TRYING TO FIND A HOME AT CHRISTMAS!

 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad! Hope you are enjoying this special time of year. Sorry I haven't posted here for a while. After living in our current apartment for almost eleven years, our landlord gave us notice in October, as he wants to renovate.

I have been busy trying to find another apartment for my husband Erskine and me. It was quite a job, as good, affordable rentals in Nassau are difficult to find. But we have been blessed. Through a friend, we finally found a lovely apartment, still in Cable Beach, which we have come to think of as our "home town"! The apartment meets all of our requirements, including the price range. We move in on January 14th. 

This photo was taken on the beach in front of The Islands Club, Cable Beach. Erskine and I managed those luxury condos some years back. Accommodation was provided there for us, as well with other properties that we have managed. We never had to look for rentals back in those days. However, with the influx of foreign workers and foreign companies willing to pay big bucks for rentals, as well as the increase in AirBnB rentals, our search was nearly exhausted.

We didn't give up though. I continually posted on several Facebook pages and received a lot of suggestions, but nothing was suitable. We couldn't find anything in the local newspapers either. When I finally found the apartment we're taking, I posted again on Facebook about it, and over 300 people posted back congratulating me! It just shows what you can achieve with perseverance, as well as a lot of prayers!

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS IS ALL TIED UP RIGHT NOW!

 

On Saturday October 9th, 2021, a man attempted to destroy the statue of Christopher Columbus outside Government House, Nassau, with a sledge hammer! He was arrested, but not before he had done substantial damage. The statue has been there since 1830 and there are a lot of interesting stories about it that you can find if you do a search online.

See The Tribune article HERE

Since then, the statue has remained covered with a tarpaulin - I guess, until they decide what to do with it or perhaps they have to wait for an insurance settlement!

By the way, the scaffolding in the background is because they are currently renovating Government House.

FIRST DRAFT OF BOOK THREE IN BUCHANAN MYSTERY ROMANCE SERIES FINISHED!

 

I've finished the first draft of Book Three in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series! 47,000 words. 

Book One is "Dangerous Devotion" and Book Two "Deadly Deceit In Paradise". You can buy them on Amazon as e-books and in paperback.

I have a working title for Book Three but cannot reveal it yet! There's another big job ahead for me with the editing, as it's a whodunit and I must make sure to tie up all loose ends!

NASSAU'S FAMOUS STRAW MARKET REOPENS!

 

Nassau's famous Straw Market in downtown Bay Street has reopened!

 

Read Tribune article HERE

A Writing Getaway!

Lot 10, Phase A, Block 3, Stella Maris, Long Island, Bahamas, on left

Upper part of Lot

Lot highlighted in yellow

 

Imagine writing your next novel here! Our stunning high-elevation half-acre ocean view lot is for sale in beautiful Stella Maris, Long Island, Bahamas - $115,000. About 80 ft. above sea level. Lots of building potential or just keep the land for now as an investment for the future. Clear title. Approx. half mile to the Stella Maris Resort.

More Information

SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART

Not only did my book “Sunbeams from the Heart – A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories” make Amazon's top 100 paid best-sellers' list in the Literature & Fiction/Short stories category shortly after it was first released, but it was next to Stephen King’s “Hearts in Atlantis” in Amazon's Best Sellers in Literary Short Stories! The following month, Sunbeams from the Heart again made the top 100 paid bestsellers' list in the Literature & Fiction/Short Stories category, this time alongside Agatha Christie's “Miss Marple - The Complete Short Stories”.

Available on Amazon as an e-book and in paperback (regular and large print). Click here!

BOOKS BY BETHEL SHORT STORY FEATURE

 

You are now able to read one of my published short stories, "The Christmas Shelter", online. Bahamian author and publisher Teri Bethel has featured the story on her website at BOOKS BY BETHEL   

This short story appeared in "The Lady" magazine, U.K., and it also appears in my book "Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short stories".

You can read my author bio on Teri's website at FAY'S BOOKS BY BETHEL BIO 

And my author interview by Teri at FAY'S BOOKS BY BETHEL INTERVIEW

Books By Bethel ("Discover Amazing Authors of The Bahamas and The West Indies") "features a number of genres by talented Bahamian authors".

Teri says: "We hope this assortment will equip, inspire, educate, and entertain readers. Begin collecting Bahamian books for your personal library today. Click on the Authors' link for more information on the books that are available for you. If you want to know more about the author, like their interests, what got them started with their writing and where they hope their writing journey will take them. To visit with them click on our author interview link on the top Menu bar. Why not get started with your reading today. Many of the books are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format (downloadable), as well as from authors and selected local stores. So go ahead, scroll through our site; we'd love your support by purchasing Bahamian authored books."

