Poetry

Spring Cleaning–A poem.

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Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Not my favourite job to do, but when the sun shines in, it makes the dust more noticeable. So it’s a job that has to be done.
And the satisfaction at the end makes it all worth while.

Spring Cleaning.

The sun is now shining making everything light

So it’s time to make our homes shiny and bright.

Let’s pick up our dusters and polish all day

Till every speck of dust goes away.

We’ll clean all our paintwork and make it as new

And polish silverware so your face you can view.

Then wash all the curtains and clean all the floors

And see if we need some more paint on our doors.

‘Spiders beware, don’t you build any webs.

We’ll knock them all down with our brushes,’ I said.

Sweeping and polishing all of the day

Until the last smidgen of dirt’s gone away.

Now stand back and look at all we have done.

A shiny and perfect home. We have won.

Have you done any spring cleaning yet? I’ve washed my dining room curtains and cleaned out my kitchen cupboards. Still a lot more to do!

grammar, spelling

Homonyms with Harmony, Part 2–American and British English Conventions

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Harmony Kent has given us a list of differences between American and British English. It’s fascinating.

Considering the British and Americans share a common language, there are plenty of points where they couldn’t have less in common. This isn’t only in the spelling of words, but also their usage. Where a Brit would say ‘garden’, an American is more likely to say ‘yard’ … and they wouldn’t be meaning some bare concreted area—far from it! Below, I list some of the most common differences. We’ll start with a table of the most commonly alternately spelled words …

Click on the button to see the full list.

Continue reading here.
fantasy, novel, stories

The Wolf Pack book 1 of The Wolves of Vimar series

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All Carthinal wants is admission to the ranks of the mages. Traveling from Bluehaven to Hambara, where his rite of passage is to take place, he doesn’t expect to end up on a quest to find the long-lost sword of the legendary King Sauvern. With strangers he meets on his journey, Carthinal sets out on the seemingly impossible quest. Followed by Randa, the snooty aristocratic daughter of the Duke of Hambara, and the young runaway thief Thad, Carthinal and his companions face tragedy and danger. Watched by the gods and an implacable foe, they will have to accept help from the least likely sources and face their innermost fears. As the fate of their world hangs in the balance, they realize that this is more than an adventure. This quest will change them all.

This book came from a Dungeons and Dragons scenario I wrote for my D & D club at the school where I worked. I had been buying scenarios, then I thought I could write one myself. I wrote one from which this series has emerged.

I played Dragonlance, both as a player and a DM, and when I discovered that Weiss and Hickman had turned it into a series, I thought, ‘Why not?’ Thus The Wolves of Vimar series was born.

I only intended it to be one book, but it sort of grew into what will eventually be a five-book series. I’m unsure that my players will recognise it now, although some things are the same, such as searching for Sauvern’s Sword (Book 1) and the name of the antagonist.

HERE’S A REVIEW FROM AMAZON

Discerning Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars A solidly done, and crafted fantasy novel.

Verified Purchase

“The Wolf Pack” is an original and well crafted fantasy novel. If you like novels like the “Earthsea Saga” by Ursula Le Guin or “When the Heavens Fall” by Marc Turner then I suggest that you may well enjoy “The Wolf Pack.” British style and spellings throughout. Not really a negative, just a difference to be noted.

I found the characters well developed, and complex (in a good way).

The plot is unique and unusual. It is not easy to explain, but does unfold nicely as one reads through the book. I am trying to avoid spoilers, so I do not want to give too much away.

Dialogue is well written and each character has his or her own voice

To purchase from the seller of your choice click on the book cover in the sidebar, or on the button below.

The book is available as:

ebook, paper back, hard back, large print, pocket book and audio book.

The ebook is free on all platforms except Amazon where it is 0.99 (pounds or dollars.)

Get my copy of The Wolf Pack

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10 Fun Things You Didn’t Know About Me.

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  • I recently passed my Grade 5 piano exam.
  • I love growing plants from collected seeds. I collected fallen tree seeds in Amiens and have loads of little baby trees coming up. Don’t know what to do with them!
  • I make all my own cards—birthday, wedding, birth congratulations, Christmas.
  • I enjoy walking in the countryside. I live in an area that is good for that. Both hills and flat areas.
  • I like cooking and baking. I have written a recipe book which includes many very old recipes from my grandmother, dated 1909.
  • I don’t enjoy housework, although it has to be done.
  • I learned to tat when I was at school. It’s a dying art. We moved to a new school and the cookery rooms weren’t finished, so we did craft instead. The teacher offered to teach us to tat. I and my friends took her up on it.
  • I have been using computers since the very first pcs came out. It was called a PET and we still have it, although it no longer works. This was in 1979.
  • I hate crowds and cities, although I didn’t used to worry about it. I prefer the countryside.
  • My family has farming roots. Dairy farming. My sister was still farming until last year.

