D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 91

#Booklaunch – Understanding – An #Anthology of Life Events

 I am proud to present today, an anthology on life of events that I am thrilled to be part of along with 19 other writing friends, including, and compiled by author and friend Stevie Turner. The book is only $1.00 and all proceeds are going to cancer research.       Blurb: The following authors and bloggers kindly answered questions posed by Stevie Turner regarding significant life experiences they had undergone. These events include sexual abuse, a near death experience, alcoholism, being diagnosed with cancer, depression, losing weight, getting married, being a mother to many children, being the daughter of a narcissistic mother, and many more! All proceeds will go to Cancer Research. Thanks to: Alienora Browning Sally Cronin Dorinda Duclos Scarlett Flame Bernard Foong Darlene Foster Janet Gogerty Debbie Harris Lucy V. Hay Miriam Hurdle Phil Huston Pamela Jessen Joe D.G Kaye Lynda McKinney Lambert Jaye Marie Clive Pilcher Abbie Johnson Taylor Beem Weeks   Excerpt from part of my entry:   Daughter of a Narcissist I may not have a PHD beside my name, but I’ve spent a lifetime analyzing my own mother’s debilitating narcissism. When I was a young child, I had no concept of the meaning of the word narcissist, nor was I familiar with the word itself. I eventually learned that my mother’s behavior fit perfectly into that category. I made it my business to observe her closely, question her lies (to my father, not to her), and learn to recognize her habits and exaggerations in her stories in order to first, figure out the real story by separating the truth of her words without her embellishments, and to try to understand what spurred her theatrical behavior. Her physical beauty was a great aid in highlighting her theatrics. The people she ensnared with her false superiority were those with low self-esteem, men who were enamored by her beauty, and those of us who knew her well but either had never acquired the nerve to call her out or knew better that it would be fruitless to bother. I watched many men through the years, including my own father, become victims of my mother’s charming ways, just as much as I witnessed those same men become morally degraded by hurtful words when she lashed out at them because of her possessiveness and jealousies. Even as a child, I became aware of her bullshit shenanigans, but I dared not confront her or call her out. As the years progressed, I continued to analyze her antics and I still got caught in her webs of deceit. When I was a child, I got sucked into playing a part in some of her cover-ups and lies, helping her hide things from my father. The list goes on, until I too became a pawn in her lies, when she betrayed what I thought was a mother-daughter confidence I shared with her. Many people were hurt for no reason – particularly my father. But I learned that was one of her weapons in her arsenal. She was jealous of the relationship I had with my father. She kept that confidence I’d shared with her until it would come in handy – and it did. If she wasn’t happy, someone else had to be miserable too. I talk about these issues with hard experience and write more about them in my books Conflicted Hearts and P.S. I Forgive You because I lived under the rule of a narcissist for over 50 years.

