This Week

It’s been an interesting week. I like weeks that are interesting, when surprises nab you by the scruff of the neck and you end up doing and seeing a lot of different things instead of the same old, same old.

I’ve been managing to get up at 5:30 each morning to get in a bit of writing before work. For me, that’s the big news. Yay me! This is big because it means if I have a hundred and one things to do in the evening I still have some writing time in, and I actually feel like a writer for yet another day. I’m excited about the story I’m working on– although shouldn’t writers be excited and enthusiastic about all their work? Hmmm, that’s debatable and seems to depend upon how smoothly the words are flowing and how forthcoming the story is. Sometimes a story is down right stingy and will only come out a trickle at a time. It ranks right up there with pulling teeth—slow and painful. If you’re lucky the story is generous and provides you with the perfect flow of words at just the right time. You’re never stumped as the story unfolds and it’s totally delicious and fun.

I attended an afternoon tea at a friend’s house on my day off. There were twelve of us, and some of the most interesting and talented people I’ve met in a long time. The muffins were none too shabby either. Mmmm, thanks Gail!

I went in search of  a place this week  as part of some research for the story I’m working at.

Earlier in the week I was in the Chester area. I strolled around the grounds of a property that is valued at a cool 5 Mil. Rather impressive and wishing now I’d snapped a few photos of the view as I ate lunch overlooking the ocean, watching the sailboats glide across the water. This photo was snapped as we drove past later in the day and is just an example of what we saw..Trust me it was amazing, and yes I did feel special. The home had obviously been built many years ago from rocks washed smooth and round from ocean waves. It had three stone fireplaces and four stone pillars. The gardens were to be admired. Hard to imagine all the work that would have gone into making such a property the showcase that it is. And that’s just the outside. I would have jumped through hoops to see the inside but, alas it wasn’t meant to be.

Anyone from Nova Scotia knows that Chester is pretty pleasing on the eyes, not to mention there’s some fine real estate in the area. The view of the Atlantic Ocean is awesome, with many tiny island offshore. To top it off there have been plenty of movies shot in Chester.

  • Echoes of a Summer (1976)

  • The Secret (1992)

  • Dolores Claiborne (1995, exterior of Vera Donovan’s)

  • Two if by Sea (1996)

  • Black Harbour (1996)

  • Love and Death on Long Island (1997)

  • Catch a Falling Star (2000)

  • The Weight of Water (2000)

  • Deeply Lynn Redgrave and Kirsten Dunst; East Ironbound Is., etc. (2000)

  • Blackfly (2001)

  • A Town Without Christmas (2001)

  • Beach Girls (2005)

  • Candles on Bay Street (2006)

  • Noah’s Ark (2008)

At the moment the TV series, Haven, is being shot there. I sat right across from the spot where they were shooting a scene. I’d like to say it all looked pretty darn impressive. The truth is, if you had no idea what was going on, well, you wouldn’t have had any idea what was going on. You might just wonder why so many people were gathered in one place. You might even think, so what?

Here are a few small discoveries I made this week:

I discovered this week that “Catching Fire,” has 485, 121 ratings on Goodreads. Makes the 15 ratings that my book has on that site look a bit measly. I didn’t even bother looking at how many ratings “The Hunger Games” have. One thing is for certain no one with anything at all to do would check out every single one of those ratings or the 47,000+ reviews… But that’s the way. I just feel happy and fortunate for the few my book has.

I ate the most scrumptious scallops in the world—seriously–in a little place in Western Shore called Mo’s. Who knew?

I also discovered that I’ve been quite slack at visiting all your blogs…Believe me when I say, there just hasn’t been enough hours in the day..But if you haven’t seen me for awhile I ‘m going to try and fix that this weekend..

I discovered a few moments ago the spam monsters are trying to infiltrate my blog–400 spam comments in my queue. That’s crazy.

Lastly I’ll leave you with this photo of a beautiful spot I discovered  this week and simply couldn’t resist taking a photo. It’s lovely and secretive, and brimming with inspiration. I could write a short story about this place I’m sure. It sets my mind afire.

What new discoveries have you found this week?

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30 Comments

  1. Sounds like a great week to me. Mine was pretty average expect that I did write “The End” on Amanda in England. That felt good. Now to do a couple of edits and it is off to my publisher. It also feels good not to have to go and find a publisher. XO

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    • Yay for you finishing another book in the Amanda series. I sure bet that felt great. 🙂 Now that’s exciting!! Doesn’t sound the least bit “average” to me. You are very fortunate to have a publisher for your series… This all makes for an interesting week, Darlene.

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  2. I’ve been wondering where you were, Laura. Good to see you back; I missed you.
    The new discovery I made this week is very different from yours. My discovery is that I have the opportunity to take a course that could be good for me. To do with writing, yes, but not specifically my own.
    Chester is one of our very beautiful areas of Nova Scotia … and built on old money .. rum runner money, pirate money. The stuff great stories are made of. 🙂
    Very interesting post.

