Author S. M. Wilson Length 416 pages Release 4.3.2021 About Ash Yang dreamed of being a starfighter pilot. But when she crashes out of her final test – literally – she somehow lands the most powerful job in the universe. As Guardian of the Infinity Files she must secretly planet-hop through the galaxies, stealing or returning treasures that have the power to stop wars…or start them.
But when her home planet is the one at war, can she get the job done?
Characters
Ash and Orius are two very different characters that dominate the pages. Ash is our protagonist, our eyes into this world and don’t be too alarmed if you feel very invested in her from the outset. There’s something about those first few chapters that will allow Ash to trigger all of your emotions. There’ll be so much about her that you will see in yourself. I certainly found that empowering and I’ll be surprised if others don’t either.
Orius on the other hand is all mystery and something that I loved and hated in equal measure. Orius is someone I do not think you’re meant to figure out and I love that we’re never get anything more than what Ash knows.
Story
This universe is awesome. As a child of Star Trek, Stargate, Doctor Who and Quantum Leap this story is all the best bits of the franchises and so much more. For a first outing of a series, it’s sometimes difficult to create a full story that doesn’t feel like world building or exposition. At no point does this feel like that. You are thrown into the adventure, with a thread of mystery running alongside. Its perfect.
Writing
Wilson’s writing makes her reads a comfort. I feel like I am reading a book made of Doctor Who’s Psychic Paper whenever I fall into her worlds. The way characters, action and reveals are dealt with reminds me of Michael Crichton’s work. It reads to me like it would be a dream to translate into film.
As we meet Ash, she is faced with ‘failing’ at the academy. It’s not something readers will be used to and is a big fear for those who tend to read YA fiction. Why was it important to have the protagonist experience failure so early on?
Failing was the whole motivation for the start of the story. Ash had strived for this for so long, she’d thought that once she’d achieved her goal, she it would solve her problems and help how she felt. As a young woman she was determined to wreak revenge on those who’d stolen her family from her. But once she didn’t achieve her goal? Well, it put her in exactly the position I needed her to be in for this story. The reason she failed was important too. She acted on her instincts. And Ash’s instincts were good. That’s why she was chosen for the next role in the book!
Being a massive sci-fi geek myself, I loved how much this book read like a love-letter to those shows many of us will have grown up with. Which shows inspired you the most?
Where do you want me to start? I’m a huge Star Wars fan (except the first three – they don’t count). I also love Star Trek. Next Generation is my favourite. I also loved Battlestar Galactica, the original series and the 2004 series alongside Stargate, the film and SG1 and Stargate Atlantis, and The Mandalorian. As a kid I even loved Buck Rogers, and the Flash Gordon film, V (which was terrifying). Finally, there’s ET. I have a son called Elliott, enough said really!
The theme of isolation perhaps hit harder than it may have any other year. Was that struggle something you felt was important to thread through the story and were there any benefits of it not being about current events?
Ash’s aloneness was a key part of her character development, along with concept of ‘found family’. It carries on into the second book too. As a nurse, I’ve been at the heart of the coronavirus epidemic since the start, so for me, an escape is very welcome. Space was definitely my escape, though there will always be elements of real life that bleed into anything that I write.
If you had to create your own team of five Guardians from any Sci-fi franchise (you can mix and match), who would you choose and why?
You are literally asking me to choose between my children and that is exceptionally mean. First and foremost, Captain Picard will always in my team. I love how he always pretended to obey the Prime Directive but never actually did. First Contact will always be my favourite film with the emotional damage the borg did to him revived. With him in my team, I also need the character of Hugh from the borg collective. I adored that character and loved they brought his fully formed version back in the Picard series. Next, is my Star Wars favourites. Since Yoda has sneaked into both Extinction Trials and The Infinity Files it really should be him. But instead, I’m picking Obi-wan Kenobi. (The Alec Guinness version and not the Ewan McGregor version), alongside kickass Princess Leia. Carrie Fisher brought such fire to the character and I loved the spark that was there. I suspect Picard and Obi-Wan might get a bit snotty with each other, but Princess Leia will kick them both to the kerb and keep them inline. Whilst my childhood heart still hankers after Dirk Benedict as Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica, or fabulous Q from the Next Generation, I have to pick ET as my final team member. Sure, he may not be very mobile, but I can carry him. And he has a magic finger. What more do I need?
