Kindle Pre-Order – The Old Mill by Trent P. McDonald

Reblogged from Trent’ World:

A stench lies on Avebury, New Hampshire. It isn’t something that one can smell, it is more of a psychic soot polluting everybody’s mood. No one recalls when it arrived, but there does seem to be a connection with the Old Mill and its mysterious new owners.

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Following the trail of the local legend, the ghost of Martha Goode, Gill Baxter is driven to discover the truth behind the events of 1821 and, hopefully, prevent another “time of dying.” That trail, though, leads directly to The Old Mill.

Continue reading at Trent’s World

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North-easterly: Ringing a Pele

There is something about a map, a proper, paper map, that makes a journey personal. We don’t tend to use sat-nav, resorting to such technologies only when cities force us to do so… and we had invested in a brand new map too, the other one having been worn to shreds over the past couple of years. So, instead of following the directions given by the leader of the expedition, we took the winding backroads to get to the last site of the day and arrived there a little while before the others. We killed a little time by snacking on the remains of lunch, then had a wander up the path to wait outside the tower.

Time, though, was getting on. Knowing Steve had been really impressed by this place and worried that it might close before the others arrived and we had chance to see it properly, we decided to go inside. They couldn’t close the place while we were in it, and we would have hated to miss it, so it seemed the best thing to do.

Preston Tower is a pele tower, built between 1392 and 1399 to give the alarm and protect its people when Scotland and England were in an almost constant state of war. It looks like a miniature fortress and that is exactly what it is. Built with walls seven feet thick to withstand attack, a small postern door through which the animals could be brought inside in case of danger, and with tiny windows that could be blocked in case marauders attempted to smoke out those within, it seems almost impregnable.

In later years, the most common problem was caused by the depredations of Border Rievers, the cattle rustlers from across the Border, whose lands were seldom enough to support their clans as all estates were split on the death of their owner between all the surviving sons. The Rievers had a code of honour, nonetheless, and it was required that they help each other regain their own cattle or answer insult… and any man who refused to do so could be put to death, thus perpetuating the feuds and bloodshed.

Within the tiny entrance to the tower we found another map, this time showing where the Border clans were based, including my companion’s clan on the West March. It may well be that he was the first of his clan to actually get inside the Pele Tower.

The ground floor was reserved for bringing the animals in to safety. But also housed a tiny guard room and a prison cell. We had not, at this point, found the light switch, and the atmosphere in both was that of a condemned cell. The darkness, alleviated only by the merest slit of a window, was oppressive, heavier than darkness should be. The guard room is only slightly larger than the prison cell, and the floor-space is little bigger than a coffin. It feels like one too, even when the lights are on.

We went up to the next floor, climbing a precarious wooden staircase, taking in the two tiny chambers, furnished as a sleeping chamber and living room, after the fashion of six hundred years ago. Above that are other rooms, marked with curious geometric symbols which have been highlighted in yellow and are probably masons’ marks. Here too is the mechanism for the Victorian clock that was added to the tower, and above it on the roof is the eleven-hundred-pound bell which, when it struck five, was loud enough to wake the dead.

Continue reading at France & Vincent

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The Big Picture (3) : objects of desire ~ Steve Tanham

The word ‘object’ has many meanings; but none more mysterious and potentially wonderful as the meeting of spirituality with the findings of psychology’s Object Relations Theory…

Everything in our daily world comes from them; they are the highs and lows, the anguish and the triumphs, the misery and the joy… and above all else, the overwhelming violence of the world, permeated, occasionally, by the heroic kindness of someone selfless, someone who only wants to add a little love to the sad garden.

But it may not be entirely so…

Continue reading at The Silent Eye

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The Lord of all Proud Beasts…

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His skin is hard as rock.

His heart huge as a boulder.

His belly thick with spikes.

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His eyes glow like dawn.

He sneezes and lightnings flash.

Flames leap from his mouth.

*

Continue reading at France & Vincent

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Thursday Photo Prompt- Appointed # WritePhoto

First in this week…

Sadje's avatarKeep it alive

Sue Vincent is the host of Thursday Photo Prompt


This week’s prompt ~ Appointed

For visually challenged writers, the image shows the black silhouette of a crow perched atop a blackened and dead-looking tree. In the background the sky is blue and the trees are decked in the full green leaf of summer…

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

Don’t be apprehensive or afraid

The tree he is perching on may be dying

But he is the harbinger of good news for us

He is appointed to bring the tidings of change

Of good times that we all have been looking forward to

The tide is changing and nature has relented finally

Spring is in the offing, your patience will be rewarded

A bouquet of sweet-smelling flowers you’ll find on your doorstep

And a vista that will gladden your heart

➰➰➰➰➰➰

#Keepitalive

#WritePhoto

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Understanding…

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Direct awareness of that consciousness

both eternal and complete

which is the source and ground of the manifest world

is a possibility that can be realised by human beings

at any stage of their personal development from

infant to child, to adult, and on into old age…

Continue reading at France & Vincent

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Thursday photo prompt: Appointed #writephoto

Welcome to the new #writephoto prompt!

For five years, we did not miss a beat, and every week the stories, poems and artwork flew in to be shared here as part of the weekly photo prompt challenge.

That unbroken series of posts came to a halt when I fell ill and felt that I could no longer commit to collating, reblogging and commenting on the very many posts that came in each week. However, the prompt has been missed and many people have asked if we could start it again, but with a few small differences, in case I am not well enough to set up reblogs and round-up posts.

