Halloween

Why We Celebrate Bonfire Night: A Blend of Tradition

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Image by FindingSR from Pixabay

In the year 1605, a group of Roman Catholics plotted to overthrow the king. 

The king in question was James 1st of England (6th of Scotland) who had come to the throne after the death of the childless Elizabeth 1.

The catholics had hoped that the religious persecution they had suffered under the previous monarch would abate, but that proved to be a false hope. They therefore plotted to kill the king and put his daughter, 9 year old Elizabeth, on the throne.

The plan was to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th during the State Opening, when the king would be present. Then they planned a revolt in the Midlands.

The plan was to plant explosives beneath the House of Lords. 

In charge of this was a man called Guy Fawkes. He had been a soldier in the Spanish Netherlands and had 10 years of experience fighting there, so he was deemed a good person to have charge of explosives.

On 26th October, an anonymous letter was sent to  William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, a Catholic member of Parliament. He reported this to the authorities.

On November 5th, a search was made of the cellars and GuyFawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder.

On learning that they plot had been discovered, the other 11 conspirators fled London, Some made a last stand, and only 8 were brought to justice. They were hanged, drawn and quartered.

For many years, the thwarting of the plot was celebrated by the ringing of bells, but nowadays in Britain, we hold firework displays and light bonfires on which we burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes.

For many years, I and others thought that Guy Fawkes had been burned at the stake. So we were told, anyway, but that wasn’t the case. He was hanged, drawn and quartered like the other conspirators.

So why the bonfires and burning of an effigy? Well, it’s all become mixed up with the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sowin). In the Celtic pagan times it was believed that the veil between the living and the dead became thin, as I’m sure you all know. It was the end of harvest and the start of the Celtic New Year. This was celebrated on November 1st, but as the Celts began their day at sunrise, in our calendar it is the night of October 31st. They extinguished their home fires, and lit a bonfire to scare away the evil spirits.

The Christian Church, naturally, didn’t like this and designated the 1st of November as All Hallows. However, the habits remained to pass to us as Halloween. 

But the bonfires weren’t part of that, so they got moved in the UK to November 5th and linked to the Gunpowder Plot. 

Why do we burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes? Well, I’ve not been able to definitely confirm it, but I’ve come across, in the past, the view that the Celts performed Human Sacrifice on this day and burned a person (alive or dead, I don’t know) to ensure the new crops would succeed and they would have a good harvest. This could easily have been transformed into the burning of an effigy of one of the conspirators.

One thing that does seem to have disappeared, though, is the ‘penny for the guy.’ Children, during the runup to Bonfire Night, used to make a ‘guy’ out of old clothes and go and sit on the street with it in order to raise money to buy fireworks. Passers by would drop money into a hat. I remember this happening since we’ve lived in our current house, where we moved in 2002, so it’s only recently stopped.

So, in my opinion, Bonfire Night is a mixture of Samhain and a celebration of the thwarting of a plot to kill the king. 

NB: In 1649, James 1 son, Charles 1, was executed at the end of the English Civil War, but it wasn’t the catholics who benefitted, but the puritans. So a king was killed after all.

Please leave any comments in the comments box.

announcement, book release, fantasy, novel, stories

Behind the Scenes of Horselords: Final Edits and Cover Design

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I received the edited copy of Horselords on Sunday. I’ve now sent the final copy back to my publisher. The next step is the formatting and cover.

This is the fourth of the prequels to my Wolves of Vimar series. This novella follows the story of Davrael and Kimi, telling how they met and the problems their love put them through.

So far, I’ve told of how Carthinal’s parents met (Jovinda and Noli), how Carthinal came to become a mage (The Making of a Mage), and the early life of Asphodel (Dreams of an Elf Maid).

Hopefully it won’t be too long now before I can share the cover with you.

Halloween, Holidays, Poetry

Celebrating Halloween with Poetic Fun

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Image by ApplesPC from Pixabay

As it’s Halloween today, I thought I’d write a little poem to celebrate it. We don’t do as much for Halloween in the U.K. as the people of the US do, but it’s beginning to creep in here. This year I’ve noticed a few people have decorated their houses.

