We’re already well into the first month of 2019. I hope you enjoyed the holiday season last month and have had time to recover by now. After a relaxing Christmas season I’m hard at work revising and editing Out of Options, my prequel novella in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series, so that it will be ready to release this spring.

If you’ve read the first book in the series, A Timeless Celebration, you’ll know that the series is set in Fenwater, a small town in rural Ontario that has a strong connection with its Scottish heritage. Since things Scottish will frequently play a part in the stories in the series, I thought it would be apt to take a couple minutes today to mark Burns Night, an occasion that is celebrated in Scotland and in Scottish communities worldwide. Burns Night is a night to honour the Scottish national poet, Robert Burns, and to celebrate all things Scottish – sort of like St Patrick’s Day without the green beer if you have Scottish ancestry. If you haven’t encountered Burns Night before and you’d like to learn more about it, you’ll find a brief history here.

Lois Stone, the main character in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series, has Scottish ancestry that she doesn’t really want to talk about and she plays the bagpipes. So, although I haven’t asked her, I’m sure she’s at a Burns Night celebration today. Maybe she’s even the piper who is piping in the haggis. She’ll be wearing tartan and surrounded by friends and neighbours as they toast the haggis and Burns’ memory. I think she deserves an evening to enjoy herself after the turbulent introduction she had to Fenwater last year in A Timeless Celebration. When the second book in the series is released later this year, we’ll drop in on her again and find out how she’s settling into her new home.

But today I’d like to wish you my personal version of a Scottish blessing ’cause nothing beats family and friends, and enough books to fill your head and heart.