W is for Witch

Leave a comment

20130210-230657

As you will have noticed before I missed a couple of letter namely W, X and Y so here is the W post I had started the others will be caught up before the end of this month.

As we haven’t had any real writing as such on here for a couple of weeks I thought it was time for a quick Photo Flash Friday post even though the inspiration is a letter rather than a photo.

She brought the lid down on the suitcase and looked round taking in a final sweep of the room. Convinced she had all she would need she snapped the catches into place and let her eyes close for a moment as she composed herself for what she knew would be the hardest task.

Letting out a sigh she picked up the small case and went down the stairs, she marvelled that her life could be so easily packed away in such a small package, but then hadn’t she always known this time would come, accumulating material possessions had been pointless making the few she had all the more precious.

Dropping the case near the door she checked the living room, it resembled a show room in many ways, clinically clean and tidy, they had only lived here a few months hardly time to stamp an identity into the room. for a moment she debated leaving a note, an explanation of her absence but what could she say which had not already been said.  She had told him this day would come from their first meeting, not that he had taken her seriously of course, who could, the idea that one day she would simply cease to exist in mortal form was not one to be easily believed.  Instead she placed her key in the centre of the table and with closed eyes whispered a blessing to bring him peace in the years to come once the pain of her absence faded.

The miles passed quickly from her seat on the coach, she had changed route several times, knowing he would try to trace her, he would not accept she had walked away of her own free will.  It was free will she had long ago consented to this chain of events, maybe if she had known how hard it would be to carry it through she would have stayed in the solitude of her predecessors as she awaited her turn rather than entering the mortal world and meeting him but it was too late now for those thoughts to carry any weight.

The last few miles were by necessity on foot, she was thankful now that she had so little to carry, the wilderness not accommodating to the casual walker out for a hike.  With each step she felt the connection grow, energy passing from the ground through her boots into her flesh, she could bear the barrier between herself and the earth no longer and stopped to discard the hiking boots, she looked now again at the case she carried, why had she brought anything she did not need any of it.  she placed it on the ground, the boots placed upon it, next the coat she was wearing was folded and placed on top of the pile.  She looked at it and smiled, a shrine to her brief experience of the mortal world.

Feeling free now she had shed the layers of human clothing save for the thin flowing dress she skipped across the tufts of scrub as the wasteland began to change to woodland.  The trees crowded together yet she slipped between them barely breaking her stride, knowing instinctively the path to take.

Finally she was there, they stood in a circle waiting for her.

Around the fire they danced, their movements mirroring the twists and flickers of the flames, the energy created crackling through the air.  She stepped from the shadows and took her place inside the ring, eyes closed in ecstasy as she moved towards the centre, head thrown back and lips parted in a sigh she stepped into the flames. 

The movement stopped as those who had been circling fell to their knees chanting, as she was engulfed in the flames.  Peace and tranquillity reigned as the fire purified, then the heavens opened and the rain quenched the flames.  Those watching looked at the dead tree stump which stood in the centre of the clearing where the fire had so recently burnt, and there nestled within the charred roots sprouted a tiny green shoot.

They clasped hands forming the circle, from death to rebirth, they danced and sang once more.

Hope you enjoyed it didn’t quite go where I thought it would when I began but thats the joy of writing we don’t always know the story until it  is finished

Give Away Time

Leave a comment

Trying out Rafflecopter for a giveaway please feel free to click and put your name in and share away assuming I can get this to work properly lol there is a link also on my facebook page for people to join in that way.

okay so the embedding did not work instead I have got a link now in the sidebar to the giveaway or visit my fb page thankyou xx

Y is for Yachts

2 Comments

20130210-230657

Time to squeeze in one of my missing three letters…

When I was little I was lucky that my grandparents lived on the Isle of Wight, now as I grew up I did get a little annoyed that my friends always went to different laces during school holidays whereas I always went there.  But overall I have very fond memories of my visits including watching the Yachts as the raced around the island I remember being convinced that there would be a collision between yachts and the hovercraft as it crossed between Portsmouth and Ryde.

cowes_week

I never actually got to be there for Cowes Week and the actual round the Island Race but during the summer there were always plenty of yachts to see and races to watch though of course being stationed further along the coast you never saw who won.

1

cowes_week2_1371974c

The yachts always spoke to me not only of luxury but of freedom, the chance for adventure and a little bit of danger.

imagesAnd sometimes that danger could get quite up close and personal

ROUND THE ISLAND RACE, ISLE OF WIGHT-UK . 3  June 2006but always the call of the open sea appealed.  I would love to board a boat and set sail to see the world but I also know that I would be terrible at the practical side but that does not stop the dreamer in me drifting on the tide.

