H.M. Holten's Blog, page 9

Waterlily

Coloured pencils on paper

***

© HMH, 2022

My Last Reviews of 2021

Debi Ennis Binder, Summerbird Rises

Fairy-Tale with Bold and Strange Creatures

Summerbird Asii lives in a village where magic is banned, and it is dangerous to know herb lore. Castle and village guards scour the streets in search of offenders. Those caught will suffer vicious punishment. Nobody knows who lives in the castle menacing the village from the top of its hill.

Summerbird lives in a cottage that she inherited from her grandfather. She has a cat and a crystal ball, and she earns her living as an inept seer. Her biggest trouble is to hide her inborn magic as well as her knowledge of herbs.

Enter a griffin who wants her to go on a quest to rescue several highborn Fey.

This is the premise for Binder’s fantasy novel ‘Summerbird Rises’ and it doesn’t disappoint. The intricate plot, the quirky characters, the evil sorcerer combined takes the reader on a journey to prisons, villages, castles, and a magical land – hidden somewhere. The Fey, the humans, the magical creatures, the sorcerer, and the villagers, the guards, and the obscure inhabitant of the castle on the hill bring this fairy tale to a stunning conclusion.

***

Sherri Lowe, Whisper to Me

Make Promises at your Peril – Especially if You Don’t Intend to Keep Them

Meet Theo Stanyer, Letitia (Tish), his wife, and Sheena plus her dog, Shandy. Saskia is Theo’s daughter, and the cast is complete with the family cat, Smokey. Of course, there are other characters, but the triangle between Theo, Tish, and Sheena seizes the focus from the moment that Theo makes his ill-fated promise never to marry, should Tish die.

This is the premise for Sherri Lowe’s short romantic ghost story.

Nobody sees the vengeful entity; her measures are subtler than that. She blights the atmosphere in her former home, with fragrances and sound. The two women in this triangle are opposed in many ways, Tish was a careful housewife, and Sheena is a slob. This creates humorous as well as threatening incidents.

‘Whisper to me’ presents a well-written and mercurial intrigue that takes its readers from fuchsias via a bee sting, a gardening show, an untrained dog, a temperamental cat, and a furious ghost to a climax – and a possible follow up in another instalment. Certainly, this is an unexpected and exhilarating read.

***

Millie Thom, Take Height, Rutterkin

English Witch Hunt 17th Century Style

In Take Height, Rutterkin, we see how impossible it was for women to fend for themselves. Joan Flower and her two daughters, Philippa and Margaret get to experience it in full force when Joan’s husband dies an untimely death. Joan has some knowledge of the healing power of plants and can scrape a living through her potions. Her daughters get a few chances as temporary servants at Belvoir Castle. Through various mishaps, they both lose their positions – and must fall back on their and their mother’s resources.

At that point, their fate is already sealed. Joan’s wish for revenge, the need for money, and the antagonism from the local Goodwives just intensify their trouble. That the three women fall back on the last resource open to women, prostitution, aggravates the society even worse, and rumours of witchcraft emerge.

The Hammer of Witches, Malleus Maleficarum, comes to life in ‘Take Height, Rutterkin’. It is uneasy reading, but Ms Thom makes a convincing point. During the 16th and 17th Centuries, witch hunts reached the summit, only to die out in The Age of Enlightenment. The question is if the fear of female power lived on after the witch hunts. Looking at history it is easy to see that it continued in many ways. Here we are at the crux and what makes this book important.

This isn’t a treatise, it is a book that evokes strong feelings, ranging from despair to anger. The Flower women appear strong and stubborn, although each has her personal quirks. These come alive in Ms Thom’s superb writing.

***

Maureen Turner, Malchediel, Warrior Angel

A Warrior Angel in Love and War

How do you create a meet-cute between an angel and a ‘normal’ young woman? Maureen Turner knows and convinces with her quirky description of the ‘Surfer Dude’ Angel, Malchediel – known as Mal, when he meets Amy. Amy has no idea that she is of ancient Nephilim descent. Her father hid the fact to protect her.

We’re harking back to Genesis when the angels saw and lusted after the daughters of men. It was during the time when Lucifer and his followers fell from grace. God’s wrath created mayhem as the war between fallen and steadfast angels began. According to Mal and Ms Turner – that war never ended.

On this premise, Maureen Turner builds her fantasy and crafts her engaging and believable creatures. The plot, and character-driven, story unfolds in surprising and convincing ways that leaves you breathless at the end. Not just at the end, there are many unexpected twists before Amy and Mal must take leave of the reader. No doubt, anybody who has engaged with the Angels, Nephilim, Demons, and Fallen Angels will want to know what happens next.

***

Pat McDermott, The Rosewood Whistle

Irish Lore, Irish Music, Irish Love

To forget her difficult marriage, Gemma Pentrandolfo treats herself to a holiday in Ireland. A writer, she wants to try her hand at a full-blown novel.

Ben Connigan has lost his music. His selfish wife, who died years ago in an accident, mocked his musicianship and he gave up playing for her sake.

These two persons meet in the little town called Westport, ruffled feathers and all. Will they find their path again? Will they come together and learn that life and music and love have healing powers? 

If you want to find out, you must read The Rosewood Whistle, a romance that encompasses Irish music and the beautiful Irish landscape, Celtic folklore and history, as well as love between mature individuals, who must learn to nurture their inner child and set their creative powers free.

***

Lucinda E Clarke, When Polly Won the Lottery

What Would You Do if You won the Lottery?

Does winning a lottery create an ideal life for Pollyann – or for her shadow persona, Polly? Both react and act in ways true to their characters – and both must confront unpleasant truths about money and their influence on themselves and the people they meet.

Of course, there is more to the story than that. Polly and Pollyann is the same person, seen from the outside, and their actions are linked in strange ways. Ms Clarke creates pertinent questions through this tactic. On top of this, there is a mysterious stalker to deal with and understand as well as an unnamed character who follows Polly, Pollyann, and the stalker.

Polly Won the Lottery poses questions about the value of money and if it helps create a worthwhile life. It shows how easily we can get off track and how dangerous it is to lose control.

To top it all, Ms Clarke has a sting in the tail of the story, a sting that will surprise her readers. Read it at your peril.

***

Gabriel Constans, The Last Conception

A Pensive Novel about IVF, Blood Lines, and Spiritual Beliefs

Savarna is an Indian American and embryologist, working in a clinic together with her friend and colleague, Johnny. Her parents, members of an ancient sect, have one wish: to see her married and producing a child.

The problem is that Savarna is a lesbian. She hasn’t told her parents and has no thought of becoming a mother. 

It seems to be a simple problem, but Constans slowly unfolds a convoluted plot that will turn Savarna’s and her sister Chitra’s as well as their parents’ world upside down several times.

The broad gallery of characters presents people of differing races, opinions, life plans, hopes, dreams, pasts, and concepts.

The Last Conception concentrates on family values – and how important they are to maintain – on relationships and why to get children – and — perhaps why not. The novel also poses questions about how far we can go pursuing our wishes. A legend of compassion and love, this book points out that we can always find ways to create a better understanding of one another.

***

Jennie Ensor, Silenced

Silence Like a Cancer Grows

Luke, Jez, and Callum get caught up in gangland, each from his or her position. Callum as a police officer and SIO, Luke as a reluctant gang member, and Jez as a giddy young woman. Each has problems and secrets to deal with, Jez’s mother is an alcoholic, Luke’s mother is dead, and his stepfather tends to become violent. Callum carries a troubled past and relives it in his nightmares.
In the opening chapter a young girl, Solita, gets murdered – a horrid and apparently senseless murder. This happens on an estate that serves as headquarter for the Skull Crew. Nobody wants, or dares, to give evidence about this murder – ‘Snitches get stitches quickly turns into ‘Ditches for snitches’.

Ms Ensor brings her cast to life. She handles police procedures as well as gangland culture in a convincing and realistic manner. The casual way lost youths get groomed and brought into a gang is spine-tingling and intense in Ensor’s prose. Her use of the gang argot brings the shady characters to life.

Silenced is about guilt – the guilt we all carry about in our baggage. It also speculates on how youth gangs function, and how they can take over an entire community. A poignant novel about peer pressure, about secrecy, and about role models, violence – and – money.

***

© HMH, 2022

Christmas Glow?

***

Warm and peaceful

Sweet and hopeful

Dreams abound on certain days

Will they wither?

Will they prosper?

Is it up to us to say?

*

Is the Star of stars a signpost?

Will we learn to give or take?

*

Time has never worked to help us.

*

An eternal question drifts,

In and out, through mind and heart.

*

Wise men seek the truth in vain.

*

Still, we hope and seek and ponder

Is the riddle to remain?

Maybe it is wrong to search

Into trouble and distress.

*

Truths and myths cannot survive

Cold and distant probes and doubts.

