Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a short story psycho-thriller – The Kill Clause, by Lisa Unger. A hired killer lets emotions get in the way of her mission – when morals get in the way for a hit woman.
A hired killer finds herself caught between her conscience and her contract over the holidays in this riveting short thriller from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.
A hit woman’s work doesn’t stop for the holidays. As the advent calendar winds down, Paige slips into a palatial house, ignoring a blizzard of texts from her ex-husband. No surprise—Julian always gets maudlin this time of year. The real shock comes when the target is not alone. His young daughter is there too.
Risking the wrath of her organization, Paige retreats. There are some lines that, for personal reasons, she just won’t cross. But when she returns on Christmas Eve to finish the job, the girl is still there…along with someone even more startling. As the ghosts of her past gather—to haunt or to help, it’s unclear—Paige must confront old traumas and outwit her superiors to make it to Christmas morning alive.
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My 5 Star Review: (4 1/2 rounded up)
I enjoyed this compact psycho-thriller. Decisions and choices are the name of the game here. Paige’s contract for hire goes awry when Paige heads out to the chosen victim-to-be’s house to fulfill her kill contract – only to find a child home who wasn’t supposed to be there. Moral dilemma strikes Paige, she didn’t want to kill the child’s father while the child was alone in the home. But backlash falls upon Paige for letting emotions get in the way of the kill, and Paige promises to go back and complete the job the next night – on Christmas Eve.
All the while, Paige is nervous about failing to do her mission the night before, and about what her boss Nora may have planned for her. All Paige knew was that she must complete the mission because she didn’t want to find out what Nora may do to her for failing the mission. But when Paige goes back on Christmas Eve, she finds a few surprises – first, that the target’s daughter is still there, second that they are not alone in the house, and the target, Bryce, has already been killed.
The tension continues to heat up as Paige tries to figure out what’s going on, and realizes that perhaps Nora wasn’t too pleased with her, and realizes her consequences. Paige flees to a safehouse she owns hundreds of miles away for safety – only to discover, eyes are on her everywhere. A lot happens in that ‘safehouse’, but sorry, no spoilers.
This was a great read, full of suspense, and a tightly knit and well-rounded story for a short story. The reason I took off half a star is because for such a well told story, I felt the end, although, well sewed up, was a tad unbelievable when dealing with cold-blooded killers.
Welcome back to my Safety and Awareness series here at Sally’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine. In this post, I want to talk about preparedness in the home in case of fire.
Do you have safety protocols around the home in case of fire?
So,What prompted me to write on this topic?
I had read somewhere about ‘fire blankets’ and seen an episode on Shark Tank a while back where some firemen were selling a home and safety product, an inflammable, emergency item that is available in various sizes for varying uses.
Living in a condo has always concerned me, when it comes to fire. We all live together and must trust that everyone is careful when it comes to preventing fires. Where I live, there must be faulty wiring because the fire alarm in the building goes off wayyyyy too much. And because of those wolf cries, I don’t pay them any mind. In ten years of living through hundreds of alarms, there’s never been a real one. But we should always be prepared for that one day it could happen. And so, I’ve watched enough movies and videos on fire escapes and had my plan of action, if need be. I live on the third floor. I figured I could tie sheets together and slide down if disaster struck. But when I came across these so called, fire blankets, I made sure I purchased two.
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Like I mentioned, they come in various sizes, and the packaging is brilliant. The material is neatly packed into a contained bag, almost resembling a lifejacket packaged, where two pull tabs hang out of the packaging. There is an encased ring on top to hang on the included mini hanger with two-sided tape, ready to stick on, then hang the bag. The tabs hang down so if there is a fire at the stove, all we have to do is pull down the hanging tabs and the fire blanket comes out. Then throw it over the fire. The logic behind the packaging is the ready-made to hang with the grommet hole and pull tabs hanging down at the ready to pull.
I hung mine on the wall beside my stove. It’s there in my face to grab without giving a moment’s thought. Adversely, you can hang it anywhere you feel it is most beneficial to you. I hung my second one on the laundry wall near my bedroom. And for those with homes, I’d suggest the garage is another great place to hang one of these blankets.
