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

A Review of Dyrwolf by Kat Kinney

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OVERVIEW:

I don’t usually read books that mention werewolves (nor vampires, and definitely not zombies) I feel that they have had their time and are overdone. Having said that, I decided to take a risk and read Dyrwolf. Am I glad I did?

I would not so much call the wolf/humans in this story werewolves, more shapeshifters. Many of them can shift to their wolf personas and shapes regardless of the moon, but they do respond to it.

BLURB

Lea Wylder has spent so long hunting werewolves that now one is stalking her in her sleep. In the unforgiving forests of the north, shape-shifting wolves have enslaved the sole human city for hundreds of miles, driving survivors up into the mountains. When Lea tracks a shifter and finds him caught in a trap, she’s convinced he’s the white wolf from her dreams. Not that it matters. He’s one of them. And they’re at war.

But as Lea pulls back the bowstring, Henrik shifts to human and begs her not to shoot. By name. But how could he possibly know her?

In twenty years, the wolves have never crossed the river over to their side. Injured and unable to walk, Henrik needs Lea’s help to get back home. If he could be turned against the pack, it could change the course of the war. But first there’s the small problem of returning him to the wolves—without getting caught.

STORY

This is an excellent story that kept me gripped and wanting to know what happens next. The heroine, a sixteen year old human girl called Lea, needs to find a way to return a seriously injured shape-shifting wolf back to his home.

Of course, Henrick, as the dyrwolf is called, is an enemy, and Lea should have killed him, but he resembles the wolf she has seen in her dreams, and she cannot bring herself to do so.

It is a dangerous trip, where they meet near death on several occasions, not to mention their fraught relationship as enemies.

There are twists in the story as Lea discovers more about herself and the history of the people and their enemies, the dyrwolves.

There are humerous moments, too, as well as danger and anxiety.

CHARACTERS

Ms Kinney has drawn some very likeable characters in this book—and also some very unlikeable ones.

Lea is a girl with many problems—a mother who committed suicide, debilitating migraines, and she is considered strange by the villagers and has only one real friend.

Her friend is a young man called Salem. He feels protective towards Lea and turns up to help her when she goes out to perform a rite in which she has to burn the fields of grain of the enemy.

Henrick is most likeable. He is in many ways very innocent. The relationship between him and Lea is believable and their confusion about it is very real.

WRITING

This is a well-written book. Ms Kinney’s descriptions are wonderful and I loved reading them. They set the scene beautifully.

Lea’s referring to Henrick as a dandelion puff (referencing his white fur when in wolf form) is wonderful.

The descriptions of Lea’s problems with her migraines (that she doesn’t know what they are) are most believable and I could almost feel her pain.

The surprises in the story are also introduced at just the right places.

If I have to make an adverse criticism, I would say that there are a few unnecessary words. Mainly prepositions, like someone looking up at the stars. We know the stars are up! But that would be nit-picking. I found no typos or other grammatical errors, which is a refreshing change.

This is well worth a read. I gave it 5*

I have pre-ordered the second book, and am looking forward to receiving it.

fantasy, novel, stories

Muldee, a Dragonet, Small Relative of Dragons.

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A small dragon-like creature sitting on a rock. He has two whisker-like protruberances from his chin, and three from behind where his ear might have been. Two backward facing horns are situated on his head.. His tail ends in an arrow-like form. He has four legs with four talons on each foot, and two bat-like wings, between which, a ridge of spines follows the curve of his backbone. His colour is most impressive. He is not one flat colour, but has mixed red, green, yellow, blue etc. A very pretty creature. He has a kind eye and looks as if he has a smile on his face.
Image by Homer Manansala from Pixabay

Hi, everybody. My name’s Muldee and I’m a dragonet. Don’t know what one of them is? I’m not surprised. We’re rather rare. *smirks*.

Even most people from Vimar don’t know we exist. By the way, Vimar is the world on which I live.

When those people who call themselves Wolf first saw me and my siblings, they thought we were baby dragons. As if! We may be smaller than our cousins, but we are much superior. Dragons don’t have any psi powers. *wrinkles his nose*. And they are such selfish and vain creatures with no sense of humour.

Nor are they as beautiful as we dragonets, with our iridescent scales. They are just one flat colour. BORING.

Anyway, back to me. Dragonets are born from eggs, like dragons, but our mothers lay them in warm shallow water. (I was born in a lake that I’ve been told is warmed by heat from volcanos.)

My favourite food is fish, but I enjoy eating small mammals and even insects as a change. When I want to catch a fish, I dive into the water from high above, folding my wings back. I rarely miss when I spot one

Catching land creatures is different. I can hardly dive onto a mouse or rat. I’d bang my head something dreadful. *giggles*. So to catch land animals. I use my psi powers. I send a wave of power, a bit like a loud noise, into their heads. It’s usually enough to kill them. If we want to kill something larger, we band together and all send the noise at once. That does the trick.

I love to play. Me and my brothers and sisters had great times, playing in the water and doing acrobatics in the air. I had a great time when Wolf came. That dwarf—Basalt’s his name—has no sense of humour. He was in the water, not very deep, having a wash. His friends had swum out farther, so I decided to have a bit of fun. I dived and charged his legs. Of course, he fell in. *laughs loudly*. He was so cross. *He is unable to stop laughing*.

When they left, I decided to go with them to find some adventure. I learned a lot from reading people’s minds. *grins*. I’m not supposed to, and I always say I don’t, but it’s so much fun. The things people don’t want anyone to know! You’d be amazed at what people think. Most people seem to like me though.

*Jumps in the air and does a barrel-roll, then loops the loop*.

Sometimes I make a servant jump by hiding behind a curtain and making a small object move by itself. I once had a young girl run screaming down the corridor. I think I’ve been the start of a lot of tales of ghosts in some of the places I’ve lived.

I stay with Sandron because he’s fun, too. Did you know he once led a band of bandits? He’s the youngest son of the old Duke of Sendolina, so had nothing to do. He did it for fun. We had good times, he and I, until all this talk of war started.

I might go back to the lake if everyone gets serious. At least my brothers and sisters will still want to play.

V.M.Sang has agreed to give me a bigger role in her latest book. It’s not finished yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing what she does. I told her she should make more of my role in the story.

I hope you’ll read the book when it comes out. Until then, Cheerio.

*Leaps into the air and flaps a few times around the room.*

You feel a scratching in your brain, which seems to turn into words. Or perhaps you’re just imagining it.

Have I been reading your mind while I talked to you? What have I learned that you didn’t want anyone to know? Haha. You’ll never find out!

*Flies out of the window.*

I would love to know what you think of Muldee. Let me know in the comments box, please.

announcement, history, novel, Romans

Vengeance of a Slave. e-book is Free.

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The kindle edition of the 4* rated Vengeance of a Slave by V.M.Sang is free on Amazon.

Here’s the blurb.

Forced to watch his father’s crucifixion and separated from his mother, orphaned six-year-old Adelbhert’s life forever changes when he is sold into slavery in Britannia.

Years of servitude fill his heart with malice and he resolves to escape, determined to rescue those he loves and deliver retribution to the Romans who wronged him.

But as new allies shed light on old perspectives, Adelbhert begins to question his path. Will he find true freedom, or allow his vengeance to consume him?

Vengeance of a Slave is the first book in the series ‘A Family Through the Ages.’ So far there are 2 books published. The second one is Jealousy of a Viking and follows a descendant of Adelbehrt, from Vengeance. I hope to follow this family through many generations.

The books can be purchased from a variety of booksellers. Just click on the links to go to your favourite.

If you buy and read a copy, I would be grateful if you could post an honest review. Reviews are important to authors as they help readers to find books they might like. It needn’t be long. Just if you liked it or not, and what you liked or disliked about it.

I love hearing your opinions. Please leave a comment in the comments box.

history, novel, Religion, Romans, stories, Winter

3 different Origins of St Valentine’s Day

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I should have posted this yesterday, but I didn’t get round to it. In fact, I’m rather late today, too.

