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.
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some thoughts on covid-19 and hospitals

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Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay

I don’t usually venture into the political scene on my blog, but I am becoming increasingly worried and angry.

I know that this pandemic has to be contained as much as possible, but it seems that everything in the NHS has gone into this.

Hospitals are full of Covod-19 patients and other treatments have not been happening, some of which are for patients with serious and life-threatening illnesses.

As I understand it, many patients’ treatment has been put on hold. Mine for one, but mine is relatively minor compared to others.

It is impossible to get an appointment in my area at the moment, either with the hospital or the GP. I had a brief phone consultation, which, in my opinion, resolved nothing. The consultant wants further tests, but nothing is going to happen for the forseeable future.

One NHS Trust that I know of, because a friend lives in that area, has kept one hospital ‘Covid-free.’ All Covid cases are sent to the other hospitals. As a result, her treatment and operations are going ahead as normal.

In my local area, the Trust has 3 hospitals. Why have they not designated one as Covid-Free?

And what about the Nightingale Hospital that was built with great fanfares and then not used? Could Covid patients not have been sent there, leaving other hospitals free for other treatments? I appreciate that it was only a ‘field hospital’, but it was built for Covid patients, so must have been able to deal with them.

I predict a rise in deaths from other sources because of this. It might already be happening, Probably is, but we’re not told of this. Only Covid deaths are important, it seems.

I tried to find how many cancer deaths had occurred so far this year and compare it with last, but could not find the statistics. I did find out that it is expected that over 18,000 more cancer deaths alone will occur in the UK due to Covid-19. Some of this is because people fear going to A&E due to the virus. But if there were a Covid-free hospital, that would be eliminated.

I have not researched the expected deaths from other serious illnesses, but I am sure that there will be an increase in them as well.

I am concerned that with the easing of lockdown, and the ignoring of the rules that are already there, we will see a spike in infections and deaths from Covid-19. People are gathering in large groups with no social distancing, and not only for demonstrations. This will mean that for those waiting for hospital appointments and treatment will be put on hold for even longer.

Thank you for reading. What do you think? Do you have any illnesses that are not being treated because all the hospitals in your area are full of Covid patients?

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Cover preview

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They say that you wait ages for a bus, then 2 come at once. Well. I’m not talking buses here, but news of my books.

A few days ago I told you of the release of my new audiobook, Vengeance of a Slave. Yesterday I got the suggested cover for my latest book.

Its a novella, a prequel to my Wolves of Vimar series, and tells about the parents of Carthinal and how they met and fell in love.

Of course, things aren’t as straightforward as that. He’s and elf and she’s a human, so there are family problems. How do they overcome them, and do they live happily ever after with their little son, Carthinal? You need to wait until it’s out to find out!

Anyway, here’s the cover. I like it and have emailed my publisher to say so. What do you think? Would you pick it up if you saw that cover? Let me know in the comments box.

Here it is.

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Audio book release

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Hi. I just received an email saying that Vengeance of a Slave, my historical novel set in Britain at the time of the Romans, has been released as an audiobook. You can get a free 30 day trial of this book if you follow this link for the UK

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Vengeance-of-a-Slave-Audiobook/B08B6C7Z6Z?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-201366&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_201366_rh_uk

and this for the US

https://www.audible.co.uk/?ref=Adbl_ip_rdr_from_US&source_code=AUK30DFT1BkWS0826159058&ipRedirectFrom=US&ipRedirectOriginalURL=pd%2FB08B6BBDGY%2F%3Fsource_code%3DAUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-201366%26ref%3Dacx_bty_BK_ACX0_201366_rh_us

If you do listen to it, I would be very grateful if you would post a brief review. Reviews are very important to authors and readers alike as there are so many books published it is difficult to know if a book is for you or not.

book release, interview, Poetry

Guest post from kevin morris, poet.

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Today I welcome one of my favourite poets to my blog.

Kevin Morris is a poet who writes both humorous and serious poetry. I will hand over to Kevin now, and he can explain about his poetry much better than I can.

Welcome, Kevin. Please tell us about your poetry.

I have, for as long as I can remember, been a lover of poetry. The first poem I recollect having read is Alfred Noyes’s “The Highwayman”, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43187/the-highwayman. I was (and remain)entranced by the rhythm of the poem and how it matches the beat of the horse’s feet, as the Highwayman approaches the inn:

“The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.   
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.   
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,   
And the highwayman came riding—
         Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door”.

I find good rhyming poetry profoundly beautiful, and much of my own work is written in rhyme. Take, for example my poem “Autumn Fly”, which appears in my forthcoming collection, “Light and Shade: Serious (and Not so Serious) poems”.

Image by FRANCO PATRIZIA from Pixabay

“An autumn fly
Buzzes around my head.
Summer is dead
Yet will not die.
Seasons pass.
We are brittle as glass,
This fly
And I”.

Whilst sitting in my study, in late autumn, a fly began buzzing around my head. This brought to mind the mortality of this tiny insect and also that of man. Hence the above poem was born.

I have many happy memories of strolling through the woods with my grandfather and it was from him that I gained my love of nature. This affection for nature was, I believe encouraged further by my reading of poems such as Keats “Autumn”. Much of my own poetry touches on the theme of nature. Take, for example my poem “Rain”.

Image by AlbiF from Pixabay

“The rain
Patters amongst these leaves.
I listen again
And ascertain
That it’s the breeze
Midst these trees.
Yet it sounds the same
As rain”.

As with “Autumn Fly”, “Rain” came to me naturally as a rhyming poem. I could not have expressed what I wished to convey had I utilised free verse, as rhyme comes naturally to me, whilst other forms of poetic expression do not.

Whilst there exists some wonderful poetry composed in free verse, to me much free verse is poetic prose rather than true poetry. Many poems written in free verse are beautiful. However, for me their beauty resides in their poetic prose, they are not, in my opinion poetry as I understand it (I.E. with real rhyme and metre).

One can not always be serious, and section 2 of “Light and Shade” is devoted to my humorous verses. Take, for example my poem “Jane’s Sad Refrain”:

“A young lady named Jane
Sang a most mournful refrain.
I could repeat her song,
As it wouldn’t take long,
But it’s copyright of Jane!”

To conclude. Poetry is, for me about rhyme and its rhyme with which I feel most comfortable. There is, as I said, some wonderful free verse poetry out there. However, for me at least much of this (but by no means all) is poetic prose rather than poetry proper.

(“Light and Shade: Serious (and Not so Serious) Poems”, by Kevin Morris will be available in the Amazon Kindle store, and as a paperback in July 2020).

Links:

Blog: https://kmorrispoet.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewdog2060_
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6879063.K_Morris

Thank you, Kevin, for telling us more about your poetry. I agree with you about free verse. It’s something I’ve thought for a long time. I have written poetry that doesn’t rhyme, but it always has rhythm. And I love the poem about Jane!

I would encourage everyone to search out your poetry books and to visit your blog.

Good luck with this latest one. I look forward to its publication.

If you have any comments to either myself, or Kevin, please enter them in the comments box. Feel free to reblog this.

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the Stones of fire and water is free.

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After finding the gems associated with the worlds of Earth and Air, Pettic needs to enter the final two Elemental Worlds to find the gems of Fire and Water.

In these two worlds, as before, he has to preform a task to help the inhabitants before the jewel will reveal its whereabouts.

But when he has found these gems, how can he rescue his friend, the Crown Prince of Ponderia? First, though, he needs to find the two missing gems.

In Ignis, the land of fire, he finds the magical creatures are having fewer and fewer offspring. Can he help them and find out the cause? And what can he do about it?

In Aqua, the land of water, he meets merfolk who have a problem. Their leader is dying because his magic staff has been stolen. Can Pettic find this staff and the culprit before it is too late?

I am pleased to say that the same narrator who narrated the audio version of The Stones of Earth and Air has agreed to narrate this book, too. He has finished the narration, and it is now with the publisher. I hope it won’t be too long before it’s available.

In the meantime, for those of you who can’t wait, the ebook version of The Stones of Fire and Water is FREE on Amazon from tomorrow (14th June) until Thursday 18th June.

Click on the link now, before you forget or you’ll miss this opportunity.
You can get your book by clicking on the title, or the cover in the sidebar or the text.. This will take you to Amazon where you are.

I am always pleased to hear your comments. Add them in the comments box.

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Some alternative words to use for the senses

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Image by Neofir72 from Pixabay

We are often told, as writers, that we should try to use all the senses in order to bring our stories to life. We have 5 senses (although some people say there is a 6th, and some stories deal with it, including some of my own) and it’s a good idea to change the word to describe the way the character experiences the sense.

We could say ‘He saw the dragon descending to its lair.’ But we could make it stronger by using a different word (or phrase). ‘He became aware of the dragon descending to its lair.’

In the above picture, we would be able to smell the vegetation, hear the birds singing and the rippling water. We see the green of the plants and the brownish colour of the water. We could dabble our feet in the water and feel the coolness, or the grass under our feet when we get out.

I’m not sure about taste, here, but if we know what we are doing, we could taste some of the plants. I know I’ve done so when I was young. the sweet taste of blades of grass when chewed or the nectar in the base of clover florets.

Here are some ideas you could use instead.

Image by Sofie Zbořilová from Pixabay

Sight:

become aware of, detect, discern, distinguish, give the impression of, identify, look, look like, note, notice, observe, perceive, realize, recognize, reveal, seem, sense, sight, spot, watch

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Smell:

scent, sniff, inhale, detect,

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Hearing:

catch, eavesdrop, overhear, listen to,

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Touch:

feel, handle, stroke, caress, fondle, paw, grope, rub, run fingers over, run hands over.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Taste:

savour, sip, nibble, sample, try, lick

Do you use all the senses when you describe a scene? It certainly brings it to life.

Please leave a comment in the comments box.

painting

Cavendish, Suffolk in oils on board.

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I’ve decided not to go any further with Carthinal’s tale at this time. I’ve submitted it to the publisher, and I don’t think they’ll be very pleased to have the complete novella available on the net. It will be some time before it is published, though, as they have another novella of mine in the pipeline.


I am also working on a third. This one is the story of Asphodel. I did originally publish it here, but there are significant changes to it, and so I don’t think that what is here is really comparable.
So I will have to re-think what I am posting on the first Tuesday of the month.


To be going on with, here’s one of my paintings.

This is Cavendish, in Suffolk. Many of the houses in that part of the world are painted in pastel shades. This village has a large village green and the houses portrayed in this picture are alms houses.

I lived not far from this pretty village in the ’80s and we often passed through it on our way to the coast.

If you liked this painting, please feel free to reblog. But acknowledge me when you do, please.

What do you think of my painting? Let me know in the comments box.

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The Future of my Blog

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Kevin is having a few problems with WordPress changing from Classic editor to Block editor. I hope WordPress sorts it out quickly. They obviously didn’t think of blind users when they started Block Editor. Most remiss of them!