Annie’s List of Timeless Stories at Shepherd.com

Looking for a great read? Check out Shepherd.com.

A recent request for a reading recommendation list came from Shepherd.com whose philosophy states that  “Discovering a new book should be a magical experience where the search is part of the fun…. We give readers fun ways to find amazing books.” Shepherd asks authors like myself to “pick their 5 favorite books around a topic, theme, or mood they are passionate about, a topic, theme, or mood in the same area as their own book.”

I examined this site and liked what I saw so I decided to give it a try.  Initially, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. So much work, first creating a topic that related to my Kerrigan Chronicles trilogy, and then screening books that met the same criteria. Since my chronicles are set  in Newfoundland through the Great Depression and World War II, I came up with a list of timeless stories whose settings (time and place) hold and shape the plot. I pulled twelve well-thumbed books from my library and slowly whittled down my selection to five. By the time I had finished this project, I had reaffirmed my passion for reading and writing and had strengthened my commitment to write what I write and the way I write it. This was the most authentic “marketing” experience I have ever had. An added bonus is that I’ve discovered a new place to search for great reads. I am very grateful to Shepherd.com.

To see my recommended list at Shepherd.com please click here: Annie’s List

Happy reading!

All the best, always,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

Research: U-Boat Sinks S S Caribou off Coast of Newfoundland, 1942

by Annie Daylon

Photo attribution: Jochim, Mark. SS Caribou. Flickr

Research for my historical trilogy The Kerrigan Chronicles (set mainly on the island of Newfoundland) has led me to the story of the S S Caribou, a passenger ferry that operated between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland from the late 1920’s to 1942.

Recently, in a 1929 magazine, I came across a travel ad for that very same SS Caribou, “the splendid new steamer” which had recently started its crossings of the Cabot Strait. This ad was published in The Premier, Newfoundland’s Only Monthly  Magazine.  This “monthly” magazine, despite the Subscription Form included in its first issue (see below), was published once, only once, in March of 1929 and it never surfaced again. I have a copy of it, a gift from my father, one that he came across at a garage sale in Newfoundland.

 

Despite the high hopes expressed in the travel ad, the S S Caribou met an untimely and tragic fate, its service ending abruptly in 1942. On October 14 of that year, a U-Boat torpedoed the S S Caribou. It sank, killing two hundred thirty-eight passengers. There were one hundred one survivors.

Some of the victims on the Caribou were military who on their way to the naval base at Argentia. In fact, I first learned about the explosion from my father, Andrew Lannon (1922-2019) who worked in Argentia for thirty-five years. One of the passengers who died in that attack was a friend of Dad’s, a military friend who had gone home to the U.S. on leave for his own father’s funeral. He was on his way back to Argentia when the attack occurred.

 (Approximate site of sinking of Caribou marked by Red X in Cabot Strait on west of map below.)

Information about the sinking of the Caribou may come as a surprise to many who think of WWII as something that happened far away. However, the North American coastline was constantly under threat by enemy submarines, to the extent that U-Boats were watching people as they strolled along  shore.

Whether or not I refer to it in my historical fiction, the history of the Caribou is evidence of the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation. And I thank them all for their service.


Goodreads Giveaway for The Kerrigan Chronicles, Book II: Of Sea and Sand ends on Thursday, May 27th, 2021. To enter, click HERE.

 

 

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Goodreads Giveaway: OF SEA AND SAND

Goodreads Paperback Giveaway Now Ended.

Many thanks to all who entered!

Congratulations to Winners!

 

The Kerrigan Chronicles, Book II: OF SEA AND SAND

Ghostly matriarch Kathleen Kerrigan resumes the compelling saga of her family, whose lives are  hurled into chaos when war uproots their Newfoundland community in 1940.


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Memoirs: Happening Upon, Learning to Love

I love to read!

My current reading obsession, one which I slid into during research for the Kerrigan Chronicles Trilogy, is the memoir.

At first, immersed in the history of World War II, I read facts, facts and more facts from books written mostly by conquerors, books rife with detail of military strategy. All valuable, but I wanted more. I wanted books that told me about life in the front lines and life in war torn towns and life for those who were waiting at home. 

