Mary Lola Barnes’ Thoughts on Life

I’ve often watched birds, considered what they might be thinking and wondered over how they lived their life. I recall thinking many times, with regard to birds and most animals, they have no possessions. Silly humans – we fill our lives with possessions and become burdened with them.

Birds build a nest for the short time they need one, then leave it all behind – every year.

I suppose this thought process fueled these thoughts by Mary Lola Barnes after she received disappointing news.

After exchanging good-byes, Mary hung up the phone. She walked out the back door and plopped down into the patio chair. It was a cool evening, and the forecast threatened frost. Still, she sat without a sweater and let time pass. Robins flew in and flew out, but she didn’t rejoice in their presence. They were birds who flew where instinct took them; they carried no belongings or worries. They sought a place to call their own for short periods of time, long enough to raise their young, then depart for other places far beyond her yard and community. Perhaps birds had it right; when the nest was empty, move onto the next part of life.

The Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes is available for pre-order exclusively at Amazon:

Release Date: October 27, 2020

the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes Diane McGyver

LAST DAY for $1.99 Sale for “Northern Survival”

Today is the day. It’s been an amazing month and a half promoting one of the most favourite books I’ve ever written: Northern Survival. To date, I think it’s my best. That means my next – the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes – has to be better. Oh, my. I better buckle down. I can’t go backwards. No pressure.

With the official end of the book launch, the eBook price will rise from $1.99 to $4.99 at midnight tonight. So if you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, get it now.

EXCLUSIVELY AT AMAZON

Kindle Unlimited members read for FREE.

QUOTE from Northern Survival

These thoughts are from a scene in which Jonathan Stone has blisters on his feet and Olive Tweed is tending to them. I believe it’s the day after the plane crash.

For the past 20 years, he’d had more money than one person deserved. It gave him a lifestyle many dreamt to have, yet he’d never felt sincerely pampered until now. People paid to serve him performed their duties, but they did it for money or attention, hoping to snatch a piece of his fame. This woman did it for no reason other than she wanted to help.

If you’ve read Northern Survival, please, consider leaving a review at Amazon or the book’s Goodreads page.

Diane McGyver author

Surprise! Greenvale Already Exists in Nova Scotia

the Salvation of Mary Lola BarnesFive years ago, when I wrote the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes, I made up a name that probably existed somewhere in the world, but I’d never heard of it in Nova Scotia. After all, green and vale were two popular parts of many place names. In Nova Scotia, we have Greenfield and Greenwood. We also have Elmsvale, Irishvale and Hillsvale.

For all the purposes other writers choose to create a fictional place within a real place, I stuck with Greenvale up until the editing process in September. Curious to see if Greenvale existed in the Maritimes, I plugged it into Google. Imagine my surprise when a place name showed up not only in Nova Scotia, but in the general area I wanted it to be. Eek!

Checking out the place on Google Map, I found it was pretty much forested area. There were no houses there or surrounding it from what I could see. There were, however, what appeared to be a maze of logging roads that connected to the 347 (Sherbrooke Road). This was far from the image of Greenvale in the story I had written.

Continue reading “Surprise! Greenvale Already Exists in Nova Scotia”

Final Launch Sale for “Northern Survival”

Northern SurvivalWhat does a struggling writer from Nova Scotia and a wealthy movie star from California have in common? Nothing.

When they are the only survivors of a plane crash in Northern Ontario, then opposite sides of the continent must come together and overcome their Imperial and Metric systems along with their failed past relationships to escape the wilderness before starvation and the approaching winter weather claim them.

Olive and John are not your typical characters in a romance novel. Both are over 50 with a lot of life left to live if they can make it back to civilization in one piece.

Final Days of 99-cent Sale

The final 99-cent sale of Northern Survival’s book launch ends Sunday night (October 4th). The price will rise to $1.99, and then on October 15th, it will settle into its regular eBook price of $4.99.

Pick up a copy of Northern Survival today. It’s a fast-paced, quick read that mixes survival, adventure and romance.

If you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you read for free.

forest

Northern Survival Quote: Canadian Geese

For as long as I can remember living here, Canadian Geese have flown over my house in small numbers and very large flocks. One time, I stopped counting when I reached 100 birds. They filled the sky both with their presence and noisy squawk.

This autumn is no different. They’ve been converging on the nearby hayfields, gathering together to either make their journey to southern destinations or to over-winter somewhere near.

Continue reading “Northern Survival Quote: Canadian Geese”

Quote from “Northern Survival”: What matters most in life?

The day after the plane crash, Olive’s and Johnathan’s spirits are still relatively high. The immediate threat to their lives – the crash – had passed and they were starting to get to know each other.

An exchange between them while they took a break from walking reveals Olive’s philosophy in life.

Northern Survival“Incredible. You shouldn’t have seen 50. How do feel?”

“Like I’m 23 again except I love life more. I’m here for the fun of it, the adventure. It’s why I don’t watch TV, avoid the news and don’t spend energy on the junk society thinks is important because it’s not. Each day, I’m living.”

He laughed. “Even here? With a city boy lost in the woods?”

“You make it challenging, but I enjoy the hike. I’d prefer more food, better accommodations, cream for my tea but…” She twitched her nose. “It could be worse. I’m alive and well, and that’s all that truly matters.”

Pick up a copy of Northern Survival today. It’s a fast-paced, quick read that mixes survival, adventure and romance.

If you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you read it for free.

Quote from “Northern Survival” – Sleeping in a Tomb

On the second night of being lost in the wilderness, Johnathan complained about the noise of the forest. Olive tells him he’ll miss these sounds when he returns to the city. He disagrees, and she says…

“You don’t believe me now but wait. You’ll see. The first night you lay in bed surrounded by four walls with the window closed, you’ll wonder where those sounds are. You’ll start to wonder if everything on the planet is dead. It will be so quiet, so void of life you’ll feel like your sleeping in a tomb.”

From Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/night-star-starry-sky-galaxy-4849541/

Have you ever slept for a long period outside in a space that allowed you to hear all the sounds Northern Survivalsurrounding you in nature? I have. One summer, my kids and I slept in the pop-up trailer in the backyard from May until October. I grew accustomed to every sound: the ducks quacking, the wind through the trees, the peepers, the chickens, the goats, the distant neighbour’s dog barking, their cows, and the coyotes and foxes yelping.

After months of falling asleep to these sounds, I spent my first night in the house on a cool October night with the windows closed. It was silent. It felt like everything was dead, and I slept in a tomb.

LAST DAY OF HALF PRICE SALE

Grab your copy of Northern Survival today. Sale ends at Midnight. Only at Amazon

Download it to your Kindle today.

If you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read it for free.

For the Love of Boats

I’ve been in boats all my life. I’ve travelled rivers, lakes but mostly the ocean in all sorts of vessels. The smallest was a homemade raft and kayak. The largest was the car ferry to Newfoundland. I’ve been in small whale-watching boats, canoes, war canoes, paddle boats, small sailboats, dories, aluminum motor boats and wooden boats. These smaller boats range from 8 to 12 feet.

Currently, I have a 12-foot bevin skiff. There’s something about wooden boats that are more appealing than aluminium. For one, aluminium is cold on the feet and since I boat barefoot, this matters to me.

Continue reading “For the Love of Boats”

The Plane Crash that Inspired “Northern Survival”

Northern SurvivalJust over a year ago, I saw a video on YouTube by a man who had crashed his small plane in the remote wilderness of Quebec on July 27, 2019. He survived because his plane had a parachute. I’d never heard of such a thing, so I did a little research on the subject and found CAPS, which stands for Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Their website states, “The parachute system is designed to protect occupants in the event of an emergency by lowering the aircraft to the ground after deployment.”

Cool. Right? That’s what I thought.

Continue reading “The Plane Crash that Inspired “Northern Survival””

Quote from “Northern Survival”

Northern Survival“I understand you’re in pain because your friend died. I know you miss your wife, your kids, and you worry about them thinking you’re dead, but I can excuse only so much bad attitude before I start not caring if you live or die.”

Olive says this to John shortly after the plane crash.

Northern Survival is half price until Thursday. Only at Amazon.

Download it to your Kindle today.

If you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read it for free.

Why would I do anything else