It is a privilege to be able to feature this latest contribution to the 2023 Memoir Showcase from Susan Mellsopp.

You can read Susan's moving story He’s Beautiful and He Knows It here.

Susan Mellsopp 

Susan lives in Hamilton, New Zealand, with her cream Labrador guide dog Maya. She has always been an avid reader who has two talking and a kindle book on the go at once, as well as a digital magazine. She has often said she must have been born in a library.
 
Susan runs a writing group, and has recently started writing longer memoir essays. She enjoys going to classical music concerts, gardening-mostly roses, knitting and meeting friends at cafes. She has recently purchased a keyboard and is reviving her playing skills. She loves learning about new technology. Travel is a huge passion but this has been halted by covid. She hopes to travel again soon.  
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I'd like to offer a very warm welcome to another newcomer to Fred's Blog, memoir author Dvora Treisman.

You can read Dvora's contribution to the 2023 Memoir Showcase, Inés, here.

The latest contribution to the Memoir Showcase is from Jacqui Martin.

We are especially honoured, as Jacqui is not only a newcomer to this blog, but she has never sent anything for submission before. After having read her story, I am sure you will agree that this should not be the last.

Jacqui has also provided some background to her story, which I am sure she will not mind me sharing, "The chapter of my life in my submission is not one I look back on with much joy or enthusiasm in all honesty but Its been very cathartic doing so at this time when faced with another life changing scenario. It has served as a reminder of how far you can come, even from the bleakest of outlooks, of how there is light even in the deepest valleys and of the hidden strength you don’t even know you possess until tested."

​You can read her moving story Lightning does strike twice by clicking here.

Today's feature in the Memoir Showcase is the third contribution this year from Sue Bavey, and I am particularly honoured to feature this story about her mother's travels to Australia in 1960.

You can read All At Sea here.

Sue Bavey (sometimes writing as S. Bavey) is an English Mum of two, living in Massachusetts since 2003 with her family, a cat named Midnight, a bunny named Nutmeg and a leopard gecko named Ziggy Stardust. She wrote her grandfather’s biography: Lucky Jack (1894-2000) during COVID lockdown and published her late father’s memoirs and poetry in a volume titled: Daydreams & Narcoleptic Nightmares.
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All At Sea is an excerpt from her upcoming book detailing her mother’s three years spent in Australia and New Zealand during the 1960’s. Working title (this may change): Kookaburras, Cuppas and Kangaroos.
 
Lucky Jack (1894-2000): https://bit.ly/Lucky-Jack
Photos of Lucky Jack here: https://suelbavey.wordpress.com/lucky-jack-photo-gallery
Daydreams & Narcoleptic Nightmares: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0BFTFJKPR
 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SueBavey
Facebook:​​ https://www.facebook.com/sue.bavey
Email: [email protected] (Emails welcome)
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It always gives me great pleasure to welcome a newcomer to Fred's Blog.

The latest contribution to the Memoir Showcase is an intriguing piece of travel writing from self-published author, Carrie Riseley.

You can read Carrie's story Snow Ride here.

Carrie Riseley

Carrie grew up in Tasmania, Australia but spent her youth living in Melbourne, Japan and England. She has travelled to 47 countries to date, and kept a travel journal for every single one.

Carrie started doing this when, just before her first travelling experience at age 18, family members gave her an empty notebook to use as a travel journal. Carrie found she loved writing about what she was seeing and experiencing so much that she filled the notebook in only 3 weeks. She bought more notebooks, and just kept going.

So far, Carrie has published three books:

• All Aboard! A journey on the Trans-Mongolian Railway and through eastern Europe (2021)
• Japan Unexpected (2022)
• Smiles and Spices: journeys and encounters in east Asia (2023)

Because Carrie's books were written in the moment as she was travelling - or, in the case of her second book “Japan Unexpected”, while she was living in and fully experiencing the culture of Japan - you'll feel like you were there too. You'll marvel as she marvelled, wonder as she wondered, and learn as she learned.

You can follow “Carrie’s Travel Books” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest, or Carrie Riseley on LinkedIn, to see Carrie's photographs and snippets of her great stories. You can find links to Carrie’s books and socials here:
 https://books2read.com/carrieriseley
You can also find her on GoodReads and BookBub.

Carrie lives in Hobart, Tasmania, with her baby son Ned.

I know some of you have been waiting in anticipation for this latest contribution in the 2023 Fiction Showcase. It is my pleasure today to be able to feature the fourth part in the WINDFALL series from Ronald Mackay.

You can read WINDFALL:4 The Body: Dead or Alive? here.

Viviana and Ronald in Voorburg, the Netherlands in May 2023​
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For our latest entry in the 2023 Memoir Showcase it is a huge privilege to feature a wonderful piece of travel writing from well-known author Jackie Lambert.

​You can read Jackie's contribution Kidnapped By Aliens In Slovakia! – The Perils of Being a Brit Abroad here.

Jackie Lambert

Jacqueline (Jackie) Lambert is an award-winning travel author. Reviews for her bestselling Adventure Caravanning with Dogs series of comic travel memoirs describe them as, “Laugh out loud funny,” “A great travel guide”, and “Armchair Travel Delight”. 

Jackie also runs a doggie travel blog, which includes stories from her travels, plus advice on van life and travel with dogs.

BC (Before Canines) Jackie rafted, rock-climbed and backpacked around six of the seven continents, and has visited more than 50 countries. A passionate windsurfer and skier, she can fly a plane, drive a truck, has been bitten by a lion, and appeared as a fire eater on Japanese TV.

AD (After Dog) in 2016, she quit work to hit the road permanently with her husband, Mark, and The Fab Four, their four cuddly pooches. Initially, they were Adventure Caravanners, who aimed To Boldly Go Where No Van Has Gone Before. Since 2021, they are at large in The Beast, a self-converted six-wheel army lorry which they bought to drive to Mongolia, until Putin launched his ‘special operation’ in Ukraine.

Jackie has published six books in her Adventure Caravanning With Dogs series, about how she and Mark went from wage slaves to living the dream when they embarked on a permanent road trip. Her forthcoming books will chronicle their new life as Grumpy Old Truckers.

Jackie has contributed chapters to several travel anthologies, plus guest posts and articles to various magazines and internationally renowned blogs.  

Connect with her via the links below:
Amazon:
author.to/JacquelineLambert
Blog:
www.WorldWideWalkies.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/JacquelineLambertAuthor

Jackie Lambert Author with Ruby in Provence

As we enter the final two months of this year's Creative Writing Showcase, it is a tremendous honour to be able able to feature a fabulous memoir contribution from one of my favourite authors, Valerie Poore.

You can read Val's story Memories of a childhood in London by clicking  here.

Valerie Poore

​Val Poore grew up in London and Dorset in the UK, but in 1981 she moved to South Africa where she and her family lived for nearly twenty years. However, personal and family commitments prompted a return to Europe in 2001. Since then, she has been working as a freelance ESL and academic writing skills teacher in the Netherlands. Val shares her time between a 125-year-old historic Dutch barge and a cottage in Zeeland. She has written a number of memoirs about her life in South Africa and the Netherlands, as well as three novels.