Free Book Just for This Weekend

I told myself earlier this year that I would not make any more of my books free.  However, a friend of my cousin asked him whether I have any free books going at the moment, and I owe him a favour or two.  Therefore just for this weekend I have made ‘For the Sake of a Child‘ free, as this is the book the lady wanted to read.  Phillip, I think we’re all square now!

Ginny Ford is pleased to win the coveted job of housekeeper to the directors of PhizzFace Inc. However, her joy becomes tarnished by an accidental find whilst cleaning, leading her to suspect that all is not as it should be on the managerial corridor. Delving deeper, she is shocked to uncover corruption and a secret paedophile network that has remained hidden for years, involving the very people she has come to know and trust. Unable to live with her conscience any more, she decides that she cannot keep quiet and that she must find a way of helping all the children involved. However, by trying to help the children she discovers that she has unwittingly put her entire family at risk.

Review by Robbie Cheadle:

Ginny Ford is an ordinary and hard working woman. Her loyalties lie with her family comprising of her husband and young daughter. Ginny is a writer of children’s literature and supplements her income by working in the early hours of the morning as a cleaner at the offices of PhizzFace Inc.

When Ginny accepts a promotion, cleaning the offices of the directors of the company, she stumbles across information that involves her whole family in the sinister and desperate world of a ring of pedophiles. Ginny and her husband’s initial attempts to bring the information to the attention of the local authorities is thwarted by collusion and cover ups at high levels. The couple are faced with a situation where they have to chose between saving their family and taking a significant bribe or pursuing their attempts to incriminate the perpetrators. Their decision has far reaching consequences on the mental well being of them both, in particular, Ginny, who cannot get the harrowing scenes she has witnessed out of her mind. Ginny feels huge guilt and ultimately is led to making a different choice that puts her family at risk again.

I enjoyed this book and, while it did delve deeply into the dark side of pedophilia and the wickedness of those involved, it also highlighted the goodness of many people and their courage in tackling situations like this. It was vindicating to read about people who are willing to risk a lot to obtain their desired outcome.

 

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5th Halloween Poem Contest – 2nd Group Of Submitted Poems —

Thanks to Aurora Jean Alexander for publishing my Halloween poem that I submitted for her contest.

Writer's Treasure Chest

Picture courtesy of: http://preventioncdnndg.org/

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Pleaserespect each authors’ and poets’ copyright. The rights remain with the writers. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from each of the poems author’s is strictly prohibited and violates copyright laws in the country you are reading this work in as well as in the country you are trying to re-publish this work in. – Aurora Jean Alexander

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Halloween

by

Donna Matthews

goblins and ghouls shrieking all night
it’s halloween! the witches dance and sing
haunting humanity with terror and fright

vampire bats wake and take flight
tender young necks a delicious thing
goblins and ghouls shrieking all night

gravediggers shovel dirt; sneering with delight
human spare and found parts they fling
haunting humanity with terror and fright

the boogeyman tall, fearsome and might
terror and dread his shadow will bring
goblins and ghouls shrieking all night

zombies moan…

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BODY SHAMING || REAL ISSUES’ QUIP.

An interesting post from Suzan Khoja about body shaming. The older I get I realise it’s up to each individual to decide whether or not they’re happy with their body image, and if not, to do something about it. Nobody should try and control anybody else.

Magical BookLush

Have you heard of this word “body shaming“?Have you seen people go through it?? Do you know what it is? Or how it feels?? If you saw it happening, did you rescue them?? Do you know what it does to them?? Body shaming is such a great thing. It’s awesome, do you know why?

Because it ruins people’s lives. It tears them from the inside. It makes them hate their own body and in the end, breaks them down. If you are an awesome person that I probably think you are because you are giving my post so much time and are reading this right now, let me take you to a journey of body-shaming.

Love you all body-shamers out there. This blog is especially for you.

