Overview.
I wish I hadn’t read this book yet. It is the first part of a trilogy and I can’t wait for the other books to come out. I am captivated by the story, and chilled at the same time.
Story.
I am finding it difficult to summarise the story without spoilers.
There is an abandoned house on a hill just outside the town of New Haven. There is something frightening about it, and no one goes there.
The Woods family farms just outside the town, and their son, Nate, is on the baseball team. When a new family arrives, the son also joins the team, but there is something the other boys find odd.
Then a shop burns down with the owner and his son inside. The sheriff immediately suspects the newcomers, even though they were all at the baseball game.
On a bicycle ride near the house, Naomi Woods and her son, Nate, see mysterious lights and are chased by a strange animal.
When Kaia Woods’ best friend disappears, things come to a head.
I’m saying no more.
Characters.
Mr Kummer has given us a variety of characters, each one different.
Cliff Woods, the father of Kaia and Nate, wants to farm his land in peace and do the best he can for his family. He does not always make the correct decisions, though.
Naomi is a sensible woman. She tries to do the right thing, and she stands up for the new family. But she is afraid of the house because of something that happened to her when she was foolhardy enough to go into it.
The sheriff is a prejudiced man who is suspicious of anything new.
Kaia cares for her friend who has married a strange young man, but she is impulsive.
Nate is a typical young boy who would rather play on his x-box when not playing or practising baseball.
On the whole, the characters are believable with flaws we can all relate to.
Writing
Mr Kummer builds the tension excellently. I felt quite afraid in the parts where the house was involved.
The story is written from multiple points of view. Each point of view has its own chapter. When we are with a member of the Woods family the writing is in the first person, which is the majority of the book, there are chapters which don’t involve them, and they are in third person.
I did not find this a problem as it’s made quite clear in the chapter headings.
One negative in the writing is the overuse of the word ‘just’. It appears several times on most pages and it did become a distracy, especially since in most cases it wasn’t needed.
This was not enough to reduce the rating, and 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 believableโnot 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.
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 bought. On hearing 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.)
A couple of years ago we went to South Wales on holiday. Imagine our delight to find we were just a stone’s throw from The National Botanic Gardens of Wales.
We actually went twice in the week we were there, and the second time came across the beautiful and stunning Lobelia Cardinale.
If like me, you thought lobelias were little blue flowers that people put in their hanging baskets to trail over the edge, be prepared for a surprise. These are tall and bright red!
We decided we would like to get some for our garden, and so I went online and found somewhere that sold them. We got 6 plug plants and nurtured them. One died and one was eaten by snails. That one regrew, to my delight when put in a pot separate from the others.
They grew and flourished the first summer, but did not flower, but this year, to our delight, they are magnificent. I promised to post some pictures, so here they are.
I’m afraid the last two are not perfectly in focus. My camera was trying to focus on the farther shoots!
Do you know of this variety of lobelia? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments.
I canโt use my usual format for reviews as this is a non-fiction book, and obviously, things like Story and Characters donโt fit.
Charles Yallowitz has written a book to help would-be fantasy writers to write an exciting and well-written fantasy book. It would be useful for any would-be writer, though, and even for those a bit more experienced. I certainly learned from it.
Mr Yallowitz has an easy-to-read style. You can almost imagine he is sitting across from you on your sofa and chatting about writing a book. I loved this. He is not putting himself across as the definitive expert who is telling you exactly what to do to write your book, but frequently says that this is what worked for him.
The excerpts from his books that he uses to illustrate his points are definitely helpful.
I love the cover with the illustration of a little dragon-type creature, Fizzle, that he developed for his fantasy novels. There are many illustrations throughout the book of this endearing little creature.
The book is divided into sections such as โDo I Need a Prologue or Epilogue?โ and โWhat Tense Should I Use?โ There are many other sections such as World building, The Quest, Characters, and many other sections.
But itโs not all about writing fantasy. Many of the things Mr Yallowitz talks about are pertinent to all fiction. Such as endings, character biographies, plotting vs pantsing (writing without a plot, or โflying by the seat of your pantsโ), juggling multiple protagonists and many more things.
