During the first week of October, Terence and I took a three day break at Madikwe Hills lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve. It was hot, hot, hot and very dry, but we got some terrific sightings. The lodge is wonderful, the room was large and had every thing you could imagine. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2023/10/26/barns-of-somers/

Sunday Stills

Terri’s challenge this week is funny pictures from real life. You can join in here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2023/10/22/sunday-stills-real-life-from-the-funny-pages/

“What you doing, Zuri?”

“I’m stretching my legs and licking salt.”

“It looks interesting. I think I’ll try.”

“Eeek! I think I’ve put my back out. This isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.”

“Thank goodness, I managed to get up.”

“What do you think, Amahle? Time to call the men with the straight jackets?”

Michael and I have a new children’s education book coming out in November. It includes my photographs and drawings as well as links to our YouTube videos. AND, it’s about giraffes – my favourite creature!

Tanka Tuesday

Colleen’s challenge is to write syllabic poems about the season using kigo words. I’m not great at kigo words, probably because I am not good at listening to instructions, but I keep trying. PS Colleen edited Neema the Misfit Giraffe. A huge thank you, Colleen.

These two are for fun, part of my animal joking around in this post.

Fat birds

Mangled fruit

Product of guzzling

Plump loeries

Eat and eat

I’ll have to build a runway

Fattest birds in town

The story of the desperate salesman

Desperately he flies

Between the branches

Calling for a female to give him a chance

“Please come and look” he chirps

“You’ve nothing to lose.”

***

He’s been building for days

King of construction

Improving his intricate weaving techniques

Working from dawn to dusk

Then comes marketing

***

So far, he’s unlucky

Each nest rejected

Dismantling them, to make room for new efforts

Single minded in his

Determination

This one is the kigo words poem.

Spring mornings

Cool mornings

Necessitate coat

Cloudy sky

Chilly breeze

Burning off before midday

Sweltering afternoons

You can join in Tanka Tuesday here: https://tankatuesday.com/2023/10/24/24-seasons-syllabic-poetry-challenge-no-5-10-24-23/

Today, I am delighted to share two books by Jan Sikes: Ghostly Interference and Voodoo or Destiny you decide.

Ghostly Interference

What Amazon says

Jag Peters has one goal in his quiet comfortable life—to keep his karma slate wiped clean. A near-miss crash with a candy apple red Harley threatens to upend his safe world. He tracks down the rider to apologize properly. Slipping into a seedy biker bar, he discovers the rider isn’t a “he”, it’s a “she”, a dark-haired beauty.

Rena Jett is a troubled soul, who lives in a rough world. She wants no part of Jag’s apology, but even while she pushes him away, she is attracted to him. When he claims to see a ghost—her brother—can she trust him? And could her brother’s final gift, a magical rune stone with the symbol for “happily ever after” have the power to heal her wounds and allow opposites to find common ground—perhaps even love?

My review

Ghostly Interference is an unusual romance between a middle class young man who has a good career in the IT industry, and a young girl who has had an unfortunate childhood and is now on her own with no family. Why I say it is unusual is that the young man, Jag, is not particularly happy in his chosen job, but is trapped by its perceived safety factor.

Jag has other talents and desires which he has swept under the carpet in his determination to play it safe and have a reliable income. It takes an unexpected encounter with Rena, a woman with a wild and free spirit, to help him along the path towards happiness and fulfilment. This is quite different from the traditional Cinderella style of romance where the poor, unhappy woman is saved by the rich and handsome prince.

There is a supernatural element in this romance but it is not scary or alarming. Rather, it is comforting in it’s message that our love never ends completely and our loved ones remain spiritually on the prereferral of our lives, watching over us.

I really enjoyed Jag as a character. He was cautious, reliable, but stuck in a rut. It was fun to watch him unwind and start to live life and discover passion, enthusiasm, and freedom. An unfortunate incident with his female boss, who is very obviously attracted to him, proves to be an enabler that allows him to break free from the trap of his well-paid job. This part made me wonder how many people remain in well paid jobs all their lives because they are scared to take a chance and try something different.

Rena is a interesting character. She has experienced the worst life has to offer, right down to losing her only brother who is the rock in her life. The author did a terrific job of making the reader really care about Rena and feel great sadness that she had experienced so much hardship and suffering as a child. Her journey to trusting Jag and gradually allowing herself to experience love and faith is very touching.

This book also touches in a natural way on some serious topics such as child abuse and discrimination. These sub-themes are not preachy or obvious, but are presented subtly in a way that gives the reader food for thought.

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Interference-White-Rune-Sikes-ebook/dp/B08KW1KFMW

Voodoo or Destiny you decide

What Amazon says

Claire Winters is heartbroken when her husband of many years says he’s found a new love and wants a divorce. While having a pity party with her best friend, Jade, they come up with a daring idea. Together, they construct a Voodoo doll and with the help of several bottles of wine, create a ceremony to bring the same heartbreak to Daniel Winters as he brought to Claire. But do they go too far? You decide!

My review

How would you feel if your husband and the father of your children announced he was having an affair and wants a divorce? Might you vent your anger and humiliation by having a bit of fun with voodoo?

Claire Winters is in just this position when she gets together with her best friend, Jade, for an evening of serious drinking. Jade, whose grandmother comes from Haiti where voodoo is common, comes up with the bright idea of their making a voodoo doll to help Claire express her feelings. The two women have some fun dressing themselves up for the ceremony and going through the voodoo ritual Jade learned from her grandmother.

Claire and Jade come to realise that dabbing in the occult can have unexpected consequences. This is a fast paced and enjoyable story about a game gone wrong.

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TMQJKSS

Today’s book, Circumstances of Childhood, is by talented author, John Howell. John has several great books but this is still my favourite.

What Amazon says

When a former pro football star and broadcaster, now a Wall Street maven is accused of insider trading, will he be able to prove his innocence and expose those who are guilty?
Greg and his boyhood pal dreamed of big success in professional football and then later in business. Greg was the only one to live the dream. Now the founder of an investment fund Greg is faced with a routine audit finding by the SEC. The audit points to irregularities and all the tracks lead to Greg. The justice department hits him with an indictment of 23 counts of fraud, money laundering, and insider trading. His firm goes bust, and Greg is on his own.
His best friend knows he is innocent but has been ordered under penalty of eternal damnation not to help.
If you enjoy stories of riches to rags, redemption, brotherly love, and a little of the paranormal, Circumstance of Childhood will keep you riveted.

My review

I loved this book. The growth of the investment fund, SEC audit and investigation and the outcome that feature in the book are convincing. John Howell clearly has a very good knowledge base of corporate finance and its rules and regulations and the story rang true to me. The book comprises of two story lines that run parallel.

One is the tale of a successful football star who turns his hand to running and investment fund, with some brilliance but, possibly, with to much trust and a lack of understanding of some of the technicalities. I though John Howell showed a very sound knowledge of computers and electronic trading and the associated risks.

The second story line is that of enduring friendship between two boys thrown together by life’s circumstances. John was skillful in describing the personalities of the two friends and how they both relied on each other for support as they traveled their chosen path of university and football. There is an interesting twist to this friendship that results in Greg moving on to stardom on his own.

There is also a bit of a romance in the book as Greg meets and courts his eventual wife, Terry. The effect of great financial success on their relationship and children is intriguing and it leaves you wondering about the natures and intentions of some of the characters right from the beginning of their entry into Greg’s life.

A fast moving and exciting story, I rated Circumstances of Childhood five out of five stars.

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075SKWHCR

Thank you to Kaye Lynne Booth for hosting this month’s Dark Origins post about Daniel Defoe’s novel, A Journal of the Plague Year. It is written as a first hand account of a man of means living in London during the Great Plague of 1665 and is completely fascinating.

Dark Origins – A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe based on the Great Plague of London, 1665 #DarkOrigins #readingcommunity #history

What Amazon says

As she let her gaze drift around her, she saw that there were more birds. Perhaps a dozen or so, perched among the trees that stood on the edge of the clearing. And yet more were arriving, swooping down through the gap overhead and landing on branches that overlooked them. The birds weren’t threatening, yet the sight of them all coming together in this dark and isolated spot was unnerving. Tanya reached a hand out towards Martin, and was relieved to feel him take it. She felt him move in behind her. After the uncertainty she’d experienced with him in a similar position only a few moments ago, she recognised the irony of her reaction. His closeness offered security.

“You know what they are, don’t you?”

A stranger’s arrival in a small village coincides with a tragic accident. For the Gates family in particular it’s more than a coincidence, but their unease increases following a brutal attack. As tensions rise, a dark past returns to haunt them and others, while newcomers to the village are drawn into a mystery with terrifying consequences. And no one can explain why the ravens are gathering.

Ravens Gathering twists and turns as the truth is gradually exposed in a gripping thriller with a supernatural edge to it.

My review

Martin Gates suffers from a recurring nightmare. In the dream his 8-year old self is awoken by the call of the drums. He follows the sound to a clearing in the woods in his home village where he is confronted by a horrific and traumatic sight. Unfortunately, Martin is never able to identify the source of his horror. He has experienced the dreams, on and off, throughout his life but recently they have become more and more frequent. Martin feels he is being called back to his home village.
Martin travels home and is not given a hero’s welcome by either the people of the village or his own family. In fact, he is actively rejected by his family who do not want to see him. His unexpected arrival coincides with a terrible accident by a physically disabled member of the community and he becomes a suspect in the case.

Martin meets Tanya, the attractive but bored and resentful wife of an older man who bought one of the local farms and is building houses to sell on the land. Tanya invites Martin to stay in their guest accommodation. Martin’s presence in their home has the unfortunate result of drawing the unhappy couple into his investigation into the source of his dreams and the reason he felt compelled to return to his home town.

Martin is not the only recent arrival in the village. Someone far more evil has arrived and he is determined to carry out his own agenda and make the villagers suffer as much as possible.

I loved this book of just over 500 pages. I thought this was a well-written, entertaining and unique storyline and I was impressed that I did not get bored or skip pages throughout my reading of this book.

Martin is an interesting character and the author certainly leads the readers on a bit of a song and dance before revealing Martin’s more admirable character traits. I grew to like Martin more and more as the book progressed. Tanya was a spoiled and silly woman but, when the chips were down, she responded most sensibly and showed loyalty and love for her estranged husband.

This book is not for people who are sensitive as there are parts of this story that are very brutal and almost depraved. All in, I thought this was an excellent read and would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good horror story.

Purchase Ravens Gathering from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Gathering-Graeme-Cumming-ebook/dp/B00AGIDQA2

Today’s book is a collection of eight chilling short stories, Chills & Creeps 1: Eight Scary Stories, by Nick Clausen.

What Amazon says

Eight Spine-Chilling and Supernatural Stories

In this collection, you’ll meet …

• Peter, who meets an upholsterer who really likes his skin.
• Mary, who gets a pet fish that will only eat human flesh.
• Daniel, who plays a game that becomes real in his dreams.
• Eagle, who suffers from a rare disease making birds attack him wherever he goes.
• Joseph, who plays tennis with a ghost.
• Nadia, who gets trapped in a house slowly filling up with water.
• Calvin, whose sister visits a hypnotist and becomes someone else.
• And Noah, who learns to control lights with his mind.Eight stories spanning horror, dark fantasy and science fiction, all set in everyday life while exploring the dark, the evil and the supernatural. Fans of Goosebumps will love these chilly stories! This is volume 1 of the series.

