Reflections of Mamie
A Story of Survival
Shocking and Heart-Rending
My rating: ☻☻☻☻☻(Five happy faces = five stars.)
My rating: ☻☻☻☻☻(Five happy faces = five stars.)
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:
We “prefer” to be either:
The tests available on the Internet are quite diverse, but fun to take.
My rating: ☻☻☻☻1/2 (Four and a half happy faces = 4 1/2 stars.)
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
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:
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.
“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.
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.
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.)