Happy Spring!

It seems we've all been talking about spring here on the blog, but then, there's nothing like a cold Canadian winter to get people excited about the change of the seasons. In my neck of the woods, we've had snow and more snow, and cold temps since Christmas. Having the temps rise and the snow disappear over the past week has been an amazing gift. The days are longer and the sunlight is more golden (it's blue in the winter).

I've been out in the garden, checking on the progress of my lovelies. The tulips are poking out of the soil this past weekend, and I can see the spires of snowdrops appearing. The irises are up (which surprises me) and the sedum buds are rounding. There's growth everywhere I look, and birds swooping through the garden too. The cardinals are busy, and the chickadees are at the feeder. There are woodpeckers, too.

Has spring appeared in your neck of the woods yet?

I've also been finishing the edits for my next release, Firestorm Forever, which is the final book in my Dragonfire cycle of paranormal romances featuring dragon shapeshifter heroes. Firestorm Forever will go on sale May 13. You can download the first chapter for free from my store, in EPUB or MOBI, or read a shorter excerpt on my website, right here.

One of the most exciting things about spring this year is the Romancing the Capital readers' conference, taking place in Ottawa in just a couple of weeks. Will Ottawa's famous tulips be in bloom? Even if they aren't, it'll be a wonderful time, with lots of readers and writers hanging out together. I'm so looking forward to this event, and hope to see you there.

Have you booked your place yet? I hope to see you there!

Melting Pots Are The Best Pots

My husband and I were talking the other night about what to have for dinner. Neither of us wanted to cook so the argument started..What do you feel like? Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Lebanese, Perogies, BBQ, Indian, Chinese... We have excellent restaurants for all of these and that's when we started to wonder what exactly is considered Canadian cuisine? Other than Poutine (fries and cheese curds smothered in really hot gravy so the cheese starts to melt) mmmmmmpoutine.

We live in such a multi cultural area, that we take for granted all the incredible things that Southern Ontario has to offer. A quick trip on the GoTrain and I can be in Toronto and a brief subway ride away from almost every cultural community you can imagine.

That is what I had in mind when the idea for Ecstasy Lake came into my brain. I was hiking though Algonquin Park and started imagining a town of shapeshifters tucked away in the bush. My goal was to have a melting pot of were-creatures all living in a close community for protection and kinship. Polyfamilies are the norm there, which is why some smartass keeps spraying 3x on the welcome sign. LOL

 Oh, and that night we went to "Sammies" (Lebanese) for donairs and chichen schwarma. :) I love that place and he's been going there since he was 16. LOL What's your favourite food? Do you cook traditional dishes (what's traditional for you) or head out to a restaurant?

My 3xtasy Lake series can be found here: