A-Z Book Survey…

12 Replies

Following in the wake of Ang over at Ang Writes and Eric over at Project Gemini, I thought I’d answer these twenty-six book related questions in the A-Z Book Survey, which was created by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page Turner…go take a look now and see why she started this!

By Lisa Shambrook (Please do not use without permission)

Author(s) You’ve Read The Most Books From:

Garth Nix, JRR Tolkien, Harlan Coben (and we might leave my childhood preference for ‘The Famous Five’ and ‘Malory Towers’ by Enid Blyton out of this!)

Best Sequel Ever:
‘Lirael’ the sequel to ‘Sabriel’ in the ‘Abhorsen’ Trilogy from Garth Nix…I didn’t think it could get better, but ‘Lirael’ blew me away!

Currently Reading:
‘Dead Sea Games: Exiled’ J. Whitworth Hazzard…can’t wait for the next one either.

Drink of Choice While Reading:
Water or something like Blueberry juice.

E-reader or Physical Book?
I love both. I didn’t think paperbacks could ever be bettered, but the accessibility of ebooks and the ease of storage is making a difference to my buying habits. I love my Kindle, but still love the feel of a paperback in my hands…I love flicking pages…

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:
I was way too shy to have dated in High School…

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
I wasn’t going to read ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar, but when I did I loved it and it made me cry…I avoid the movie at all costs though.

Hidden Gem Book:
‘I am David’ by Ann Holm, I owned it as a child, and meant to read it, but didn’t ‘til I was in my twenties…I adored it. I also have to add ‘Ella-Minnow-Pea’ by Mark Dunn a brilliantly original book where letters of the alphabet are removed from the community in the book and subsequently removed from the text too! And…’What I Was’ by Meg Rosof, a twist that I wished I’d thought up myself…wonderful!

By Lisa Shambrook (Please do not use without permission)

Important Moment In Your Reading Life:
Funnily enough, probably the first Harry Potter as when I’d finished, I suddenly thought, hey, I could do this too, and I began writing.
Second is when I was 11 my teacher read us ‘Over Sea, Under Stone’ by Susan Cooper, and I was hooked. ‘The Dark is rising Sequence’ the whole collection from Susan Cooper totally changed my reading habits, one of my most read and thumbed through books!

Just Finished:
‘The Selkie Sorceress’ by the lovely Sophie Moss.

Kind of Books You Won’t Read:
I generally don’t rule anything out, but I’m not a fan of erotica.

Longest Book You’ve Read:
Probably ‘The Lord of the Rings’ if you count them as one book…which takes me to 1069 pages in my omnibus version, though it is set up as six books…the appendices, which I have also devoured takes it to 1172 pages…

Major Book Hangover Because Of:
Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’…just kept me thinking…

Number Of Bookcases You Own:
At least six…all packed. I grew up in a home packed with bookcases and books…I could browse anything anytime!

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
As a teen my favourite book (series) ‘The Silver Brumby’ by Elyne Mitchel and it still delights me even to this day!

Preferred Place To Read:
Curled up on the sofa, or in bed…

Quote That Inspires You/Gives You All The Feels From A Book You’ve Read:
“Have I gone mad?” “I’m afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are.” – Lewis Carroll from ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Reading Regret:
Watching movies of The Book before reading The Book…or even the other way round, only a handful of movies manage to work!
Oh, and reading ‘New Moon’ in the Twilight saga…barely got through it without wanting to strangle Bella or myself. Also see above comment about movies…

Series You Started And Need To Finish:
I read Christopher Paolini’s ‘Eragon’ and enjoyed it, then ‘Eldest’…got a bit bored by his extended descriptions…and have both ‘Brisingr’ and ‘Inheritance’, but just haven’t found the time or inclination to delve…
…and in need to read the latest ‘Artemis Fowl’ by Eoin Colfer, as I love those!

Three Of Your All-time Favourite Books:
‘Loser’ by Jerry Spinelli…a beautiful book, which I love because it reminds me of my own style.
‘Lirael’ Garth Nix, I love the ‘Abhorsen’ Trilogy.
And it has to be ‘The Hobbit’ followed by ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

Unapologetic Fangirl For:
Narnia and Middle-Earth, and anything by Garth Nix.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:
I’m excited for imminent releases by my indie author friends…there are several on the horizon!

Worst Bookish Habit:
Flicking pages with my thumb as I read…

By Lisa Shambrook (Please do not use without permission)

X Marks The Spot: Start At The Top Left Of Your Shelf & Pick the 27th Book:
‘The Hobbit’ JRR Tolkien…

Your Latest Book Purchase:
‘Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire’ by Paul Ramey…which I loved. I have a £25 Amazon voucher sitting patiently, but my list is so long, I still need to decide what books to buy with it!
The first book on my next to purchase list is ‘Acid’ by Emma Pass.

