Jo Robinson's Blog, page 81

Guest Author Jo Robinson. Africa, blogging, imagination and sagas.

jorobinson176:

It’s a true honour to be a guest of Olga’s, and I’m absolutely thrilled to be her guest today. Not only a hugely talented , successful, multiple published author, she is also forensic psychiatrist and translator. The most wonderful thing about her is her beautiful kind heart, as you can see from this. Thank you Olga, and thank you too to your wonderful friends for their very kind words. Blown away.

Originally posted on Just Olga:

Hi all:

As you know on Fridays I bring you guest authors and/or literary novelties. I’ve known Jo Robinson for a while, but recently we’ve been interacting more through her fantastic blog, where she shares everything, from her adventures in health, post offices and moving across countries, to humorous videos, and also the posts of many others. Jo is generous in the extreme and she has helped me meet many other bloggers that might otherwise have passed me by. And she’s a great writer, so I thought she more than deserved a visit to my blog.

Here she is!

Author Jo Robinson

I was born in the windy city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, but consider myself a citizen of the world. I live with my husband Angus, a dog with an odd sense of humour, four birds, and some chickens.

My stories are mostly about people, and the sometimes…

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Revenge – A dish best served cold – Just Desserts

jorobinson176:

“Welcome to the Karma Cafe….” I totally get where Sally’s coming from here, and it’s true that dwelling on some bad things done to you means that a little part of you is owned by that bad guy. Sally, however, has turned out just perfectly – regardless of those past hurts.

Originally posted on Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life:

I am not headed for sainthood – the path that I have travelled has had a number of twists and turns and those that decide these things in their ivory towers would have more than  the odd ‘tut tut’.

I have not committed heinous crimes. But I am guilty like most of us of minor transgressions that still had the power to hurt people even if it was unintentional.  Especially when we are young and the empathy gene has not been fully activated.

Recently I was informed from a mutual friend that a particular nemesis of mine had fallen rather spectacularly from a very lofty position to one where a great deal of grovelling was going to be required.  Smug satisfaction set in – he had got what he deserved!  We all do it and we pat ourselves on the back with a ‘well done’ as if we had some…

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Legends of Windemere – The Compass Key Cover Reveal

Debuting August 8th on Amazon Kindle!
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

Swords will clash and spells will fly in the newest adventure of young warrior Luke Callindor, Nyx the magic-flinging caster, and their friends.

With Sari captured by their enemies, the champions of Windemere are determined to get her back and destroy the Lich’s castle. Little do they realize, their battles in the Caster Swamp are only the beginning of this adventure. Trinity and her Chaos Elves have invaded the city of Gaia in search of a relic called the Compass Key. Rumored to be the key to rescuing Sari from a magical island, our heroes are in a race to find the mysterious relic.

Which side will claim the Compass Key? And, what will our heroes do when they’re faced with an enemy whose evil power overshadows anything they have ever faced?

About the Author:

Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.

Blog: Legends of Windemere

Twitter: @cyallowitz

Facebook: Charles Yallowitz
Read the Previous Volumes of Legends of Windemere!!!
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Cover by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)

The Right to Write

Empathy hurts. It is – or should be – a natural human emotion, but sometimes I think it can take the front and centre seat for too long, and then you are going to have problems. Just like any other feeling, if it hangs around all the time it’s going to make you a very unhappy bunny indeed. And I think that all the growing problems and evil things going on in the world right now are making for quite a little colony of unhappy bunnies on this rock we call home.

There’s no doubt that we have made a serious mess of things all over the world, and that if we haven’t already crossed the point of no return we can’t be too far away. Some people are very good at not seeing cruelty, and avoiding the thought of it to save themselves such empathetic pain, or feelings of guilt. I always look though. These days with the wonders of the internet, those of us who might get a little carried away with the empathy, and who choose to eyeball all of these terrible things can end up in states of really rotten helpless pain and futile fury. And then you’ve seen what you’ve seen, and you know what you know, and you can’t ever un-see or un-know. After you do whatever little thing you can to help, you really have to take a step back and do something totally different for a while. Something happier, and without feeling any guilt at not being able to cross the globe like Superman and rip whatever cruel sod’s doing whatever cruel things arms off and feed them to him with a teaspoon.

