December 8, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 19 Comments

Characters We Love

Lori Virelli’s new novel, Through His Disciples’ Eyes, is based on a mission that Joshua Cane undertook. He had “the gift of the gab,” and traveled about the country talking to people and helping them any way he could. Joshua never presented himself as a modern-day Jesus, but he happened to embody many of his good qualities. The followers of Joshua Cane were skeptical of him at first, but they soon came to adore him and to cling to his word. He did not seek fame; instead, it found him, most likely because his message “to forgive yourself” appealed to so many who heard him speak.

When we read a good book, its characters, with their aspirations, successes, dilemmas, and failures, continue to live in our head, sometimes long after we finish reading the book. The author’s challenge is to make us care about the characters. Otherwise, why should we bother to continue reading?

In Lori Virelli’s novel, Through His Disciples’ Eyes, I met several characters from various backgrounds, and soon worried about their problems and the potential dangers that might befall them.

The author does an excellent job of presenting her characters as having feelings, emotions, needs, and desires, just as we do. They are not perfect, but most people aren’t. Their imperfections make us empathize with them even more.

Julia is a young girl whose luck is spiraling downward. Luckily, she stumbles across Joshua and his group. Here, the story begins, and we learn to love Julia in spite of her troubled childhood and her many anxieties. Throughout the novel we watch her character grow into something admirable, but not without problems along the way.

Each of the characters (and they are a real variety pack) evolves along the story arc.

Tobias has some bad history, but he feels remorse, and worries about how he will be able to redeem himself.

Max has issues that many of us could identify with. We hope he can work through them.

The author cleverly weaves the actions and personalities of the characters together into a story that spans decades.

I enjoyed being a part of that ride, and I’m sure you will love this book and come away from it feeling good.

Here is the blurb about the book.

In the year 2029, the world is broken, and so is Max Greenwood. In his attempt to find inner peace, he learns of a long-lost prophet—Joshua Cane—who lived in the 1950s. His life appears to mirror that of Jesus, complete with healing miracles, disciples, and being murdered in his thirties.

Researching for more, Max uncovers information on two of the disciples. Tobias Jones is a tempestuous man who separates from Cane’s other followers to spread the prophet’s teachings on his own. His ideas to control the righteous message lead to trouble.

Julia Flores is a teen whose mother kicked her out. Homeless and feeling unloved, she finds purpose in following Joshua Cane on his Mission to spread peace. As she travels with him, emotional issues from her past emerge, causing drama along the way.

The stories of these troubled souls searching for meaning trigger life-altering revelations for Max Greenwood—revelations not only about Joshua and his disciples, but about himself and all of us.

L. Virelli interweaves concepts from self-help, spirituality, the Bible, and New Thought into an allegorical tale.

To find out more about the launch of this book, click this link:

https://loreezlane.wordpress.com/2022/12/06/its-heeerre/

Through His Disciples’ Eyes is available at amazon in both paperback and e-book.

Just click the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNY1VCZF

*Please feel free to help Lori out by re-blogging this post or doing one of your own. I know it will be appreciated.

December 3, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 45 Comments

Sudden Snow

Gone are green hillsides,

Gone, the green grass,

Kids love their sleigh rides,

Kids yell en masse.

Searching for food to eat,

Searching for shelter,

Birds by the feeder meet,

Birds helter skelter.

Snow covers all the ground,

Snow hides the seeds,

Trees with snow all around,

Trees, a bird needs.

Thrush trills a lonely song,

Thrush calls his friends,

Hoping they’ll come along,

Hoping snow ends.

November 29, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 68 Comments

The Killing Wind

Winter,

Sudden and merciless,

Descends with a force,

Uninvited.

Clinging,

In the lee of the wind,

Near his source of food,

Hummingbird waits.

Snowstorm,

Filling every cranny,

Chilling and killing,

Bitter cold wind.

Howling,

Snowy blasts roaring by,

Threatening small lives,

Take shelter quick.

November 25, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 42 Comments

Dickie’s Thanksgiving Dinner

Hey, Folks! Welcome to my dinner,

See that walnut? It’s a winner.

Wish it wasn’t quite so tough though,

Broken teeth can really hurt so.

There! I’m in, and it’s delicious,

I can tell that it’s nutritious.

Getting down to slurp the last bits,

Stretched my stomach so it all fits.

Sniff the shell for sticky pieces,

With persistence, it releases.

After giving it a tap,

All is gone, so time to nap.

I hope you’re having a great day while I have a nice snooze

on my full belly.