One day, while browsing the history section at The Book Man in Chilliwack, I came across a memoir titled Underground in Berlin

Marie Jalowicz Simon’s story is told in Underground in Berlin. 1942-1945.

Marie was one of many who survived the Nazi takeover in Berlin by becoming one of the approximately 1700 “U-Boats,” the name given to the people who moved from one place to another underground, helped by German resistance fighters, hungry, scared, watching friends and relatives make mistakes, be found out and sent to the death camps. Survival was not for the faint-hearted: Marie Jalowicz Simon lived in constant fear of being discovered and endured marriage of convenience, repeated sexual abuse, and starvation.


Later, can’t recall how, but I came across a second memoir called A Woman in Berlin, Eight Weeks in the Conquered City.

A German Journalist’s Story is told in A Woman in Berlin, Eight Weeks in the Conquered City

Anonymous, the initial signer of this book, was later revealed to be a German woman, a journalist. She lived as one of the conquered, trembling in waiting as the rumble of distant fighting rose to a roar and subsided to silence. Even after the silence, the war for survival continued, people reduced to cave-dwelling circumstances with starvation and sexual abuse a way of life. 


Both of these books, penned by historical enemies, are detailed, riveting, and shockingly similar accounts of the results of war and hatred on a civilian population. Spurred by the gut-wrenching reality of these writings and determined to learn more about the era, I delved into memoirs of sailors and gunners and Spitfire pilots and submariners. I found books about code breakers and spies both male and female. From there, I fell into the world of the memoir in general…entertainment, fashion, sports, politics.  

Along the route somewhere, I discovered an unexpected benefit to the reading the memoir. I read mostly at night and, when I’m reading fiction, the fiction writer in me analyzes every word and phrase… in essence, I’m gearing up into work mode, not slowing down into sleep.  However, while reading memoirs, the critic in me shuts down. I’m more interested in the experience of the writer than I am in their (or their ghostwriter’s) turn of phrase. 

I seek memoirs first now. Some favorites:

  • The Unexpected Spy by Tracy Walder

  • Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography

  • Between the Stops by Sandi Toksvig

  • Walking with Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne

  • What Falls Away by Mia Farrow

  • Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem: A Memoir by Daniel R. Day

  • Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

  • The Boy at the Gate: A Memoir by Danny Ellis

  • Mao’s last Dancer by Li Cunxin

  • My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall

  • Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service by Gary Sinise

  • The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

There are just too many to list… and I’m looking for more! If you have any suggestions for memoir reads, please send them this way! 

My best to  you,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

 

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What’s your Reading Choice… eBook or Real Book?

Readers and Reading…eBook or Real Book?

Many posts ask readers which they like better… eBooks or real books. For me, it’s not about like or dislike; it’s about need.  After years of typing, crocheting, playing piano, and marking papers, my fingers are calling the shots. And they let me know that it’s easier to touch a screen than to turn a page. I read for two or three hours daily and the right tool for the job and joy of reading is eBook. In fact, there are 334 books on my Kindle right now.

Still, the sight of stacks of hardcovers and paperbacks both new and old is treasure to me, the scent is perfume.  When my Of Sea and Sand character Kevin Kerrigan yearns to learn to read, he has a visceral reaction to holding a book. “Kevin locked his eyes on the book. He took it in his hand. He liked the feel of it firm, solid, and smooth.” I can relate  to Kevin’s feeling for, when I first get my hands on my new paperback, there is no containing the happiness.

It is actually the arrival of the real book that takes the writing and publishing process into the real world. 

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What’s your reading choice? ebook or real book?

 

NOW AVAILABLE IN KINDLE AND PAPERBACK: OF SEA AND SAND, THE KERRIGAN CHRONICLES, BOOK II

Ghostly matriarch Kathleen Kerrigan resumes the compelling saga of her family, whose lives are mired in secrets, steeped in betrayal, and then hurled into chaos when war uproots their Newfoundland community in 1940.


My best to you,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

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Now Available on Amazon Kindle: OF SEA AND SAND

Ghostly matriarch Kathleen Kerrigan resumes the compelling saga of her family, whose lives are mired in secrets, steeped in betrayal, and then hurled into chaos when war uproots their Newfoundland community in 1940.

