Sunday 17 March 2024

Tormentors - Royalties to Charity

 

Now in Paperback!


 
Whilst Tormentors is a short story, 12,000 words, 60 pages in total, the price is £4.99.

 For those familiar with using Amazon to publish your work, you will know they set a minimum price for your book. This is because they take over 40% from sales. To ensure I get at least £1 royalty (royalties will go to charity) from the sale of paperback copies and Kindle downloads, I have set the price as £4.90 for paperback and £1.80 for Kindle.

This means the charity Red Balloon, Norwich will receive at least £1 per copy sold.

I will also be selling signed copies local to where I live with any profit going to the charity.

 However, it is not just about raising funds, but to help create as much awareness as possible about the evilness of bullying and its consequences.

Bullying can be life changing or worse; life ending.

Tormentors is fiction - a short story of 12,000 words, but some of what happened to Dillan happened to Sam, a real victim. You can read Sam’s posts by scrolling down through the pages or clicking the links at the bottom of this post.

 Tormentors is a gripping, utterly heartbreaking page turner.

Dillan Mortimer, a happy intelligent thirteen-year-old,

 suddenly finds his life is about to change when a new boy,

 Connor Brooks, joins their class.

 Connor instantly befriends Dillan’s classmate,

 Bradley Jenkins.

Bullying will What follows will change Dillan’s life forever.

 

Kindle – Amazon UK is £1.80

Paperback – Amazon UK is £4.99

 

All royalties from the sale of Tormentors

All royalties from the sale of Tormentors

 will go to RedBalloon, Norwich, England.

Links to Sam' posts

 Bullying, life threatening, life ending

Bullying! What does it mean to you?


Wednesday 13 March 2024

Tormentors Now in Kindle

Available in Kindle!

(paperback very soon!)


Bullying can be life changing or worse, life ending!

Tormentors is fiction - a short story of 12,000 words.

 Written in the hope it will help create,

 as wide as possible an awareness of bullying

 helping to understand the signs and the consequences

 and to stop it before it damages lives.

 Tormentors is a gripping,

 utterly heartbreaking page turner.

Dillan Mortimer, a happy intelligent thirteen-year-old,

 suddenly finds his life is about to change when a new boy,


 Connor Brooks, joins their class.

 Connor instantly befriends Dillan’s classmate,

 Bradley Jenkins.

 What follows will change Dillan’s life forever.

 

Kindle price – Amazon UK is £1.80

All royalties from the sale of Tormentors

 will go to Red Balloon, Norwich,England.

Kindle Amazon UK



Wednesday 6 March 2024

March - NEWSLETTER

Created using AI prompts and Photoshop

 

Hello and a warm welcome to my March newsletter.

A BIG thank you to all of you who have agreed to receive notification when published. Also  special thank you for popping along and catching up with me.

Isn't the bird song just wonderful this time of the year? A fantastic morning chorus.

For nearly two decades we have been out early each morning to walk our dogs - the bird song is at its best then! These days we only have one little doggy, Barney. Barney will be fifteen in July and whilst he looks young, his steps are slow and he'd rather be at home or travelling in his buggy.



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Last month I bought myself a new pair of glasses. I admit to loving ones that make a statement - I think I've managed it! *laugh*


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For many months, I have been sharing a small selection of the many photos I take. Here are a few taken recently.



First brood of Egyptian Geese. Photo taken on 030324

Mum with her first brood of 2024





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In last month's newsletter, I talked about Sam Ridge-Ward who was horrifically bullied when he was a young teen. If you missed any of the posts and podcast click HERE to catch up on Feb's newsletter and Sam with all the links.
Following on from last month, we have a new post about bullying from Sam. Click HERE to read.

Along with adding a post each month to my Blog about bullying, I have written a short story which I plan to publish in the coming weeks. More details to follow.
 In the meantime, here is the cover and blub.
What do you think?



Tormentors is a gripping,

 utterly heartbreaking page turner.

Dillan Mortimer, a happy intelligent thirteen-year-old,

 suddenly finds his life is about to change when a new boy,

 Connor Brooks, joins their class.

 Connor instantly befriends Dillan’s classmate,

 Bradley Jenkins.

 What follows will change Dillan’s life forever.

 Tormentors is fiction - a short story of 12,000 words.

 It is written in the hope it will help create,

 as wide as possible, an awareness of bullying,

 helping to understand the signs and the consequences

 and to stop it before it damages lives.


All royalties from the sale of Tormentors

 will go to Red Balloon, Norwich, England.

--------------------


With regard to my newsletter, if you do agree to allow me to send a link to your email address to let you know it is out, I want to reassure you that you can unsubscribe at any time, just email me and say remove me. Also I will NEVER use your email other than if I need to email you. I will never share with anyone else.

As to the content, it is designed to be fun with me sharing: my photos, snippets of information, offers or free books from award winning authors, a design or two I have created using my Photoshop and anything else that I think might interest you. It is not about my opinion on any matter. I want my newsletter to make you smile and leave you with a warm feeling.


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Celebrating Success – My Podcasts

Celebrating Success this month I talked to Jessica Turner. Jessica played, the Door Mouse in Rackheath's Players production of Alice in Wonderful in February.



So please sit back and enjoy meeting my wonderful guest.

Click HERE to listen

If you have missed any of the many podcasts, you can catch up at https://paulinebarclay.podbean...

You can also listen to ALL my podcast on SPOTIFY!


--------------------


Yes, I am still editing!

I have finished the first edits from book 3 in my Gardner & Chattaway cosy mystery series. The working title is: Dare! My wonderful editor, Julie Dexter has agreed to work on this book too!

--------------------


 A Gardner & Chattaway Cosy Mystery – Book 1

 Craig Gardner, Private Investigator and his young Assistant, Roo Chattaway, find themselves searching for answers to other people’s questions, but is everything what it seems?

 Why has Mark Cooper not returned home? Is a prominent surgeon having an affair? Could there be a connection between shoes being stolen and the untying of a houseboat? And, how did a body, found by a dog walker, end up in Robinson Glen?

 Serendipity, is the first in a series of cosy, feel good, mystery novellas.

 Past Secrets and Lies, is the second book in a series of cosy, feel good, mystery novellas.

Both available in Kindle and paperback

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This month's author give away!




Click HERE to download your copy of Ruth's short stories.

The link will take you to Bookfunnel. It will ask for your email address. You can then read on-line or download to your e-reader

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I have, once again, signed up to do the 10km Norwich run in September.

This year I hope to be able to raise funds for Red Balloon, Norwich. Details to follow.

Pic taken as I headed to the finishing line July 2023




That's it for this newsletter. It's another bumper one and I hope you enjoyed it.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read it.

 Please share with your friends 

If you would like me to email you with the a link to the next newsletter, please email me  using the contact form in the right hand column.

Until next time, I hope the sun is shining on your face

and in your heart.

Take care. Look after yourself and each other.

Hugs

Pauline




Wednesday 28 February 2024

Cover Reveal!

 

Cover Reveal!

Tormentors is a gripping,  utterly heartbreaking page turner.

Dillan Mortimer, a happy intelligent thirteen-year-old,

 suddenly finds his life is about to change when a new boy,

 Connor Brooks, joins their class.

 Connor instantly befriends Dillan’s classmate,

 Bradley Jenkins.

 What follows will change Dillan’s life forever.

 

Tormentors is fiction - a short story of 12,000 words.

 It is written in the hope it will help create,

 as wide as possible, an awareness of bullying,

 helping to understand the signs and the consequences

 and to stop it before it damages lives.

 

All royalties from the sale of Tormentors

 will go to Red Balloon, Norwich, England.

 

 

Tormentors will be available soon!


