She sits alone, staring into the crimson flames, a glass of ruby wine in her hand, the half-empty bottle on the wooden floor beside her. Muddy rivers run down her cheeks from red-rimmed eyes. She takes another sip and puts the glass down. Carefully. She rips off the pretty new blouse which he’d failed to notice – his eyes were elsewhere all night – flings it into the fire where the fabric curls like dead leaves; buttons pop in the heat. More wine sloshes in the glass.
betrayal revealed in long lingering glances scales drop from her eyes sorrow seeps into her heart dying embers fill the grate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Image credit: Tathanhtaun @ Pexabay The image showsa pair of spectacles to which a pair of rose-colored clip-on attachment is affixed. You can see a view of skyline near a shore through these colored clip-ons.
Paul English, Jill Morsbach and me at Bookworms bookstore
This time last week I was hauling a bag of my novels into Bookworms bookstore in preparation for last Saturday’s book launch event. We’d certainly had a big build up, with Bookworm’s owner, Waldo, inviting folk to come along and ‘rub shoulders with literary geniuses’. Ahem.
Here we are on the big day, posing happily for the paparazzi!
Paul, as some of you know, is my writing buddy. We meet up over coffee and cake and have ‘writerly conversations’ from time to time, email each other when stuck and generally exchange ideas about our current projects. You’ll find Paul over at Backroom Bulletin where he chats about his writing progress each week. Here’s Paul’s take on the event.
I hadn’t come across Jill or her books before, but after chatting on the phone a week or so before the event, I went down to Bookworms to snag a copy of her new book, thus ensuring a sale of one of mine! I’d almost finished reading Noah and his Solar-Powered Ark by the day of the launch, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can read my review on Goodreads here and meet Jill herself at her website here.
Also at the launch were a couple of beginner writers and it was great to offer them encouragement on how to progress their craft. All in all, it was a fun morning, and although sales were quite modest, it was lovely to meet both readers and writers and talk about books.
We also got a super write up in the local newspaper, the Bolander, which is widely distributed in the local area and also online, making it so much easier to share with you: Book launch at Bookworms.
As Waldo says, when quoted in the article: “Our very first book launch went down famously… and I’m looking forward to many more to come.” – I couldn’t agree more!
Now, I must dash. I’m off to meet my beta reader friend Laurette for her feedback on the manuscript of my soonish-to-be-released latest novel. The cover is almost ready and I’ve even finished agonizing over the ‘dreaded blurb’. More about ‘Spirit of the Shell Man’ soon!
Joey hunkered down in the corner of the heavily-graffitied bus shelter, trying to evade the spiny tentacles of the stiffening breeze blowing off the river Mersey and up the eponymous street that led from Otterspool Promenade onto the busy pavement-cracked main road.
Jealousy coiled its long yellow fingers around him, clutching at the frayed edges of his grungy army-surplus parka as he watched the rich folk in their fancy cars hurtling past him on their way back to the city, while a dull summer sun slipped slowly into the west, raising an ironic eyebrow and casting a rose-tinted light over the poverty-stricken suburbs and abandoned factories of the urban fringe.
Now fumbling his pockets for his last fag, Joey’s grubby nail-bitten fingers fell upon his latest treasure; a smile twitched about his lips, smoothing his habitual scowl and suggesting the possibility of a less desolate future for its twenty-something wearer. His latest jaunt down to the low-tide river, grubbing about among the detritus lodged in the sludgy mudflats, had yielded his best find yet.
He gripped the object tightly, a glimmer of hope kindling; he’d be popping around to visit Phil ‘The Fence’ tomorrow.
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
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Image credit: Suliman Sallehi @ Pexels The image showsa 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.
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.
Thisconcludes 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…
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?
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Image credit: LuizClas@ Pexels The image showsa young person’s silhouette against a pink sky.There is a subdued sun in the sky and birds flying in circle.
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!’
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.
luna's on line 