An Interior Designer by profession, Teri is a Textile Artist, Handbag Designer as well as a texture painting and purse making instructor. Additionally, Teri Bethel is a book publisher who enjoys helping writers to produce first-quality books and ebooks for sale on Amazon as well as brick and mortar stores. She says she loves writing and is the author of several empowering fiction as well as non-fiction books for adults and children. Both in daily living and in her books, Teri seeks to encourage and empower people to be the best they can be.

Teri's husband Tellis A. Bethel, a former Commander Defence Force within the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (2015 – 2020) at the rank of Commodore, is also a published author. Teri and Tellis have two sons, Tate and Tellis Jr. Tate is a published author as well. 

To read more of my romantic short stories, you can buy "Sunbeams from the Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories" on Amazon HERE or at mybook.to/SUNBEAMS

Sunbeams is available as an ebook and in paperback (regular and large print).

TURNING REAL LIFE INTO FICTION!

 

I dug this article out of my file of clips the other day. I wrote it when I worked as a Personal Secretary at British Telecom in Exeter, England. At the time, I submitted articles to "Westward News", a former in house journal for British Telecom.

This real life experience gave me the idea for my short story "Late Again", which appears in my book of short stories, "Moonbeams from the Soul: A Collection of Fourteen Provocative Short Stories".

Here's an excerpt from the story:

" 'Excuse me!' A voice called to her from the side of the road. 'Can you direct me to the bridge?'

"An old lady with soft white hair and wearing a very flimsy summer dress leaned against a lamp pole, one arm wrapped around it.  She carried no handbag and looked completely lost."

If you want to read this and other "provocative" stories in "Moonbeams from the Soul", it's available on Amazon as an e-book and in paperback (regular and large print). Click here!

 

BAHAMAS NEW CABINET OFFICE TO BE BUILT

 

Churchill Building, Nassau, Bahamas

The Churchill Building on downtown Bay Street, Nassau, is being demolished to make way for a new Cabinet Office.

In 1965, while I was working as a secretarial temp in the Churchill Building, it housed The Bahamas Treasury. At the time, I went up on the roof of this building with my colleagues to watch the S.S. Bahama Star bring in the survivors from the burning S.S. Yarmouth Castle. I took photos and three of my poems about this tragedy were published in "The Tribune" newspaper, Nassau.

STRANGE PREDICTIONS!

 

© Fay Knowles

This is a satirical article I wrote for British Telecom's former "Westward News" when I worked there in 1987!

At that time, those who read the article had a good laugh, never believing that some of the farcical predictions could become close to the truth. However, with everything is happening these days, the article suddenly came to my mind and I dug it out of a file of old articles.

Now, thirty-seven years later, I hope you enjoy reading it!

WRITING IN SHORTHAND!

 

Pitman's Shorthand - 

"I love to write in shorthand!"

When I left school at sixteen years old, I wanted to get a job in a London newspaper and train as a newspaper reporter from the bottom up. However, my mother didn't want me to leave Devon and go to the big city on my own at such a young age! She insisted I enroll at the local technical college and train to be a secretary. Wise mother as she was, she told me the shorthand and typing would come in useful if I ever did become a newspaper reporter.

I followed her sound advice and to my surprise, I found I just loved shorthand and typing. After a year, I qualified as a secretary, having also taken law, commerce and a couple of other courses, as well as Pitman's Shorthand and RSA Typing. 

I worked as a secretary for a year, then the opportunity came up in a news agency that two London Fleet Street journalists had set up. I took the job they offered me as a trainee reporter/Girl Friday and received the best newspaper and writing training ever from these two brilliant men.

Even today, I still write in shorthand most of the time when making notes to myself. It comes in very handy!

AN EARLY BAHAMAS GENERAL ELECTION!

 

The Bahamas General Election due to be held in May 2022 has been called early.

It will now be held on September 16th, 2021. Signs promoting the two main parties, the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement, sprouted everywhere as soon as the new date of the Election was announced! 

MORE BOOKS POPULAR ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

 

Image from Amazon.com

My short story collections, Sunbeams from the Heart and Moonbeams from the Soul, have always been popular among Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers, especially in the U.K., but I am thrilled that all of a sudden readers are branching out to read my other books too via Kindle Unlimited. 

