solo traveller
striding through life’s long journey
youthful confidence
casts trepidation aside
to reach the ultimate goal
he seizes the day
glorying in his triumph
all demons vanquished
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Image credit: Suliman Sallehi @ Pexels
The image shows a person standing on top of a rock, his feet straddling two projections. In the background, you can see the skyline and down below some houses.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #117 photo prompt
Wonderful writer, reader and reviewer, Diana of Myths of the Mirror blog has thrown down her velvet gauntlet for a fun writing challenge. Here’s what she says: “I don’t know anyone who owns a Kindle (or other ebook reader) and isn’t buried in books. We groan as we add more to the stack… then laugh about it and buy more! That’s my situation anyway.”
That’s my situation too!
Here are the details of Diana’s challenge – The Teetering TBR Pile – the challenge is open until 23 January if you’d like to join in too.
This is my response:
Ode to My Kindle
Kindle, my Kindle, how do you compare
to those wretched stacks of curling pages
whose covers dim in daylight’s brightness
spines rendered unreadable by old age?
Shelves piled high with neither rhyme nor reason
unruly stacks wobbling and tottering
set to tumble in thunderous cascades
engulfing unwary readers in words.
Kindle, my Kindle, how long has it been
since first we browsed those virtual bookshelves
hovering o’er Amazon’s icons bright
daring downloads at the click of a key?
Far have we travelled by land, air and sea
since I first loaded a heap of beach reads
oh, my Kindle, faithful companion
never rejecting yet another book.
~~~~~~~~
While you’re here, fellow overstuffed e-readers, can I just tempt you to just one more teensy-weensy book? The book birthday freebie offer I was running has finished, but you can download Song of the Sea Goddess for a snip: USA ~ UK ~ IND ~ AUS ~ CAN ~ ESP ~ South Africa and the Rest of the World
It’s a Happy 1st Book Birthday to the Song of the Sea Goddess this Saturday!
I’m celebrating the day with a book signing at Bookworms Fantasy
the fabulous independent bookstore in my home town
but for the rest of you far-flung folk, I’m celebrating in a different way.
The ebook is free to download right now and for the rest of this weekend. Offer ends Monday 17 January at 11.59 PST.
Read it in advance of the sequel
Spirit of the Shell Man
coming soon!
The True Owl-King beckoned his rescuers to follow; he flung open the front doors so forcefully that they hit the pink palace walls with a crash, causing the creatures on the emerald lawn to flap and fluster in a flurry of fluorescent wings.
The Owl-King’s gentle brown eyes found Florigia’s and he inclined his head, his gaze fell upon Lobelia and he grinned, then stepping onto the lawn, he prodded the glaucous insulation that encased the fallen Captain Stinger with a wary wingtip.
‘Your crafty and clever charms saved us all, elegant ladies,’ he beamed; he opened his wings to encompass the entire company: ‘let there be feasting and fun, let there be singing and stories,’ he swung around to face the palace doors where a collection of pastel-uniformed retainers had appeared, ‘bring honey cakes and nectar juice!’
‘I still don’t understand,’ mumbled Mr Eyre through a mouthful of cake as Bryony tilted the travelling-bracelet against the inside case of his pocket-watch; its message now read: Prophesy fulfilled, time’s up!
Greta squeezed Bethany’s shoulder: ‘you were the golden-haired child after all.’
The bracelet started to vibrate; pocketing his watch, Mr Eyre hastily grabbed the girls’ hands; moments later they vanished.
This concludes our little tale. I think we can safely assume that Mr Eyre, Bryony and Bethany returned as if they’d never been away, just in time for breakfast…
Written in response to two challenges:
Di of Pensitivity 101’s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge: CRAFT, COUSIN, CRASH
Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge’s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt: JUICE
Bryony, Bethany and Mr Eyre first appeared in my historical fantasy fiction novel, Following the Green Rabbit. They’ve been begging to go on another adventure and now they’ve got their wish!
The novel is now also available as an audiobook – free on Audible with a 30 day trial.
emerging at last
from an underground cocoon
pale sun still shrouded
yet emerald shoots glisten
birds are calling to the dawn
post-apocalypse
nature is undefeated
what will man do now?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Image credit: LuizClas@ Pexels
The image shows a young person’s silhouette against a pink sky. There is a subdued sun in the sky and birds flying in circle.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #116 photo prompt
How cool is this going to be? A ‘real live event’… at last!
My favourite local bookstore, Bookworms has arranged a book launch next Saturday, 15th January, for Cape Town author, Jill Morsbach to introduce her new middle grade novel, Noah and the Solar Powered Ark.
Better still, bookstore owner Waldo extended Jill’s invitation to other local authors to join in the launch. Keen to support any book-related event, and even keener to publicise and, dare I say it, sell our books, fellow Somerset West author, Paul English and I jumped at the chance to join her.
By great good fortune, the author copies of Paul’s latest novel, Scorched Earth: Takeover arrived here just in time.
