While working in our Clinic today, I happened to access the internet and screaming out on the Homepage was a post on why people shy away from success and from making money. In fact, it hinted that many people sabotage themselves for varying degrees of reasons. It made me angry to think that other people are mainly to blame. I will quote two of the top reasons why: 1/ You’d rather not be a target – Money can inspire envy and jealousy from competitors,  family members, and friends. An old Japanese proverb says – The nail that sticks up gets pounded down.

Sad there is a proverb for this.

This made me sick to my stomach, first of all, that there is a proverb for this situation. Second of all, we expect competitors to not like our success as we are taught this in school or in the media, but for friends and/or family too? Shame on friends or family members if they are behaving in this narcissitic, selfish manner. In fact, move away from them if they are. We support and uplift each other, not tear each other down!

2/ Your friends will hate you – You could say there are two ways friends are known to react to a peer who makes a fortune: either they stick their hands out (for $$$), or their tongues out. No one wants to be left out of the clique. The post adds – If your friends don’t like you for who you are – rich, poor, or otherwise – they weren’t your friends in the first place.

Self explanatory

I agree with this point wholeheartedly. For me as a writer, I wondered why I felt such outrage when I read this article. Probably because I think there are many talented people out there not pursuing their dreams because they don’t want to rock the boat within their world, with their family or friends. Please heed my warning, if you are living your life to please others, you’re not living your life at all. We are here to be the best we can be, at whatever it is we discover to be our strength and inner passion, to help others while we are learning about ourselves. From the time I was young, I had many people say I wouldn’t amount to anything. In fact, our elementary school Vice Principal said I wouldn’t make it past grade 12. Well I did. At the University of Western Ontario I achieved an Honours degree in History and a Master degree in Library and Information Science: top of the class, too! In fact, when I finished my undergraduate degree, I was taken out for lunch by a History Professor and he invited me, on behalf of the History Department, to enroll in a PhD program with the goal of becoming a History Professor at Western. I was overwhelmed and delighted with the news but I had chosen to enter my Master’s degree to become a librarian. After all, I had worked as a student page for many years. Don’t let other people’s negativity, petty jealousy, envy, or rivalry get you down. Rise above it and pursue your dreams. I should also note I overcame financial despair. My parents went bankrupt before I finished first year of university. I paid my way for 4.5 years working at the university library and in third/fourth year I held two jobs plus full-time courses. If you want it, you have to persevere and work very hard.

This quote resonates within my soul.

Great quote spoken by Wayne Dyer and many others.

Think on this quote above and you’ll see what he’s really saying.

I never thought in a million years that the little ebook I wrote titled Wake Me Up Inside would sell as many copies as it has…enough to self-publish in print editions too. And Destiny’s Gate is selling very well – print copies! Thanks to our son, J.R. Matheson, for joining this journey of mine. Where will it go from here? Who knows? But we are enjoying the honour and the privilege of meeting so many book lovers across Ontario, bookstore owners, and their staff, at instore book signings and book fairs.

Words my family and I live by.

Thank you so much to all who support the Paige Maddison Series. Know you too can change your life (if you’re unhappy) to pursue your dreams. I did not become an author until 2010 when I turned 50 years old. It just keeps getting better and better.

Positivity + hard work = success as determined by you!

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We are over the moon to be invited back to Chapters in Barrie for another book signing for Destiny’s Gate and the Paige Maddison Series. We had so much fun the first time! We are anticipating this event as it kicks off the celebration of Halloween, October 24th, 1 – 4 pm. Hmmm…what to wear? What to wear? A costume, perhaps. Oh, and we will be bringing Halloween treats! Come and join us, won’t you? Thank you so much, Erica, and to all of the Staff at Chapters Barrie. Merci Beaucoup.

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I have lived a lifetime believing in the power of God, our Heavenly Father, and our collective Universal Intelligence, and our Angels…Guardian Angels to be specific, who guide us along our ‘rightful’ path. That is, if we slow down and listen to them. Have you ever had an urge to change a decision in a split second? For instance, driving along a road that has two possible choices for you to take to arrive at your final destination and you suddenly veer off to the right, or left, without thinking? This is a good sign that your Guardian Angel is looking out for you. (We write about this type of event in Destiny’s Gate.) Later, while listening to the news, they announce a major 12-car pile-up on the road you DID NOT take. And probably wipe a bit of sweat from your brow while simultaneously feeling very sorry for those who ended up in this tragedy. Being Divinely Inspired is available to every one of us. No one is better than another in the spiritual world, but some are just more enlightened than the rest of us. We all have our personal journey we are on and we’re at different stages in our evolvement. And that’s okay!

One day, while driving home from Florida with my husband Kevin, I was urged to suddenly ask him to stop the car. In fact, I yelled, “Stop the car now!” Kevin being the good man he is, did not question this at all. He slammed on the brakes. It was late at night, pitch-black, no other cars on the road, in the Virginian Appalachian Mountains. I was asked (yes, I heard the voice ask me) to step out of the car and look at all of the angels. We were situated on the shoulder of a mountain and there was a deep valley below filled with trees. There were no houses in sight, no street lights at all. Just us and the darkness of the night. It was also a full moon that was hidden behind clouds and sometimes revealed itself. I squinted my eyes and saw nothing. I responded with my internal voice, “Really, there are angels here?” And I heard, “Wait, you’ll see them.” So I relaxed and waited a few seconds. Suddenly, I began to see white, sparkly lights…quite small at first. Then I saw hundreds of them, sparkling so brightly over the valley below. I felt their happiness and the pureness of their energies. I was a bit overwhelmed, stunned and elated. However, I had always wanted to see my Guardian Angel. I quickly pulled my cellphone out of my pocket for the purpose of snapping pics of the sparkling angels but instead, turned sharply to my right and there…hovering over my shoulder was my Guardian Angel, about 5 feet in length, maybe longer, dense white light, but with the camera lense on her, she bunched up to the size pictured in this photo. (Angels really aren’t a he or a she but I’ll use she for the purposes of this narrative.) I began to snap several photos.

My Guardian Angel. Photo copyrighted.  Lee Bice-Matheson

My Guardian Angel did not want me to take her picture, and I was indeed scolded for it. I did it without forethought! In fact, I did it intuitively knowing it was my chance to see who was guiding me on this particular night, the one who has guided me since I was a young child. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here at this age in my life as I’ve been plagued with many severe illnesses, one of which I’ve had a NDE. She guides me on rightful eating, on my health, when I’m sick…what to take, what not to take. In fact, one day, I was urged to visit my dentist at the end of our workday. When I arrived, I was told he had gone home but the dental hygienist would see me. I told her I had an infection in my tooth and she obligingly took an xray. I was then booked to see the dentist in the morning. When I returned, the dentist looked at me and said, “How in the world did you know you have a tooth infection? It hadn’t even begun to blow up, yet?” I smiled and responded, “Oh, I just knew.” I can thank my Guardian Angel for the warning and I was told it would have been a nasty infection. She also helps me to be the best I can be living from a place of love with compassion and generosity of spirit, and is probably the one who won’t let me stop writing the Paige Maddison Series. I am grateful for God for sanctioning my Guardian Angel. It was my time to see her, and one day, if you are ready, you may see yours. I was not allowed to publish this narrative until recently when she said, “It’s time.” From what I’ve been told, this is one of the most asked questions to God or the Universal Intelligence. “Do I have a Guardian Angel?” and “Is he/she looking out for me?” The photo of my Guardian Angel was taken April 10, 2012. And I’m wondering why I am now allowed to reveal her? Wait and we shall see. Written July 9th, 9:30 am. In the wee hours of the morning, July 10th, I heard the answer to my question, “Hope.” Please feel free to leave your comments and/or your narratives about meeting your Guardian Angel.

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J.R. and I were so happy and delighted to be hosted at the Chapters in Barrie yesterday, July 10th from 3:15 to 7:30 pm.

Arriving at Chapters Barrie. It was so windy, Blue Eyes almost flew out of our hands. J.R. Matheson with Lee Bice-Matheson

Manager Christina helped to organize us. Here is the wonderful signage they made for us and it was found around the

Chapters tweeted about us, Facebooked too and had signs found around the store and at the check-out. Very kind staff and supportive to authors! Thank you kindly Erica, Christina and Harold!

bookstore. Of course, J.R. and I had to quickly set up. And it was quite funny when we approached our table to find someone sitting in our chair reading books. I walked up to the book lover and said a big hello. And she quickly said, “Oh, I’m not the author.” And I replied, “We know, we are.” We had a big laugh and she jumped up and introduced herself while shaking my hand and then proceeded to tell us people had been asking for us, already!! She informed them, “No I’m not the author.” We felt welcomed right away.

