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Hi Everyone. My week in pics.
I made it to The Masters for the second time in 2006.
My favorite golfer of all time.Tiger has made a historic impact on the game of golf. I love him and am so impressed that he has come back so quickly. I hope he continues to play for many years to come.
The other day, The Mentalist was on all day, so I binge watched it. I love the show, but I rarely get the chance to watch any reruns. I had hoped it would run to the end of the series, but it didn’t. I tried to catch the opening, but I didn’t think to take a pic.
Mentalist: noun, someone who uses mental acuity, hypnosis/and or suggestion. A master manipulator of thoughts and behavior.
Mr Wonderful is working for the Blue Wahoos, Pensacola’s minor league baseball team and will be at the ballfield today and tomorrow, so I will be binge watching Twilight…again. I just can’t help myself.
I also wanted to share with you a giveaway from a favorite author of mine Chrys Fey. If you would like to check out her books and how I felt, drop by HERE.
Chrys Fey is hosting a GIVEAWAY for a signed paperback of her romantic-suspense novella A Fighting Chance and other goodies! APRIL 5 – 22 PRIZES:
Signed paperback copy of A Fighting Chance, XOXO wall art décor, XO
bath bombs coconut scent, travel size first aid kit, and an emergency
flashlight that you recharge by squeezing. Enter to win: https://chrysfey.com/giveaways/
I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR from All The Book Blog Names Are Taken.
It has helped me to keep track of my reading shelf as far as current
events and I also started doing a post for Books From The Backlog,
from Carole’s Random Life in Books,
to tidy up my shelves. I feel better about my out of control TBR and
have even knocked off a couple of those old ones that had been
hanging around for years.
Even Better Than the Real Thing Melanie Summers Publication date: April 7th 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
A swoon-worthy, buttery, uber-fun romance about a fake marriage between two people who couldn’t be more wrong for each other…
You know what’s great about applying for an art history PhD program at one of the world’s most prestigious universities? I get to study what I love and land my dream job at the end of it. You know what’s not so great? Being told I’ll only get accepted to the program if I gain access to my aloof, uppity, super grumpy boss’s private art collection.
As it turns out, said boss—a one Lord Hayden Stuart—needs to get married to inherit his late father’s estate and earldom. And if there’s one thing Hayden Stuart is never going to want for real—it’s a wife.
So, we strike up a deal: I marry him and go live at his castle, where I’ll have unlimited access to his collection, he gets his earldom, and when the estate is settled, we part ways forever.
Win-win, right?
Wrong.
I may have fooled myself into believing I wasn’t risking my heart, but there’s one huge problem: I’m definitely falling for him. He’s not just another man. He’s THE man—an irresistibly good-looking, in-control, expensive-suit-wearing man who makes all the other men look like little boys. And the more time I spend with him pretending to be his wife, the more desperate I become to believe the lie.
But he’s never going to fall for some lowly PhD student. So what if at the wedding he looked at me as if I’m the only woman in the world, and kissed me like he’s shipping off to war in the morning? It doesn’t mean anything.
Or does it?
Because the more we’re together, the more I realize that, even though we’re from totally different worlds, we have a lot more in common than I ever could have imagined.
Now all I have to do is convince him he really does want a wife…
*** Even Better Than the Real Thing is a standalone romance with a little extra spice than a regular Melanie Summers book. ***
Finally, Hayden opens his mouth. “I’m not sad he’s dead, you know.”
“I know,” I tell him, squeezing his hand.
“I hated him. He was a complete bastard.”
“I know.”
He looks down at me with tears in his eyes. “Then can you please tell me why the hell I’m so sad right now?”
A lump forms in my throat. “I think you’re grieving the father you should have had.”
Nodding, he sniffs, clears his throat, and says, “How stupid is that? I’m a grown man, for God’s sake.”
“But you used to be a little kid and he needed a dad.”
His shoulders crumple and he lets out a couple of sobs. Letting go of his hand, I wrap my arm around him and pull him close, resting his head on my shoulder and dropping a kiss on his head. I have no idea how long we stay like this, but by the time he’s done, my shoulder aches from the weight of him, and I’m absolutely terrified that I’ve fallen completely in love with him.
Author Bio:
Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.
Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.
