Janet Fogg's Blog, page 33
February 29, 2020
February 26, 2020
Come and marvel at the sunset!
Photo by Richard Fogg
Come and marvel at the sunset!
Lo—a storm is brooding near,—
All the thirsty world imploring,
In a mood akin to fear.
Like a beaker in her fingers
Holds the world the valley high,
Mountain-lipped and cañon-hearted,
To the largess of the sky.
~ Ruby Archer.
February 21, 2020
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review of Misfortune Annie and the Voodoo Curse
[image error]‘At last, a western for teenagers! A brisk, exciting mix of gunslinging and voodoo magic. Very enjoyable.’ ~ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review, 19th Feb 2020
REVIEW
To be honest, you don’t see a lot of Westerns for teenagers. In fact, you don’t see a lot of Westerns for adults. Never mind books! A pity, I think. I grew up watching John Wayne doing his cowboy strut and Clint Eastwood killing the bad guys and never saying a word. So I very happily dived into this YA western from Janet Fogg and Dave Jackson.
First, let’s discuss the plot. In many ways, it’s not a very western sort of plot. The hero and her (sort of) partner must try to stop a voodoo sorcerer from getting his sticky claws on the idol of Necropolis. Trust me when I tell you, the idol of Necropolis is not good; not in the hands of an evil sorcerer anyway. What follows is a brisk adventure with plenty going on to keep a teenager interested. There’s a little comic play here and there and the authors work hard to offer exciting fights and a stimulating historical setting.
Thankfully, the authors seem to know who the reader is. Trust me, not all authors do. Me: Who’s the intended reader for the book? Author: I don’t know. Everybody? What do you think? Me: WHAT DO I THINK!? I’m not the author. Etc. Etc. But not so here. This is ALL good teenager stuff. A strong hero they can relate to and root for. A little comedy here and there to keep them turning the page. A lot happening but not full of blood and spilling guts. And, best of all, plenty of pace and a brisk writing style. Yes, perfect for teenagers!
So, can I recommend this book? You bet I can. Young adult, say 13 – 16, will get a kick out of this. It’s not deep. But it’s a lot of fun.
Enjoy!
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
February 19, 2020
The water has no mind
Photo by Richard Fogg
The wild geese do not intend
to cast their reflection.
The water has no mind
to receive their image.
~ Zenrin Kushu.
February 16, 2020
Joy of silence or sound
Photo by Richard Fogg
Pleasures lie thickest where no pleasures seem:
There’s not a leaf that falls upon the ground
But holds some joy of silence or of sound,
Some spirits begotten of a summer dream.
~ Laman Blanchard.
February 12, 2020
Flood the skies
Photo by Richard Fogg
Darker—still darker! the whirlwinds bear
The dust of the plains to the middle air:
And hark to the crashing, long and loud,
Of the chariot of God in the thunder-cloud!
You may trace its path by the flashes that start
From the rapid wheels where’er they dart,
As the fire-bolts leap to the world below,
And flood the skies with a lurid glow.
~ William Cullen Bryant.
February 5, 2020
From the eyes of the angels
Photo by Richard Fogg
Come and look,
See those dewdrops,
Dripping from that silver thread?
See it glisten,
How they sparkle.
Those come from the eyes of the angels…
~ Staytom.
January 29, 2020
Blue Iris
Photo by Richard Fogg
“What’s that you’re doing?” whispers the wind, pausing
in a heap just outside the window.
Give me a little time, I say back to its staring, silver face.
It doesn’t happen all of a sudden, you know.
“Doesn’t it?” says the wind, and breaks open,
releasing distillation of blue iris.
And my heart panics not to be, as I long to be,
the empty, waiting, pure, speechless receptacle.
~ Mary Oliver.
January 23, 2020
Misfortune Annie and the Voodoo Curse
Book 2 in the Misfortune Annie series is now available in paperback and ebook. Yeehaw!
[image error]A supernatural curse.
A vicious voodoo mage.
The Idol of the Necropolis.
When Misfortune Annie’s fellow Secret Service agent is seen torching his family’s plantation, Annie knows black magic is afoot. Rumor has it a cruel voodoo sorcerer has returned to New Orleans to locate the ill-famed Idol of the Necropolis—an artifact that can raise the dead.
Annie and her Cheyenne friend Wontoa are sent to track down their partner and break the voodoo curse. It won’t be easy. The swamps surrounding the mage’s temple crawl with man-eaters and the supernatural, and if the fiend gets his clutches on the Idol of the Necropolis, Annie will need more than her quick draw to make it out alive!
January 22, 2020
At Dawn
[image error]
Photo by Richard Fogg
Are not the forest fringes wet
With tears? Is not the voice of all regret
Breaking out of the dark earth’s heart?
She too, she too, has loved and lost; and though
She turned last night in disdain
Away from the sunset-embers,
From her soul she can never depart;
She can never depart from her pain.
Vainly she strives to forget;
Beautiful in her woe,
She awakes in the dawn and remembers.
~ Alfred Noyes