Amazon Kindle Button

It’s been a while since my last blog post When in Doubt, Ask the Universe.” Well, I asked and the universe answered. I am thrilled to announce the arrival of Of Sea and Sand, the second book in The Kerrigan Chronicles Series. At this point it is available on Kindle, not yet in paperback due to pandemic slowdown.

The trilogy’s umbrella character is the above-mentioned Kathleen. The first book focuses on the life of Kathleen’s daughter, Clara. Book II focuses on Kathleen’s son, Kevin who avows that the job of a man is to take care of his own.

For those who wish to catch up, the first book in the Kerrigan Chronicles trilogy, Of Sea and Seed, is now on sale on Kindle for $0.99 USD. Amazon Kindle Button

Stay tuned for arrival of paperback copy of Of Sea and Sand!

All the best, always,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

 

When in Doubt, Ask the Universe…

by @AnnieDaylon

This year (2018) I debated whether or not to continue with writing. What was weighing on me was a commitment I’d made: a trilogy. Could I finish it?

After I published Book I of The Kerrigan Chronicles, rather than writing Book II of this historical suspense trilogy set in Newfoundland, I wrote a modern-day mystery set in Vancouver. I enjoyed writing the mystery and was happy with the outcome but, once it was done, I had no gas left in the tank. I had been trying to do too much… media and marketing and blogging, oh my!  Out of necessity, I stepped back.

After a while, with the phrases “write first” and “just show up” embedded in my philosophy, I slid back in. Not to social media. Just to writing. Slowly, as in fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, one hour a day, the work took shape on the page. Still I agonized over it. 

A few months ago, I woke up with a lump at the base of my throat, literally. It was the size of a Grade A large egg.  (I won’t leave you in suspense. It was diagnosed as a cyst which subsided without medical intervention.) Of course, I didn’t know that then.

That morning, I drank my coffee, did my crossword puzzle, and had a shower before I woke up my husband. “We’ve got trouble,” I told him.

At Emergency, we waited four hours. The doctor I saw told me it could be cancer. “Do you smoke?”

“I quit sixteen years ago.”

“It still could be cancer. We will try to get you in for an ultrasound.”

I went home and, while waiting for my ultrasound  which was scheduled the next day, I started wondering. I’m not young, I had lost a friend to cancer recently, and found myself asking what it was I wanted to do with my life. Two things came up:
1) Would I outlive my dog? (A silly question to some, but dog lovers get this.) I had recently met a lady with an elderly chocolate lab, a dog whose male owner had died and the dog went up to every man it saw, sniffing, searching. I wouldn’t want our precious CoCo to know loss like that.
2) Was I wasting my time with all this writing? Was I meant to finish this Newfoundland story?
All night I wondered and finally just threw the questions to the universe.

The next day, at the Imaging Department of the Chilliwack Hospital, I was pointed toward chairs in the hallway outside the ultrasound rooms. I walked down the hall, sat down, and looked up.  I smiled.

I live in British Columbia which, via the TransCanada Highway is about 7000 kilometres (4350 miles)  from  St. John’s, Newfoundland and yet, on the wall opposite me were posters of three iconic images from Newfoundland, each poster trademarked with the logo of the Department of Tourism, Newfoundland and Labrador.

I didn’t take photos of them at the time, but I wished I had because, when I went back to do that, they were gone, replaced by other images. (What you see above are Shutterstock pics, l-r Iceberg off Cape Bonavista, Cape Spear Light House, Jelly Bean Row Houses in St. John’s.)


Obviously, I’m back, writing, first and foremost, and balancing hush with hustle. Book II, Of Sea and Sand, is falling into place and now I will let it rest in place until the new year sets in.
The take-away?  When in doubt, take a break.
Ask the universe….

All the best, always,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

 

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P. S. Of Sea and Sand, launched in 2021. Am currently (and happily) working on the final book of The Kerrigan Chronicles trilogy, Of Sea and Soul.

