BOOK NOOK: The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins

"This is how people ensnare us, by promising things that won't come to pass."

I have just finished reading The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins, which was kindly gifted to me for review by the publisher Boldwood Books prior to its release. I enjoyed it immensely and it is one of those witchy historical novels that I love to read. Set in Cornwall in a small fishing village it tells the duel narratives of Susanna and Katel, a mother and daughter from the 1600s, and Megan, a modern day surfer and herbalist. 

When Megan discovers that she has a half sister, she travels to Cornwall to find out more about her. There she spends her time surfing and diving, and learning about the history of the haunted pub where she is staying, The Ship Inn. After a close encounter with the not so friendly ghosts, she is determined to find out who they are and why the are so tormented.

Back in 1625 The Ship Inn was the bustling hub of the village. It was also the base for a group of smugglers and wreckers, who would stash their stolen booty in the cellar.  Susanna lives in one of the cottages attached to the Inn and she makes her living as a healer, wise woman and midwife. In this quiet, sheltered life she has brought up her only daughter, Katel, who is a flighty young woman eager for male attention. In her hurry to find love and ward away rivals, she turns to a less wise women than her mother, a woman called Tedda who has a reputation for witchcraft.  The subsequent spell casts a dark shadow over the whole village, leaving both Katel and her mother in danger, as the workings of the spell play out with disastrous consequences. I felt great empathy for Susanna who was the calm voice of reason trying to break through the noise of irrational fear and a web of superstition. 

This is a novel in the style of a traditional Cornish sea yarn, filled with smugglers, sea shanties, witchcraft, romance and of course, ghosts.  In lots of ways it reminded me of the works of Daphne du Maurier, so if you like books such as Jamaica Inn and Frenchman's Creek, The Cornish Witch will probably be one you will enjoy too.  I especially liked the descriptions of surfing, which really gave a feeling of being swept up by the power of the ocean and carried on crests of waves.  As a non-swimmer I really appreciated this insight into what it must be like to be a surfer and to feel completely at home and safe in the sea. 

It is a coastal novel and I could almost smell the surf and the tang of the ocean as I read this book. It was eerily atmospheric when it needed to be and at the same time, it had all the freshness of a coastal mystery and romance.  It is the first time I have ever read any of this author's work and I was hooked from the very first page, which is always a good sign.  I believe she has also written another novel about a highway-woman, so I'm certainly going to be picking that one up next.

The Cornish Witch is the perfect read for anyone who loves the work of Daphne du Maurier or Barbara Erskine. It will sweep you away on a tide of intrigue and leave you feeling as if you have spent time on the beautiful Cornish coast, wherever you happen to be.  It's the perfect book for taking on holiday.  Happy reading!

Marie x

AD: This book was sent to be by the publisher, Boldwood Books, prior to its release for the purposes of review. It is available in all formats from the 20th April 2025. 

MUSICAL DOLL; Crying in the Rain

 Soul mates forever...

All I want you to know - I love you...

Forever yours

xxx

MUSICAL DOLL; Kylie Tension Tour!!!

 It's soon after 1am and I have just come home from seeing Kylie in her Tension Tour concert! I feel so lucky that I was able to pick up cancellation tickets at the last minute for a reasonable price, so I was super excited to see her.  This is the fourth Kylie tour I've been to - Let's Get To It in 1991, Fever in 2002, Kiss Me Once in 2014 and now Tension in 2025. I played her album this afternoon as I got ready, defiantly dressed in a silver sequinned minidress - it's not often I get my legs out, but a Kylie concert demands it, along with all the sparkles that compliment her glitterball music. 

I've been having a bit of a bad time with flashbacks of the riding accident and the hospital trauma over the past few months, so I really needed to just get out and let my hair down a bit. I was looking forward to a night of drinking, singing and no doubt making an exhibition of myself dancing along with my idol. I had the best, most liberated time!

There's something about seeing Kylie that always gives me chills. I get so excited to see her, in a way that I don't experience with other artists. I loved seeing The Corrs last November and Girls Aloud last May, I loved seeing Torvil and Dean last month, but none of them give me the nervous jitters before the show in the way that Kylie does. I think it is something to do with her having been my idol for so many years now, since I was about 12 years old. I get so star struck by her! 

