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Book Promo, Crime/Mystery, Eleanor Raven, Guest Post, Karen Long, Mystery, Novels
THE VAULT by Karen Long #guestpost #giveaway
June 30, 2016 Melanie	Leave a comment
Karen Long
Genre: Mystery / thriller / crime
Eleanor Raven Series: 2
VAULT: A large room or chamber used for storage of valuables, especially an underground one…
In the unrelenting heat of the Toronto summer, a fire at a land-fill site uncovers the remains of a local prostitute. But the post-mortem reveals disturbing details –the body has been preserved and is not who or what it seems.
DI Eleanor Raven is back on duty six months after barely surviving being kidnapped and tortured by a depraved serial killer. Work is her sanctuary but she's carrying deep scars – mental as well as physical. Where do you go when the place you feel safest is also the place where you are most at risk?
As Eleanor battles her own demons, it looks as though a killer in the city is making a gruesome human collection. And Eleanor's fight to save the last victim of the Collector becomes a battle to save herself.
Praise for the first novel in the Eleanor Raven series:
Most fictional detectives these days have to have a 'thing' to set them apart from the others, and Raven's is one of the most original for a long time. The plot moves in some unexpected directions, and builds to a genuinely exciting climax. The Safe Word is an impressive, confident debut. Convincing characters and some nice twists make for a compelling, satisfying thriller, and I look forward to seeing what's next for Eleanor Raven. Killing Time
Being a writer is one of the most wonderful jobs on the planet. I spend a day with my imagination, don't have to deal with real world problems and can take a coffee break whenever I please. However, there are good, bad and ugly sides to everything that glistens…
Organised?
As I only have one daughter left at home now and my husband works abroad for most of the year my day starts when the front door slams shut, the dogs and garden birds have been fed and watered and the biohazard that is the kitchen is tidied. I have to be very determined to keep myself on track, as there are so many domestic distractions that break my concentration. I also have to write in total silence (no music or radio) and without anyone else being in the house. If I know someone is popping in for a coffee it can make it impossible to write for the whole day. There's no sitting in coffee shops and putting out a couple of thousand words for me, sadly!
Methodical?
I see the story I'm writing as a film that can only be played in my head linearly. I can rewind a couple of chapters but invariably I read from start to finish once a week and this can be very time consuming. I really envy writers like Stephen King who have such an organised, methodical and productive approach to writing. My husband, a writer himself, frequently sends me links to pages on 'The Rigours of Writing' but I guess there's just the way that works for you.
Realistic?
A novel always takes longer that you thought to complete. That your choice of language, character and event is frequently not as entertaining, or clear to the reader as you thought it was. That when people pay money to read what you have written they are entitled to an opinion. The most valuable lesson was given to me by a wise bird who said, 'show don't tell' and that is the mantra I run with every time I write. Don't tell a reader how they should interpret an action or judge a character. That's their job not yours, so butt out!
Criticism?
I have always held to Oscar Wilde's belief that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. So provoking a reaction that merits comment and opinion is, in itself, rather flattering. I have also found that, after shrugging off my initial outrage, most people make very valid comments about my writing. I do believe that you have to be honest with yourself. If a comment reminds you that you had considered that question before, then go back and deal with it. By the same token, just because someone has a thought on a plot point, or character, or line of dialogue it doesn't mean that they are right. Be flexible but believe in what you wrote. Eventually the sales will tell you if you were right.
ABOUT KAREN LONG
Karen Long was born and raised in the English midlands, educated at Bangor University and taught English and Drama for fifteen years. During her teaching years she studied biology and neurology with the Open University and this interest in medicine, forensics and forensic psychology is reflected in her writing. She is an enthusiastic traveller and has spent time in Toronto, which became the backdrop and inspiration for The Safe Word.
She is a keen amateur naturalist with a deep and abiding love for the crow family. She has dedicated time, love and several fingers in an effort to rehabilitate crows, magpies, rooks and ravens.
Karen is happy to correspond with readers and can be contacted through her website KarenLongWriter.com, where she posts regular blogs.
The Safe Word is Karen's first novel and was an Amazon bestseller, later joined by the second in the Eleanor Raven series, The Vault. Karen is working on the third novel in the series.
All author or review enquires please contact Karen Long's Personal Assistant J.B. Johnston – brookbooks@hotmail.co.uk
Did you know that Eleanor Raven is also online?
http://twitter.com/RavenEleanor
https://www.facebook.com/TheEleanorRaven/
check out THE SAFE WORD!
http://amzn.to/1WOHzh2
authorsKaren Longnovels
Brook Cottage Books, contemporary romance, Novels, Sheryl Browne
Brook Cottage Books presents Learning to Love by Sheryl Browne #excerpt #giveaway
June 30, 2016 Melanie	3 Comments
Learning to Love
Release Date: June 14th 2016
Sometimes help comes from the most unlikely places …
Living in a small village like Hibberton, it's expected that your neighbours help you in a time of need. But when Andrea Kelly's house burns down, taking all her earthly possessions with it, it's the distant and aloof Doctor David Adams – the person she would least expect – who opens his door not just to her, but to her three kids and slightly dotty elderly mother as well.