November 23, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 32 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you’ve been as lucky as Lincoln has been in storing up food for his Thanksgiving feast. He has a message for you.

Hello, my friends and family brood,

I hope you’re keeping well,

Have you been saving up your food,

So supper will be swell?

We all work hard to make ends meet,

And put some food aside,

Then once a year we meet and greet,

Make happy our inside.

And as we sit around the feast,

We’re thankful for so much,

We’ve shared with those who have the least,

And lend a loving touch.

Our troubles may be huge this year,

But if each person shares,

We’ll face the future without fear,

And live with fewer cares.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American

friends and family.

November 18, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 43 Comments

Recycled Sweater

A couple of years ago, my mother-in-law asked me to get rid of some of her old sweaters that she had made a long time ago. I found a really pretty cardigan in the bag of discards, but it was way too small for me. I had the idea that if it were bigger I could make a vest out of it. I took the sleeves out and unraveled the yarn, undid the side seams of the cardigan and, with the yarn from the sleeves, I knitted two bands (one of which you can see at the top of the picture below) to put in the sides to make the old sweater bigger for a new vest.

But when I sewed in the bands to make the vest larger, the armholes were way too big.

I unraveled half of the bands and reknitted them to taper them and make them smaller at the armhole.

On the photo below you can see the cardigan taken apart at the side and the sleeves gone. At the top of the photo you can see one of the bands I knitted to insert at the side seams.

Still, there were lumps and bumps here and there. I unraveled the two side bands I had knit (and reknit), and decided instead to crochet a piece into each side of the vest from the waistband to the armhole.

I see there are still a few lumpy parts, but they will flatten out once I wear the vest and it isn’t so freshly crocheted.

I’m really happy to have given a second life to the cardigan my mother-in-law knitted. She had put a collar and buttons and buttonholes on the cardigan and done a nice job of knitting it, so I was happy to have been able to salvage it and get some more use out of it.

Just in time for the colder weather, I now have a new vest.

November 11, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 31 Comments

Mum’s the Word

Imagine these flowers as the size of a potted chrysanthemum that a friend brought me as a hostess gift about a year ago; maybe a five-inch potted plant.

The potted plant looked so pretty and I thought what a shame that the flowers would soon die and that would be the end of it. But later when the blooms wilted, I put the pot outside and cut back the dead flowers. Out on the deck, I kept the worst of the frost off the plant all winter.

In the spring it got new green growth and wanted to be a tall plant. I should have cut it back, but didn’t, so it got a bit leggy.

But look how it bloomed in spite of me! Next spring I’ll try to keep it pruned better and who knows, I might get even more flowers – if that is even possible.

Anyway, it’s a beautiful way to remember a friend. I smile whenever I look at this mum.

If you should want to please a chum,

Just give them a chrysanthemum,

These yellow blooms are like the sun,

They tend to cheer up everyone.

A hostess gift that stayed alive

And has a strong will to survive,

It blooms for such a long, long while,

Eliciting a frequent smile.

November 5, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 76 Comments

Jacqui Murray – Natural Selection

Jacqui Murray has done it again. She has provided us with more wonderful entertainment with the release of Natural Selection, book three of her Dawn of Humanity trilogy. I’m so pleased to host her on my blog today. For a review of this latest page-turner, please also visit my other blog, https://annelisplace.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/natural-selection-my-review/

Natural Selection

Summary

In this conclusion to Lucy’s journey, she and her tribe leave their good home to rescue former tribe members captured by the enemy. Lucy’s tribe includes a mix of species–a Canis, a Homotherium, and different iterations of early man. In this book, more join and some die, but that is the nature of prehistoric life, where survival depends on a combination of our developing intellect and our inexhaustible will to live. Each species brings unique skills to this task. Based on true events.

Set 1.8 million years ago in Africa, Lucy and her tribe struggle against the harsh reality of a world ruled by nature, where predators stalk them and a violent new species of man threatens to destroy their world. Only by changing can they prevail. If you ever wondered how earliest man survived but you couldn’t get through the academic discussions, this book is for you. Prepare to see this violent and beautiful world in a way you never imagined.

A perfect book for fans of Jean Auel and the Gears!Book information:

Title and author: Natural Selection by Jacqui Murray

Series: Book 3 in the Dawn of Humanity series

Genre: Prehistoric fiction

Editor: Anneli Purchase

Available print or digital) at: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B0B9KPM5BW

How did early man run down prey?

Early Man Hunted by Running Down Prey

In my latest trilogy, Dawn of Humanity, I present the almost unbelievable idea that early man–in this case, not Lucy’s kind but the next version of man, Homo erectus–hunted by chasing herds until the animals were too tired to continue. Readers who have never heard about what is called the “Endurance Running Hypothesis” or “persistence hunting” reject that idea, but many scientists don’t (to be fair, some do). Here’s why.

African land animals run fast, some at speeds of 45-60 mph. Most of us assume our ancestors hunted by surprising animals as they grazed, killing only the old or injured while the rest fled. That is true, but they also chased the herd and were likely to catch them.

How was that possible? Read on.

Because earliest man had few offensive traits like fangs or claws, evolution selected those who could run fast enough to escape predators and run down prey for food. That included physical characteristics like long legs, a prominent butt (for balance), loose hips, shock-absorbing joints, a stable head, shorter toes, a springy foot formation, considerably less body hair, skin loaded with cooling sweat glands, and a larger lung size. By the time Homo erectus arrived in man’s lineage (Xha and Wild in the story, Natural Selection), man could run all day while animals had to stop periodically to rest. Animal bodies were powerful, but covered in fur and their only way to cool off was to stop and pant. Herd animals would think they had escaped, because they could no longer see the tall skinny creatures who carried a tree limb wherever they went, but they hadn’t. Man ran slower, but because of his adaptive qualities, he ran endlessly. He caught up with the animals when they stopped to catch their breath. The animals would again take off, but each time they sprinted from their human predators, they had to stop sooner until they couldn’t run anymore and were speared by the chasers who never seemed to require rest.

This continues today as the preferred hunting technique of African wild dogs, domestic hounds, and the human hunter-gatherers still living in the central Kalahari Desert.

Want more? Check out this three-minute video on Endurance Running:

Author bio:

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction writing includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, and reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice. She is a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics.

Social Media contacts:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jacqui-Murray/e/B002E78CQQ/

Blog: https://worddreams.wordpress.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacquimurraywriter/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher

Twitter: http://twitter.com/worddreams

Website: https://jacquimurray.net

My review of Natural Selection can be found at https://annelisplace.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/natural-selection-my-review/

October 27, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 42 Comments

The Calm

… before the storm.

The ducks all facing outward

Are waiting for their snack,

They find it in the shallows,

It makes their lips go smack.

The heron facing inward,

Has patience yet to spare,

He hopes to spear a morsel,

With no intent to share.

All take advantage of the last,

Relaxing stretch of peace,

They feel the system moving fast,

Soon comes the ugly beast.

Photo by Pat G.

The licorice scent of fennel wafts,

Along the last warm breeze,

A thousand seeds fly in the drafts,

To inundate with ease.

Ms. Barbara Beacham’s hollyhock,

Has found a home with me,

Although Ms. Beacham’s sent a shock,

And could no longer be.

Her lovely flowers bloom each year,

She sends her love that way,

I cherish her with thoughts so dear,

Much more than I can say.

A last sweet effort quickly made,

The berry patch is done,

No strawberries are left to raid,

Except for just this one.

And here it comes, the mighty beast,

So dark, this sunshine thief,

It brings much-needed rain at least,

To every plant’s relief.

It slaps the trees ferociously,

It whips the leaves around,

But they hang on tenaciously,

On hearing such a sound.

The wind is shivery at best,

Each leaf is hanging on,

They’re hoping to survive the test,

Until this breeze is gone.

October 20, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 57 Comments

Sea Lions

California sea lions used to visit Vancouver Island every spring and stay for the summer, following the salmon up the coast and back down to California. But in recent years many have set up residence on Vancouver Island. Why do all that traveling when the food supply is fairly constant here?

The Steller’s sea lion, named for the same man who studied the Steller’s jay, is another type of sea lion that visits our coast, usually farther north.

From these photos, I can’t tell which is which, or even whether there are both kinds of sea lions here. I do know that California sea lions, averaging about 220 lbs. (females) and about 700+ lbs. (males) are much smaller than the Steller’s sea lions which can weigh on average 580 lbs. (females) and almost 1200 lbs. (males). The males quite often weigh much more than that.

Their loud barking carries a long way across the water, as they sun themselves and socialize.

Not enough room on the raft? Make your own raft of bodies.

Sea lions don’t target humans who might be in the water with them, but they have been known to nip them when they get too close, and a nip with those huge teeth would not be funny.

Enemies of sea lions are mainly sharks and killer whales.

Picture by Pat G.

I’m surprised these sea lions seem so calm when the coastal ferry, Salish Orca, motors past, especially when it has pictures of the killers on its hull.

Here is a video taken by a friend. You can hear a couple of short sea lion barks (or coughs) near the end of the clip.