We are ready for the book lovers of Simcoe County and GTA.

J.R. and I had been tweeting all week to Barrie book lovers inviting them to come and check out our series. We also tweeted about #Hwy400, come on cottagers and take a break from the 400.

First cottager to say, “You’re the ones tweeting take a break from #Hwy400?”

Lovely Romanian Mom and Son. They asked us lots of questions about how we began to write together and about the content of our series. She did not want lots of romance for her young daughter and I replied, “There is very little in our series. It is a coming-of-age story about Paige Maddison’s awakening to her spiritual gifts and learning about her estranged family. It is a family series.”

Well, weren’t we surprised when several families flew through the front doors and found us. They laughed and said, “You’re the ones tweeting come on in off the highway?” It was wonderful to see how social media really can effect your sales. Yes, they bought both books in the series and we shared wonderful conversations about their travels and our series

We were busy for 3 hours and had the time of our lives. The Chapters’ staff from Erica who booked us, to Christina who helped us set up, and Harold (who I had originally contacted by dropping into the Chapters bookstore and asked if we could do a book signing) were all so hospitable and friendly! Thank you so much. And yes, Harold, we’d love to come back. Thank you for suggesting it to us. We’d be delighted.

These cottagers were delighted to find us as they saw our tweets, too! Thank you kindly for coming in!! We enjoyed all of our conversations.

Another interested book lover #supernatural stories.

Then there was a man who ran in through the front doors, spied us, slowed down, and approached with sweat on his brow. He told us, “My wife sent me in here. She told me you write about wolves and I am very interested in that.” He bought our series and we gifted (as we do to all of the buyers of our series) a guardian angel to his wife. He was so happy to buy them and we had a very interesting conversation. Thank you! What you are looking for is found in the list of books mentioned at the back of Destiny’s Gate. 🙂 Thank you so much to you and your lovely wife for making us feel validated as authors.

Very enthusiastic reader of books on wolves! Spirit Wolves that is.

Looking back on this day, it was marvelous to be told readers were asking for us by name. They knew of the Paige Maddison Series and many of the people we met, came in specifically to buy Wake Me Up Inside and Destiny’s Gate. In fact, one reader left the bookstore (we hadn’t arrived yet) and returned to buy our series! She informed us that she was gifting it to her sisters…and sister-in-law. It’s a must read! We were shocked to hear this. Thank you to the C. family.

Harold, you are so right! The more bookstores we visit, the more known we’ve become. It is worth all of the hard work and effort to write stories that make people happy. Thank you so much for pointing this out!

Thank you kindly to my Twitter friend, Douglas Gardham, author of The Actor, who had just been at this Chapters the week before. He retweeted all of our tweets about Chapters Barrie. You made a world of difference to us, Douglas!

And finally, when things had settled down, J.R. and I were taking a break…in walked a sorority sister of mine, June Vey and her daughter, Rebecca. We had facebooked the night before and I asked her to come on down. I had not seen June for 26 years. I had a tear in my eyes when I saw her and the fact her daughter wanted to come was amazing!

June Vey and her daughter Rebecca took time to come and see us.

June is the first Kappa Alpha Theta sister to take time out of her very busy schedule to come and see us and to meet my family. Fantastic, June!! It was so great to see you and we shall see each other again!

This was J.R.’s third book signing with me, as he was busy at McGill University in Montreal for most of last year. It is always a pleasure to be with J.R. at the book signings. You make it so special and fun!! I am a lucky Mom to have our son

J.R. Matheson is entertaining and wonderful to work with at the book signings. One very proud and lucky Mom!

as my writing partner and all it entails. You are fantastic, J.R. This is the time of my life, with you, and your Dad.

Our book signing at Chapters Barrie was so much fun. The energy in the store is uplifting and we felt the love from the people of Barrie and the visiting cottagers. Our drive home was easy and safe, Harold. Thank you for thinking of us re: the traffic for the Pan-Am games! You are the best!!

Here is our Manager, Kevin Matheson, husband and father. He supports us at each book signing and is pictured here reading to us from Arianna Huffington’s book Thrive. Great read Arianna!!

