Category: Personal

Very Proud

As many of you know, my dad passed away in September. I'm thrilled to report that the Globe and Mail, which is the Canadian equivalent of the Wall Street Journal, has today published a half page article honoring my dad's life. The article is part of a week long focus on remembering our fallen military personnel.

Since you don't get to see the photos when you read the online version, I'm posting the three pictures they used below. Needless to say, his brothers and sisters, as well as his Air Force buddies, are all very proud, too.


Even as a little boy he loved airplanes


Handsome top gun


Flying the Falcon 20


I'd like to thank the reporter, Nora Ryell, who I discovered is also a budding romance author, for this wonderful tribute.

Category: Personal

Heroes

I lost my dad on Thursday, and the world lost a hero. Not a famous or flamboyant hero, but one of the quiet ones who rarely take credit for the great things they accomplish. My dad was seventy-eight when he died and when told by the doctor that he was terminally ill, he simply nodded and said, "I've had a good life."

And he did.



Not only did he remain faithful to my mother for the entirety of their fifty year marriage, he fathered five children, proudly served his country as a fighter pilot during the nervous years of the cold war, and saved many a life as a Search & Rescue helicopter pilot. He was the first pilot to break the sound barrier at a public airshow over Paris, France, he took a Canadian expedition to the North Pole to plant our flag, and he dedicated a huge chunk of his time to getting a fabulous memorial cairn built for the All Weather Fighter Association.



My dad did everything with purpose and energy. He walked faster than any one I know--as a child, I can remember running to keep up with him, and my mother would often admonish him, "Slow down, Gerry." When he decided to quit smoking, he did it cold turkey and never smoked another cigarette in his life. When he took up carving upon his retirement, he wasn't satisfied to simply whittle a few small pieces--he went on to win awards for his ducks, loons and other wildlife depictions. His passion for his causes was fierce and earned him the roles of president of his union and president of his local community association. When my mother became ill two years ago, he insisted on looking after her himself, and she died at home, with him. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he ever met.



Few people who met my dad ever forgot him. Not because he was some paragon of virtue, though. No, to this day, they remember his love of life ... and his love of a good party. If you spotted a crowd of laughing people at a party, chances were you'd find my dad in the center. Generous to a fault, he liked nothing better than to have everyone over to his place for some great food and a few laughs; even when he became blind in his later years, he insisted on hosting our family get-togethers himself, doing almost all the cooking.

My dad died as he lived, giving it eveything he had. He joked with friends, never forgot to thank anyone for their help, and winked at the nurses right up to the end. Sounds like hero material to me.





Gerard Rene Gagne
March 1930 - September 2008

Category: Personal

For Dad...

High Flight

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
Where never lark, or even eagle, flew;
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

--John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Category: Personal

Absent

My father is extremely ill and I'm spending most of my hours with him. I'll be back when I can.

Category: Personal

What It All Means...

In general, I'm a very private person. I like to blog about the value of romance novels and about what it takes to be a writer, but I resist detailed blogging about my personal life. However, today I'm going to make an exception. I won the Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance on Saturday night and the experience has completely rocked me.

For those of you who don't know, I finaled in the GH once before, back in 2005. Amazed and honored, I delighted in the fairytale ride of being a finalist at the silver anniversary of the RWA National Conference. It was an experience I'll never forget. But that final turned out to be the start of a rather dry period in my successes as a writer. I entered contests and got no where. I submitted to agents and garnered nothing but polite no-thank-yous. I suffered a bout of severe self-doubt and stumbled in my pursuit of publication.

Not surprising, perhaps, in light of what was going on in other parts of my life.

Six months after my 2005 GH final, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and although I kept writing, those moments were sandwiched between caring for her and trying to support my blind father. My mom passed away in August of 2006, leaving a very large gap in our lives. Sadly, the bad news did not end there. That same year, my sister, the mother of two young girls, was diagnosed with breast cancer – just before Christmas. She underwent aggressive treatment, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Today, she's healthy and doing well, thank heaven. But our family received more bad news in February of 2008 – my father was called back from a winter vacation because tests done just before he left showed his prostate cancer had metastasized.

Although I was thrilled to receive a call in March telling me that I was once again a GH finalist, my excitement was naturally tempered by my father's condition. Difficult as it was, I made the decision not to attend the RWA National Conference so I could stay home with my dad. I don't regret that decision, even though I wish with all my heart I could have thanked the judges and met some of my co-finalists in person.

This past year, many things have gone well with my writing – I finaled in all three contests I entered, I had a record number of requests for full manuscripts, I signed with a terrific agent, and now, I’m a Golden Heart winner. To say I'm happy doesn't remotely capture how much this all means to me.

All I know is that I couldn't have come this far without the support of some terrific people:
– my daughter Taylor, whose faith in me has never wavered
– my very good friend Sylvia Day, who has been nothing short of incredible
– my chapter mates in ORWA
– my fellow 2005 GH finalists, the Wild Cards
– my fellow 2008 GH finalists, the Pixie Chicks (even though I've been MIA on our loop, I read every message)
– and more recently, my agent Laurie, who has amazed me with how much she 'gets' my writing

So, I'm writing this to tell you that clouds really do have silver linings. In fact, as you can see, sometimes they're gold.