Guest Author Hugh Roberts Launching More Glimpses

I’m thrilled to have Hugh Roberts over at my blog today to share in promoting his newest – long awaited, follow up book – More Glimpses. Hugh is known for his crafty short stories which reel us in with curiosity, holding our attention till the very end as we await the ‘twist’, which Hugh has come to be known for.   Welcome to my blog today Hugh, and I know my readers are in for a real treat with a sneak peek into one of your characters – Jane Collins from the story – The Jump. Are your dreams real? Do your dreams haunt you? Read Hugh’s introduction to this mysterious story and get hooked.     About Hugh: Hugh W. Roberts is a published author who lives in Swansea, South Wales, in the United Kingdom. Hugh gets his inspiration for writing from various avenues including writing prompts, photos, eavesdropping and while out walking his dog, Toby. Although he was born in Wales he has lived around various parts of the UK, including London where he lived for 27 years. Hugh suffers from a mild form of dyslexia but, after discover Blogging, decided not to allow the condition to stop his passion for writing. Since creating his blog ‘Hugh’s Views & News’ back in February 2014, he has built up a strong following and now writes everyday. Always keen to promote other bloggers, authors and writers, Hugh enjoys the interaction Blogging brings and has built up a group of on-line friends he considers as an everyday essential. Hugh is a writer of short stories and the author of Glimpses and More Glimpses. A keen photographer, he also enjoys cycling, walking, reading, watching television, and enjoys relaxing most evenings with a glass of red wine. Hugh shares his life with John, his civil-partner, and their fur babies, Toby and Austen, their Cardigan Welsh Corgis.     Blurb: Do you believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden? Or know the real truth about what lurks inside every mobile phone? Would you steal items from a blind person, or send your neighbours on a time travelling adventure fraught with danger and menace to save the human race from a bug? How about staying in a sleepy village where many murders have taken place or coming to the aid of royalty while out shopping? These are just some of the subjects covered in the second collection of short stories and flash fiction from author and writer, Hugh W. Roberts. ‘More Glimpses’ gives the reader an opportunity to take a peek into the lives of normal, everyday people whose lives are all on a path full of twists, turns and unexpected endings. However, it’s not only about the humans; nothing escapes the extraordinary journeys Hugh has planned for you. If you are a lover of shows such as ‘Black Mirror’ or ‘The Twilight Zone’ then you’re in for another exciting trip in this second collection from Hugh. Come and meet the characters who had no idea their lives were about to be turned upside-down. Enjoy the ride! “Hugh W. Roberts is back with More…Glimpses, that is! This is his second collection of short stories showcasing the dark and somewhat twisted mind of humankind. Roberts’ witty imagination, coupled with his love of stories from The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, crafts 32 more tales of dark humour and hair-raising tales in a variety of genres, some a short read, others a little longer to get your heart racing! In every case, just when you think you’ve got the tale figured out, Roberts drops in a completely unexpected ending that may make you jump, laugh or even ponder your use of technology! The Tunnel, Baby Talk, Floral Hall and The Right Choice were my favourites!” – Terri Webster Schrandt, Writer and Blogger.   Are the strangers in your dreams real people? My pseudonym is Jane Collins. Unless you’ve read the story ‘The Jump’, from the book ‘More Glimpses’, then you won’t know who I am… yet. I first appeared in a dream that the author, Hugh W. Roberts, had. I’m not here to talk about his dream, but it’s a significant piece of information. Why? Because when Hugh woke up from that dream, I heard him ask himself if I was a stranger in his life or just a figure of his imagination. As a writer, Hugh thought that I was a figure of his imagination, but something at the back of his mind has been niggling at him as to if that statement is true. Now, with the publication of his new book, you’re all about to find out the answer. ~~~ Every day, life brings us into contact with people, many of whom we may only cross paths with for a split-second. However, that brief encounter can be the doorway for people, like me, to enter your dreams. I’m glad, and you’ll be glad to know that some of us don’t have the power to be remembered. Why?  Because we rely on you to remember your dreams. After all, we all dream every night, don’t we? However, how often do you remember what you dreamt about last night; let alone what you dreamt about last Wednesday night? Here’s another question I keep hearing Hugh asking himself: Are the people in the dreams we don’t remember, more dangerous than the ones we do remember? It’s an interesting question and, one day, you will find out the answer. I’m delighted that I ended up as a character in one of Hugh’s stories. I helped him with the ending. I’m not giving anything away here, other than it was the perfect ending for me. A word of warning, however. Once you read the story, don’t judge me. The same goes for when I enter one of your dreams. Don’t judge me until you get to know me. If you’re as lucky as Hugh, you will be able to control what I do in your dream(s). On the other hand, maybe you should tread carefully when you first encounter me. It’s entirely up to you. Who knows how many times you will face me? I’m delighted with the role Hugh gave me in the story. I can’t say whether it’s an accurate reflection of who I am, because that would spoil the story for you. Let’s say that he gave me the perfect role. Don’t be fooled into thinking that if you don’t read ‘The Jump’ that you’ll never encounter me in your dreams. You’ve read what I’ve written here, haven’t you? Now, our paths have crossed. Sweet dreams. ‘Are the strangers in our dreams real people, or just figures of our imagination?’   Here is a first review for More Glimpses: Terri A Webster Schrandt 5.0 out of 5 starsCan You Handle More Glimpses? March 18, 2019 Format: Paperback Hugh Roberts is back with More…Glimpses, that is! This is his second collection of short stories showcasing the dark and somewhat twisted mind of humankind. Roberts’ witty imagination, coupled with his love of stories from The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, crafts 31 more tales of dark humor and hair-raising stories in a variety of genres, some a short read, others a little longer to get your heart racing! In every case, just when you think you’ve got the tale figured out, Roberts drops in a completely unexpected ending that may make you jump, laugh or even ponder our use of technology! The Tunnel, Baby Talk, Floral Hall and The Right Choice were my favorites! ~~~ I am currently halfway through Hugh’s newest book, and I’ll be sure to review it when I’m done. I’m certainly not going to give away an spoilers either, but the last story I read in this book, happened to be The Jump. All I will say in response to ‘Jane’s comment from above is – Yes Jane – it was the perfect ending for you! Lol. I’m sharing my review below from the original Glimpses. All I can say so far from the first half of the book I’ve read of More Glimpses, is that if you enjoy Hugh’s writing style with twists keeping you reading because you must find out how his stories end, you certainly won’t be disappointed with More Glimpses. 5 Stars  – DGKaye – A Delightful Selection of Eerie Tales January 12, 2017 Format: Paperback Roberts has come to be known for his engrossing short stories in mixed genres from fantasy to frightening, and all of them keeping his audience gripped to the sometimes bitter end of each story as he has become known for, his twisted endings that will leave you in surprise from nothing you may have anticipated from the beginning of his stories. Some of these stories are notable as Roberts had shared some of them on his blog, which initially captivated readers and had them wanting more. Some have become classics by Roberts, such as: The Truth App, about an Ipad of the future which has the power to kill off wrongdoers who dare to open the App, The Bridegroom murder mystery in 4 parts with its mind-boggling ending, The Rose Wish, which will have you thinking again to be careful what you wish for, and lessons in the tale of Father Christmas. Some character story favorites are also a delight, such as: Rusty and Richie, and the perils of Martha Dumplin. There are also some other fascinating stories to be read in this book. And no doubt with the imagination of this author, I’m sure we can be expecting more books to come. Follow Hugh W. Roberts – Social Media and other links.   Blog: Hugh’s Views and News Twitter: @HughRoberts05 Flipboard Mix.com Amazon Author Page Goodreads Universal Link for buying Glimpses Universal Link for buying More Glimpses  

