Book Friday: The Ghost of Prince Akhmose

 Ghost fantasy in 3 languages

I've always been fascinated by Egyptian history. It's amazing how much we know yet how much remains a mystery of the people who lived thousands of years ago, built the pyramids, and left invaluable culture and art behind. I was reading about the 19th dynasty one day, and my mind wandered off. I thought about the post I added to Goodreads years ago about life and the afterlife, and it triggered an avalanche of thoughts in my mind.

I've been playing with the idea of writing a fantasy ghost story, so I thought, why not an Egyptian prince? I like cozy, entertaining stories, so there are no scary mummies in this one.

Of course, I needed an evil wizard to curse the prince, an unsuspecting woman to save him, and a funny redhead friend to make you smile as well.

Okay, I'm not going to spoil it for you, enjoy this short, action-packed story. You can read this story in English, Spanish, or Italian, whichever language you feel most comfortable with, or listen to the English audiobook.

A cozy ghost story

EBOOK

A powerful curse cast thousands of years ago by the Grand Vizier. Tanakhmet cursed Prince Akhmose to never enter the Field of Reeds, the heavenly paradise. Why did he want him to linger as a restless ghost among the living, forever?

By reading the hieroglyphs, Layla, a young Egyptologist, inadvertently breaks the curse and frees the ghosts of both Prince Akhmose and the Grand Vizier whose thirst for revenge is stronger than ever.

With Layla’s help, can Prince Akhmose finally cross into the afterlife? Or perhaps, because of the charms of the mortal woman, he doesn’t want to…

Spanish

EBOOK

Una acogedora historia de fantasmas.

Una poderosa maldición lanzada hace miles de años por el Gran Visir. Tanakhmet maldijo al príncipe Akhmose para que nunca entrara en el Campo de Juncos, el paraíso celestial. ¿Por qué quería que el príncipe permaneciera para siempre como un fantasma inquieto entre los vivos?

Al leer los jeroglíficos, Layla, una joven egiptóloga, rompe inadvertidamente la maldición y libera los fantasmas tanto del príncipe Akhmose como del Gran Visir, cuya sed de venganza es más fuerte que nunca.

Con la ayuda de Layla, ¿podrá el príncipe Akhmose finalmente cruzar al más allá? O tal vez, hipnotizado por los encantos de la mujer mortal, no quiere ...

Italian

EBOOK

Un romanzo fantasy storico.

Una potente maledizione lanciata migliaia di anni fa dal Gran Visir. Tanakhmet maledì il principe Akhmose per non entrare mai nel Campo delle Canne, il paradiso celeste. Perché voleva che rimanesse per sempre come un fantasma irrequieto tra i vivi?

Leggendo i geroglifici, Layla, una giovane egittologa, spezza inavvertitamente la maledizione e libera i fantasmi sia del principe Akhmose che del Gran Visir, la cui sete di vendetta è più forte che mai.

Con l'aiuto di Layla, il principe Akhmose può finalmente entrare nell'aldilà? O forse, a causa del fascino della donna mortale, non vuole ...

Audiobook

AUDIOBOOK

The author

Erika M Szabo

WEBSITE

Erika became an avid reader at a very early age, thanks to her dad who introduced her to many great books. Erika writes epic fantasy, alternate history, sweet romance, romantic suspense, dystopian and cozy mystery novels, short stories, as well as fun, educational and bilingual books for children ages 2-14 about acceptance, friendship, family, and moral values such as accepting people with disabilities, dealing with bullies, and not judging others before getting to know them.

The Doubts of an Author

 I Have Doubts

Image credit: Lukas Biery from Pixabay

Yes, I have doubts as to the quality of my writing. Is it any good or am I just fooling myself?

Every morning, early, —always about 5 a. m.—I rise from bed and begin writing. I’m always excited to begin the day writing, my heart pumping, and my creative juices flowing. On good days, I may write, off-and-on, for four or five hours. If it goes well, I’m elated; if it goes badly, I’m miserable. If I only hammered out two or three lines, I feel that I have wasted my whole day—for nothing! I pout and I feel anger for the rest of the day, and I wonder whatever made me ever believe that I could ever do a thing like writing a book, to begin with. Stupid! And for an Indie writer, this is even worse—you don’t have a publisher!

