I am delighted to have just received the certificate for the course I did on Copyediting and Proofreading. Here is a copy.
And I passed with Distinction, it says.
I feel quite chuffed about this.
My copyediting and proofreading certificate
Category Archives: awards
Please May I have Your Help
Vengeance of a Slave has now made it through to the last 50 in All Author Cover of the Month. It’s currently at Number 29.
In order to get higher, it needs lots more votes, so please will you pop over to All Author and vote?
In order to vote, you will need to sign up for the site, but you can unsubscribe afterwards, or maybe you would like to stay there and find loads of new books and authors.
It needs a huge push by my friends and followers in order to get to the top. The book currently at the top is one that I dislike the cover of, but I suspect the author has a load more people to call on than I have.
Still, your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Here’s the link to the site.
Acceptance in cover of the month competition.
Happy New Year to everyone.
I’m afraid this is something of a begging post.
The cover of Vengeance of a Slave has been accepted in All Authors’ cover of the month contest. The first round runs until 7th January when the top 100 will go on to the next round. It’s by votes, so please would you pop over and vote for it.You can get to the voting page by clicking
https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/17022/
Thanks in advance, and wish me luck.
A superb 5* review for Jealousy of a Viking from Readers’ Favourite
Review by Jamie Michele
Reviewed by:
Jamie Michele
Review Rating:
5 Stars – Congratulations on your 5-star review! Get your free 5-star seal!
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite
Jealousy of a Viking by Vivienne Mary Sang is set in 9th-century Britain where Helgha, a skilled healer and daughter of a Viking landowner, crosses paths with Viking noblity, Erik. Their forbidden love prompts a chain of events that alters Helgha’s destiny. The life Helgha knows is wiped out and Erik takes her away as his mistress. Bound by her deep affection for Erik, Helgha silently endures the public humiliation of their relationship and gives birth to two children. However, when Erik succumbs to familial pressure and weds within his own class, Helgha’s jealousy drives her to dark thoughts, and her craft is levied against her, further compounding her troubles. Branded a witch, Helgha flees with her young offspring, seeking shelter among the Saxons and discovering solace in Christian teachings.
Jealousy of a Viking is historical women’s fiction as it is meant to be and Vivienne Mary Sang depicts the harsh realities of the time with both authenticity in its representations and sympathy for Helgha’s lack of agency. The character arc is incredible as it really is the latter half of Helgha’s life in a time when even a quadragenarian life expectancy was almost unheard of. Helgha is a woman who has children, which she miraculously survives, and, along with multiple other instances of the things that feed into a 9th-century death, this is not given any sugar coating. The writing style of the book shows Sang’s ability to paint a visual portrait without wandering into the weeds and the author keeps the story propelling forward. I liked Helgha’s spiritual awakening as part of the arc even if it wasn’t something I was necessarily interested in seeing happen. However, it is well done and brings hope to a woman who should have lost it ages ago. Very highly recommended.
Sunshine Blogger Award.
I read about House of 1000 Books excitement over this award, and read the question answers with interest. Then I came to the list of nominees. Imagine my surprise when I saw my name there.
I would like to thank House of 1000 Books for nominating me for this award. It’s a great honour, and I’m so excited. You can visit by clicking the name above. Here you will find many helpful reviews of books you might wish to read.
The rules of this award are:
Thank the person nominating you and link back to their site.
Answer the questions they pose.
Nominate 11 bloggers.
Notify the nominees.
List the rules and display the award logo on your site of post.
So with no further ado, here are my answers to the questions.
Pepsi or Coke?
I don’t usually drink either, but I would go with Coke. (But not the diet kind!)
What type of books do you like to read?
I like Fantasy, Science Fiction or Historical. At least that’s what I usually choose, although I’ve read many from other genres that I enjoyed. I think I stick with those for ease. I can go straight to that genre.
Have you ever bought a book on vacation?
I can’t believe I’ve never done so, but recently I take umpteen books with me on my iPad. I do like a real book, but it’s so convenient to be able to take a large number in something not much bigger than an exercise book.
What would you do instead of blogging on a rainy day?
I would play my piano, or do some cross stitch, crochet or tatting. If it’s near someone’s birthday or Christmas I would make cards. I might also do some painting or drawing or even play a computer game. Sometimes I wish there were more rainy days!
Do you like cats or dogs?
While I acknowledge that cats are attractive creatures, I’m more of a dog person. I have an objection to the effect cats are having on our wildlife. In some places, they are causing the extinction of some other creatures. They are also no respecters of property, and will happily poo in other people’s gardens (never their own).
Would you rather be captured by aliens or kidnapped by Sasquach?
This is a difficult one. I don’t suppose I’m allowed to say ‘Neither’? Thought not. Mmm! I’ll go with the aliens. I think it would be interesting to see inside the spacecraft of another species. Also, we have a vague idea as to what Sasquach look like. We have no idea about aliens.
If you learned one thing about blogging, what would it be?
That it’s not easy? You must make notes of ideas you have for posts, otherwise when you come to write it, you’ll have forgotten. That’s happened to me so many times.
What are your hobbies?
Apart from the things I mentioned above, I enjoy cooking and gardening.
What do you hate most about bloggers?
Nothing, really. The people whom I follow seem to be very nice, intelligent folk.
What do you love most about bloggers?
I love the variety of posts out there in the ether. Bloggers all seem to be friendly and helpful. That’s something I love. There’s a community of bloggers, and that’s good.
What is a place you’d like to visit?
I would like to visit St Petersburg in Russia and see the Hermitage Museum.
Am I allowed to have more than 1? I’d also like to see the Grand Canyon, the Yangtse River Valley in China, Niagara Falls, The Northern Lights…
Here are my nominees:
Bluebird of Bitterness
Clancy Tucker
Charles Yallowitz, Legends of Windemere
K Morris-Poet
Jenanita01
Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo
Little Fears
Alexander ONeill
Viv Drewa-The Owl Lady
Sheila Renee Parker
Nicholas Rossi
And here are my questions.
1. What is the first book you remember either reading or having read to you?
2. Who is your favourite author?
3. What is your favourite book?
4. When did you start blogging?
5. Do you write to music? If so, what music inspires you?
6 Do you have any pets?
7. When you go out to eat, what type of food do you prefer?
8. Do you prefer the city or the country?
9. Would you prefer a holiday buy the sea, in the countryside or in a city?
10. What city would you like to visit?
11. When preparing your blog, do you write to music, if so, what do you prefer to write to?
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 