If you have any Portugese speaking friends, please let them know. This is more than just a recipe book. It has recipes from over 100 years ago and gives an insight into how people ate from 1909 to the present day. There are also anecdotes about the people from whom Viv received the recipes.
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Also, The ebook version of The Stones of Earth and Air, which has recently been released as an Audiobook, will be FREE from tomorrow until 7th July. Hurry to get this bargain before you miss it.
After the Crown Prince of Ponderia starts behaving strangely, his best friend Pettic discovers that the prince has been replaced by a doppelganger, and the real prince kidnapped.
Unable to accept the loss of his friend, Prince Torren, nor the cruel impostor to become the new king, Pettic sets on a quest to rescue the prince. After he sees the fake prince meet a mysterious man, Pettic discovers that Torren has been imprisoned in another plane of existence.
With the help of Blundo, the court magician, Pettic finds that the only way to enter this other world are with four keys, each of them associated with a different element. As Pettic sets on his seemingly impossible quest, he discovers that the four worlds that hold the keys are all vastly different… and more dangerous than he could have ever imagined.
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Debbie Manber Kupfer announced the release of the latest episode of her P.A.W.S books on June 15th. I was delighted to receive a preview copy of this book, and am now posting a review here and on Goodreads.This, along with her other books, is a good read and will appeal both to teen and young adults, and adults who like the escapism of fantasy set in our real world.
*****stars
Overview
This is a continuation of Ms Kuyper’s P.A.W.S. saga. It is, in fact, the 6th book. She has moved away from concentrating on Miri and the St Louis P.A.W.S., and this book is mainly set in New York, although it does have a substantial part in St Louis where Sandy, a weather mage, is situated. I would class it as a Teen and Young Adult book, although many adults would enjoy reading it if they enjoy fantasy. It is a fantasy world that runs in our own, but that normal mortals know little or nothing about. Fairies abound, as do shapeshifters, werecreatures and animagi. And magic is real.
Blurb
Jenny has been painting fairies her whole life, but now a new fairy has emerged, one with wings of pure silver. She wishes she could share this new fairy with Jamie, but Jamie has disappeared and Jenny is worried. Sandy is also worried. Her weather magic is out of control and she is taunted by a storm that whispers its name to her – Jhara. Deep inside the bottle, the spirit of Jhara waits. She hates this form and detests her creator who has trapped her in there. It was not fair. You cannot create a storm and then trap it in a teacup. That worked only in idioms. And this was Jhara’s life. The P.A.W.S. Saga continues with Jhara.
Characterisation.
The characters are well developed, with flaws and good points. Most want to do good, but their flaws let them down on occasion. Some are tied to the evil werewolf, Frederick, and in spite of their better efforts, end up doing bad things.
Writing.
There are a few typos that have got through the editing process, but that can happen to the best of writers and editors. The rest of the writing is good. The descriptions of the places and the people bring them to life. Ms Kuyper has a large cast of characters in this book that she handles well. Each has their own voice and are sufficiently different that we always know who is speaking. It must have been difficult dealing with so many.
Conclusion
A thoroughly enjoyable read. It adds to the on-going story of P.A.W.S., but it could be read on its own if you haven’t read the others.
This is a story from Tallis Steelyard about Port Nain and the indomitable Maljie. Her Maljie sets about trying to do something about the terrible state or the orphanages.
I don’t usually venture into the political scene on my blog, but I am becoming increasingly worried and angry.
I know that this pandemic has to be contained as much as possible, but it seems that everything in the NHS has gone into this.
Hospitals are full of Covod-19 patients and other treatments have not been happening, some of which are for patients with serious and life-threatening illnesses.
As I understand it, many patients’ treatment has been put on hold. Mine for one, but mine is relatively minor compared to others.
It is impossible to get an appointment in my area at the moment, either with the hospital or the GP. I had a brief phone consultation, which, in my opinion, resolved nothing. The consultant wants further tests, but nothing is going to happen for the forseeable future.
One NHS Trust that I know of, because a friend lives in that area, has kept one hospital ‘Covid-free.’ All Covid cases are sent to the other hospitals. As a result, her treatment and operations are going ahead as normal.
In my local area, the Trust has 3 hospitals. Why have they not designated one as Covid-Free?
And what about the Nightingale Hospital that was built with great fanfares and then not used? Could Covid patients not have been sent there, leaving other hospitals free for other treatments? I appreciate that it was only a ‘field hospital’, but it was built for Covid patients, so must have been able to deal with them.
I predict a rise in deaths from other sources because of this. It might already be happening, Probably is, but we’re not told of this. Only Covid deaths are important, it seems.
I tried to find how many cancer deaths had occurred so far this year and compare it with last, but could not find the statistics. I did find out that it is expected that over 18,000 more cancer deaths alone will occur in the UK due to Covid-19. Some of this is because people fear going to A&E due to the virus. But if there were a Covid-free hospital, that would be eliminated.
I have not researched the expected deaths from other serious illnesses, but I am sure that there will be an increase in them as well.
I am concerned that with the easing of lockdown, and the ignoring of the rules that are already there, we will see a spike in infections and deaths from Covid-19. People are gathering in large groups with no social distancing, and not only for demonstrations. This will mean that for those waiting for hospital appointments and treatment will be put on hold for even longer.
Thank you for reading. What do you think? Do you have any illnesses that are not being treated because all the hospitals in your area are full of Covid patients?
