Happy Halloween!
This is my third attempt at doing a blog post today! Hoping third time’s a charm.
SinceI love Halloween and all things witchy, I wanted to check in, say hello, let you know I’m working on book 5 in my Witch and Demon Hunter series. I’ll be sad to see this one end. I always am. A writer gets really attached to their characters. They are their babies and we tend to spend more time with them than even our families.

Both Lorcan and Fiona have Irish heritage. (Like me) If my series aren’t set in Ireland, they have at least one Irish character.

I think it’s so cool that Halloween began in Ireland with the ancient pagan celebration of Samhain (pronounced sow in) the time when the veil between the realm of the dead and the living was thinnest. So many traditions we still do had their beginnings so long ago.

Do you love Halloween? If so do you celebrate?
Our Halloweens are quite low key now. We decorate a little and hand out treats. I like to watch scary movies. Hocus Pocus is a must.
I’m trying to keep these posts shorter and more frequent, so I’ll sign off for now.
Magical wishes,
Leigh Ann

Spring in the Canadian prairies is a very changeable season. Changeable might be a nice word for it. Some suggest Mother Nature is being very moody or unstable.

A month ago we had +15C temperatures which is nearly unheard of in February. It has been an unusual winter with above average temperatures throughout and very little snow. We had two or three bitterly cold spells where the temperature dropped to -40C but that's to be expected. Honestly, we sometimes see three seasons in one day during spring.

I'll just be happy to be able to go outside early morning and enjoy my tea while my dogs explore our yard and chase the birds who like to torment them. 

It been a very long time since I've made a blog post here. My excuses? There are a lot. Some pretty substantial. Family health issues were top of the worrisome list. Last summer after a miserable bout with kidney stones my husband continued to feel unwell and just didn't recover with new symptoms presenting every day. He was eventually diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica or PMR. 

Like many diseases, conditions, syndromes etc. people often haven't even heard of them till they or someone they know is diagnosed with it.
PMR is like a cousin to rheumatoid arthritis and it can be brutal. There were some days last fall where Mark not only couldn't get out of bed, he couldn't even move the covers to try to get out of bed. He's been on a regime of steroids and pain killers trying to deal with the disease. He's been able to go back to work, but I'm looking forward to when he can retire. 

The other huge health concern was with my grandson who was twelve at the time. Last spring G began to kind of blank out. He'd lose his balance, stop talking mid-sentence, or drop things. After several tests including an MRI and EEG were done, he was wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy. The neurologist and neurosurgeon looked into it further and eventually discovered it was wrong when the epilepsy meds didn't stop the symptoms.

Another MRI was done where dye is injected to allow the brain to be seen clearer and this time they found a brain tumour. To say it was scary at any age is an understatement, but for a twelve year old child, it was so frightening. Even as an author I find it difficult to explain how utterly terrifying it was for our family. Thankfully, right from the get-go the specialists believed the tumour was benign. However, the only way to know for certain was to surgically remove it. G was just so brave and accepting of all the tests, the pokes and prodding, and with knowing he had to have surgery.  

Therefore, early last October after the surgery was postponed for a month, it was finally done. And I am so grateful to say it was a success. The neurosurgeon who is apparently the best in western Canada and who claimed to have done five thousand of these types of operations was able to remove the entire tumour. After weeks of sitting on pins and needles and a lot of praying, the pathology report confirmed it was non-malignant.

G was such a trooper. The hospital staff raved about how courageous he was. I write about heroes and heroines all the time in my stories, but my sweet grandson was straight-up a real-life hero. He didn't complain even through the pain or the projectile vomiting after the surgery. Apparently that is a common side effect of brain surgery for it's like a concussion or any brain trauma. 

We are so grateful there were no problems with speech, memory or coordination following the surgery. The incision was slow to heal and G needed to take two or three rounds of antibiotics, but all-in-all considering the severity of the surgery, he has recovered remarkably well. Children are often resilient, but I am absolutely amazed at how G has handled all of this.

It's been naturally traumatic for my daughter and son-in-law and my youngest grandson, Their family has been through a lot and as a mother it's been tough to see your baby suffering when her baby was so unwell. Even for my other daughter and grandchildren this was difficult. We are a small but close-knit family so of course it affected everyone. 