We have recently started the prompt again and I will continue it as long as I can  🙂

Please visit last week’s prompt or the round-up post to read all the contributions.

Each week, on a Thursday morning, I will post a photograph from my archive along with a prompt word.

Use the image and prompt as inspiration to create a post on your own blog… poetry, prose, humour… light or dark, whatever you choose, as long as it is fairly family-friendly.

Please LINK BACK to this post, by leaving the URL of your post in the comments so that I know you have posted and so that others can find your work.

Please click their links to visit the blogs of other contributors and take time to read and comment on their work.

The prompt runs from Thursday to Tuesday each week, so please submit your link by midnight (GMT) the following Tuesday (9th Feb) to give me time for the round-up.

Use the #writephoto hashtag in your title so your posts can be found across social media.

There is no word limit and no style requirements, except that your post must take inspiration from the image and/or the prompt word given in the title of this post.

Feel free to use #writephoto logo or include the prompt photo in your post if you wish, or you may replace it with one of your own to illustrate your work.

What’s different?

Not much…

Depending upon how I am feeling, I will still reblog some of the posts as they come in, though not as many as before.

I will also try to maintain a round-up post each week in which I will share a little bit about the previous week’s prompt, though this is the bit with which time and health may interfere, so please ensure you leave your link in the comments!

Regular contributors are also still welcome to come over as my guest and introduce themselves (click here for details).

Please note: As I do not share my political opinions on this blog, please do not use the challenge as a platform from which to share yours. Party political or racially offensive posts will not be reblogged and links will be deleted.

This week’s prompt ~ Appointed

For visually challenged writers, the image shows the black silhouette of a crow perched atop a blackened and dead-looking tree. In the background the sky is blue and the trees are decked in the full green leaf of summer…

A small experimental favour…

It has been suggested that I use the ‘Mister Linky’ widget rather than having to create a full round-up list every week… which would help me a lot as my treatment and hospital appointments tend to be on Thursdays…

As an experiment, would you mind clicking the green logo below, entering your name and link and clicking the box to accept the privacy policy, then press enter…

When you click, it should look like this screenshot, but empty and ready for you to fill in:

Thank you!

Posted in #writephoto, photo prompt, Photography, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 92 Comments

Photo prompt round-up: Guarded #writephoto

A silent presence

Both guarded and guardian

Hidden in plain sight

Hearts open to wonder see

Magic wrought in living stone

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The photo for this week’s prompt was taken on the moors where Yorkshire meets Derbyshire. The boulder guards the pathway that leads down to the troll bridge in the valley before climbing up to the enigmatic plateau of Carl Wark.

The plateau stands almost invisible from this angle, its bulk hidden by the darker outline and higher elevation of Higger Tor on the horizon. But it is at Carl Wark that the touch of ancestral magic is felt…

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Thank you to everyone who took part, visited or reblogged the posts or left comments for their authors.

A new prompt will be published later today. I will reblog some of the contributions as they come in…  and you can find all the entries on the original prompt post in case I have missed any… or please click on the links below to read them and leave a comment for the author!

Please be aware that because of the change in my health and the demands of treatment, I may not reblog as many posts from each challenge as before and cannot promise a full round-up post every week… though I will do my best.

An invitation to writephoto writers…

As there are usually too many contributions to reblog all of them every week, and so that we can get to know their writers, I would like to invite all writephoto writers to come and introduce themselves on the blog as my guest! Click here for details.

Come and join in!

Please click the links below to read and comment on this week’s contributions!

Jemima Pett

Wonkywizard

Na’ama Yehuda

Kerfe Roig at K- Lines that Aim to Be

N.A. Granger at Sayling Away

Geoff Le Pard at TanGental

Tessa Dean

Suzette Benjamin at Suzette B’s Blog

Luccia Gray at Re-reading Jane Eyre

Sarah Brentyn at Lemon Shark Reef

Helen Glynn Jones

Antonia Sara Zenkevitch

Anita from Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie

Honoré Dupuis at Of Glass and Paper

Ritu Bhathal at But I Smile Anyway

Annette Kalandros at Hearing The Mermaids Sing

Paula Light at Light Motifs II

Cheryl at The Bag Lady

Trent P. McDonald at Trent’s World

Willow Willers

The Indishe

Myrna Migala at My Forever Blog

Iain Kelly

Jules at Jules Pens Some Gems

Di at pensitivity101

Brian F. Kirkham at The Inkwell

Mason Bushell at Mason’s Mind Menagerie

Goff James at Art, Photography and Poetry

Sadje at Keep it Alive

Kitty’s Verses

Posted in photo prompt, Photography, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

The Saxon Princess ~ Luccia Gray #writephoto

The Saxon Princess, a 112-word flash fiction, was written in response to Sue Vincent’s weekly photo prompt. Join in or read other entries here!

The Saxon Princess

Princess Judith hid behind the huge rock and retrieved her slaughtered father’s dagger.

The entire village watched her run to the mountains, her wedding dress trailing behind. No one stopped her or helped. They feared Bolverker, the conqueror.

Continue reading at Re-reading Jane Eyre

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Misty #midnighthaiku

Anywhere on earth

Misted by memory’s smile

Soft golden moments

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Posted in Photography, Poetry | Tagged , , | 10 Comments