Hello from the decks of the Viking Sun! What a travel week it has been—a ten hour flight from LAX to Gatwick and here we are! We were so lucky to begin our trip staying at the Marriot County Hall, located on the River Thames overlooking the beautiful Westminster Bridge and the London Eye (feature pic is from our room–we had a birds-eye view of the famous wheel). The weather has been magnificent–sunny and cool, perfect for walking and exploring.
My post this week and next will show you some of the beautiful places we have been lucky to see so far on our trip. This week we’ve explored a bit of London, saw my beloved Hampton Court Palace, and began our cruise out of Greenwich to Dover to Dublin. I’ve also had some great reads so far that I’ve enjoyed very much in between ports. It’s Wednesday, time for #DearDiary:
#AmSchlepping 🙂 and #AmEditing
A #writer’s work is never done, no matter where you are. Our ship is equipped with several library areas for passengers to enjoy so being a #writer of semi-sound #promo mind I duly deposited copies of my books on the shelves with the highest perusal rate (the crew was magnificent letting me know where the most popular shelves were located–they know everything 🙂 ) Of course I kept checking to see if anyone took them and to my surprise and delight, all three are currently being read somewhere here on board, SQUEE!!!
The #editing continues–this time I’m honing up some of the Hampton Court Palace descriptions in the manuscript after our visit there. Gemma and Kyle have a few visits there in this latest story and I wanted to make sure my setting descriptions were as accurate as possible. I have to tell you, I teared up during this visit, looking at the buildings that were just visited by my characters in some major scenes—I hope I do them justice. I’m loving this story more and more….#JustSayin
The writer’s of Twitter once again have not disappointed—I’ve been in magic and fantasy lands this week…
Author Jesse S. Frankel (@JessSFrankel), Master Fantastic, 5 STARS
Paul Coleman is a teen who’s been dealt a pretty raw hand so far in his young life. Orphaned as a young boy after the death of his parents, he is left in the care of an alcoholic uncle who doesn’t want the responsibility of raising a child. Paul works hard trying to juggle jobs, school and taking care of a household to make himself a semblance of life many take for granted. He dreams of a scholarship to university to escape his meager existence, until a fateful day changes everything.
Paul and his best friend, Rory are attacked by a gruesome being that comes out of nowhere on a walk home from school. Rory is brutally murdered by the beast known as Hekla, and Paul loses his hearing from a violent screech as he tries desperately to help his friend. His world and dreams are shattered in an instant as he tries to come to terms with the devastating incident. He slowly adapts to his now soundless world, struggling to eke out an existence living on his own, and learning to communicate via sign language.
Enter magician Monty Trillian, known famously around the world as Master Fantastic. Monty tempts Paul with a new life if he agrees to tutor and watch over his daughter Myrna who is also deaf, making him an offer he decides not to refuse. Little does he know how much his life is about to change. Author Frankel weaves a magical tale of new dimensions and worlds as the characters try to stop the evil Hekla from destroying their existence. Is Monty’s magic enough to stop her, or will she take his most prized possession for her evil purposes, destroying everyone who tries to stop her? This was a page turner ’til the end and a very engaging read. Highly recommended for young through old adults!
Author Christina Goebel, ARC of Birth Right
I’m trying something new for me—I’m currently midway through an ARC by Author Christina Goebel for her soon to be released story, Birth Right. It’s sci-fi/fantasy with this dystopian read—stay tuned for my review! You can follow Christina on Twitter, @loveGoldenHeart for some great inspiration!
Next in the reading queue:
From the Halls of Hampton Court Palace:
Garden (side and privy) views of the palace on a beautiful sunny day.
Main garden views from the back of the palace.
Views from London:
The London Eye and Marriot County Hall taken from the Westminster Bridge. Sunset coming down over Parliament and Big Ben (both of which are getting major make-overs from the scaffolding surrounding the buildings).
Leaving London–final views of the Greenwich maritime and east London buildings as we depart down the Thames.
White Cliffs of Dover
Dover was really a beautiful port to see–the white cliffs are amazing and the nearby town of Canterbury was enchanting.
I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the sites we’ve visited so far–I’ll be back to the regular format when we return. Check out my tweets and FB posts for more pics. Enjoy your #week and coming #weekend, friends!
Crowns and Kisses,
Veronica
P.S. Viking ocean cruises, highly recommended! https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/ Gemma would approve! 🙂
P.S.S. The #WolfPackAuthors anthology, Once upon a Wolfpack, a collection of short stories and poems is due to be released on May 19th and is now available for pre-order! Pick up your copy now–all proceeds go to a very worthy cause! Thank you 🙂
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