Harmony Kent's Blog, page 48
January 6, 2021
Basic Plots: Vonnegut’s Man in Hole
Hi everyone! Today, Staci has an excellent post over on Story Empire on basic plots. I love this one on Vonnegut’s Man in Hole >>>
Ciao, SEers. I’m back again to talk about story structure (admittedly an obsession of mine). Love him or hate him, one of the twentieth centuries most influential and prolific authors was Kurt Vonn…
Source: Basic Plots: Vonnegut’s Man in Hole
The post Basic Plots: Vonnegut’s Man in Hole first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
January 4, 2021
Is It A Bird?: ‘Fiction In A Flash Challenge’ Week #30 NEW Image Prompt. Join in the fun! #IARTG #ASMSG @pursoot #WritingCommunity
Hi everyone! It’s that time of the week again …fun flash fiction from Suzanne Burke. I’m right at the 750 word limit this week. Here’s the short story I came up with >>>
Image by RENE RAUSCHENBERGER from Pixabay
Is It A Bird?
‘Is it a bird?’
Josh turned an incredulous stare on Mac. ‘Since when are birds that shiny?’
‘Or that big,’ Meemie added.
Mac flushed beetroot. ‘I-I remember these.’
Meemie tutted. ‘Kid’s stories. Ape.’
The sky rumbled, and the friends stood and stared while trying not to show how much their bodies shook.
In a breathy voice, Josh asked, ‘Was that it’s roar?’
‘Engines!’ Mac shouted, face alight with glee. ‘I read about these.’ He scrunched his face up in concentration. ‘Aeroplanes.’
Josh and Meemie shook their heads. ‘Those aren’t real.’
Meemie repeated her earlier insult.
Stubborn, Mac retorted, ‘We’re all apes compared to what we used to be.’
Josh stood akimbo. ‘Okay, clever clogs. Where did it come from? If that stuff did used to exist, why haven’t we seen anything like it until now?’
Mac’s flushed face paled. ‘It’s nothing good.’
The trio gazed into the sky—now devoid of strange gleaming beasts. The only sign of the object’s passing came from a column of cloud, which slashed across the sky like an omen. A definitive divide between before and after.
Mac told his friends, ‘That’s a contrail.’
Josh swallowed audibly. ‘Well, if those stories are true, we should head back in.’
Meemie nodded. ‘And find the stash of masks.’
A sudden gust of gritty air struck the threesome in the face. As one, they staggered backward and coughed. With their eyes scrunched shut, they groped blindly for one another’s hands. Strung together, they fought their way through the increasing gale and tried to find their way back to the entrance to the underground bunker. The bare concrete space had been their home since before any of them could recall. Only their grandparents remembered up-top from before. And only a couple of weeks ago had the youngsters received permission to venture out.
Through the dust cloud, searing heat suffocated and burned. Somewhere off to their left, a woman’s high-pitched scream reached them. The wail of abject despair entered Mac’s ears, ricocheted around his brain, and then fell—leaden—down into his gullet.
Mac oriented his feet toward that awful moan of dejection. Even though hopelessness curled and rolled through his intestines, he pushed onward and pulled his friends with him.
Too late.
The hatch stood closed.
Locked.
Horrified, Mac gaped first at Meemie and then at Josh. Their reddened, blistered faces frowned back at him. Neither one comprehended. Not yet.
Mac sank to his knees and grabbed a fistful of the deadly dirt. Slowly, he let the grains drain through his fingers.
Meemie and Josh crouched either side of him. Meemie tugged at his elbow. ‘What’s happening?’
Mac recovered from a coughing fit and stared at the impenetrable hatch. He wiped tears from his eyes, only to find that more followed. The only water to be had in this barren wasteland. ‘I guess they came back to finish what they started.’
Josh still tried for amused disbelief, ‘The wars finished decades ago.’
Mac shook his head and opened his mouth, but Meemie said it for him, ‘Great Grampa remembers.’
‘Which means that they remember too,’ Mac said.
Josh’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times. ‘But why’d they shut us out?’
Mac worked hard for patience. ‘We’re contaminated now. Look at us.’
Meemie said, ‘We’d just take it back in with us.’
Josh asked, ‘But what will they eat?’
The friends shared a look. The only reason they’d risked coming up-top was to forage. The stored supplies were almost exhausted.
Josh looked skyward—or where the blue-white expanse would have been if not for this dust-out. ‘Did the aeroplane do it?’
Mac shook his head and spat grit from his tongue. ‘Nah. Trying to escape, I reckon.’
Meemie murmured, ‘Did they make it, do you think?’
Just then, a boom sounded from behind, and through the thick dust, they could, dimly, make out a black plume of smoke.
Quietly, Mac said, ‘I don’t think so.’
‘But, why?’ Meemie wailed.
Finally, some common sense and unfortunate cynicism came from Josh, ‘Why not? The ones who count are all on Mars by now.’
‘But we count too.’ Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Mac pulled her into his arms, and Josh embraced both of them. Mac whispered, ‘Yeah, we do. We count.’
Josh pulled away suddenly. ‘If those stories are true …’
Mac’s heart lurched and then sped. ‘The last lunar pod …’
Meemie grinned, even though it must have hurt through those blisters. ‘Let’s take our contaminated selves to Mars.’
© Harmony Kent 2021
I’d love to know what you think of this short piece … so please don’t be shy and leave me a reply.
Have a great week, everyone!
Image by RENE RAUSCHENBERGER from Pixabay
The rules:
Please put your entry (or a link to it) in a comment HERE or email it to Sooz at her email address. by DEADLINE: 4pm EDT on Thursday, January 7th. Subject: Fiction in a Flash Challenge. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to THIS page would be much appreciated.
UPDATE: The response to the prompts has been just wonderful. As a result, Soooz be sharing all entries received, and her own contribution on her blog AS SHE RECEIVES THEM. Rather than posting all of them only over a few days.
Find Sooz at …
The post Is It A Bird?: ‘Fiction In A Flash Challenge’ Week #30 NEW Image Prompt. Join in the fun! #IARTG #ASMSG @pursoot #WritingCommunity first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
The Bag of Marbles
Hi everyone!
Happy New Year!
Today, Craig has a great post over on Story Empire all about … Marbles! … and writing.Some great ideas and thoughts there
December 29, 2020
2020 #Authors Who Have Stayed With Me @callytaylor @DotHutchison @LynneBarrettLee @DMPulleyAuthor @rachelcaine @michaelcarey191 @Mark__Lawrence @longshotauthor @Dwallacepeach @NaminaForna @LBardugo @stacitroilo @TerryTyler4 @sgc58 @itsmcronin
Image by Thomas Frisch from PixabayHi everyone! Happy New Year’s Eve. Here’s wishing you all a fabulous 2021. This year, I’ve discovered 10 writers new-to-me and one re-discovered, who have moved me and stayed with me long after I’ve read their books. Today, I wanted to share that talent with you. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new favourite author from today’s post 
December 27, 2020
#NewBook: Ghostly Interference by Jan Sikes @JanSikes3
Hi everyone. I hope you’ve had a good Chistmas. Today it gives me great pleasure to have fellow author and friend, Jan Sikes, over to visit. She has a new book that’s just released. I’ll let Jan tell you all about it. In the meantime, help yourself to mince pies and drinks … we’ve plenty!
Karma is a word meaning the result of a person’s actions as well as the actions themselves. It is a term about the cycle of cause and effect. According to the theory of Karma, what happens to a person, happens because they caused it with their actions.
In my book, Ghostly Interference, Jag Peter’s main goal in life is to keep his Karma slate clean.
So when he almost collides with a motorcyle at an intersection, he is compelled to go find the rider and apologize.
Was he in for a surprise!
Excerpt:
His heart in his throat, he circled twice before finding the courage to take a parking space. Long seconds passed before he managed to pry his hands from the steering wheel and open the car door. He took one more deep breath, swallowed hard, and headed toward the entrance of O’Malley’s Irish Pub.
He hated confrontation almost more than he hated the taste of whiskey.
Inside, he slid onto a bar stool and surveyed the room. Leather clad bikers yelled to be heard over ZZ Top blasting from the jukebox. Bottles clinked as the bartender chunked them into an empty bin at the end of the bar. The air thick with cigarette smoke, Jag blinked to keep his eyes from watering. Two burly men at a pool table, slammed the balls with a resounding clap.
“What’ll it be, mister?” the bartender raised his voice to be heard over the noise.
“I’ll have a mineral water, please,” Jag yelled.
“This ain’t no damn country club, kid. Ain’t you a little out of your white-collar territory?”
“Sorry. Give me a draft beer.” Dammit! What had he been thinking to come in here?
“Humph”, the bartender pulled a heavy mug off the shelf and filled it.
Jag continued to look around, wondering which of the leather-clad group was the one he’d almost hit.
After a sip of the bitter ale, he stood and walked toward the faded restroom sign, hoping no one paid him any attention. He had to finish what he came here for and get the hell out!
Just as he turned the corner toward the door, he collided with a stunning dark-haired woman who wore a scowl to match her hair color.
“Excuse you.” Sarcasm dripped from her tongue.
“Oh sorry,” Jag muttered. “I wasn’t looking.”
“Yeah, well that makes twice today I’ve nearly been run over by some bastard that wasn’t looking.” She stomped toward the bar, her black motorcycle boots thudding on the wood floor while the jukebox lapsed into a short-lived silence.
Stunned, Jag turned slowly back to the restroom. It was a girl. He’d almost run over a girl.
Inside, he splashed cold water on his face and stared into the dirty cracked mirror. This business of keeping his karma straight turned out to be a lot of work. If he lived through the next thirty minutes, he’d be lucky.
***
I’m curious. What is your belief about Karma and how far are you willing to go to keep it clean?
BOOK BLURB
Jag Peters has one goal in his quiet comfortable life—to keep his karma slate wiped clean. A near-miss crash with a candy apple red Harley threatens to upend his safe world. He tracks down the rider to apologize properly. Slipping into a seedy biker bar, he discovers the rider isn’t a “he”, it’s a “she”, a dark-haired beauty.
Rena Jett is a troubled soul, who lives in a rough world. She wants no part of Jag’s apology, but even while she pushes him away, she is attracted to him. When he claims to see a ghost—her brother—can she trust him? And could her brother’s final gift, a magical rune stone with the symbol for “happily ever after” have the power to heal her wounds and allow opposites to find common ground—perhaps even love?
BOOK TRAILER LINK: https://youtu.be/NHaLVSe_flI
BOOK PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Interference-White-Rune-Sikes-ebook/dp/B08KW1KFMW/
BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghostly-interference-jan-sikes/1137871003?
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ghostly-interference
iTUNES: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ghostly-interference/id1535082886
GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=PCwNEAAAQBAJ
JAN SIKES
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
https://www.twitter.com/jansikes3
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks
http://www.pinterest.com/jks0851/
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CS9K8DK (Author Page)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7095856.Jan_Sikes
The post #NewBook: Ghostly Interference by Jan Sikes @JanSikes3 first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
December 22, 2020
#BookReview: The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin @itsmcronin @susanW1F #LenniAndMargot
Hi everyone. Today, I have a book review for you from debut author Marianne Cronin. I discovered this book via NetGalley and received a free ARC of this book. This is by far the BEST book I’ve read this year … and, perhaps, ever. It’s that good. This is definitely an author to check out.
About the Book:
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. Their last one begins here.
Life is short – no one knows that better than seventeen year-old Lenni Petterssen. On the Terminal Ward, the nurses are offering their condolences already, but Lenni still has plenty of living to do.
When she meets 83-year-old Margot Macrae, a fellow patient offering new friendship and enviable artistic skills, Lenni’s life begins to soar in ways she’d never imagined.
As their bond deepens, a world of stories opens up: of wartime love and loss, of misunderstanding and reconciliation, of courage, kindness and joy.
Stories that have led Lenni and Margot to the end of their days.
The One Hundred Years is a celebration of life, hope and kindness. The perfect read to shine a light on dark days.
My Review:
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this Advanced Review Copy.
It’s a long time since a book affected me as deeply and thoroughly as this one did. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot will stay with me. I chuckled. I laughed out loud. I cried. And I sobbed. … Seriously, hubby had to fetch me the box of tissues while trying to work out why his calm wife was suddenly so distraught and snotty! No book has done this to me. Ever.
Every single character came alive. I didn’t read this book, I lived it. This is one of those stories that pulls you in so deeply that you forget completely that you’re actually reading a book. I devoured this read and only stopped once or twice because I had to.
Somehow, to give this five stars falls way short. I’d give it a hundred–one for each year–if I could. And I cannot believe this is a debut novel. For certain, I’ll be checking out anything else that the author Marianne Cronin writes. Go and buy this book. You’ll love it. And it will change you. By far the best book I’ve read this year.
***
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
#Christmas #Wishes
Background Image by monicore from PixabayThe post #Christmas #Wishes first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
December 18, 2020
Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Sally Cronin #BookLaunch- #Recommended
Hi everyone. Super supporter, author, and friend Sally Cronin is up at Debby Kaye’s place today for some fun and interesting Q & As and a great excerpt from her latest book >>>
Q & A with D.G. Kaye, #Recommended #Reading, Sally Cronin, Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries
Source: Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Sally Cronin #BookLaunch- #Recommended
The post Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Sally Cronin #BookLaunch- #Recommended first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
Three Literary Elements: Symbolism | Story Empire
Hi everyone. Happy Friday! Over on Story Empire today, Staci has a great post all about symbolism in writing. Check it out below >>>
Ciao, SEers. Today is a two-fer. I’m writing the last of my posts on literary elements, and I’m also writing my last post of the year. And what a year it’s been, huh? Say what you want about 2020,…
Source: Three Literary Elements: Symbolism | Story Empire
The post Three Literary Elements: Symbolism | Story Empire first appeared on Welcome to Harmony Kent Online.
December 16, 2020
#BookReview: SisterSong by Lucy Hounsom/Holland @silvanhistorian
Hi everyone. Today, I have a book review for you from author Lucy Hounsom/Holland. I discovered this book via NetGalley and received a free ARC of this book. I enjoyed this read tremendously. And this is definitely an author to check out.
Before I go into my review, however, I wish to add a note about the atrocious formatting on this ARC. The publishers made it so much more difficult to read this book than it ever needs to be. See the screenshot below that will offer you an idea. Every single ‘f’ in the document was replaced with a symbol. And if that isn’t distracting enough, the publisher then jumbled up the text and put it before it should appear. At least it was in italics, but it was often not clear at all where it should be inserted. And sometimes, the same sentence was broken up two or three times and shoved in anywhere. It felt like trying to decode the Zodiac Killer Cypher for crying out loud.
The formatting was so awful that I had to re-read and decipher half of the text. I know this is an advanced review copy, but this jumbled and garbled arrangement is ridiculous. To perform a review read, I need to actually be able to read the sentences. It took me nearly 4 times as long as it should have to read this book. Because of that I nearly gave up. However, it’s such a good story that I’m glad I persevered. Let’s hope the published book is sorted out.
About the Book:
Betrayal. Magic. Murder.
King Cador’s children inherit a war-torn land, abandoned by the Romans.
Riva can cure others, but can’t heal her own scars.
Keyne battles to be seen as the king’s son, although born a daughter.
And Sinne dreams of love, longing for adventure.
All three will become entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, and must fight to forge their own paths.
It’s a story that will shape the destiny of Britain.
A classic tale with modern sensibilities, this fierce, feminist retelling of an ancient British folk ballad will tug at the heartstrings and stir the imagination. Perfect for fans of Madeleine Miller’s Circe and Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy.
My Review:
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a free Advanced Review Copy of this book.
Sistersong struck me as a mix between an epic medieval fiction and a fantasy fiction read. And, oh wow, how much I enjoyed it. The story and characters grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let me go until the very last page. The world building, the characterisation, and the story arc are all done wonderfully. Every single character spoke to me, and I felt as though I lived this epic tale rather than simply read it. Even the less likeable people felt real, and I connected with them all.
My favourite of the three sisters has to be Keyne, who I should really call a brother, for he is a man in a female body. His fight for recognition of who he is added an extra special dimension to this tale. The narrative switches between the POVs of each sister, and each have a unique voice. Below are a few lines that stood out for me …
Her palm is rough and cool, and it soothes the ruffled sea in my chest.
and
But with kindness comes pity, and that is pressure on a bruise, a constant reminder of what I have lost.
and
… and the princes heard his despair–as an evil tide that drags men down to die.
and
The glib cast of his face is just the surface we see: thin ice on a pond. What lies beneath?
Quite early on, I sussed out that a certain somebody wasn’t who he claimed to be and was a spy. It took a while to identify exactly who he actually was, but even when I had, it didn’t spoil the final reveal at the denouement.
This is a story of family, of politics, and a troubled kingdom under threat from an invading army that has defeated much of Briton already. It is a tale of magic and faith lost–or diverted–and the power of the earth that supports and nurtures us. It is a story of remembering who we are and believing in ourselves. And, finally, a tale of redemption and love.
Whether you enjoy historical fiction, a rip-roaring coming of age, or high fantasy, Sistersong will grab you and pull you down to the depths. And it won’t let you surface until it’s all over. This book, and this writer, get a solid five stars from me. Go out and buy 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.
I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by