Andrea needs all the help she can get, dealing with aftermath of the fire and in the suspicious absence of her husband, Jonathan. But, as she gets to know David and his troubled son, Jake, she begins to realise that maybe they need her help as much as she needs theirs …
Previously released by the author. Revised, edited and republished by Choc Lit in June 2016.
I don't know how you feel, David, do I? I don't know you, other than what you've told me.'
David looked at her levelly. 'The truth.'
'The truth?' Andrea was really incredulous now. 'Apart from the one or two inconsequential little things you forgot to tell me? Or was it more than that, David? Three? Four? A hundred?'
'Two! Twice. Bloody hell, Andrea …'
And that made it all right? She forced back the tears she desperately didn't want to cry in front of him, again. 'And I thought Jonathan was being devious. You take the biscuit, David, you really do.' Shaking her head, Andrea moved to walk past him.
'I'm nothing like Jonathan, Andrea,' David said quietly. 'I care about you.'
Andrea turned back. 'And Jonathan doesn't?' She knew in her heart that her relationship had been floundering long before the fire that had blown her world apart, before David … She didn't believe Jonathan's tale about why he hadn't been able to contact her any more than his claim to have found Dougal in the park. He'd been piling lie on top of lie since that dreadful night, and she would tackle him. Right now, though, she was more interested in what lies this man might concoct to extract himself from his mess.
'Did he tell you the assessors had been?'
'I haven't had a chance to speak to him yet.' Andrea walked on.
'He's hiding something, Andrea,' David called after her. 'I'm not sure what, but the fire, his preoccupation with Dee's mental state, his story … It just doesn't add up.'
Disbelieving, Andrea whirled around. 'You'll stop at nothing, will you? You paint yourself as a poor wounded hero, torn apart by grief and guilt and the havoc you created, and then you have the nerve to point out other people's failings? Why?'
'Andrea, I … I don't know.' David shrugged hopelessly. 'I just want you to be careful, that's—'
'I mean, I'm no great catch, am I?' Andrea went on, her fury growing. 'Was what just happened between us another one of your mistakes, is that it?'
'No!' David fixed angry eyes on hers. 'Dammit, Andrea I do care about you. I—'
'I'm going.' Andrea turned away.
'Andrea, don't.' David caught her arm. 'Please. The kids …'
'Don't you dare, David,' Andrea warned him angrily. 'Don't you dare try to manipulate me through my children!'
'They're getting ready for bed, Andrea. There's no point in upsetting them tonight.'
'Me upsetting them?' Andrea was flabbergasted.
'Jake …' David swallowed. 'Give me a chance to speak to him, Andrea. Please, I'm begging you.'
Andrea felt her heart break inside her afresh, for Jake, for David, too, who was going to have to live with the devastating consequences of his actions; for Sally, who would surely need her friendship now, but which this man had made impossible. For herself.
'Stay,' David implored. 'Please? For tonight, at least.'
Andrea studied his face, saw the desperation in his eyes; eyes where so many conflicting emotions played out. How little did she really know him? She could have loved him. Did, still. Yet hated him.
'For Jake's sake,' she said, dropping her gaze to his hand still on her arm.
Relief flooding his face, David released his hold. 'Thank you,' he said, closing his eyes.
Amazon Link: http://lrd.to/Learning-To-Love
ABOUT SHERYL BROWNE
Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you sassy, sexy, heart-wrenching fiction. A member of the Crime Writers' Association, Romantic Novelists' Association and shortlisted for the Best Romantic e-book Love Stories Award 2015, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies, where she completed her MA in Creative Writing.
Recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer, Sheryl's contemporary fiction comes to you from award winning Choc Lit.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Buy | Buy US | Pinterest
Loveahappyending Lifestyle
Choc Lit | Romantic Novelists' Association
1 PRINT COPY OF THE BOOK (UK ONLY)
1 ECOPY OF THE BOOK (INTERNATIONALLY)
authorsnovelsSheryl Browne
Authors, Book Launch, Fantasy, Novels, Stacey O'Neale
Release Day for ETERNAL SACRIFICE by Stacey O'Neale #booklaunch #giveaway
Eternal Sacrifice
The explosive conclusion to Stacey O'Neale's award-winning Mortal Enchantment series reveals the secrets of the fantasy world!
Valac has stolen two of the sacred objects. In a bid to rule all four courts, he has threatened to use Excalibur to cut the mist that protects Avalon–ultimately ending the lives of thousands of elementals. As the Akasha, Kalin has the power to stop him. And she refuses to lose anyone else she loves.
Will she have to sacrifice herself to save them?
Desperate to save Kalin's life, Rowan searches for the long-lost creator of the mist. But what he finds is the very last thing he expected. Everything he thought he knew about his past is turned upside down, and he questions whether he's meant to be the savior or the elemental that destroys them all.
Told from Kalin, Rowan, and Marcus's perspective, the final installment to the series follows their journey of courage, duty, sacrifice, and love.
Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Sacrifice-Mortal-Enchantment-Book-ebook/dp/B01DOCWFI0/
Award-winning author, Stacey O'Neale, lives in Annapolis, Maryland. When she's not writing, she spends her time fangirling over books, blogging, watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, and hanging out with her husband and daughter.
