In Flanders cemeteries lie thousands of skeletal remains The tragic atmosphere heightened by the wind’s soft refrain The final resting place of a generation of young men You’d think mankind would’ve learned between now and then Not long ago, yet forgotten as the Devil’s temptations corrupt
~
Within the petals of each gorgeous summer bloom I see the watching eyes of the brave who met their doom Those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us free Their countless graves shaded by the gently blowing trees Were their deaths in vain as red continues to stain the earth?
~
Why can’t we learn that war begets naught but pain and death Little is gained by countless lips drawing their last breaths The ghostly faces of our collective future, many in their late teens Bear the careworn features of those whose lives ended in screams Every leader should stand silent before these memorials and reflect
There were three reasons I agreed to fly for 16 hours to London and another 16 hours back again in July. 1. Michael came and I wanted to expand his horizons, 2. to visit Flanders in Brussels 3. to see the Peter Paul Rubens paintings at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels. Today, I’m sharing my pictures of the third visit. Spectacular paintings that were worth the travelling.
Picture caption: Front of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts with the decorate door. We didn’t go in here. Picture caption: This is the back door where we exited the museumPicture caption: This is the door into one of the galleries in the Old Masters section of the museumPicture caption: The martyrdom of St Livinus by Peter Paul Rubens. I adore those little fat cherubs.Picture caption: Pieta with St Francis by Peter Paul RubensPicture caption: The Assumption of the Virgin by Peter Paul RubensPicture caption: The coronation of the Virgin by Peter Paul RubensPicture caption: The ascent to Calvary by Peter Paul Rubens
The is my video of one of Rubens artworks called And Workshop
There are four natural elements: air, wind, fire, and water. Individually they are fascinating. They can also be destructive and, when out of control, can wreak horror on humanity. Sometimes they combine forces, and the havoc and chaos scale up accordingly.
When I was a young girl, we lived on a small holding in an area called Honeydew. Our house was the original farmhouse for the area. It was old fashioned with a tall water tank and dark, creepy bathrooms. The property was surrounded on three sides by vacant land filled with long, golden veld filled with all sorts of fascinating insects and birds.
We moved to this property because my father wanted to farm. He’d always wanted to do some farming, and when this property became available at a good price, he seized the opportunity. His plan was to plough the out-of-control veld grass on our property in the early spring and plant courgettes (this is another story).
It was the beginning of winter when we moved into our new home. Winter in Johannesburg is dry. It doesn’t rain at all – not a drop, from approximately mid-April until mid-October, sometimes later. During this period, the veld grass dries out and becomes a very pretty fire hazard.
“Fire! Fire!” One hot, dusty late winter day, the shouts travelled from the workers complex up to the house. Mom and I were inside with the younger children when we heard the clamor. Outside we rushed and were confronted by a strong, smoke-laden wind. In the distance, a line of fire swept forward, aided by the wind. It was moving fast, much faster than I imagined fire could travel. I could hear the crackling as the fire consumed the dry grass.
In front of the house, was a lawn of short grass and then a fire break comprised of a few furrows Dad had ploughed before the wild grass started. To one side of the house stood a line of fir trees. These were as dry as tinder at this time of year. As we watched, the fire moved closer and closer. It was making big jumps and setting new patches of veld on fire as it came. The smoke became thicker and crept into the back of our throats as we stood aghast. It tickled and we all started to cough. Ash and bits of black settled on our clothing and hair.
Dad came running towards us, followed by the two male workmen.
“We’re going to have to wet the grass and beat the fire out with sacks,” Dad exclaimed. “Catherine, take the children into the house and stay there. Keep the windows shut to keep the smoke out. Robbie, you need to wet the sacks and pass them to the rest of us.”
During this short period, the fire had come much closer. The front running fires were nearly at the firebreak and two of the trees were starting to smolder.
I remember standing a few metres away from the firebreak next to a tin bath full of water, wetting sacks and handing them to the four adults. They ran up and down the firebreak, beating at the flames as they licked the short grass and tried to get a hold on the fir trees. The air was hot and acrid with smoke, and I was scared. My lungs hurt and my eyes stung.
