Linzé's Mischief: 17 April 2016

Always an excuse to travel! My place is booked. Yay!

A to Z Blog Challenge: N

N is for Naevus (spelled nevus by my US friends) - noun. A birthmark or mole on the skin.

Now that is a word that I can use. It is short and sounds way better than a ... you know that thing.

A to Z Blog Challenge: M

M is for Miscible - adjective. Able to be mixed together. Applies to liquids.

Sex on the Beach, anyone? Cheers!

Yeah, it was really hard to come up with that one! 😉

See what the other bloggers are writing about here.

A to Z Blog Challenge: L

L is for Lachrymose - adjective. It means tearful.

Just reading the word makes me want to reach for a tissue.

Example: The thought of losing him made her lachrymose. 

Yeah, right. By the time she looked up the word, he would already be gone. 😢

A to Z Blog Challenge: K

K is for Kaolin - noun. A soft white clay, used for making china and in medicine.

I really hope they don't give it to someone to swallow; might be tough to digest.

The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality? 

CHAPTER 14

Early the next morning, he looked in on his daughter, who was still sleeping soundly. She must have gotten in late since he hadn't heard her come in.

Since she was a star student, he didn't impose a strict curfew, but he was still her father.

With a smile, he left a note for her in the kitchen and texted the boys to let them know he was going out of town for the day and to help their sister if she needed anything.

She had still to get her driver's license and he didn't want her to feel she was too isolated with him not being there.

The eldest's reply was almost instantaneous since he too was an early riser.

No problem, Dad, Drive safe.

He smiled at the text. He knew better to say anything, but both his boys would make excellent fathers one day. Their sister was another story, but he thought it was more the feeling of being abandoned by her own mother that scared her, than an actual aversion to having children. But he was not going to decide for her.

After checking that all the doors were locked behind him, he got into his car and put the envelope on the seat next to him.

Taking a deep breath, he put the key in the ignition.

“This is it,” he said aloud as he turned the key.

Three hours later he took the off-ramp from the highway. The commune was located on the outskirts of the town and he drove straight there. Although he had looked up the address, he was surprised that the maps of the GPS had the coordinates already programmed.

Probably because the place was actually well-known even though it was off the beaten track.

At the reception area, he asked to see Lena. Since it was also a tourist attraction, they had added the building, to give their residents some privacy from prying eyes.

“Who?” the young woman asked.

Shit. He rubbed his face. She started using a different name after she left him, and for the life of him he couldn't remember what it was.

An older man came in holding two bags, one over each arm. They looked heavy. The word 'salt' was visible and he wondered why anyone would need salt in such a large quantity.

The young woman looked at him but pointed with her finger towards Nick.

“This man is looking for Lena. He says she lives here, but I don't know any Lena.”

The man put the bags on the counter and peered at him. “You're Nick?”

He nodded. “I am.”

The older man turned to pick up the bags once more.

“Call Starr,” he told the young woman and promptly left again.

Shrugging she lifted the phone and called her.

“She said you can go in. Number seven on the left.”

After thanking her, he returned to his car and drove into the commune. He had been here once before, many years ago. While the cottages still looked much the same, he was surprised to see the gardens well kept and the whole place clean and neat.

“Tourism,” he muttered when he spotted a few people walking towards a large building on his right.

Not much further he spotted Lena's place.

He parked the car, got the envelope and got out.

The front door was open, but he knock in any case.

“I am in the kitchen!”

Accepting the call as an invitation, he stepped into another world.

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A to Z Blog Challenge: J

J is for Jardinière - noun. An ornamental pot or stand for displaying plants.

Sheesh, these plain old ones I am using would never qualify to be called jardinières. The word alone makes me want to throw mine in the trash.

Then again, a spot of paint might jazz them up enough to make the grade.

A to Z Blog Challenge: I

I is for Impecunious - adjective. To have little or no money.

To the rich it may sound cheap, but to the impecunious the sound produces a wealthy state of mind. 🙄

A to Z Blog Challenge: H

H is for Hirsute - adjective. Pronunciation 'her-soot'. It means hairy.

To my surprise, there were not many words under H in my dictionary that I didn't know. I had to scan several pages before this one came up.

My first response, ookaayy. I will, however, be using the word "hairy" in any text, creative or otherwise, that requires the need for such a description. Hirsute sounds like something a woman would wear. Yikes!

See what the other bloggers are writing about here.

A to Z Blog Challenge: G

G is for Genitive - noun. The form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective used to show possession.

My examples: Michael's for the noun, theirs for the pronoun, but damn if I can think of an adjective. If I say "They are my blue pyjamas" I can see the pyjamas belongs to me, but does that mean the blue belongs to the pyjamas?

Do you have a better example of a genitive adjective to share with me?

A to Z Blog Challenge: F

F is for Flout - verb. Openly fail to follow a rule, law or custom.

Skip red traffic lights or stop signs much? Yeah, we call them minibus taxi drivers in this country. 👮

Want to know what the other bloggers are writing about? Look here.

A to Z Blog Challenge: E

E is for Expiate - verb. Do something to make up for having done something wrong.

Hey guys, just in case you were wondering, flowers are not always the answer but it is a good place to start. 💐

The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality? 

CHAPTER 13

Nick sighed into the blessed silence of his backyard. It had been a long week and the emotional difficulties of Sunday were still haunting him. Added to that he had come to realise that he was in love with Annie.

Stephanie. Her name reflected the elegant and mature woman she was, but he would always think of her as the carefree Annie of their youth.

Maybe he had always been in love with her and just never realised it until now.

He swirled the whiskey around the ice cubes rapidly melting in the summer heat. Apparently they were going to get some more rain, but when he looked at the empty sky, he wondered if the weather guys saw things.

His mobile phone beeped.

He opened the message. Come tomorrow. Bring the papers with you. L

He took a sip of the whiskey and deleted the message before putting the phone back in his pocket.

He understood Stephanie's situation much better than she knew. He was raised with the idea that one never abandoned one's family, but having been on the receiving end, he understood why she couldn't let her husband go.

But he could and one day when she was ready, they could have a future.

“Hey, Dad.”

He smiled at the cheerful face of his daughter. “Hey, yourself.”

“I am off to study group. I brought some Chinese if you feel hungry. See you later?”

He nodded. “Thanks, sweetie.”

She waved and turned to go back inside.

He called her name.

“Yeah?”

“Break a leg!”

With a shake of her head and laughter still tinkling with youthful cheer, she left him to his thoughts.

Alone in the house, he went to his study and dug out the key to a small safe hidden away in the desk. It contained but one thing and this was the first time in seventeen years that he was going to open it. He only hoped the documents were still intact.

He had to blow out some dust from the lock, making him sneeze twice, but the key still fit and the door opened on the first attempt.

Reaching inside he withdrew the envelope. He pulled a face. Judging by the smell the mothballs have done their job keeping nature away from the documents.

After closing and locking the safe, he returned the key to its hiding place and sat down behind the desk.

Giving his hands a quick wipe on his jeans, he opened the envelope and pulled out the documents.

Due to their dark and sealed storage space, the paper was still white and crisp as the day he had put them in there. Only the smell gave away their age.

Seventeen years. Sometimes it felt like yesterday. Other times it felt as if it had happened to someone else and he was only an observer to the result of that fateful day.

Whatever he had felt back then, was not relevant anymore. It was time to move on.

It was time to finally cut the ties to his wife.

Read the story from the start on Wattpad

A to Z Blog Challenge: D

D is for Decry - verb. Publicly declare something to be wrong or bad.

No need for any examples here, I am sure. But here is one anyway: It is criminal the way that some people treat their children!

I had to add the exclamation point since it is supposed to be an outcry, isn't it?

A to Z Blog Challenge: C

C is for Cetacean - noun. The name in zoology for a whale or a dolphin.

There is no more monkeying around on this one for sure!

See what the other bloggers are writing about here.

Linzé's Mischief: 3 April 2016

The A to Z Blog Challenge is underway and judging by the number of bloggers that signed up, it could only be termed a humungous success! I checked the website - 1967 bloggers! Wow! Congratulations to the hosts and all the best with keeping up the good work, because work it is to do this blog challenge on such a large scale.


My humble offerings from this past week:
A > http://www.linzebrandon.blogspot.co.za/2016/04/a-to-z-blog-challenge-a.html
B > http://www.linzebrandon.blogspot.co.za/2016/04/a-to-z-blog-challenge-b.html

Sundays are no-post days, so the challenge resumes tomorrow with the letter C.

Both STORM ebooks are still discounted until 7 April, so hurry to get yours while they are only $0.99 each - lots of reading pleasure for almost nothing.

And don't forget to sign up to win an ebook copy of my latest novel, Michael's Mystery. I will be giving away 5 copies, so hurry and get your entries in. The competition closes on 7 April. The winners are randomly picked.

Now it is back to my word count target for Camp NaNoWriMo.

Happy reading fellow book lovers!

A to Z Blog Challenge: B

B is for Boatswain - noun. An officer in charge of equipment and the crew on a ship.

Hmmm, and I thought it was the captain. Now I know! 👍

Spread Some Indie Love Blog Hop - Jordan Rivet

Duel of Fire

Steel and Fire Book 1

Dara Ruminor is a serious young duelist in the mountaintop kingdom of Vertigon, a land of dramatic cliffs and misty peaks where mysterious Fire magic runs through the stones like blood. The secluded kingdom has been peaceful for a hundred years. Swords are used for sport, and successful athletes live like kings as long as the crowds love them.

Eighteen-year-old Dara needs to find a wealthy patron in order to duel professionally and avoid a lifetime working in her parents’ Fire Lantern shop. Her efforts are disrupted when her coach asks her to train with Prince Siv, an infuriating—if handsome—young man who refuses to take the sport as seriously as she does. But the prince’s life may be in danger, and soon Dara will discover that Vertigon isn’t as peaceful as she thought.

As threats emerge from the shadows, Dara will have to raise her sword to protect Siv—if he doesn’t irritate her so much that she decides to run him through herself. 

From the author of the Seabound Chronicles comes a new fantasy series about sword fighting, cur-dragons, molten Fire magic, and one young woman’s effort to prove herself. 

Buy Links >   Amazon

Author Bio

Jordan Rivet is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Originally from Arizona, she lives in Hong Kong with her husband. She is the author of the post-apocalyptic Seabound Chronicles and the new Steel and Fire fantasy adventure series.

Follow Jordan on Twitter @Jordan_Rivet

❤️ Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Click here to win an ebook by Linzé

Spread Some Indie Love Blog Hop - Amy Bovaird

Synopsis: 

Adventurous international teacher, Amy Bovaird, is diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a hereditary eye disease that will blind her. In spite of that, she manages to continue teaching overseas. Then her father’s final illness brings her back home for good. There, friends and acquaintances begin to notice that she doesn't always recognize them and sometimes stumbles…as if drunk! Insensitive students ridicule her in the classroom. Unwilling to accept that she is truly losing her eyesight, Amy resists when the Bureau of Blindness schedules a mobility specialist to begin training her to use a white cane. How can she, an independent world traveler, use something that screams ‘I am a blind person’? Will her faith prove strong enough to allow her to move forward and accept herself as she is?

Buy links > Amazon

About the Author

Amy Bovaird taught English as a Second Language in Latin America, South East Asia and the Middle East. She is one of one hundred thousand who lives with Usher Syndrome—the leading cause of progressive deafness and blindness. She is an author, educator and inspirational speaker. In her memoir, Mobility Matters, she steps out of denial and into faith as she chronicles her progress in cane training with a completely blind instructor and finds ways to cope with the initial stage of hearing loss. She’s currently penning her new memoir, Cane Confessions: The Lighter Side to Mobility. 

❤️ Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Click here to win an ebook by Linzé

A to Z Blog Challenge: A

A is for Aphorism - noun. A short clever phrase which makes a true point.

My example: The hourglass drops the seconds one grain at a time.

Perhaps not the cleverest. Can you think of a better example?

See what the other bloggers are writing about here.

Spread Some Indie Love Blog Hop - Linzé Brandon

STORM Volume I is a mix of fantasy, science fiction and dystopian stories where people's lives are influenced by the occurrence of a storm, physical, moral or magical.
Set in worlds apart from our own, authors of the Pretoria Writers' Group give life to characters who may not seem so far away from us after all.

Specially discounted to $0.99 until 7 April 2016. To get the benefit of the discount use coupon code  VY78L when you complete the transaction. Enjoy!

STORM Volume II is a mix of contemporary stories where people's lives are influenced by the occurrence of a storm: physical, moral or imaginary.
Set in a modern day setting, four authors of the Pretoria Writers' Group brings stories from real life, in sometimes difficult circumstances, to this anthology.

Specially discounted to $0.99 until 7 April 2016. To get the benefit of the discount use coupon code  ZY83E when you complete the transaction. Enjoy!

Enter the Giveaway and stand a chance to win an ebook copy of 
Linzé Brandon's latest novel, Michael's Mystery!

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A to Z Blog Challenge 2016

www.a-to-zchallenge.com

I didn't plan on doing another Blog Challenge at the same time as Camp NaNoWriMo, but alas here I am again, unable to resist the difficulties of blogging every day and writing a story every day, for a month. Although I try to write every day, I don't blog every day. Now I am going to do both. So April, here we come - the authors and bloggers...let the games begin!

For my challenge this year, I chose - words. Random words (that I didn't know) picked from my trusty Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus. Since I pride myself on wanting to learn something new each day, the words of the English language will find themselves to my brain, and my keyboard sometimes with a sarcastic twist.

When I registered I was no 1465 on the list. Just before posting this there were 1487 blogs registered to take part. Wow! If you like reading blogs here is a list you want to check out.  If you are a blogger and want to take part - this is the place to sign up.

If you missed any of my posts during the week, don't despair - there will be a link to each on my Sunday Linzé's Mischief post.

I will be back! On 1 April with this challenge and other exciting posts. 💙

The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality? 

CHAPTER 12

She felt his chest vibrate with silent laughter. She had to smile too. For a moment.

“Yeah, he might not have been the best husband, but he was a smart businessman. Although he knew his decision could be contested due to the Alzheimers, he assembled a panel of people to attest to his state of mind, when he signed the papers. There were lawyers, psychiatrists, and medical doctors. I think he even had a tax consultant present. His family was livid, but there was nothing they could do about it.”

She fell silent and breathed him. There had been no judgment on his side. Had he always been this open minded? She couldn't remember and sighed.

He pulled back and looked down. “Hey, what was that for? I think your husband was a genius. Still an ass, but a genius. By giving you control, he made sure you would be financially secure and not have to worry about his family giving you any grief.”

“Except that the company was already in financial trouble, and I was not equipped to do anything about it.”

“Ouch.”

She stepped away and sat on the stool at the dressing table.

“I knew I had to do something since he had deteriorated by that time and had to be placed in special care.”

“So soon?”

“If he had gone for treatment sooner, the medication could have slowed down the process, but he had been too stubborn. They put him on meds, but the damage had been done. It still slowed down the progression, but he couldn't go back even a year to what he had.”

“If I understand this correctly, he had been in special care for what, fifteen years...”

“Sixteen,” she added quietly.

“...and you have been the one to pay for his care during all this time? With no support from his family?”

He was stunned. This woman was amazing.

“His family was ashamed of his illness. Since they couldn't contest his decision, they shunned me too. It was hard, but I coped.”

“What about the business?”

She shrugged and got up once more. “I asked an independent forensic accountant to check the books. They were sound, but the company had been bleeding money.”

“The family?”

“Yeah. Very expensive parasites they had turned out to be. Houses, cars, clothes, it was disgusting. I stopped all those payments and had the assets sold to recover some of the losses. By the end of that year, the company was back in the black and doing well, but his medical expenses were high and I couldn't afford them on my salary. I sold the house and the business as soon as I could to set up a trust to ensure that he would be taken care of for the rest of his life.”

“And to ensure that it happens you have to remain married to execute the power of attorney.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

She turned around and looked at him. “I am sorry. I never thought I would...,” she stopped and looked away.

“Don't worry about that now. Come here.”

She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist. He felt her fingers dig into his skin but didn't object. She was sacrificing so much of herself and her future, she had to love this guy.

Today they became lovers, but could they go back to being friends again? Or was he going to step away permanently?

He rubbed his cheek against her hair.

