Month: May 2026

Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – From B to A: Britain to Albania: The True Story of an Overland Van Life Adventure by Jacqueline Lambert #travel #memoirs

Published on by dgkaye82 Comments

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m sharing my review for Jackie Lambert’s latest release on her Beastly stories (The Beast is a vehicle) and the final take-off from Britain to Albania and beyond!

BERJAYA

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Blurb:

The Comic Memoir of a Questionable Road Trip

“Don’t go there,” they said – but Jackie and Mark did. In their 16-tonne truck, The Beast – with four dogs. .

Looking beyond the headlines – and drawn by curiosity – they set course for a misunderstood country on the fringes of Europe.

Their slow, dog-filled adventure winds through France and Italy, where they seek out quiet roads, wild camps, and experiences you won’t find in guidebooks.

But the journey didn’t quite go to plan.

When they finally cross into Albania, a frightening incident forces them to confront the realities that come with choosing an unconventional life – particularly when others depend on you.

Rich in history and populated with unforgettable characters, this is not a glossy van-life fantasy. It’s a wry, honest, and witty memoir about choosing curiosity over fear – even when it comes at a price.

If you’ve ever wondered what lies beyond the well-trodden routes – and whether it’s worth the risk – this journey is for you.

Perfect for readers who enjoy: van life • overland expeditions • The Balkans • dog-friendly travel • slow adventure • funny, heartfelt travel memoirs.

Book 1 of Never Mind the Balkans– the hit new series from bestselling author Jacqueline Lambert.

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My 5 Star Review:

This is the third book I read in this informational and humorous telling memoir of the life journey of the author and her husband and their giant task of building their ‘beast’ and finally traveling in it after the Covid and Brexit debacles – and other interruptions. We’re heading to Albania via history, roads and stories through France and Italy.

One couldn’t even imagine all that’s entailed in building, living in, and traveling in the 24.5 ton converted to 16 ton, once, Green NATO truck – now, the Beast, but Lambert changes all that by taking us with her, her hub, four pawsome pups and the Beast on their trip to Albania, and the many stops along the way with some crazy adventures that had me laughing out loud many times. The journey from Britain, through France, and Italy, enroute to Albania, is full of fun and bizarre stories that keep us entertained. The Lamberts get plenty of looks and questions when their big Beast rolls into town, and that’s half the fun – that is, when they aren’t stuck in the mud somewhere, or even told to turn the Beast around on a ferry to Albania!

The book is action-packed with humor, mini history and geography lessons along the way through the towns and cities they pass through, as well as the town legends, and folklore. We’ll learn about the cultures and delicious cuisine from delicious descriptions along the way as they travel at a max of 45mph, holding up traffic when U-turns are necessary, getting stuck in narrow roadways – and mud, and anything else that can delay these two that you won’t think of until you read this book.

This is definitely not your glossy van life story, and most definitely, not your average roadtrip! But it’s a great adventure, and the most interesting are the people they meet along the way – or remeet. We’ll learn of some places we may never heard of, mishap adventures from bad advice, best places to buy SIM cards and find ATMs. And despite all the departure delays, vet stops, and mechanical issues, the Beast makes it to Albania!

Scam emails

Beware the Luggage Tags Swap When Traveling #airportscam

Published on by dgkaye89 Comments

I was going to post something else today, but when I came across this article and video clip I felt it something that needs to be shared to spread awareness for travelers.

Today’s post is about a new scam going on at airports here in Canada, Toronto airport specifically, and no doubts at any airport globally. I’m sure you’ve heard of drug mules. Ya, it seems that’s the old fashioned way drug dealers get their goods across borders – using humans to transport drugs. But hey, why risk one’s life using that old method when you can be a criminal working as a baggage handler?

Yes, say goodbye to human drug mules and just snatch someone else’s tag off their luggage and if the drugs make it through, the suitcase is picked up at baggage carousel and walked out with a suitcase full of drugs. OR. The bag gets caught through screening and YOU are the one who gets arrested.

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BERJAYA

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Here’s how it works:

The criminal baggage handler tears off the destination luggage tag from anyone’s bag and sticks it on the bag full of drugs. Those airport luggage tags are fully coded in the barcodes with all our personal information. Then they either leave our bag with no tag at all, or, they stick a ‘rush’ tag on it as lost luggage.This works like a charm for them! So, if the drug bag gets pulled off the belt, it is us who gets arrested.

So far, this scam crime has happened to SEVENTEEN Canadians – and all occurences began at my own Toronto Lester B. Pearson airport. Some of those innocent Canadians are sitting in jails in various parts of the world. The luckier ones were detained in Canada as bags were caught before takeoff.

In the video below, Avery Haines, one of our better Canadian journalists, does a report on what is happening, on our Saturday night crime show – W5, how it happens, consequences, and what we can do to try and protect ourselves when checking bags at the airport. I’d say any airport because scams are like viruses, they spread like fire once the criminals catch on. Fortunately, our Canadian RCMP is quite aware of this new crime because of the Canadians who were wrongly arrested in Canada. One Canadian couple were released from detention after a few hours because of a brainstorm idea. They pulled up the feed from their Ring camera at home and showed authorities the footage of them leaving for the airport with THEIR BAGS. This is now what helps to protect our innocence. Other Canadians stranded in foreign country jails are being worked with authorities and our RCMP, but much tougher to get some out of jails.

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BERJAYA

All our personal info is embedded in these tags

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Here is a great Recommendation:

When you place your bag on the airport scale when checking in, take a picture of the bag, the bag tagged, AND, what the weight scale shows. The drug suitcase with YOUR stolen tag attached won’t exactly match the same weight displayed. These three things will have the proof which is our bag and which is not. It’s a sad state of affairs when we have more to worry about when flying, not knowing if our bag will be the next chosen by criminals, putting us in detention – and possibly, jail. It’s imperative we stay ahead of the criminals!

It doesnt take much to pay off a baggage handler to pull off a tag and stick it on another. It’s noted that there is a crime ring attached to this new crime, these people are not working alone. The sad world we live in thrives on corruption because everyone else is doing it. Everyone seems to have an angle, a new way to steal from others so they don’t have to exert themselves in life. Crime and greed are everywhere now so please do your diligence my fellow travelers.

W5 Investigation exposes how drugs are smuggled through Canadian airports

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©DGKaye2026

Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics by Jan Sikes

Published on by dgkaye71 Comments

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Jan Sikes’s latest release – Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics. It’s a beautiful book with short stories and a few poems, sectioned in three categories: Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics. Wonderful stories that touch the heart, and take us to pause.

BERJAYA

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Blurb:

At the edge of the world, and the center of the heart, you’ll find stories that linger.

Fringes explores dystopian futures where survival is uncertain and hope is fragile. In A Foreign World, The Forgotten, and Yearning for Paradise, humanity is pushed to its limits.

Heartstrings turns toward the warmth of love, resilience, and second chances. Stories such as A Promise Broken – A Promise Kept, She Dances with a Memory, and When Love Isn’t Enough remind us that the human spirit endures.

Lyrics captures life in poetry—moments of longing, faith, and reflection in pieces like Comes the Dawn, Society, and The Blind Man in the Night.

From chilling possibilities to comforting truths, Fringes, Heartstrings & Lyrics is a genre-blending collection of short fiction and poetry that will make you think, feel, and return again and again.

My 5 Star Review:

I never met a book I didn’t enjoy by Jan Sikes – and still haven’t.

This is a book that will touch on heartstrings. The book is broken down into three categories – Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics. These short stories and poems all touch our emotions.

From the first story, Sikes captured my empathy with a beautiful love story, a violent episode leading to an elderly couple’s demise, yet a heartwarming reunion as they go to the light together, with their heavy hearts for the sadness and violence of the world they’ve left behind, despite them finding their final peace.