If you’ve been waiting for the post about Muldee, I promise that will be posted next Tuesday.

courtesy of pixabay
  • The easiest possible origin to find is that it dates to possibly three saints, all called Valentine, although two of them might have been the same person.
  • One of the Valentines is said to have defied the edict by Emperor that soldiers may not marry, and secretly married men in the army to their girlfriends, thus linking the saint to romance.
  • The second (who may also be the third) was a bishop, Valentine of Terni.
  • The other (who might have been the same person) was martyred in 270 by Claudius II Gothicus. He was in prison and befriended the jailor’s daughter, possibly healing her blindness. He wrote a letter to her, signing it ‘From your Valentine.’
  • One pagan festival in the Roman era was a fertility festival. It was called Lupercalia and took place in mid-February. Dogs and male goats were sacrificed. Men then took strips of the animals’ skin and slapped women they passed in the street. This was supposed to increase the fertility of the women slapped. Thus it is thought it could be an origin of Valentine’s Day.
  • February was the Celtic festival of Imbolc. It marked the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It was the time for the new lambs to be born.
  • Here is an extract from Vengeance of a Slave describing the festival of Imbolc.
  • Those of you who are from the US might see a resemblance to Groundhog Day.

Soon it was Imbolc, the time when the young lambs began to be born. The villagers had much preparation to do, for they invited the goddess, Brigid, into their homes to bless them, and they prepared special food for this day. Awena, was delighted when the villagers chose her to help carry the image of Brigid around the village.
She helped to clean the house with enthusiasm, sweeping out all the old rushes and piling them up outside ready to be lit into a bonfire. Ailbert laughed at her enthusiasm saying he had never thought of her as a domestic type.
She stuck her tongue out at him in response. “It’s important everything is ready for Brigid.”
“What about the gods we worshipped in Londinium? Have you forgotten them? Jupiter, Juno, Venus and the rest?”
“They’re gods for the Romans.” She shook her head. “They’ve no use for the Britons. Only if we become Roman Citizens will they care for us, and that’s not going to happen. We’re now Britons and we must worship the gods that care for the Britons.”
She carried on sweeping while Ailbert continued walking towards the sheep pens to see if any lambs yet been born.
He met Madoc on the way and the boy told him in excited tones that one of the ewes had gone into labour and the lamb, or hopefully lambs would arrive very shortly. Ailbert quickened his steps towards the pens in the hope of seeing the actual birth. Being a house slave in Londinium he had never been present at the birth of any of the animals owned by the dominus and domina.
They arrived in time to see the ewe pushing out what turned out to be the first of two lambs. Ailbert frowned. He had not expected blood. The little lamb lay on the ground, wet, and the mother turned to look at him, for it was a male lamb. Ailbert watched as she began to lick him clean. The second lamb was born soon afterwards and she repeated the process. The lambs staggered to their feet and immediately began suckling.
Ailbert smiled. He had witnessed a wonderful thing. New life being brought into the world and he ran off to tell Awena and Gwen the first lambs had been born and Imbolc was due to start.
At sunset that evening, the unwed girls carried the image of Brigid around the village. The villagers had made a crude image of reeds and the girls visited each house in turn, walked three times round it and then asked for admittance for Brigid. Each house opened the door and let the image and girls in. They gave them food and each householder added a decoration to the reed image.
For some weeks before, the women and girls had been busy making Brigid crosses out of reeds, and one hung over the door of each house.
As it was winter still, it soon got dark. Each household put out newly made clothes, and food and drink for the goddess. They also made a bed for her in the house, just in case she decided to visit.
They ate and drank the foods made for this special day, a kind of porridge made from the starch left in the husks of the oats, soaked and left to ferment. It tasted sour to Ailbert and Awena but they ate their share as it would have been discourteous to do otherwise.
The next morning, Gwen looked carefully at the ashes that she had raked smooth the evening before, to see any disturbances that might indicate that Brigid had visited in the night, but they were as smooth as they had been when they all went to bed.
Gwen led the way outside to be met with a frost on the ground and an overcast sky. “Ah! That’s good. A cold, miserable day means that the Cailleach is still asleep and not gathering wood for fires to keep her warm through the next cold spell.” She turned to the young people who frowned and looked at each other. Ailbert shrugged his shoulders.
“Cailliach is winter personified. If today is bright and sunny, then she can come out and look for firewood and so keep herself warm for longer. If it’s cold and miserable, or rainy and stormy, then she’s asleep and will soon run out of firewood, so Brigid can bring the spring sooner.”
They, along with the rest of the village, made their way to the well. Here they walked round it in the direction of the sun and prayed to Brigid to bring health and prosperity. They gave offerings of strips of cloth and a few coins to the goddess.
Singing and dancing followed, as well as eating and drinking, and the day passed quickly, darkness coming early at this season, half-way between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Tired and happy with the prospect of a good season to come, the villagers retired to their beds.

Thank you for reading. If you want to find out more about Ailbert, you can go to the online store of your choice by clicking the link above, or the book cover in the side bar.

I always enjoy reading your comments, and so please leave any in the comments box.

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Smorgasbord Laughter is the Best Medicine – The Senior Team Pass along the Funnies and One Liners

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Here are some hilarious one-liners thanks to Sally Cronin. They’ll cheer anyone up.

The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

have more laughs here
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Introduction to a dragonet.

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A red outline of Muldee.

I am at the first edit of Book 4 of The Wolves of Vimar. It’s called Immortal’s Death. Once it’s gone through this edit, I’ll send it to critique partners to see what they make of it.

It will be some time yet before it’s ready to go to my publisher, though, but I would like to tell you a bit about one of my favourite characters.

This character began as a surprise in Book 1, The Wolf Pack. He helped the group known as Wolf to escape from capture by a band of hobgoblins. Then he disappeared until the end of book 3, making a brief appearance.

However, this character was not going to be left out. He did not want a bit-part, and so in this book he has quite an important role.

Who is he? I hear you ask.

Well, he’s not human, elf or dwarf. In fact he’s a small relative of dragons. He and his like are called dragonets, and he is called Muldee.

A dragonet looks to all intents and purposes like a small dragon. In fact, the members of Wolf though he and his siblings were baby dragons, until he put them right.

Dragonets, unlike real dragons, have iridescent scales. Real dragons have scales of a particular colour, but those of dragonets shimmer in blue, red, green, purple, yellow, white, you name it and you’ll see it there.

They cannot breathe fire or acid or anything else, like real dragons, nor are they magical, but they do have one talent.

Psionics.

Dragonets are telepathic, and also have a slight telekinesis ability. They can send what they call a ‘mindblast’ into the brain of another creature. They use this for capturing their prey, but it is insufficient to kill a large creature. If they want to kill or seriously harm something larger than a cat, a group of them will band together and use a co-ordinated mind blast.

A single dragonet is capable of giving a large creature a very nasty headache, though.

So much for the background. I’m going to leave more about Muldee for another post, probably next week. He’s quite a character. I’m sure you will like him.

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Funny signs

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We visited my daughter and husband at the weekend and he showed us a video. I thought you might like to have a giggle, so I’m sharing it here.

click here to watch

Please leave your comments in the comments box.

How about a free, exclusive story? You can get one, by me, by clicking on the link below.

Maria and her husband, Jack, have moved into an old cottage. They want to furnish it with period furniture and buy a medieval table.

That’s when the mystery begins. Strange sounds in the night. Have they bought a haunted house? But a medium tells them it is not a ‘lost spirit’, but something else she does not recognise.

What is it that is causing them to lose sleep? The answer is more unexpected than anyone thought.

Send me my free, exclusive story.

By clicking on the link, you will join my quarterly newsletter. But don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time, including as soon as you have downloaded the story, if you wish.

I won’t spam you, either. You will only get a newsletter every 3 months, but I might occasionally send you a present, or some exciting news, like a new release.

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A New Book of Poetry by Kevin Morris

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I am not a fan of modern poetry. I’ve said this before. I’m not saying many of these poems are not poetic, and beautiful in many ways, I just can’t recognise them as poetry. To me, poetry should have at least rhythm, if not rhyme. (And as someone who has written poetry, it is much more difficult to deal with rhythm and/or rhyme.) Many of these modern poems, or Free Verse, would not be recognised as poetry if they were not in lines. (In many cases, seemingly random line breaks.)

My friend, Kevin Morris, writes poetry that I recognise as poetry. He writes humorous verse along with other more philosophical ones, and they rhyme and have rhythm.

He has been featured, reading his own poetry, on Canadian Radio on more than one occasion.

He showcases some of his poetry on his blog. (address below).

I am delighted to announce to you all that Kevin has a new book of poetry out. It is called Leaving, and Other Poems.

Here is an example of one of the poems from his latest collection.

Blackbird

I see the sun shine,

Think on the divine

And the tick tock

Of the ever-present clock.

I hear the blackbird,

Who has heard

Nought of clock

And my fleeting word.

(Blackbird can be found in Leaving and Other Poems, which is available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R8NG6WQ/).

Connect with Kevin on the following sites:

Links:

Blog: https://kmorrispoet.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewdog2060_

The review below was of Further Selected Poems of K. Morris, also available on Amazon, as Leaving and Other Poems is only just out and it has not got any Amazon reviews yet.

Hannah Symonds

5.0 out of 5 stars

Funny yet thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 March 2021

Here we have some funny but also thought provoking poems and limericks. I have to say I do prefer the limericks that are in this book as they are very amusing. My favourite poem in the book is Sparrows in the tree as we get a lot of sparrows in our garden, they are very common in the UK. Now every time I see a sparrow I will be thinking of this poem. My favourite limerick in here is There once was a turkey called Paul, just from the title alone you know it is going to be funny. I laughed my socks off on this limerick. Thank you once again to Kevin who has written some truly fantastic verses.

And a bit about Kevin.

Kevin was born in the city of Liverpool on 6th January 1969. Having attended The Royal School for the Blind and St. Vincent’s School for the Blind in Liverpool, he went on to read History and Politics at the University College of Swansea.

Having graduated with a BA (Joint Honours), and an MA in Political Theory, Kevin moved to London where he now lives and works.

Being visually impaired, Kevin uses screen reading software called Job Access with Speech (JAWS) which converts text into speech and braille, enabling him to use a Windows laptop.

Much of Kevin’s poetry is written in his home, which overlooks a historic park in Upper Norwood/Crystal Palace, a suburb of Greater London.

 Have you read any of Kevin’s poetry? Let me know in the comments box.

How about a free, exclusive story? You can get one, by me, by clicking on the link below.

Maria and her husband, Jack, have moved into an old cottage. They want to furnish it with period furniture and buy a medieval table.

That’s when the mystery begins. Strange sounds in the night. Have they bought a haunted house? But a medium tells them it is not a ‘lost spirit’, but something else she does not recognise.

What is it that is causing them to lose sleep? The answer is more unexpected than anyone thought.

Send me my free, exclusive story.

By clicking on the link, you will join my quarterly newsletter. But don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time, including as soon as you have downloaded the story, if you wish.

I won’t spam you, either. You will only get a newsletter every 3 months, but I might occasionally send you a present, or some exciting news, like a new release.

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Review of Misericorde by Cynthia A Morgan

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Overview

This is an excellent book for those who like a s dystopian world.

The story kept me turning the pages (or rather, swiping on my tablet).

The world building is excellent. The reader can feel that this is a world that could actually exist in the future. I hope not!

This is the first book in Cynthia Morgan’s Mercy Series. I am looking forward to the next one, Clandestine.

There are some scenes of violence, including torture, and of rape, but none of them are explicit. There is a warning on Amazon about this.

Blurb

In the year 2446, the world exists as a mere shell of what it used to be. The Great Cataclysm tore the human race apart as the Horsemen of the Apocalypse rode. War, Pestilence, Famine… Only Death has yet to ride.

Archangel Tzadkiel, Angel of Mercy, takes the task upon himself to find one human on the planet who still understands mercy. Humans are a treacherous species and as his journey nears its end, he fears he may never find that person. When he is captured by soldiers of the ruling tyrannical faction, The Eminent Protectorate, hope wanes even further.

A mere scullery maid, Lourdes, hears screams from her room every night. They break her heart and haunt her nightmares, and though she doesn’t know who they come from, she longs to find him and help him.

When she does, Lourdes discovers she’s opened a door she might regret and entered a world darker than she ever imagined.

Story

The world has seen the riding of three of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Pestilence, Famine and War have all ridden. Only Death remains to ride.

But one archangel, Tzadkiel, Angel of Mercy, has persuaded the Almighty to allow him one hundred years to find one person with the quality of Mercy. If he can find no one, then Death will ride.

The main protagonist is a young woman called Lourdes. She hears the cries of a man in great distress, but as an indentured servant, little more than a slave, she is incapable of helping him, but his cries are eating away at her.

It is set in France in the distant future. I assume in the south as Marcais is a nearby city. (Marcais being a corruption of Marseilles.)

Characters

The main character, Lourdes, is beautifully drawn. We feel with her as she listens to the cries of the unknown man. She longs to help him, and when her chance arrives, we feel with her as she sees his suffering.

Tzadkiel, although an Archangel, has many human frailties. We can immediately like and sympathise with him.

The Commander is a complex character. While seemingly in complete acquiescence to the torture of Tzadkiel, there are hints that there might be a kinder person lurking inside.

The torturer, Ghislain, is a thoroughly nasty piece of work. He seems to have no redeeming features. However, this fact is explained near the end of the book, as to why this is. I won’t say more as I don’t like spoilers.

Writing

On the whole the writing is good. There were not many places where I cringed. If I were to make a comment, I would say that there are too many examples of so-called filer words. Words like ‘just’, that appears too often, and a few other words that could easily be left out to make the writing tighter.

Apart from that, it is well written, without any major problems with understanding, or plot holes.

I gave the book 5* on Amazon and Goodreads.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it if you have. I love the cover. Do you like it?

Replies in the comments box please.

How about a free, exclusive story? You can get one, by me, by clicking on the link below.

Maria and her husband, Jack, have moved into an old cottage. They want to furnish it with period furniture and buy a medieval table.

That’s when the mystery begins. Strange sounds in the night. Have they bought a haunted house? But a medium tells them it is not a ‘lost spirit’, but something else she does not recognise.

What is it that is causing them to lose sleep? The answer is more unexpected than anyone thought.

Send me my free, exclusive story.

By clicking on the link, you will join my quarterly newsletter. But don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time, including as soon as you have downloaded the story, if you wish.

I won’t spam you, either. You will only get a newsletter every 3 months, but I might occasionally send you a present, or some exciting news, like a new release.

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My TBR Pile. A Poem

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D. Wallace Peach, who blogs at https://mythsofthemirror.com, has posted a writing challenge. The challenge involves writing about all books someone has and hasn’t had time to read. In other words, their To Be Read (TBR) pile.

Here’s my effort.

My TBR Pile

TBR—to be read.

A pile of books beside my bed.

Now ebooks have arrived and so

On Kindle now, my books do go.

But Kindle just goes on and on

To fill it you are never done.

Books to improve myself are there,

To live my life without a care.

Books to improve my language skill.

(I am hoping that they will.)

I can escape this world and go

To another one, although

It might be a dystopian one.

One that’s scary, not much fun

I’ll live the lives of those who’ve gone;

I’ll solve a murder, live like a nun.

I’ll kill the dragon, love the child,

Cry with the forsaken, run with the wild.

Adventures wait, all on that pad

And more are added, good and bad.

Will I get time to read them all?

Not if I keep buying more.

I welcome your comments. Please add them to the comments box.