Saturday 24 February 2024

Bullying What Does It Mean To You?

 As mentioned in my post last month, Bullying – Life Threating, Life Ending, throughout 2024, I will be posting monthly posts from an amazing young man whose life was almost destroyed to the point of coming to an end by unbelievable bullying.

 This month, Samuel talks about the word bullying and its interpretation.

 "I'm sure I've mentioned at some point before, I think bullying is a very nebulous term; it can be used quite accurately to describe anything from light teasing to physical assault. Everyone will have had an experience with bullying at one point or another, none of which was deserved, but the range of experiences the word can cover I think makes it difficult for us to communicate exactly how bad any given instance of bullying is and what the appropriate response, or help, is.

 The same goes for the word "bully". Children who make jokes at someone else's expense because of the colour of their lunchbox, or something equally as trivial, are bullies. But so too are the children who wait until a teacher steps out of the classroom to walk down the line of desks and strike other children on the backside of the head with a bundle of textbooks, those who wait until their victims are in changing rooms (Where it wouldn't be appropriate for a teacher to be) and undressed before attacking them.

 It's difficult as responsible adults to know exactly how to respond to an accusation of bullying. Especially considering that a lot of it will happen very deliberately out of our sight, and the victims may not be inclined to fully divulge their experiences for any number of understandable reasons (Embarrassment, fear of retribution etc.). I think in any case, the more aware we are of bullying and how bad it can be the better prepared we are to address it when it appears in our lives, or in the lives of our loved ones.

And regrettably should the worse come to pass, we have Red Balloon to help 🙂"


Red Balloon

“… bullying, abuse, mental health problems or life-long conditions are among the most common causes that lead young people to hide in their bedrooms. There, they isolate themselves from the company of others, from school and from society.

This causes a downward spiral of social isolation, marginalisation, missed education and deteriorating mental ill-health. They become ‘hidden’ at home and their voices are ignored. They risk not finding their place in the adult world.

What we do

Red Balloon is an alternative to school which enables young people to re-engage with education. We have both ‘physical’ and virtual Centres to best meet students’ needs…”

You can find out all about Red Balloon, Norwich, UK by visiting their web site. Click HERE to learn about this amazing charity.

Click HERE to read last month's post, Life Threating, Life Ending.

Click HERE to listen to Samuel talking to me on my podcast.

Over the next twelve months I will be adding posts about Samuel’s journey and the wonderful work of Red Balloon, please come back and join us on our journey. The more we all understand the more we can all help and stop this evil behaviour.

 As always, thank you for visiting. I hope the sun is shining in your heart and on your face.

Take care and see you soon.

Pauline


And regrettably should the worse come to pass, we have Red Balloon to help 🙂"

Tuesday 20 February 2024

Podcast - Jessica Turner in Alice in Wonderland

Today, on my podcast, Celebrating Success,  I am so pleased to be talking to Jessica Turner. Jessica’s love is acting on the stage and today she’s talking about her role in the Rackheath players pantomime, Alice in Wonderland.

So, without further ado, please sit back and meet my lovely guest.



You can find out more about Rackheath Players by visiting their web site https://www.rackheathplayers.co.uk/

 As always, a huge thank you for joining me on this week’s podcast and I can’t wait to share your company again very soon. And of course you can listen to all my podcasts at https://paulinebarclay.podbean.com  - or on SPOTIFY  you can also sign up so not to miss any of my podcasts! As with all my podcasts you are more than welcome to share them with your family and friends…. I hope you will.

Until next time, I hope the sun is shining on your face and in your heart

 Hugs

Pauline

 

Friday 2 February 2024

February - Newsletter

Created using AI prompts and Photoshop

 

Hello and a warm welcome to my February newsletter.

I hope my latest newsletter finds you well and that life is treating you kindly.

My newsletter has moved!

The last couple of years, I have used Mailerlite to send my news letters, however, their recent policy that certain email addresses are no longer permitted to send newsletters, means I have decided to move my newsletter back to my Blog. It will still be the same fun packed read to make you smile. *fingers crossed*

As I write, I find it hard to believe we have come to the end of January and now marching into February! At least the days are growing lighter. 😊

This last month I met an amazing young man who survived horrific bullying. It was the unbending support from his mum and a wonderful charity in Norfolk, Red Balloon, that changed everything; from a terrified young boy to an amazing young man, Sam is an inspiration to everyone. His journey over the last fifteen years has been one from the darkest of days to a bright future. Sam has agreed to share his journey. We plan to do this with regular posts and podcasts throughout 2024. By doing so, we hope we can help others who find themselves in a similar situation. We will also highlight the fantastic work Red Balloon, Norwich, Norfolk, UK does to help young people like Sam. You can read our first post by clicking here and to listen to our first podcast by clicking here

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For many months, I have been sharing a few of the many photos I take. Here are a few taken this last month









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With regard to my newsletter, if you do agree to allow me to send a link to your email address to let you know it is out, I want to reassure you that you can unsubscribe at any time, just email me and say remove me. Also I will NEVER use your email other than if I need to email you. I will never share with anyone else.

As to the content, it is designed to be fun with me sharing: my photos, snippets of information, offers or free books from award winning authors, a design or two I have created using my Photoshop and anything else that I think might interest you. It is not about my opinion on any matter. I want my newsletter to make you smile and leave you with a warm feeling.


--------------------




Celebrating Success – My Podcasts

Celebrating Success has never been more appropriate as today, my wonderful and amazing guest is, Samual Ridge-Ward. Sam was the victim of horrific bullying. Throughout 2024, Sam is going to share his journey from being a young boy who thought life was almost over, to a successful, professional charity worker. Sam will be a regular guest here on my podcast and also on my blog so please, please make a note to come back.

Sam’s story is disturbing and though I know much of what happened, I still found talking to him today very moving. Please sit back and meet a truly remarkable young man.

So please sit back and enjoy meeting my wonderful guest.

Click HERE to listen

If you have missed any of the many podcasts, you can catch up at https://paulinebarclay.podbean...

You can also listen to ALL my podcast on SPOTIFY!


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Edit Time!

At last I can report, I have started on the edits of book 3 in my Gardner & Chattaway cosy mystery series. The working title is: Dare! My wonderful editor, Julie Dexter has agreed to work on this book too!

--------------------


A Gardner & Chattaway Cosy Mystery – Book 2

 Craig Gardner, Private Investigator and his young Assistant, Roo Chattaway, find themselves once again unraveling lies, deceit and buried secrets.

Why are debt collectors hounding new occupants at number one? Is Linda Keegan responsible for the missing £25,000 from the factory Christmas Club Fund? Could there be a connection between a suicide and a house being demolished? And, how did a smartly dressed woman end up sleeping rough on a river boat?

 Past Secrets and Lies, is the second book in a series of cosy, feel good, mystery novellas.

Available in Kindle and paperback

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This month's author give away!



If you haven't downloaded your copy of The Stove, then click HERE to get your free e-copy.

The link will take you to Bookfunnel. It will ask for your email address. You can then read on-line or download to your e-reader

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As well as writing, photography, going to the gym, cooking and much more, I love to keep busy! I also love crafting. During these long dark days, I have managed to squeeze a few knitted and sewn toys, Below are a sample of some of my results.

Do you craft? If so why not join our Knit & Natter FB page. It is a private group where we share our projects, advice and help.

By the way, I call my little knits and sews, Misfits by Pauline!





That's it for this newsletter. It's another bumper one this month.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read it.

 Please share with your friends 

If you would like me to email you with the a link to the next newsletter, please email me  using the contact form in the right hand column.

Until next time, I hope the sun is shining on your face

and in your heart.

Take care. Look after yourself and each other.

Hugs

Pauline