I wonder sometimes about this old free will thing that we humans are entitled to. I especially wonder about why anyone would want to get up to a tiny portion of all the things we get up to, and then I think that maybe as a species we are collectively off our rockers. It stands to reason. Most of us KNOW when we’re doing or about to do something wrong. We’re born with that ability, but as we grow, and learn the things that we do from our family and environment, we also learn how to squish those twinges of guilt when we’re doing something that we know is wrong, because we like doing it, or because it makes our life easier, or it tastes better than celery.

The world that we live in becomes more and more chaotic, and everywhere you look there is pain. The pain we inflict on each other, and the pain we inflict on every single other species on the planet. If we all used our free will to stand up at the same time and exercise whatever large or small power we do have, we probably would make an impact, but instead we lean much more towards hiding our heads in the sand. We have no control of the family we’re born into, or the way we’re treated by them. We have very little control of where and how we choose to live – finances and society dictates that. We have no choice but to work in order to remain part of this society, and our lives are so full of activities and thoughts that sometimes we never see our actual lives happening as they do. It’s no wonder that we have no more room in our noisy minds to really, really take note of the things that we do, and the impact of these things on others. Empathy tends to get pushed aside, because when we do see something as wrong, we keep it to ourselves, in the knowledge that a very common side-effect of guilt is anger.

That’s where a lot of deeply empathetic people can find themselves in trouble. Everyone has their own opinion and set of beliefs, and they aren’t going to like being told that what they’re doing is bad – especially if they have a little niggling feeling deep down that it’s true. Heels get dug in, battles are waged and enemies are made that way. Love it or hate it, each and every person on this planet gets to figure out how they choose to live and behave on their own. Personally – mostly – I choose subtle ways to share what I believe. If I come physically face to face with actual abuse, especially of the animal variety, I have absolutely no qualms about inflicting a little abuse of my own on the abuser. But I truly believe that most of us are more good than bad, and that with a bit of luck we’ll stop doing the evil things that we do because we want to – in time – not overnight. Even if stopping these things is inconvenient or causes new challenges.

When I write some of the things that I do, I get totally and absolutely immersed in them, and considering some of the things I’m writing right now I get myself tied up in knots sometimes of rage and empathy. The same thing happens when I see all the vicious cruelties happening to millions of beings all over the place. I know though that me shouting from the rooftops isn’t going to stop them, but I also know that there are many people out there that want things to change, so I choose the sideways route in the belief that the pen really can be mightier than the sword. So I don’t shout, and I quell my rage by doing something else – something that I can do.

What brought this on? Princess’ recipe. I stopped eating meat years ago. I still cook it, and I still mention meat dishes and recipes in the stories I write. I don’t lecture anyone that does eat it, and I never will. I’ll give them a recipe. I’ve been pondering this a lot just lately though, and wondering if I’m somehow being dishonest with myself, or encouraging people to eat more meat. Promoting the suffering of animals. After quite a lot of mulling over this these last few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not. I’m a writer. I spent much of my adult life eating meat without any remorse whatsoever. I catered for quite a few years, and I’m a BRILLIANT cook. Also very humble as you see. At the end of it all I keep coming back to free will. For me I think, living in Zimbabwe where you didn’t get neatly packaged bits of meat that didn’t put you in mind of anything warm and alive, but instead were presented with whole carcasses that you had to cut up, made the reality of what I was doing put me off doing it. I personally don’t like anything about animal husbandry and slaughter. But that’s my belief, and I will not impose it on anyone else. Personal choice. We can all do only what we can, in ways that we choose, and whether those ways are loud or subtle, is all down to choice and the free will to do it.

So yes – I’ll carry on writing about anything at all. I write about abuse and psychotics, murder and the inflicting of pain, but that doesn’t mean that I’m encouraging anyone to do these things. Free will. Just as well I get to escape to Lapillus and its dragons now and then, or I sometimes think I might just explode my own cranium.

Image Courtesy of Free Wallpapers

Mourning Has Broken – Carol Balawyder

Originally posted on Feed My Reads South Africa:

I’ve just reviewed Mourning has broken by Carol Balawyder. Carol Balawyder was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec and now lives in Montreal. She taught ESL and criminology for many years. Now, retired, she concentrates her time on writing crime novels, memoirs (see Mourning Has Broken under C.A. Balawyder)and women’s fiction. She is the author of Open for Business, Windows on Sci-Tech and her stories have appeared in Room Magazine, The Anthology of Canadian Writers and Mindful.org.

You can visit her at http://www.carolbalawyder.com

Mourning Has Broken offers a moving and poignant look at grief and loss. In this collection of narrative non-fiction essays, the author speaks from the heart not only about the death of a dear sister but also about the mourning of a mother, a father, a dear friend, a career and a religion.
Her sister’s death tore her heart apart. The grief she felt for her was more intense…

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AUTHORS – ONCE is NEVER enough!

Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:

Have you noticed that when it comes to pieces of chocolate, or fingers of certain chocolate coated caramel biscuits, ONE and ONLY ONE is NEVER enough?

That’s not greed (unless you overindulge) – it’s called getting satisfaction.

And remember how, in Primary (First Grade) School, you had to repeat the ‘Arithmetic Times Tables’ or spelling of longer words until they became engrained in your memory?

That’s NOT torture – it’s called REINFORCEMENT until it becomes natural and instinctive.

Or how you had to practice Field Sport moves, rehearse your lines for School Plays, practice dance steps, repeat phrases and words in foreign languages, until they became second nature?

I’m sure, you’ll think of many other things you had to repeat and repeat and repeat until you got them JUST RIGHT.

Well, it’s the same with appearances on blogs other than your own and book promotions!

ONCE is NEVER enough!

So…

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…yeez wanna help a truly excellent cause? coz, here’s the SHADOWS AND LIGHT anthology… #TBSU…

Originally posted on Seumas Gallacher:

…there’s seldom anything more satisfying than getting yerselves aligned with sum’thing truly worthwhile… Author pal, the redoubtable Andrew Scorah, triggered a tsunami of willing quill-scrapers, donating their short stories to the SHADOWS AND LIGHT collection… let him tell yeez what it’s all about:

SHADOWS AND LIGHT

TO BENEFIT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARITY WOMEN’S AID

37 stories from authors around the world. Coming together to aid the key UK charity Women’s Aid. Stories from some of the best in indie publishing around the world today, as well as a couple of big names. The tales within range from horror, noir, crime to a bit of sci-fi and romance thrown in, all for your pleasure and entertainment while helping make a difference and furthering the awareness of domestic violence.

Great stories, great writers, great cause.

All monies from sales going to Women’s Aid.

…Amazon UK http://goo.gl/16cUvR

…Amazon.com http://goo.gl/shnouD

…the initiative to support…

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Guest Author Sally Cronin. Media, health, books, dogs…and everything else!

jorobinson176:

Meet Sally and Olga – both people and authors who absolutely inspire me.

Originally posted on Just Olga:

Hi all:

Today is Friday and time for a guest author. I had the pleasure of meeting Sally Georgina Cronin (these days Sally Cronin, but she’ll explain) through her great blog and some common blogging friends. She asked me to visit her blog for an interview and I thought you’d love to meet her too. As she was working on two new books, it seemed the right time. But as she’s done so many things and knows about plenty of interesting stuff, I thought we’d get to know her previous work first. I promised I’ll keep updating you on her work and novelties in the future.

I usually include a short biography but when Sally directed me to her blog and I read about her I thought I should include it all, promotion and all (because I suspect many of you might be interested. I know I am!)

Sally Cronin

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Princess – Portable Sin Buns

It’s amazing with how busy you get, you forget your early blogging days, where you sat glued to your monitor with bulging out eyes and sticking out tongue, waiting desperately for someone to LIKE what you’ve written. Then that crestfallen disappointment when nobody does – even though you’ve only got three followers and two of them are your aunties. I must say that I love this bloggerverse more every day, and all the wonderful warm people I now get to call friend. Anyway, I suddenly remembered one of my first posts in those old shy days when the writing always seemed stilted, and you felt like you were peering in people’s windows and reciting poetry to them without an invitation, waiting for the laughter and jeering to begin. And then you find out that bloggers don’t generally roll that way – that they’re a pretty cool bunch after all. Anyway. Now I want to practice rescheduling posts on WordPress, so I shall inflict it on you. This post was “written” by Princess – Suzette’s cook in African Me & Satellite TV.

Ahem.

I have decided to share with you, a very simple chicken and prawn dish.  You can serve it with rice if you wish, or do as I do, and fill buttered buns with it.

I do not eat chicken.  I have seen that it is the one of God’s creatures that has been given the most hardships, and receives the most cruelty.  I have arranged with God that I will not eat any sort of bird, unless he can show me in some way that it is the reborn spirit of one of those cruel people, who care so little of the pain of animals, and so much for the making of money.  The bones of such a bird, I will crunch with relish!

I also do not eat prawns.  Mr Herman once brought four lobsters home from Harare for me to cook.  These creatures jumped to the floor, and caused much terror for myself and Felix.  That cat had his nose crunched very painfully until I pushed that beast off with a broom.  I do not wish to see such things again, and I will certainly not eat the flesh of their cousins.

So I see you ask, how then can you cook something if you cannot taste it?  I will tell you what I have been told by madam and all of her many friends. That my cooking is always perfect.  Why should I not believe this, when I can see that it is true?

I make many things which I cannot taste.  Cocktails for instance.  Obviously I do not drink alcohol, as I am a good Christian woman. But only once did I create a drink which was not very highly praised.  Madam’s friends had especially enjoyed my Pickled Onion & Gherkin Martini, so I thought – what about garlic?  That was thought to be my one failure. But after thinking myself about this, and remembering how Mr Collie had spat it on to the shirt of Mr Herman, who then fell from his chair, and caused Mr Themba to cry very loudly, I believe maybe it was not such a terrible drink after all.

 

PORTABLE SIN BUNS

I make these for Mr Herman to take when he goes fishing on his boat with his friends.  He says that they are so good, they have to be bad, so he calls them Portable Sin Buns.

500g Chicken Breasts – sliced into thin strips

500g Prawns, cleaned & peeled

-  Boil their heads and shells in 150ml water for 15 minutes & strain

1 Tablespoon Grated Onion

1 Grated Clove Garlic

1 Teaspoon Tomato Paste

Salt & Pepper

2 Tablespoons Garam Masala

Oil

Mayonnaise

Chopped Parsley

Shredded Lettuce

Buttered Bread Rolls

 

Brown the chicken with the garam masala, onion & garlic in a little oil.

Quickly add the prawn stock, tomato paste.

Allow to reduce until most of the liquid has gone.

Add the prawns and parsley and cook till done.

Season with salt & pepper to taste & add as much mayonnaise as you wish.

Spread the lettuce on a buttered roll and fill up with the chicken & prawn mixture.

Eat.

A Fairy Tale and other musings

Originally posted on gillswriting:

In case anyone was wondering the moon finally made his pronouncement at about 9pm last Sunday and declared we should all go to work the next day!

Hey ho, another “learning to go with the flow” experience!

We did then get Tuesday and Wednesday off, which is interesting as it was a Muslim holiday connected to the finish of Ramadan, but everyone here observed and celebrated the holiday. Any excuse for a day off, I hear you whisper rudely! Maybe, but I think not. My point is, think about the harmony between the prevalent religions here, IE: Christian and Muslim. Just a thought world.

***

Education shouldn’t be this frustrating!

This past week has seen the efforts of returning volunteers at Good Hope resulting in some significant and exciting information coming through and in my understanding of the complexities of the system I am working within. The great news is…

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