Harmony Kent's Blog, page 13
February 13, 2023
#Health Update for Harmony #Fribromyalgia and @vocal_creators #TopStories!
Image by Anne-marie Ridderhof from Pixabay. Edited in Canva.Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend.
Today, I have some news for you, which I’ve thought long and hard about for a while.
Some of it is good and some not so good. So, here goes …
Many of you know I’ve experienced chronic pain and fatigue for a while now, on top of already being an amputee with chronic neuralgia and insomnia and all the fun that can bring at times.
Since June 2021, I experienced a sudden, unexplained onset of symptoms, which included nerve pain, muscle spasms, and extreme fatigue and brain fog.
I’ve been on high dose steroids since March 2022, and that has brought its own set of challenges. But at least it helped with the pain. From December, I have been on a punishing reducing regimen. It’s been a struggle to stay online and keep up with all of my fantastic online friends, but being online with you all is also something I love.
Finally, in December 2022, I had a consultation with a Rheumatology consultant. When I saw this lovely doctor again, at the end of January, he offered a tentative diagnosis: Fibromyalgia … and it is tentative at this stage.
At this point, I’m in the process of trying to find out as much about this condition as I can and research ways to help myself. Unfortunately, my GP is proving less than helpful, and I may end up completely on my own with this, medically speaking, which includes–and I can’t even think about this right now–not having any pain relief medication at all. His first words upon hearing ‘Fibromyalgia’ were: ‘There’s no treatment for that.’ He then went on to say he can’t keep prescribing pain meds long term. Well, what he said isn’t–strictly speaking–true. While there is no cure, there are treatment options, such as pain management. So, it seems I’m going to have to push hard here as well as find ways to treat the pain myself. Not great, but I’m determined. I have no choice, really.
It may be that I can find a specialist in private practice, with affordable rates–oh, goodness, I hope so!–who might be able to help me manage the symptoms and find workable solutions. Yet something else to which I will need to give time and energy.
Throughout all of this, I haven’t managed to write anything longer than short stories or poems for a LONG TIME. I have a novella obligation this year, which I desperately want to get written, and I’m missing that sort of writing! The reality is that I can’t do it all. Even though I REALLY REALLY want to.
So, I’m sad to say, you won’t be seeing me around as much online for a while. On a daily basis, by the time I’ve caught up on all your wonderful blog posts, responded to your lovely comments on my blog, and interacted on Twitter, I don’t have the energy or brain focus to do anything else. Some days, I can’t even read let alone write.
As you will have guessed by now, I’ve gone the long way around saying I’m going to have to take a break from being online until I get my novella written. This makes me so sad, yet also hopeful that at the end of it I can come back stronger and with a book to show for it!
Image by Anne-marie Ridderhof from Pixabay. Edited in CanvaI won’t disappear completely, and I will try and post here and on Vocal as regularly as possible. What I won’t be doing is be active on Twitter beyond the odd retweet or tweet, and neither will I be responding to all the blogs I’m following. Each day, I’ll try to do some, but I can’t make any promises.
I have review posts scheduled up to the beginning of April, and it is my hope to at least continue with those weekly review posts. But that will have to be a take-it-as-it-comes situation. Also, you’ll see me roughly once a month over at Story Empire with a series of posts on Homonyms, and I’d be delighted if you could come over and say hello on those days!
Vocal has become a great platform for me to express myself creatively and hone my poetic and short-fiction talents. And if I can manage it, I’d like to continue to put some energy and time into that and share the results with you …
… Which leads me to my good news of the day … I have not one but two–yes, TWO!!!–short stories that Vocal has named as Top Story, and I am so thrilled and shocked and awed and doing my happy dance! 
If you haven’t read them already, you can find each Top Story below …
Image by Anne-marie Ridderhof from Pixabay. Edited in CanvaI’m so sorry I won’t be able to be around to cheer you on or say hello as often as I’d like, and I hope you understand. It’s not because I don’t care, because I truly do!