Oh, and one last thing! Settled at home, my loving husband, Kevin, surprised me with a gift! J.R. and I were relaxing outside on our deck, and Kevin jumped up and brought me a wrapped rectangular present. I looked at him and said, “Why?” He replied, “You’ll see.” It is a wooden carving of the words, Write On! It is my favourite expression, as an author.

Write On is Lee’s expression to inspire herself to sit and write at her desk. No excuses, daily!

I had said so long ago, I’d love to have it engraved in wood for me to look at daily. Even authors need inspiration!! Thank you so much, Kevin!! I love it!! You did it again. 🙂 Thank you to all who support our writing careers from our family and friends, to the readers, the bookstore owners and their staff. We couldn’t do it without you!! Next up is Chapters/Indigo at Square One, in Mississauga, Saturday, August 15th.

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We boated to beautiful Beausoleil Island

Beausoleil Island

this past weekend. In fact, that’s the only way to visit whether you arrive by water taxi or by personal watercraft…there were 20-40 foot power boats and sailboats, trawlers, fishing boats, Zodiacs, Sea Doos and more.

Parks Canada Welcome Centre

It was a dream of mine for 15 years.

Beautiful docks at Beausoleil Island.

Abby is waiting patiently while we set up. This is the view from the tent. Swampy shoreline.

We docked, helped to set up our campsite

Our campsite. We moved the next day to a beach site and were happy we did.

and had a great dinner cooked on a grill over a wood fire. No one was camped nearby. We greeted fellow campers that passed by. They were visiting from around the world and we had polite conversations. Dutch, french, german, chinese, japanese and languages I could not identify were spoken throughout the weekend. We enjoyed the full moon and stars that looked so close, you could almost touch them.

Fireworks at Penetanguishene, ON

Did I mention the fireworks? We could see them from our dock but we think they were displayed from Penetanguishine (6-10 nautical miles away).

The next morning, while husband Kevin percolated coffee

On the Beach at Cedar Spring

on shore, I admired a merganser…they move their heads like chickens and I spied a snake swimming

Watched as a water snake swam below our boat. Yikes. Then a very loud merganser swam by.

along the bottom of the Bay; it would come up for air and swim under. Hmmm…water snakes swam in and around our boat all weekend. I wondered what would stop them from finding their way up and into our boat? A family docked next to us attracted this particular snake. It was disturbing to watch it swim at them as they quickly pulled themselves onto their rafts. The snake swam away only to come back at them. They left the island. BTW, according to a well-informed Park Ranger…these snakes have a mild anticoagulant meaning once they bite their prey, they just follow it until  it bleeds out, and then they eat it. If it bites a human, though harmless, it hurts like a son of a gun, and you bleed for a very long time!

Meanwhile, did you know boaters can stay the night in the Bay by dropping their anchor?

Early Saturday morning, July 4th. Happy Independence Day to our American friends.

Let me preface this by the fact 99% of the people docking are great. They’re laughing, swimming, doing their own thing…but as Saturday night wore on, one guy was  infatuated with the F word. I have never heard it yelled out as much as this one night. Saying he was intoxicated is understating his condition. He said a sentence with the F word and strung it along with a few other chosen swear words that I’m still trying to forget, never to be repeated. Nearby 3 boats were rafted and they started to swear back at the rowdy group of boaters. Of course, my instincts were to listen to make sure he did not hurt himself, or other boaters. That’s just my nature.

Did I mention the beauty of Beausoleil Island?

Beautiful morning on Beausoleil Island. No one else is up and about. So serene.

It really is a great place to camp as Justin, his friend Kevin, and dog Abby would attest to. Beausoleil has great hiking trails and flushing toilets! with sensors. Wait….this is not Algonquin Park. However, if you are looking for the call of the loon, you must listen late at night and early in the morning, because that’s when you’ll hear them. All in all, we feel we were initiated into boating life on Georgian Bay. Next stop, more secluded docking in search of the beautiful local wildlife.

Time to leave. Very busy now.