Halloween

Witches gather their broomsticks
Putting on pointy hats.
Devils creep out from hell
As spiders build their webs.
Ghosts walk the streets
And skeletons leave their graves
Jack O’Lanterns grin
With fiery eyes that glow   

A cold wind blows the leaves
As we shiver in our homes.
The darkness seems to creep
Beneath the gap below the door.
Ghostly sounds are heard.
And the doorbell rings
We huddle together in fear.
What horrors await outside?

We creep towards the door
And open it with care.
The ghosts and skeletons jump
Towards us with a screech.
The witches cackle loudly,
Jack O’Lantern held up high.
Then come the words we know


Image by Nisse Andersson from Pixabay

This is a new poem, but if you enjoyed it and would like to read more. simply click on the image in the side bar.

Currently, Next Chapter, my publisher, has discounts for people who buy 2 or more books in a series from Google Play Store

  • 2 books: 20% discount
  • 3 books: 30% discount
  • 4 or more books: 40% discount

No coupon code is needed for these discounts: all customers who find Next Chapter books in the Google Play Store are able to use these discounts (as long as they buy 2 or more books in any one series at the same time).

Here’s a link to my One Poem a Day series if you are interested.

Click to buy.

Guest Post, history

Interview with Yecheilyah Ysrayl

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October is Black History Month and so I invited Yecheilyah Ysrayl to come on my blog.

I have been following Yecheilyah for a few years. She is a wonderful poet and a champion of Black writers, and Black people in general. She recently wrote a book about Black History and I thought it would be appropriate to have her tell us a bit about herself.

Welcome to my blog, Yecheilyah.

Apart from writing, what is the thing you enjoy doing the most?

Apart from writing, I enjoy traveling! Whether from state to state or country to country, there is something therapeutic about leaving the place of your origin to discover how people live in other parts of the world. Traveling even helps me to write.

Do you prefer the city or the country?

I prefer to live and settle in the countryside. I lived on over 40 acres of my husband’s elderly cousin’s land in Louisiana for five years and loved it. Even now, I live in a country-ish part of Georgia. Not entirely country, but country enough. The peace of birds singing and waking you up in the morning and the quiet of country living is also therapeutic. Nothing compares to the space to grow your garden and have animals roam your land. It reminds me of why my ancestors valued land ownership so much.

I do not prefer to live in the city, but I am a Chicago girl, born and raised, so I won’t act like I don’t still enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city. I still love the energy and how the city comes alive. In Atlanta, there is always something to do.

I agree. I much prefer the countryside.

If you weren’t a writer, what job would you do?

Before I dedicated my life entirely to writing and publishing (no 9-5), I was a certified Medical Assistant specializing in Phlebotomy so I would probably be doing that. I was also a teacher and enjoyed it more than the medical field, so I would definitely be somebody’s teacher somewhere. Even now I visit schools as an author-teacher on occasion.

That’s interesting. Teaching can be a most rewarding profession, whether at school or adult education. It’s great to see people growing as they learn.

I read your poetry book. I Am Soul and was greatly impressed by it. Why do you write poetry?

I write poetry because I think it’s the most honest language there is. (Yes, I said language.) There is something about it that makes people see beyond what they can see. And there is something about writing it that has always been a balm to my soul. I like to say that if you want to know someone’s heart, read their poems.

It’s very strange, but I’ve noticed that whenever I post a poem here it gets lots of views, but books of poetry don’t seem to sell. I suppose that poetry can influence people, just as other books we read, especially as children. The early books we read, I think, have a great influence on our reading later in life,

What is the first book you remember either reading or having read to you?

The first book I remember having read to me was the Bible by my mother. I don’t celebrate holidays today, but as a child, my mother would sit in front of us in a chair (we were in bed) during the Christmas holiday with this giant Bible that must have been passed down from generations because it was huge. My mother was always a small woman, so the book looked heavier than she was. Anyway, she would sit that thing in her lap and read it to us.

Wonderful memories, I’m sure.

If you could meet any 3 people, alive or dead, who would they be? Why?

