All posts by V.M.Sang

I was born and educated in the north west of England. I trained as a teacher in Manchester and taught in Salford, Lancashire, Hampshire and Croydon. I write fantasy novels currently. I also make cards, knit, crochet, tat, do cross stitch and paint. I enjoy walking on the Downs, cycling and kayaking. I do not enjoy housework, but like cooking.

book reviews, fantasy, novel, stories

Review of Dragon Train Rebellion by RJ The Story Guy.

February 15, 2023 V.M.Sang 6 Comments

Overview.

A Good Teen and YA story.

This book is the second in the Dragon Train series. It begins two years after the events of Dragon Train.

It is an original take on dragons. There was, many years before, a war between dragons and humans. The humans won and enslaved the dragons, treating them badly and making them pull their trains.

The humans–most of them–are unaware that dragons are intelligent and can speak to each other through telepathy.

Story.

Jaidon is visited by the Dragon, Skye, whom he rescued from the dragon train along with her mate and three youngsters. She wants his help in freeing the dragons from slavery.

Jaidon goes with her to where the free dragons live–a less than hospitable place, where he is enlisted to help.

I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll leave it there.

Characters.

Jaidon is a believable character. He has problems with his father, as many teenagers do, but he is loyal in his determination that the dragons should not be enslaved. He is likeable and brave, too.

The dragons all have different personalities. Skye seems to look on Jaidon as one of her own children and there are occasions when he thinks she is behaving like a mother. Her mate is not quite as certain of Jaidon as Skye, but is willing to trust him, in order to gain dragonkind’s freedom.

And there is one very scary dragon who has never been enslaved. He is a huge blue called Helmut. He has his doubts about Jaidon, but decides that he has to trust him, but only up to a point.

Writing.

RJ draws a clear picture of the dragons and their situation. He makes us feel sympathy for them. I think there is just enough description of the surroundings for us to be able to envisage it.

He certainly makes Helmut scary!

There were not many typos, although I did notice a few, but the grammar and punctuation were flawless.

Do you enjoy teen stories? I know quite a lot of adults do! Let us know in the comments.

I really love dragons, and have them in most of my fantasy books to date. If you would like to read about my dragons, click on the covers in the sidebar. They are available in all formats and from many platforms.

You can also buy merchandise related to the books by visiting

V.M. Sang

Poetry

Mrs Vine’s Secret. A Valentine poem by my Mum.

February 14, 2023 V.M.Sang 12 Comments

I have been writing and publishing poetry on my blog for some time, but my Mum also wrote poetry. This is one of hers. I hope it amuses you.

MRS VINE’S SECRET

The postman said to Mrs Vine

“Now who’s sent you a Valentine?”

But Mrs Vine just shook her head.

“I really cannot think,” she said.

“Whatever’s this?” her daughter cried.

“It’s many years since Father died.

You’re much too old to have a beau,

But if you have, I ought to know!”

The next door neighbour seemed quite vexed.

“A Valentine? Whatever next?

You’re a dark horse, Mrs V.

Who can this strange admirer be?”

The story spread from door to door.

“Why didn’t we find out before?

We never had the slightest sign

That someone fancied Mrs Vine.”

Questions echoed down the street.

“What sort of menfolk does she meet?

The butcher? The insurance man?

The lad who drives the grocer’s van?”

The meter-reader seems quite nice…

Some looked at their husbands twice.

Mrs Vine was most amused

To see her neighbours so confused.

And chuckled to herself with glee.

“It was well worth the thirty p.”

I decided to publish my poems and sent them off to my publisher. Above you can see the cover in paperback, on tablet or on phone.

It is available in a number of formats from your favourite store.

There is also a variety of merchandise featuring this cover, including a frosted pint glass, scented candle, playing cards, a unisex t-shirt, 1,000piece jigsaw puzzle, a spiral note pad and a tote bag.

Why not take a look?

Go to merchandise store

Or go to the store where you can buy the book.

Buy Miscellaneous Thoughts

Poetry

Leila. A Cat poem.

February 7, 2023 V.M.Sang 6 Comments

I wrote a doggy poem not long ago and Geoff Le Pard commented ‘What next? A Kitty ditty?’

Well, I didn’t want to write one similar to the doggy one, so I wrote this about my daughter’s cat.

Leila.

Someone said, ‘ Does your daughter own a cat?’

I answered, ‘Not at all, but a cat owns her.’

The puss is named Leila, and if on her chair you sat

She sits at your feet and gives a hard stare.

A pretty cat, she has long tabby fur

But is not very sociable, not liking people much.

But on my daughter’s lap you can hear her purr

As she delights in my daughter’s touch.

One day my daughter’s husband sat on her chair.

This annoyed Leila so she got her own back.

She sat on the Sky box, which he thought unfair

As she glared at him with a look so black

She runs the whole family with an iron rod

But the rod is set in a velvet paw.

She knows in ancient Egypt she’d have been a god

And that knowledge is enough for her.

I enjoy reading your comments, so please enter them in the comments box.

If you want to buy any of my books, you can do so by clicking on the cover in the side bar. This will take you to where you can choose to buy at the platform of your choice.

If you like to listen to your stories, many of them are also released as audiobooks.

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Caturday classic: Artiste

February 4, 2023 V.M.Sang 5 Comments

I love Henri the French Cat. Here’s a wonderful piece, courtesy of Bluebird.

Click here to watch

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The Echo series is FREE for three days! (2/1-2/3)

February 2, 2023 V.M.Sang Leave a comment

This series is well worth a read. Mind you, if you don’t like swearing or some violence, I suggest this probably isn’t the series for you.
In my opinion, it is one of the best series I’ve read in a long time.

Kent Wayne

The entire Echo series—Echo 1, 2, 3, 4—is FREE on Kindle for three days! (2/1-2/3) #Kindle #KindleUnlimited #writingcommunity #writer #booktok #writerscommunity #writing

Get A Door into Evermoor here: A Door into Evermoor. Get Kor’Thank here: Kor’Thank: Barbarian Valley Girl. Get Echo Vol. 1 on Kindle here: Vol. 1 on Kindle. Vol. 2 on Kindle here: Vol.2 on Kindle Vol. 3 on Kindle here: Vol. 3 on Kindle Vol.4 on Kindle here: Vol. 4 on Kindle Echo Omnibus here: Echo Omnibus Echo Vol. 1 & 2 Combined Edition here: Combined Edition Musings, Volume 1 is available here: Musings, Volume 1 Here’s the miscellaneous gear that I use to try and become an uber-human: Optimization!

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Recipe book, recipes

A Recipe from The Wolves of Vimar Series

January 31, 2023 V.M.Sang Leave a comment

These little cakes are a favourite of Carthinal, in The Wolves of Vimar series.

In The Making of a Mage, a Wolves of Vimar prequel, Carthinal becomes apprenticed to Mabryl, an archmage. He was known to sneak into the kitchen where Lillora, Mabryl’s housekeeper, was making the cakes and sneak one or two (or several).

Here’s a bit about the book.

Carthinal is alone in the world. His parents and grandparents have died. Without money and a place to live, he faces an uncertain future. After joining a street gang, Carthinal begins a life of crime. Soon after, he sees a performing magician, and decides he wants to learn the art of magic. But can he break away from his past and find the path to his true destiny?

You can buy the book from your favourite store, in ebook, hardback or paperback, by clicking on its cover in the side-bar, or here.

It is also available as an audio book.

Here is the US link

And this is the UK link

It is also available from The Independent Bookstore, which is Next Chapter’s online store.

Here is the recipe for nectar cakes if you would like to try them for yourself.

They were actually invented by my son, Richard, when he was about 7 years old. He was very fond of honey!

Nectar Cakes

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry

125g margarine

125g runny honey

125g flour

2 eggs

Method

Roll out the pastry and cut rounds. Place one pastry round in each hole of a bun tin.

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend on high power until creamy.

Put spoonfuls of the mixture into the pastry cases and bake in the oven at 180C for about 15 minutes.

You can find more recipes in Viv’s Family Recipes, along with some hints and tips garnered from Viv’s family members.

announcement

Exciting news

January 25, 2023 V.M.Sang 4 Comments

Exciting news.

An illustration of the cover of Jealousy of a Viking is now available as a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

Get yours from : https://litmatter.com/products/jealousy-of-a-viking-1000-piece-jigsaw-puzzle

And don’t forget you can get a mug

https://litmatter.com/products/jealousy-of-a-viking-white-coffee-mug

And a poster :

https://litmatter.com/products/jealousy-of-a-viking-poster

Why not pop over and have a look at them?

Poetry

My New Year Resolution

January 24, 2023 V.M.Sang 13 Comments

A bit late to be talking about this, I know, but the only thing I resolved to do was to write a poem a day. So far, I’ve managed it.

I’m posting today’s poem for you to see. I hope you like it.

I have no idea what prompted me to write this one!

The Local Dog Show.

Big dogs, small dogs,

Running after ball dogs.

Black dogs, white dogs,

Ready for a fight dogs.

Tall dogs, short dogs,

And all kinds of sports dogs.

Good dogs, bad dogs,

Happy and sad dogs.

Short dogs, tall dogs,

Won’t come when you call dogs.

Skinny dogs, fat dogs,

This one and that dog.

All shapes and sizes

Hope to win some prizes.

Add you comments to the comments box. I love to hear from you.

If you would like to receive an exclusive, free short story by me, called The Haunted Table, simply click the link. This will take you to the page where you can download it.

Maria and Tom have bought an antique table for the old cottage they have bought. When they hear strange noises in the night that sound like crying, they worry their house is haunted, but the sounds seem to come from the table.

They set about trying to find what is causing the disturbances. The answer is stranger than either of them had thought.

(Clicking the link will add your email address to my email list, but don’t worry, you can unsubscribe immediately if you wish. Nor will you get any spam. I only send out an email each quarter, or if I have any exciting news–like a new release.)

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The Misery House. Pre Order Now!

January 17, 2023 V.M.Sang 7 Comments

I am pleased to tell you about this new book by David Kummer. David is a talented young writer who has been publishing books since he was in High School.
I have been telling people about him for a few years, now. I’ve not yet read this book, but if his others are anything to go by, it will be well worth a read. I especially enjoyed She and the sequel, She Waits.
Other books by David include Everything Somewhere and Until We Burn.
I suggest investigating his books on Amazon.

history

A French Chateau in the English Countryside

January 17, 2023 V.M.Sang 1 Comment

Just before Christmas we visited Waddesdon Manor, near Oxford. It is an amazing place. It is certainly a French Chateau in the English Countryside.

It was pouring with rain when we arrived, and we had a long walk from the carpark up to the house. The path wound its way through silhouettes of soldiers, sailors and airmen to mark remembrance day.

The house belonged to the Rothschild Family and was donated to the National Trust in 1957, and it is run by them and the Rothschild Foundation.

Built between 1874 and 1889 by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild as a weekend home for entertaining, it contains many treasures. Baron Ferdinand bought the estate from the Duke of Marlborough, but it had no house, park or garden, being an agricultural estate.

Baron Ferdinand wanted to build a house similar to the chateaux in France. I think he succeeded.

On Baron Ferdinand’s death, the estate passed to his sister, Alice, who continued to add to the treasures to be found there.

You can see from these pictures I took, that the rain did stop and the sun came out!

Sadly, the pictures I took inside are not good. Many are blurred for some reason, so I’m not going to post them, but trust me, it’s an amazing place. If you are ever near to it, I suggest you visit.

The Rothschild family was originally from Frankfurt and rose to prominence first in the 18th century. They managed to establish a successful banking business that was continued through Mayer Amschel Rothschild‘s five sons who went on to establish businesses in England, Italy, Germany, Austria and Germany.

On their coat of arms, in two quarters, are fists holding five arrows. This is symbolic of the five sons, we were told at Waddesdon. They, like five arrows fired from a bow, went on to establish their banks in the five different countries, mentioned above.

In the village of Waddesdon is an inn called The Five Arrows. We stayed there and found it excellent, with wonderful food. I would recommend it to anyone.

Do feel free to share this post, or any others. Just refer back to this website if you do.

If you would like to receive an exclusive, free short story by me, called The Haunted Table, simply click the link. This will take you to the page where you can download it.