Anything and Everything.

Music is so important, in books and movies. Ever watch a movie without the music playing? It changes the scene, and even though there can be great dialogue and fantastic acting, it's not the same. Unfortunately, this is not possible for books to have certain songs playing in the background as you read over the scenes. If it were, I'd have a variety built in. There are certain songs though, that when I hear them, I think of certain books as it matches the themes. For Run Away Charlotte , one song always stops me in my tracks when I hear it. I see Charlotte talking to Andrew, laying it all out as the communication shuts down between the two of them and how in that moment, she breaks and makes the worst decision of her life. A Great Big World's " Say Something " wrecks me, as I figured Charlotte was in that heartbreaking moment. "And I will swallow my pride You're the one that I love And I'm saying goodbye" -- A Great Big World F...

For those of you who don't know, I work PT in an elementary school (grades preschool - grade six) and over the summer, I read all the junior level YRCAs (Young Readers Choice Award) to better assist my students. This summer I was successful, and have rated the books from my least favourite to my absolute favourite. There are 8 junior level reads vying for top prize and the voting ended April 15th. Here are my thoughts on the books. #8 - The Inn Between by Marina Cohen The Shining meets "Hotel California" in this supremely creepy middle grade novel about the bizarre things that happen to two girls stranded at a desert inn. Eleven-year-old Quinn has had some bad experiences lately. She was caught cheating in school, and then one day, her little sister Emma disappeared while walking home from school. She never returned When Quinn's best friend Kara has to move away, she goes on one last trip with Kara and her family. They stop over at the first hotel they s...

Back in April, I spotted a Groupon that sounded like so much fun -  A Big City Scavenger Hunt for Edmonton. With the Groupon pricing, and some sort of deal of the day discount, I secured 4 tickets for $33.20, and since it had to be used by August 10, I added it to our #summerbucketlist. As the expiry date rolled closer, we decided to head out on a cloudy Saturday afternoon to make use of it. It took a bit to get it set up (for whatever reason, my phone wouldn't go past the login screen, so hubs used his and then became the group leader). We got it all set up, and because my youngest doesn't have a phone, he tagged off of my phone. The four of us got our 'roles'; the Leader , the Art Major , the Architect and the Photographer, and with extra battery packs for the phones headed to our starting point - downtown at the Legislative Grounds. Assignments were sent to each phone (two to mine as our youngest doesn't have a phone), and you completed them. Some were...

Last year we sailed down the North Saskatchew with Edmonton Canoe on their leisure Sunday PM canoe ride. If you're curious about our last years trip, click here . It was so much fun, that we booked again for this summer. Same company, same Sunday afternoon event.  Date selected, we eagerly watched the weather. Unless it's storming, it's a go. Thankfully for us that Sunday, it was a beautiful 30C, and we had a light breeze on the water.  Our starting point was Capilano Park, where we parked our vehicle and received some quick instructions from the leader of Edmonton Canoe. We boarded the bus and headed to our starting destination. This year, due to construction on the Groat Rode bridge, we were unable to start at Emily Murphy park. Instead, as a bonus, we got to start further upstream at Sir Wilfred Laurier Park.  Leaving Sir Wilfred Laurier Park - the Hawrelak Park-Laurier Park Bridge in the distance.   As we paddled down the river, we...

Hey Readers! The following chapter was cut during revisions. It’s still raw, and may contain spelling or grammar errors. It was supposed to be Chapter 27 in Duly Noted , but in consultation with my editor and beta readers, it added a whole other range of issues to explore, and the word count was already creeping up, so it needed to be cut. But it explores a bit of what Nate thought of Aurora's PTSD. Copyright 2016 -- H.M. Shander No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without express written permission from the author.                            DULY NOTED – BONUS CHAPTER Nate had to chuckle to himself as Aurora sang way off tune to a song on the radio. He knew this was a side to the medication, even if he never told her. Cole knew it too and had warned him. But i...

What's cooking in the Westside kitchen?  Four brand new standalone stories; each focusing on one of the staff members at Westside, however, they also make minor appearances in the other stories. Watch for a surprise appearance from a beloved character or two from past books. Meet the staff at Westside Eatery:  Jade/Shayne - server Jasper - server Evanora/Audrina - server Niall - manager Joy/Josephine - server Robin - server Celeste - server Meghan - manager Click on each book below to be taken to the its own page, with cover and sneak peek (coming soon), and links to pre-order. Serving Up Innocence - Book One - October 3rd Serving Up Devotion - Book Two - November 21st Serving Up Secrecy - Book Three - January 2nd Serving Up Hope - Book Four - February 13th Check out all the books on Goodreads , and add the Ladies of Westside series to your must read pile. 

This is a running list of the books I've read each month, with a copy of the cover as my favourite of the month - which turns out to be 34! WOW! I am not including any of the manuscripts I have worked on for my author friends, as sometimes they had no working title when I received it, or the author has decided to withhold it from the public as it's being queried out, but there are likely a dozen or two I'd add to the list. It's definitely been a nice variety as our book club switches genres each month. That's fun - it's nice to read something a little different.  January Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda Brunstetter Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins February  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Husseini Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins March The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce Wonder by R.J. Palacio ...

Serving Up Hope - Book Four Single male needed for former fiance's wedding. Must pretend to be my boyfriend for the day. Steady employment necessary, must look great in a suit and be between the ages of 25 - 40. Bonus points if similar in nature to a Disney prince. Meghan Carter, the owner of Westside, is blindsided when she receives an invitation to her ex's wedding; the one who left her at the altar four years ago. Whatever the motive behind the invite, she needs to show up and prove she's better off without him. On the arm of the perfect man would be the best kind of revenge. The workaholic reluctantly sets up a dating profile and through the slush pile, four potential candidates seem acceptable . However, there's one she feels a connection with as he understands the motivation behind needing the fake date and is willing to be her arm candy. She didn't join the dating site to be jerked around, and she didn't join it to find an everlasting l...