Skip to main content

#MGMonday #BookReview "The Golden Book: The Blademaster of Golara" by David H Mines

 I love fantasy books, and I love adventure so, put those two genres together, and I get very excited! I was, therefore, delighted when I was offered the opportunity to review this book. The author sent me a copy in exchange for an honest review. The book can be purchased here. Summary Matthew is an average boy who doesn't realise his father is the Blademaster, a title given to one person capable of wielding the sword of the elements. This sword can metamorphosise, depending on what the Blademaster needs. The sword of wind can creating tornados, while the sword of water can manipulate (you guessed it!) water. When Matthew's father goes missing, and is presumed dead, Matthew is given a special book that can transport him to his father's native world. There, he finds out that he is the new Blademaster and begins a quest to seek out the evil Black Knights and hopes to find what happened to his father. Reviewing... The Plot I love stories about parallel worlds, and it's alw...

Places of Inspiration - an #AuthorOfTheWeek blog

During this coronavirus craziness, it can seem almost impossible to remember the places we've been to. We have a slideshow of photographs which come up on our computer and looking at them now is like seeing a different world.

Isn't that how it is with writing anyway? We find a place which speaks to us and, not only while we're there but every time our imagination transports us back, we move into another world. Invariably, because of the genre I write, I head back to another time, too.

Bear with me as I take you on a little journey through a few of the places which have brought me great inspiration...

1 - The Big Burn, Golspie
I don't know how many times we'd driven past the little sign for The Big Burn. It's an oddly insignificant little walk, but there is a waterfall there which you can walk up and over. Standing back a little bit, on that first walk we took there, I was struck by how strangely human it looked. The picture above was how I first met the waterfall, its spindly arms and cascading fingers.

And it occurred to me - if I saw a person there, why wouldn't someone else...? And what powers could a living waterfall have and present...? Ideas were jumbling around in my head as we journeyed home.

Ultimately, the waterfall became "The Souce" in Caledon, the voice of Caledon's spirit. I wrote the waterfall as I imagined it would be, neither male nor female, eternal but ever-changing. On that, I was right. The last time I went - a couple of years ago now - the waterfall looked like the picture below. It was hardly human, and was difficult to see from the same viewpoint. I didn't mind, though. If anything, it just made me consider how lucky I'd been to see it in its human appearance. Who knows, perhaps the myth of Caledon is true. And, having see it, I could be the eighth incarnation! [You can find a short story about the 8th incarnation in this free eBook.]

2 - Dresden
No photo description available.
In 2013, I took a solo trip to Germany, and organised myself a little mini-tour. It was one of those things which I am exceptionally proud of but, looking back, I wonder how on earth I was brave enough to do it!

It was only a short tour - a couple of nights in Berlin, the same in Leipzig, Dresden, Nuremberg and Munich. By the time I'd got to Munich I was feeling pretty peaky, and had an interesting series of events trying to get home. But that's a story for another time!

I went off, armed with my travel journal, and in Dresden words just flowed! There was a trumpet player outside the opera house, busking with all sorts of tunes. There were little horse-drawn carriages like you get in lots of tourist cities. And there were busy tourists passing down the cobbled streets. I lay on my hotel bed and wrote and wrote and wrote some more. Such a collection of sounds, and the olde worlde atmosphere they invoked was unlike anything I'd heard before - or since.

3 - Skye
I've always known I wanted to travel. Reaching far back into my childhood, I remember staring at the vapour trails which crisscrossed overhead, or imagining where the road would take me if I went right instead of left.

But, growing up in a landscape which stretched over the ocean, boats have always been a near-mystical vehicle to me. Orkney has been built on boat travel, and all those stories fuelled my imagination.

We properly visited Skye for the first time last year - although Judith and I did once have a slightly crazy visit, during the course of which we found we were temporarily homeless. But one of the most captivating moments of our visit to Skye was an impromptu trip to Portree, where I took this picture. There is something very tantalising about the bobbing boats on the water, and imagining all the other boats which had come and gone from that bay.

The world looks magical in moonlight, and one thing it pointed out to me was how clearly the landscape showed up in that pallid light.


There are many others places, too many to mention. But these happened to be the ones I had pictures for!

When all this lockdown and social distancing is over, and we're free to explore the world again, go out and look for something beyond the surface. Or close your eyes and listen to the sounds of the world as they wrap you up. Or sail away on the promise of adventure, past, present or future.

Writing locations is an immersive experience. I don't believe you have to have been somewhere to write about it, but I do believe you do your best writing when you have been.

What do you think?

from "Caledon"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Masterworks: Legacy - Samantha Wilcoxson - Interview

  Today is the last of a series on nine interviews I'm sharing on the Crowvus Book Blog. These are from the authors of the short stories included in the  Masterworks  anthology by the  Historical Writers Forum . We're running through chronologically, some are video interviews, others are written. I am delighted to welcome the fantastic Samantha Wilcoxson, who is sharing the artist inspiration for her short story Legacy , as well as the appeal of James A. Hamilton, and the delights of researching. First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you write (besides Masterworks!), and what inspired you to begin writing. I was inspired to write by my love of reading. After watching me read, write reviews, and keep journals for twenty years, my husband asked me why I didnā€™t try writing, so I did! Without really planning on it, I ended up writing historical biographical fiction. Iā€™m drawn to a tragic tale but also to lesser known historical figures with emotive stor...

#HistFicThursdays - Apollo's Raven - Linnea Tanner - Book Blast

 If you've been following this blog for a little while, you might remember me sharing a fabulous guest post about this book in 2022 (which you can read here ). It's always great to welcome Linnea Tanner onto the Crowvus Book Blog, and I'm delighted to be taking part in her Coffee Pot Book Club book blast blog tour. So, let's meet the book... A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people. AWARD-WINNING APOLLOā€™S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amrenā€™s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The kingā€™s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break t...

#HistFicThursdays - Muskets & Minuets - Lindsey S. Fera - Book Excerpt

   This week, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club ! Today I'm sharing an excerpt from the stunning book,  Muskets & Minuets  by Lindsey S. Fera! So let's begin by meeting the book... Love. Politics. War. Amidst mounting tensions between the British crown and the American colonists of Boston, Annalisa Howlett struggles with her identity and purpose as a woman. Rather than concern herself with proper womanly duties, like learning to dance a minuet or chasing after the eligible and charming Jack Perkins, Annalisa prefers the company of her brother, George, and her beloved musket, Bixby. She intends to join the rebellion, but as complications in her personal life intensify, and the colonies inch closer to war with England, everything Annalisa thought about her world and womanhood are transformed forever. Join Annalisa on her journey to discover what it truly means to be a woman in the 18th century, all set against the ba...