“It is during our darkest moments that we should focus to see the light.”
Aristotle
Thank you so much, Spidey, for such an apt quote, considering it was Diwali, yesterday, the festival of light.
Diwali, as Hindus and Jains celebrate, or Bandi Chorr Divas, as Sikhs refer to the day, is essentially two stories, but the moral is the same, of good being victorious over evil, and of how, at the end of however dark and long a tunnel, that there is light.
This year has been strange to say the least. Since March, for the majority of the world, any special days, whether widespread religious festivals, (remember the quiet Easter, and yesterday, a muted Diwali?) or ceremonial days, like VE Day and Remembrance Day, not to mention the personal celebrations, such as births, birthdays and weddings, have all been performed or observed in a very different manner.
This year has highlighted the need for family, or that core group of people around you. It’s also impressed the importance of keeping in touch with your loved ones, near or far. Thank goodness for phones, Whatsapp and Zoom, eh!
But we are all living in a kind of darkness, right now. slowly trudging along through this tunnel, not quite sure when the end will come.
But it will.
Already, news of possible vaccinations cast glimmers of hope that there may some semblance of normality in the not to distant future.
That’s a light there, in itself.
As I type this, (last night) there are families gathered, in their household bubbles (obviously, since we are in lockdown) letting off fireworks, and eating good food together, celebrating Diwali in a smaller, yet no less important way.
We’ve been doing the same, bar the fireworks (plenty going off around here for us to enjoy!) We did a drive by in front of the in-laws house, where mum had cooked up a storm, and after a few minutes of us standing at a distance from them, wishing each other happy Diwali, we left with a bag brimming with fresh pakoras, lamb kebabs, Indian rice pudding, called Kheer, and plenty of other naughty but nice sweet goodies.
And we’ve sat, together, the four of us, eating, watching a film, and enjoying each other’s company, and keeping our thoughts positive, that this time next year, we will hopefully be in our forever home!
So… tell me, if you feel as if you are in a tunnel, can you see the light, yet? If not, how do you get yourself through?
Have a peaceful Sunday Peeps. And enjoy your week!
I am excited to welcome my blog pal, Sheila Skillman to my blog, today, to tell you a little bit about her new release, Paranormal Warwickshire. Having grown up in Warwickshire, I was intrigued, and more than happy to be a part of this particular blog tour.
Let me hand you over!
First of all, thank you very much, Ritu, for allowing me this space on your blog to introduce my new book Paranormal Warwickshire to your readers.
Warwickshire is a county steeped in the supernatural, as befits the county of Shakespeare and the many ghosts and spirits that he conjured up in his works.
The towns and villages of Warwickshire, its castles, houses, churches, theatres, inns and many other places both grand and everyday have rich and complex stories to tell of paranormal presences.
In this book I investigate several stories at places such as Guy’s Cliffe, the Saxon Mill, Warwick Castle and St Mary’s Church, Warwick; Kenilworth Castle and Stoneleigh Abbey; Nash’s House and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as in the towns of Rugby, Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.
I explore the spiritual resonance of each location, recounting the tales of paranormal activity associated with it and examining the reasons for this within the history of the place.
What made me want to write about the paranormal?
I’ve long loved ghost stories, and among my favourites are classic tales of the macabre by such masters as Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Henry James. There are many brilliant contemporary writers in the genre too, foremost amongst whom we may find Susan Hill. I remember listening to her at a local literary festival, and speaking of The Woman in Black, she said, “I have never known a story grow legs and run away from me like that one did.”
From my early teens I would eagerly pick up books about curious paranormal cases, and I loved watching TV dramas like Tales of the Unexpected and an adaptation of The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. More recently I’ve read books such as Shadows in the Nave by Paul Adams, Eddie Brazil and Peter Underwood, and The English Ghost by Peter Ackroyd (these authors are all experienced researchers in the field).
You’ve probably guessed that I’m one of those people who will alight upon a book saying Haunted this or Paranormal that in any tourist gift shop, wherever I may be in the country. And I couldn’t, of course, resist The World of the Unknown: All About Ghosts, first published by Usborne in 1977, and re-issued last year in response to popular demand.
The key to our fascination with these stories, I believe, is the emotional and psychological effect they have on us. Most of us go about our everyday lives making assumptions about the world we live in, which generally obeys the laws of science. But I, in common with many others, am intrigued by that eerie encounter with the unexpected, when we stray into the borderlands of the unknown.
And I do, of course, love the current TV drama series Ghosts – a brilliant script which cleverly twists the classic paranormal tropes.
How did I start to write Paranormal Warwickshire?
I began by frequently visiting the locations I describe in the pages of my book. I discovered new things about them each time I returned. Initially, I wrote blog posts about them, in my series Places of Inspiration.
Then a writer friend suggested I gather the posts together in a book. She said she’d certainly read it, and it would need lots of pictures too. I decided to call it Spirit of Warwickshire. When I read out a chapter to my local writing group, I received a positive response, and subsequently approached a few history publishers with the proposal. Amberley Publishing were interested and said they wanted it for their paranormal series. I was only too happy to fulfil that brief, as you can imagine.
The next stage was to sign the contract with Amberley – a very exciting moment! I then went round all the locations with my photographer son, joining ghost tours, listening to people telling their stories, and of course building up a good selection of photos, many of which are in the book.
I do hope those who read Paranormal Warwickshire will enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed researching them!
Thank you so much, Sheila, for introducing your book to my followers. I was honoured to be given a copy in advance, which I enjoyed reading immensely.
My Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A fantastic book filled with tales of ghostly sightings across the county of Warwickshire. SC Skillman has found some intriguing stories and researched their background and possible origins. The results are fascinating and eye-opening. I especially loved the accompanying photographs, old and new, showing the different castles and buildings where these events are said to have taken place. Warwickshire was where I grew up, and we regularly visited places like Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, so this book held an extra special interest for me. Thank you to the author for providing me with an arc, for an honest review.
Sheila lives in Warwickshire, and writes psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction and non-fiction. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Association of Christian Writers.
She began her publishing journey with a duology of novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit. This was followed by a non-fiction book Perilous Path: a writer’s journey. Sheila is currently working on the second novel in a new gothic fiction series.
She posts twice weekly on her blog at http://www.scskillman.com and she also gives author talks to local groups.
Sheila was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, and studied English Literature at Lancaster University. Her first permanent job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later she lived for nearly five years in Australia before returning to the UK.
She has now settled in Warwick with her husband and son, and her daughter is studying at university in Australia.
I always love to promote work that is for a good cause, and an anthology that is selling for charity is definitey a good cause.
One of the Facebook groups I am a member of, The New Romance Cafe, has a short story anthology, in time for Christmas, and all proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
If you’re looking for a read of short, sweet romances with a festive twist, then look no further!
SPARKLING ROMANCE WITH A SPRINKLING OF HOLIDAY MAGIC AND A TOUCH OF SASS AND SPICE.
Breast cancer affects one in four women. Here’s your chance to read a swoon-worthy book and help other women at the same time.
Curl up in your comfy chair in front of the fire and know that every book purchased, and every page read raises money for breast cancer research.
This winter romance collection has it all:
Small towns
Multicultural couples
Hawaiian escapes
Hot surfers
Firefighters – ooh!
Delectable bakers and cakees
And a touch of noir
Grab Twelve Days of Kisses for romance with all the feels.
12 Days of Kisses, the latest contemporary anthology of short stories for charity from the authors at The Romance Cafe is now available !
Monday is back, and with it, we are at the beginning of Lockdown v2… How are you faring? Grab your drink and let’s have a catch up.
If we were having chai I’d start with school (as always!) If you remember, I mentioned that I would be a staff member short this week, as one of my ladies was having a hospital procedure, which required her to self isolate for 14 day beforehand, so one of my other part time team members stepped up, and added a couple of days to her week, with us, which really helped. We have one team member leaving this week, so there have been interviews for her position, three, this week, as well as a position for 1 to 1 support for a special needs child. So the interviews all happened, then on Thursday, another of my team feell ill. She was sent home, and though we didn’t think it was Covid-19 related, she got herself a test done. Her health comes first, so I had no qualms about sending her home, but it meant I was juggling my class alone for a while, then an interviewee was bing observed, so even though I was watching her, I got an extra set of hands! Friday was much the same, with one of my other ladies who doesn’t work Friday, volunteering to come in extra, to help cover the staff shortage. Angel! This proved that we could all juggle… teaching, management tasks, observations and interviews, as well as staffing issues sorted! Caan I also share a picture by one of my colleagues, who made a portrait of me, as Ritu Poppins!