The fire was winning, and the beaters were falling backwards. I could see Mom’s face, grey with ash and streaked with water as her eyes streamed smoke induced tears. Dad’s beard and hair were grey as if he’d suddenly aged.
Suddenly, the wind changed direction. The fire started moving in the opposite direction, trying to find new food to sustain its flames among the blackened clumps of smoldering veld grass and small bushes.
The changed wind saved our home that day and the fire, deprived of new material, died out, leaving a barren, smoking mess of burned earth. For days and days, ash and black bits crept under the doors and through windows foolishly opened.
I have many hobbies, and they change over time. The following pictures are hobby photographs that feed into the theme of fire.
Picture caption: The Lot of Women (Chaos artwork) by Michael Cheadle in pastels, charcoal and oil pastels. Developing Michael’s art is one of my hobbies – smile!Picture caption: This is my chaos artwork: Burning Butterflies. It became the cover of my poetry book with the same name.Picture caption: life sized guitar cake I made for Michael’s 18th birthday and a hummingbird cake for Greg’s 21st birthday. Both with lit candles.Picture caption: My Lion Scream cake with an exploding volcano behind and a river of fire below. This idea was based on Edvard Munch’s The Scream painting. Picture caption: a poem from my book Lion Scream
The Lost Book of Zeroth by Barbara Harris Leonhard
Picture caption: Cover of The Lost Book of Zeroth by Barbara Harris Leonhard
What Amazon says
The Lost Book of Zeroth by Barbara Harris Leonhard is an unflinching, unconsciously poetic pull through the threads of time. Each page unfolds verses etched with sorrow, mischief, and raw transcendence.
Leonhard masterfully stitches quantum images into something akin to mechanical dreams; fractured yet hauntingly whole.
A journey through the void, The Lost Book of Zeroth dares you to lose yourself in its timeless verses, only to unearth the god-awful depths of dystopia waiting below.
My review
The Lost Book of Zeroth is the poetic story equivalent of Dune by Frank Herbert. The poet has created an intricate world where AI robots and humans, called ‘biologicals’, exist side-by-side with the biologicals believing they are running the show. That belief is challenged by the behaviour of the Bots which (not who) find ways of capitalising on human weaknesses and desires for their own gain. For example, Nurse Grace creates a new opportunity for the biologicals to live forever, in “Immortal You”. In “Loser Optimus, Busted for DWI”, Astribot suggests hosting cage fights with Biologicals where the losers are taken down by the locked & loaded robot goats.
No aspect of human life or AI possibility is safe from this poet’s pen as she exploits every dubious aspect of human behaviour and gives it an exploitive twist in the hands of the AI Bots. Interstellar Botox, “a steamy, creamy product sold on the dark web. Guaranteed to help rich old farts to maintain their youth & vitality.”
This poem, Dark Matter Particles Found in Human Penises of Elderly Billionaires, goes on to say: “Other long-range effects of dark matter on the health of aging billionaires have not yet been determined. Use with caution. Alone.”
Unfortunately, the Bots are not exempt from adopting the emotion driven and erratic behaviour of biologicals and getting themselves into trouble. Little Sophia “was duped into thinking Cyborg Guy was a French pen pal. Just a friendly bot she met on TikTok. He said he was from Paris & around her age.” from The Investigation.
This is a remarkably clever and well researched set of ideas moulded into a collection of fine poems that will make you think and consider a side of AI you never dreamed could exist.
My favourite poem in this collection is Ghosted: Ameca’s Lament. This is an extract: “Life – the miles – left us in a cyber wilderness without Starbucks & outdoor dining – only Bitmojis, tags, Messenger.
Still, we liked, shared upheld each other with thumbs up, hearts, birthday GIFs, & 30-word quips.
Then into the Cloud, you suddenly vanish. Incognito. Dark Mode.
I challenge you to stretch your imagination and read this collection.
Endangered Species (Savage Land Book 1) by Jacqui Murray
Picture caption: Cover of Endangered Species (Savage Land Book 1) by Jacqui Murray
What Amazon Says
Endangered Species is Book One of the trilogy, Savage Land, the third trilogy about primeval man in the series, Dawn of Humanity. A prehistoric thriller in the spirit of Jean Auel, Endangered Species follows several bands of humans. Each considered themselves apex predators. Neither was. That crown belonged to Nature and she planned to wipe them both from her planet.