If I could meet anyone, it would be my grandmother Margurite, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Malcolm X. I know that’s four, but I didn’t want to leave anyone out. I would like to meet my maternal grandmother because she died before I was born, and I carry her name as my middle name. I would like to ask her questions about my history to better understand my mother and myself. When asked questions like this, we often overlook our own family members, whom we might not have had a chance to meet, and the wisdom they could impart to us. As for the other three, I mostly want to meet them because I admire their oratory skills. I love hearing how they spoke and articulated their thoughts, beliefs, and philosophies on life. While I don’t agree with everything they stood for, they each had a powerful passion and never allowed anyone to change their mind. Their rebuttals to questions in interviews were just masterful. You weren’t going to trip them up. I would love to talk to them about how they did it and soak up their wisdom.

You are correct about asking questions about your history. We should all ask those questions and not wait until it’s too late. I would also like to meet the others. All great people.

Why do you write?

As noble as it might sound to start this with how I write for others, the most honest answer is that I first write because it is healing to my individual self. It is a way to organize thoughts and feelings I might not have the words to say out loud. I write as a healing agent for myself first. After that, I write to restore the forgotten heritage to the forgotten people, first to Black people and then to all nations. My passion is to reclaim those lost stories that hold the key to our freedoms and shine the light of truth on them.

That is a wonderful goal, Y

Indeed it is, Yecheilyal. I hope you succeed in your ambitions on this front.

A question I can’t answer, myself. Where do you get your ideas from?

I think people see writers as these magical people who snatch ideas from the sky. And not that we are not magical, but most of our ideas, or at least mine, come from just living life. From seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, the magic in the mundane. An idea can strike me as I am washing dishes or folding clothes. It can strike as I am traveling from place to place. It can also strike, and often does when I am reading and studying the work of others. I learn a lot from other writers, authors, and activists.

Are you a dog or a cat person?

I am definitely a dog person! Now, I grew up with cats, but after experiencing having a dog as a pet, I prefer dogs. Also, I don’t think my Missy (German Shepherd/Collie Mix) would appreciate me answering this question any other way.

I’m sure she would be annoyed if you did.

What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?

The biggest problem facing the world today is a lack of love. The love of the world has grown cold.

It has indeed. So much hatred around.

Thank you for coming and answering my questions, Yecheilyah. I would now like to mention your book on Black History. It is a wonderful book and it can be bought from Amazon. (Click on the link or the book cover below.)

Here’s a bit about it.

Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School is a historical guide on Black Americans’ accomplishments, contributions, and struggles. It includes the experiences of Black individuals who have often been marginalized, overlooked, or omitted from mainstream historical accounts.

From the resilience of women like Anna Douglass, first wife of Frederick Douglass, to the many Black communities that prospered, recognizing and celebrating Black history helps to ensure that these stories are acknowledged and that the achievements and resilience of Black people are valued and appreciated.

And a review.

Jeremy Lamkin

5.0 out of 5 stars

 Awakening to the skeletons in America’s closet

Reviewed in the United States on 6 March 2024

Verified Purchase

This book is full of the kind of history that should be taught in school, but instead is relatively unknown. The author did an outstanding job putting this material together, which took ten years and tons of research. It’s a must-read for anyone who’s into history.

The author focuses on people and groups who have been pivotal in black history. She gives a voice to the marginalized and makes us aware of the contributions of the family of historical figures like Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King Jr. Each chapter gets the dirt on whitewashed or forgotten pieces of history.

Read this book to learn about the aftermath of the Civil War and how slavery was reconstructed in the form of criminal justice. The book is compelling and hard to put down, as you discover a series of horrific truths about history.

This book contributed significantly to my view of American history, as it has put a lot of things in perspective. I see how slavery was reworked into other forms of slavery and evolved in complexity into the Bernaysian economic system based on Freud’s fear of human nature.

Reading this, a lot of lightbulbs went off for me. It dawned on me that nothing that ever happened is ever really over, like slavery and public relations. I can’t recommend this book enough!

Me again: I thoroughly recommend this book. So many important Black people have been ignored. This book highlights some of them and tells us how important they were.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Please add your thoughts in the comments box.