#Empathic Shielding and Energy Clearing – The Sisters of the Fey

My latest post at our Sisters of the Fey blog – How to block negative energies and keep energy suckers at bay with energy clearing.   HOW TO AVOID BEING DRAINED BY ENERGY SUCKERS WITH SHIELDING AND TOOLS TO AID IN CLEARING   As empaths we absorb thoughts, feelings, and emotions of others. We are highly sensitive to energies, people, places, and nature. For those of us who are empaths and often find ourselves being caught up in people’s orbits who constantly lean to us when their life is in turmoil, just know there is help for us to shield ourselves from being drained by low energies, we have only to learn how to use these tools. The difference between being empathetic and being an empath is empathetic people feel for someone’s unhappy situation whereas an empath actually takes in the vibes of someone, almost like a sponge absorbing feelings, regardless of the emotion they are giving off whether happy, sad, angry etc. When we’re around negative people giving off their vibes and toxic energy there are a few things we can do to repel those energies from penetrating into our own emotions. How can we avoid attracting these negative energies when we’re empaths who tend to attract too many feelings? Only what we allow ourselves to give our power to is what can affect us. What permits other’s energy to enter us is when we sympathize with them, leaving us feeling compelled to help. We as empaths, have a dire need to fix people, creating a bond between us and the person in need. We absorb their need for help and that energy stays within us, depleting our own positive energy. A good head start to avoiding energy draining is to stay protected by first paying attention to our senses. If we begin to feel sensory overload from toxic energy, we must train ourselves to create a mental shield for protection. Besides learning how to shield, it’s important to learn to recognize whose energies around us are stealing our good energy and learning how to keep those people out of our spaces. To limit the amount of people who steal our energy, we must learn to practice avoiding such people. But there will always be times when people will enter our orbit and we may not be able to avoid them, and in those times, it’s time to turn on the shielding.   HOW TO SHIELD In order to stay grounded and not enable bad energies to seep into our psyches we must first ground ourselves and set intention. By setting intention we first focus on our desire to shield and sending good vibes out to the universe. Often, setting these intentions will drive vibrations, sometimes making the negative person wanting to leave your presence, not wanting the good you project, but we won’t always get that lucky so we must learn how to deflect. Picture yourself centered surrounded by pink light. . . . Continue reading     Source: Empathic Shielding and Energy Clearing – The Sisters of the Fey

