Vacations For You, Vacations For Me plus: Air France, Free Webinars, Pickle Pizza, and Book Club.

The next Thursday Murder (Book) Club features an intriguing read unlike anything we've covered so far - join in!

Happy Vacation To Me! And- I Hope - Happy Vacation To YOU

You’re likely reading this on the eve of my annual two week summer vacation, something I look forward to with unrestrained glee from the moment I get my yearly day planner sometime in late autumn. Yep, that’s it below. I love my Passion Planner SO MUCH that I brought it with me when I had headshots done so it could get its own picture.

As soon as it arrives, I block off my days right away… because I know it’s truly the only way that vacation for a self-employed person will happen. I let all my editors know eons in advance that I won’t be available in that time as I’ll be doing, well, who can say. This year, my vacation agenda has a whole lot of reading time, hopefully a visit to take in a Shakespeare in the Park production from Ottawa’s Company of Fools (I go every year), and a bunch of prosaic things like taking the car to the garage and getting our household air ducts cleaned. (Yep, this is indeed what I do on vacation. And I love it!) But as satisfying as it is to have all this glorious free time and loads of opportunities to clear my chore list, making the choice to give up income in favour of time off is never easy. As this BBC article shows, it’s incredibly hard to unplug when your job is to be online, on-call, on top of things. But I’m trying! 

In an ironic twist, I’ll be interrupting my two weeks for a work break, but I think you’ll understand that it’s an unmissable opportunity. I’ll be in Calgary for a few days to cover the Stampede AND the city’s culinary scene. I’m excited that I’ve already had a pitch accepted about a signature Calgarian treat: pickle pizza. You’ll have to wait till it comes out to get all the details!

In this difficult economy and this tumultuous industry, I suspect few of us are flush with cash for luxury escapes but even short staycations can be hugely rewarding, especially for those who are self-employed. I wrote about planning easy, frugal, lovely staycations for the Canadian Freelance Guild’s Storyboard and I think it’s helpful advice if you’re a writer, self employed in another field, or you just love to eat cake and read all day. If you’re reading this, I want to hear about the break you’ve planned – I KNOW you deserve it!

News From The Road

Funnily enough, I was just at the airport but I wasn’t going anywhere at all. I was on hand to welcome the first Air France flight into Ottawa. For the first time in years, Ottawa now has a direct flight to Europe and I for one couldn’t be happier that it’s Paris (aka my favourite spot on earth).  

Can’t Wait Till Book Club!

The Thursday Murder (Book) Club meets again on Thursday July 13 at 7:00 PM EST. We’ll be talking about Anthony Horowitz's latest, Twist of the Knife. You can see our full summer lineup here, along with helpful info like Zoom links and so forth.

This book is a really different style than what we’re used to reading in the club. The author is a prolific writer and Twist Of The Knife is technically the fourth book in a series (but it can totally stand alone). Also: The protagonist is…. The author! Well, kind of. As per Wikipedia, the novel features: “a fictionalised-version of himself as a companion and chronicler to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne.”

While this book does read well as a stand-alone, I personally think it helps to take a minute to read a summary of the first few (with no spoilers!) to help you get a sense of the author’s style. I am really enjoying his work – it’s different, it’s intriguing, and it’s filled with lots of real life details of modern day London.

The Word Is Murder (2017) summary: “Anthony, the narrator (a fictionalised version of the author), is approached by ex-Detective Inspector Hawthorne, with whom he worked on a television series. Hawthorne, who is in need of money, proposes that Anthony write a book about him and one of the cases he is working on in exchange for a 50/50 split of the advance and royalties. The case involves a woman who, six hours after planning her own funeral, is found murdered. Initially reluctant, Anthony agrees and proceeds to document Hawthorne’s solution of the case.”

The Sentence Is Death (2018) summary: Anthony, the narrator, is once again approached by ex-Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne and asked to write about him and a case he is working on, despite the fact that their first collaboration has not been published yet. Although Anthony is not too keen on Hawthorne, the details of the case pique him and he reluctantly agrees to document the case.The story focuses on solving the murder of a teetotaling solicitor who was murdered with an expensive bottle of wine.

A Line To Kill (2021) summary: When Ex-Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, author Anthony Horowitz, are invited to an exclusive literary festival on Alderney, an idyllic island off the south coast of England, they don’t expect to find themselves in the middle of murder investigation—or to be trapped with a cold-blooded killer in a remote place with a murky, haunted past. When a local grandee is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Hawthorne and Horowitz become embroiled in the case. The island is locked down, no one is allowed on or off, and it soon becomes horribly clear that a murderer lurks in their midst. But who?

Cozy Community News

• This e-guide to Île d’Orléans, located right outside Quebec City is a hugely helpful travel guide. This is one of Canada’s hidden foodie gems and a must-see destination for anyone travelling to Quebec. The food scene is spectacular!

• I got the inside scoop on how to sign up for the wait list for Rebecca Stansic’s next FREE webinar on common social media mistakes that small business owners make (and how to fix them). You can add your name to the waitlist here.

• Speaking of workshops and webinars… I have one of my own coming up. You can join in So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer: Business Basics Every Writer Needs on July 26 for FREE. (Also fun for people who are already writers and even people who are always keen about learning about productivity tools!)

• I have a new FREE resource for readers: 41 Conversations Starters To Negotiate Your Freelance Rate. I’m a BIG believer that freelancers need to constantly advocate for higher rates and this info sheet will give you all the prompts you need to confidently ask for more. 

Plus: Get Your FREE travel budget template.

You can download it for no cost by clicking here. If you love travel lists as much as me, this is definitely the resource for you.

What I’m Reading

Thanks to @piinkifairy for sharing this delightful photo on Twitter. I wish ALL my books came from here!

• I mentioned in the last newsletter that I had just started The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. It was a VERY satisfying summer read!

• I reread The King’s Curse by Phillipa Gregory. LOVE me some Tudor historical fiction with female protagonists and I’ve read Gregory’s work several times and keep coming back to it as a comfort read – this time, it was during the Travel Media Association of Canada’s recent conference, when I wanted something to escape into that didn’t require too much brain power between meetings!

(More recommendations below…..)