louise penny

Penny Prompts – Book Places

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Have you ever traveled to a place found in a book you read?

In the past, I’ve gone to a castle that featured prominently in Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman.

More recently, over my summer vacation, I traveled to Three Pines from the Louise Penny books. I saw the bistro/cafe they set up in the lower part of LacBrome Books and the Haskell Free Library and Opera House (photos below).

Write about a book place you visited or that you want to visit!

Three Pines Cafe, Knowlton, Quebec. (c)2026
The view from the Three Pines Cafe, Knowlton, Quebec. (c)2026
Haskell Free Library and Opera House, Stanstead, Quebec. (c)2026
The border at the Haskell Library between Stanstead, Quebec in Canada and Derby, Vermont in the United States. (c)2026

Penny Prompts – The Village Green

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For the last several weeks, Minotaur Books has been emailing a special series of thoughts on the gardens of Three Pines. Today is the last one, The Village Green, and I thought I’d share it with you as part of this week’s Penny Prompts.

I have also just discovered that Louise Penny’s newest Armand Gamache book, Miss Wolcott’s Ghost comes out next Tuesday, October 20th! I thought it wouldn’t be out until a week later, so I am very excited, and will now spend the rest of this week finishing the books I’m currently in the middle of!

Prompt:
Write about your garden or any of the gardens in Three Pines or around your neighborhood. Include your sketchbook to doodle the flowers you see and like.

Despite the book coming out a week earlier than I anticipated, I will continue with Penny Prompts through the rest of this month.

Happy Writing and Happy Reading!

Penny Prompts – Age is a Number

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In celebration of the upcoming release, at the end of this month, of Louise Penny’s newest Armand Gamache mystery book, Mrs. Wolcott’s Ghost, I invite you to join me each Wednesday from now until October 27th for special writing prompts I’ve devised using excerpts from her books.

While on our summer holiday, we stopped for tea at the Three Pines Cafe, which may have been the impetus for doing this series now.

(c)2026

“…wiped the condensation off the bathroom mirror and a man in his late fifties appeared…”
 
“Though it happened each and every morning, the face that looked back could still surprise him. Away from any reflection, he was in his early forties. But each morning he was reminded that was not actually true.”

Armand Gamache, The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

I think many of us have had this same moment that Armand is feeling when something comes up that we are no longer able to do or look into the mirror accidentally and wonder who that is looking back at us.

At a conference, and I may have written about this before, I was asked my age, and I replied, “38.” Friends, I was 48, and it took me a full ten minutes or more to realize that. Even now, more than a decade later, I still think I’m 38 give or take a few years.

Today’s prompt is:

How old do  you feel? If you could go back to any age in your past (or perhaps a future age), what is it about that age that makes it a happy time for you? What are things you did then that you don’t do now (for whatever reason) that you would like to do again? What about things you did that you don’t necessarily regret, but what would you have thought twice about or not done with the wisdom you now have?

International Book Giving Day

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Here is a very simple list of my Top 5 books to give, to read, to re-read.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Book Giving Day!

  • The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad (one of my current reads!)
  • Armand Gamache Series of Books by Louise Penny
  • Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
  • Come Forth by James Martin, SJ (next on my reading list!)
  • The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

Also check out Richard Osman’s and Bernard Cornwell’s books! All excellent.

Happy Reading!

World Book Lovers Day

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I’m having surgery next week. This is the list of books added to my Kindle for Recovery Reading:

  1. The Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clark
  2. 100 Places to See After You Die by Ken Jennings
  3. War by Bob Woodward
  4. Lieutenant Nun: The True Story of a Cross-Dressing, Transatlantic Adventurer who Escaped from a Spanish Convent in 1599 and Lived as a Man – Gambling, Duels, and Leading Soldiers into Battle by Catalina De Erauso
  5. Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary by Joe Jackson
  6. How We Learn to Be Brave by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde
  7. The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America Edited by Allan Greer

As a bonus treat, I discovered this in my emails, and plan to visit the next time I am in Montreal:

Cafe Three Pines – Inspired by the bistro in Penny’s Three Pines novels, their cafe is a haven for book lovers, croissant seekers, and anyone in need of a quiet moment. They can be found at 51 Chemin Lakeside, Knowlton Quebec J0E 1V0 and on Instagram! They are open Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm.

World Book Day

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On this World Book Day, I have three that I want to highly recommend to you:

  • The Writer: A Thriller by J.D. Barker and James Patterson
    This is not generally a book that I would gravitate towards. I don’t know if someone mentioned it to me or if I saw it online. As a writer, I was drawn to the title, although put off by the idea of a thriller – those aren’t really my thing, but I read this, and despite the cliché on the cover – you’ll never forget the ending – I read it, twisted and turned along with the characters, and the ending, well, let’s just say I will never forget it. In fact, I had to read the last two pages twice – it was that unexpected!
  • The Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay
    I was drawn to this by the talented Georgia Tennant who narrates the audiobook. I listened to a sample, and I was hooked on the story! I have just begun reading it and will eventually listen to the audio version. What happens when serial killers get married and have a child? This is your answer. Brilliant concept, very engaging, and I anticipate fun.
  • The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
    I read this when it came out last fall, and I am now listening to the audiobook narrated by Jean Brassard. I love his voice, and he really brings out the Quebecois culture and accent which is a large part of the Armand Gamache series. Read the first eighteen books first if you can – this newest book has several call backs and old favorites who return. The next book, The Black Wolf, comes out in October of this year.

What three books would you receommend for this World Book Day?