Volunteer to assist the One Million Project The OMP is looking for Assistant Project Managers and volunteers to assist our nonprofit organization to raise social / media awareness and funraising ef…
Source: Volunteer
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“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” — Maya Angelou
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I live in a seaside town in Scotland with my family and two dogs. My basic degree is in psychology, and I have a Masters in Advanced Mental Health Practice and a PhD from the University of Dundee. …
Source: On Writing, Life and Scotland
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I live in a seaside town in Scotland with my family and two dogs. My basic degree is in psychology, and I have a Masters in Advanced Mental Health Practice and a PhD from the University of Dundee. A few years ago now, I was diagnosed with lupus, an auto-immune disorder, and retired from my post as a lecturer there to research and write a series of historical fiction novels tracing the lineage of Elizabeth Sutherland; a key person in the Highland Clearances. The first book in this family saga, Reign of the Marionettes, will be available for purchase soon. I am currently working on the follow up, which continues where the first book leaves off.
Although my early retirement gave me more time to write, living with lupus is not always easy. Lupus is often poorly understood. When referring to lupus, people mostly mean SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). This has a range of symptoms. The most common are a rash, fatigue and joint swelling. It is an auto-immune condition- in which the immune system attacks and inflames healthy cells in the body. As with other auto-immune disorders, genetic and environmental factors are thought to trigger the onset. My mother had another auto-immune condition; rheumatoid arthritis.
Medication and diet relieve most of my symptoms. After a year on a corticosteriod, I am now stabilized on an immunosuppressant – which suppresses the immune system from attacking healthy cells. Like me, with the support of friends, family and health professionals, most people effectively manage the symptoms of lupus.
My two dogs keep me active, even when the fatigue from lupus does kick in. Lola, a Dalmatian, is two and typical of her breed – intelligent, playful, loving and fixated on food. Dalmatians are born with white coats, their spots appear about a month after their birth. Lola is amongst the 30% who have full hearing – the breed are prone to deafness. Dalmatians are also prone to urinary stones and require a purine restricted diet. Amongst her spots, you can see that Lola has the often found three spot formation that look like Micky Mouse’s ears.
My other dog, Missy, is an eight-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Missy likes things done her way; from how her breakfast is prepared to how her pillows are arranged, and will huff until she gets it. When not sulking, she is a beautiful, affectionate, and loving companion who likes nothing better than to snuggle in beside me. Wherever I am, she is never far from my side. A Blenheim, Missy lacks the Blenheim spot in the middle of the crown of her head; also called ‘the Kiss of Buddha” or “Kissing Spot.’ Hers seems to have slipped to the bridge of her nose.
An avid reader, writer and beta reader, I try to contribute time and support to the One Million Project, OMP, of which I am a creative member. OMP comprises a group of almost 100 authors and artists who contribute some of their work in an effort to raise one million for homelessness and cancer charities.
I am proud of my Scottish heritage. My father came from Garynahine, near Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. Through his stories, I developed an interest in the Highland Clearances, where thousands of tenants were forcibly evicted from their homes, to make way for sheep. I would like to share one of my poems, inspired by this.
Bha e’n dàn dha (It Was His Fate)
Here I am up on the rooftop
See me jump
Jump for joy
No
I will do this my way
Not your way
See me Maoisean?
Yes
Remember April eleventh
Remember me today
Say it back nasty fellow
Maybe
The factor is fat
Fat from my land
He will remember this day
Always
Bha e’n dàn dha
Follow Sheena Macleod on-
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/reignofthemarionettes
Blogs – https://reignofthemarionettes.wordpress.com
Email sheena.macleod@sheenas-books.co.uk
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It’s the time of year when fall ends and the Christmas season begins (although in retail stores, it began in October!). Sweater weather is here. In the Midwest, it’s been around for a…
Source: Thanksgiving Memories
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The One Million Project available for free until November 23rd. Get It Free
Source: Early Thanksgiving Deal
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A boon gave Jonathon Fry a year to write his novel but, as memories that are not his own flood his thoughts, Jonathon begins to question whether the words he has written are his own or whether he i…
Source: Pre release review of The Involuntary Ghostwriter by Douglas Debelak.
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A boon gave Jonathon Fry a year to write his novel but, as memories that are not his own flood his thoughts, Jonathon begins to question whether the words he has written are his own or whether he is a mere conduit for someone else. And, he is haunted by dreams of an exotically beautiful woman he has never met. His wife initially benefits from these late night dreams, until he honestly answers her questions about why he is suddenly more active in bed.
The Involuntary Ghostwriter poses a number of intriguing questions. Was God writing the words? Why had He decided to speak through Jonathon Fry? And, what messages was He conveying?
Events in the internet café raised questions in me as a reader and, like Jonathon Fry, I wondered what was going on. It is feasible that if God did live amongst us now, He would lead a life much like our own and would look like we do. As a child, growing up He would have had a familial set of cultural, religious and social restrictions passed on to him. Since God used the media of the time in the past, again, it is feasible that He might use social media today to send us His word. So, was Jonathon Fry, like his predecessors, an Involuntary Ghostwriter, telling God’s story and passing on His messages?
Jonathon Fry is likeable and immediately recognisable as a typically flawed and slightly disillusioned man nearing burn out and retirement; questioning the life he has led and the choices he has made. Jonathon’s confusion and conflict as he reads back what he has written are evident and touch on many real life questions about sex, guilt and religion. Despite his confusion about the life he is writing about that is, and at the same time is not, his own, Jonathon is compelled to keep writing.
While some parts are emotionally challenging, such as childhood bullying and a need to fit in, other parts provide a humorous and insightful look back at a typical childhood and early adult years of a boy growing up, and facing sexual awakening.
Douglas Debelak provides his fiction, loosely based on facts. This is a book about living and striving, that many people will relate to. An important recurring theme running throughout is sin and guilt. This is a book about human existence and experience and the anxiety caused by living. As Jonathon reaches retirement, is he experiencing some sort of personal crisis or, is God using him as a medium to pass on his words about what it is to live, to exist and what it means to be human in the world that He provided for us? -
I admit to being a world-class procrastinator. Having lived that way most of my life, it is probably too late to change. I successfully procrastinated my way through high school and, many years aft…
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Writing has been around since the year dot, or people have been writing ever since they could hold a piece of charcoal – the same thing to say, really – so there’s no real difference about th…
Source: Combating Writer’s Block
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