JP McLean

Sharing Cherries

July 3, 2018 By JPMcLean 7 Comments

The birds are sharing cherries this year. It’s a first. Most years the birds get to the red orbs ten minutes before the fruit reaches peak ripeness. But look at this beautiful bowlful we managed to pick before the birds pecked the tree clean.

No matter the fruit, it seems we’re in a race with the critters to get a sample of the crop. I don’t mind sharing the bounty, but it’s annoying to find a single peck out of each pear or apple on a tree (I’m pointing at you, crows!).

I must apologize for neglecting to update you on the new-book front. The structural and copy edits on books 5 and 6 are done. On the rebranding front, I’ve been buried in the picayune details of reformatting the existing books to reflect their new ISBN numbers and titles, and the new font choice (EB Garamond). Tedious work, I’m afraid, but it needed to be done.

The cover designers, JD&J Design are scheduled to start work on the new covers this week. I’m very excited to see what they come up with.

I’ve also had new headshots done as the one I currently use is six years old and its resolution too low. Crystal Chowdhury of Crystal Clear Photography in the Comox Valley pulled a rabbit out of the hat with these shots. If you need a photographer, I highly recommend her services.

On the home front, thanks to Albert, Peter, and John, I’ve got a lovely new bookshelf. Finally, I can unpack some books that have been in boxes for more years than I care to admit.

How about you? How’s your summer so far? Are the birds in your neighbourhood sharing cherries?

If the summer heat chases you into a lounger and in need of a good book, download Secret Sky from your favourite retailer right here! Or click on the image for more purchase options.

Teasing Out the Weeds

April 29, 2018 By JPMcLean 15 Comments

We’ve had a little taste of summer here on Denman Island with a stretch of warm, sunny days. What a treat! The first of our asparagus has been picked (it was delicious), and the rhubarb is perfectly crisp and a brilliant red. I even got out in the garden in my shirtsleeves and tidied up a few neglected corners. My achy back aside, it felt good to get outdoors, teasing out the weeds and planting a few cheery annuals.

I’ll soon be doing the same with the next book in the Gift Legacy series—tentatively titled Deadly Deception. The editor has just returned her notes and I can hardly wait to dig into them.

The New Titles

But first, I wanted to share with you the new titles I’m considering for the rebranding of the Gift Legacy series. If you haven’t been following this blog, the new titles and covers will better position the books in the contemporary fantasy/thriller genre, and clear up any confusion about whether or not they’re religious. Elinor Florence has been instrumental in this effort and I can’t thank her enough for her enthusiasm and imaginative title suggestions. I’d love your feedback, your critique or your two cents. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think.

Book 1 The Gift: Awakening becomes Secret Sky

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Book 2 The Gift: Revelation becomes Hidden Enemy

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Book 3 The Gift: Redemption becomes Burning Lies

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Book 4 The Gift: Penance becomes Lethal Waters

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Jackson Delaney’s story The Gift: Betrayal becomes Lover Betrayed

What I’m Reading

Check out Elinor Florence’s latest book, Wildwood. It’s the story of one woman’s incredible resolve to make a better life for herself and her emotionally challenged daughter in the backwoods of northern Alberta. I loved it and gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Author Update: In 2019, the rebranding was completed. The original covers and titles are no longer available. But you can read the same magical story in Secret Sky from your favourite retailer right here! Or click on the image for more purchase options.

Cherry blossoms photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Book Blurb Blues

March 28, 2018 By JPMcLean 12 Comments

How is it I can push through writing a +90,000-word book but struggle with a 150-word back-of-the-book blurb? I feel like the person in that photo: underwater and needing a lifeline. I've got the book blurb blues. There’s a lot of room in a book to tell a story, to build characters and sneak in plot twists. Not so with back-of-the-book blurbs. You’ve got a handful of words to make a reader want to know more about your story without giving too much away. It’s ad copy. It needs to hit hard and fast and hook the reader. It’s a different skill set from novel-writing, and one I’m still learning.

That’s where I’m at with the two new books in the series.

It’s also where I’m at with the five existing books in the series.

As regular readers of my blog will know, I’m heading down a rebranding path which includes revisiting the existing blurbs. No doubt I’m in for many frustrating hours banging my head against the wall hoping some precision wordsmithing falls out. I may need a helmet.

On a lighter note, we’re on the back end of herring season here on Denman Island, which means the seas lions have gorged and are lazing around in contented pods. From shore, what we see are dozens of sea lion flippers sticking out from the water at odd angles with the occasional snout making an appearance. But from the air, it’s a completely different perspective. Thanks to a friend with a drone, we were treated to some brand new and spectacular views. Until next time ... enjoy.

Heard it Through the Grapevine

February 8, 2018 By JPMcLean 12 Comments

There is perhaps no smaller community than that of a ferry-dependent island, and most small communities have some type of grapevine. On Denman Island, we have a community newspaper that’s actually called, the Island Grapevine. So if something’s happening, chances are, you heard it through the grapevine. But which one? because here on Denman Island, the newspaper’s not our only grapevine.

My first experience with Denman’s informal grapevine happened long ago before I became a permanent resident. I was in a neighbour’s kitchen enjoying a cup of coffee when the wail of the ambulance’s siren passed by, headed south. The concern on my neighbour’s face was evident as she rushed to the phone and called another neighbour who lived in that direction to track the ambulance’s path. Through a series of phone calls, they quickly found at which residence the ambulance had stopped.

At the time, I thought it quirky, but now that I live here, I realize it was much more than that. It set the community’s wheels in motion. The local Island Grapevine newspaper regularly publishes thank you’s from grateful recipients of this community’s generosity, whether it be emergency pet-sitting, child-minding, meals, chauffeur services or hand-holding.

The same type of telephone grapevine is in full swing whenever a pod of dolphins, or orcas (see photo), or a family of otters swims by. One neighbour will phone the next all around the island following the action. When the herring spawn in the spring, the same grapevine springs into action. And for anyone who has access to Facebook, you can usually follow the local action on one of the Denman Island Facebook pages with photos and videos thrown into the mix.