Wednesday 29 November 2017

An apology



I just realised I've not given you a link to get The Wolf Pack at the special price of £0.99 or $0.99.

This link will take you to the book's page on Amazon in the country where you are.

Don't forget this offer is only until 5th December, so hurry and don't miss it.

Here's the link.

http://mybook.to/thewolfpack

Tuesday 28 November 2017

A Thrilling Offer




Starting tomorrow, November 29th and continuing until 5th December, you can get The Wolf Pack, Book 1 of The Wolves of Vimar series for only $0.99 or £0.99;
Don't miss out on this exciting offer.

The Wolf Pack

To end his apprenticeship and be admitted to the ranks of the mages is all Carthinal wants, so he is excited to travel from Bluehaven to Hambara, where the tests will take place. He did not expect to end up travelling far beyond Hambara on a quest to find the long lost sword of the legendary King Sauvern.

Along with three strangers he met on his journey, the beautiful but headstrong elven cleric, Asphodel, Fero, a dark foreigner from lands far to the south, and a fearless dwarf, Basalt, Carthinal reluctantly sets out on this seemingly impossible quest.

Followed by Randa, the snooty aristocratic daughter of the Duke of Hambara and a very young runaway thief, known as Thad, Carthinal has to decide whether to send them back or allow them to continue on this dangerous quest. There will certainly be fireworks as Randa will try to take over the leadership of the group.

Faced with wolf attacks and near death in the mountains, Carthinal and his friends have to accept help from the least likely sources and face their innermost fears.

But this is more than a simple adventure. The fate of a nation hangs in the balance.

My Visit to New York

In April, my husband and I went to New York for the first time. I thought I would share some of the photos with you all.

We had a wonderful time, seeing all the sights. It was very exciting being in the city we had seen so often on the television, in both films and news. My only regret was that we did not have enough time to visit all of it, but spent most of our time in Manhattan. Maybe another time.













 

I hope you liked these few photographs. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Thursday 23 November 2017

Reminder




Don't forget that it's the last day you can get Viv's Family Recipes for only $0.99 or £0.99.

http://mybook.to/FamilyRecipes

I've just seen that it has a 5* review on Amaxon. Weh Heh!

Tuesday 21 November 2017

An interview with Kado, a character from Renee Scattergood's Shadow Stalker books.










Renee Scattergood has agreed to interview Kado, the guardian of Auren, one of the main characters in her Shadow Stalker books.
Welcome, Renee and Kado, to my blog.


Hello Kado! I want to thank you for joining us all the way from the Dark Isle today. I know it’s just a leap through the shadow world for you, but we’re so glad to have you here.

Kado: I’m honored to be here. Although, I should add that we do not leap through the shadow world. We move through it or more to the point it moves around us. It’s called a shift.

That’s good to know. Leaping through the world of spirits is probably not the best idea. So, the first thing I’m sure everyone is wondering is, were you born on the Dark Isle?

Kado: I was.

What was it like?

Kado: Life on the Dark Isle is difficult. It’s a dangerous place to live with all the venomous plants. The villages are kept safe enough, but outside the villages it is quite treacherous if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Also, there’s life as a shadow stalker which is equally difficult.

How so?

Kado: Training starts pretty much when we are old enough to walk and talk. Learning to shift into the shadow world is scary when you’re young. It’s also risky when learning to deal with the demons that protect the borders of the shadow world. They recognize fear as aggression, so you can see how that might make things tricky at first.

Yes, very much so. Is it true that shadow stalker children live with a foster family who trains and raises them from the time they are born?
Kado: Yes.

Why is that?

Kado: Well, as I mentioned, the training is difficult and often dangerous. Parents form a bond with their children that makes them want to shelter and protect their children from danger. Over time, we learned it’s more effective and less stressful on the parents to let someone else take that responsibility.

That makes sense. So, you didn’t know your real family growing up?

Kado: Oh no. Shadow stalkers value family. We maintain close ties with our families while we are growing up. Most often children remain in the same village as their parents. In some cases, when they are raised in other villages, they visit with their parents several times a year.

So, are you still close with your family now?

Kado: The only surviving member of my family is my daughter, Shai. And yes, (smiles) we are quite close.

Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your family. How did you lose them?