Author: Maggie Harcourt Publisher: Usborne Pages: 448 Book Birthday: 2.4.2020 About: Flora “doesn’t do people”, not since the Incident that led to her leaving school midway through her GCSEs. The Incident that led to her being diagnosed with bipolar II. The Incident that left her in pieces. Until Hal arrives. He’s researching a story about a missing World War I soldier, and he wants Flora’s help. Flora used to love history before the Incident, but spending so much time with Hal is her worst nightmare. Yet as they begin to piece together the life of the missing soldier, a life of lost love, secrets and lies, Flora finds a piece of herself falling for Hal.
Review
Characters
Flora is a beautiful and flawed character who took my heart when I first read the sampler last summer. There’s a familiar quality and personality that I identify with as I progressed through the story. She is supported by an incredible team of characters that build up such a charming countryside community and family. Hal is everything you want in a leading man. He took my breath away in much the same way Mr Darcy does for others. It’s fair to say he is the character that brings us part of the plot, but it is his chemistry with Flora that makes their journey so compelling.
Plot
The story reminds me of one of my favourite mystery tv shows by Hallmark: Signed, Sealed, Delivered. A show that never fails to leave me uplifted and that’s without the added charm of Britishness. In Pieces of Me, Flora is tasked with helping Hal locate and identify the people involved in a story he was told by his Grandfather. As the two unpack boxes and take time for further research, a clandestine romance unfolds in the letters they find. The progression within the letters means very different things to the people invested and Flora and Hal find themselves drawn to each other in the process.
writing
Harcourt’s writing has and ease and a charm that soothes in a way that a good cup of tea does. It gives you that pause from your life, warms your soul and gives you that does of sweetness you often need.
Final Thoughts
This was everything I needed in a book and at time that I needed it. While we spend so much time inside, there’s nothing better than a book set in the countryside.
Sarah and the Captain are given time to really show us how they’ve been changed from the events of Orphan Monster Spy. Not only do we see individual development, but there’s plenty of evolution to the dynamic of the relationship of the pair.
What I enjoyed most about this story, was Sarah’s narrative about her growing up. It makes an interesting change to have a character of her age express something other that a wish to grow up. While it may appear like fear on the service, it very quickly becomes clear that it’s a lot more complex than that. It also makes for a very interesting dynamic between Sarah and several other female characters that appear.
Plot
The plot centres around a new mission for the Captain and Sarah. One that reads well as a stand alone but, much like a good cheese and wine, is complimented and added to with its previous instalment: Orphan, Monster, Spy. Our familiar characters are sent to Africa in order to seize what is believed to be a new weapon that’s come about from experiments of germ warfare. Along the way, we meet rogues, traitors and people who aren’t all what they seem.
You won’t get a second to breath as this high-speed thriller brings you to a part of the war that you may not be familiar with. There’s nothing better than a book with a message and a lesson in history.
Writing
I love Killeen’s narrative. His way with words is incredible and is able to pull me so far in I feel like I’m wearing VR and actually taking a role in the unfolding story. Despite being written in the first person, Sarah’s emotions leap off the page. It’s crafted, its fiction that’s rooted in a challenging history that only Killeen could make work. It’s a writing style I would love to have many books to read. Equally, he could make me wait longer than J RR Martin and I’d still be grateful of anything that comes my way.
You made it very clear about the dates throughout the book and there are many years in which the war continues. Are there plans to continue Sarah’s story beyond the two novels?
Sarah certainly has more missions ahead of her, and you’re right, there are five more years of the war to go…assuming she can survive that long. I have many ideas and some clear thoughts about where she might end up. Also, finding something she can realistically influence is important…but there’s a very stark delineation between things that live in my head and what publishing may or may not share with the world. Sarah may find herself kicking her heels for a while.
Are there any difficulties to rooting a story in history? On the flip side, what are the rewards?
It is certainly swings and roundabouts. I always say that “history delivers”. Almost every piece of research provides something astounding that I can use to further the narrative. I imagined a Nazi boarding school, and lo, there they were the Napola Schools. I also like the framework that real events provide and the craft of winding your narrative between the real bits, so you can tell several stories at once. But assuming that you’re writing fiction, you are on some level simultaneously proposing an alternative history – even narrative non-fiction works demand a little guesswork and elaboration. That’s a responsibility too. What’s hard is that these events – including the death, atrocity and horror – happened to real people. You owe them, to tell their story, or the story of which they were a part, with some authenticity – either by fact or emotional truth. That’s an abstract concept if you’re talking about Ancient Rome, but WW2 is well-documented. There’s a lot of faces looking back at you. I’d argue for the necessity of forging a compelling narrative as a vehicle to discuss and highlight important issues – “history must be burned into the imagination before it can accepted by the reason” Lord Macaulay said, I think – but there’s a line, somewhere along the way, where you pass into exploitation, prurience and tastelessness. That moment isn’t always clear and obvious. This is particularly apparent when you talk about the Holocaust. Writing Devil Darling Spy, I’m dealing with colonialism and imperialism – that exploitation continues in one form or another and real responsibility for the horror has not been taken by the perpetrators. This is raw and ongoing. That makes all this harder to do right and there’s a reasonable argument that I shouldn’t even be trying. But I couldn’t walk away from the chance to put these events front and centre of people’s minds.