Her career in publishing started as a blogger-turned-publicist for two successful small publishers. Stacey writes young adult fantasy and adult science fiction romance. Her books always include swoon-worthy heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing.
Stacey loves hearing from readers. Follow her on Twitter @StaceyONeale, look for her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Goodreads. You can also visit her blog at staceyoneale.com/.
$100 Gift Card Contest
authorsnovelsStacey O'Neale
2016, 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, chapter books, King Park Press, short stories, The Consequences Collection, The Secret of Hillcrest House
June 2016 ~ Prescott (ON) Farmers' and Crafters' Market
My first month at the market (not even a full month – only 3 Saturdays) was a success so I looked forward to June 2016 and what it would bring.
June 4 – our first outing with the tent we had to buy after the previous weekend when the one corner jammed… Back-up Blue I call this one. Not nearly as sturdy as "Wonderful White" but at least all 4 legs work and this one has a side panel.
I love the spots on this side of the market where you can drive through. The vehicle is handy and all of the totes I cart stuff to and fro in can be stowed in the trunk and out of sight rather than have them on the pavement under the table.
When the panel is on the back side of the tent, I have to lock the car because I can't see it, but I keep my keys on one of the hooks on my bag tree so if needs must, I can get into the car as and when.
So on this Saturday, I sold 1 copy of Tim's Magic Christmas, 1 copy of The Secret of Hillcrest House and 2 copies of A Shadow in the Past.
June 11 – This Saturday was an exercise in creative ways to keep dry. It was cloudy when we unloaded and set up (you'll notice the panel is on the side not the back this week).
Unfortunately, about an hour later, the rains came down.
Tables pulled further into the tent. Plastic drop sheet over the tables and books.
Then the rain stopped so the drop cloth came off – wet and dirty around the edges. If the rain didn't start up again shortly after that. Well, I couldn't put a wet, dirty drop cloth over the books so I moved all of them to one end of the table and hung the drop cloth from the canopy leaving a "doorway" into the tent so people could still come in and browse. It kept the books dry which was the main thing.
Because of the bad weather there weren't many people out and about. I had also said that I wouldn't be there if it rained but when it wasn't when we left the house and didn't start until later, I was committed. At least the rain stopped when it was time to tear down and call it a day.
I sold 1 copy of The Secret of Hillcrest House but like I said, no one was out and about. Even the vendors were few and far between.
June 18 – Wonderful White was back in service this week. The parts we ordered had come in and she was reassembled. The drive-through spots were few and far between thanks to construction in the parking lot but, I managed to get a spot on the side I like. It meant unloading then moving the car and backing into the spot behind the tent but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.
I used the side panel from "Backup Blue" and put it silver side in and tried a different layout with my tables. Still an L shape but a more inviting one … I think so anyway.
I didn't have my hat this week so tried to stay under the canopy where it was shaded rather than out and about in the sun. My story is the bear wouldn't give it back to me. She's my hat rack, you see … LOL!
When the day was over, I sold 1 copy of Tim's Magic Christmas, 1 copy of The Secret of Hillcrest House and 1 copy of A Shadow in the Past.
June 25 – This week there was some big 'do' going on in the parking lot for the town of Prescott so it was a bit crowded. Still got my drive through parking space but the back end of the car shared space under the canopy. The back half of the parking lot was roped off, a huge marquis set up and stacks and stacks of tables and chairs.
There were even two porta-potties and a hand wash station but they weren't there for the benefit of the market vendors. They were brought in for the party later. But that doesn't mean we didn't use them.
Table still laid out in the inverted L this week and the panel up on the side. I brought my poster board for Hillcrest House with the cut out windows and lights but ended up having to take it down because it was just windy enough that the foam core board kept blowing over.
Even while the market was still going on, the volunteers had arrived and started setting up tables. One by one as the vendors left, their stalls were filled with tables!
Being a stubborn sort (I hear you gasp in surprise), I decided when it was time to tear down, I was going to go as slooooooowly as possible. And so I did. Tables, chairs and another tent were set up around my stall. When everything was packed and loaded, I had to back under the tent they had set up in front of the centre court to get out of the parking lot.
When all was said and done, I sold 1 copy of The Consequences Collection, 1 copy of The Secret of Hillcrest House and 1 copy of A Shadow in the Past.
In the seven weeks that I've been going to the Prescott Farmers' and Crafters' Market, these are my results…
4 copies of The Consequences Collection
1 copy of Tim's Magic Christmas
6 copies of The Secret of Hillcrest House
6 copies of A Shadow in the Past
I'm looking forward to July and August to see what they will bring!
chapter booksmarketnovelsshort stories
Lightfoot Press, Sharon Sant, YA Fantasy
STORM CHILD by Sharon Sant #YA #fantasy #Excerpt #giveaway
Storm Child
Sharon Sant
Release Date: 21ST April 2016
Publisher: Lightfoot Press
In a Victorian era where the industrial revolution has been replaced by superstition and magic, Britain is a place where wolves roam freely and children with magic are snatched from the streets. This is home for thirteen-year-old witch, Annie and her baby sister, Georgina. When their mother dies, Annie and Georgina find themselves saved from the workhouse by the mysterious Ernesto Black. But Black's motives are far from pure and soon Annie faces new, even more dangerous threats. What does Ernesto want from Georgina? And can Annie trust the other teenagers living with Ernesto: Polly, who has her eye fixed firmly on inheriting Ernesto's fortune and will do anything to make sure she gets it, and the charming Isaac, who would do anything to win Polly's affections – legal or not.
