Review – Reflections of Mamie by Rosemary (Mamie) Adkins

Reflections of Mamie

A Story of Survival

Shocking and Heart-Rending

From the time Mamie was a baby, her mother was inflicted with an insane desire to hurt her. She hurt her in every way possible—with savage physical beatings and blistering, demoralizing verbal attacks. When Mamie finally got the courage to report her, she was not believed. I can understand why. Nobody in their right mind would do what Mamie’s mother did to her child.

Her mother was exceptionally adept at knowing Mamie’s every move, and was able to thwart each and every attempt at escape, until at last, after several attempts, Mamie finally made it to Florida. I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she had managed to get away and was free at last. But did she stay away? No. When Mamie couldn’t make it on her own, rather than allow her boyfriend’s kind and willing parents to help her, Mamie went back to her mother.

Abusers seem to have some instinctive ability to recognize victims of abuse, and target them, so it did not surprise me to read that Mamie’s husband beat her.  What I found particularly disgusting was that Mamie’s mother aided and abetted him.

I found it very hard to understand why Mamie kept going back to her mother. Why couldn’t she cut the ties that bound them forever and leave and never look back?

Two ultra-powerful emotional forces were at work here. Mamie’s unconditional love for her mother, and her desperate need for her mother’s love—or at least approval; and her mother’s uncontrollable passion to inflict pain on Mamie.

I wish I could say this is fiction, but it’s all true. I can only say Mamie, you are definitely a survivor and an amazing person, and I am so happy you’ve found your knight in shining armor. 

My rating: ☻☻☻☻☻(Five happy faces = five stars.)

Buy it from Amazon Here

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What is Your Myers Briggs personality Type?

According to the paper written by psychologist Carl Jung, and the conclusions drawn by Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers, there are sixteen basic categories into which humans can be typecast.

Known as the Jungian Type Scale or Myers-Briggs Type Indicators, the theory is that every individual has a primary mode of operation within just four categories:

our flow of energy
how we take in information
how we prefer to make decisions
the basic day-to-day lifestyle that we prefer

The scale uses four basic personality dichotomies:

Introversion (I) vs. Extroversion (E)

Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)

Feeling (F) vs. Thinking (T)

Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

We “prefer” to be either:

Extraverted or Introverted:
Extraverts are action oriented, while introverts are thought oriented.
Extraverts seek breadth of knowledge and influence, while introverts seek depth of knowledge and influence.
Extraverts often prefer more frequent interaction, while introverts prefer more substantial interaction.
Extraverts recharge and get their energy from spending time with people, while introverts recharge and get their energy from spending time alone.

Sensing or iNtuitive: (nonrational feelings)

sensation—perception by means of the sense organs;
intuition—perceiving in unconscious way or perception of unconscious contents.

Thinking or Feeling: 

thinking—the function of intellectual cognition; the forming of logical conclusions;
feeling—function of subjective estimation

Judging or Perceiving

judging—structured and organized decision-making

perceiving—keeping the options open and putting off decisions

The sixteen basic categories are as follows:
Extraverted Sensing (ESFP, ESTP)
Introverted Sensing (ISTJ, ISFJ)
Extraverted Intuition (ENFP, ENTP)
Introverted Intuition (INFJ, INTJ)
Extraverted Thinking (ESTJ, ENTJ)
Introverted Thinking (ISTP, INTP)
Extraverted Feeling (ESFJ, ENFJ)
Introverted Feeling (INFP, ISFP)

The tests available on the Internet are quite diverse, but fun to take.

You might want to try a couple of them to get an idea of how you are perceived by others.

If you’re a writer, you can take the test as your character, and thereby get a good indication of how that character might develop. A lot of writers use this method of character development, to make their characters as human as possible.