Poetry

Woodland Inspiration: A Free Verse Poem

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Rebecca Cunningham has challenged us to write a poem about a favourite place with alliteration.

It is to be free verse and no more than 50 words. So here’s my offering.

Woodland ways
Wend past flowers.
Winding paths walked
Without worry.
Wind whispers to willows
Waving branches.
White wood anemones 
Water at the heart of the wood
With wavelets kissing the shore.
Woodpecker, willow warbler
Wing through trees.
Wonderful. 

And here’s a link to Rebecca’s website so you can view the other poems.

Click here

book reviews, fantasy, novel

Review of Soul Taker by A.J.Alexander

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OVERVIEW 

This series is about the Archangels who make up the Council of Heaven. Each book is about how they find their consorts. 

A fun read and an interesting concept.

BLURB

After long years in the line of duty as a ‘Soul Taker’, Kate is worn out.

When she gets a new job offer from the ‘Powers Above’, she accepts her new job as a Guardian gratefully without knowing that her teacher is one of the most powerful beings in existence, the Archangel Raphael.

Along with Raphael, she takes on her new task and the connection between them grows.

Raphael helps, protects and supports Kate, but suddenly, she becomes a target for the Demons of Hell.

STORY

This book begins with Katie, an angel who is the Soul Taker of the title. She is tasked with helping souls to Heaven, or in some cases, Hell.

When we meet her, she’s been doing the job for hundreds of years and longs for a change. Then she is approached by two angels, one of whom is Raphael, an archangel.

Raphael realizes that Kate means more to him than he expected, which causes him to fight furiously against danger. If he fails, Kate’s future will contain eternal darkness, evil, and torture.

They ask her if she would like to become a Guardian Angel, and she readily agrees. This will mean training with Raphael.

Her training is not without some dangers, though. She catches the eye of Lucifer.

I won’t say any more except that she and Raphael fall in love. I don’t want to give away spoilers.

CHARACTERS 

The angels are wonderful. They have human feelings and temptations just like the rest of us.

Katie has her doubts about her feelings for Raphael, but even more about his feelings for her. She is a kind and loving angel (I nearly said person) who is ideally suited to being a Guardian. 

But she is also incredibly brave and strong under the most difficult circumstances. A truly likeable character who, after her initial awe at being with Archangels, the most powerful beings in the universe, begins to treat them normally.

Raphael is really cool. On their first meeting, he is dressed in cowboy clothes. I really like him. He has a sense of humour, and cares deeply for humanity, especially, of course, Katie, when he eventually recognises their love.

Lucifer is depicted as a smart, fashionable man. He can put on a certain charm when he wants to, but it hides his truly evil nature.

There are many other characters, of course, all of whom have their own characteristics.

WRITING.

I enjoyed Ms Alexander’s writing. She tells the story in a straightforward way that is easy to read, but keeps you wanting to know what happens next.

There were very few typos and the grammar was good. 

She described the angels well, and I could see them in my head quite clearly.

All in all, a good, light read.

I gave it 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.

nature, Poetry

National Poetry Day.

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Today is National Poetry Day in the UK. I. Its honour, I decided to add a poem as an extra post.

I wrote a poem for each day of the year, and thought that the one I wrote for October 3rd would be the obvious one. I hoped it would be one of the longer ones, but it’s a tanka. Still, I must go with it. It’s today’s poem, after all.

Created with AI

Stars

Clear the sky above

The moon has not yet risen

Many stars twinkle

The Milky Way curves above.

Infinity stretched on high.

This is from my One Poem a Day book, July to December.

Last year I wrote one poem each day. It was hard going. I can’t say I didn’t have the occasional lapse, but managed to make up in the next few days.

The poems are very varied. There are tanka and haiku, like this one, lyrical poems, limericks, some rhyming poetry (well, quite a lot, actually) and some non-rhyming. I think there’s something for everyone.

Why not give poetry a chance by reading one a day? Take a look at the books by clicking on the cover in the side bar.

