversary! Exactly one year ago today, I was holding my breath as DEPENDENT went out into the big, big world to find it's fate.

Wow, have I learned a lot.

I've learned about the publishing process, I've learned about book launches, I've learned about reader reviews and royalties and radio interviews. I've learned about publicity and pitching. I've learned about myself as an author, as a military spouse, and as a female in the military community.

Has it been an easy year? No.

Has it been a good year? Definitely.

I get a lot of questions that start with 'how', when talking to new authors. How do I finish? How do I find an agent? How do I get my work published? I'll admit, it's not an easy world to work in. So for those wonderful people who have come to me with their questions, who've asked for advice, and who've given me good, honest criticism, I thought today I'd share with you a few of my lessons learned. I don't think I'll ever consider myself an expert. But I've got more experience than some...so here goes.

Lesson #1:  The publishing world is unpredictable. 

Cross country moves don't
generally mix well with
book launches...

I wish I could find a crystal ball to tell me how a book idea is going to fare. What topic is going to work and what is not. How many people are going to show up at a book signing. Who is going to want my book. What a contract is going to look like.

But there is no crystal ball. I can't tell anyone what will work, because what is cool today may not be cool when you finish your final draft. The odds of writing a book that turns into a phenomenon are pretty slim.

Write what you love to write.

Lesson #2: A book launch is for you, your friends, and your family.

Launching
TREASURE IN THE FLAME
 in 2012

Unless you've got the support of a huge publicity team and gazillions of dollars, plan your book launch so that your friends can come. DEPENDENT was launched in a big city, in a huge store...just after my family and I moved across the continent in an epic military move. We had to pick a launch date long before the military plans solidified, and it just worked out that it was after the move took place. As it was my second launch (TREASURE IN THE FLAME launched in 2012), I thought I'd roll with things and see how it turned out.

Although DEPENDENT's launch was a success, it could have been so much more. I really, truly missed the support of my close friends and family. I hope to plan my next launch (when it happens) either later on in our next military post (when we've made some friends), or closer to my home base.

It's so much easier to publicize something when you have the advantage of local word-of-mouth. And your success is the success of those you love. Plan your launch so they can be there.

Lesson #3: Publicity is so important.

If people don't know about the book, they won't buy it. I've been very, very fortunate to have a great team, but I couldn't have had the success I've had without my #1 PR GUY...my hubby. He's had my back since day one, which was INCREDIBLY important with this book. If you've read DEPENDENT you know why.

Lesson #4: Always be prepared to do a radio interview.

One of the disadvantages to having a switched-on #1 PR GUY is the random radio interview...the one that happens while your driving, unprepared, home from the grocery store. Thank heavens for wide shoulders on Ontario back roads--lots of room to pull off and try to collect your thoughts. And thank heavens they can't see what you're wearing on radio.

Yeah. That happened.

Lesson #5: Not everyone will love you.

This one I was prepared for. I knew that DEPENDENT would not be the book for everyone. And I was right. But writing a book that people feel strongly about--either positively or negatively--is a good thing.

Lesson #6: Don't engage the trolls.

Engaging with haters never ends well. Thankfully I knew this before I started. Sure, I love a good debate, but I'll let the people who read my work stick up for me. Trolls generally are looking to stir the pot, whatever the cost. And the more you engage with them, the more vindictive they get. Don't even justify them with a response. At all. I talked about it a little bit in 15 Seconds, this past May.

Lesson #7: Don't ever, EVER give up.

The writing world is FULL of disappointment. Rejection is part of the package. Agents, editors, readers...there are lots of 'NO's' in this career. And there are many, many moments over the past few years where I've considered dropping it all.

But I won't.

I have three really cool manuscripts finished and ready to go. I've got a couple more on the way. And I'm most certainly not done with this adventure.


Thanks for sharing the journey with me.

Brenda

Want to read more? Walk down memory lane?

Check out Posting Phase Eight to remember the insanity around DEPENDENT's launch.

Or try Launch Week Recap to hear about my first launch!

****WIN A SIGNED COPY!****

Comment below and I'll enter your name into a draw for a signed copy of DEPENDENT, A NOVEL! Draw will take place Wednesday August 5th!

Take Each Day

I've been trying REALLY hard to work on a manuscript that's been languishing on my laptop.

