Romeo

I have never used a real person as a character in my books. My characters take on personalities of their own, and although bits and pieces of people I know may slip through, basically, I make it all up.

Except for Romeo. It gave me great pleasure to write about my old German Shepard. I say my, but like most pets, Romeo was a member of our family. He was our dog. And what a great dog he was. Loving and kind and strangely moody sometimes!

He had a fetish for moving car tires, which I found advantageous because people thought he was an attack dog when they pulled into our isolated farm. But he was just chasing tires. We didn’t believe the lady from the power company when she accused Romeo of giving her flats until he sunk his teeth into the wall of a friend’s tire right in front of us.

Truthfully, other than tires, the only thing I ever saw him attack was bumblebees. Not sure what that was all about!

The thing I found most amazing about him was during a period when I was very ill, he’d stay close to my side while I went for my daily walk in the woods. But as I started to recover, he strayed further and further until he resumed his usual habit of chasing rabbits and treeing porcupines. I never did understand how he knew when I needed him close and when I didn’t.

He died of old age a few months before we sold the farm, and we buried him under the big, old pines trees. His death seemed fitting at the time. The old adage you can’t teach an old dog new tricks is probably true, and he could be stubborn when he chose to be. Leaning to live around traffic and strangers would have been difficult for him. I think he’s where he belongs.

And now, for a few pages, I’ve brought him back to life!

I hope you enjoy When Adam Came to Town and Romeo’s part in the story as much as I enjoyed writing about him.   

NEW RELEASE!

 When Adam Came to Town should be in stores this coming week. I admit I drop by one or two stores to see my book on the shelf. It's quite a thrill! 

Romantic Times has kindly reviewed my book. They gave the book 4 stars! (Forgive me. It's an exclamation mark kind of day.)

"When Adam Came to Town offers a refreshingly light writing style and a nicely paced story. Kelly does a really nice job depicting character issue. Sylvie's panic attacks and her worry over not being able to paint and Adam's worry over his past both ring true — without their inclusion being at all heavy-handed." 

I listed the on-line links to buy the book below. 

I would love to hear from people what they think of the book. kate@katekelly.ca

 

Also available at Harlequin, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Kobo/ Indigo/ Chapters

Website Woes

Way back at the beginning when someone said I needed a website, I balked at the idea. Really? Why? Of course, now I understand about having platforms so people can stop by and check out my books and read a little about me. (I don’t really get that last bit, but I keep hearing readers are curious about writers.) Anyway, the website. I think my initial skepticism has haunted me ever since.  

I succumbed to popular opinion and paid a lot of money to have a website designed just for me. I loved that website, but the designer kind of fell off the edge of the world when, after the first year, I asked him to make some changes. So yeah, that site died. 

Then a good friend convinced me I was better off designing my own site, and therein followed weeks of pure hell. Except I got to hang out with my friend here and there as we tried to untangle the mess I’d created. Finally, another friend recommended a site specifically for designing websites to be used by simpletons who don’t know what they’re doing. I won’t say I’ve mastered the site, but I can now add information when I want to. Sort of.

Or I could until, well, I lost my domain name. Turns out you can’t have a website on-line without that handle. See? I’m cursed!

So, I’m going to be hanging out here for a while until we get things sorted out. I’ve been working hard on the third book for my Stolen Hearts series. I’d love to say it will be ready this fall, but I also write for Super Romance, Harlequin sometimes, and if they offer another contract, I’ll be on deadline with them.

I have a Super Romance, When Adam Came To Town, coming out in September. If I can figure out how to do it, I’ll post the cover here. It’s gorgeous.

I wouldn’t mind hearing other people's website woes. I can’t be the only one website-less. And as they say, misery likes company!  

Down By The Bay

Spring in the Maritimes has been cold and wet this year. I live on a fresh water bay, and the water is exceptionally high for June. Between the rain and the cold, I haven’t been spending much time by the shore lately. I meandered down today after my walk between the rain drops and sat, listening to the waves lap at the shore. Our shoreline is not a beach. We have rocks and shrubs, and we’re reluctant to alter it much because ice and high water can eat away at the shoreline, and you’re left with a muddy mess.

While I was letting my mind drift with the waves, I noticed movement amongst the shrubs that still had their feet in the water. First, one duckling paddled out, then another and another. There were eight in all, and mom wasn’t far behind. I don’t know if they’d been hiding there when I arrived or just came along. When the mother (is there a name for a mother duck?) led all eight a few feet from shore, the babes swam close to her. So close they almost looked all of a piece. They didn’t dawdle, but disappeared around the corner and into the small cove where the angry beaver used to live.   

And here I was worried because I hadn’t seen many ducks around this spring. I thought the water was too high for them to stay and make nests. Turns out I should have been worrying about the gimongous Osprey and the eagle that have been circling the cove daily. I thought they were fishing—for fish. I doubt I’ll watch them quite as keenly until those little ducklings are big enough to fend for themselves.