As the Stingers advanced, brandishing their spray cans, the living carpet of brightly-coloured insects stirred and started to hiss; realising their potential plight, Lobelia whipped out her wand and fluttered skywards, circling over the blue-clad troops, and showering them with sticky streams of gossamer which rapidly transformed them into papery cocoons; the more they struggled, the tighter their bonds became.
Satisfied the opposition had been neutralized, Lobelia descended gracefully to the ground and nodded to Bethany; the insects fell silent, turning to face the palace doors where the Owl-King stood, seemingly transfixed, while Mr Eyre let out an audible sigh of relief.
Adjusting her hairband so that her golden curls flowed more fully around her face, Bethany let her feet guide her to the palace threshold, all the time reminding herself of what she’d been told by her new friends at the welcome feast. She halted before the Owl-King and tilted her head back to look up at him.
Fixing him with a big, blue-eyed stare, she stood on tip-toes and beckoned to him; bending awkwardly, the Owl-King stooped down and listened as she whispered to him. Moments later they entered the palace together, the doors swinging shut behind them.
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!
Over the past half year I’ve enjoyed hosting the Launch Pad spot for some lovely guests. Now we’re approaching the end of the year, I thought it would be good to catch up with them and find out what they are working on now.
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First on the spot, back in May, was internationally bestselling author, Lizzie Chantree, who had just released her latest romance, Shh… It’s our secret. Checking in on Lizzie’s social media, she already has another book out, The Woman Who Felt Invisible. Now that’s impressive! Click on the cover to view on Amazon.
Working as a stationery supervisor and a sitter to a pair of internet famous, delinquent dogs, wasn’t how former cyber-specialist, Olivia, imagined her life turning out. Working in a tiny cubicle with a decrepit computer and being overlooked had suited her for a while, but now she’s fed up, lonely and determined to make the world ‘see’ her again. Old school friend, Darius, wants to fill Olivia’s days with romance, but their love of technology has taken them on very different paths. Gorgeous undercover policeman Gabe is steadfast in finding out if Olivia was part of an online scam, but something doesn’t feel right and he suspects someone else was manipulating her life. Can love blossom from the most deceptive of starts? And can someone who feels lost, find a way to flourish against all odds?
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Next on the Launch Pad was Jude Itakali, who joined us in June to promote his wonderful new poetry collection, Crossroads (Winds of Love). I had an inter-continental chat with Jude the other day, via the wonder of Whatsapp, and this is what he had to say about his current writing project:
Ahhh, what can I say? Writing my first novel has been a rollercoaster ride, weaving through hopes, fears and even moments of bliss. It has probably been the greatest challenge I’ve ever undertaken, but still a most enjoyable one.
The original inspiration for writing my upcoming novel was actually from a poetic story I wrote over a year ago on my blog. I remember many of the comments saying it would make an outstanding novel. Once I was done publishing my debut poetry book, I knew that it was possible to get a book out into the world, so I started working on the novel. My core drive comes from a deepest realization that writing is what truly feeds my soul; what makes me happiest. I have always had a dream to write and be read, and I’m living half that dream for now, but that’s plenty too.
The initial promo campaign for my debut novel (coming in Spring 2022) starts January, so I can’t reveal much until we’ve decided on some marketing details with the publisher. Here’s a little teaser verse I wrote about a few of the themes you’ll find in the book:
“Be it born to darkness and sacrifice, Or be it raised amidst love and hope, Those who dwell under light and freedom, Or those shackled to ways preordained – The cruelest curses stem from our greatest blessings And yet some are cursed, so that others may be blessed.”
I hope that soon you will all walk, love, run and creep, along the thin line between blessing and curse, in my upcoming YA fantasy saga.
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In July, I had the pleasure of hosting Paul English, my writing buddy from up the road. Paul is another highly prolific author and back in July, the first book in his sci-fi trilogy, Scorched Earth: Arrival, had not long been published. We regularly get together for a ‘writerly chat’ over coffee and cake, so I’m well up on what Paul’s been up to. Here’s his comment between mouthfuls of carrot cake:
“Thanks for inviting me back on your blog. Since the last time I was over there, I’ve completed the second book of the Scorched Earth trilogy, Scorched Earth: Takeover. In a nutshell, the book takes up the story again about a month after the alien Drahux Empire arrived on Earth in Scorched Earth: Arrival. The tension rises as aliens are slowly taking over the planet, while our broken heroes are struggling to pick themselves up in order to fend off the alien threat before its too late.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Paul is already busy with the final part of the trilogy. You can follow his progress over on his blog, Backroom Bulletin.