Both Orphan Monster Spy and Devil Darling Spy are empowering to readers today. What other books have you discovered since the release of Orphan Monster Spy that you feel demonstrate the same empowering theme?
Well I’m glad to hear people find them empowering…certainly that would be my hope, but Sarah kind of does her own thing. As my editor once put it, “Sarah does not always model good behaviour.” I was just thinking about the moment she saves the Captain on the dock in Friedrichshafen in Orphan Monster Spy. That was Sarah’s decision. She wasn’t going to be saved, or even save herself. That’s the moment I understood her, when I really knew who she was. I know some writers hate this idea, that characters could or should make decisions, but that’s how it is for me.
There have been some excellent, nuanced female characters of late – well-written women and girls rather than the “kick-ass” archetype – like Wing Jones, Tulip Taylor, Izzy O’Neill, and I’m a sucker for the profoundly flawed, like Bevan from Other Words for Smoke. Then there’s Amani from Alwyn’s Hamilton’s Rebel of the Sands Trilogy which I finished since Orphan was released…they feel related, which shouldn’t surprise as many of the people who chose Amani’s story for publication, also chose Sarah’s.
I make no apologies for the graphic novel reference – because comics are reading – but of everything I’ve read lately, I’m finding the Lumberjanes comics to be the most invigorating, joyful fiction. All female and diverse ensemble cast of wonderful characters having funny, smart and rollicking adventures at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. I feel empowered, I can only imagine the power of these characters for young teenagers. One of its creators is the showrunner on the new She-Ra series, which is happily consuming me right now. In fact, I’m wearing a She-Ra t-shirt as I’m typing this…and I hated the old show for the exploitative, unreconstructed toy commercial it was.
Do you listen to any particular music while writing?
Music is very important to me, but I need a very specific kind of music to write to. It usually can’t have words or be too up-tempo, and guitar-based stuff is too intrusive. It has to allow a certain detachment, but can’t be drivel either – something that I can lost in, but doesn’t dominate my brain. Soundtracks don’t always do this and not all classical music hits the spot, but I think what works best is called New Classical or Neo-classical or something equally dismal. A Winged Victory for the Sullen is the best example. There are certain pieces or albums that are absolutely tied into my work, both as inspiration and as soundtrack to the action. Agnes Obel and Kathryn Joseph are rare examples of vocalists that I work to, as they’re all quiet pianos, pain and anguish. So I have an evolving and ever-growing playlist of this stuff, and when it goes on, I’m ready.
For more general, around the writing work, I listen to BBC 6Music but I really don’t like the schedule changes they made about a year ago. After nearly 10 years of working at home and hearing the same voices every day, losing them for something less than was a bit heartbreaking. I’m still grieving. I’ve found Spotify really good, it came with my new phone, but I have severe reservations about its morality. They don’t pay their artists much of anything.
About: They call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I was found – only a few people know about that. They call me Yanka the Bear because I am so big and strong.
Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, Yanka has always wondered about where she is from. She tries to ignore the strange whispers and looks from the villagers, wishing she was as strong on the inside as she is on the outside. But, when she has to flee her house, looking for answers about who she really is, a journey far beyond one that she ever imagined begins: from icy rivers to smouldering mountains meeting an ever-growing herd of extraordinary friends along the way.
Interwoven with traditional stories of bears, princesses and dragons, Yanka’s journey is a gorgeously lyrical adventure from the best-selling author of The House With Chicken Legs.
Have you ever ready a book that gives you the hygge feeling that autumn brings?! This is that book. It has a blissful charm and peace that transforms itself into the comfiest blanket in the world. I was curled up for the best part of today with my cat on my lap and my cup of tea slightly chilled (because i forgot about it, it’s not how I like my tea) beside me.
The duality of a protagonist is not a new theme within the world of fiction, but Sophie Anderson takes a character of two world which feels comfortable and a little worn and spins it on its head, adds a little magic and an enchanting view of nature in order to give the reader an even better idea of a world they perhaps have never experienced.
The story builds as often a journey of discovery does: we meet new additions and some old ones, for those familiar with Anderson’s previous book. The imagery is not something I usually comment upon, but it’s too beautiful to let it pass by unchecked. It’s rooted it nature and greets you like a warm hug, or a cold tap depending on the scene. Either way it brings the elements closer to the reader.
I’ve never wanted this book to end. It hit me like a bought of nostalgia: I felt like a kid again, wanting one more chapter. The only thing more engaging than the main plot was the mini stories, signified by the glorious illustrations. They were flawlessly interwoven into the books plot and helped guide the reader to understand more about Yanka.
It’s a wonderful stand alone story, self contained and wrapped up with a heartwarming prologue. However, it also adds to Anderson’s amazing established universe and there is further scope for a sequel.
A genuinely intriguing book with an entirely punchy style – we don’t feel a pervasive darkness here, as is often the case with mysteries. What hooks us in is the voice of main character Miranda and a desire to find out the truth of the strange happenings around her. And there are plenty of those. The book is full of surprise and oddity, but Rebecca Stead’s pithy, sharp, upbeat tone pulls us along with wonderfully short hooky chapters so that nothing about this book feels too contrived or drawn out. The plot feels complex enough to make the reader work, but the narrative style so compelling that you find yourself simply being happily taken along for the ride. You wait for everything to be laid out for you at the end, and you aren’t disappointed. There are some beautifully economic, well-judged descriptions – Miranda’s Mum’s boyfriend Richard is described as “…the way I picture guys on sailboats – tall, blond and very tucked in, even on weekends.” Brilliant. There’s a lovely description, which we return to, about seeing the world. Miranda’s mum says we all see it as if from under a veil. If we take off the veil and peek out we “…see all the beauty, and cruelty, and sadness, and love.” Miranda goes on to explain that her Mum uses this not to explain God or angels or magic but rather that “…most of the time people get distracted by little stuff and ignore the big stuff.” This is how we survive. The New York setting sits perfectly with the tone, and once you read the book you won’t be surprised to learn that Rebecca Stead has talked openly about her huge debt in writing this novel to Madeleine Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.When You Reach Meis a quirky upbeat novel that beautifully encapsulates the quote at the start: “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.” Albert Einstein, The World As I See It (1931). If you haven’t read it already, then certainly a recommendation from me.
About: Laura was dying. There was no cure for her illness. So her family decided to grasp a desperate last hope – Laura was frozen until she could be cured. But what happens when you wake up one day and the world has moved on forty years? Your best friend is middle-aged, your parents presumed dead. Could you find a new place to belong? Could you build a new life – while solving the mystery of what happened to the old one? Dark secrets lurk in the future of the girl from the past…
Characters
Lara and Shem are two very lonely characters that are very much disenfranchised from the world in which they live. While Shem simply tries to hide and live an easy life, Lara is thrown into a life she’s not sure she’s ready for. Lara is someone everyone should relate to on one level or another. She’s the perfect companion for navigating this futuristic world.
Story
It’s a glorious mystery thriller with a retro, Stranger Things, vibe. The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of Lara, but we get snippets of the life Shem to keep the narrative flowing.
The asymmetry of the duel narrative works really well to keep the reader off balance and on edge; the perfect feels for a thrilling read. It’s pace slows just enough in parts for you to catch your breath and contemplate what you’d do if you were Lara.
Just like with an episode of Black Mirror, you think you’ve got everything figured out and the rug is pulled from right under you. It doesn’t matter if you prepare for the fall you because it’s all part of the amazing ride.
Writing
The first person writing allows the reader to feel the claustrophobic challenges both Lara and Shem face. Being told from the perspective of our main characters removes the omniscient voice that would solve the mystery. It also allows the reader to relate to either, or both, Lara and Shem.
Final Thoughts
I could not get through this book fast enough. It’s the perfect read to take the edge off the wait for Stranger Things and Black Mirror to gift us with new episodes.
Published: 4th April 2019 Publisher: Usborne Pages: 336 About: Who am I? What am I? When am I? Laura can’t remember who she is. But the rest of the world knows. Because Laura is famous – a dying girl who was frozen until she could be cured. A real-life Sleeping Beauty. But what happens when you wake up one day and the world has moved on forty years? Could you build a new life – while solving the mystery of what happened to the old one?
Characters
Laura is a stunning and vulnerable character that you wi ll instantly fall in love with. She has the nostalgic brilliance of an 80s girl in a modern world. Shem is a completely different type of vulnerable. He’s a lost boy, abandoned my the society around him.
Plot
It’s a thrilling mystery that you’re thrown into; one that is fast paced and will have your heart in your mouth the entire time. I don’t want to give too many details as it would ruin the experience of reading. You’ll want to figure the mystery behind Laura right away, but not before you experience life at a boarding school.
Writing
I fell into the writing of this book. It’s almost as if it was written for me in a style that would easily transfer to film; something I hope it eventually does. Having a protagonist from a different time allows for some changes in language to be explained. That type of language prediction is something I love. There’s an asymmetry to the duel narrative that with any other writer would not work, but Evans makes it work and ensures the perspective of Shem adds to the story, rather than detracts. While it’s compared to Stranger Things and Black Mirror, I feel it takes the best from each and makes it something much more accessible.
Final Thoughts
It’s the perfect read for those who love Big, Back to the Future and Pretty Little Liars as well as the aforementioned Black Mirror and the brilliant Stranger Things.
Publisher: Usborne Pages: 368 Release Date: 7.2.2019 About: Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival. Welcome to The Extinction Trials. Storm and Lincoln’s city is burning. The people are starving. The only place left to run is Piloria, the continent of monsters. It’s up to Storm and Lincoln to keep their people alive as they colonize this lethal paradise. But will the biggest threat to their survival be the monsters in the jungle…or the ones inside the encampment with them? The Hunger Games meets Jurassic Park in this wildly popular series filled with action, survival and betrayal.
Okay… So I finished this book over a week ago and I’ve not been able to sit down and write this review. Mainly because to write it, is to admit that this amazing ride that has taken my blog through its book review infancy is over. It was the first book in which a publisher reached out and asked that I take part in a blog tour and I got to host a wonderful Q&A with S. M. Wilson. I don’t want this book series to be over, I am currently cursing past me from willing the books out faster. Damn, not only would I have waited the Harry Potter standard of 2 years between books for S. M. Wilson’s talented writing, I’d have RR Martin waited for them.
Enough of my end-of-series grief. Lets get down to what you are all here for: does it live up to the others and how quickly should you be adding it to your TBR?
The simple answer is that not only does it live up to the 2018 outing and its sequel, it surpasses it. Not only is the reader given an excellent, movie worthy, sequel its a well crafted ending to a series. There’s scares, screams and tears a plenty as time is given to all the characters we’ve met so far. As with Exile, Rebel gives us what we expect without playing the game by numbers and retreading the same plot.
My heart was in my mouth from the opening chapter and the pace never let up for a single second, which is how I found myself hitting the last page at 3am Sunday night/ Monday morning; the same day I’d bought it. There’s payoffs, there’s shocks and there’s even creatures I’m too afraid of to mention their names.
I don’t want to mention too many details about the plot, as I’d hate to ruin anything I enjoyed reading but what I will say is that those fans from the start will be left satisfied with how the series ends. I’d also like to point out that, intentional or not, there are still questions and scope for further adventures within this crafted world. I’m not saying Wilson has to start writing another. No, she’s done something so much more for us. She’s provided an imagination playground for plot bunnies to run wild. Certainly for me, if I wasn’t strictly on a ‘no fan fiction’ writing diet while I get my own fictions off the ground; I’d so be penning something set in this world. I don’t know about anyone else, but for me a truly good writer not only gives you a world to escape to, but they create a spark within the imagination.
One final thing I will say, is that I cannot wait for Wilson has in store for us. This has been an amazing trilogy that should be picked up by a film company post haste. S. M. Wilson has a fan for life, and I only hope I can write half as well as her; chapter fourteen of Rebel is hands down the best chapter I’ve ever read and I’ve kept coming back and rereading it all week.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve read the others, buy this book. If you’ve read none of them; buy them all and clear your diary and TBR. It’s a book series that will take pride of place on your bookshelf and, for me, will be a yearly re-read for decades to come.
As a reader it feels as if Curran’s opening story was the album and this, second offering that is so aptly named, is the amazing and anticipated arena tour.
You’ll gratefully applaud the hits the familiar characters roll out smoothly and with wonderful transitions. You will get that comfortable, almost homely, sensation even though it also feels different and new. Just like with all good bands on tour, Curran offers the fans something new that also teases what will come next.
I devoured this book, much in the same way I did the first. The key with the enjoyability of this book is having characters, relationships and situations I feel invested in. Slay on Tour has all, in buckets.
What I loved was the sub plot of Tom coming to terms with losing his hand. I had the pleasure of seeing Def Leapord last year and their drummer had his whole arm amputated in a car accident. The band stuck by is side while he recovered and learned to embrace his ‘disability’. I say it in that way because the man was one incredible drummer, regardless. Having that experience allowed me to experience Tom’s predicament on another level and that is all down to Curran’s writing.
The story in itself is fast paced, action packed and contains all the feels. It’s well wrapped up, but we get a juicy sting to tell us that London’s Calling. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Slay.
Rosie Loves Jack by Mal Darbon is one of my favourite reads of 2018. It hooked me from the first page and reduced me to tears by the delightful ending. It is my absolute pleasure to be part of this blog tour, telling you about my own journey of discovery.
Getting Lost and Finding Myself
The Giant’s Causeway
In July 2016 I was in a weird place. I’d lost a bit of who I was while trying to be what I thought other people liked. Namely a boy. I’d convinced myself that if I lost enough weight, he’d at least look at me in away that wasn’t disgust. To me, he was beautiful, funny and I would have been happy for him to just be my friend.
He never did see me as anything other than ugly and pathetic and I didn’t speak to him again when I left my job in July. I was 3 stone lighter,but I was also beginning my journey into managing the chemical imbalance in my brain that had led to life defining anxiety and depression. I don’t think I’d ever hated myself more.
One of my favourite people in the whole world suggested a trip to Oban and the Outer Hebrides by way of landing on the beach of Barra. I jumped at the chance and hoped time away would mend my broken soul.
Finding Myself
One thing I decided before we left was that I would use this opportunity to try foods I wouldn’t normally. No burgers, no pizza and no salads. Being Scotland, my diet became primarily fish based. From the ‘best fish and chips’ to muscles, I tried it all.
The best part of this new mind set was trying oysters for the first time. London isn’t void of the shellfish; but they’re never cheap especially when you’re not certain you’ll like them. Turns out, I love them and that moment marked a much more experimental me when it comes to food.
The whole experience was documented
Searching for gods in all the Ancient Places
My friend, knowing I was struggling with my mental health,found some ancient rituals that took place in the area we visited. One was sacrificing wine to the god in order to be given good health over the following year. I didn’t have any wine on me, so I’m hoping the grapes I chucked were accepted with equally good grace.
The other was to walk 7 times around the church in a clockwise direction to improve your mental outlook. Having waded into the sea to offer my grapes, I didn’t want to put on my shoes. I figures the surrounding area of the church in question would be grass so off I went down the path towards the church.
How wrong I was. Not only was the quarter mile to the church(only accessible by foot) pathed with sharp rocks and nettles, so was the entire path around the church; it was almost as if someone knew I was going to attempt to do this barefoot.
The first lap was unbearable and I considered giving up and just letting my friend complete it without me. That was when I noticed there was a small concrete section next to the wall of the building. If I was careful with my footing and pace; I could walk it pain free. And so I did.
There were the corners that were hard and if I took them too fast, my feet paid the price. However, the last two laps were taken without a single misstep. Not sure it was what I was meant to take away from the activity, but I certainly saw it as a perfect metaphor for my own mental health.
From God to a Naughty Dog
I wasn’t the only person who was lost on this holiday in the highlands. While trying to find out way to our fourth (possibly fifth?) hotel of the trip, we encountered what looked like a frightened and lost terrier dog.
After getting our directions from the Post Office that just so happened to be back the way we’d come, I decided to walk while my friend drove ahead. This was in the hopes of me capturing the lost looking pup and getting him back home. I should point out here that I’m a little bit like Hagrid; I’d spent the entire trip trying to stroke the cows and any other animals we happened upon.
Alvie
However, I soon realised he had a cunning, yet dastardly, plan. The ankle height beauty would stand still, trembling until I got to grasping distance; when he’d run away at full speed. He then leapt over the grassy dip at the side of the road and waited on the other side. There was nothing for it but to jump over myself. Except I fell into the dip and plastered myself with mud. I swear I heard him laugh.
I gave up after that and decided to inform whomever lived at the house we’d just past, figuring that it must be theirs. The gentleman opened his door. Between myself and my friend, we explained that we’d seen this dog, that we’d tried to catch him and that if he was to hear about a lost dog we’d last seen it in what we assumed was his field.
“Oh, that’s Alvie! He’s forever getting out of my neighbour’s
yard and causing mischief.”
The Queens of Geekdom 