Fearing for Georgina's safety, Annie is faced with a terrible choice: she can try to guard her sister from the ever-present threat of Ernesto, or she can leave the child out in the wilds of the New Forest in the hope she'll be found and taken in by a new family, ignorant of her powers. Annie chooses to leave Georgina's future to chance and steals her away from Ernesto's house in the dead of night.
But Annie's troubles are far from over as her actions set in motion a chain of events that will take her and Georgina into danger she could never imagine. This danger drags country girl, Charlotte Harding into the fray and threatens every one of the teenagers, and it leads them right into the heart of the powerful organisation responsible for the assassination of Queen Victoria, an organisation that wants only one thing: Hell on Earth – quite literally…
FROM THE BEST SELLING AUTHOR OF THE MEMORY GAME AND THE SKY SONG TRILOGY, STORM CHILD IS BOOK ONE OF THE STORM CHILD TRILOGY.
The basket the girl carried was almost as large as her and she gasped as she stumbled, nearly dropping it. It had been dragged on a stolen handcart along dark, silent roads until she reached the edge of the heath. The cart was useless on the dense undergrowth here and now she walked with her precious cargo, crooning to it as she laboured under its weight.
Biting back tears, she took one last look around. Her gaze returned to the lights of the tiny house. Was this close enough? Would the basket be found? What would happen if it wasn't? But the girl had no choice. The alternative was a fate far, far worse.
She opened her mouth and clear, high notes rang out across the darkened terrain. A few moments passed, the girl singing in the darkness, until a shadow appeared on the horizon and crept towards her. The wolf approached and bowed its head.
'Thank you,' the girl said. 'You will protect her until she is claimed. After that, your will is your own again.'
The wolf stared at the girl, as if in a trance. Then it sat next to the basket and turned its eyes to the heath.
ABOUT SHARON SANT
Sharon Sant was born in Dorset but now lives in Staffordshire. Aged eight she wrote a poem about ET, which received the ultimate praise of being pinned onto the classroom wall, and from that moment on she knew she'd never stop writing. She graduated from Staffordshire University in 2009 with a degree in English and creative writing. She currently works part time as a freelance editor and continues to write her own stories. An avid reader with eclectic tastes across many genres, when not busy trying in vain to be a domestic goddess, she can often be found lurking in local coffee shops with her head in a book. Sometimes she pretends to be clever but really loves nothing more than watching geeky TV and eating Pringles.
Young adult novels Sky Song, The Young Moon and Not of Our Sky (the Sky Song trilogy), The Memory Game and Runners were all released in 2013 to glowing reviews. Dead Girl Walking followed in 2015 and she has a new trilogy planned for 2016, the first book of which, Storm Child, is due for release in April.
Sharon also writes children's fiction under the name of Summer Hopkiss.
To find out more you can follow her on twitter where she's always happy to chat: @sharonsant or find her on facebook. You can also go to her website: www.sharonsant.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharonjsant/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonSant
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888220.Sharon_Sant
Blog: www.sharonsant.com
Website: www.sharonsant.com
authorsnovelsSharon Sant
Book Promo, contemporary romance, David Burnett, Novels
ONCE AND FUTURE WIFE by David Burnett #guestpost #giveaway
Once and Future Wife
Release Date: June 1 (May 1 in paperback)
Jennie Bateman has again fallen in love with Thomas, her former husband. However, Tasha, one of his children, is determined to destroy their relationship. Jennie had done that herself a number of years earlier. In the midst of a manic episode, she had deserted Thomas and their two daughters, choosing, instead, a life of shameless debauchery.
Perhaps she was shocked when Thomas filed for a divorce. Perhaps it was the influence of a preacher who took an interest in her. Perhaps she simply cycled back toward normal. Whatever the cause, years later, when she again made contact with her family, she was a different person. Even so, they wanted nothing to do with her.
But time moves on. Circumstances change.
Thomas's second wife has died, leaving him a single parent with four adult daughters and a new-born. In Jennie's eyes, he is the same good-looking, kind, loving person she had fallen for when they were in college.
In Once and Future Wife we follow Jennie as she goes a second round with her demons, hoping to find a way to stop them from destroying the possibility of a second marriage and the love and happiness that finally seem to be within her reach.
Elements of a Story
Many elements come together to make a successful story. To me, four stand out as being of great importance.
"Where did you get the idea for your book?"
It has been said that every story is a variation on one of no more than thirty-six unique plot lines. This might well be true, but I know my stories do not begin with a perusal of the options!
I find this question to be a tough one, because I seldom can give an exact answer as to what gave rise to my particular variation on one of those plots. My stories do not begin with a plot but with my life experiences, with events that I hear about from others, with stories I see in the newspaper or on television. I've never taken a story directly from any of these, although my life experiences and other real events often appear in my books.