Well, and even having a publisher isn’t always a sure deal of the quality of one’s writing.

I have had many short stories and six novels published. My first novel was published by a man who owned a small publishing company. He kept telling me that my manuscript was one of the best novels that he had ever read. The contract that I signed with him was a 60/40 contract, with a 30% overhead charge—meaning that before the 60/40 kicked in, 30% was taken off first: I made little money.

So, I don’t know. Yeah, I have doubts. Even the King says—that’s Stephen King— “Don’t go into writing lightly. There are too many disappointments.”

Yet, when all is said and done, there are the occasional emails that I receive from people—total strangers! —thanking me for my writing putting a smile on their faces.

Yes, I have doubts, but receiving one of those joyful emails makes it all worth it.

Written by:

Alan Zacher

AMAZON

After many years of being a "struggling" actor in LA, I turned to writing. I have had several novels published: "I'm No P. I."; "A Ghoulish Good Time"; "The 13th Hour"; "Being a P. I.--Again". I have had MS for serval years now; I know physical and mental pain; so I need much laughter to endure it. Hopefully, my novels do just that--give much laughter.

Book Friday: Bittersweet Reality

 Poems and short stories

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Choosing to ignore the reality of my publications' lack of success, I assembled another collection for public entertainment.  Gorged on the sincere praises of my editor and several fans, I have once again allowed my ego to lead me by the carrot of fame it dangles before my eyes.  How can you refuse to follow the advice to publish given by someone who even takes the time to come up with the perfect title?

Bittersweet Reality has become a reality thanks to the efforts of my editor, Cindy Calloway who encouraged me to share these works and named them.  The artistic and technical abilities of Erika M. Szabo of Golden Box Books Publishing, are evident when you see this gorgeous cover, the beautiful interior of the book in all its forms and when you watch  the video below which she created. 

This collection has stories as well as poems offering my view of the world before me without my rose-colored glasses.

Cindy J. Smith

BLOG

Cindy has written poetry, and with every experience in life, she has found inspiration. Wife, Mother, and Grandmother, she has a myriad of beautiful memories to draw from. Never having been good at playing the part of "starving artist", she has had many careers, but her current one, an over-the-road truck driver with her husband, Dave, has provided amazing opportunities for inspiration in her later years.

Resilience and Patience

Last year the 30th of December I was surprised to see one of my garden plants starting to bloom. I have it there for enough time to understand that it starts to bloom between April and August. I remember having chosen it just because of its long blooming season and because the first pollinators could have soon something to eat after the long winter. 

For this reason, you can imagine my surprise when I saw it blooming in the middle of the winter. I was also worried because, although we didn’t have had yet any snow, I was sure it would have come quite soon, meaning the demise of the plant.

In fact, as I feared, after a few days the Finnish landscape turned white, and the only hope I had was that at least only those early blooms would have died out, leaving the whole plant alive ready to bloom once again at the right time.

Likewise every winter, the temperatures went far below freezing this winter, reaching -25 C. 

Every time I looked out of the window, I wondered about the well-being of those little flowers. Many times I have been tempted to dig them out from the snow and cover them with a cloth that could have protected them from the cold, but a little voice in my head told me that perhaps the snow cover could be just enough of a protection.

A few days ago, as the milder temperatures started to melt the snow cover, I thought I saw something worth my attention, and as I went to refill the bird feeder, I reached the place where the blooming flower was planted.

And I marveled…

Not only the plant survived the harsh and long winter, but under the snow cover, those flowers found a safe cocoon from where to find shelter from the cold weather. They patiently kept themselves alive, gathering the weak light filtering through the snow cover, feeding on the slowly melting ice, and counting the days to Spring.

