Tag Archives: writing

The Wolf Pack Characters

I’ve been having fun with Microsoft’s free image creator. Diana Wallace Peach posted some she made using it on her site, Myths of the Mirror. I thought I’d try to create something of the characters from Book 1. The Wolf Pack.

Here they are:

This is the half elf mage, Carthinal. He is an apprentice at the beginning of the book, just about to take the tests that will let him enter the ranks of mages. He is someone whom the ladies all go for. He has some feelings that he is inadequate, although he becomes the leader of Wolf, the name the group give to themselves.

The elf, Aspholessaria, known as Asphodel. She is a priestess of the goddess Sylissa, whose remit is life and healing. At the beginning she is a novice. She is strong-minded and will always follow her conscience, no matter what the consequences are to herself. That is the reason for her being sent from Bluehaven to Hambara where there is a stricter leader.

The dwarf, Basalt. Met on the road to Hambara. He has a somewhat grumpy exterior, but inside he is caring. He left his homeland when he was cheated out of his part of the family mine’s inheritance by his brother and wife. An excellent metalsmith, he can also carve wood.

Fero. He is a ranger from south of the Great Desert. He was turned out of his home when he refused to follow his father in his sandal-making business. A man of the outdoors and wild places, he cannot live for long in a city. His skin I would have liked to be a little darker, but not black. A bit like someone from India, or the middle east.

Davrael is the son of the chief of the Swooping Hawks tribe. He is a Horselord, and has lived all his life on the plains beyond the Western Mountains. He and his wife, Kimi, eloped when their parents refused to allow them to marry.

This is the nearest I could get to Davrael. His facial tattoo is actually a hawk with wings over his brows, head down his nose and talons on his cheeks, giving him a rather scary appearance.

Kimi is Davrael’s wife. They were married after they eloped. She is a settler, belonging to a group of erstwhile wandering Horselords who decided they could breed better horses if they didn’t wander.

She is a rather plain girl, tiny in stature with brown hair and eyes. Davrael calls her ‘Little Mouse’. She can’t get over how she has won the love of Davrael.

Randa is the only child of Rollo, Duke of Hambara, and heir to the duchy. She considers all beneath her except others of the nobility, and especially foreigners and other races. Hence there is tension in the group, especially since she thinks she is the natural leader and not Carthinal. She is an excellent horsewoman and is the only one who can ride and control her beautiful black stallion, Storm.

She decides to follow Carthinal and his friends when they leave Hambara to search for Sauvern’s Sword, which is prophesied to be needed soon to save the country.

Thad is a very young thief, around 15 years old, from the Warren, the poor quarter in Hambara. He met Carthinal when he stole a figurine from the mage. Carthinal managed to persuade him to get it back.

Thad followed the group because he felt he was in danger in the city.

This is the main cast of The Wolf Pack. I was reasonably pleased with the results, although they are all rather handsome. If I was disappointed in any, it would be Kimi as the picture is a little too pretty.

If you want to have a go, here’s a link. It’s great fun.

https://www.bing.com/images/create

If you would like to find out about the adventures of these people, click on the book cover, The Wolf Pack, in the side bar.

Review of Someone Close to Home by Alex Craigie

Blurb

Talented pianist Megan Youngblood has it all – fame, fortune and Gideon.

But Gideon isn’t good enough for Megan’s ambitious, manipulative mother, whose meddling has devastating repercussions for Megan and for those close to her.

Now, trapped inside her own body, she is unable to communicate her needs or fears as she faces institutional neglect in an inadequate care home.

And she faces Annie. Sadistic Annie who has reason to hate her. Damaged Annie who shouldn’t work with vulnerable people.

Just how far will Annie go?

‘Someone Close To Home’ is a story of love, malice and deadly menace.

Overview

This is a gripping book. I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I was anxious to return to it.

Story

Megan Youngblood is an only child in a disfunctional family. Her parents don’t get on and she spends much time looking forward to visits to her loving grandparents from both sides.

When one of her grandparents gives her a piano, she finds she has a talent, and devotes much time to music. Then her beloved grandparents die and she feels bereft. Crying at the end of her garden, she meets a sympathetic boy of her own age. They strike up a friendship.

Her mother is a snobbish and manipulative person who takes over Megan’s life, organising her appearances as a child prodigy, playing the piano at concert venues, around the country at first, then worldwide.

Her friendship with Gideon develops into love, but when a famous actor shows an interest in her, her mother begins her machinations once more.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks from Megan, who is in a care home after a severe stroke that leaves her unable to move or speak. 

Characters.

Megan is a young girl at the beginning of the book. She is eager to do what her mother wishes. Her friendship with Gideon helps her to overcome her timidity.

In spite of this, as soon as she sits in front of a piano, all her fears disappear. She becomes a famous concert pianist.

Throughout the book, she develops into a more confident person.

Gideon is a kind, likeable young man. I was rooting for him to win Megan’s love.

Megan’s mother is a snobbish, manipulating woman. Selfish on the extreme, she looks on Megan as a means to boost her own influence.

The staff at the care home vary from caring, efficient to downright cruel. One member of staff in particular, Annie, Megan particularly fears, but we don’t find out the reasons until near the end of the book.

There are other characters whom I don’t want to incude here as commenting on their character would be something of a spoiler.

Writing.

I cannot fault Ms Craigie’s writing. It is very readable and she immerses us in the scenes extremely well. I can visualise the places quite easily, like the yew tree outside the window in the care home that Megan spends much time watching. And all the screws, drawers, tiles etc. that she spends endless hours counting.

The novel is told in first person present throughout, with flashbacks as an immobile Megan remembers her past life. 

I think it might have been an idea to put the flashbacks in the past tense to distinguish them from the current time. It didn’t confuse me, but it would help to distinguish the two timeframes.

I give this novel 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.

Today Is Get a Different Name Day

I am taking this opportunity to tell you that my website has a new name.

Thanks to Google and Yahoo, who have decided that domains must be paid for, verified and authenticated, or emails might go into spam, I’ve had to purchase a domain from WordPress.

Authenticating it is another problem, that I’ll not go into here!

Anyway, my new name is:

Aspholessaria.co.uk

Chance to Get a Book by One of My Recommended Authors for Nothing!

If you like dystopian novels, then the Echo books are for you.

Warning, though. They do contain violence and swearing.

But hurry. Today is the last day of the sale.

Sorry npt to let you know earlier but I forgot to hit ‘publish’.

Pay Someone a Compliment Day and 20 of My Favourite Authors

Today is Pay Someone a Compliment Day, so I decided to write a post about some of my favourite authors.

But first, I would like all my subscribers to know that I greatly appreciate your reading of my blog. And those of you who comment are super folk. I love interacting with you all.

Here are 20 authors. Actually, my favourite author is often the one I’ve just finished and enjoyed reading, but these are all to be recommended.

There are a couple I feel I should add, but hey-ho! I’ve limited myself to 20.

Now to the list of authors. This is not in any order, so if you find your name there, near the top or bottom, it doesn’t mean you are my favourite or least favourite.

Mary Deal         Suspense/Thrillers; Romance

David Kummer       Horror, although my favourite to date is not horror.

Sean Robbins        Scifi

Debbie Manber Kupfer    Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal.

D Wallace Peach       Fantasy

Randall Krzak        Thriller and Crime

Kent Wayne         Dystopian scifi

Brian L Porter.        Mystery and tales of his rescue dogs.

Cynthia Morgan        Dystopian fantasy and Young Adult

Robert Scanlon        Space Opera

Nicholas C Rossis       Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction

Robert Jordan         Fantasy

Frank Herbert         Scifi

Brandon Sanderson      Fantasy

Emily Bronte         Not sure where this one goes. It’s not romance in the conventional way.

C.J. Sansom          Historical

J.K.Rowling          Fantasy

Anne Bronte          Not quite sure where I’d place her work.

Georgette Heyer        Historical

Terry Pratchett         Comic fantasy.

There are others I’d love to add, but my limit is 20. Maybe I’ll do another post sometime and add these others.

Have you read any of these authors? Do you agree with my list. or are there those on it you would not have on yours? I’m sure there are.

Please let us know in the comments.

Please May I have Your Help

Vengeance of a Slave has now made it through to the last 50 in All Author Cover of the Month. It’s currently at Number 29.

In order to get higher, it needs lots more votes, so please will you pop over to All Author and vote?

In order to vote, you will need to sign up for the site, but you can unsubscribe afterwards, or maybe you would like to stay there and find loads of new books and authors.

It needs a huge push by my friends and followers in order to get to the top. The book currently at the top is one that I dislike the cover of, but I suspect the author has a load more people to call on than I have.

Still, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Here’s the link to the site.

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/

Happy New Year, and some news

I have just submitted the second part of my poetry anthology, One Poem a Day. This one goes from July to December.

Book 1, January to June was released just before Christmas.

My daughter had a book when she was very little which comprised one story of poem to read every day of the year. It was great as each poem or story was short, and at bedtime we could say, “That’s the end of today’s story.” No arguments about going to sleep.

I thought how nice it would be if an adult could have something similar. One poem to read each day for a year. So I set about, December 2022, to writing one poem every day. At times I thought I’d never do it, but eventually, I succeeded.

I decided to release the book in two halves so that people could begin to read on January 1st. Book 1 came out just before Christmas and has received a glowing review already.

Here is the review from Amazon.

Sashadoo

VINE VOICE

5.0 out of 5 stars 

Clever and unusual, a unique blend of poetic styles

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2023

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique collection of poetry from V M Sang. I say unique because it’s rare to find such an eclective collection of different styles, forms and subjects in one one book, all by the same author. From Haiku to full length poetic pieces, covering a wide range of topics from the weather to personal feelings and the rare beauty found in the more mundane, everyday events in the poet’s life. Definitely something for everyone and I have no hesitation in recommending the book and giving it a 5 star review.

If you are interested in my poetry, you can buy by clicking here when you will be able to buy from your favourite store.

Acceptance in cover of the month competition.

Happy New Year to everyone.

I’m afraid this is something of a begging post.

The cover of Vengeance of a Slave has been accepted in All Authors’ cover of the month contest. The first round runs until 7th January when the top 100 will go on to the next round. It’s by votes, so please would you pop over and vote for it.You can get to the voting page by clicking

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/17022/

Thanks in advance, and wish me luck.

Review of Sophie and Candy by Brian L Porter

Blurb

Before Brian L. Porter met his wife Juliet, and they embarked on their lives as dog rescuers, he adopted two beautiful dachshunds who shared his life as his constant companions.

This is their story. SOPHIE AND CANDY – A TALE OF TWO DACHSHUNDS tells how their lives had such an impact on the author that he discovered how the love of dogs can teach us, as human beings, to love and be loved, unconditionally.

There’s laughter and tears, love and loss in this story. Taking the reader back in time almost thirty years to a previous period in Brian’s life, it’s a fascinating and beautifully illustrated insight into the beginning of a life devoted to the love of dogs. Sophie and Candy were two very special dachshunds who left Brian with a lasting legacy of love.

My Review

Sophie and Candy by Brian L Porter is book 10 of Mr Porter’s tales of the dogs he and his wife, Juliette have rescued. In some ways it should really be the first as Sophie and Candy were the dogs that kick started the Porters into their dog rescuing.

It is a lovely, heart-warming story of the love between a human family and two very special little dogs.

It all started when, as often happens, Mr Porter’s son asked for a dog. They found these little beauties whose current owner could no longer look after them and didn’t want them split up.

The dogs helped Mr Porter through a variety of life traumas, including the death of his mother, whom the dogs loved as much as she loved them.

The book contains many lovely photographs as well as the beautiful story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Well worth spending a few hours reading. It is an easy read.

Only one criticism. There are a number of word repetitions in close proximity, but that is no major problem.

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 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.

Released at last

The first part of One Poem a Day has now been released. It would make an amazing Christmas present for someone.

Take a lyrical journey through the first half of the year with V.M. Sang’s FROM JANUARY TO JUNE.

This anthology captures the essence of everyday life, nature, and the world around us through the versatile medium of poetry.  From haiku to narrative poems, and the humor found in limericks, From January To June is a diverse collection of poetry.

A calendar in creativity, a diary in verse; this collection is the perfect companion for daily reflection and inspiration, providing a poem for each day that resonates with the diverse experiences of life.

You can get your copy by clicking on the book cover in the sidebar or clicking the button below.

Watch out for the next volume, From July to December, which I hope will be released early next year.

Do you enjoy reading poetry? Let us know in the comments box.