Oh, and one last thing. While loading up our boat (I was alone waiting for more gear to pack away) a group of boaters on the dock were jumping around and all excited. Next, the Park Ranger appears, and confirms, “Yes, it’s a water snake!” It had, indeed, crawled onto the dock and scurried around the boats. One elderly man stomped at it and the snake threw itself into the water, with a huge splash! I watched it. Apparently, the snakes I had seen were the babies. This was the Mother and she was angry the boaters were too close to her nest! We often forget, that we are intruding on their natural habitat. On our last morning, while I percolated the coffee, two very young boys were exploring the beach. The older boy, around 7, (from NY) ran over to wash his hands in the swampy water (this is where the snakes hang out most). I asked him to not to do this please and pointed him in the direction of the washrooms. There are 6 venomous snakes and bears on Beausoleil Island. In our 13 years of boating, we have learned to be informed. Respect nature and it’ll respect you! Enjoy your summer Everyone!

Our dock neighbour. This is a retired OPP boat.

Stone Chair at Thumb Point, Georgian Bay

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I wrote a short story to honour #CanadaDay2015. Hope you like it:

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

            Be careful what you wish for, a phrase I told our son Stephen time and again. I had never stopped to realize just how profound this string of words could be.

The most exciting event for our young family was the purchase of a twenty-six foot sailboat. It was a 1978 Hughes with spacious quarters, galley, and a six-foot two-inch headroom.

It was a big old boat and we all agreed – we loved it. In fact, we named her Mahalo after one of our trips to Hawaii. Mahalo means thank you or hello depending on the conversation.

However, one day after sailing with gusty winds and a precarious attempt at docking, it didn’t take long before I said to my husband, “Wow. I know it was quite rough out there, Jeff,  but you didn’t have to bark orders at us! I mean really.”

Looking wounded, Jeff replied, “What did you expect me to do?  Things happen so fast on Lake Huron.  It’s so open and unprotected.  We have to respond right away.  Sorry, I did my best and I didn’t mean to take it out on the two of you.”

Jeff walked towards the mast, shoulders slumped. He lowered the mainsail and fastidiously put its royal blue cover on.

Exit, stage left. Stephen and I grabbed our towels and life jackets as we crawled into our Zodiac (an inflatable rubber dinghy) which was attached to the stern of the boat, our bow facing the dock. Sailing always made the two of us tired. We nestled in until we were comfortable and fell asleep with the sun on our faces, mesmerized by the sound of the gently rolling waves.

Awakening with a panicked feeling, it took me a few moments before I realized the Zodiac was rocking wildly back and forth. I looked in the direction of Stephen, but could barely see his outline.  I could not believe it was so dark  nor could I process the danger we were in…until I realized we were in open water. A distant light to the starboard side seemed a million miles away, on shore. Trying to remain calm, I could not stop thinking, Where are we?  What have I done?

Just then, Stephen awoke and said sleepily, “Where are we, Mom?”

I didn’t respond right away. “We’re somewhere…on the water.”

My heart pounded rapidly. I had to talk myself down and gain control of my thoughts.  My head hurt, it was cold, and most of all, I regretted the last thought I had on my mind before I fell asleep. I wanted to be far away from Jeff.

Fast and furiously we tried to paddle to shore. It seemed as if we were going in circles and I realized our efforts were wasted. I suggested to Stephen that he save his energy. It was 11:03 p.m. on my Indiglo watch and I gave into my exhaustion. When I awoke, the sky was overcast. There was no full moon to guide us tonight.

Suddenly, I heard three loud blasts echoing across the water. Random thoughts raced through my mind. What did Jeff say they meant? A freighter is coming? Where’s the freighter? My skin crawled. I could hear a whisper on the water, faint at first, then becoming louder.  My heart palpitated but I had to remain cool for my son’s sake.

Stephen stirred and I asked, “Could you sing something, anything, as loud as you can? I love to hear your voice.”

“Aww, mom. Do I have to?”

“Yes, it’ll take our mind off…things. Please, Stephen.”

Okay,”  he agreed sounding a bit confused. And out of the mouths of babes came the sweetest voice singing It’s my Life by Bon Jovi.

I searched the water for signs of where we were…a familiar buoy, a rock, something. Four foot swells moved us all about. Stephen stopped singing as he pulled a small glow-in-the-dark July 1^st flag from his pocket. It crossed my mind, What good would the Canadian flag do for us, now?

“I’m so sorry for getting you into this situation, dear,” I said, my voice cracking.

“No, mom, it’s not your fault.  We climbed into this boat together, remember?”

“Still, I should’ve been more alert.” I slammed my fist against the side of the dinghy.

“I miss dad,” exclaimed Stephen.

“Me, too,” I said with a lump in my throat, my heart beating loudly.

I would have given anything to hear Jeff’s voice explaining why it’s better to do things ‘his way.’  I tried to reassure Stephen that everything was going to be okay. I had always told him our family would get through anything together, yet doubt began to creep into my mind.

Wham! Something hit us, jerking the boat around to the point of whiplash. We spun around so fast in a clockwise direction making me feel more confused at our whereabouts than ever. It was at this point, an epiphany occurred. We had floated around for hours and with the current, goodness knows where we were. I heard a familiar sound of whooshing and noticed the Zodiac was losing air. I felt sick to my stomach but mustered the courage to feel the patch on the stern of the boat. It had become unglued, or worse yet, punctured. That was the moment when I realized we had to get to shore. There was no way we could wait until dawn. According to my watch, it was now 2:30  a.m. The Zodiac would be out of air by morning.

Once again, we smashed into something. Bam! The two of us were tossed about and we crashed our heads together. If that wasn’t enough, I managed to cut my hand in the process. Whatever we hit, it was razor sharp.

Instead of being afraid, a sense of calm overcame me. I wrapped a bandana around my bleeding hand and snapped into protector mode assessing our predicament. We had run up against some rocks. One was jagged, and Stephen managed to wrap a rope around it. I supported his weight so he could climb out of the Zodiac and onto the safety of the smoother rocks. I scrambled to join him. We huddled together and were elated; cold, but elated. I watched with curiousity as Stephen removed his shiny Canada Day flag from his jacket pocket. Actually, it glowed now more than ever in the darkness.

“C’mon, Stephen, let’s sing O Canada as loud as we can!”

“Oh, all right, Mom,” he agreed.

We sang together, “O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command….”

We stopped when we heard those three blasts again, only they sounded closer this time. Stephen raised his flag, waving it wildly back and forth. A blinding light moved straight for us. We screamed and I thought our lives were over.

Then we heard the best sound ever! Jeff yelled our names frantically, “Lily, Stephen, is that you?”

Stephen and I looked at each other and bellowed in unison, “We’re here!”

Jeff had been searching for us all night. After our discussion on Mahalo, Jeff thought we had retreated below to the cabin for a nap. It wasn’t until closer to dinnertime when he called our names and there was no answer that he became panicked. We were found sitting on rocks off the American coastline, about ten miles northwest of our dock.  We had crossed the shipping channel between Canada and the United States. This would have been a disastrous situation if the Canadian Coast Guard had not found us first. I was grateful for my husband’s instincts to find us fast!

“I heard Stephen singing your favourite song, Lily, It’s My Life…faintly. I was so worried about you…so afraid. I would search the world over for the two of you,” he stated, all choked up. “And I regretted how I spoke to you…”

“Please, forgive me, Jeff. I was impossible. You did what you had to do to get us to safety.”

We all collapsed into each other’s arms on the Canadian Coast Guard rescue boat. It was comforting to know the Coast Guard had circled around and around for hours, never giving up. Then they spied the Zodiac using binoculars and hoped it was us. As grateful as we were for these brave rescuers, it was Jeff who spied the fluorescent flag reflecting the light on and off, a tiny reflection on a pitch-black night. He confirmed it was indeed his family as Jeff had gifted the flag to Stephen.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I cupped my hands around our son’s face. “I’m so proud of you, Stephen. If it wasn’t for your flag and your singing, we may never have been found. You are my hero.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He looked into my eyes and then leaned into my shoulder.

I noticed Stephen was beaming, and then I realized – I had learned the true meaning of the words be careful what you wish for. I will never wish to be apart from Jeff, my loving husband, or my family ever again…under any circumstances! And thank goodness for Stephen; he found the small Canadian flag in his pocket. Together, they made all the difference in the world!

Happy Canada Day Everyone! 

Our favourite sailboat ever! May she RIP.

Written by Lee Bice-Matheson, c2015

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As we promised, J.R. Matheson and I are hosting a contest for the best narrative, or story, about your personal paranormal encounter. Yes, it has to be true, not fiction. This is a contest for everyone, world-wide. If you would like to win paperback copies of Wake Me Up Inside and Destiny’s Gate, email info@leebicematheson.ca and tell us your story. We will publish the winner’s narrative. Please let us know if you would like your name to NOT be published. We promise you, we won’t. The contest begins today and runs until July 30th. We will help to market your non-fiction, paranormal encounter. Good Luck et Bonne Chance.

Good Luck et Bonne Chance from J.R. and Lee on our paranormal non-fiction Contest. Entries from around the world are accepted. Please translate into English for us if another language is your primary one. Contest ends July 30th.

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J.R. and I have been delighted with the response from Merrie Housdon and her fans on The Inspired Writers Blog. We were featured on June 11th, for #fantasy month. Merrie promoted us very well on her social media sites. We are grateful for this, Merrie! What a delightful experience. Merrie is a newly published author of A Prince for Valentine’s. She is an author helping authors and does it graciously. Thank you for having us on your blog. We’ll look forward to working with you again, Merrie.

Included in Annie Acorn’s 2015 Valentine’s Treasury

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Imagine, to our delight, we were invited to two events in the small community of Port Hope, Ontario. But don’t let its size fool you. This is an energetic place with lots to do and see. Our first stop was Furby House Books

We enjoyed our time spent at Furby House Books for #Authors4Indies Day. Thank you so much!

with our hostess, Lou Pamenter. We particpated in #Authors4Indies Day…with a bang. We helped a grandmother buy some picture books and suggested other authors’ books to customers. Lou’s staff – Janet and Gareth were wonderful showing us the ropes and gave us our initiation with A for Authors ‘selling’ badges. Lou made sure our books were located at the front of the Store! Thank you kindly, Lou.

Thank you Lou for the display of the Paige Maddison Series at the front of the bookstore! 🙂

We enjoyed our time spent from 11 am to 12:30 pm and Lou surprised us with lunch! 🙂 How wonderful it was and delicious. Thank you Lou!

The Legend of William Furby, Father of Journalism in Port Hope. Rub his head and you will gain success in everything to do with paper and ink.

Window Display. Love the umbrella! 🙂

Lee and J.R. point out Canadian author Margaret Atwood and Paulo Coehlo’s books. 🙂 Two family favs.

Next we were off to the the Mary J Benson Branch of Port Hope Public Library. Arriving early at 1:20 pm, we were shocked to see a reserved parking space for us!

Did we feel special with our reserved parking spot, J.R.? You betcha. Thank you Alexandra.

That started things off brilliantly. Thank you so much! We set up early as Blue Eyes, Sasha Grace and our new banner for the Paige Maddison Series requires attention. After meeting our hostess, Alexandra, staff member Nicki, and library enthusiast, Ashleigh, we took a short stroll along the Ganaraska River and watched as several men fished in the river. It was a lovely, sunny day. By the time we returned at 2 pm, there were at least 6 people seated and waiting for the readings to begin.

Nicki welcomes us as Alexandra, our hostess, helps us set up. Thank you so much to both of you!

Our first attendee arrives. Thank you Ashleigh for your enthusiasm and interest in the Paige Maddison Series.

J.R. and I at Port Hope Public Library for National Youth Week.

It was J.R.’s first public reading. My husband, Kevin, was the Master of Ceremonies and introduced us followed by his reading of the synopsis for Wake Me Up Inside. Then I read my favourite scene, J.R. read his.

You nailed it J.R. Matheson. Great reading from Destiny’s Gate. Loved your favourite scene from the novel. Congratulations.

Kevin read the synopsis of Destiny’s Gate followed by our readings from the novel J.R. and I co-authored. What a moment it was!! J.R. nailed his readings. It was followed by questions and we gave out the guardian angel pocket charm hand-crafted by Muskoka Pewter to each participant in honour of National Youth Week. Thank you kindly for having us. The staff are wonderful and it is a beautiful Carnegie built library, c1912.

We returned at 3 pm to help sell books at Furby House and we were happy that author Plum Johnson was there for a book signing. Thank you for signing your novel They Left Us Everything. And we met the late Farley Mowat‘s wife, Claire Mowat.

Here we all are at #Authors 4Indies day. Can you believe Claire Mowat, wife of the late Farley Mowat, and Plum Johnson were chatting. We surprised them. 🙂 Thank you for the nice time spent together. 🙂 And thank you kindly Claire for signing our books on behalf of Mr. Mowat.

