Fred's Blog

“THE MOM” CRASHER by Nancy McBride

17/6/2019

The latest contribution in our 2019 Authors Showcase is a real treat and will certainly brighten up your Monday.

It is the second submission this year from Nancy McBride and is accompanied by more of her magnificent drawings, which were done at the time. I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy Nancy's latest story “THE MOM” CRASHER. You can read it here.

Nancy McBride

Apparently, our Nancy McBride sometimes just shows up, seemingly delivered by fairy dust, as it were. Many of her stories are examples of her intuitive nature leading her, well, not exactly astray, but certainly on adventures she could not possibly have imagined in a rational state of mind. (And yes, there are stories of her encounters with fairies—all in Scotland—but that’s another story.)

Riding on the waves of her occasional bursts of energy, she paints, draws, writes, and sometimes teaches writing, and painting. In her segueing years, she also works as an actress for a medical school where she helps prepare physicians by acting out specific case scenarios for their practice, then critiques them to boost their professional skills.

She begins an impro class, this summer. Save us all.

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1955 ~ On the Farm by Tina Mattern

13/6/2019

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It is a pleasure to feature this fabulous second contribution from Tina Mattern in our 2019 Authors Showcase.

Tina explains, 'this one is a sort of prelude to the lamb story' (which we featured last month.

Read and enjoy Tina's latest submission, 1955 ~ On the Farm here.

Tina Mattern

Tina Wagner Mattern is a 68 year old Portland, Oregon writer. She has been published numerous times in anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Maine Review and A Cup of Comfort. She dabbles in short, humorous fiction but her main focus is on finishing her memoir-in-progress, “Butter Side Up.” This memory, “The Summer of ‘58” is a scene from that work.

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Lighten our Darkness by Ronald Mackay

9/6/2019

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The 2019 Authors Showcase continues to bring us some remarkable memorable life experiences. Our latest is the third from Ronald Mackay.

His story is entitled Lighten our Darkness. Enjoy it here.

Ronald Mackay

During a varied life, Ronald Mackay has survived a great many perils including a military arrest on the Romanian frontier with the USSR in 1968 shortly before the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, a journey by dog-sled on sea-ice off the coast of the Melville Peninsula in the Canadian Arctic and an eruption of Mount Yasur on the island of Tanna in the Republic of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. He still regards as one of his greatest challenges, however, a period of his life spent in the company of a single-minded dog-breeder. His take-home lesson from that period is: It may be futile to compete for the attention of a dedicated pet-lover.

Ronald and his wife Viviana, live happily and bilingually in a home they built themselves on the shores of Rice Lake in Ontario, Canada where the only live-in animal company is each other while they are surrounded by a wide and fascinating range of wildlife the year round from orioles to ospreys and mink to moose.

Ronald writes plays for the theatre and is the author of “Fortunate Isle, a Memoir of Tenerife” and “A Tenerife con Cariño”.

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Nora by Susan Mellsopp

6/6/2019

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It is wonderful to be able welcome our latest contributor to the 2019 Authors Showcase, Susan Mellsopp.

I am sure Susan will not mind me mentioning that she suffered a serious concussion a while back. This has impaired her considerably and her recovery has been a long and difficult one. Her contribution is made even more special because of this.

You can read and enjoy Susan's story Nora here.

Susan Mellsopp is retired and lives with her golden retriever guide dog Jay in Hamilton New Zealand. Much of her life has been spent as a dairy farmer and also working as a librarian, archivist and accessible transport researcher. She belongs to a writers group and is constantly being challenged to write in genres other than travel and memoir. She has published two school histories and writes for a national magazine. She is a voracious reader, loves to travel, listen to classical music, cook, and enjoys learning to use modern technology.

Susan at Government House

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Runaways by Mike Cavanagh

3/6/2019

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A warm welcome back to Mike Cavanagh, who has been a regular contributor to our travel writing competitions in previous years. This is his first submission to the 2019 Authors Showcase and what a fun filled piece it is. I hope you enjoy his story Runaways as much as I have. You can read it here.

Mike Cavanagh is now in his sixties and has no idea how that happened. He lives with his wife, Julie, and two black cats in Bateman’s Bay, Australia. Mike writes various stuffs, plays guitar, composes music, is doing research on rock-wallabies, and spends way too much time playing computer games. He thought he knew who he was until a diagnosis of high-functioning autism in his sixties gave him pause to rethink who he thought he was, and how he got here. So he wrote a memoir, then another… as you do. Stuff about Mike’s writing and music lurks here:

https://oneofitslegs.certifyed.co/home-page/

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An Attractive Pair by Helen Bing

2/6/2019

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The latest contribution in our Authors Showcase is the second this year from Helen Bing. Here is her introduction to her story, An Attractive Pair.

In the 1970’s, New Zealanders found getting work in England fairly easy. Apparently, we worked hard, and we were known for our ability to give anything a try. All around the country, pubs were staffed by Kiwis who were doing their O.E. (Overseas Experience).

Also, traditional seaside entertainment was still hanging on by the skin of its teeth, with its Bingo halls, amusement arcades, seaside stalls, and places like Pleasurama in Ramsgate, Kent, and the bars that worked alongside them. This is where the Londoners would congregate on their day trips and annuals holidays.

My story takes place in the Long Bar, Ramsgate.

Read it here.

Oh the things that time does to us!

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OBVIOUSLY by Nancy McBride

31/5/2019

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A huge thank you to everyone who has got involved with the 2019 Authors Showcase.
If you have missed any of the Memorable Life Experiences so far, you can catch up with them here. There is still plenty of time left if you want to submit one of your own. Click the link to the right to find out more.

Our latest contribution is a wonderful piece from a long-time supporter of this blog, Nancy McBride. Enjoy her story OBVIOUSLY here.

Nancy McBride

One cannot easily imagine where Nancy McBride’s many lives have taken her, or what’s possibly next (since she’s an evolver, not a planner, and her hard-learned mantra is “Simplify your expectations, don’t lower them.”), but you can be certain that she has a plethora of (often rathurrrr dramatic) Memorable Life Experiences!

Her writings include fun raps, and poetry (DEEP, DARK AND DELIRIOUS), but mostly personal anecdotes, often with quirky perspectives, which she may eventually publish under the title: DOOR OPEN (therein lies a story, of course).

She’s currently facilitating a popular writing workshop at her Central Massachusetts town’s senior center, where delightful results are flowing! Her purpose is to draw stories out of these folks, encouraging them to enhance any yawn-provoking flatness with a few practiced tricks to make their readers want more! It’s a drop-in-when-you-can, no-rules—just write, write, write, and react environment—which takes some adjustment for some folks, especially linear types, but WOW, can they let loose! Who knew? Also, an artist, her artwork has been described as “whimsical reality”, often extending outside the lines. (Who else would paint the experience of going through a car wash?) Perhaps that’s her writing style, too.

Nancy’s travel stories have been published in the Travel Stories and Highlights anthologies. 2017 Edition - 2018 Edition - 2019 Edition.

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A LIFE IN BURY by Malcolm D. Welshman

28/5/2019

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It is a privilege to feature the latest contribution in our 2019 Authors Showcase.

It is from well-known author and retired vet Malcolm Welshman. His memorable life experience is entitled A LIFE IN BURY and you can read it here,

Malcolm Welshman is a retired vet and author. He was the My Weekly vet for 15 years and has written many features for magazines such as She, The Lady, The People’s Friend, Cat World, Yours, and newspapers such as The Sunday Times and the Daily Mail. He is the author of three pet novels, the first of which, Pets in a Pickle, reached number two on Kindle’s bestseller list. His third novel, Pets Aplenty, was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize 2015. His latest book, An Armful of Animals – published September 2018 – is a memoir of encounters with creatures as diverse as a cow stuck in a tree and a red-footed booby. Jim Wight, James Herriot’s son, says of it, ‘A most enjoyable insight into a fascinating life.’ While author and columnist on The Daily Mail, Bel Mooney, states, ‘A witty take on a young vet’s life that pet owners will find endearing.’

A fourth pet novel, Pets are a Pleasure, is due to be published this autumn.

Malcolm is also an international speaker on cruise ships, having completed 47 such engagements over the past eight years. He is a bi-monthly contributor to a local community radio, Keep 106 in Dorset.

Link to An Armful of Animals
http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H1HM7ZB
http://amazon.com/dp/B07H1HM7ZB

Website: http://www.malcolmwelshman.co.uk

Malcolm & Dora

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Pique by Mary Mae Lewis

26/5/2019

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Our latest contribution to the 2019 Authors Showcase is a fabulous piece from Mary Mae Lewis.

You can read and enjoy Mary Mae's story Pique (pronounced Peekay) here.

Mary Mae Lewis

Mary Mae is author of the novel Where There’s a Will, There’s a Woman . Published July 2017.
She has kept a diary since she was sixteen and is prolific letter writer.
Raised in Staffordshire UK , she trained to be a primary school PE and English teacher and later qualified as TEFLA teacher .
She lived in Wales for one year ,London two years , Grand Cayman four years (where she worked as a newspaper reporter) and Malawi for five years.
She now lives in Newcastle-u-Lyme UK but spends half the year in Southern Spain .

Taken recently in the famous
MEZQUITA of Cordoba

Married for nearly 50 years she has three sons and four grand children .
It is from personal experience that her fiction is born.
She has been published In THE TELEGRAPH, is a published poet and has won prizes in short story competitions and contributed to Robert Fear’s Travel Stories Anthology 2019.

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Adak by Patty Sisco

23/5/2019

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It is a pleasure to welcome Patty Sisco, a newcomer to our 2019 Authors Showcase.

Patty's contribution is entitled Adak, and you can enjoy her fascinating story here.

Patty Sisco grew up in a military family and developed a passion for writing as an English major at the University of North Texas. However, she first submitted her writing for publication after her retirement from public education as a school counselor. She has published one memoir and is a community contributor to the Dallas Morning News. She resides in Texas with her husband, son, two grandsons, a dog, and two cats.

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