I thought it was about time I explained by long silence on this blog.

The reason - my health!

Since late October I have been quite ill, including three days in hospital Emergency and a plethora of hospital, doctor and lab tests. I’m not going to go into details of my illness. Suffice to say, I seem to be on the mend now and provided I can maintain a balance with my diet, medication and exercise, I hope to get back into my writing life.

I did manage to get my last book, Bewitching Bride, off to my editor in mid-January. Big relief!

And now that I am on the mend, I am already getting a plot together for my next book. It feels good!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Where has the year gone? Here it is near the end of October and I’m stunned by the speed of events around me.

Here’s a list of what occupies my mind these days:

• I’m still dealing with the death of a close friend from cancer a few weeks ago. I felt shattered. That’s a real biggie with long lasting effects.
• It’s October 22 and the leaves are mainly green and still on the trees. Our brilliant fall yellows, browns and reds haven’t materialized this year. Many trees seem to have gone gray and some leaves are even black. What is going on? Is this the result of global warming? Temperatures are either above normal or below normal for this time of year. What happened to just plain normal?
• My broken wrist is healing. I’m doing my exercises but it’s not all plain sailing. It sometimes feels like the return to normal takes one step back for every two forward. Now they tell me that it may take up to eight months for the wrist to return to normal. Ouch!
• Because of the semi-warm temperatures outside, our thermostat in the house finds it hard to keep me warm enough when it goes down to -6 at night and up to 9 above next day. I say the house is cold and my husband  says the house is too warm. He tells me it’s just the thermostat playing games at this time of year.  I’m thinking it’s the men-are-from-Mars/women-are-from-Venus thing! He says wear a sweater and I say put the heat up! Grrr!

Okay, that’s my moan list. And my “+” list?

• My eldest son went back to university after many years in the workforce and just graduated with an academic excellence award. Wow!
• My eldest granddaughter has gone back to university after a year’s absence and loves it. Way to go!
• My husband has learned to cook some really delicious meals so I feel well nourished these days.
• I’m coming to the end of this novel-in-progress. I can actually see the end in sight. That’s a real plus! I call it “racing for the curtain,” the time when the romance and the intrigue come together in a satisfying, electrifying climax. And my characters come to the “happily every after” ending – at least the hero and heroine do. Now the villain . . . well, he or she (I’m not going to tell you which!) comes to a satisfying end - not for him/her, but for the reader! And the author!

Now, now, not what you’re thinking!

This is a date with the doctor at the Sports Injury Clinic to have my cast removed - Tuesday, September 1.

This clinic, the Pan Am Sports Injury Clinic in Winnipeg, is absolutely outstanding - from the moment you set foot in the door till you leave after having been through triage, the doctor ’s examination, then the x-rays, then the doctor again, then the adjustments, the cast, more x-rays . . . it all moves like clockwork. They are great!

But . . . I can hardly wait. It will be five weeks when the cast is finally removed. It feels like five months.

Having this cast on my left arm for the two broken bones in my wrist has been a learning experience. Who knew a person needed two hands to pull up pants, fasten a bra, cut meat, make the coffee . . . the list goes on and on. I’d never given it a thought before. Luckily I have a husband who has a good left hand for that kind of thing. What do people do when they have no one? As you can see from this, however, I am getting back the use of my left hand - fingers much more flexible though not much strength yet.

I am truly an impatient patient!!!! What would I be like if I had something really wrong with me? I shudder to think!

I just watched Sense and Sensibility (again - for the umpteenth time!) with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. I absolutely love it. But, despite all the times I’ve watched it I learned something new. As I watched Mr. and Mrs. Palmer played by Hugh Laurie  and Imelda Straunton, I suddenly realized who they were ( or who they had become)  - Dr. Gregory House from the House TV series and Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. How could I have missed that??? They are wonderful in all their roles.

A new review of The Scot and I is up at bestfiction.com. You can read it at bestfiction.com.

You might want to visit FreshFiction.com tomorrow, July 31.  The Scot and I was chosen to be a Fresh Pick at Fresh Fiction. You can find it at freshfiction.com.

And still more - l received an e-mail from likesbooks.com about one of my  earlier books: the classic story, Cherished, has been reviewed on our website today and received a DIK (desert isle keeper) rating. You can read all about it at likesbooks.com. 

Finally . . . I am sporting a cast! I tripped and fell in my garden on Sunday and fractured two bones in my left wrist. So, I’m not a happy camper (or a happy gardener)!! Still painful and still awkward - so many things require two hands. How do people manage on their own?

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Sissy: There is only one vampire romance that, so far, I have loved, and that is the Twilight Series. Who could not be moved by Edward’s assertion - “I don’t want to be a monster”? Bella’s faith in him is mind-boggling. The conflict that seems insoluble, that he is a vampire and she is a human, is all beautifully worked out.

The fantasy part of the novels, the legends, the werewolves, Edward’s family, the Volturi and the rogue vampires keep things moving along nicely and test our lovers to the limit of their love.

There are no step-by-step instruction to making love here. The sex is suppressed and so much more intense because of it. That’s how I like it.

I’m just back from my holiday in Toronto. More on that later.

My husband and I will be in Toronto for the next two weeks to see our youngest son and his family and to celebrate our granddaughter’s birthday.

On Thursday, June 25/09, I’ll be a guest blogger on freshfiction.com. Join me if you can.

I heard last week from a close friend that she has cancer and it seems to have spread to more than one site. I am devastated. She is super-conscious of health issues – careful of her diet, exercises regularly — yoga, Reiki, meditation . . . and now this!

I feel very vulnerable. Is there any hope for our human condition?

I think it is this sense of vulnerability that made me go out yesterday and buy the newly released book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health by  Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie. Haven’t started reading yet.

But I do wonder . . . will I feel more hopeful or more depressed after reading this book??

I’ve had quite a few e-mails from people who are responding to something on my blog. I don’t know why they don’t want to put their thoughts out there for others to read, especially if they are authors. Blogging as a guest gives you a wide audience, if you have a book to promote. It’s also great for people (like me) who are in solitary occupations and need to network for their mental health.

The RWA conference in July: I’m giving it a pass this time around. I can’t face all the hassle at airports and the cut-backs in service. Apart from that, I have to finish this manuscript - the third in my Scottish series. Deadlines - the bane of  a writer’s existence. I loved the movie Stranger than Fiction because I can easily see myself as the character Emma Thompson plays.

I’ve heard through another blog that one of my readers can’t find my books at Borders or Barnes & Noble. Anyone else having difficulty finding my books? Let me know and I’ll get onto my editor at Berkley.

I was in a bookstore the other day, and right by the entrance was an older lady (about my age!) signing and autographing her first book. There wasn’t a soul paying any attention to her. Her first book is self-published - not a great draw for most readers.

But hey, most best-selling authors have been there, too. It’s par for the course. It’s not only that no one will buy your book, they won’t give you eye contact.

I stopped, talked to the author and was overwhelmed by her eagerness to talk to a published author. We hugged and wished each other well.

What’s my point? Next time you see an author sitting alone with a pile of books by his/her elbow, and everyone is giving her a wide berth, stop and talk to her for a minute or two. It won’t cost you anything, but the reward for her - priceless.