Author Archives: quiall

About quiall

I am a woman with a mission: to live life to the fullest. I will not let an itty, bitty incurable disease stop me. It may slow me down but like a ship dragging an anchor, I'll get there eventually. Walk with me at www.butterflysand.com

Smiling

29 Replies

What makes you smile?

What tickles your fancy?

Is it slapstick or puns?

Or perhaps necromancy?

 

I like a good laugh,

You know one where it hurts,

Gasping for breath,

But no body fluid spurts!

 

I want a tickle in my brain,

Through words that I read.

Or show me an action,

That’s funny decreed.

 

I don’t know what is witty,

Until I am slapping my thigh,

And then even better,

When I’m starting to cry!

 

Some people are amusing,

When they walk in a room.

But not cuz they’re funny,

It’s their perpetual gloom!

 

My day starts with sunshine,

Like a smile cross the sky.

And I am bound and determined,

Not just to stand by!

 

So my best I will try,

To bring you some joy.

Then the last thing to do,

Is laughter deploy!

 

Eternal Road.  By John Howell

79 Replies

Have you ever wondered, ever pondered, what happens next? After death.  Is there another step, another place where who we are has meaning?  What would it be like if . . .

Eternal Road is the story of two people finding their way through the selection process leading to the place where one will spend eternity. Yes, it is true. They both have passed away. James Wainwright just died in an auto accident. Samantha Tourneau died seventeen years before. Sam is James’s guide to help him decide where to spend eternity. This is not your usual thriller or paranormal romance. It is a piece of fiction that is a combination of inspiration, adventure, time travel, sci-fi, a touch of erotica, and a dash of spiritual. In short, it is a lot of things, but hopefully, a story that will make you happy to have read it.

James began a road trip alone in his 1956 Oldsmobile. He stops for a hitchhiker only to discover she is his childhood sweetheart, Sam, who disappeared seventeen years before. James learns from Sam that falling asleep miles back caused him to perish in a one-car accident. He also comes to understand that Sam was taken and murdered all those years ago and now she has come back to help him find his eternal home.

The pair visit a number of times and places and are witness to several historical events. The rules dictate that they do no harm to the time continuum. Trying to be careful, they inadvertently come to the attention of Lucifer, who would love to have their souls as his subjects. They also find a threat to human survival and desperately need to put in place the fix necessary to save humankind.

The question becomes, will James find his eternal home in grace or lose the battle with Satan for his immortal soul and the future of human life with it? If you like time-travel, adventure, mystery, justice, and the supernatural, this story is for you.

 

Before I had read this book, I can honestly say I was skeptical.  I was wrong!  I was intrigued from the very first page and it was one Hell of a ride!

 

Excerpt from Eternal Road

 

By the car, Sam leans down to check on James. She opens the door. “You OK?”

 

James look up. “Oh, yes, I was just looking at my cell phone.”

 

“Why?”

 

James shrugs. “It pinged, so I thought a text had come in.”

 

Sam snickers. “You know that’s impossible. We’re not of this world, so how could you receive a text?”

 

James holds the phone out to her. “OK, smart one, take a look.”

 

Sam leans over and then takes the phone from James’s hand. Sure enough, a text notification shows an unknown sender.

 

James urges, “Go ahead and open it.”

 

Sam places the device back in James’s hand. “It’s your phone. You open it.”

 

James rolls his eyes but studies the message. “Want me to read it aloud?”

 

“Sure, if that makes you feel better.”

 

“It’s time we formally met. I have much to discuss with you. Text 666 with a time and place.”

 

Sam put her hand to her mouth.” 666? Is he crazy? That’s the sign of the devil! Lucifer just messaged you!”

 

James drops the phone on the seat. ”Oh, man, this gives me the creeps.”

 

“The creeps? I’ve never heard of the Devil sending texts to potential converts!”

 

James eyes open wide. ”Do you think he sees us as converts?”

 

“I’m not sure about me, but since he has your number…”

 

 

 

You are going to love it!

Pamela

 

 

It is now available on Amazon in paper and Kindle. The Kindle edition is introductory priced at 99¢ until October 15th

Here are the universal links

Kindle Universal link  mybook.to/EternalRoad

Paper universal link mybook.to/Eternalroadpaper

John’s bio

John is an award-winning author who, after an extensive business career, began writing full time in 2012. His specialty is thriller fiction novels, but John also writes poetry and short stories. He has written five other books that are on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. The paperback versions are also available in the Indie Lector store.

