Christmas is one of my favourite holidays. I love the gatherings, the comfort foods and seasonal treats- pumpkin pie, anyone? The way my children’s faces light up when they see someone they love or open a gift they’ll treasure. The pure joy and anticipation become a live wire, and I’m here for it. Knowing it’s a limited time for celebrating, cramming all the to-dos—visiting friends, attending sports games and parties, into a few weeks is what adds to the excitement.
It’s what got me thinking about writing a holiday romance. I wanted to write a story with mystery, time constraints, and make it as sweet as butter tarts. Stir it together for a quick read and you’ve got yourself a holiday novella.

The Twelve Gifts of Christmas is not just for the sweet romance; it’s for the kindness and joy of giving I wanted to portray. I love featuring characters with heart and humour. I hope you enjoy Olivia Parker’s story.

If you’re wondering, this character wasn’t created in a spur of the moment. Rewind, a year ago, Kobo had an open call for authors to submit their holiday romance novellas. I hadn’t written a holiday romance before but wanted it, so it was the perfect way to brainstorm and push myself to write something new. I started plotting. It needed to be a Canadian setting, and I wanted to write about what I know, so I set it in Vancouver, BC. With the looming high cost of living, I knew it would be a good plot point. As it started with the heroine living in a shabby old apartment building. I wanted her to be jolly and grateful for what she has, even though she dreams of something more; she has hope. I asked the question: What would make a happy, hopeful person who loves Christmas more joyful? Giving, of course! I already knew my heroine, Oliva Parker, was a personal shopper and she loved buying and wrapping gifts, so what if she delivered a gift to a grumpy guy and was taken aback by his curtness and unrelatable personality? 
Once I started writing about Olivia’s gift delivery, I had to get her and Mr. Grumpy to keep meeting multiple times until they became friends. The letters were a sure way to keep them together. 
​
I considered making this story a full novel, but sometimes a quick read is all we can manage and still get the holiday romance vibe we’re craving. 
I hope you enjoy The Twelve Gifts of Christmas. 
Whatever your plans are this season, I hope it’s filled with good food, hope and the people you love. Happy Holidays!
 
 
 

If you’re a country person at heart, hold on to your boots, because I’m going to gush over my recent trip to Austin, Texas. 
Before I give you highlights of a memorable five-day adventure, there’s a point I’m making. As a writer, we always hear, ‘write what you know.’  But it’s also fun to write what you want to learn about, as long as the facts are correct. 
When you read a book in a place you’re familiar with, it draws you in because you know the culture or the vibe of the location. A writer friend recently said she read a book and was disappointed the author wrote about a location she obviously wasn’t familiar with, a location this writer friend knows well. If you’re familiar with a setting, it’s easier to write about, but if not, it comes with possible criticism if you get a detail wrong, and a reader might not trust the author again.
It's always fun visiting a new place. I’ve heard so much about Texas ( who hasn’t? ), it seems fitting to absorb the qualities and culture of a new city. 

​If it wasn’t for some close friends inviting my husband and me to travel with them to the U.S, I don’t know when we would have gone. Politics aside, these two trips we went on were still, I’d say, the best ones we’ve been on. We have memories to share and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. 
Last year, my trip to Nashville was still one of my favourite trips, so when the opportunity to go to Austin, Texas, with the same group of friends arose, I knew it would be another great adventure. 
The thing is, when you travel with a small group of friends, you get bonding time. It allows you to relax, do things you may not have done on your own, and of course, there are plenty of laughs. Right there, it’s worth it.

Our five-day retreat was jam-packed with entertainment. We attended the Austin City Music Festival, which brought in around 75,000 people. We were there to see Luke Combs, and he’s an outstanding performer every time. We went to a pitch and putt where the weather was hot, and the drinks were cold. One day, we went to Pins Mechanical Company. A place we should have here in Canada. It’s an old-school, family arcade/bar/games room, all rolled into one, suitable for families and their dogs. Yes, there were dogs hanging out too. With college football on the big screen, it’s a high-energy, entertainment facility. https://www.pinsbar.com/locations/austin/activities
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​There are lots of restaurants to choose from, too, and what I appreciated the most was the vegetarian and gluten-free options. Most places we visited had a great menu with plenty of options. 
If you head to Sixth Street, where the nightlife is, you’ll find comedy shows and live music. Pete’s Dueling Pianos was a hit. So much fun! We were there for hours. 
I have to say, the people in Austin were kind, friendly, and the most welcoming people I have ever met on a trip. We felt welcome. 
If I ever have a book published with Nashville or Austin as the setting, you’ll know I’ve written from experience. Speaking of, I did write a book set in Seattle and Nashville; I just haven’t found a home for it yet. When I read my manuscript, it brings a smile to my face, and a wave of good memories overcomes me. It’s the great thing about writing. Reflecting, dreaming, and imagining the joys of a place you want to visit. Again.

