Gnit-Wit Gnipper and the Perilous Plague

I just got finished reading a really fun story by T.J. Lantz, Gnit-Wit Gnipper and the Perilous Plague. I have to say it was really enjoyable.

The story itself is suitable for children of all ages, it would make a great bed-time story and T.J.’s characters really help to capture the imagination, much like Enid Blyton did for me when I was younger.

At 38 I should probably be ashamed to say I really enjoyed this story but to be completely honest I am not. I really think this has the potentional to become a really great series of short stories.

The adventures of Gnipper could be the next great thing in children’s entertainment and I would be happy to see this develop even further, perhaps with longer stories and more indepth adventures. The story actually builds a little past for the character too which is great, so maybe a couple of prequels exploring those particular adventures would be good.

For me there was only one downside, and it was a very minor one. The copy I received had no illustrations, which in itself did not detract from the story in any way, but at a couple of points throughout , I did think to myself that that particular scene would make a great image. Again I say, this was not to the detriment of the story,and it certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book at all.

The book is available on Amazon as a paperback and as a Kindle Edition for those with eReaders.

http://www.amazon.com/Gnit-Wit-Gnipper-Perilous-Rosehaven-ebook/dp/B006AXG2Z8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338557756&sr=1-1

GnitWit Gnipper

Guest Post – Jeanne Miller

Following on from my last (very successful) post about Jeanne she has very kindly offered a guest post for my humble little blog. It is a great read for anyone who is curious about the world of communicating with pets. I hope you enjoy ….

Your First Pet Psychic Reading

You’ve made the decision to communicate with your pet. Good for you! You are on the road to a rich and rewarding experience. You will marvel at what your pet has to say and the bond between you will grow even closer. So, you’ve made the decision….but now what? Where do you start? Who do you choose? My name is Jeanne Miller and I am a Pet Psychic Medium. With this Q and A, I’ll do my best to get you started on the right path.

Pet Psychic…Animal Communicator…Pet Psychic Medium….why so many names and what is the difference? It can get confusing. A Pet Psychic and an Animal Communicator do basically the same thing. They communicate with animals. During the 80’s and 90’s, TV Psychic Hotlines abounded. Unfortunately, there were, and still are many charlatans working in this field. After the lawsuits and downfall of the TV hotline Psychics, the word “psychic” took on a negative connotation and became the fodder for late night humor. Because of this, many people working in this field, shun the word “psychic” completely and call themselves communicators instead. Others, avoid the word because they don’t feel that what they do has anything to do with psychic abilities. But basically, whichever term they use, they are able to speak to animals and receive information back. They do this through extra sensory means.

A Pet Psychic Medium is a Pet Psychic who also has mediumistic abilities. This means they are able to speak to animals who have passed on to the other side as well as animals still here. They usually work through spirit guides and helpers on other side. Now that you know the difference, you will know what type of Pet Psychic will suit your needs. How do I find one? What do they charge? I’ve always maintained that the best way to find any service is good old fashioned word of mouth. Who better to seek advice from than someone who has already experienced a communication?

However, if you are breaking into fresh territory among your circle of friends, you will have to do the leg work yourself. Go to the search engines and you will find a myriad of people in the field. EBay is also a good place to look. With everything else, the phrase of the day is Caveat Emptor….let the buyer beware. Read some of the testimonials and feedback and use your own psychic sense to read between the lines. Prices vary widely. There are some Pet Psychics who charge a hundred dollars on up, and some that charge in the 30-50 dollar range. This is driven by the psychic and not the market. For every well known pet psychic who charge high rates, there are double that amount who are just as gifted, but choose not to.

I’ve found one, now what?

You’ve found your pet psychic/communicator and don’t know what to expect. Here are some tips to help you get the best possible reading experience. First and foremost, keep an open mind. Everything in our life and history has always told us it is impossible to speak with animals. So the first thing you must do is put your logical mind away for the time being. I keep mine in my bottom drawer next to my socks. I very seldom take it out again. Write down the questions you would like to ask your pet and any messages you would like to have sent to your pet. Don’t worry if you do not live near your pet reader. Distance makes no difference in psychic communication. I do the majority of my readings through email and have clients in other countries. I’ve found no difference in a reading for a pet in my town or a pet in Sweden.

Many psychics like to work from a picture so try to have one handy to email. But don’t let it stop you if you don’t have one or are unable to send one. I like to have pics, but I’ve done many readings on physical description only. The connection is made either way; it is just more immediate with a picture to work from. The last instruction is to sit back and enjoy the experience. From my experience, the pets have always been so excited to talk to their moms and dads. They love being given a voice. I promise that you will never look at your pet the same way again and the bond you already share will grow even closer.

This is just a short introduction to get you started, but I hope it helps you on your way. Now…go talk to your pet.

Blessings… Jeanne Miller – The Pet Medium

http://www.thepetmedium.com

Jeanne Miller – Pet Medium!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recently offered to review a book that I was very curious about. Being an animal lover and intrigued about the paranormal the book by Jeanne Miller called The Pet Psychic Diaries appealed to me in an instant. I haven’t yet finished reading the book, but a full review will be completed shortly.