Kado: Most of them died when the Galvadi invaded the Dark Isle over twenty years ago. My niece, Calista, and wife, Raven, were the only survivors. My wife died several years later, on a mission to rescue Auren’s father from the Galvadi. Cali died a couple years ago as a prisoner of the Galvadi.

So basically, the Galvadi killed your entire family. How awful.

Kado: (deep breath) Yes, it is, but things are turning around. At least I hope they are. If Auren is successful, the Galvadi will be no more.

That’s good to hear. Well, that’s all we have time for today. Again, thank you so much for joining us.

Kado: (nods) It was my pleasure.


I hope you've enjoyed that interview.
Renee's books can be bought from Amazon.  follow this link to buy the first part of the Shadow Stalker books.


https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Stalker-Part-Episodes-Bundles-ebook/dp/B00VI2ZCY8/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Feel free to add a comment. I love hearing from you all.

Thursday 16 November 2017

Special offer

From tomorrow, 17th November until 23rd november, Viv's Family Recipes, will be sold for $0.99, £0.99.

The recipes in this book are from Viv's family and friends. It is not only a recipe book for today, but also gives insight into how people cooked and ate in years gone by. The recipes date from 1909 to the present day.
There are also little anecdotes telling of the people whom the book mentions.



Hurry and get yours. Don't miss this offer. You can get your copy by following this link.

 
http://mybook.to/FamilyRecipes
.

Tuesday 14 November 2017

2 more words that are misused (and are driving me insane)




Last month I talked about the words NUMBER and AMOUNT. Today I'm going to talk about some similar words that get confused. 

These words are FEWER and LESS.

I say they are similar to the previouys words because the same rules apply. So many people will say something like,

 'There were LESS people at the match this week than last week.'

This is WRONG. In this case, it should be FEWER.

Just as NUMBER refers to things we count, like people, goals, sheep in a flock, minutes in an hour, items in a shopping trolley etc., so FEWER also refers to those things.

FEWER is a digital word. It refers to things we COUNT.

LESS refers to things we MEASURE. Thus we would have something like,

There is LESS snow today than the same time last year.

or There is less flour in this cake than that one.

BUT There are fewer eggs in this cake than that one.

We MEASURE the flour, but we COUNT the eggs.

Please leave a comment on this post. I love hearing from you, and reblogging would help get the message across to more people and save me from continually shouting at the TV and radio.

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Horselords 5

wild_horse_marsh_pony_assateague_island

They rode into the camp to be greeted by Chief Andrid, Davrael’s father.

‘You were gone a long time, son,’ he said.

Davrael slid from his horse and embraced his father.

‘We had some problems,’ he replied. ‘We found some of the Prowling Lynx on our territory. We followd them for a while, then approached. They attacked us, so we had to retaliate.’
‘Were any of our men hurt?’

Davrael shook his head.

‘Those Lynx are no match for the Swooping Hawks. We easily defeated them. But they had stolen some horses from the settlers at the far side of our territory. What’s more, when the settlers tried to regain their horses, the Lynx took a young woman captive. We rescued her.’

‘Well done, son,’ Andrid said. ‘That’s typical of the Lynx. What were they going to do with the girl? Ask for ransom?’

‘No. The chief was going to make her marry his son.’

Andrid’s face grew red and he clenched his fists at his side.

‘What!’ he exclaimed. ‘That is against all our laws and customs. The Tribes do not force marriage on anyone.’

Davrael then brought Kimi forward and introduced her to his father.

He smiled at her and said, ‘We will make sure you are returned to your family, but we need you as a witness to what these men have done. We will begin the trial tomorrow.’

Davrael gave Kimi into the hands of his mother. She smiled warmly at the girl and told her to call her Mimola. Kimi smiled back and soon found herself telling Mimola all about her ordeal with the Prowling Lynx. That night she slept in Mimola’s tent. the best night’s sleep she had since her capture.
The following morning, true to his word, Andrid sat on the only chair in the camp, on a raised dais made of wooden planks laid across tree trunks.

‘Bring the prisoners forward,’ he commanded, and half a dozen of the Swooping Hawks led the Prowling Lynx warriors to the space before the chief.

Around this space stood the rest of the Swooping Hawk tribe, all agog to see what was happening.