​If Nashville or Austin is on your travel list, I recommend going with friends and a great-fitting pair of boots. You won’t be disappointed. 

If you’re a creative person, chances are, you have a big imagination, and you’re a dreamer, like me. There's no shortage of creativity. If I'm not writing, reading, or baking, I'm honing my metal stamp creations. 
( You can check it out at https://denijones.weebly.com/)
Over the years, I’ve written several romance series and stand-alone books; however, not all of them have been published. I put some manuscripts aside so I could work on something else, but now and then, I revisit the stories I can't let go of and consider how I'll publish them. Whether it's through a literary agent, editor, or self-publishing, finding the right fit takes time. 
Recently, I was asked why I have two social media profiles with two different names. The short answer is, I don’t know how readers would feel about a first-person, twenty-five-year-old point of view. I know of authors who write contemporary romance and young adult using the same name, but I also know authors who write rom-com and contemporary romance using different pen names. I think it depends on the author's publishing journey.
My Charlene Groome profile is about books, baking, fitness, and sometimes hockey. Deni Jones is used for my new adult books, pretty things like fresh flowers and my metal stamping projects. While I have these things I enjoy creating, it might be too much to file under one name, so I decided to create a new name, a name that is personal to me. It will be the name I use to publish my new adult stories and have a place for my metal stamping creations.

Sometimes it’s a challenge coming up with a title, but for book two in my Moonlight Valley series, Recusing His Heart seemed fitting.
The overall series was created because I love the idea of best friends living in a small town and working toward their dreams. Each book features a woman from the circle of friends who is on a journey to find love and nurture their friendship. I wanted to make this an important part of the series. Celebrating each other and being there for each other wholeheartedly was my goal. 
You can tell a lot about someone by who they spend time with, so creating characters who have goals and motivation to follow their dreams sheds light on their personalities. Therefore, I created a group of friends whom I decided needed their own stories to find love. The second book, Rescuing His Heart, Sara Quinn is a journalist working for the town’s newspaper, covering news from the town fair to minor accidents. It’s repetitive and boring. She’s ready for a change. She’s also ready to date again. The trouble is, she can’t find love, so she tries a dating app. Just when she’s making plans to travel to meet a guy she’s been connecting with, her boss needs her to be in charge while he deals with an urgent family matter. Just when life seems unfair, it gets challenging when she witnesses a plane crash. Her photojournalism skills kick in, and she runs toward the crash to help while also photographing the scene. 
As the pilot recovers in the hospital, Sara learns he’s Major Colton Brooks. She researches who he is and digs up his past, then publishes a story that exposes his emotional wounds, which he’s still healing from. As Sara prepares for a trip of a lifetime, Colton prepares to heal in a town with a future he thought was impossible.
While I enjoy writing romance books, I love including friendships because they’re a part of our lives. Some of us have friends we can lean on and may have known each other forever. There are friends who are just there for the social, like a good neighbour. Whoever they are, they're a part of our circle, and it’s an important part of our lives.
With each book I write, I want it to be more than a love story. I want it to be about family and friends, connecting lives, because ultimately, it’s what makes us who we are.

Happy Reading!
​Charlene

​​Summer.
A popular time to escape whether it's a staycation or weekend getaway. It’s no wonder summer is pegged as the perfect time to read. Beach read, anyone?
New places to visit, familiar hideaways or a favourite escape, whichever it is, I use my surroundings as an inspiration for future books. There’s truth in writing about something you know. 

When my kids were young, flying was undesirable, so my hubby and I would drive to the Okanagan and spend time in Osoyoos and Oliver. Located in British Columbia, close to the US border, it’s a desert in the summer months, offering beautiful lakes, mountain terrain, award-winning wineries, distilleries, breweries and fruit orchards is more than expected in a small-town. The quaint towns became our go-to, a familiar and homey place to visit.  
 
With all the fun rolled up into one exciting place, these towns have mastered big dreams for all it produces. It’s a place I love for its memories and setting. It’s what inspired me to write my Moonlight Valley series. 
 
One summer, while exploring Oliver, known as ‘Canada’s Wine Capital,’ I toured and did wine tasting along the main road. The stunning views of rolling hills, the acres of grape vines, peach and apple orchards, mountains, and Osoyoos Lake… is paradise. It has all the qualities of a small-town dream. My mind wandered about how these wineries came into existence, and as I learned, some had been in families for generations. What a great place to be inspired!