About Kindle Unlimited from Amazon.com: "Kindle Unlimited is a service that allows you to read as much as you want, choosing from over 2 million titles, thousands of audiobooks, and up to three select magazine subscriptions. Explore new authors, books, and genres from mysteries and romance to sci-fi and more. You can read on any device. It's available for $9.99 a month and you can cancel anytime. Try it free for 30 days." - and - "Customers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Australia can sign-up for Kindle Unlimited in their local Amazon marketplace. We also plan to expand this service to other countries." 

I invite readers from around the world where Amazon Kindle Unlimited is available to give this a try! All of my published books are listed in Kindle Unlimited. Of course, you are also able to buy my ebooks or paperbacks outright on Amazon.

OLD MANUSCRIPT FEATURED IN BUCKINGHAM & WINSLOW NEWSPAPER!

 

Great news! The Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Buckingham, England, has featured me and my old children's adventure book manuscript in their online edition! Maybe I'll hear from a publisher, who might want me to edit and complete it again!

I've been told that the feature should appear in their print edition next week.

BUCKINGHAM & WINSLOW ADVERTISER FEATURE

BOOK DEDICATIONS

 

Above is the dedication inside my novel "Deadly Deceit In Paradise", Book Two in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series! I dedicated the book in memory of my late Swedish grandfather Frederick Wilhelm Johanson. I wish I had known him.

I don't have a Swedish grandfather in "Deadly Deceit In Paradise", but I do have an elderly Bahamian uncle, whose niece Natalie Barrett notices a string of suspicious events that lead her to believe he may not have died from natural causes as reported. Will her curiosity and subsequent amateur investigation point to murder? And will she have to choose between the two handsome men she meets? A whodunnit filled with intrigue, romance, scandal and mystery that will keep your mind on it long after you’ve read the last page!

Available on Amazon and other online retailers as an e-book and in paperback.

Click here for Deadly Deceit In Paradise

COMING FULL CIRCLE!

  

Part of the old manuscript

When I was between eleven and twelve years old, I wrote a children's adventure book. At the time, I was living with my parents in Buckingham, England, where they owned and operated a watchmaker and jeweller's shop.

My father gave me an old accounts ledger in which to write the book. It was quite thick and had a hard cover. I carried it everywhere I went for a whole year, scribbling my adventure story every chance I had in school recesses, lunch hours and after school.

At the end of the year it was finished, but I had no outlet for it. I didn't even have a typewriter (there were no computers or internet in those days).

During the school term after that I lived in the hostel of Wolverton Grammar School. The housemaster, Mr. Hodge, who was an author, read my book, to give me his opinion. He gave me a little review with suggestions for a few changes. I was thrilled when he told me it was very good and I should try to get it published.

However, the book still didn't go anywhere. I carried on writing the poems and stories I had written since the age of nine and took my book with me when I moved to Devon, Canada and finally, The Bahamas.

I still have some of the first pages from the book, but sadly the rest of it was somehow lost over the years. I believe it may had been eaten by insects when stored on Long Island for a while!

Anyway, reading over what I have of the book, I realize that I have actually come full circle. I started off writing mysteries and dramas and now I am working on Book Three in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series, which is also full of drama!

MANIPULATING CHARACTERS IN A NOVEL!

The original manuscript for "Dangerous Devotion"

(formerly "Love at Sunset") before it was published!

I'm sending Violet and Gordon to Long Island again! They are the main protagonists in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series. I am currently working on Book Three of the series. Violet and Gordon appear throughout. They love Long Island and have a little beachfront cottage there. They also love Scotland, where Gordon is from.

We authors enjoy manipulating the characters in our books. We can send them anywhere we want and navigate their lives! 

You can purchase Book One (Dangerous Devotion) and Book Two (Deadly Deceit In Paradise) by clicking on the book cover links to the left of this page. You can also go to Amazon and put my name Fay Knowles in the search box. It will come up with all of my books on my Amazon author page (as e-books and in paperback). You may be able to special order paperbacks through your local bookstore as well. 

LOVE, MYSTERY & SECRET PASSAGES!

 

I have been asked if Craigenveoch, which I wrote about in my mini-memoir “The Scottish Connection”, was the setting for the Scottish part of my novel “Dangerous Devotion” (Book One in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series, set in The Bahamas and Scotland). I actually drew on my experiences as a child at Boquhan Cottage on the Boquhan Old House estate for the novel and I researched old Scottish houses like Boquhan and Craigenveoch to ensure that my descriptions were accurate for the era when they were built.

There was no secret passage in Boquhan or Craigenveoch houses, as far as I know. I wrote about this spooky feature completely from my imagination in "Dangerous Devotion"! However, from my research I found that secret passages were often included in these old homes when they were built, because of the religious unrest at the time. Priests and soldiers sometimes needed a place to lie low and to have a quick escape route!

“Dangerous Devotion” is available as an e-book and in paperback at

AMAZON.COM

OR

UNIVERSAL LINK

(books in this series can be read as stand alones).

And "The Scottish Connection", also available as an e-book and in paperback, can be found here:-

AMAZON.COM

OR

UNIVERSAL LINK

 

THE JOY OF HAPPY READERS!

 

I recently a ninety year old family friend with a copy of my novel "Deadly Deceit in Paradise" (Book Two in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series). He said: I loved everything about it. It went from one thing to the next. Kept you on your toes!" He has read it twice and plans on reading it again. He explained: "As soon as I finished reading it the first time, I wanted to read it again."

He had previously bought a copy of "Dangerous Devotion" (Book One in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series) and had loved that too! He read "Dangerous Devotion" twice as well and had planned on reading it a third time after a brief break, so that it would be "all new to me again!" 

At the time, he said he loved the main characters Violet and Gordon and found the plot really exciting. He also said he immersed himself in the settings and felt like he was actually going to Scotland himself and “enjoying the atmosphere”! Violet and Gordon also feature in "Deadly Deceit In Paradise". 

He was pleased when I told him Violet and Gordon would feature again in the Buchanan Mystery Series Book Three, which I am currently working on. He said: "It will be good to meet old friends again!"

It is so rewarding to authors when readers get pleasure out of our books.

DEADLY DECEIT IN PARADISE

DANGEROUS DEVOTION

 

A NEW COFFEE SPOT FOR COVID TIME!

 

With only outdoor dining allowed right now, it's difficult to find a seat outside our usual coffee spot, Starbucks, Harbour Bay! We were therefore delighted to discover Louis & Steen's on JFK Drive (on the right as you head west before you get to Old Fort Bay Shopping Centre). We had a great cup of coffee on their delightful patio, surrounded by carefully nurtured plants and flowers. Louis & Steen's are also located at Traveller's Rest on West Bay Street.

Louis & Steen's, a husband and wife venture, state that their "New Orleans Specialty Coffee Company is the first Specialty Coffee Brand in the Bahamas, serving the world’s highest quality coffee. We pair our brews with delicious third-generation Cajun-Creole recipes."

LOUIS & STEEN'S

 

 

BAHAMAS TOURISTS ON FOUR WHEELERS!

 

Many visitors to The Bahamas love to rent these Four Wheelers!

(April 2021)

THE PASSING OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH

The last time Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Nassau, Bahamas (March, 1994), my husband Erskine's secretary Marcia and I went out on a highway, where we knew the royal couple would be driving back to the airport.

We stood on a grass verge with no one else around as they drove past. I had made a little British Union Jack on a stick and Marcia had a little Bahamian flag. We stood there waving furiously at them as they passed us by. The Queen waved back.

I often wondered if they ever remembered those two lone figures waving little flags at them on an isolated Bahamian highway!

LAST COUPLE DAYS FOR SPECIAL ON UPDATED WRITER'S GUIDE!

 

Last couple days for the e-book edition of my newly updated writer's guide "How to Be the Best Writer Ever" to be .99 cents! On Thursday, April 8th, the price will go back up to $2.99. So grab it at this discounted price while you can! 

Buy at Amazon U.S.

Buy at Amazon U.K.

Buy at Amazon Canada

Buy at Amazon Australia

Also available discounted at other Amazon marketplaces around the world and free for Kindle Unlimited members.

BAHAMAS SEA PLANE MEMORIES!

 

Part of the fabulous mural by Allan Pachino Wallace at The Point's

Margaritaville Beach Resort, Nassau, Bahamas. The entire mural

can be viewed at the edge of Junkanoo Beach.

The sea plane depicted on this brilliant mural by Allan Pachino Wallace at The Pointe's Margaritaville Beach Resort near the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas, reminds me of my days as PA to Eric Crouch on Bay Street, downtown Nassau, in the seventies. Mr. Crouch used to send me with Lee Stocking Island's weekly payroll to the British Colonial beach to meet the seaplane from his client's island which is situated in the Exumas. The owner of Lee Stocking Island at the time was John Perry, who founded a marine science institute there.

I would roll up my capris and with shoes and payroll in hand wade out to the waiting sea plane. I would hand over the precious package and then make my way back to the shore, watching the sea plane roar away and take off into the sparkling blue.

REDUCED! UPDATED WRITER'S GUIDE!

 

Great news! I've been hard at work updating my writer's guide "How to Be the Best Writer Ever" and here it is! It also has a brand new cover. Hope you like it.       

To celebrate this achievement, I've reduced the price of the e-book for a short time only to .99 cents (or your country's equivalent)! Also available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle Unlimited.

BUY AT AMAZON U.S. 

BUY AT AMAZON U.K.  

BUY AT AMAZON CANADA 

BUY AT AMAZON AUSTRALIA 

 

A VALENTINE TREAT!

 

As a special Valentine treat, the e-book edition of my popular book Sunbeams from TheHeart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories is FREE for five days! 

The e-book will be free on Amazon from Friday, February 12th, until Tuesday, February 16th, at 11.59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Sunbeams from The Heart is also available in paperback (regular and large print) and Kindle Unlimited.

Love themes in Sunbeams from the Heart tell of nostalgia, bright new beginnings, homecoming, second chances, and the unexpected. The stories propel the  reader on a journey through Scotland, England, The Bahamas and rural America.

The Lady magazine, England, wrote about my short story Love at Sunset, that first appeared in their July 19th 2013 Summer Collector's Edition and which now features in Sunbeams from The Heart: “Hugely popular … Charming and surprising!” Most of the stories in this short story collection were first published in The Lady.

I was delighted when shortly after its release in 2015 Sunbeams from the Heart made Amazon's top 100 paid best-sellers' list in the Literature & Fiction/Short stories category next to Stephen King’s Hearts in Atlantis. And the following month, Sunbeams from the Heart again made the top 100 paid bestsellers' list in the Literature & Fiction/Short Stories category, this time alongside Agatha Christie's Miss Marple - The Complete Short Stories. The book has recently been updated.

An Amazon reviewer wrote about Sunbeams from the Heart: “While each story is unique, all share that one common thread we humans yearn for: LOVE….Valentine or not, Sunbeams From The Heart is indeed a delightful read.”

Excerpt from the short story Love at Sunset: “Once out of sight from the main road, they relaxed on a seat beneath a casuarina tree and kissed. Then they gazed out across the sapphire blue sea to a lone sailboat on the horizon. The sun was going down, the sky like an artist’s canvas with gold and orange brush strokes. The sweet aroma of a barbecue drifted along the sea shore.”

CLICK BELOW TO GET SUNBEAMS FREE! 

Click  HERE for Amazon U.S.

Click HERE for Amazon U.K. 

Click HERE for Amazon Canada

Click HERE for Amazon Australia

The e-book is also available free during this period at all other Amazon marketplaces worldwide.

By the way, for those of you who don’t have a Kindle, no problem. The free Kindle app can be downloaded from Amazon HERE for most major smart phones, tablets and computers.

If you enjoy Sunbeams From The Heart, your comments would be greatly appreciated on the book's Amazon page. Thank you!

KINDLE TIP

My Fire 7 Tablet which works like a
dream for all of my Kindle books!

 If you don't have a Kindle, you can still read Kindle e-books by just downloading the free Kindle app HERE for most major smart phones, tablets and computers.

NASSAU NEWS!

We're having a cold front! 65 degrees right now at 11.00 a.m. and it will be 58 degrees tonight. It's supposed to last a couple of days. 

And an abandoned historical building on Bay Street in downtown Nassau was destroyed by fire last Friday. Some cars lost as well. Thankfully, the fire did not spread to nearby buildings.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!

 

I love this beautiful image from Lynn Jordan of my romantic short story collection "Sunbeams from The Heart"! Lynn is a romance promoter on Fiverr.

MORE THAN A TRAVELOGUE!

 

"Although now overgrown and eerie, we beat our way through the brambles along the crumbling slope, high above a gushing burn. An unused miniature railway track now ran the full length of the path. We wondered if it had been a toy railway for children who lived there, or perhaps the nearby mill used it to transport logs to the main house."[Excerpt from my mini-memoir "The Scottish Connection: A Journey Back"]

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

Available worldwide on Amazon for download as an e-book for $2.99 and in paperback at $11.99 (or equivalent prices), as well as on Kindle Unlimited:

Amazon U.S. 

Amazon U.K. 

Amazon Canada 

Amazon Australia 

TURNING A NOVEL INTO A SERIES!

 My Buchanan Mystery Romance Series starts with "Dangerous Devotion" (Book One and formerly "Love at Sunset"). It was so popular that a friend suggested I made it into a series, which I have done! Book Two is "Deadly Deceit In Paradise" and I am currently working on Book Three.

Don't get put off because it's a series! Each book is a stand alone read, i.e. you can read each book separately from the other and you don't need to read any more. However, I hope you will!

Both books are available worldwide on Amazon as e-books and in paperback.

Amazon created a series page for me. It currently says it's a "two book series", but they will update that when Book Three is published!

Dangerous Devotion: "If your relationship was threatened, what lengths would you go to in order to save it?" -

Amazon U.S.
Amazon U.K.
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia

Deadly Deceit In Paradise: "A mysterious death in paradise leads a young woman down a path that will determine her future." -

Amazon U.S.
Amazon U.K.
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia

SPINNING FASTER AND FASTER!

 

Just read that the world is spinning faster on its axis. So this must be why my life seems to be speeding by! That's a relief (or is it?!). My mother always used to say that time feels as though it's going by faster as you get older!

Click here for one of the articles about it.

"NEW" ENGLISH LANGUAGE IDIOSYNCRASIES!

 

I don't know if it's the same around the world, but I've only just recently noticed in Nassau how officials say "would have" instead of just saying that something was actually done!

Police officials make statements such as: "The suspect would have been arraigned" instead of "The suspect was arraigned".

Medical officials make statements such as: "We would have completed the testing" instead of "We completed the testing"!

I wonder why this is. Has it always been around and I just haven't noticed it?

I "would" welcome feedback!

COVID COMMENTS!

 

Like many of you, I don't get out much these days because of the stay at home orders. My husband Erskine does the shopping. I hadn't realized how futuristic everything had become because of Covid-19.

When I went into a local store this morning I was greeted at the door by not only a security guard and an employee, but a recorded announcement: "Please stand in the measuring area. Look at the camera. Temperature measuring!" On the wall to my right was a top-of-the-line hand sanitizer and directly in front of me what looked like a camera on a stand. I was directed to stay there while the "camera" took my temperature. 

Sometimes I feel like running away up into the Scottish Highlands, with only the sheep and goats as my friends, far away from the Corona virus. Only kidding! I couldn't be without  my family.

If you feel like "running away", try reading "Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories". An Amazon customer wrote in an review of Sunbeams from The Heart: “What charming stories I enjoyed them all....away from war, politics, bad television. Just lovely stories. They calmed my mind and lifted my soul."

Sunbeams from The Heart is available worldwide on Amazon as an e-book and in paperback (regular and large print) and Kindle Unlimited.

Click here for Amazon U.S. 

Click here for Amazon U.K.

Click here for Amazon Canada

Click here for Amazon Australia

 

 

 

PAST & PRESENT NEW YEAR'S DAYS IN NASSAU, BAHAMAS!

The aftermath of a past Junkanoo in downtown Nassau, Bahamas

 

New Year's Day in The Bahamas this year doesn't ring with the excitement of New Year's Day 1966 and successive New Year's Days because of Covid-19. Sadly the popular Junkanoo festivals here in The Bahamas have been cancelled this time. 

Fifty-five years' ago, I rode on the back of Erskine's scooter "Over The Hill" after a party that he and his band "The Invaders" had played at on West Bay Street. Discarded Junkanoo floats and costumes were strewn all over the streets. We went from night club to night club until the wee hours. I wore a long white evening gown, but by the time the sun rose my dress was no longer white!

In my novel "Dangerous Devotion", Gordon and Violet experience the Christmas season in Nassau, but because Gordon is Scottish, they fly back to Scotland for Hogmanay (Scottish New Year).

Excerpt from "Dangerous Devotion":

"Bell ringers stood at strategic points on downtown Bay Street, collecting money for charity in Salvation Army kettles. The street was decked out with festive decorations. A heavily laden Christmas tree towered next to the colonial buildings in historic Rawson Square. Bleachers for the upcoming Boxing Day and New Year’s Junkanoo parades were already in place."

"Dangerous Devotion" is available on Amazon as an e-book at $2.99 and in paperback $10.12. Click the links below to go the book's Amazon page.

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year!

CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON U.S.

CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON U.K.

CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON CANADA

CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON AUSTRALIA