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Prehistoric fiction author, Jacqui Murray, joined us on the Launch Pad in August, where she shared her insights into how she found her writer’s voice and how this enabled her to follow her passion for writing the books she truly wanted to share with the world. At the time, her second book in her Dawn ofHumanity Trilogy, Laws of Nature, had recently been released.
I caught up with Jacqui via email and this is what she said about her progress with the third book in the trilogy:
“After several months of stodgy progress, Natural Selection is finally moving forward. Which is good because when it comes to writing, I have no Plan B. It either works or I’m f****. Yes, I understand all novels come with the warning, ‘some assembly required’. My fear is that when I’m done, there will be pieces leftover. None so far! Check back with me in January.”
Jacqui sent me the cover pic in the meantime. Doesn’t that whet your appetite?
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In September, I was delighted to host Michelle Navajas, international best selling poet, on the Launch Pad, where she shared her writing journey with us, setting out what has inspired her to write her ever-growing series of poetry books. This was her reply when I emailed her to find out what she’s working on at the moment.
“I am currently working on my 6th book which is the second edition of ‘After Rain Skies’ – a collection of true and inspiring stories of abuse and violence. The second edition will highlight other forms of abuse which I’d refused to write about in the first edition due to their highly sensitive nature. Now, I finally have got the courage to write about them.”
Here’s Michelle pictured with some of the awards she has earned in recognition of her unique, meaningful and highly accessible style of poetry.
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Next up on the Launch Pad was novelist and poet, Liz Gauffreau, whose deeply moving collection of syllabic poetry, Grief Songs, was published in October. A brief flurry of emails revealed some very exciting developments in Liz’s literary life.
Sheldon Poor Farm – inspiration for one of Liz Gauffreau’s current projects
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Here’s what Liz told me:
“Recently, I’ve had a short story, “New England Gothic,” published in The Chamber Magazine, a horror magazine, and another of my short stories, “A Formal Feeling Comes,” was published in Remington Review. Each publication is a bit out of the ordinary for me, as I’ve never written a horror story before and didn’t intend to with “New England Gothic.” “A Formal Feeling Comes” is a reprint. The first journal that published it changed the ending in a way that contradicted everything that came before it. (I won’t agree to that again!)
I’ve also just had a story, “Bonnie and Clyde Rob the Enosburg Falls National Bank,” accepted as part of a new venture that creates a video reading of the story as the means of publication. We’ll have to wait and see whether anything comes of it!
I have a collection of short stories planned for release in 2023. The stories all take place in my home town of Enosburg Falls, Vermont. “Bonnie and Clyde Rob the Enosburg Falls National Bank” is one of them.
Currently, I’m working on a new novel set at the Sheldon Poor Farm in Sheldon Springs, Vermont. It was the last poor farm in Vermont. The state shut it down in 1968, which is the year the novel takes place. I have a great deal of research ahead of me, so I’m more in the inspiration stage right now.”
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My final guest this year was Tom Burton, who joined us last month, having recently released his second collection of short stories, Pocketful of Time. Tom also shared some interesting insights into writing craft with his ‘Three Top Guidelines’, garnered from his own experience as a storyteller.
When I caught up with Tom earlier this week, I discovered that he’d had one of those writer’s eish! moments and accidentally lost quite a large chunk of the newest draft of his forthcoming historical short story collection. What with that and all the activity associated with the forthcoming festive season, Tom has had to postpone its release until next year.
If Pocketful of Time is anything to go by, be sure to look out for Tom’s new book in 2022!
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I’d like to thank all the authors who took time out to spend time with us on the Launch Pad spot last year, and who’ve just updated us about their latest progress and projects. If you’re reading this and would like a spot on the Launch Pad to talk about your new releases and literary adventures in 2022, please let me know.
In the meantime, I’m hoping to share news of my own new release next year.
The insect army parted as Beetle-Queen Florigia led Bethany, flanked by Greta and Lobelia, onto the emerald-green lawn, where they were bathed in the unforgiving brightness reflecting off the pink walls of the Owl-King’s palace.
Seeing her sister, Bryony dashed from the poplar grove, followed by Mr Eyre and Hildebrand, to be greeted by Florigia, beaming in all directions from her multi-facetted eyes. Their reunion was interrupted by a blare of trumpets emanating from the palace, as the massive front doors swung open to reveal a towering figure, wearing golden robes and a richly-decorated helmet in the shape of an owl’s face.
Florigia advanced on the palace; perhaps it was a trick of the light, but she seemed to grow in stature with every stride, ‘Owl-King, we have had enough of your unwarranted acts against those who use words.’ She beckoned to Bethany, ‘we present the golden-haired child, who has returned to reclaim her queendom!’
The Owl-King swept his arm forward as though swatting a fly; a shrill whistle signalled the advance of a swarm of blue-clad troops clutching sinister-looking spray cans; Mr Eyre’s eyes widened, wishing he had a plan in reserve which might save them from the Stingers.
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 image shows an old lady sittingwith a young boy in a rural setting. The boy has a laptop open and is showing her something.
I remember that day my Ouma and me perched on the bench in the shade of her stoep making up adventures like we always did.
I remember that day bright brown eyes crinkling at the edges her words, like whispers captured by the keys as I typed, my new laptop balanced on my knees.
I remember that day my Ouma and me mind filled with light eyes button-bright sharing her final story with me.
My Ouma has gone but her stories live on and now I am the story teller.
Paperback book sale on lulu.com – Monday 30th November
My recommendations: ‘Fallen Star Rising’ and ‘Four’ by Tara Caribou, and the ‘Creation and the Cosmos’ anthology, edited by Tara, and including 5 of my poems!
Once they’d reached the apparently unguarded exit from the dungeon, Mr Eyre and Bryony introduced themselves to their fellow prisoner. Hildebrand explained that she’d been arrested for Word Singing, something she did every afternoon to entertain her husband’s elves while they plugged away assisting him in his shoemaking business, ‘Without my singing, all concentration will be lost and production will cease,’ she lamented, rubbing her red-rimmed eye sockets.
Peering around the door, they surveyed the empty yard and beyond it, the entrance gate which swung on its hinges as though someone had just departed. Mr Eyre beamed at his two companions then, taking their hands, he propelled them across the open space and through the gate.
Soon they were standing in a grove of slender poplar trees which led to the Owl-King’s palace; the ground began to shake to the rhythm of marching feet and a few moments later the palace’s emerald-green lawn was filled by an army of assorted brightly-coloured insects.
‘Perhaps you were thinking I did wrong in letting them go? said Captain Stinger to his lieutenant as they emerged from behind the dungeon’s walls, ‘but now we’ll take all the dissenters by surprise and exterminate the lot!’
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!
Welcome to Paris, where we find ourselves just outside the Gard du Nord, the imposing railway station in the north of the city, for another stop on our literary tour through the pages of my novels. You may remember that we previously visited the ‘city of lovers’ almost a year ago, when we caught up with Laura and Greg from The Silver Locket in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
As I explained then, Paris was as special to Laura, as it is to me, and I drew heavily on my own experiences of visiting that wonderful city when I was writing the book. Paris was the first overseas location to which I travelled with my husband, back in 1985, when we were very, very young. We visited the city during the Easter Weekend, travelling by ferry and train, and stayed in the two hotels mentioned in the excerpt below – for the very same reason.
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Laura was just opening a tin of soup for her lunch when the phone rang. It was Greg.
“Hi, Law, what are you doing next weekend?”
“I’ve nothing planned, Greg. Why?”
“Come to Paris with me. I’ll send you the plane ticket.”
“What, Paris, for the weekend?” Laura had to admit she was excited at the prospect. This was more like the old Greg. “That’s a bit extravagant, isn’t it?”
“The thing is, I’m down to go to a conference there the following week, but I thought if I arrived early, you could come over and we could make a special weekend of it. I know you love Paris, we could stay in that same hotel by Gare du Nord.”
“That would be fabulous, really, Greg.”
“Okay then, it’s settled, I’ll sort out the tickets now. You should get them mid-week. Just make sure you get yourself to the airport in good time.”
“Yes, Greg, of course, listen I…”
“Sorry, Law, gotta go, duty calls.” He rang off abruptly.
Laura looked at the receiver. Well, that was a surprise, a very nice one too. Laura did love Paris, and it was special to her and Greg too. Their first trip away together had been to Paris. They’d gone for a week. They’d spent the first two nights in the Hotel Apollo, opposite the station, but couldn’t afford to stay there longer, so had moved to a cheaper hotel round the corner. She couldn’t remember its name, but she did remember the very squeaky bed. Laura shook her head in embarrassment, her face feeling flushed even now. Everyone had stared at them smirking at breakfast, or at least that what she’d thought at the time.