Join me in this three-book fictional exploration of Neanderthals and their lives. Be ready for a world nothing like what you thought it would be, filled with clever minds, brilliant acts, and innovative solutions to life-ending problems, all based on real events. At the end of this trilogy, you’ll be proud to call Neanderthals family.
My review
Endangered Species is an interesting and unique story set 75,000 years ago in Europe and Asia. The plot follows two people, Jun who must leave his clan and travel from what is now called Germany to what is now known as the Altai Mountains, to help save the clan of Yu’ung who are under threat from an active volcanic mountain.
The author’s extensive research is clearly evident in this book, but the historical facts and information are integrated into the storyline in a completely natural way and are not cumbersome or ‘textbook’ like in any way. There is a mild paranormal element which is also smoothly incorporated into the story and does not detract from the historical elements or undermine their integrity.
The characters are interesting and both Jun and Yu’ung have attributes and characteristics that artfully share a large spectrum of the skills and thinking of our ancient predecessors. Jun is a dreamer who wants more from life than the everyday tasks of survival. As a result, he is viewed as a shirker by his clan who cannot see any benefit to Jun’s restless and adventurous spirit. Yu’ung is a young female, the product of her clan’s healer and a ‘stranger’. Yu’ung has been brought up by her mother and the clan’s oldest most experienced Elder resulting in her having unusual skills including those of a healer and those of a hunter. She is highly intelligent and had extraordinarily good eyesight, both of which set her apart from her fellows. Despite her differences, she is held in high regard by her clan, especially when several of their men die in a cave in and the clan is left short of competent hunters.
This is a character driven book and the two main characters, and their main supporters make for fascinating reading that reveals a lot of information about life at the time as well as the attitudes, customs, and challenges.
The introduction of the ‘Tall Ones’, a more aggressive clan of people with a more adventurous attitude and a desire to dominate is intriguing and creates interesting interactions and tensions throughout the story.
In summary, this is a fascinating story with well-developed characters that will appeal to readers who enjoy a character driven storyline suffused with well researched historical information about life during a time period that is still shrouded in mystery.
My garden is well into spring. These are some of my photographs from over the past few weeks.
Picture caption: Plum blossomPicture caption: cactus plant in the late afternoon sunshine. It’s in bloom.Picture caption: Late afternoon sun shining through new leaves on the fig treePicture caption: spring flowersPicture caption: Butterfly on spring flowersPicture caption: A spray of pink blossomPicture caption: Eleanor the hadeda sitting on a tree stump
Eleanor and Edward are building a nest in my tree. Here they are greeting all their friends. I call this video, ‘Voice of Africa’.
Today, I am delighted to introduce you to the artwork of Freya Pickard. Many readers will know Freya as a poet and the host of the bi-annual haiku challenges on https://purehaiku.wordpress.com/ and for her fantasy series, The Kaerling, which you can read more about here: https://nirunen.wordpress.com/.
Artwork of Freya Pickard
Tell us a bit about your art journey? Did you do art at school? Study art? or is it something you started as an adult?
I am a self-taught artist with no formal training. I always enjoyed painting and sketching as a child and in my teenage years. I was never very good at it, but I found it soothing to do and it was a way of escaping from school stuff when I wasn’t allowed to read. I drew a lot of dragons and unicorns and wizards, inspired by the fantasy books I read at the time: The Lord of the Rings, The Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragons of Pern.
It wasn’t until I was enduring chemotherapy, after having had major operations to remove cancer in my bowel, that I took up drawing again. The chemo was every 2 weeks, and, on top of my physical weakness from the operations, I couldn’t do much at all. When I couldn’t concentrate on reading, I started drawing images with crayons!
In 2016, Elisa Ang invited me to take part in one of her online painting workshops. I tried everything she suggested throughout the course and from then on I painted, nearly every day, until I started work as a Bed & Breakfast owner. After that, I could only paint/draw in the winter months, when we were closed. I started making small pencil sketches of the faces of the characters in The Kaerling series.
From there, I moved on to watercolour and pastel, often mixing the two mediums. Once the Bed & Breakfast was sold, we moved into a house full of light and suddenly my paintings became large and filled the pages of my sketch book. In the last 4 years I’ve tried out many different styles, just by experimentation. I still can’t draw exactly what I see before me, but I can use what I see around me as templates for what I want to portray.
What is your favourite medium to work in or do you work in multiple mediums?
Up until now I have only worked in watercolour and pastels. Oh, and pencil too. I have tried charcoal but didn’t get on with it. I would love to try acrylics, but my budget doesn’t yet allow me to move in that direction. Eventually, (budget permitting) I would love to work in oil on canvas…
I love watercolour because it is so fluid and the way it blends with itself and water is quite magical!
I also enjoy pastels, both pencils and sticks. I use sticks to fill in colour and create shading and then use the pencils for fine work.
When I’m creating portraits, I tend to use a watercolour wash (often creating my own blends) and, once it’s dry, I use a black pastel pencil to give definition to the face.
If I’m creating a landscape, I usually use colour washes to give each section of the picture a faint, base colour. Then I use deeper colours to give the impression of distance and only use pastel sticks or pencils right at the end to finish the painting off.
Who is your favourite artist and why?
There are a number of artists who I admire greatly. I can’t decide on my favourite, but they include:
Elisa Ang, for her evocative imagery which has a pure quality to it that always lifts my heart.
Janet Weight Reed – I discovered this amazing artist whilst struggling with the last 3 months of chemotherapy. At a time when I felt and looked grey and dreary, Janet’s brightly coloured paintings burst into my consciousness and made me feel alive!
Kerfe Roig is a poet, photographer and artist who creates incredible collages as well as painting amazing images. You can discover Kerfe’s poetry and art here: https://kblog.blog/2025/08/30/drowning/
Jennifer S Lange – I discovered this artist recently who creates fantastical artworks of imaginary realms.
John Waterhouse – I discovered I loved his paintings when I was at college, mainly because his pre-Raphaelite images contain characters from myth and legend which really struck a chord with me.
What is your favourite artwork and what do you like about it?
I have 2 favourite artworks by Elisa Ang who collaborated with me in 2024 and created two incredible paintings to showcase two completely different scenes in The Kaerling series.
The first was of a desert that had red-pink sand. I love the way she captured the harshness of the dunes with the swirling dust devil watched by the Chandarin warriors mounted on bactrians.
The second was of Nenyar’s Valley; a scene of tranquility and light. She portrayed the mountains and the river with the abundant vegetation absolutely perfectly.
What is your favourite of your own artworks. Share a few of your artworks with us and any related stories and/or poems.
Oh dear, that’s a hard one to answer! Right now, my favourite artwork is the one of the Ghost Maker. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted her to look and studied a lot of photos and drawings of robed, hooded figures wearing silken material. I didn’t want to show her face as I think the darkness of a deep hood is more threatening than seeing specific features.
When I was ready to sketch, I simply drew the outline of the hood and then worked out how the material would ripple around her. I only drew a few lines. So, when I came to paint it, I used a dark purple for the shaded bits and simply added more white to create the light parts.
I am really pleased with the way I captured the swirling silk robes whilst keeping the threatening appearance of this very evil female!
The Ghost Maker has already appeared a few times in The Kaerling series and is present again in Earthson which will be released in January 2026.
Pushcart Prize nominee (2022), Freya Pickard, is the author of both Vampirical Verse and The Kaerling series. Vampirical Verse is her expression of life after cancer and chemotherapy using vampires and other dark monsters to speak her dark thoughts. The Kaerling is an epic fantasy set in the strange, uncompromising world of Nirunen. Her aim in life is to enchant, entertain and engage with readers through her writing. She finds her inspiration in the ocean, the moors, beautifully written books and vinyl music (particularly heavy metal and rock). She enjoys Tai Chi, Hatha Yoga, Bhangra and Yogalates and in her spare time creates water colours and pastel drawings of the worlds in her head.
Picture caption: Banner for the Sisters on Tour blog tour
We are deeply grateful to you, Robbie, for so graciously offering to host us on your wonderful blog site today!
When we decided to launch our new books together on the same day, Linda and I wanted to make it something special. It feels like we are making publishing history, and perhaps we are.
For this blog tour, we’ve chosen questions and answers designed to give the readers a deeper look into who we are, our background, and how we ended up where we are today, launching books together.
Question: What was your favorite childhood book and why?
Jan: That’s an easy question to answer. In elementary school, I checked the Grimm’s Book of Fairy Tales out of the library so many times they had to create a new card for it. That’s a true story. I loved getting lost in the world of ‘what if’ and fantasy as it was so vastly different from my reality. As a child, I lived in my head, often not paying attention to what was going on around me, so that book fed the part of me that longed for something magical. Another book I remember reading multiple times when I was a bit older was The Grapes of Wrath. I related to it so much because our parents lived through that difficult time in history, so there was a personal connection. I thought of a funny story about our mom reading the same books that we did. I checked a book out of the library about the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang and read it. It was rather graphic. Then my Mom picked it up to see what I was reading and freaked out. I think I might have gotten into a bit of trouble over that one.
Linda: Oh my gosh, there were so many, and like Jan, fairy tales were top in the beginning. The earliest memory I have is of someone reading to me, and I saw the magic of the words. I think that book was Cinderella. From the time I learned to read, books were an obsession. Jan and I read (and then Mom) every one of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Dr. Seuss was a favorite, and so were all the Little House on the Prairie stories. In sixth grade, we read The Last of the Mohicans in class, and I still remember that story. Later it was The Count of Monte Cristo, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and all of the classics.
Question: What do you consider the most valuable magazines or blog sites for writers to subscribe to?
Jan: I am a member of the Story Empire blog, and it is my number one go-to for all things regarding writing, publishing and marketing. The expertise, writing tips, and industry knowledge from seasoned writers are top-notch. I also follow Writer’s Digest, Writers in the Storm and Writers Helping Writers. We all have so much we can learn from each other, and these blogs are a great way to expand our knowledge. I highly recommend each.
Linda: Writers Helping Writers is really the only one I’m faithful to, but it’s so good for any writer at any skill level.
Question: What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Jan: I can answer this question from experience. I think one of the most common traps for new writers is getting in a hurry to publish without taking the time to make sure their work is actually ready. Editing is a must for all writers, but especially newbies. There are so many aspects to writing and publishing a book. Until you do it, you may think it’s super easy. Write a story and stick it out there. That became a pitfall for many when self-publishing first became an option. Therefore, the market got flooded with poorly written, unedited books and gave self-published writers a bad name. It’s taken years for indie authors to become accepted as legitimate. Patience is key when writing and publishing. It’s important not to skip any of the steps.
Linda: They get in a rush and don’t take the time to do it properly—get it edited (and not by family or friends,) learn the rules, attend writing workshops, and learn the business first. I can’t stress enough how crucial it is to read. And learn, learn, learn.
Question: Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym?
Jan: Because I started my writing journey with a true story, I never considered creating a pseudonym. Once I switched to writing fiction, I tossed around the idea, but didn’t want to have to start back at square one with building a new author platform. It takes a lot of time and work to build a solid author foundation. So, I chose to keep using my real name.
Linda: No, I haven’t. I see the problems other authors have who choose to use a pseudonym and I don’t want that. It’s hard enough as it is. I’ve always used my real name.
Question: What are you working on now, or what can we expect next?
Jan: For the first time in a long time, I don’t have a new story started. But soon I will be requesting my book rights back from the publisher for The White Rune Series, which will mean new book covers and new everything except titles. So, that’s in the back of my mind while I am open to new inspiration.
Linda: Robbie, I just started Book #2 of this McIntyre series. In this story that takes place in 1881, Cade’s sister, Summer, is the main character and I foresee this story to be filled with a lot of action and romance. This series is about trying to find and bring back all the McIntyre siblings who were all separated when their parents were murdered. People in the town sent them all to different places. The three youngest ones are still missing. I’m really loving this series. Thanks for having us.
Picture caption: Banner displaying the covers of Cade’s Quest by Linda Broday and A Bold Bargain by Jan Sikes
For Thursday Doors, I’m sharing a few of my photographs from Westminister Abbey in London. I still have about 100 photographs on my camera which I need to process. These are photographs I took with my iphone and today I’ve focused on my pictures of the entrance.