Really. Hard.

I want to finish this manuscript so I can get it off to you wonderful readers. But for some reason it's just not flowing out of me. Not that I've got the dreaded writer's block--I'm still picking away at it, but I'm not writing the 2000+ words a day that I'd hoped for.

Just needs a hot coffee and a good book

I pull it up faithfully in the morning, write a paragraph, feel all keen and motivated and READY TO ROCK... and then I open up a social media site. Big mistake. Or a kid gets up and asks for a drive to something. Or I need to go to work. Or the flowers need to be watered (by hand and sparingly...we're on water restrictions), or the laundry needs to be done or I need to make coffee or buy groceries or look at this lovely garden idea on Pinterest or let the dog out or read this book or watch this Netflix show (Why, oh why did I let my daughter convince me to watch my first ever episode of Glee???), or go for a walk or pick up that kid I dropped off or check out a house for our potential new posting...

Yeah.

You get the idea.

The manuscript is still languishing.

But, I refuse to let myself fall into the pit of despair for being such a failure with this manuscript. Why?

Because it's summer. Sweet, sweet, summer. Because my kids have jobs or are putting out their very first resumes to get a job, and I want to support that initiative. My flowers are beautiful. I've created this lovely little floral patio and it makes me HAPPY. So does coffee. I've watched far more Glee than I care to admit, but I've spent hours snuggling with my teenaged girls and singing show tunes while doing so. I've read many books, and in my chosen second career we can call that research. And yes, I even managed to not completely destroy my son's million dollar car while zooming around some fictional town on Grand Theft Auto (well, I might of scratched it a bit, but he assures me that he has insurance. And I didn't kill anyone, so that's good...right?) He laughed, and I laughed, and it was a great moment.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the PUSH, that we forget to take each day as it's given to us. And with working two careers, raising three teens and helping to run a military household, that's often hard to do.

The good thing is that my manuscript is not going anywhere. I've got a couple with my lovely agents already, one of which is just going out on submission. Another story is brewing in my head. And where do I get my ideas for new stories?

By living, of course.

I'll write a few hundred words later...but now? I think there's some Glee calling my name.




Brenda.

Life on the Salish Sea

For those of you who may have missed it, about two years ago I wrote a young adult fiction manuscript about a silkie, a mythical creature who supposedly sheds her skin and drags her victims below the waves to the unknown. My story has a few twists on the classic mythology with Sam the mysterious teenage boy down the beach, but it still revolves around seals and the ocean. The manuscript, entitled SKIN, is with my wonderful agents at Literary Counsel, and I am working (slowly...) on a sequel.

You also may or may not know that last year we moved from central Canada to the Pacific Coast to Vancouver Island, right on the body of water known as the Salish Sea. On the very first day we arrived, we saw a harbour seal outside of our hotel. The next day we saw two. And now pretty much every time we go by the water, at least one little dark-eyed head pops up to say hello. They are so thoughtful and inquisitive, but still shy enough to give you just a look or two before they move on. They look kind of like golden retrievers, but with big, sharp claws. I love them, and I'm constantly reminded of SKIN when I see them.

A porpoise on our starboard beam 

Yesterday my family and I were sailing. Before we went out we saw a fat seal, who popped up on the wharf and hung out for a bit. We called him Dave. We took the boat, went out for a few hours, and were followed by porpoises and a few other seals. It was a wonderful day of fresh air and family time.

When we came back Dave appeared to have a very affectionate friend, whom we called Davette. We giggled a bit at how close they were. Dave (or Davette?) truly appeared to be climbing on top of the other's back. Yeah. My thoughts went there too.

The kids popped up to the car, and I ran back to the boat to do something just before we left. I heard a splash and looked around, and there was this little face checking me out, not two feet away.

I thought it was Davette, but on a second look, Davette was REALLY small. Then Davette flipped over and I saw something unexpected...an umbilical cord still attached! Davette was a Baby Davie! Just out! Brand new! Then momma popped up and Davie wanted to play and snuggle. This was all literally right at my feet.

Davie and mom

I even got some (very poor quality) video:

Of course there was no one around to share this amazing sight with...but my handy dandy iPhone had to suffice. 

Perhaps it's time to get back to that sequel? Hmmm...Could Sam have a little brother? 

So much to write about...so little time.

Brenda