The Very Grave Digger by Colin Garrow Review!

 

The Very Grave Digger (2016) by Colin Garrow is a great short read.

 

The plot of this short story is about Bobby who meets up with old friend Sandra and is unsure what her motivation in wanting to meet up is. But he agrees to see her nonetheless.

There is a lot of intrigue and tension throughout the story which is hard to create in a shorter write but it is perfectly paced here. The characters are interesting and you never know who to trust throughout which adds to the intrigue. There is a lot packed into this short story with trust being a huge theme. Who can be trusted and exercising caution and that kind of thing. Very thought-provoking in that aspect and very well-written.

To get your free copy of The Very Grave Digger by Colin Garrow go to:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/647653

For more about Colin Garrow and his work go to:

http://colingarrow.org

Poem: Karen & Mitch

(This poem is inspired by two of my characters Mitch and Karen. Mitch has been a prominent character in some of my books and Karen has featured in some of my books as well though I have had an idea for a while about a book where she is the protagonist and in part of the book, I want to explore the friendship she and Mitch have because one of the things I love about their friendship is how 70% of what they think about social issues is probably the same but 30% isn’t. They differ on the approach side of things but they are always respectful of where the other is coming from and I find it very beautiful to think about. Personally, I do find if more people were like them, the world would be much better for everyone of all approaches.)

 

Karen

I work as a psychologist and I spent the morning helping a man

to see that it was ok

to not want his son to be trans,

this father was 74 and deeply religious,

I understood how he found it difficult

to understand the new world,

I tried to encourage him to see things differently,

talked about how it could save the relationship

he and his son had

but I understood it would take time

and a lot of relearning to get to that stage

for him.

 

Mitch

I had a cigarette as I waited for Karen,

Seen the bigoted father go to his car,

Karen doesn’t tell tales from the office

but I know of him misgendering his son

and playing the victim while his son gets

mental health issues he didn’t need to have,

oh I can’t stand him,

makes my skin crawl.

Karen comes out

and we head to lunch.

 

Karen

‘So how has your day been Mitch?’,

I ask while munching a bagel.

‘Oh, you know the usual,

wrote a blog post that probably

annoyed Trump’s America and well Nate,

but whatever.’

I smile,

sounds about right,

I would be worried if he hadn’t.

‘Someone called me hostile in the comments,

said I wasn’t understanding of people and the usual.’, he shrugs.

I laugh,

that’s one of the things I love about him,

no matter what is said he always stays true

to what he believes and fights what he sees as bigotry

with a heart filled with good.

 

Mitch

‘And yourself Kar?’, I ask

while trying to much down on a piece

of hard tomato.

‘I read an article on the train this morning

about a mother trying to come to terms with her

daughter being a lesbian, I felt for her as she knows

no better and seems to really love her daughter but

then the comments underneath were a debate where

one poster uttered my sentiments and another said they

were not understanding to the daughter’s feelings.’, she replies.

She sighs,

one of the things I love about Karen is how she does

feel for both sides and continually fights to bring families

together in a way that she sees it as bringing them together

with a heart filled with good.

 

Karen

Back at home later in the night

I can’t help thinking about Mitch’s blog post

and how him doing something with obvious kindness

for people facing injustice is met with negativity,

it disgusts me on different levels,

most importantly because my best friend is

most certainly not hostile,

his goodness comes from a different place than mine

but that doesn’t mean it’s badness

and I’m annoyed that this commenter

has views similar to me and is making

people like me look like something

I would hate to be like.

 

Mitch

I lay in bed thinking about

how Karen was made feel

like she didn’t care about the daughter

when I know she did and it makes me angry

because she is incredibly caring,

she just cares in her own way and

there is nothing wrong with that

and that person on the train

has views similar to me and is making

people like me look like something

I would hate to be like.

Abolition Fanaticism In New York By Frederick Douglass Review!

 

Abolition Fanaticism In New York (1847) by Frederick Douglass is an important and amazing speech.

This speech by Frederick Douglass happened in New York on May 11th, 1847. In the speech Douglass speaks about slavery and other prejudices that black people faced at that period in time. Though things have progressed, they haven’t progressed anywhere near fully and it is a disgrace to think this was in 1847 and black people are still today not treated with equal humanity, respect and compassion. The speech is inspiring and powerful and I love the honesty and passion that he shows in the face of a world filled with adversity. That takes guts to be able to fight through all the pain and negativity one faces and speak the truth.

In the speech, Douglass is responding to accusations that he let down America abroad and speaks about how the English are not perfect but that he was treated better in England than he had been in America. It is sad that then and even today, there is people who care more about patriotism instead of tackling racism. That is a huge problem throughout the world, in this case America. It did annoy me while reading this speech the fact that Douglass was even having to respond to this but he done wonderfully. But honestly, the audacity of treating the man as a slave in America and then expecting him to sing the praises of the country abroad, the cheek. He was incredibly gracious on this issue and that was clearly because he did love his country despite all that happened to him in it. But that whole idea of brush your suffering under the carpet to save face for the country, I just found that attitude so disgusting.

Douglass was a very interesting and compelling orator. As well as the issues, you get to know so much about his story and his personality in this speech. He seemed really cool. He has a very conversational way of speaking in the speech. You learn so much and it is always accessible if you have a genuine interest in the topics being discussed.

Brilliant. A must-read.

 

To get your free copy of Abolition Fanaticism In New York By Frederick Douglass go to:

 

 

For more about Frederick Douglass and his work go to:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18943.Frederick_Douglass

5 Videos To Watch This Week On YouTube!

Hi everyone! 🙂

Hope you are all well. Here is my five video suggestions for this week:

 

Social Issues

In this very interesting interview with Emma Thompson on BBC Newsnight, she speaks about disgraced film director Harvey Weinstein and sexual abuse and harassment of women in the industry as well as the discrimination women face in the industry by men in more powerful positions.

 

 

Music

Here is a classic music video, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. A great headbanging tune with an equally fabulously headbanging music video.

 

This is a song I really love by Tracy Chapman and the music video for Give Me One Reason is brilliant. Very understated and perfect because of it.

 

Interior Design

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita show us around their gorgeous home in this video. In the video we get to see their adorable dogs and a picture on the wall of when they were leaving their wedding and we also find out that the house was originally owned by Gwen Stefani.

 

Theatre

In this video, Mojo counts down the 20 roles traditionally played by men in the theatre which they feel are the hardest. Really interesting with lots of musicals both old classics and newer classics making the list.

In Line For Murder By Colin Garrow Review!

 

In Line For Murder (2015) by Colin Garrow is another great short read by the author.

 

The plot is set in Edinburgh in the 1890s. Inspector Angus Robertson is on the case. Sir Charles Foggarty has set him a case involving the missing dead body of a woman called Mara who Foggarty was cheating on his wife with. She was in a long list of women but that’s a whole other story.

I really liked this story. It is a classic short detective story and has intrigue and suspense throughout. The pacing in the build up is wonderfully done and there is a great twist. It is a bit longer than the previous short read I read by this author and has a mixture of Sherlockian and Ian Rankin vibes to it. And the latter is not simply because it’s set in Scotland! But at the same time, the writer’s own style comes through more. It is a very enjoyable story that is perfect for reading with a cup of coffee.

Very entertaining.

 

To get your free copy of In Line For Murder by Colin Garrow go to:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/582285

For more about Colin Garrow and his work go to:

http://colingarrow.org

Poem: Communication

(This poem is from the perspective of my character Darnell in my current WIP Darnell & Dylan.)

 

We could never communicate

and not much has changed

even though over a decade has passed.

Never were we on the one page,

we would talk and talk at each other

but not listen much

but now I am trying to listen

but you won’t

and I am lost.

I want to save this,

won’t you help me to?

It requires you listening

and understanding me too, you know

even if we agree to disagree.

It can’t go on like this though

or we will destroy each other,

love is not enough,

we need to communicate,

we need to respect each other babe.

Incoming By A.E. Wasp Review!

 

Incoming (2016) by A.E. Wasp is the first book in the author’s Veteran’s Affairs series.

 

The plot revolves around the love story between veterinarian Dmitri Greenman and ex-army veteran Troy Johnson. Set in Red Deer, Colorado the two meet when Troy moves there to try to settle in one place but Dmitri on the other hand is trying to get out after never taking the leap to do so before. Early on we realise that one of them will probably have to compromise on that score in order to get their happy ever after.

They meet coming up to the Fourth of July and as the story progresses and they get to know each other, we as readers get to know them too. There is definitely great chemistry between the two of them and they help each other and look out for each other which is lovely to read. The dialogue is great, very natural and often very funny.

I liked both characters too. They are very different but similar in a lot of ways and I think that is why they get each other. There is something I love about this author’s writing and it is given the limelight to personality types which do not always get the limelight in books and especially the way the writer writes these personality types positively and true to life and not mockingly or rudely. I found it really cool how one of the main characters was introverted and hadn’t any major reason for being so like past trauma. It was nice to see introvertedness being written as just someone’s personality and not as that there is something wrong with being introverted so obviously he had to have been really hurt to be like that. And I liked that Troy was mature to help Dmitri with socializing more because it wasn’t Dmitri’s forte as opposed to making it into a big deal or being patronizing.

The book also has a very important issue throughout with the theme of mental health. Troy has PTSD. The scenes broke my heart but I was also incredibly glad they were there. Mental health issues are very close to my heart for many reasons and I love to see mental health issues being discussed openly in books because it takes away the stigma more and more that is often there and makes readers feel less alone. Whether it is PTSD or any other mental health illness you face or have faced, it is easy to relate to the emotions involved in the struggles and demons Troy faces. And likewise with the way Troy helps Dmitri, Dmitri is equally on hand and adorable in helping Troy without making it a big issue or patronizing Troy.

Finally, I think there is many great secondary characters in this book. There is a whole host of fabulous animal characters such as Sweetie the Service Dog. In the human vein there is also great secondary characters like Angel who while I like the main characters and a lot of the characters in this book I did like Angel the best. She made me laugh, her dialogue was brilliant, she was totally unpredictable, not afraid to speak her mind and as mad as a box of frogs in the best possible sense.

An excellent read.

 

To purchase Incoming by A.E. Wasp go to:

 

 

For more about A.E. Wasp and her work go to:

http://aewasp.com

 

 

Shoals O’ Herring By Colin Garrow Review!

Shoals O’ Herring (2016) by Colin Garrow is a wonderful short read. This author also has many other short reads available.

The plot follows main character Stevie who loves everything about the ocean and sea life. Because of his interest, he begins working on a fishing trawler but soon he finds that life out at sea is not as glamorous or adventurous as he thought it would be.

I liked the story. It was very much a coming of age story about a young person finding their way in the world, figuring out what way to go and finding out that not everything is what it seems. My only flaw with this short piece is that due to the length, it was difficult to get to know the characters well but that is hard in short writes. I think the author does a good job though of getting a lot of information in there about Stevie’s background. It just maybe needs a little bit more. But for the most part, a really great slice of life story written very well. The descriptive elements also help add to the atmosphere throughout.

To get your free copy of Shoals O’ Herring by Colin Garrow go to:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/634950

For more about Colin Garrow and his work go to:

http://colingarrow.org

Tilly And Torg: New Kids At School By Connie Goyette Crawley Review!

 

Tilly and Torg: New Kids at School (2018) by Connie Goyette Crawley is another wonderful installment in the author’s Tilly and Torg series.

 

In this book, the two little monsters are starting school. They learn various subjects and enjoy recess and ultimately they find that they enjoy school. As usual Torg is there to help Tilly to understand how to get through and their friendship is as adorable as ever.

This is another great addition to the series. It is a really cool book to make school fun instead of fearful for children starting school and to show that being nervous to start school is a very natural feeling to feel but that it will be fine and that they will get through and maybe even enjoy certain aspects. A really great story, very creative. There is as always also great help for teaching children new words.

A fun read about two very fun characters.

 

To purchase Tilly and Torg: New Kids at School by Connie Goyette Crawley go to:

 

For more about Connie Goyette Crawley and her work go to:

https://www.conniecrawley.com

Tilly and Torg: Up In The Air By Connie Goyette Crawley Review!

 

Tilly and Torg: Up In The Air (2019) by Connie Goyette Crawley is another great adventure of the adorable monsters Tilly and Torg.

 

In this book, the pair learn about how the airport and taking a flight works. After been asked to a party at Auntie Glo’s house, the wonderful duo embark on a flight to get there but their experience is anything but average due to Tilly being confused by how it all works and Torg helping Tilly through as usual!

I love how in this series the two monsters have very distinct personalities and those personalities carry through so authentically to every situation they find themselves in. This is another fun read and shows that with determination and preparation, one can achieve anything one sets their mind to which is a great message.

The book teaches children many new words as well as how airports work in an accessible and fun way.

A fantastic read.

 

To purchase Tilly and Torg: Up In The Air by Connie Goyette Crawley go to:

 

 

For more about Connie Goyette Crawley and her work go to:

https://www.conniecrawley.com