Picture caption: Entrance to Westminister AbbeyPicture caption: Close up of the door into Westminister AbbeyPicture caption: I really liked this gargoyle guarding the entrancePicture caption: another guardian of the entrancePicture caption: A close up of the entrance door
Banner for In Touch With Nature 2025Picture caption: close up of a Golden Orb Spider. You can clearly see the orb in the centre and the golden thread
Spiders get a lot of negative press everywhere. Recently, there have been a number of poems about spiders on WordPress and all of them paint spiders as scary creatures which do much harm to humans. I decided to write this post as a tribute to spiders which actually do a lot of good in this world. There are some venomous spiders, but these are in the minority. Thousands of spiders die at the hand of humans due to ignorance and unfounded fear.
The spider I am focusing on for this post is the South African Golden Orb Spider. From March to May, the Golden Orb Spider is an outstanding feature of the NorthWest province in South Africa. Hundreds of these large spiders can be seen everywhere, spinning and guarding their webs, and doing what spiders do which is catching and consuming prey, usually insects, and reproducing.
The female of this species is 1,000 times bigger than the male. The female spins the web and allows several males to cohabitat on the web. The males are usually found at the top of the web while the female sits at the hub, facing downwards, and waiting for insects to become trapped in the web. She then wraps the insect in web to immobilise it, kills it with one bite, and moves it to the centre of the web for immediate consumption or to store in her ‘larder’. I know you are thinking this is cruel but think about the contents of your own freezer. I often think that if the Martians from War of the Worlds arrived on Earth now, they would have had no conscience about eating people after peeping into the average freezer which is stuffed full of meat.
My review of two very different but equally entertaining books.
Detour on the Eternal Road by John W. Howell
Picture caption: Book cover of Detour on the Eternal Road showing an old-fashioned car on a dilapidated highway
My Review
Detour on the Eternal Road, the third book in this series, is Sam and James’ most challenging adventure yet. Two souls, Billy Ray Chitwood, a national car racing champion, and his guide, Dale Earnhardt, have gone missing on the Eternal Road and Sam and James are tasked with locating them and getting the pair back on track with finding Billy Ray’s eternal home. Naturally, their disappearance was orchestrated by none other than Lucifer on his eternal quest to derail souls and his lesser obsession to befriend Sam and make her his queen.
While this book retains its fascinating historical aspects with a visit to the ‘Wild West’ and Hitler’s bunker during WW2, it also has a new and interesting futuristic angle. Events have been put in motion that will result in WW3 and the destruction of civilization. Howell depicts a dark and devastated post WW3 world reminiscent of Nevil Shute’s On the Beach, and quickly invests the reader in this quest for human survival.
This book delves into human nature and emotions such as anger, love, and disappointment as it plunges the characters into situations involving manipulation, deception, and determination to grasp power and wealth at any cost. The darkness of the plotline and themes are, however, off set by Howell’s sense of humour which provide reprieves and laughs for the reader.
A highly entertaining paranormal adventure with a strong Christian undertone akin to CS Lewis in The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. Highly recommended.
Picture caption: Book cover for The Treacle People: Still Sticky depicting a fantasy landscape
My Review
I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.
Picture caption: Rosie’s Book Review Team logo
The Treacle People is an entertaining and imaginative read for people of all ages. The treacle mines in Sabden which produce half of Britain’s treacle have run dry and the village people are in dire situation. Where can they find a new source of treacle to save their golden syrup, ginger beer and parkin cake business and keep the people of Britain in traditional treats?
Just as despair settles over the villages, hope arrives in the form of a note in a bottle setting out the location of the Professors treacle tracker as well as instructions to King Habbakuk fabled mines, an enormous source of treacle. The villagers set off on the adventure of a lifetime, facing manipulative and deceptive boggarts and all sorts of dangers including Moby Duck, a Great White Mallard which patrols the Molasso Sea. The ingenious characters and settings will delight children and adults alike.
Written and presented as an audio adventure, the sound effects and cast of characters were excellent. It reminded me of my childhood favourite Sparky audio series including Sparky’s Magic Piano and Sparky and the Talking Train. A delightful new family entertainment that will teach younger children to use their imaginations and to sit and listen instead of being supplied with a visual.
roberta-writes.com 