How Leaving Home Made me Fall in Love With Writing again.

I’ve been having a bit of a jaded time recently; you know the sort of thing when you just can’t work

up any enthusiasm for anything…several books almost done but I guess my Muse had taken off on vacation, because she certainly wasn’t doing much to help me get inspired.

So, what to do? A couple of days away from home, work, keyboard, from my life, usually shakes me out of it. Not that we actually live a gadabout life, but a couple of days here and there are within budget and refreshing. Any longer than a couple of days and we return to three felines who turn their backs on us and refuse to be tempted to cuddles without some major grovelling by their humans.

This time it was off to Toronto, an overnight hotel stay curtesy of a special TravelZoo offer. Toronto

is such a modern, clean, friendly city that it’s hard to get bored there, although I wouldn’t trade my country lifestyle for a return to city dwelling.

We visited China Town, which is an outing in itself. The area is so colorful, with stores full of fascinating herbs, veggies that aren’t in our local market,  jewelry, clothing, drinks…and streets full of colorful, interesting, friendly people of all ethnic varieties.

A visit there is a tonic in itself. Totally revitalising.

Our target was the Art Gallery of Ontario. There was a special exhibit of the work of Alex Colville,

the Maritimes artist whose wonderful work has received great acclaim. I’d never seen original Colville works before, and it was mind blowing. Many of his paintings are ‘everyday’ scenes but there is a disturbing element in them…you get the feeling from some of them that everything is not quite as it seems…
I have to admit that I’m fascinated by artistic people; Indeed, from time to time I've dabbled myself. And no, there won't be any of my attempts at acrylics on display ion this blog! However, the heroine of my very first novel, Judgement By Fire, is a wildlife artist who is prepared to take on a huge corporation to save the woodland artists’ colony where she lives. She finds herself falling in love with the CEO of the international corporation, putting her life in danger, and having to unravel a mystery involving a tangled web of hatred decades in the making..

How’s that for writing a teaser without giving the plot away? You can read the first chapter at my website, www.glenysoconnell.com

Seriously, though, if you get a chance to visit a Colville exhibition, do go. Everyone needs refresh their creative soul now and again. And leaving home is a great way to do it. :-) And now I'm signing off, because I'm totally wired and can't wait to get back to writing!