Sunday Book Review – The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My Sunday Book Review is on Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. This was another book that was patiently sitting on my bookshelf awaiting my eyes. As a person who is guided by universal messages, I found this book the perfect read to ignite my belief that when we have the desire and passion to follow our dreams we should follow them.     Blurb: A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho. Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago’s journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.   My 5 Star Review: Journey of the heart An enchanting tale narrated by Santiago, a young shepherd boy living in Andalusia, whose dreams and aspirations lead him on a magical journey of self-discovery to follow his curiosity. His goal is to reach the great pyramids of Egypt and his travels lead him to meeting some interesting people along the way – some good, some bad – all of which have lessons to teach him. This book put Coelho on the map for the wisdom of words that made him famous – a classic literary masterpiece. We have much to learn through Santiago’s journey, teaching us to pay attention to our hearts and dreams through experience and omens as Santiago learns to analyze life through his journey. We’ll find love, adversity and true life lessons from this sensitive and wise young shepherd as he gains knowledge throughout his travels, only to discover he knew the secrets of his real desires all along. This is a book you may want to read over many times throughout life as there are so many nuggets of wisdom we can take from it, and for those moments in life when we can use a little inspiration.

Moving Photographs from the last 100 years – #Haibun – Colleen Chesebro’s #Poetry Challenge

This week for Colleen Chesebro’s Weekly Poetry Challenge, I thought I’d try my hand at a Haibun and incorporate my Haibun with a powerful video that Sally Cronin recently shared at her Smorgasbord Invitation. Profound moments of time in the last 100 years of humanity. Powerful, memorable, and poignant moments in time.     Poetry Rules: – Choose your form of poetry and use SYNONYMS ONLY for the words – Hobby and Play I’ve chosen to write a Haibun with a double Haiku     Humanity   I believe with all the madness in the world, these moments in times of turmoil serve as reminders of ongoing world struggles we live through and somehow overcome. But the past has a way of resurfacing. This video is a quick refresher course on some of the biggest things in life that can happen to us – things we often take for granted thinking  they’ve been eradicated – things we think won’t happen again. But they do.   Life is like a sport We keep on striving to win Winners and losers   Keep sight of the wins The alternatives are dire Lives become the game   Source: Smorgasbord Afternoon Video – Moving Photographs from the last 100 years. | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine    

#WATWB – Swedish Teen Activist Greta Thunberg Nominated for Nobel Peace #ClimateAction

Every last Friday of the month We are the World Blogfest members post something inspirational to highlight some of the good being done in this world to deflect from all the negativity.   This month I have chosen to share this most awe inspiring young girl who is fighting to save the environment for her generation. The world should be concerned and doing their part to start helping out the future. Greta began taking off Friday’s at school in October 2018, to go sit in front of parliament to protest for climate change. Eventually, the numbers grew deeper with many who joined her. By December 2018, over 270 joined the protests every Friday around the world. By February 2019 scientists around the world joined the movement and Belgian Environment Minister resigns. Friday March 15 2019, she asked the world to ‘skip school’  for world student Friday protest. Listen to this brilliant mind. This girl is who Nobel Prizes are meant for.   Tomorrow we school strike for the climate in 1769 places in 112 countries around the world. And counting. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is needed. Let’s change history. And let’s never stop for as long as it takes. #fridaysforfuture #schoolstrike4climate #climatestrike pic.twitter.com/xpCLQN8icv — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) March 14, 2019   Enjoy both videos. The first one is Greta’s speech, the second one is a powerful video clip with background information. #FridaysForFuture       TedX Talk with inspirational Greta Thunberg   Your cohosts for this month are:  Shilpa Garg,  Sylvia McGrath , Belinda WitzenHausen, Dan Antion,Damyanti Biswas.   If you’d like to take part in sharing a post for #WATWB, please add your post HERE   Source: Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Peace Prize – The Globe and Mail