It gave me a sense of hope and also a good lesson, about patience. Sometimes we all need to work and wait before we can harvest the fruits of what we’ve done, as nothing happens in a one-day timeframe. So the old say ‘good things come to those who wait’ isn’t so wrong after all.

P.J. Mann

WEBSITE

Paula J. Mann lives a double life. She is a geologist by day and a novelist by night. She's best known for writing psychological thrillers and crime fiction. She also writes historical fiction and paranormal suspense. She loves traveling and shares her experiences on her blog: http://paperpenandinkwell.blogspot.com

Book Friday: Mystics in Hell

Metaphysical fantasy anthology 

on AMAZON

Why did I write my story in the anthology?

Abode of Woe features characters from ancient Greek Myth, and from Victorian England. Where else could such people meet? Darkly humorous and fiery fantasy in the ultimate shared world.

About the book:

Join the doomed on their vision quests in eleven stories by the damnedest writers in Perdition: Janet Morris; A.L. Butcher; Joe Bonadonna; Andrew P. Weston; Gustavo Bondoni; Seth Lindberg; Tom Barczak; Michael H. Hanson; Louis Antonelli; Christopher Crosby Morris.

Mystics in Hell is the latest volume in the notorious Heroes in Hell series of anthologies and novels created by Janet Morris.

Posted by:

A.L. Butcher

WEBSITE

British-born A. L. Butcher is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet, and a dreamer, a lover of science, natural history, history, and monkeys. Her prose has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as ‘evocative’. She writes with a sure and sometimes erotic sensibility of things that might have been, never were, but could be.

Book Friday: The Worthless Painting

 The Worthless Painting

EBOOK 

AUDIOBOOK

I was watching the Musketeers series and my mind wandered off. I imagined a painter in France in the 14th century whose painting ends up forgotten in a family's closet in America. What if this painting would be found and after lots of confusion would bring two people together?

Small-town cozy mystery novelette.

Danielle’s life spins out of control when the snobbish new owner of the Couture mansion brings a seemingly worthless painting into her antique shop. The ownership of the painting is questionable, and the town’s future is threatened by the plans of the ruthless, rich owner. An unexpected visitor arrives, and he may possess the much-needed solution to everyone’s problems.

EBOOK  

AUDIOBOOK

Posted by Erika M Szabo

https://www.authorerikamszabo.com

Your Cat is a Chatterbox

 Cats don't use words to talk, of course!

But they communicate very well with sounds and body postures. If you pay attention to your feline friend's postures, you know exactly how they feel and what kind of mood they're in.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. Tell me about your favorite feline friend in the comments. 

Read my previous post about cats:

https://asmallgangofauthors.blogspot.com/2021/02/why-does-your-cat-smell-your-face.html

Posted by Erika M Szabo

Author of epic fantasy, alternate history, sweet romance, romantic suspense, dystopian and cozy mystery novels, short stories, as well as YA and children’s books

https://www.authorerikamszabo.com

Book Friday: The Chunky, Dumpy, Spunky Monkey

 Fat-shaming hurts

EBOOK and PAPERBACK and HARDCOVER

I wrote this book for children who happened to inherit a chunky body type, or just happen to be a bit chubby. No matter the reason, teasing, and bullying don't help and hurts the same.

My novels, novelettes, audiobooks, and children's books

https://www.authorerikamszabo.com

Spring Is In The Air

 Spring cleaning time

Picture credit

Being born on the first day of Spring, I have found the "spring cleaning bug" lives inside me year-round.  Any time the sun peaks out after a few days of cold and gloom, I feel the urge to make my house sparkle.  Unfortunately, I do not seem to be as efficient as Snow White.  I usually find myself in the situation of Cinderella (pic 2) with more to do the longer I am at it. My grandfather used to call me Cinderella so I feel like I was destined to be like her.

Picture credit

When I first got my own apartment, everything had a place it belonged and I made sure it was where it should be every day.  I cleaned floors on my hands and knees, dusted and wiped down everything except windows...I still can't clean them.  Dishes were washed, wiped, and put away as soon as a meal was finished.  My daughter was raised in this environment, and when she started to rebel by not taking care of toys, I bagged them up and threatened to give them away.  

