Showing posts with label Shakespeare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shakespeare. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

IWSG Day AND Did You Know

 


The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

 

Twitter handle: @TheIWSG  

Hashtag: #IWSG 

 

The awesome co-hosts for the  November 6 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Lisa Buie Collard , Kim Lajevardi, and JQ Rose!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional

 

November 6 question - What creative activity do you engage in when you're not writing?

My other creative outlet is gardening. Adding plants and moving them around. And playing with my paver path, adding half-moon extensions, etc. AND I like to snap pictures😊 What’s yours?


October/November Reviews in no particular order.

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore them and don't factor them into my review.

 

 

WHO MOURNS ELECTRA by C. W. Hawes

Murder again abounds in the 21st book of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

This page-turning story is built around Pastor Ember Cole and her soon-to-be husband Harry Thurgood owner of the Really Good Wood-Fired Coffee Shop.

Crime is still rampant in the small Texas town of Magnolia Bluff, and Ember and Harry find themselves smack dab in the middle of it when several of the towns’ citizenry are brutally murdered and the police have their collective eyes on Ember and Harry for the murders. The two will now have to do some serious sleuthing to clear their names.

I thoroughly enjoyed following these two amateur detectives through the homes and streets of Magnolia Bluff as they track down the killer. What made it such a fun read was the masterful job of world-building and character creation the author generated, all the while drawing you into a whodunit filled with murder and mayhem. Great job, author C. W. Hawes.

Available at Amazon

 

 

JOHN TYLER America's 10th President (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRESIDENTS SECOND SERIES) by Betsy Ochester

This was well-written and touched on the salient points of John Tyler's life. Best of all, it held my interest😉

Available at Amazon

 

BORN FOR REVENGE by Staci Troilo

Mean girls are getting kidnapped.

Mean girls have been kidnapped and ended up in the cold case files. When one of them turns up alive Detective Holden Walsh and Cabe Paxton rush to discover who the kidnapper is, who else he’s kidnapped, and if they too are still alive.

 

Ms. Troilo checked all the boxes on this one. The characters are compelling. The world is well-developed, allowing the reader to step into the story, walk the city streets and sit beside the characters for a meal. Best of all, in my humble opinion, the action doesn’t let up. The author puts her foot down on the pedal at the beginning of the story and doesn’t let up till the end. It held my interest all the way through.

 

Highly recommended for thriller readers or those who love a good tale.  

Available at Amazon

 

 

MIRACLES AND GHOSTS by D. J. Finn

A Treasure Trove of Christmas Stories with a Twist.

So many treasurers in this wonderful compilation of ghostly Christmas stories. It opens with a novelette about a young woman who as a child lost the people who mattered most. Then is able to recapture the joy of Christmas years later. Family and forgiveness figure large in WORDS HURT. In THE CHRISTMAS WALK a lonely young woman meets a mysterious little boy when out walking Christmas Eve. Another of my favorites was MIRACLE IN ER where miracles and Santa show up at the ER. And last and possibly the most intriguing, RED TRUCK about a woman who keeps having flashbacks of being hit by a red truck. Reminiscent of Groundhog Day though much more eerie.

All in all, a wonderful collection of reads for the season, written by an author who specializes in bringing the phantasmal to life. An easy five stars.

Available at Amazon

 

JUST ONE GOODBYE: Poems from the heart by Balroop Singh

Ms. Singh is a talented poet whom I’ve been reading for several years. JUST ONE GOODBYE is the best thing she’s written. I found reading it a humbling experience. It’s both raw and heartbreaking. I can’t begin to imagine her pain. I can only mourn, as she shares the loss of her husband—her soulmate—in this book of prose. Every poem in the book is filled with imagery, emotion and awareness. If you enjoy her poetry, prose in general, or have lost someone dear, I recommend this read. In fact, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

 Available at Amazon

 

AND

Did you know that William Shakespeare invented at least one hundred and thirty five phrases used in the English language including: 'All of a sudden.'

 


For more information:  135 Phrases Coined By William Shakespeare - Phrase Finder

 


 

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

IWSG Wednesday and Did You Know

 

 


The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

 

Twitter handle: @TheIWSG  

Hashtag: #IWSG 

The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional

May 1 question - How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

Yup, pretty much derailed. You?