My review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book of eight short creepy and chilling tales by Nick Clausen. The tone of his stories, and their unusual and clever twists reminded me of Roald Dahl’s style with his short story collections.

Under the skin features a young, red headed boy with freckly skin who takes shelter in a elderly strangers house one afternoon during a downpour. The granny is kindly towards him, giving him tea and cookies and drying his clothing, but she has her own frightening agenda;
Snapper the fish is a tale of the acquisition of a pet gone wrong. Mary is a spoiled girl who has recently become an older sister to a baby girl. Mary is jealous of the attention the new baby is garnering from her friends and family. When Mary acquires a most unusual pet, she makes a plan to use it for her own selfish ends;
Deadly dreams features the very topical world of gaming. Two boys are drawn into a popular game of human versus monsters. Despite various warnings that the game is dangerous to your health, it has gone viral. Daniel and Christian had better practice hard, they can’t afford to make mistakes;
All birds hate me gave me the greatest creeps of them all as I have a bit of a phobia about birds attacking people. Eagle is diagnosed with a strange disease. he is getting treatment, but is impatient to enjoy his life like everyone else his age. He decides to venture out of the safety of his home;
Ghost tennis is all about a young ghost who has an obsession with tennis. When a new family move into his historic home, he hopes that he will find a new tennis partner. If not, everyone will pay;
Drip-Drip-Drip shows what could happen if your own home turned against you. Unfortunately, it knows your deepest and darkest fears and is willing to use them against you;
When I snap my fingers is really rather unsettling tale about progressive hypnotism and what could come out if you delved into your past lives. Meddling with the mind is never a good idea;
Lights out is a rather unusual tale with a super power flavour of a different sort. It is never a good idea for one person to have to much power of nature.

Purchase Chills & Creeps 1: Eight Scary Stories from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Chills-Creeps-Eight-Scary-Stories/dp/1070427187

This week’s W3 Prompt #77 challenge is to write a dormasha – three variations on a shadorma syllabic format. You can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2023/10/18/w3-prompt-77-weave-written-weekly/.

This is what came; thank you muse! My verses go 5/3/7/3/3/5 then 3/7/5/3/3/5 and 3/5/3/3/7/5.

Dad

A great role model

Is my dad

He taught me composition

And about

Proportion

Skills I use daily

***

Even now

He’s older and in poor health

He adds great value

To my life

Supportive

And encouraging

***

Spring planting

Decorative trees

Adorning

The pavement

His enthusiasm grows

As project takes shape

Today, I am featuring The Price of Atonement by Mae Clair. This is Book 1 in the Harbor Pointe series.

What Amazon says

he Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.

Some hauntings come from within.

Leviticus Sinclair has been a broken man since the murders of his wife and brother. Burdened by personal failures the night they were killed, he occupies himself by crossing the country, searching out departed spirits unwilling to move from this world to the next. His dead brother’s Bible and a pocket watch—forever frozen at the precise moment of his wife’s death—serve as grim reminders of a past he cannot exorcise.

Accompanied by Wyatt Resnick, a paid employee who fills the role of researcher and hired muscle, Leviticus arrives at the Harbor Pointe Inn amid rumors of a vengeful ghost. A phantom who may be the single spirit he has long sought, one capable of freeing him from his torment.

Set in the remote Pacific Northwest of 1887, The Price of Atonement is a story of jealousy, guilt, and one man’s relentless quest for absolution.

My review

Leviticus Sinclair is not alive. He is also not entirely dead. He is stuck somewhere in between and has been tasked with assisting troubled spirits who have lingered among the living, to cross over and claim their place in the afterlife. Many don’t want to go. They have unfinished business that requires resolution before they can find peace, and they have to be forced into capitulating which is exhausting work.

While going about his tasks, Leviticus also seeks to find his own path to redemption. This is his motivating force.

