Creative Reflections: Memoir Insights and Artistic Journeys
How can it be March ? It was Christmas a moment ago. Here in Perth Western Australia, it’s been hot. The air-conditioning has been running night and day, and our gardens have wilted under the heat. We move at a slower pace. Since my skin cancer scare and surgery, if I am outside, I automatically seek the shade. The surgeon did a brilliant job, but I don’t want a repeat performance. So,I’m using a Factor 50 sunblock.
I’m STILL writing the memoir and have approximately 65,000 words. I’ve typed so much I gave myself RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). I’ve been typing mainly left-handed. At times it’s hard to continue but I believe my story is worthwhile and deserves to be told. It’s a human story and a piece of social history.In 1960s northern England, work was scarce and I took a job as bus conductor, learning so much after a very sheltered upbringing. The finish line is close, I just need to find a title. Ones I like have been used hundreds of times and I’ve not come up with something clever…..yet!
The Frozen People by Elly GriffithsCold cases are a lot easier to solve when you can travel back in time to find new evidence—unless, that is, you get stuck in the nineteenth century.
Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Ali’s work seems like a safe desk job, but what her friends—and even her beloved son—don’t know is that her team has a secret: They can travel back in time to look for evidence.
So far Ali has made trips only to the recent past, so she’s surprised when she’s asked to investigate a murder that took place in 1850. The killing has been pinned on an aristocratic patron of the arts and antiquities, a member of a sinister group called “The Collectors.” She arrives in the Victorian era during a mini-ice age to find another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions. But when her son is arrested, Ali attempts to return home only to find herself trapped in 1850.
SOME MURDERS CAN’T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.
Ali Dawson is a police officer working on crimes so old, the joke goes, that they are not only cold but frozen. What most people don’t know is that the team travels back in time to complete their research. The process has been pioneered by the mysterious Italian physicist, Serafina Pelligrini, known to the team as Jones.
So far, the team has only ventured a few years back but Ali’s boss has a new assignment for her. He wants her to step back to 1850, the heart of the Victorian Age, to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of Tory MP Isaac Templeton.
To prepare for the challenge ahead, Ali researches the Victorian era. She learns that Cain Templeton was part of a sinister group called The Collectors, the rumour being that you had to kill a woman to become a member. Ali also researches fashions, behaviour and habits. Duly prepared, she arrives in London in January 1850, at the peak of the so-called mini ice age. She finds herself in a house used by artists, with a dead woman at her feet.
Soon she finds herself in extreme danger. Even worse – she appears to be stuck, unable to make her way back to the present and her son, Finn.
My Review.
An intriguing start to what promises to be a fascinating series .Past and present collide as events in one era seem connected to the other. Ali is a relatable heroine, her colleagues a mixed bunch.Then there is the enigmatic Jones .One case closes ,but there are still more questions than answers .I’m looking forward to book 2
Thoroughly Disenchanted By Alexandra AlmondA weekend away that has lasted a century. True love’s kiss can’t break this spell … A cosy, romantic fantasy mystery for all fans of Rebecca Ross, Legends and Lattes and Assistant to the Villain.
A hundred years ago, Genevieve and Oliver spent an amazing weekend together in Riverswood manor. They wished they could stay there forever … and then their wish come true.
Blessed with immortality but trapped for eternity, the two former lovers are now thoroughly tired of one another’s company. Then, one dark and stormy night, a stranger called Ella arrives with a cheery disposition and a secret that could be the key to their salvation. With the help of Ella and the return of their best friend, Fionn, Genevieve and Oliver learn more about Riverwood’s tangled history.
If they can come to terms with their own feelings, and the truth that has kept them locked away, they might stand a chance at breaking this curse. True love certainly hasn’t worked.
My Review.
A book that is hard to categorise, part mystery, part fantasy, it’s thoroughly readable and enjoyable. Living side by side for almost a century Genevieve and Oliver’s’ life has become predictable, broken only with occasional visits from Fionn. The arrival of Ella is a catalyst for change, and as usual change comes at a price.
The Confession of a Lady by Darcy McGuire.A BRAND NEW spicy upstairs/downstairs historical romance featuring the Queen’s Deadly Damsels! Dare she risk her secrets?
In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected member of the Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her every expectation and sets her traitorous heart racing.
Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the right place at the wrong time and who deliciously challenges his every order. Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into daring confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs marquess?
My Review.
Almost a Cinderella story, but Cinderella was never so sharp tongued, or quick witted. Growing up with nothing Penny has survived on her wits and she cant let a growing attraction to her employer get in her way. But he continually surprises her in word and deed. She’s losing her heart but can she trust it?
This Isn’t Working for Me: A Practical Guide for Making Every Relationship in Your Life More Fulfilling, Authentic, and Intentional by Ilene S. Cohen ,Edrica D.Richardson.We all want to avoid drama and pain in our relationships, yet we remain stuck in never-ending cycles of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and triggering interactions. Sometimes it just seems easier to decide we are “done” with people rather than continue trying over and over again. Even our best and closest relationships―with our partners, friends, family, and colleagues―can feel unduly challenging.
In this straightforward guide, expert relationship therapists Edrica Richardson and Ilene Cohen get to the heart of what it means to really be in fulfilling relationships and why connecting with the ones you love can feel so hard. You’ll learn how “doing the work” encourages healing and growth within yourself and within your relationships.
Filled with activities, quizzes, and prompts that offer support in every step of the process, This Isn’t Working for Me will help you go deeper in your relationships by exploring:
• Six steps to creating the relationships you want―Discover the foundational elements that will help you build (or build back) strong, sustainable connections.
• Self-empowerment―Learn how a willingness to focus on yourself helps cultivate resilience, trust, and a stronger sense of self.
• The science of relationships―Understand what happens in the brain and body when you are upset and angry, and learn the benefits of turning impulsive reactions into responses that you choose.
Creating and maintaining strong, fulfilling relationships doesn’t mean disregarding your own boundaries or letting go of what you want for the sake of “keeping the peace” in your home, family, friend group, or workplace. Instead, it means being more yourself! By moving into the fullness of who you are, you can claim freedom and agency in your own life, learn how to release blame, and cultivate happier and healthier relationships with those you love.
My Review.
This book was recommended to me by a friend, who is a relationship counsellor. Because of its relatively higher price I bought the Kindle version, and I regret that, as the hard copy would be more useful. It’s basically a workbook that you can refer to again and again, with quizzes and spaces to write down insights/feelings.
The Secret Book Club by Shauna RobinsonMaggie Banks loves books. And running a bookstore sounds like the best job in the world. Except in Bell River, a place that refuses to let her sell anything written this century. But in Maggie’s world, book rules are made to be broken. And what better way to break tradition than by starting an underground book club?
But keeping her new club quiet, selling forbidden books and dodging the strict literary society is proving harder than it seems. Especially when Maggie unearths a secret that could upend everything…
My Review.
The book description says Maggie loves book, but she doesn’t, she’s a reluctant reader.( How disappointing!) She’s at the bookstore to help a friend ,after drifting through various jobs. Bell River is stuck in time warp as far as fiction goes. Only books pre 1935 are allowed to be sold .The Store is a homage to the town’s one author, Edward Bell. It displays his desk, stocks his book and is firmly stuck in the past. The Historical society makes the rules and enforces them, and the store is losing money. Unless Maggie can turn its fortunes around, her best friend Rochelle will have nothing to return to.
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://soniabellhouse.blog/wp-conten..." data-large-file="https://soniabellhouse.blog/wp-conten..." src="https://soniabellhouse.blog/wp-conten..." alt="" class="wp-image-5471" style="width:518px;height:auto" />Cat are such good company.I haven’t read as much as I hoped to this month, or even written as much as I hoped to. But I’ve attended three art classes a week. Pastels, life drawing and casual drawing. As well as sharing a weekly coffee and chat catch up with one or two girlfriends. Progressing on the memoir and obtaining permission to use some photographs. Managing my cat’s diabetes( currently in remission) with measure meals, and monitoring his water intake. He’s taken to sitting on my desk as I type and negligently adding a sentence or two. Usually along the lines of 9999999999999999999. The weather is cooling down and soon it will be autumn, maybe I will have more time to cosy up with a good book. What do you like to read? Do you read only one genre or across genres? If you read crime is it cosy crime, or more edgy novels? Romance, historical or contemporary ?Do you have a favourite author?