If we were having chai I’d tell you that the kids have been great at school. Parents are coming at drop off and pick up, wearing masks, and conscious of standing apart from others, which is good to see. Only one parent has been worried about the lockdown as her child was sheilding last time, and we don’t know if it is the same this time, they haven’t had a letter confirming if she is CV (Clinically Vulnerable) or CEV (Clinically Extremely Vulnerable) yet. The latter means that she has to stay at home. But her mum really wants her at school, because she loves being there. It’s tough making these choices, though, as a parent…
If we were having chai I’d excitedly tell you that we chose our estate agent, so the ball is definitely rolling with the house sale. The photographer came yesterday to take photos to go on the website, and he also took what are called Map-o-plan images, which are like how Google Earth works, so an interested buyer can move around 3D images of the house, too see what it all looks like, before deciding if they definitely want a proper viewing. Need to sort a solicitor out, next! I think we might even have our mortgage Agreement in Principle, too, so that means we have a budget to work with. I’m feeling rather grown up, now!
If we were having chai I’d mention that I was dreading the grocery shop this weekend. What with lockdown, there is, again, a whole load of people bulk buying and a chance that supermarkets will have to do the limited shoppers in store thing. It wasn’t a problem last time, as the weather was warm, but I don’t fancy standing in a slow moving queue for any length of time, right now! I went on Saturday late afternoon, after the photos, and there was no queue, thank goodness. I was also able to get all I needed, but there were a good few shelves that were nearly gone, or empty. Seriously, Peeps, toilet roll is still being stockpiled… why?! But on the flip side, one of the big supermarkets, Morrisons, is giving all school staff 10% off all shopping (apart from spirits) until January, so that is a little boost!
If we were having chai I’d have to admit that by Sunday, and this seems to be every Sunday, recently, I was shattered. I spent pretty much all of it either sitting on the sofa, or on my bed, reading or snoozing. My body is telling me it needs rest, so I am making sure I listen. I’m also aching, from moving bits of furniture around, before the photos were taken in the house, and I have a cold which wants to come out, but seems shy. I get dribs and drabs of sneezes, and blocked noses, then it disappears, only to come back a day or two later. Seriously, cold, either come out, or do one!
If we were having chai I’d end by sharing something new with you. A few weeks back, I won a competition to have my brand logo designed, professionally. I’ve done my own with Looka, before, but this was a chance for someone who knows what they are doing, to look at me, and my author image, take my preferences, and create something for me. What do you think? Personally, I’m loving it!
This week, aside from just getting through the week, I have my ultrasound appointment for my elbow joints. It has been over a year since investigations started about my tiredness, and joint pains, so I really hope I hear from them soon, and get some answers. Other than that, there is nothing different planned for the week. I just hope it’s a smooth one!
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!
“My mother would say: “Don’t sit around and complain about things. Do something.” So I did something.
Kamala Harris
Thank you Spidey, for this great quote!
(And can I apologise for the lateness of our appearaance this morning? Been far too tired recently, and I fell asleep before writing and scheduling – but then agan, Spidey was quite busy, last night, celebrating the new president in the US!)
It would be remiss of me to not mention the HUGE news that finally, Trump is out, and we have a new US president. A new POTUS. Biden, here’s to, hopefully, a much better term, than the last has been!
But, for me, and many women out there, even more important is that woman who Spidey quoted, above.
Kamala Harris.
What an inspiration!
The first woman VP of the US.
The first woman of colour VP of the US.
And she will, I hope inspire a new generation of women, from around the world, to really work for what they believe in. Anything is possible.
Kamala is of Jamaican and Indian heritage, so she will become a figure to aspire to be like for a whole different demographic of women, as well as womankind in general.
Congrats to Biden. I hope the change will ease the unrest in the US.
But HUGE congrats to our sister, Kamala Harris! You go, girl!
So… tell me, how are you feeling about the US presidency results?
Have a peaceful Sunday Peeps. And enjoy your week!
But I Smile Anyway... 