I’ve Been Interviewed – WRITING: THE WHOLE TRUTH | Leslie Tate

I’m delighted to share my featured interview at Leslie Tate’s blog. I did the interview last fall and was pleasantly surprised to find it featured the week I returned from winter hiatus. Please enjoy.     Leslie: As a blogger, what else do you write about that you haven’t mentioned so far? Debby: I’m an eclectic mix of thought and that’s what you’ll usually get on my blog. I like to limit my posts to three times a week on average as I feel that way I’m not chained to my blog and I don’t overwhelm my readers with too many posts. On my blog I have my Sunday Book Reviews where I share a review of a book I recently read. On Tuesdays I usually share a post of something I’ve written myself. That can range from a memoir byte – a story relating to my writing, a rant – where I tell of a recent experience I witnessed or encountered where I found injustice, or sharing news about a recent event. Often, I’ll reblog an interview or feature I recently wrote for at someone else’s blog. Fridays used to be reserved for my author guest interviews, which somehow got lost in the shuffle this past year, but I will be resuming next March, with a little restructuring. For now, I like to share contest news, reblog something from another writer that I feel is pertinent to my readers, or feature a post on writing tips where I share links I’ve accumulated through the week which I feel will be helpful for other writers. I am also part of the ‘We are the World Blogfest’ team – #WATWB where writers participate the last Friday of every month in sharing something good that’s going on in the world to deflect some of the negativity we so often hear on the news. And lastly, I also run another blog with my Seven Sisters of the Fey, where we take turns writing on all things magical and mystical from fairies to horoscopes and tarots, to numerology and crystals, and angels and intuition are my specialty.   Leslie: You review other people’s books. Can you describe, please, what’s distinctive about your online book reviews? Debby: I think every book reviewer has their own style unique to how they feel about a book. My reviews are not tomes, yet, I believe they focus on the ‘meat’ of the stories and how those stories left me feeling. Every reviewer is different. Some like to recap a whole book, and others choose to dissect a book down to every typo or grammatical error. If I enjoyed a book, I like to share my opinion about it, hoping that somebody else may too enjoy it. I have a personal motto that I don’t review books that aren’t worthy of 4 and 5 stars. If I start reading a book that I find is in serious need of good editing, too much head hopping that has me having to go back a page every time to figure out who the author is talking about, I’ll usually stop reading the book. As an author myself who fears the dreaded crappy reviews, I can’t bring myself to give another author a bad review. On the same note I’d like to add that because all my reviews are 4 and 5 stars, that in no way indicates I rated the book so to appease an author. To repeat, I’ll only write a review for books deserving of those ratings. . . please continue reading.     Source: WRITING: THE WHOLE TRUTH | Leslie Tate

