Thanks to Chris, the Story Reading Ape for this meme.
Today I’m posting a poem by my friend, Kevin Morris. Kevin writes rhyming poetry, and I love them.
Sometimes I have seen
The night light gleam
On angels whose wings
Have been clipped
By lustful lips,
Meaning love’s sting
Is not their thing.
Here is a link to Kevin’s website so you can read more of his poetry.
I read something on MSN News that makes me wonder about journalists and their grasp of the English Language.
Here is the quote. “Despite being perhaps the most infamous royal abode, Buckingham Palace’s future is looking pretty questionable following news that the Queen has ‘permanently’ moved out.”
Can you see what’s wrong with it?
It’s the use of the word infamous. I also heard it used about the Sydney Opera House a month or so ago.
Buckingham palace is a well-known building, that’s for sure, but I don’t think it’s infamous. Not unless there have been some nasty goings-on there that I don’t know about.
Famous is the word that means well-known.
Infamous also means well-known, but for something bad.
Dick Turpin was an infamous highwayman.
The Cray Twins were infamous gang leaders in London.
The Wests were infamous murderers.
And so on.
I’ve just spent a weekend staying with my sister in North Wales, hence the rather brief and late post. I would usually have scheduled one, but didn’t get around to that either!
Hopefully I’ll be back to normal next week.
Would you like an exclusive short story? One that cannot be purchased, but only received as a gift from me?
To get your story, click on the picture. It will take you to my email sign-up page.
Don’t worry, though, you can unsubscribe at any time, even immediately if you wish. And I only send out newsletters quarterly, except for extra special news, like a new release. I will never spam you, and will always keep your email address private.
Here’s a bit about the story.
Maria and her husband, Jack, have moved into an old cottage. They want to furnish it with period furniture and buy a medieval table.
That’s when the mystery begins. Strange sounds in the night. Have they bought a haunted house? But a medium tells them it is not a ‘lost spirit’, but something else she does not recognise.
What is it that is causing them to lose sleep? The answer is more unexpected than anyone thought.
Vengeance of a Slave
A story set in Roman Britain
Prolific Works – Claim a free copy of Vengeance Of A Slave (A Family Through The Ages Book 1)
The Wolf Pack
An epic fantasy tale
Prolific Works – Claim a free copy of The Wolf Pack (The Wolves of Vimar Book 1)
The Stones of Earth and Air
A fantasy story of mystery, adventure and danger
Prolific Works – Claim a free copy of The Stones of Earth and Air (Elemental Worlds Book 1)
Last September I had a holiday in South Wales. It was one that had been cancelled during lockdown, but now we could go on holiday once more.
The weather was fantastic, and two things pleased us. The first was that a leg of the Tour of Britain (cycling) was starting from the local town. The second was that The National Botanical Gardens of Wales was just down the road.
These gardens are in the Towy valley in Carmarthenshire. They were opened in 2000 on the site of a mansion belonging to a family called Middleton. They built their mansion here in the early 17th century. It was bought in 1789 by Sir William Paxton, who had the idea of turning it into a water park.
There is a lot of history to this place, and you can find out more on Wikipedia, by following this link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Botanic_Garden_of_Wales
We visited these gardens twice, and I thought I would share some of the pictures I took with you.
Here they are.
The Dome was divided into areas representing different parts of the world.
I don’t know what this plant is, but it’s interesting.
This was the apothecary’s hall with an interesting apothecary’s garden behind.
I was intrigued by this poem. Sadly, I didn’t take any photos of the garden behind the hall.
In the tropical house there were many plants in flower. Here are some of them.
And finally, not from Wales, but my garden. It’s a pity I can’t post the scent of the daphne bush. It’s wonderful. This was last year, and it’s even better this year.
I love to hear your thoughts, so please add your comments to the comments box.
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 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.)
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 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.)
A wonderful tribute to Sally Cronin. She deserves everything that was said about her. And this is especially special because of the superb authors at Story Empire who chose to celebrate her.
And her books of short stories are wonderful, too.
Go across to her website and meet her. Here’s a link.
I am going away for a week, visiting various friends and relatives. As a result, I’m not posting this week. I’ll be back the next week.
OVERVIEW:
I don’t usually read books that mention werewolves (nor vampires, and definitely not zombies) I feel that they have had their time and are overdone. Having said that, I decided to take a risk and read Dyrwolf. Am I glad I did?
I would not so much call the wolf/humans in this story werewolves, more shapeshifters. Many of them can shift to their wolf personas and shapes regardless of the moon, but they do respond to it.
BLURB
Lea Wylder has spent so long hunting werewolves that now one is stalking her in her sleep. In the unforgiving forests of the north, shape-shifting wolves have enslaved the sole human city for hundreds of miles, driving survivors up into the mountains. When Lea tracks a shifter and finds him caught in a trap, she’s convinced he’s the white wolf from her dreams. Not that it matters. He’s one of them. And they’re at war.
But as Lea pulls back the bowstring, Henrik shifts to human and begs her not to shoot. By name. But how could he possibly know her?
In twenty years, the wolves have never crossed the river over to their side. Injured and unable to walk, Henrik needs Lea’s help to get back home. If he could be turned against the pack, it could change the course of the war. But first there’s the small problem of returning him to the wolves—without getting caught.
STORY
This is an excellent story that kept me gripped and wanting to know what happens next. The heroine, a sixteen year old human girl called Lea, needs to find a way to return a seriously injured shape-shifting wolf back to his home.
Of course, Henrick, as the dyrwolf is called, is an enemy, and Lea should have killed him, but he resembles the wolf she has seen in her dreams, and she cannot bring herself to do so.