For example, I have read that one of my ancestors, Sarah Proctor, arrived in the US on board a ship that sailed from Belfast. It cast anchor in Charleston harbor on Christmas Eve, seventeen sixty-six. Sarah and her family were given land in the colony, tools, seed, and transportation to their new home because they had arrived under a program designed for "poor Protestant immigrants."
If I were going to write a story, I would begin by imagining what might have happened to her. I know that , several years later, Sarah married George Adams. How might she have met her future husband? Why did they fall in love? Did they fall in love? What complications might have arisen to complicate their relationship?
Maybe instead of a story of how the two fell in love, it would be one of how their love survived some traumatic event, the American Revolution, perhaps.
As I would consider Sarah, various possible stories would emerge. As I begin to write, I need not know the entire story. In fact, I don't want to know all of it. Creativity does not stop when writing begins, and I want to be able to incorporate new characters, new twists in the story that are triggered as the story takes shape.
In other posts I have explained the process of designing a story with a passage from the Second Chance Café.
The author writes of a young woman who weaves beautiful scarves. They sell in upscale stores around the country and are often seen wrapped around the bodies of movie stars and celebrities. Each scarf is unique. How does she decide on the colors, the pattern, for a new scarf?
"I don't know how you do that," her father said, looking at the collection (of yarn) she held and shaking his head.
Honestly, neither did she. To this day, she could not explain how the colors came together in her mind. How one flowed into another as she sat at her loom. How the different strands of story became a whole. "I just see it. I don't know where it comes from. Any of it. It's just there."
This is how it is with writing. The author doesn't know where the specific events come from. Any of them. The author begins to write − and they're just there.
We often use the word commencement to mean graduation and we think in terms completing school. Commencement also means the beginning, and it is in this sense that I'm using it here.
The inciting incident is not always the first event in the story. It is the event that sends the hero in search of what he wants. It is the event that sets up the crisis.
In Once and Future Wife, the book opens when Jennie learns that her daughter's stepmother has died. While her death opens the possibility that Jennie might reconnect with Thomas, her former husband, it does not cause her to do so. It does not propel her in that direction.
After she attends the funeral, Jennie could have returned home, seldom thinking of him again. In most cases, that's exactly what would happen. The inciting incident occurs when Thomas reaches out to Jennie, asking her to babysit his newborn child, and she agrees to do so. On that day, the crisis is set in motion.
If I were writing about my ancestor, the story might begin on the cold, clear night on which her ship reached the harbor. She might have gone on deck and looked up at the stars. She might have gazed at the lights of Charleston, wondering what her future held.
The inciting event though, would likely come later, perhaps when she and George Adams meet for the first time. Maybe their land grants are adjacent. They meet, but and the boundary is disputed. They take an instant dislike for each other, but the dispute guarantees they will continue to have contact.
In The Ninety Day Novel, Alan Watt indicates that conflict is central to our stories. He tells his readers – aspiring writers – to put their characters in relationships with other characters and see what will happen. Conflict, he writes, will ensue.
Conflict can be external or internal. We generally identify four types of external conflict: Person against Person, Person against Nature, Person against Society, and Person against God. In each case, something outside of our hero thwarts his attempt to obtain what he wants. In Once and Future Wife, Jennie has fallen in love, again, with her former husband, but one of his children is determined to prevent them from marrying again. The conflict is person against person.
In an internal conflict, the hero prevents himself from attaining his goal. Again, In Once and Future Wife, Jennie's bipolar disorder drives her behavior in such a way as to threaten her opportunity to find happiness.
If I were writing about my ancestor, it may be that Sarah finds George Adams to be handsome and kind and good. She begins to fall in love with him. But he is the man who she believes is trying to steal her land! He comes by the small cabin she has built and she meets him with a loaded musket, ready to defend herself and her property. That is conflict.
The writer should know the conclusion to his story as he begins to write. If he doesn't, then his story will lack direction, go off on tangents, and never have an acceptable ending.
We see this phenomenon, we think, in several television shows we've been following this year (Castle and Black List, for those are familiar with the shows.). The writers have gone to quite a bit of trouble to develop likeable characters, set up a storyline, and to introduce a crisis, but they do not appear to be able to ever reach a conclusion.
New twists emerge in the plot. The characters are quite busy chasing the bad guys, but, as the end of the season approaches, the crisis has not been resolved. One has the feeling that the writers set things in motion with no clear idea, perhaps no idea at all, of where how they were supposed to end. As a result, they have gone nowhere, and we feel sure that the season finale will not be satisfactory at all.
Books can suffer from these same problems. A conclusion should not be simply the last word written on the page. It should not simply be a cliffhanger designed to lead the reader into the sequel. At its conclusion, the reader may not be happy with the outcome, but she should be satisfied. The outcome should make sense in terms of the story and the hero, the main character, should have found what she needs.
If I know that Susannah and George will marry at the end, then this knowledge guides my writing. In spite of which roadblocks appear, I must leave a way over them or around them. It may appear that their relationship is doomed. Perhaps Susannah decides to marry someone else. Perhaps she wants to move to the city. Maybe she decides to sail home. Any of these can occur, but in the end, the two must marry.
ABOUT DAVID BURNETT
I live near Charleston, South Carolina, with my wife and Bonnie, our blue-eyed cat. I enjoy traveling, photography, baking bread, and the Carolina beaches.