Somehow, life took over, and dishes drained overnight while I enjoyed family time. Then came moves to different states which resulted in boxes of items with no place to fit.  As I waited to find their perfect location, another move took place and the pile of unemptied boxes multiplied. Becoming an over-the-road truck driver just amplified the storage issues.  My daughter's passing added more boxes of treasures to deal with. 

But, for the last year and a half, I have been stuck at home and no longer had the legitimate excuse of no time. So, I decided to start unpacking. I finished emptying one room and everything in it had a home...Unfortunately, another death resulted in more "boxes of treasures" that needed to be emptied, and the one room was now refilled with them.

Another day the sun came out and I began again.  This time my completion was delayed by the decision to remodel two rooms.  Everything got piled wherever it fit so the work could be done.  Slowly I got order back to those two rooms and the one I had originally emptied.  New china cabinets for Christmas gave my knickknacks a home and replacement shelves organized the rest.  

The next room on the list got started...but...(I am sure you know there is a reason I could not finish) I found my bookcases had collapsed and I would need new shelves to put everything on. And what will I do with the stuff I don't want anymore but is still in good condition? It has to go someplace.

So, now I have the shelves

...just waiting on the liners and I can get started again.  Will I ever finish?  Unless all the woodland animals come to help me, I doubt it.  To be honest, when you have too much time on your hands, it is hard to accomplish anything.

How do you all fare with the spring cleaning bug?  Do you finish?

Written by Cindy J. Smith

Author of poetry and children's books

https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com/

Re-blogged: Nightmares and Witching Hour

 Are you persistently waking up at night at the same time?

Please note:

Although this article contains some medical facts, it’s mostly my own observation of patients and talking to patients throughout my nursing career.

Can’t sleep 6-8 hours straight without waking up?

If you’re persistently waking up at night at the same time, it might be because your body and mind are trying to tell you something. Our bodies and minds work like an amazing computer system. The body is “resetting” the physical body, and the mind is organizing the previous day’s events, thoughts, and feelings. We need a restful sleep to help our body, but sometimes our sleep is interrupted.

Waking up 10 Pm – midnight:

Waking up at this time of the night might be due to stress and anxious thoughts throughout the day that hasn’t been resolved before going to sleep. You might be feeling pressured at your job, in your family life, or you have a lot on your “to-do” list and having a hard time keeping up.

Try:

Take a warm bath before bed, watch, or read a relaxing story, or listen to calming music. Think about the positive things you’ve accomplished. Next, put the unresolved issues and to-do list in your mind to a mental file “to be solved another day”.

Waking up midnight – 1 Am:

This is when your mind is dealing with anger issues and the pent-up, unresolved anger tends to wake you up at this time of the night. Anger might manifest itself as a bad dream or nightmare.

Try:

Before bed try to stretch, do some light yoga exercises, and think about what made you angry throughout the day. Remember, some things you cannot change, follow the philosophy of a dog. If you can’t change it, don’t waste time being angry about it. Piss on it, kick some dirt on it, and move on.

Waking up 1 Am – 3 Am:

The feeling of hate is keeping you up around this time of the night that related mostly to self-hatred. You might hate your aging or sick body, weaknesses of your personality, or situations you got yourself into.

Try:

Have a good talk with yourself and point out what you like about your body and personality. Embrace the positive things and make fun of the negative ones. Yeah, my boobs have been taken over by gravity and moving to the south, but with the help of a push-up bra, they can still look perky. Remember, just because people put on a cheerful mask, every single person is dealing with problems that life throws at us, even with occasional self-doubt and self-loathing. You’re not alone. Accept yourself, the whole package, and don’t pick on little things that are only temporary.    

Forgive others who hurt you. Remember, when you keep a grudge alive, you carry the much-hated person with you 24/7 in your mind. Drop them like a hot potato and move on.

Continue reading...

https://www.authorerikamszabo.com/my-thinking-board/nightmares-and-witching-hour