A big thank you to
everyone who downloaded Sunbeams from The Heart during my free promotion. I had
114 downloads by the time the promotion ended and at the peak of the promotion
Sunbeams was in the top 100 on Amazon - #22 in Single Authors Short Stories and
#27 in Romance Collections & Anthologies (Kindle Store)!
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Hearing about turkeys and hams being given out to needy families over the Holiday Season reminded me of when I was a trainee reporter for a news agency in Exeter, Devon.
One of my most enjoyable assignments around Christmastime
was to seek out families in need for my employers to give free turkeys to, write a human-interest story about the presentations and the circumstances of
the recipients, and then phone the story in to the national newspapers in London
(no internet in those days!).
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59 downloads so
far for Sunbeams from The Heart during my free promotion! My collection of
short stories is now #37 on Amazon in Romance Collections & Anthologies
(Kindle Store) and #49 in Single Authors Short Stories! You still have until
midnight Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 26th, to download your FREE copy of
these heart-warming stories!
Here’s a LITTLE CHRISTMAS PRESENT for you if you
haven’t already read the stories in SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART: A COLLECTION OF
TWELVE ROMANTIC SHORT STORIES! It is now FREE to download from Amazon through
Tuesday, December 26th! – “HEART-WARMING STORIES that propel you on a
journey through Scotland, England, The Bahamas and rural America.”
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” in Amazon's Best Sellers in Literary
Short Stories! And it made the top 100 paid bestsellers' list in the Literature
& Fiction/Short Stories category alongside Agatha Christie's "Miss
Marple - The Complete Short Stories"!
SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART is also available in paperback
(regular and large print).
Enjoy!
CLICK HERE FOR SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART
UNIVERSAL LINK TO SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART
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I've just received my new writer's business cards from
Vistaprint in this cute little box! Haven't used Vistaprint before. In fact,
it's a long time since I've had business cards that weren't homemade, but
people often ask me where they can find my books.
I had the cards designed quite reasonably by a graphic
artist on Fiverr. Vistaprint price wasn't expensive either. I used the photo of
me on the beach with my laptop that son Gavin took for the cover of my writers'
guide "How to Be the Best Writer Ever!"
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I was chatting to a young Bahamian mother with a
beautiful little girl the other day. I complimented her on her daughter and
asked her if the child liked to read books. The mother lamented that she can’t
get her to read. I told her she should read to her little daughter every night
before bedtime. That would get her interested in books and would further her
knowledge, as well as improve her school work.
She agreed that she would try that. I told her that
there are some beautiful children’s books available. This is a lovely one by
local author and award-winning poet and screenwriter Ernestia Fraser:
“Pray With Me is a book focused on the need for prayer in a broken world. Prayer is characteristically shown as an effective tool that can be used to make the world a better place. The book is designed for children ages 0 to 3 years old.”
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Turning left on Dillett Street and Blue Hill Road,
Nassau, used to be a matter of concern for some drivers, with an old building on
the corner looking as though it was about to collapse! Now it has been
demolished, making it much safer to turn there. Also, the owners of the
building next door to it seem to be fixing that up and making it much more pleasant
to see.
The old building that is now gone once housed a burger
joint where Erskine and his friend Levi Wilson grabbed a bite to eat while
cutting palms for our wedding reception in the old Queen Elizabeth Sports
Centre!
Levi also came to my apartment on Village Road the day
of my wedding to Erskine, to ask if I needed any help. I was waiting there with
my father-giver Gordon Ashton (Erskine’s English boss in the insurance company
where he worked at the time) for a limousine to take us to St. Anne’s Church,
Fox Hill. The priest had told me he didn’t believe in brides being late for
their wedding and he just wouldn’t marry us if I was late!
The limousine hadn’t turned up and I gladly accepted
Levi’s help. He drove us to the wedding at great speed down the Eastern Road in
his old beat up car, paper packages in the back, and me in my full bridal gear.
That must have been quite a sight to see!
Later the limousine driver stood outside the church as
Erskine and I exited after our wedding, angrily waving his fist at us and
telling us we told him 4 p.m. instead of the pre-arranged pick up time of 3
p.m.!
My novel “Dangerous Devotion”, Book 1 in the Buchanan Mystery Romance Series, is set in The Bahamas and Scotland. And Book 2, “Deadly Deceit in Paradise”, is set in The Bahamas. They are available as e-books and in paperback on Amazon and other online book retailers.
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Primal Chic Store is pretty cool! They have Worldwide
Shipping Available. And they state: “In order to lessen our environmental
impact, this item is made to order and will ship in about 1 week. We
will send you tracking information as soon as it's shipped. All deliveries are
Carbon Neutral through solutions like ocean-based removal and direct air
capture to remove atmospheric carbon and store carbon for 1000+ years.”
Not much time left to take advantage of their huge Cyber Monday sale! Check it out:
The Bahamas is full of creative entrepreneurs! Son Gavin
Knowles, whose father Erskine was born and brought up on Long Island, Bahamas, inherited
the entrepreneurial spirit from his father!
Here’s Gavin’s carefully curated collection of
clothes, designed to seamlessly transition from the gym to the streets,
ensuring that you always look and feel your best, no matter where your day
takes you. From functional activewear to casual everyday essentials, his
clothing is thoughtfully crafted with your comfort and style in mind. Black
Friday sale starts today!
Wow! My “Funnels” promotion has only just begun and already I’ve had 57 downloads, with the Best Sellers Rank free in the Kindle Store at #1 in World Literature Short Stories, #2 in U.S. Short Stories, and #3 in One-hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads. I much appreciate all the downloads.
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Offer
good from today through Tuesday, November 14th, 2023.
Reviews
welcome!
Synopses
of my novels, Scottish mini-memoir, writer’s guide and collections of short
stories follow at the end of the short story “Funnels”.
Download Funnels FREE at these links:
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I managed to sign up for Readly.com but it won't take
my payment as my bank is located in The Bahamas where I live. Does anyone have
other suggestions for where I could subscribe to magazines worldwide like
Readly offers? Thanks!
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I was sorry to learn that Can Stock Photo had closed down, as it was so reasonably priced. I was going to buy some of their vectors to insert between chapters of a children’s book that I’ve written. It was only $6.99 for each royalty-free image. I guess I’ll use Shutterstock now. It has a 10-image free trial offer, but after that it seems that their images would be about $19 each to download. Other royalty-free image companies seem to be about the same.
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On
our way to Starbucks, Harbour Bay, Nassau, yesterday, we passed a crowd of
excited children outside Party Land. Later, when we left Starbucks, we saw why
the children had been so happy. The store had had a Halloween “Fun Day”! I was told
children were able to pick an item to wear from a shopping cart and have photos
taken. In these worrying times, I love to see children enjoying themselves and
not having a care in the world.
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Although I can see where AI can be helpful (in business, for example), in some ways I feel it can stifle creativity. Many writers may become lazy and jump to using AI instead of trying to write from their hearts and their own knowledge. On the other hand, when they see what AI can come up with, some might learn from it.
Personally, having written since I was nine years old, I get great satisfaction when coming up with compelling descriptions, surprising plot twists and meaningful dialogue – all by myself!
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The Melia Nassau Beach Hotel at Cable Beach is being
demolished! I read it was originally opened in 1983 and I know it has changed
hands/names since then a few times. The Baha Mar Resort currently owns it, but
I read an article in The Nassau Guardian that stated Baha Mar have plans for a
more modern replacement.
I
have happy memories of the Melia. In 2016, I met in Starbucks, Melia
Nassau Beach Resort, with six established local authors for a chat about
writing and publishing. Here’s a link to the article I wrote at the time, that appeared
in The Tribune:
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How often do you purchase something on Amazon and then after a decent amount of time you get an email from them asking if you would like to post what you think of the product?
I get these emails all the time and usually try to respond by doing a short review, as it helps other customers with their decision on whether to buy the product or not.
Authors are especially grateful for any comments that their readers find time to make. Actually, it only takes a moment and you don’t need to give a long in depth review.
If the word “review” puts you off, don’t worry. You don’t have to be an expert at reviews. Your grammar doesn’t even have to be perfect! All you need to post are your honest comments about the book. This can be as short or as long as you wish.
Do bear in mind though with
book reviews that the author will probably read your review. As my dear old author
friend and mentor Jan Valpy used to tell her writers’ group - “when doing a
critique remember to be kind to the soul of the writer!”
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I formed the Bahamas Writers Group (BWG) in January 2003, thinking it would just be a few writers meeting monthly over coffee.
The group was a spin-off from my former writers’ website bahamaswriter.com – the link now goes to my blog. You can find a lot of information from this in my writer’s guide, “How to Be the Best Writer Ever!”, available as an e-book and in paperback at Amazon and other online retailers. I cover Writers’ Groups in Chapter 6.
The BWG was born out of a little lunch in Caffé Caribe, Harbour Bay, Nassau, when four local BahamasWriter.com forum members got together for the first time, along with two vacationing forum members from Canada.
The first actual meeting, consisting of nine members, was in the former Le Pasion café opposite Hoffer’s Shopping Centre, Cable Beach. But the BWG grew so much, eventually reaching about forty members (not all of the members attended each time, however), that I relocated our meetings to the former premises of New Providence Community Church, Cable Beach.
The writing goals that I established were:
To have fun writing; enjoy the camaraderie of fellow writers; motivate and inform each other as writers; improve the quality of our writing; have our work recognized locally and internationally; and to get published!
I did structure the meetings though. Prior to each meeting, I would put together an agenda, along with materials to be handed out. And I provided light refreshments at the meetings!
Here are two of
the agendas (click each one to read):
By July 2003, I had become very busy with my family real estate business. The group was going so well, I decided they didn’t really need me to run it anymore and I let the members know. They were disappointed, but understood. During the July meeting, members voted that a team should take over. Eight members volunteered to be part of the new team! The group also voted to maintain the goals and policies of the BWG that I had set up.
We took a break in August and the BWG met again in September, with the new team in place.
I regret to say that the group eventually floundered after this, but nothing can ever replace the camaraderie, encouragement and fellowship from our meetings. I am sure other members, a few of whom sadly have since left this earth, felt the same.
So, if you would
like to start a Writers’ Group, go for it! Although it can be hard work, it’s
most satisfying and can motivate you to write more and get published.
Please note: None of my posts, articles, short stories or books are written by AI! They are written solely by me!
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A beautiful “Valley Boys” Junkanoo piece featured at
the Baha Mar Resort this past Sunday. It’s absolutely amazing how many talented
artists from all backgrounds in The Bahamas create these pieces.
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Various hard-backed books, including some classics, are dotted around the seating area of the Monkey Bar in the Baha Mar Resort, Cable Beach, Nassau!
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Wow! This old post about my first novel “Love at Sunset”, which became “Dangerous Devotion” (The Buchanan Mystery Romance Series”), popped up in Facebook Memories from July 4, 2014! -
“I finished writing Chapter Fourteen of my novel in the blackout last night, scribbling the final few pages of the chapter in a notebook by flashlight and then typing them up this morning after the power came back on. Have started Chapter Fifteen, so am almost half way through the book. Now I’m plotting out the rest of the story, so I can gradually bring everything to a satisfactory conclusion.”
"Dangerous
Devotion" is available as an e-book and in paperback HERE!
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At this sizzling time of year, I’m delighted to offer FREE downloads of my book of “Eclectic thought-provoking” Short Stories - "MOONBEAMS FROM THE SOUL: A COLLECTION OF FOURTEEN PROVOCATIVE SHORT STORIES”!
This short story collection is FREE through Tuesday, July 18, 2023. "Moonbeams from The Soul" is also available in paperback (regular and large print) and Kindle Unlimited.
Many of my short stories have appeared in “The Lady” magazine, U.K. As New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman says: “Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner.”
Some excerpts from the short stories in Moonbeams from the Soul:
"Although she expected it, the sight of the devil’s mask made her gasp. The man had a whistle in his mouth and carried cowbells and maracas. She led the man across the room...." - from "The Merry Widow".
"I knew it was a mistake. I don’t know why I did it. Well, actually, I do know why. I’m no different from the other girls in my graduating class of that year...." - from "Love Made Me Do It".
"She wore shorts and a sleeveless top. Her hair gleamed in the sunshine. To him, at that moment, she looked even more beautiful in the daytime than she had in the moonlight...." - from "Queen Bee".
"The moles stared at me from some kind of solution in the jar! They looked like shrivelled raisons. I couldn’t drink any more coffee!" - from "The Palms".
Some Amazon Reviews of Moonbeams from The Soul:
"What a marvellous collection of stories. They will reel you in, entertain and refresh you, and have you eager to go on to the next one!"
"I love FK books. They always leave you wanting more or dying to know what's next in the series."
"These are
well-written stories with a twist. Fay Knowles is good at describing everyday
life where you gradually discover that nothing is quite what it seems."
DOWNLOAD FREE AT AMAZON CANADA
DOWNLOAD FREE AT AMAZON AUSTRALIA
If you enjoy "Moonbeams from The Soul" and have time to leave your comments under Reviews on the book's page at Amazon or elsewhere that would be terrific. Thanks so much!
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Thanks!)
As we passed the MAC cosmetic store in Baha Mar today, I said to Erskine, let me check there. And sure enough, they had a choice of two face creams. I bought one for $36.30. Not too bad for hotel prices.
However,
roll on our summer vacation to Florida. I have started my shopping list!
* * * * *
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My mother when I took her by car from Devon to Buckingham for her 80th birthday
My dear mum, the late Mrs. Josephine (“Jo”) Johanson, was born in Scotland, but lived for thirty-seven years in Devon. I would visit her every year in the summer and she visited us in the winter. She died in March, 2007 at the ripe old age of 88, after a short illness.
Every year, while she was alive, I would call her to wish her Happy Mother’s Day in March, as that was when they celebrate Mother’s Day in the U.K.! Of course, there were few Mother’s Day cards in our shops at that time, because we celebrate Mother’s Day here in May!
Trained as a Comptometer Operator (the comptometer was the forerunner of the modern day computer), she served in the Women’s Royal Air Force during World War II as a Radio Telephony Operator, giving pilots on active duty bearings for home. During the war she met and married my father, Australian Royal Air Force instrument repairman, the late William Johanson. She and Dad, a watchmaker jeweller, once owned a jewellery business in Buckingham.
Mum worked as Head Receptionist at the Royal Clarence Hotel, Exeter, for several years, and as her hotel career progressed, she became Manager of the White Sands Hotel, Bermuda. During her lifetime, she also lived in Australia and Canada.
Mum enjoyed painting watercolours and had written two delightful, but unfortunately not published, children’s picture books. I still hope one day to try and get them published in her memory.
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Co-conspirators in my novel “Dangerous Devotion” had a similar view as this as they plotted during a lunchtime break to work against Violet and steal what they could:
“The restaurant overlooked private yachts and commercial boats in the marina. Two nearby bridges permitted traffic and pedestrians to go back and forwards between the mainland and Paradise Island, where the Atlantis resort loomed like a large pink castle.”
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The Educulture Junkanoo Museum is a fun place in
Nassau for tourists or Bahamian residents to visit! We only caught a glimpse of
it on West Street as we were driving by, but it looks very appealing.
I feature a Junkanoo character in my short story collection “Moonbeams from The
Soul: A Collection of Fourteen Provocative Short Stories”, and also touch on
Junkanoo in my novel “Dangerous Devotion” (The Buchanan Mystery Romance Series Book 1).
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In the past I’ve completed a novel in record time, but for some reason the past couple of years have been difficult for me with my writing. Perhaps the pandemic had something to do with it, although many writers say they’ve been very productive during lockdowns!
Writing is not all about writing though! There’s the time-consuming marketing that has to be done to keep my books “out there”. Also, I’ve been busy with a huge family project.
Of course, nothing has ever stopped me from writing before. When I was a fulltime secretary, I always squeezed my writing in before work, on lunch hours, in the evenings between household chores and on the weekends. And all while bringing our sons up.
Anyway, I’ve finished a final intense edit of Book 3 in my Buchanan Mystery Romance Series, and am just reading the novel again, to make sure I haven’t missed anything. Then a good author friend will read it for me and give me his comments.
So,
look out! It won’t be too long now before Book 3 will be released! Follow this
blog to be notified of the release date (click “Follow” beneath my profile on
the left-hand side of the blog)!
* * * * *
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There’s always something fun happening at Baha Mar, Cable
Beach, when we go there for a walk and to have coffee at Starbucks! Yesterday,
the resort was bustling with several events going on.
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SAILING
is now the National Sport of The Bahamas! Previously, Cricket was the National
Sport of The Bahamas, having existed in this country since the nineteenth
century.
My husband Erskine comes from the quaint boat building community of Mangrove Bush, Long Island, where the boat builders there are known world wide for their sailing successes at National Sailing Regattas.
Here’s
an article in The Nassau Guardian about it:
Article Sailing named the national sport of The Bahamas
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Bring
some sunshine into your life today with “Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection
of Twelve Romantic Short Stories”!
“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.
Available as an e-book and in paperback (regular and large print).
Erskine and I had a lovely time this afternoon at Baha Mar, Cable Beach. It was packed with people attending international conventions or Tailgate Super Bowl Parties there, as well as residents out for a family Valentine’s lunch.
After a bite to eat and coffee at Starbucks, we decided to check out The Current Gallery and Art Center. We had never been there before. It was quiet and peaceful and the large collection of art work by local artists spectacular. We were glad to see that our artists are deservedly commanding top prices for their work and we highly recommend a visit. There is no charge for entry.
The two ladies on The Gallery’s front desk, Daisha Douglas and Akira Smith, who are students at the University of The Bahamas, told us it’s usually quiet when there are a lot of events going on. Daisha is an Art student at UB and Akira is training in the medical field.
After we left Baha Mar it
lashed down with rain and we got soaked. Then we had quite a job getting home
with all the roadworks under way on West Bay Street, but it was a very
worthwhile afternoon!
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♥ ♥ ♥ LOVE IS IN THE AIR! – AS A SPECIAL VALENTINE'S TREAT, the e-book edition of my popular book SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART: A COLLECTION OF TWELVE ROMANTIC SHORT STORIES is currently DISCOUNTED to $0.90!
♥ ♥ ♥ 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.
♥ ♥ ♥ Sunbeams from The Heart is also available in paperback (regular and large print) and Kindle Unlimited.
TO DOWNLOAD SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART CLICK ONE OF THE LINKS BELOW:-
If required, the free Kindle
app can be downloaded from Amazon for most major smart phones, tablets and
computers.
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In the summer of 1965, I had been working for a few months as an Editorial Assistant in Toronto, Canada, after emigrating there, but I didn’t want to endure a Canadian winter. I told my uncle’s secretary Irene that I wanted to go somewhere warm. She said “why not The Bahamas?”
“The Bahamas?” I asked with excitement. “Where is that?” She pointed on a map to some little “dots” offshore at the bottom of the United States! She had once been to Freeport, Grand Bahama, and loved it.
The next day I found a travel agent in Toronto. I wanted to stay in major cities of the countries I planned on visiting as I made my way “around the world”, so I chose Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas. The cheapest way to get to Nassau was a four nights’ Greyhound bus trip from Toronto to Miami and a short flight from there to Nassau. I bought a package from the travel agent, which covered getting all the way to Nassau and three night’s hotel accommodation.
I had only planned on staying
in Nassau for three months, then I was going to see if I could find a friend in
England to travel east with me as far as Japan. But I fell in love with The
Bahamas and my husband to be Erskine, who I met a month after getting there. I managed
to get a job and accommodation right away and never did travel the world!
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Great article this weekend about local author Paul Bethel in The Tribune "Weekend". Paul is published by JOFFE BOOKS of the UK:
CLICK HERE FOR TRIBUNE ARTICLE FEATURING AUTHOR PAUL BETHEL
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