fantasy, novel

Jovinda’s Court Presentation at Aspirilla: A Noble’s Exciting Experience

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I asked Jovinda to tell us about her visit to Aspirilla, the captial of Grosmer, when she went to be presented at court. Here is what she told me.

Me: Hello, Jovinda. I hear you recently went to court and met the king, queen and Crown Prince Gerim.

Jovinda: Oh yes! It was so exciting. I’d recently celebrated my sixteenth birthday and so I was now of age. When girls of the nobility, or from other important families, come of age, they usually get presented at court.

Father received a letter with the Royal Seal on it. He wouldn’t say what it was and took it to his study to read. I was jumping up and down, wanting to know what it said, but he made me and Mother wait until dinner time to tell us.

When he read it out, my stomach turned over. I was included in the guest list! I could hardly eat my dinner for excitement.

The next day, we went to see Madame Frimb, the best dressmaker in Bluehaven. She made a wonderful dress in green velvet. It set off my auburn hair perfectly.

The dress had a high neckline with small pearl buttons sewn around it. The buttons ran down the centre of the bodice and the sleeves stopped at my elbow with pearl buttons around the cuffs. The skirt flared from my waist to give my feet room to move during the dancing. And it had more pearl buttons around the hem.

I was so excited I hardly slept that night. Nor the others before the banquet. I was dreaming of dancing with the prince. I thought I would look so beautiful that he would fall in love with me at first sight.

That didn’t happen, of course, but something even more wonderful did. I met my true love, Nolimissalloran, know as Noli. He was an elf, and so beautiful.

But that’s another story. If you want to learn about what happened, you need to read Jovinda and Noli.

It’s available in all formats by clicking the link on the name, or the book cover in the side-bar.

Here is a short extract from the book:

Jovinda and her parents stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the reception room in the Palace. Jovinda scanned the room looking for Prince Gerim. The prince was not quite sixteen, but would be at such an important banquet as the heir to the throne. She frowned slightly as she noticed a young elf watching her as she descended the stairs.

Ellire had decided the best style for her dress for the banquet would be, not like the elaborate dresses they saw hanging in Madame Frimb’s workroom, but a simple style.

Jovinda saw the green velvet fabric and fell in love with the colour. Ellire agreed it would look good on her, and then went to discuss a style with Madame Frimb. The dress she now wore had a high neckline with small pearl buttons sewn around it. The buttons continued down the centre of the otherwise plain bodice with sleeves that stopped at her elbow. They also had pearl buttons around the cuffs. The skirt flared from her waist giving room for her feet to move when dancing, and more pearl buttons graced the hem. She wore small pearl drops in her ears and a white orchid in her hair.

The family walked down the stairs as a butler announced them. Jovinda stared around. The stairs descended from the balcony where they had entered, and flared out towards the bottom. A red carpet ran down the centre. Large floor to ceiling windows to her right opened onto the palace gardens, and doors carved with vines and fruits stood open on the opposite side. Torches in sconces lit the room, and glinted on the gold-leaf that covered the cornice. More gold covered a few chairs scattered around for those unable to stand for long, and at the opposite end of the room was a dais with two thrones, again, covered in gold leaf.

A waiter brought a tray of drinks.

Jovinda took a glass of Perimo, a sparkling wine from the islands, as she chatted with many of her parents’ friends and acquaintances, feeling very grown up.

Suddenly, a horn sounded. Everyone stopped talking and looked towards the stairs. The Royal Family entered and made their way through the crowd to the dais.

As they passed, people bowed their heads or curtseyed.

Once the king and queen settled onto their thrones, the butler announced the first of the young people to be presented.

As it was her first social occasion, Jovinda was one of those young people. When the butler called her name, she looked at her father who mouthed “Go on, Jo”.

Her mother gave her a little push to start her on her way.

She took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart, and ascended the dais where she curtseyed to the king and queen.

The king smiled and his eyes twinkled. “We are delighted to meet you, Jovinda. Enjoy the occasion. There’s nothing quite like your first ball.” 

Then she moved on. Prince Gerim smiled at her and shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Jovinda.”

Jovinda curtseyed. He’s quite good-looking. I wonder if I can attract his attention? He may even ask me to dance. I wonder what kind of girls he likes?

If you decide to buy and read this book, I would be grateful for an honest review.

Warning: It contains adult themes that some might find upsetting.

book reviews, fantasy, novel

RJ’s Dragon Saga: Engaging Fantasy Adventure with Surprising Twists

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Blurb

Jaiden’s simple act of freeing Skye, the blue dragon, along with her family became a movement to free all dragons. And that escalated to a rebellion. Now, all-out war seems to be the only solution.

Jaiden and friends Tristram, Wyetta, Gorn, and Aleena represent the surge of humanity who joined the fight for Dragon Freedom. Skirmishes, ambushes, intense battles and undercover operations transform everyday reality. Uncertainty surrounding the strength and weaponry of the Dear Leader’s human army adds to the tension.

 Mysteries, surprises, unexpected revelations and shocking outcomes mark the Final Dragon War.

Story

This is a story aimed at teenagers, but it is equally enjoyable for adults who enjoy the fantasy genre.

Jaiden has joined with the dragons to try to end their enslavement once and for all. But the only way to do this is by all out war. He discovered in the previous books that he could hear dragon speech via the means of telepathy. This ability he uses to interpret the dragons’ orders to the people who have come to help.

Many people believe the dragons to be simply dumb beasts, and despise those who go to help them.

I don’t want to reveal any more here, except to say that there are a number of twists that genuinely had me saying ‘I didn’t see that coming.’

Characters

Jaiden is the main protagonist. We see the action through his eyes as it’s written in 1st person. He has already developed in the first two books into a young man with more confidence than he had at the beginning of the series, although he still has doubts about his abilities.

During this adventure, he becomes much more confident.

The dragons. Skye is the main dragon protagonist in this book, although Trigger and Dog play as big a part. Skye is a blue dragon, the biggest and cleverest of the dragons. Trigger is a silver, and Dog a gold. The gold are the smallest and least clever.

I liked these last two dragons. Dog is small enough to get into places others can’t go, and he plays a big part in rescuing Jaiden when he’s been captured.

Skye is a compassionate dragon who understands Jaidon’s lack of confidence, and she helps him with advice and an ear when he needs it.

Aleena is girl who had annoyed Jaiden in earlier years, always hanging around him. In this book, she grows from an annoying brat into a confident young woman.

There are many other characters I could talk about, but it would make this review too long. You’ll have to read the book(s) to find out about them.

Writing

While there are a few typos in the book, there were not enough to annoy me into giving up on it. The story kept me reading.

RJ has built his world well. I could visualise the characters and the landscape, including Big Hill and its caves, where Jaiden was held prisoner. And the cliffs where the dragons had their caves, too.

The descriptions of the action scenes were well told, keeping the tension going.

There is the possibility of further adventures. I hope RJ writes them.

I give this book 4*

My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

Spain, Spain,, travel

My Visit to Cordoba

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In April, I visited the Spanish city of Cordoba. I thought you might like to see some of the pictures I took.

First, the Mesquita. This was a mosque constructed in 785 when Spain was under Muslim rule. There is some disputed history that there was a mosque earlier than that, which was also used by Christians as a church. this sharing of a building indicates to me that there wasn’t the animosity between the two religions as there is nowadays.

When Ferdinand and Isabella reconquered Spain in the 15th century, the mosque was converted to a cathedral. To find out more, here’s a link to Wikipedia.

This is the oldest gate, called the Visier’s gate and it’s decoration dates back to 855.

This gate was right opposite our hotel!

Now for some other pictures of the cathedral.

The street outside our hotel, showing the cathedral on the left.

Of course, full of tourists!

One of the chapels.

And a part of the ceiling.

Another chapel. the amount of gold was amazing. All stolen, I suppose, from South America.

I’ll post more of my pictures another time. This was the Cathedral. More of the city next time.

If you would like to post a comment, please feel free to do so. Have you been to Cordoba? What did you think of the city?

I would like to remind you of my poetry book, July to December, that came out a couple of weeks ago. It follows on from my January to June book, which is free on all platforms. July to December is only 1.99. Each book gives you one poem to read each day for a year.

Some are humerous, some based on nature, some are short, others longer and narrative.

If you purchase, please leave a review.

Here’s the latest ranking on Amazon.

Best Sellers Rank: #13,136 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)

1 in Women’s Poetry

3 in Contemporary Poetry

5 in British & Irish Poetry

announcement, Poetry

IT’S HERE!

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The second part of my One Poem a Day series is now available. It was actually published a couple of weeks ago, but as I was on holiday I couldn’t announce it!

Here is the blurb.

The second book of poetry in V.M. Sang’s One Poem A Day Series takes us through summer to midwinter.

Each day there is a poem to read. These poems are often related to the season, for example, Harvest, or the first flight by the Montgolfier brothers, and of course, Christmas.

The poems are varied in type and length. There are haiku, haibun and tanka, limericks, sonnets, odes and narrative poems among the collection. Some poems are comments on serious subjects, while others are amusing and entertaining.

Many of the poems in this collection are in the traditional vein, so if you enjoy this type of poetry, this book is for you.

An example of two of the poems.

July 4th

We recently had family to stay. Here’s a poem about families.

Family

Brothers, sisters, cousins too
Some of whom we barely knew
As one by one the family grew.

Family feuds, we all fell out
Little sister, she did pout.
Cousin Johnny started to shout.

Susie said ‘I hate you all.
And I hope that you might fall
And get caught out in a squall.’

Brother Robert raised his fist.
‘Don’t you speak to us like this.’
Narrowed eyes, voice like a hiss.

Sister Jane came rushing in.
‘They have started bullying Jim.’
Quarrel stopped. He’s our kin.

So we went to sort them out.
When they saw us, ’twas a rout.
They will run away, no doubt.

We fall out, of that it’s true.
And we say things that we rue.
But family is strong. We knew.

“All for One and One for All.”
We stand together or we fall.
Petty quarrels, they will pall.

July 5th.

A small bumble bee has been pollinating our raspberry plants all by herself. At least, I didn’t see any other insects around them. Here’s a Haiku.

Little bee.

She sips sweet nectar.
Proboscis deep in the flower.
Raspberries will come.

The book is available from the following retailers, currently priced at 1.99

Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Google, Apple, and Amazon

Book 1, From January to June is available by clicking the book title. It’s free, so you can get both books for 1.99

The blurb

Take a lyrical journey through the first half of the year with V.M. Sang’s FROM JANUARY TO JUNE.

This anthology captures the essence of everyday life, nature, and the world around us through the versatile medium of poetry. From haiku to narrative poems, and the humour found in limericks, From January To June is a diverse collection of poetry.

A calendar in creativity, a diary in verse; this collection is the perfect companion for daily reflection and inspiration, providing a poem for each day that resonates with the diverse experiences of life.

And a review.

Sashadoo

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and unusual, a unique blend of poetic styles

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2023

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique collection of poetry from V M Sang. I say unique because it’s rare to find such an eclective collection of different styles, forms and subjects in one one book, all by the same author. From Haiku to full length poetic pieces, covering a wide range of topics from the weather to personal feelings and the rare beauty found in the morr mundane, everyday events in the poet’s life. Definitely something for everyone and I have no hesitation in recommending the book and giving it a 5 star review.

Current Amazon ranking, June 4th 2024

fantasy, Give Away, novel

Free YA fantasy books by Kent Wayne.

2 Comments

I’ve read the first book, but have yet to get around to the second. I did enjoy book 1 though, so I expect I’ll enjoy book 2.

Tomorrow, my YA fantasy series is FREE on Kindle from 6/3 thru 6/7!
announcement, book release, Cover Reveal, Poetry

Cover Reveal

18 Comments

I was going to post some pictures from my recent holiday today, but I received the preview cover from my publisher this morning and so decided to run with that. Hence the delay in posting.

Here it is, alongside the first book.

These books have one poem to be read each day for a year. Here is the blurb about Book 1.

Take a lyrical journey through the first half of the year with V.M. Sang’s FROM JANUARY TO JUNE.

This anthology captures the essence of everyday life, nature, and the world around us through the versatile medium of poetry. From haiku to narrative poems, and the humour found in limericks, From January To June is a diverse collection of poetry.

A calendar in creativity, a diary in verse; this collection is the perfect companion for daily reflection and inspiration, providing a poem for each day that resonates with the diverse experiences of life.

And a review from Amazon.

Sashadoo

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and unusual, a unique blend of poetic styles.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2023

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique collection of poetry from V M Sang. I say unique because it’s rare to find such an eclective collection of different styles, forms and subjects in one one book, all by the same author. From Haiku to full length poetic pieces, covering a wide range of topics from the weather to personal feelings and the rare beauty found in the more mundane, everyday events in the poet’s life. Definitely something for everyone and I have no hesitation in recommending the book and giving it a 5 star review.

Here is a poem from Book 2 to whet your appetite. It is the first poem in the book, dated July 1st.

It’s deep into peach season, so I wrote this in honour of that delicious fruit.

Peaches

A peach with skin so soft.
Breathe in the sweet scent
As to my nose it wafts.
Made just to tempt.

Bite into the flesh.
That scent did not lie
The flavour is so fresh.
That I cannot deny.

Juice runs down my chin.
The peach is so sweet
It must be a sin
To enjoy such a treat.

The book contains many poems of different types, like the first one. I will keep you informed as to when it will be released. It should be sometime next month.

If you can’t wait, then you can get the first book by clicking on this link, or to get my previous poetry book, Miscellaneous Thoughts, you can click here.

Or click on the book cover in the sidebar.

Do you like the cover? Does it tie in with the first book, to show they are linked?

book reviews, novel

Review of The Wind Weeps by Anneli Purchase

11 Comments

I didn’t post last week as I was on holiday. I’ll tell you about it in my next blog.

Overview

An exciting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Story

Andrea has left her safe home and finds herself in British Columbia. Here she gets a job on the wharf where she meets Jim, an attractive fisherman. They go on a few dates and she finds herself falling for him. But Jim goes to visit his family and makes no contact.

Along comes Robert. Handsome, strong, charming Robert. Thinking she’s been dumped by Jim, Andrea gets engaged to Robert. Many people warn her that he’s not what he seems, but without being specific, so she marries him.

She soon discovers her mistake.

Characters

The characters are true to life.

We meet Andrea as she starts her job on the wharf and experience her mistakes as a rookie. She is a likeable character, but like us all, makes wrong decisions with regard to her life. She is vulnerable and strong at the same time.

Jim is a kind and likeable man. The reader can’t help but like him and it’s ‘Oh no!’ when Andrea decides he’s dumped her.

Robert is charming and handsome at the start, but he has a dreadful flaw. We come to root for anyone who opposes him.

Then there’s Michelle, a French Canadian. Andrea shares an apartment with her. She is very supportive of Andrea. A likeable person.

Writing

The writing is good. I don’t think I found any typos or grammatical errors. It is told in the first person.

There are a couple of chapters where the Point of View character changes from Andrea. This confused me in a chapter near the end, but it soon became clear.

Ms Purchase brings us right into the action. We are on the edge of our seats, rooting for Andrea. She keeps the tension going throughout.

There’s a sequel. Yay! I’m off to read it now.

I gave it 5*

My ranking of books.

In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

entertainment

Here are some absolutely hilarious funnies.

5 Comments
Smorgasbord Funnies 2024 – From the Family Archives – #RestaurantBills and #Billpaying

Thank you to Sally on Smorgasbord Magazine.

short story, stories

What we can learn from Goldilocks?

4 Comments

I just read this post. I’d never considered this as the theme of the story.

DID GOLDILOCKS HAVE A POINT?
book reviews, novel

Review of Ghost of a Chance by Jaye Marie

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OVERVIEW.

A gripping story. I read it in one day of continuous reading.

STORY

This is the 4th book in the DI Snow series. I haven’t read the others yet, but it is perfectly readable as a standalone novel.

DI David Snow was seriously injured in a previous encounter and has been officially retired from the police. He is wrestling with the breakdown of his marriage at the same time.

He goes to the police station to try to convince them that he is still able to do his job. While there, he sees a young woman bringing in an elderly woman in great distress. He goes to help. No one knows who the elderly woman is, and she has amnesia. The girl had found her in a state of stress and wants to help.

DI Snow decides to help find out who the woman is, and why she is upset. This leads him into an investigation involving murder and ghostly happenings.

BLURB

A damaged detective, out of a job

A relationship on the rocks
What does the future hold for David Snow?
Just when he thought life couldn’t get any worse
A ghost with a grudge adds to his pain
A ghost hell bent on stopping him from rebuilding his life…

CHARACTERS 

All the characters in this novel are believable. They all have problems and faults as well as their good points..

David Snow is wrestling with depression after losing his wife and his job. He finds some relief in investigating the mystery woman.

David’s wife, Jane, has had a string of affairs after the breakup. Not all were satisfactory, especially one. She regrets this, but cannot find the strength to stop.

Laurie, the girl who brought the old woman to the police station, has her own problems. After a difficult childhood and adolescence, she finds it difficult to settle to anything. She has enrolled at University, and is determined to graduate, but finds the commitment difficult, as well as commitment to another human being.

Alan Turner is a person who was jealous of David Snow’s success. He is a thoroughly nasty person who plots Snow’s downfall, wanting his job. He has few positive traits. I disliked him all the way through. (Which I suspect I was intended to.)

WRITING.

Jaye Marie has created an exciting and enthralling story. The writing is good and there are very few typos.

She manages to build up the tension well, creating an unputdownable book. 

The story is told mainly in third person past tense, but David Snow’s chapters are in first person. This, I think, brings us closer to him and his problems. I like the idea.

I give it 5*

  My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

There are dragons and magic in the world if only you look for them… V.M. Sang