In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally – then she’ll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for ‘K’ Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn’t require makeup and/or nylons).
Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she’s not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken ‘from above’. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something–more like just staying until they turn the lights off.
She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.
Shade and the Crystal Orb is the finale for the series by Marilyn Peake. I have enjoyed my adventures with her and look forward to what comes next for Marilyn.
Shade and Kai are off to school…senior year at Ocean View College. Shade is a Ghost Whisperer and Kai is an empath. They are BFFs.
We are off to a good start. Shade has the same roommate, Carrie, who went to Romania with her, and they are in the same dorm room, #58. The familiar gives her confidence, makes her feel more comfortable coming back.
I love going to dinner with them. The servers and guests…well, ya have to read it to enjoy it as much as I did. Put a smile on my face, cracking me up. Yeah, it does bring to mind Harry Potter, but that just makes it easier to visualize and makes it that much more enjoyable.
Shade will be studying Kelpies this year and is off to Scotland for a research project. Her friend Li will be accompanying her. Will they see the Loch Ness Monster?
Kelpies are shapeshifting spirits inhabiting the lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a black horselike creature able to adopt human form. I love the shapeshifter that can become whatever she wants, whether whale, dolphin, fish… We have selkies, which are seal shapeshifters. That’s pretty darn cool too.
“The magical world is as complex as the real world.”
Things are going too smoothly and I am waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. I hope my spidey sense are wrong, but what would be the story in that?
Then, POW. Marilyn, you rocked my boat. I am amazed.
Marilyn Peake’s writing is enthralling, riveting. I cannot look away.
There are six books in the Shade series and I am sad to see it end. The books are not filled with gore, erotica, or savagery, but draw the reader into circumstances and characters and we have to know how it will end…and talk about surprises…the stories about the Loch Ness Monster are true, but..
I love how Shade came full circle.
I cannot imagine how Marilyn Peake could have done any better. The finale hit all the buttons and I am sure my review did not do it justice. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shade and the Crystal Orb by Marilyn Peake.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Crystal orbs are tricky things. They can be windows into the future or nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
During
the first semester of her senior year at Ocean View College, Shade
takes a class on the kelpies and begins researching their situation.
This group of magical beings is confined to a very small area of the
Earth: the lochs and pools of Scotland. The Blue Men of the Minch or
storm kelpies are confined to an even smaller area: the stretch of water
between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland. The kelpies
are considered dangerous. Having the power to control weather, they’ve
been blamed for storms and shipwrecks. Shade wonders if they’ve been
falsely accused and turned into scapegoats.
At the beginning of
their second semester senior year, Shade and her friend Li Zhang receive
financial grants to go over to Scotland to complete a research project
on the kelpies. While there, they meet a number of these magical beings.
Things take a dangerous turn when Shade and Li get swept up in a
situation among the kelpies and two other magical groups, the Fin Folk
and asrai. When Shade and Li meet Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, things
take twists and turns that forever change the lives of everyone at Ocean
View College.
SHADE AND THE CRYSTAL ORB is Book #6 in a YA
Paranormal Mystery / YA Urban Fantasy series. This is the final novel in
the main storyline of the SHADE series.
ABOUT MARILYN PEAKE
Marilyn Peake is the author
of both novels and short stories. Her publications have received
excellent reviews. Marilyn’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK:
THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her
entries included in serialization at THE DAILY BEAST. In addition,
Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short
stories have been published in seven anthologies and on the literary
blog, GLASS CASES.
Awards: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist
placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner
and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream
Realm Awards, and eight Top Ten Finisher Awards in the Preditors and
Editors Readers Poll.
Mirrors and Mysteries Christina Bauer (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum, #9) Publication date: March 24th 2022 Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Rapunzel meets Jane Eyre in the epic conclusion of this fairy tale romance!
Grayson Eyre has left her old life behind. She’s no longer stuck serving Lady R, a sadistic Rapunzel from the Lowood clan of elves. Instead, Grayson now teaches at the Thornfield home for shifter orphans. Even better, her boss is none other than the sexy alpha, Dex. It’s all good until a mysterious witch, Jocasta, appears in a nearby tower, demanding that Dex and Grayson discover the true nature of all Rapunzels. If not, Lady R will return to claim Grayson… and Thornfield will be wiped out by the evil Prism Master. Can Dex and Grayson discover the truth in time? And what will it mean for their growing attraction?
Secrets are revealed and feelings explored in this epic conclusion to the story of Dex and Grayson!
Fairy Tales of the Magicorum Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance 1. Wolves and Roses 2. Moonlight and Midtown 3. Shifters and Glyphs 4. Slippers and Thieves 5. Bandits and Ball Gowns 6. Fire and Cinder 7. Fairies and Frosting 8. Towers and Tithes 9. Mirrors and Mysteries 10. Love and Ether
The best part about being a wolf shifter? Kicking ass.
Clink, clink…
I know that sound.Two mirror guards are on their way.
My home territory sits beside the Prism Master’s land. Talk
about unlucky. The Prism Master’s a sadistic freak who wants more room at
any cost. Wulfhelm is his prime target. The Prism Master’s guards regularly
patrol our joint boundary, looking for weaknesses.
Although I’m blinded by a spell, I can still picture the scene
perfectly. The mirror guards are both slender and pale with high cheekbones and
long blonde hair. They’ll wear thin leather armor that’s painted to look like
silver. Compared to the elves, I’m muscular and broad-shouldered with rough
features. My long black hair is tied back with a scrap of leather. I wear
human-style clothes, namely jeans and a dark Henley.
The two guards move closer. I’m ready for the worst, but I
hope for the best. Out of all the Prism Master’s forces, there’s one mirror
guard I trust: Captain Zoya. If I’m lucky, she’ll be on this patrol.
“Looketh over there!” calls the first guard. It’s a male
voice. Not Zoya.
“An intruder doth enter our midst!” announces the second guard.
This one’s a she-elf, but not the Captain.
Guess my luck isn’t changing yet. These two are
typical mirror guards, which is to say, pompous idiots.
“Who disturbs my fellow guard and I?” asks the male warrior.
I stile the urge to groan. “It’s my fellow guard and me,”
I clarify. “Not my fellow guard and I.”
If my correction affects the guards, they don’t show it. “Do mine
eyes regardereth the Wulfhelm Alpha?” asks the female slowly.
I can’t help it. “Regardereth
isn’t a word.”
There’s the clinking of armor followed by a whoosh. Something’s
being thrown at me. Even without eyesight, I know the toss is too wide
to make an impact. No need to dodge.
“Perhaps yon dog is blind,” says the male guard. “He didst not
twitch when I tossed a stone.”
“Only because thy throw sucketh,” I explain.
The clink of armor grows louder as the pair steps closer.
“Eureka!” That’s the female guard. “I doth detect some blinderyness in yon
mongrel’s irises.”
This time, there’s no stifling. I all-out groan. “Blinderyness is
not a word.”
“We’re elves,” calls the male guard. “When we say it, it becometh
part of the jargon.”
“I think you mean lexicon.” I shake my head. “Look, I was raised
by wolves and I know this stuff.”
“Silence!” calls the male guard. When he next speaks, it’s in a
tone that he thinks I cannot hear. “Shall we attacketh him?
What dost thou thinketh?”
I raise my hand. “I’d walk awayeth. Blind or not, I can defend
myself quite well.”
Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates
My Forever Tiffany Patterson (Townsends of Texas, #3) Publication date: January 7th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Savannah
I was only eighteen years old when I thought I had found my happily ever after.
After the tragic death of my mother, I married the love of my life, Ace Townsend.
Yes, we were young and idealistic, but we had it all figured out. He was going to be a fighter pilot in the Air Force. I would go to medical school to become a doctor for people who couldn’t afford healthcare. People like my mother.
But, like everything else in my life, that dream fell apart when I realized Ace was better off without me.
So I left.
Sixteen years later, I’m forced to return to Harlington, Texas. Not for my sake, but to save the one person in my life who matters to me the most.
Even if it means confronting my estranged husband and abiding by his stipulation to move in with him temporarily. If that’s what it takes for him to sign the divorce papers so that I can receive my inheritance and save an innocent life, I’ll do it.
I just have to keep my heart locked away for the next six months.
That’s proving to be easier said than done.