*

Stop your anguish and be calm.

Let the yuletide end your quest

***

***

© HMH, 2021

Pink and Blue Columbines

Coloured Pencils on Paper

© HMH, 2021

Reviews Revue

Sue Barnard, The Missing Years, Heathcliff

Inspired Historical Fiction

Despised by his beloved Catherine, uneducated Heathcliff goes to Liverpool. There he finds his way to riches and achieves knowledge of the world.

In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is an almost diabolical enigma. No doubt, he is a tempting subject to analyse in literary form. No doubt, Sue Barnard has built a believable universe for him to develop in. Her writing is impeccable, even if she may not quite match Emily Brontë’s passion. Still, the book left me wondering if it is better to leave the enigma and concentrate on creating other characters.

For my part, and this is a minor element, it occurred to me that the different cast members, who tell their stories and views on the action, all speak in the same voice. Still, Heathcliff remains the proverbial anti-hero, and his descent into perdition comes alive.

Certainly, this was a novel to make you think. About ghosts and what they mean, seen with modern eyes. About the psychology of abused and or abusing persons. About the differences between the seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-first centuries. Isn’t that exactly what historical fiction should do – at its best?

***

SE Shepherd, Swindled

Thriller with Humour and a Deep Insight in Human Behaviour

Lottie doesn’t know what hit her. A little spoilt, but with tenacity, she seeks a way to deal with her unwanted and detestable stepfather and regain her fortune.

Hannah – failed police officer transformed into a PI finds herself in the right place at the right time for once. Seeking clients, she meets Lottie and takes on her case.

Vincent Rocchino lets greed and egomania lead his life.

These three characters form a triangle that will be whirled into extraordinary events.

All have vivid backgrounds, and they encounter traumas to deal with in this insightful thriller that unveils Shepherd’s understanding of humanity. The writing is crisp and spellbinding, the pace breath-taking and Shepherd’s wit is peppery. What’s not to love about the first instalment of The Sandling PI series?

***

Juliette Douglas, Miss Birgit’s Dilemma: Mail Order Bride

A Feisty Heroine in the Wilderness

Birgit Andersson doesn’t know what she’s let herself in for when she travels to the Rocky Mountains to marry Johan Svensson. Leaving the relative safety of Minnesota, she trusts herself to an unknown man and – her fate.

Miss Birgit’s dilemma becomes all too obvious when she arrives in Sinking Springs, a small settlement at the foot of the mountains. In the course of her venture, she meets mountain lions, bears, bizarre characters, storms, wildfires, and red Indians. Still, she doesn’t back down and develops into a strong and determined heroine.

Reading Miss Birgit’s Dilemma made me wonder about Swedish immigrants, and I did some research on this. Most of the settlers came from Southern Sweden and may not have had the chance to encounter the Swedish wilderness. Still, it is fair to assume that some of the Viking spirit may have remained in the blood of the Nordic people. A spirit of adventure and fortitude that would have benefited every single person going to a new world.

Ms Douglas tells the fate of a mail order bride with panache and gusto. You believe in Birgit’s grit and her ability to overcome the difficulties of being away from everything she’s known – in Sweden and Minnesota.

***

Brenda Davies, The Girl Behind the Gates

Via Dolorosa of a Delicate Soul

The Girl Behind the Gates points to the fear of mental difficulties and what was deemed moral deficiency that affected everybody and often sent unwed and pregnant women to mental institutions. The law was clear and stayed unchanged until 1959. The perspective is shocking, and, in my opinion, it is important to remember that this happened less than seventy years ago.

Nora Jennings is a seventeen-year-old who gets to feel the consequences of a single night of passion. Labelled as morally defective and incarcerated in the local mental hospital, she lives through years of brutal conditions.

Sister Cummings, a proverbial Nurse Ratched (of Cuckoo’s Nest fame), is the nemesis who knows how to make her patients, especially the young and hopeful, suffer.

Janet Humphreys is a psychiatrist that arrives on the scene much later, but her insight and humanity bring hope to some patients.

The blend of traumatic experiences, imperious nurses, horrifying treatments, and evolving friendships blend in a compelling document that will leave the reader pondering how easy it is to destroy the human spirit. Yet, Ms Davies manages to convey hope – even for institutionalised individuals.

For me, the highlight was the deft use of the healing power of music. This is a book that will stay with you and make you think.

***

Eichin Chang-Lim, Love A Tangled Knot

A Touching Love Story

Kayla has ideas about what she wants to do with her life. Her friend Breeana’s head is full of boys. Then Russel turns up and turns Kayla’s world upside down.

Kayla falls in love and everything else goes out of her head. Russel is as infatuated, and the result is predictable.

From then on everything goes wrong for the two hapless lovers. Imprisonment, Infatuation leads to love, an unplanned pregnancy, and finally Russel’s wish to please his Kayla results in a long prison sentence.

The reader must suffer with the young pair through the tangled knot of their love story. Eichin Chang-Lim presents a coming-of-age story that touches as well as infuriates. With deep insight into human nature, and with compassion, Ms Chang-Lim convinces her readers that life is unpredictable but still worth the struggle.

***

Ellie Midwood, The Girl Who Survived

WWII. An Unsuspected Love Story

The Crystal Night ended any hope that German Jews could fit into the Nazi system.

Ilse Stein and her family, originally from Nidda near Frankfurt, are resettled to Minsk, becoming stateless enemies of the government. In the Minsk ghetto, the German Jews are separated from the Russian Jews to keep them from fraternising. The fit and healthy must work like slaves in the armament factory. All the others become eliminated.

This is the scene that Ellie Midwood rolls out for her readers. It wouldn’t be right to present the plot here, but among the Germans, one officer stands out through his humanity and integrity. This is Wilhelm Schulz, failed Pilot, unhappily married, and assigned to run the Minsk factory office.

Despite harrowing scenes of slaughter and resistance, Midwood weaves a convincing love story. Her characters are fully-fledged believable humans or just as believable Nazi fiends.

Dehumanising people will always be a danger as so aptly demonstrated in The Girl Who Survived.

***

Caleb Pirtle, Secrets of the Dead

A Murky and Terrifying Study of War and Humanity

A dead man walks through a life of war and assassinations. His name is Ambrose Lincoln: he is a man without a past, although the novel begins at his wife’s burial. Why has he no memory? He could have been brainwashed, or maybe he had an operation.

“He lives in a world where there is no sanity, not here, not there, not home, not anywhere,” the woman said. “For him, the whole world is an asylum, and he is the only inmate who cannot and does not want to escape.”

A Psychiatrist attempts to help him. Her name is Dr Rachel Sloane: her task is to find out if he is a human weapon, or if he is responsible for his actions.

Ambrose goes to Baden-Baden to locate some damning photos and meets the photographer’s daughter, Rachel Gruner. His travel plan is unusual, from Washington to Katowice, over Strasbourg to Baden-Baden. Not by choice though. Other people decide where Ambrose must go and how. Is it for strategic reasons or is it Pirtle’s way of throwing out red herrings?

The novel is peopled by historical characters, spanning from Hitler to Roosevelt and from renowned guitarist Django (here called Dijango) Reinhardt to ‘the men of the shadows’. It is also notable that the two important women Dr Rachel Sloane and Rachel Gruner share the same Christian name. What am I getting at? It seems that Secrets of the Dead takes place in a parallel universe, where the historical events have been reorganised.

The writing is dexterous, Pirtle is a master of deception, the perfect unreliable narrator.

***

©HMH,2021

Columbine

Columbine and Harlequin

*

Pennants flying in the breeze

Pastel colours

For pantomime dancers

Hiding behind peacock tails.

Pierrot smiles with his large red mouth

And Harlequin kisses

Columbine in an old-fashioned garden.

*

Flowers of grace and

Ancient overtones

Add mystery to

Undertones of

Fragrance and finesse

*

Pink and White Columbine

© HMH, 2021

Blue Flower

Coloured Pencils on Card

© HMH, 2021

Are Diamonds a Girl’s Best Friend?

Does a dame need diamonds? Does a lady? Not really. It isn’t carbon or precious stones that determine the merit of a dame or a lady. Yes, it is the inner qualities that count. Does a Dame or a lady need a heart? Obviously. A dame and a lady, both, need the same. They need compassion, poise, and, most importantly, brains. Women can’t survive on their looks only. They need the courage to face the challenges of a modern world. They need compassion to help where help is needed. They need brains to deal with whatever comes. They need strong hands and hearts. They need understanding – and not only of men. They need business sense – and common sense in equal measures. Do they need men? For survival? For gifts (of diamonds)? For a position? For support? The list is endless.

There’s no doubt that humans need humans – for company and mutual support. That kind of support isn’t economical. We can all work towards a sustainable life. Men and women aren’t necessarily needy. They can be – and there are still sugar daddies and – fluffy creatures – who need to support or get supported. What is important is that we are free spirits that dare to live in a world that gets increasingly complicated. The old norms have been blown up long ago, but there are still many people who hark back to a less complicated world picture. Pity them because it isn’t easy to find a foothold in a changing world.

What we all need more than anything else is to realise that the world needs rescue more than mankind. If we don’t come to our senses soon, it will be too late. There are strong voices who speak for that – but they are up against world-spanning lobbies that don’t want to give up their wealth and power. This is a situation that will only get worse. For hundreds of years, we have endangered every species including our own. Madness indeed.

What can we do? As individuals, it seems there isn’t much to do. Still, if one and all decide to change and to talk about how to change, every individual may influence a few people.

Don’t close your eyes and ears to the voices of sense or wisdom. They are everywhere. Listen, and wise up. Be a free spirit and be thankful that we still have a chance. It won’t last for long, but if everybody does one little action towards a better world – we may see a change – and perhaps work towards a new world. A world that allows us to be free spirits.

There have always been people dreaming of Utopia, but dreaming isn’t enough. Oh well, this could be another dream perchance. Is it wrong to dream? No, but dreams alone don’t change the world. One little step may not be enough, but one little step every day, may move you – or move mountains. Think about it. Life could be good for us all. And yet, these are only words. Talking isn’t enough, however convincing. It is easy to brush off uncomfortable ideas, but we’re all in for it. If this is our world, where is our utopia? Will we go down like the dinosaurs? Will we disappear like the dodo? If so, we can only thank our stupidity – and our greed.

We must all do what we can. And going on the barricades doesn’t necessarily mean getting into fisticuffs. There are better ways. Will they be efficient? Not unless everybody does something. One person cannot change the world. But if humanity wakes up and accepts the challenge we face – there may be a chance to rectify a great wrong. We must act together. We must find a consensus. It won’t be easy, and there isn’t much time. Is this the world we want to present to coming generations? That is hard to believe.

What a situation. It’s not improving either – speaking of the virus now. The numbers rise and it doesn’t seem likely to stop anytime soon. Maybe the human race is doomed – we’ve made too big a mess of the environment to pull out of the downward spiral easily. Too bad. Our only hope would be to stop pollution – switching from fossil fuel to natural sources like wind, sun, and waves for power. There are other sources too that don’t spring to mind at present. It would be good to reduce the meat industry from intensive farming too. We all know what is needed, but too many people get rich from all our damaging habits. Naturally, another step would be to stop weapon production and reduce the power owned by the medical corporations. Finally, it might be necessary to make the richer people foot the bill.

© HMH, 2021

Mistletoe

*

Try to find mistletoe

Not for kissing but

To take it in oath

Such plants are ever reluctant and

Bring down the gods.

Twilight plant

Unwilling and dour

But ever sealing our fate.

The Norns rub their cold hands

And smile as the pale berries

Drop poison into

Bleeding hearts

From London Verses

*

*

© HMH, 2014 (2021)

Winter Berries by Lynne Henderson

Lynne’s gorgeous work

It has been a great pleasure to follow Lynne’s thoughts about painting and her technique. Here is her last instalment in the series, a beautiful picture of winter berries. Also, I’d like to thank her for her generous contributions. Now I’ll give Lynne the last word to tell us about this acrylic painting.

*

Eventually, I felt like a change from watercolour and mixed media, so I ventured forth into acrylic on canvas. No need for framing, you can hang them immediately, and I mostly have acrylics on my walls. I found the change tricky at first, because with watercolour you get a lovely fine point to your brush which acrylic just can’t deliver. The small sized brushes I like for detail need to be replaced regularly, so I buy cheap ones. Unlike with watercolour, which dries lighter, acrylic paint dries darker, so this took some getting used to when colour mixing, as well as learning to use a stay wet palette which is essential. I also had to get used to doing backgrounds first. But the benefits are the rich matt colours of real depth and substance.

This is the last painting I share here with Hanne and I’ve chosen another plant painting to stick to the same theme. To chime in with the season, I’ve chosen Winter Berries. Around this time, I began to use creative filters on my source photographs which I find exciting, and which take me away from fully realistic representation. Here the berries have a thin white or black outline to help them look more luscious and to ‘pop’. There are also silhouetted shadow stems for depth, and of course, water drops.

I hope you have enjoyed these shares and thank you to Hanne for featuring me and my work.

Winter Berries, acrylic on canvas, 40 by 40cm

Art website https://lynnehenderson.co.uk/

© HMH, 2021