Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine September 2019

Volume 2, Issue 9

September 2019

BACK TO SCHOOL! IN THIS ISSUE...

Young Writers, Humour, Poetry, Travel, Short Stories, Puzzles and Articles including: What is Adoption?

Power Animals What is Happiness and Can We Find It? Goylake Publishing

Promoting Literacy Parenting Tips Short Stories Recipes Activities for the Kids Exploring New Worlds Wellness and Well-being iscovering New Authors D and so much more...

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

All contents Copyright Š the individual authors and used with their permission. All rights reserved.

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Johnny Ball Interviewed by T.E. Hodden .................................................................................... 7

Laughter is the Best Medicine! by Hannah Howe............................................. 34

Off the Beaten Track The Gambia by May J. Panayi ........................................ 12 Off the Beaten Track The Joys of Hungary by Ceri Bladen ............................ 27

Cthulhu in Brighton England by May J. Panayi .............................................. 18

My Family by Hope (Age 7) .................................................................................. 20

Autumn by Stan Phillips ........................................................................................ 44

The Day the Universe Exploded by Head ........................................................... 45

Word Search by Mom’s Favorite Reads ............................................................... 46 Mate in 2—Supplied by Chess.com ..................................................................... 47

The Language of Chaos by Millie Slavidou ...................................................... 10 What Exactly is Happiness and Can We Find It? By Christine Ardigo ......... 14 Power Animals by JJ Hughes ................................................................................ 22 Postcards From Spain by Hannah Howe ............................................................ 26

The Nest of the Cuckoo by Elizabeth Hull ........................................................ 28 Ties That Bind by Poppy Flynn ............................................................................ 32 What is Adoption by Elizabeth Hull ................................................................... 33 Movie of the Month: Revisiting the Classics by Hannah Howe .................... 35 Proust’s Miraculous Madeleine by Cyril Lucas ................................................ 36 September—Back to School by Poppy Flynn .................................................... 38

Sleep, Don’t Write by Cassandra DenHartog .................................................... 40 The University Gift Box by Poppy Flynn ........................................................... 42

20% OFF First Book Promotion with the Fussy Librarian .............................. 48 Nicole Lavoie, Graphic Design ............................................................................. 48

Connections eMagazine ......................................................................................... 49

Johnny Ball Interviewed by T.E. Hodden Mr Ball was also an accomplished writer behind the scenes on the long running children’s variety and sketch show Crackerjack!

The Moms wanted to know: How did you begin writing jokes (and is there a secret to a good gag)?

For Mom’s British readers, the educator and broadcaster Johnny Ball likely needs no introduction. For many of us he was a familiar presence on television, enthusiastically introducing kids (and more than a few parents) to everything that was exciting about maths, science, philosophy, and…pretty much anything else.

I collected jokes from school days and had an enormous collection, which prepared me for writing for Television and I wrote sketches for Les Dawson and Mike Yarwood, both of whom I knew from my Club days. I only wrote for Crackerjack for a couple of seasons.

They asked me eventually, to star in it, but I was too busy with my Think shows by then and had to turn it down.

I reached out to Mr Ball with questions of my own, and a few from the Moms, about his book, Wonders Beyond Numbers, and a few other things…

There is no such thing as a Bad Gag. If it fits a situation, there is always some way you can make it work afresh.

Mr Ball, might I begin by asking about the start of your television career: How did you become a presenter on Playschool (a show for preschool children)?

I was a comedian in the Northern Clubs and doing BBC Radio Shows. The producer heard that the BBC were looking for someone for BBC Children’s TV and we all thought it must be for Crackerjack. During the interview the chap said, You’ll be wonderful in Playschool. I was walking out, but he persuaded me to give it a go. I was to stay for 16 years.

What was it like working on such an instantly recognisable show?

What hooked me very quickly, was the integrity of the Producers and Directors. It was such a change from the knock about world of clubs.

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In 1977 you made your first episode of Think Of A Number. Can I ask where the idea of the show originated?

Is this the same philosophy you bring to writing books, or your educational events in schools and colleges?

I was writing extensively for Playaway and had dropped writing adult shows. They asked what I would do if I had my own series, and without much hesitation, I said, “I think I’d do a show on Maths!” Jaws dropped but I wrote Think of a Number which won Bafta in its first series. I was to eventually write 20 series of shows on Maths and Science.

Yes – I use the same method as in writing comedy shows. I use 7 sections and if one is serious, the next has to have some comedy or lightness. The 2nd section is always comic. The 7th section – as with all good jokes – is usually made up in three sections. For a joke it is, Introduce the Subject – build to complete the picture – then turn it on its head.

The Think brand would run for years, branching out through several series. Did you realise how popular it was going to be at the time?

Your most recent book, Wonders Beyond Numbers, is now available in paperback. What can we expect from the book?

The figures were very high from the start. I then started getting letters saying, “I’m going to be a Scientist - Engineer – Teacher, because of your shows. The hair would stand up on the back of my head. The pressure grew, but I rose to the challenge. It was what I had always wanted to do, but didn’t know it.

It took a four year slog. But I have tried to make it the most comprehensive and easily understandable History of Maths ever written. It is suitable for anyone from around12 and even people who do not particularly like Maths. It is meant to be read.

Do you have any particular memories from those shows you might want to share?

You covered an amazing array of topics. Was there a particular way you approached the writing to make them so accessible?

We made most of the shows at BBC Bristol and the crew there were fabulous and would do anything for us. For Think Again, Gas, we had gas bubbling up through a pond until I lit it, Bang. For Fire we had three practical fires in the studio and the Sprinkler system had to be turned off. For Doors we couldn’t get a Lambourgini through the steel doors, so the crew cut notches out of the steel. For Flight, we used a Glass Shot only used at great expense in the film industry. We recreated the sceen of the Wright Brothers first ever powered flight. For Paint, we recreated the Painting of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. For All That Glisters, everything was real, and we had the largest one day insurance in BBC History. With security guards everywhere, thieves broke in to the offices and stole all the computers.

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Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

One of your other books, Think Of A Number (or Go Figure in the US market) won the USA Blue Ribbon. Can you tell us a little about the book?

Many Mums and Dads will want to help with their Children’s Maths Education. Play Games with them. Games are the best Maths Double 9 Dominoes are great – not just double 6’s which my dad always said, “Are for wimps.” Teaching aids there are.

Don’t worry about Numeracy. Show them Geometry and visual Maths, architecture and engineering – it is that which stimulates the most. In secondary there is too much Statistics and like Numeracy it can be boring, so once again, games and images.

Beautiful Geometry, Islamic Patterns, Visual Tricks, Magics, all require mathematical thinking.

It is in over 40 languages, along with Mathmagicians. Think of a Number (Go Figure in the USA) is now in the Chicago Depository of Great Books. Mathmagicians (Why Pi in the USA) recently won a small award as the best educational book, in California. Both are on sale in Chinese where they sell in larger numbers than anywhere else. Or copies go to Amazon or Dorling Kindersley direct.

Where can readers discover more of your work?

There is loads on the WEB including many whole programs. There are also a few less than nice bits, but that is par for the course these days.

I’m always happy to be approached and asked for ideas. Lastly, don’t let your kids become worriers about Climate Change and Endangered Sea Creatures – the majority of it is overstated and professionals are working on any problems already.

Tell them that, as it has proved for our generation overall - their future is brighter than we can yet imagine.

My website, www.johnnyball.co.uk is available for anyone and there is more on that.

Mr Ball, on behalf of myself, and all in the Mom’s Favourite Reads community, thank you.

Photos © Johnny Ball http://www.johnnyball.co.uk

T.E. Hodden trained in engineering and works in a specialized role in the transport industry. He is a life long fan of comic books, science fiction, myths, legends, and history. In the past he has contributed to podcasts, blogs, and anthologies.

Discover more on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/t-e-hodden/ -9-

The Language of Chaos

by Millie Slavidou English is a marvellous language for clarity and ease of expression. It leaves very little open to interpretation or confusion. I mean, consider this sentence: They're there their right to write a rite right discreetly discrete from where they wear their wares by the weir aware of the rain on the reins in the reign of the prince who prints complementary compliments on his stationary stationery, decorated with a ewe you know, no? All clear? I thought so.

The apple it ate I. You see what I mean? Total anarchy. And it gets worse. I could reword it in Greek as “It ate I the apple”, and it would still make sense. And, oh look: I can even do it in Italian too: La mela l'ho mangiata io/ l'ho mangiata io la mela How is that even possible?! No, in English things are Tidy. There are Rules. We must Stick To The Rules, to avoid bringing on total confusion and the reign of the Linguistic Apocalypse, which, if certain media are to be believed, is clearly just around the corner.

Well, obviously. You can't have apples going about the place eating Is, or perhaps eyes, like some sort of Apple Zombie state, or maybe an Applaclypse.

There are other languages out there in which the word order is incredibly flexible – you can start with a verb, a noun, an adjective... the choice is yours. Not so in English. We like to know where things should be, all nice and tidy in the right places in the sentence.

It would be anarchy without these rules! Let's take, for example, a perfectly acceptable sentence from Greek and translate it word for word into English to see what happens.

So what's the deal with English? Well, surely it is simple. We like to start with the pronoun, don't we? Isn't that right? The subject of the verb, then the verb, then the object. Let's try that: I ate the apple.

Το μήλο το έφαγα εγώ

Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Order has been restored. The subject, I, is the one doing whatever the verb is – ate – and then comes the object – the thing on the receiving end of the verb – the apple. Now we can see what's what.

But wait! What's happening here?

Did I eat the apple? The apple was eaten by me.

Since I ate the apple, the apple was eaten by me.

Had I not eaten the apple yesterday, it would be eaten today. Not only did I eat the apple, but I enjoyed it too. Quickly, I ate the apple – or did I eat the apple quickly. Or rather: I quickly ate the apple. Indeed, the apple is what I ate.

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Oh no! What have I just done? What's going on? Did you see what I did there, and eek! I can't stop! It keeps going on! Here be apples! Apples are being eaten! More and more sentences in the wrong order, one after the other, tumbling onto the page! Apples in all directions! Where did I put that apple? Where did I put that apple?? The applaclypse returns! That is not subject + verb + object.

Hmm. It seems that things are not so straightforward as we might at first have thought. It's apple anarchy out there. We seem to be putting it anywhere we like in the sentence with impunity. And, get this, we still understand the sentence!

There is no nebulous, nefarious Spirit of Grammar hiding in the shadows waiting to leap out on us for daring to flaunt the rules.

But are we really flaunting the rules? What are the rules anyway?

So what exactly is going on? Well, the thing is, I asked a question.

Where did I put that apple? So what? Surely that's a simple matter?

It's over there, you answer. But we are missing something. What has happened to the Rules? Why are the words in a different order?

Well, didn't we establish just before that in English we put the subject first, that is, the person or thing doing the action. Then comes the verb, or the word that gives us the action. Next is the direct object, or if you prefer, whatever is on the receiving end of the verb. Yes indeed, say the grammar books. That is the way of things. Subject + verb + direct object. That's the Rule and ye shall follow it.

It's simple, you might think. In English we have subject verb object, unless we ask a question. Only if a question is asked can we change the order of words. Oh, all right. And in some sentences containing 'only'.

Only if it is used at the beginning of a sentence does it cause inversion of the subject and verb. In no other case must you change the word order. Under no other circumstances must apples be eaten out of order.

Aargh! Here we go again! Scarcely had I established that when more verbs popped out of place! Rarely have apples been eaten with such alacrity. So disorderly are we in eating the apples. All these verbs keep slipping out of line, verbs before subjects, subjects after verbs. Out fall the apples, totally out of place.

With 'I ate the apple' it works perfectly. Perhaps we should just stick to sentences like that, and then we will know where we are. Let's give it a whirl.

I eat the apple. I write the sentence. The sentence tells you about the apple. The apple tasted good. We keep the rules. The apple follows the rules. We like the rules. The rules bring order. Order is good. The rules are good. Rules help people. Subject verb object. Subject verb object. Where did I put that apple anyway? Such a natural paragraph.

Language, it seems, is a glorious chaos. But what can we do? I believe we must bring it to an end.

Let's take the GH from 'cough', the OE from 'foetus', the MN from 'mnemonic', the AE from 'paediatrician', and the TI from 'station. This is how you finish. I give you GHOEMNAETI.

Millie Slavidou, author of the Lucy Evans Instaexplorer adventure series for preteens, featuring little snippets of language, and Sparky, a first chapter book for early readers. Discover more about Millie on the Mom's Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/millie-slavidou - 11 -

Off the Beaten Track: The Gambia

By May J. Panayi We visited the market at the capital, Banjul; though you would not have recognised it as a capital city. There were more shacks and lean to shelters with tin roofs than anywhere else, and a bustling street market. There was one area where the English colonials had built a stone mansion for their people, but not much in the way of what we would call proper houses really. We hired one of the waiters from the hotel to be our guide for the day. We had to arrange it very surreptitiously for his day off, or he would get into trouble with the hotel. He took us round all the major sites- the war cemetery, the museum, the peanut factory, the prison and the fire station, haggled for us on the market, and got everything we wanted dirt cheap, he even found me a tailor to make a national costume for me, for next to nothing. We bought wooden carvings and masks, and incense crystals, that we brought home to burn, but which they used to scrub their clothes with, and make them smell nice. He arranged to collect the costume for me in a couple of days when it was finished.

For all this, he only asked for the equivalent of about a pound. We gave him just over five pounds and he acted like he had won the lottery. He took us to his house to meet his family.

About a dozen of his extended family lived in this one small hut with a tin roof. He was very proud of the tin roof, he said it meant they were one of the better off families. I had never really understood poverty, in an up close and personal way, until that moment.

We watched fishermen hauling nets up onto the beach. Fish was the main dietary protein, with most of the meat being goat. There was some other stuff for tourists, but not much. Everywhere you went, fish would be laid out to dry on bamboo racks in the sun. The smell was almost intolerable at first, but you soon got used to it. The beaches were undeveloped and unspoilt. But if you went out for a stroll on the beach, you were immediately accosted by the most persistent of salesmen,

For my honeymoon, with my ex, we went on a package holiday to The Gambia in Africa. As soon as we got off the plane, the heat nearly knocked us out, it was 130 degrees. We almost hadn’t been able to land because they had just had a bush fire at the airport, but the archaic little fire wagons had coped somehow. I say fire wagons, but they were actually wooden handcarts, not much bigger than wheelbarrows, loaded with plastic containers of water, with several barefoot men pushing them, and several more running alongside. The Gambia is a pretty poor little country, its only economies being ground nuts and tourism. Like Egypt it clings to its river, with everything not close to the river being scorched and barren. The biggest local tribe are the Mandingo.

The hotel laid on some wonderful meals; barracuda, ladyfish, goat in piri piri sauce, barbecued everything and anything, lime chicken, ladyfish lasagne, lobster dressed with shrimp and seaweed, suckling pig, and fruits I had never seen before. The staff were very friendly and always smiling, but they only earned the equivalent of thirty pounds a year. Not surprisingly, they thought all tourists were millionaires.

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with unrefined silver bangles, drinks, local snacks. It was very hard to make them go away, and one could soon collect a small swarm. We drove through the villages in an open topped land rover, standing mostly, to keep in the wind, and avoid the bumping about. We gave sweets and pens to the local children, which they got very excited about. We had a picnic lunch beside the river, but were advised not to swim in it because of the crocodiles. We did swim in the Atlantic ocean though. At one point, I took a rest stop in some bushes, as I really needed a pee and there were no facilities for miles. I looked down, and a lizard was happily showering in the stream that descended on him. I was definitely the more surprised of the two of us; he was just being opportunistic.

One night we went to see a show. We watched natives dancing in costumes and we drank palm wine. We ate a traditional dinner cooked in big pots on open fires.

The atmosphere was heady and sensual, the palm wine was strong, the dancing was spectacular. We had our fortunes told in a hut with jujus hanging everywhere. It was quite an experience.

We walked in the forest at dawn as the birds came awake. The sounds were amazing. We went to Jaffure and James Island slave fort, where the family of the author of Roots came from. We swam in the river, not so many crocodiles there, but we were soon joined by dolphins. We cruised downriver on the boat and had a lazy lunch, with champagne and caviare, hors d’oeuvres. Very much a tourist thing, but in that heat it was a beautiful cool day out.

We went to a nature reserve, where the animals stayed more because they were safe and fed than anything else. The fencing was less than minimal. I felt something hot against my foot, and looked down and a lions paw was resting against my foot, I had not even noticed her sitting there so quietly. We fed deer with the high leaves they couldn’t reach and were mobbed by them. Eventually we pressed our way out. We went to a craft market and bought wood carvings. We ran out of cash, so they traded for my watch and P’s shirt. All in all it was a fantastic place of intense heat, unrelenting smiles and extreme poverty, all mixed together into one big pot.

May J. Panayi has been writing since 1967, when she had her first poem called 'In a Rage' published in the local Gazette newspaper. That was the point at which she decided she wanted to write, and has been scribbling in one form or another ever since.

She's had poetry, short stories, articles and fillers, published in a variety of magazines, two book anthology collections, fanzines and websites. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website:

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/may-j-panayi - 13 -

What Exactly is Happiness and Can We Find it?

by Christine Ardigo I am thankful and blessed to have reached my 52nd birthday. I am healthy, only visit the doctor for my yearly check-up, have no diseases, and do not take any medication. That should be enough to make someone happy right? But it’s not. Why? Many of us are unhappy. We count our problems and disasters in life instead of our blessings. We put high rank on objects that, in the end, leave us feeling emptier.

We look around at other people and what they have and we compete with them.

We still suffer from “high school syndrome”. Way back when, we told our parents that we knew who we were, what we wanted and displayed total confidence. It was a constant struggle to prove that we were right and fight for our independence. We argued and grew a little more every day, demonstrated our abilities, until one day our parents gave us some slack (and the keys to their car)! But we still had to face them. Them being all our peers. Showing our parents was one thing, but showing everyone else in the school? Hard to do.

Many of us have not outgrown this. Some feel the need to venture into financial ruin just to impress their friends and family by purchasing things to make believe they are someone they’re not. Some lie and fabricate stories to pretend their lives are perfect. We desperately still want to be liked. Some feel that liked means being perfect, buying specific items, marrying the right type, owning a huge home with Ethan Allen furniture with maids to clean it and landscapers to shape it. Is that why you want people to like you though? Because you own things?

How about people liking you for who you are. We are not sixteen anymore. We have to break out of this idealism and focus on what will really make us happy.

We spent four years trying to prove to everyone that we were cool. That we had the best life, the best cars, the best parties. We competed with the popular group, who in turn wondered if they were really happy themselves. High school made some people feel really good about themselves, and others really bad about themselves. But we all wanted to fit it. We wanted to leave school every day knowing that we were a remarkable, talented and likable person that had many friends. How come we had no trouble proving this to our parents and showing our confidence to them, but as adults we still struggle with this?

I am surrounded by people who feel that buying things makes them happier. It is equivalent to eating the wrong things, and too much of them to make yourself feel better.

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Feel bad that your marriage is falling apart? Go out and buy a $400 pocketbook! Upset that your boss is a jerk? Go eat that brownie a la mode with extra whipped cream! Mad that you can’t lose any weight? Go have 2 or 3 high calorie drinks to drown your troubles away!

Instead of Fixing our Problems, We Make Them Worse. Does buying Aldo boots, Gucci bags and Michael Kors (whatever it is he sells) make you feel better? It does? Why? I mean really why? Is it fixing your larger problem? Are you buying name brand objects to reward yourself because your spouse treats you like crap, your boss puts your down, or to hide the extra forty pounds on you? What would make you feel better? How about a spouse that compliments you and tells you how great you look in your TJ Maxx sweater you bought on the clearance rack for 10 bucks? How about going back to college or finding a new job, one that makes you feel good about yourself every day even if you wear a uniform or sweats to work? How about losing the weight and looking good in anything you put on, even if it’s a five dollar T-shirt from Target?

Want to be happy, REALLY happy? Start fixing things the correct way. Stuck in a dead end marriage?

Either fix it or get out. Talk it out, write down issues you are both having, seek out marriage counseling, but don’t continue to live in that hell day after day.

Life is too short. If all else fails, get out. Find someone that will make you happy, or look at yourself to see if you are the one causing the problems. When is the last time you did anything super nice for each other? Compliments, little presents, cute surprises?

Lonely, single, waiting around for someone to sweep you off your feet? Why? Didn’t you just read the above? (Just kidding). Stop waiting for someone else to make you happy. You have to be happy with yourself alone and then that special someone will only compliment your YOU. This is your opportunity to make your life better. Go back to school (my coworker did at age 40). Start a new career. Travel with your girlfriends to crazy places before you have a ton of kids or hefty house projects to complete (and pay for).

Bored and have nothing to do when you get home?

Pick up that hobby you always wanted to pursue.

What did you have a passion for but forgot about?

Go to the gym more, design delicious recipes, join a group and be active in it but make it something you enjoy. Get out of the damn house and meet people.

Stop being afraid. This is not that gymnastics class your mom dumped you in at age five when you didn’t know anyone. This is not the first day in a new school. This is not pledging a sorority and hoping you get in. When you love yourself, others will love you. Walk into that new group with your head high and be confident. People should be happy to be around you!

Spent thousands of dollars fixing up your home but still unhappy? Maybe it’s because you have no one to share it with. Have parties, invite people over, laugh and be silly. It’s no fun to do all that work and not share it with others. I had an aunt that invited everyone over all the time. Big Christmas parties, pool parties, sleep overs and it was never anything fancy. Just great company, simple food and lots of laughs. That’s what a house is for, to have all the people you love in it.

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Hate the way you look, overweight, can’t fit into any clothes? Fix it. You have the power. There is no magic potion. Guess what? You have to eat LESS than you currently are, and get off your ass and stop playing on social media. Lose the weight, prove to yourself that you have the determination to do it for yourself, not anyone else. This isn’t about them. You are not in high school anymore.

People say beauty is from within. Not if living with your outside makes you a mean, obnoxious, sarcastic, jealous bitch. Not if you feel miserable about your weight all the time and hide it. How do you think that is fairing with your insides then? The inside and outside work together, people. Pretending that you’re happy with your current weight hurts the inside, physically and emotionally.

I love working on my garden and pond (which I built myself) and it gives me great satisfaction to know that I constructed it by myself. (Although I will never do it again.) I created beautiful things around my home that can be enjoyed all summer long and I invite people over to enjoy them too. My daughters love when we have parties in the house.

I work out at the gym and eat healthy because I want to and I love doing healthy things for body.

And I don’t care what anyone says, looking at yourself in a bikini and liking what you see, empowers you. Not only because you can walk outside and feel confident at any event, but because this is something you did for yourself, with no help from others and that alone builds your confidence. And what a role model you will be for your children!

Imagine feeling healthy and beautiful all the time. Stop making excuses! Just do it.

What do I do for fun then?

What makes me happy?

What I did as a little kid.

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up but we still had fun. Lots of it. I love being outside, whether it’s the beach or park and take my daughters there frequently. I take them to amusement and water parks but I go on all the rides with them. I take them rock climbing, Go carting, we build snowmen, do arts and crafts, go ice skating, build forts and play Twister. We bake together, decorate Easter eggs and play badminton. I teach them how to do Kart-wheels by actually doing them. They watched me go skydiving, I’ve gone white water rafting and I even ran a Mudd Run with my 15 year old. Memories will last forever.

I ditched all the people around me that sucked the life out of me. I wasted so much time trying to get jealous haters to like me, that the ones that did, I ignored. Surrounding yourself with people that support you and make you feel good only adds to the fun of life. If you really love yourself, feel you are a great human being that is compassionate, affectionate, helpful and giving, then who cares what those jealous haters think! And why do you care? They have issues, you don’t. But you are dragging yourself down to prove it to them. Just find other people that want to slide down water slides, jump off diving boards and run Spartan races with you.

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I spend my money on fun times and good memories. Not things. Things don’t make me feel better.

It’s a waste of money and that money could be spent on activities or outings with the people you love. Instead of spending $150 on a fattening dinner, spend the entire day at a water park laughing.

Instead of spending $400 on a pocketbook, go away for the weekend and rekindle that romance. Instead of another $200 pair of boots, join a gym with a friend or spouse and give each other the gift of health and then giggle as you morph into those yoga poses or wipe sweat off your brow during spin class. Instead of blowing that extra $10,000 on a higher class vehicle, take your family away on a vacation (or two) that they will never forget.

If you have control over your happiness (which you do), choosing things that make you laugh and have fun, changing your career or friends, doing something by yourself, making it happen, proving to yourself you are amazing by your actions and that you can take on whatever you need to, will make you happy. Letting someone else drive your happiness, following them around, living in their lives, letting your dreams fade away, not pursuing hobbies you love? No expensive item will ever make it better.

Good and bad things happen to all of us. How you choose to turn it around and find happiness is YOUR choice. Stop looking for “external” validation. Who cares! Do YOU like yourself? Why or why not? If not, fix it. When you become the best person you can be in your own eyes, you will spread happiness to everyone around you.

P.S. One of my favorite memories was a year ago when my daughters and I experienced a black-out in our house. The three of us (they were 9 and 14 at the time) snuggled up under the covers in my bed amongst the candle light and we recorded ourselves saying all sorts of silly things, and then played it over and over again. We never laughed so hard. We still talk about it until this day, and it didn’t cost a thing.

What are some simple things you find happiness in?

What do you plan to work on in the new year to improve your happiness? Let me know. I love hearing from you!

Christine Ardigo is a Registered Dietitian/ Personal Trainer who writes contemporary romance novels in her spare time. When weight lifting, rock climbing, white-water rafting, and jumping out of airplanes wasn't enough, she decided to fulfill a dream she had as a child: to write a book. She's lived in New York her entire life and can't imagine living anywhere else. She has the beaches, the bay and the city, all a half hour away. She's built memories here with her husband, two silly daughters and a bunch of crazy friends, all whom she loves very much. Discover more about Christine on Mom's Favorite Reads website:

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/christine-ardigo - 17 -

Cthulhu in Brighton England

By May J. Panayi It was a dark, overcast, heavy, oppressive day, pendulous clouds looming overhead, waiting to empty their deluge of rain on the darkened streets of the Laines in Brighton, England.

Many a fisherman had been drowned in a sudden southwesterly squall, and on dark rainy nights, in a hut huddled together against the cold, drinking hemp honey mead, the older fishermen sometimes told tales, in whispered tones, of a huge sea monster from the deep.

Some claimed to have seen a giant octopus rise out of the water and pluck fishermen from their boat with its tentacles, which were somehow claw-like. If asked, they would not go into more detail, saying it was too horrible a sight to remember, and would shudder and gulp down another slug of mead.

Brighton, was originally called Beorthelm’s Tun or farm, after the fifth century Saxon invader, Beorthelm, who made the first settlement on this patch of English coastland. That vast farm, that became so big and prosperous, it became a complete town, had dark expanses where a body could lose oneself at night, amongst the tall hemp plants, that seemed to move about and talk amongst themselves in shady whispers as the wind assaulted them from the south west, coming in strong and powerful from the great body of water that was the dark unexplored sea.

Time evolved Beorthelm’s Tun into Brighthamstead, the sea continued to eat away at the cliffs and coastline, and the French came and burned it to the ground, but the wooden hut, thatched roof houses, ramshackle as they were, were soon rebuilt.

Not of course, that the sea was an unknown to the people of Beorthelm’s Tun; but all the fishermen lived outside the farm, just a little further east, under the cliffs, that rose white and looming, like a bone wall against the ravages of the sea. In the right light, generally at dusk, the cliffs looked like a great monster had risen out of the sea, and bitten great chunks off of the coastline, as if it were no more than a block of cheese.

The fishing industry thrived and fishermen daily sold their catches on the beach, a custom that continues on a very small scale to this day.

The fishermen knew the sea for a couple of miles around, but that was as far as their small boats could go. Beyond that was the vast unknown out to the west, where the sun died each day. They had many customs and superstitions, and would not even take their boats out if the wind blew from the southwest.

The main boundary of the town was defined by four streets; north street, south street, east street and west street, and within this area, known as the Hempshares, land was allotted to people for the growth of hemp. This was made into nets and ropes for the fishermen. The pathways between the allotments became The Laines.

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The sea continued making horrendous encroachments on the farmland, one terrible year taking more than forty acres of land. Townsfolk again started to talk on dark nights, of the old tales of sea monsters and indescribable monsters that came ashore to feast on or destroy great tracts of farmland. Others told old fishermens legends of how the cliffs at Black Rock had disappeared overnight on one terrible night. The stories came from those who dared not leave their huts for fear of the strange otherworldly noises and lights that came from outside. All those who had ventured out to investigate were never seen again.

By the end of 1700, Brighton had repelled two more French attacks, with angry townsfolk thronging to the fight, and great injury to the French. The sea continued to do its damage relentlessly, as it does to this day. Fire may have started the damage to the West Pier, but the sea made it terminal.

But Brighton had continued to grow, with schools, covered market, theatres, and hostelries, in the form of The Ship Inn and The Castle Tavern which survive to this day. The North and South Laines had been built up to the houses that still line each Laine, but now have all the ground floor converted to shops and are a hustle and bustle of activity and a big tourist attraction.

Fishermen spread their nets to dry on the Steine, until an unfortunate incident in 1799 started a campaign to get the practice stopped.

It was not unusual to see someone walking across the Steine, get their foot tangled in the nets and trip and fall. But after one dark night when the sea was being particularly angry, and a young man walking home caught his foot in a wet net, and fell, crashing his head against a rock and dying there, his life blood soaking into the wet hemp net, to be washed in the sea next day; fishermen were no longer allowed to dry their nets on the Steine.

So on this day in early 2001, in the North Laine on a dark overcast pendulous day, I was out walking, enjoying the lack of tourists or people generally because of the threatening weather, and looking in the colourful little shops that currently populate The Laines.

Then the deluge came. The black clouds opened up and spilled great heavy drops from the sky, in an immediate and stinging torrent. I dashed into the nearest shop, barely noticing its name as I entered, but realising it was not a shop I had seen in North Laine before.

Inside, I collected myself; first brushing off the rain in the doorway, then peeling my hair away from where the wind and rain had stuck it to my face. Then my eyes adjusted, and I realised that weather aside, I was in a very dark little shop, decorated in black and red. A tall, gaunt, gothiclooking, pale chap, seemed to be hanging, motionless behind the counter, like a coat on a peg.

He inclined his head very slightly to acknowledge my presence, but that was all.

I looked around at the shops wares. It was like an art museum, with various sculptures and ornaments displayed in tall glass cases. It was exactly the type of dark art I am very partial to, so I counted myself extremely lucky I had stumbled into such an interesting place for shelter.

And then I saw it. A ten inch tall, resin statue of Cthulhu. I had previously been involved in several Invocations to Cthulhu on Brighton beach, and had just started a Coven called Cthulhu Rising. It was exactly the piece I had been looking for as a focal point to the coven altar. Of course I had to buy it, and did so immediately. The rain had stopped, and I had thoroughly browsed the shop, so I left. As I walked away, I turned and looked back and saw the shop was called Arkham.

Then by 1930, the slum shanty town houses had been cleared finally, and trams had been running through the town for many years. The war did some damage, taking out about five thousand houses, but the people of Brighton again bounced back and rebuilt.

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The coven has since done an invocation to Cthulhu on the beach at Black Rock, and one covener felt a tentacle reach out and encircle her ankle, during the invocation. When we felt around her ankle we found a long strip of seaweed, but maybe that was just what Cthulhu left behind as a momento?!

I returned to North Laine, to see what else Arkham might have that I would be interested in, but the shop was no longer there. Not boarded up or white-washed windows, but a completely different shop in its place, and one that looked as if it had been there for some time. I decided against going in and making enquiries. Some things are better left mysterious.

May J. Panayi has been writing since 1967, when she had her first poem called 'In a Rage' published in the local Gazette newspaper. That was the point at which she decided she wanted to write, and has been scribbling in one form or another ever since.

She's had poetry, short stories, articles and fillers, published in a variety of magazines, two book anthology collections, fanzines and websites.

Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/may-j-panayi

My Family Submitted by Poppy Flynn My Family by Hope age 7 Hi, my name is Hope and I am 7 years old. I have just started juniors in my school. I have three friends in school, Sofia, Mia and Ruby. My hobbies are gym and cheerleading. In gym I can do a roundoff flick and in cheer I like to be a flyer.

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In my family I have my mummy and daddy. I love my mum, she is awesome. She likes to run. She has run a half marathon. She is very kind and very nice.

I love my daddy too. He is awesome. He loves biking and football. He supports Manchester United.

I also have one brother. His name is Oakley. Oakley likes to play outside, especially in the mud. He also likes to play with me on the trampoline and in my bedroom with my toys.

With my family, we like to go on adventures. We go to the beach and the forest and lots of other places.

Soon our family is going to get bigger. We are going to adopt a little girl. We are going to have a little sister!!!! Me and my brother can’t wait to teach her to talk, walk and lots of other tricks.

I have a goldfish called Amerida.

I like to go on holidays. So far, we went to Disneyland Paris. I saw Minnie mouse and Micky mouse. We went to Spain. It was fun. I learnt to swim properly.

Being with my family is amazing.

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Power Animals

by J.J. Hughes The blog series that I write is broadly titled Awakening Alchemy. It is my mission to awaken readers’ inherent spiritual side that resides in everyone. My goal is to open everyone’s mind to the incredible possibilities that are happening all around us, right now, on planet Earth. The old, tired paradigms are being swept away, as science and especially quantum physics, begins to illuminate the true nature of matter, of consciousness and of spirit. Many of the old philosophies, and beliefs are again coming to the fore, as science begins to show us there is much more to this Universe than that which we can see, feel and touch. We are celestial beings that harbor greatness inside of each and every one of us. It is my dharma to spark some of that interest, excitement and questioning nature within the readers of this blog.

The concept of the power animal is one that is Universal across many cultures. You can perhaps think of power animals as being spirit guides that help protect us as individuals but also our ancestral lineage and that which is still to come, as well as nations, as a whole.

Today we will be exploring an old, traditional, tribal belief of Shamanic origin, known as “Power Animals”.

What Are Power Animals:

Broadly speaking a power animal is a concept that has come down to us from Shamanistic teachings and worship. Shamanism is a practice that evolved in Asia, especially Mongolia and Siberia and over time spread to North and South America, as well as parts of Africa. Shamanism involves reaching an altered state of consciousness (often using natural hallucinogens, meditation, and ritual chanting) that allows the Shaman to interact with the spirit world and then channel these spirits and energies into the physical world.

To the Shaman, everything is alive and connected to us. Everything contains a unique wisdom, power and virtue. Power Animals are said to embody our individual qualities of character, morality, and our most personal inner thoughts and being. We all have experienced the love and bonding that we can create and nurture with living animals (see last week’s blog on Animal Communication: ) What shamanism teaches us is that we can have the same deep love, bonding and respect, on a higher consciousness level, with our power animals. Shamanism contends that every person has a power animal(s) inside of them. They act as protectors to us and guard us against illness as well as imparting some of their inherent skills and wisdom to us. For example, the Hawk spirit will lend you some of the skills and wisdom of the hawk.

For most of us westerners, the idea of Shamanism is perhaps that which we have had portrayed to us on the silver screen, as the idea of “medicine men”, especially as it relates to the early Native American tribes. Essentially this is true, and shamanism is still practiced routinely, and ritually in many places, especially in the Northern Asian areas of Mongolia and Siberia.

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Different Types of Power Animals:

There are absolutely no set rules as to what animals can be power animals. They certainly don’t have to be mammals and can just as easily be reptiles, insects, birds, or sea creatures. If it lives, then it can be a power animal. In this vein, even plants and trees can serve as spirit guides. One thing to note, however, domesticated animals are generally not considered to be power animals because they are already acting in service to mankind. What the experts say is that you should always keep an open mind when looking at power animals. Try not to associate or “lock in” certain characteristics to an animal e.g. Lion is fierce and courageous. All animals have attributes that we, as humans, may not even be aware of until we bond, communicate and share with them.

What is truly important is that we honour and value our power animals. In the Western-Judaic culture we have been taught that animals were put here for our exclusive use and that we have dominion over them. This is an attitude we must let go of. Animals are at least our equals, add greatly to our lives and the world around us, have gifts to offer us and are deserving of gratitude, love and respect. Think of it this way – your power animal is giving up his/ her independence and mobility to spend its time with you. It is a selfless act and by your honouring and valuing that act, the connection you have with your power animal can only deepen and grow.

A couple of ways of honouring your power animal are to regularly thank him/her for being there and to have objects (knick-knacks) where you can see them every day that represent your power animal.

This all shows that you care and can only deepen the bond. As in shamanic practice we need to get into the habit of honouring and valuing all things in our life – they all have something to teach us and power animals, especially, have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to impart to us.

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How Do I Discover My Power Animal(s) The most important thing to bear in mind in the process is: You don’t choose your power animal – it chooses you!

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One way to do this is to consult a Shaman, but for the vast majority of us that would be difficult, time-consuming and possibly expensive (if you had to travel).

The best way to discover your power animal is to receive the information in a dream. See what happens! Go to sleep thinking about your power animals and you never know what you will dream about.

Meditate to discover what your power animal is.

If you don’t practice meditation, check out my previous blog on Meditation to learn how to get started: http://bit.ly/meditation-why Journey deep into the forest, the ocean, the desert, in your mind. Sit in a quiet place, breathe deeply in and out an observe the animals that come your way – one of them will almost certainly become more apparent to you than the others and will choose you.

Ask, out loud, for your power animal to show itself. If you suddenly begin seeing one particular animal more frequently than others that could be a sign. As an example, let’s say you are flipping through TV channels and you consistently come across documentaries on Lions; you see a sign advertising the local Lions club chapter; your friend invites you around to watch the Lion’s rugby team playing on TV. By using repetition, the power animal is drawing your attention to him/her.

Search the internet for surveys and quizzes that can help pinpoint your power animal. There are a host of resources available on the internet for this purpose. Just type in: “how do I discover my power animal?” and you’ll be amazed at what pops up.

Some Common Power Animals and their Attributes: 1. Deer: Deer are symbolic of love and harmony within oneself. They are also incredibly timid creatures and may signal the need for your protection from predators.

2. Spider: The spider is very representative of the feminine side of us and the power of feminine energy. Their intricate webs and patience tell us how our lives are interweaved with others. Spiders are also very common power animals for creative people, as evidenced by the beauty and intricacy of their webs. They remind us that everything takes time and it is the journey that is magical, not the result.

3. Butterfly: A butterfly symbolises more than any other creature the idea of profound change and transformation.

As you are moving through different cycles of your life, especially “making a fresh start” the butterfly is the perfect spirit guide / power animal for you. Another intrinsic characteristic of the butterfly is its lightness and its ability to transcend the earth and the more prosaic things of life.

4. Horse: The horse represents the driving force of life, the ability to run free, wild and untamed. In the same way, horses can be domesticated, restrained and stopped from their complete enjoyment of life – just like us.

5. Crow: The crow is a doubleedged sword, offering both positive and negative characteristics.

Whilst on the one hand, it symbolizes the magic of life, intelligence and fearlessness, it can also represent a trickster, a manipulator, or those of a mischievous nature.

6. Hawk: Hawks represent courage, truth, perspective and selfawareness. They offer the ability to see things from a higher perspective and to recognise truth. It also represents intuition and inner wisdom. Having a hawk as your power animal is an indication that it is time to re-evaluate your life, to look at the broader picture, from a higher perspective. Use the hawk’s keen vision to view your life and then its intuition and inner wisdom to guide you.

7. Lion: The Lion is the symbol of extreme strength, selfassertiveness and power. They bring you strength, courage, authority and assertiveness, while still pointing out dangers and weak spots in your life.

8. Grasshopper: Grasshoppers symbolise that it is time to take a leap of faith.

They are innovative and never miss an opportunity to move forward in life. They’re also considered to be good luck and a good omen. If you’re struggling with a decision that needs to be made, the grasshopper is a good animal to have by your side.

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Well, there are just a few of the possible power animals you could have in your life. Remember a couple of points. Firstly, you can have as many power animals in your life as you need, at any particular time, and secondly your power animal can change over time, as your circumstances and needs also change.

I hope I’ve piqued your interest in this topic. If you have any questions at all, or you’d like recommendations on where to research further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via my website. I’d love to hear from you: http://bit.ly/AwakeningAlchemyBlog

Maybe check out Jill Hughes: Author page on my website which highlights my No1 Best-selling Visionary Fiction “whodunit” crime mystery, Spirit of Prophecy, and download the First Chapter for FREE, here: http://bit.ly/BooksbyJillHughes

If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more spiritual and metaphysical issues, plus lots more besides, please share it with your friends and family, or do join our website and you will receive a notice whenever a new blog is posted. We will never spam you though. You can join here: http://bit.ly/AwakeningAlchemy-Signup

Finally, today, please do pop on over to my website’s SHOP where you can download the Awardwinning Audiobook at an amazing price. There a Soundcloud taster so you can try before you buy: http://bit.ly/SOPShop

You may also wish to avail yourself of our fantastic FREE report: 3 Proven Ways to Pull More Prosperity to You in 30 Days. You can grab your copy of this here: http://bit.ly/FreeProsperityReport

The novel incorporates many of the ideas and philosophies discussed in my articles, into a fast-paced, fictional thriller with a spiritual undercurrent: prepare to be swept away.

Till Next Time I’m Sending: Love, Fire, and the Violet Flame of Peace J.J. Hughes is an English visionary fiction writer whose "whodunit" mystery novel, "Spirit of Prophecy" is a number one, Amazon Best-Seller and has already garnered several awards including first place in the Audiobook section of the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards. Born in Cottingley, West Yorkshire, Jill was a successful Investment Banker in London before turning her back on that and training as a Life Coach and Passion Test Facilitator. In addition to her novel, Jill has also co-authored a No. 1 BestSelling Spiritual, Self-Help book; "Inspired by the Passion Test".

A lifetime lover of horses and all animals, Jill is a committed vegan who believes vehemently in following your passions and doing what you truly love in life. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website:

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/j-j-hughes - 25 -

Postcards from Spain

by Hannah Howe A celebrated poet, writer and wit, Dorothy Parker was one of the founders of the AntiNazi League in Hollywood. She helped to raise $1.5 million ($65 million at today’s value) for Spanish refugees. For her trouble, she was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, ‘the time of the toad’, as she called it.

However, history smiles on Dorothy Parker while McCarthy’s name is associated with all that is dark about humanity.

While in Spain, in October 1937, Dorothy Parker said, “It makes you sick to think of it.

That these people who pulled themselves up from centuries of oppression and exploitation cannot go on to a decent living, to peace and progress and civilisation, without the murder of their children and the blocking of their way because men want more power. It is incredible, it is fantastic, it is absolutely beyond all belief… except that it is true.”

An insight into the past, shining a light on the present.

During 1936-9 the Conservative government in Britain, plus the governments in America and France, adopted a stance of ‘non-intervention’ in the Spanish Civil War. In fact, this amounted to support for the fascists because of the various outcomes these governments desired a fascist victory over a victory for the Spanish people. Of course, Britain, America and France paid heavily for this stance because it encouraged Hitler and Mussolini, and this led to the Second World War. With no support from overseas governments, the Spanish people relied on individuals and organisations for support. Dorothy Parker held her hand up and stepped forward as one of those individuals.

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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The Joys of Hungary

By Ceri Bladen

August 20th is a fantastic day to visit Budapest (Hungary) if you don’t mind crowds. It is a national holiday for Hungarians. Called St Stephen’s Day, it’s a day when Hungarians and tourists remember Stephen 1, the first king of Hungary and the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Festivities start early with the raising of the national flag and continue all day long, finishing with a spectacular firework display at the end of the day. Each of the bridges along the Danube are a sight so see: with identical fireworks exploding to music.

Ceri Bladen is a Welsh girl currently living in Turkey. In between looking after her husband, three children, street dogs , and a kindle of street cats, she manages to squeeze in time to write. She loves romance, so most of her books contain elements of it, whether in the form of historical, contemporary, or fantasy. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website:

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/ceri-bladen - 27 -

The Nest of the Cuckoo

by Elizabeth Hull Inside the Cuckoo’s Nest

Happier times were from our second home, a very large row house in a rural community. Here is where I made my first friend, an eldest girl of a family of three. I got included a lot in what they did, which was a first taste as it were in family life.

Home was a lonely place, especially at Christmas, when my friends were busy, partly because my adoptive parents were older, being forty when they chose me. I got construction sets of various kinds, jigsaws and then there were board games. The latter were wasted as no one would play with me.

This home is from where I started kindergarten and, while some of that was fun, another part was not.

Perhaps this was my own fault to a large extent as I didn’t cry much and wasn’t a tattle tale. My first teacher was an abusive woman with some sort of control issue and an eye to pick out the vulnerable.

Mostly, I went to my own inner place when she was being mean and shouty, but one time was right after my adoptive parents had taken me out of school for a week so they could go visit with their friends. That woman went on and on, making a fiveyear old, barely able to form letters, write about the week over and over, shouting all the while. Something was bound to give, and it did. I threw up in a spectacular fashion in her classroom. I learned after that she had to clean it up. She left me alone after that, not because anything was said, but because she hadn’t enjoyed the outcome.

There is a wealth of information in the form of stories and articles about the journey infertile couples make to acquire a child through adoption but very few from the inside out. What is it like to be an adopted child? This is one perspective…mine. I can tell it now because anyone who might have been affected is no longer Earthbound.

My earliest memories are from the first home I remember. It was an apartment on the second floor and had two sets of stairs to access the place, one on the outside of the building and then a steep inside staircase inside. For some unknown reason my young two-year old self thought it would be a great idea to roll lengthwise down these stairs. I became aware, step by step, that it wasn’t. What I had done must have made a noise and yet there was no one making any fuss, although I don’t remember crying. I didn’t cry much. Now, I wonder why there wasn’t some sort of stairgate across what was a sharp drop? This was also the year I got run over by a bicycle when crossing the road with my mom. No damage that I can recall, aside from grazes and bruises.

I have some great memories of riding on a little child seat just behind my mother on her bike when she went to the village shops and also going to pick wildflowers under a railway bridge. Those were so much fun.

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Age seven brought a move to a town and the knowledge of why I was different, something I hadn’t worked out before. Kids started taunting me about being adopted. I hadn’t heard the word before, but soon learned it meant not of the body and that I was a cuckoo in the nest. A lot of things fell into place with that knowledge, like how I got to wear my one nice frock when anyone visited and why the parents never wanted to make a fuss if I needed championing. I wish they hadn’t started telling everyone they met as it did cost me a lot of friends, having acquired the dreaded tag of being different. This was actually a great life lesson as it taught me different people aren’t bad and should not be shunned, so a lot of my real friends were different in some way or another. Still, there was that very long summer recess when my friends were not around for what seemed like weeks on end when they went on vacation with their families. Again, something good came out of this as my imagination grew with the need to amuse myself by myself. I would invent all sorts of stories for my dolls and teddies.

I have often wondered as an adult if they, the parents, chose me because it was what people did…had children. Nearly all of their relations and friends had kids so maybe they were beginning to feel left out and needed a trophy child to put on display. Yes, I had food, clothes and a roof over my head and yet I don’t recall much in the way of hugs and kisses. I also didn’t have an allowance like my friends, or most of my friends. Not a problem as I started to do what the poorest did to have cash in their pockets.

At age seven I went to work alongside them and their moms, picking crops in the fields. It was great as we would get picked up at a designated spot by a truck with haybales in the back for us to sit on. Everyone would take a snack and water and a pail to collect crops as it was easier than lugging a great sack around. The moms kept a firm eye on all the kids as we worked, making sure we drank the water and were fine. Working in the fields, with dew on the crops as the sun came up was wonderful and magic with that feeling of inclusion. I later also got a paper route, so there was money all year. My parents were not at all happy about the field work, but on the other hand, were not able to get up early enough to stop me and I had my own money to spend as I liked, although I was very careful how I did this. Perhaps this is why I ended up becoming a lark and rising naturally before dawn? Maybe, but it is a nice time to work.

The cuckoo syndrome kicked in most forcefully with my parent’s relations. Yes, their relations, not mine. I was that kid my folks brought along and for the most part ignored. Sitting in a dark corner I would wonder what it would be like if I had been a real child and not adopted. It wasn’t as if anyone said anything, or was mean, it was just the sense of not belonging that wafted from them like a miasma.

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The paper route happened when I was fourteen and could legally get a job. It happened because there was going to be a school trip abroad the following year for my grade and I desperately wanted to go, all the time knowing I’d get the stock phrase applied to anything I wanted to do that might cost them money. “Oh, you don’t want to do that.” End of discussion. So, I worked the fields that summer and also got a regular job delivering papers Monday through Saturday with an afternoon route on Friday for the local paper. I almost got enough, just a tenner short and I could have gone without spending money. Heck, I’d been doing that for a year to save for this trip, but no, it wasn’t possible. Out of my entire grade, including the poor kids, I was the only one who didn’t go on that trip. It was the most miserable time as I still had to go to a school who had no idea what to do with one lone kid and teachers away. The school secretary ended up giving me reading assignments in the library. That was the year my parents took their first overseas vacation leaving me to look after the dog.

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Looking back, I don’t feel bitter or deprived, even in retrospect, as I learned so much and gained a lot of skills I don’t think I might have otherwise obtained.

I know the value of money and the ethic of hard work paying off. I learned to paint and draw, something I love to this day. Books have been and will always be special, having joined a public library at age seven and developing a love of painting with words myself. Tenacity is maybe something I would not have acquired without adversity. I can make myself do things even if they terrify me and it will never show on my face, nor do I complain, ever.

Complaining was pointless and therefore not worth the effort. Empathy for others also runs deep as I know the hurt that hides behind the eyes, even when the mouth is smiling. Family is my husband, daughters and grandkids, who I love beyond reason and I would die for them. Don’t upset the momma bear or the claws and fangs WILL come out. I valued happiness for my kids and they knew I had their backs. Years of people watching have developed abilities to castigate a person of authority without any possibility of getting intimidated, despite the fact that I am a shy person. One of my kids and most of her friends had the front row seat when I expressed my displeasure in erudite language about the treatment of my kid to the vice principal, he, having made the mistake of sitting down behind his desk while I remained standing.

Power play for the momma bear.

Now I enjoy my grandkids and I write, drawing on many memories and emotions as well as a wellhoned imagination. Would I have had another life if this were possible and I could change things? No, I would not. I would still choose what I had. Actually, I did meet with my birth mother once. She had gone on to marry my much older father much later in their lives and I learned why I was given away. Apparently, I would have been an embarrassment to his career. Fortunately, I had learned never to show my feelings long before this disclosure. When I asked if I had any siblings, as one would, there was a slight pause before she said no. That slight pause was indicative of a lie. I am rather good at reading those. Doing a later investigation into genealogy, without any help from her, I learned I had a much older half-sister and a half-brother who died, aged nine, the year before I was born.

My birth mother was correct in a way as I doubt these sibs would have wanted anything to do with me, even if it had been possible. So, no, I don’t think being raised by these birth parents would have been hearts and roses. I certainly didn’t feel any connection to her. The alternative would have been an orphanage. Yuk. All things considered, I do feel blessed to have been chosen as I sit here with the sun just rising and my little shelter cat on my lap, looking at me with the eyes of love, hearing the noises that say my dear husband is just about to bring me a coffee. I am me and I am happy.

Elizabeth Hull, writing under the by line of C.N.Lesley, lives in Alberta with her husband and cats. Her three daughters live close by. When she isn't writing, Elizabeth likes to read and to paint watercolors. She is also a keen gardener, despite the very short summers and now has a mature shade garden.

Once a worker in the communications sector, mostly concentrating on local news and events, she now writes full time.

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Ties That Bind

By Poppy Flynn

Club RisquĂŠ series Book 3 Luanna Morgan has worked hard to brush off the stigma and scandal of being a single teenage mother. These days, she is better known for her calm composure and serene disposition, but despite that, things start to sizzle between Luanna and her company's legal director, Logan Thornton.

Logan might seem like a mild-mannered corporate lawyer, but in certain circles, he is better known as Master Baku, the Shibari expert. His dream is to publish a series of artistic poses which incorporate his three loves—Shibari, suspension, and photography, and he has his sights set on Luanna as the model.

But Luanna has led a deliberately quiet and modest life. She knows nothing about bondage or the intricacies of D/s relationships.

She's always had to rely on herself, and her current reputation has been hard won. Even if she decides to throw caution to the wind and finally live a little, is there really any room left in Logan's life for yet another love, especially if she can't find it in herself to share the ones he already has?

Logan has Luanna tied up in knots, both literally and figuratively. Is it possible to find a compromise or will circumstances conspire to pull them apart?

Publisher's Note: This steamy romance contains graphic scenes and themes of power exchange. If this is offensive to you, please do not read it.

So good!

17 March 2019 - Published on Amazon.com

This is book 3 in the Club RisquĂŠ series. It isn't necessary to read the first two, but it will help you understand what is going on.

Logan and Luanna meet at their friends' wedding. When Logan needs a room to stay in, Luanna offers her son's bedroom. Of course, they don't need it as they both acknowledge their attraction for one another.

Of course, the men in this series are kind of clueless. Logan makes assumptions more than once and it takes a toll on their relationship. Luanna is nothing more than brutally honest and has a hard time accepting anything less. There is a HEA and a nice segue into what I hope is the next book in the series, Connor and Laurel's story.

I give this an enthusiastic 5 stars and I encourage you to go back and read the first two books in the series!

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What is Adoption?

by Elizabeth Hull Both the cat and the husband looked at the employee in incredulity when she stuck her head around the door. Of course, they got along. What was this silly two-legs thinking? They just wanted to go home.

Adoption is the acceptance into your life of another living being, to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until we are parted by death. This holds true whether it is adoption of a human baby or a friend in fur. Especially a friend in fur. They are not to be discarded because they are ill, we have economic problems, or are too busy. This is a commitment for the whole of a life.

The cat and the husband duly arrive home. The cat finds the kitchen, and the food and water points. He then goes down to the basement to find the dirt box. All is satisfactory in cat world. He has picked wisely. He then comes to the family room where he jumps up between us on our couch to settle down. I have never had one settle so fast before. The next day the cat decides he will eat his meal with me, so he picks up his Styrofoam bowl to bring it into my office where I am eating my sandwich. What a guy!

That said, our latest companion came to us from the SPCA. He was a sad case, his previous person having died on him, leaving him starving to the point where he was eating blue marigold gloves. We had just lost another beloved friend in fur and my dear husband couldn’t bear the emptiness any longer so went to the SPCA shelter. The cat and the dear husband bonded instantly. The employees then told my husband that this cat should not be adopted as he was too sick. One does not say no to my dear husband when he has made up his mind. This does not go down well. He made a fuss, which resulted in the cat and the husband being put into a room together to ‘see if they bonded’.

Do I spoil my friend in fur? Probably. Am I sorry? Not in the slightest. Here is where I can bring joy to the life of another. Yes, he has his issues. He has abandonment issues and confinement issues.

Do I care? No. We signed up for a lifetime. Is any creature purrfect? No, but does it matter? Not to me or my dear husband or our dear boy. This is what adoption means. Love.

Elizabeth Hull, writing under the by line of C.N.Lesley, lives in Alberta with her husband and cats. Her three daughters live close by. When she isn't writing, Elizabeth likes to read and to paint watercolors. She is also a keen gardener, despite the very short summers and now has a mature shade garden.

Once a worker in the communications sector, mostly concentrating on local news and events, she now writes full time.

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What do you call an intelligent, goodlooking, sensitive man? A rumour.

If you think women are the weaker sex, try pulling the duvet over to your side.

What’s the smartest thing a man can say?

“My wife says...”

Why do men snore when they sleep on their backs? Because their testicles fall over their butts and they vapour-lock.

Scientists have just discovered something that can do the work of five men...a woman.

How do you scare a man? Sneak up behind him and start throwing rice.

Men do cry, but only when assembling furniture from Ikea.

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Movie of the Month

by Hannah Howe Revisiting the Classics: My movie of the month is Fallen Angel, a noir movie made in 1945. The movie reunites director Otto Preminger with Dana Andrews, who had worked together on Laura the previous year. The movie also features Alice Faye, Linda Darnell and a host of fine character actors.

While the movie doesn’t quite touch the heights of Laura – few movies do – it’s still an excellent story. Like Laura, it’s a film of two halves. In Laura, the title character didn’t appear until the second half of the film while in Fallen Angel Linda Darnell dominates the first half with a sultry performance as the femme fatale and Alice Faye blossoms in the second half; Dana Andrews links the whole piece together.

Playing a bookish, reserved woman, Alice Faye had the toughest role – noir movies are basically designed around the femme fatale and Linda Darnell shone in this part. Initially, Fallen Angel was intended to showcase Alice Faye’s talents. However, many of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Some suggest that film producer Darryl F. Zanuck decided to use the film to promote Linda Darnell, his new protégé, instead of Alice Faye.

Certainly, Alice Faye’s characterisation suffers from the cuts and she wasn’t pleased about it. Indeed, she retired from movies until 1962 when she made State Fair.

In 1987, Alice Faye told an interviewer, “When I stopped making pictures, it didn’t bother me because there were so many things I hadn’t done. I had never learned to run a house. I didn’t know how to cook. I didn’t know how to shop. So all these things filled all those gaps.”

As a mystery author, usually I unravel a movie plot early on. And while I identified the murderer during the early scenes of Fallen Angel the movie is well crafted and until the closing scenes all the principal characters remain in the frame.

Fallen Angel is also worth watching for Alice Faye reciting the following poetic lines: We are born to tread the Earth as angels to seek out Heaven this side of the sky.

But they who race alone shall stumble, in the dark and fall from grace.

Then love alone can make the fallen angel rise, for only two together can enter paradise.

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 - 35 -

Proust’s Miraculous Madeleine

by Cyril Lucas, author of “A Windy Night” Here I explore what I categorize as ‘Epiphanies’ incidences of ‘revelation’, as it were of lightening striking, a procedure of thought unbidden and unexpected, come in many shapes and sizes and range from transforming our individual personal experience to the miraculous impact of the Madeleine in Proust’s masterpiece. It is my hope that such ideas may prove thoughtful and thought-provoking.

“I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? … I place in position before my mind’s eye the still recent taste of that first mouthful and I feel something start within me, something that leaves its restingplace and attempts to rise, something that has been embedded like an anchor at great depth; I do not yet know what it is, but I can feel it mounting slowly; I can measure the resistance, I can hear the echo of great spaces traversed..

The petit madeleine is a simple delicious article of traditional French bakery. It owes its special flavor to its ingredients of almond, vanilla and orange flower water, and its distinction of shape to the fluted cups in which it is baked. A more unlikely sponsor of perhaps the greatest achievement of twentieth century literature would be hard to imagine.

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And suddenly the memory revealed itself, The taste was that of the little madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my Aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane.”

Space does not allow full quotation of the charming description of Combray which follows, of his aunt’s old grey house and flower-filled garden, the streets along which he used to run, the water-lilies on the Vivonne, the good folk of the village sand their little dwellings and the parish church and the whole of Combray and its surroundings, taking shape and solidity, and “springing into being, town and gardens alike, from his cup of tea”. Readers must seek it out for themselves. (The text in italics is from Terence Kilmartin’s translation published by Penguin Books in 1983, pp49 et seq. It is more fluent and coloured than Scott Moncrieff’s original version.)

In “The Quest for Proust” the French author and critic André Maurois writes “In that single moment Time is Regained and, in that same moment too, Time is conquered because one section of the past has become a section of the present. Moments like this give to the artist the feeling that he has gained eternity. The main subject of Proust’s novel would be, not the particular society found in France at the end of the nineteenth century … but the struggle waged by the Spirit of Man with Time, the impossibility of finding in ‘actual’ life a fixed point to which the self can cling, the duty of finding that point within oneself, the possibility of finding it within a work of art. That is the essential, the profound, the novel theme of A La Recherce du Temps Perdu”.

Cyril Lucas, author of “A Windy Night”.

A comic gothic historical Romance

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September—Back to School

by Poppy Flynn Whatever else September might be known for, for the majority of Mom’s it’s got to be that this is the month when the kids are finally back in school after the long summer break.

The Romans, on the other hand, believed that the month of September was looked after by the god of the fire and forge – Vulcan, thus they expected fires, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes during this month.

Despite being the ninth month of the year in the modern-day calendar, September kept its original name from the Roman Calendar, where it was the seventh month denoted by the Latin word septem meaning seven.

While September was the seventh month of the year it had a length of 29 days. Julius Caesar added one day to the month making it 30 days long during the Julian calendar reform.

Like many of the months it was named during the time when the calendar year began with March, which is why its name no longer corresponds with its placement in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The full Latin name was september mensis meaning seventh month, but the Anglo-Saxons referred to September as Gerst monath, meaning Barley month, referencing the time of the crops harvest.

An interesting little quirk means that September starts on the same day of the week as December every single year but does not end on the same day of the week as any other month in the year.

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September boasts three birth flowers, which are the forget-me-not, representing memories and love, the aster, symbolising love and the morning glory, symbolising unrequited love. The birthstone for September is the sapphire which symbolises clear thinking, intuition, peacefulness, love and loyalty. In addition, it is said to reduce inflammation, treat fever and act as a lucky charm for the wearer.

Meteor showers occurring in September include the Aurigids and the Delta Aurigids from midSeptember to early October, the Southern Taurids which occur from September 10 to November 20, and the Andromedids which occur from September 25 – December 25.

Finally, September is gaining popularity as a name. It seems that parents are starting to turn away from the traditional months used as names, like April and June, and are moving towards the months like September when choosing a name. Recent statistics show that almost 2,000 people have the first name September and that 99.9% of them are girls.

The zodiac signs for September are Virgo, which runs until September 22nd followed by Libra, from September 23rd onwards.

Famous people born in September include comic actor, Adam Sandler; Batman actor, Adam West; writer, Agatha Christie; British singer, Amy Winehouse; opera singer, Andrea Bocelli; US singer, Beyoncé Knowles; actor, Bill Murray; actress, Brigitte Bardot; singer, Bruce Springsteen; actor, Colin Firth; Chinese philosopher, Confucius; Queen singer, Freddie Mercury; actress, Greta Garbo; physiologist, Ivan Pavlov; fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld; cyclist, Lance Armstrong; scientist, Michael Faraday; Queen Elizabeth I; actress Sophia Loren; horror author, Stephen King and poet, T. S. Eliot amongst others.

Month long September observances: •

Gynaecologic Cancer Awareness Month

•

Leukaemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month

•

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

•

Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month

•

National Suicide Prevention Month

Poppy Flynn was born in Buckinghamshire, UK and moved to Wales at eight years old with parents who wanted to live the 'self-sufficiency' lifestyle. Today she still lives in rural Wales and is married with six children. Poppy's love of reading and writing stemmed from her parents' encouragement and the fact that they didn't have a television in the house. "When you're surrounded by fields, cows and sheep, no neighbors, no TV and the closest tiny village is four miles away, there's a certain limit to your options, but with books your adventures and your horizons are endless." Discover more about Poppy on Mom's Favorite Reads website:

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/poppy-flynn - 39 -

Sleep, Don’t Write

by Cassandra DenHartog It’s a common misconception that if you sacrifice a little sleep, you can get more writing in or just more work done in general. What’s twenty minutes less sleep? Well, research shows it’s a lot. In the article Promoting Sleep: Not a Leap in the Pt in Motion therapy journal says “There may not be a single body system that can’t be improved by getting sufficient sleep.”

Is that twenty minutes less sleep really worth it now?

Overall, skipping sleep does not help you get ahead, and instead puts you at high risk for being burnt out and getting sick. www.tuck.com/productivity-and-sleep, a prominent mattress company, links sleep directly with productivity and cites several journals and studies. This suggests that better sleep and getting your needed amount of sleep will overall help you be more productive than if you skip sleep to get more work done.

50 – 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders and an estimated 10% of American adults have chronic insomnia. Chronic pain is also associated with insomnia. And Insomnia is closely related to pain severity in people with chronic pain, according to Physical Therapy Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association.

How much sleep do you need?

• Newborn to 3 months old 14 – 17 hrs • 4 to 11 months old 12 – 15 hrs • 1 to 2 years old 11 – 14 hrs • 3 to 5 years old 10 – 13 hrs • 6 to 13 years old 9 – 11 hrs • 14 to 17 years old 8 – 10 hrs • Young adults (18 to 25 years old) 7 – 9 hrs • Adults (26 to 64 years old) 7 – 9 hrs • Older adults (65+) 7 – 8 hrs

What’s this mean for you? Skimping on sleep can affect your health. Long term, losing sleep can affect your judgment, mood, learning, and your body’s ability to heal. This has also been linked to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In addition Physical Therapy Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association’s article Sleep Disturbance in Chronic Pain links poor sleep to nervous system inflammation. They also go into explaining the link between poor sleep and stress, anxiety, and depression.

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Pt in Motion suggests NOT taking a nap when tired, and if you really need to, take only a 20-30 minute nap. They also suggest relaxing bedtime routines away from phones and tablet screens, and setting schedules.

Other things you can do if you cannot get right to sleep are: • Read a book before bed. Not only is it a good thing to do as a writer, it also trains you to start winding down for the day.

• Make sure your room is dark.

• Use earplugs or a white noise machine if noise is a factor.

• Invest in good mattresses and pillows. This isn’t just an investment in your health, it’s an investment in your own productivity because if these things allow you to sleep better and longer, you’ll be more productive throughout the day.

Early signs you’re not getting enough sleep.

• • • • • • • • • •

Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time Rely on the snooze button Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning Feel sluggish in the afternoon Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving Need to nap to get through the day Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening Feel the need to sleep in on weekends Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed

Cassandra DenHartog is an author of Paranormal and Fantasy Romance. Lover of fairy tales and dreams. Hospital worker and business owner. Often referred to as the crazy bird lady. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/cassandra-denhartog

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The University Gift Box

by Poppy Flynn A special thought to help ease the separation No matter how old our children grow, they are always our babies. Sometimes, when they go off to spread their wings at university, they really don’t seem like they’re old enough to be leaving home. I had my own experience of this recently, and that’s exactly how I felt, despite my own daughter being a little older than most and not starting University until she was twenty. For that I was grateful, I don’t think either of us were ready for it, when she was eighteen!

Despite the initial excitement, the lure of all those fun and fabulous activities arranged during Freshers, the reality soon sets in, and pretty much every student I know, my daughter and her friends included, have all suffered the symptoms of the not quite so mythical ‘Freshers’ Flu’. The stress of the unfamiliar environment. All those new people and places and, not least, a hard dose of homesickness make a personal little treat all the more welcome.

I started out by purchasing a pack of twenty-five 6x4 boxes from eBay at a cost of approximately £6 and I liked to work to a theme where it was possible. For example, I sent a Halloween themed box, filled with paper Halloween decorations, Halloween themed chocolates and nail art stickers and, since it was also the first box I sent, I found a book of tips on ‘how to successfully share a student kitchen’. I added a packet of digestive biscuits and fun instructions for decorating Halloween biscuits. Something she could do with her new friends.

Now I can’t take the credit for this idea, by any means. My daughter found a marketing site and was quick to send me the link. For my own part, however, I felt that the commercial options were expensive and completely lacked the personal touch. Plus, after looking at the contents, I knew that a lot of the stuff would be completely inappropriate. Paying to send things like miniature bags of coffee, when my daughter detests coffee, seemed completely pointless, so I thought, ‘why not create my own?’ After all, who knows your child better than you? Their likes and dislikes, their humour, little things that as a parent, you know would appeal to them. Not only that, but there is a far deeper satisfaction and a real sense of closeness when you shop for the little bits and pieces you know your child will appreciate, so it has the added bonus of satisfying the parent as well as pleasing the child. You can chose your own budget, and you can just pick up little bits and pieces when you shop each week and add them to a monthly box to post out.

In November I sent a Christmas themed box, with some star shaped fairy lights, a pack of Christmas cards, some battery operated tea lights, since candles were prohibited in her halls of residence, and a couple of little decorations including a flat packed paper Christmas tree which opened up like a concertina. Oh, and a pair of Christmas bauble earrings.

In February I sent a valentine themed box, with a heart shaped bath bomb, some heart shaped foiled chocolates and lollipops and a heart shape cookie cutter along with a packet of chocolate chip cookie mix.

Following the same vein, came an Easter themed box and an ‘exam time’ themed box.

The postage cost started at around £3, but of course, entirely depended on the weight of the items I sent, so that is something else to consider.

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Some months I included practical things like deodorant and paracetamol or a new toothbrush. Sometimes that age old student classic – instant noodles – since she couldn’t get her preferred brand where she lived.

I looked for appropriate little inspirational quotes, which I printed out and I enclosed money off coupons for the store I knew she shopped at. I looked for cheap, easy recipes and included what ingredients I was able to post and occasionally added the little luxuries that I knew she couldn’t afford as a ‘poor student’, which might have been anything from a more expensive brand of shampoo to a box of her favourite herbal tea.

The possibilities are endless and like I said earlier, no one knows your child better than you do. At the end of the day, it gives them a little treat to look forward to while they’re away from home and it helps the parent feel bonded to their absent child.

I, personally, enjoyed it immensely and I know my daughter did too. Of course, the commercially marketed options are there, if that’s your preference.

Googling university gift boxes will give you all kinds of options, and maybe even give you a few ideas, but from a satisfaction point of view, I would thoroughly recommend putting together your own.

Poppy Flynn was born in Buckinghamshire, UK and moved to Wales at eight years old with parents who wanted to live the 'self-sufficiency' lifestyle. Today she still lives in rural Wales and is married with six children. Poppy's love of reading and writing stemmed from her parents' encouragement and the fact that they didn't have a television in the house. "When you're surrounded by fields, cows and sheep, no neighbors, no TV and the closest tiny village is four miles away, there's a certain limit to your options, but with books your adventures and your horizons are endless." Discover more about Poppy on Mom's Favorite Reads website:

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/poppy-flynn - 43 -

Autumn

by Stan Phillips Autumn comes slowly once more.

Turning the trees from summer green to September red, and October gold.

Soon they will tumble like falling feathers to lie in the welcoming embrace of the earth.

And the trees will stand empty against the harsh winter winds, stoic, preparing for their Spring rebirth.

No, we have but one season in our sun.

And must make the most of youth's Springtime.

Life's carousel that goes round and round with the changing seasons of birth and life and death and rebirth again.

Endlessly.

The best of our glorious summer.

Enjoy the peace of our autumnal maturity.

For winter will come inevitable along life's path, and we must greet it all to soon.

But we are not trees, we are not born anew with the never ending journey of our planet's eternal voyage around its star.

For unlike the trees, we are not remade with the new year.

And need to cherish and thrive with what we possess.

To give value to our mortality.

Stan Phillips (C) 2019

Stan Phillips is an 80 year old 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 - 44 -

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head Review by Christine Irving At the end of the book, Wolf added two pages that give more information about each poem in the book. On these pages, he also talks about how he used poetry to convey his message and what types of poems he has written. There's also a Glossary of Selected Space Terms and a list of Internet Resources where readers can go to find about more about the universe.

Poems to Take You into Space and Back Again Written by Allan Wolf Illustrated by Anna Raff

Illustrator Anna Raff adds visual impact and value with her detailed and delightful illustrations, making the poems come alive on the pages.

Do you like to learn cool things about our universe? Do you like poetry? Well then, you're in luck. Author Allan Wolf shares his knowledge of the universe with his knowledge of poetry. He wrote some delightful poems about different aspects of outer space - our planets, stars, the sun, black holes, and a host of other things. Each poem is filled with fun facts and trivia, as well as humor.

Kids of all ages will enjoy this great, informative and fun collection of poems.

Christine is a freelance writer with a long list of publishing credits, including a series of children’s craft books, numerous articles and hundreds of book reviews. She writes book reviews for several websites, including KidsReads.com and TeenReads.com. While she prefers to write for children, she also writes articles for adults. She lives with her husband and her dog in Central Ohio.

Sincerely, Christine

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Word Search

By Mom’s Favorite Reads

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Chess: Checkmate in Two Supplied by Chess.Com A clue: this one is all about the queens.

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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!

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Brought to you by...

The August issue of Connections eMagazine is dedicated to the winners of our annual Reader’s Choice Awards. We had some amazing books from some talented authors. I hope you will take a minute to check them out.

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/ - 49 -

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. 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—Ronesa Aveela & Denise McCabe Our Managing Editors oversee the physical content of the magazine and coordinate the production schedule. There are two Managing Editors for Mom’s Favorite Reads; Ronesa Aveela and Denise McCabe. Get to know our Managing Editor’s on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: Ronesa Aveela— A freelance artist and author of mystery romance inspired by legends and tales. https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/ronesa-aveela/

Denise McCabe— A children's book author and blogger. https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/denise-mccabe/

Cover Designer—Nicole Lavoie Our Cover Designer works closely with Mom’s editorial staff to create a design that captures the essence of the each publication. Nicole Lavoie developed the initial layout for MRF eMagazine,. She specializes in book layout and design with an emphasis in Children’s books. Get to know more about Just Saying Dezigns on their website here: https://justsayingdezigns.com/

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Art Director—Sylva Fae, Kelly Artieri and Christine Ardigo Our Art directors are responsible for organization and commission of all the art work that will be included in the publication We are lucky enough to have three talented and creative individuals who work hard behind the scenes to make our magazine creative and professional Get to know our Art Directors on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: Sylva Fae—Mum of three, fairy woodland owner and author of children’s books. https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/sylva-fae/

Kelly Artieri— Western New Yorker, lover of animals (especially dogs) and author. https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/kelly-artieri/

Christine Ardigo— Registered Diatrician/ Personal Trainer and author of contemporary romance novels https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/christine-ardigo/

Feature Editor—T.E. Hodden As Feature Editor T.E. Hodden works diligently to provide content that is interesting, informative and professional. He is a trained engineer and a life-long fan of comic books, Sci-Fi, myths, legends and history. Get to know more about TE Hodden on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/t-e-hodden/

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/

Content Editors—Rachael Wright, Poppy Flynn and Elizabeth Hull Our Content Editors are responsible for acquiring articles, short stories, etc. for the eMagazine. We have four content editros who work hard to make our magazine interesting and professional. Get to know our Content Editor’s on Mom’s Favorite Reads website here: Rachael Wright—Journalist and author. Believes in Big Ideas, Helping Others and Soulful Conversations https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/rachael-wright/

Poppy Flynn— Mother of six, lover or readring and author of Romance, Erotica and Contemporary novels. https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/poppy-flynn/

Elizabeth Hull— Blogger and author (CN Lesley) of Fantasy and Science Fiction books https://cnlesley.com/

Discover more amazing authors… https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/ - 51 -

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