It is a dangerous trip, where they meet near death on several occasions, not to mention their fraught relationship as enemies.
There are twists in the story as Lea discovers more about herself and the history of the people and their enemies, the dyrwolves.
There are humerous moments, too, as well as danger and anxiety.
CHARACTERS
Ms Kinney has drawn some very likeable characters in this book—and also some very unlikeable ones.
Lea is a girl with many problems—a mother who committed suicide, debilitating migraines, and she is considered strange by the villagers and has only one real friend.
Her friend is a young man called Salem. He feels protective towards Lea and turns up to help her when she goes out to perform a rite in which she has to burn the fields of grain of the enemy.
Henrick is most likeable. He is in many ways very innocent. The relationship between him and Lea is believable and their confusion about it is very real.
WRITING
This is a well-written book. Ms Kinney’s descriptions are wonderful and I loved reading them. They set the scene beautifully.
Lea’s referring to Henrick as a dandelion puff (referencing his white fur when in wolf form) is wonderful.
The descriptions of Lea’s problems with her migraines (that she doesn’t know what they are) are most believable and I could almost feel her pain.
The surprises in the story are also introduced at just the right places.
If I have to make an adverse criticism, I would say that there are a few unnecessary words. Mainly prepositions, like someone looking up at the stars. We know the stars are up! But that would be nit-picking. I found no typos or other grammatical errors, which is a refreshing change.
This is well worth a read. I gave it 5*
I have pre-ordered the second book, and am looking forward to receiving it.
Hi, everybody. My name’s Muldee and I’m a dragonet. Don’t know what one of them is? I’m not surprised. We’re rather rare. *smirks*.
Even most people from Vimar don’t know we exist. By the way, Vimar is the world on which I live.
When those people who call themselves Wolf first saw me and my siblings, they thought we were baby dragons. As if! We may be smaller than our cousins, but we are much superior. Dragons don’t have any psi powers. *wrinkles his nose*. And they are such selfish and vain creatures with no sense of humour.
Nor are they as beautiful as we dragonets, with our iridescent scales. They are just one flat colour. BORING.
Anyway, back to me. Dragonets are born from eggs, like dragons, but our mothers lay them in warm shallow water. (I was born in a lake that I’ve been told is warmed by heat from volcanos.)
My favourite food is fish, but I enjoy eating small mammals and even insects as a change. When I want to catch a fish, I dive into the water from high above, folding my wings back. I rarely miss when I spot one
Catching land creatures is different. I can hardly dive onto a mouse or rat. I’d bang my head something dreadful. *giggles*. So to catch land animals. I use my psi powers. I send a wave of power, a bit like a loud noise, into their heads. It’s usually enough to kill them. If we want to kill something larger, we band together and all send the noise at once. That does the trick.
I love to play. Me and my brothers and sisters had great times, playing in the water and doing acrobatics in the air. I had a great time when Wolf came. That dwarf—Basalt’s his name—has no sense of humour. He was in the water, not very deep, having a wash. His friends had swum out farther, so I decided to have a bit of fun. I dived and charged his legs. Of course, he fell in. *laughs loudly*. He was so cross. *He is unable to stop laughing*.
When they left, I decided to go with them to find some adventure. I learned a lot from reading people’s minds. *grins*. I’m not supposed to, and I always say I don’t, but it’s so much fun. The things people don’t want anyone to know! You’d be amazed at what people think. Most people seem to like me though.
*Jumps in the air and does a barrel-roll, then loops the loop*.
Sometimes I make a servant jump by hiding behind a curtain and making a small object move by itself. I once had a young girl run screaming down the corridor. I think I’ve been the start of a lot of tales of ghosts in some of the places I’ve lived.
I stay with Sandron because he’s fun, too. Did you know he once led a band of bandits? He’s the youngest son of the old Duke of Sendolina, so had nothing to do. He did it for fun. We had good times, he and I, until all this talk of war started.
I might go back to the lake if everyone gets serious. At least my brothers and sisters will still want to play.
V.M.Sang has agreed to give me a bigger role in her latest book. It’s not finished yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing what she does. I told her she should make more of my role in the story.
I hope you’ll read the book when it comes out. Until then, Cheerio.
*Leaps into the air and flaps a few times around the room.*
You feel a scratching in your brain, which seems to turn into words. Or perhaps you’re just imagining it.
Have I been reading your mind while I talked to you? What have I learned that you didn’t want anyone to know? Haha. You’ll never find out!
*Flies out of the window.*
I would love to know what you think of Muldee. Let me know in the comments box, please.
Here’s the blurb.
Forced to watch his father’s crucifixion and separated from his mother, orphaned six-year-old Adelbhert’s life forever changes when he is sold into slavery in Britannia.
Years of servitude fill his heart with malice and he resolves to escape, determined to rescue those he loves and deliver retribution to the Romans who wronged him.
But as new allies shed light on old perspectives, Adelbhert begins to question his path. Will he find true freedom, or allow his vengeance to consume him?
Vengeance of a Slave is the first book in the series ‘A Family Through the Ages.’ So far there are 2 books published. The second one is Jealousy of a Viking and follows a descendant of Adelbehrt, from Vengeance. I hope to follow this family through many generations.
The books can be purchased from a variety of booksellers. Just click on the links to go to your favourite.
If you buy and read a copy, I would be grateful if you could post an honest review. Reviews are important to authors as they help readers to find books they might like. It needn’t be long. Just if you liked it or not, and what you liked or disliked about it.
I love hearing your opinions. Please leave a comment in the comments box.
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 