Reblogging this from Bookin’It. Great to support fellow authors. Have just posted my review of Swamp Ghosts on Amazon Marcia. I’m new to this reviewing business!
Saw this on Twitter yesterday with a request to share, so…I’m sharin’! Lots of people honestly don’t know how important some of these things can be to an author, especially an independent one, who depends on word of mouth so completely. Hope you’ll pass it along, too. Let’s get the word out (in the nicest way possible, of course.) Folks…if you read it, and you love it, please let the world know. Thanks!
She climbs the ladder
Of her life,
Page by page
Word by word,
Higher she climbs
From the sadness she has left behind,
Her can filled to the rim
With every tear she’s shed
Every dream she’s never tried to reach
Every hope she has spent
Every bit of life splashing over.
She reaches the top
Where her hidden garden grows,
High in clouds drifting
Waiting
She tips her can to nourish her blooms,
Taking care as she speaks to them by name
As the rain falls down
Spreading her love to the earth below,
Her hopes,dreams,tears and everything she holds dear
And the winds blow gently
Sprinkling the people and animals below
As they raise their head up at
The sudden burst
They smile as they feel the wetness
Their faces cleansed
They feel life within
And a sudden burst
As the sun breaks out And warms the water…
Enjoying the Futurelearn Literature of the English Country Rose course. Thought I would share this Youtube video with you. Take a look, listen and enjoy 🙂
Wildlife photographer Gunnar Wolfe looked like the kind of guy every man wanted to be and every woman just plain wanted, and the St. Johns River of central Florida drew him like a magnet. EcoTour boat owner Maggie Devlin knew all the river’s secrets, including the deadliest ones found in the swamps. But neither Maggie nor Gunn was prepared for the danger that would come after them on two legs.
On a quest to make history photographing the rarest birds of them all, Gunnar hires the fiery, no-nonsense Maggie to canoe him into the most remote wetland areas in the state. He was unprepared for how much he would enjoy both the trips and Maggie’s company. He soon realizes he wants more than she’s prepared to give, but before he can win her over, they make a grisly discovery that changes everything, and turns the quiet little town of Riverbend upside down. A serial killer is on the prowl among them.
I won a kindle copy of this book from Marcia. My review has not been influenced in any way by receiving a free copy of this book. It is my honest opinion.
Swamp Ghosts is a novel that manages to combine romance, a murder mystery, and wonderfully descriptive passages of the animals, flora, and fauna of the St. John’s River. Quite a tall order, but I think on the whole Marcia Meara pulls it off very well. I enjoyed the interplay between the lightness of the two main protagonist’s developing love, and the darkness that lies hidden within a murderer’s heart. The killer’s portrait is chillingly believable and at times makes you gasp, wince and reflect. So even though Marcia Meara is an older lady , she sure doesn’t write like one! She crafts a story-line with a heck of a punch. So beware!
Having said that, Maggie and Gunnar fall in love very quickly. This seems somewhat at odds with Maggie’s inability to trust. Personally I would have liked to see the love interest develop a little more slowly. Though Marcia does a great job depicting Maggie and Gunnar’s enthusiasm for each other in the bedroom department! Wonderfully sensual, without being overtly erotic.
Swamp Ghosts is an absorbing, and at times disturbing read. There is an underlying sense of uncertainty that threads throughout the novel, twisting and turning like the St. John’s River itself. Is Maggie safe with this stranger, even if he looks like a Viking, in a canoe down the St. John’s river? Will Maggie ever be able trust anyone ever again, after all that has happened to her in her past? Will Maggie lay her soul bare to Gunn? Will Gunn be able to cope with Maggie’s insecurities? Will they find what they are looking for? Or will they find something so disturbing that they wished they had never gone? This list could just go on and on ……………
Temptation lurks at every corner, and both the innocent and the guilty can’t help but give into their differing temptations. Maggie is tempted by Gunn’s perfection. He has the physique of a Viking. Yet he never works out, he is naturally a hunk! The killer kills once and he gives into temptation to kill again.
This is not a novel that concentrates on a single point of view. Instead we see into the minds of several of the protagonists that are central to the plot.
Lester is chillingly portrayed in short punchy chapters, and believe me this works well. This weird guy who lives with a whole host of albino reptiles has many facets to his personality. He may be one of society’s misfits but he sure loves and cares for his creatures, and boy are they strange creatures just like him!
I particularly liked the twist in the tale towards the end of the novel, I won’t go into details, for fear of spoiling it for you. Oh, and I loved the title, Swamp Ghosts!
My rating:
.
Overall, I would recommend Swamp Ghosts to readers who enjoy a murder mystery, and readers who enjoy romance.
Have you read Swamp Ghosts. Do leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.
The Italian Chapel is a story of forbidden love, lifelong friendships torn apart, despair and hope, set against the backdrop of the creation of a symbol that is known around the world. Amidst strikes, conflicts and untold hardships, the Italian prisoners of war sent to a tiny Orkney island during World War Two create a monument to the human spirit’s ability to lift itself above great adversity. One artist falls in love with a local Orkney woman and leaves a token of his love in the chapel. It is still there today and, until now, no-one has ever known its true meaning.
I was delighted to win a copy of ‘The Italian Chapel’ by Philip Paris, published by Black and White Publishing, via Sonya’s blog: http://aloverofbooks.wordpress.com/
The review below is my honest opinion and has been in no way altered by my receiving a free copy.
My review:
This is a beautifully inspiring book, which just oozes charm and wonder. A big heart for this one. This fictional story based on true life events is set amidst the chaos and heartache of the Second World War. Italian prisoners of war are transported to the tiny Orkney island of Lamb Holm in January 1942. There they work together against the odds and the Scottish elements, to build the Churchill Barriers at Scapa Flow and a lasting monument to peace, and reconciliation. When Padre Giacomo arrives at the camp the spirits of the men begin to improve bolstered by his spiritual presence. The camp is awash with skilled men, no more so than Domenico Chiocchetti, a talented artist, and a sculpter. Domenico suggests building a chapel in the camp, constructing it out of two Nissan huts joined together. He can’t begin to do this without the British camp commanders go ahead, but they agree. The building of the chapel draws the men together in a shared vision to create, rather than to destroy. The results are spectacular, transforming the two original Nissan huts beyond recognition. The characters in The Italian Chapel, breathe, you can almost hear the chatter and the camaraderie of these Italians, far from home, freezing in the Scottish weather, dedicated to a shared task to build a Chapel, a place of peace, a safe haven away from the horrors of war. The story is absorbing, uplifting, at times sad, but ultimately happy and triumphant. The relationships that developed between the Italians and the local people, and the respect that grew between them is an amazing testament to the power of human spirit, and selflessness in the face of adversity. The Chapel still stands as a true monument to hope, for generations to come.
I found this novel so hard to rate. I just loved it so much! All the characters are portrayed beautifully, the dialogue, scene and setting are superb, but perhaps the romance between Giuseppe and Fiona could have been developed a little bit more. This is not surprising if you read the Author’s Note at the end of the novel. At times I felt that I wanted more time with these two characters, so that is why I am giving The Italian Chapel 4.5 stars instead of 5. I would highly recommend this beautiful novel to readers who enjoy historical fiction, romance, and anyone who would like to read an uplifting story, that just grabs your attention from the very start.
The author’s epilogue helps to clarify fact from fiction. The final quote of the epilogue reads: “The chapel remains, fragile and immortal, a symbol of peace and hope from people long gone for those yet to come.” Though if you want the true story look no further than Philip Paris’s non-fiction book, Orkney’s Italian Chapel: The True Story of anIcon, also available and published by Black & White, www.blackandwhitepublishing.com.
My rating:
In dedication to the artist Domenico Chiocchetti who painted most of the interior of the Chapel, I will be awarding Philip Paris’s novel: 4.5 Paint brushes!
I would highly recommend this to readers of Historical Fiction, and romance.
Background information about the Chapel:
The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm in Orkney, Scotland, was built by Italian prisoners of war . 550 Italian prisoners of war, were captured in North Africa during World War II, and were brought to Orkney in 1942. The prisoners were stationed on the island between 1942 and 1945 to help in construction of the Churchill Barriers at Scapa Flow, four causeways created to block access to Scapa Flow. 200 were based at Camp 60 on the island of Lamb Holm. In 1943, Major T P Buckland, the Camp 60’s new commandant, and Father Giacombazzi, the Camp’s priest, agreed that a place of worship was required.
The chapel was constructed from two Nissen huts joined end-to-end. The corrugated interior was then covered with plasterboard and the altar and altar rail were constructed from concrete left over from work on the barriers. Most of the interior decoration was done by Domenico Chiocchetti , a POW from Moena. He painted the sanctuary end of the chapel and fellow-prisoners decorated the entire interior. They created a front facade out of concrete, concealing the shape of the hut and making the building look like a church. He remained on the island to finish the chapel even when his fellow prisoners were released shortly before the end of the war. In 1958 the Chapel Preservation Committee was set up by a group of Orcadians and in 1960 Chiocchetti returned to the chapel to assist in the restoration. He returned again in 1964 but was too ill to travel when some of the other prisoners returned in 1992 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their arrival on the island. He died in 1999. Today the chapel remains a popular tourist attraction, receiving over 100,000 visitors every year. It has become one of the most well-known and moving symbols of reconciliation in the British Isles.
Hi there! Thanks to the YouTube account of an awesome girl named Sanne (booksandquills), I’ve been reading quite a lot lately and have totally gotten into reading YA (= Young Adult) books. I’ve kind of got the book virus I suppose, since I have the constant urge to order a bunch of books online all of the time. In this post I will discuss three books which have made an impression on me and which I would love to talk about.
I went to the library today and picked up a couple of books but they couldn’t help me with my strange request:
The joy of Mondays. Where would we be without them? How has your Monday been? Mine could have been better so hence all the silly pictures to jolly things along a bit. Tomorrow’s Tuesday, Hoorah!
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 