Try it—it’s fun and a great tool. Here are some sites where you can take the tests for free. The first one is good for writers because it has a long form test and a short form if you want to take the test to determine someone else’s personality type. 

http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

http://personality-testing.info/tests/OEJTS/ 

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp 

Rview – Target for Terror by L.A. Iding

Fast-paced, thrilling and sexy.

Natalia Sokolova is the critical care nurse assigned to the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia after he has been shot on US soil. He appears to recognize the unique pendant she is wearing around her neck – the one that could help lead her to her Russian birth mother. He claims he was shot by an FBI agent, but before she can find out more, he dies.

Natalia’s life is catapulted into confusion and terror. When she arrives home that evening her house blows up in front of her eyes. She races to get help from her friend, Ivan, only to find him brutally murdered.

Enter tall, dark and handsome ex FBI agent, Sloan Dryer, now a private security specialist, who had been hired to protect the Russian diplomat.  He meets Natalia in the hospital, and when he sees her burning home on TV, he knows it cannot be a coincidence. He sets out to find her. It doesn’t take much for him to realize her life is in grave danger, and he becomes her self-appointed protector.

They spend the next few days running from their ruthless pursuers who leave a bloody trail behind them. But who wants Natalia dead? And why?  And can Sloan control the burning desire he feels for Natalia?

If you like fast-paced action with hot, passionate romance, you won’t be able to put this book down.

My rating: ☻☻☻☻1/2 (Four and a half happy faces = 4 1/2  stars.)

I was given a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

My Inteview on Blog Talk Radio

I had my first interview on Blog Talk Radio last night.  Trish Jackson, Capricorn Cravings on Writer’s Alive with John Byk in the USA and and co-host Marta Merajver in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I have to admit I was I am not accustomed to speaking in public. My books are fiction and they don’t address any one particular subject that I could travel around and speak about.

I had a blast, and I was so impressed with the questions both interviewers came up with, and in particular, Marta.

Here’s a recording of the interview:

Trish Jackson and Capricorn Cravings 06/22 by John H Byk and Marta Merajver | Books Podcasts

First Draft Completed — Phew!

Today I am celebrating the completion of the first draft of my next romantic suspense thriller. The working title is The Reality Show, and it is about a reality show gone very wrong.

Here’s the first Page sneak preview:

The Reality Show 

by Trish Jackson

This is the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me. I am shaking so bad I can hardly breathe and I think I’m gonna throw up.  I glance back at Joel. He gives me an encouraging smile. He looks cool and composed.

“Your turn, Lexie,” the Old Man says.

I swallow and wipe my sweating hands on my jeans. My legs feel like jelly and I just want to sit down before I pass out.

“Go on,” he gives me a gentle nudge with his hand on my back.

I take a very small step forward, toward the yawing hole in the aircraft. “I can’t,” I say to him. My voice doesn’t seem to work.

It comes out in a whisper.

I’m about to step back and hand in my resignation—anything but this—when I hear the voice. The voice I never, ever wanted to hear again.

The one that haunts my nightmares.  

A far greater fear grips my whole body.

I start shaking all over.

It cannot be him.

But I know that voice.

I could never ever forget that voice.

So many things rip through my mind I almost collapse. He can’t be here. I know it’s not possible, but that voice…

I look down at my hand. My knuckles are white where I hold onto the side of a seat. I turn and scan the faces behind me. He’s not here. It’s just the fear of having to jump out of an aircraft that’s making me hallucinate.

I try to swallow. My mouth is too dry and my throat feels like it has a lump the size of a baseball in it…

The story is set in Africa, in terrain like this.

This piece still has a long way to go before it will be published, but I’m very excited to have the story down. Now all I have to do is work through it and make it better. IT’s the longest first draft I’ve ever written — 202 pages. Usually they run around 150 pages.

Do Your Old Dog’s Back Legs Collapse?

My little while ago something weird started happening with my dog’s back legs. They seemed to almost be collapsing. At first it only happened intermittently and only lasted a couple of seconds before they came right. Then it started escalating very rapidly.

Like all old dogs, Purdy sleeps most of the day. After this started, it seemed that whenever she got up, her legs would twitch. I realized they were making involuntary movements, which were like a kind of kicking motion. She would sometimes not be able to right herself immediately, and floundered around kind of like a fish out of water, dragging her back legs behind her. It was very scary and it started happening more and more often. I was beginning to think I had to make that dreaded appointment…

I went onto the Internet and found several forums where other people had posted about their dogs that had the same sort of problem.

Some of the dogs had been diagnosed with arthritis, and had responded to arthritis medications. Some are really big dogs with heavy bodies and it seems like their legs aren’t strong enough to support their weight, but that wasn’t Purdy’s problem. When her legs were working, they were fine and there was no stiffness or pain.
At some stage during my research I discovered that the symptoms of organo-phosphate poisoning include involuntary muscle spasms and weakness. Of course I checked the label on the flea treatment I was using and bingo.

I stopped using it immediately and washed her really well to get as much of it off as possible. I live in Florida, and we have fleas everywhere. They live in the sand outside, so it’s impossible to stop them totally. It is imperative to treat your house first, and there are natural products you can use that do seem to keep the fleas at bay.

I found and purchased Flea Free, an all natural product that goes in the dog’s water and food and works by creating an enzyme in the dog’s blood that stops the female flea from laying eggs. Somehow the fleas realize this, and jump off. (Male fleas don’t bite.)

I also noticed she was always very thirsty when the attacks were at their worst. Old dogs sometimes forget to drink regularly, and they get dehydrated quite quickly. I now make a point of putting the water bowl in front of her whenever I think of it. I also purchased some Pedialyte, and I started putting two cap fulls in each bowl of fresh water.

The improvement has been almost miraculous. The episodes immediately became less frequent, but they still happened a lot at first. It’s only been three weeks now, and I truly cannot believe the difference in Purdy. This past weekend she didn’t make one mis-step. It’s like she has a new lease on life.

I’m blogging about it because maybe it will help someone else keep their dog a little longer.

I’m thrilled that my beautiful little rescue dog has her life back. She was rescued from a puppy mill in Arcansas eight years ago and was so debilitated they put her age at around twelve years. I thought I was buying a senior dog to be company for Frank, who was thirteen at the time. She’s never really been able to handle any flea control without frequent vomiting. I guess her immune system was permanently damaged.

Purdy’s story inspired me to write my next novel, Backwoods Boogie, in which redneck detective Twila Taunton, and her quirky friends rescue a large number of dogs from an illegal puppy mill.

First Page – Aquarius Addiction by Trish Jackson

Aquarius Addiction

Trish Jackson

(To be released by my publisher Soul Mate Publishing just in time for Christmas 2014!)

CHAPTER 1

     “I am not dying,” Arlette Xylander banged her hands on the steering wheel and yelled out loud. “I don’t have to believe it.” She dug in her handbag for a tissue and dabbed at the angry tears. She found a space, pulled to a halt in the parking lot and blew her nose. She let out a gut-wrenching sob and forced back others that wanted to follow.

     She sneered at herself in the mirror. “Get a grip. Now your face is a total mess.”

     The label on the eyedrops said they would get the red out. She poured liberal amounts into both eyes, and with shaking hands, she wiped the mascara that had run down her cheeks, her jaw clamped tight. She had to stop her hands from shaking, but how? Her whole body was still reverberating from the shock. Her mouth was dry and her stomach clenched tight.

     She took a deep breath, and another. Would nothing slow down her racing heartbeats? She threw her head back and rested it on the back of the seat. Tears threatened again, but she forced them back.

     Still fighting to control her runaway emotions, she thrust her feet into the red high heel sandals and jumped down from the truck, dragging her handbag with her. She took a few more deep breaths and squared her shoulders.

     A few minutes later she entered the red brick FBI building on shaky legs, and, after showing her ID to security, headed for the elevator.

    She peered through the glass door of Chad Kingsley’s office. Another man sat across from him, with his back to the door.

     She unclenched her fists and flexed her fingers, and took a few more deep breaths before she knocked. Chad lifted his gaze from the paperwork, and beckoned. She opened the door and stepped inside, closing it carefully behind her.

     “Arlette. Thanks for coming in so quickly. Let me introduce you.” His open palm pointed to the stranger, who stood up and turned around to face her.

     His dark blonde untidy hair framed a square jaw and straight nose. He was heart-stoppingly handsome.

     “Andre Rossouw,” his gray-green eyes flicked across her breasts before he lifted them to stare into her face. She noticed an old scar running from the corner of his right eye across his cheek. It didn’t detract from his good looks, but rather it made him more interesting. Make that stand-and-stare-with-your-mouth-open handsome. She closed her mouth and took the offered hand.

     “This is Arlette Xylander,” she heard Chad speak, but she felt like she was underwater. “The psychic I told you about.”

     He held onto her hand for a few seconds more than necessary. “I didn’t expect you to be so…” he said, and slowly released his grip.

Another Great Review for Capricorn Cravings

Capricorn Cravings

Review by Christina Renee

Mystery — Intrigue — Action

The book starts of with a bang rather quickly and from that moment, Trish Jackson weaves a tale that keeps you hooked and guessing the next move. The main character, Riley Shaughnessy, finds her quiet world turned upside down in the ensuing chaos. A man has been shot; there’s no evidence. An assistant goes missing; Riley is a person of interest.

When you first meet Riley, she’s quietly meditating in her “spot” when gunshots ring out. Someone falls near her, and once she hears no one is coming towards her, she starts to crawl towards the injured individual. As a veterinarian, she at least can assess injuries and see if she can help. Unfortunately, she has a habit of speaking her mind aloud, so while assessing injuries, she also starts vocalizing her thoughts on the person in front of her. Alas, he wakes and enjoys the commentary, much to her embarrassment. She informs him she’s going to get help, but when she returns, the man has disappeared.

I wont give away more, but I loved how Jackson wove the plot so that you were constantly trying to figure out “who did it” and what would become of Riley, the town, and of those caught in the crossfire. The astrological aspect of the novel was a really nice touch, as there are many people who give credence to what is said in horoscopes and will make decisions, consciously and unconsciously, in relation to those predictions. It also gave Jackson a way to tie in the serial killer.

When I first saw the cover, I figured this would be an intense romance with a little murder and mystery. I was pleasantly surprised by the focus more on the characters, the story line, and the interlacing of romance. It was tasteful, fun, playful, and there were areas of dark and violence. I loved it.

All in all, a highly recommended read. Fast paced easy read that you can do in a few hours if you have the time! I look forward to reading more from Trish Jackson in the future.

Get a FREE Download of my novelette and prologue to this novel, Riley’s Story

More info Here

Amazon Link to Capricorn Cravings

Thank you so much Christina — I really appreciate this lovely review.

Review – The Vase with the Many Coloured Marbles by Jacob Singer

A Compelling Read

This is a story about Emily, a woman of color who lived in South Africa when apartheid (known as ‘segregation’ in the USA), was still in force. 

She changes her name from Emily Kleintjies to Emma Kline, and makes a rash decision to pass herself off as white. She moves to another city where nobody knows her, and starts a new phase of her life. The story tells of the long-lasting repercussions from this decision, that affect not only her, but her daughter, Marla too.

The author brings the characters to life by including the smallest of details, which draws the reader and makes one want to read on. I found that I really cared what happened to them.

The author has also put a lot of thought into the title, because the vase of many colored marbles could be symbolic of the different racial background of the South African peoples, and it also alludes to a vase in the story, owned by Emma, containing some very special marble.
My rating: ☻☻☻☻1/2 (4 1/2 happy faces = five stars.)

Click to buy from Amazon