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Max just didn’t know what to do. Sometime during the afternoon he had fallen asleep close to the beach only to find that when he awoke he was all by himself. He stood up feeling a little stiff and he stretched his legs to force his muscles to work and the blood to pump around his body. He glanced around; noticing how
the beach was looking deserted and a shiver of uncertainty ran down his spine. He took a step forward having decided to head off in the direction of the pier and was shocked when he was almost jolted off his feet when something thick and coarse tightened around his neck. 

The snap of the rope squeezing his throat and a sudden pain around his windpipe causes him to yelp and he glances back to see he is tethered to the railings. Max takes several steps back to slacken the rope and sits down to regain his composure.  He sits there for quite awhile until he sees someone approaching and he sniffed the air, his little golden eyes lighting up with expectation and he instantly wags his tail.  

His tail soon droops, curling inwards when he realises it’s a stranger and they don’t even give him a second glance as they walk on by. He barks repeatedly to tell them he needs their help but the stranger carries on walking and never looks back. Confused and a little afraid Max lies down on the pavement and waits in hope for his master’s swift return.  

The night soon smothers him in black and Max shivers when a bitter wind penetrates through his thinning coat.  He lies there all night, trying to huddle against the small stonewall in an attempt to keep away from the raw elements brought in by the sea. The night is so icy it stings his eyes but Max has no choice he must wait until the morning comes and by the time dawn breaks he is extremely hungry and very, very frightened. He simply doesn’t understand why no one has returned for him. He casts his mind back to when he was sitting with his master who was finishing smoking a cigarette and then he decides he must have fallen asleep then because his memory is not as it once was. He knows his master is often angry with him for always getting in the way now he is getting much slower on his feet but surely he wouldn’t leave him here all alone and abandoned because he was old?  

Max has no choice but to lie there while the hours tick slowly by, feeling only the cold seeping deeper into his bones.  He whimpers when he can no longer feel his legs, his arthritis having become almost unbearable.  He hears a noise and his ears prick up.  He struggles to his feet in the hope of seeing a familiar face but instead he sees a young teenager heading straight towards him. He wags his tail half heartedly as he believes she will do what everyone else has done and ignore him.  

‘Hello old boy,’ says the young girl, walking over and patting him kindly on the head. She looks him over stroking the curve of his back and her mittened hands move down his legs and touch his frozen feet. She shakes her head and pats his once again. ‘Come on old boy,’ she says, untying the rope. ‘I think I know just the place to take you.’    


The story doesn't finish there ...
 
Did you know 325 dogs are abandoned everyday in the UK?
In a survey revealed by the Dogs Trust out of the 118,932 stray dogs that were picked up by Local Authorities in the last year a significant proportion were found in London and other urban areas alongside breeds which are deemed as so called ‘status dogs’.

I often wonder why on earth people actually get a dog. Do they really think they are getting an Andrex puppy?  To think these poor animals that rely on us for everything they need are treated in such a harrowing way and despicable way. I personally have had dog’s all my life and I could never in a million
years abandon one. I do understand however, how people’s circumstances change whether it’s because they have to go into sheltered accommodation or perhaps because the owner has died. These are situations which cannot be helped but for those owners who simply get rid of an animal because it’s an inconvenience or because it appears to be too much like hard work then I say to you ... WHAT PLANET WERE YOU ON IN THE FIRST PLACE! 

Did you know that the Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 16,000 dogs a year through its network of 18 rehoming centres in the UK and one in Ireland. Dogs Trust has a non destruction policy and they will never destroy a healthy dog. What would these poor animals do without places such as these? It’s a growing concern and without continual support they would never be able to help so many animals.

This got me wondering if perhaps you would be interested in sponsoring a  dog?

Show your love for just £1 a week

You can sponsor any of the dogs found in the Dog Trust gallery. When you sponsor a dog, your donations are used to help all the dogs in their care. So why not go and have a look at the pictures of those animals that need your help and read their profiles and perhaps you might just find one little animal you would like to sponsor!

For more information or just for a browse please follow the links below and I really hope you can find it in your heart to help..
 
Best wishes,

Lynette
 

Dog’s Trust Link: http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/sponsor/default.aspx
 
The Ark Animals Link: http://www.arkanimalrescue.co.uk/
 
Jerry Greens Link: http://www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk/


 
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The Old Woman

She stares out of the window watching no one go by. She has stared at the same spot in the middle of the street for over two hours in the hope that someone will walk by and remind her that she is not the only person living in her solitary world.  Loneliness has become her best friend. Time means nothing in an existence that ticks slowly by, and as the minutes drag into hours she wishes she could hurry up and die.
 
She sees a movement and she edges closer to the window. It’s a neighbour and she has known him since he was a little boy. She waves to him, her eyes lighting, but he pretends not to see her, after all he’s on his way to work and is far too busy even to acknowledge her and he hurries on passed, head bowed.