My Forever is an interracial romance (BWWM) and is book three in the Townsends of Texas series. This book contains mature, steamy love scenes. Happily Ever After is guaranteed.
It suddenly felt as if the entire
room stopped to turn and look in my direction.
Slowly, I let my gaze travel over the
rest of the room. That was when I realized this wasn’t any ordinary night out
at the bar. The streamers and signs congratulating Lena Clarkson on her album’s
success hung in the distance.
I blinked, and Lena Clarkson herself
stood before me. I knew her music well and was a big fan. Under any ordinary
circumstance, I would’ve been elated to meet her.
This wasn’t an ordinary situation.
I could feel Gabriel’s eyes on me,
but even his glare wasn’t what had my heart pounding and my blood pressure
rising.
I could feel his brother nearby. Ace
was somewhere in the room. The way the hairs on my arms and neck stood up and
the zap of electricity in my stomach were my indications.
It astounded me that, even after all
of these years, I could still feel him whenever we were in the same room.
I wouldn’t allow myself to look
around to search for him. No matter how much I wanted to see his face.
I kept my gaze on Lena.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this
was a party.” I paused, forcing myself to remember why I was standing there in
the first place.
Aiden. My subconscious whispered to me, reminding me. I blinked. “I-I just
need some help.” I didn’t know why I phrased it that way. I meant to ask for a
phone.
But before I could correct myself,
Lena moved closer, her face taking on a concerned expression. “Hi, it’s not a
problem. Are you from around here?” she asked. “What’s your name?”
I opened my mouth to answer but got
interrupted.
“Savannah.” Ace’s voice pierced
through the crowd and music. He pushed past his younger brother and Lena,
barreling down on me. “She’s my wife.”
My
breathing halted altogether. The edge in his tone was so cold it could’ve iced
over a Texas summer.
Author Bio:
I have always been fascinated by storytelling, books, and reading. After years of diving in between the pages of one romance book after another, I decided to try my hand at writing. I haven’t looked back since. I enjoy bringing my readers stories of hope, perseverance, and most importantly, love. When I’m not writing you can find me enjoying time with friends, hiking, or daydreaming about my next novel.
The introduction had me cracking up. Michaelbrent Collings writes some fantastic horror stories and he has a rapier wit. I love his twisted sense of humor.
I love the twisted ‘Ground Hog Day’ type story.
Could make you question technology. Love the references to current times. May have you asking yourself, who am I? What if your characters came to life, coming to you for answers.
Khonra…oh man, I love that ending!
Who would do a better job of running the world, men or women?
The Button Man is thought provoking.
The novella, The Stranger Inside was what I was really excited about, though I love anything Michaelbrent Collings writes. I have read his Legion series, with the Stranger as the star, and I am excited to see how he came to be.
‘God’s chosen his vessel, anointed by blood and fear to purge men and women of their sins.’
The tools of the trade: some electronics and pharmaceuticals, some rope and a knife. He is very hands on. If that doesn’t tell you there is some evil coming someone’s way, I don’t know what will. It was…..grrrrreat for me. LOL
I love all the personal tidbits Michaelbrent Collings shared about himself. I love that he can make be laugh, gasp, shiver, and feel like tI want to puke, all in the same story. He lets his characters be real….making mistakes, paying for them, and they are able to redeem themselves…if he chooses to let them live. LOL
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Future Tense by Michaelbrent Collings.
4 Stars
GOODREADS
Worldwide bestseller and master of terror Michaelbrent Collings invites you to peer into the future, to uncover things long hidden, and to experience worlds of a Future Tense…
A world where suicide is illegal – unless you agree to kill yourself over and over again…
A place where childhood games turn back the clock – and bring with them monsters long forgotten…
A home where secrets abound – until the killing begins…
A reality where a writer’s dreams can make her rich – if she’s willing to sacrifice the universe…
All these, and more: stories of darkness and of light. Stories of despair, and lingering hope.
Stories
of a future unknown, where ignorance feeds our souls, and where the
only hope that remains in a world gone dim… resides in Tales of Apocalyptic Vision!
Michaelbrent Collings, a double Bram Stoker Award finalist and voted one of the Top 100 All-Time Greatest Horror Writers by Ranker, invites you to brave a future unlike any you have experienced. Because the future is what we make of it… and we have made a monster.