Musical Review: – Jersey Boys and Some Observations

Something a little different for me here, reviewing a play – Jersey Boys, instead of a book.   Last Saturday, my husband and I went to a play together – something we’ve never done together. I love going to plays and musicals, and those events are usually reserved for girlfriend time. My hub is much happier watching sports.   My husband’s brother called us when we returned from our holiday to say hello, but he also express great enthusiasm for a play his children bought him tickets to go see – the Jersey Boys. His kids knew he would love it because of the era of music, and he surely did. He loved it so much he wanted his brother to go see the musical with me and sent us a pair of tickets! He urged me to pull up some videos of the play on Youtube to show my hub clips of the music. I knew my hub would be curious to go and could almost rest assured that he wouldn’t fall asleep while watching – the reason we don’t normally go to plays together, lol. We took the subway down and walked half a block to the theater. It turned out to be a freezing cold windy and snowy day as a prank reminder that Mother Nature was not yet done with winter in our city. I was thrilled to actually be going with my husband despite that era of music which is not my most favorite genre, and boy, did I get a surprise. We arrived in our seats approximately 20 minutes before the show began. While waiting I was surveying the layout of the theater and thought to myself how expensive the seats are considering the width of the seats felt tighter than an airplane, there were no cup holders for expensive drinks,  and I took notice that every 2 rows were raised a tiny bit higher than the previous rows to aid in viewing But I knew I wasn’t going to be able to see because the increments in raised levels was unremarkable. Sure enough, the giraffe and the tall lady with the humongous hair sat right in front of me. ‘Nuff said. The show was fabulous! There were some terrific talent in that cast – both singing and acting. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Frankie Valli’s life leading to the formation of the group, the Four Seasons and beyond. The story was a well written mini biography of the persistence of Valli to keep his band together despite the many pitfalls they endured, the original member’s backgrounds, friendships, relationships, and how the lyrics for their songs came to be. This band along with so many who strive to make it in the music world, took a lot of lumps along their way to stardom, and the many pitfalls of fame when it comes too fast. The artist’s struggle took me back to the days when I too was a struggling singer with aspirations of ‘making it’, and in those days, the music industry wasn’t big in Toronto. Like the old adage reminds – it’s not how good you are, but who you know. I didn’t know the right people, and often one hopeful meeting led to another when ultimately, I was faced with some shady characters. That’s when I gave up pursuing my dream, but Valli endured toward his own. The music was fabulous, but as a writer, I’m always drawn to story line. and I thought the show had some great writing for the story to be told through music and words. As we continued to watch, clap along, and sing in our chairs, I scanned the room in preparation for intermission – when I planned to move so I could actually see the play without crooking my neck. We crossed over to an empty row one section over and the second half of the play was much more enjoyable. I loved the way the scenes were set up into seasons: Spring was the beginning of the group, summer were their heydays. fall was the beginning of problems surfacing, personally and monetarily, and winter was the calm – the breaking up of the original group and Valli making it on his own with a new band. Courage, persistence, and luck brought Valli to fame at a young age. And despite finally reaching fame, as is common with young artists, nobody was really minding the shop – the business side of being a performer, just like the marketing and self-publishing a writer must add to their repertoire. Four guys started a band, worked for peanuts, slept in dives. did menial side jobs on the side to survive the lean times. One was a tough guy-mobster wannabe, but he made all the gig connections and brought the group to fame.  There were relationship problems at their homefronts and behind the stage, and they all had their demons. It reminded how much artists struggle to reach that pinnacle of fame. The show was an entertaining inside look into the making of a musical legend and the pitfalls and highlights along the way. I’m so glad we went. We rode the subway home. I couldn’t get over how crowded the trains were at 5pm on a Saturday, reminding me just how crowded our city is, not just on the roads. We stepped into the train and hung on to the hand strap, squashed in a crowd. Three stops later, a woman stood up to leave and I held her seat for my husband. An Asian woman sitting beside him was preoccupied on her mobile phone but took a moment to look up at me and did a hand signal language,. asking if I’d like her seat.  She didn’t look much younger than I am and I couldn’t decide in that moment if I was flattered she’d offered or if I looked old enough for her to feel I needed the seat.. But maybe I think too much. I was grateful to learn that there were still courteous people around either way. I smiled in appreciation, and signaled to her I was fine. It was a good day.   I found this clip of the British cast with a segment of the play on Youtube:      

Sunday Book Review – All the Light We Cannot See by Best Selling Author, Anthony Doerr

My Sunday Book Review is on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel – All The Light We Cannot See. I’ve had this book on my shelves for over a year now and so glad I took it with me on vacation. I was a bit apprehensive to read at first because I wondered how a big book with well over 500 pages would keep my attention, but it surely did. With over 24,000 reviews averaging just over 4 1/2 stars, it seems I’m not the only one who loved this story.     Blurb: WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.   My 5 Star Review: This story takes place during the early years leading up to World War II, through the war years when France becomes occupied by the Nazis. We are introduced into the lives of the main characters – Marie-Laure, a young blind girl living with her father in Paris, and young Werner, a young German boy fascinated by radio communications, fixings radios as a hobby. Marie-Laure’s father is the keeper of the keys for the National Museum in Paris. He smokes a lot, thinks a lot, loves his daughter a lot, and is brilliant at creating replica models. He creates a model of the neighborhood and partial city in miniature form so his daughter can feel with her hands how to get about town with her cane. In another country, young Werner lives with his sister Jutta, at a small orphanage, and his fascination with putting radios together from collecting small parts ultimately leads to a Hitler Youth organizer discovering his talents and recruiting him to the program to work on electronic communications. Werner is a sensitive boy whose fascination with radios has more to do with wanting to learn what is going on in the world rather than having any interest to become a Nazi. As the war escalates, Marie-Laure and her father flee to Saint-Malo to stay with an estranged uncle to escape occupied Paris. Once there, her father builds a new model layout of the town for ML to familiarize herself in her new surroundings, and inside that tiny model is where he chose to hide the sought after Sea of Flames diamond he was commissioned to deliver for the museum when he fled from Paris. The stone has a legend and curse attached to it and it brings an interesting new element to the story. When ML’s father sets out to deliver a message back to Paris, he never returns, and his daughter remains with her uncle and Madame Manec, who looks after the house and who later joins the resistance. Eventually, ML receives some letters from her father, beautifully written letters disguising the truth of his upcoming demise. The story continues with how Marie-Laure manages to survive despite near freezing and starvation and being sought out by the Nazis, while Werner being groomed to become a soldier endures despite the evil and torture he sees among his own people, numbing him to human emotion and humiliation, knowing he can’t succumb to that evil that breeds around him. Werner is almost shocked at what he has become part of and tends to live in his mind, talking to himself, a poignant line “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.” Meanwhile, as occupation grows into Saint-Malo, Marie-Laure becomes privy to Mme Manec’s secret meetings as she becomes part of the resistance, becoming bolder herself. This book is full of beautiful metaphors on life as seen through the eyes of these innocent children growing up in a world that is changing around them. The author has done a fabulous job of evoking all the thought and emotion these characters take on, striking the heart of our own emotions. The book is written in a clever way – in bite sized chapters with no more than 4 pages in each chapter, alternating between the two separate lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, and eventually connecting them much later in the book. Personally, I’ve never read a book like this one. There is so much to cover with layers of brilliant prose, sometimes quite poetic by this talented author. Many pages per chapter are unnecessary because the storyline is perfectly painted into our imaginations. Aptly titled, for the story is darkness with brilliant moments of light acknowledging the brighter moments of thought and memories by the two main characters. Definitely a book that will stay with me for some time.    