She is lovely. J.R. bought two of Mr. Mowat’s books – The Curse of the Viking Grave and The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be, from bookseller Plum, and Claire Mowat signed them on behalf of her late husband. All the while, a gentleman was browsing the store and looking through many books. I walked up to him and asked if I could help him find anything. He replied he was waiting for his daughter who was in a dance competition and was happily browsing the bookstore. I explained what day it was #Authors4Indies Day and I was an author trying to sell print books in honour of Independent bookstores. He snapped, “Show me what you wrote.” I showed him the display of our series and explained what it’s all about. He smiled and said, “I’ll be right back!”

I made a sale for Furby House Books. Didn’t think it would be our book, J.R. Matheson! I was trying to sell from the non-fiction selection.

Staff member, Gareth, promptly said, “Come on Lee and sit behind the sales desk. You can sell him your book.” Well, I did! Thank you Gareth.

Thank you for your kindness, Lou, Janet and Gareth! We will return anytime.

It took me back to working in The Oxford Book Shop many years ago. I signed the book to his daughter Molly who had just turned 16. We hope she did well in the dance competition. What a wonderful Father!! Thank you again for buying Wake Me Up Inside. And so our day ended in Port Hope, Ontario. We thank everyone who hosted us. We’ll be back (picture Arnold Schwarzenegger) 🙂 J.R. Matheson at the Port Hope Public Library Might I add, I’ve had my Mother’s Day present early this year! Thank you J.R. for the best day together. And aren’t we lucky that your Dad, my husband Kevin, is there for us every step of the way! Thank you Kevin for your support, always.

And at Kevin’s insistence, Lee and J.R. have one last photo of the day taken. Happy and fulfilled today, we are. 🙂 Until next time, Port Hope! Many thanks to our personal photographer, dear husband and father, Kevin. We love you!!! xxoo

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How wonderful it was that we had the opportunity to spend our time at Indigo Eaton Centre on World Storytelling Day!

J.R. Matheson & Lee Bice-Matheson Hosted by Indigo Eaton Centre on Friday, March 20th

Also, the first day of Spring and the new moon! We enjoyed our author in-store appearance on Friday, March 20th! The energy within the store was fantastic! Jennifer looked after us right away and she had an acrylic table delivered, locating us at the top of the escalator, on the second floor of the Indigo. We felt honoured to be the ‘meet and greet’ team as book lovers ascended the escalator and reached us. This was the first time we have been hosted by a big chain bookstore, and Canadian too! It was a wonderful afternoon that began with the set-up at 11:30 am and ended at 4:15 pm. Our audience heated up in the last two hours and even as we packed up readers were approaching us about the Paige Maddison Series.

Book Signing Event, March 20th at Noon.

Ruth Colombo, Poet, and JR Colombo, Canada’s Master Gatherer

We are grateful my mentor and our dear family friends, JR Colombo (Canada’s Master Gatherer) and his lovely wife, Ruth (Poet), were the first to arrive. My co-author (and son) J.R. finally had the opportunity to meet the Colombos and ‘the JR’ I have spoken so much about. Both of the Colombos have shared their expertise in the world of publishing. I am forever thankful for their friendship, continued support and guidance.

We had many friends and family that attended. Our thanks to all including

Editor, Lynn (sister too!) and Niece Katy

Lynn, Katy, Melissa, Diane, Anton, Marci and Brian, Kassandra and Andrew, for all of your support. We had a bit of nerves but you made it easier for us on this momentous day. J.R. and I want to thank my husband, his father, Kevin Matheson for not only taking the day off work to help us set up, but also for supporting us 100% in this writing venture. We are indeed indebted, Kevin! Thank you so much.

Thank you so much, Kevin! We love you!!

Thank you kindly to Kathy P., Charlotte M., and Jennifer of Indigo Eaton Centre for co-ordinating this day for us. You did a magnificent job! It is a day we will never forget.

Thank you to Garrett Green of Muskoka Pewter for the handcrafted Guardian Angels made from Pewter. We gave them to the buyers of our series as a gift. They were special-ordered for the Indigo Eaton Center book signing.

Handcrafted by Muskoka Pewter

Garrett Green handcrafted the Guardian Angel Pocket Charms. Thank you!

And finally, to the readers and buyers of our series, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without you, we would not be writing book three in the series! May all of your dreams come true! Thank you for helping with ours.

Thank You From Co-Authors J.R. Matheson and Lee Bice-Matheson 🙂

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