BOOK NOOK; In The Night Wood by Dale Bailey

In the Night Wood is a literary novel steeped in pagan folklore, with a text that is lyrically poetic and intelligently verbose. Based on the Germanic fairytale of The Erl-King,  my copy is a beautiful hardback book with a silvery-blue metallic cover design, reminiscent of a tapestry.  This seems to be the current trend in publishing at the moment - cover art that looks like a William Morris print and such covers do make lovely books.  I like my books to be beautiful as well as interesting.  

This novel is like nothing I have ever read before.  There is an old house that is haunted, but not by a ghost; a crime that was committed long ago, but which still echoes through time; and a series of little lost girls who all look alike, who all have the same initial - Livia, Laura, Lissa and Lorna - and who are all linked in some way, but how?  There is a wood within a wood, a wall within a wall and a book within a book, which creates layer upon layer of storytelling narrative. Pathetic fallacy is evident throughout the text and is used very effectively to build atmosphere on the page.  It's intriguing. It draws you in and holds you spellbound. 

The main protagonist is Charles, who has a fascination with a Victorian novel called In The Night Wood.  Fate leads him to meet and marry the descendent of the author and when his wife inherits Hallow House, the house in which the book was written, they move to Yorkshire to take up residence and to try and build a new life together, following the death of their little girl.  

But there is a growing feeling of oppression from the forest that surrounds the house and as Charles begins to research more about his favourite book and it's author, he discovers that the woods hold onto a dark secret of pagan origin - for in the wood within a wood, he meets none other than the Horned God and King of the Woods, Cernnunos.   In this novel though, the pagan deity assumes his spookier aspect of Lord of Death and the Underworld and he is demanding sacrifice. 

With secret codes to break and Gothic mysteries to unravel, it's a fantastic novel of spooky brilliance.  Like most modern literary novels, its fairly short in length, but it is definitely a page turner and well worth reading, especially if you like a pagan twist in the tale.  It certainly kept me entertained through the stormy weather that is currently raging around my house right now, and I found myself humming  Hoof and Horn, from my Moonchants album as I read.  It's a stormy book, perfect for a stormy night...enjoy!

BOOK NOOK; The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross

"Anyone who has ever fallen in love will know that when the realisation strikes - that you love that person above all others and want to spend the rest of your days by their side - this is accompanied by an urge to run and shout it from the mountaintops." 

from The Beast's Heart

If you have been reading my work for a while, you will probably be aware that I adore fairytales and in recent years there has been a publishing trend for classic fairytales being retold as full length novels.  This, The Beast's Heart, is a novel of Beauty and the Beast, but it is told entirely from the Beast's perspective.  It is a very beautiful book, gilded all over with golden leaves on the covers, so it makes a very pretty addition to my ever growing collection of fairytale hardbacks and collector's editions.

The novel begins right after the curse has been cast, when the Beast finds himself wandering in the forest, confused, grieving and all alone.  He lives like an animal for some time, but then his true nature begins to take over, leading him back to his beloved chateau on the edge of the woods.  There he struggles to regain what is left of his humanity, in a house that has been enchanted to provide for his every want and need. He has everything he could wish for - except companionship.

So when a lost traveller happens across his chateau one freezing, snowy night, the Beast takes the opportunity to demand payment for his hospitality in the form of the traveller's daughter.  And so begins the familiar tale we all know from childhood.  When Isabeau arrives, the Beast does his best to woo her, asking her repeatedly to marry him, but although she is growing increasingly fond of the Beast, although she loves him in her heart; due to his circumstances, she always refuses him.  

They spend their days getting to know one another gradually. She plays piano and sings for him; he reads romance and poetry to her. 

The Beast has a magic mirror which he uses to keep an eye on Isabeau's family while she is absent.  He spends hours just watching them, learning what he can about her family-life and upbringing. 

In this respect the magic mirror reminds me of the Internet, where we can see the daily activities of loved ones who are often miles away, sometimes right across the globe.  How easy it is to become mesmerised by the visions of those we love, within the magic mirror of the screen; haunted by images of those we know, yet never see; of those we love, but who have left, for whatever reason.

As the Beast watches Isabeau's father succumb to depression and then illness, he relents and allows her to go home for one week, but when she fails to return at the appointed time, he falls into a deep despair and fears that she is lost to him for good.  All he wants, is to know that she will come back to him, as soon as she is able to do so and that she hasn't forsaken him and left him for good. All he needs is that reassurance - just a seed of hope that she will return to him eventually and that they will go on as they did before. 

When that reassurance doesn't come in time, the Beast wilts into the deep pain of loss, finding himself collapsed on the ground and alone in the woods once more.  Will his Beauty come back in time to save him?  You'll have to read the novel to find out. 

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairytales and I have read other novel versions of this story, which you can read about here.  I like the way it portrays unconditional love and how Beauty has to become comfortable with the Beast, in all his moods and tantrums, before she can settle down with the Prince, once the curse is broken.  The Beast's Heart is a lovely rendition of this classic tale and I hope that the author is going to write more fairytale novels in the future, because I enjoyed this one immensely. 

ONCE UPON A DREAM; University Place - Stepping Stones Part 2

Today I got the long awaited news that I have been offered an unconditional place at university for the higher level course that I applied for back in December 2018.  This is the next major stepping stone for me, on a path I started way back in 2013, when I went quite out of my way, just to get to this point in time.  Now it is starting to feel like it was all worth it.  This course, and hopefully the career it will lead to,  was my long term goal all along. 

I'm thrilled and excited.  The only thing that can stand in my way now is not getting a student loan to pay the fees, but I'm remaining positive and optimistic.  Such loans exist for a reason and as I already have a written offer of an unconditional place, I think this will go in my favour with the SLC. 

I didn't even have to attend an interview!  My place has been granted to me based solely on the samples of work that I sent in with my application, which is in itself a kind of validation that I am exactly where I'm meant to be and heading in the right direction.  I trust that my path will be smoothed out for me and that everything will fall into place, as it always has before.  This letter was like a happy bolt out of the blue - Fate stepping in to see me through.  I love it when that happens.

So, in September of this year I will be returning to my studies once more, this time at University.  I'm really looking forward to it and I can hardly believe that I have come this far and that I will be beginning my Masters Degree in just six months time!  It feels very surreal - and a little daunting if I'm being totally honest.  But this was my goal - a goal I've dreamed of for years and years, and this course should put me in a much stronger position to get to where I ultimately want to be and to achieve one of my main life-long ambitions.  No pressure then! 

From now on, it will be onwards and upwards, climbing a new academic mountain and braving new territory as I begin to move closer to making my ambitions my reality once again. Six months from now I be will swanning around university campus, wearing a university scarf, and no doubt stressing over essays again - but I am looking forward to it.   I feel very grateful for this opportunity.  I have worked hard over the last five years to deserve it and to earn the right to a place on a Masters Degree.  September 2019 can't come quick enough for me! Never stop wishing and dreaming and aiming high.  Blessed be. 

MUSICAL DOLL; 100 Degrees at Christmas

Thinking of those spending Christmas in the sun Down Under...

Surf Boards and Bondi Beach - sounds good to me! 

Merry Christmas - this is just for you 💋

Personally though, I prefer Dannii with dark hair, but this is still fabulous. Enjoy!

xxx

MUSICAL DOLL; Carol of the Bells

This is so beautiful...

And I love this snowy version of Greensleeves...

 Enjoy!

xxx

BOOK NOOK; The Mistletoe Secret by Richard P Evans

"I would say that I met her on the Internet, except we haven't really met.  She writes a blog, and I just kind of fell for her..." 

from The Mistletoe Secret 

The Mistletoe Secret is another of Richard Evans Christmas romance novels.  This one deals with the subject of loneliness and how the festive season can exacerbate that feeling of isolation.   The protagonist is Alex, who is trying to get over the fact that his wife left him almost a year ago.  He is weighed down with loneliness and when his friends encourage him to sign up to an internet dating site, he is prepared to give it a go.

As he is surfing the web though, he comes across a blog written by a woman who calls herself LBH.   The blog is an outpouring of her loneliness and what she has discovered about its effects on health and well-being; for instance that loneliness actually lowers the body temperature and the immune system, meaning that those who are the coldest and most likely to get sick in wintertime, have no-one to snuggle up to, or take care of them.  How depressing!

LBH uses her blog as a form of personal creative therapy - she never really imagines that anyone would actually read it. She writes it for herself and as she documents her uncensored feelings online, Alex is drawn to her honesty and into her world of solitude.  He can relate to so much of what she is saying, because he frequently feels the same way, as he tries to nurse his broken heart back to health, and mend his wounded pride.

As he reads, he finds himself falling in love with the author, a woman he has never met and knows only through the words that she writes and the things that she chooses to share on her blog.  Personally, I'm not convinced that it is possible to fall in love with someone via their blog, but all romance novels have an element of fantasy about them and this is a lovely idea. 

It is an intriguing concept.  When does love begin?  Is it in the first date, the first kiss, the first conversation? Or does it begin much sooner than that, with the initial sense of connection?  It is nice to think that you can truly love a person you've never met - that it isn't simply infatuation with an unknown ideal, but would such a love fall apart at the first test? 

Alex decides to put his infatuation to the test by gathering the clues that LBH unwittingly leaves in her blog posts and with the help of his friends, one an ex-marine, he narrows down her whereabouts and decides to travel across America to go looking for her.  Now that's romantic!  But it's also a bit creepy, so he has to tread very carefully as he makes enquires in what he believes to be LBH's home town.  And as he gets to know the locals, he becomes distracted by the pretty waitress Aria, leaving him in a bit of a quandary - does he continue his quest to find LBH, the woman he is convinced he loves; or does he abandon her to her loneliness, in favour of the opportunity that stands smiling invitingly before him? 

You'll have to read the book to find out!   It is a lovely novel, with lots of snowy scenes, an ice castle and plenty of festive frolic, so it would make a nice Christmas present.  The Mistletoe Secret is a lovely treat for festive fireside reading.  Enjoy!

  

MUSICAL DOLL; Christmases When You Were Mine

Everything I want is miles away, 

in a snow covered little town...

Season's Greetings, hope you're well

xxx