Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine February 2022

Anexcl usi vei nt er vi ew wi t hi nt er nat i onal best sel l i ngaut horJoanneHar r i s.Pl us,Art i cl es, FunAct i vi t i es,Poet r y,ShortSt or i es,Tr avel ,a new ser i esonGoodHeal t h,Nat i onalBi r d Feedi ngMont handsomuchmor e! !

Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine is published monthly by Goylake Publishing and designed by Melanie P. Smith of www.melaniepsmith.com

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Joanne Harris Interviewed by Wendy H. Jones A nice gentle question to start off. How did you come to writing?

I’ve always written. As a child, it seemed as natural to me as reading, but it took me a long time to work up the courage to take the plunge into writing professionally.

As I say, the first book I read of yours was Chocolat, a book which was turned into a film. How did you come up with the idea for the story?

important aspect. To me, it’s more about the ways in which communities form, the people they exclude, and why.

It’s a story of many ideas, but mostly I wanted to write something about my French family, tradition, faith, community, the dichotomy between fasting and feasting, pleasure and guilt, insiders and outsiders, and the many ways in which we relate to food.

One would think the religious aspect would put some readers off and yet this is a book for everyone. Why do you think this is?

Because it’s a book about communities, not beliefs; and communities are universal.

I would have described the book as literary fiction and yet, on Amazon, as women’s religious fiction.

Why the religious description?

There are four books in the series. Does one have to read all four to get the storyline. If the answer is yes – why? If the answer is no – what does the reader gain from reading the whole series?

No idea. Amazon is a mystery to me. But people read different things into books, and religion is certainly an aspect of the story. But it isn’t the most

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If you could go anywhere in the world to write, where would you choose?

The books can all be read separately, but if the reader wants to expand the world and follow the characters as they develop, then reading the whole series is likely to be more satisfactory. I find that most readers get attached to the main characters and want to know what happens next, but each story also stands alone.

That would depend on the season, and the book I’m writing. When I’m in Milan I like to take my laptop onto the roof of the Duomo and write there the light is beautiful and the atmosphere is amazing. I like to work by the sea, too: I’d love to rent a lighthouse somewhere – maybe on the Brittany coast - and just disappear for six months.

When it comes to writing I can write anywhere?

Where do you write?

It depends: when I’m at home I write in my shed, or sometimes in the greenhouse or the garden; but like you, I can write pretty much anywhere. Having been a teacher, I’ve learnt to maximize whatever time I have available, which sometimes means having to write on trains, in hotel rooms, or on long-haul flights.

Do you prefer mountains or the beach? Why? My favourite places to write combine both: one is Skye, where I once stayed in a cottage fifty yards from the beach, and the other is on Hawaii’s Big Island, between a strip of cinder-black sand and the skirts of the volcano.

The ubiquitous Desert Island Discs Question – which three books would you take to a desert island?

What does a writing day look like to you?

It varies. I don’t often get enough free time to work up a regular daily routine. When I’m at home I tend to work best in the mornings, but if I’m travelling, I might end up doing most of my work at the end of the day, in my hotel. I don’t feel the need to have a rigid work timetable (I had all that when I was a teacher), but I do try to write a minimum of 300 words every day, just to keep my mind in the right creative space.

The complete poetry of Victor Hugo: I was brought up on his work and his emotional range is unparalleled. Perfumes, the Guide, by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez: I love scent and scent writing, and this compendium of fragrances is exhaustive, incisive and marvellously well-written. The PG Wodehouse omnibus, because as well as being a master of the visual image, he never fails to make me laugh.

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You are unusual in that you write in different genres as you write brilliant modern day retellings of fairy tales under the name Joanne M. Harris.

Where did this idea come from?

I don’t really understand the need to separate my books into genres. All my books have common themes, and most of them share elements of suspense, psychology, folklore and fairy tale. But publishing likes to place books into different categories.

That’s why I’m published as Joanne M. Harris when I’m writing outright fantasy.

You are also the Chair of the Society of Authors.

Tell us about the organisation and why you felt it important to put yourself forward as Chair.

It’s the trade union for all authors, including screenwriters, illustrators, poets and translators. Authors need all the help they can get when it comes to negotiating contracts, finding the right agent or publisher, and generally protecting their livelihood in a business where only the lucky few earn enough money to make a living. I’ve been a member of the SOA for years, and being the Chair gives me the chance to use my platform to try to raise awareness of authors’ rights, and to campaign on members’ behalf on issues like fairer contracts, payment for festival appearances, VAT on e-books, and loss of income (through COVID, for example).

What do you read to relax?

I re-visit old favourites in a wide variety of styles, but I have an especial fondness for sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

I know you are also in a band. Tell us about that?

As well as doing that you are also a trustee of ALCS. Tell us about that organisation and again why you felt it important to stand in as a trustee?

I’ve been in the same band with my husband and best friend since we were at school together. We perform as the Storytime Band, write our own material, and we have a live stage show which combines storytelling with theatre, original music and songs. (You can find our CDs at: https:// joanneharrisandthestorytimeband.bandcamp.com/ releases) - 10 -

Again, I’ve been a member of ALCS for a long time.

It’s the organization that collects money on behalf of authors for secondary copyright use (eg photocopying, broadcasting). Being on the Board has given me the opportunity to know more about the running and functions of the ALCS, as well as the chance to lobby on behalf of members, especially

around changing copyright rules. Authors sometimes need high-profile colleagues to fight their corner, and having benefited so much from these organizations myself, I thought it was time I gave something back to the community.

to why you choose to write a book such as this.

I’ve been giving out threads of writing advice on Twitter for a long time, and it has always been wellreceived. During the first lockdown I could see that there was an increased interest, both in these writing threads and in writing in general, and so I put the book together quickly, expanding on the material I’d already posted. I gave it to a small press to publish because at the time small presses needed extra support, and I brought it out initially as an ebook, so that people who wanted to maximize their lockdown time could access it straightaway.

Your latest book is yet another genre – psychological thriller. Tell us about this?

I started my career as a teacher in a boys’ grammar school, and I’ve already written several novels set in this eccentric, exclusive and rather Gothic world.

This one draws on my experience as a young woman in an overwhelmingly masculine environment, and it’s a dark tale of memory, childhood, exclusion, revenge, and murder.

My final question. Which of your books would you recommend Mom’s Favorite Reads readers start with if they haven’t read you before?

You have also written an excellent book for writers called Ten Things About Writing. I’m curious as

It depends what people are looking for: I’d suggest maybe browsing the Books section on my website at joanne-harris.co.uk to find what appeals most.

Wendy H. Jones is the award winning, international best-selling author of the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries, Cass Claymore Investigates Mysteries, Fergus and Flora Mysteries, Bertie the Buffalo children’s books and the Writing Matters books for writers. She is also a writing and marketing coach and the President of the Scottish Association of Writers. As copy editor for Mom’s, she works hard to ensure content is appropriate and free of grammatical and spelling errors. You can learn more about Wendy on her website:

https://www.wendyhjones.com/ - 11 -

Title A Narrow Door & Honeycomb

by Joanne Stan Phillips Harris Reviewed by Wendy H. Jones The Narrow Door The latest book by Joanne Harris is a spine tingling, psychological thriller and I can assure you, it more than lives up to thy hype. Even the description from the back of the book had the hairs on the back of my neck up.

Description Now I'm in charge, the gates are my gates. The rules are my rules.

It's an incendiary moment for St Oswald's school.

For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls.

and I didn’t know what to expect. I need not have feared as she is a master of her craft. She has more than shown that she really can turn her hand to anything. The book is not one story but many stories within stories, all skilfully woven together demonstrating just how good a storyteller Joanne Harris really is. It jumps around through time, but this is expertly handled so the reader does not lose the thread of the plot and is not pulled out of the story.

The characters are superbly drawn, and I found myself loving and hating them in turn, although I must say, mostly hating them. This was integral to the plot. Rebecca Buckfast, the main character, seems to care about only herself, still I could not help but have some measure of sympathy for her. The denouement is breath-taking, and I certainly did not guess. This is a well written book with a strong story and plot – what else would you expect from a Joanne Harris book?

Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely forty, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.

But Rebecca is here to make her mark. She'll bury the past so deep it will evade even her own memory, just like she has done before. After all...

You can't keep a good woman down.

Review Up front I need to say I am a long-time fan of Harris’s work, but this is a departure from the norm, - 12 -

Honeycomb As more proof that Joanne Harris can turn her hand to any genre, she writes fairy tales under the name Joanne M. Harris. I have read a couple of other of her fairy tale books and loved them, so I was excited to read this one. The description is unusual in that it starts with a poem, one of those from the book.

Description Long ago and far away, Far away and long ago, The World was honeycomb, we know, The Worlds were honeycomb.

The beauty of stories is that you never know where they will take you. Full of dreams and nightmares, Honeycomb is an entrancing mosaic novel of original fairy tales from bestselling author Joanne M. Harris and legendary artist Charles Vess in a collaboration that's been years in the making. Dark, gripping, and brilliantly imaginative, these magical tales will soon have you in their thrall.

combination is beautifully blended together to bring us a story which is eminently, not only readable but, enjoyable. In fact, at face value it is a collection of 100 fairy tales but with a unifying thread running through it of the Lacewing King. Whilst the stories all seem to be disparate, the Lacewing King darts about amongst them drawing the narrative back again. This is handled so well the reader is unaware that the stories can be read as complete stories within themselves. There are poems woven throughout echoing the poem in the description. In the end Harris brings the whole book full circle with a satisfying ending pulling everything together beautifully. I was left with a feeling that I would like to have kept on reading, not because the book was incomplete, far from it, but because I genuinely did not want to leave the world that Harris had pulled me in to.

Each original tale is a small piece of the larger picture - a clue or a message, a theme, or a warning interwoven with the tale of the Lacewing King as he travels the Worlds and encounters a multitude of characters: a toymaker who wants to create the perfect wife; a princess whose heart is won by words, not actions; a tiny dog whose confidence far outweighs his size; and the vengeful Spider Queen, and deadly Harlequin . . .

Turn the page, and be swept up in the adventure.

