International Writing Competition

Hi Guys,

Sorry if I've been a tad busy with the writing competition but I promise I'll get back to normal after Feb 1st! lol

Meantime take a look at this...

Yet another Press Release.

http://www.briefingwire.com/pr/meet-the-finalists-of-the-marsocial-author-of-the-year-contest

laters...........

Competition Time!

Hey Guys, 

I've been a tad busy lately and not posted for a while, however I want you all to know why I'm such a happy bunny.

I entered a competition at MARsocial and have actually got through as a finalist! I sent a link below if you want to take a look but I'll post the excerpt from the book I entered so you can read it for yourself.

If you like it please let me know. As you know the first two book(s) are available on Smashwords for free. All the books are available on both Amazon and Smashwords.

 

#MARSocial Author of the Year #Finalist. The Tessellation Saga, Prophecy’s Heir. By @Dede12012...marsocial.comThis is short synopsis from my Tessellation Saga Series. On Arotia, a prince is punished for using an outlawed form of magic, Blood Magic, his body is destroyed and his soul condemned to the void, ...

This excerpt is taken from Prophecy's Heir, the first book of The Tessellation Saga.

    The drizzle began to ease off as the wolf finally stopped above a small decline in the forest floor.  Bending almost double Jed placed his hands on his knees and threw up, his exertion making him sick; finally, with his stomach empty, he stood straight and stretched his back looking through a gap in the canopy high above him at the now clear sky, glad that at last the rain had stopped.  He had not had as much enforced exercise in years and was thoroughly exhausted, a gentle whine from Blue brought his gaze back to earth; the wolf was standing over something in the bracken.

    In the darkness before the dawn, the birds began to sing in praise of the new day.

    ‘Journey’s End!’  Jed exclaimed as he recognised what seemed to be the body of a girl.  More slipping than climbing down the wet muddy slope, he reached the body and tearing off his coat, he threw it to one side as the wolf turned toward the forest as if on guard.  The girl was lying on her side with blood still slowly trickling from a raw wound just below her shoulder and pooling beneath her.

    ‘She’s not dead boy,’ Jed said aloud, more to himself than to the waiting wolf, ‘but she ain’t gonna be with us fer long,’ he added, as he brushed away the myriad of tiny bugs already gathered and feeding off the nasty wound in her back.  Gently, turning her over, he noticed her extended belly.  ‘G’awd’s Strewth,’ he blasphemed, ‘she be young to be this way,’ tenderly; he brushed the hair from her face and covered her dying form with the blanket.  A soft moan escaped her lips.  ‘Miss… miss…,’ Jed began as her eyes fluttered open.  ‘I’ll stay with yer, you’ll no be alone…,’ he cuddled her to his chest as best he could, suddenly thinking of Mayan, his deceased wife, dying alone, scared and in such pain. ‘I’ll not let yer down agen…’ he said quietly as the tears began to roll down his face.

   ‘Please... please…,’ the girl struggled to speak startling Jed from his thoughts.  ‘Gath…,’ she whispered.       The wolf snapped its head around and stared intently at the girl.  ‘Save my baby, he wants my baby…,’ she pleaded as her life finally ebbed away.

The dawn had at last arrived bathing the scene with its promise of light and warmth and the day, one of the first nice days of the very late spring was going to be a good one as Jed held the dead body of the girl to his chest and wept into her hair.

    ‘Girl, I can’t save yer baby,’ he said quietly, ‘it be gone now… it be with you.’  The wolf howled as Jed wept with a prayer for her soul’s journey but just as he was about to put the body down he felt a violent kick in his stomach, in his astonishment he let the body of the girl fall to the ground with a thump.  The girl’s stomach was moving…  ‘The child be still livin’!’ Jed exclaimed hurriedly pulling aside her clothes and feeling her wet belly, the child inside kicked against his hand.  He reached for the girl’s wrist to feel for a pulse or sign of life as all the time her belly moved and kicked, the movements growing weaker and weaker as Jed worked on the mother.

    Taking his father’s knife he gently felt the sharp blade, I can do this… he thought, knowing he had birthed animals this way before, but then the mother’s were always alive, is this right?  He asked himself, the morality of the situation clouding his mind.

    ‘Blue, should I let the child go with its ma?’  He asked, wrought with indecision.  The wolf moved down beside the man it had already saved twice, it looked into Jed’s eyes and whined before gently licking his face.

    ‘SAVE IT.’ Jed heard.  Nodding silently, Jed gently sliced the dead flesh open, through the skin, through the muscle wall and into the womb.  He had to hurry, the child had no time, but still he took his time.  I will save this child… he thought as in his mind’s eye, he could see his dead wife smiling at him.  Discarding the knife, he reached between the bloody walls of the girl’s womb and felt for the infant.  It feebly punched at his hand.  Gently he pulled the small fragile body free of its mother’s corpse and tied off the cord attaching it to its dead mother with thread taken from the handle of his father’s knife.  Satisfied the knot was secure he cut the cord sharply, feeling the heat of the cord blood running over his fingers.  Holding the child by the ankles, he gently slapped its bottom; upside down, the tiny child still covered in blood and cream opened its eyes and screamed in anger.  Tears of laughter, sadness at the loss of the mother and joy of new life filled Jed’s heart as he gently wrapped the tiny gore covered child in his coat and placed the screaming bundle on the floor beside the wolf.

    ‘Watch the babe Blue, whilst I see to its ma,’ he said, as he tenderly began to cover the body of the young dead girl with the old blanket.  Noticing a small silver and crystal amulet around the girl’s neck, he removed it and put it carefully into his pocket, thinking to give it to the child later.

‘I got ter leave yer like this if I’m ter see ter yer boy, I’m sorry,’ he said as he brushed the hair from the girl’s face and closed the still open eyes.  ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t save you too, I’ll be back in a few days an’ I’ll bury yer proper like then,’ he said as he kissed the girl’s brow and reverently covered her face whispering a second prayer for her soul on its Final Journey.

So...

What do you think? Wish me luck it's the biggest competition of its kind anywhere!

Oh on another note, Hetty the hen has arrived and is comfortably ensconced in her new home. I'll post a little bit more about her in my next update! 

Now off to Zumba Zumba!

Byeeeee...........  til next time. :)

Christmas is coming ...

Hi guys...

So, three weeks of chest infection with two separate lots of antibiotics and still I have a snotty nose and a cough! Meantime I've helped my eldest move, become a dab hand with a hammer drill lost more than a few pounds lifting and shoving furniture and watched my grandson discover what a challenge stairs can be!
Such is life ...

All this and still 1500 words a day on The Tessellation Saga book 5!
I finally got our Xmas tree up today and at last feel like Xmas is coming.
Breaking news is...

Hubby has agreed I can get a chicken! Yeah

So, chicken house coming tomorrow, chicken (called Hetty) arriving Saturday and eggs soon after! Lol so excited.ill let you know.

Xxxxx pictures to follow! X

The Tessellation Saga, book 4 Trail and Time

Hi again guys,

forgot to mention in my drugged up state that book 4 of the Tessellation Saga was published on Amazon a couple of days ago before the infection really kicked in. Take a look, gratifyingly I have already received a comment via the phone from an avid reader and she loved it. Nice one!!

Going again now, still feeling poorly.....................

Take a look...........


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VzOrqBpWL._AA160_.jpg

Bye............

Poorly Sick!

Hi folk,

So lying in bed feeling really pants is not good. Even with Humphrey, the cat, here keeping me company!

Apparently I have a 'Chest Infection'. Really, is that why I feel pathetic, can't stop coughing, have very sore ribs and such a snotty nose you would not believe it! Honestly people, come on, where does all that gunk come from, did my lungs produce that... There's no way!!!

I'll remind myself of it next time I'm rubbing 'Vicks Vapour Rub' on the souls of my feet to prevent the cough at night! (I'm told its a reliable old wives tale but then so is Garlic that is supposed to deter vampires. Can't remember when I last met our friendly neighbourhood member of the dark side and I don't hang Garlic!)

Anyway, I'm fed up being poorly with sore ribs and sounding like a pre-pubescent boy!

So how did a simple cold turn into a 'Raging' Chest Infection? I hear you ask.
Well, remember a while ago when my friend passed away I said I was no longer going to worry about my vampire teeth? Do ya, huh?

At that time I had braces fitted to my teeth, again both expensive and painful but I thought necessary. So for the last four months have lived on a Porridge and Soup diet! ( if I had needed to lose weight it would have been great but at 120lbs I really didn't need too so have eaten chocolate ( should read , sucked, ) with impunity. How we put kids through this I'll never work out! To get to the point... My normal healthy diet was supplanted by a not so healthy one and the old immunity levels are lowwww!

So cold to chest infection in one stop. I can't eat again either so soon I'll look like a stick! Bring on the Cadburys!!!

Gotta go... Time for the old girl meds (antibiotics, Lemsip and ibuprofen) and a hot bath! Did someone mention a hot toddy? Was that with or without the alcohol, hate to say it but I could do with the calories! Lol

Bye till next time...

The Secret Garden and Cats!

Hi World,

I'm being really lazy today and posting from my cozy warm bed. The last few days have been a bit hectic, what with getting the garden ready for the winter and spring cleaning the house. Early I know but on waking up and discovering a neighbours cat had come in through the cat flap whilst my own two tomcats sat idly by and let it in to spray over everything, was not pleasant.  So a spring clean was definitely called for.

QUICK TIP:  I found that hot water and lemon juice removed the scent from the table legs quite effectively without harming the wood.


So on to yesterday afternoons adventures...

The Secret Garden 

(Very Downton Abbey!)

Well, with the smell of bleach and cleaning products still burning in my nostrils I decided to go see my eldest and her boys whilst the house settled. We ended up going for a walk around the 'Walled Garden' in Sunbury on Thames, apparently the secluded walled space used to be a kitchen garden for the local manor house. I couldn't find out much about the original House but was told by one of the volunteer ladies who run the cafe situated in the garden that the house burned down.  

Its an amazing little slice of England with a formal garden as well as sculptures both modern and imperial.

            
Albert had a great time throwing pennies into the wishing well and couldn't resist putting his fingers into the freezing water! Whilst Hendry dashed about through the shrubs making his mother wish she'd put him in wellies!


  Although the day wasn't very bright we had a great time and finished off our visit with hot chocolate and buttered scones at the well run and cheerful cafe. 

The cafe also boasts the local embroidery museum, which is definitely worth a look.

  As we live so near the park our family have visited the gardens on lots of occasions and have always enjoyed the time spent wandering around and discovering something new each time. This time we found some beautiful red and yellow leaves which my daughter took home for the boys to make a colourful collage with.

For Dog walkers there's also a side path that leads around the gardens to the more open area of the very large park and of course in front of the park and across the road you have the River Thames and its beautiful views.

The following information about the walled garden comes from the local councils website.

The garden has been designed on formal lines and includes various styles of garden types from past centuries, including knot gardens, parterres and a Victorian rose garden. There are also four large areas of island beds in which are displayed collections of plants from all parts of the world, and representing numerous plant families and species.

The knot garden is a style of gardening popular around the 15th and 16th centuries and the intricate inter-weaving of the dwarf hedges displays evidence of Italian influences on English gardens at that time. In a similar manner the French influences around the 17th century can be seen in the parterres, which are areas of geometrically designed flower beds, enclosed by clipped dwarf hedges.

The Victorian Rose garden is composed entirely of rose species and varieties which were either introduced or widely planted during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Generally speaking, these roses have a shorter flowering period than our modern introductions, but are renowned for their classic flower form and strong fragrance. Varieties especially worthy of mention are the Bourbon Rose, Souvenir de la Malmaison and the Damask Rose, Marie Louise.

In contrast the modern rose garden contains many of the varieties which have proved to be firm favourites with the home gardener in recent years. Established roses like Peace and Iceberg are joined by the first ever 'Rose of the Year' Mountbatten, and a number of its successors.

One variety worthy of special note is Violet Squire, named after the wife of Mr D J Squire, of Squire's Roses, Shepperton, who very generously donated all the roses within this section.

The garden contains two architectural features of local interest and significance, the Lendy Memorial, and the 'portico' of the now demolished Benwell House. The Lendy Memorial is a re-creation of structure which until destroyed during World War II, stood on the riverside in Sunbury. The Benwell House 'portico' was preserved following the demolition of the house in 1984, and now frames the northern gate of the garden. 

...

Got to go people.... 

Do give the gardens a try if you have a spare hour. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee     :)

A Day Off!

Hi folks,

Well, yesterday I published 'MeGath' the third book in 'The Tessellation Saga' series, on the amazing Smashwords site and will over the next few weeks work on number four, 'Trial and Time,' but for today I have other plans...

Hubby is home today, I've also got the day off and (hopefully) the weather will be bright and dry. As I speak its still dark, however optimism has ever been my thing and I'm sure we'll have a good day. The plans are for us to do a little Geocaching. I happen to know of a new cache only published yesterday somewhere in the Royal Airforce Memorial grounds in Runnymead on the river Thames. You know that amazing place where the Magna Carta was first agreed in 1215 by King John. (Wow, I've impressed myself remembering the date, but still had to drift off to ensure I got it right!!! lol)   

Got this from Wikipedia...

Magna Carta
One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library
Created	1215
Location	Various copies
Author(s)	Barons of King John of England

Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter),^[1] also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin in the year 1215.

Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges.

The charter was an important part of the protracted historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English speaking world. Magna Carta was important in the colonization of America as England's legal system was used as a model for many of the colonies as they were developing their own legal systems.

The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary—for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right that still exists.

It was preceded and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers would be limited.

It was translated into vernacular French as early as 1219,^[2] and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions. The later versions excluded the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority that had been present in the 1215 charter. The charter first passed into law in 1225; the 1297 version, with the long title (originally in Latin) "The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest," still remains on the statute books of England and Wales.

Despite its recognised importance, by the second half of the 19th century nearly all of its clauses had been repealed in their original form. Three clauses currently remain part of the law of England and Wales, however, and it is generally considered part of the uncodified constitution. Lord Denning described it as "the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot".^[3] In a 2005 speech, Lord Woolf described it as the "first of a series of instruments that now are recognised as having a special constitutional status",^[4] the others being the Habeas Corpus Act (1679), the Petition of Right (1628), the Bill of Rights (1689), and the Act of Settlement (1701).

It was Magna Carta, over other early concessions by the monarch, which survived to become a "sacred text".^[5] In practice, Magna Carta in the medieval period did not generally limit the power of kings, but by the time of the English Civil War it had become an important symbol for those who wished to show that the King was bound by the law. It influenced the early settlers in New England^[6]and inspired later constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.^[7]

I've pasted the whole article as I think its interesting, probably not to everyone but I quite like a bit of History, interestingly also at Runnymead and just down the hill from the Royal Airforce Memorial is a little bit of The United States of America. In fact 1 whole Acre of land is actually American soil. 

The Runnymede Memorial

The Kennedy Memorial is situated at Runnymede, the meadow on the banks of the Thames where King John sealed the Magna Carta in 1215.

Although the Kennedy Trust is responsible for the Memorial, it is maintained by the National Trust and you can find out more about the area and see a map at the National Trust website.

The Memorial was designed by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, who drew on The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan's allegory of life as a journey, as inspiration for the design of the site.

There are three elements to the Memorial:

• a stepped pathway, made up of 60,000 granite setts winds up through woodland to bring the visitor to the glade where ...

• ... a seven ton block of Portland stone (pictured) stands on a plinth and is inscribed with words taken from President Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961

• a paved pathway leads to the Seats of Contemplation (the end of the journey) from where there is a superb view of Runnymede

The Memorial was opened by the Queen on the 14th May 1965 in the presence of the Prime Minster and many members of the Kennedy family. It was listed in 1998.

http://www.kennedytrust.org.uk/display.aspx?Id=1166&pid=0

If you follow the link you'll find a very moving piece of film showing the memorial and its design. I've been there quite a few times and its peaceful, beautiful and serene.

So, like I said...

I'm looking forward to my day, a spot of 'caching', a walk around the RAF Memorial and a visit to the Kennedy Memorial. I'll take my camera and show you what the day brings another time!

Gotta go, the sun has got his hat on, (well its a sou'wester actually but hey ho, my skin is waterproof!) 

bye................

:)