However, I must tell you about my experiences with the author just last night and this morning.

As you all know by now, I live on the beautiful Greek island of Skiathos. I have over the course of my time here collected 17 cats that I currently have and many more that have been unfortunately lost. My story is about one of my little ones who recently got into a spot of bother.

My Mikey, a gorgeous back and white male cat had an accident on Wednesday evening that left him even more nervous than he usually is. Tourists called me from outside the house and told me what happened. I found him and brought him home. He ran under the stairs behind my water tank and stayed there. I had to crawl in to feed him. He was there for two nights. When I got up Friday morning he was gone. I never saw him all day Friday. I was worried. I never saw him all day Saturday, I became scared. I searched everywhere but had no joy. It didn’t help that when I went out looking several other cats insisted on following and crying, which of course would mask any sound coming from my missing cat.

I didn’t know what to do.

I decided to email Jeanne. It was a long shot, but I just needed something. Reassurance maybe, closure perhaps. I was thinking the worst, internal injuries etc. I was making myself sick with worry and couldn’t stop crying. I needed to do something.

Jeanne was lovely, even though there is a big time difference she answered my email sooner than I expected. Jeanne explained that she no longer did readings for lost animals but in this instance she would, and asked for a few details. I was ecstatic and replied immediately with several photographs, a description and also explained without any detail that he had been in an accident.

A short time later I received my resposnse which was very detailed. Jeanne also told me he was still alive but was struggling to get home. She described his surroundings to me, which could have been one fo two places near to my home. So before I went to bed I checked the closest one to my house as I thought this was the most obvious place for him to be. He was not there.

This morning I checked the second place I thought of following Jeanne’s description. There he was. Exactly as she said. He was stuck and could not find his way out. I tried to guide him but he was spooked and moved away. I thought I would come home and get some food, that may coax him out. I got home and emailed Jeanne to thank her and I went back out with the tuna. Unfortunately he was no where to be seen. I came back home and to my surprise there was an email reply from Jeanne, she must have been sitting up very late working. I explained that he had disappeared again but Iwould keep trying.

A short while later I went back out, I couldn’t rest now knowing I had seen him and I wanted him home. I almost gave up again when he showed himself so I coaxed him out, brought him home and fed him. He was wandered up the road now, but I am so happy. Without Jeanne I would still be wondering where he is as due to his injury he could not get home and needed to be carried. This may not have been the happy ending I hoped for.

I thought I would email Jeanne and let her know I had now brought him home and he had eaten, and I found another email from her. There were a couple of, I assume, very unintentional comments in that email that rang so true with the situation I had been in, I know she hadn’t but it was almost as if she had been watching me trying to bring my cat home as she described his behaviour to a T.

Jeanne Miller is an amazing person with a truly fabulous gift. I cannot wait to finish her book now.  But if anyone cannot wait for the review and want to check out the book yourselves then here is the link to the amazon.com page. Happy reading.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Pet-Psychic-Diaries-ebook/dp/B004LB55OU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310290488&sr=8-1

Riots in Greece

I have a lot of people asking me about the riots and violent protests in Athens at the moment. I just want to say that the islands are not affected by this. Tourism anywhere but Athens is safe. Even in Athens the majority of people will not be affected. The news channels are making it look worse than it is.

Having said that, it is very bad.

What the protesters dont seem to understand is that this sort of behaviour is putting off tourists from visiting, therefore much needed revenue from the tourism industry is lost. This just makes the whole country’s predicament worse.

The country is in a dire financial situation. This has been caused by Greece being run on generations of back-handers and tax evasion. The government that is in power at the moment are taking a lot of flak for trying to fix the problem. There are much needed spending cuts being put in place to appease the ‘higher financial powers’. This means they will approve yet another loan to Greece to ensure that Greece does not default on its debts. If this happens it could cause a catastrophic effect felt worldwide, similar to, but on a much greater scale to the Lehman Brothers collapse several years ago that saw almost every country in the world fall into recession.

One solution would be for Greece to come out of the Euro, go back to the Drachma and yet again have control over its own finances. However this solution can cause problems of its own. Greece going back to the Drachma won’t mean that its debts will be cleared. They will have a currency that is greatly devalued and massive debts that they must still pay off.

They are basically in a no win situation at the moment. the reality of the situation is grim.

The older Greeks don’t want their pensions slashed by massive amounts, the younger Greeks don’t want to be highly taxed on everything they do. Cost of living in Greece is rising at a rapid rate but salaries are declining. Friends are falling out with friends as they are each under cutting the others on work. Those who rely on the tourist trade are having a very disappointing year so far.

The violent protests really are of no help to anyone, it is turning away potential and much needed business, and things are just likely to get worse.

GB Special Olympics Team – Skiathos

I never wanted to use this blog to rant or moan or complain, but I feel like I want to let the world know something I found out last night.

Skiathos is at the moment playing host to the GB Special Olympics team. In my eyes it is an honour to have them here, and they are all proud of their acheivements  and so they should be. However, it was brought to my attention yesterday by my neighbours girlfriend who is a holiday rep here, that several British tourists asked to change hotels as they did not want to be sharing a pool with the Special Olympics team. It made them ‘uncomfortable’.

It makes me ashamed to be British.

Admittedly not all British tourists are the same and there are just a few ignorant and narrow minded individuals that ruin things for everyone, but still, I find this whole thing absolutely disgusting. If any of those holiday makers are reading this then I hope you feel bad. What you did was wrong.

Now, I am happy to field comments from those who agree with these holidaymakers, after all a difference of opinion can be healthy, so if you do agree please feel free to say so. However, I must say I would be surprised if I got many comments from people agreeing with the British holidaymakers course of action.

A disability such as Downs Syndrome is not contagious, our Special Olympics team do not have the plague! Please, for the sake of humankind, stop acting like they do.

Childrens story price reduction

So I have today dropped the price of my little children’s story to $0.99 on Smashwords. (it is is also available on Amazon at $0.99, £0.99 and €0.99). this is in anticipation of my soon to be released follow up story. The aim is to eventually have a whole series of Max and Izzy books available for just $0.99 which will make them more affordable for children.

You can find it here on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60515, Amazon is still ‘thinking’ about the change so my story is just ‘pending’ again. Hopefully within 24 hours it will be available on Amazon for the reduced price.

If anyone out there wants to follow me on Twitter they can do so on either of these accounts.. @flossiefloo and @goodreadguide

Smashwords..Approved for premium catalogue YAY!

I think the title of this post says it all. I am finally approved for the Smashwords premium catalogue which means my little children’s story http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60515 is going to be available on Apple for idownloads, Barnes and Noble and Sony to name just a few. I am a very happy bunny.

I also have paid assignments coming out of my ears and deadlines looming scarily close in front of me,but hey, its money so I cant complain. At least the bills can be paid even if I wont get to enjoy any of this stunning weather we are having. maybe in a few weeks I can actually get to the beach and enjoy a short Greek holiday, even if it is just for an hour or two.

I also need to find the time to complete my new ‘Max and Izzy’ adventure. From what I have seen from the indie publishers forums basically the more books you have out there the more you sell, which is perhaps very obvious, but  being new to this world these are the sorts of things I am learning as I go.

For example, I only last night found out how to put a subscriptions button on my blog. Dumb! I have been Tweeting links to my blog, Facebooking the same in the hope to get some subscriptions, but to say it hasn’t been fruitful is an understatement. THEN I realised there was no where on my blog for people to actually subscribe.. All my fault guys.. Sorry. But the situation has been rectified if you want to just give it a click!

All quiet again, time for some work

All the bikers have left, I breathe a sigh of relief. I am however still struggling to write, but now I blame the heat.

Well I cant blame my lack of motivation can I?

I am sitting by the window watching the yachts in the harbour. Fairly soon there will be some mega bucks motor yatchts to drool over, although I can never afford one the dream is nice. I keep making it my intention to get into town early to do a little celeb spotting.

My island every year (for the month of June (ish)) is home to none other than Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I have seen them in the past wandering down the main street and stopping for a fresh orange juice at one of the tavernas, but not this year. My friend has seen them, but alas, not I.

Last year we also saw Pierce Brosnan (he has visited every year since making Mamma Mia here), Cliff Richard who was holidaying with Gloria Hunniford, and Tom Hanks to name just a few. Several Greek celebs come here too such as Eurovision favorite Sakis Rouvas. A few years back we also had former US president George Bush (snr) pop by for a visit.

So think about that next time you are on holiday. You don’t have to be in the heart of Hollywood to chance being stood next to an A-lister. You never know who will be making a cameo appearance in your holiday snaps.

Bank Holiday Weekend

This weekend in Greece is a bank holiday weekend. It also happens to coincide with my islands turn to host the Greek Biker Rally. Oh my God what a nightmare. I have nothing against bikers, nothing at all but the noise from this lot is ridiculous. It really isn’t helping my concentration.

It started on Thursday as the first lot of bikers arrived on the island. They came off the ferry hooting their horns and revving their engines all along the harbour front. I live just above the harbour and the sound carries something terrible. As each ferry came in more and more arrived and this usually peaceful island is ruined. I feel sorry for anyone who landed on Friday for their first holiday in Skiathos, what on earth must they think? It isn’t always like this but they wont know that.

So for three days the sounds coming from the harbour are reminiscent of the Isle of Man TT races. The noise is constant even through the night. The revving of the engines must be burning a whole lot of petrol, the islands garages must be making a fortune!

The rally is supposed to be finishing tomorrow so hopefully on Monday most of the bikers will have left for their homes elsewhere in Greece and normality will resume here. Until then I continue to sit and stare at my computer, concentration breaking every few seconds, and pray I get enough work done to justify the time spent just sitting here.