Prayers For Oklahoma

5 Comments

312144_391318930972432_67259919_nMother Nature can be a cruel mistress at times, while men argue over the actions of others and squabble over rules made by other men, she takes more direct action in her protests with tragic consequences.  She screams at the way her skin has been scarred by our drills and diggers, the wounds inflicted deep into her soul, we have even desecrated the very air she gave us to breathe with pollution, one might even at times think she is vengeful as she claims her sacrifices.

oklahoma-tornado-photo-damageBut when the fires have been quenched and the dust settles, it will not just be mourning for the dead that takes place…

400210-oklahoma-tornadoThere will be stories of miracles and heroism, of those who reached out to give when they themselves had lost it all…

130520234628-ap-23-oklahoma-city-tornado-0520-horizontal-galleryThere will be the reaffirmation of life which can only be appreciated when death has walked in the shadows…

400224-oklahoma-tornado And for a brief time people will remember that the material possessions in this world can be replaced, and that all that really matters is the health and safety of those we love, wealth and comfort are nice to have but it is only when you lose everything you realise what has true value.

New Page

2 Comments

298037_367858213319321_1925694945_nYou may have noticed yesterday a new page appeared at the top of this blog ‘Doctor Who Fan-girl’  don’t worry I am not turning into a TV review blog.

Doctor Who is 50 years old this year, its back catalogue include not only the TV Shows and a couple of dodgy movies but also books, comic, Radio plays, in fact for nearly a third of its existence it was absent from the screens.

Now there will of course be episode reviews but more than that I want to examine why it manages to keep going and gaining increasing popularity.  I will be looking at some of the ideas behind the storylines, looking at what has worked and what has been held up for scorn (oh yes Who fans are as scathing with their criticism as they are devoted to the show)  There will be some who will say but this is a writing blog why look at a TV series but lets be honest how many authors could write a series lasting this long without it getting tired and lets not forget writers such as Neil Gaiman have put pen to paper in its name.

From a personal viewpoint I will also be discussing how my young son reacts to stories as well after all this is a family show and examining the extra’s that come on DVD’s (though this will be as we get them as we only have a couple at the minute).

I decided to do the intro post today as I am still trying to work out how I discuss Saturdays show without spoilers (and sobbing into my computer) so I will share this for now which those on my Facebook will have seen already (sorry) I am just loving this song and the story but this ends with the end of series 6 so has no spoilers for this series….

Also a taster of one of the Extras from the DVD the monster got for his birthday

Book Review – A Big Hand for the Doctor By Eoin Colfer.

2 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

First apologises for last weeks disappearance, for those of you on my personal Facebook you will know I was very poorly, I actually went down with Tonsillitis.  Let me state I like many others thought that it was just a sore throat, however three days in bed proved to me how wrong I was, I lost my voice totally, could not swallow to eat or drink, had cold sweats and generally wanted someone to put me out of my misery or freeze me until a cure was found.  The I discovered that sometime the cure is just as bad lol the anti-biotics I have been on took their own toll and though I still have a few days to get through am determined to get back on my feet.

The reason being today is little Monster’s birthday, we shall be busy this evening playing with his new Doctor Who toys, stuffing our faces with cake and having lots of cuddles.

Which leads me to a request I get to snuggle my boy on his birthday next month Fi and Joey will face the first of many hard times, Charlie’s birthday, it will be the first one where they cannot watch his face light up as he opens presents and blows out candles.  Too many parents seem to be left to this fate, it now seems everyone knows someone or is related to someone taken by this terrible disease, but today I would ask if you could to take a minute and visit a new blog – she is on Blogspot at the minute but am singing WordPress praises to her – so if you could just pop by and say hello you will recognise her from my first inspirational Angels post you can read here

Her blog can be found by following this link here.  Just stop by say hello and cheer her on. Right back to business which of course here is writing and books..

As this year marks the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who there are lots of special events going on, one of which is this series of kindle releases.

17225498Normally I would try to avoid spoilers however due to my feelings about this one that may not completely possible.

Each month a new story is launched written by a different author and featuring each of the Doctors in turn up to November and the current incarnation.  The books are aimed at young adult audiences so I am not the target audience but as a huge Doctor Who fan I see no reason I shouldn’t have a little read.

Now these are more Novellas than novels and I don’t want to give away too many spoilers so I shall keep my reviews as brief and spoiler free as possible.  It was well written and as a story thoroughly enjoyable but… and this is a big but it was not the First Doctor.

The author is a writer well-known for writing young adult/teenage fiction and of course he writes that brilliantly well but despite being old enough to have watched Classic Who this reads very much like it is written by someone who has only seen the most recent incarnations of the Doctor.  While he does grasp some of the speech mannerisms of the First his physicality is completely out of character with the older man who played him.