All kind of rumours had been circulating during the previous evening and night, and the people wanted to know what was going on.

Kimi stood to one side, with Davrael. His presence reassured her as she did not know what was going to happen.

As soon as the Prowing Lynx arrived, they stood, hands tied, before Andrid.

‘You have been accused of trespass and stealing horses,’ he said, ‘but what is worse, of kidnapping a young woman with the intention of making a forced marriage. This is against our laws, as you know, and so you must face this court.’
The chief of the Prowling Lynx stepped forward.

‘I do not recognise this court,’ he said, and stepped back.

Andrid laughed. ‘You may not recognise it, but it is perfectly legal. You are a chief and are being tried by a chief, as the law insists. Your men should be tried by your own chief, by rights, but as you are on trial, too, for the same crime, then that is not possible. I will try them also.

‘What do you have to say?’

The Prowling Lynx Chief said nothing.

‘Then I will ask a witness to come forward. Davrael, what have you to say?’

Davrael stepped forward and gave an account of how he and his men had been patrolling their territory when they came across the Prowling Lynx men. They challenged them, but were met with an attack. When they finally beat the Lynx, they found Kimi in one of the tents.’

The young man who Kimi understood to be the Prowling Lynx chief’s son shouted out.

‘We were not trespassing. We were just on our way back to our own lands. We had to cross yours. We had no intention of doing any harm, notr interfering in any way with your horses.’

His father gave him a stony stare, but he continued.

‘We only took horses from the settlers. Everyone knows they’re not proper Horselords. and ;the girl asked to be taken. She came after us and attacked. What were we supposed to do?’

Davrael stepped forward.

‘You should not have stolen their horses in the first place. Then she and her family would not have followed.’

‘They’re settlers for the gods’ sake. They aren’t proper horselords.’

Andrid scowled at the young man.

‘Settlers or not, true horselords or not, although on that point I agree, we do not steal.’

Andrid then turned to Kimi.

‘Kimi, come forward and tell me what happened.’

Then it was Kimi’s turn. She told how she had been captured and how the chief had told her she would be taken to their camp and married to his son. She told of the abuse she had received at the hands of that son, and how frightened she was. then, with a smile at Davrael, she told how he and his men had rescued her.’

The trial continued and lasted all day. Each of Davrael’s men gave evidence, as did the Prowling Lynx men, and eventually, their chief.

As the sun began to set over the plans, Andrid gave his verdict and sentence.

‘You are all guilty because not one of you stood up to say what happened is wrong. However, I accept it is difficult for warriors to go against their chief. Therefore, you warriors I am going to allow to return to your territory. However, if any of my men see you within five miles of our territory, then you will be recaptured.’

He turned to the chief and his son.

‘As chief and probable next chief, you have more responsibility for what happened. I cannot allow you both to go in the same way I did your men.’ He turned to the chief. ‘You hold great responsibility as chief of your people. You uphold the law and are responsible fora keeping it. Therefore it is doubly worse for you to have taken part in this theft and kidnapping. I sentence you to be beaten and kept in custody for two full years. Every day you will receive four lashes.’

There was an intake of breath from the crowd at the severity of this sentence. Andrid then turned to the chief’s son.

‘You were fully complicit in this. You could have had some influence over your father. but instead, you used the situation to frighten and abuse a young girl. You I sentence to be kept in custody for only one year, but because of the way you treated a young and frightened girl, each day you will receive six lashes.’

Andrid then dismissed the court and the Prowling Lynx warriors mounted their horses and rode off.
As he as taken away, the chief of the Lynx shouted, ‘What is going to happen to my tribe? They will be without a chief for two years.’

Andrid turned and said, ‘Your problem. With any luck, they’ll decide to reject you and choose a better leader.’

That evening, Kimi and Davrael talked long into the night. The next morning, his father had told him he was to accompany Kimi to her home. He chose a few warriors to accompany them in order to drive the horses, and his mother to act as chaperone.

How will Kimi’s family respond to her return?
Find out on the first Tuesday of December.
Please add a comment to this episode. I like hearing what you think.

You can find out more about Kimi and Davrael in their adventures with The Wolf Pack;

Follow this link to buy, or click on the book image at the side of the page.
http://myBook.to/thewolfpack
http://myBook.to/NeverDying.