I am delighted to have two short stories in Spirits of the West paranormal anthology with a Western flavour. My short stories are about the South African frontier rather than the American frontier but they are based on true historical events which I have fictionalised with a paranormal twist.
This is the second WordCrafter paranormal anthology compiled and edited by Kaye Lynne Booth.
Blurb
Spirits of the west are often found in unexpected places. They can be found on a in a saloon in Colorado territory, on a wagon train in the plains of South Africa, or on a distant planet in another galaxy They can be the bringers of revenge or the protectors of the weak. Indulge yourself in eight unique paranormal stories with western spirit in Spirits of the West.
I started this blog, Roberta Writes, in 2018 when I changed from writing mainly for children and poetry to writing horror, historical and supernatural short stories and novels. Since launching this blog I have published my first supernatural fantasy novel, Through the Nethergate, with a second supernatural historical novel, A Ghost and His Gold, due for publication in Jan/Feb 2021.
This blog is where I promote my adult and young adult writing and also where I share posts written from prompts, book reviews of adult and classic books, darker poetry and other thoughts about historical events that interest me, writing and life in general.
In keeping with the spirit of this blog, today I am sharing some information about Pandemics, then and now.
Epidemics in the form of malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, smallpox and other first started appearing 10 000 years ago when humanity shifted from a hunter-gatherer to an agrarian lifestyle.
The creation of cities and forging of trade routes as well as wars have facilitated the spread of these epidemics to become pandemics.
The earliest recorded pandemic happened during the Peloponnesian War after a disease passed through Libya, Ethiopian and Egypt and spread to Athens. This was in 430 B.C. In 165 A.D. the Antonine Plague spread from the Huns throughout the Roman Empire and lasted for fifteen years.
Plagues and pandemics remained with humankind and some of the most well-known examples are the Black Death of 1350 A.D., The Great Plague of London of 1665 A.D., The Spanish Flu of 1918 and the HIV/AIDS pandemic of 1981. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation announced that COVID-19 was officially a pandemic after infecting people in 114 countries in three months.
Mankind is resilient and adaptable and survival strategies were developed to help contain pandemics and allow people to continue with an adapted from of life during disease outbreaks.
The five most important of these strategies are as follows:
Quarantine – The first legal quarantine occurred in the port city of Ragusa (today’s Dubrovnik) on the 27th of July 1377 during an outbreak of the Black Death. Doctors at this time observed that the spread of the Black Death could be slowed by isolating infected individuals. During the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918, American cities such as San Francisco quarantined naval arrivals before they could enter the city. In both San Francisco and St. Louis, social gatherings were banned, and theatres and schools were closed.
Socially distant food and drink pickup – During the Italian Plague of 1629 to 1631 A.D. wealthy citizens of Tuscany introduced wine windows whereby narrow windows were cut into homes, to enable wine sellers to sell their wine to waiting customers without the customers entering the homes or the sellers going out into the streets. New York implemented “to-go” cocktail windows during COVID-19 which is based on the same principle.
Wearing masks – Doctors treating plague patients wore long, bird-like beaks. These beaks created social distance between the patient and the doctor and partially covered their mouth and nose. At that time, doctors believed in miasma theory that diseases spread through bad smells in the air. In 1918, masks played an important role in stopping the spread of infection to the public. San Francisco made wearing masks mandatory in September 1918 and those who didn’t comply faced fines, imprisonment and social shaming. Newspaper printed instructions on how to make masks at home. Does any of this ring a bell with you?
Washing hands and surfaces – In the early 20th century, hand washing, which was unusual at the time, started to be encouraged. Powder rooms or ground-floor bathrooms were installed for use by guests and delivery people to stop the spread of germs throughout homes.
Fresh air and adaptive schooling – Universities and schools have been closed in the past to help contain pandemics. In 1665, Isaac Newton was sent home from Cambridge University to him family’s home following an outbreak of bubonic plague. In 1918, American cities adopted the concept of open-air schools to help contain the Spanish Flu pandemic. The movement towards fresh air at this time also encouraged the creation of green spaces in cities.
We can see that pandemics have been a feature of human existence for thousands of years and the current COVID-19 prevention techniques are based on previous experiences in containing the spread of diseases. I thought this was interesting and it also amazes me how little infection prevention has changed over hundreds of years.
About Through the Nethergate
Blurb
Margaret, a girl born with second sight, has the unique ability to bring ghosts trapped between Heaven and Hell back to life. When her parents die suddenly, she goes to live with her beloved grandfather, but the cellar of her grandfather’s ancient inn is haunted by an evil spirit of its own. In the town of Bungay, a black dog wanders the streets, enslaving the ghosts of those who have died unnatural deaths. When Margaret arrives, these phantoms congregate at the inn, hoping she can free them from the clutches of Hugh Bigod, the 12th century ghost who has drawn them away from Heaven’s White Light in his canine guise.
With the help of her grandfather and the spirits she has befriended, Margaret sets out to defeat Hugh Bigod, only to discover he wants to use her for his own ends – to take over Hell itself.
St John’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and was established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research.
My family visited St John’s College in April 2018 and these are some of the pictures I took of its beautiful buildings, including the doors.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Today, I am review the third and final book in The Violet Trilogy by Mary E. Hughes.
Mary has shared the following words about why she wrote this trilogy about her paternal grandmother:
“In 1891, at the age of 16, my paternal grandmother, Violet Courtenaye, went to Germany to study violin. An intrepid young woman, I thought, and decided it would be an interesting challenge to imagine her life in Leipzig. She had left some notes about that period on the inside cover of her Bible, so I had a few facts to start with.
I have had a wonderful time over the past eight years doing the research and writing the letters. On one trip to the UK, I found Violet’s actual home in Balham. In 2016 I visited the Leipzig Conservatory, met with the archivist and explored the old city, imagining Violet walking those streets. In 2013, as I was writing about her time at the Conservatory, I realized I had to know more, so as a 70th birthday present to myself, I began violin lessons. A year later I was privileged to acquire Violet’s actual violin from a cousin, and I have been playing it ever since.”
What Goodreads says
Imagine Violet Blooming is the final volume of The Violet Trilogy.
It’s 1906, and Violet is now in her thirties. In letters to family and friends, she writes of the challenges presented by her busy household and five children, the grief of losing loved ones and the pleasures of summer in ever-changing Muskoka. And she is blooming in her role as the wife of Frank Welsman, the celebrated conductor of the newly established Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Imagine Violet Blooming paints a vivid picture of the musical life of Toronto but there is also a generous helping of social history in this tale of middle-class life.
My review
This is the third, and final, book in the Imagine Violet series and equally as enjoyable as the previous two.
Violet and Frank’s lives continue with Frank growing and expanding the orchestra in Toronto under the guidance of Mr Cox. As the conductor of the orchestra and an “in demand” music tutor, he is always busy and rarely at home. Violet also continues in her traditional role as the mother of five lively children and the wife of a well-known conductor. The family have their annual holiday in Muskoka and their cottage on the island is improved with a boat house and a new boat. The descriptions of the encroachment of civilization on this rural and peaceful place are interesting and quite poignant.
Violet grows as a person and experiences the death of her father. Dealing with grief is difficult and she must also keep her mother and sister’s spirits buoyed up, which she does quite successfully. Learning to manage her household staff continues to be a challenge for Violet, but she becomes better and identifying what she needs and a domestic helper who will suit her family as the series progresses. The family moves into a lovely new home which is big enough for their growing family and the older boys, particularly Teddy, excel at school and are great helpers at home.
The series has an unexpected ending, but it is appropriate and well handled; a good finish to a relaxed and peaceful read. These books make me think of taking a boat ride on a calm lake on a warm summer’s day. Each book is a slow-moving and pleasant meander through the life of Violet and each book leads on successfully from the next.
I am rather sad that the series is finished with this book and their will be no more escapades about Violet.
Purchase Imagine Violet Blooming by Mary E. Hughes
Our weather has gone from cool temperatures with heavy rain last week to high temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius this week. The welcome rain combined with this week’s heat, has resulted in our garden literally bursting into bloom.
Teri Polen of Books and Such blog hosts #BadMoonRising, a terrific series of posts about horror, supernatural and dark fantasy books, that runs for the whole of October every year. Whew! What an undertaking. Hats off to Teri.
Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium. She lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband, sons, and black cat. Sarah, her debut novel, was named a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Sarah by Teri Polen
“The writing style and general creepiness reminded me of Diary of a Haunting, which I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed this book.” –Barnes and Noble
Seventeen-year-old horror fan Cain Shannon thought helping a ghost find her killers would be the supernatural adventure of a lifetime. Now, he just hopes to survive long enough to protect his family and friends from her.
A bet between friends goes horribly wrong, resulting in Sarah’s death. When she returns to seek justice against those responsible, Cain agrees to help her. But when he discovers Sarah has been hijacking his body, he realizes she wants retribution instead of justice.
Terrified of what could have happened when he wasn’t in control, Cain commands Sarah to leave his house – but exorcising her isn’t that easy. She retaliates against her murderers in bloody, horrific ways, each death making her stronger, then sets her sights on Cain. With the help of friends, Cain fights to save himself and his loved ones and searches for a way to stop Sarah before she kills again.
My review of Sarah
I listened to the audio book of Sarah by Teri Polen. I thought the reader did a good job and narrated the story at a good pace and with sufficient expression and interest factor to keep the listener engaged.
I thought this book was really creepy. It is a YA book and the characters are all older teenagers which I think worked well for this plot as teenagers, particularly males, do not see risk and are likely to react to situations with a lot more bravado than an adult would in the same circumstances. The almost underhanded and devious way the ghost of Sarah, a murdered school girl, introduces herself to Cain, a jock with a kind heart, lets you know in a subtle way right up front that this is not a particularly friendly ghost and that there is more to her than initially meets the eye.
Cain has assumed the role of man of the house after the death of his father and is protective of his Mother and much younger sister. His compassion, youth and naivety does not stand him good stead in identifying the potential threat posed by Sarah although, as he finds out more about her death, he gradually realises that she is after retribution against her killers and is not looking for help to move on from her current status.
The author’s descriptions of Sarah as she becomes more and more evil and travels further down the path of revenge are very vivid and disturbing. Sarah’s evil thoughts and deeds are reflected in her ghostly face and form.
Fortunately for Cain, he has good friends on his side in the form of Finn, an intelligent and clear minded childhood friend, and Lindsey, a lovely young lady with an aunt who deals in the occult and is able to provide talismans and assistance in fighting Sarah as she becomes more deranged and angry. The clairvoyant aunt was a bit convenient but I did not detract from the story for me.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
The Imperial War Museum Duxford is near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. It is Britain’s largest aviation museum housing nearly 200aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibition buildings.
These photographs of various aircraft are from our visit in 2016. They all have interesting doors.
It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The s�ance has begun. Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination. Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortune-telling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better left unknown. Choose your fate.Choose your DARK DIVINATION.With stories by: Hannah Hulbert, Ash Hartwell, Joe L. Murr, Emerian Rich, Naching T. Kassa, Michael Fassbender, Jon O’Bergh, Stephanie Ellis, H.R.R. Gorman, R.L. Merrill, Rie Sheridan Rose, Daphne Strasert, Alan Fisher, and Jeremy Megargee.
My review
I am a fan of anthologies as they are a great way to find new writing talent, but I usually find there are one or two stories I don’t enjoy. That was not the case for this anthology which included fourteen short stories that were all of a very good quality and all of which had a unique and interesting storyline.
The common theme for this anthology is the inclusion of a method of divinations and there were some fairly different ones such as fortune-telling machines and a pocket watch. Every story was dark and creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat.
My three favourite stories in this anthology are as follows:
The Pocket Watch by Emerian Rich – Gretchen, a beautiful red-head and the daughter of a wealthy family from Manhatten, has married the young and handsome, Lord Windemere and relocated to his family estate in England to start her married life. Soon after their arrival, her new husband gives her the gift of a pocket watch from his deceased mother. Gretchen soon discovers that the pocket watch contains a dark secret and the key to her survival;
Miss Mae’s Prayers by H.R.R. Gorman – A young preacher and his heavily pregnant wife are woken up in the early hours of the morning by a member of his rural congregation who desperately wants the preacher to read him a couple of verses from the Bible. The anxious man is even more disturbed when the reading is over and vows to go back to the elderly woman who gave him the Bible references with an indication that they related to his future. The preacher, who has heard other stories about the old woman, known as Miss Mae, decides to seek her out and speak to her about her witchery. His mission has most unintended consequences;
Broken Crystal by Rie Sheridan Rose – Young Molly has a gift, she has The Sight, and her mother is determined to use it to make their fortune. Molly changes her name to Madame Rose and starts to give consultations for which she charges. Molly is a kindly girl and feels conflicted about taking money from very poor and needy people. One day a rough and angry man comes to her from a consultation following the elopement of his son. The consultation follows a different path with a unique outcome for both the father and Madame Rose.
What is your favorite fruit dish? Can you share a recipe for it? Do you include food in your stories? While we’re talking about food, pumpkin, yea or nay?
My favourite fruit dish is apple pie. I particularly like the recipe given to me by my husband’s grandmother which has a very unusual and tasty sweet pastry.
I do have a tendency to include food quite often in my stories. Why wouldn’t I? People do most of their socialising over meals – well, they do in my family and among my friends group.
I included apple pie in Through the Nethergate when Henry Scarle, a ghost who has recently reincarnated as a result of Margaret’s unique abilities, tries food for the first time in 400 years.
This is the extract:
““Why don’t you try something,” Margaret said suddenly. “You have a physical body now, you may well be able to enjoy food even if you don’t need to eat to sustain yourselves.”
Henry looked delighted at the thought and decided to order apple pie and cream. The pie looked delicious and he wanted this experiment to be worthwhile in case it made him ill afterwards. Lizzie didn’t order anything. She would see how the food agreed with Henry first.
“At least one of us has to be in guaranteed working order,” she said.
Food comes up quite often in my forthcoming novel, A Ghost and His Gold.”
This is an extract from the war experience of Pieter, a Boer [a Boer is an Afrikaans farmer in South Africa], just before he leaves with his brother, Willem to fight in the war against Britain:
“Sannie was famous for her potjiekos, a rich stew comprising of beef, potatoes and plenty of vegetables which she cooked slowly, in a three-legged cast-iron pot, over hot coals until the meat was tender and the vegetables soft.
Pieter’s meals for the past few days had comprised of rusks, dried bread and biltong with water from their water-skins, and his mouth watered as the rich fumes from the stew wafted through the house.
When the meal was ready, Pieter and Willem tucked into the food with gusto, knowing that they were unlikely to enjoy such a good meal again for a while. The main course was followed by Sannie’s home-made melktert, a traditional dessert consisting of a sweet pastry crust containing a custard filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs, and sprinkled with cinnamon.”
I like pumpkin but only as a savoury dish. I enjoy it with a rich gravy or in a potjie or stew.
Do I cook, I hear you asking. Well, yes, maybe a little and I bake a great deal. I love to make exotic cakes. You can find out more about my baking on Robbie’s Inspiration.
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GIVEAWAY: (3 winners) (1) e-book copy of “NIGHTMARELAND”, (1) e-book copy of “THROUGH THE NETHERGATE”, and (1) $25 Amazon gift card. (leave a comment to enter on Charles’ blog)
About Charles W. Jones
I grew up in a small town of five hundred people in Wyoming that everyone always pronounces wrong or spells incorrectly, Shoshoni (show show knee); I swear it’s a real place. My first novel, Dreamwalker: The Second Plain, is LGBTQ+ as are HOME and Daughter of Illusion. My other books include the Circus Tarot Trilogy (it’s Clowns and Tarot, what’s not to love), Hunger, Hydrangeas on the Lanai and Darkness is Coming. And last, but not least, I have two anthology collections, An Unnamed Acquaintance and Liaisons Macabre. Oh, yeah, I currently live with my husband of twenty-one years in Colorado with our three cats, ten crested geckos, and one saltwater fish tank.
The world had already begun to change, in ways Carl had no idea were possible, when the voices began speaking to him on the night of his sixth birthday. When Carl’s mom contacted Dr. Emerson Sharod at the Freedom Institute, she had no idea that the time she cherished with her son would end.
Twenty-two years later, the voices urge Carl to leave the Freedom Institute after a man is slain under suspicious circumstances. He doesn’t question them and naively crosses the threshold into the city of Montford, where he knows no one. A few help him, risking their safety, so he can escape the walled city and begin his trek to find his mom in Saratin.
The world outside the walls is stranger than the city with unknown dangers at every step, though not everyone is a foe. Along the way, he meets many who help him and share stories about what caused the changes in the world. When he reaches Base 40, he comes face to face with Astrid, who rescued him from freaks on the first day of his travels. He is worried that she will tell the baser leader, Corporal Phelps, that he’s the escapee from the Freedom Institute, but she does not.
After an uncomfortable meal with Corporal Phelps, Carl shares his story with Astrid. She agrees to take him to Saratin. Reaching the tent city outside the walls of Saratin, they search for refuge and are taken in by Kenneth who is partially responsible for the chaos in the world. The safe place is quickly infiltrated by Corporal Phelps, and they are taken back to Base 40 where Carl witnesses the Corporal torturing Astrid. In a moment of anguish, Carl remembers something he was told and puts together a plan to save Astrid and himself, and, unknowingly, the world.
A 5-star Amazon review of The Road to Saratin
Dystopian fiction is not my normal genre, but this book made a refreshing read as it was so different.
The story follows Carl, a man haunted by myriad voices in his head since the age of six. We join him twenty-two years later in the Freedom Institute. He knows little of the devastation that overtook the world not long after his incarceration, or of the freaks and mutants that roam outside the three remaining cities. His world has become limited to the doctor who “treats” him and the daily tasks he performs, but everything changes when a colleague dies and suspicion falls on Carl.
In an intricate storyline, the voices urge him to leave his institutionalised life. They guide him along a path of twists and turns, away from the city of Montford. He aims to find his long-lost mom in another of the surviving cities, Saratin. His many encounters and adventures make for an intriguing, if sometimes disturbing, read. The ending is surreal but satisfying.
This book is a real page-turner and stretched my imagination. It surprised me what can be achieved within this post-apocalyptic style of writing.
![Spirits of the West by [Kaye Lynne Booth, Enid Holden, Arthur Rosch, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Jeff Bowles, Tom Johnson]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+bYuBtegL.jpg)
![Dark Divinations by [Naching Kassa, Hannah Hulbert, Ash Hartwell, Joe Murr, Rie Rose, Michael Fassbender, Jon O'Bergh, Stephanie Ellis, H.R.R. Gorman, R.L. Merrill]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51HluROIISL.jpg)
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