Review I am not really a fan of fantasy or fairy tale, but I do like Joanne Harris’s work, so found myself reading these ones and I love them. Honeycomb is really a mixture of fantasy and fairy tale, and this

You can find out more about Joanne Harris and her books at https://www.joanne-harris.co.uk - 13 -

Artist Profile — Alison Rasmussen

by Sylva Fae My Background Hello, my name is Alison Rasmussen. I used to be Alison Baker and sometimes I use Alison Baker Rasmussen for some of my art and books so people can find me, and I can find me. I named my web site and (Etsy art shop) for the lightest of blacks – paynes grey. I love the blue-black colour and I love the name!

I’m a self-taught illustrator who also loves to write. I create fantasy creatures and whimsical gothic art, and I am writing a ghost story where lots of my characters go to play. I’ve done illustration work for children’s stories and a zombie story, and now I am illustrating my own just for fun. In doing so it has opened up a wonderful world of opportunity as I am getting the chance to really bring them all to life. And for ghosts, that’s quite a big deal!

I did the standard Art qualifications at school but actually have a BSc (Hons) in Geography. I spent a long time wishing I had taken a different path and so decided I’d do just that, and I am doing it by myself, governed by my own interests and personal goals. I’ve followed all kinds of mysterious routes to get here. There is always something new to learn and I will never, ever be finished.

Media and Techniques I work with traditional media - mainly graphite, soft pastels, and coloured pencil. As an illustrator I find a lot of inspiration in Asian illustration, anime, Halloween, and gothic/dark art. I’m working on my own cabinet of curiosities – a strange assortment of unique boxes, glass bottles, and anything odd that might wish to appear in a drawing some time. I also collect fantasy art books, manga and pencils but lack the shelf space to do the task justice.

I sometimes feel like my approach is that of some kind of patchworking Doctor Frankenstein artist, as

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I like to stitch multiple references together to make things believable and I never take anything from one place – a hand here, an arm there, maybe some random person’s leg. I truly feel I’ve made it mine that way. I really can't bear drawing without having something to observe as I work – I think the drawings I make benefit from that approach, and I enjoy working that way. If it’s not fun, then for me, it will most definitely go wrong!

a Sentimental World – both showcasing up and coming creators and Anime/Manga artists. I often sit and describe what I see from the illustrations for writing practice and for a really in-depth perusal basically it’s fun!

Inspiration I’m sort of a book collector. Most of my continuous learning and practice comes from my growing book library, and my biggest inspiration these days stems from my love of contemporary Asian art. There are some incredible books published by PIE International that feed my imagination, like Everyday Scenes from a Parallel World, or Retrospective Scenes from - 15 -

Other inspirations are Munashichi, a Makoto Shinkai sky and anything that brings light and mood to a piece. I love the dark fairy tales of Brian Froud, the muted colours of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, and the whimsical dark styles of Gris Grimly and Edward Gorey. I can absolutely promise there’s countless more but hopefully that will give a flavour of all the things that I Iook at in the hope that I can make something pretty, too.

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I must confess, I am a person who doesn’t keep a sketchbook. I think I need to remedy this (maybe) even if it is just for practicing things that need work on, but each time I get a new sketchbook it just ends up being turned into a supply of drawing paper for not so sketchy pieces. I’m either too much of a perfectionist or I know exactly what I want to draw as I’ve already done days of planning in my head. I write notes, though, and all of my ideas usually end up in a drawing or in the story I’m working on.

See more of Alison Rasmussen’s work: http://paynesgreyillustration.com/

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PaynesGreyArtShop http://folksy.com/shops/PaynesGreyArtShop

Sylva Fae is a married mum of three from Lancashire, England. She has spent twenty years teaching literacy to adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, and now works from home as a children’s writer and illustrator.

Sylva has published several children’s books and also writes a blog, Sylvanian Ramblings. Her debut book, Rainbow Monsters won the Chanticleer Best in Category award. Discover more about Sylva on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/sylva-fae/ - 17 -

Paul Harvey Interviewed by Sylva Fae First of all, tell me a little about yourself.

Hello! My name is Paul Harvey, I’m 51 from Derbyshire, England, and I’m an outdoor chef. This pretty much means I cook various meals that you would normally cook in your kitchen, but I cook them on the campfire, in a forest. I am a trained chef.

How did you get into bushcraft and outdoor cooking?

your adventures, you don’t have to carry lots of gear into the forest – you just make what you need when you’re there. Moving on many years, I became a bushcraft instructor and campfire cooking chef instructor, and I have been all over Europe to shows and festivals etc.

My main influencer growing up was my late grandfather who was a chef. He was also a woodsman and lived next to a forest. So, when I’d go to stay, we would head off into the wilderness for the weekend. My grandfather also got me into bushcraft, mind you back then it was called wood lore.

If you use the materials you find in the wild to aid

What events have you cooked for?

I cooked a 5 course VIP banquet for Ray Mears and

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100 guests at the Bushcraft Show in 2020. I’ve also cooked for Ed Stafford and Dave Canterbury from the US. I’ve cooked at most of the top outdoors related shows and festivals.

Sadly, Covid has had a massive impact on my adventures. I got chosen to chef for an adventure company at Everest base camp for the whole of May, but everything got cancelled due to the virus.

You always seem to go above and beyond the usual campfire cooking to prepare a gourmet meal worthy of any five-star restaurant, which are your favourite dishes?

My favourite thing to cook is a hard question.

I've never used a Dutch oven; can you tell me about it? What would you use it for?

I’m passionate about everything I cook but I love Thai food - it’s so aromatic and tasty. So, I’m going to go with a Thai massaman curry as my no.1.

One of my most useful bits of equipment is my Dutch oven. They are so versatile. The lid can come off and be placed upside down in the hot embers, then you also have a frying pan/hotplate. The whole oven is great for cooking hearty winter stews, and homemade bread to go with your meal.

I'm afraid I tend to just use a campfire and grill for my meals, but I often see you use a range of equipment. What would you recommend someone buy if they wanted to experiment further with outdoor cooking?

I cook on my systems over the fire and what’s in the menu determines what gear I take. I have a full range, on which I can cook multiple items at once, which I made myself. I was also a welder fabricator.

But you don’t really need all that big set up. All you need is a small grill and you can cook up some epic meals. The art of campfire cooking us reading the fire. Fire Management is key.

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I shall be seeking you out at The Bushcraft Show, but where could people (UK) sample your cooking?

Off Grid and Survival Show Plus loads of smaller events.

In 2022 you will see me at:

And for those not able to meet you in person, where can people follow your culinary campfire creations?

The Bushcraft Show Great Outdoors Festival

You can follow my adventures on Instagram @campfire_cooking101

Retro Outdoor Equipment Show International Bushcraft Show in the Netherlands

Sylva Fae is a married mum of three from Lancashire, England. She has spent twenty years teaching literacy to adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, and now works from home as a children’s writer and illustrator.

Sylva has published several children’s books and also writes a blog, Sylvanian Ramblings. Her debut book, Rainbow Monsters won the Chanticleer Best in Category award. Discover more about Sylva on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/sylva-fae/ - 20 -

Chicken Lollipops—Outdoor Cooking Style Submitted by Paul Harvey Equipment needed I created an oven effect using my Trangia and an old army mess tin, which has a lid on it. The mess tin fits snuggly inside the Trangia pan, with about an inch gap on the bottom. When you put this on your burner it heats the air up, allowing the hot air to circulate under and around the mess tin, thus creating an oven.

Ingredients • • • •

Chicken drumsticks Mild Tandoori powder Fenugreek seasoning Lemon juice

Method •

•

•

First create some chicken lollipops. These are made by French trimming the drumsticks and exposing the leg bone.

For an aromatic flavour, season using a mixture of mild tandoori powder and lemon juice, with a bit of fenugreek seasoning.

Cook over a burner in the Trangia oven.

Whilst cooking, the meat will shrink down to form a round ball, allowing people to hold the bone and eat it like a lollipop, hence the name.

This is a simple, but tasty meal you can cook with minimal equipment while out and about.

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Memories of Post War Cologne

by John Greeves Post war Cologne in the late 1950’s was for all appearances a rising phoenix of steel and glittering glass reaching upwards to an economic rebirth. As a child I see myself looking out in the distance to the twin spires of Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) on the distant bank. Almost adjacent to it, is the triple arched Hohenzollern bridge that crosses the wide expanse of the Rhine. Here barges ply their trade in white transient wakes, amid a flurry of national flags, all laden bound to distant places.

During World War II, carpet-bombing by Allied forces levelled up to 80 percent of the historic buildings in Germany’s main cities. Cologne sustained 262 air raids. The aerial warfare escalated after a ‘1000 bomber attack’ on 31 May 1942. This raid lasted about 75 minutes and destroyed 600 acres of built up area, killing 486 civilians and making 59,000 people homeless. By the end of the war, air raids had claimed the lives of 20,000 civilians. Miraculously, the cathedral survived. It suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during the war but did not collapse. The twin spires were an easily recognised navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later period of the war and that may explain why the cathedral was not destroyed.

In 1945 architect and urban planner, Rudolf Schwarz, called Cologne the “world’s greatest heap of rubble.”

Schuttbergs (Debris mountains) arose after the end of World War 2, and were created primarily from rubble generated by the destruction of German cities. It is estimated that the war produced over 400 million cubic meters of rubble that needed to be disposed before any reconstruction plan could be undertaken.

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Nearly every city had one. As many as eleven rubble mountains were created in the Cologne city area, of which Herkulesberg (“Mont Klamott”) is the largest with a height of 25 meters above its surroundings. Ingeniously, the Germans planted them with greenery and integrated them into their urban landscape. I remember as a boy a young German student asking my parents, if God for the English was written with a capital or lower case g; and thinking later in life how ironic this question must have seemed.

The black market provided a steady source for those who could afford to barter. Many farmers and owners of Schrebergarten (a little plot or parcel of land where town people grow vegetables) took unfair advantage of their position. As did some occupation troops who provided cigarettes, alcohol, foreign goods and contraband for whatever could be traded in exchange.

As refugees returned to the city they brought with them dysentery, typhoid and diphtheria epidemics.

Ruined water and sewage systems, limited hospital space and lack of medical supplies and equipment only exasperated this crisis. STDs became a major concern after the war and it is estimated that as many as 400,000 children of Allied soldiers were born to German women in the years following WWII. Often destitute women lacked any other options for feeding themselves and their family. Many were widowed with children as the result of war and had no means of financial support. Both mother and illegitimate child were shunned by both sides and Allied governments continued to protect soldiers from the moral and economic responsibility of

The Winter of 1946-47 in Germany was known as Hunger Winter, the biggest problem was how to survive and support your family. For many, calorific intakes as low as 700 calories were the norm — well below starvation level. As a consequence, it’s believed thousands of Germans perished from famine and health related conditions.

