A Rip in the Veil

From the author:

“Reluctant time traveller meets 17th century fugitive – disaster or romance?

On a muggy August day in 2002 Alex Lind disappears without a trace. On an equally stifling August day in 1658, Matthew Graham finds her on an empty Scottish moor. Life will never be the same for Alex – or for Matthew.

Due to a series of rare occurrences, Alexandra Lind is thrown three centuries backwards in time. She lands at the feet of Matthew Graham – an escaped convict making his way home to Scotland in this the year of our Lord, 1658.

Matthew doesn’t quite know what to make of this concussed and injured woman who has seemingly fallen from the skies- what is she, a witch?

Alex gawks at this tall, gaunt man with hazel eyes, dressed in what to her mostly looks like rags. At first she thinks he might be some sort of hermit, an oddball, but she quickly realises the odd one out is she, not he.

Catapulted from a life of modern comfort, Alex grapples with this new existence, further complicated by the dawning realization that someone from her time has followed her here – and not exactly to extend a helping hand.

Potential compensation for this brutal shift in fate comes in the shape of Matthew – a man she should never have met, not when she was born three centuries after him. But for all that Matthew quickly proves himself a willing and most capable protector he comes with baggage of his own, and on occasion it seems his past will see him killed. At times Alex finds it all excessively exciting, longing for the structured life she used to have.

How will she ever get back? And more importantly, does she want to?”

My review:

This book was interesting in many ways. I liked the present day part and I liked the history part as well. Alex Lind slips through a crevasse in time landing three hundred years prior to her birth. Since I like reading period pieces, the 17th century was good for me. I find this boo to be a genre of Historical/Romance/Drama/Fantasy and not really a sci-fi type of book. Alex had a lot, and I do mean a lot to work through from those she left behind in her first life to being a person who was more like chattel in the 17th century. That’s a lot to take in and it can only be done in small doses. The historical portion is correct. Romance does bloom. A babe is born. This book is woven well. For those who like this style of reading, go for it. For the effort, the history, and how it was well woven, I give it five stars. A good edit would make this book shine brighter. 

Book blurb found on Amazon for Fat Dogs and French Estates: 

When Beth, her beloved dog, Sam, and grumpy husband, Jack, return to France, disaster strikes. As they battle to restore order to their home, French authorities visit with shocking news.

Obliged to sit examinations in French, coping with furred and feathered babies, and wrangling French tradesmen, there’s no let-up in this action-packed episode of the Haslams’ adventures.

My review:

This is the fourth book I’ve read in this series. By far, this book has touched me deeply in many ways. First, a major storm that left major destruction, devastation, and death in its wake reminded me of a tornado that my boys and I lived through in the summer of 1985. I truly felt the fear and the devastation of the trees and more intensely. For a book to move me intensely is the mark of a quality book. Along the way, one dog and one kitten pass away and I was emotionally thrown by both. The dog, Sam, was old and had lived a long life. It was time for him to rest. My first dog, a Cocker Spaniel, was hit by a car and had to be put down. Beth’s dog had to be put down due his age and disease status. Sam is also the name of my youngest son who died after a horrid cancer battle. However, this book isn’t all tragic, not at all! Awesome British humor is found throughout sprinkled in with generous helpings of how the renovations are going and the damage clean up. Descriptions of the furnishings, solid wood, were tantalizing for me as were the granite counters and tile work. I always wanted a home like this, and never will, but now I have lived it vicariously through Beth’s books. I digress, but truly this is one exceptional book rich in the above and all things French! A solid FIVE stars! 

I just finished this wonderful book! 

From the author found on Amazon:

School’s out for the summer!
Kindergarten teacher, Fiona Quinn is looking forward to spending some quality time in her yard and with her boyfriend, Detective Nathan Landry. However, Fiona’s plans get squelched when her mother volunteers her to edit a manuscript for famous romance author, Wyla Parkes. What’s so bad about that? The author insists Fiona must work on the manuscript at her beach cottage on Presque Isle–three hours away from her yard and Nathan. Spending six weeks in an adorable cottage on a private beach doesn’t really seem all that bad until people start turning up dead beginning with the author! Fiona’s summer of sun and sand is instantly transformed into a murder investigation. Can Fiona and Nathan crack the case or will the murderer getaway on a wave of deceit? Join Fiona and the gang for a hot whodunit on the sandy beaches of Presque Isle, Pennsylvania!

