NOSTALGIC SCOTTISH MEMORIES

 

Do you have Scottish roots or do you just love the blockbuster movie "Braveheart"?! 

In this nostalgic, illustrated mini-memoir I share memories of my journey back to Scotland with my mother and young sons, to revisit our Scottish roots. 

“THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION” contains a wealth of information - Scottish ancestry, historical facts, genealogy, comparable prices, geographical descriptions, personal anecdotes, nostalgia and precious old photos.

EXCERPT: “We pressed on towards the border. Our AA book informed us we would cross the line of the old Roman ‘Hadrian's Wall’ before the boundary between England and Scotland. Just after the Border Forest, a carload of excited, waving people passed us going in the opposite direction. We knew we had reached Scotland at last! The boys cheered. My mother and I were home again, in that land of soaring mountains, rushing burns and ancient glens.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION

A BLAST FROM THE PAST!

 

This brightened up my day! A friend sent me this newspaper cutting that appeared on The Bideford History Page of Facebook. The photo was taken about 60 years ago! I did have a faded copy, but it was minus the caption. 

It was interesting to have a reminder about "Bideford Musicals", that I'd once belonged to. I'm second from the left ("Fay Johanson"). 

I also did ballet as a young child and at the age of twenty was a chorus girl in a production at The Exeter Little Theatre, Devon. As well as a writer, I'd always wanted to be a singer or a dancer!

HURRICANE ISAIAS PAYS US A VISIT!

Neighbours lose shingles during Hurricane Isaias

Well, we have survived. Hurricane Isaias has left The Bahamas!

When I woke up Saturday morning to crazy weather, I felt quite nervous. The power was off, wind howling and rain beating down. We had been warned that Isaias would bring quite a lot of rain and possible storm surges.

It reminded me of Hurricane Matthew, which I wrote about HERE. I prayed we wouldn't get another one like that - or even worse, a "Hurricane Dorian", which Grand Bahama and Abaco suffered terribly from in September 2019!

However, we were lucky. My husband Erskine summarized it for me. When Isaias approached us, the eye was 45 miles south of New Providence. Hurricane force winds were only 35 miles from eye, so we were 10 miles away from hurricane force winds and only had tropical force winds. The eye of the storm passed over Andros, which is west of us. By Saturday evening we knew we were in the clear.

We understand there has been no severe damage, no injuries and no deaths anywhere in The Bahamas. However, some homes have been affected by high water from the rain in low lying areas. My heart goes out to those residents. Our power was restored after eight hours. Others were not so fortunate.

Now Isaias is heading for the Carolinas as a Tropical Storm (possibly becoming a hurricane again). I wonder if everyone will be able to pronounce the name Isaias properly by the time it dissolves!

WHY?

A fellow author in the U.S. reached out to me the other day, saying: "You've been quiet lately. Is everything OK with you and yours?"

That's a good question. I guess he meant because I haven't been continually writing, marketing my books and revealing plans for more books, as I usually do! Also, I haven't been saying anything about how things are in The Bahamas and there sure has been a lot going on.

I think a lot of writers worldwide are grappling with the current Corona virus situation. I see them discussing this on writers' forums. But I don't know what's up with me! I keep trying to pull myself together and get on with it. Get on with what though?

I do go through the motions - doing secretarial work for my family, cooking, cleaning, exercising as much as is currently allowed, and so on...... But something's missing and it's not just the writing or not being able to physically socialize with friends!

Why am I like this right now? I think this question will only be answered after everything gets back to "normal", whenever and whatever that will be!

Nevertheless, here I am writing again, so maybe this is the best way to go right now. If you are having difficulty applying yourself to whatever you love to do, don't worry about it. It will all come back to you at just the right time. I truly believe that!

EXCITING FOURTH BOOK IN THE LUCILLE PFIFFER COZY MYSTERY SERIES!

#1 Bestselling Bahamian Author Tanya R. Taylor has just released her 31st book, "Blind Fury"! "Blind Fury" is the fourth book in Tanya's entertaining Lucille Pfiffer Cozy Mystery series.

CLICK HERE for the Amazon link to the Lucille Pfiffer Series. 

A copy of my Tribune feature article about Blind Fury, published last weekend, is above.  CLICK HERE for the link.

I have thoroughly enjoyed each book in this series and am  looking forward to Book Five! My article about "Blind Fury" also appeared in The Punch and Nassau Guardian. A big thank you to all of these newspapers, which continue to support local authors.

ANOTHER FIVE STAR REVIEW!

SOME PAGES FROM "DANGEROUS DEVOTION"

Another fabulous Five Star Review of my novel "Dangerous Devotion" by "Dom G"! ....."The book is a good read with a lot of plot twists that keep to the end. You can tell the author's familiarity with the different places and the knowledge of them. This kept me engaged straight to the end and is definitely worthy to be made into a short film. Although I thought there would be more sad endings for the different characters, this is truly a happy ending type of novel. I'd recommend this especially for those living in The Bahamas."

I am so grateful to the lovely readers who take the time to leave their comments on Amazon about my books!

"Dangerous Devotion" is set in The Bahamas (Nassau and Long Island) and Scotland, with scenes in Fort Lauderdale, New York, London and Devon.

Read a few pages of "Dangerous Devotion" in the book's Amazon "Look Inside" HERE  

PERFECT FOR YOUR SUMMER READING!

It's interesting that, out of all of my books, "Sunbeams from the Heart - A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories" is my best seller - the large print paperback edition, and mostly in the U.K., although it's available worldwide!

PERFECT FOR YOUR SUMMER READING! “Sunbeams from the Heart – A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories”. Available as an e-book and in paperback (regular and large print).

Here are a couple of 5-star reviews of "Sunbeams from the Heart":-

“A delightful collection of romantic stories, ideal for holiday reading or any time you want your heart warmed.” – Mrs H E McLoughlin, Amazon Customer.

"What charming stories I enjoyed them all....away from war politics bad television, just lovely stories, they calmed my mind and lifted my soul." - Amazon Customer 

And from the description on Amazon:-

A BEAUTIFUL KEEPSAKE! Love themes in this delightful collection of romantic short stories tell of nostalgia, bright new beginnings, homecoming, second chances - and the unexpected!
HEART-WARMING STORIES that propel you on a journey through Scotland, England, The Bahamas and rural America.
“HUGELY POPULAR...Charming and surprising”: The Lady magazine, London, England, wrote about one of these short stories, first published in “The Lady” and now appearing in “Sunbeams from the Heart”.

**CLICK HERE FOR SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART**