“Happy Easter!”
From Me!
Spidey and I would like to wish all those celebrating, a very Happy Easter ✝️
So, Peeps, e!😊
Spidey’s Serene Sunday #422 – Easter Sunday
09 Apr 2023 22 Comments
in Spidey's Serene Sundays Tags: Easter, Spidey's Serene Sunday
#SoCS Apr.8 , 2023 – Gen
08 Apr 2023 23 Comments
in #SoCS Tags: Antic, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Socs
Linda’s SoCS prompt…
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with gen.” Find a word that starts with “gen” and use it in your post. Have fun!
Which generation are you from?
You know what I mean? All this Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millenials, Gen Z, and now the Alphas…
Now, according to the official lists, I am down as a Gen X.
But, did you know where is a microgeneration that is not fully recognised, in between Gen X and Millenials?
The Xennials.
I was born in 1975 – yes, giving away my age there… and this microgeneration is anything from the mid 70s to the early 80s… and having read what they are described as, I feel Xennial is my term.
“Xennials enjoyed analogue childhoods—no mobile phones, no internet—but came of age in a time of new technological innovations that would leave Millennials wide-eyed with amazement, from VHS video recorders and a fourth (yes, fourth) TV channel, to computer games and the Smash robots. Xennials are digital immigrants and much more comfortable with the brave new world of social media, smartphones and the internet, however but they don’t hold new technology in the same high regard as Millennials.”
From https://www.killik.com/the-edit/xennials-the-new-millennials/
This is so me! I remember starting uni with a typewriter in 1993, and some friends with a bit more money had a mobile phone. More like a brick, but it was there and under the One-to-One provider. Computers were mainly in the library or computer suites, and we had internet, but it was dial-up, and this huge room would be filled with students trying to log into Yahoo or Ask Jeeves (remember that one?) and sighing when it was on go slow!
By the end of my uni, I had my own PC and a mobile phone. We used the free voicemail trick for ages until it stopped working. They realised us poor students had found a way to communicate without paying!
Facebook became more of a thing a year or so after I qualified, but we had Friends Reunited before that, too. I was never a MySpace person.
I also loved this little snippet and like to think it is true.
“Wertz highlights a number of Xennial traits including a love-hate relationship with social media and an understanding of the importance of taking ‘digital detoxes’. Like Millennials, they are interested in health and wellness, but unlike their juniors, they have the disposable income to spend on health and wellness products. Xennials also value relaxation and work-life balance, so they will spend their income on holidays and prioritise time with family over work where possible.“
From https://www.killik.com/the-edit/xennials-the-new-millennials/
Which Generation are You?
| Generation Name | Births Start | Births End | Youngest Age Today* | Oldest Age Today* |
| The Lost Generation The Generation of 1914 | 1890 | 1915 | 108 | 133 |
| The Interbellum Generation | 1901 | 1913 | 110 | 122 |
| The Greatest Generation | 1910 | 1924 | 99 | 113 |
| The Silent Generation | 1925 | 1945 | 78 | 98 |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 1946 | 1964 | 59 | 77 |
| Generation X (Baby Bust) | 1965 | 1979 | 44 | 58 |
| Xennials | 1975 | 1985 | 38 | 48 |
| Millennials Generation Y, Gen Next | 1980 | 1994 | 29 | 43 |
| iGen / Gen Z | 1995 | 2012 | 11 | 28 |
| Gen Alpha | 2013 | 2025 | 1 | 10 |
One-Liner Wednesday – I CAN Do It
05 Apr 2023 16 Comments
in #1linerweds, #onelinerwednesday Tags: #1linerweds, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, determination
Chai And A Chat #230 #ChaiAndAChat
03 Apr 2023 23 Comments
in Chai and a Chat Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat
Hello there! I am so relieved that it is the Easter holiday! I think I really need the break!
Have you got your drink?
- If we were having chai, I’d start by saying that school was pretty fun this week, though quite hectic. We had a four-day week, or 3.5, actually, with the children and centred most of our learning around Spring and Easter. On Wednesday, we had a great day as I had arranged a Bhangra workshop with one of Lil Man’s old Dhol teachers, who happens to now be a parent at our school. He, along with one of his Dhol colleagues, spent the whole day doing workshops for the whole school, and we were buzzing! There was also a film crew there all day, filming a new promo film for the school! Quite a fun but exhausting week.
- If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I also had an EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Group meeting with other colleagues in our new academy. It was pretty interesting to see the ideas that were swung around, with my own eye firmly on all three of the main concepts of the group. I can safely say that we are at a stage in our own school where we are pretty good at all three… and that our input, hopefully, will enhance the thinking of some others. We also visited some of the other schools on Friday, which was our INSET day, and all I can say is that though there are always positive takeaways from these visits, I am so happy to be working where I am!
- If we were having chai, I’d say that I had a pretty busy weekend (all will be revealed below!), but I managed to have my poached eggs, and read a lovely ARC, called Her Fixer Upper by Emily Kerr. A great book!
- If we were having chai, I’d subtly tell you that Book 2, Straight As A Jalebi, was put on Pre-Order on the weekend, and it has been pretty mad!
- If we were having chai, I’d excitedly say that we crept from #5 to #3, then #2 in the Hot New Releases in Asian Fiction! OMG!!! If you preorder, send me your proof of order so I can add you to a special competition, where I randomly pick one person who preordered to receive a signed copy when the paperback comes out!
- If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh, who has been busy on the promo campaign, too! He’s really boosted the preorders… I think he needs treats!
As I write this, I am in Birmingham with Pops and Mum, and Lil Princess. We have a couple of days here to visit them, then back home, ready for a Society of Authors meeting, and then the Easter Weekend. Not sure what else is planned, but I hope to get some words in, as well as relaxation!
And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!
Her Deadly Game by @robertdugoni #BlogTour #BookReview @FMcMAssociates #PoliceProcedural
02 Apr 2023 12 Comments
in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Her Deadly Game
Something a bit different from me, today. I am on the blog tour for a Police Procedural/Crime Fiction novel by Robert Dugoni, Her Deadly Game
The Blurb
Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. Now, returning to her family’s failing criminal defence law firm to work for her father is her only option. But with the right moves, maybe she can restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.
Keera’s chance to establish herself comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, is eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defence. But as a competitive former chess prodigy, Keera is confident she can outmanoeuvre him.
As Keera and her team start digging, they uncover more than they bargained for. Keera is sure that LaRussa didn’t kill his wife, but she’s starting to suspect that he’s not an innocent man. With a duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future to consider, she’s caught in a deadly game…
My Review
Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I always say I’m not a crime fiction kind of gal, but then I pick up a book, like this one, part courtroom drama, part police procedural, with a whole load of family drama thrown in, and I find myself sucked in.
Her Deadly Game focuses on a lawyer, Keera, who, through no fault of her own, has to leave one job and go, tail between legs, to work with her father and sisters in their family law practice.
She becomes embroiled in one case that she ends up heading after being the after-hours lawyer on duty, which could make or break her.
A murder.
Someone with a motive, but many, many other aspects that don’t tie up, as well as an alcoholic father threatening to put the case in jeopardy and an ex who ends up causing her hell in the courtroom.
Keera’s old interest in playing chess also plays a part in the story. I’m not a chess player, so the different moves and names of pieces meant little to me, but I liked the parallel that was created between the tension in her working life and the online game she is playing.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this. A definite page turner.
About the Author
Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series, which has sold more than eight million books worldwide. He is also the author of the bestselling Charles Jenkins series; the bestselling David Sloane series; the stand-alone novels The 7th Canon, Damage Control, The World Played Chess, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni won an AudioFile Earphones Award for narration; and the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post best book of the year. He is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Book Award for fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He is a two-time finalist for the Thriller Awards and the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, as well as a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for mystery and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards. His books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.
Visit his website at www.robertdugonibooks.com
But I Smile Anyway... 