ABOUT MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS
Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally-bestselling novelist,
multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, produced screenwriter, and one of
the top indie horror writers in the United States.
He hopes someday to develop superpowers, or, if that is out of the question, then at least to get a cool robot arm.
Michaelbrent
has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than
he is (though he admits that’s a low bar to set), and also cooler than
he is.
Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentC…
and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings.
Follow him for cool news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You
will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!
I love book covers and I love the cover for Shelter From Our Secrets, Silence & Shame. I am delighted to have Rebecca Brown visiting fundinmental to share her own thoughts on the cover.
Topic: Discuss your cover — how it
came to be, what it represents, what you love or don’t love about it,
etc. Anything you’d like to share about it.
I’m excited to be part of this Fundinmental blog tour, and I love
that I can take this opportunity to talk about my book’s cover. I know
that we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but I wanted my book’s cover to
catch people’s attention and hopefully draw them to it and start reading.
I took the photograph myself in May 2021 when I was out in my
kayak on Lake Huron, where I am lucky to live and work as a mental health
clinician. I need to find ways to burn off and let go of the difficult
stories that I collect in my day. One of my favourite ways to release the
stress is to paddle into the sunset and feel the tension release from my
body. I begin my book with this prologue:
I am floating.
On the water
calm
clear
soft
quiet.
Dusk,
the sun is setting.
The sky will hold light
for another half an hour
or so.
The beauty is often just after the sun sinks into the water, then the colours are
spectacular.
Or just softer.
It’s been a long day;
hard
heavy
yet healing.
I have no words left in me.
I cannot talk
or listen anymore.
I need quiet
peace
calm
presence.
I have found the shelter that I seek today
on the open water.
My kayak is my shelter this day.
I will paddle until I physically feel the release in my
body.
I will watch the sun set until I find the peace in my soul.
I hope to sleep tonight.
Rebuild my resilience.
I will wake and do it all again.
I may need to seek shelter differently tomorrow
Or not.
Knowing that I must still seek shelter sometimes,
makes it safe for me to continue in this work that I love.
Later in the book, I share a chapter which digs further into why
this particular photograph means so much to me.
Chapter Fourteen: Spring 2021
I couldn’t wait to get my little yellow kayak
in the water. It had been three years since I moved to the shores of the Great
Lake Huron. We live in a home that has a story of its own (more on this to
come), and it was built to look out at the beautiful water, which is a gift we
cherish every day. The sunsets have been called among the most beautiful in the
world, and the water itself changes from day to day: from calm, like glass, to
rough and choppy. We’ve referred to it as both Lake Atlantic and the Pond
Lake, all within twenty-four hours. The soft sand and miles of beach are what
draw people from afar, but what makes it the most magnificent sight always is
its colour. The water looks almost tropical. It can resemble a Caribbean
turquoise blue, so soft that it takes your breath away. Looking at the colour
of this beautiful water is a moment of awe that I treasure every day.
We’ve had a warm, mild spring, and this year
feeling confined to the house, working from home, unable to see people in
person, I have been trying to spend even more time outdoors in nature and, as
often as possible, down at the water.
On May 17, our temperature rose to twenty
degrees Celsius (68 F), and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. After dinner, I pulled
my little yellow kayak out from under the deck where it had been stored all
winter. I hosed it off to get rid of any spiders and dirt that had been hiding
there all winter, and within half an hour had it in the water.
Due to the State of Emergency and lockdown in
our area, there was virtually no one in the cottages that dot the shoreline of
our secluded little bay. I was able to paddle in silence for an hour. The sun
was high in the blue sky when I started, and once I went as far as I needed to,
I let my paddles rest, pulled out my phone, and took a couple of photos to
celebrate the moment. I floated and rested and let the warmth of the sun sink
deep into my skin, and I meditated silently for a few minutes, noticing the
slightest movement of the calm water swaying my boat.
It was both a moment of
happiness and awe that I was so grateful for.
Then I turned my little yellow Pelican kayak
in the direction I had come and started to paddle slowly and rhythmically back
home. My cup of happiness was full.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of
my dog beside my bed telling me the sun was up. I went downstairs with her, my
other dog, and two cats, and while I let all the animals out into the back
yard, I poured myself a cup of coffee and cued up a guided mindfulness
meditation. I let the small herd back inside and then made my way to my comfy
chair in my office to practice ten minutes of mindfulness. The meditation I
listened to this day was on Headspace.com, one of my favourite mindfulness
apps. I easily slipped away with the narrator’s voice as she guided me through
a visualization about balance, using the visual of a blue sky as a focal point.
This image of a blue sky is often one used in
guided mindfulness meditations, and it’s a lovely image to think about. We can
visualize the blue sky as something we always have access to; it’s the clear,
calm, uncluttered mind, but it can be buried beneath our busy, racing thoughts,
or the clouds. If we visualize clearing away the thoughts/clouds by
intentionally focussing on our breath for a few minutes, the clouds gently float
away to reveal the beautiful, calm, blue sky that is always somewhere in the
background of our minds. The meditation suggested visualizing a photograph of a
beautiful blue sky to help enhance this visualization, so I instantly
visualized the beautiful blue sky I had experienced just the evening before
when I was out in my kayak.
I opened my phone and turned to the photo I
had taken just twelve hours earlier, out on the water on my kayak, with the
beautiful blue sky in the background.
I knew instantly that I this photograph held so much meaning, which is why I chose it for my book cover.
As
a mental health clinician, Rebecca Brown has been a safe place for many to seek
shelter from their secrets, silence and shame. Inspired to finally slow down,
stop running from herself and share her own story, she found ways to seek and
savour her own shelter.
Rebecca’s personal
journey takes us through sadness, tragedy, self-sabotage, the impossible
pursuit of perfection, distorted thinking and eating, engaging with her shadow
self, divorce, and numbing with alcohol, all in an attempt to avoid the story
needing to be shared.
Dispelling the limiting
beliefs we hold about ourselves can unlock our limitless potential to reach
goals we never dared to dream. From the Boston Marathon to working with horses,
Rebecca sets out to prove to herself that anything is possible when you don’t
listen to the negative stories you tell yourself.
Everyone has a story.
We become who we are because of what has happened to us, and because of the
stories we tell ourselves. But do our stories continue to serve us well, or
keep us stuck? Are our stories fact or fiction? Is it time to rewrite the
versions we have been telling ourselves?
Shelter provides
strategies to help reframe the thinking patterns we have developed, and offers
tools to recognize when we are suffering from our own thoughts, feelings and
actions. Resilience-building techniques are woven through the pages, and
encouragement for the lifelong journey of collecting moments of awe and
happiness.
Seeking and reading
Shelter is a gift of self-compassion and self-discovery. Rebecca’s hope is that
it will be read with a highlighter in hand, pages folded down, re-read,
recommended to a friend, and used as a guide to start sharing our own stories
with those we love.
We may not have written
our beginnings, but we have the ability to write every word from this point
forward and just imagine where our stories can take us when we are free of
secrets, silence and shame.
EXCERPT
I give my talk.
The room erupts in applause.
A dozen people line up to thank me or say a few words at the
end of my session.
One man in particular stands out.
He is well over six feet tall and wearing a full Texas
sheriff uniform.
He has greying hair and is likely close to the end of his
career.
He pumps my hand as he shakes it, almost leaving it numb.
He thanks me for my talk. “Great stuff,” he says.
And then he hands me his business card.
But it’s not quite a business card.
It’s a photo card, like a baseball card, or a kid’s hockey
card, with the player’s name, position, and smiling face as they stand posed to
take a shot in their team uniform.
Only this is of a man on a black horse.
More precisely, it’s this man, a Texas sheriff on his
beautiful black police horse.
“I thought you’d like to have this,” he says. “My horse is
Canadian, like you.” And then he says something that has stayed with me,
because he couldn’t be more right: “Everyone in this business should have a
good horse!”
He meant the business of trauma.
I couldn’t have agreed more.
I still have his “business card.”
Two years later, I went back to Texas to teach a three-day
workshop on resilience to youth detention workers. I tried to look up my Texas
sheriff, but he had retired. I hope he’s finding more time to enjoy his good
horse. I’ve shared the story of our brief encounter and his photo card with
many police officers over the years. And every one of them agrees: horses can
heal humans. I’ve found shelter with horses. Sometimes in the saddle, but
mostly not. My story will get there. Eventually.