At the moment, it seems that I have to retreat in order to advance. I can’t thank you enough for all your love and support over the years, and I appreciate each and every one of you.
I’d also like to say I’m still open to any of you who’d like to guest post with new releases from time to time. All I ask is that you give me plenty of time between sending the post materials and the date of posting!
This isn’t a goodbye but rather a ‘See You Soon!’
Hugs and Love, Harmony 
February 8, 2023
#BookReview: First Fifteen Times by D G Kaye @pokercubster #lifelessons
Hi everyone! Today, I have a book review for a favourite writer of mine, and fellow blogging friend, D G Kaye … an author many of us know and love >>>
About the Book:This book is a collection of stories about some of Kaye’s first-time experiences with life’s most natural events. Told through the intimate conversational writing we’ve come to know from this author, poignant personal steppingstones to learning moments are revealed. She encompasses the heart of each matter with sincerity and sprinkled inflections of humor.
From first kiss to first car to walking in the desert with four-inch heels, Kaye’s short coming-of-age stories take us through her awakenings and important moments of growth, often without warning. Some good and some not, life lessons are learned through trial and error, winging it, and navigating by the seat of her pants.
My Review:
A quick and easy read
I have read and enjoyed books by this author previously. So when Fifteen First Times released, I grabbed a copy right away. At 92 Kindle pages, this is a quick and easy read.
‘We live, we experience, we learn, we become, and we overcome.’ I loved this quote in the opening pages, which spoke to my own life truths.
In this book, the writer shares fifteen firsts–or, in some cases, almost or kind-of firsts–with the reader, along with what she learnt from each experience. Many of these, I couldn’t connect with so easily, as I didn’t need to diet as a child but, rather, struggled to get enough to eat. The same with the shoe fetish, where I used to stuff the soles with cardboard as new shoes were nowhere near my horizon. Neither did I have my father buy a new car for me or have an aunt and father who could rent me a flat. What I did connect with was the narcissistic mother, who had more concern for her own life than that of her daughter. The lack of knowledge of that first period, I could relate to strongly, as my mother failed to mention this major event completely, and I had many of the same fears and shame as did D G Kaye, which she expressed wonderfully.
While I might not have connected fully with each experience, I loved the raw honesty of this short memoir, told in a slice-of-life fashion. And the final chapter, where the author shares her utter anguish at the loss of her husband–lifelong partner and best friend–moved me deeply. The author’s outgoing personality shone through in this small book, as did her ability to make friends easily, which came through in her chatty, easy-to-relate-to style of writing. I believe that this little memoir will appeal to women of all ages–both as a cautionary tale and as inducing poignant memories of ‘the good old days’.
***
NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.
5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.
I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by 
For anyone interested, here are the Amazon links …
UK … https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08R8XRTB2/
US … https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R8XRTB2/
The post #BookReview: First Fifteen Times by D G Kaye @pokercubster #lifelessons first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
February 6, 2023
Harmony is Vocal! The Safe House in @Vocal_Creators #shortstory #challenge #fiction #thriller
The Safe House …
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on UnsplashHi everyone. I’ve written a short story for Vocal’s If Walls Could Talk Challenge. Vocal’s criteria for this fiction challenge is to: “Write a fiction story from the perspective of a wall that can talk. Write a short fiction story where the wall of a structure of your choice becomes the narrator, telling the tales of the secrets and events that have taken place in front of them.
“Use the phrase “if walls could talk” as the story’s opening line, and give the wall a voice that reflects the age, history, and milestones they have witnessed. The wall can be public or private and located anywhere, during any time period.”
You can find my short story, of around 2,000 words HERE.
Also, I entered a flash fiction piece, which I wrote back in August 2020–how the time flies!–which you may or may not remember, called The Mad House, which you can find HERE if you’d like to take a look. I took a chance and entered this into the ‘if walls could talk’ competition too!
I’d love to know what you think! And I would be delighted if you could read and heart! To heart and/or comment, you’ll need to sign in to Vocal, which is free to do.
