In 2019, I clicked my pen and wrote humour, magical realism, women's fiction, metafiction, a narrative poem, historical fiction, and creative non-fiction. In total, I wrote 17 short stories and one poem for this blog. (I also wrote 25 manuscripts for young children. This includes finishing my middle grade novel. A project that--at times--I never thought I would finish. And at other times thought I was silly to have even started. But it's amazing how much pleasure I had writing it.) Here are the stories. If you click on the title it will take you to the story so you can re-read it. Under each title is a brief description of the story. At the end of the list, you'll find the three stories that earned the most page views. Thank you for your interest in my writing. Stories are listed in the order they were published on my blog.
"Sun" by ldyck
Short Stories
January
Island Artist
a humourous near-visit to a notorious fine artist who residences on a small island
February
Answering Machine
moving on from a failed romantic relationship
March
Authors in a Pub
three mid-list authors discuss how hard it is to write--inspired by Monty Phyton
Let the Sunshine in
in this magical realism narrative poem, a granddaughter journeys through the woods to visit her grandmother
April
Huldufolk
birth stories--some of us are given them; others of us have to find them
May
Baby Rescuer
An Early Childhood Educator gains employment at a Day Care Centre for young parents and gets an education.
Annie
driven by an overwhelming need for a baby, an Early Childhood Educator crafts plans to make her dreams reality.
June
Playing with Your Muse
part 1
part 2
a muse gifts an author a story about a senior citizen who knits
July
Sharing Your Writing
a wife shares her writing with her non-writing husband and asks for his feedback
The Toy
an abandoned toy longs to find a child who will play with him
August
The Invisible Woman
a middle-aged woman confronts invisibility
September
Afi
part 1
part 2
inspired by true events, this is the story about sharing my story about my afi (grandfather) with my Amma (grandma)--one of the first times I shared my writing with my family
My First Writers' Group
the feelings that I confronted when attending my first writers' group meetings
October
The Craftsman
this story about a Settler meeting a Native American was inspired by my first published story--published when I was in elementary school
November
On Stage with the Island Storyteller
a silly fictitious story that provides a venue for me to thank all those who helped me grow as an author--including you
December
Christmas Secrets
about my mom's naughty kid
A Christmas Present
it's not the present. It's what you do with that counts.
Christmas with Family
in which I long to spend Christmas with family and my husband endeavours to make that happen
Your Favourite Stories
or at least the stories that received the most page views
(drum roll, please)
Authors in a Pub
Island Artist
Let the Sunshine in
Thank you for each and every clicked link.
"moon" by ldyck
In 2019, I reviewed 18 books. I read historical fiction, literary fiction, horror, a middle grade novel, and short story collections, short novels and a book of linked stories. Oh, how I love shorts. Publication dates for these books spanned the years from 1891 (not my copy, but the book) to 2019. That's 128 years. Wow! And I loved each and every one of them. And to think I was once a reluctant reader (many, many years ago). Not no more, sister. If you click on the title it will take you to my review. Under each title are the author's name, the genre, and a brief description of the book. Books are listed in the order the reviews were published on my blog.
Book Reviews
January
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster
Jonathan Auxier
(middle-grade historical fiction)
set in England, Sweep is about a girl, a chimney sweep and a lump of coal
February
The Saturday Night Ghost Club
Craig Davidson
(literary fiction)
a nephew discovers the dark secret that haunts his uncle
March
Washington Black
Esi Edugyan
(historical fiction)
born a slave, a boy grows up to be an adventure, an inventor
A Wake for the Dreamland
Laurel Deedrick-Mayne
(historical fiction)
about enduring friendship and surviving war
April
Bluebird's Egg
Margaret Atwood
(short story collection)
reflections on the relationships women have with the men in their lives
Something for Everyone
Lisa Moore
(short story collection)
all stories are connected in some way to Newfoundland
May
Bellevue Square
Michael Redhill
(literary fiction)
a woman hunts for her twin
Milkman
Anna Burns
(literary fiction)
set in Ireland during The Troubles, an adolescent girl is followed by the "milkman"
June
Fox 8
George Saunders
(short novel)
a fox learns to speak human
The Time I Loved You
Carrianne Leung
(linked stories collection)
about the Ontario suburb Scarborough
July
An Ocean of Minutes
Thea Lim
(fantasy/romance)
a time-travelling love story
August
The Quintland Sisters
Shelley Wood
(historical fiction)
set during the depression, a young woman learns about nursing and life as she cares for the Dionne quintuplets
The Princess Dolls
Ellen Schwartz
(middle-grade historical fiction)
during the Second World War, two girls--one Jewish and the other Japanese-Canadian--bond over their mutual adoration of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret
September
Bunny: A Novel
Mona Awad
(literary fiction)
a writer is bullied by a group of writers
The Pearl
John Steinbeck
(a short novel written as a parable)
a poor family's struggle to survive
October
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
(gothic horror classic)
explores what can happen to a man's life when he is manipulated by the wrong influence
November
Akin
Emma Donoghue
(literary fiction)
a son investigates what his mother did during the Second World War
The End of the Affair
Graham Greene
(romance)
set during and after World War Two, The End of the Affair is about three self-obsessed people and their struggle for love
December
The Little Paris Bookshop
Nina George
(romance)
after 20 years, a middle-aged man learns to live and love again
Your Favourite Book Reviews
or at least the reviews that received the most page views
A Wake for the Dreamland by Laurel Deedrick-Mayne
Bluebird's Egg by Margaret Atwood
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
I know I'm a midge early but, I just can't wait.
Happy 2020!!
January on this blog will be positively
(January 5) 2020 Meditation
wild
(January 12) Book review:
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
(January 26) Book review:
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Let me list the ways
(January 19) List
2010s: Your Favourite Books
😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
