For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon #RemembranceDay

For the Fallen 

By Laurence Binyon

 

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal 

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

There is music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; 

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound, 

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, 

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, 

To the end, to the end, they remain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read my #review of Spencer - directed by Pablo Larraín, written by Steven Knight and starring Kristen Stewart

 

Image taken from Wikipedia: The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, NEON and Topic Studios, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist.

 

 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have not written a movie review in ages, but here I am, thinking about the movie I have just watched and it left me wondering what our beautiful Princess Diana would have made of it. Of course, I am talking about Spencer written by Steven Knight and starring Kristen Stewart. The trailer of this novel is outlandishly compelling, and I could not wait to see it.

The story is about a fantasy snap-shot of three days of Diana's life. This is not an actual retelling but an extremely dramatised portrayal of a woman whose beauty disguised the emotional torment, the gaslighting, and the moments of psychosis where Diana is left wondering who she is and what is the point of going on. It seems somehow ironic, that for a woman whose narrative was often sensationalised, and who, despite it all, found the will to carry on, to stand firm in her beliefs, that once again a story has been plucked out of the air and Diana the woman has been lost to Diana the woman in the middle of a mental health crisis, who is haunted by the ghost of Ann Boleyn - I think the writer really had to dig deep for the comparison between the two. Yes, both Ann and Diana's husbands were in love with someone else (or perhaps merely infatuated in Henry VIII case and he wanted that elusive male heir), but I really think that is where the similarities end (unless you believe in all the conspiracies, which I do not). So, once you get over the fact that this is not about the real Diana then you can sit back and enjoy, if such a word can be used for such a darkly tragic tale, this movie.

Kristen Stewart's depiction of this imagined, Diana was superb. Yes, she looked the part. But what really blew me away was the intensity of the emotions, the way Kristen conveyed the torment of a mind that was trying to kill itself. This is a very emotional film and playing such a character who spends most of her time in tears and yet to do so with elegance and grace was wonderful and I really think Kristen Stewart was the only actress that could have pulled this off. I would be surprised if Kristen did not walk away with an Academy Award.  She certainly deserves one.

The writers have been very careful in their depiction of the rest of the royal family. The Queen, played by Stella Gonet, has very few lines, but her presence is evident everywhere. Charles, played by Jack Farthing, is as seemingly trapped as Diana, and yet he has been conditioned to accept the way things are - and even though he is the cause of great torment for Diana, he is not portrayed as being inherently cruel, and there are moments when he defuses the tension and lets Diana have her own way. This is not a finger-pointing movie that is meant to destroy the already somewhat tarnished reputation of the royal family, but instead, it has placed The Firm, into a story that is sensationalised and rather good in the telling.

This movie does come with some trigger warnings, and I think it is important that you pay heed to them. I have never watched a movie that has portrayed, in the truest form, what it is like to live with a serious mental health condition. Mental health is one of those subjects that no one ever speaks about. I once heard someone say that having such an invisible illness can be more devastating and dangerous than cancer because instead of sympathy and understanding you are told to pull yourself together, it can't be that bad, and ironically, at least you don't have cancer what do you have to be so miserable about? When, as this movie clearly shows, mental health can be as deadly as terminal cancer, the only difference is that it is one mind that is trying to kill you and not something that has gone wrong with your cells. Stop making yourself sick - is something that is repeated in this movie, as if Diana could stop herself. As if she really had a choice. So yes, this movie can be hard to watch but I think that is the point. If you are going through your own mental health difficulties then I would advise that you watch with caution for there are many hard-hitting and emotive scenes in this film.

This film deserves the recognition that it has received. It is an unforgettable movie.

Read my #BookReview of Fair Mountain Christmas (Heartwarming Christmas) by Heidi Eljarbo #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @HeidiEljarbo @maryanneyarde

 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Juni seems to have lost her Christmas spirit. She has a deadline to meet, an article to write for work, and she has been struggling with writer’s block. What can she say, when she isn’t familiar with the subject, and has no experience with what children really need for Christmas? Unfortunately, turning down the story is not an option, so she heads up to her family’s cabin to try and stir up some inspiration.

Surrounding herself with memories, and finding a friend in Henry Norheim, whom she hadn’t seen since childhood, and who had grown up quite nicely, Juni starts to come up with the five points for her article. But as she starts writing, she starts to relearn what Christmas is about, and her article slowly becomes less of a struggle to write as she begins to enjoy herself and find who she really is.

This book is set in the 1970s, and while there are some clear differences, such as not being able to phone for help when you are snowed in, a lot of the story is very similar to modern life. This gives the book an almost timeless feel, like you could pick it up next year, or in fifty years, and it would still have the same effect on you, pulling you in and making you feel that tingly excitement that Christmas brings.

This book has managed to sum up the entirety of what the holiday season is about, in just 86 pages. Do not be put off by the shortness of this novel, for the length is not equivalent to the quality. There is a story to be told, and I think this book has told it perfectly, and in the right amount of pages that you can sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and read it in an evening.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I think it might become a staple book that I read once a year to get me into the Christmas spirit!

Nostalgia and Christmas miracles burn bright in this uplifting and heartwarming story about new beginnings and falling in love under a blanket of stars.

Fair Mountain, December 1972.

A few days before Christmas, Juni’s editor gives her a writing assignment that throws her far outside her comfort zone. She and her terrier, Leo, retreat to her grandparents’ old cabin in the Norwegian mountains in hopes of inspiration. But the trip turns into a heart-wrenching and emotionally challenging encounter. 

Memories of Juni’s childhood seep in as soon as she enters the cabin, and as for the writing assignment…what does she know about what children need for Christmas?

Juni’s focus changes when handsome Henry Norheim from Moose Lodge down the hill unex-pectedly shows up outside her cottage door. His dedication to family, traditions, and Christmas celebration is contagious, but for Juni, coming out of her lonely shell is easier said than done.

As Juni’s deadline draws closer, and the snowflakes softly swirl down on Fair Mountain, she has to face up to her past, open her heart, and dare to take a step forward.

Will the miracle of Christmas live up to its promise of hope, goodwill, and love this year?

If you would like to read this click on the book's name Fair Mountain Christmas (Heartwarming Christmas) and it will take you to your nearest Amazon store for your country. This book is also free to read with #KindleUnlimited subscrption.

 

 

Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don't want to go near.

Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, thirteen grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.

Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.

 

Heidi’s favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

Social Media Links:

Website

Newsletter

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Instagram

Pinterest

BookBub

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

 

Tour Schedule

Click on the Link to follow the tour. 

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK SPOTLIGHT!!! Ride with the Moonlight (Thunder on the Moor, Book 2) by Andrea Matthews #timetravelromance #scottishhistory #Blog Tour @AMatthewsAuthor @maryanneyarde

 

Ride with the Moonlight (Thunder on the Moor, Book 2)

By Andrea Matthews

 

After rescuing sixteenth-century Border reiver Will Foster from certain death at her family’s hands, time traveler Maggie Armstrong finally admits her love for the handsome Englishman, though she can’t rid herself of the sinking suspicion that her Scottish kin are not about to let them live in peace. What she doesn’t expect is the danger that lurks on Will’s own side of the Border. When news of their plans to marry reaches the warden, he charges Will with March treason for trysting with a Scot. Will and Maggie attempt to escape by fleeing to the hills, but when Will is declared an outlaw and allowed to be killed on sight, they can no longer evade the authorities. Will is sentenced to hang, while Maggie is to be sent back to her family. Heartbroken, she has no choice but to return to Scotland, where her uncle continues to make plans for her to wed Ian Rutherford, the wicked Scotsman who she now realizes murdered her father in cold blood. With Will facing the gallows in England, and herself practically under house arrest in Scotland, she continues to resist her uncle’s plans, but her efforts are thwarted at every turn. Will’s family, however, is not about to stand by and watch their youngest lad executed simply because he’s lost his heart to a Scottish lass. A daring plan is set into motion, but will it be in time to save Will’s life and reunite the lovers? Or will Ian’s lies prompt Maggie’s family to ensure the bond between them is forever destroyed?

 

You can pick up your copy on Amazon.  This novel is available on #KindleUnlimited

 

Andrea Matthews

 

Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science, and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen hundred year old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century. Andrea is a member of the Romance Writers of America.

Social Media Links:

Website 

Twitter

Facebook 

Instagram

BookBub 

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

 

Tour Schedule

Click on the Link to follow the tour! 

 

 

 

BOOK SPOTLIGHT! Empire’s Heir (Empire’s Legacy, Book VI) by Marian L Thorpe #HistoricalFantasy #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @marianlthorpe @maryanneyaryde

 

 

Empire’s Heir

(Empire’s Legacy, Book VI)

By Marian L Thorpe

 

Some games are played for mortal stakes.

Gwenna, heir to Ésparias, is summoned by the Empress of Casil to compete for the hand of her son. Offered power and influence far beyond what her own small land can give her, Gwenna’s strategy seems clear – except she loves someone else.

Nineteen years earlier, the Empress outplayed Cillian in diplomacy and intrigue. Alone, his only living daughter has little chance to counter the Empress's experience and skill. Aging and torn by grief and worry, Cillian insists on accompanying Gwenna to Casil.

Risking a charge of treason, faced with a choice he does not want to make, Cillian must convince Gwenna her future is more important than his – while Gwenna plans her moves to keep her father safe. Both are playing a dangerous game. Which one will concede – or sacrifice?

 

If you would like to read this book, you can find it on Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon AU. 

Available on #KindleUnlimited.

 

Essays, poetry, short stories, peer-reviewed scientific papers, curriculum documents, technical guides, grant applications, press releases – if it has words, it’s likely Marian L Thorpe has written it, somewhere along the line. But nothing has given her more satisfaction than her novels. Combining her love of landscape and history, set in a world reminiscent of Europe after the decline of Rome, her books arise from a lifetime of reading and walking and wondering ‘what if?’ Pre-pandemic, Marian divided her time between Canada and the UK, and hopes she may again, but until then, she resides in a small, very bookish, city in Canada, with her husband Brian and Pye-Cat. 

 

Website

Twitter

Facebook

US

UK

Goodreads

 

Tour Schedule 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPOTLIGHT: Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash by Tammy Pasterick #HistoricalFiction #PittsburghHistory #PennsylvaniaHistory @TammyPasterick @maryanneyarde

 

 How would you like to travel back in time to Pittsburgh, 1910?

Intrigued? 

Read on!!

 

 

 

Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash

By Tammy Pasterick

 

 

It’s Pittsburgh, 1910—the golden age of steel in the land of opportunity. Eastern European immigrants Janos and Karina Kovac should be prospering, but their American dream is fading faster than the colors on the sun-drenched flag of their adopted country. Janos is exhausted from a decade of twelve-hour shifts, seven days per week, at the local mill. Karina, meanwhile, thinks she has found an escape from their run-down ethnic neighborhood in the modern home of a mill manager—until she discovers she is expected to perform the duties of both housekeeper and mistress. Though she resents her employer’s advances, they are more tolerable than being groped by drunks at the town’s boarding house.

​

When Janos witnesses a gruesome accident at his furnace on the same day Karina learns she will lose her job, the Kovac family begins to unravel. Janos learns there are people at the mill who pose a greater risk to his life than the work itself, while Karina—panicked by the thought of returning to work at the boarding house—becomes unhinged and wreaks a path of destruction so wide that her children are swept up in the storm. In the aftermath, Janos must rebuild his shattered family—with the help of an unlikely ally.

 

Impeccably researched and deeply human, Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash delivers a timeless message about mental illness while paying tribute to the sacrifices America's immigrant ancestors made.

 

If you would like to read this book then you can find it on Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, IndieBound.org

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Tammy Pasterick grew up in a family of steelworkers, coal miners, and Eastern European immigrants. She began her career as an investigator with the National Labor Relations Board and later worked as a paralegal and German teacher. She holds degrees in labor and industrial relations from Penn State University and German language and literature from the University of Delaware. She currently lives on Maryland's Eastern Shore with her husband, two children, and chocolate Labrador retriever.

 

Social Media Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram 

BookBub

Amazon Author Page 

Goodreads 

Tour Schedule