Living in a building, if fire really does strike, I had given some thought to escape route stairways if needed. I’d also learned that if there is fire outside a door, to place wet towels along under the door to help prevent smoke coming in until fire department arrives, or, in my case, to give time to tie a few linens together to rope down the balcony.
But when I saw these fire blankets, I thought essential to have because what if the fire has spread and I must run through or by flames. This is what spurred me to purchase the fire blankets. They come as large at 4 feet by 6 feet, a good size if one needed to wrap oneself and run without getting burned.
Just the same, if by chance we have flame upon us, we’re told to get down on it and roll to extinguish the flames. Just as the Fire Department advises: If your clothes are on fire – ‘Stop, drop, and roll’. We are told not to run, but drop to the ground while covering our face, and to extinguish ourselves by rolling.
It’s always important to have an escape plan – and an alternative escape plan in case of fire. Below is my list of safety precautions everyone should have in their homes on hand for safety and protection: . . . please hop over to Sally’s blog for the conclusion and tips.
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Rhyming Dreams by Nicole Sara. This is a book that combines the author’s interpretation in poetry and photographs.
Rhyming Dreams is an enchanting and engaging collection of poems about the heart’s winding journey through deep wistful longing towards bliss and belonging along the meandering road of love and loss, hope and healing. This book is for anyone who dreams a lot, loves deeply, and has both good and bad days.. like steps on a pathway, be them confident or hesitating, nevertheless tirelessly searching for happiness in the enjoyment of small things around, yet so sweet, that life has to offer.
Each and every poem in this debut collection is deeply rooted in personal moments and experiences but still wonderfully universal, so that you feel taken by the hand and shown the beauty and brightness of it all, thus wholeheartedly invited to gently give yourself grace beyond the sadness of blue gloomy days, the tears or the brokenness.
This collection of beautifully flowing and uplifting verse is a soothing balm for the soul in search of serenity, helping the reader to reach peaceful shores deep within.
for here, on Earth, you and I bearing within us the sky we dance away beneath whispering stars trying to reach beyond rails and bars
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My 5 Star Review:
A light-hearted, great escape read to sooth the soul, reminding there is beauty in the world, in poetic stories written in prose and poetry. Written in two parts – Starry Steps and Petal Pages. The first part explores poetry created from images of nature, the second, stories formed around flowers and gardens.
One of my favs from Starry Steps is the poem, The Blue Strawberry:
Spring has arrived and there’s love in the air
’tis shining around, in her eyes, in his stare,
she told him she wished a day for them two
and he gave her instead a strawberry,
..blue
He pinned it above her heart, on her jacket
their souls as one spontaneously ignited
the stars and the moon rose pale and true
and her heart was no doubt a strawberry,
..blue
She can’t live without her strawberry, ..blue
it has already caught a slightly red hue
it is so full of sweetness, of longing and sun
the strawberry
..blue,
two souls as one
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Part 2 is Petal Pages –
A mix of freeverse and rhyming poetry where images of nature and calm conjoin into beautifully evoked poetry.
Bloom and Butterfly – image – blooming garden of flowers
Rustle and rays,
and fluttering wings
woven with shadows of breeze
as if spurred by a star on a path made of yearning
with murmur of dew and of trees…
Arrivals, touches, smiles
reflections,
serenity
and recollections…
August and June
The sky was so orange
she could barely breathe…
and the evening exploded with light
the breeze was astir,
the air was a bliss
and her eyes would shine beyond bright
Her name was June
and she was aglow,
the rays danced away through her fingers…
her hands softly touching time’s lonely sweep,
sweet oasis
that quietly lingers…
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If you enjoy the calm and serenity of beautifully evoked poetic stories in nature, you are sure to enjoy this book.
.If you enjoy poetry that evokes calm and serenity, you will enjoy this book.