What is interesting about you that we didn’t know? Let us know in the comments.

Feel free to share with your friends. Please link back to my blog if you do.

book reviews, novel

Review of River Bones by Mary Deal

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Overview.

Mary Deal is one of my favourite authors. Her books  always keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

River Bones is no exception.

Story.

Sara Mason has returned to the town where she grew up as a poor girl in a dysfunctional family. Now, though, she is a successful computer game designer and has enough money to buy a large house in need of modernisation.

Not everything is as it seems, though. A serial killer is on the loose, and things begin to get dangerous when the killer turns their sights on Sara.

I am saying no more so as not to give anything away.

Blurb.

A serial killer is on the loose in Sacramento River Delta.

When Sara Mason returns to her hometown to start a new life, she learns that a murderer is terrorizing its residents. Despite battling difficult childhood memories, Sara is determined to make peace with her past.

But she soon learns that the elusive psychopath is now stalking her. Sara’s attempt to rebuild her life is hindered even more by the discovery of skeletal remains on her property. As the investigation focuses on several suspects, Sara discovers critical clues and bravely volunteers to be a decoy for the sheriff’s department.

Sara’s destiny has brought her back home, but will her decision lead her down a path lined with danger… and straight into the arms of a madman?

Characters.

The main character, Sara, is a young woman who has issues left over from her childhood. She tries to overcome them while fighting her fear of living alone.

We can empathise with her as she is well drawn and has depth.

Her best friend, Daphine, is a likeable, but sensible woman who gives Sara good advice (not always taken!)

Esmeralda is the former owner of the house Sara has bought. She now runs a care home for the elderly, even though she is elderly herself. Her husband disappeared on a gold hunting trip and his body has never been found. However, she is nothing if not resilient and proves a great ally to Sara.

The town has its quota of strange characters. Crazy Ike, Frederick, who works at the care home and is strangely fascinated by death and dying, and Tripp, who is the gardener at the care home, creating beautiful gardens. Sara finds him as creepy as the other two.

Wonderful characters who remain with me well after finishing the book.

Writing.

Mary Deal sets the scene of her book right at the beginning. Before I had read many pages, I was feeling on edge. She brings the people and area of The Delta to life, and I feel she has taken me there.

Typos are non-existent. Grammar is almost flawless, except for a confusion of ‘to lie’ and ‘to lay’, which, I find, a lot of people have trouble with.

Have you read River Bones, or any other of Mary Deal’s books? Did you enjoy them? Let us know in the comments section.

Poetry

British Wild Flowers. The Lesser Celandine.

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Lesser celandines are one of the earliest wild flowers to appear, blooming from late January until the end of April.

They are small, growing to a mere 2-3 inches, but form masses of flowers. They look gorgeous when in bloom. A veritable carpet of yellow stars.

They are found on banks, at the edges of woods and paths, in grassland. In fact, almost everywhere. One might be tempted to put some in the garden, but think twice. Although they are lovely little flowers and bloom when there isn’t much else, they can be invasive.

They spread from tiny tubers which grow in the leaf axels. Rooting them out can be a problem as it can help them to spread! My suggestion is to enjoy them where they are. I did see some for sale in a local garden centre. They were lovely with unusual dark, reddish leaves. Very tempting.

I understand, from reading on the net, that their leaves are a rich source of vitamin C. Useful at a time when, in past ages people hadn’t had much green vegetables during the winter months and may have been suffering from scurvy as a result. I have no experience of eating these leaves, and so cannot recommend them as a salad vegetable. ALWAYS CHECK FOR TOXICITY BEFORE EATING ANYTHING GATHERED FROM THE WILD.

Here’s a little poem to the celandine.

Celandines

Little stars litter the grass.

Have they fallen from the sky?

They are shining when I pass

Reflecting sun’s rays from on high.

Celandines are here to say

Winter’s gloom is nearly past.

Spring is really on the way;

Warmth will soon be here, at last.

Bright and cheerful little flowers

Covering the woods and banks  

Creating lovely yellow bowers.

We should all be giving thanks.

I hope you enjoyed this little post about one of our early spring flowers. Feel free to share it with anyone you think might find it interesting, but please link back to this blog if you do.

