Big Steps

As many of you know, I just moved with my family across the country. There have been big changes for our family, and as a result I’ve been quiet as a blogger and as an editor. I had to turn down a few really great projects earlier this year because there just wasn’t time – I needed to focus on my family and our move. We’ve been here a little over two months now, and we’re busier than ever but we’re also making more time for me to return to editing and blogging. SO here are a few things I’m up to:

1 – Today is the first day I have a babysitter here with the little two while the big two are at school so I can get some dedicated work time during the day. It’s a big thing for me to have someone watch my kids, even if I am just upstairs…

2 – I joined the Editorial Freelancers Association! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and finally just did it. I now have access to their courses at a discounted rate, I’m listed in their freelancer database for potential clients to find me, and I have access to their job board. ALSO I now have access to many, many colleagues from whom I can learn a ton. I’m excited!

3 – I’m working with an indie author on his book, copy editing to help prepare for submission to agents. I have been doing smaller projects recently (and still am!) and I’m SO excited to be working on a book again.

I have a lot of ideas of where I want to go with this — too many to fit into the time I have, of course, so I have to talk myself down every once in a while before I get myself committed to more than I can reasonably accomplish. For now, though, I’m going to have two dedicated mornings a week to edit — and time to do things like figure out how on earth to fix that EFA Member badge you see there on the sidebar all the wrong size (except I’ll probably just call in my IT department, aka my husband!).

Thanks for reading and supporting me. And if you know anyone in need of an editor, send them my way!

Picture Book Review: I Smile for Grandpa

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I Smile for Grandpa, written by Jaclyn Guenette and illustrated by Kathryn Harrison, is the sad but powerful story of Buddy and Grandpa, and how their relationship changes as Grandpa succumbs to dementia. The highest praise I can give this book is that I passed it on to a friend whose mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimers because I thought it could be helpful for her to read with her children. I read it with my children, who don’t know anyone with dementia, and it led us to have some great conversations. The illustrator’s decision on dressing Buddy is genius – it’s never mentioned in the story whether Buddy is male or female, and the clothing could go either way. To my daughters, Buddy was “clearly” a girl because “she” wears purple; truly, though, I think a young boy could just as easily say Buddy is “obviously” a boy. The simple but powerful language combined with the illustrations that allow all children to see themselves as Buddy make this book a great tool for talking to kids about dementia. I highly recommend this book, and thank illustrator Kathryn Harrison for gifting me a copy in exchange for a (very, very, very overdue) review. 

Find more information about the book and how it supports the Alzheimer Society of Canada, visit ismileforgrandpa.com.

Four stars!

ARC Review: Lucky Strike by Thomas Fenske

Lucky Strike by Thomas Fenske

Thomas Fenske does not disappoint with his third installment of the Traces of Treasure series, Lucky Strike. Changing focus from the lost gold mine to a mystery buried treasure from World War II, Fenske steps it up in the complexity department. I’m impressed by his ability to weave together so many disparate parts into a coherent whole, slowly revealing bits of information both about the resolution of the mystery and about the characters we’ve met through the first two books. World War II, deserters, and buried treasure; international criminals, kidnapping, and murder. Oh, and our friends the ghosts, who once again play a pivotal role in the resolution of the key drama. As the drama unfolds, we learn in bits both information useful for solving the mystery of the lost treasure as well as some of the backstory to the characters we’ve come to love from the first two books. I originally erroneously thought the series was going to end with this book, and that made me sad because Sam, Smidgeon, and Lance have started to feel like old friends. I’ve spent so much time with them and in Van Horn that sometimes I forget I’ve never actually been to Texas. I’m glad to spend more time with them, though at the same time I do wish they could live in some sort of peace!

Four stars!

Check out my reviews of Books 1 and 2, The Fever and A Curse That Bites Deep, then go buy them and read up in anticipation of Lucky Strike‘s release this fall!