Happy Monday, Peeps! Last one of the term… Thank goodness!
I mean, I love my classes and team, but I am ready for switching that off button on my alarm now! You got your drink?
If we were having chai, I’d say that it has been a tiring week at school. I think end of term-itis has hit. It is week 7. Surely we should be at the end of term by now? But no, there is a week left! Kids are flagging, we the staff, are flagging, but at least the children are having some fun!
If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I had a good old pumpkin and squash shop ready for next week. I love finding all the different types of squash for the children to explore!
If we were having chai, I’d say that I am feeling the effects of age/perimenopause/hormones/the cold. I have had terrible sleep the last few nights, since Tuesday night, and have been strapped up around the back, and my knee on one day, too. Oh, the pain! And on Sunday, I found it hard to lift my leg, to go up the stairs as usual… It is not comfortable at all. I am glad I have a GP appointment on Tuesday. I can’t live like this, on hot water bottles and painkillers!
If we were having chai, I’d share with your another lovely quote I found in my motivational deck.
If we were having chai, I’d apologise, as I haven’t been on my phone taking pics as much this week, and I didn’t get a new shot of Sonu Singh. We can revisit an old one, where he was encouraging me to write!
This week is the last week of term (thank goodness!) There are the pupil flu sprays happening at school, as well as a meeting with one of the senior members of management in our academy, as well as me having a day out (not as fun as it sounds, I have a course to go on!), and we are waving goodbye to one of my team, as she leaves, to go travelling. I am truly going to miss her. Oh, and not forgetting that doctor’s appointment, as well as Lil Man having another party to attend!
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!
The last week I have had a particularly painful week with my back aching, and my knee began its thing too… (remember, two years ago, I was in agony with my knees and phantom pains in other joints? All the tests and scans came back with nothing. And pains are back…)
I have not slept a full night with the aches, and sometimes sharp pains. in my hip, too.
Oh, I am definitely feeling my age creeping up on me.
Painkillers, hot water bottles and my back support are my best buddies right now…
So, tell me, how do you cope with the aches and pains that life grants you?
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “happy place.” Write the first thing that comes to mind when you think of “happy place.” Have fun!
Where is your ‘happy place’? I have a few, but that’s because I’m easily pleased!
My favourite happy place is with my family, be it in my own home or with my parents.
I also love visiting a bookshop. That is always sure to make me smile.
In a sweet shop…
Sitting in my reading and writing room with a good book, a hot cup of tea and Sonu Singh dozing by my side.
But, honestly, I can make anywhere my happy place by the way I use my mindset. 🙂
I am so excited to have a special guest today, my dear writer friend, Diana Peach!
She is sharing details about her newest release, The Necromancer’s Daughter, with us.
Stunning cover!
Thanks for having me over today, Ritu. I thought I’d share the story of Kwan-yin, a tale from Chinese mythology on which I loosely based The Necromancer’s Daughter. I think readers who give the book a try will see some similarities. Here goes:
Kwan-yin was the daughter of a Chinese king. She was educated and goodhearted toward all people, the rich as well as the poor and suffering. The king decided that she would marry, and when he died, she would inherit the throne, and her husband would rule the kingdom.
But Kwan-yin didn’t care for the splendour of court life and feared she’d be unhappy. She asked instead to spend her days in a convent where she could continue her life of study and ministry. Her father refused and on the eve of her wedding, Kwan-yin ran away to a convent.
Rather than greet her with kindness, the nuns made her a servant and treated her cruelly, wanting to break her spirit. She worked hard and tried to earn their love.
One day, she met a sacred dragon while she carried water down the road. She knew the dragon wouldn’t harm her, and she wasn’t afraid. Instead, the dragon admired her goodness, and in her honor, he gave a gift of a well to the convent. Despite the dragon’s gift, the nuns continued to treat her poorly.
In time, her father sent an army to retrieve her. They threatened to burn down the convent, and though the nuns cursed her for their troubles, Kwan-yin prayed to the almighty powers to save the convent and the sisters. The rain came and put out the fire.
Her father’s army took her to the capital, and he gave her one more chance to comply with his orders. If she didn’t obey, she would be put to death. Kwan-yin said that heaven itself had commanded her to devote her life to deeds of mercy.
That night Kwan-yin was executed. No sooner had she stepped into the dark country of death than it burst into bloom. Kwan-yin ascended to heaven for her goodness and became the immortal goddess of mercy.
Thanks so much for letting me share the story of Kwan-yin. In The Necromancer’s Daughter, readers will find a young woman who longs to be a healer, a king with other plans, a cruel religious order, flight from soldiers, and several dragons. For other parallels … well, I won’t spoil the fun. Happy Reading!
Blurb:
A healer and dabbler in the dark arts of life and death, Barus is as gnarled as an ancient tree. Forgotten in the chaos of the dying queen’s chamber, he spirits away her stillborn infant, and in a hovel at the meadow’s edge, he breathes life into the wisp of a child. He names her Aster for the lea’s white flowers. Raised as his daughter, she learns to heal death.
Then the day arrives when the widowed king, his own life nearing its end, defies the Red Order’s warning. He summons the necromancer’s daughter, his only heir, and for his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade.
While Barus hides from the Order’s soldiers, Aster leads their masters beyond the wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a land of dragons and barbarian tribes. She seeks her mother’s people, the powerful rulers of Blackrock, uncertain whether she will find sanctuary or face a gallows’ noose.
Unprepared for a world rife with danger, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son.
A healer with the talent to unravel death, a child reborn, a father lusting for vengeance, and a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.
What a fantastic book, filled with fantasy, dragons, kingdoms at war, healing magic, necromancy and love! I’ll be the first to put my hand up and say that this isn’t my usual genre to read. However, as I got into the book, I could not put it down. Barus is a crippled healer who finds himself in a situation where he is mistaken for his mother, who, along with healing, was able to practice the art of necromancy. The king has demanded the necromancer’s presence to save his queen and unborn heir from certain death, but Barus’s mother is no longer alive. He accompanies the guards to the castle and ends up with the dead baby princess in his possession. What follows is the story of Aster, the princess who was brought back to life by Barus, who she considers her father. As she learns the truth about her origins, it opens up a wormhole of hatred and misunderstandings that force the father and daughter to flee their home. Aster’s journey through different lands to reach her uncle introduces her to new people who find a way into her life and heart. She gains fans and accumulates enemies as she uses her healing powers and, at a push, the art of necromancy. An intricately woven tale of hope, faith and love.
Author bio:
A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked.
In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.
Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
But I Smile Anyway... 