In his 1946 New Year's Eve sermon, Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Frings of Cologne preached from the pulpit of the cathedral: “In an emergency,” he asserted, “the individual may take what he desperately needs for his survival and his health, so long as he cannot provide it through other means.”

Allied occupation officials were outraged, but the sermon added a new verb, “fringsen,” to Rhenish slang, which justified the act of robbery as a legal act of self‐preservation if created by an emergency.

child support.

Life did improve. In 1948, the Deutschmark replaced the almost worthless Reichmark in the Allied western occupation zones and initiated the start of economic recovery in Western Germany. I - 23 -

remember using British Armed Forces Banknotes referred to by military personal as BAFVS. They came into circulation in 1946 and soldiers would be partly paid in these. They remained the only accepted currency in the NAFFI canteens and various messes even and on base when the new Deutsche Mark appeared.

By 1949 the Marshall Plan had extended to Western Europe. Initially known as the ‘European Recovery Program’ it initiated $13 billion of economical and technical funding as the threat of The Cold War grew and the need to view Germany as an ally became far more apparent. After the war much of Germany’s heavy industry had been dismantled by the Allied governments who agreed that German heavy industry was to be lowered to 50% of its 1938 levels by the destruction of 1,500 listed manufacturing plants. However, by 1950, the detrimental impact of this policy soon became apparent and its contradiction in ever building a self-sustaining German economy realised. The UK and France were finally persuaded to stop dismantling heavy industry. Germany began to recover from and prospered from then on

in a period referred to as ‘Wirtschaftswunder’ or ‘economic miracle’.

A memory from my childhood fills my mind. My gaze turns from the twin spires of the cathedral to a man with a bucket and rope who draws water from the Rhine to wash down his new Merc; a growing symbol of resurgence and wealth. In conversation, I noticed a civilian, still assume a mantle of guarded politeness in talking to my father, there is never a mention of the war on either side; it’s been put a side for the present as work and construction fill the sky.

Occasionally in those days, the citizens of Cologne relaxed, diverting all their energy from work into Rosen Montag, the biggest event of the season- a whole week of festival accompanied by heavy drinking and dancing. Numerous floats took to the street and paraded in down town Cologne. Amid the music, bustle and noise, sweets, flowers and toys were showered over the spectators while hosts of children (including me) weaved, dodged and dived between the crowds to forage as much instant booty as they could.

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into central Cologne past part of the city I’ve never seen. Bombed out buildings, windowless and roofless; cross-sections of edifices without stairs, lifeless monoliths to what’s left after blockbuster bombs and incendiary firestorms have done their work. I’m busy talking to my brother in English when I look up at the woman opposite me and feel the sharp penetration of hatred and malevolence ensnaring me, holding me to account, as if I am responsible for all I see around me and more, her loss, her emptiness and her darkness. I’m silent for the rest of the journey I don’t look up. I hear the tram bell clang, I feel the tram switch lines, then time held still, never forgetting her look that has haunted me all these years.

In peacetime, the mask sometimes slipped with brief insights into the war years. Herr Ober (the waiter) a former soldier, sometimes forgot and heel clicked when we ordered a meal in a restaurant we frequented. My German barber, knew I collected stamps but once took a long time after my haircut selecting a stamp from his collection. Finally, he decided. The stamp showed a German helmeted soldier with a large swastika in the corner and the word ‘Luftschutz’ air defence. Was this a reminder... a prompt (I think later in life) about what happened to his city or was his action simply one of kindness? I’ll never know.

Not all wrongs can be righted. I’m amazed one day when I take the tram with my father and brother

John Greeves originally hails from Lincolnshire. He believes in the power of poetry and writing to change people’s lives and the need for language to move and connect people to the modern world.

Since retiring from Cardiff University, Greeves works as a freelance journalist who's interested in an eclectic range of topics.

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Rockin Robin

by Sylva Fae

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https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/sylva-fae/

© Sylva Fae - 27 -

Birthstone Crystal Grids

by Lisa Shambrook February — Amethyst The final full moon of winter, the snow moon, welcomes spring with all its warmth and light... the season moves forward and takes us with it. February is the month of Amethyst and this crystal grid is full of Amethyst's healing tranquillity and calm.

Matched with a Selenite centre, to represent the moon, and bring peace, Clear Quartz adds clarity and further powerful healing energy. Charoite, a stone of transformation, brings change and cleansing healing to harbour new growth and strength.

Move forward with this grid of Healing and Peace.

Crystal Grids made by Lisa Shambrook for mindfulness, meditation, and art. Prints of some grids are available at:

www.amaranthalchemy.etsy.com.

You can find out more about the sensory author and artist, who will lift your spirit, steal your heart, and ignite your imagination at: www.lisashambrook.com.

She also loves dragons and squirrels.

Lisa Shambrook is an author, artist, and dreamer who loves dragons. Born and raised in vibrant Brighton, England, living by the ocean heavily influenced her lyrical and emotional writing. She now lives in Carmarthen, West Wales, another town rich in legend and lore. A sensory writer, Lisa delves into sensitive subject matters that will lift your spirit and steal your heart.

Find out more at her website lisashambrook.com and her Etsy shop

amaranthalchemy.etsy.com - 28 -

Chess Supplied by Chess.Com Black to move. Checkmate in four. Clue: look at h3.

Supplied by https://chess.com the #1 chess website. Used with permission.

For more chess puzzles please visit https://chess.com

You can find answers for this activity on Page 69 - 29 -

February Books

by Mom’s Favorite Authors New Release: The Child of Time

by Penny Luker The Child of Time is a short book of cozy paranormal and ghost stories. It was released just before Christmas and consists of fourteen new stories and three published in previous anthologies. The title story was published in Mom’s October edition under the title, ‘The Child Who Should Never Have Been’.

If you enjoy stories that explore the unexplained elements of the world, then this is the book for you.

The Child of Time is free if you subscribe to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited or you can buy the e-book for $2.99/£1.99 or $6.64/£5.00 for the paperback.

You can check it out here: http://mybook.to/ChildofTime Other short story books by this author are: The Mermaid http://mybook.to/TheMermaidShort

Pebble on a Beach http://mybook.to/Pebble Lady in the Woods http://mybook.to/LadyintheWoods Witch Hunt is one of the stories from The Child of Time, first published in The Mermaid.

Witch Hunt I could smell food cooking close by. My stomach responded to the aroma. After days of just water and stale biscuits, I longed for something tasty. Automatically, I walked faster. As I turned the corner, I saw an old man sitting by a fire roasting some meat;

probably rabbit. He was big and bald and although his back was slightly bent, he didn’t look to be past his strength. Nervously, I walked towards him, wondering if he’d be friendly. I certainly didn’t want any trouble.

He heard my footsteps and turned towards me.

‘Don’t suppose you’ve enough to share?’ I called, stopping where I was. I didn’t want to look as if I’d grab his food and run.

He looked me up and down and then smiled.

‘There’s plenty of food, if you’re on your own. Come and join me.’

I dumped my bag by the fire and sat on my black cloak. Brushing my long dark hair away from my face I let the flames warm me. It was the most wonderful feeling. Soon, the meal was ready. I cannot describe how delicious the food was. I wiped the juices away from my chin, with my hand and picked up the mug of strong black tea. It was not to my taste but I didn’t want to offend my host.

‘So, why is a pretty young thing like you wandering around here, on your own, at this time of night?’ he asked.

‘I’m Topaz. I live in Bycross Mill, in the valley beyond and I’m travelling to see my grandmother. She lives in Wootten Stanley. Somehow, I seem to have taken a wrong turn and I don’t recognise the landscape. I don’t suppose you have a map.’

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the poster and I get paid. You’ll do, whether or not you’re a witch.’

He took out a small map, made from a lined backed material and placed it on the ground before me. He pointed first to Bycross Mill and then to Wootten Stanley. Then, he showed me where we were. Past Wootten Stanley.

‘So, what happens now? Do you tie me up and hall me back to the village in the middle of the night?’

‘No, Topaz. You lie down again and you’ll sleep. Your tea was drugged. You can be comfortable tonight.

Tomorrow when we’re both rested, I’ll take you to the village. It can be as easy or as hard as you like.’

‘You’re miles out of your way. It would be dangerous to travel tonight. You’d better stay here, by the fire, until the morning.’

‘So, why are you here?’ I asked.

‘Don’t you care what they’ll do to me? And what about my grandmother? How can you condemn me to a death by drowning or by fire? Doesn’t it prey on your conscience? Do you have no concept of good and evil?’

He looked at me closely. ‘You’re looking tired,’ he said. ‘Lay down by the fire and I’ll tell you who I am.’

He looked a kind man and he’d just fed me and offered me a place to rest for the night, so I spread out my cloak and lay down. He didn’t move. The fire lent its rosy glow and I felt safe. ‘My name is Volt Hunter. I’m hunter by name and by profession.

I hunt witches and deliver them to the authorities.’

‘Lie down NOW, Topaz. I have to eat just like the next man. I’ve never killed any woman, witch or otherwise. If you really want to know what I think, I’ll tell you.’

I lay back down on my cloak.

Fear spread through me and chilled my bones. I sat up slowly and schooled my voice to be calm.

‘Yes, I really want to know.’

‘Obviously, there’s no such thing as witches. These poor creatures have just annoyed someone powerful, but that’s their problem, not mine. I don’t commit the murder. It’s not my responsibility. In your case, I think it’s a terrible waste to kill someone so beautiful and young, but that’s mankind for you.

Now go to sleep.’

‘So, you believe in witches, do you? I don’t. Are you telling me you’ve actually met a real witch?’

‘Who knows?’ he smiled. ‘I get paid for delivering them to the authorities and that’s the end of my job. Do you know there’s a witch on the run from Wootten Stanley at the moment? Let me show you her poster.’

He got out a rug and lay down on the other side of the fire. Soon his snores could be heard rattling into the night. I sat up slowly and then stood up, quietly lifting my cloak from the ground. I wrapped it round myself. How lucky I had poured the tea into the ground behind me. It had smelt foul. I looked over at Volt Hunter and silently swore he would never cause another woman to die a terrifying death.

He leaned over and passed me the poster. There in front of me was a drawing of my likeness. I handed it back to him.

Poor woman. She’ll die a most excruciating death.

I’m glad you know I’m not a witch.’

‘Now, how do I know that, Topaz?’

‘Well, it’s obvious. I approached you for food. A witch wouldn’t need to do that. A witch, if such beings exist, would be able to catch their own food; light their own fire. That’s what they do, isn’t it?’

In the morning, a tiny mouse woke up on the rug by the dying fire. I was walking in the fresh sunshine, listening to the birds. I laughed at the thought of how many predators there are for mice. He would be hunted every day of his life, be it a short one or a long one.

He smiled. ‘I think you’re missing the point, dear girl. I just have to deliver someone who looks like - 31 -

The Pleasure of Constant Change

by Wendy H. Jones When considering nature, you need look no further than your own doorstep. This can literally be the garden outside your window, or it can be the country in which you live. Scotland, my home and my heart, is a land of contrasts – sulky mountains and rugged moors, lochs that change colour at the twist of a passing cloud, and swathes of purple heather punctuated with shaws of yellow gorse. There can be few in this world who have not seen at least some pictures of the Scottish landscape and feel they know the beauty of this country well. than acres of ordinary sand they are teeming with vibrant life just waiting to be discovered. Nor is the terrain static but constantly shifting, making the landscape one of constant change. Consider the village of Forvie, a name which you may never have heard. This is not surprising as the village no longer exists. It was abandoned in the fifteenth century; the villagers fled as sand borne by both wind and sea drifted ever closer, encroaching on their homes until, in a final act of natural betrayal, they buried stone walls and gable ends forever. A lone church wall remains; a silent, windswept testament to a once thriving community. It guards the graves which archaeologists discovered lie buried far beneath the sands, forgotten by all and demonstrating the cruelty that nature can often display. Forvie shows us that nature most often holds the upper hand and fighting its advances is futile. These advances have continued throughout the centuries and, even today, the dunes remain in a state of constant mobility reaching heights of up to twenty metres. Likened to the Sahara Desert, there is little to stop their movement as they react to the vagaries of the weather and their surrounding environment.

No two visits are the same.

One Terrain, however, which goes relatively undocumented and ignored are the many and varied Scottish sand dunes. This may be because many do not see sand dunes as having any sense of beauty or majesty or it may be because this is not a landscape which is considered as typically Scottish.

Would you be surprised if I told you the fifth largest sand dune system in the UK, the Sands of Forvie, are part of the Forvie Natural Nature Reserve, a few miles North of Aberdeen on the North East Coast of Scotland? If your answer to this is that you have never heard of them, then you are in good company. One of Scotland’s hidden gems, few know of this area of natural beauty and few visit, making them the least disturbed sand dunes in the UK. At this point you may be saying, “Why should I spend time visiting miles and miles of sand? That’s usually called a beach and I can do it anytime, anywhere.” Many may take this view thus missing out on one of nature’s greatest hidden treasures. Let me tell you why this area is worth so much more than a passing glance on a map.

The Sands of Forvie and The Forvie National Nature Reserve have their own unique ecosystem; rather - 32 -

And the solitude, oh, the solitude. On a summer’s day, under a sky as blue as the Saltire itself, and the sun warming your bones, you can walk undisturbed. Other days you will find yourself battling the wind that forms the dunes and watching as they are re-shaped before your eyes - experiencing nature in all its tumultuous glory. There is nothing, or no-one, to disturb the silence or your thoughts.

It is one of the few places in an increasingly built-up world where you can escape and be alone. But are you alone?

these species being the reserve, ten of which are classified as threatened species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. The sheer enormity of the importance of so many of these species being discovered in one small corner of Scotland is mind blowing. As you walk take in everything around you. Watch out for the Sandwich Tern and Common Tern which call the dunes home, nesting in the tussocks of marram grass. Their trilling and screeching will disturb the silence as they swoop overhead or strut around you, masters of all they survey. For this land belongs to them, not the humans who periodically invade their space.

Other birds which can be seen on the reserve, although not specifically in the dunes, are geese, eider, lapwing, oyster catcher, kestrel and buzzard,

In order to answer this question, it is important to understand the flora and fauna of the area, for this is not just sand but also grasses such as marram grass, common serge and marsh pennyworth. You can wander amongst fifteen different species on of - 33 -

Seal colonies can also be seen along the shore – specifically grey and common seals. However, visitors cannot get any closer than the lookout at Newburgh Beach. These seals are, quite rightly, protected in law so they can breed in peace. This means their numbers are steadily climbing and as many as 3000 have been recorded at any one time. Can you imagine the sheer grandeur of so many seals in one tiny slice of Scotland? One can scarcely take in the magnitude of this as it defies all expectation. for this significant area of natural beauty also lays claim to mudflats, cliffs and shoreline. All of these are waiting for exploration as you stroll slowly through this lonely expanse of nature. This is not a place for speed but for a slow pace and discovery of the wonders that stretch for several undisturbed miles around you. The migratory patterns of the birds ensures that it is not only the landscape which is changing but the wildlife itself.

This whole area is worth visiting over and over again. Each visit is different and a whole new vista opens up. From flora to fauna, from sand dunes to sea, from mudflats to cliffs there is so much to see, so much to learn and endless days of solitude and silence to be gained. Think about visiting – it will change the way you feel about, not only sand dunes but nature, forever. The next time you consider a break think about sand dunes and what you can, not only experience, but also learn from them. They are awaiting your discovery and exploration in a seething morass of ever shifting Scottish sand.

Closer to the shore more surprises await. Rest a while and watch in silence. Here you will find Little Tern and Arctic Tern. The Little Tern could be considered one of nature’s most beautiful birds, ethereal, clothed in white feathers and a black cap as it swoops overhead against a cerulean blue sky. This is nature at its breath-taking finest.

Wendy H. Jones is the award winning, international best-selling author of the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries, Cass Claymore Investigates Mysteries, Fergus and Flora Mysteries, Bertie the Buffalo children’s books and the Writing Matters books for writers. She is also a writing and marketing coach and the President of the Scottish Association of Writers. As copy editor for Mom’s, she works hard to ensure content is appropriate and free of grammatical and spelling errors. You can learn more about Wendy on her website:

https://www.wendyhjones.com/

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Paul’s Puzzles

By Paul Godding The Main Challenge

The Roll3Dice Challenge

Using 2, 5 and 6 just once each, with + – × ÷ available, which are the only THREE target numbers from 20-30 inclusive that are mathematically possible to achieve?

From six of the seven groups of numbers below, it is possible to make today’s target number of 3 when each number in the group is used once and + – × ÷ is available: 1 2 2

The 7Puzzle Challenge

1 3 6

The playing board of the 7puzzle game is a 7-by-7 grid containing 49 different numbers, ranging from 2 up to 84.

1 4 6 2 4 6

The 1st & 2nd rows contain the following fourteen numbers:

3 3 4 3 4 5

2 8 9 14 15 17 22 28 40 48 55 63 64 72

4 4 6 Which is the only group that CANNOT make 3?

List THREE different numbers that total 100.

The Mathematically Possible Challenge

The Target Challenge

Using 4, 5 and 10 once each, with + – × ÷ available, which FIVE numbers is it possible to make from the list below?

Can you arrive at 3 by inserting 1, 4, 6 and 8 into the gaps on each line?

•

◯+◯+◯–◯ = 3

•

(◯+◯)÷◯+◯ = 3

•

◯–(◯÷◯+◯) = 3

•

•

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

(◯×◯)÷(◯×◯) = 3

◯–◯²–◯²÷◯ = 3

#5TimesTable *** Solutions: http://7puzzleblog.com/answers/ Hello, my name is Paul Godding. I am a full-time professional private maths tutor based in the south-east of Wales who delivers face-to-face tuition locally as well as online tuition to students globally. It would be lovely to hear from you, so feel free to click paul@7puzzle.com if you wish to secure maths tuition for you or your child. Alternatively, you can ring/message/WhatsApp me from anywhere in the world:

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Thumbs or Sleeves?

By Maressa Mortimer The best and earliest story teller in my life was my dad. I loved it when he did bedtimes, as time wasn’t an issue and it always included a story. Sometimes he would read a book, which included the songs sung properly, voices and effects.

comment is, “Well, you must have a fat thumb.” If they do ask, the question is, “Do you just shake those stories out of your sleeve?”

His stories were the best though. Exciting, mysterious and they only stopped when he ran out of inspiration for the night. They included a theme song with the words and tune remembered for years.

Turns out, according to my husband, his dad told similar stories. His always ended on a cliffhanger, which was invariably resolved the following evening with the famous sentence, “With one bound he was free.”

It intrigues me. Does sucking your thumb make you more creative when it comes to telling stories? I did suck my thumb for a long time as a child, so who knows? One of my children sucks her thumb, and yes, she tells hilarious stories. My son does too, but he had a dummy when he came to us, so maybe a dummy has the same effect?

If you’re not a thumb-sucker, but you would love to start writing stories, I suggest you wear loose sleeved tops. Stories can clearly be shaken out of sleeves, according to the Dutch. Of course, there are some fabulous books to help you get started as well. Allow me to mention one, Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion for Writing. Thumb, Sleeve or just your mind? Happy Writing!

Having several published books, people ask me, “How do you think up the stories?” My Dutch friends and relatives don’t ask, they assume. Their

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.

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Fields of Verdun Submitted by Hannah Howe Written by Rhys Age 14 This may be the last time I write, For I’m entering a valiant fight.

We shall relentlessly attack, And never move back!

They are determined to resist us, Is this city worth the fuss?

Why not give up now and make a deal?

Or would they rather be crushed under the German heel?

We shall advance without warning, And take Verdun by morning!

The holy city of Verdun, Will fall silent to our guns.

This city is a mysterious beacon of liberty, Although it’s just a pile of buildings and rubble to me.

To the French, it encompasses their soul, They will fight to the last, young and old.

We fix bayonets, charge and hear, “Halte la!”

Followed by, “On ne passe pas!”

Why don’t they accept their German overlords?

And just lay down their pathetic swords!

We are beaten, battered and will never recover, We retreat, passing our fallen brothers.

Our guns are silent, I’m blinded by the sun, The tricolour stands tall over the holy city of Verdun.

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Europe by Book

by Hannah Howe The Vine Witch

by Luanne G. Smith

For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.

A young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping fantasy set in turnof-the-century France.

Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, JeanPaul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.

https://books2read.com/u/38ZDqw

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diet in the long term. For your convenience, many recipes and meal plans are included as well.

Mediterranean Diet For Beginners

by Laura Violet

Say goodbye to your old unhealthy diet and be ready to set sail towards a healthier you! Enjoy the reading!

The Mediterranean is the world’s largest inland sea which borders Europe, Africa and Asia. Around fifteen countries including France, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy among others call this region home.

The Mediterranean diet and way of life may take root from various countries but they do follow a similar pattern. All in all, this diet consists of whole grain, legumes, dried beans and a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Red meats are taken in small amounts and in some cases not at all.

It is this kind of diet that has helped people from this part of the world to stay healthy.

A healthier body and lifestyle is certainly within your grasp thanks to the Mediterranean diet. This eBook is meant to be your personal guide to exploring this healthy diet. It also teaches you valuable tips on improving your health.

In this book you will learn of all the benefits of this

Hannah Howe is the author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series, the Ann's War Mystery Series and the #1 international bestseller Saving Grace. Hannah's books are published by Goylake Publishing and distributed through Gardners Books to over 300 outlets worldwide. Her books are available in print, as eBooks and audiobooks, and are being translated into ten languages. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/hannah-howe

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Coloring Page

By Adrian Czarnecki Though I love dreaming up and putting together my Siberian Husky themed children’s illustrated picture story books, Adventures of Hot Rod Todd, I don’t think of myself as an ‘author’ or as a ‘writer’.

‘Story teller’ sounds better.

My books are so dependent upon the illustrations.

That’s where illustrator Cameo Anderson http:// www.cameoanderson.com/ comes in. Cameo really can see into my mind’s eye interpreting my often rambling page descriptions into works of art; there’s a saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” and with a children’s book that is so important and Cameo nails it every time and then some.

So, for your enjoyment, here is a page from the Coloring Book featuring some of the characters and scenes from the books.

Coloring Book FREE PDF download available via website www.adventuresofhotrodtodd.com

Adrian S. Czarnecki is a semi-retired writer of Siberian Husky oriented children’s books based on an actual litter of 6 puppies born to his Dam Empress Maya and Sire Damien Czar on March 14th 2019.

Born in Huddersfield, England, Adrian has travelled the world extensively pursuing careers in journalism, photography, PR / Marketing as well as print and sales. Adrian now lives in Idaho, USA with his wife Meta and their Siberian Huskies who keep them on their toes.

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Creativity

by Allison Symes Something I find fascinating is how different writers use varying methods to write their stories.

Some prefer set themes to write to while others prefer open ones. I like both though I do love a set theme because with those I know my starting point.

When writing my flash pieces, I deliberately use differing ways to get “into” a story. This keeps me on my toes. Some methods I use for inventing stories include:•

• •

•

Using random generators to trigger story ideas.

I hope to talk more about these in a future article.

Using picture prompts.

Using a competition theme (I usually submit the story to said competition as you must be in it to win it though I always check out the terms and conditions first to ensure I’m happy before entering any competition).

Overheard conversations can provide starting points. I’ve used a snippet I heard on a train once to create a tale but also mixed things up

enough so anyone involved in the original conversation would never guess I’d used it.

I find it useful to have a few tools to work with to help me get started on my next piece. Creativity needs encouraging, feeding even, but there are many ways to do this. The best by far is to read widely, fiction and non-fiction. Books, short stories, novellas, and magazines. Mix things up.

You need to get stories and how they work “into” your subconscious. Films help. Listening to audio books helps. I’ve loved the classic fairytales for more years than I care to remember. It is why I often write what I call fairytales with bite - flash pieces which are fantasy based with a twist (sometimes humorous, sometimes dark).

Your reading loves will inspire you. One thing I’ve discovered over the last five years is that non-fiction can also kick start fiction ideas. The more widely you read, the wider your “inspiration pool” to fish from!

Fuelling your creativity is important. As is being kind

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me started. It doesn’t matter if a better idea for a title occurs as I write the first draft. I note the better idea down, evaluate it later, and change the title if my idea is better than my original thought. It isn’t always.

to yourself funnily enough. It is no coincidence my productivity goes down when I’m over-busy, tired etc. I find writing useful as therapy for those tough days. All I do here is accept I won’t write much. I’ll just write enough to make me feel like I’ve created something and that makes me feel better.

For this month, I thought we’d do something different. Have you heard of flash non-fiction? A lot of blogs could be classed this way. Flash non-fiction usually has 500 words as its maximum limit though we’ll stick with the usual 300 for this.

Flash is brilliant here. In 100 words or so, I have completed a story or am on my way to completing a longer flash piece, either way it is win-win. I have something written.

Try writing a piece to 300 words on the topic of What Creativity Means to Me. You can write this as a non-fiction piece or, if you want to use fiction, show us a character for whom this applies and how their creativity changes them. I look forward to finding out which route you go here. Let’s get those creative juices going!

I often use small pockets of time to brainstorm ideas for flash stories and posts. I put them aside, come back later, and work up the one(s) I like best.

I’m giving my creative soul something to work on by jotting these ideas down.

By the time I return, I usually have a good idea of which is the strongest idea and that’s what I write up. It will be the one I haven’t been able to forget.

It is vital to give your creativity the time it needs to work.

For the artists here - this is for you too. Why not provide a character and write a flash non-fiction piece on how you created them? I envy anyone who has this kind of talent (I can’t draw) and it is always fascinating to discover how characters are created.

I also use a template to help me outline my characters. I need to know a character’s major trait, story mood, the theme and a title as my “pegs” to get

Allison Symes, who loves reading and writing quirky fiction, is published by Chapeltown Books, CafeLit, and Bridge House Publishing. Her flash fiction collections, Tripping The Flash Fantastic and From Light to Dark and Back Again are out in Kindle and paperback. She has been a winner of the Waterloo Arts Festival writing competition three years in a row where the brief was to write to a set theme to a 1000 words maximum.

Website: https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/

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Creativity

A Multi-Sensory Approach By Sylva Fae

the palette, she gathered shades of cobalt and indigo, and made her mark. The paint swirled across the damp paper, rippling over the textured surface.

Brush clean again, she selected a silvery blue. A quick flick and a myriad of stars speckled across the dark hues.

My creativity starts with the visual. It can be a photo, a painting, an object, or a real-life scene. If I can see it, I can create the back story, add the characters; and, of course, a sprinkling of magic.

Next comes the auditory. My characters talk to me and I hear their voices — how they talk and interact with one another. Then the noises of their world flood in, together with the smells, textures and feelings. And finally, the kinesthetic. I must put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, while the vision is strong.

She closed her eyes, and the shush of distant waves played a soundtrack to the splash of blue from the canvas. A memory surfaced…

Little legs sprinting ahead down a grassy path. The excitement of discovery spurred her on, the call of the sea, the promise of cool sand beneath her toes,

The Blank Canvas (A short story based on an illustration found on Pixabay) The blank canvas glared back accusingly, blinding white in the afternoon sun.

“Make your mark…let the creativity flow through your brushes.” She heard the whispered voice of her old teacher break through as she searched her memories for inspiration. Swishing the brush across - 44 -

Eyes open, she moved quickly, allowing the creativity to flow. Her brush danced across the canvas with the sunbeams. It was a race now, to recreate the picture before it floated away on the salty breeze.

a deserted, moonlit beach… Then, pausing in wonder, she gazed across to the holiday home, perched on the edge of the world, in splendid isolation. And in that moment of serene exhilaration, she felt truly free, like the whole universe was hers to hold.

Creativity — The Edge of Madness

By Cherime MacFarlane

Probably, nothing. Life happens to everyone. Bills, relationships, children, love, and loss take their toll.

There’s nothing to be done about it all other than to endure. “This too, shall pass.” For the creative person feeling lost in a forest where the muse gives glimpses then flits away, it’s better to remember the lessons of quicksilver. You can’t hold it with your fingers, but it will lie in the palm of your hand.

Creativity seems to hover on the edge of the knife.

On one side is dullness, a loss of the spark, and on the other a drifting over the line between genius and insanity. When the words, art, music no longer come easily, those who have found it easy and find it slipping away can get desperate. They can try things they hope will bring the muse back but only result in the complete loss of what they hope to recapture.

Other things may bring creativity back in a burst, but what we are all looking for is that steady burn, which will not happen from most of the things we try. We’re discussing something elusive. Nothing creative is ever easy. But don’t bother trying to fight for it. Like a huge moth, if grabbed for, it will leave fairy dust on your fingers but cease to fly.

Stand back and let it come. Who knows? It may land on your hand or never come again. There is no forcing it

The urge to create, like all else, ebbs and flows.

Some days it’s impossible to not get it right. On other days, one struggles with a single sentence, a brushstroke, a note. Being human, a creative person, can become anxious. Where has it gone? What have I done to discourage my creativity?

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Creativity By Jenny Sanders Deep breath.

Close your eyes and dive into the sea of thoughts washing around the edges of your mind. The ebbs and flows of passing impressions that have made their indelible mark somewhere on the shore of your imagination.

The challenge: to find them, capture them, and show them to the curious.

Tune into your immediate consciousness and gently, quietly, open the reluctant gate to the subconscious. Then, breathe again as you wait, with nervous hope and tentative expectation to welcome what will emerge.

Exploring ideas that you’ve only glimpsed in part.

Shifting shadows just beyond your reach. Whispers from dreams that never quite evaporated but returned to scratch at your door: persistent, demanding, teasingly requiring your attention.

Writhing smoke that twists and turns, entwined and evolving; a message as yet undecipherable. Insubstantial suggestions of tantalizing intrigue.

The intensity of thought, the frustration of mental fog, the delight of the bon mot that fits with perfect synergy; the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle – the one that brings the whole to colorful, vivid, evocative life and fills the creator’s heart with giddy joy and fizzing relief.

Now, stretch beyond your comfort zone to grasp them with tender dexterity; nurture and mold them until they take shape under your hopeful hands and emerge configuring clarity and form at last.

This is the creative life; a rollercoaster-ride thick with a blend of laughter and stomach-churning trepidation.

