But don’t say that to Saskatchewan author Annette Bower. Within her imagination, she celebrates romance, the love kind. Bower is the award-winning author of five romance novels, with the storylines of many of them being set in Regina Beach. She says the South Shore is familiar to her. As a writer, she calls it is the perfect setting for something magical that’s about to happen. “I write romance because I like happy ever after books. Writers spend a great deal of time with their characters, and I want to enjoy that time. Also, there are a lot of daily pressures in the world that demand our moral courage. So I hope my stories help readers fill up their good-feeling wells with easy lovely reads to continue with the hard things in life. Romance doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It occurs in a community.”
She calls the landscape in and around Regina Beach an ideal setting for a novel, from its picturesque shorelines, to undeveloped grasslands. The writer says it inspires creativity. Bower is well-familiar with the community, having embraced it as her home for decades. “My history with Regina Beach began in the early 1950s. My husband and I raised our two sons there. Our sons made lifelong friends while attending Lumsden Elementary, South Shore Elementary and Lumsden High School. We snowmobiled, boated, and beached as a family. It was the ideal family life.”
However, as her sons grew and moved away, the Bowers moved to Regina. Although she still has strong ties to the community, returning as often as possible and being part of a community that’s inspired her writing. “We have many friends and often return for community events, including the LMLCC Sunshine Arts Festival, where I sell my books. The community is fantastic with their support. Regina Beach Home Hardware has been an enormous supporter and helped me find hundreds of new readers. Regina Beach and the area are very close to my heart and inspires my novels.”
Her latest novel, Oranges for Miranda, was released in the Fall of 2021. Bower calls it a great read for Valentine’s Day or anytime. The book follows the story of a newly retired award-winning businesswoman, Miranda Porter, as she leaves home to transition into her new life stage.
During this time, unexpected romance creeps in, upsetting the characters’ plan to live in quiet retirement.
Bower has been writing seriously since 2000 after she graduated from university with a BA in English. Her next novel is a work in progress and set in Regina Beach, on an imaginary farm. It celebrates the land and those who embrace rural Saskatchewan as their home.
Happy reading.
By Carol Rose GoldenEagle