I finished my keynote address and spent the rest of the day
at the conference on Youth in the Justice System. People stopped me in the
halls of the hotel, telling me how much they enjoyed my talk. Later that
evening, I went for a run.
And then I drank a bottle of wine and went to bed.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
REBECCA BROWN is a clinical social worker with over 35 years in practice ranging from medical social work, childhood trauma, vicarious trauma for first responders, international psychological first aid, and Equine Assisted Therapy. She is honoured to hold a faculty appointment with the Department of Family Medicine at Western University in London, Ontario. She teaches extensively on the topics of trauma and resilience and has delivered keynote presentations throughout North America. She shares her life and career with her husband, a family physician and trailblazer in the field of Lifestyle Medicine. Together they live and work on the shores of the Great Lake Huron, where they seek and share shelter with their six adult children, four grandchildren, extended family and friends, two dogs, two cats and one horse.
I haven’t done many, if any, graphic novels, but The Nightmare Brigade by Franck Thillez, with Yomgui Dumont (Illustrations) made me think of Scooby Doo and the gang, so I had to have it.
I jumped at a chance to read The Nightmare Brigade by Franck Thillez because it made me think of Scooby Doo and the gang and I love them.
I haven’t read a lot of graphic novels, but I used to read a lot of comics as a kid. Reading The Nightmare Brigade brought back those memories. The illustrations are awesome, so richly detailed that I found myself investigating each panel for clues as to what is terrifying Sarah in her nightmare. That’s when I found out that what happens to the dream brigade in the dream, happens for real, whether it’s an injury, death, or anything else. But, they do have special powers, whether it is walking for someone who can’t walk, being able to go through walls, or flying. Each power will be needed to help those who are having the nightmares…and, eventually getting rid of their nightmare permanently.
There is even more danger than them being real in the dream, they must prevent anyone or anything from following them out and, if things go terribly wrong, they could be stuck in someone’s dream…forever. The Nightmare Brigade deals with real issues, mystery and danger.
I think this is a fantastic glimpse into an adventure series that will delight middle graders. You will not get all the answers, but when I found out about Esteban it only whet my appetite for more. There is more going on than first meets the eye.
To sum it all up…I loved it. I think the youngsters will too. And, they will get a bit of knowledge on the brain, nightmares and dreams.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Nightmare Brigade by Franck Thillez.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The Nightmare Brigade is a dream team led by Professor Angus. With his two young sidekicks, 14 year-olds Esteban and Tristan, they have one goal: help people get rid of their worst nightmares. With unique skills, the team members can literally infiltrate their patient’s nightmare to seek its root and destroy the cause. Things are shaken up a bit, however, when they meet the young Sarah. The Brigade has a feeling they have seen her before… Then, an insomniac is invading other’s dreams. How does he do it and how can he be stopped? It’s a paranormal story you won’t want to sleep on!
This first volume in The NIghtmare Brigade features a diverse cast of adolescents tackling themes that everyone faces as they grow up: fears of aging, abandonment, and death. It creates page turning intrigue by weaving outer mysteries with character secrets. Intended for readers eight and up, this dazzling horror mix is perfect for fans of Stranger Things, Tim Burton, and Inception, and is sure to become a reader favorite for school and home libraries alike.
ABOUT FRANK THILLEZ
Franck Thillez, a former engineer in new technologies, is the author of about fifteen successful crime novels. With the adaptation of his novel “Room of Death” (wonner of the SNCF prize for French crime fiction), Franck Thilez is also a screenwriter.
ABOUT YOMGUI DUMONT
After having completed his studies in applied arts, Yomgui Dumont has worked wherever he was able to move a mouse and a pencil: cartoons, multimedia, advertising, and the press. His first series are Raph’ and Potetoz, Chamres noires, and E;cole de PAN. He has published around twenty graphic novels and teen novels.
Savage City L. Penelope (The Bliss Wars, #1) Publication date: March 31st 2022 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
For Talia, death is only the beginning of survival…
When a tragic accident cuts my lonely life short, instead of heaven or hell, I’m stolen away to a terrifying city of warring shifter clans—the Nimali and the Fai. The Nimali mistake me for their missing princess. Her father, the dragon king, is identical to my own. But in this world, he dotes on me with the love and affection I always craved. And in a land with no tolerance for outsiders, feigning amnesia and impersonating shifter royalty may be the only way to survive.
For Ryin, falling in love is the worst kind of betrayal…
As a Fai warrior in captivity, I’m forced to serve my enemy even as I plot their destruction. The lost princess returned much changed, now the heat between us crackles irresistibly. While helping her heal using my magical talents, I begin to question what I thought I knew about the Nimali. She remains as forbidden as ever, but she also might be the key to freedom for me and my people.
Caught between two enemy factions balancing on the knife-blade of annihilation, our lies are the only thing keeping us alive, but they just might be our undoing.
On top of the wall, silence reigns as the soldiers wait for word. We all stare toward the ground, anticipation a dark cloud suspended over us as sharp eyes scan the gloom for either a member of the scouting team that went out an hour ago or a Revoker, red eyes flashing and fangs covered in gristle and blood.
The first person who runs into view is tall and familiar and very much Nimali. His armor is blood spattered, but he appears uninjured. Others sigh audibly in relief, but my jaw tightens. Prince Shad. I wouldn’t have minded if he’d been grievously injured. My daimon silently chastises me for the unkindness, but I can’t help it. There are only two Nimali men who could have killed Dove, and he’s one of them. Until I’m certain it wasn’t him, I have to act like it was.
A bear and a lion are close behind him—part of the prince’s honor guard. The bear’s gait is hampered by a pronounced limp, though she still eats up the ground with long strides. Then my focus returns to the prince. He’s carrying something—someone—over his shoulder like a sack of beans. His bounding steps cross the distance easily, and then he’s at the rope ladder a soldier threw down. He climbs it with one arm while holding what I can see now is an injured woman.
Blood pours down her back from gashes that I’m sure were made by a Revoker’s claws. Her clothing is odd. A short, loose dress, oddly patterned and flimsy—I’ve never seen anything like it before, not on a Nimali or a Fai. Why anyone would go into No Man’s Land without battle armor is a mystery, but the woman is also barefoot. Begrudging respect bubbles up from my chest for the way the prince is able to negotiate the climb with that much dead weight, carried awkwardly. He could have shifted into his other form and flown up, but his own claws might have further injured her. And he is definitely treating her like something special.
The reason becomes clear when he finally gets to the top and one of the soldiers reaches out to help him with his burden. Prince Shad shakes his head and gently lays the woman down on her side, revealing her face.
I’m too far away to see at first, but when the soldiers in front of me gasp and immediately kneel, I get a glimpse. Princess Celena lies there, bloodied and battered. Her rich, chestnut skin is ashen, taking on an almost gray pallor. I’m frozen in place for a moment viewing her small form, her strange, tattered clothing, the odd way she’s braided her hair.
Then I’m shoved hard from behind, stumbling forward through the kneeling men and women.
“Where is the healer?” Prince Shad roars, but I’m already there, crouching down beside the princess. My daimon joins me seconds later, eager to fill me with its essence and lend me its healing power.
Celena’s back is ravaged, the wounds already bubbling with the poison from the Revoker’s talons. They look fresh, so it’s not too late to heal them if I’m quick about it. I hold out my hands and close my eyes, letting my daimon fully take over. Its energy flows through me, using my physical body as a conduit for its power.
Through my daimon, I sense the damage, the torn flesh and the toxins that have already entered her bloodstream. The healing energy pulls the poison out, a sticky black substance that leaks onto the stone of the wall. The flesh, layers of muscle and skin, is knit back together until there isn’t so much as a scar left. I silently thank my daimon and it retreats. Then I open my eyes.
Prince Shad is staring down at his sister. When the blue light of my power retreats, his dark eyes flick up to mine.
“I removed the poison,” I tell him.
“All of it?” I nod. His lips flatten into a grim line. “We’re taking her back to the Citadel. Come with me; the king will want to be sure.”
Author Bio:
L. Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. Equally left and right-brained, she studied filmmaking and computer science in college and sometimes dreams in HTML. After living on both coasts, she settled in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents. Sign up for new release information and giveaways on her website: http://www.lpenelope.com.