The richness of words which sculpt fresh realities, create new worlds; lift veils on times past, present and future. Press in to weave and craft fantasy creatures, exotic places, extraordinary characters; stories to enchant, captivate, divert, explain, stimulate and entertain.

Who will ride with me?

Keeping our tools sharp; honed to slice through obscurity, revealing sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and books.

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Mr. Politician

by Stan Phillips How many people will suffer as a result of your actions Mr Politician, who would not otherwise have done?

How many lives ruined by the frivolous use of your flawed influence?

Your carelessly spoken words disgrace you.

Disgraces your office.

Disgraces your land.

And shames those of your compatriots who would have hoped for a more reasoned outcome.

And how does society benefit from a society deprived of homes?

their profits.

Refused health care?

But know this, as we who weep know, there is no profit for the sick who lie on trollies.

Some of you will supply answers that are not answer

No profit for the mother of a dead child.

Some excuses.

And the grief laden eyes of homeless children condemn you all.

Some will apportion blame,

For your flawed activities demean you.

Some will point accusatory fingers.

These actions demean the society you are employed to run.

But there is no justification for the torment that will flow because of your actions.

Surely we can be better than this?

And the puppetmeisters that so easily pull the strings of your overweening vanity, and who will be here long after you have left the scene, will count

Surely.

Stan Phillips ©

Stan Phillips is a poet, musical podcast maker, part-time wannabe male model, and occasional stand up comedian. “I used to be a psychotherapist/counsellor when I had an honest job. I was born into prewar London, and attended 17 schools (my father believed they couldn’t hit a moving target) and I eventually finished up here in Ireland. Still wondering what I will be when I grow up — but enjoying writing my quirky poetry as I do so.”

Discover more about Stan on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/stan-phillips - 47 -

50 Books Across America

by Wendy H. Jones

Alaska

Alaska by James Michener We continue our tour of the states, not geographically but, alphabetically and this month sees us in Alaska. I’ve always had a hankering to go to Alaska but being a hot house plant type of girl, it sounds a bit chilly to me. All those glaciers and snow-covered mountains might look stunning, but you need a lot of cold air to maintain them, so armchair travel it is.

If you really want to know a country intimately through the pages of a novel, then you can’t do better than one by James Michener. I would go as far as to say everyone needs to read one of his novels in their lifetime. They are not a light read due to their length; Alaska has 1125 pages, or it does in the version I read. It’s obviously different depending on the version of the book. That aside it is a tome but one well worth reading. It is a magnificent, sublimely written sweep through the entire history of Alaska. It starts with the geology of how Alaska

came to being, which should be boring, but I can assure you it isn’t. I found myself wanting to know more and that is the sign of a good writer as, ordinarily, I have zero interest in geology. The historical content is outstanding, and it is obvious that a phenomenal amount of research has gone into the writing of this book. An example of this – the first humans, shallow cave dwellers who hunted woolly mammoth, knew that close relatives should not intermarry as the child would be born damaged.

They knew genetics without knowing genetics. It is details such as this that lifts the story off the page and fixes it in your heart and mind.

This is not a book to hurry but to read, savour, and ponder over. There are moments of joy, moments of compassion, moments of sadness, and moments that will take your breath away. The reader gets caught up in the lives of the characters, from the original cave dwellers to the modern-day inhabitants of the land. Regardless of the time in which they lived I found myself caring about each and every one of them. Yes, some are harsh, which is only to be expected living in such difficult terrain but, never-the -less, they are well drawn and believable.

The setting is, of course, such a large part of the story one can picture it perfectly. The harshness, the beauty, the way in which humans, unable to tame it, grow in their attempts to live alongside it. From landscapes to weather, to flora and fauna, through to animals, fish, and insects, Michener has used every word to good effect to bring it to life in the reader’s mind. I felt as if I was there.

- 48 -

Writing Prompt

By Angela Abraham movie for your eyes only every night of your life - imagine this power harnessed - this is where the creative genius exists, on the edge of the neurologically possible.

Descriptionari Quotes and Descriptions to Inspire Creative Writing

By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, November 25, 2020.

Discover, Share, Connect

Creativity is the weaving of random into a new and wonderful dish. Descriptionari helps you to fill up your idea cupboard with new ingredients, unleashing your inner Masterchef! And so, in keeping with our fantastic flash fiction theme ‘Creativity’, tongue firmly in our extended-puncheek, here are a few nibbles!

*****

Creative thinking in storytelling has been our species navigation system since before there was a modern world; our entertainment is playtime... but it is not just playtime... it is how our brains fix themselves, other brains, society and our relationship with the natural world.

In the work of the creative genius there are the tell tale signature elements of the dreaming brain, for in such people the dreaming brain has access to the higher brain in waking hours. This flow between areas is what makes them so very clever. The dreaming brain is powerful enough to invent a new educational

By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, April 15, 2021.

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Somewhere beneath the creative outpourings of the children resides the kitchen table, always content to stay quietly beneath, yet at times be revealed upon the random cleanings that come as welcome storms.

By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, May 2, 2020.

On Descriptionari there are over 19k ideas all free to check out (taking the pun bow now, tee hee).

Angela spent the past 10 years building Descriptionari one flash of inspiration at a time.

She is now focusing on the creation of fiction novels. Her dog Oliver says it is all a complete waste of time and can he go for a walk now?

https://www.descriptionari.com/ Happy writing!

Angela Abraham - 51 -

Mom’s Favorite Reads Author Penny Luker I used to spend my time working as a teacher and Head Teacher and then as an Associate Lecturer with the Open University. Now I spend my time writing stories and poems. I’ve been writing for the last few years and love reading and writing poetry. I also enjoy playing the piano and ukulele and painting in watercolour.

I’ve published ‘The Truth Finder’ a young adult fantasy book; ‘The Green Book’, ‘Tiny Tyrannosa,urus’ and ‘Pablo the Storytelling Bear’ which are three children’s chapter books. Also I’ve published a picture book called ‘Desdemona the Dragon without any Friends’ and two books of poetry, ‘Nature’s Gold’ and ‘Autumn Gold’ . Finally there are two books of short stories, which are, ‘Pebble on a Beach’ and ‘The Mermaid’. All are available on Amazon and Lulu.

I’m currently in the middle of writing two novels.

One is a fantasy novel, the sequel to The Truth Finder and the other is a whodunnit. For a while I’ve been collecting new stories for the next book of short stories and new poems for a poetry book exploring the darker side of love.

I’m a keen member of the Winsford Writers, a local writing group. We welcome new members so if you live in the area do get in touch. It’s challenging and great fun.

Connect with Penny… https://www.facebook.com/pennyluker.writer/ https://twitter.com/pennyluker https://penspoems.wordpress.com/

https://www.pinterest.com/4lukers/ https://www.pinterest.com/4lukers/

Lady in the Woods

Pebble on the Beach This is a collection of

This book of short stories contains two Inspector Winsford stories and a treasure chest of other stories, including some flash fiction. Some are gentle explorations of human nature, while others explore some of the trials in life.

short stories for adults.

The stories are in a variety of genre and you'll meet some interesting characters who tackle different situations. https:// bookgoodies.com/a/ B07562YMKK

https://bookgoodies.com/a/B09HQ321KJ - 52 -

The Truth Finder Future Earth Series Book 1

The Healer Future Earth Series Book 3

The Visualizer Future Earth Series Book 2

This is the story of Earth in the fifth millennium. Vrail has developed unusual powers. He uses his ability to read minds to locate dangerous criminals.He is a Truth Finder and explores the joys and dangers of his powers as he finds his place in a violent and unstable world.

Aley lives on Earth in the fifth millennium; a world with advanced technology, but limited resources. The known, habitable part of the Earth consists of three cities and the land and villages that lie between them. There are those who think the Earth is repairing itself, from the damages of nuclear war and pollution.

This is the second book in the Future Earth series. Seek is a powerful visualizer and can change her form and her surroundings, but those with gifts can be imprisoned or exploited. It's a dangerous world. Ruler Grettison, who used to be in charge of the city of Mizair, wants his city back, but he was cruel to the people who lived there, letting them starve. Can Seek help win the war and help the people of Mizair find peace?

https://bookgoodies.com/a/ B09B2MYJYH

https://bookgoodies.com/a/B07QFRRDKJ

https://bookgoodies.com/a/ B00HSOQUS2

Missing This is Penny Luker's first book of short stories for adults. It contains a variety of characters, places and genre for you to enjoy, from ghost stories, murder mystery, fantasy and even a horror story.

You will have the opportunity to step out of your own life and into other peoples. https://bookgoodies.com/a/B089DJ16CK - 53 -

https://bookgoodies.com/a/ B0785XFKS5

Genealogy: Meet My Ancestors

by Hannah Howe only imagine her feelings as she embarked upon a new life with Sir Hugh.

Katherine Swynford

As Lady Swynford, Katherine gave birth to the following children: •

Blanche (born 1 May 1367)

•

Sir Thomas (21 September 1368 – 1432)

•

And possibly Margaret Swynford (born c1369), later recorded as a nun in Barking Abbey

Katherine served John of Gaunt, a charismatic, chivalric knight, as governess to his daughters, Phillippa of Lancaster and Elizabeth of Lancaster. In turn, John of Gaunt was named as the godfather of Katherine’s daughter, Blanche. At this stage it was evident that Katherine and John of Gaunt were close.

In due course, that relationship became more intimate.

John of Gaunt’s wife, Blanche of Lancaster, died on 12 September 1368 of the plague. A few years later, after the death of Sir Hugh on 13 November 1371, Katherine and John of Gaunt embarked upon a love affair that produced four children out of wedlock. The children were:

While tracing the Stradling branch of my family tree, I discovered a direct connection to Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster.

Born Katherine de Roet, Katherine is thought to be the youngest child of Paon (aka Payn) de Roet, a herald and later a knight. Her birthdate is uncertain, although some sources place it on 25 November 1350 in Hainaut, Belgium.

Around 1366 at St Clement Danes Church, Westminster, Katherine married Sir Hugh Swynford.

From Lincolnshire, Sir Hugh was in the service of John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III and arguably the most powerful man of his age. For Katherine, this was a political not a love match and we can

•

John, 1st Earl of Somerset (1373 – 1410)

•

Henry, Cardinal Beaufort (1375 – 1447) My direct ancestor.

•

Thomas, Duke of Exeter (1377 – 1426)

•

Joan, Countess of Westmorland (1379 – 1440)

The illicit relationship continued until 1381 when it was truncated for political reasons. The ensuing scandal damaged Katherine’s reputation, and we - 54 -

can only imagine her feelings at losing John of Gaunt, the man she truly loved, and the gossip around court.

Another union for political reasons followed: John of Gaunt’s marriage to Constance of Castile (1354 – 24 March 1394). On 13 January 1396, two years after Constance’s death, Katherine and John of Gaunt were married at Lincoln Cathedral. Subsequently, the Pope legitimised their four children.

Katherine lived through many of the major events of the fourteenth century including the Black Death, the Hundred Years’ War and the Peasants’ Revolt. At the royal courts she met the greatest personalities of her age. While the London courts were often flamboyant and licentious she was also familiar with the pastoral aspects of Lincolnshire.

Both locations must have offered a sharp contrast to her childhood in Hainaut.

When John of Gaunt died on 3 February 1399, Katherine was then styled as ‘Dowager, Duchess of Lancaster’. She outlived him by four years, dying on 10 May 1403 in her early fifties.

Katherine has been the subject of numerous novels, including Anya Seton’s Katherine, published in 1954, and non-fiction works including Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess by Alison Weir.

Katherine’s descendants were members of the Beaufort family, the name assigned to her children.

This family played a major role in the Wars of the Roses when Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, derived his claim to the throne from his mother, Margaret Beaufort, a great-granddaughter of Katherine and John of Gaunt. Furthermore, five American presidents are descended from Katherine.

A footnote to Katherine’s story. Her sister, Phillipa, married Geoffrey Chaucer, thus placing the great poet on my family tree.

Hannah Howe is the author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series, the Ann's War Mystery Series and the #1 international bestseller Saving Grace. Hannah's books are published by Goylake Publishing and distributed through Gardners Books to over 300 outlets worldwide. Her books are available in print, as eBooks and audiobooks, and are being translated into ten languages. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/hannah-howe

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A Fowl Winter

by Melanie P. Smith

© MPSmith Publishing

- 56 -

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/melanie-p-smith/

- 57 -

Roar

by Becky Hemsley

- 58 -

Roar A poem by Becky Hemsley, taken from the book Talking to the Wild Talking to the Wild is a poetry collection, the bedtime stories that we were likely never told as children but that can bring us comfort, joy, healing, peace and gentle reminders as we grow. Some days you’ll need comfort, some days you’ll need joy, and some days you’ll just need to feel heard.

Validated. Seen. And I hope that’s what this book gives to you. I hope you get lost in the words and find yourself.

You can hear Becky reading her poems on TikTok. @talkingtothewild https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87scaJe/ Or see more on her Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild/ https://bookgoodies.com/a/B09JM7KJRQ

Becky Hemsley is an empowered romantic with a hint of magic.

She is from middle England and writes her poetry with her own accent in mind. Wherever, or however you read her poems, the message is the same; the story is about you.

- 59 -

You Don’t Have to Go to Church

by Father Ian Maher

Matthew 7.21-27 A statement sometimes made, and often by people who don’t go to church, is that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.

Perhaps you have heard that yourself, and maybe even echoed those sentiments. Is it true? Well, the answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’, and the reason behind the confusion is the mistaken belief that being a Christian equals doing good and, conversely, that doing good equals being a Christian. already in themselves church. Together they are the Body of Christ on earth, united spiritually in the same family. And when people look upon us at our best, they see people doing their utmost to live out the values of the kingdom of God on earth. It’s a challenge, as this gospel reading reminds us, but one that we must embrace.

In fact, being a Christian can be summed up as ‘one who believes in and follows the teaching of Jesus Christ’. In other words, a Christian is a disciple of Christ. Going to church is a by-product of being a Christian and not the means of being one. Yes, of course, Christians should seek to live good lives of service and caring for others and our world, but we have no monopoly on those qualities.

Words are never enough. Simply saying ‘Lord, Lord’ is empty rhetoric and meaningless if not backed up by how we live. It’s always easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk of Christian faith and is, I believe, one reason why the comment, ‘you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian’ has such currency. People see and judge us by our shortcomings.

People of different religions, atheists and agnostics alike, all have the same capacity within themselves for good or ill. Kindness, compassion, empathy, a passion for justice – these qualities and more are what define our essential humanity, even though beliefs vary widely. So, we can see that being good is not dependent on churchgoing (though hopefully people who go to church do their best to be good).

Jesus’ illustration of two people building a house, one on sand, the other on rock, underlines the importance of solid foundations. For Christians this means aligning ourselves with the message of Jesus Christ which he both taught and embodied, living our lives in imitation of him as best we can.

Christians go to church, that is, to a place where they share in Christian worship, as a physical expression of who they are: a fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ who are - 60 -

If we neglect to do this, we will be seen as no different to anyone else, and worse than some, as the edifice of our faith crumbles on the sand of empty words.

because God is good and we are loved by God, and therefore we want to be and do good.

And if we follow Jesus Christ, we go to church not because we are good but because we are already his church in the world, seeking to serve him in the world alongside every other person who strives for good.

The authenticity of the Christian life, lived out individually and collectively as the church, is always more eloquent than words and is something which we are called to manifest. Not because we are good, but

I am a priest and minor canon at Sheffield Cathedral. My last post prior to retirement from stipendiary ministry was as the Multifaith Chaplaincy Coordinator and Anglican Chaplain at Sheffield Hallam University, where I worked for 12 years. https://imaherblog.wordpress.com/ Twitter @IanMaher7 - 61 -

Room on the Shelf

By Jenny Sanders I got some post this morning. Proper post, you know; not bills.

Those brown envelopes come every month: gas, electric, water and council tax. It’s relentless. They all want you to do it online these days. As If I’m going to do that at my age. Don’t talk daft.

Proper post is a treat. No one writes letters these days. It’s all texts and computer stuff. I can’t get my head around it.

Anyway, it was from our Corinne down south. Oh yes; she lives near London now with her job in publishing and her husband who does something in the city. And the grandchildren of course. They’re teenagers now, starting to make their way and all that.

It’s another world.

something more natural. Well, there’s loads of formal ones on my special shelf of course: Matthew and Hilary’s wedding; Corinne’s graduation; dated school pictures of the grandchildren. Well, it’s a long way to come and they change so fast, don’t they?

I can’t imagine growing up now. Children seem to have everything yet seem poorer on the whole.

Simmering resentment, my mother called it. I don’t understand it.

The one that arrived this morning was an old one.

She said she found it between the pages of a book she was reading. Corinne’s always loved books; clever girl. We’d pop along to the local library every few weeks and she’d take out as many as she was allowed. I like a good thriller, but I’m not a fast reader. It’s not that I couldn’t race through a good one in a couple of days, it’s just there are always so many other things to do. I’ve never been one for sitting for too long. Well, at least not until this hip started to slow me down. That reminds me, I need to bleach the dishcloth.

There’s no space anymore; no time to think or know yourself. Perhaps that’s it. It’s all activity and noise, and what everyone else is doing or posting – not the mail kind of post. It’s all gobbledegook to me.

Just a note it was, but there was a photograph with it. Of course, the fancy phones people have nowadays take pictures and do everything but make the supper, it seems to me. I haven’t got one of those; I just have the old-fashioned lumpy telephone and a trusty kettle for my tea.

It’s true though, you can find all sorts in books beside the stories. My friend Viv once found a crisp five pound note in a book she bought in a charity shop. That inspired her. She’d spend hours after that, trawling the shelves, just flicking through the

I love photographs. You can capture so much in a simple snap. There’s people making pots of money from studio sittings and what not, but I prefer - 63 -

pages hoping money would fall out. Fat chance. I’ve found nothing more exciting than a dry-cleaning receipt, a couple of shopping lists, and some questionable stains in my library books. I remember those marks because they looked like blood and were on the page where a butchered body was discovered in the Prime Minister’s dining room. It was almost as though someone had used the book as instructions.

Fair gave me the willies, that one. I couldn’t finish it.

had; marvellous light. And when you stood on the landing you could see the sea. There was a cancellation and she telephoned to see whether we’d like to come down for a week for a fraction of the cost.

Bless her.

What a holiday we had! Walking on the red soil cliffs, exploring rock pools with the kids, catching crabs in old jam jars, paddling, building sandcastles, eating the biggest ice creams I’d ever seen. We discovered clotted cream and the freshest fish and chips in Devon.

Corinne used old birthday cards for bookmarks. She made one in primary school out of rafia and cardboard once. That’s right; it’s still here in the drawer.

Look at that. It’s amazing what you hold on to, isn’t it?

Tom was in his element; I remember he bought some swimming trunks he found in some sale.

Bright red they were. I sent the kids in wearing their pants; there didn't seem much point in shelling out for costumes they probably wouldn’t get to wear again. I had no plans to swim in the sea. We did splash about though and then it all got rather

I’ve lost my thread. Oh yes, the photo. It was of the four of us: Tom, me, Matthew, and Corinne on Sidmouth beach. It says so on the back. Must have been 1970-something. We stayed with Tom’s sister, Dora, by the sea in Devon. She ran a guest house; a pretty white building with blue awnings and I remember a garden full of roses. Huge windows it - 64 -

I’ll add it to the shelf. Always room for one more, and that’ll make me smile for a month or more. It needs a frame really. If I move these… ooh, there’s Tom and I on our own wedding day. Gosh; look at us – we’re children; so young! I do miss him. It’s quiet without his laughter in the house. He’d love to see this one.

boisterous, laughing and messing about. I was so busy keeping an eye on the children I wasn’t paying attention. Before I knew it a huge wave knocked me clean off my feet and I was spluttering salt water and soaked to the skin. My, how they all laughed; but no one laughed louder than me.

That was the best holiday and there we are, captured for a moment in time: tanned and laughing.

Some other holiday-maker kindly took the picture.

You can see my hair is still dripping wet even though I’m tucked at the back there.

So many memories. And always room on the shelf for one more.

Jenny Sanders is a writer, speaker, encourager and mentor and mother of four grown-and-flown children which gives her more time for writing, reading and walking in nature whenever she can. She’s married to an adventurous change-agent with whom she’s travelled around thee world. For the past several years she’s lived between the beautiful cities of Bath, UK and Cape Town, S Africa.

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Are You Getting a Good Night’s Sleep?

by Sheena Macleod

Sleep Hygiene A new year often comes with new resolutions - a new diet, more exercise, less alcohol - but how many of us resolve to improve the quality of our sleep? And, if we did, how would we go about this?

Interestingly, all of these other resolutions would have an impact. Sleep is part of a 24-hour sleepwake cycle and it shouldn’t be viewed in isolation

Seasonal variations

from what we do while we are awake. Our actions

through the day impact on our ability to sleep, and

Whether you live in a constantly sunny climate or in

how we sleep impacts on how we feel and function

a country with distinct seasonal variations, the

through the day.

weather can impact on the quality of your sleep. Do

The sleep-wake cycle is part of the 24-hour cycle

you find that you sleep differently in winter com-

(circadian rhythm) or internal body clock, that car-

pared to the summer months? Or, if you live in a

ries out essential functions and co-ordinates mental

constantly sunny climate do you find it difficult to

and physical systems including our levels of con-

fall asleep? The winter months seem to trigger a de-

centration and energy. When our internal body

sire in some of us just to snuggle into bed and hiber-

clocks are synchronised with our external environ-

nate until spring. When it is cold and dark outside it

ments we function best in a 24-hour sleep-wake cy-

becomes a pleasure to curl up under the covers at

cle, but if these systems are thrown out of sync then

night. As the days shorten in winter, we are exposed

this can produce, amongst other things, problems

to gradually less sunlight - many people leave for

with sleeping and tiredness through the day.

work in the dark, are indoors throughout the day and

Our internal clocks are highly sensitive to light and

then return home in the dark - and all of this affects

darkness which act as external cues for the release

our production of the hormone, melatonin. When the

of hormones to enable sleep. Light sends signals to

days are longer the duration of sunlight is longer too.

our brains to keep us awake and alert while dark-

Darkness, or closing your eyes, informs the pineal

ness sends signals to produce hormones to help us

gland to secrete melatonin which triggers sleep.

sleep. Bright lights, loud noise and dancing help us

Light causes the production of melatonin to stop.

stay awake on nights out, but what about the times

Melatonin, therefore, helps synchronise our sleep-

when we want to fall asleep and can’t?

wake cycle with night and day.

- 66 -

Insomnia

How can you ensure a good night’s sleep?

At some point in our lives, virtually all of us will

With all the attention on hand hygiene over the past

experience some form of insomnia. From having a

two years, there has been less attention paid to sleep

new baby in the house, to illness, shift work, jet lag,

hygiene. Collectively, sleep hygiene helps you de-

pain or from daily stressors and life events. There is

velop an effective sleep routine and an environment

a lot of confusion around insomnia, with many re-

that is conducive to sleep.

lating this term to how many hours sleep they have.

What is important is not just the quantity of sleep a person gets, but the quality of that sleep and how

Try to keep regular hours of sleep. Developing a

they function the next day. If you sleep seven hours

regular sleep pattern helps to reset your internal

but feel good the next day and can function and-feel

body clock. Set a healthy sleep routine by going to

just fine, then likely you’ve had enough good quali-

bed at roughly the same time and waking up around

ty sleep. There are three types of insomnia all with

the same time every day. Individual needs vary.

different causes and management - Sleep onset in-

Some of us are night owls and some are early risers,

somnia, frequent night time wakening and early

so set a pattern that suits your personal circumstanc-

morning wakening. Sleep onset insomnia is the

es. The idea is to develop a consistent pattern.

most commonly experienced problem.

- 67 -

National Bird Feeding Month

by Melanie P. Smith Tips to get started...

Cover design created to honor National Bird Feeding Month

Add a feeder to your back yard. If you already have feeders, add an extra one and target a new species.

The month of February is National Bird Feeding month. That makes sense, as February is one of the toughest months for wild birds to find food — many do not survive.

In addition to feed, birds also need water. Sure, there’s plenty of snow but lakes and streams are still frozen and birds need drinking water to survive.

Learn about local birds and familiarize yourself with the species that live in your area. Then, put out food that will attract those species.

February is still harsh weather season. Cold temperatures are stagnant, snow is flying, and the wind can be brutal. If it’s hard for you, think how difficult it must be for the birds. That’s why February became National Bird Feeding Month in 1994.

Once you start, be sure to stay consistent. Check the feeders weekly to make sure you provide a reliable source of food and water for the birds.

Bird watching has become one of the most popular hobbies in America — over 47 million people participate in this fun pastime. Adding a feeder to your yard provides the perfect opportunity for you to join in the fun. Put up a feeder, grab some binoculars, settle in, and enjoy the show. Or, if you like to take pictures, add a camera to your morning routine, kick back, and wait for that next amazing shot.

Then pass it around and impress family and friends.

Place the feeder away from predators. You can also plant native plants that will provide a natural habitat for birds, or add a bird house to give your new visitors a dry place to stay during the harsh winter.

Feeding birds can be entertaining and relaxing. It reduces stress and helps us relax. It’s also an inexpensive and easy hobby that saves lives. So, what are you waiting for? Go feed the birds!

We are excited to announce that Goylake Publishing has teamed-up with the Fussy Librarian and in partnership we are offering you 20% off your first book promotion with the Fussy Librarian. To qualify for this promotion, your book must be either permafree or listed free during a special offer.

In our experience, the Fussy Librarian is the best book promoter in the business. When we promote with him, our free books always reach the top five of Amazon’s genre charts, most often they reach the top three. We promote with the Fussy Librarian every month and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.

Prices start from as low as $15, minus our special discount of 20%.

Click here: https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake for full details.

And, at the checkout, be sure to enter this code: goylake20 to claim your 20% discount.

Thank you for your interest. And good luck with your promotion!

- 70 -

Coming Soon...

Brought to you by...

Marketing seems to be one of those areas that every author struggles with. It’s the same struggle companies world-wide have been dealing with for decades. How do I get my product in front of my target audience? Connections eMagazine can help. The publication is free to readers, bloggers and to authors looking for a little extra exposure.

Visit our website for details. https://melaniepsmith.com/ https://melaniepsmith.com/emagazine/

Connections eMagazine is a FREE quarterly publication founded by authors Melanie P. Smith and Rhoda D’Ettore. It is currently produced entirely by Editor, Melanie P. Smith. Over the years, the magazine has evolved and it now features promos, freebies, blog articles, and short stories in every issue.

Discover more about Connections eMagazine on their website here: https://melaniepsmith.com/emagazine-landing/ - 71 -

Editor In Chief—Hannah Howe The Editor-in-Chief is the key figure in every publication. Hannah Howe works closely with the editorial staff to ensure the success of each publication. She is the author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series, the Ann’s War Mystery Series and Saving Grace. Get to know more about Hannah, her projects and her work on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/hannah-howe/

Executive Editor | Graphic Designer—Melanie P. Smith The Executive Editor / Graphic Designer is responsible for developing the layout and design of MFR eMagazine. She also works hard to create new covers each month that captures the essence of each publication. In addition to the editorial staff of Mom’s Favorite Reads, Melanie P. Smith also produces Connections eMagazine. She is a multi-genre author of Criminal Suspense, Police Procedural, Paranormal and Romance novels. Get to know more about Melanie, her projects, and her work on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/melanie-p-smith/

Managing Editor, Art Director & Proofreader —Sylva Fae Our Managing Editor oversees the physical content of the magazine and coordinates the production schedule. She administers the day-to-day operations of the publication, manages submissions, sets realistic schedules and organizes each edition of the magazine. Sylva is is responsible for the amazing graphics that appear throughout the publication each month. She works hard to ensure the images capture the spirit and message our author's convey in their articles and stories. In addition, As Copy Editor, Sylva works hard behind the scenes to correct any grammatical, typos and spelling errors throughout the magazine. Sylva Fae—Mum of three, fairy woodland owner, and author of children’s books. https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/sylva-fae/

Copy Editors / Proofreaders — Wendy H. Jones and Sheena MacLead Our Copy Editors for Mom’s work hard to ensure content is appropriate and free of grammatical and spelling errors.

Wendy H. Jones is also our Feature Editor and works hard to provide content that is interesting, informative and profession. She’s the award winning, international best-selling author of the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries, Cass Claymore Investigates Mysteries, Fergus and Flora Mysteries, Bertie the Buffalo children’s books and the Writing Matters books for writers. She is also a writing and marketing coach and the President of the Scottish Association of Writers. You can learn more about Wendy on her website: https://www.wendyhjones.com/

Sheena Macleod lectured at the University of Dundee, where she gained her PhD. She now lives in a seaside town in Scotland. Reign of the Marionettes is her first novel. She currently has two additional books: Tears of Strathnaver and Women of Courage—A Forgotten Figure—Frances Connolly. You can learn more about Sheena on her website: https://www.sheenas-books.co.uk/

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Story Editor—Allison Symes Allison Symes works diligently each month to generate flash fiction writing prompts that will stimulate creativity in our authors and entertain our readers. As Story Editor, she also ensures each entry is professional and polished. Allison

Symes is an award winning, published flash fiction and short story writer. She also writes a weekly column on topics of interest for writers for online magazine, Chandler's Ford Today. Allison's fiction has appeared in anthologies (CafeLit and Bridge House Publishing) over many years. Allison judges competitions, runs workshops, and is always happy to talk/write about flash fiction writing. https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

Marketing Director—Grant Leishman Our Marketing Director, Grant Leishman, oversees marketing campaigns and social media engagement for our magazine. After an exciting career in accounting and journalism, he now focuses on his true calling—writing. Get to know more about Grant on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/grant-leishman/

Young Writer Content Editor—Poppy Flynn Poppy Flynn works hard each month to generate ideas, proofread submitted content, and provide stories, articles, poems and other pieces that are creative and relevant from young writers around the world. Get to know more about our Young Writer Content Editor on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/poppy-flynn/

General Content Writers Our Content Writers are freelance authors who contribute articles, short stories, etc. to the eMagazine on a regular basis.

They work hard to make our magazine interesting and professional. Get to know our Content Writers here: T.E. Hodden — https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/t-e-hodden/ Val Tobin — https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/val-tobin/ Stan Phillips — https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/stan-phillips/ Father Ian Maher — https://imaherblog.wordpress.com/

Discover more amazing authors… https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/

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