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    • Lynn, I’ve simply been swamped with things to do once I get home from work, church bake sales, housework, evenings on the phone catching up with the kids, the list goes on…

      Your discovery sounds a bit mysterious right now, Lynn. I hope I’ll find out more. I’ll have to check out your blog today to see. 🙂

      Chester has many beautiful properties and breathtaking scenery and I love spending time there.

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  3. I’ve had a research week, too, learning that in the middle ages a craftsman could hammer 145 small sheets of gold leaf from one gold coin. Don’t know if I’ll use that particular piece of information but my new project is set in a bookmaker’s shop in medieval England, so everything right now is grist to the mill. I also revisited Elizabeth Gilbert’s (Eat, Pray, Love) TED talk for a little inspiration http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html I really recommend taking the time to watch it.

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    • Wow! Now that’s interesting. When we’re researching we find little tidbits of information that might end up being nothing more than an interesting fact. However, we just never know when or where these facts will make it into our fiction…:) Love it!

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  4. Chester is a beautiful area. I had no idea so many movies had been shot there.

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    • I was also surprised to learn that so many movies had been made there but it’s no surprise being the beautiful spot that it is.

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  5. Laura, this is a lovely post and I truly enjoyed the photos, the tenor and hearing about your marvelous week. I had been out of it because of a virus, so I understand. I had no idea of the diversity of this area and didn’t put it together with the movies you sited.

    About your writing joy … good for you.
    About reviews … take the best from them and ignore the rest 🙂

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  6. I explored the grounds of the Queen Street Mental Health Centre in Toronto (it’s actually called CAMHC now, but that’s not very interesting) for a story I’m working on. I lived in that neighborhood 28 or so years ago, and Liam has just moved to Parkdale. As we walked through the shady grounds, one young man called out to us: “It’s nice to see some normal people.” I wondered what it was about us that distinguished us from the clients/patients…The complex is massive – there’s obviously an overwhelming need for its services.

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    • LOL! Well, good to know you look “normal” I guess…
      I guess you got in a little research time while attending Liam’s convocation ceremony. I do find it helps to get a sense of the area we’re writing about although it’s not always possible as YOU well know. 🙂

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  7. Beautiful pictures! I’ve never been to Canada, but I’m hoping to get here one day. 🙂

    This week I discovered the joy of a new computer. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one that works the way its supposed to. 🙂

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    • Nothing like a new computer. Congrats on your new purchase. 🙂
      I got one a few weeks back. Right now I’m just using it for writing—no internet..

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  8. Thanks for sharing your week, Laura… full of research and writerly refreshment. Mine was more about family, with our son, grandson and wife here from Sunday to Wednesday, and a visit with my aunt on Thursday. But the former inspired a blog post, if that counts as something creative. 🙂

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    • Some weeks are about research and others are about family. One thing for certain we’ll never regret the time spent on either… I’ll check out your post this weekend. 🙂

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  9. pattisj

     /  June 9, 2012

    Last weekend kicked of 12 days of festivities–an air show, tall ships, harborfest–lots to see.

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  10. Sounds like a wonderful week of research! Wouldn’t if be nice to have a patron funding your research? I’d have to set my books in beautiful, foreign locales, which would require extended visits. 🙂

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    • Funding for research? Pinch me please! That would be a dream come true. 🙂 And I’m with you on setting books in foreign locales if someone else is footing the bill.

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  11. Dolores Clayborne? I love that movie. Now I love it even more. The scenery was spectacular. Especially that big huge house up on the hill.

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    • Since I rarely watch movies I haven’t seen Dolores Clayborne. Ah well, I’m sure there’s plenty of other things I miss out on..lol

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  12. New discoveries? In the past week, I’ve discovered how to add things to my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe to make it even better, that our female Toggenburg goat can clear every four-foot pasture on our property and that my nine-year-old son has no problems swimming from one end of the pool to the other without assistance! I call him Aquaman.

    I suppose you’ve also discovered that at 5:30 in the morning, it’s light out. When I get up at 5:45, I think the sun is up or on the horizon. I love early mornings when the sun meets me at the window.

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    • Lots of new discoveries for you, Diane. The truth is, I think new discoveries find us more often then we realize. Someime we’re just too busy to give them any thought.

      I’d much rather the early mornings. When I sleep in til 7 on the weekends I usually feel like crap.

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  13. Judi

     /  June 11, 2012

    I’m so glad that you found us soooo interesting at the tea…….We are a great bunch of very talented people…….LOL

    It sounds like you are having fun working in Chester. At least, there shouldn’t be too many ticks there….LOL

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  14. Laura, I found your blog from Florence’s blog, “fOIS in the City.” I decided to visit because I’d love to visit Nova Scotia and thought it would be interesting to read the posts from someone who lives there. I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts.
    Tori McRae

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    • Hi Tori, I’m glad you found my blog. Nova Scotia is a lovely little province and hopefully you’ll get a chance to visit us here.

      I’m off to work this morning but will check your blog out later. Thanks for the visit and for commenting. Come back anytime. 🙂

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  15. fivecats

     /  June 14, 2012

    The sailboat line in your first photo looks a lot like when boats on Dillon Reservoir (west of Denver) line up before a thunderstorm, which I have somewhere in my photo files.

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