I’ve decided to come clean. If you haven’t figured it out by now by the frequency of my posts, I am rather lazy. Anyone who actually has the joy of knowing me already knew that, but some of you are new friends and colleagues, and I like to be transparent about these things.

Having said that, I’m not really lazy about writing. I just don’t like to be held to a timetable, to be told when to write. But I know that regular blogging is essential for an author, and so I am…sigh…going to attempt a regular (cringe) newsletter of sorts. I’ve already designed the cover image, which was an exercise in creativity as well as an excuse to avoid anything meaningful…but no more stalling…here we go.

Nova Scotia (aka “Where’s Comyn?”)

I’ve spent the past week in Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island to be exact–the land where my MacKinnon ancestors came ashore in the New World. The Scots looked around, saw that there was no pub and no whisky, and promptly decided to build a distillary (I’ve always thought that ‘prompt’ is one of those useful words that can mean whatever the user wants it to mean…in this case it means two hundred years later.) They then meandered up and down the road, finding the Cabot Trail already in place (‘already’ is another of those useful words) and creating beautiful havens such as Baddeck, where we stayed.

Now, remember how I told you that marketing is essential for a writer? If I didn’t, I should have. And marketing is another thing lazy people hate, but I’m no quitter. So I decided to make it fun. I brought along a copy of my first published novel, The Comyn’s Curse, and forced total strangers to play a game I devised and featured on Facebook. I called it “Find Comyn”, (Waldo would understand, and may be readying a lawsuit for all I know.) I cajoled my traveling partners and everyone who found him or herself in the correct position to take part in my shenanigans. Here’s one of the adventures:

The Comyn’s Curse is hidden somewhere on the shelves of this wonderful library in the home we rented. Where’s Comyn?

I went nowhere without the book, always on the lookout for a new place to hide it. Sometimes it was easy to spot, others not so much.  People got into the game on Facebook. The cashier at the Alexander Graham Bell gift shop, who had to hold the book and pretend to be reading, actually got into the spirit and said she would be buying it. So marketing works–who knew?

Around the Site

Please push that little widget at the bottom right on the home page–the one with the spooky eyes in a book–and visit my Author’s Spotlight where you can meet Margherita Crystal Lotus. This talented artist writes magical children’s stories and sprinkles them with confections like this:

As a member of The Write Practice writers’ community, she can often be found giving of herself to help her fellow authors in the workshop.

Indie Finds

The Inevitable Fate of E & J: Book 1, by Johanna Randle

Elizabeth and Jimmy, once childhood friends but now barely acquaintances, find themselves drawn inexplicably to each other; dreaming the same dreams of past lives together, falling into love.

Love is Messy (Finding You Again Book 1, by Callie Sutcliffe 

Bridget has it all — an amazing husband who would do anything for her. But then tragedy shatters her marriage and leaves her floundering, and she runs away to Asbury Hills, a small-town that changes everything.

Links for Writers

A Beginner’s Guide to Keeping a Journal https://forge.medium.com/a-beginners-guide-to-keeping-a-journal-e8db9d0f150f?source=topic_page—————————23

Can You Fake Being a Funny Writer? https://medium.com/mama-write/can-you-fake-being-a-funny-writer-e544a099c4fc

11 Smart Tips for Brilliant Writing: https://www.copyblogger.com/brilliant-writing-tips/

M MacKinnon’s World

Last post, I told you all about the second novel in the Highland Spirits series, The Piper’s Warning. I’m now almost finished with a prologue and five chapters of the third and final novel in the series, The Healer’s Legacy, and things are heating up. More on that later. Now I want to tell you about a grand anthology that will be coming out very soon, featuring a big group of writer friends including little ole me. The theme is Discovery, and features a boatload of talent all banding together to put some of their best work in one volume! No title yet, but we’re very close on that. My submission to this amazing effort is called “Love Bites”, and is rated horror/humor, or fantasy/funny, or…well, you’ll just have to see. I’ll keep you up to date right here.

Leave ’em Laughing

Last but not least, I leave you with a joke.

So what do you think? Please let me know in the comments if you like the format, or if you have suggestions on things you’d like to have included or could do without. Be kind but be honest. Also I’d love to know how you liked the book suggestions, or if you found any of the links helpful for your own writing journey. If you’re not a writer, I hope you enjoy the humor!