BREAKING NEWS via Able Cane

breaking news

Able Cane here with some breaking news from Vieux-Québec. World Famous Author, Melanie Robertson-King, is once again in the old city. I’m waiting outside her hotel hoping to catch her coming or going.

My cohort, Roxie Rebel, and I followed her down to Dufferin Terrace, the place where Roger and Serenity first meet in Melanie’s Christmas novella; It Happened on Dufferin Terrace.

breaking news

Roxie captured her trying to catch snowflakes here before she disappeared down the Frontenac Stairs. I tell you, she’s a brave woman tackling the steep slope of Côte de la Montagne in these snowy conditions.

breaking news

I couldn’t resist taking a moment to capture the magical street, Rue du Petit Champlain.

They don’t call these Breakneck Stairs for nothing. I almost wiped out in my haste to get ahead of Melanie so I could get a picture of her gingerly making her way down them.

breaking news

That’s all for now. Able Cane and Roxie Rebel signing off.

 

 

 

Wishes … not always good

Wishes are usually good things when they come true. Not always. We returned to Vieux-Québec last Tuesday so we could spend some time in the beautiful city when she was in her seasonal finery and spend some time in the Christmas market which opens on the evening of the American Thanksgiving.

I wished for snow since the last couple of times we’ve been down in November (same time of year), there wasn’t any. And that’s where the not always good comes in. As in, be careful what you wish for; you might get it.

We left home in a snowstorm and drove the entire way in the blizzard. See where I’m going? The drive was longer than usual and in less than perfect conditions. Ugh. But, I did wish for snow.

I don’t like driving at night anymore, and by the time we got there, it was pitch black. The clouds and shiny pavement in the city made it even worse.

Because of the hour and the fact we’d left a couple of things behind, our first night was a quick trip to the pharmacy for distilled water for hubby’s CPAP machine and across the street to Mary’s Popcorn for some munchies for later in the evening. The variety of flavours is amazing!

The sidewalks were snow covered and slippery in places, so when it was time to go for supper, we only walked to the end of the block to the St. Hubert. Their chicken and ribs are great.

Our wee hound accompanied us on this trip, too. Maybe his wishes came true? And before you ask, he was very well behaved in the restaurant.

Because I got what I wished for, the trip wouldn’t start in earnest until the following day.

 

Book Two in the “It Happened” Series

Book Two in the It Happened Series is set in Gastown, an area of Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s appropriately titled – It Happened in Gastown.

This book features Erik Layne (Serenity’s brother from It Happened on Dufferin Terrace.) It’s also my project for NaNoWriMo 2018, but life got in the way and I won’t get my 50K words written before the end of the month, but I thought I would share the opening scene.

Keep in mind, this is a first draft and the premise behind NaNo is to write, not edit.

Here it is…

Out on routine patrol, Constables Hilary Dunbar and her partner Nik Kalivas proceeded along Cambie Street towards the Steam Clock. As they passed the end of Blood Alley, she shouted, “Back up. There’s something down there.”

“Your imagination getting the better of you again?” He teased, but pulled over to the curb and slowly reversed until they blocked the end of the narrow passage.

Window down, she trained the beam from the powerful spotlight mounted on the cruiser’s mirror into the alleyway. “There, beyond those dumpsters.”

“Likely just garbage.”

“Wait here, I’m going to take a closer look.”

Flashlight clutched in her left hand and fingertips of her right brushing her gun holster, she crept towards the object. Graffiti tags covered the walls of the buildings. The further into the confined space she crept, her neck hairs bristled beneath the bun she tied her black hair into. Whatever it was, it wasn’t trash like Nik said. The pong of stale urine brought tears to her eyes.

Past the second dumpster, the body of a young man leaned against the wall. Disheveled and filthy, his body odour was strong enough to make the foulest of skunk spray seem mild. At first glance he appeared dead. Hilary inched forward and squatted beside him. A blood-filled syringe protruded from his left arm. Immediately, she felt his neck for a pulse. It was there but extremely weak.

She keyed the mic on her handset. “Constable Dunbar, Badge 8652. I need an ambulance at Blood Alley and Cambie Street. Suspected drug overdose.”

By now, Nik had the cruiser’s roof lights on. Blue, red and white alternating then running from the driver’s side to the passenger’s.

The wail of the siren grew louder. In minutes, paramedics jumped out and trundled a stretcher and medical equipment to the stricken person.

Hilary stood back, letting them do their jobs.

“He’s alive … just. You found him in time. We’ve bagged the needle so they can run tests on it at the hospital. Figure out what he shot into his veins.”

They loaded the stretcher into the back, pulled a U-turn and raced off in the direction of Vancouver General.

“Looks like we’re off to the hospital,” she said dropping into her seat and fastening the belt.

“Great. More wasted time and a ton of paperwork because of a drug addict,” Nik complained.

“That drug addict is someone’s kid,” she snapped.

“Ooh… aren’t we touchy? Turning soft are you? Biological clock ticking?”

I’d love to hear what you think. Let me know by leaving a comment.

#COVER #REVEAL ~ 2nd Edition of A Shadow in the Past

Here it is – the shiny, new cover for the 2nd Edition of my debut novel, A Shadow in the Past. I’ve been busy editing the content and getting my girl ready to return to the world of print and ebooks.

When a contemporary teen is transported back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland and has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret. Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, and confronts them head on only to suffer the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

Here are the covers for the series side by side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated buy links to the 2nd Edition of A Shadow in the Past to follow.

 

 

 

On your mark, get set, WRITE!

The countdown is over. The time has come. Are you ready?

On your mark, get set, WRITE!

on your mark

It’s day 1 of the 2018 edition of NaNoWriMo. Are you ready? Have you outlined your novel so all you have to do is write?

I’ve outlined, announced my ‘novel’ to the world on the NaNoWriMo site, but … Isn’t there always a but? A caveat? A hitch?

Despite doing all of that, I’ll do well to get my novel started during the month of November. You see, I’m trying to get the second edition of my debut novel back out into the public eye. The cover is finished and waiting patiently in the wings to be revealed. I’m working on the audio edit now – up to chapter 7 of 38. Some of the chapters are quite short so it doesn’t take long to do, then it’s format for print and e-book. So I’m behind the 8-ball as they say before I even get started. But I digress… back to NaNoWriMo.

So what’s my NaNoWriMo project? Well, let me tell you. It’s the second sweet romance book in the It Happened series. This one is set in the Gastown area of Vancouver, BC, Canada. I chose this area because of the steam clock, and upon further investigation thanks to google maps, found a creepy looking alley nearby. Even its name – Blood Alley – sounds sinister, although the moniker has nothing to do with slaughter houses, murders or anything like that.

Trainspotting meets Hot Pursuit in the sweet romance “It Happened in Gastown“. Even the premise sounds dark for a sweet romance, but I assure you the couple despite being at opposite ends of the spectrum will find each other, and feed off one another’s strengths to help them get through the obstacles I throw up against them.

So that’s my project. It might get off the ground this month. It might now. Periodically, throughout November, I’ll post progress reports.

What’s your NaNoWriMo project? Why don’t you share it in the comments?