We have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During one trip to Scotland, we visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen.
My photographic subjects have been as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native American powwow. I went to school for longer than he wants to admit and has graduate degrees in psychology and education. I was formerly director of research for our state's department of education.
http://www.facebook.com/DavidBurnett.Author
https://twitter.com/DavdBurnett
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6579272.David_Burnett
http://davidburnett.yolasite.com
http://amazon.com/author/davidburnett
$20 or equivalent Amazon Gift voucher
authorsDavid Burnettnovels
contemporary romance, Ellie Gray, Novels, Tirgearr Publishing
LOVE ON THE NILE by Ellie Gray #excerpt #giveaway
Love on the Nile
Ellie Gray
Release Date: 15th June 2016
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Natasha embarks upon the holiday of a lifetime with her brother, looking forward to exploring the ancient sites Egypt has to offer. What she hasn't bargained for is spending her holiday cruising along the Nile with Kyle Richardson, a handsome but moody archaeologist. Despite taking an instant dislike to Kyle, Natasha finds herself increasingly drawn to the man, particularly as his interactions with her brother reveal a gentler, more caring side to his character.
Having lost everyone he has ever loved, Kyle is a loner, believing himself to be cursed. He now spends his life moving around Egypt, ensuring he never lingers anywhere long enough to form meaningful attachments. Despite his better judgement, he finds himself drawn to this feisty young woman, but is afraid of the deeper feelings she stirs in him.
Can his feelings for Natasha convince him that it's worth taking a risk on love?
"Natasha, darling!" The rather stout woman levered herself from the chair and swiftly crossed the room to throw her arms around her niece.
Breathing in the familiar perfume and leaning into the protective embrace of her aunt, Natasha's irritation dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, and she closed her eyes against the sudden and unexpected tears of relief at having finally arrived at their destination. "Oh, Aunt Lucy, it's so good to see you." Her voice was muffled against Lucy's shoulder and she took a deep breath before stepping back and smiling. "It's been so long. I can't believe we're actually here at last."
"It's wonderful to see you, Natasha. I've missed you both so much." Lucy lifted a hand to cup her niece's face before turning to Nicky, hands on her ample hips as she scrutinised him critically.
"Oh, you always were like two peas in a pod. And, Nicky, you have grown into a very handsome young man. You have no idea how happy I am that you came."
"Hello, Aunty Lucy, how are you?" Nicky briefly returned his aunt's embrace before securing the baseball cap a little tighter on his head and asking the question foremost in his mind. "Can I have something to eat?"
Lucy shook her head with a smile and glanced at the man, who had so far remained silent throughout. "Kyle, this is my nephew Nicky, and my niece Natasha. I'm pleased to see that at least one thing never changes, and that is Nicky's appetite."
She caught Nicky's arm and led him off to the far side of the room. "Come on, I've got some of your favourite biscuits over here in this cupboard."
Natasha could see Kyle watching her younger brother, his eyes narrowed, and she felt the familiar churning in the pit of her stomach, trying to anticipate at what point he would realise Nicky had learning difficulties. Automatically, she tried to deflect that scrutiny, moving further into the room and feeling a sense of relief as Kyle's gaze immediately swung towards her.
"Natasha Morgan," she introduced herself, and held out her hand.
"So I gather." His face was unsmiling and Natasha was uncomfortably aware of her earlier, rather waspish response to what was probably quite a reasonable conversation he had been having with her aunt. He pushed himself out of the chair to tower above her, his hair shining blue-black in the pale moonlight which streamed through the open window. Tall as she was, Natasha had to tilt her head back to meet his startlingly blue eyes. He was younger than she had initially thought, probably in his mid-thirties — just a few years older than herself.
There was a pause before he replied. "Kyle Richardson."
He took her hand briefly, offering a firm cool handshake, before returning to his chair, long legs stretched out before him and crossed at the ankles.
"I'm sorry you overheard our conversation; I had no idea you were there."
His voice was deep and husky, and his gaze once again followed her movements as she sank into the seat Lucy had recently vacated.
She nodded and spread her hands expressively, shrugging her slim shoulders. "I'm sorry if I sounded… irritated. It's been a really long day and I hadn't expected Aunt Lucy to arrange a personal guide for us. Please, it's not a problem, we don't want… we don't need a guide, and I'm sure you have better things to do with your time."
Kyle's mouth twitched as if in amusement at the inadvertent slip of the tongue, but whatever he was about to say was lost as Lucy and Nicky returned, the latter clutching a packet of chocolate-covered biscuits.
"Oh, you've introduced yourselves. Excellent." Lucy beamed at them, clapping her hands together. "I'm sure we're all going to have a wonderful time together."
"I was just explaining that Nicky and I are quite happy to find our own way around Egypt," Natasha cut in quickly. "There is no need for Mr. Richardson to trouble himself."
"Nonsense," cried Lucy, fixing Kyle with a rather piercing gaze. "I'm not letting you wriggle out of this one, Kyle. You owe me rather a lot of favours and I am now calling one of them in. Heavens, man, I haven't seen you in close to two years, and I happen to know for a fact that you haven't taken a break for longer than that. It's high time you did."
