Cheryl Burman's Blog: Blog posts for readers and writers, page 6

But I still have time

Julie’s procrastination grew worse as she grew older. Now retired, she gave it free rein.
The shopping could wait until tomorrow – the bread and milk would last. The washing could pile up for a while yet. She’d do it all in one go, on a sunny day, make a holiday of it. The cleaning – well, hadn’t she cleaned two weeks ago when the neighbours came for drinks? An event Julie had put off for months, forced into it eventually by the neighbours’ pending move to a new home and their blatant hints...

The Christmas newsletter

The Christmas newsletter is a seasonal writing prompt from our recent Dean Writers Circle workshop.

This year had to be different.

Mavis had settled in her most comfy chair, slippered feet on the ottoman, soles to the hissing gas fire. Wind pummelled the glass behind her, rattling the frames, and Mavis is sure, now, while she’s sitting in her flower-filled house, that it was the gusty, pushy wind that planted the idea in her head. Such a disruptive wind, a wind which shouted: Take notice! I’m...

Hope by the sea Tessy Braun

After more than twenty years, Lorelei has divorced her abusive husband and is about to make a new life for herself in Cornwall. She has happy childhood holiday memories of the place and hopes that this happiness will return to her. Her move, however, does mean leaving her beloved sister Janey behind, together with Janey’s ongoing struggles with her difficult teen Ruby.

Lorelei grasps her new life with both hands, pushes herself out of her comfort zone to make new friends, and is rewarde...

Dog walks in the Forest of Dean

Sammy’s Walks: Dog friendly walks in the Forest of Dean fully revised 2024

It’s taken nine months, many miles of walking and checking and cross-checking, but a fully revised edition of Sammy’s Walks is now available!

Sammy’s Walks‘ easy to follow instructions (the reviews all say), little tidbits of history, and lovely images of the Forest have made the book popular since 2013.

It also made Sammy somewhat of a local celebrity, with visitors bumping into us asking to have their photos taken wi...

The Chronicles of Narnia

I first read The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis when I was about 10, some 60 plus years ago. And then my parents bought me the box set for my birthday. I still have it (see photo), I dip in and read them every now and then, and they’re literally falling apart. Especially The Silver Chair, my favourite.

The language is old-fashioned with its By Joves etc, and the gender stereotypes are clearly defined! But I don’t see any great harm would come to kids reading these books today.

Find Th...

River Witch 99c deal

River Witch 99c deal for US readers, to go with the launch of The Herbalist’s Daughters until 27 November.

An encouragement for those who haven’t yet read River Witch to catch up with Hester and Aaron and their turbulent tale.

You can find the River Witch 99c deal on kindle here, but remember, it’s only for a few days.

Also in Kindle Unlimited, so free to read any time.

Loved it!
In a sweeping fantasy world, with magic and wives’ tales entwined, Burman’s The River Witch will challenge th...

The Herbalist’s Daughters out now

Special launch price £/$1.99 until 27 November – grab it now!

Huge thanks to those who pre-ordered the kindle version of The Herbalist’s Daughters. I hope you enjoy it, as these early readers have –

‘Love, love, love this story.’

‘The last chapters had me in tears and again at the end, as these characters had become so beloved and their stories so compelling.’

‘Intriguing from start to finish.’

‘Intriguing from beginning to end.’

‘Another beautiful and very readable Cheryl Bur...

There is life here

An extract from The Herbalist’s Daughters, the standalone sequel to River Witch. Read about both books here.

A familiar elm rises from the hedge on the curve of the lane, and there is the cottage. White smoke drifts thinly from a stone chimney, both smoke and chimney silhouetted against the bright blue of the sky. There is life here, albeit hanging by a thread. Honeysuckle hides the once whitewashed walls and has found purchase in the thatch, battling mats of summer-dried moss. The grimy pane...

The longest sentence you can where …

The longest sentence you can where every word starts with the same letter. The last of the writing prompts from the workshop a week or so ago (you’ll be glad to know), and another challenge.

You can pick any letter you like for the longest sentence you can, suggest possibly not v, w, x, y or z! And as with the alphabet sentence, it can be nonsense but does have to be grammatically correct. Also – as someone did in the workshop – filling half the sentence with names is kind of considered cheating...

Ten compulsory words

Written on the fly as the words highlighted in bold caps were read out every ten seconds. A lot of fun!

The RED wine spilled from the broken bottle, staining the white cloth. Marcia stared at Alan, seeing the STORM gathering on his face. She’d done it this time. He would be furious, but she’d been HELPLESS in her own rage at his comment.

How could he do this to her? Had he FORGOTTEN his promise, the day of their wedding less than a week ago, to love, honour, cherish?

Now, here they were, pois...