Author: Lynn

My husband and I live in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada, and now that we are empty nesting I again began pursuing my dream of writing for children. I am privileged to have met and/or corresponded with Canadian and US authors,; among those are internationally known Canadian author Budge Wilson who wrote many MG and other books, Laura Best, Darlene Foster; US author Drew Lamm (originally from Canada); US author/novelist Sue Harrison - all whose books I've reviewed on my blog, Amazon and other sites. It's my joy to be in contact with other writers and professionals of all stages of the process. Life brings change, and for me that meant the opportunity to pursue a decades old dream - to learn to paint. I now join other painters weekly and we paint and learn together. You can check out my paintings at https://www.instagram.com/lynn.a.davidson2019

How do you want to be remembered?

I’ve been thinking about memories and the impressions we make on others.

Family health issues, and being a part-time caregiver for as long as we can handle the stress that comes with it, has caused me to think about memory. As memory slips away from some people, I’ve been pondering about the impression we leave of ourselves on others’ memories.

I had a very discouraging day recently, and I was rather rude to a store clerk. It’s not the way I always am nor do I want to be thought of that way, so when I got home I called the shop and apologized to that lady. She didn’t ask for my attitude, nor did she deserve it. One bad day, one bad mood, is not how I want to be remembered.

So, what DO I want people thinking when I come to mind?

Am I patient, kind, pleasant to be around? Or am I moody, snappy, seeming to have a dark cloud hanging over my head?

Am I cheerful, helpful, loving? Or am I angry, irritable, sullen?

Do I handle disappointment with grace or do I let it take me into a sour mood?

What impression am I making as my path crosses someone else’s today?Are they glad of the encounter, or do they wish they had not met me? Did I make them feel blessed or did I leave them with an ugly hole in their heart?

Attitude is very important, and I have discovered that it really affects everything. I am working on mine.

How about you? Have you ever thought about the memories you are leaving of yourself? How do YOU want to be remembered?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Book: Magic Under Glass
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date: January 2010
Genre: Fantasy (paranormal)
Pages: 225, hard cover
Price: $16.99 US
My Rating: Intriguing, entertaining, hard to put down

I first learned of Magic Under Glass in a writer’s chat room where I ‘met’ the author. Enthusiasm for this book was high so I added it to my long list of “must reads.” I don’t regret it. Once I started reading this novel it didn’t take long to make my way through it. Why? I didn’t want to quit until reaching the end!

The story is about Nimira, a young dancer and singer who left her own country to make her fortune elsewhere. As is often the case, she fell on hard times instead, but eventually she is approached by a wealthy gentleman (who happens to be a sorcerer) who has better plans for her – an offer she is willing to chance. From that point the author swept me into a fantastical adventure of mystery and magic, murder and mayhem, but also love and loyalty and hope.

Nimira is hired to sing as the accompaniment to an automaton that is rumoured to be haunted and that plays music on a keyboard. What Nim discovers impacts her life and draws her into the power struggle between good and evil, fairies and men, hope and impossible love.

For the reader who enjoys paranormal and fantasy, Magic Under Glass isn’t overly involved and has a bizarre side to it that is quite inventive.

I enjoyed this novel, the first I’ve read of its kind, but – yes, there is a ‘but’ – it ends so abruptly I was taken aback. I was so into the story that I was expecting another chapter, at least. It left me asking, is there more? Is there another book to finish this? So, well done, Jaclyn Dolamore!

You can find Magic Under Glass listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

What is your passion?

I’ve been thinking today about what is my passion – where I put my efforts, how I use my time. Besides being with my beloved husband and my family, that is. This week I am working more on Valley Sunshine publication, hoping my duplicating machine won’t quit on me again. During the printing of the last issue my antiquated machine broke down but, strangely, when the repairman finally was able to come out to look at it, I tried it and it worked again! Now, I don’t know for how long it will be functional, but it means I can print off this issue, or at least for as long as it prints off the pages. That is one place I put my time – writing, compiling, sharing the Lord and His word through this little publication. I enjoy the contact with my readers/subscribers.

And you know I like to write stories, but I haven’t been able to really settle into being creative that way the last several months – except for book reviews and a few interviews. Working on my novel is something I have yet to mold into my life again, but I am really enjoying blogging. Because of time restrictions now I don’t get to visit many of the blogs I follow, though.

Another thing is, of course, reading books. Last week I began reading War and Peace which is four books in one, and I learned that it took Leo Tolstoy six years to write it! I figure it will probably take me a year to read it. 🙂 At least. But I also have several other books on the go at the same time, so I will keep adding titles to my “have read” list for this year.

But I think my greatest passion is worship – worshiping the Lord, and being in fellowship with other Christians to “be the Church” with them. It is uplifting and joyful and a blessing to all involved. Part of that is talking about God’s Word, learning more and sharing about it .. such wonderful food for the soul. Religion does not quicken my spirit, but relationship with Him does.

So, what is your passion? Where or how do you most like to spend your time? Do you enjoy creating? If so, what? Do you like to travel? If so, where and how?

What is your passion?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: Mother Earth Father Sky – by Sue Harrison

Author: Sue Harrison
Publisher: Doubleday
Date: June 1990
Genre: prehistoric fiction
Pages: 313, hardcover
Price: US $19.95, CD $24.95
My rating: An amazing, startling, satisfying read.

Mother Earth Father Sky is the first book in a trilogy that takes us into the lives of an ancient North American people in Alaska. If that sounds boring, don’t be fooled.

To be honest, I hardly know what to say about this book. At the writing of this review, having just finished reading it I’m barely back to the here-and-now, and the story of Chagak is still fresh in my mind. To say that Sue Harrison wrote an amazing prehistoric fiction novel scarcely describes what she masterfully accomplished. Over the course of nine years she studied, researched and lived in her creative mind the tale of a long ago culture in Alaska, focusing on one Aleut woman’s struggle to survive and overcome a very harsh reality. That woman, Chagak, lived in a primitive time consisting of warrior tribes, legends, crude customs, myths, and magic, but also love, family ties, and community. The author made it all come alive through the power of the written word in a very easy-to-read style. I was held from the beginning of this book to its last page – left wanting to read more about the people I had come to know.

This book is not newly released but was published in 1990. I was fortunate to be gifted a copy and I’m so glad to have received it. If you come across Mother Earth Father Sky and you are not offended by the cruel reality and graphic descriptions of the belief system of prehistoric man, then do grab the opportunity to read this book.

(my apologies for the less than ideal image of the book)

You can find Mother Earth Father Sky listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Postal service – yes or no?

Canada Post has been on strike. This week postal service is POSSIBLY going to be restored. Have you missed it?

I love getting mail, and although I do not write letters as frequently as I used to I appreciate the convenience and service. I enjoy receiving letters and packages in my mailbox. Having no mail service tossed an irritant into my already rather confused days but hopefully it will not go on for a long time.

What do you do when your postal service goes out on strike, when service is disrupted for something out of your control? Have you gone electronic enough that you hardly notice, or do you want them to hurry and settle things so that you can get back to business?

Would you want to – or could you – live without your postal service?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings. 🙂

Book Review: Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask – by Darlene Foster

Book: Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask
Author: Darlene Foster
Publisher: ireadiwrite publishing
Genre: juvenile fiction, adventure
Date: November 2010
Pages: 108, paperback
Price: $8.95
My rating: A very good read and a great little book that educates while entertaining.

This little book is the first in an adventure series for children. It is an enjoyable way to learn about the UAE – the United Arab Emirates – without being there to do it.

Canadian author Darlene Foster has written an entertaining and educational book that gives the reader insight into life in the UAE. She has created a believable character, twelve-year-old Amanda Ross, whose desire to travel leads to the amazing opportunity to leave Canada for a month’s vacation with relatives living in the far away Arabian country. Not long after her arrival, Amanda purchases a perfume flask that mysteriously was saved just for her. She soon discovers why as she is thrust into an exciting adventure on a secret mission she will never forget.

This story was written for preteen readers, but is one anyone would enjoy. Darlene writes vivid pictures, masterfully delivering descriptive insights into the lifestyle of the people of the United Arab Emirates with its rugged desert regions, while drawing the reader into a memorable adventure.

This may be the book to start a child on a journey through the written word, especially since it is the beginning of a series. The second book is just out, but start with this one. And be sure to read it for yourself!

You can find Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and .. Creative Musings! 🙂

Book Review: Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me: A memoir … of sorts – by Ian Morgan Cron

Book: Jesus, My Father, the CIA, And Me: A memoir… of sorts
Author: Ian Morgan Cron
Genre: Biography, Christian
Pages: 257, paperback
Price: $15.99 US
Released: May 2011
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
My Rating: Oh my! Captivating, even in the hard places.

I received a copy of Jesus, My Father, the CIA, And Me: A memoir… of sorts from Book Sneeze in exchange for a review.

This book was hard to put down even when I absolutely had to. It was with caution that I started reading, not knowing what to expect after having read someone’s introduction – but by the time I was into chapter two there was no stopping.

Ian Cron writes with such seeming honesty and transparency that the reader can feel his grief, his triumphs, his struggles. I winced in places, feeling sorrow for his pain, and laughed out loud where he unexpectedly injected humour.

He writes about his tumultuous growing up years – as he remembers it – with his secretive alcoholic father and his proper, lovely mother who tried to protect him. He writes about his own fall into a life of addiction, patterned unwittingly after his father. And he writes about his deep love for God, his anger toward Jesus when all he wants is for his own father to love him, and the discoveries of the truth about both his father and Jesus. Truths that change his life.

What bothered me about this book was the author’s flippant attitude toward God, his apparent lack of reverence as if God owed him something. I’m not sure what Ian Morgan Cron was attempting to do, but knowing that he eventually became a priest caused me to feel alarm about the negative way he talked about the Bible and Jesus. My hope is that he was simply expressing the feelings he had early in his spiritual journey, which are probably the questions of many in their search for Truth.

Having said that, this is a story that pulled me in and held me there right to the end; such an enjoyable read that is different from any out there.

Do you like reading biographies? This one is a definite change of pace.

You can find Jesus, My Father, the CIA, And Me: A memoir… of sorts listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