My review:

I loved this book!!!! Technically, almost error free and quite well written. This is a complex murder mystery that is cleanly written which means it is safe for teenagers to read as well as adults. I tried figuring out who the culprits were but McDonald weaves twists in her work. Five stars all the way! I  loved the characters, even the guilty ones, and the intrigue is amzing!

I just finished reading this book! First, the book blurb found on Amazon. 

Do You Want To Show, Not Tell, Emotions?

Because of the way our brains are wired, readers empathize more strongly if you don’t name the emotion you are trying to describe. As soon as you name an emotion, readers go into thinking mode. And when they think about an emotion, they distance themselves from feeling it.

A great way to show anger, fear, indifference, and the whole range of emotions that characterize the human experience, is through beats. These action snippets that pepper dialogue can help describe a wide range of emotions while avoiding lazy writing. The power of beats lies in their innate ability to create richer, more immediate, deeper writing.

This emotional thesaurus includes hundreds of examples that you can use for your inspiration, so that you, too, can harness this technique to easily convert your writing into palpable feelings. Genre fiction authors can use Emotional Beat as a feeling thesaurus and watch their writing take off!

Emotional Beats was an award-winning Finalist in the IPA 2017 Awards.

My review:

I wish I had read this book before writing my first book! The book is overflowing with creative ways to make your writing stand out from the rest. I’m keeping this as a thesaurus on hand, even though I now write children’s books. Five stars. I highly recommend for any author, new or with books under their belts, and screen writers as well. 

A Father for Bella

Book blurb found on Amazon:

Another roadblock…or the family she’s looking for?

When single mom Faith Brennan discovers the Virginia inn she grew up in is for sale, she’s determined to make a bid. Even if that means going head-to-head with handsome real estate broker Joshua Carlson. But competing with Joshua would be a lot easier if Faith’s young daughter wasn’t growing so attached to him…and if Faith could stop picturing running the inn with Joshua by her side.

My Review:

Poignant

I found this treasure of a book especially poignant and moving. Technically, the book is almost perfect in written form. The author writes in a way that makes the reader feel the good times and bad times of each character. It was refreshing to see both the ups and the inner turmoil of the characters as that is real life. I could see a movie based on this book, and especially if Christmas is thrown in at the end. Five stars.

I’ve put off writing about novel coronavirus for some time now. The nurse, the mother, the wife, the teacher in me decided to write a little today. We have survived this global pandemic thus far, but it is far from over. With the USA shutting down we stopped, and flattened the curve. Doing this prevented full scale illness, and in some cases, death, because no way could we have cared for nor had enough ventilators for sick patients, let alone hospital rooms, doctors, and nurses. Unemployment skyrocketed. Now the country is reopening. What are our next steps?

Thanks to the shutdown, we don’t have as many people exposed across the country versus never having shut down and widespread disease. We flattened that curve. Our risk has greatly reduced due to the shutdown. It has NOT gone away. We must continue to do hand washing, wear masks, and use sanitizer and minimize the number of people in groups for safety. Those that don’t are at greater risk. Without shutdown, plane loads of people would have been sick, schools and churches overwhelmed with this virus.

Now the virus curve is lower and will stay pretty much that way, with some spikes, ONLY if we do our part. Most people are virus free thanks to shutdown. We need to try to keep it that way.

Schools will try to reopen. We may have to modify classrooms, and have kids eat at their desks for lunch rather than a cafeteria or gym. Depending on the direction novel coronavirus goes, kids might not be able to play musical instruments or sing. It is too soon to know the impact on these things or the impact on sports. But there will be impacts.

If we all do our part, follow the rules, we will live through this rather than have it ravage our country. We reopen but we don’t slip blinders on. Be aware. Do the right things. Friends and family will thank you for it.

Inevitably, disease spikes will occur, but not how it would have been without shutdown. Some people won’t understand “what it would have been like without shutdown”. That’s okay. We learn as we go along. Let us continue to be diligent so that we all can be as healthy as possible.

If you choose to be part of a crowd of people and you choose to not wear a mask, just know that you aren’t exposing just yourself to potential disease, you are exposing everyone in your home, at work, who you come in contact with, and the curve will rise. Each person is responsible for his or her own actions or in-actions.