Category Archives: Random

Review: Crossed by Death, by A.C.F. Bookens

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Crossed by Death, by ACF Bookens, Stitches in Crime series book 1

Crossed by Death, by A.C.F. Bookens (Andilit, 2021)

Paisley Sutton’s historical writing career went out the window when she became a single mom of a toddler too active to allow the necessary research time. Now she provides for herself and two-year-old Sawyer by salvaging vintage items from abandoned buildings and reselling them online.

Exploring a long-closed rural gas station was not supposed to end with her finding a dead body. Nor was meeting the town sheriff supposed to unfold into a potential for romance.

I enjoyed following Paisley’s research as she tries to untangle generational secrets that might explain not only the present-day murder but the long-ago one that closed the gas station.

Cozy mystery fans will find a few familiar staples: a well-stocked yarn store is a key setting (although Paisley herself prefers cross-stitch), there’s an interesting pet (a Maine Coon cat) and plenty of food references, along with the law enforcement romantic hero. Her salvage career is interesting, and the mystery is an engaging puzzle to follow.

I like Paisley’s accepting way with people and her desire to contribute to their lives. Her mama-bear determination to provide for and protect her son create a strong reader connection. The book does a great job of showing white characters (including Paisley) interacting with Black characters with no prejudice but also with no sense of “hey, look at us being non-racist.” It’s just natural, as it should be, with a few regretful references to past segregation.

Crossed by Death is book 1 in the Stitches in Crime mystery series. A.C.F. Bookens has a few other cozy mystery series as well, one of which is a free download on her site: acfbookens.com. Fans of Karin Kaufman’s Juniper Grove series will want to give this author a try, and vice versa.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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Picks from 2021

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My year in books in 2021 from Goodreads: 56 books, 14, 165 pages read.
Graphic credit: Goodreads


Here are the books I’ve most enjoyed last year. Some were produced in 2021, some previously. Pop a note into the comments with your own favourites?

My top picks from 2021:

Book of the year: Yours is the Night, by Amanda Dykes (historical fiction)

Fantasy: Rhythm of War, by Brandon Sanderson

Favourite re-read: Star Wars: Scoundrels (Star Wars Legends), by Timothy Zahn [I’d forgotten I didn’t like the ending, but it’s a fun read]

Feel-good read: Tranquility Falls, by Davis Bunn

Mystery/suspense novel: Chasing Angels, by Karin Kaufman, and All the Devils are Here, by Louise Penny. In that order, based on how I felt as a reader.

Poetry: Wing Over Wing, by Julie Cadwallader Staub

Science fiction novel: Lesser Evil (Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy, #3), by Timothy Zahn

Writing how-to: Writing Your Story’s Theme: The Writer’s Guide to Plotting Stories That Matter, by K.M. Weiland, with an honourable mention to How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market, by Ricardo Fayet

This was a difficult year for me and my family. Hence the reduced reading count!
Here are five things that refreshed me this year:

  • Prayer: Not a new practice for me; a major source of comfort and hope.
  • Praise: Also not new; praise music helps me keep grounded. Funny how often the right song would come on the radio just when I needed it.
  • Poetry: Nova Scotian writer Laura Aliese showed me I can enjoy poetry. This year I’ve dipped into a few books from other poets. The strong word choices have been inspiring.
  • Pilates: Toward the end of 2020, I discovered a wealth of free YouTube videos from Rachel Lawrence Pilates. Her friendly and accessible instruction has helped tame the body aches that crept in during the first lockdown.
  • Photos: For all the negativity on social media, Instagram became my online happy place in 2021. I don’t post (that might feel like work) and I only follow nature photographers, tourism shots, and Bible/inspirational quotes (well, and David Crowder because he makes me laugh). It’s been a lovely mini refuge when I needed it most.
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Schedule Change

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Things have been different here on my blog lately, and it’s time to redefine the schedule. On Tuesdays, you may find a book review. On Fridays, another post or guest post. Some weeks there may be a gap, if I don’t have anything particular I’d like to share.

Almost nine years ago, I started posting weekly devotionals, and every week God showed me something that I could share, usually something I needed for myself as well. Sometimes it didn’t come until Tuesday evening for a Wednesday morning post, but it always came. (Except for the one week when He sent me back to a previous post I needed to re-read, so I re-posted that.)

It reached the point where I didn’t stress if nothing had appeared yet, because He always provided. That’s how I knew the devotionals were something He wanted me to write, and I committed to share them every week as long as He gave them.

When nothing came even by bedtime on a Tuesday not long ago, I thought, okay, this is a new stretch. Maybe first thing in the morning. I like to schedule my posts ahead of time, but perhaps the lesson was in flexibility.

Wednesday morning’s reading and prayer time brought nothing: no insight to share, no stress, just a surreal sense of… nothing.

My prayer for these posts has always been, “Lord, let me hear what You say. Don’t let me make anything up.” So there was no devotional post that day. Nor has there been one since.

Not that He’s stopped teaching me, but there’s been nothing to share here. It feels like that door has closed, and I’m okay with that. Surprised, but okay.

Is this an end of a season, or a hiatus? I guess we’ll find out in time. For now, I’m grateful for the privilege to have been part of what He was doing in this way, and I’m grateful to those who’ve occasionally let me know how He used something I said in their lives. Those are the reward moments for a writer.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. I’m still writing, working on my first Green Dory Inn Mystery, and there’s a nonfiction project in the works, too.

Devotional-wise, God will continue blessing and teaching and challenging you through other voices. His love, mercy, and saving power is greater than we can imagine.

If you haven’t yet discovered them, here are my three favourite devotional resources:

I can’t pass up the opportunity to share one last song. There are so many to choose from, but let’s go out with one that celebrates God’s character and His tenacity: “God Undefeatable,” from Todd Agnew.

Without Proof Short-listed for Award

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Without Proof [Redemption's Edge 3]The Word Awards short-list is out, for work published in 2015. I’m excited that Without Proof is one of the three novels in the Suspense category.

I’ve read the other two novels in that category, and they’re excellent reads: Shadow of a Butterfly, by J.A. Menzies, and Desperate Measures, by Sandra Orchard.

You can see the full list of books, articles, songs etc here: The Word Awards short-list. Results will be announced in June.

Cocoa White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

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Each novel in my Redemption’s Edge series has a recipe that’s significant to one of the characters. In Secrets and Lies, Carol does a lot of baking, at the café where she works, at home, and even a private catering stint. Baking is one of her coping mechanisms, and if she can give away the results, it’s less for her to eat. These are similar to the cookies she dropped off at Joey’s radio station for him and his co-workers. Recipe: Cocoa White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (from Secrets and Lies, Redemption's Edge Book 2)

Celebrating Christmas

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Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here’s a song you may not have heard: A Day of Glory, from Austin Stone Worship‘s album of the same name. (One of my favourite Christmas albums)

 

If You Love Christian Music

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I think it was 2008 that I first heard Geoff Moore sing. I went home and forgot his name, his songs… but I remembered this guy who sang like he loved the Lord, so much that he practically glowed with it. When he came back to Halifax with Steven Curtis Chapman in 2011, I didn’t recognize his name. When he started to sing, I knew him.

I loved the songs he sang that night, bought his new album, Saying Grace, and loved it so much that I ordered some of his older material online. Buying a CD when you’ve just experienced a live performance is risky, as a couple of dusty cases in my stack will prove. But his songs fit into my soul at first hearing like they’d been there all along.

If you’ve followed many of my Wednesday devotionals, you’ve noticed I end each one with a YouTube video of a song related to the message. These are often songs I’m especially fond of, and every so often one of those songs is from Geoff Moore.

He’s planning a new album, and he’s funding it through Kickstarter. It’s called New Stories, and this is what he says in summary:

This August, 31 years after making my first album, I will be heading into the studio to make my 15th album. It will be an album of songs that explore the things I love; about the thoughts on my mind, the people in my heart, and the God in whom I believe in.

This project is only open for funding until August 30, so check out the details now while there’s time. If the video clip below doesn’t work, or for more details, head over to the Kickstarter campaign page. [If you’re not familiar with Geoff Moore’s music, he’s offering Saying Grace free at NoiseTrade for a limited time. Listen to the music: “I Believe,” “Loved” and “The Wonder of Kindness” are my favourites. If you love it, support this next album.]

If you’ve never been part of a Kickstarter campaign, it’s painless. It’s kind of like pre-ordering the final product. There are various levels of support, and if the project isn’t fully funded, you don’t lose your money. I’ve picked up a few albums and other products this way.

[Note: if you support this campaign, I gain nothing — except that when it’s fully funded, I’ll get the CD that I pledged for.]

Our Part in the Whole

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Some of us like teamwork, and others prefer to work alone. As an introvert – and a writer – I’m used to solitary efforts. Even there, it’s good to know I’m connected to friends and co-labourers. We need one another, for support, encouragement, and perspective.

Volunteers painting a concrete barricade wall in Saint John, NB, May 2015

I took this photo when my husband and I were in Saint John, NB, in May. These volunteers worked together to repaint the city’s Marigolds Mural and turn it back into a feast of colours for locals and tourists to enjoy.

Nobody’d want to do the whole thing, but together 150+ volunteers did it in a day. I don’t think any of them were professional artists. It doesn’t matter. They saw a need, and they met it. (You can read CBC’s coverage here: Marigold mural revived in Saint John.)

Here’s more of the wall:

Volunteers painting a concrete barricade wall in Saint John, NB, May 2015

What could you or I do, that may not seem like much but could be part of a greater whole? Little contributions add up.

Tea and Spontaneity

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My husband and I can offer visitors over 50 varieties of tea, from one of perhaps 10 pots, in any of a frighteningly large number of mugs or cups. [If that worries you, well it worries me too and I’m on a new mission to downsize our tea capacity — since I don’t want to open a tea room!]

Suffice to say, we love our tea. So this building was iconic to me when I saw it recently in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Red Rose Tea Building, Saint John, NB

Red Rose Tea Building, Saint John, NB “Only in Canada, you say?”

Here’s a link to Red Rose’s history of tea.

You can’t read much of this photo, but part of the text explains that King Cole tea originated with Barbour’s General Store.

Harbour Passage's tourist information: A Legacy of Tea

Here’s a link to Barbour’s history of King Cole tea. Writing this post, I discovered there’s actually a tea museum in the General Store. That would have been fun to explore when I was wandering around the city. (I did have a mighty fine cone of gelato, though.)

On a somewhat related note, check out what my brother and sister-in-law gave me for my birthday.

Teacup-shaped planter with pansies

So that’s the tea. Where’s the spontaneity? We were in Saint John for a Barbershop competition (my husband co-directs the newly-formed Halifax Harmonizers (who took second place) and sings in two quartets (September Sound competed and also took second place in their event). The competition was held in the gorgeous and historic Saint John High School. The school has flat, wide, marble banisters. Without those nasty impediments most schools put at the bottom to discourage sliding.

Blurred image of Janet sliding down the banister

Janet in action: moving too fast for the camera!