My Book Review of THE SECRET WITCH

The Secret Witch by Jeff Severcool
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting Period Piece

I enjoyed this story, but I'm left with questions I'm hoping the sequel answers. The complexity of the characters is enticing, and their own curiosity matches my own. Their journey for knowledge and truth is one I'm excited to join them on.
The author did a fantastic job painting the era of the tale. The speech used pills you in, transporting you as much as the reacts and scenery. I loved it - well done!
Some of the thoughts, opinions, and actions of the characters are disturbing, though authentic. The history of the time period and the motives/personal stories behind the players leave room for many spinoffs. I'm eager to see what Jeff Severcool comes up with next.

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Happy Birthday USAF - September 18, 1947

 PROUD TO BE AN AIRMAN

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I am not a political person, but I am a patriot because I believe in freedom and diversity.  I believe in service to my country, community, and family.  However, there are many ways for people to serve, and, for me, it was by enlisting in the United States Air Force.

There isn't anything glamorous or romantic about war.  Death, suffering, cruelty...  I wish we could eradicate such things from our world, but I know that isn't reality.  So, I strive for balance, justice, forgiveness, and compassion.  I joined because 'the best defense is a good offense'.  Now, that can - and has - been interpreted in many ways, but for me, it means this: when your people are strong, healthy, and cooperative, then no one can break you down.  If you have a well trained military, then no one wants to engage with that military.  You work to be the best so that you perform with precision to save lives while completing the job quickly to end issues before they escalate.

All that said to explain why I am so proud to be a veteran, when I simply want to say happy 73rd birthday to my beloved Air Force.
And, to my first home, the 14th AS, 'once a pelican, always a pelican!'

MAYA ANGELOU - My Heart Is Full

 A PERSONAL INSPIRATION TO ME

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When I was a little girl, I didn't know her name.  I just knew her words.
I didn't know her writing... just her thoughts - her quotes.
They were so powerful for me that they have remained with me for all my life.  This amazing woman molded me without knowing me and without my knowing her.  That blows me away.  Though, I am proud to say I know who she is now that I am grown...
MAYA ANGELOU

A quote from Maya that I heard at a very young age, which has inspired me as a writer and a person, was this:

For the longest time, I could not tell you who said it, but I carried it in my heart and mind.
It was important to me.  It spoke to me.
It meant more when I learned that 93% of communication is non-verbal.

Other quotes that touched me personally and became apart of my personal belief system:

  

    

  

SHAPERS OF WORLDS

 New anthology from Saskatchewan publisher features short fiction by bestselling and award-winning science fiction and fantasy authors

Releasing September 22 in e-book and November 14 in print from Regina’s Shadowpaw Press, Shapers of Worlds is an anthology featuring stories by internationally bestselling and award-winning authors of science fiction and fantasy. 

Edited by Edward Willett, Shapers of Worlds features new stories from Seanan McGuire, Tanya Huff, David Weber, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., D.J. Butler, Christopher Ruocchio, John C. Wright, Shelley Adina, and Willett himself, plus reprints from John Scalzi, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Julie E. Czerneda, Fonda Lee, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Gareth L. Powell, Derek Künsken, and Thoraiya Dyer.

All of the featured authors were guests during the first year of Willett’s podcast, The Worldshapers, winner of the 2019 Aurora Award (Canada’s top award for science fiction and fantasy) for Best Fan Related Work.

Among the collected authors are winners of and nominees for most of the world’s most prestigious awards for science fiction and fantasy literature: the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, Aurealis, Ditmar, British Science Fiction Association, and Dragon Awards.

Ranging from boisterous to bleak, from humorous to harrowing, from action-filled to quiet and meditative; taking place in alternate pasts, the present day, the far, far future, and times that never were; set on Earth, in the far reaches of space, in fantasy worlds, and in metaphysical realms, each of these stories is as unique as its creator.

Willett is himself an award-winning author of more than sixty books of fantasy, science fiction, and non-fiction for readers of all ages. His latest is The Moonlit World, his 11th novel for New York’s DAW Books, Book 3 in his Worldshapers series. In The Worldshapers podcast, Willett, a former newspaper reporter and editor and radio and television host, chats with other science fiction or fantasy authors about their creative process.

Shapers of Worlds was successfully Kickstarted earlier this year, raising $15,700 from more than 330 backers. The anthology will be available through all major retailers. The e-book can be pre-ordered now.