Magic is a beautiful heartfelt telling about a boy Jasper, out riding his horse hoping to find a Christmas tree that will bring his family the luck they so badly need. But Jasper lost his bearings, got off the horse Magic, and Magic knew his boy needed help so he whinnied at a neighbor’s door, and kind man Frank helps the boy, helps himself, and helps to make the boy’s family fed and full on Christmas Eve.

Insatiable Hunger – Emily is happily bored with her marriage until she goes out with work friends to a bar and is attracted to the lead singer, Levi. Lust takes over sane minds when Emily eventually uproots her life to be with Levi. And maybe it’s karma when you break someone’s heart and it hits right back.

She Dances with Memory a story about elderly widowed Gertrude celebrating her dead husband’s birthday complete with cake and music and memories.Gertrude’s memories take her back as she waltzes across the floor unknowingly, until the dance ends and she discovers she wasn’t dancing alone.

When Love Isn’t Enough – A beautiful story about a friendship in time of need. Jayden rescues Riley one stormy night, and Riley didn’t know that she rescued Jayden that very same night. As Jayden tries to help Riley with her big problem he realizes that Riley was helping him unknowingly.

This book is a beautiful collection of stories, shorts and poetry that leave an impression. And near the end of the book, we’re treated to some older poetry written by musician Rick Sikes (the author’s late husband), as well as some new poetry by Sydney Klein, the author’s teen granddaughter. This book evoked many emotions in me as we each will find something we can relate to from love to heartbreak, each story captured my attention. This is a beautiful book with a beautiful cover, and probably one I’ll pick up again and again from time to time.

©DGKaye2026

Writer's Tips

Writer’s Tips May Edition – Keywords, Marketing Your Targeted Audience, Draft 2 Digital Charges, Amazon Product Page, Substack

Published on by dgkaye45 Comments

Welcome back to my May editition of curated Writer’s Tips. In this edition, Nicholas Rossis is at the Story Empire updating us on Keywords for our books, Joy York is at the Story Empire with a tutorial on marketing for our targeted audience, Deborah Jay updates us on changes using Draft 2 Digital – a new fee, Deborah Jay is also at the Story Empire offering good advice on how to optimize our Amazon book pages, and Kindlepreneur has put out a post explaining just how Substack works.

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Nicholas Rossis on Keywords

How Amazon Keywords Affect a Book’s Marketing in 2026

Finding Your Target Audience by Joy York

A Simple Way of Marketing to Your Target Audience

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Deborah Jay explains why Draft 2 Digital is now Charging a Fee to Download Books

#Draft2Digital introduces fees – for very sound reasons

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Deborah Jay on Optimizing our Amazon Product Pages

7 key features to optimise your Amazon product page

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The Kindlepreneur explains Substack

https://kindlepreneur.com/what-is-substack-and-how-does-it-work/?ck_subscriber_id=3559926083&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20truth%20about%20Substack%20(for%20authors)%20-%2021581500&sh_kit=ea99ff7ffe9d8189d0edd05816ed74748ba0f6079022052091590621ea49a320

©DGKaye2026

Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – Hopes, Fears and Reality: Stories, Poems & Personal Tales by Alex Craigie #newrelease #shortstories

Published on by dgkaye90 Comments

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m sharing my review for friend and author, Alex Craigie’s latest release – Hopes, Fears and Reality: Stories, Poems & Personal Tales. A book of short stories, all containing subliminal messages about life, woven through the pages.

BERJAYA

Get This Book On Amazon

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Blurb:

Hopes, Fears and Reality

What do a terrified boy, a ruthless beauty queen, a fairy godmother from hell, and a group of quietly rebellious pensioners have in common?

In this eclectic collection of short stories, poems, and anecdotes, everyday moments uncover the hopes we cherish, the fears we try to hide, and the realities that shape us.

