Monthly Archives: April 2021

One week to go!!

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I should be finishing the final edit of One Eleven, but I am too excited about the fact it will be available for sale on Amazon one week from today!! This will be my second book in The RELATIVE Series, and after getting such great reviews on The Waking Hours, I am excited to put my second book out into the world.

There were a few snags along the way, however. Writer’s block is always a given, but I certainly did not have ‘Find another artist to design a new cover two weeks before launch’ on my 2021 bingo card. Thankfully, I am not prone to panic, and I found twin brothers who are graphic designers, and they rose to the challenge. Now the only thing standing between uploading the manuscript and pressing the publish button is my arrant unwillingness to put on my editing cap. The afternoon ahead looks ugly, but I will prevail.

I will soon be setting up a contact form on my author website, www.susanmnairnauthor.ca so you can subscribe there for any updates on the following four books in the series. You can also sign up to this blog to keep up on my progress in the series, as well as reading about things outside of the world of my writing. For those following my blog, there will be a draw to win a signed copy of The Waking Hours and One Eleven.

Mark your calendars, and head to Amazon on May 2nd!! Hope to see you there.

You have to see it to believe it

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I have to preface this post by admitting I can tell a tale. Having spent the greater portion of my youth writing short stories and poems, my mind is programmed to create worlds beyond the realm of my consciousness. I have given that predilection a step up by creating a group of six novels in a series called The Relative Series. The first was published in January, the second is due in May, and I just finished writing the third.

But this blog post has nothing to do with any world I have spun into reality by merely writing it into existence. This post does have everything to do with a generation of furry rodents who have created their own series that involve a free ride to my house, and two further generations who are bent on carrying on family tradition.

In June of 2019, I wrote this bizarre post about a groundhog who crawled into the back part of the undercarriage of my car and essentially hitched a ride from my work to my house without my permission. In the hours that followed my return home, the groundhog emerged from my car to fully enjoy the buffet of greenery on my front lawn.

In the early spring of 2020, the first year of Covid, Groundhog 2.0 revealed itself and we quickly acclimated. There was no imminent threat to my Honda Civic, furry rodent number two seemed content to move on to other pastures, and the tedium that was 2020 continued.

Fast forward to the spring of Covid 2.0, and The Return of The Rodent 3.0. Old habits apparently die hard, or are passed onto future generations. Groundhog 3.0 has the same affection for my Honda Civic as its grandparent had, and was more than willing to play hide and seek with me while crawling in and out of the engine block of the same car. He managed to systematically dismantle six of the major sensors in my electronics. (car is going to the doctor tomorrow) Groundhog 1 – Me 0.

Sometime during the one on one battle, Groundhog 3.0, who I named Chunk, upped the ante and arrived one morning with his new girlfriend, Chicklet. I enjoyed watching them together. There was something very sweet about the way he interacted with her, until I realized it was mating season. That realization turned into a call to action when I heard them mating – under my living room floor!!

The next day, I procured a live trap from my work and was surprised to catch Chunk after only twenty minutes. My lovely neighbour helped me relocate Chunk, and I reset the trap hoping Chicklet would not be far behind. Within a span of three hours, I had trapped both furry creatures, and relocated them in the same spot so they could find each other again.

I wish them nothing but the best, and thankfully I have a forwarding address to send them the bill for my engine repairs!

I can’t remember which hat to put on…

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Multi-tasking is an artform. We all do it, to some extent, and we have all inevitably experienced the moment when we are unsure of what particular task should be given our full attention.

In my work life, juggling several duties at once has always come naturally. I assumed when I entered Hotel and Restaurant Management in college, there were subliminal messages in all my classes that programmed my brain to be able to solve many problems at the same time.

Being a writer, and becoming an author, presented a new set of challenges that I was ill-prepared to comprehend. Without an agent or a publishing company to look after all the facets of putting a book out into the world, my brain had suddenly become congested with the many roles I would have to play in the debut performance of me claiming my status as an author.

My thinking cap has always been a great fit. My writing chapeau took a few adjustments to make it fit properly. But my editing sombrero, and my marketing helmet both needed several adjustments before I could put one foot in front of the other without losing my headgear completely.

While the learning curves on this writing roller coaster have been enjoyable, there are still days I am unsure which hat I should be wearing, but I am thankful for the intervals that allow me a quick costume change. And, scene.