Could the writer have intended that this was a prequel coming before all the televised stories? That is completely possible but for the youngsters who read this then decide to look up the shoes featuring the First Doctor they are in for a shock, they will be looking for a guy who despite being a grandfather jumps into transport vortexes and instead they will find…

p00v27md

Now, okay in a push I just he could still jump but it jars with my memories of how he would act, he was many things but the action hero was not one of them.

Overall I will give this a 3.5 out of 5 I hope that the series will improve with the other Doctors,

Right off to get ready for a tea party, its good to be back.

Freebie Trials

7 Comments

admin-ajax.php

As you all know a little while ago I had a trial run at getting some bookmarks done, I was really happy with the quality of them the only failing was design wise on my part which I will remedy with future orders when the time comes.  While I was trying out various sites I signed up to Vistaprint who subsequently sent me various email offers to try our their products.  So with future give-aways in mind that’s what I have done and I thought you might be interested to see a few of the products that I have received and my thoughts on them (I have also bought a couple of extra items as I felt guilty just bagging freebies).

So firstly lets look at the two pen types…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Both pens write black the top one (the blue one) was a freebie I did just use their basic background because to try to put the picture on this would have resulted in eye strain. The front pen I actually paid for (technically I ordered it by accident but I could have changed it and didn’t) I actually like this pen it is simple script engraved into it I just chose my name and the title.  Would I buy these again? I actually would buy the engraved pen again but I would do it when they had a deal on them as they are quite pricey unless buying in real bulk but they are a nice weight and feel nice to write with.

Next up..

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis has possibly been my favourite of the freebies.  You do have to pay for your designs to be uploaded initially but again it is worth a few visits as they have different offers going at different times sometimes free delivery, sometimes free design upload.  The mug is good quality and the image is clear and bright.  They are not exactly cheap to order and because of the design space it did mean chopping my name off.  Would I order more? I probably would for a prize if it was something people wanted otherwise I have one now hehehehe I might consider them if I could alter the design a bit to fit better.

And next up…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The book bag…. I am going be honest when I first unwrapped this I was disappointed.

I included my I-pod in the shot to give you an idea of size.  The size is perfect, the quality of the bag is good but I was not thrilled with my image on it.  I felt the picture was to blurry and to hard to discern compared to the other products it arrived with.

It has however grown on me, I actually got two of these one free and a second at half price one of which my daughter grabbed straight away when she saw it.  I also paid extra to have Vistaprint’s advertising removed under the image though I am not sure if that applies if you are paying full price.  Would I order more?  Initially I would have said no but now maybe.

Next up…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The T-shirt this I am not thrilled with.  Unless you want to pay a lot more for the thicker material then I am pretty sure T-shirts can be sourced somewhere else for better quality.  I ordered one of the largest sizes as I figured if it was terrible could always wear it in bed as a night shirt, the image is not brilliant and as you can tell from the picture if you are in strong light you can see straight through it.  Would I buy more? Nope sorry this one was a big miss for me, if anyone wants T-shirts try Zazzle or shop around you can do better than these.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Notecards

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Postcards

Notecards and postcards, I will deal with both of these together.  Both are single sided though the notecard does come with a message on the back whereas the postcard is blank unless you pay extra for the address lines.

The notecards come in nice glossy card rather than the matt finish of the postcards though of course if you pay more you can have them glossy.  I was not thrilled with the postcards they have grown on me a little but not much.  Would I order more? I would order the notecards again I might even consider buying the folding ones to match but I would not buy the postcards again from here I think I can probably get better quality cheaper elsewhere but then again the notecards do the same job so why bother.

Final item for now..

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPosters, these are a little smaller than A2 size and again I got one free but aid extra for a second one, because of the design there is half a centimetre top and bottom that needs cropping off but overall the quality is very good and they were reasonably priced.  They are made of thick glossy paper and look great.  Would I buy more? Yes just as soon as I have somewhere to use them lol but for anyone doing book fairs definitely worth a look.

What have I learnt

Don’t feel guilty about grabbing freebies, if I had simply order postcards I would have been put off using the company again and felt aggrieved at paying for the image to be uploaded when I wasn’t going to use them again.

Do take into account when deciding on freebies how your image is going to translate on various media, the mug I could use one of the images I already had uploaded cropped down so I didn’t need to pay a third image upload fee.  Better still if you are paying for an image created as if they can create a package for you to use for various merchandise and social media.

Freebies are not always free remember there will be costs for images uploaded and postage, some freebies you pay extra to remove company advertising or for better quality products.

Have a play around, try out different things then leave them go back and look again another day before you decide, you never know in the meantime they may send you more offers.

If you like your freebies you are more likely to re-order they will make money from you in the long term if you are happy.

Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 842 other followers

%d bloggers like this: