Well, my two-legged finally got up something she calls a feeder. What’s more, she hung it right outside the window where my cat tree is positioned. She said it will amuse me. Really? It doesn’t take much to amuse me. I like paper balls, tin foil balls and anything I find on the floor. Batting them around is fun and afterward, I have to take a nap. In between, I crawl up on the chair with my two-legged and stand on the computer keys, just to annoy her, and wave my tail back and forth to hide the screen. She never yells, but she can scold. This morning I was relaxing on the top shelf of my tree, when I saw all sorts of things flitting around in the tree outside my window. Then they sat on the feeder. I think they’re eating. Last night something a lot bigger and with a tail almost as fluffy as mine, was running around under the tree and looking longingly at the feeder. I wonder what that was… The barrier blocking my way upstairs is gone, but I haven’t dared go up there yet. Maybe I won’t. Who knows what’s up there? For some reason, she likes to take pictures of me. This one I like because of the sparkly eyes. She told me she couldn’t figure out how to fix it, but I like it. Anyway, I do love my two legged. This morning I gave her a nose on nose to tell her how much. 0 0
I was completely mesmerized by Kerry Donovan’s first book in the Ryan Kaine series. It left me panting with the exertion of reading it, so of course I had to read the sequel. I hope this is a long series. Ryan Kaine on the Rocks was slower paced (but only slightly) from the first book and is a more than worthy continuation, since it picks up where the first left off. Martin Princeton is trapped on a ledge halfway down a cliff in the wilds of Scotland. He is severely injured, bleeding and, without a heavy jacket, freezing to death. He is preparing himself to die. He was there because he had to get away from the mourning for his brother, who was killed in a plane crash. A crash that had been orchestrated by Ryan Kaine. When news of Martin’s disappearance reaches Kaine, he abandons the effort to clear his name and instead, in an act of contrition, heads to the Highlands to find Martin. Still hampered by injuries from his previous confrontation with the people behind the crash, and with an unofficial bounty on his head, Kaine goes to the site of the rescue organization and manages to convince the rescue team of his good intentions without alerting them to his identity. He must first find out everything about Martin’s route in the mountains and the people who were with him, treading a fine line to keep himself anonymous. What he brings with him is an intimate knowledge of the area, mountaineering skills, and special forces training, which allows him to strike out on his own to find Martin. Kerry Donovan is in his element. He clearly knows the Highlands and its people and has an intimate knowledge of mountain climbing and rescue. His descriptions of the area are compelling – I could feel the wind and the rain – but the author never loses sight of the plot and shoves the story forward at an exhilarating pace. You are never unaware that the clock is ticking, both for the boy and for Kaine, who has to keep his butt out of jail while engaged in the search. Once again, his characters are fun, even the really bad ones. The clashes between the locals and the English armed response team which arrives to take over the search are both humorous and confrontational. How could you not like a villain named William (Buffalo Bill) Cody? Donovan writes good, tight dialogue for these characters, spartan almost, but smooth. This is escapism at its best, and once again, my only minor complaint is that at his age, Kaine is nearly superhuman in his strength and ability to endure pain. I will admit I got slightly lost in the descriptions of the mountaineering and climbing gear, but I’m sure aficionados of this sport will have no complaints. So, I’m again looking forward to the next Kaine outing, and I rate this book up there with the best in its genre. What a fun, breathless read! About the author Kerry J Donovan was born in Dublin. Kerry earned a first class honours degree in Human Biology, and has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences. A former scientific advisor to The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, he helped UK emergency first-responders prepare for chemical attacks in the wake of 9/11. This background adds a scientific edge to his writing. He is also a former furniture designer/maker. He is the author of a sci-fi/thriller, The Transition of Johnny Swift, which reached #1 on the Amazon Bestsellers List in December 2014. A citizen of the world, he now lives in the heart of rural Brittany with his wonderful and patient wife, Jan. They have three children and four grandchildren (so far), all of whom live in England. An absentee granddad, Kerry is hugely grateful for the development of video calling. You can find Kerry Donovan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KerryJDonovan His blog at: http://kerryjdonovan.com/blog And on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/KerryJDonovan His books are on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Kerry+J+Donovan 0 0
The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter – A Victorian Romance – is a tender and sweet romance novel. It is not the first by this author, who has clearly developed her style. Romance is not a genre I truly appreciate, but the historical aspect appealed, and I was not disappointed. Tristan Sinclair, Viscount St. Ashton, is wallowing in melancholy and decides to attend a Christmas house party in wilds of Yorkshire, hosted by woman renowned for her orgiastic feasts. He has admitted to himself that after years of debauchery and spending, he has hit rock bottom. What does he have to lose? On his way there, he is distracted by the sobbing of a woman in the woods and discovers Valentine March, a prim and upright vicar’s daughter who has come on hard times. With the death of her father, she has had to find employment and is currently at the lady’s companion to Lady Brightwell, an old crone with a vicious temper and pension for abusing and discarding companions. Tristan discovers he has fallen in love with Valentine at first sight, and she is initially attracted to him – until she learns that he is a most infamous rake. Tristan pursues her with charm, wit and warmth, and not surprisingly, she eventually surrenders. But theirs is a doomed relationship, a scandalous liaison in a house of poor repute between a wealthy lord with a repugnant reputation and a woman not only from a poor background, but also born on the other side of the blanket. Her mother was pregnant with another man’s child when the vicar, out of the kindness of his heart, married her. There is more to Valentine’s background than meets the eye, and it is not clear whether their fragile romance will survive the continuing revelations of their true characters and the outside pressures brought to bear by virtually everyone around them. This is truly a romance in every sense of the genre. The characters are colorfully fleshed out, the dialogue is believable and witty. Ms. Matthews has created a real and colorful Victorian world from her studies of 18th century style, fashion and history. The historical detail is just enough to set the scene but does not overwhelm. I was not surprised to find the typical romantic themes permeating the story. Even with my limited (but growing) background in romance literature, I find they are over-used, and their predictability of outcome can create a sense of ennui. However, this author has managed to infuse a freshness in these tropes and manages to keep the story moving at a good pace, so the reader wants to keep turning pages. I am certain fans of this genre will find The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter a satisfying read. About the author: Mimi Matthews is the author of The Pug Who Bit Napoleon: Animal Tales of the 18th and 19th Centuries (Pen & Sword Books, November 2017) and A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Fashion and Beauty (Pen & Sword Books, July 2018). Her articles on nineteenth century history have been published on various academic and history sites, including the Victorian Web and the Journal of Victorian Culture, and are also syndicated weekly at BUST Magazine. When not writing historical non-fiction, Mimi authors exquisitely proper Victorian romance novels with dark, brooding heroes and intelligent, pragmatic heroines. Her debut Victorian romance The Lost Letter was released in September 2017. You can find Mimi Matthews On twitter: @MimiMatthewsEsq At her website: https://www.mimimatthews.com/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MimiMatthewsAuthor And on her blog: https://www.mimimatthews.com/blog/ The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mimi-Matthews/e/B0719WDHBW 0 0
This is Nikki Crutchley’s first book, and for an initial outing, it’s pretty darned good. The story: A young tourist disappears from Castle Bay, a small tourist town on the east coast of North Island of New Zealand. When her mangled and mauled body is discovered, news crews and journalists descend on the town. Among them is Miller Hatcher, a young magazine writer battling alcoholism, who is sent there by her editor with the promise of a huge splash in the magazine if she can assemble a strong story for the next month’s edition. Leading the investigation in Castle Bay is Sgt. Kahu Parata, a Maori and twenty-year member of the local constabulary, at least Detective Nicholson and a team of four arrive. Nicholson pushes Parata aside, leaving him to the day to day running of the station and the odious task of informing the victim’s parents. But Nicholson doesn’t know the town like Parata does. Castle Bay has some dark and well concealed history, but everyone believes nothing bad ever happens there. Miller finds the only housing available at a wellness retreat a few minutes out of town. It is recommended to her by the wife of the head of the Town Council who herself is going there for a few days’ respite. The wellness center is populated by a small group of women experiencing a variety of crises, and has a threatening caretaker who has found needed isolation there after losing his family. A visitor at the wellness center disappeared from there many years previously, but she was never found and the town’s residents still believes Castle Bay is safe and welcoming. *** There are several threads to this mystery, which the author unravels deliberately and with excruciating tension, before wrapping them together tidily in a completely unexpected ending. There are also a couple of ‘gotcha’ moments that gave me a chill. The pacing of the story is excellent and keeps you turning pages (or swiping your Kindle, as the case may be). But the best part of the book are the characters, whom Ms. Crutchley details in such precision that you can easily see them in your mind’s eye. What I particularly liked was that each of them had flaws – their imperfections made them three dimensional and human. Of the two characters from whose point of view the mystery is seen, I found myself liking Parada, who, while caring for a gentle wife with an undisclosed but serious illness, mourns the fact they’ve been unable to have children. Miller is less likeable – her need for alcohol interferes with her investigative journalism and causes her to pull her hairs out one by one in disgusting detail. Nevertheless, she is largely fearless and determined to follow events wherever they lead, even when one of the women at the wellness center subsequently disappears. The town itself – in an exotic locale for those of us not from that part of the world – becomes a character, full of interesting detail, and darkly looming, surrounded by jungle. As Miller investigates the trails leading into the jungle, the black cloud of evil that seems ever-present for most of the book is cloying, palpable, and ominous. This is a satisfying read and I recommend it – a great first book for this author. A quote to tempt you: “She looked away from his face and took in the clear spring night, full of stars. Her last thoughts were of her mother. Would she finally care, when one day they found her body, and a policeman came knocking at her door?” About the Author: After seven years of working as a librarian in New Zealand and overseas, Nikki now works as a freelance proofreader and copy editor. She lives in the small Waikato town of Cambridge in New Zealand with her husband and two girls. Nikki has been writing on and off her whole life and recently has had success in flash fiction. She has been published in Flash Frontier, Flash Fiction Magazine and Mayhem Literary Journal. Crime/thriller/mystery novels are her passion. Nothing Bad Happens Here is her first novel (but hopefully not her last), set on the Coromanadel Coast of New Zealand. You can find the author On twitter: @NikkiCAuthor On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.crutchley.3 At her website: https://www.nikkicrutchley.com/ And Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Nothing-Happens-Here-Nikki-Crutchley-ebook/dp/B074V4HTSL 0 0
Garfield here. This is my first post. I’ve been watching my two-legged type on this thing – actually I like to sit on it while she tries to work around my glorious orange fluff. I had a tough day last week. There I was, sitting calmly on the floor when she swooped me up and put me in a box with a door with bars. Honestly, she could have warned me. Then she took me out the door into a really dark, cold morning. I’d been looking forward to getting a breakfast treat and instead I got that! After a while of bumping around going somewhere, we ended up at a place called ‘The Vet’s,’ where I met Dr. Anderson. I was treated with indignity when they weighed me and retreated into the box when I was brought back. Dr. A. pulled me out and proceeded to feel me all over – actually that was quite nice and I purred for her. She inspected my teeth and gave me a pill for my runny nose and something cold in my eye, which was also running. Then I came back to what my two-legged likes to call ‘home.’ I do like it here. I get treats and tons of petting, so much nicer than the shelter, and I have a cat tree and a post where I can exercise my claws. I like to look out the window from the top of the tree and I especially like to chase yarn. What I don’t like is getting pills, at least until they were broken up and put in some salmon. I don’t know why that stopped this week. At any rate, I’ll let you know what’s happening from time to time. This week, they took down the barriers to the rest of the house and I had fun exploring and running as fast as I could from one end of the house to the other. I can skid into the family room, turn around and slide to the other end of the hallway. Why does my two-legged laugh? 0 0
My heartfelt thanks to all of you who offered me comfort last week. I truly appreciate it and it meant the world to me. Larry’s service was one of laughter and tears. I think he would have looked at all of us sniffling, crying and smiling and uttered on of his favorite lines: “What? Are you nuts?” 0 0
I won’t be answering posts for a while – more rain has fallen in my life. A dear person who was my mentor and advisor and friend died last night. Larry Gilbert was one of the sharpest scientific minds I’ve ever known and being a post doc in his lab and later a colleague at the university was the best training I could have had. He helped me maneuver the straits and storms of my academic career. Larry also had an infinite capacity for love. He willingly took on the role of my father when Dad died many years ago, and was my and my family’s unwavering support through many hard times. Larry loved my son and let him know how proud he was of him when he joined the military. Larry served with distinction as a communications officer on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WWII. I’m so grateful Patrick visited with him before he deployed last month. He often called Larry his grandfather. Larry leaves behind three children, a passel of grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren, plus a huge population of former students,post-docs, and friends. He lived a long and remarkable life and was one in a million. It is my honor to have known him. This is a poor tribute, but tears are getting in the way. 0 0
As most of you know, my beloved cat Elijah Moon died about five weeks ago. The hole in my heart was huge, and I’ve recently read that people who lose animals they had for a long time develop symptoms of heart failure from the grief. My heart wasn’t failing, but it sure felt like it. I knew the only cure was to get another cat. For several weeks, I scanned the roster of cats at no-kill shelters and the local animal shelter, finding two cats I thought I might like. Then one day, an orange face popped up – a five month-old kitten named Garfield at our local shelter. I thought maybe this was a sign because we had often called Elijah Moon Garfield. A week ago last Saturday, we went to the shelter. We hadn’t even brought a kitty carrier, but after meeting him, we (mainly mostly I) decided to take him. We filled out a few forms, paid a reduced rate for the adoption (since we are ‘seniors’), bought a cardboard carrier and went home, Garfield in tow. The shelter had had him neutered, chipped, provided all his shots, and box trained him. So he was ready. It turns out we have a very timid cat, not surprising because he was born in the shelter and had lived only in a crate with a glass window or the adoption room. When we let him out of the carrier, he immediately went and hid under a chest, sprinting under our recliner when we attempted to get him out. I immediately got on line and read about dealing with timid cats, and for the next several days basically talked to him, played with him on the floor when he emerged, and discovered that if you picked him up and put him in your lap, he purred outrageously. He’ll stay in your lap for hours for cuddles Over the past week, he has become bolder, opting to retreat to either the domed, wicker house that was Elijah’s, a small, round, carpet covered house, or lately the tunnel that is half way up his cat tree. He’s explored our family room, discovered his toys, learned what the scratching post is for, and likes to play – something I’ll bet he didn’t do much at the shelter except with other kittens. We still have him confined to the family room and kitchen because our house is large with too many places he could hide. Every day is a new discovery and we have enjoyed watching him slowly come out of his shell. He’s more than halfway through the socialization period for cats, so we got him just in time. So here is the cat who has taken up another part of my heart: Garfield the Magnificent (we call him the Magnificent because he has a huge, long fluffy tail and a ruff around his neck…part Maine coon?) I am still mourning Elijah, and when I feel up to it, will write something about my wonderful cat. 0 0