Having recently finished a particularly difficult assignment involving three ghosts in a love triangle, none of whom wanted to pass on and had to be forced, Leviticus and his assistant, Wyatt, set off to an inn at Harbor Pointe to find a troubled spirit who has ‘called’ Leviticus. On arrival, the pair discover that the inn is in dire straits due to a significant drop in visitors to the area. The inn is populated only by the inn keeper, his young wife and their small child, as well as a handyman. Their closest neighbours are the lighthouse keeper and his wife, who happens to be the inn keeper’s sister, and their eleven year old daughter.

Leviticus needs to find the ghost and discover the source of its internal conflict. The inn keeper and his sister are resistant to acknowledging the existence of a ghost. Left to investigate on his own, Leviticus runs into some dangerous trouble which causes him to pause, and look deeply into his own turbulent past.

Leviticus Sinclair is an interesting and complex character. Although this is a novella and not very long, he was nicely fleshed out and the subject of intrigue right from the initial description, as follows: “Leviticus slumped in the seat across from him, head angled against the coach wall. The high collar of his shirt gaped on either side of his neck, exposing the rope burn he was usually careful to hide.”

Wyatt is a sensible and kindly man, older than Leviticus, and who has developed a sense of responsibility and friendship towards his employer. Between the ghost and the determined protectiveness of Wyatt, Leviticus undergoes an interesting growth in his character and understanding of his purpose, which is very compelling.

A most entertaining darker short read.

Purchase The Price of Atonement on Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCW59D94

Thank you to talented author, Marjorie Mallon, for hosting Sonia Pipkin and myself for this stop on the Midnight Roost book blog tour.

Blog Tour Midnight Roost: #Anthology #blog #tour #WordCrafterPress #MidnightRoost #ReadingCommunity #booklovers #whattoread #BooksWorthReading#halloweenreads @robertaeaton17 @GodsAngel1 @JosephCarrabis @PaulKaneShadow

Welcome to USA Today bestselling author, Jacquie Biggar, with her brilliant novel, The Beast Within.

What Amazon says

She didn’t expect to land in the crosshairs of a serial killer. 

Can two displaced angels save a woman from the clutches of a vicious psychopath?  

When Julie Crenshaw is offered a job as a news reporter on beautiful Vancouver Island she didn’t expect to land in the crosshairs of a serial killer. Connor O’Rourke has seen his share of human depravities during his 14 years as a homicide detective, but is still sickened by the murderer terrorizing his island shores and threatening his key witness.

As the stakes rise, can two people get a second chance at love? Or will a killer become the winner?

My review

I listened to the audio book version of this book. The reader had a pleasant and well paced reading style . There were a few places were the quality of the recording wasn’t good but it wasn’t invasive enough to be a problem.

The Beast Within is a unique and interesting story. It starts with the rather shocking discovery of a severed left foot by a young woman, Julie Crenshaw, during her daily walk on the beach. We soon learn that Julie is recently widowed and has moved to Vancouver Island to raise her two young sons. Life is not easy for a woman on her own with a full time job as a journalist and two kids. Julie hasn’t recovered from the horrific and unexpected death of her husband and grief still overshadows her life.

The discovery on the beach changes Julie’s life. She meets the very attractive Connor O’Rourke, the police officer investigating the murder case, who seems to be as interested in her as she is in him leading to a host of conflicting emotions for them both. Julie is embroiled in the case both as a key witness and in her capacity as a journalist covering the story with her team. What she doesn’t realise, however, is that she has caught the eye of the serial killer.

To make matters even more complex and emotionally confusing, Julie’s husband, Mike, and the man responsible for his death, have been sent back to earth as angels until such time as they can sort out their differences and come to terms with their fate.

I don’t read romance novels very often but this was more of a thriller with a romantic aspect. The romance runs parallel to the murder mystery and I found both threads of the story entertaining and interesting.

This book offers something for most reading tastes: romance, thriller, serial killer/murder and paranormal. 

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Within-Mended-Souls-Book/dp/B07BX446YX