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Sunday Interview – Getting to Know author D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

I’ve been featured at Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord to be part of her ‘Getting to Know You’ series. Sally has given a choice of questions to answer. I find with every interview we read about our writing friends we can find new things about them that we wouldn’t otherwise know about. I enjoyed the images Sally has chosen to highlight my answers. Enjoy my answers.   Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Sunday Interview – Getting to Know author D.G. Kaye     You might think that as popular and D.G. Kaye (Debby Gies) is in our community that there was little more to find out about her… I beg to differ as you will find out.   Now time to find out which of the five questions Debby has selected to respond to…. Thanks for having me over Sal. I chose these 5 questions because often my personal habits and preferences spill into my writing. As many of my readers know, lots of my life is in my books as I share my stories to enlighten others. My stories of defeat, triumph and overcoming also include some of my shopping peeves, travel stories and overcoming a low self-esteem, and of course, the love for my father, so I’ve chosen the following questions to answer.   How would you describe your fashion sense? My fashion sense began as a small child when I was fascinated by the way my mother dressed – stylish and trendy. I didn’t need to be too old to know that was how I wanted to dress when I got older. But being self-conscious about how I looked since childhood cautioned me as I grew into a teen that not everything that suited others necessarily suited me or my body type. I learned young how to wear things that accentuated my better parts instead of dwelling on the parts I wasn’t happy with. Eventually, I developed a style of my own that suited me best, yet, was often original and not what everybody else was wearing. I’d have to say that my style is somewhere between eclectic, bohemian, and became bolder as I grew older and into myself. I’m pretty sure I was born with a knack for fashion and tried lots of things until I grew into myself. I’m a big fan of bold prints and colors and I love everything leopard LOL. I often get complimented for clothes I wear by complete strangers while out and about, often adding that they wouldn’t have the guts to dress like me, but I seem to be able to pull it off because it suits me and my personality. I think many are afraid to step out of their comfort zones when trying out trendier styles and that has a lot to do with self-esteem. I know from myself when I was a teen, I liked more subdued clothing because I was happier blending into a crowd. But after I came out of my shell I became somewhat of a fashionista.   If you could get rid of one household chore, what would it be? Vacuuming! I will be blunt here – I hate vacuuming! It’s hard on the back, never fits in the crevices I need it to, it’s loud, and I don’t like loud. I could probably use a new one, but I keep procrastinating about buying a new one because I hate to spend money on something I hate doing. I’m on the fence about what kind of vacuum I’d buy next and seriously contemplating getting one of the robotic ones that go around the floors by themselves. I’m opened to hearing about anyone who loves their vacuum? Lol.  Please continue reading at Sally’s blog.   Source: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Sunday Interview – Getting to Know author D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine