Welcoming June...By Claire Caldwell





Good morning, everyone!

Happy June! The weather is finally nice here in Toronto, and I’ve been taking advantage by riding my bike to work on Fridays. We’re fortunate enough to have a big ravine system in the city, which borders our office, so even though I have to navigate some city streets, a good chunk of my hour-and-twenty-minute ride is spent on car-free, tree-lined paths like this one:

Taken moments before I rode through a cloud of midges...a more innocent time.

Cycling is one of my favorite ways to clear my head and make room for new ideas and inspiration. The warm sunshine, lush June leaves and bright flowers don’t hurt, either!

Speaking of nice weather, we’re getting into the summer reading season, and this month’s Heartwarming books are surely destined for hammocks, docks, beaches and verandahs in the coming weeks.

Appropriately, Marie Ferrarella’s Safe Harbor starts on a beach—but it’s not a carefree summer day for the heroine, who comes across a mysterious man washed up on shore….

Two of our books this month are set in Texas—Mae Nunn’s Fatherhood 101 and Cindi Myers’s What She’d Do for Love, and they’re both deeply emotional reads (pro-tip: you have “sunscreen” in your eye). In Cindi’s story, the heroine has to choose between her beloved hometown and the engineer who wants to build a highway through it. Mae’s story features a single mom going back to school and getting a crash course in romance…but will it outlast the semester?  

And what better way to cool off after a hot day than with Mary Anne Wilson’s Flying Home, where the hero and heroine get stranded in the snowy Colorado mountains after their plane goes down during a storm.

A big portion of my June reading will likely be the entries in our Write From the Heart Contest, a pitch opportunity for aspiring Heartwarming authors that opens on Monday. Entrants will have until Sunday, June 15 to submit the first page of their Heartwarming novel to Dana Grimaldi and myself, at which point we’ll start reading and deciding which authors move on to round two. Full guidelines can be found here, and you can follow us on Twitter @cpmcaldwell and @DanaGrimaldi.

What do you all have at the top of your summer reading pile? And how are you celebrating the start of the season?

Happy weekend,
Claire

Comments

  1. Claire, I'm so impressed that you ride an hour and twenty minutes. My morning walk is 30 to 40 minutes depending on my route and sometimes I come home out of breath. But your route looks lush and green and cool. All of the month's books sound so interesting, and the covers are yummy as they've all been. Have a good weekend.

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  2. Wow, Claire! You look fit for anything. All the new books have such appealing story lines and covers. I'm reading a book on writing called "Bird by Bird." by Anne Lamott. Always looking for advice to make it easier - ha, ha! Happy weekend.

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    1. Oh my gosh, I love Bird by Bird! Definitely one of my favourite writing books. In fact, maybe it's time for a reread...

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  3. Hi Claire-glad to hear some part of Canada is warming up-we were at zero again here in Edmonton last night-brrrr:) Congrats to the authors with June releases-they all sound wonderful! And I'm with Muriel-writing hot-to books keep topping my tbr pile as well:)

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    1. Ahh zero degrees, Jen?! I hope summer arrives for you guys soon!

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  4. Hey, don't hit me, Claire....but I had to check in and ask if there was a way for you to post YOUR cover???

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    1. I suppose I could link to it here. For those who don't know, I have a book of poetry coming out in the fall. :) wolsakandwynn.ca/books/144-invasive-species

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  5. Claire, Congratulations on your book! Putting it on my TBR list. I would love to ride that trail with you--it looks beautiful. Summer here in the Northwest US, too--thank goodness. I just finished A Minute on the Lips by Cheryl Harper--great, fun romance--highly recommend! Now stepping outside our genre to read John Sandford's latest Field of Prey. Congratulations to all the June releases--looking forward to some great stories. Sounds like I may need a box of tissue, but luckily I can also use that allergy excuse....

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  6. I'm in awe that you bike ride nearly 3 hours to/from work. I am a cycle spinner at the gym - but no longer than 45 minutes! Congrats on your book being published and here's to many great entries in the Heartwarming contest!

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  7. Hi Claire!! You are amazing. I like to get to work as quickly as possible (and home even faster!) And yay for your poetry - congrats! I wish I had more time to read anything in my TBR pile but there's too much writing to be done. I'm spending the summer trying to add to your TBR pile ;)

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  8. Congrats to all the June authors! Beautiful covers and intriguing stories.

    And congrats to you, Claire! I just checked out the link to your book and it sounds amazing. The excerpt they included totally grabbed me. I love poetry and your theme, so needless to say, I'm buying it!

    Cycling is wonderful. Back when I was in college, I used to cycle for several hours at a time on weekends. Unfortunately, I stopped when I was pregnant with my first and never got back on. My husband and I still have our bikes and our boys now ride them.

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  9. I smiled right when I started reading your blog, Claire. I was writing an update for my website just before I visited the Heartwarming blog and--especially on a beautiful day like today--I had to start it with an update about our weather! (Good thing we don't live in Edmonton--you're welcome to visit Toronto, Jennifer! No coat required.)

    Much thanks to you and Dana for the time you will be spending reviewing submissions for the Write From the Heart Contest. It's a fabulous opportunity for aspiring authors to be part of such a wonderful, wholesome series.

    Congratulations to Mary, May, Mary Anne and Cindi for your releases.

    Last but not least, congratulations on your book. I agree with Victoria. I would love to see your cover posted!

    I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

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  10. Claire how disciplined you must be to bike like that everyday -not to mention fit. Iam so looking forward to reading your book it looks amazing

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  11. Great news. I'm forwarding the information about the contest to some writing friends

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