A 7th-Century Priory, A 14th-Century Bridge and Amazing Ice Cream!
When I was a girl, I was very fond of Benjamin Luxon’s performances of A Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman, set to music by George Butterworth. And so, as I happened to be close by I paid a visit to three places that I associate with these songs ~ Much Wenlock, Clun and Knighton. […]
How did William Shakespeare make £60 a year?
Life is full of surprises. You can think you understand something thoroughly and then find out that you are mistaken. Like many people, I believed Shakespeare to be born into an impoverished home, and that he never made much money. How wrong I was. To explain how Shakespeare made enough money to buy New Place […]
When life stresses you out…MEDITATE
Meditation has changed my life. I know many people say that, but it is true. Before meditation, I was extremely anxious. Afterwards I learned where to put my roiling emotions and how to calm down. There is something about sitting in total silence for several minutes. It does something to you. It taught me patience […]
What can you do to celebrate Lady Cecylee’s 608th birthday?
How about tapping the button below to view Thwarted Queen on NetGalley? Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495) was born in May. Some say she was born on 3 May 1415, which is coincidentally the same day that her youngest daughter Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy was born in 1446. Some say she was born 31 May 1415. […]
Would you like FREE books this month?
This month, I’ve signed up for three promos: 1. StoryOrigin’s Spring Into Summer Reads with my short story The Non-Affair ~ What if the crush you develop for your professor is never quite returned?Tap here for your FREE copy of THE NON-AFFAIR 2. BookFunnel’s April Book Hunt (Women’s Fiction) with my short story The End of Childhood ~ What if you were a companion […]
Meet the people on my team…Today’s person is Catherine Adams, Developmental Editor Extraordinaire
I first encountered Catherine back in 2009. In those days she was transitioning from the Iowa Book Doctors. Subsequently she opened her own business (Inkslinger Editing.) Writing my first novel “Thwarted Queen” is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I benefitted from Catherine’s wonderful suggestions.
A SPARK OF LIGHT by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Bahni Turpin
As I experienced this novel as an audiobook, I would like to address those issues first before moving on to the content of this thought-provoking novel. It is amazing to me that a “professional” outfit like Random House Audio can actually make a book MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND than the author intended. In this novel, […]
SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Audra McDonald, Cassandra Campbell and Ari Fliakos
This book took a long time a-coming, which is not surprising when you realize that in this novel, Jodi Picoult takes on the fraught issue of race. The protagonist is Ruth Jefferson, an African-American nurse who is superb at her job (delivering babies) and devoted to her patients. The antagonist is Turk Bower, a White […]
The Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah narrated by Suzanne Toren
What an amazing novel this is! Like many readers, I ADORED Alice (aka Brittany) She shines through every page. What makes her so alive is the painstaking accrual of detail that author Ms. Hannah supplies, from her amazing eyes, to the scars on her body, to her halting speech, and the way she is able […]
LEAVING TIME by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Rebecca Lowman, Abigail Revasch, Kathe Mazur & Mark Deakins
LEAVING TIME is one of those punning titles that I love about Jodi Picoult novels. To me, a woman who grew up in Britain, it sounds as if Ms. Picoult is talking about a public house (or pub), those last orders for drinks. But this whole novel is all about leaving, loss and grief, and […]
