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Happy…and Busy!

It’s a cold and snowy day here at home, but the following warms me down to my toes.

I’m thrilled to see another powerful 5-star review on Amazon for Calmer Secrets!

Take a look:

“Calmer Secrets is a fascinating and mature, well-written second look into the lives of the Cross girls which takes place some four or five years after the events of the first book. The time gap and the substantial content in each novel support Jennifer Perry’s decision to split this story into two books.
Samantha is all grown up, Ben is gone, and against her self-centred, irritating sister’s advice she tumbles into a relationship with old friend Kalen – who has turned into a hot rocker. Their mother continues to wrestle with her issues, and the charming Henry, Veronica’s four-year old boy, is Samantha’s darling. The scene is set for a gritty, realistically told and engrossing unravelling of events, and old secrets, which will change everyone’s lives.
The gripping story kept me helplessly reading on, late into the night. Hints are dropped, with a thud, or a tickle of the mind, and I yelled at Samantha not to be such a fool, at Ronnie for her attitude, at Kalen, at Ben, at Darlene, at Cash… the only one I didn’t yell at was little Henry.
*Much* is explained as the final secrets are revealed and the ends of the story are resolved, and one begins to understand the complexity and depth of these beautifully crafted characters.
This is an excellent novel of family, love, and the damage that secrets can do. Highly recommended, but you have to read the first book first. Together, they make an epic story of ordinary life.”

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1D4NN653C42PN

*Comments are closed because I’m feverishly writing this week and trying to minimize distractions. See you on Sunday!

Sunday Snap: Colour

With all the snowstorms, cold snaps and bleak weather many are experiencing lately in North America, I changed my mind about the January scene I was going to share.

Instead, I thought a hit of warm and vibrant colour was in order. These tiger lilies in my daughter’s summer-house garden may be the perfect antidote to give you hope for gentler days ahead.

I can almost smell the clover and green grass, feel the summer’s heat on my shoulders, and hear the bumblebees buzzin’ around. A-h-h-h!

“What good is the warmth of summer,
without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”
John Steinbeck

WPC: Growth

An Appreciation Bouquet for 2017

Happy 2018!

With the start of January, many bloggers like to share a statistical overview of their blog’s traffic and engagement for the previous year. I’ve chosen not to bore you with share my numbers, because personally, I value the quality of blogger/ follower interaction over the quantity of views, likes, follows and comments.

In the spirit of that, I’d like to throw out a bouquet to all of you who consistently stopped by and liked my articles, updates and photos throughout the year, but particularly I wish to thank my most frequent commenters of 2017. You know who you are, and I hope you also know how much I value your visits and our conversations! 🙂

pixabay.com

December 31, 2017 marked my sixth blogging anniversary.

How long I will continue to blog? I suppose I’m still getting something out of showing up here, so I haven’t the faintest idea, really!

I’ve seen other bloggers come and go over these six years, and some of them I truly miss. And as recently as this past week, two of my favourites have decided to close their blogs, one dealing with grief over the loss of her spouse, and the other citing lack of time due to her job and her art. Both of them have been here on WordPress at least as long as I have, so naturally, their absence will be deeply felt.

How long have you been blogging, and how long will you continue?
What do you like the most – or the least – about it?
Have you lost some of your own go-to bloggers?
Please share your thoughts with me.

Christmas and The Great Coast

The Yuletide is upon us! To my friends, followers and bloggers all around the world, I wish for you and your loved ones a holiday filled with all the joy the season has to offer.

Today, I’m sharing “The Great Coast,” a 3-minute short film by One 50 Canada Society, documenting their epic sea journey from St. John’s to the Torngat Mountains and to Nunavut, the newest, largest, and northernmost territory of Canada.

I love how the photo below introducing the video is of where I live: Newtown, Bonavista Bay, NL, and at the 1:36 mark we get an aerial view of Newtown. Great coast, indeed!

Stay safe, have fun, and see you all again in 2018. ❤

Where’s My Backpack Travel Theme: Love

Snow & Ice

“Our familiar garden by the sea has transformed . . . each bramble and bush laminated in a thick, crystalline coat, every amber blade dressed in its stiff raiment of frost. With a watchful step, I venture out on the crust of snow.” – Jennifer Kelland Perry, Endless Chill

Has winter arrived in your backyard?

Blogger Bouquet #50

Raimey Gallant is a Canadian writer I recently discovered here on WordPress through the Insecure Writers Support Group.

From her Welcome page:

“I’m an activisty, feministy, world-traveling, wannabe comedian who writes crime thrillers and YA contemporary…I’m also a marketing and fundraising consultant, and zumba champ.”

Raimey’s blog includes a collection of tips and tricks on the craft of writing, as well as advice on the marketing side of writing. If you’re a writer, you just might want to follow her too!

Here’s a helpful article on the creation of a fictional villain:

Five Ways to Find Inspiration for the Next Great Villain

Comments are closed here but you can leave one on the blogger’s page.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

The Cutest Ornament?

Our grandkitten Joey is going to be the cutest ornament on the tree this Christmas – that is if and only if the tree survives his yuletide antics!

My daughter (who snapped this pic) said the little rascal climbed to the top in under half a minute, and in the space of twenty minutes he climbed it eight times.

Readers: Any pet pointers for this pressing pussycat problem ?
Please post below!

Canada’s Oceans: Toward 2020

“The sea, the great unifier, is man’s only hope.
Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning:
we are all in the same boat.” – Jacques Yves Cousteau

Signal Hill, St. John’s NL

So this is going on right now at the Royal Ontario Museum, with a topic near and dear to my heart:

Canada’s Oceans Symposium: Towards 2020

“Join the legacy of nurturing discovery as we work towards starting conversations about the future of our waters. Lead Canada’s efforts on ocean conservation with the Royal Ontario Museum.

Join leading ocean scientists, storytellers, Indigenous leaders and government stakeholders as they look towards 2020 in this compelling conference exploring the status of Canada’s marine conservation programs, and our role in protecting the oceans that sustain us.”

Keynote Speakers: Alexandra Cousteau and Mandy-Rae Krack, “united as strong women deeply in love with the oceans and committed to their protection, the pair will provide engaging, timely, and complementary talks.”

For more information, click here.

Perry’s Point, Newtown, NL

“The sea, once it casts its spell,
holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
– Jacques Yves Cousteau

Dancing with the Waves

Not to be confused with last month’s Jumping the Waves.

I thought it only fair to feature both of our grandchildren enjoying the ocean!

Travel Theme: Warm

For the Love of Reading

Today I’m sharing “For the Love of Reading,” one of my posts from 2014. Due to time constraints as I work on my latest novel, there may be more selected archived posts popping up here and there over the winter. “Sunday Snap” will continue as usual. – JKP

J. Kelland Perry's avatarJennifer's Journal

“Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.”

― Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies

 Ah… the written word. It has been my truest passion since my chubby little hands first held a book and my eager, unfledged mind tried to unlock the enchantment within its pages.

As I know it is with many of you, reading since childhood has taken me everywhere, through experiences and adventures in exotic lands beyond my horizon, and all the way back to the charm – or heartbreak – of a domestic story around the corner.

Books have allowed me to journey along with colourful, unforgettable characters, to get inside their minds, to live other, more fascinating lives. And between the lines, some books have given…

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