This is one eclectic group. There’s someone and something for everybody here! Daniela Goja or @DG at https://danielagoja.wordpress.com writes and models fashion, lifestyle, and beauty against magnificent Italian backdrops. Check out her blog! Nitin at https://fightingthedyinglight.wordpress.com/ writes free form poetry and wonderful sonnets! Richard Klu from western Michigan at https://richardklu.com He’s had a variety of jobs, currently owns his own business, and on his blog he shares stories and what he’s learned to better help other writers and to keep himself motivated. He primarily writes cosmic horror, similar to the style of HP Lovecraft. Nevada is young and home-schooled and blogs at https://nevadaseducationjourney.wordpress.com She writes about Vikings and Saxons and knights and medieval history – guess what she likes! She even wrote a letter to Suetonius about Boudicca, the Warrior Queen. What a great imagination! https://feedbackanimationfestival.com is a really unique site where screenwriters can send in their features, TV or short screenplays for animation and get them performed at a writing festival or read in a video by professional actors, for a really minimal fee ($35 was what I saw). You also get full feedback from professionals. Makes me want to do a screenplay. https://helpu4.wordpress.com is a website is to help people get the best products out there from all other trash products. The authors will you find out the best and the newest trends in clothes, electronics and shoes. Did I mention this site is for men? Melanie Noell Bernard at https://mnbernardbooks.wordpress.com. She almost has my name! Melanie is a graduate student and an aspiring novelist from Michigan, who writes young adult science fiction novels and horror short stories. She does book reviews and book discussions but also writes about FOOD. Teodora Manić is 17 years old and blogs at https://mteodoraa.wordpress.com. She writes inspirational posts and short messages and has a ton of followers! Felicity at https://flourandflavour.wordpress.com blogs about food (with recipes), travel and her own adventures. The food makes you want to eat the page! C.E. Hall at https://flourandflavour.wordpress.com is a freelance content writer. She blogs about family, women and children, and issues of interest to everyone. Be Blogger at https://lisalennonofficialblog.wordpress.com is a pro-freelance writer and blogger with a passion to create original content, who develops web content and writes for online and offline magazines. His is a family, life, and self-improvement blog, where he exchanges thoughts and views with his readers on issues related to life’s problems and jubilation. And last: https://howtosinglemom.blog/ who writes about picking up after a divorce, bumps in the road and being a perfect and imperfect single mother. 0 0
Sally Cronin at recently put up a post asking about bucket lists. I’ve had one since I retired. I don’t think of a bucket list as something to do before dying, but something about living and having fun doing it. For that reason, I’ve been expanding mine, so let me know what you think. Write and publish a book. I did that and am now on my fourth book. (Hint: it’s called Death in a Mudflat and will be out in early 2018) Go skydiving. I’ve done that, too. Here’s the link to my post on that adventure! I might have to do it again. The adrenalin rush was unbelievable and left me feeling on top of the world for several days. https://saylingaway.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/i-went-skydiving/ 3. Shark dive in a cage off the Fallaron Islands near San Francisco. I can combine 3 and 4 that way. These dives specialize in Great Whites which like that area. Zip line. I’ve never tried it but everyone says it’s exhilarating. I just have to find a nice long one. Any suggestions? Another ride in a hot air balloon. I took one with my family over the Masai Mara in Kenya during the annual animal migration many years ago, and it was quite spectacular — especially when the heater was turned off and all you could hear was the swish, swish of the gnus pushing their way through the grass. Finish the historical novel I’ve begun, called The Oldest Pilgrim. It will detail the life of Mary Allerton Cushman, the oldest survivor of the Mayflower journey to Plymouth. This is a hard write, with tons of research, and I get distracted with ideas for more adventures of Rhe Brewster. Become a grandmother (not up to me, however)! Do more traveling. Next June we will be exploring Iceland, but Ireland, Greece, Tuscany, and Russia are on this list. If it weren’t such an arduous trip to Asia, I’d have China and India in there, too.This is Iceland from Trip Advisor. Learn a language enough to be fluent. Maybe Spanish, since I took that in high school and college and if I’m lucky, something will come back to me! What do you think? Am I nuts? 0 0
