Now, if you don’t know what “sugaring off” is, let me tell you. It’s a time-honored Quebecois tradition. When the maple sap starts to flow, you visit a “sugar shack” where they stuff you full of yummy brunch foods such as pancakes, tourtière (another Quebec delicacy), bacon and eggs, all smothered in maple syrup, of course. After that amazing meal, we rode in a wagon pulled by two enormous Belgian draft horses, named Trigger and Tiny. They took us to the syrup-making shack to sample sap and maple taffy on snow (my favorite). We also learned all about the maple syrup process. Depending on the conditions, it can take 15-40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Who knew?
Weather not withstanding, it was a fun outing and something I haven’t done in a long time. The adventure was also significant for me in a couple of ways. First of all, the inn we visited is a hundred-year-old inn called the Pine Lodge. It’s a favorite hang out in the summer as it’s right on the shores of the Ottawa River. It’s also the inspiration for the Cedar Grove Inn mentioned in my upcoming fantasy cozy, Black Annis Year. While the inn is only alluded to in book one, it will be featured much more prominently in a later book. I plan to spend some time at Pine Lodge this summer to find inspiration.
The second significance of this outing was the wagon ride. It was cold and wet, but still a delightful adventure. Also, it reminded me just how big Belgian draft horses are. They are also some of the most gentle creatures on this earth.
You see, there is a very special Belgian draft horse at the heart of Black Annis Year. Her name is Sadie and her story is based on events that happened while I was volunteering at a large animal rescue ranch many years ago. Sadie’s real name was Ellie. She was a retired Amish plow horse who went through many of the same health struggles as Sadie. Without giving away spoilers, Ellie won my heart because she was smart and sweet and the matriarch of the farm. Suffice it to say that Ellie was a huge inspiration for me, not just in writing this book, but in life in general. I hope you’ll enjoy her story.
And once you’ve read it, I’d love to discuss the real story behind the inspiration with you. The best place to do that would be on one of my Inbetween Groups either on FaceBook or Discord. These are private groups where you can discuss books, writing and much more with other like-minded readers. And I’m often there to answer questions too.
PRE-ORDER BLACK ANNIS YEAR
Website Updates
While we’re waiting for Black Annis Year to release, I’ve been populating The Fair Folk of Mullarkey page on my website. I’ve added some extras like a playlist inspired by the Quebecois music favored in the story, maps of the farm and house that feature prominently, and links to past blog posts that talk about some of the animals who inspired the rescues in Black Annis Year.
You'll also find a link to Content Warnings. I add these to the website for all my books. Black Annis Year is a feel-good, cozy fantasy, but it does deal with the realities of animal rescue, so I added some trigger warnings. Visit the Fair Folk of Mullarkey page for content warnings, but beware, there will be spoilers.
VISIT THE FAIR FOLK OF MULLARKEY PAGE
Book Fairs & Events
Spring is so close, I can taste it (and it tastes like maple syrup!). I'm celebrating with a bunch of other Canadian authors in the “Read Canadian” book fair. I'm also thrilled to showcase A Knack for Metal and Bone in a couple of other fairs that highlight the romantasy elements of epic fantasy. Click on any banner to check them out!
Spotlight Books
Raven's Instinct
(A Day Care for Shifters Book 6)
Elva Birch
She's the single mom of a fluffy baby owl. He's a secret agent, undercover at a day care for shifters. Feathers will fly!
Raven shifter Alan Petrov has faced down crime bosses in cities and fought ancient magical creatures in the far frozen north. Now he’s taking his toughest assignment yet: going undercover at a day care for shifters in a sleepy town in Montana.
Single mom and snowy owl shifter Kendra knows there’s something off about the new help at Tiny Paws. Not only does he look more like a bouncer than a babysitter, he clearly doesn’t understand diapers or dawdling. Instinct says her daughter is safe with him, but her heart definitely isn’t.
It will take the two of them together to protect Nickel City’s smallest shifters!
Raven's Instinct is a steamy, slow burn, feel-good shifter romance with a dash of danger, side-splitting humor, and a lot of adorable shifter kids.
SHOP RAVEN'S INSTINCT
Catch you next time when we look into more inspirations for Black Annis Year.
Kim McDougall
P.S. I've been talking a lot about Black Annis Year because it's new and shiny, but I haven't forgotten about The Knack series. Book 1 quietly surpassed 500 reviews this week! It maintains a 4.8 star rating and sits at #3 in the Steampunk category. Wow! Thank you to everyone who rated it. If you haven't picked up A Knack for Metal and Bone yet, you can find it HERE.