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Ahem. On with the tour…
The glass pyramid outside the famous Louvre Museum hadn’t been built when we first visited Paris, although it was finished by the time that Laura and Greg went there in 1989, several years before Dan Brown made it really famous in the Da Vinci Code.
I’ve always enjoyed visiting museums and galleries, but one of my biggest disappointments in the Louvre was the size of the painting of the Mona Lisa, which we, like Laura, found was surrounded by a tightly-packed crowd of tourists. As I remember, Leonardo’s La Giaconda was encased in a thick glass cabinet, making it even more difficult to see. Still, there were many, many other wonderful exhibits to appreciate, as well as the gift shop!
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Laura showered and dressed. There were still several hours before she was due to meet Greg, but she was quite keen to have another look around the Louvre, particularly since Greg’s attention span for such places was considerably shorter than her own. She remembered she needed to get a present for Helen; there was sure to be something suitable in the museum shop and if she still had time to spare she could always wander around the nearby gardens.
Laura drifted around the museum. Normally in a place of this size she would be systematic and plan a route around the things she really wanted to see, but today she was too preoccupied with her feelings about Greg and whether she really did want to go with him on this new posting. He’d not really convinced her about the job she’d be doing, although it had to be better than the one she had in Brussels. No one seemed to miss her from it anyway. There had certainly been no problem extending her leave of absence. The decision was really about her relationship with Greg. Yesterday, up on Montmartre, she’d convinced herself that she they had a promising future together,but now he’d gone off to this urgent meeting, and she’d had time to reflect on her own, she wasn’t so sure.
She found herself behind a group of Japanese tourists. Laura smiled to herself. They would be jostling for position to view the Mona Lisa. Laura mingled with the crowd, moving gently through them to the thick glass cabinet which contained the famous portrait.
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And so to ever-so-romantic Montmartre, with its galleries, artists and cafés, and probably the most expensive gin and tonic in the world.
Place du Tertre, Montmartre
In June 1993, budget airline, Easyjet started flying from Liverpool to Paris, and with Liverpool’s John Lennon airport just down the road from where we lived, we decided to treat ourselves to a weekend in Paris. On this particular trip, we decided to enjoy an afternoon drink after visiting the wonderful Salvador Dalí Museum and Gallery. We naïvely selected a pavement café on the edge of the main square above, ordered two G&Ts and discovered the cost was €12 (about $13.50) – pretty pricey now, extortionate then!
We made our drinks last, and it was suppertime before we moved on. I can’t remember where we ate, nor specifically where we finished our evening, but it was in a small, softly-lit bar where a pianist serenaded us, the only customers. He played several songs we recognised, including one of those ‘our tunes’. Some of you might recognise the Tom Robinson version, ‘Yuppie Scum’, but listening to the tune being played on the piano in that Parisian bar that night makes this clip seem far more appropriate for me to share with you.
That concludes our little tour for today, but even though I may never return, my memories of that wonderful city will continue to be a source of inspiration to me, for like Bergman and Bogart, We’ll Always Have Paris.
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The Silver Locket (written under pen name Holly Atkins) is available in paperback and ebook from Amazon.
Image credits: Gard du Nord – MarcusObal (Wikimedia Commons); Louvre – Irina Lediaeva on Unsplash; Mona Lisa – Werner Willmann (Wikimedia Commons); Montmartre – talktraveltome.com
Bethany scanned the length of the rickety bridge which crossed the Owl-King’s Great Divide, grateful for the blanket of fog cloaking the craggy depths below; Greta nodded her encouragement and together they stepped onto the first of the wooden slats as Lobelia, her anxious wings beating, led them forward.
Alighting unscathed on the other side, they entered a towering woodland, buzzing with insects; moments later a small shower of bright beetle-like creatures descended from the orange-red canopy. One, larger than the rest and clearly their leader, scuttered over and stood before them: ‘My sisters and I welcome the golden-haired child.’ Her fellow creatures bowed their heads, then brought out a succession of leaves, laden with ripe berries, and placed them at their feet.
Bethany looked at her companions in astonishment; Lobelia stepped forward, dropping a deep curtsy, her wings fluttering delicately: ‘Greetings to you, Florigia, we thank you and your sisters for your hospitality.’
Florigia inclined her head, ‘The Owl-King’s activities have been a disappointment to us all; she turned to Greta, ‘we received Hans’s message from one of the Wandering-Wasps, the three prisoners have been freed and should be joining us shortly; then we will march on the Palace.’
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!
luna's on line 