Last year, to celebrate my favourite and most spooky time of year, I wrote an article about the 13 spookiest graveyards from around the world. Now I’m back with a list of the world’s most haunted places! Thirteen of them, of course.

Just as a heads up, some of the places I included in this list are part of the colonial history in South Africa and Indonesia, and unfortunately I can’t delve into too much about that in this article unless I wanted it to be a 50 minute read. …

Here’s what I’ve learned

If you’ve been following me at all, you won’t be unfamiliar with my teeny-tiny online business: The Littlest Online Bookshop.

In case you don’t know, TLOB is a very small independent used bookstore completely online. I ship internationally and am working to connect people everywhere with books. It’s my passion project and something that has basically taken over my life… besides my actual job, that is.

Over the last two months, since the store opened, I’ve learned a lot. …

It’s not about what you have or where you live, but what you do

I’m a bit of a wellness holistic spiritual slow living junkie. Please don’t laugh at my ever-growing collection of crystals and tarot cards and my breathing exercises and my addiction to herbal wellness teas.

This is what wellness looks like to me. It’s full of energy work, yoga, tea, gardening, and trying to live as slow a life as possible while also living in the suburbs.

Now, I’m not talking about Wellness Culture. No. I’m talking about being a happy and healthy person on a daily basis.

But sometimes I feel like maybe it would be easier if I could just walk around the block and pick up a healthy cold-pressed juice whenever I felt like it or wouldn’t it be nice to have wholesome organic food every day? Access to a wilder variety of eco-friendly choices is somewhat limited unless you’re in a city. …

Anne didn’t need to be modernized in order to be a forward-thinking woman

Fans of the widely popular show Anne with an E (or just Anne in Canada) were out in droves yesterday tweeting at Netflix to save the show after it had been canceled earlier this year. It’s been 6 months, and they’re still at it.

I’ve stated my opinions many-a-time about this show, which, if you don’t know, is an “adaptation” of Anne of Green Gables (note the use of quotation marks), and I can’t seem to help myself when I’m reminded of what this show did to one of my absolute favourite books and book heroines.

Anne Shirley, not “Anne Shirley-Cuthbert”, was always and continues to be a feminist icon. Even before MWB decided she needed to be 21st-century feminist for some reason. …

Choosing the right words is a key component of being a writer

How much does word choice matter?

I’d say quite a bit. But, that’s just my opinion.

Recently, I read an article that troubled me. The author – though clearly intelligent and eloquent – used the word “deserve” when talking about body types and body positivity.

Her message was:

You have the body you deserve.

Now, I’m of the opinion that the cancer patient, the chronically ill, those with disabilities didn’t do anything to incite some karmic wrath against their bodies. But that’s the impression I got from this message.

The word came up over and over. And the thing was, it seemed out of place in an article that was supposed to be about body positivity and not needing fancy clothes to go to the gym. …

Smell the flowers, listen to the birds, feel the dirt under your hands.

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.

- Alfred Austin

A couple months ago, I was in a bad place mentally. Lockdown living was keeping me safe, but not helping me thrive. I had all the time to write and paint and bake and do all the things I love, but I was still feeling glum most of the time.

Then something changed.

The weather got better and my family decided it was time to renovate the garden right in front of our house. It wasn’t much of a garden at all. It was a boxwood lined area covered in periwinkles dotted with some shrubbery. It didn’t look bad, per se. But, it significantly lacked inspiration. We’d been talking about it during the winter and even with the virus running rampant, we were still able to do what we needed. …

What’s so different about this one, compared to my first novel, is that I wrote it all by hand in a notebook.

Just over two weeks ago, I finished writing the first draft of my current work-in-progress. I feel satisfied with this draft. I wrote it in under a year, whereas the last one took over two years, and I felt more naturally creative while writing. What’s so different about this one, compared to my first novel, is that I wrote it all by hand in a notebook.

I learned a lot about my writing style and my creative process throughout. And I simply enjoyed the process much more than I did when I wrote on my computer. …

When gratitude for the little things can lead to greater contentment

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” — William Morris

What was the last thing that brought you joy?

Did you think of something? It doesn’t need to be large ecstatic happiness. And I’ll bet it wasn’t anything huge or miraculous, but rather something small and almost mundane.

It might not be a fantastic job promotion or a new relationship; it just might be a delicious cookie fresh out of the oven or a sunny day or a cuddle from your pet. …