Zzzzz… Last Book That Kept You Up Way Too Late:
I stayed up way past ‘lights out’ to finish ‘The Selkie Sorceress’

Five Sentence Fiction: Learning

12 Replies

Photograph (pencil sketch of Cait) by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use)

Tears filled her eyes, unbidden, as she gazed at a pastel portrait of herself. A five or six-year-old child gazed back at her, with wide chocolate-brown eyes and messy, light-brown hair framing delicate childish features. Her mum had pencilled in a halo of daisies threaded through her hair and coloured them with pastels. The innocent beauty on the page entranced her and broke her, it was the first time she’d ever seen herself through the eyes of another. It was more beautiful than any photograph she’d seen, and more delicate than any mirror image she could ever remember.

It’s been a while since I last did a Five Sentence Fiction and I miss it!

Check out all the other amazing pieces…

Blues Buster: The Seasons of Enchantment

6 Replies

Grabbed a quiet hour or two to myself and put this together for The Tsuroka Files Blues Buster, the prompt song is a beautiful tale of Ireland Eireann by the Afro Celt Sound System.

Photograph by Lisa Shambrook Tree Man Clyne Gardens, Swansea

(Please do not use without permission)

The Seasons of Enchantment

As autumn’s chill spread through the gold, and scarlet, and dying green, her voice still wandered across the dewy grass, lifting up into the fading leaves, searching for her lost love. My bursting heart sang and my breath fluttered on the autumn symphony, and in her hair, and I watched as Bronagh moved like a sylvan through the forest. The song on her lips, a mournful lament, matched only by the black she wore from head to toe. I urged and whispered, and she searched.

Winter snow swathed the forest floor, and ominous clouds hung in the sky, and still she walked, soft-footed and lone. Her fur-bound feet crunched through the flurry, and her hands brushed snow from low, bare branches, and I shivered as she moved softly through the trees. She walked like a shadow, dark against white, and I listened, my heart breaking as “Odhran…” slipped from her mouth.

Light, crepuscular rays shone down through the emerging canopy. Honey-green leaves unfurled and broke through, stretching in spring’s embrace. Bronagh, still dressed in mourning, welcomed the early sun, gathering bluebells and pale sunshine primroses. Her feet danced lightly on the green sward. I breathed and my heart swelled like the buds on the boughs.

When summer brought its glittering jewels, and deep verdant life, she moved soulfully through the forest, resting beneath its emerald awning, taking time to catch her breath. I waved and beamed as the sun bore down, and my heart leapt as she still whispered my name in the breeze “Odhran…” I yearned to touch and hold her, but I waited.

Autumn’s return brought crimson and bronze, and jade and brown, and the slow falling leaves matched her new attire. My heart dimmed and my hearing dulled as the wild, winter wind blew across the fields and into my life. She still wandered, lonely, through the trees, still searching, and I still whispered in her ear, but she no longer heard me.

As winter froze the ground and water the colour of her ice-blue eyes hung from my boughs, I knew she was gone. Only deer wandered, hooves crushing the hoarfrost and bruising the grass like the purple shroud that veiled my heart. I shivered beneath the black, night sky and listened to my splintering heart.

Spring’s warmth failed to reignite my soul. It stiffened and darkened, until I was a shadow of myself, until I became blind. I could not stop the burgeoning joy of new growth, my new cloak of leaves, but my heart was finally stilled.

Frozen amid summer’s heat, I stood silent and cold, my soul as hard and as callous as the wood I wore.

When she reappeared with recognition, and ruddy, autumn cheeks, and a heart full of joy I felt nothing. Her arms embraced me, but my stone-cold heart was lost and my waters frozen. She cried, rivers of tears like a weeping willow, but there was nothing left of me, the man she once loved, just a lonely tree, tall and strong, but forever bereft of love.

(508 words)

Monday Mixer: A Somnolent Surprise…

12 Replies

Photograph by Bekah Shambrook (Please do not use)

A Somnolent Surprise

I sighed, dandelion clocks, the bane of my life, no sooner than I eradicated every blighter, an errant, fluffy orb emerged in the grass. So, with billhook en garde, I moved carefully. Any breath, the faintest zephyr, and seeds would fly.

I slipped to my knees, leaned close, and just as the knife touched the stem, the seed-head blenched.

I stared, shaking my head, my insular world blown in one fell swoop.

Parachuting seeds scattered as another sigh left my lips, this one a gale in the world of the tiny winged creature clinging to the dandelion stem. As I stared, thoughts flew, each more fantastical than the next. Bold flashing eyes gazed back, and I watched as the fairy unsheathed a tiny sword. Unable to resist, I leaned closer and the diminutive blade, emitting a somnolent hum, pierced my eye… “Why, you…little…” and my legs collapsed as I yawned…

(150 Words)

Decided that less is more for this week’s Monday Mixer at The Latinum Vault, though I’ve still incorporated five words, so Over Achiever still possible… Go and take a look at the other entries…see how many words you can weave into a 150 word exact tale!

Tree of Life: Branching Out: Day One

4 Replies

When I got asked to take part in Samantha Geary’s Tree of Life – Branching Out collaborative writing challenge, I was unbelievably slow to respond. I thought maybe I’d been asked by mistake!
Once I realised how amazing this challenge was I was wholeheartedly involved and have loved it!

Audiomachine make epic theatre/movie trailer music and this album ‘Tree of Life’ has entered the Billboard Classical Charts at #12. They have recorded music for The Hobbit, Thor and Star Trek to name but a few!

26 authors were given one of each of the new tracks and asked to write around 150 words in a continuous story. I’ve been following the story on Samantha’s blog and eagerly awaiting my turn. This is my piece…

By the way once I’d heard the music, buying the album was a must…and I adore it!

Please Read Angela Brown’s piece first…it leads perfectly into mine…

Click and play the track ‘Day One’ in the background as you read…

As the storm finally subsided… and light, melodious rain fell, Zoe rested replete in Adam’s arms. Crepuscular rays bathed their searing, salty skin and Zoe’s soft smile lingered. Waves rippled and scintillating diamonds glittered on the ocean surface.

A drip, from the leaves above, sizzled as it touched her skin and Adam’s finger trailed the bead of water down to her breast, where he let it settle. Zoe raised her hand and stroked his thigh, their eyes meeting in calm satiety and love. Zoe’s hand smoothed across her belly and down into the sand.

“So, this is life…” Zoe sighed.

Adam nodded, “Giving and creating…” A wide grin spread across his freckled face as he lifted a daisy from behind her ear. “We’re intrinsic now…to this earth, to this life…to the dance of this planet.”

They laughed as an exultant neigh interrupted their moment, and they beheld their unicorn galloping across the endless stretch of sand and sea, daisies blooming beneath his hooves and waves crashing in his chaotic wake.

Laughter lit up the sky and Adam pulled Zoe’s lips to his. As they parted a breeze danced across their bodies and they shivered in unison. Adam’s words resounded across the wide expanse as they embraced. “We are one.”

Across the ocean, on the far horizon, a mountain grumbled beneath simmering clouds.

(222 Words)

Tree of Life – Audiomachine Available here: CD Baby, iTunes, amazon.co.uk, or via streaming at Spotify.

Track – Day One

Blues Buster: Run

2 Replies

I struggled with conflicting ideas for this week’s Blues Buster over at The Tsuruoka Files. In the end I went with a rewrite of a scene from last year’s NaNoWriMo…which fit the song so perfectly for me. The song, a classic from Amy Winehouse “You Know I’m No Good.” This version of the scene may find its way into the manuscript… (I’ll keep my second story for another day!)

Photograph by Bekah Shambrook (please do not use)

Run

Dad’s days had turned into marathon internet searches and desperate attempts to scroll through his wife’s social media, page after page, looking for clues. Hours of reading online blogs and lengthy research into the reasons why women run. His fingers ran through his unwashed hair and his three-day-old shirt creased like his forehead.
Meg perched on the edge of the sofa debating lunch, which was, as she stared at the clock, rapidly turning into dinner. She shook her head, even if she made food, he’d just refuse it. She glanced at Dad, her eyes roving across the room, taking in the photographs on the mantle, happy family pictures, smiling at the world. Her hands clenched in her lap, and she fought the tears that welled behind her eyes. Her heart thudded and her bottom lip wobbled.
“Am I like Mum?” Meg released her question.
Dad turned to her. “Why do you ask?”
“Because she’s broken, and I might be too…are we both no good?”
Dad slumped at his computer, and Meg spoke anxiously rising from the sofa, “Dad?” Her words no more than a whisper but filled with a hopeful plea of desperation. “Dad, if I ever run away, will you come and find me?”
Tears illuminated his red, swollen eyes and a quivering sigh escaped his lips as he swung his chair round and took Meg in his arms. He crushed his daughter to his broken heart. “Sweetheart, if you ever run away and you want me to find you, no matter how far or how long it takes I will find you, I’ll walk every road and sail every sea until you’re back in my arms, I will find you, I’ll always find you.”
She tightened her arms around him, there was no need to worry, no matter how much she wanted to run, to run until her feet were sore, until her legs could barely carry her, she would never hurt her father.
She was not her mother.

(331 Words)

Monday Mixer: Cell Mates

6 Replies

My first thought about the words for The Latinum Vault’s Monday Mixer were: I’m never going to find use for half of them let alone all nine!
Requirements are to include at least three of Jeff’s nine chosen words in a 150 word piece. Including at least one thing, verb and adjective. However…trying something different from my usual prosey pieces, I got them all in, thus qualifying for Overachiever, ’twas fun, but you’ll have to tell me if it works!

Photo by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

Cell Mates

The Fridge leaned against the bars, obscuring daylight from the cell. Fingers, (yes, that’s how original names were here) rapped his digits on the table behind Errol. Errol, in turn, balanced on his tremulous legs. Fear, dread, anxiety…discomfort, the whole gamut whirled as he moved gingerly across the room.

Fingers murmured and Errol could barely hear him, “Keep this ‘ere quiet boy…don’t want no bruiting ‘bout this…you hear?” Errol couldn’t hear; his obstreperous heart pounded like the proverbial jackhammer.

The Fridge held up his finger, staring at the postern jail gate, and Errol paused, his legs spraddled wide. Errol gurned and squeezed his buttocks.

The Fridge’s hand dropped. Fingers glared at the table, at the kludge of bits and pieces, and then stared expectantly at Errol. Errol dropped his trousers and released a pained ululating sound.

Fingers smiled as a small screwdriver dropped with a clink. “Copacetic Errol, done good!”

(150 Words)

Take a look at the other valiant offerings…

Flash! Friday: Ascent/Descent

1 Reply

Mount Seceda in the Dolomites. Photo by Wolfgang Moroder, WikiCommons

She set down her ropes, adjusted her head cam and waited.
The magnificent Cloud-Wing Hawk swerved across her breath-taking view. It soared and curved then ascended beyond sight.
She sighed, frustrated, as the crammed gondola rose from beneath the ocean of cloud, its affluent, straining to see the rarity.
The car lurched beneath its weight. The sickening screech of folding, splintering metal made her turn and she caught the footage no one wanted to see.

(75 Words)

Written for Flash! Friday 75 Word Micro Fiction…

Take a look at many more…

Blues Buster: Night’s Fury

For the love of our Furry Friends…

12 Replies

A post by Laura Zera this morning, along with a status posted by Jo Cannon: “In psychiatry, whenever we see a depressed patient, we always do a ‘risk assessment’, to determine the likelihood of that person committing suicide. As part of that assessment, we ask the patient what stops them from taking their own life. And do you know what they answer? Do you know what I hear, again and again and again? MY DOG. When I ask people what stops them from committing suicide, they always say: I COULD NEVER LEAVE MY DOG. Oh my GOODNESS how people under-estimate the power of that relationship! Dogs protect property and gardens and buildings, but they also protect people. And so often they are literally the difference between being here and not being here. So God help the next person who tells me it’s “just a dog”. Dogs save lives. We just don’t appreciate quite how many.” reminded me how important our pets are…so I thought I’d tell you about mine.

Rusty (please do not use)

We rescued Rusty from beneath a garden shed, when he was five months old. He was skinny and scrawny and full of fleas and worms, and his pads were scraped and raw. The vet said he wouldn’t have made it past another week or so.

Rusty became my shadow, followed me everywhere, sat beside me and loved me unconditionally.

He only had half a tail, and was the clumsiest creature I’ve ever known, but I adored him. We lost him when he was twelve years old due to kidney failure, but he was my constant companion for those years!

Misty and Raven (please do not use)

We only meant to pick up one cat from the farm – but the owner (who was over-run with felines) placed a tiny black kitten in my daughter’s hand, after I’d chosen the sole grey kitten, and there was no question we’d be going home with two!

These two are sisters, but live in tolerance – eating from separate bowls, sleeping on separate beds and hissing every time they pass each other…don’t know why! Misty is cute, cuddly and chatty, she loves eating and sleeping (all day), while Raven prefers stalking, hunting and adventure out in the wilds. opposites in every way!

Raven and Misty (please do not use)

Roxy (and Dan) (please do not use)

Hubby was brought up with a dog, and asked for a dog (and a motorbike) constantly – he now has both! Roxy became ours at eight weeks, and was my first experience of owning a dog. I was not a fan of canines, always referring to myself as a cat person, but after a couple of weeks reservation I became a fully-fledged dog person and fell head-over-heels for Roxy!

Roxy (please do not use)

She became my companion and I experienced the devotion and complete love of a puppy as she grew up. We laughed at her enormous ears and neurosis, enjoyed playful tussles and wondered at her beauty!

Roxy (and Caitlin) and bubbles (please do not use)

So full of life and love. I can’t imagine life without her, my gorgeous, playful five-year-old!

Roxy (please do not use)

Sometimes we under-estimate the value of our furry friends…they offer us love, companionship, adoration, fun, friendship, education and reason. There is nothing more welcoming than a dog’s wagging tail and leap of happiness when you come home from a hard day! They contribute more to our lives than we realise!