Although I don’t have a new novel out quite yet, it is at least a happy coincidence that Song of the Sea Goddess has its first book birthday that day. The sequel is ‘still in production’ but it’s not too far away from release. You might even get a sneak peak at the cover soon…
Look out for my freebie e-book offer next weekend to celebrate that special book birthday.
The window frame gave way and Mr Eyre burst through the opening: ‘Stop!’ his voice echoed around the almost-empty room; Bryony clambered after him and scurried over to join her sister, who was crouching behind the throne, wearing an expression of pained concentration.
Before Bryony could say anything, Bethany popped her head up from behind the throne and fired a stream of incomprehensible utterances at the tottering trio of arm-waving owlets; a moment later they crumpled like string-severed puppets and three white mice scuttled away into the shadows.
A low murmur accompanied what the two girls and their tutor initially took to be an optical illusion, as a shadowy figure started to assemble itself from the dancing dust motes, disturbed by the breeze from the breeched window; slowly, eyes and mouth materialised within a moon-shaped face. ‘Thank you,’ it beamed at Bethany, ‘your charm worked – you overcame those evil imps who impersonated me and tried to kill me; fortunately they couldn’t find me, even after taking my poor palace apart.’
The figure solidified into a regal, golden-robed individual, who retrieved the discarded crown and placed it on its head. ‘There is one, only one Owl-King, and I am he!’
/….to be continued.
Written in response to two challenges:
Di of Pensitivity 101’s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge: MICE, NEON, OPTICAL
Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge’s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt: EXPRESS
Bryony, Bethany and Mr Eyre first appeared in my historical fantasy fiction novel, Following the Green Rabbit. They’ve been begging to go on another adventure and now they’ve got their wish!
The novel is now also available as an audiobook – free on Audible with a 30 day trial.
MORE SIX SENTENCE STORIES HERE!
Remember what it was like
to be full of wonder?
When every day brought
a fresh new adventure?
To view the world
curious and unafraid
without prejudices
or preconceptions
open to possibilities
alive with expectations,
just starting out
on life’s path?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Image credit: Dimhou@Pixabay
Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #115 photo prompt
As 2021 draws to a close, although there are aspects of the year I’d prefer to forget, I’m looking back with a happy and satisfied smile on the books I’ve enjoyed in this second half of the year.
I love to read almost as much as I love to write, and I firmly believe that the more good writing I read, the more my own writing improves.
Here’s what I read as our wet and windy winter gave way to a hot and breezy summer. The most recently read books are shown first.
Once again I’ve enjoyed my half-year’s reading. Books I’ve frequently found via reviews and recommendations here on WordPress, including a nice helping of works by fellow indie authors. I’ve read a mixture of old books and new – mostly prose and poetry – a long, long history/geography of Africa, and a witty and instructive writer’s manual. Thanks to the latter, written by Kathy Steinmann, my latest MS is all the more sparkly and shiny!
More news on my new release coming soon.
As a writer I know how exciting it is to receive a review from a reader, and I offer a big, big thank you to my readers (and listeners, now I’ve two books published as audiobooks) who’ve taken the time and trouble to rate/review my books. That aside, to know someone has read one of my books is enough.
I continue to faithfully post a review of all the books I’ve read on Goodreads and usually on Bookbub, so long as the book comes up in a search. It’s good to recognise fellow writers and give something back for the enjoyment I’ve had from their words.
Happy reading, happy writing and a Happy New Year!
The afternoon wore on and languid shadows yawned and stretched their fingers across the emerald-green lawn. Beetle-Queen Florigia regarded the blank-windowed frontage of the pink palace with her multi-faceted eyes, bending her antennae into a quizzical frown, while in response Lobelia’s lacy wings began to flutter in graceful agitation. Greta voiced their joint thought: ‘can it be that the charm hasn’t worked?’
Florigia’s colourful subjects were also becoming restless, some meandering about the lawn like bored holiday-makers waiting for a long-anticipated show, while others remained stationary, their wing cases fanning noisily like the droning engines of over-heated cars halted in grid-locked traffic.
Around the back of the palace, driven on by the developments he and Bryony had observed inside, Mr Eyre was grimly prying open the grimy window with a discarded poker, while Bryony kept up a hushed commentary as beyond the glass, her sister retreated from the three squat figures who had emerged from under the Owl-King’s flowing robes and who were tottering about in front of her, as if having imbibed too much brandy.
‘Quickly, Mr Eyre,’ Bryony urged, seeing Bethany scurry behind the jewel-encrusted throne while the trio advanced, staggering and swaying in a strange drunken dance.
Written in response to two challenges:
Di of Pensitivity 101’s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge: TRAFFIC, HOLIDAY, BRANDY
Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge’s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt: CHARM
Bryony, Bethany and Mr Eyre first appeared in my historical fantasy fiction novel, Following the Green Rabbit. They’ve been begging to go on another adventure and now they’ve got their wish!
The novel is now also available as an audiobook – free on Audible with a 30 day trial.
MORE SIX SENTENCE STORIES HERE – DROP IN AND SEE!
luna's on line 