Musings on the shortfalls of being hobbit-sized

I’m a fan of short things. Short work weeks. Short speeches, hobbits, short stories, and shortcake!

My bias comes in part because I am a short person. Slightly bigger than hobbit-sized, but not by much. In my twenties, I worked in the records office of a police department and wore heels to work every day. Not for fashion reasons, or because it was in the dress code. No, I wore heels because it was the only way I could reach the "not even close to the top shelf" without the use of a ladder.

Last weekend I did some early spring cleaning. I lugged a stupidly heavy bag of garbage down to the condo garbage room, and then struggled for ten solid minutes to get the damned thing into the Dumpster.

The lip of the bin comes to about chin height, and I was trying to toss about forty-five lbs of garbage over the edge. Physics was not on my side. I eventually had to give up and go back up to my suite to get a stool. I should probably just give in and carry one with me everywhere.

**Warning, making short jokes can become hobbit-forming** 

So, to summarize - Short things, I'm generally a fan.

I'm not really fond of the shortest month of the year, however. February is a dark, gloomy, time where the damp weather chill settles into your bones and sunlight is a rare, fleeting gift quickly lost behind the ever-present grey clouds that shroud the sky.

It's a good month to nestle in with a good book, spend time with friends, and if you're lucky, take a vacation somewhere with longer days and more sunshine. To beat the February blahs, I'm packing my things and taking a short trip to San Antonio this month. Barbecue, cowboys, sunshine (hopefully) and a whole lot of fun. (definitely.) I'll be attending Wild Wicked Weekend February 23-25th, signing books and hanging out with some truly amazing authors. (and readers!) I love traveling, and this time of year it's wonderful to be making a break for southern climes. If you happen to be in the San Antonio area, I hope you come down and say hi!

In keeping with the "short" theme for this post, I'm happy to announce that my new book, Wild Card, will be releasing shortly! (see what I did there?)  In fact, it comes out February 21st, which, thanks to a short circuit in my planning process, is the day before I leave for San Antonio. I expect to be bouncing around like a hyper-caffeinated hobbit for that entire week as I prep, pack, and celebrate.
See you next month, and until then, be happy, chase your dreams and keep reading!

Susan

http://susanhayes.ca

Susan lives on Vancouver Island, off the Canadian west coast where the waters are patrolled by orcas and the sighting of snowflakes leads to citywide panic. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and accidently swum with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

If the world ends, she plans to survive as the spunky, comedic sidekick to the heroes of the new world, because she’s too short and out of shape to make it on her own for long.

Greetings from the West Coast by @SHayesRomance

Hi!

I’m Susan Hayes, and I’m one of the new authors invited to join the Romance Eh, blog this year. I’ve lived my whole life on B.C.’s west coast, and most of that time I’ve called Victoria my home. Yes, I’m an islander, born and raised. We’re a unique breed, considered a little quirky even by west coast standards. Part of that uniqueness comes from the fact we live in one of the only parts of this vast country that doesn’t experience a true Canadian winter.

Snowfall warnings here are likely to incite citywide panic, and at the first sight of actual flurries, the city shuts its collective doors and flees for the safety of our homes. That’s what’s going on today, as I write this blog. There’s a chance of flurries in the forecast, and as a result, the city has gone quiet. Everyone is staring up at the clouds, waiting for the first dreaded flake to appear.

This was the view from my parent’s window on Christmas Day. Technically, it was a white Christmas by Victoria standards. (If you look closely, there are a few patches of white in all that green…really!)

Christmas quail - No, we didn't show them what we did to the turkey...

While everyone else in town was preparing for snow, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my new book, Wild Card, Book #3 in my sci-fi romance series, The Drift. *cue trumpets and dancers cavorting in celebration.* I write across a few genres, including contemporary and fantasy, but deep down I know my favourites are science fiction and paranormal romances. Just, don’t tell the other genres, I don’t want to hurt their feelings!

According my dad, it’s all my mom’s fault that I am a geek. She had me watching the original Star Trek before my eyes could even focus properly, and the year Star Wars came out, the only Halloween costume I wanted was Princess Leia. I grew up watching and reading everything I could about alternative worlds and possible futures where magic was real, and a princess could still be a badass with a laser gun. These days, I get to tell my own stories, and one of the many things I’ve carried with me is a love of strong heroines. Women from all walks of life who aren’t afraid to do what needs to be done instead of waiting for the hero (or in some cases, heroes) to save them.

If you’d like to check out one of my heroines: Double Down,  Book one of the Drift Series is free right now: 

Free Book

See you next month, and until then, stay warm, be happy, and take time to read!

Happy reading,

Susan

http://susanhayes.ca

Susan lives on Vancouver Island, off the Canadian west coast where the waters are patrolled by orcas and the sighting of snowflakes leads to citywide panic. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and accidently swum with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

If the world ends, she plans to survive as the spunky, comedic sidekick to the heroes of the new world, because she’s too short and out of shape to make it on her own for long.