She stands there a little longer. Her legs are beginning to ache but she can’t face sitting in the chair so soon in the day and watching the same TV programmes she watched yesterday. She sees a white Volvo pull up almost at her front door and a young woman with two small children clamber out. They are off to see their grandmother, the lady who lives across the road and she can tell they are all pretending not to see the loony old woman who lives at number 24; the woman who is always at the window staring at them whenever they call. They rush away and don’t look back and the old woman’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. Depression is wrapping itself around her like a dark heavy shroud and sadness is eating away at what’s left of her broken heart. All she longs for is another’s company, a little kindness, but no one has time for her, not even her own family.

When the pain in her legs becomes too much to bear she turns away from the window and goes and sits in her favourite chair. She reaches for the remote and switches on the TV. She hears the drone of voices, the belief that there really is life on earth and then she allows the tears to fall and openly sobs, wishing once again that she was dead and away from this misery called life.
 
I really hope this piece of writing fills you with empathy for this old lady and the thousands of elder people just like her. This is not a made up scenario indeed there is probably someone living like this only a few streets away from where you live and you may or may not even be aware of it. 10.3 million people in the UK are 65 and over and this is set to rise to over 14.4 million by 2033.
 
Believe it or not, the older generation should not be hidden away and forgotten about because they still have plenty to offer. They can be enthralling, have a devilish sense of humour and most definitely have the most amazing life stories to share with you. Okay so they can no longer do back flips or run the four minute mile, (like to see you try!) but they are not totally washed up either. 

You may find that if they lived either before or during the war then they have lived or seen immense suffering that did not fill them with doom and gloom, in fact far from it. These wonderful people are true survivors and can fill you with inspiration and help sculpt new ideas when you learn about things that happened in a very different era. Tales that will make your toes curl and your eyes round with surprise and I can almost visualise you all shaking your heads in disbelief when you hear these amazing stories and to think you could learn all this in return for a cup of tea and little of your time.
  
Over the past few years I have met some truly astounding and charming characters. Elderly people who have become my friends and who I visit on a regular basis. I see their faces light up when they spot me walking down their path and that’s a wonderful feeling. Come on, admit it, how often does that ever happen to you? We natter away about nothing in particular, but these people are always interested in what I have to say or what I’m about to do next.They can be seen chomping on the bit to hear about a new book I’m concocting or how my own family is doing. 

Do you know that when I was working on the hospital ward and as a Carer in the community I met a lady who once worked with Mother Teresa and a gentleman who was a war hero and had books written about him. Please, don’t be fooled by old age! These people have truly lived! They may even have lived two of your lifetimes and therefore their knowledge of life is vast and inspirational.

Why don't you do something positive today and pop along to see if that old lady you know who just lost her husband needs a helping hand or the old bloke on your street who lost his wife years ago needs any groceries from the shop because after all you’re already going there. If you’re unsure whether to approach them then why not contact you local Age Concern (Age UK) and see if they can advise you. If this is not for you but you would still like to contribute your time then why not become a volunteer? Charities always need an extra pair of hands or you could perhaps contact your local day centre and offer your services? Do something amazing today and change someone’s life because one day that old person standing at the window might just be you …

Food for thought? ... I hope so!

Lynette

If you would like to follow me please go to my main blog site which is:

http://lynetteecreswell.wordpress.com/
Thank you.

 Age UK Link:
 
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/?ito=1945&itc=0&gclid=CLeWmvf-UCFYbHtAod7SsASw
 
 
(Age UK is also working with Gransnet to create some great opportunities for older people to meet online, exchange knowledge, experience and swap stories)
 

http://www.gransnet.com/


 

 
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Well, what a month it's been already! I never thought 2013 would have me hitting the floor running but between moving house and getting ready to launch my new book Betrayers of Magic I just haven't stopped.
To top it all I was lucky enough to be invited by Steven Ramirez to do a  guest post on his website, Glass Highway.  I decided I wanted to do a piece that would hopefully give writers a little inspiration and by all the twittering and Facebook comments it appears to have worked.
I have added the link below so you can see for yourself how I find my own inspiration and beat writers block and perhaps this could help you too.
http://bit.ly/YjDDak

So what's next on your agenda I hear you cry? Well, I think it would be really interesting to find out more about Steven Ramirez.  Steven has written quite a few books and is also a screenwriter with a film under his belt.  Steven in based in LA and is currently working on his next novel which gives me a perfect excuse to ask him to be my first ever blog guest.  Steven has kindly accepted the challenge and I am going to publish the interview on Thursday 28th February so I hope we have a lot of people out there who are willing to show their support to us both.

So on that note I will start to prepare for the 'big day' and look forward to hearing your comments after I post Steven's interview.

All the best everyone and here's to a crazy 2013!
Lynette


 
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First of all a Happy New Year to you all!

 Well, what a busy few weeks it has been for all of us!
To be honest, I’m secretly glad Christmas is all over because now I can finally  sit down and have a rest.  For me Christmas is such a busy time of year with having such a large family. Not that I’m complaining, far from it, but it does generate an enormous amount of Christmas preparations (and mountains of washing up!).

However, I have to say, Christmas day was wonderful (I think). I cooked, (as usual) and because my youngest son was starting his new job that very day, dinner had to be put on hold until 4.30 pm. I wasn’t too pleased, but needs must and Alex was very grateful to have a job and get his dinner made for him all in one day. We had so many gifts to open it took us over two hours to finally throw the last of the wrappings away. The feeling I get when I have my family around me on this very special day as I watch pleasure glow from their faces makes me so grateful to have been blessed with such a full and wonderful life.

New Year’s Eve saw me and my family out at a party at the Habrough Hotel and I have to say it was a lovely bash. The room was beautifully decorated and the food was very lavish, (although far too much seafood for my liking if I’m honest). The firework display at midnight was out of this world and the evening was so mild that no one wanted to go back inside once they finished. The bacon rolls which we received afterwards were most welcoming and by 2 am we were all back at home, drinking tea.

Now I have seen the New Year in there are a few things happening for me and my books. Firstly, I have a feature with Rebecca Sweeny Graf on the 13th
of January which I am really looking forward to reading and I will add this to
my own blog once it is out and in circulation.  I have also been asked to do another feature about how I find inspiration and ideas for my stories for Steven
Ramirez who is an American author whom I met through Facebook. 

Now, hold your breath avid readers of fantasy as things are happening with
Betrayers of Magic.
I have just had my friend Liz Lane contact me this morning. Liz is a lady I met through a close friend and who is a medical publisher (sadly not a fantasy  publisher).  Liz has been reading the manuscript in preparation for the editor and she said she loved the second book as much as the first and found it very engaging.  This is simply fantastic news as I really enjoyed writing the second book and was hoping she would say that. She is getting in touch with the printers as I type so I’m hoping the second book is not going to be much longer before it’s out to buy.

As a special treat to my readers I am adding the synopsis of Betrayers of Magic below and in the next few days will place the first taster chapters on Facebook  and on my website.  I’m positive that if you enjoyed Sinners of Magic you’re going to adore Betrayers of Magic and that’s a promise!


Betrayers of Magic book two in the 'Magic' trilogy:

Finding the separation from her immortal people too much to bear, Crystal soon returns to Nine Winters. Her homecoming coincides with the Feast of the
Four Quarters Festival where the magical realms come together to choose this
year’s new apprentices who will join, if chosen, the Supreme Circle of Mages

 
On this very special day, the princess meets a bold and courageous apprentice called Niculmus DeGrunt who is like no one she has ever met before but is there something sinister lurking behind those mysterious dark brown eyes?

Outside the city, trouble is brewing and there is unrest within those who deem themselves above the law. Conspirators take matters into their own hands and soon the royal family is forcibly separated. Everything will hang in the balance when Crystal has no choice but to find the Book of Souls and free the fourth mage from inside it.

Beware! The power of the revengeful mage is about to be unleashed ...

 
I hope the synopsis has you hooked and I look forward to your comments.

 Best wishes,

 Lynette


 
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What a busy week I've had! Not only have a done an interview this week but also I took part in the Next Big Blog Hop as well.  I have to say I really enjoyed doing the interview for The Book Junkies Journal.  I found the questions to be quite a mixture and I thoroughly enjoyed the fantasy questions.  I think sometimes interviews can be too serious and then they become a little hard to read and enjoy.  For me, keeping it light with a little edge is far more enjoyable for both the writer and the reader and gives you a good excuse to do it all over again.
The Hop however, was almost a disaster as I couldn't load it onto my blog page and I think this was because I had too many pictures for the site to cope with so I had to create another web page instead.  This meant that no one could comment on the post which I found very disappointing but thankfully a few readers contacted me via Facebook to show their support which I am pleased to say was very welcoming.
The next interview is being pencilled in for the 13th of January by Rebecca Graf who is another writer and we met through my fan page on Facebook. Rebecca approached me and asked if I would like to do the interview so I will keep you posted when it goes out to print.  While I'm waiting, I am also scheduled to do yet another interview for Steven Ramirez on how I find inspiration for my characters and how I can hopefully inspire others to find their own creative side. I draw my ideas from some very strange places so I hope you will find the article rather interesting.
While all this is going on I am waiting for my editor to get back to me with the final manuscript of Betrayers of Magic. I am really excited about this second book and my proofreader tells me she loved it just as much as the first which is what I was hoping to hear. Roll on the New Year when I hopefully get the manuscript back and then there will be no stopping me!
Okay, so now you know what I'm up to, I will look forward to hearing your comments or perhaps chatting on Facebook.
Best wishes,
Lynette
http://www.bookjunkiesjournal.com/lynette-creswell.html

 
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It was with feelings of trepidation that I drove with my husband to Scunthorpe on Saturday 20th October 2012 for my not so long awaited book signing. I was slightly worried because the Scunthorpe Telegraph (who I relied on for the publicity of my event) hadn't put it in Thursday's newspaper and so I didn't know what the turnout would be like. Still concerned, I entered the Scunthorpe store to be met by the manager who greeted me with a broad smile and couldn't do enough to ensure I was both satisfied and comfortable with my 'spot'.

The store had already arranged a table and chair for me, set in a suitable position close to where customers who were browsing around the store could see me. I sat myself down and within five minutes I spotted someone I used to work with at Henderson Avenue Primary School and quickly called him over. I'm pleased to say he was thrilled to see that my book was out to buy and promptly became my first customer of the day. Soon after, more readers came to see me as they had seen the event advertised on Facebook and via twitter and the shop had put up my posters for me at least a week in advance and when I looked up the press had arrived and they were busy clicking away and I had the pleasure of having pictures taken with my new readers.

The time just flew by while I chatted to lots of lovely people who wanted to know more about me and my book, wishing to learn about the characters I had created and how I came up with the whole idea of 'Sinners of Magic'. Before I knew it, my three hours were up and I was packing away ready to go off to Oxford for a friends wedding. I have to say there is nothing like the buzz of a book signing, especially when the event turns out to be such a success. I just love how I get to interact with people who are genuinely interested in my story and who want to know as much as possible about the book before they speed off home with a signed copy clutched firmly in their hands.

A big thank you to everyone who came and supported me on Saturday, especially Molly and her family who travelled all the way from Nottingham to come and see me. I would also like to thank the staff of WHSmiths Scunthorpe for making me feel so very welcome and I look forward to perhaps organising another successful book signing with them in the future.

Thanks everyone for your support because without you my story would never have gotten the chance to see the light of day x
Best wishes,
Lynette




 
Here I am in WHSmiths with two of my dearest friends who I have known since I worked as a school secretary at Henderson Primary School.  Wilf, who I knew then as a school governor was a very good friend to me during my time there and Marlene has been like a mother to me over the last few years and so it was with utmost pleasure that I saw them arrive at my book signing on Saturday.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sinners-Magic-Lynette-E-Creswell/dp/1781764417/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351181477&sr=8-2
 
    It may seem like a reasonable question, but even I would like to  know how I got here? Obviously, I know that I walked up my stairs to my office  and sat down at my computer, but what I actually mean is - the journey I have taken to finally say - 'I am an author'.  I believe this journey has most  probably been the most harrowing and yet the most exciting expedition I have ever taken. Harrowing because at times I felt that I was going to become a 'failure'  – wow! Even now that word just fills me with dread! I worried myself stupid over  what might become of me and my work if I never found a publisher and all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ would come to me in the middle of the night like a bad  dream and I would wake up in a sweat, wondering if it really was all worth the  worry and sleepless nights... 
    Like so many people before me, I approached so  many publishers I started to believe my work would never be published. I would write, and then re-write a dozen chapters only to re-write them again just in case they weren't good enough. I dread to think how much 'good work’ I have wasted on worrying about what the publisher would think. Does any of this sound  familiar?
Eventually when I couldn't stand it any longer, I joined a writing forum which I believed I could trust, (I think I was starting to have issues by then) and I became a member of 'youwriteon' a fabulous website that really helped me sculpt my chapters and also enabled me to start believing in my work  and for the first time, I wasn't thinking about what the publishers would want  to see.
    Over the next few months my confidence grew and then I was able to  show it to ‘real’people who I felt confident with and also comfortable enough to cope with their honest opinions. With bated breath I watched their faces light  up when they told me they 'loved' my story - yes it came from someone else's  mouth - they 'loved' my work. Elation doesn't even cover the way I felt when I
saw that my book made people smile and when they spoke about my characters and how they could see these people I had created – there, in their minds, well, that feeling was the most wonderful sensation I have ever experienced and no matter what happens to me on my journey of life, no one will ever be able to take it away from me. Since taking my story and self-publishing, I have received astounding 5 *****reviews in the UK (still waiting for places like the US to review my book, hint-hint) however, the key point to all this is that somehow through it all, I never gave up and kept with it, even when it looked hopeless.
    To all you aspiring writers out there just remember to believe in yourself and you too can make your dreams a reality. This journey has been the hardest road I have ever travelled but I have to admit it has also been the most rewarding.

 Best wishes to you all,

 Lynette