February doesn't have to be cold...

Aside from February being the shortest month of the year, it also tends to be the coldest, especially if you live in Canada. There are, however, many ways to keep toasty warm, and feel good about doing it.

1. Read romance stories... of course you had to know this was coming. In time for Valentine's Day, Morning Rain Publishing released it's second compilation of short stories. One of them is mine, the other five are also fantastic.

2. Donate to a special cause! It's cold out there and not everyone has the advantages of warm shelter and food.This year, I'm participating in the "Coldest Night of the Year Walk" to help raise funds and awareness for those who are homeless, hungry, and hurting. It's easy to donate... and if you do, I'll write a flash fiction story, just for you!

3. Bake something... nothing warms you up like a family baking spree. We often save these kinds of activities for the holidays, but when it's this cold outside, nothing warms you up like melty chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate.

4. Create something... being crafty not only takes the edge off of winter boredom, it refuels your energy, and gives you that warm feeling of accomplishment. You don't have to be a great artist to embark on a bit of crafty fun.

5. Go outside. I know, it's freezing cold out there... but, if you live in Canada, it's a simple fact of life. Build a snowman, go tobogganing, check out local winter festivals, find an outdoor skating rink, or just get involved in an old fashioned snowball fight. When you come back inside, your cheeks will be rosy, your toes will be feel toasty, and those cookies you made earlier will taste even better.

Surviving February can actually be fun and before we know it, spring will be knocking at the door, and we'll have the mud and the slush and the rain to contend with... and we might even be wishing for these cold, crisp winter days.

Presents for everyone!

In celebration of my birthday weekend, all my adult fiction books are free on Kindle! Just follow the links below to download the titles that interest you most.

Willow didn't know that spicing up her routine life with small changes could ultimately lead her through a soul-searching experience that would forever change the way she thinks of herself and the people who surround her.

myBook.to/RememberNewvemberbyJMBogart

Roxanne sees a frumpy, dumpy, painfully plain, rundown single mother when she looks in the mirror.  A change of job, an unexpected guest and a fresh look at her teenage daughter give Roxanne new insights into how her life has spiraled into a vortex of nothingness.

myBook.to/ReflectionsbyJMBogart

Raised by unorthodox parents in a secluded cottage, only to be set free in the wilds of Montreal, Tulip Garden is painfully naive and needs to grow up fast. Torn between money, masks, and the sinking feeling she is falling into madness, Tulip struggles to discover who she is, what she needs, and where she's headed in this crazy escapade called life.

myBook.to/MoneyMasksMadnessbyJMBogart 

 Don’t have a Kindle eReader? That’s not a problem. Kindle has a number of free apps you can download to your computer, phone, or tablet!

Happy reading!

Monday = Procrastination Station

Mondays are a lie filled with hope, the prospect of productivity, and the intention to make the week worthwhile. At least, they are until the alarm sounds at 5:30am. Every Sunday night I trick myself into thinking it's a good idea to get up earlier than usual, expecting to get an hour of work done before the kids wake up. The intention is to throw off the blankets, trundle through the hall to my office, and start tapping away at the keyboard. No coffee necessary.

But... the house is freezing that early in the morning, my brain is always foggy, and I usually manage to convince myself that I don't need to get a head start on the day. Not really. What I really need is to be enveloped in the soothing warmth of blankets, to nestle into the half-sleep of dreams that can be remembered, and to be gifted with another ambitious hour of peaceful slumber. 

I don't even know why I do this to myself. The promise of Monday productivity is wrapped in the deceit of procrastination. I know setting the alarm for 5:30am will result in one of two things:

1. Turning off the alarm completely, resulting in a late start to the day

2. Hitting the "snooze" button repeatedly... which is actually worse because I don't even get the extra hour of sleep my brain and body crave. 

I can't be the only person in the world who is tricked by the promise of a brand new week. I can, however, change the vicious cycle, break the bad habits, and accept the inevitable: Monday is all about the procrastination station. On the bright side, my kind of procrastination can be productive. I haven't completed the initial tasks I set out to do, but I have updated all my social media sites, written this blog, answered correspondence, created a priority list, and started on  my actual "to-do" list...  

Monday - you no longer fool me with your false promises and fresh outlook. And that's okay - I've come to terms with it and will use my weakness for you to my advantage. 

Making it interesting... a challenge.

Like many writers, I’m guilty of neglecting my blog. Not because I’m too busy to write short pieces, but because content is key… and I’m not so great with the create-your-own-non-fiction content. Give me a topic, and I’ll come up with something. Ask me to come up with my own, and I’ll find one-thousand-and-one ways to procrastinate… starting with Facebook and ending with scrubbing behind the toilet.

I’m issuing myself a challenge for 2015, one that you can take up yourself if you’re trying to blog while caught in the trap of “I’m all out of interesting ideas”. Every time I come across a topic that elicits an emotional response from me, I’m going to write about it. I’m not going to sensor my true feelings, nor am I going to edit out my politically-socially-emotionally unacceptable thoughts. This is, after all, my blog. It even has my name on it.

For those who enjoy the words, thanks in advance for the reads, the comments, and the shares. For those who don’t, I’m pretty sure you know how to change the channel (and by channel I mean URL). Just try not to “unfollow” me because I said one thing that’s off-putting. Instead, start a conversation. I love reading other people’s opinions. I also love to argue… sometimes I even do it when I know I’m wrong, just to see how far things can go… it’s the writer in me, often playing devil’s advocate… always searching out new material. 

The mystery of the missing plates and bowls...

I've moved twice in the past two months. The first move was relatively easy, we only needed clothing and a few personal items. We settled quite easily into the rental while awaiting our new house to be built. The rest of our belongings spent two months in storage, waiting for the first of November when they would lovingly be unpacked.

Actually - let's face it, for the most part we tore into those boxes like it was Christmas morning, excited to see if our belongings had transformed into something magical in the time they spent in boxes. They didn't, but we were still happy to have our "stuff".

Unfortunately, we lost a few things during the process of the move. A couple items didn't survive transport, resulting in shattered glass, other items were packed into unusual places, and others simply disappeared.

This was the case of the all-important box of small plates and bowls. Once the kitchen was unpacked (the toaster had somehow ended up in my bedroom, leaving a small trail of crumbs), I scratched my head in bewilderment - those plates and bowls had to be somewhere... I had packed them myself.

While searching out the missing box, we found so many things we don't need. I don't even know why we packed them, or what we're going to do with them in the new house - they just don't fit. We sorted through bedrooms, the family room, the rec room, the furnace room... and came up with nearly every household item known to man - everything, that is, except those bowls! My boys had resigned themselves to eating cereal out of soup pots. Even my mixing bowls were in that box.

The place we hadn't focused our attention on was the garage. But they couldn't have ended up there. I had already and checked all the boxes, neatly labelled in my own handwriting.

With the falling snow, we decided it was time to tackle the chaos of the garage. We moved boxes, bins, and bikes. We did not think of the missing bowls and focused only on making space for the car to fit.

And then - a miracle happened. We opened a giant, unlabeled wardrobe box; one that I had not packed. Sitting on top was the missing box! There were also snow-saucers, a soft cooler, and a bunch of other misplaced items tucked inside. Now... how the heck had that fully packed, heavy box of dishes ended up inside a giant box of outdoor stuff? It's a mystery: one of many this move has revealed.

In the end, eating cereal out of soup pots didn't hurt anyone, but this move is beginning to make me question my sanity.

So many authors!

 On Sunday, September 21st, I had the privilege of working at the Morning Rain Publishing booth as both editor and author. The day started out a bit wet, but by noon, the grey clouds had been swept away by gusts of wind and the sun came out to warm us up.

The Morning Rain Publishing booth at The Word On The Street Festival
Jennifer Bogart Jaquith, Jaclyn Aurore, Jo Clendening

 We had gone to the festival with the intention of selling lots and lots of books, but the real reward in being there came when other Morning Rain Publishing authors started to arrive. We sold each other's books, laughed, joked around, and had a chance to get to know each other outside of online connections. I can honestly say I work with an amazing group of Canadian authors and look forward to more of these events.

Authors Lisa Toohey and L. Lombard being photo-bombed by Jaclyn Aurore

Authors L. Lombard and Kate Baggott
being photo-bombed by authors Lisa Toohey and Jaclyn Aurore

Author E. Graziani and cover designer Jo Clendening

Back: Jo Clendeing, Kate Baggott, E. Graziani, L. Lombard, Jaclyn Aurore
Front: Lisa Toohey, Jennifer Bogart
(photo credit - Lisa Toohey)

Busy is good, busy is good, busy is good

I think my last post was in June... which feels like a lifetime ago. The funny thing with life, is that it keeps you so busy that before you know it, months have passed by, and you don't even know where the time went. Since June, I have:

• participated in Guelph's Faery Fest - and yes, I wore a costume, read from Liminal Lights, and had a great time. 

• had the privilege of sharing an evening with several Morning Rain Publishing authors - a fantastic group of intelligent and creative women. 

(J.M. Lavallee, Heather Grace Stewart, Nancy Beattie, and me)

• moved my family from Quebec to Ontario - which was a difficult decision, but we're settling into our new home and meeting some wonderful people. 

• and participated in the Eden Mills Writers' Festival with Morning Rain Publishing - where we had the opportunity to meet other writers, independent publishers, and practice our skills at selling print books for The Word On The Street Festival in Toronto on September 21st. 

That's my summer in a nutshell. My mantra has been "busy is good, busy is good, busy is good" - but I have to admit I'm glad for the routine that autumn is bringing, the slower pace, and the chance to catch up on some writing projects I have in the works.