If you have ever seen Kylie perform live yourself, then you will know that she always, always delivers a superb show. It's like the biggest and best disco in town. Her vocals are live, her dancers are hot, her costumes are high fashion couture and her energy is seemingly boundless. She is a tiny figure on a huge stage, but she completely owns it and her presence is like a force of nature.  She has great audience interactions too - tonight she presented a young girl with a rose as she sang Where The Wild Roses Grow and wore the vintage scarf from her Enjoy Yourself days back in the 1980s, that belonged to a fan, kissing it before handing it back to him.  She just seems so kind-hearted and generous.

My favourite aspects of the concert was the opening act when she came down from the ceiling on a trapeze, singing Lights, Camera, Action, and the Disco set on a separate central stage, complete with a huge glitterball that spun around and bathed the entire audience in sparkling light. It was simply beautiful to see.  I also loved her costumes, and while there wasn't a feather headdress to be seen, she did wear a sequinned red jumpsuit-to-dress combo and a black sequinned cape dress which was stunning. I really liked those outfits. She did a walkaround the crowd so that people could take pictures of her and had a couple of on stage quick changes that went at lightning speed.  Of course she performed all the old favourites - On A Night Like This, Love at First Sight, What Do I Have to Do, Can't Get You Out Of My Head, and my own personal favourites Better The Devil You Know, Shocked, Get Out Of My Way and Two Hearts. She even took a request song from the audience which tonight was Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi. Mostly though it was high energy dance tracks from her most recent albums Disco, Tension and Tension 2.

 

I had such a fantastic time this evening and it was just what I needed to lift the darkness of flashbacks and trauma that I've been experiencing since February. It put me into a joyful place once again and definitely broke the tension!  This is the happiest I've been since the accident, so Kylie has certainly worked some healing magic on me with her music tonight. I feel so grateful that I got to see her again. She really is brilliant, so if you get the chance to attend the Tension Tour, I urge you to go as she will be touring the UK until June. In the meantime, I'll probably share some of the concert footage on Twitter over the coming days, so keep an eye open for that. Enjoy!

Bright Blessings

Marie x

ONCE UPON A DREAM: I Passed Oxford!!!

 

It's 7.30pm on a cold January evening and I have just received the news that I have passed my course at Oxford University!! I'm elated and excited - and a little bit shell-shocked to be honest. I can't quite believe it. I have read the results several times, just to be sure. And yes, I have passed my year at Oxford!

It has been such an enjoyable academic and authorial experience. It was all that I hoped it would be and more. I have really enjoyed learning from these elite Dons - their teaching is second to none, their feedback intense and they are the very best tutors I have ever experienced in my entire academic life. I feel very, very lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from them.

It was quite a long academic year though, and an even longer process overall, one which began back in the early summer of 2023, when I first applied to the university. I was convinced that I wouldn't get in, then when I did, I was convinced that I wouldn't be clever enough for Oxford and that I'd fail, so to now have it in writing that I've passed my course in Advanced Creative Writing & Gothic Literature is a moment to savour and enjoy. 

I can now add my time at Oxford University onto my Author CV, having spent the whole of 2024 studying there to improve my writing craft, following in the footsteps of great writers such as C S Lewis, J R R Tolkien and Lewis Carroll etc. It has been quite a dream come true! But it hasn't always been easy, especially as I spent the majority of the year recovering from the riding accident, writing essays and assignments with two badly injured wrists. It was a painful process at times, but I refused to give up knowing that I might never get the opportunity to study at Oxford University again.  

The work can be quite intense. There is the pressure to do well obviously and because  Oxford is self-funded and very expensive the cost adds to the pressure, as you don't want to waste money by failing! I was also juggling the course with my work as an author and writing several books at the same time as studying and writing my assignments etc. It meant that my 2024 New Years resolution to not work weekends went straight out the window, because as soon as I began Hilary term in January last year, I knew that in order to meet my publishing deadlines and keep on top of the study tasks, course work, classes, discussion groups and assignments, I would have no choice to but to work weekends!

I'm so glad that I did it though and that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and kept pushing myself to succeed, despite the obstacles life threw in my way. I kept at it, even though my wrists were still so painful at the time and typing hurt  - a lot! Now as a result, I will soon hold a University of Oxford Accreditation Certificate in Advanced Creative Writing, proving that I spent the whole of 2024 working on my authorship skills and mastering my craft as a writer. I'm just waiting for them to send the certificate out to me.

The feedback on assignments has been invaluable. They Dons really dig deep into the nuts and bolts of creative writing and they expect a lot in return from their students by way of implementing everything you've learnt and putting it into your assignments.  Work is assessed paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence with the Don adding notes on each section, so that you have an in depth appraisal of your work. Not a comma out of place goes unmissed or unmarked!  Luckily I'm quite used to editorial feedback, so this didn't bother me too much - but it did highlight how much I rely on a good copy editor! Oxford has added more polish and finesse to my work and as a result, I am much more self-aware as an author of what I want to say and also why and how I want to say it. 

The course has also introduced me to so many great books and authors I may never have discovered otherwise, not least of which is one of the Dons who taught me. I have greatly enjoyed exploring her work and the discussions we've had about the significance of folklore as the bedrock of all storytelling. 

My own work has improved as a result of the course too - which was the whole point. I wanted to hone my craft even further. I now have more confidence in my abilities, particularly in my characterisation and world building. I have already implemented some of this development into my published work too. For instance, if it wasn't for the Oxford course, I doubt if I would have had the confidence to write and publish fantastical meditations in The Book of Moon Magic. There will be more fantasy themed work dropping from me this year too, where I have been free to invent characters, dialogue and narratives, so look out for that in the coming months. 

I really feel that I am now taking my writing in the direction I have been dreaming of and aiming for, for years.  Now I spend my days coming up with new characters and writing scenes that are filled with enchantment. As a result, I feel a new sense of enchantment in my own life too. As I put more whimsical enchantment into my writing, so my writing in turn brings a sense of greater enchantment to my daily life. It makes my heart lift.  Everything suddenly feels possible, because now I have the confidence to just go for it as an author of prose fiction. 

Oxford gave me that. 

The feedback on my assignments was so strong and positive that, although I wrote them purely as assignments for the course, I am now seriously considering developing this project into something I might one day publish.  

It might sound strange, but my own writing has begun to inspire me in ways I would never have imagined! So often we are told that we need to be inspired to write - I would argue that in following the writing, it can also inspire us in turn. I have made changes in my home because of the things I have been writing, because of the characters I have created who seem to whisper to me "Maybe you should do it this way. Maybe you should try this." Its the most bizarre feeling, but I love it!

As an example, if you have been following me on Twitter you will have seen that I have been decorating my home and that I have a bit of a butterfly theme going on. All I will say about it is - Glimmershine made me do it!  You will meet Glimmershine in the summer, all being well. But that is just one example of how my own writing has been inspiring me in the more mundane areas of my life. 

So yes, it is fair to say that doing the course has been very enlightening, in more ways than one. I'm so glad I was brave enough to apply, because now I am an Accredited Creative Writer from the University of Oxford and that will only stand me in good stead with editors and publishers in the future.  Now that the course is completed and my goal is achieved, I am looking forward to a much slower pace in 2025. With no studying to do, no academic work to write and submit, I can just enjoy writing my books, with no additional pressure. I'm looking forward to an interesting year of writing and my current project is one that is very close to my heart. The deadline is the 20th of this month, so I have a few more days to work on it yet, but I am greatly enjoying the process. Its lovely to be cocooned in my home during the depths of winter, writing magical books for a living. I truly love my job.

But for tonight, I'm just going to savour the fact that I have just passed a year long stint as an Oxbridge student and that I have passed a course, one that will further my writing career, at Oxford University, one of the most prestigious and elite universities in the UK, in the world, in fact. That is not something to be dismissed or discounted. It means I'm a lot smarter than I thought I was! 

It is an achievement to be proud of and one that no-one can ever take away from me. This time last year I had just started Hilary term. One year on, I have successfully passed the course, with an Oxford University certificate on the way! I wonder what golden opportunities will knock on my door in 2025?

Serene Blessings,

Marie x

Writer's Dream: 2025 - New Year, New Brand!

 

I have been working in publishing now for over 25 years. During that time I have moved from writing and publishing poetry, to correspondence courses, to books, to magazines, to music and back to books again.  Writing is a transient profession and many writers switch seamlessly from one type of writing to another throughout their careers. There are several reasons for this. Publishing platforms don't always last forever - in just the last couple of years, many of the magazines I used to write for regularly, such as Spirit&Destiny and Soul&Spirit, have gone out of circulation altogether and are no longer being produced.  Publishing imprints also change, evolve and disappear, with new imprints coming to the fore instead. Nothing ever feels permanent in publishing. Editors move on, authors evolve, publishing houses merge or go under. It can be a very precarious profession in which to make a living. 

That said, it makes it all the more special when you find a publisher who is happy for you to grow and evolve as an author, within the framework of their own publishing house.  With most commercial types of creativity, companies tend to want their creators to produce 'more of the same', because they know that is what sells. That's where their profits are. However, being creative depends on being able to change, grow and try new things, otherwise the creativity becomes stale and the job becomes a chore. 

I felt that way during the latter half of my time at Spirit&Destiny magazine. Whenever I tried to write something a bit different, I was met with the request to write more of the same please instead. It was stifling!  It was also one of the reasons I went on to publish my best ideas with their rival magazines, such as It's Fate and Kindred Spirit, because Spirit&Destiny had already proven that they didn't want innovative, imaginative writers -  they just wanted formulaic contributors. 

Writers need the space, time and opportunity to experiment and try new things. That's why I have always jumped at the chance when new authorial opportunities have been offered to me - such as when I was asked to write an album of pagan songs for Paradise Music, or when I was asked to write fairy poetry and magical sleeve notes for New World Music, or when my current publisher asked if I wanted to start writing and creating oracle decks and mythology titles.  

My answer has always been a resounding yes - but I haven't always answered right away! Often, my first instinct is to run and hide, to question myself and my ability - Can I really do this? Did they make a mistake in asking me? Are they simply being kind? Where's the catch?  It's impostor syndrome at play. All those thoughts run through my head initially and so I need to go away and process them for a little while, before I come back and say Yes please, I would love to. 

My current publisher is great at offering me opportunities for projects that I haven't done before, like the oracle decks and mythology books. Yes, these projects fall firmly in the genre of Mind, Body, Spirit, but it was  never the genre I objected to - it was the request to keep writing the same old thing over and over again. Now that I have found an editor and a publisher who are happy for me to try new things, I feel like my creativity is thriving once more. It helps that my editor is also an author too, so she has experiential understanding of the typecast situation writers can sometimes find themselves in. A lot of editors don't really write that much, literary agents even less so!   I have fallen very lucky with my current publisher and editor, and in the opportunities they offer to me and their openness to my ideas and book proposals.

One of the things I have wanted to do for quite some time is separate my magical writing from my psychotherapy and psychology writing. Although these genres often sit side by side on the shelves in most book stores, they are very different types of writing and authorship, so I wanted to draw a clear line between the two. The issue I have always come up against before is that I am best known for the magical writing and so editors tend to want to capitalize on that. It takes time and money to develop a new author brand, so it is often more profitable to build upon the existing brand instead.  

It must also be said that just because an author can write well for one particular genre, doesn't mean that they can write well in other genres.  I certainly had to prove my psychotherapy writing skills (not to mention my qualifications in this arena) via my recent book The Wiccan Guide to Self Care, before I was considered a serious psychology author. It's not the kind of topic you can simply pluck from thin air, throw your hat at, and hope to gain a book deal! You do need the relevant qualifications and clinical experience in place first, and even when you already have a publisher, you still have to prove your capabilities in a new genre before you will be commissioned in that area of expertise, which is why I approached The Wiccan Guide to Self Care as something of a literary audition and a chance to prove what I could do in terms of psychology writing. 

So when my editor asked me how I would feel about maybe publishing some work under my first name, in order to make a distinction between my magical work (which is published under my middle name, Marie Bruce) and my psychotherapy writing, I was thrilled. This is something I have wanted to do for several years, so to have it suggested by my current editor was amazing! She really is the best!  I had a few projects lined up that brought together both creative and therapeutic writing for the benefits of metal health and personal well-being. They fit firmly into the realms of psychotherapy writing, with not a single spell or magical ritual between them, so it made sense that we would use these new books to re-brand that side of my work. 

In addition, I spent the last couple of months of 2024 working on a project that I am very excited about and proud of. Its a new psychology project and it is rather special, so I can't wait until I'm able to share that with you too. Again, it will be published under my new psychotherapy-author brand name of Jacqueline Bruce because it doesn't include any spells at all. It is pure psychology and self-help. It's still me though, and you will certainly recognise my authorial voice. 

Not only that, but these projects also meant that I was given the opportunity to write on a topic close to my heart - that is, the positive benefits of writing!  Writing books about writing has been one of my goals for many, many years, and now I am doing just that! These books will be published under my first name, Jacqueline Bruce, and their release in 2025 will mark the launch of my second author brand, which is super exciting! It is something that I have been working on throughout 2024.

Of course, I will still be writing magical projects and spell books. I enjoy this kind of work even more now that I have other topics to write about as well, because it breaks up the monotony and I come to the magical genre with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. It's nice to have two distinct branches to my writing now, two completely different genres to work in. I'm enjoying flipping back and forth between the two.  

I'm also in the process of writing a brand new column, having returned to the team at Kindred Spirit, this time as a columnist in their print magazine rather than on their blog. My first column launches in the Spring 2025 issue and the column will appear in the magazine throughout 2025, but I'll do another blog post on that nearer to the launch date.  All I will say here is that it is a very enchanting, whimsical column and unlike any column I have ever written before! I'm very excited about it. It's such a fun column to write too.

Suffice to say that there is lots of fun stuff happening in this brand new year and I am enjoying my writing work so much. Who knows what new writing opportunities will come along next? I'm certainly looking forward to finding out, because writing really is the best job in the world! 

So look out for new titles coming from me in 2025, not only Mind, Body, Spirit projects as Marie Bruce, but also mainstream non-fiction books writing as Jacqueline Bruce too!  This is definitely a big step forward for me as an author and a significant goal achieved. Happy New Year! 

Blessed Be

Marie x 

ONCE UPON A DREAM: Christmas 2024 Reflections

It's late on Christmas night and like many people, I am feeling extremely grateful and rather full of too much food and festive cheer! I've had a lovely Christmas so far, going out to dinner again with my mother. I really think that dining out will become our annual Christmas lunch tradition because its so much easier - all you have to do is enjoy the food that has been prepared for you and there's no washing up afterwards! We went out last year for Christmas lunch as well, so it seems to be our new tradition - just book a table and enjoy Christmas dinner out somewhere lovely.  This year we were seated by the fireplace which added to the cosy festive atmosphere, as we pulled crackers to the crackle of the logs. 

I was lucky enough to receive some very lovely presents from friends, family and neighbours, including books, gold foiled tarot cards (they are stunning!), a pink Glinda/Wicked vanity case for my Flower Knows makeup, jewelry, lots of cosmetics and girly bits and bobs, Kylie's new album on limited edition yellow vinyl and of course, the obligatory pink nightie and some baby blue slippers. Is is really Christmas without new slippers?

My favorite gifts this year included a very elaborate ballerina snow globe, shaped like a silver bird cage with a ballerina pirouetting inside as the glittering snow falls down all around her. I've never seen anything like it before - its enchanting! This is from my mum and its so gorgeous. It was one of those very special gifts which brings a tear to the eye and I almost cried as soon as I saw it. Its just beautiful and it will go perfectly in my bedroom. I also got The Pink Fairy book too, which is a Folio edition that I have wanted for over a decade, so to finally have it and be able to read it on Christmas night feels so magical. Its a limited special edition and so they are quite rare. It's rose pink, with stunning silver foiled cover art of a Chinese lady chatting to her two cats and it comes in its own slipcase. Its just precious and I feel very lucky to finally have it as part of my library, where it will sit proudly next to its brother, the Blue Fairy book.

My neighbour also surprised me with some lovely little gifts too, including a collection of art cards and stickers featuring cute wildlife art, and a cushion cover that has an image of a knight in armour riding through the snow. His white horse is caparisoned in red and there is a fairytale castle in the background. Its perfect for me and my home, because it has a Pre-Raphaelite vibe to it so it will go well with all the Waterhouse prints I have around my  bedroom. I'm touched by her thoughtfulness. I also got gifts of chocolates and hand made tree decorations from my mum's neighbours and friends as well.  Again, I'm touched by their thoughtfulness and generosity. I feel surrounded by kindness, which is just lovely. 

I think the main reason that so many people have made such a fuss of me this Christmastime is because they know that I've not had the greatest year of my life, to say the least, and 2024 has been quite difficult at times. The riding accident back in March and the injuries I sustained has coloured the entire year, as I spent months going to hospital for x-rays and checkups and physiotherapy etc. Then in November I was told that the asthma I'd had as a child had come back with a vengeance. The doctors seem to think it was triggered by the years I spent working at the vetinary hospital where I was surrounded by vast amounts of pet hair and dander. I now have to use an inhaler every day - which is a pretty shade of pink, so I don't mind it too much! So yes, my health has been put through the ringer this year. 

I have to say, I'm proud of myself this year and of what I've achieved, given the circumstances and despite the odds being set against me so early on. I have completed my year at Oxford University, submitting my final assignment to them just before Christmas on 5th December. I should get to know in the early new year if I've passed the course, but I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it, in spite of having two broken wrists and only being able to type very slowly for the first seven months after the operations.  A lot of people would have used the riding accident as an excuse to drop out of the course altogether. I didn't. I stuck with it. Although I did ask for an extension on the deadline for my first assignment, which was due to be delivered just a week after the operations, I still got on with it and I wrote that assignment with both my arms in casts from my knuckles to my elbows and very limited movement in my fingers. I even met the extended deadline with a few days to spare! 

In addition, I have also continued working and I have written several new books this year too. My editors have been amazing, giving me longer to work on each book and more generous deadlines to account for my recovery, but they have still trusted me to get the work done and write the books to a high standard. They have been very supportive and I have written their names on my gratitude list more than once this year! I could not ask for a better commissioning editor. She's so lovely and kind-hearted.  I feel very lucky to be able to work with her. So again, I'm really proud of myself for the fact that I kept on working, writing new titles and meeting deadlines.

I also got quite a lot of decorating done in my house too. I had help from my mother because I just wasn't fit enough to do it all on my own, but we managed to completely re-decorate four rooms and give the house a bit of a refresh. Next year we are going to re-decorate my bedroom and then tackle the staircase. I'm not going to lie - decorating is a painful process for me now. It's very hard on my wrists, which are still extremely delicate. I am continuing to do physio exercises to try and make them stronger, but its a long process. The truth is that they may never be as strong as they were before the accident. I'm trying my best, but only time will tell. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they keep improving.  The good news is that I was medically cleared to drive my car again last month, so I must be getting stronger or the doctors wouldn't let me drive. I'm taking this as a good sign.

I have learnt some valuable lessons this year, which is entirely due to the accident, so maybe it was the universe's way of forcing me to listen. First I learnt that its okay to slow down. I have spent the last decade or more running from one academic course to another, to working twelve hour days in an emergency pet hospital at the same time as doing the Masters degree, to writing multiple books a year, to studying at Oxford University too, all without really slowing down or coming up for air. I have to say that writing the books is the easiest one and the one I find most enjoyable and fulfilling!  

However, I have pushed myself and pushed myself. I was exhausted, but I didn't know it - until the accident/universe forced me to STOP.  I learnt that its okay to stop, to slow down, to ask for more time to complete a task or project. I learnt that it is important to prioritize rest and that rest is just as important as achievement.  Most crucially, I learnt that it is okay to ask for HELP. It's safe to let people help me. I don't have to do everything all by myself, all of the time. There are people who want to help me - but I have to let them in. 

This was perhaps the biggest lesson I needed to learn, because ordinarily I never ask for help. Suddenly being in a position where I couldn't do anything for myself was incredibly scary and humbling. I had to trust the nurses (total strangers?! OMG!) to feed me, wash me, dress me etc, duties which then fell to my Mum for a few months as I gradually recovered enough to hold a spoon, a sponge, a sock. I couldn't live in my own home and had to move in with my Mum for a few months. One day at a time, I learnt to take care of myself again, but the lesson had not been wasted on me and I heard the universe's message loud and clear - it's okay to trust certain people and ask for help. 

I wonder how many times the universe had whispered that message to me in the dark and I hadn't heard it, or how many times it had called it out to me, only for me to ignore it. But the universe tripping up my horse and leaving me incapacitated for a big chunk of the year? That was the message I heard and paid attention to! Therein lies the silver lining. Even negative events have something to teach us. In fact, they can often be the best teachers of all. 

Also, there is nothing that offers greater perspective than a hospital bed. It highlights exactly who is actually there for you in a real way, and who is just full of piss and wind. Frankly if someone isn't there for you when you're bleeding, broken, hyperventilating, in hospital etc - then they have no right trying to re-enter your life when you are healed and on the road to recovery. They have already told you all that you need to know about who they are and where their priorities lie - and its not with you!  

This too is a message from the universe and one that you would be wise to listen to. I have certainly paid attention to it and it isn't just Father Christmas and Taylor Swift who have been making a list of names this year! Those who were conspicuous by their absence and silence in the aftermath of my riding accident need not apply for a position in my life in the future.  I have no openings available for them. Nor will I. 

So 2024 has been a year of difficulty, proud moments and many lessons learnt. I'm hoping that 2025 will be a gentler, more uplifting year, one where I can fully concentrate on my writing as I now feel recharged and refreshed and ready to get back into it again.  I think it will be because there are already some exciting things lined up for next year, but I'll cover that in another blog post. 

Until then, stay safe, stay warm, ask for help when you need it - but make that list of names, of those who were nowhere to be seen or heard from, when you were broken and bleeding, scared and vulnerable in 2024. Take note and think twice before you carry them into the New Year with you. 

Bright Blessings

Marie x 

BOOK NOOK : The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow

 

"At first, alone in her tower, she wept for the loss of her love. From the window she could see so far, but not as far as the other side of the universe. After a while, alone in her tower, she began to spin, fine golden thread. After a while, alone in her tower, she began to weave.  And after a while the rhythm of the loom would mingle with the memory of his songs and she began to sing. And in her song was the sound of the wind and the call of the birds, the ache of her heart and the strength of her love, and the loneliness of living."

My editor introduced me to the work of British artist, Jackie Morris, a few years ago, via a rather lovely Christmas card and I'm so glad that she did!  I have always loved whimsical art, poetry and fairytales so Jackie's work is just my cup of tea. Over the years since I have collected quite a few of her books and art card collections, and they are always a delight.

The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow is a collection of soft and dreamy fairytales, written to complement the artwork within. Each picture is a colourful kaleidoscope of soft muted tones and bolder accents, with the downy wash of watercolours expertly blended together. Originally these images were designed as charity Christmas cards for a musicians benevolent fund, so they all feature snowy landscapes and musical instruments alongside fantastical creatures, angelic beings and whimsical backdrops.  Although the stories were added later there is a perfect sense of synergy between the words and pictures, creating a beautiful cohesive whole. 

Opening up this book is like stepping into another world! One that is unique and at the same time, strangely familiar, for the narrative voice is that of traditional fables and fairytales. You can hear the forbidden music in the rhythm of the words, for this is a book about a world were music is banned and where musicians are forced to venture far and wide in order to find a new place of belonging.  It feels like a book from your childhood, even though it was only published fairly recently in 2016. It has the same comforting vibe as Narnia or The Box of Delights, spiriting you away to an imaginary winter realm, populated with polar bears and snowy hares, jesters and princesses, tiny kittens, silver tigers, angel cats and so much more. 

As you turn each page you are drawn more deeply into the joy and enchantment of the winter season. The pictures are filled with intricate detail, with tiny creatures hidden in the background that you might fail to notice unless you really study the images, for there is always more to discover. In this world of pure wonder, rocking horses gallop through deep snow, hot air balloons float across starry skies, polar bears are called home to icy landscapes and swan boats carry people to their dreams of love and freedom. 

These fairytales can be read as individual stories, but they also build upon one another, their edges gently merging into each other and pulling you along from one tale to the next. The words are poetic and pretty, soft and dreamy, the lyrical style lulling you into a state of wonder and quiet magical charm.  It's a lovely book to read at the end of a bad day, or when you're going through a difficult time, because the effect it has on the reader is so soothing, its almost a form of self-care! 

Also, don't dismiss this as a children's book because it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Yes, it is a picture book and a collection of fairytales, but it is also the dreamwork of a visionary artist who draws you into the fantastical world she has created so that she can soothe your soul while you're there. I firmly believe that this book is good for mental health. 

The wintry dreamscape it presents means that it is the perfect book to curl up with this December in the run up to the festive season.  It is a book to be enjoyed by a twinkling Christmas tree, or in the depths of an icy January by candlelight, with a cup of hot cocoa beside you as you allow yourself to drift into The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow. Enjoy!

Bright Blessings,

Marie x

AD: This book is published by the Welsh publisher Graffeg Ltd and is available now.