John lives in Lakeway, Texas, with his wife and their spoiled rescue pets.

 

Contact John

Blog Fiction Favorites, http://johnwhowell.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/john.howell.98229241

Twitter –https://www.twitter.com/HowellWave

Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7751796.John_W_Howell

Amazon Author’s page –https://www.amazon.com/author/johnwhowell

 

John’s Books

My GRL,

His Revenge

Our Justice

Circumstances of Childhood

The Contract: between heaven and earth

 

 

I Remember

40 Replies

As I am sure most of the world knows, we are all dealing with having to be isolated, away from each other. Many of us are dealing with having to be on our own, alone. And that is very new. I am enjoying my hermit mode but today I wasn’t interested in reading or watching TV, I wanted to think, I wanted to remember. So I made myself a little challenge: how much could I remember of my childhood. To put things into context I have more than six decades of experiences to remember.

Because I have lived in so many places and I know what years I did, I can calculate where my memories fit in the whole scheme of things.

Winnipeg, Manitoba  ages 0-5

I remember my very first friend:  Tanis.  I liked dogs better than I did most children.  Tanis was a boxer. I don’t remember any of the kids.

Kirkland Lake, Northern Ontario ages 5 – 8

I remember picking blueberries for my mother to make a pie. I had a pail but I probably ate as much as I put in that pail. I remember the rocks we had to climb. It was part of the Canadian Shield. If I think hard enough, I can feel the stone beneath my hands and smell the grass. I remember the houses we lived in, that I played in.  I remember a horse and sulky racing along the main street. (A sulky is a lightweight cart with two wheels and a seat for the driver)

Good memories.

Saint John, New Brunswick ages 8 – 13

I can remember walking back from a local swimming hole with a group of boys and girls and it was hot. It was hot enough that I took off my shirt. A boy came up to me and was horrified that I would take my shirt off, he told me it was not allowed because I was a girl. I’m retorted that I might be a girl but I didn’t have anything to prove I was a woman. Or something along those lines. His comment upset me and I went home and told my mother. I don’t remember her reaction but I don’t remember being upset again. I also did not take off my shirt again, in public.

I remember watching kittens play beneath the feet of huge horses. It was a working farm that my friend Marion lived on. The horses were Clydesdales  or Percherons, really big working horses but so incredibly gentle. I remember playing with the piglets. Until they grew up and became mean.  They were destined for the pot.  I spent a lot of time on that farm. The family was so incredibly generous.

I remember Kathy T. and her cat Rusty.  Rusty was an outdoor cat at Kathy’s home but he was best friends with my dog Beau and would come and sleep on my bed at night.

I could continue but this post is long enough.  I am pleased that I could still recall those idyllic times. The person I am today was formed in those distant times and I was lucky, my childhood was a positive one. I plan on one day in the future, looking back on these days.  It has been a rough time but it could have been worse.  I am thankful for the blessings of today, small though they may be.

I enjoyed traipsing through my past.  If your past is remembered, it is not gone.  How about you? Any memories you would like to remember?

 

 

 

 

 

The Canadian Shield  is a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks (geological shield) that forms the ancient geological core of the North American continent. Glaciation has left the area only a thin layer of soil, through which the composition of igneous rock resulting from long volcanic history is frequently visible.[3] With a deep, common, joined bedrock region in eastern and central Canada, the Shield stretches north from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, covering over half of Canada and most of Greenland; it also extends south into the northern reaches of the United States. Human population is sparse and industrial development is minimal,[4] but mining is prevalent.    WikiPedia

 

 

A Lizard Smiled

27 Replies

 

A little lizard smiled at me,

I don’t know what to say.

He looked back and then he winked,

It took my breath away!

 

He flicked his tail above his head,

As if in brisk salute.

And then he turned away from me,

He was so very cute!

 

He winked again and then he smiled,

And I knew our time was brief.

I thanked him kindly in my way,

Then watched in disbelief!

 

He seemed to stand upon his toes,

A ballet dance in motion.

Then I blinked and he was gone,

Was he just a notion?