If you want to read more of my poetry, you can buy my first poetry anthology, Miscellaneous Thoughts, by clicking on the book cover in the side bar or the title in this paragraph.

I just looked at my poem on the preview, and the breaks between the verses does not appear even though I added them when writing. this always happens and I wonder why. Does anyone know why?

Please leave your comments in the comments box. I love hearing from you.

book reviews

Review of Danny the Dog by Andrew Joyce

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Overview.

Danny is a dog who lives with his human, Andrew, on a boat in Florida. He wrote a series of blog posts, and many of the adventures in the book appeared on his blog. This book is a compilation of Danny’s adventures, and how he trained Andrew.

Blurb

Danny the Dog is a prolific writer. He’s written articles for bloggers around the world and has his own very popular blog where he dispenses his wisdom on a monthly basis. He’s humorous, clever, charming, delightful, and sometimes irascible. Or, as he would phrase it, “I’m a purveyor of wit, wisdom, and words.”

In My Name Is Danny, Danny writes about his real-life adventures living on a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his human, Andrew. He tells of their trials and tribulations … and the love they have for one another.

Fans of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz will enjoy this book.

Characters.

The main character is, of course, Danny. 

Danny tells his tales in an amusing way, usually at Andrew’s expense. 

One cannot help but like this little dog, with his many ‘brave’ exploits.

Writing.

The writing is good. We get a clear picture of Danny’s character from the tales, and laughs from the many humorous adventures he relates. 

Have you read this book? Do you know Danny from his blog?

I would be delighted to hear your thoughts in the comments.

I would also appreciate any reviews of my books, too. Reviews are important to authors as they help let the readers know about them. Millions of books are published each year and getting people to know they even exist is difficult.

If you wish to purchase any of the books, simply click on the cover in the sidebar and you will be taken to a page where you can buy from your favourite store. (The ebook versions of the first in each series is FREE.)

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Sunday funnies

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Some hilarious thoughts on biblical personnel, courtesy of Bluebird of Bitterness.

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Pastoral Search Committee Report

The committee thanks everyone who suggested candidates for this position. We have followed up on each one. Here is our report: 

Adam: Good man but has problems with his wife.

Noah: Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Joseph: Obnoxious braggart with a prison record.

Moses: Has a speech impediment and a bad temper. Rumored to have left an earlier position over a murder charge.

David: Had an affair with a married woman, then had her husband bumped off and used the power of his office to avoid charges.

Solomon: Good preacher, but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

Elijah: Bad temper, prone to depression and occasional suicidal tendencies.

Hosea: Good man, but our people could never handle his wife’s profession.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things.

Isaiah: Claims to have seen angels in church. 

Jonah: Refused God’s call until after he’d been swallowed…

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fantasy, Poetry

Pettic. A poem

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This is not a poem that appears in a book, but it’s about a character in the Elemental Worlds duo.

Pettic

Pettic was a farmer’s son who loved to plough the land

Until one day his life did change in a dramatic way.

He was chosen from many lads to obey Prince’s command

And go to live in the palace, far, far away.

He was to be companion, confidant and friend

To Prince Torren, the Crown Prince, the king’s son and heir.

And with the Prince, his lessons he also would attend.

But then the Prince disappeared, nobody knew where.

So Pettic chose to go in search of his dear friend.

He visited strange worlds like nothing he had seen

And faced great dangers, helped the folk, their lives he did defend.

And found what he was looking for when he did intervene.

For in four lands he had to find four gems that were the key.

Will young Pettic find all that is required 

To find Prince Torren and set him free? 

If you wish to know the answer to the last question, you can find out by reading The Stones of Earth and Air, which is free as an ebook on Amazon, and The Stones of Fire and Water. Follow these links to buy at your favourite store.

Poetry

St Patrick’s Day

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Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Today is St Patrick’s Day. Here’s a poem in tribute to him. I’m a bit late posting, I know, but I had to write it first! Of course, he didn’t really banish the snakes from Ireland, but it’s a good story.

St Patrick 

A boy was captured and taken for a slave

Across the sea, but he remained brave.

A shepherd in Ireland for six long years

He escaped and ran home to family cheers.

A Christian he was, and hearing God’s call

Was ordained as a priest to the joy of all.

God called once again that he should go

Back to Ireland to preach, and so

He sailed once more across the sea.

And converted many to Christianity 

And with his staff he gave a command

And all the snakes left that land.

On March seventeenth, in the year four sixty

He passed into Heaven on that isle so misty.

He’s remembered still by the Irish folk

On the isle  of Ireland where he spoke

And all round the world where Irish dwell

They still remember, and his story they tell.

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