My Write Before Christmas: 2017

by @AnnieDaylon

 My Write Before Christmas: 2017

It’s my write before Christmas, I’m happy to pen
holiday greetings to all once again.
It’s become a tradition, these wishes in rhyme
To readers and wordsmiths at holiday time.

Authors work solo but none are alone.
It takes a village (an adage well-known)
With thanks in mind, I’m herein highlighting
The best things this year in my world of writing.

At the Heart of the Missingmy latest creation,
Was published in April. I was filled with elation.
My great editors Michael and Ken, I do cheer!
An outstanding job! Readers, check it out here.

I love writing contests. There’s fun with deadlines.
This>Contest Calendar’s< a favorite of mine.
As is Poets & Writers, a site that makes space
For a Contest and Grants and Awards Database.

I’m a Canadian writer. Award lover too.
Whistler Writers and Vivalogue have a contest that’s new.
It’s juried! A first for indie writers.
My book was a finalist so I was invited
To the Whistler Writers Festival this year…
What a venue! It’s gorgeous! A gift to be there!
On Friday, I spoke about Of Sea and Seed,
And then was invited to Vancouver to read
By Margo and Carol from Canadian Authors
I quickly said yes to that fabulous offer!
On Saturday and Sunday, it was time to sell,
Brought more books than required; that served me well.
My thanks to organizers (Kilmeny and Lynn)
I sold lots at Whistler, due to promo by them.


Thanks to all writers, reviewers, and friends,
And bloggers and techies on whom I depend.
Thanks, Mary & Fran for Tea & Critique
Our bi-weekly meetings are fun and unique.

Most of all, here’s to readers, on you we rely,
The work’s not complete until you stop by.
Samuel Johnson once said (and I paraphrase herein)
“A reader finishes what a writer begins.”

With readers in mind, I’m working hard and
Book II of the Kerrigans is Of Sea and Sand.
There’s joy in this writing, my priority one,
Less tweeting and posting until it is done! 

That’s it for this year. Best wishes to you
As 2018 comes into view.
And now, ere December rolls out of sight,
Happy Christmas to all! Have great reads and great writes!

All the best, always,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

Happy Thanksgiving and a Goodreads Giveaway!

by @AnnieDaylon

On this Thanksgiving Day, in the world of writing, I have much to be grateful for. First, thank you to all far and wide for your response to my recent Kindle offer of my novel, OF SEA AND SEED. Your numerous downloads improved this novel’s rankings on Amazon>>>>

Also, OF SEA AND SEED is a finalist for the Whistler Independent Book Award. This coming weekend I will attend the Whistler Writers’ Festival where I will give  a presentation about this novel,  sell books, and attend writing workshops!

October 12-15, 2017 Whistler Writers Festival

Thursday, October 12:   I will attend the Whistler Public Library Reading Event for fiction and nonfiction finalists in the Whistler Independent Book Awards. Host: Lynn Duncan.
-Looking forward to meeting other authors and to talking about OF SEA AND SEED, The Kerrigan Chronicles, Book I.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! Here is a Goodreads Giveaway, an opportunity for you to win a signed print copy of OF SEA AND SEED>>>>

This GOODREADS BOOK GIVEAWAY OFFER has now ended. Many thanks to those who entered!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Of Sea and Seed by Annie Daylon

Of Sea and Seed

by Annie Daylon

Giveaway ends October 15, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

 

My best to you,

Annie Signature Light Blue

Short Story: Post Mortem

 From my collection Passages, an autumn story for the autumnal equinox. Enjoy…


© by @AnnieDaylon

Isadora was not willing to renege a lifetime of promise. For years she had planned, scrimped, and saved and now, at last, opportunity was here. She sprinted through the autumn woods, tendrils of silver hair streaming behind her. Every few steps, she let out a delighted laugh. What a sight she must be! An octogenarian in a full-length, black-velvet skirt, with a bulging shoulder purse hammering her titanium hip. And yet, she was dashing along with the agility of an adolescent doe.  

As she neared the clearing, she slowed her pace and kept her eyes down. What if the cabin wasn’t there? For a few seconds, her mind flirted with the extermination of hope and her body responded by coming to a standstill. A sense of fragility imbued her and she felt as one with each crisp leaf she had just crushed beneath thoughtless shoes. With heart and hope plummeting, should she go on?

Overhead, the call of bird and whoosh of wing distracted her. Isadora’s lips curved into a smile. Canada geese. Bidding their annual farewell. She took a deep breath. Wood smoke. A comforting aroma. Emboldened, she raised her head and instantly clapped her hands in glee. It was there, all of it: the old, log cabin with its red-brick chimney; the faded, inebriated-looking Adirondack chair; the window boxes with their peeling, green paint and stubborn, pink geraniums. Still blooming. Amazing.

She felt content to linger, to stare, but a blast of cold air slapped her, snaked under her billowing skirt, and caused her whole body to shudder. She clutched her purse to her chest and rushed to the rickety porch steps which whined in protest as she climbed. Sidling up to the door, she knocked. A timid knock. She waited.

As Isadora hovered, another gust of wind sent leaves flying. They swirled and spiralled around her and fell at her feet in a mosaic of ochre, red and brown. Autumn. She grimaced. To some, autumn meant renewal. To her? Her whole life, she had watched as autumn approached, encroached, and retreated, taking all living things with it.

Isadora recalled her first encounter with autumn’s cruelty. She had been playing outside and a single oak leaf, which had magically turned from green to yellow, had fluttered down and landed on her shoe. She snatched it up and ran home, intent on show-and-tell with Mommy, by the fireplace. But an eerie sound emanating from the house caused her to hesitate, to peer through a side window instead of entering. Her eyes widened and flooded as she watched her father fall to his knees, wailing, at her mother’s bedside. Interspersed with his cries, were words of regret and apology. Hard to decipher but, within seconds, the young Isadora understood. Doctors cost money. Her father had no money and, because of that, her mother, like the leaf in her hand, was dead.

That autumn, Isadora watched leaves fall, one by one, until none remained. All winter, she listened as naked trees moaned, echoing her pain. She was alone. Shuffled from one relative to another. Abandoned by a devastated father who knew nothing of raising a three-year-old girl.

Every subsequent autumn, as leaves rained to the ground, regret haemorrhaged through her pores. If only she could have changed things. Doctors cost money. If only she could have given her father money. Somehow, she always felt that she could have done something. Should have done something. But she had failed.

As she stood on the porch now, waiting, Isadora’s hope began to dwindle once again. She repeated the knock. Still no answer. Anxiety crept into her body, causing her to tremble. She let out a sob, formed her fingers into a fist, and pounded the door.

This time the door squeaked open and a tiny girl, a mere waif, stood there. Isadora gasped and recoiled. When she caught her breath, she leaned forward. “Hello,” she said to the bedraggled child who was hugging a filthy, hairless doll.

The little girl was silent.

Isadora held out the purse.

The child’s eyes popped wide. “Mommy’s purse,” she whispered. “That’s Mommy’s purse.”

“Yes.” Isadora opened the purse, displayed its contents, and closed it again. “I kept it all these years, filled it, just for you.” She placed the purse at the child’s feet. “You know what to do?”

The child nodded slowly. “Doctors cost money.”

A tidal wave of realization flooded through Isadora. She had done it.  For a few seconds, she stood, frozen. Then, in measured motion, she turned and headed down the steps. At the bottom, she paused and looked back.

The little girl, waif no more, was still standing there. Her dress, new and pink and velvet, matched that of the pristine, porcelain doll she carried and her waist-length, glistening blonde hair was topped with a pink velvet bow.

 The two exchanged no words, only smiles.

Isadora walked away, gradually picking up her pace until she was skipping along the woodland path. Deep within her, sad memories began to disperse, dropping away one by one, like the falling leaves around her. Soon those recollections were gone, replaced by images of a happy little girl, learning, laughing, and singing, at her mother’s side. 

Isadora returned to the starting point of her journey—the funeral parlour—and slid through the front Passages Book Coverdoor. She entered the viewing room and floated for a while, staring at her body, resting in its mahogany coffin. She sighed in contentment and slipped back into place.

Cradle issues resolved, she was ready for the grave.

 

 

My best to you,
Annie Signature Light Blue