EvieB

I'm a lover of stories and words, trees and lakes, poetry and songs, art and food.

I work as a full-time daydreamer, er . . . I mean author, and pirouette (when I'm not trudging) through life as an enthusiastic (and harmless) weirdo. :) :)

I'm 45, married to my high school sweetheart, and have two adult children, one son-in-law, one almost daughter-in-law and two tiny, wonderful, sooo hilarious and very sweet grandsons. (Being a grandma is one of my all-time favourite things, in case you didn't pick up on my enthusiasm! :D)

I live on a small acreage, have a big garden and greenhouse, seven chickens, and two dogs--one huge, one not--named Millie and Knute.

My musical tastes are eclectic and I listen to everything from classic rock to classical music to country to hiphop and rap and everything in between--with a special appreciation for folk music.

That said, it's never the beat or the tune or the melody that earn a song a place in my heart--or on my playlist. It's always about the lyrics and how they express or speak to some element of human experience.

The last song I listened to today was Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine."

The last song I loaded to one of my Spotify playlists was Serena Ryder's "Please, baby, please."

A few favorites are:

"The Gambler" by Fun - first discovered when I turned 40 or so and was wow'ed. It felt like it had been written just for my husband and me, describing the new stage of life we were (and still are) at with each other and with our son and daughter. :)

"Fight Song" by Rachel Platten - very inspiring to me in my work life.

"Renegades" by X Ambassadors - again, very inspiring to me in my work/creative life.

"MacNamara's Band" (or anything, actually) by the Irish Rovers. My dad used to sing it (and a lot of Irish ballads) to me and my brothers and sisters. He's gone now, but I sing it to my little grandsons, using their names instead of MacNamara. It's huge fun and very special to see how, how, HOW much they love it.

I could go on and on, but I will stop now. :)

I could as easily pick a favorite book as I could count sparkles on a lake in the sunshine or snowflakes falling in the glow of a streetlight.

I tend to read authors, rather than the odd title here or there--as in I find a new-to-me author and if I like their book I devour all their books. :) Plus, I read in almost every genre (with a special love for mystery suspense, contemporary romance, historical romance, and women's fiction), and I enjoy every format of book--paper, eBook and audio. I usually have two novels and one non-fiction book on the go.

I love to make reading recommendations, so if you're looking for something for a certain mood or want to try an unfamiliar genre, I'm your girl.

My all-time favourite movie is When a Man Loves a Woman.

After that, a few more favorites (in no particular order) are: Ever After, Spanglish, Thirteen Going on Thirty, and Tombstone.

I don't like TV but I do indulge a pretty extreme Netflix addiction.

Medical, legal or crime thriller type series will always trigger a binge, but most of my favourite shows come out of Britain and/or Europe: Downton Abbey, Call The Midwife, Mr. Selfridge, Dr. Foster, Dark, Hinterland, Wallander (the Swedish version, not the British), just to name a few. :)

Good grief . . . you guys will think I do nothing but read and/or watch TV. The first part is almost right, but the latter is only true in the winter. We have very long, dark winters where I live!

I paint a little (love mixed media projects!), sew a little (with an emphasis on upcycling old clothes or fabric into new fashions), and collage a lot.

I love old-fashioned letter writing and note cards, plus anything to do with creating old school cut and paste publications, like 'zines, flyers, posters, etc.