No welcomes as I said in my last post because welcoming the bitter truth into your life is difficult. So let’s…

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Friday Click & Run – 18th October

Yes, it’s Friday Click & Run time again….

You know what to do by now… just leave a link to whichever blog post you’d like to share this week.  You only need to read and comment on other blog posts if you want to – there are no mandatory rules here.  Live and let live, that’s my philosophy…

Please keep the blogs reasonably family friendly though.  If I see any nasties I will have to delete them!

 

Thanks to the 7 bloggers who left links last week.

Streets Ahead Street Team – Colleen Chesebro

This week on Streets  Ahead we’re promoting Colleen Chesebro’s fantasy novel ‘The Heart  Stone Chronicles – The Swamp  Fairy’:

Fourteen-year-old Abigale Forester, recently orphaned and a ward of the State of Illinois moves from Chicago to Florida to live with her aunt, her last living relative. Magnolia Forester becomes her legal Guardian, and together they claim an ancient inheritance; land that belonged to Abby’s mother’s family for generations.

Holding onto the only piece of her mother Abby has left, a calcite pendant and her mother’s most sacred possession, she discovers the truth of her legacy. The pendant is more significant than she could possibly imagine. Forged from a giant mystical heart-shaped stone found on the very swamp land Abby now owns, it holds the power of her ancestors.

But with that power comes greater responsibility, one that pits her against Rafe Cobb, a greedy land developer, who will stop at nothing to own Abby’s swamp land.

As Abby learns to be part of a family again and explores her love of horses with friends, Savanna, and Blake, the swamp slowly gives up some of its secrets. She is summoned by a primeval nymph, who teaches Abby that her true destiny is to protect the nymphs from evil in an ever-changing modern world.

Can Abby save the swamp and the Naiad Nymph Clan from certain destruction before it is too late?

Review:

The descriptive writing by Colleen M. Chesebro is lush and outstanding! A perfect book for tweens/teens and adult women who love the magical, whimsical, and entertaining. There is a good active pace and flow to the story with drama and mystery to peek the interest of all ages of readers.

Abigail Forester feels that life has dealt her a cruel blow, which it has. But even in her weaker moments, through tears, her strength shines brightly as she wrestles with unfinished messages from her mother, who has recently died when the story opens. Abby’s whole world is changing from the harsh, cold climate of Chicago to the heat and humidity of Pensacola, Florida. Her father is presumed dead as well from illegal, recreational drugs. Her mother’s friend, Maxine, cared for the young teen as long as she could while Abby’s mother was ill, but had to seek help through social services to have the child sent to her last remaining relative, her paternal Aunt Magnolia in Florida, a long, lonely bus ride. Abby meets a school teacher who tells her a little about the small, rural area she is going to, Blackberry Ridge, which is where both of Abby’s parents are from. The school teacher, Mr. Louviere, is blind with a seeing-eye dog, Sam. Abby had learned from her mother that they both have the ability to communicate with animals, birds, and insects. When a crisis arises at a bus stop, Sam and Abby can prevent a crime from happening, which could have left Mr. Louviere injured or even worse.

As Abby settles into her new life, she makes friends, gets to know her Aunt, and finds out about the swamp land that is hers, in the care of her Aunt until Abby reaches legal age. Problems arise as a local investor and construction company owned by millionaire, Rafe Cobb, who seems to stop at nothing to acquire Abby’s property. Abby also has her first experience with a fairy, Castalia, and finds out the importance of the land, her mother’s family, and her heritage. At the same time, Abby is having disturbing dreams about the swamp land.

All the elements are in place for a mysterious, magical story told in poetic prose with dramatic flair.

“Well done,” to Colleen M. Chesebro for an incredible first book. This kicks off a series of magical faeries and a new teen heroine, Abigail Forester, with her delightful Aunt Magnolia. This is a must-read, inspirational series for teens and the young at heart!

New Paranormal Anthology Out Soon!

Author Kaye Lynne Booth was kind enough to invite me to write a short story for the new paranormal anthology ‘Whispers of the Past‘ that she has compiled.  I chose to write a short story based on my novel ‘Partners in Time‘.

Kaye plans to publish the anthology just before Halloween.  You will be able to find out more details nearer the time on Kaye Lynne Booth’s Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Kaye-Lynne-Booth/e/B071791Y9W

Common Mistakes in Short Story Writing – Guest Post by Jaq D Hawkins…

Jaq D. Hawkins gives some good advice here for short story writers.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

I’ve recently been on the editorial team for a short story anthology, not for the first time, and have been noticing some common mistakes that can trip up an otherwise good story. If you’ve been submitting to anthologies or thinking about doing so, please take note of some of the recurring pitfalls that can cause editors to reject your submission, or if working with a close-knit group, might cause diplomatic nightmares between editors and writers.

First of all, don’t try to shove too much into the beginning paragraphs of a short story. Detailed description of a character, a ‘laundry list’ of exactly what they’re wearing and a headcount of a group of characters to accompany the protagonist on a quest are all ways to lose a reader before the plot begins to unfold.

Keep in mind that you’re not writing a novel. Even in novel writing, shoehorning too much information…

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Open Book Blog Hop – 14th October

Tags

writing

Hi all.  This is a scheduled post this week, as I’m currently away.  The topic today is:

What is your preferred method of writing? (by hand, on a computer, dictate it?)

I usually outline the plot in longhand in a notebook first, where I also add details about all the characters.  I find this helps if I become stuck with the story or can’t remember hair colour/eye colour etc, as I can then read my notes and know where to go next.

Once the plot has been put on paper, then it’s time to type each chapter up on the computer.  I have an 8.5 x 5.5 template that I type straight on to.  I used to type the story just in  Word, but now I use the template.  It saves on formatting bills.  I never used to be able to line up all the page numbers properly on Word, but with my magic template, anything is possible, lol!

Due to the kind of job I do, I can type faster than I can write in longhand, so the computer is my preferred method of writing every time.

What are other blog-hoppers’ preferred writing methods?  Click on the blue button below to find out, or simply add a comment or even your own blog post.

Rules:1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sunday Stills Photography Challenge – 13th October

Thanks to Terri Webster Schrandt for this week’s Sunday Stills Photography Challenge, where the topic is ‘Think Pink‘ (this post has been scheduled, by the way).

I thought I’d add a photo of my late mother Dot, which was taken back in May 2014.  I love the surprise on her face as she realises she’s the star of a surprise party for her 90th birthday.  She soon laughed out loud when she saw the mistake I hoped she wouldn’t see – a pink banner above the door to her community centre.  By the time I’d put it on the wall moments before, it was too late to change it.  I’d bought it all wrapped up, thinking it was for somebody aged 90!

Dear old Dot.  We didn’t always see eye to eye, but I miss her more than I ever thought I would.  I now wear the wedding ring she has on her finger, and somehow it makes me feel she is still around.

World Mental Health Day 2019

I know I’m a bit late, as we’ve had patchy Internet, but I’m re-blogging this for Clive. It’s not too late though to sign up for ‘Time to Change’.

On another note, at the moment I cannot access any of my emails. So please be patient if any of you are waiting for an answer from me. I don’t think I will be able to read any emails until I return home on Tuesday.

Take It Easy

Not that I needed the reminders, but my inbox has been receiving a steady flow of emails about World Mental Health Day (WMHD), which is marked each year on 10 October. This date is recognised by the World Health Organisation and the theme for the year is set by the World Federation for Mental Health. This year’s theme is suicide prevention.

Having had mental health problems myself – mostly depression and anxiety-related – I feel very lucky that I have never once had the remotest hint of a suicidal thought. Others are, sadly, far worse off than I in this respect, and I am pleased that this subject is receiving so much attention. For so long it has been one of those taboo subjects of which we dare not speak, choosing instead to brush it under the figurative carpet.

This week has seen the launch of the Every Mind Matters…

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