They say that you wait ages for a bus, then 2 come at once. Well. I’m not talking buses here, but news of my books.
A few days ago I told you of the release of my new audiobook, Vengeance of a Slave. Yesterday I got the suggested cover for my latest book.
Its a novella, a prequel to my Wolves of Vimar series, and tells about the parents of Carthinal and how they met and fell in love.
Of course, things aren’t as straightforward as that. He’s and elf and she’s a human, so there are family problems. How do they overcome them, and do they live happily ever after with their little son, Carthinal? You need to wait until it’s out to find out!
Anyway, here’s the cover. I like it and have emailed my publisher to say so. What do you think? Would you pick it up if you saw that cover? Let me know in the comments box.
Hi. I just received an email saying that Vengeance of a Slave, my historical novel set in Britain at the time of the Romans, has been released as an audiobook. You can get a free 30 day trial of this book if you follow this link for the UK
If you do listen to it, I would be very grateful if you would post a brief review. Reviews are very important to authors and readers alike as there are so many books published it is difficult to know if a book is for you or not.
Today I welcome one of my favourite poets to my blog.
Kevin Morris is a poet who writes both humorous and serious poetry. I will hand over to Kevin now, and he can explain about his poetry much better than I can.
Welcome, Kevin. Please tell us about your poetry.
I have, for as long as I can remember, been a lover of poetry. The first poem I recollect having read is Alfred Noyes’s “The Highwayman”, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43187/the-highwayman. I was (and remain)entranced by the rhythm of the poem and how it matches the beat of the horse’s feet, as the Highwayman approaches the inn:
“The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees. The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding— Riding—riding— The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door”.
I find good rhyming poetry profoundly beautiful, and much of my own work is written in rhyme. Take, for example my poem “Autumn Fly”, which appears in my forthcoming collection, “Light and Shade: Serious (and Not so Serious) poems”.
“An autumn fly Buzzes around my head. Summer is dead Yet will not die. Seasons pass. We are brittle as glass, This fly And I”.
Whilst sitting in my study, in late autumn, a fly began buzzing around my head. This brought to mind the mortality of this tiny insect and also that of man. Hence the above poem was born.
I have many happy memories of strolling through the woods with my grandfather and it was from him that I gained my love of nature. This affection for nature was, I believe encouraged further by my reading of poems such as Keats “Autumn”. Much of my own poetry touches on the theme of nature. Take, for example my poem “Rain”.
“The rain Patters amongst these leaves. I listen again And ascertain That it’s the breeze Midst these trees. Yet it sounds the same As rain”.
As with “Autumn Fly”, “Rain” came to me naturally as a rhyming poem. I could not have expressed what I wished to convey had I utilised free verse, as rhyme comes naturally to me, whilst other forms of poetic expression do not.
Whilst there exists some wonderful poetry composed in free verse, to me much free verse is poetic prose rather than true poetry. Many poems written in free verse are beautiful. However, for me their beauty resides in their poetic prose, they are not, in my opinion poetry as I understand it (I.E. with real rhyme and metre).
One can not always be serious, and section 2 of “Light and Shade” is devoted to my humorous verses. Take, for example my poem “Jane’s Sad Refrain”:
“A young lady named Jane Sang a most mournful refrain. I could repeat her song, As it wouldn’t take long, But it’s copyright of Jane!”
To conclude. Poetry is, for me about rhyme and its rhyme with which I feel most comfortable. There is, as I said, some wonderful free verse poetry out there. However, for me at least much of this (but by no means all) is poetic prose rather than poetry proper.
(“Light and Shade: Serious (and Not so Serious) Poems”, by Kevin Morris will be available in the Amazon Kindle store, and as a paperback in July 2020).
Thank you, Kevin, for telling us more about your poetry. I agree with you about free verse. It’s something I’ve thought for a long time. I have written poetry that doesn’t rhyme, but it always has rhythm. And I love the poem about Jane!
I would encourage everyone to search out your poetry books and to visit your blog.
Good luck with this latest one. I look forward to its publication.
If you have any comments to either myself, or Kevin, please enter them in the comments box. Feel free to reblog this.
After finding the gems associated with the worlds of Earth and Air, Pettic needs to enter the final two Elemental Worlds to find the gems of Fire and Water.
In these two worlds, as before, he has to preform a task to help the inhabitants before the jewel will reveal its whereabouts.
But when he has found these gems, how can he rescue his friend, the Crown Prince of Ponderia? First, though, he needs to find the two missing gems.
In Ignis, the land of fire, he finds the magical creatures are having fewer and fewer offspring. Can he help them and find out the cause? And what can he do about it?
In Aqua, the land of water, he meets merfolk who have a problem. Their leader is dying because his magic staff has been stolen. Can Pettic find this staff and the culprit before it is too late?
I am pleased to say that the same narrator who narrated the audio version of The Stones of Earth and Air has agreed to narrate this book, too. He has finished the narration, and it is now with the publisher. I hope it won’t be too long before it’s available.
In the meantime, for those of you who can’t wait, the ebook version of The Stones of Fire and Water is FREE on Amazon from tomorrow (14th June) until Thursday 18th June.
Click on the link now, before you forget or you’ll miss this opportunity. You can get your book by clicking on the title, or the cover in the sidebar or the text.. This will take you to Amazon where you are.
I am always pleased to hear your comments. Add them in the comments box.
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 