I am delighted to welcome back a regular supporter of our writing features - Helen Bing - with her first contribution in this year's Authors Showcase.

Read and enjoy Helen's inspirational true story A World Upside Down by clicking here.

Last month we featured the first part of Mike Cavanagh's inspirational story about his traumatic experiences in the Australian wildfires at the end of last year.

In this second part Mike brings his story to a conclusion and we find out what happened on that fateful New Year's Eve.

You can read Part 2 of New Year's Eve, 2019 by clicking here.

Today, in our 2020 Authors Showcase, we feature another inspiring story from Ronald Mackay, entitled In Sweet Rejoicing.

Before you read it by clicking here, check out the background to Ronald's story below.

Ronald Mackay spent an unforgettable year in La Isla Baja – the north-western corner of the Island of Tenerife -- when he was 18 years old.

In 2018, almost 60 years later, he and his wife, Viviana, visited the island and the village where Ronald had lived and worked in order to launch his memoir A Tenerife con Cariño. He wrote A Tenerife con Cariño, a Spanish version of his memoir Fortunate Isle, as a gesture of love and respect for the villagers of Buenavista del Norte. They had taken him into their lives and hearts and given him work in 1960.

During that recent return trip to Tenerife, Juan González now 83 years of age, who had been Ronald’s foreman and friend when he worked in the banana plantations there, took him to the nearby village of Garachico to visit the statue of the Migrant (El Migrante).

That visit and that moving statue inspired this story.

Ronald Mackay in Buenavista Del Norte, Canarias, Spain - 2019
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It is a pleasure to welcome back Captain Denis Dextraze with his second contribution in this year's Authors Showcase. This story is another extract from his forthcoming book about the time he spent in Cuba.

You can read My Dockside Neighbor in Cuba 20 years ago, Bill Clinton's Personal Friend by clicking here.

Author  Bio

Canadian born Captain Denis Dextraze started traveling internationally at age 18 when he hitchhiked around Europe during the summer break.  After graduating from two U.S. universities, he specialized in international high-tech marketing which took him around the world.  He retired early to enjoy sailing his 45 ft. ketch.  Between his career and his port-o-calls on Aventura, he visited more than 80 countries.

“Once upon a time in Cuba” is being written so that an interesting two years capsule of Cuban history, starting in May of 1998, will not be lost forever. All events reported in this book really happened no matter how ludicrous, illogical or incredible they appear.
These years were times of changes and uncertainty for the Cuban authorities. They wanted our money but did not want us because we were “contaminating” the communist indoctrination of their controlled population. We were living interesting times, sharing the docks in Marina Hemingway with an array of adventurers not representing any normal and organized society in the world.  They ranged from millionaires, drug smugglers, Hells Angels members, pedophiles, smugglers, tough Vietnam vets, world class sailors, escaped refugees.  We were pioneers living interesting times and loving it!

During those days as it is still today, the Cuban society was segregated into two categories.  On the 0.3% upper side, the communist ruling party composed exclusively of militaries whether in uniforms or not were living in incredible luxury ironically just like their ousted predecessors of the Batista regime.  On the down side were the other 11 millions slaving Cubans living in desperate conditions.  We, as visiting foreigners, were odd-balls in this two class system.  Since we did not belong to either class, we were tolerated and generally allowed privileges that were reserved to the Cuban military elite and forbidden to the population.     dextraze@yahoo.com

It is a real privilege to be able to feature the second story this year from Tina Wagner Mattern in our Authors Showcase.

You may remember that Tina submitted four extracts from her memoir-in-progress in last year's showcase. She kindly permitted us to include them all in the resultant anthology - 40 Memorable Life Experiences, released earlier this year. If you haven't got your copy yet then you can pick it up here - getbook.at/40MLE.

Tina's latest submission is another inspirational story from her memoir, which is now near completion. You can read MAYWOOD by clicking here.

Starting today, and during the next 14 days, we will be one of many hosts for the 2020 RWISA "RISE-UP" Blog Tour, on a dedicated page that you can find adjacent to Fred's Blog.

Here is the introduction to this very special blog tour:

Welcome to our 2nd RWISA “RISE-UP” TOUR!

Because of the current state of the world where we are faced with a pandemic like none has ever seen before, where homelessness, hunger, job losses, and world-wide lock-downs are the norm, we wanted to give you a glimpse into our world as we are now living it.

Since we are also in the month of May, when Mothers should be celebrated even more than they should be every day, some of us are going to reflect upon our lives without our moms.  Yes, we have two themes this year!

For 14 days we invite you here to the RWISA site to enjoy, engage and to become enlightened – awakened even to the many plights of our communities and to share in our memories and sorrows as we navigate our world without the moms who brought us into it.  Hopefully, in some of these stories, you will be compelled to also RISE UP and share your story, in hopes of making someone else’s day brighter and their load a little lighter.
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Come along with us on this journey! Click here.

Our first inspirational true story in May is the second contribution to this year's Authors Showcase from Roger Knight.

Read and enjoy Roger's latest story The Sea Watch by clicking here.

Roger Knight

I continue to write prose and short stories mostly based on my experiences of having lived and worked in around 15 countries and 30 cities. I have had some of my work published in magazines such as the Writers and Readers publication and the Bermudian, as well as Robert Fear’s annual travel stories and highlights and memorable life experiences publications.

I have recently completed an anthology, “A circuitous journey taken”, which is a picaresque memoir that I hope may eventually find a publisher.  
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It is a pleasure to feature this latest submission in our 2020 Authors Showcase from Mike Cavanagh, a longtime supporter of this blog and its writing opportunities.

Mike's inspirational story is in two parts and recalls the traumatic times at the end of last year living through the Australian wildfires. 

You can read Part 1 of Mike's story New Year's Eve, 2019 by clicking here. 

A warm welcome back to Robyn Boswell, a longtime supporter and contributor to this blog and the Travel Stories/Memorable Life Experiences books.

You can enjoy her inspirational true story The Ones You Remember by clicking here.

The second half of my career I was an adviser in schools, providing professional development to teachers and principals. I worked in schools ranging from very remote sole teacher schools in the Far North New Zealand, where I am lucky to live, through to some of the biggest primary schools in Auckland, our biggest city. I count myself fortunate to have had such a stimulating career.
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