Life without freedom
Unnaturally preserved
Hope for the future
The Brown Bear was once a resident of these isles and very much a part of both our history and legends. A few years ago, I took my son to Whipsnade and wrote about the conservation work being done there and the possibility of reintroducing these and other beautiful creatures that no longer live here in the wild.
Reblogged from Myths of the Mirror:
I took a last-minute break to finish the 5th draft of my trilogy: Unraveling the Veil. Phew. Done. Now I can celebrate start my next draft. Yay! Ugh!
This project has been in the works for 2 years, and I plan to start publishing in May August if all goes well.
I thought I’d share a slightly-condensed intro to my WIP’s main characters, starting with Naj’ar, a goblin. I hope you enjoy the read.
Cover concept
Bats squeaked in the blackness, and an enduring cold leached from the walls. Neither troubled Naj’ar. His kind were accustomed to the leather-winged company, and his muscled frame, though half-elven, tolerated the chill almost as well as the purebloods. A shaggy fur draped his shoulders as he navigated the tunnelways beneath the mountain.
Continue reading at Myths of the Mirror
In silence they stand and drink in the view
The sound of the waterfall, music to their ears
The lilly flowers a sight bright and new
They had seen nothing like this for years.
The beauty of nature, it sights and it’s smells
Had almost been forgotten lost for years.
Continue reading at willowdot21
Next week I’ll be announcing the launch date for my latest book, Publication Guaranteed (well, almost!). Here’s an extract from the beginning of the chapter on writing competitions:
Is it a dream of yours to win a writing competition? To have your writing truly recognised? To know your story was the best? As a winner of several writing competitions, I know first-hand how special writing competitions are. Doing well in a competition changes how you think about your writing. It gives it authority, whether you’re shortlisted or a winner. It’s something to put at the top of your writing CV and it can lead to other work. Succeeding in competitions made me realise I could write and if my writing was good enough to win such well-known competitions, it was good enough to send out to editors.
Another attraction of writing competitions is they’re great fun to enter. Many…
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Earth’s beauty
Working magic
A canvas
Painted
By
Nature
Reblogged from Ritu Bhathal at But I Smile Anyway
Sometimes he wondered what it was like, to be a fish. It must be very peaceful. James could imagine the brown cool waters closing over his head, the water life swimming around him, a wealth of good food in green muck. He could also imagine a bigger fish, mouth gaping wide and coming for him with the speed of disaster.
Continue reading at Wallie’s Wentletrap
When we are all allowed to go out and play together, my two-legses sometimes let me share their adventures. It depends if there are going to be sheep and stuff. Not that I mind sheep… much… but ‘pparently, the sheep aren’t always happy to share their fields. She says it’s because they think I’m a wolf or something. Daft things.
So, on this partic’lar day, I’d been promised an Adventure… and although I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, it sounded even more fun that sharing their lunch. It took me a while to get ’em moving. The sunniest of days and they were just sitting there. Okay, it was hot and there was cheese, so p’rhaps they could be forgiven. As long as they shared.
When they got the harness out, I thought we were just going for a walk. I may have got a bit excited… just by way of encouraging them, you know. It’s ages since they’ve both been out in the fields with me. But instead of heading down the street, they took me to the car and fastened me in the back seat. Now, I’d best explain… normally when I get in a car, it means they are going on Adventures and I get to go and stay with my friends. I thought that’s where we were going.
Maybe she didn’t realise? Or got distracted… they talk a lot, you know… but she went the wrong way!
Oho, I thinks to myself, maybe I should mention it? But every time I tried to talk to them, they just shushed me. Maybe we were going the right way after all… and on a proper Adventure?
Continue reading at The Small Dog’s Blog
Painting with my mind
I imagine a red bridge
Spanning the chasm
Reblogged from Tina Stewart Brakebill
Petals unfurling
Eagerly awaited gift
Recurring treasure
*
Reblogged from The Magical World of G. Michael Vasey:
I’d read a rumor about a fire breathing dragon that flew around the Castle of Drahotuš near Olomouc. I’m sorry but I can’t resist investigating such rumors. So today, I and a friend set off to the Hell valley looking for the ruins of an old Castle and to see if we could find the dragon.
We drove the 1 hour 20 minute trip from Brno in beautiful weather eventually arriving at Podhoři around noon. Then began the search for the Castle as it didn’t appear to be signposted at all. In the end, we asked a villager who gave us a circular route to get there and back. Hrad Drahotuš isn’t very well know to tell you the truth. It hasn’t been well preserved unlike its nearby rival Helfštejn so it’s a bit off the beaten track. Even better!
The Castle was founded by one Bohuš of Drahotuš sometime before 1269. The Lords of Drahotuš belonged to the families of the Lords of Čeblovice and they held the castle until 1371, then moved to the Opava region. Margrave Jan Jindřich and then his son Jošt, received the castle from them. It then passed through several hands before ending up desolate in 1543. There are a number of interesting stories about ghosts, secret tunnels, owners being forced to destroy part of the castle and so on but the one that intrigued me was about the fire breathing dragon. Today, the castle is little more than a few ruins overgrown by the forest at the top of an escarpment with amazing views. However, once in the past, it must have been quite a sight.
Continue reading at The Magical World of G. Michael Vasey
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 