Emily Hill, my heroine in, Playing For Love, is a proud winemaker wanting to carry out her passion and commitment of her family’s business, Cottage Hill’s Winery. However, when hit with financial troubles, she fears somebody might remove her family’s name if she can’t find the money to save it. She can’t fathom a future without her business, and when her old crush brings home the Stanley Cup to celebrate his win, she’s not just fighting for her career; she’s fighting the feelings that surface again when she sees Mason again. Keeping her financial troubles private, Emily resists help from the only man who has always had her heart. 
 
I hope you enjoy Moonlight Valley.  
What’s your favourite small town to visit?
Let me know in the comments.
 
Cheers!
 
Charlene 

Some might think of celiac disease is eating gluten-free because their body can’t handle gluten, yes, but they may not realize the harmful consequences behind the disease. 
When undiagnosed, it’s a battle to figure out what is causing a multitude of problems, but once they discover the issue, it comes as a relief, as there’s a reason for the recurring symptoms. 
 
I have three children with celiac disease, and I, being gluten-sensitive ( although one doctor says it’s very likely I’m celiac), he warns me to follow a celiac diet or I could be faced with health issues down the road. According to celiac.org, those left untreated, the disease can lead to serious health problems such as cancer. 
https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease/
 
 
So, what is celiac disease?
It’s an autoimmune disease where the symptoms are triggered by gluten resulting in inflammation and damage to the small intestine. The result is a reduced absorption of iron, calcium, Vitamins A, D, E, K and folate. In my son’s case, he also was low on zinc resulting in extreme cracked lips that weren’t cured by prescriptions, lip balms or Vaseline. 
 
Did you know 1 in 100-200 people in North America have celiac disease, but many are undiagnosed? – https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/reports-publications/food-safety/celiac-disease-gluten-connection.html
 
Celiac disease symptoms can be different for some people. While I have one child who experiences severe stomach pains, another gets skin rashes and headaches. Of course there are other symptoms that present themselves from the disease, there are many!
 
https://www.celiac.ca/gluten-related-disorders/celiac-disease/
 
Living with Celiac Disease can be stressful when socializing because one is always worried if their food will be contaminated by gluten. it’s a constant concern of cross contamination when dining out. A kitchen needs to be clean without gluten particles getting into gluten-free food which means, no sharing ovens with gluten and nothing can touch for fear of one gluten particle can inflame the small intestine. It might sound crazy to some that just a particle of wheat, barley, rye, spelt or Kamut can cause damage to a celiac person’s small intestine, but according to nationalceliac.org, it takes just a crumb, or 10 mg. 
 
https://nationalceliac.org/celiac-disease-questions/can-a-small-amount-of-gluten-make-somebody-sick/?srsltid=AfmBOopf50unZwzkedgkZlYtJWFC19megjkPajBCXsw6mSWxKBuJlAAK
 
Celiac disease isn’t just about being gluten-free, it’s a major health concern and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. If Health Canada reports that over 400,000 people are living with celiac in Canada, it’s something to spread awareness about. 
 
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2022/05/message-from-the-minister-of-health--food-allergy-and-celiac-awareness-months.html  

**This post is my opinion and have gathered additional information from the links provided.

I can’t believe it’s April already. The year is flying by. 
We are getting rain and sunny breaks here on the West Coast, which I know will produce gardens and more smiles. In February I couldn’t wait for spring break to arrive and now that it came and went, I’m still dazed by the warmth of Mexico and the vacation mindset. It’s hard to get back into the swing of things when my brain is stuck on sandy beaches and eating for pleasure. It seems to take me a few days to get back into routine. Before my vacation, I was finishing up on some writing but as the vacation days approached I found myself less interested in writing because my to-do list weighed on my creativity. 

I left my writing at home and brought a journal with me, and some colourful pens in case I had the urgency to write or on the ready when inspiration struck I was ready to ink up the pages. I’m sad to say, that only one day I managed to tap into my creativity and even that produced just thoughts, not real ‘writing.’ It wasn’t until the five-hour plane ride home was I inspired to draft a new story. 

We all have stories to share, but for those who take it one step further and write for publication, it can be a bit of a struggle at times. It can be stressful, even, trying to master a good story, and sometimes, we try really hard, and the words don’t flow as well as we want them to, or our brains are crowded with other stuff that takes away from creativity. 
It can be aggravating, to say the least. Wanting to write but without having inspiration is a challenge. You want the good energy back so you can finish your work in progress.  
As a writer, you get excited and long for the satisfaction of creating. It fills the gap in your heart. Then why is it that when you get those days, you can’t get started?
It happens to all of us at some point. 
Depending on how your week is going can play a big part in the creative process. When life is overwhelming there’s an increase of anxiety knowing there needs to be goals met and words written. 
One way to achieve this is to devote one day a week to your craft. 

​Butt in chair. The first step to getting any writing done is to sit down and write. You can’t write unless you’re devoted. Whatever writing you want to do, tell yourself you’ve got thirty minutes to write and see how it goes. If you don’t know what to write, set a timer for ten minutes and journal. Free-flow writing boosts creativity. There’s no spell check or correcting grammar; it’s just you and your thoughts. 
As hard as it is sometimes, stepping away from your desk and going for a walk helps clear your mind. You may find that while you want to figure out a scene, your mind might wander and think about other things like the weather or think about someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, or what you’re making for dinner. It’s fine. Your brain needs the break and when you come back you may feel refreshed and ready to write. 
Change the POV. If you’re writing fiction, try switching from first person to third. Or write from another character’s point of view. You never know, it can be used for a spinoff story or help you learn more about your character. 
Enter a contest. Maybe you’ve always wanted to write poetry or a children’s story. Make it fun and without pressure. Giving yourself another form of writing can lift you up and give you the break you need to get back to writing your manuscript. 
Add a scene. Put your character in a funny, or unpredictable situation. Giving your mind something else to work on for your character will entertain you and might spark the energy you need to keep writing. 

Write a prologue or epilogue. Not everyone is a fan of a introduction before the story, but it’s a great way to dive into your characters and learn about how the story came to be. It doesn’t mean a prologue has to be used for publication, but it can be used for your own personal benefit of getting to know where your story begins and why your characters have a story to tell. 
If you are a plotter, you know where your story is headed, and you could write an epilogue ahead of time. It doesn’t have to be perfect or the one you will use, but it can help figure out the end of the story. You might even learn something about your character that you can use in a chapter you were stumped on.
 
Being creative in other ways will boost your mood and trigger something to write about. Wherever you are on your writing journey, you’re not alone. 
Remember why you are writing. 
Amuse yourself and write. 
 
***opinions are my own
 
 

Are you struggling to finish a manuscript or stumped on writing the last few lines of a scene? If you’re distracted or unmotivated, there are ways to get back on your writing journey. 
Life gets busy, and sometimes, it feels impossible to write two hundred words, let alone a thousand or five thousand words. To ease your mind, it’s best to make realistic goals, ones you can control. Give yourself time to work toward them. 
Don’t give up. You may need to take a break or rethink your writing goals. 
If you make the time to write but struggle to get words down, be gentle with yourself and permit yourself to write without barriers and expectations. Write for the fun of it. No pressure.
Find your space—at a coffee shop, an office, the kitchen table, wherever. Set up your space for comfort. Coffee or tea in hand, listen to music, or sit in silence—find your happy place. 
Be committed and stick to a schedule. Make achievable weekly goals to avoid feeling overwhelmed. By breaking up the week, it makes it easier to see an end goal. 
Use tools to get your writing done. An egg timer or your phone's stopwatch app are great ways to learn not to overthink what you’re writing. Set the time and write without judgment. Journaling can warm up your brain. It’s not only a great self-care initiative because it releases thought, but it’s a good way to engage your feelings and create. 
Enter a contest or a pitch party that can give you a goal and force you to finish a project.
Want to feel motivated? Talk to another writer who is on the same journey. There’s nothing like conversing over the challenges and triumphs of the publishing world than with someone who knows. The burst of ideas and energy from another creator is inspiring. 

​Breaking down your to-do list is helpful. If you’re a committed writer to publish your work and have a deadline, you may be overwhelmed with tasks. Not only for finishing a story but there’s marketing and promotion to do as well. For example, if publishing a book is on the horizon and you’re writing another book while you need to promote your upcoming one, dividing your day into time spent writing and marketing will help you manage. Tell yourself you’ll spend an hour writing and the next hour will be updating your website and making promotional images for social media. 
Writing can come as waves of attaining your goal to struggling to make a word count. Try penciling in between ‘chores,’ which is to write 100 or 500 words. You may feel like you’re on an obstacle course, going from one place to another, but it’s one way to keep moving and exercising your brain. 
Working under pressure. Deadlines can be stressful, but it can also be a great motivator. Working toward your goal and rewarding yourself for accomplishing a word count or writing the back cover, should be celebrated. Maybe you reward yourself with a treat or meet up with a friend.
The best way to complete a project is to sit down and write. There is no other way to accomplish what you set out to do than by doing it. If you want to write, write.
 
Do you have a writing tip you want to share? I’d love to hear it. Post it in the comments.