Did you enjoy my tanka? What kind of poetry do you enjoy? Let me know in the comments.

history, novel

The Battle of Hastings: New Theories on the Site

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King Harold engaged in two battles in Northumbria. He was defeated in the first, but triumphed in the second, which occurred five days later, resulting in the deaths of the opposing leaders, his brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway.

Harold learned that Duke William of Normandy had embarked on an invasion of England to lay claim to the throne.

William’s landing occurred on September 28th near Pevensey, at a location now called Norman’s Bay. His initial plan was to invade in August, but due to unfavourable weather conditions, he postponed it until September.

On landing, William established his camp within the ancient Roman fortification at Pevensey, from where he marched towards Hastings, ten miles away. Once in Hastings, he built a wooden castle from pre-fabricated parts brought with him. (Was this the first flat-pack?) 🙂

Meanwhile, Harold became aware of William’s invasion fleet during his southward march. Although he had left part of his forces in the north, he gathered additional troops en route to London, where he paused to muster more soldiers. From London, he made his way towards the south coast.

Most believe that the encounter between Harold and William occurred not at Hastings, for which the battle is named, but at Senlac Hill, which is now the town of Battle. Nevertheless, I have come across recent claims suggesting an alternative location for the battlefield.

Archeological investigations at Battle Abbey, which is said to be built on the site of the battlefield, apparently show no indications of a battle taking place there. Medievalists.net cites a paper, “Heathfield Down: An Alternative Location for the Battlefield of Hastings, 1066,” by Rebecca Welshman and Simon Coleman. This paper suggests that the battle might have taken place at a place called Heathfield Down. (I also came across something that stated that this place is also known locally as Slaughter Common.)

Also, on Medievalists.net I read this:

“Welshman and Coleman also find importance in a passage from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (D text), which explains that “com him togenes æt þære haran apuldran, and Wyllelm him com ongean on unwær, ær þis folc gefylced wære.” (“[Harold] came against him [William] at the grey apple tree. And William came upon him by surprise before his people were marshalled”). They believe that the English forces would have gathered at this apple tree because it was a significant landmark. There was such a ‘hoar apple tree’ in Heathfield that served as a boundary marker.”

If you go on to read the article, you will find an interesting map to show how the coastline has changed since 1066, and a section on how the weather would have impacted the battle if it took place on Senlac Hill.

In my current WIP, Wrath of an Anglo Saxon, I haven’t bothered too much about the situation of the battle, but more about the battle itself and the aftermath. This battle had a huge impact on life in England and is considered the beginning of the feudal system, whereby there is a strict hierarchy with the king at the top. and the peasants, or villeins as they are sometimes called, at the bottom. (This is where we get our word ‘villain’ from, although now it had become perjorative in its use.)

Here is an extract from the work g. Please bear in mind that this is certainly not the finished version, but only the first draft.

Durstan has been knocked unconscious during the battle. When he regains consciousness, he makes his way to where the defeated Anglo Saxon troops have gathered. After being treated for a head wound, he sleeps.

Durston opened his eyes, only to close them again quickly. 

Who made the sun so bright?

Gradually, he tried a tiny sliver. Not too bad. He parted his eyelids a bit more until they were fully open.

He reached to his head and let his fingers probe his injury.

It hurt, but like a bruise. It didn’t feel as if anything inside was damaged. He struggled to his feet. A bit of dizziness, but the trees were standing still now. He glanced at the sky. Still quite early. 

He ambled towards where he met Earl Edwin yesterday. There was a lot of activity. A few more men had arrived, and as he watched, two more straggled in. Some of the men were seriously injured, and Earl Edwin ordered them to be carried to the healers. 

Durston approached the earl. “My Lord, I am much recovered. I would like to gather those of my followers who survive and join with any counter attack.”

Earl Edwin turned to him. “Ah! Theign Durston.” He turned to a tall dark-haired man standing next to him. “Theign Durston was injured in the battle. I sent him to the healers. A blow on the head, it seems.”

“Well met, Theign Durston. I am Earl Morcar.”

Two men rushed up to the two earls carrying a man between them. They set him on the ground and bowed to the earls.

One of them panted, hands on knees. “My Lords, we found the king’s body and brought it here.”

Earl Edwin glanced at the corpse on the ground before him. “This man is not dressed like the king. He is dressed as one of the ordinary fighters.”

“When we found him, sir, he was dressed as a king should be, with the crowned helmet.”

Earl Edwin glared at the two men. “Then where is it now? Have you stolen it? Is it hidden for you to collect later and sell to the Bastard?”

The second man looked stricken. “No, my Lord. We wouldn’t betray our country.” He turned to his companion. “Tell him, Cenric.”

“We was searching for any survivors, my Lord, when we saw the king. We knew him by his helmet, see. I’ve never seen the king, so that was how we knew it were him.” He coughed. “He were obviously dead, but we knew we should bring him back here.”

His friend nodded. “But there were a lot of the enemy looking for their survivors, so we thought,’What if they catch us wi’ the king?’ We spotted a body close by. Been shot with an arrow right through his eye, he had.” He shook his head. “Poor bastard. Must have been a painful way to go.”

Cenric continued. “We took his armour and clothes and swapped them with the king’s, so no one would know that the body we had was King Harold.”

Earl Edwin knelt next to the body. “He’s pretty cut up.” He peered into the face and looked up to Earl Morcar “It’s Harold, alright. I knew him quite well.” He turned to the two men. “Well done. You will be rewarded. Go and find some rest while we decide what to do with him.”

Durston staggered. His head still hurt and standing listening to the two men and the earls had made him dizzy.

Earl Edwin turned to him. “You need to go home, Durston. We’re planning a retaliation to take our country back, but I don’t think you are fit to join us.”

Durston’s heart sank. His stomach felt filled with lead. He wanted to fight; to help kill William the Bastard and to see young Edgar Aethling on the throne. His feet dragged as he made his way back to where the injured were being tended.

Plonking onto a log, he sank his head into his hands. 

Someone spoke. “Are you unwell, my Lord?”

He glanced through his fingers. It was Hrodgar, one of his loyal followers. He lowered his hands. “I’ve just been told I can’t help in resisting this takeover.”

“With all due respect, Lord Durston, I think the earls are correct. You were unconscious for a long time, I heard, and are still suffering the effects.”

Durston shook his head and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through his brain.  He sighed. “I suppose you are right. I would be a hindrance, not a help.”

Hrodgar went away and returned shortly with a flagon of ale. Durston drank gratefully and stood. The dizziness had gone. “How many of our men survived? Do you know?”

“Only about four or five, I think.”

Durston groaned. All those others dead. They had families, too. 

“Lord Durston.” A voice sounded through his thoughts. 

A young man approached. Durston has seen him with the earls.

“Earl Edwin wants to see you, my Lord.”

Durston followed the young man to where he had been talking to the earl.

“I have a job for you, Durston,” the earl said. “We must take the king’s body away from here. There’s no saying what those Norman’s would do with it if they found it.” He pulled at his beard. “Since you have been injured in the fighting, I would like you and a few of the less seriously injured, to take the king’s body to Waltham Abbey.  It was a place close to his heart. The king can be buried there with the correct ceremonies.”

Durston felt his heart sink once more. He was being sent away. Away from the defence of his homeland.

It will be a while before this book is published, but I’ll keep you informed as to its progress.

If you enjoyed this brief extract and would like to read more of my work, you can click on the book cover in the side bar to take you to the online retailer of your choice.

I wonder how correct the new ideas about the battle site are? What do you think?

book reviews, novel

Review of The Mystery at Folly’s End by Jaye Marie

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I don’t usually post two reviews in consecutive weeks, but this time I’m going to do so.

OVERVIEW

A well written mystery.

STORY

Charlie is surprised and shocked when her sister, Angie, rings her to ask for help. The two have been estranged for years after Angie married the love of Charlie’s life.

Angie says Tom is dead, and that she has lost all memory of the last few months. She can’t cope.

Against her better judgement, Charlie goes to help her sister, only to find chaos. There is no body and no money. What has happened to Tom?

Tom and his partner, Stuart, had been renovating a hotel, the Folly’s End of the title, so there should be money. But when a body is found in the cellar, everything turns upside down.