Welcome to November’s best curated Writer’s Tips. In this edition, the Kindlepreneur shares info about an AI lawsuit case and the importance of copyright, Hugh Roberts shares some free image sourcing sites, Deborah Jay shares how to publish on Draft 2 Digital, Anne R. Allen talks about writing good seconday characters, and author Jacqueline Lambert has an important BEWARE for bloggers using public images on blogs with the new Copyright Trolls.
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The Kindlepreneur talks about AI scraping our content and re-publishing. Read about the lawsuit below, and I’ve provided a link below that where you can check and see if any of your books are part of the lawsuit
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a new release anthology Yvette Prior has put together in collaboration with a few talented authors and poets. Stories in various genres – fiction, memoir, poetry, self-help, and industrial psychology, careers.
This anthology offers a thoughtful exploration of the social dimensions of work, bringing together a diverse collection of voices through memoir, fiction, and poetry. The contributors share their unique experiences of labor, identity, and motivation, revealing the complex interplay between cultural expectations, relationships, and personal growth in the workplace. Beyond the practicalities of pay and productivity, this volume illuminates how work shapes our sense of self and community. Whether paid or unpaid, each chapter invites readers to reflect on the meaning and impact of their own work lives, fostering empathy and deeper understanding in a rapidly changing world.
Perfect for anyone interested in the real stories behind work, this book offers rich perspectives that will resonate with readers from all walks of life.
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My 5 Star Review:
Prior was struck by the idea for this anthology by the earlier work of photographer Clifton Bryant of 1972, revealing how the work we do is intricately linked into our relationships and social structures. Prior was inspired to build upon Bryant’s work. Diversity in voices bringing us a collection of stories all connected to the theme of work, challenges in work and stories of milestones, painful trials, and successes.
My favs: The book begins with Prior’s reasons for putting together this book then goes into next chapter by Joseph Jerome Dywer, technology professor – PHD, V6, & Vitamin D. He asks: “Do we work to live? or “Live to work? Sherri Mathews shares her experience as a caregiver to her mum and how it affected and affects her writing time, in her story – The Quiet Work Of Love. Mabel Kwong talks about – The Creative Dream Job (That Wasn’t So Dreamy) – when our writing masterpieces aren’t felt same by our editors – when creative passion and norms of professionalism collide, hindering creative freedom, and an aversion to rewrites.
I thoroughly enjoyed the fictional story written by Marsha Ingrao – Eighty-Five Degrees and Me, a thought provoking story about very hot temperatures while children are attending school without air-conditioning and the children’s questioning about why their school doesn’t have air-conditioning, and what they can do about it by protesting their thoughts in questions to the board of education, and maybe even the president.
I also enjoyed the wonderfully evocative poetry from Robbie Cheadle – Behind the Glass and Steel – poems about modern women in the workplace and all that encompasses and affects. Frank Prem’s – Asylum Ghosts – Prem takes us on a tour through a former insane asylum and its abandoned wards with prose offering vivid imagery. In – Work to Do – Prior shares her poetic reflections. In one of her poems – Thanks, Kyle, Prior pays tribute to one of her former bosses, which inspired her work- psychology study and the need to work as a cure to fill emptiness.
At the end of the book, Prior disects each chapter, analyzing and discussing each of the themed stories depicted from each chapter. This was a very enjoyable book that shared great insights about life, and making it work, while working.
I’ve been wanting to update my author picture for ages, but wasn’t looking forward to the price for a new professional headshot. In my surfing travels last week, I came across a site that creates headshots from using our own real pictures!
Of course I tried it! It asks us to download ten pictures of ourself so the generator can work its magic creating professional images with new backgrounds taken from the photos we downloaded. It will show you all new generated photos with different backgrounds for free, and if you wish to pay for them, then we are able to download them. These are great for authors and other professionals, and especially great to use on social media. Just pick your package of pictures, pay, and download. Just know, they choose the attire to add to the pose.
This pic above is one of the fifty pictures I downloaded and chose for my new author pic. I found it interesting that the app puts us in different outfits and scenarios. I also found it interesting that many of the pictures generated had me with my glasses off. I had downloaded five pics with glasses and five without and the app generated most pics with my glasses off, like the one above.
Once the images are generated, we are offered a 10% discount if we choose to download the pics within ten minutes. The original price was $79 CAD, and it charged me $71 and change. So worth it! The last author pic I had professionally done was almost twelve years ago! One photo cost me $140 Canadian!
Below, I’ll share a few of the other pics just to demonstrate the various poses and sceneries the app generated with me:
Name in lights
Nice dream pic
I’m definitely ready for sun and sea!
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Visit the link below and give it try for yourselves!
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Laura Lyndhurst’s book – Social Climbing: and Other Poems. This book was done in collaboration with Clive Thompson, photographer. Lyndhurst created short poetic stories to accommodate images captured by Thompson.
I had no plans, after publishing Poet-Pourri, to write any more poems; at least not in the near future. But while I was in the prepare-to-publish stage of that book, I made the acquaintance of photographer Clive Thompson and his large archive of photographs, put together over quite a lot of years. Scanning through these on the internet I found the picture of a discarded Father Christmas chocolate-bearing Advent calendar, which immediately said ‘poem material’ to me. I wrote the poem and presented it to Clive, who loved it; and there was born the idea of a collaboration, my poetry written to the prompts of some of his photographs. The photographs I have used for the pandemic-themed poems were taken quite some time before that ominous word had become a part of all our daily lives, but they seemed to fit the subject and I therefore took the liberty of utilizing them in that way. The results of my poems joined to Clive’s photographs I present here, as Social Climbing and other poems. It may not be the catchiest of titles but it works for me, and for Clive, and for you also, I hope. Enjoy.
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My 5 Star Review:
I enjoyed this shorter read of narrative poetry, a clever method of putting the book together. It was unique the way the book flowed with longer free verse poems and short stories interpreted from the author’s perspective of each image. The book is broken down into three parts – Life’s a Beach, Poems of the Pandemic, and Every Walk of Life.
In the first part of the book, Life’s a Beach, I enjoyed the stories, and my favs were – The Naked Truth, a wonderfully inventive story the author created pertaining to two individuals sitting back to back on a beach. I also enjoyed the story created about a girl about to go on a date, and the importance of having a suntan, in – Go For the Burn.
The next part of the book shared stories pertaining to the pandemic. From stories about shortages of bread and toilet paper to vaccines. A Call To Arms – A plausible little story about letting the people know vaccines are available!
The third part – Every Walk of Life, contains stories the author created to accompany photos that spurred stories about people. A rather cynical story resonated with me about Christmas – So This Is Christmas, accompanied by a picture of Santa and the story of Santa’s lament about how Christmas has become over-commercialized. Another story that struck at truth – Due Process – Having your day in court, when it’s all been pre-arranged.
A nice variety of tone and mood in these stories – some humorous, some not so much, but a good mix of evoked sentiments. Like some other reviewers mentioned, this would make a beautiful coffee table book, especially with the striking cover.
A Mezuzah is an ornament that is placed on the right side, outside facing the front door to your Jewish home. Inside the ornament encasing is a miniature version of commandments and biblical passages from the Torah scrolls. Religious or not, it’s a symbol that practically every Jew has alongside their front doorframe. It is a covenant with God and the Jewish people to protect the sanctity of the home, a reminder of God’s presence.
You can see how the Mezuzah should be hung, bottom of top third of right doorframe, slanted inwards. And in this one you can almost see the scrolls inside.
What the Mezuzah represents in Judaism:
The protocol upon entering or leaving the home, which many non religious Jews don’t often do, is to touch the mezuzah with two fingers, then to kiss the fingers after touching. This represents acknowledging and connecting with God who keeps our home blessed. This all goes back to Deuteronomy 6.9: “Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
“Hear, O Israel! The Eternal is our God, the Eternal alone. You shall love the Eternal your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.“
This practice of kissing the fingers that touched the Torah is done in synagogue services too when the Rabbi takes out the Torah from the Ark of the Covenant and as he ushers prayers, he walks up and down the aisles of the congregration so the worshippers can touch it with two fingers, acknowledging God’s laws. The actual translation from Hebrew of the mezuzah is – doorpost.
I’ve had this same mezuzah I took off the front door of the last family home I lived in when I was eighteen. I was the last to leave that house on moving day, and I took that mezuzah with me to my first own apartment, hung it proudly, and it has hung on every door of all the homes I’ve lived in ever since. My husband was a Catholic who was only too happy to have God watch over our homes.
Never, ever, did I ever give my mezuzah any worrying thoughts. After all, WWII was so long ago and governments had control over not allowing propaganda and hate crimes. I felt safe.
But I don’t anymore. Certainly not in the city I live in – the one I was born and raised freely in, which doesn’t resemble itself anymore in the slightest to me. There is much anti-semitism going on around the world, and plenty enough in my own city. The complex I live in was once upon a time, the place where middle-class mid-lifers and seniors moved to after becoming empty nesters and selling their homes – many snowbirds, and, predominantly Jewish. A very quiet complex to live in. Until it no longer was.
This is my Mezuzah that has traveled everywhere I lived. You can see the wear and tear from the removal many times, and because of the elements, withered and yellowed.
Money talks and in hard real estate times people seeking rentals will go wherever they can, thus changing demographics everywhere. Even if the rents are ginormous. That’s when you find families of five or more moving in, complete with screaming children, seemingly undisciplined, screaming in the hallways. That’s also when you find people breaking rules – like smoking in hallways or stairways, finding cig butts all over the sundeck, ad nauseum.
Deliveries in this building should have a revolving door for the amount of packages coming weekly (mine included). My apartment (not by choice) is located right beside, and facing the elevators. I don’t wear any religious jewelry because of the amount of hate crimes that go on in my city – particularly in the region of the city that I live in. The thought of every person who gets off the elevator and sees my mezuzah clearly as they walk past- or deliver packages, began to make me uncomfortable, especially with the desecration of many public Jewish stores, restaurants, and synagogues, representing Judaism. And with the amount of crime that has skyrocketed in my city – from a city that once would have been shocked to hear about any gun story on the news, at a better time of the world – and of my city, I began to feel uncomfortable within my own home when I thought about my mezuzah representing my door and some of the people that congregrate at the elevator.
I lost my protector and now have to fend for myself in this ever-changing world (and not for the best) against the anti-semitism that surrounds. I felt it is just safer in the long run if I took it off my door. I unscrewed it myself from the doorframe then had maintenance come and paint over the shadow mark it left on the doorframe. It truly hurt my heart to do this. Now, my mezuzah welcomes me upon opening the door, resting comfortably on the first doorframe in my home leading into the living room. Many religious Jews have mezuzahs on every interior door in the home, as well as outside the front door (except bathrooms).
The scroll must be inserted to a casing of choice – could be plain or artistically inspired, made of wood, metal, or plastic; the tiny scroll of parchment can be purchased at any Judaica or religious stores and inserted into the casing. Or you can just buy a brand new one with the scroll already in, but beware, if you purchase online, you must make sure the description says, ‘kosher only’, meaning that it’s an original handwritten in caligraphy scroll done by a Rabbi. It is an art to write the scrolls in tiny Hebrew letters. On front casing of most mezuzahs there is the Hebrew letter ‘shin’, שׁ that represent one of the many names for God. Other mezuzahs (like the new one below) will have something inscribed that contain God’s name(s).
This is the new casing I purchased to hang in my home. After almost fifty years, I’m retiring the old one.
There is a prayer (blessing) that is to be recited upon placing a mezuzah on the doorframe:
Do this brucha (prayer) before re-hanging or placing a new mezuzah – Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu likboa m’zuzah. – Translation: “Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us through Your mitzvot and commanded us to affix a mezuzah.”
Mitzvot – good deeds
Have any of you faced politically induced challenges that affected the choices you’ve made pertaining to your own home?
DGKayewriter.com 