I enjoyed reading the book. It is accessible to all. Definitely one you should read if you want to write fantasy, and you will find it helpful for any genre.
I give it 5*ย
Have you read this book? If so, what do you think? Please add comments to the comments box.
Image byย Jo Justinoย fromย Pixabay
I am now King of England. King William I. Doesn’t that sound great? However it wasn’t such an easy position to gain. Let me go back to the beginning.
Edward, my second cousin, was in exile in Normandy after Cnut had taken the English throne. I decided to go and see him. He was family, after all, and he had no heirs.
While I was there, I played on the family connection, and reminded him that, although he might eventually get an heir with his wife, Emma of Normandy, if he should die suddenly, there would be no obvious claimant to the English throne.
Well, he hummed and hawed and didn’t make a decision then. I’m not surprised, really, because his mother had married Cnut and had a son by him. She supported her son, Harthacnut, and eventually he became king of England.
Edward was lucky. Harthacnut died, and Edward sailed unopposed into England to take the throne. Not long after, he sent his son-in-law, Harold Godwinson to tell me he had decided to make me his heir. King William sounded good, I thought, but I didn’t trust Harold, so I had him imprisoned. Eventually, in order to regain his freedom, he swore an oath of fealty to me: the rat!
In the year of our Lord, 1066, King Edward, who had become to be know as The Confessor, due to his religious convictions, died. Harold, the rat, took the throne and was crowned the day after Edward’s death. He said Edward had made him his heir on his deathbed. A likely story!
It was then I decided I needed to go to England and sort this man out. He had broken a holy oath, and I was the rightful king. But it seemed I wasn’t the only one to want the crown of England. Harald’s own brother, Tostig, joined forces with the Norwegian king, Harald Hardrada, and launched an invasion.
They met initially at a place called Fulford, in the north of England, not far from the city of York. This was on September 20th 1066. It seems the invaders won, but Harold was not to be defeated so easily. He fought another battle five days later at a place called Stamford Bridge where both Tostig and Harald Hardrada were killed.
Well, this was too good an opportunity to miss. I set sail, knowing that Harold would be occupied, and we landed at a place called Pevensey. There had been a Roman castle there, and we made use of that. I ordered a wooden fort to be built inside the Roman walls. It was a good defensive position.
The whole area was marshland, and the sea came up to the fort walls. We marched over the marshes, heading towards the town of Hastings. Once we got there, I ordered a fort to be built, and we raided the land for supplies.
We waited for Harold to arrive from his battle at Stamford Bridge. We knew they would be tired after a forced march. I set a watch the night before the battle. I would not have put it past Harold to make a surprise attack, but he didn’t, and so on 14th October, at dawn, the battle began.
I won’t go into details here. Suffice it to say that it was hard fought and lasted all day. It was very bloody, but in the end we won, and Harald was dead. I was now King of England.
I have begun the research for the next book in the series, A Family Through the Ages. This one will start in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings. There’s a lot that is uncertain about the battle. Even the place it happened is disputed, as is how Harold was killed. In the Bayeux tapestry, beneath the word Harold, is a picture of a man being hit in the eye by an arrow. Many believe the name refers to the picture below it, but as the name is part of the text, that could be coincidence, and there are other knights shown being slain by the sword.
Two other books I’m working on are another prequel novella for The Wolves of Vimar series, this one dealing with the horselords, Kimi and Davrael, and I’ve finished the fourth book of The Wolves series. It has yet to go through the critiquing process. I am also writing a book of poetry in which there will be one poem a day to read. January to December is finished, but I’m waiting until a bit closer to Christmas to bring that one out so that people can begin reading in January.
If you enjoyed this little story, perhaps you would like to read another by me.
If you would like to receive this exclusive, free short story, called The Haunted Table, simply click the link. This will take you to the page where you can download it. You can’t get it anywhere else.
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.)
There is so much conflict in the world. I don’t mean only the major ones we hear about, like wars, but those smaller ones, not always erupting in violence
People hate foreigners. I wonder why?
Do they not live, and like us they die?
Imagine you lived somewhere that
A bomb might anytime knock your home flat.
Just think about all the things you would do
If the government thought they would kill you
Just because you disagree with them.
And without a trial you they condemn.
Imagine a place for years without rain.
Your crops have all failed, again and again.
You watch as all your animals die
And, head in your hands, hear your children cry.
You cannot feed them. You have nothing left
To give them, so you feel bereft.
You watch as they get sick and they die.
And wonder, but no one can say why.
But there are lands where there is no war,
Where food is accessible, and there is law.
No one will come in the night and take
Your daughters away with them, to rape.
No bombs will land on your home. If you could
Would you not leave all behind where it stood?
So let us not hate these people who flee
Such terrible lives so they can be free.
This is a poem I’ve not yet published. I am trying to write a poem a day for a year with the hope of publishing it in two parts–January to June, and July to December. I hope to get the first part published in time for Christmas so people can begin to read a poem a day in January.
If you are interested in reading more of my poetry, I have a poetry book already published. It’s called Miscellaneous Thoughts and has poetry of many types and subjects. It can be bought from your favourite store in several formats: ebook, paperback, hardback. Click on the book title to go to your favourite online store to find out more, and buy.
Or you can go to Next Chapter’s Independent bookstore by clicking here.
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 Readersโ 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.
Political posts really aren’t my thing, but I feel furious about what is going on in the Conservative party
I recently read a post on Medium by Umair Haique about Climate Change. It’s extremely worrying. (I tried to post a link, but it’s a member only story and the link didn’t work.)
The gist of it is that we are rapidly coming to the point where humans cannot survive. It’s not only about the air temperature, but also what is known as ‘wet bulb temperature’ that takes humidity into account. At much lower temperatures than have previously been thought, humans can no longer cool themselves by evaporation of sweat because the air has too much water in it, so we quickly die. Temperatures below the 40+ we’ve seen in recent months.
Yes. I know you are going to say that people have survived those temperatures, but those temperatures we’ve been reading about are not wet bulb temperatures.
As we all know, Climate Change is caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels. (Can we really afford to burn these, anyway? But that’s another post in the future.) Yet the British Government is set to allow many more (hundreds, according to the Independent) licences for North Sea oil and gas. Cumbria council approved of the development of a new coalfield recently, although the government is to hold an inquiry beginning on September 7th.
Rishi Sunak has also promised to look into the Low Emission Zones put in place in many British cities. In these areas, people with high polluting vehicles have to pay to enter the zones. It’s a daily charge in London.
Sunak has said that it’s a declaration of war on the motorist. In 2013 a nine year old girl living in London had a massive asthma attack that cost her her life. The coroner declared that it was caused by pollution. She was the first person to have this on her death certificate. Does the Prime Minister want more children to die from pollution caused by cars?
There is a suggestion that a new coal field may be opened in Cumbria. The council has given the go ahead, but the government is launching an enquiry in September.
The government has also granted hundreds (according to The Independent) of licences to search for more oil under the North Sea.
Have they not considered that as the planet warms, more areas will become uninhabitable. What happens to the people there? They will move north (or south in the southern hemisphere) causing serious overcrowding, and probable wars. We all know the dangers of wars.
I don’t think that the government is taking any of this seriously. In my opinion, politicians are only interested in winning the next election, and business people in how much money they can make. Forget the fact that our survival is at stake here. And the survival of most other life forms on the planet.
Tom Curley has posted an Open Letter from Earth. Well worth a read, and even a reblog to get it to as many eyes as possible.
Hi Mankind. This is Earth again. Some of you call me Earth, some call me Terra, some call me Gaia. Call me what you want. Just donโt call me late for dinner. (I still donโt really get that joke, but I got a whole bunch of โlikesโ when I said it in the last letter I wrote you).
I last wrote you on Earth Day in 2019. I was touched at how many of you felt you were destroying my environment and maybe you should stop doing that. I pointed out that Iโll be fine. Iโve been around for a few billion years. My environment changes all the time. Itโs you guys who should be worried.
Save the Earth. Itโs the only planet with chocolate.
Iโm writing this time because I noticed that you are all getting sick. Really sick. All over me. Everywhere. This isnโt surprising. It happens moreโฆ
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Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 