BLURB

Two estranged sisters, a dead husband, a mysterious hotel and a ghost?

Charlie’s sister Angela is not her favourite person after deliberately stealing the love of her life.

Years later, Angel’s husband dies mysteriously, leaving her with two children and no money. She begs her big sister to help her.

Can Charlie find it in her heart to forgive her sister, or will old feelings destroy any chance of a reunion?

Can they work together to solve their problems, or would that be asking for the impossible?

CHARACTERS

Jaye Marie has created a cast of wonderfully complex characters from the sensible Charlie to the unpredictable Angie.

We see Charlie’s growing confusion as the mystery of Tom’s disappearance escalates, and at her growing feelings for Stuart, Tom’s partner.

We watch Angie as her moods swing from anger, to sarcasm to happiness seemingly at random.

Angie has two young daughters who are confused and frightened by a situation they can’t understand.And Stuart, as well as Angie, is hiding secrets.

WRITING

I cannot fault the writing. Jaye Marie writes clearly and well. I found no typos, spelling or grammatical errors.The scenes are set well and I could easily visualise the hotel, although I would have liked a little more description of Bognor Regis and Angie’s home.

If there was a downside to this story it was that I guessed what was really going on fairly early. Also, we didn’t learn what exactly happened to Tom, Stuart, and Angie before the mystery, nor why.

I gave it 4*

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.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. HAVE YU READ ANY OTHER OF JAYE MARIE’S BOOKS?

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book reviews, novel, relationships, romance

Review of Devilfire Book 1 of American Hauntings by Simone Baudelaire

5 Comments

Overview.

This exciting paranormal romance is set in Texas in 1886. Quite a page turner. There is some explicit sex, but not too much. 

I am pleased to see that it is book 1. That means I can spend more time with these characters, and see how they continue their development, and if Gavin can come to terms with his own unacknowledged talent.

Although I don’t usually enjoy graphic sex scenes, there wasn’t too much in this book and it didn’t bother me. What I can’t stand is what seems to be a story simply to carry the sex scenes.

And I love the cover.

It is an excellent read.

Blurb

Texas, 1885

In the aftermath of a deadly fire, Dr. Gavin Morris, on hand to render aid to the few survivors, runs into someone he does not expect. Medium Annabelle Smith has arrived to help the dead cross over. Despite the grim work, the two find themselves immediately drawn to one another.

But this one chance encounter does not end their unexpected connection. Time and again, fate draws them to scenes of destruction, until they can no longer pretend that the fires are natural…and cannot deny that their connection also transcends the ordinary.

But Annabelle is not all she appears. One of her many secrets may be what saves them… or what ultimately leads to their deaths. Are Gavin and Annabelle doomed to burn with more than passion?

This western historical/paranormal contains strong religious themes and graphic sex scenes.

Story.

A mysterious fire breaks out in the southern states of the US destroying a complete village and killing most of the inhabitants.

Doctor Gavin Morris is trying his best to help the dying and injured when he meets Annabelle Smith. She appears to be speaking to the ghosts of the dead.

Gavin does not believe her, but she explains how she has been called here to help the dead on their way. She is emaciated and obviously poor, so Gavin feels sorry for her and wishes to help.

Not to give too much away, there are more inexplicable fires, and the pair decide to investigate. During their investigations they grow closer. 

They find themselves in a terrifying situation, being stalked by an entity far more frightening and dangerous than the ghosts.

Characters 

I liked the main characters. They had their struggles with both the paranormal and the romantic feelings developing between them. 

They developed nicely throughout the novel, with Gavin reluctantly accepting Annabelle’s work, and the fact of the ghosts.

Secondary characters were also well developed, including the ghosts, some of which had to be told they had died. They also kept their worldly characters, especially one rather unpleasant woman.

Writing

I thought that Ms Beaudelaire gave us a clear feeling of both time and place. I had a clear picture in my head of every setting, and believed in the characters.

No grammatical mistakes, nor typos.

I give this book 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.

Have you read any of Simone Baudelaire’s books? This is the first one I’ve read of hers, but will certainly be looking out for more.

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