Inside this collection:

• Gently humorous pieces that find laughter in life’s small absurdities
• Reflective moments that explore the experiences that shape who we are
• Sharper, unexpected stories that catch you off guard and linger

Meet unforgettable characters and moments:

• A child facing what lurks beneath the bed
• A teenager consumed by image
• Elderly friends with secrets—and mischief—of their own
• Twists on the familiar that don’t go quite as expected

Many of these pieces are brief and powerful, born from creative challenges—flash fiction, structured poetry, and writing shaped by rules and constraints—alongside glimpses drawn from real life.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Short, impactful reads
• A mix of humour, reflection, and edge
• Dipping in and out whenever time allows

Open the book anywhere.
There’s always something waiting—something to make you smile, pause, or see things a little differently.

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My 5 Star Review:

Alex Craigie has created this book of short stories and poetry with a common theme threaded through each story. Many of her stories offer underlying subliminal messages for the betterment of humanity and learned lessons.

A few examples: In Fears for Future Generations, we’ll read a simple story about a girl and her grandma on an outing. Grandma realizes that her granddaughter is a germaphobe and relays some stories of the past to her, hoping her granddaugher can loosen up a bit from her probable conditioning of germs. Grandma survived with hands in the dirt and she’s still standing. In Perspective, a young girl learns a life lesson from her grandfather. She couldn’t appreciate something he did, but took a moment to reflect that her joy would become his joy, so she changes her attitude. Fear from the Past touches on fears from childhood and how they sometimes stay with us through life. And I particularly enjoyed Craigie’s shorts on various chapters of her ‘reality’ stories. We’re also treated to some poignant moments in the author’s travels in some of her memoir pieces, as well as childhood reminisces, and a lovely tribute to her grandmother.

There is a wonderful mix of stories – some fictional, some memoir, some humorous, where others are reflective, as well as various poems in the book, written in differing styles. Most poignant for me was Bottle It, and the effects of too much alcohol. Some of my other favs are: An Ode to Nursery Rhymes, and Fairy Godmother – not your average one where not everyone gets their wish. Two short stories stood out to me: What is Hell, it’s a moving poem/story about incidents in life that jolt us to our core with worry or anxiety. The other story that gave me pause was, Heavenly Hopes. This is a clever fictional story about someone who has just entered heaven, greeted by St. Peter, and given the tour around the various ‘levels’ in heaven, and the various people who are on the differing levels for reasons that pertain to their view of life while they were on earth. A fantastic perspective on karma – we get what we give. Another ‘just desserts’ sort of story was titled, Holiday Romance – a clever tale of a middle-aged widowed woman traveling alone, on the alert for gigolos waiting to take advantage of her position. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely short story – Stayin’ Alive – where a group of octogenerians decide to have a lovely day reminiscing on the swings and a picnic in the park.

I’ve shared just a few here of my own favs in this lovely array of poems and stories by Craigie. She gives us a variety of stories with a mixed bag of writing styles and genres, but as a collective, they all boil down to kindness, justice, heartfelt, and the human condition – people, behaviors, and places. There is something for everyone in this book.

©DGKaye2026

Heroica series, empowering woman

New Heroic-a Series: Biopic Bits – Empowering Women of War

Published on by dgkaye55 Comments

While many watch TV or scroll their phones for news and entertainment, I prefer to take my news from reliable sources from my favorite podcasters and analysts. But, I also watch documentaries on Youtube. I’m fascinated at what makes people tick and how they came to be – sometimes intentionally, others – situational.

One of my favorite genres I read and watch are stories from WWII. For every miraculous escape, or surviving the unsurvivable, those who sacrificed their lives for others, and for others searching deep into what creates diabolical and inhumane humans; these are the stories that fascinate me.

Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of docs about heroic women of war who risked their own lives for their country. This little mini – bits of biopic, as I like to call this series, are condensed versions of some of the stories about these female war heroes. An interesting difference from what usually comes to mind as war heroes – men in uniforms on battlefields. These are stories about unassuming women who did heroic things to defend their country, kind of stories. We can learn how these women ended up fighting in the war without joining the battle fields, how unimportant women were assumed to be (war was for men), how instrumentally helpful they were because they were inconspicuous, and how they managed to survive, and who they became after.

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I subtitled this series – ‘heroic-a’, a genre I made up to categorize female war heroines. In this first episode, we’re observing Alice Arteil – Code Name: Sylva. Loire, France.

Alice Arteil (1912 to 1995) seventh child, brought up proper in a poor family of twelve children in Loire region of France. Educated only until thirteen years old. Her parents worked at and owned their own bakery.

In 1936, Alice married textile merchant Raymond Arteil, a mercantile. In 1940 they had a baby girl. Raymond joined the French army, and was captured a year later. And Alice made it her mission to find her missing husband, as he was declared. And she did – a few years later, after learning he was imprisoned in a war camp in Prussia (border of Poland and Russia). Alice had had enough of feeling powerless and joined a resistance group to foil, fight, build resistance networks, and find her husband. Some of her duties were to hide fugitives, run guerilla missions through the forests and mountains, and deceive the nazis. Her undercover code name became Sylva, which meant ‘forest’, because she knew the lay of the land in the Loire. By 1943, she was leading her own resistance. Interesting to note that women were only about 15% of the resistance, and many were part of communications – sending and transmitting messages. Many death-defying missions.

By 1940, France had caved to the Gestapo. The Vichy police had turned into French Gestapo. By 1943, they were calling up boys(men) born betwen 1920 to 1922 to work as forced labor for the Germans. Not voluntarily. The ones who refused to sign up, created a huge new resistance. Alice kept up her missions of resistance throughout the rest of the war, risking her own life with every mission, as the gestapo were on to her. She survived their, ‘shoot her’ orders, along with many mountain missions in all weather to transmit messages, weapons, and leading Jews through the mountains, saving the lives of many. She survived it all, and after reuniting back with her husband, sank right back into civilian life. She was later recognized by some of the highest echelons of France and received the Croix de Guerre and many other honorable medals, for her heroism during WWII.

Makes one stop and think – what would we do if our country was being taken over, become a hostage of it or join the resistance? No brainer for me. I’m a born justice fighter. If it’s unjust, I’m going to call it out. That’s who I am. So, there’s nothing to think about for me. I most certainly would have been part of the resistance.

If you’d like to learn the whole story condensed into 36 minutes, you can hear the whole story below of this valiant woman:

“Alice Arteil was not the woman she was before the war.” No doubts, after what she’d seen and done.

“She fought when she could have hidden, she had led when she could have followed, she had risked her life repeatedly when she could have stayed safe.”

©DGKaye 2026

Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – Leave It Up To Love: A Short Story by Kristy Woodson Harvey #womensfiction

Published on by dgkaye30 Comments

Welcome back to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a short story I chose for one of my Amazon free monthly bonus reads – Leave It Up To Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey.

BERJAYA

Get This Book on Amazon

Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey comes a funny, feel-good tale—a seaside romp about chasing dreams, losing illusions, and writing your own story.

Ready for her big break after publishing her first novel, Lila Everwood has two fresh book ideas and dreams of quitting her barista job. She’s hopeful about her future—until her writing catches her literary idol’s attention in all the wrong ways.

Elizabeth Lancaster, the queen of regency romance, hasn’t written a word in three years. Her publisher’s solution? A ghostwriter. Specifically, her favorite coffee server. It’s either brilliance or madness—and her literary agent son Grady thinks it’s definitely the latter.

As the ideas begin to fly, so do the sparks—between Lila and Grady. And, as Lila’s and Elizabeth’s worlds collide, the two writers must lean on each other, learning something vital in the process: In life, love, and publishing, sometimes you have to write your own happy ending.

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My 4 Star Review:

Lila is on her way to see her editor after pitching some new ideas for her second book. But her expectations were foiled when her publisher came out with a whacky idea for her instead.

Lila has some decisions to make if she chooses to turn the course of her writing or decline a bizarre offer from her publisher. Lila has to weigh all perks and drawbacks of the situation out if this tantalizing offer will be good for her own career. But since her writing is so similar to that of Elizabeth’s, she’d be the perfect ghostwriter. Elizabeth is a famous author who has been dealing with writer’s block for the past three years since her husband died. But her fans are eagerly awaiting a new book.

Grady is Elizabeth’s son and her publishing agent. When Lila visits Elizabeth to discuss this ‘opportunity’ of collaboration, sparks fly between her and Grady.

This was a well written sweet story with likeable characters and an interesting storyline. I’d classify this book more of a short women’s fiction story with a hint of romance. IMO the cover and the title make it feel more like a romance book, but I feel the romance parts were few and not the main focus of the story.

©DGKaye2026

Sunshine Blogger Award

The Sunshine Blogger Award from Stevie Turner

Published on by dgkaye32 Comments

No, you aren’t seeing double. I recently posted a Q & A for a previous nomination from Laura Lyndhurst, and caught my name again on Stevie Turner’s blog where she has also nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Of course I’m going to answer her questions. 🙂

Is Your cup of life half full or half empty?

I would have say definitely both. I have created a new life after losing my husband. Half of me is still empty from my greatest loss.

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What are you afraid of?

Most definitely, getting old and being alone.

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Do you believe in an afterlife?

I most certainly do. It’s also what keeps me going. Plus, I’ve had several encounters with spirit in my life. Bodies die, energy never dies so the soul lives on. How else could there be ghosts? 😁

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What is one thing you wish for?

Truth to make a comeback.

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Would you rather do a skydive or go punting on a calm river?

I suppose punting is a British term? I definitely have no ambitions of skydiving. I’m not really sure how punting is meant, but if it involves anything other than being a passenger on a boat, I’ll pass on that too. 🙂

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What would you like politicians to ban?

Don’t get me started with politicians! As far as I’m concerned, they are ALL bought and paid for. They make BS promises they can never keep because whoever controls their pursestrings is where THEIR loyalty lies.

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Would you rather go to a music festival where your favourite band is playing, or watch them play on TV instead?

Once upon a time, I was an avid concert goer. At this time of my life I get high anxiety in big crowds. Cheaper and more convenient to watch at home.

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There’s one thing (not person) you have with you when you become stranded on a desert island. What is that one thing?

I can’t even imagine just having one thing on a desert isalnd. I could think of a million things, but let’s start with an unlimited water supply – maybe a well?

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What would you like to learn?

I love learning languages. My problem is I can speak moderately or broken, in Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew, and better at French. But because I get bored so quick, I jump around from Spanish and Hebrew on Duo Lingo, and not sticking with one language to learn makes it more confusing for myself.

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What in your opinion is the best social media site for writers to get their work noticed?

Lol, you’re asking the wrong person. I’ve severely narrowed my participation on social sites. Every writer has their own fav. I am bad at promoting my own work so I stick with the groups I moderate on Facebook – or Fakebook as I like to refer to it. Although, I also post a lot on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Bluesky.

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Could you dance the Cha-cha if your life depended on it?

Absolutely! I love dancing. I’ve always had great rhythm, and I do Cha cha at least twice a week in Zumba class.

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If you enjoy learning little tidbits about your fellow bloggers, visit Stevie’s blog and read the answers to questions given to her. Stevie’s blog is always interesting, whether it’s opinion or her stories about her vacation home on the Isle of Wight – or books, Stevie always has something interesting to say.

Source: The Sunshine Blogger Award | Stevie Turner

Note: I stopped participating in award posts years ago. Despite this, I always honor those who include me as a nominee so I’m happy to answer their questions and share their blog. I also invite my fellow bloggers to help yourself to the Blogger Award image, because let’s face it – you all deserve one. 💗

©DGKaye2026