G went through the probably usual recovery period where he wanted to stay home and just heal. He became quieter. Keep in mind he's also well into puberty which causes a lot of changes in personality, too. But now he's back playing hockey and joking around with friends. Needless to say I am relieved our prayers were answered. G will still need to go for regular MRIs every 3-4 months to ensure no other tumours have begun to grow, but thankfully the first post-op MRI was all clear! Insert another heavy sigh of relief!


The other things that keep me from doing a regular blog?  The usual. I'm constantly writing. Deadlines are looming. I also have ongoing struggles with technology. For me stress affects my stomach so I've been dealing with some less serious health issues, but annoying and unpleasant tummy troubles. And really a busy life in general.

I admire–– maybe even envy authors who are so good at promoting their books with catchy promo graphics and a lot of cool marketing tools. Many authors have a weekly or biweekly newsletter or a regular blog post that is sent out across emails and social media. I'm presently getting my granddaughter to try to help me learn to navigate TikTok. 

A lot of the time I spend 12+ hours a day writing. Add being a wife, mother, grandmother and pet-owner to four active fur babies finding time to work on promotions is daunting.  I am in awe of authors who can do so much marketing while they continue with a busy writing schedule. 

I am happy to say, I continue to love writing. It's my passion, one of my sources of joy and sometimes my salvation when life is especially difficult.

Since my last blog post, my entire Maidens of the Mystical Stones series has been published with the fantastic Tule Publishing Group. I am really pleased with the five book series. Readers seem to love the books, too. 

It was a really interesting, albeit often challenging series to write with the four lead females switching bodies with each of their friends for a season. I had to attempt to make sure readers always knew who was who even when the women were inhabiting another body.

It was also one of the most thought-provoking series I've written to date. It also confirmed that as much as I love to write and fantasize about historical times, I'm super glad as a woman and probably anyone, that I don't live during medieval times.

Now, I'm writing another new series and I'm having a blast with it. The two main characters, Lorcan and Fiona, are lots of fun to write. They were secondary characters in my Witches of Time series and pairing them to locate and assess, sometimes hunt supernatural creatures has been so interesting.

They are complete opposites. Lorcan is a cocky, tall, dark, sinfully handsome half-demon who swears a lot, drinks too much and sleeps around. Fiona is a pretty, no-nonsense, more reserved, powerful witch who's nineteen years older than Lorcan.

They have a complicated family history, not to mention Lorcan's father caused terrible heartache for Fiona in the past. They both hate the idea of being forced to be partners and soon realize they're attracted to one another which causes varied degrees of sexual tension and resistance. 

I'm working on book four at present. I hope readers will love their antics and the chemistry between them. So far reviews for Dark Irish Demon, book one in the series have been really fantastic. 

Well, I have nattered on for quite a long time...something I tend to do when I'm writing.

I won't promise to do a weekly blog, but I will be back here in a couple of weeks. 
Until then, magical wishes.
​Leigh Ann

 

Well, I'm finally back. I said I'd be here every Monday and I've already missed one. 

But today is an exciting day so I wanted to make sure I did a blog post. Not only is it release day for my first book in the Maidens of the Mystical Stones series, it's also my only granddaughter's birthday. We celebrated last night and it was lots of fun with pizza and mashed potatoes and carrots. That was her request for her birthday supper. I also cooked  roast beef for those who don't really like pizza. And we had ice-cream cake which was really delicious. 

I'm excited to have the first book available to readers. It's always a little nerve-racking, too, to have a new series out. Authors always hope it will be liked as much as the previous one...or more.

Later today, I'll be dropping in to the Tule Book Club to celebrate the book release and to  share some information about this book. There will be giveaways, too. I'll be on the Tule blog and also featured on Harlequin Junkie. Then on Wednesday I'll be on Nan Reinhardt's author spotlight. She is a fellow Tule author and is great at helping other authors promote their books. 

The weather last week was lovely and it's supposed to great this week, too. I love the cooler fall days. The sun is still warm, but not so hot that I can't be out for even half a minute with my sun sensitivity/intolerance wreaking havoc and causing an extremely itchy rash. The trees are already changing colors. We don't have many trees with red leaves, but lots of lovely yellows, browns, and oranges. 

I'm going to have a table at our town's Pumpkin Fair this Saturday selling my novels. There should be a wonderful turn-out with the nice weather. Our small town is transformed into a much larger population with so many visiting to see the weigh off and the huge Farmer's market. 

Then next week, I think I'm going to drive out to Manitoba. That's where I'm from originally and I've been feeling a little homesick lately. I haven't been back for four years––the longest stretch since I moved to Alberta in 1989. Even though I don't have any immediate family left there now, I do have some friends that I like to keep in touch with. I also go to the cemetery in the tiny town. I visit my Mum, Dad, brother and sister's graves...as well as so many relatives and other people I knew during my childhood.

​It's a long drive, but luckily I can break it up by staying with a friend in Moose Jaw overnight. If I don't go now, I'll likely be dealing with winter roads. I wouldn't make that long trip in winter even though at one time I didn't think anything of it and that was before cell phones. 

So the next time I get back to the blog it will be the middle of October. Canadian Thanksgiving is early in October so I'll miss being home for that, so I'll be cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for my family a week late. 

Next time, I'll include an excerpt from Autumn's Magical Pact. 

Hoping you're all having a lovely autumn. Until I'm back. Magical Wishes.
Leigh Ann

​I've had a few things come up to make this post late. I extended my book deadline till the middle of September so writing and editing took up a lot of my time. Then it was Labour Day long weekend and we celebrated my eldest grandson's 18th birthday. I can't believe I have a grandchild that old.

It was nice to have the whole family together, My husband, Mark, had to miss the birthday supper as he's been in England the past two weeks visiting his father who's been unwell for some time. I pick Mark up from the airport tomorrow afternoon. It will be really nice to see him. I've missed him and although I know he does quite a lot around the house and with our pets, I think I forget just how much... till he's not here. 

I sent in book four in my Maiden's of The Mystical Stones for editing yesterday. I'm hoping my editor will like Summer's Celestial Plea. It always makes me a bit nervous sending in a new book to be seen for the first time. 

September 14/23 is the release date for book five, the last in this series, which is yet untitled. I've been trying to come up with a name but will need to consult with my editor and the Tule team for that. 

Today I've been working on a few blog posts and giveaways for Tule's birthday celebration on Sept. 14th and for Autumn's Magical Pact book release on September 26th.  

It's been cooler the last couple of days after a really long hot spell. I'm really happy about the cooler weather but not looking forward to winter. 

I spent three days last week during that heatwave at a beautiful lakeside B&B. It was a working holiday and I got lots of editing done. It was wonderful to get away. The room was so lovely and the breakfasts were absolutely delicious. I really could have stayed so much longer. Thankfully my daughter and granddaughter stayed at our home to look after our dog and two cats. I appreciated that very much.

My younger daughter is redoing/landscaping our front flowerbeds in return for me house/pet sitting for them last month. It's so nice when family can help each other out.

This blog post is kind of scattered with bits of information and as I feared, I had some trouble getting back into how to post blogs at all. I think this might come up in the same blog as the previous one, but I'm working on getting better at this.

I hope you've had a wonderful summer and you're excited for fall. I'd love to hear your comments. Tell me what you have planned for autumn. I'm doing some things for my book launch in September and I'm also beginning book five probably next week. Until next time, magical wishes!
Leigh Ann

I've been wanting to start a blog for a very long time. Literally for years. So what''s stopping me? Firstly, I always think,..I'm so busy trying to write my stories, then edit them, and have a life beyond my writing, (I have a husband, two adult daughters, four grandchildren, a dog, two cats and a small business doing reiki and tarot and angel card readings) therefore I don't have time for writing a blog. I've also thought I don't really have anything very interesting to say every week, but I've been advised readers like to hear about an author's life...even if it might seem uninteresting. Besides, a lot of authors who are equally busy or busier with a full time job still manage to do blogs and send out new-letters, do lots more social media posts, etc. etc.etc.

So starting September 5, after my latest book deadline for Summer's Celestial Plea, book four in my Maidens of the Mystical Stones series, (August 31) I'm going to start writing a weekly blog and we'll see how it goes. If... I can even figure out how to post a blog. I admit I struggle with technology more than I should considering I'm working on my fourth series and my nineteenth book. 

I've just had my nephew's friend work on making my website more appealing and adding pre-order links for the first two books in the series. 
Looking forward to being here weekly, starting in September. 

Magical wishes,
Leigh Ann 

I'm hoping to have people follow the blog posts and make comments. There will even be some giveaways.