“We don't have to figure out everything right this minute,” he murmured. “I still want to see you, but it will be up to you how we are going to define this—”

“Affair?”

He grimaced. “I was going to say relationship.”

“Same thing.”

“Okay. Technically you are right, so let's not argue about semantics, shall we? What we need to do is get some sleep and think about this. What do you say?”

He knew what he wanted. What he had to figure out was how he was going to go forward and how he was going to stop his own secret from destroying that glimmer of hope?

Catch all the previous chapters on Wattpad

Book Review: The Yoga of Max's Discontent by Karan Bajaj

I volunteered to review this book as a blog host as part of a blog tour. The tour was cancelled before it commenced.

I first need to clarify my views on the contents of the book before providing the details of my impression of it. I do not subscribe in any way to the spiritual philosophy associated with Yoga or Hinduism. I will not comment on any religious or spiritual aspect of the story.

I found the story to be long with an old-fashioned narrative style - mostly telling not showing, and limited dialogue especially towards the end. The ending seemed abrupt which didn't feel right given the length of the novel and the extensive descriptions in the narration.

The main character, Max was well developed. The reader gets deep insight into his inner turmoil, personal issues, his guilt and his journey to find himself. The way Max is portrayed as a selfish ambitious man on the road to becoming more caring and aware is exceptionally well done.

While his behaviour towards his fellow man rises to new heights, the increasing distance and disinterest in his own sister is a contradiction which I found disconcerting to some extent. How could he care more about other people and less about his own sibling?

Other characters in the story were likeable and remained in character throughout Max's interaction with them. I enjoyed these characters and Max's relationships with them - some fleeting, and others longer. The longer relationships were explored in more depth and they contributed towards Max's search and journey to find that higher level of existence he sought.

Despite the spiritual content, and my misgivings on some aspects of it, I mostly enjoyed reading the story.

My rating:

Linzé's Mischief: 27 March 2016

It has been a crazy Easter weekend. Francois tore down part of a wall yesterday and it took us hours to help clean up. Bricks and mortar make a huge mess.
We moved the dog kennels and since then our eldest female dog has been upset about it. Tough, it isn't the first time we moved her bed, she will just have to get over it.
I have finished scheduling the 22nd post for the next few weeks here on the Broomstick. As you can see April will be a busy month. A book review, a blog challenge, a blog hop and the continuation of the Friendship Affair are on offer. There are most posts to upload, but I will do those next weekend.
Finished a few books too - three by Amanda Lee (from the Embroidery Mystery series) and one by Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series).
My reading list has shrunk, but not by much as I  still have an extensive list on my Kindle and on my bookshelf to read. What better prospect can one have but a stack of hours of reading pleasure?
I haven't started on my editing (as you can see from the widgets on the left side on your screen) but I am not panicking, yet. With Camp NaNoWriMo starting later this week I am looking forward to some writing too.
I finished the first part in the Intimacy trilogy, My Intimate Stranger. For Camp I will be doing part II, My Intimate Friend.
And now I have a book to read. Enjoy the week ahead!

Series Feature: Bodyguards of L.A. County by Cate Beauman

Falling For Sarah (The Bodyguards Of L.A. County #2)

Widow Sarah Johnson struggled to pick up the pieces after her life was ripped apart. After two years of grieving, she’s found contentment in her thriving business as a photographer to Hollywood’s A-list and in raising her angel-faced daughter, Kylee... until bodyguard and long-time friend Ethan Cooke changes everything with a searing moonlight kiss.

Sarah’s world turns upside down as she struggles with her unexpected attraction to Ethan and the guilt of betraying her husband’s memory. But when blue roses and disturbing notes start appearing on her doorstep, she has no choice but to lean on Ethan as he fights to save her from a stalker that won’t stop until he has what he prizes most.

Goodreads I Amazon

About the Author

International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards.

Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on Deceiving Bella, the eleventh novel in her popular Bodyguards series.

SIGN UP FOR CATE’S NEWSLETTER TO BE NOTIFIED OF MONTHLY GIVEAWAY OFFERS

http://www.catebeauman.com/#!newsletter-sign-up/c9td

Contact Cate

Website I Facebook I Twitter I Goodreads I Amazon Author Page

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