I’ve no idea why this extra day makes a leap year, or why it’s customary for women to propose to men, but I do know it always gives me a little fillip of pleasure to think that the silly human race has given itself the present of an extra day. Oh the possibilities - what will you do with yours? I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to give everyone A Raucous Time. Grab your free copy on February 29th or March 1st - Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Amazon.De
Just because it’s leap year. Logically, I know it isn’t a magical gift from the universe. It isn’t an extra day, just a way of realigning something man made: measuring time; to something natural: time. It actually takes planet Earth 365 days and five hours and a few odd minutes to orbit the sun entire. And so once every four years, a makeshift unit of time has to be inserted. Else we’d end up celebrating Christmas in June - just because we’d call the summer month of June December wouldn’t make the days any less longer, or any less warmer, or any less summery. We’d just be calling it the middle of winter. I’ve no idea why this extra day makes a leap year, or why it’s customary for women to propose to men, but I do know it always gives me a little fillip of pleasure to think that the silly human race has given itself the present of an extra day. Oh the possibilities - what will you do with yours? I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to give everyone A Raucous Time. Grab your free copy on February 29th or March 1st - Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Amazon.De
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I don’t believe in foresight, but if you could deliver hindsight to a person living one hundred years ago, I guess you could change their future. Except you would of course be changing your own past, and might find yourself in a completely different present.
Confusing isn’t it? That’s why it became so important to create believable characters for A Ripple in Time; which deals with time travel. Characters should evolve with the story, if we knew everything about them within the first couple of pages, why bother reading on? Better writers than I have written about character development, I’m just happy that now and then, I manage to achieve it to readers’ satisfaction. Writers write and readers read and often some do both. I think of myself as a reader who writes, and every time someone says they’ve enjoyed one of my offerings, it makes me smile. What makes me dance around the kitchen though, is when a fellow reader compliments the character development. This week, two complete strangers who connected with A Ripple in Time were kind enough to state publicly how much they enjoyed reading the story: Thank you kind readers, comments such as yours make it all worthwhile. (One posting on Amazon.com and one on Goodreads site). When someone asked Churchill how he managed to predict events so accurately, his chilling response was: ‘Because dear boy, I study history.’ What the wily old warlord didn’t mention was foresight. By the time the Nazis realised their unbreakable decipher, ‘Enigma’ had been broken, the damage was irreparable. British Intelligence had been reading their messages, and passing them onto the War Cabinet. Churchill’s nickname for Hitler was Herr Schickelgruber; he despised and hated the madman with a vengeance. But Churchill never made the mistake of underestimating his enemy. In order to gain the most value from Enigma, it remained vital that Hitler's High Command continued to believe in its invincibility, and continued to use it for top secret messages. If the Allied Armies acted on every single piece of information received via Enigma, it would become obvious that Britain was receiving inside information. Churchill wanted his golden egg laying goose active for as long as possible. Consequently, Churchill and his Cabinet made unthinkable choices. Choices not to warn of impending attacks. Choices to sacrifice some, in order to save others. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the lessons of the past are there for all to see; it’s a blessing in disguise that most of us don’t have foresight. In "A Ripple in Time" Wren’s choice is stark. Will he allow the Titanic to meet her destiny and restore his own future, or allow hundreds of innocents to perish? Available at a special introductory price of 77p on Amazon.co.uk, or 99 cents on Amazon.com Nine customer reviews on .co.uk Eleven customer reviews on .com, average star rating 4.75 Or the fame.
It’s all about the story, and making a connection. As Lewis said: “We read to know we are not alone.” So thank you one and all to every reader who took the time and trouble to download "A Ripple in Time". The take-up on this giveaway has been startling, and helped break into the top ten in America, the United Kingdom and Germany. (Amazon rankings for free action and adventure ebooks). So a great big THANK YOU for taking a chance, and of course I look forward to any comments from you. One last favour? If you enjoyed the read let others know. That would be great. A Ripple in Time will be available as a free download until midnight 15 February. After that, it’s back to 77p, the next free promotion will be announced in March. As a special Valentine's gift, A Ripple in Time is FREE on February 14th & 15th. I mean, come on! How can anyone travel on board the Titanic and not fall in love? Here's the link to grab your copy: If you're Stateside: Amazon.com or if you're in the UK: Amazon.co.uk - click on the link, download and enjoy a time travelling romance.
Shadowlands is easily my favourite film. It opens a window into the life of C S Lewis, creator of worlds and centres on his relationship with a feisty American widow who at first glance appears to be his complete opposite.
Until Joy came along, Jacky Lewis never actively sought female company. It’s easy to see Lewis as an eternal child, enjoying the sedate life of an Oxford Don, living in secure bachelordom with his brother. Then POW! BLAST! KABANG! Joy bursts onto the scene and rocks his world. Her small son already adores Lewis, and both mother and child are fans of Narnia. The scene is set for the star crossed lovers. Actually, not that star crossed. The brother good humouredly accepts these new additions to the family household, and apart from upsetting a few ancient dons, Joy is soon established into Lewis’s world when he gallantly offers marriage in order for her to remain in the United Kingdom. It begins then as a marriage of convenience and there is something magical about the way this middle aged couple realise they’re falling in love. But like all great love stories, their romance is doomed. Their world is shattered when Joy is diagnosed with cancer, a death sentence in those days. As they come to terms with this, Joy becomes obsessed with a painting of an idyllic landscape. Lewis admits he doesn’t know where it is, or even if it exists, but believes it may be an artistic impression of a Welsh panorama. As Joy enters the final weeks of her life, they set off on a pilgrimage to find the exact spot. This is where I always come over all unnecessary. They find it. That perfect vista, the perfect country with purple mountains in the distance. Lewis lifts her gently from the car, so she can gaze upon this magical sight. I can’t tell you an awful lot about the film from here on, although I’ve tried several times to watch without sobbing uncontrollably from that point onwards. Shadowlands perfectly sums up Lewis’s legacy to us. He has given us the world of Narnia, a world which he emphasises can only be reached by magic; accessible only to children or those who retain a child-like willingness to believe. This world and others created by the likes of Jules Verne, Tolkien, and more recently J K Rowling are imaginary. They are not real. Until the moment you choose to pull down a book from the shelf, or download an electronic copy to your reader and share in the fantasy. Then they exist. |
Wren Prenderson; "A Ripple in Time" best hero.
"The Griffin Cryer" best Urban Fantasy. Thank you to the hard working judges and everyone who voted at the eFestival of Words, organised by Julie Dawson, of Bards & Sages. A Raucous Time, A Ripple in Time, and The Griffin Cryer. Thank you to Julie and her hard working panel of judges and reviewers.
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