April/May Reviews in no particular order.

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore them and don't factor them into my review.

 

A FESTIVE VERISIMILITUDE by Paul Stanton

A captivating take on Christmas…and the devil

 

This is the second in the Festive Series and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first.  The author gives a unique perspective on the role of the devil, especially on the days before Christmas as he goes through London and gives people who are on the edge of eternal damnation a chance to change their ways, showing them what awaits them if they don’t.  And in some cases, just spreading magical goodwill. From an old man at Charing Crossing to a good Samaritan at St. Paul’s Cathedral, each narrative holds its own charm.

I found these stories to be well-written with fascinating bits of London’s history sprinkled throughout. Each tale held a hint of dry humor and a dollop of goodwill and hope.

Recommended reading that’s not limited to the Christmas season.

Available at Amazon

 

 

THE SHADOWSPELL ACADEMY: THE CULLING TRIALS, Book 1 by Shannon Mayer and K. F. Breene

Wild, a young woman growing up poor on a ranch, must face the culling trials of a magical school, if she wants to save her family.

A great read for YA fantasy fans. Highly recommended.

THE SHADOWSPELL ACADEMY: THE CULLING TRIALS, Book 2 by Shannon Mayer and K. F. Breene

The culling trials begin and Wild must save not only herself but her group as well, that includes a goblin, a necromancer, and a shapeshifter.

THE SHADOWSPELL ACADEMY: THE CULLING TRIALS, Book 3 by Shannon Mayer and K. F. Breene

In book three, kids are going missing and it’s up to Wild to find them and save them.

THE SHADOWSPELL ACADEMY: YEAR OF THE CHAMELEON, Book 4 by Shannon Mayer and K.F. Breene

The Culling Trials are over, but the danger remains.

THE SHADOWSPELL ACADEMY: YEAR OF THE CHAMELEON, Book 5 by Shannon Mayer and K.F. Breene

The Shadowkiller and Frost, both chameleons, are both after Wild.

THE SHADOWSPELL ACADEMLY: YEAR OF THE CHAMELEON, Book 6 by Shannon Mayer and K.F. Breene

Wild has learned a shocking discovery about the Shadowkiller. Now she must figure out who is friend and who is foe AND save her family, the academy and the students and teachers in it.

Available at Amazon

 

 

MARTIN VAN BUREN     by Ted Widmer

Van Buren was the eighth president of the United States and I knew absolutely nothing about him before this read. He was a professional politician and an architect of today’s Democratic Party. Those two items were my main takeaways. I really would loved to have known more about his wife and family. They were barely mentioned, except for his son John who he had high hopes would someday be president. Oh, and the other take away, the term OK came from Old Kinderhook, Van Buren’s nickname. 

Available at Amazon

 

ZODIAC ACADEMY: Book 4 SHADOW PRINCESS by Caroline Peckman and Susanne Valenti

When the twins, Orion and Darius enter the shadow world they make a stunning discoverDiy.

ZODIAC ACADEMY: Book 5 CURSED FATES by Caroline Peckman and Susanne Valenti

The stars are definitely not aligning for the twins and the men they care about.

I am very torn about this series. The authors have done an amazing job with it. The emotion is raw and elemental. There is conflict aplenty. Great characters. And the action just keeps on coming.  Definitely my kind of read, EXCEPT its erotic and I just don’t do erotic. Just let me say that by the number of reviews they’ve received that plenty of folks do and that’s just fine, it’s just not my thing. So, I find myself flipping through a huge number of pages without reading them. Also, I feel the e’s are priced a bit high. By the time you’ve read the whole series, you’ll have spent some coin. That said, I’m still hooked 😊

Available at Amazon 

 

NEW RELEASES


POETRY TREASURERS 4: IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

WordCrafter Poetry Anthology compiled and edited by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle

Available at Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOM’S MEMORIES AND REFLECTIONS ON MOTHERHOOD - A guided journal - by J.Q. Rose

Available at Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

AND

Did you know, among many others, the phrase 'in a pickle' came from Shakespeare?

For more information:

List of Phrases Shakespeare Invented (thoughtco.com)