Thanks for all your support! Hugs 
February 2, 2023
Harmony is Vocal! Everywhere and Nowhere in @Vocal_Creators #poem #challenge #poetrylovers #Tanka #Perception
Everywhere and Nowhere …
Hi everyone. I’ve written a second short poem for Vocal’s Uncommon Challenge. Vocal’s criteria for this poetic challenge is to: “Write a poem about something rare.”
You can find my short poem HERE.
I’d love to know what you think! And I would be delighted if you could read and heart! To heart and/or comment, you’ll need to sign in to Vocal, which is free to do.
Thanks for all your support! Hugs
February 1, 2023
#BookReview: Captive Hearts: A Persuasion Variation by Kelly Miller @Kellyrei007 #Regency #Romance @bookroar_tweets
Hi everyone. Today I have a book review for you from an author who has become one of my favourites. I’ve loved many books of Kelly Miller’s, but this one left me a bit bored from about 50 to 80% of the book, where the suspense then ramped right up. Here’s my review for Captive Hearts, another Regency Romance variation. This one an adaptation of Persuasion by Jane Austen >>>
About the Book:
Will Captain Wentworth realize too late that he has a second chance at love?
With a successful naval career and a fortune to his name, Frederick Wentworth receives a hero’s welcome from his sister’s neighbours.
One person, though, presents a source of vexation. Years earlier, Miss Anne Elliot had reneged on her promise to marry Wentworth, revealing a significant character flaw. Yet Anne’s unmarried state at the age of seven and twenty, her altered demeanour, and her resolute avoidance of Wentworth raise questions that gnaw at his composure.
In this Regency variation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, the captain follows the advice of a respected new friend and re-examines the agonizing circumstances of his bitter break from Anne, reaching a novel conclusion. But before he can act upon his new resolve, a dire twist of fate threatens Anne’s life.
My Review:
An easy, regency romance read with some suspense
Having read and enjoyed a few books by this author, I grabbed a copy of Captive Hearts as soon as I saw it.
As in this writer’s previous books, wonderful humour and banter permeate the verbal interactions between the characters. Despite this, however, the characters felt flat for me and I struggled to connect or care. After a slow build on mild love-foiled-frought-emotions tension, the pacing fizzled out massively between roughly the 50% and 80% parts of the story, and then the tension really ramped up and turned this regency romance into somewhat of a thriller. At that point, I raced through the rest of the book. Added to this, overuse of exclamation marks distracted me time and again, as did the at-times confusing use of vague pronouns, which I’ve come across in Miller’s previous works. This made for some interesting sentences, such as: ‘Croft embraced Anne and greeted him with a hearty handshake.’ For clarity, this could at least do with a comma between ‘Anne’ and ‘and greeted’. Even better would be to replace ‘him’ with ‘Wentworth’ so the reader can take in the intended characters without having to stop and reread it to make sense of it–especially when a number of people occupy the scene at once.
This time around, I struggled to find pull quotes for the review as no lines struck me enough to stay with me or resonate in particular. All in all, I found this to be an easy read with some suspense toward the end. Captive Hearts gets a strong 3 stars from me. For fans of Jane Austen, regency romance, and historical romance in general, I would say go and read this book!
***
NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.
5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08B8BDLW1/
US https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B8BDLW1/
I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by
The post #BookReview: Captive Hearts: A Persuasion Variation by Kelly Miller @Kellyrei007 #Regency #Romance @bookroar_tweets first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
January 30, 2023
Harmony is Vocal! The Sound of Silence in @Vocal_Creators #poem #challenge #poetrylovers #Tanka #Meditation
The Sound of Silence …
Hi everyone. I’ve written a poem made up of three Tanka verses for Vocal’s Uncommon Challenge. Vocal’s criteria for this poetic challenge is to: “Write a poem about something rare.”
You can find my short poem HERE.
I’d love to know what you think! And I would be delighted if you could read and heart! To heart and/or comment, you’ll need to sign in to Vocal, which is free to do.
Thanks for all your support! Hugs
January 28, 2023
#BookReview: Sorrowful Soul at Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore today! #Poetry #Grief @sgc58
Hi everyone! I have a fantastic review at Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore today. I’m delighted and doing my happy dance.
I’m so awed by her kindness and would be thrilled if you could hop on over and leave us some love … HERE
Thanks so much, everyone, and have a wonderful weekend!
January 25, 2023
#BookReview: Poster Girl by Veronica Roth @HodderBooks
Hi everyone. Today I have a book review for you from an author familiar to me, but whom I no longer treat as an auto-buy writer. I’ve loved many books of Veronica Roth’s, but others have left me feeling let down. Here’s my review for a new book of this author’s, which I received as a Christmas present >>>
About the Book:
A fallen regime. A missing child. A chance at freedom.
By the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent, Poster Girl is a haunting adult dystopian mystery that explores the expanding role of surveillance on society – an inescapable reality that we welcome all too easily.
WHAT’S RIGHT IS RIGHT. Sonya Kantor knows this slogan – she lived by it for most of her life. For decades, everyone in the Seattle-Portland megalopolis lived under it, as well as constant surveillance in the form of the Insight, an ocular implant that tracked every word and every action, rewarding or punishing by a rigid moral code set forth by the Delegation.
Then there was a revolution. The Delegation fell. Its most valuable members were locked in the Aperture, a prison on the outskirts of the city. And everyone else, now free from the Insight’s monitoring, went on with their lives.
Sonya, former poster girl for the Delegation, has been imprisoned for ten years when an old enemy comes to her with a deal: find a missing girl who was stolen from her parents by the old regime, and earn her freedom. The path Sonya takes to find the child will lead her through an unfamiliar, crooked post-Delegation world where she finds herself digging deeper into the past – and her family’s dark secrets – than she ever wanted to.
My Review:
Peels back the layers of the rotten onion slowly for the reader to taste bit by bit.
I had this book on my Christmas list, and Santa delivered! … So did the author
‘When she thinks of the time before, she thinks of the photo shoot.’ ... From this intriguing opening line, the reader is immersed fully into the life of main character Sonya Kantor. Once the darling of the Delegation, she is now imprisoned by the new regime with no way of ever getting out. Until an old enemy pays her a visit and offers a proposition.
This is one of the best dystopian novels I’ve read in a long time. And its message is totally relevant in today’s online, social-media and influencer dominated, information-gathering age. I love that this book is set after the dystopian regime, rather than as it’s happening, and the way it peels back the layers of the rotten onion slowly for the reader to taste bit by bit.
The prose is wonderful and so many lines stood out for me it’s difficult to choose just a few to show here >>>
‘Sonya’s mind often feels, to her, like clay hardened by the sun, left out too long to take a new shape.’
And …
‘The clouds covering the sun are hazy, like smoke swirling across a lit cigarette.’ … I love the imagery and observation in this line.
And …
‘Who cares about a single blade of grass when you’re standing in a field?’
And …
‘… the allure of comfort and safety is like a fishing hook through the lip, dragging a person through life.’
I could so easily have gone on and on with the pull quotes, as the author penned so many fantastic lines. The ending ties up all the threads and is well rounded and satisfying with a twist in the final quarter I did not see coming. Poster Girl by Veronica Roth gets a resounding five stars from me.
***
NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.
5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08B8BDLW1/
US https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B8BDLW1/
I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by
The post #BookReview: Poster Girl by Veronica Roth @HodderBooks first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
January 23, 2023
#NewBook: Menagerie by Joan Hall @JoanHallWrites #shortstories #supernatural
Hi everyone! Today, it gives me great pleasure to host fellow author, blogger, friend, and Story Empire contributor, Joan Hall. Joan has a new book out, and I’m excited to have her over to visit so she can tell you all about it!
Thanks for hosting me today, Harmony. It’s always a pleasure to visit. I’m excited to tell you and your readers about my newest release, Menagerie. It’s a mixed-genre compilation of thirteen short stories. Today, I’ll tell the story behind Ghost Bridge. As you might guess, this one is ghost fiction.
Some of my earliest memories are when my mom would relate true stories that had happened to her or her family. I loved sitting around on a stormy night (or anytime) listening to her. Mom grew up in north Texas. At one time, her family lived near the small town of Leonard on the banks of what’s known as Bois D’Arc Creek.
Mom told of a mysterious sound of a horse pulling a carriage that could be heard at the bridge near the family home. It happened the same time every night. The story goes that many years earlier, a country doctor was killed at the bridge when his horse spooked and threw him from the carriage. Both Mom and her parents heard the sound many times.
Ghost Bridge was based on this story. Noah Stoddard is a doctor in the late 1800s who was summoned to help a young woman, Sarah Bennet, who is in labor. Unfortunately, Noah meets his demise at the bridge. A century later, Kate Moreland and her German Shepherd, Dakota, move to the old Bennett farm. Shortly after arriving, Kate begins hearing the sound of a horse and carriage each evening.
The story takes place in 1978—a time before Internet, cell phones, and instant communication. Kate is a potter who has her own studio on the farm. She meets Mitch Rafferty, who owns the local farm supply store.
Although this is a work of fiction, I drew from real-life events. My brother, who has a master of fine arts and taught for many years, also made pottery. In the late seventies, he gave up teaching for a while, returned to our small town to live, and worked in a local farm and ranch supply store.
During that time, we often had gatherings of friends at our family homeplace, complete with bonfires, cookouts, and yes, a few ghost stories. Music has always been important to me, and I mention several songs that were popular during that time. We also owned two German Shepherds.
Life was simpler then. Writing Ghost Story enabled me to relive some happy moments from those days.
Excerpt:
Kate took a sip of wine, slowly rocking the chair. Dakota lay beside her, his head resting between his front paws. He’d had a full day of exploring the fields near the house. Several minutes passed when a sound came from the direction of Sycamore Creek.
Clip, clop. Clip, clop. Clip, clop.
The creaking of wooden wheels along the gravel road followed. Kate stopped rocking to listen.
Strange. This wasn’t Amish country where people used horses and buggies for transportation. She looked in the direction of the creek. No lights. No voices. She thought anyone out at this time of the evening would have some type of light.
Dakota raised his head. His ears flickered, but he soon lay back down. Kate waited for whoever it was to come closer. A couple of minutes passed. Nothing. The sound stopped at the bridge.
Blurb:
King’s. The Tower of London. Glass. What do these have in common?
Each is a famous menagerie.
While this Menagerie doesn’t focus on exotic animals, it does contain a collection of stories that explore various trials people face and how their reactions shape their worlds.
Survivors of a haunted bridge. Women who wait while their husbands fight a war. Former partners reuniting to solve a cold-case murder.
These are just three of the thirteen stories in this compendium, encompassing past and present, natural and supernatural, legend and reality. The genres and timelines are varied, but there’s a little something for everyone who enjoys reading about simpler times and small-town life.
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/jh-menagerie
About the Author
Social Media Links
Website | Blog | BookBub | Goodreads
The post #NewBook: Menagerie by Joan Hall @JoanHallWrites #shortstories #supernatural first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
Harmony is Vocal! Double Jeopardy in @Vocal_Creators #fiction #challenge #WritingCommunity #shortstories #FlashFiction
Double Jeopardy …
Hi everyone. I’ve written a short story of just under a thousand words for Vocal’s Improbable Paradise Challenge. Vocal’s criteria for this fiction challenge is to: “Write a fiction story about an unlikely pair that meets on a tropical island.”
You can find my flash fiction piece HERE.
I’d love to know what you think! And I would be delighted if you could read and heart! To heart and/or comment, you’ll need to sign in to Vocal, which is free to do.
Thanks for all your support! Hugs