Natasha observed this outburst with some surprise, having hardly ever heard her aunt speak so sharply. She risked a glance towards Kyle and saw that he was still reclined in his chair, arms folded over his chest, and a somewhat amused gleam in his blue eyes. He remained silent, obviously expecting Lucy to continue her reprimand.
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ABOUT ELLIE GRAY
Ellie is a contemporary romance author and lives in the beautiful East Riding of Yorkshire with her partner, David, and two children, Joe and Abbie.
Love on the Nile will be her second novel published with the lovely Tirgearr Publishing – her debut novel, Beauty and the Recluse was released in February 2016.
A proud member of the Romantic Novelist Association, Ellie currently works full-time in public services and is studying for an MSc in Public Management, although she hopes one day to be able to write full time.
A few random pieces of information about Ellie:
Favourite TV shows – The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Nashville, Dr. Who, The Great British Bake-off!
Favourite Music – I'm an 80's girl!, country, sixties, Elvis, classical (when I'm writing)
Favourite Food – Indian, tapas, crisps, cheese
Favourite Drink – black coffee – copious amounts when I'm writing, Sauvignon blanc when I'm not.
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Twitter: @elliegray58
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Websites: https://elliegrayauthor.wordpress.com
authorsEllie Graynovels
Erica Lainé, Historical Fiction, Isabella of Angoulême, SilverWood Books
Isabella of Angoulême by Erica Lainé #excerpt #giveaway
Isabella of Angoulême
Erica Lainé
Publisher: SilverWood Books
Set in the thirteenth century, the kingdoms of England and France are struggling over territory as the powerful Angevins threaten the French king. In regions far from Paris local fiefdoms disregard all authority.
The Tangled Queen is the story of the little known and very young Isabella of Angoulême who was abducted by King John in 1200. She became his second wife and queen consort, aged 12. He was the most reviled king in English history and his lust for her led to the loss of Normandy and the destruction of the Plantagenet Empire, which then brought about the Magna Carta.
Isabella came of age in England, but was denied her place in court. Her story is full of thwarted ambition, passion, pride and cruelty. She longed for power of her own and returned to France after the death of John to live a life of treachery and intrigue…
Excerpt from Isabella of Angoulême: The Tangled Queen Part 1.
Isabella smiled and yawned – it was time these chattering girls left. She dismissed them, haughty and impatient. Away they sped, some calling back to Isabella, jokes and remarks full of innuendo for her future. She frowned; this was not the way to treat a future queen.
'Agnes, help prepare me for bed.'
Agnes closed the chamber door, unlacing the back of Isabella's dress, folding the glorious red and gold silk into the large chest. Tomorrow Isabella would wear the blue gown, the splendid blue and silver fabric showing wealth and also loyalty. If red and gold had shown the power and wealth of the Taillefers, then the blue would mark their obedience and fealty.
Early the next morning Agnes was busy preparing a scented bath. Precious rose oil, drop by drop, turned the hot water cloudy. And then she was busy mixing the rosemary wash for Isabella's hair. She would wear her hair loose today, and her small gold guirland.
Isabella woke up and saw Agnes looking at her, long and thoughtful, ready to make her stir, but she was already throwing back the covers and standing and stretching. Agnes nodded and together they moved to the bath, and Isabella slipped into the milky, perfumed water and rubbed the rosemary wash into her hair. She felt the water running down her back and shivered. Then she was being briskly dried by Agnes, who was determined to treat Isabella to the most thorough of preparations.
Her mother Alice entered the room and the three of them unfolded the wedding gown and dressed Isabella. Her chemise was soft and light, the dress heavy and cumbersome. Arranged within it, held within it as if caged, her face pale but proud, she moved to the window and looked down onto a courtyard full of people, horses, carts and wagons. A procession was moving through the crowd, with a stately canon and an even more stately bishop in the centre. The clergy were intent on their walk to the cathedral. Isabella clutched Agnes in a sudden fear. Then she rested her head on the window and took a deep breath. It was her wedding day.
About Erica Lainé
I was was born in 1943 in Southampton and originally studied for the theatre. I moved with my family to Hong Kong in 1977 and worked and lived there for 20 years, writing English language textbooks for Chinese primary schools and managing large educational projects for the British Council.
Since living in S W France I have been very involved with a local history society and have researched many topics, the history of gardens and fashion being favourites.
Isabella of Angoulême began in 2011 at a writing workshop run by Philippa Pride, the Book Doctor. The story of this young queen was fascinating and although she appears as a character in some other historical novels I wanted to concentrate on her entire life and her importance to the English and the French and the role she played in the politics of power. Part Two is being written now and my head is more or less permanently in the thirteenth century.
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2 ECOPIES OF THE BOOK
authorsErica Lainénovels
Book Launch, Choc Lit, contemporary fiction, contemporary romance, Novels, Sheryl Browne
LEARNING TO LOVE by Sheryl Browne #guestpost #ChocLit #excerpt
Andrea needs all the help she can get, dealing with aftermath of the fire and the suspicious absence of her husband, Jonathan. But, as she gets to know David and his troubled son, Jake, she begins to realise that maybe they need her help as much as she needs theirs …
You may have gathered, Learning to Love is here! Could it have ever found a more perfect home than with Choc Lit, where heroes are like Chocolate: irresistible? Could it have ever found a more beautiful cover?
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Read an excerpt?
Andrea laughed as the two women made precarious progress onwards, Eva all sweetness and light, Dee her usual rude self. 'Honestly, what would you do with them?'
'Well, maybe not put them out to grass, just yet,' David suggested, not very diplomatically probably, but he couldn't help himself.
'No.' Obviously getting his meaning, Andrea glanced away. 'I adore the furnishings,' she said, walking across to trail her hand over the back of the sofa. 'And the décor. I can't think how you knew I was about to decorate my lounge in this colour, before the fire, obviously.'
'Ryan, he put me right on a few things,' David said. 'Andrea?'
'Hmm?' Andrea was now admiring the blinds.
'Where did the bruise come from?'
David watched, keeping a tight rein on his anger, as Andrea glanced immediately down, visibly debating whether to drop that bastard Eden in it?
'I … fell,' she eventually mumbled, her shoulders deflating.
'Right.' David nodded slowly. 'And was Jonathan in the vicinity when you fell, by any chance?'
'No, I … Yes. It …' Andrea turned around and leant wearily against the edge of the dining table. 'It wasn't what you're thinking, David. It was an accident.'
'I see.' David nodded again and counted silently to five. 'Andrea,' he glanced at the ceiling, 'if you knew how many times I'd heard that.'
'David, it wasn't … He didn't—'
'How many times I've had people, women mostly, come into my surgery with bruises, broken bones, smashed in faces—'
'David, don't!' Andrea pushed herself away from the table.
'They all trip or fall, Andrea! Or walk into doors. I've heard every conceivable excuse there is for a bruise that was more probably caused by a fist!'
'It was not!' Andrea stood her ground adamantly, but glanced away again under his questioning gaze.
David closed his eyes, furious inside. He didn't want to upset her. He didn't want to frighten her, and he possibly was, but he most definitely wanted the truth. 'Did you argue?' he asked more quietly.
Andrea deliberated. David waited.
She nodded, finally. 'The bruise was an accident, but, yes, we did argue.'
And that, as far as David was concerned, was enough. An argument that resulted in a person sustaining physical injury meant it was a violent one. 'And did you resolve anything?' he asked, his throat tight. As in, did Eden admit he was a thieving piece of scum?
Tempted? Even I am, having read some of the gorgeous pre-release reviews.
You can grab your copy here: Amazon
Thank you so much, Melanie, for featuring me on your lovely blog. Thank you too to all those readers and book bloggers for your wonderful support. The road to publication can sometimes be a little bit bumpy. Without you, I might still be languishing down the potholes.
For anyone kind enough to purchase the book, I would love your feedback. Because, at the end of the day, the fate of Doctor Adams is in the hands of the reader.
Keep safe all!
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Commercial Romantic Fiction, Ellie Holmes, Novels, The Flower Seller
THE FLOWER SELLER by Ellie Holmes #Excerpt #Giveaway
June 8, 2016 Melanie	Leave a comment
The Flower Seller
Ellie Holmes
Genre: Commercial Romantic Fiction
All she wanted was a love she could BELIEVE IN.
Jessie Martin believes that when it comes to love there are three types of people: the skimmers, the bottom dwellers and the ones who dive for pearls. Jessie is a pearl diver. She had thought her husband William was a pearl diver too. But when William leaves her for a younger woman, it's not just Jessie's heart that is broken, her ability to trust is shattered too.
Refusing to retire from the battlefield of life, Jessie resolves to put her heartache behind her. She doesn't want to be that woman who was too scared to love again. There has to be another pearl diver out there; all she has to do is find him.
When fate brings handsome flower seller Owen Phillips into her life, Jessie believes he may be the one but is her fragile trust about to be shattered all over again?
The Flower Seller is a warm, engaging read about love, deceit, betrayal and hope.
http://goo.gl/UrHYRb
It had been her daughter Hannah's idea to put an advert in the Abbeyleigh Gazette. 'It's time to take yourself out of your comfort zone, Mum. Why don't you get Anne to give you a hand with the ad?'
Sucked into the vortex of her daughter's enthusiasm, Jessie had agreed before she could talk herself out of it.
'So, what have you got so far?' Anne had asked over margaritas in Spike's Bar.
'Newly single brunette, slim, attractive, early forties, non-smoker, good sense of humour, would like to meet man thirties/forties for friendship and maybe more,' Jessie read aloud.
Anne pretended to fall asleep and Jessie slapped her arm.
'Bit dull, sweetie!' Anne said with a smile. 'For starters, you should put early thirties. Everyone knocks a few years off. And do you really want to say slim? It's practically shorthand for flat-chested and you're not. How about "great figure" instead?'
'That's a bit conceited, isn't it?'
Anne threw her a look. 'It's an advert, Jessie. You're meant to be selling yourself.'
'Blimey! I'll just get some fishnets and a red light, shall I?'
'You know what I mean. You should put something in there about being outgoing. That usually leads to some interesting propositions.'
'But I'm not outgoing,' Jessie said.
'For goodness' sake, outgoing just means you're up for a bit of fun. I'm not suggesting for a moment that you put "open-minded". Now that would lead to some replies that would make your hair stand on end. And obviously your WLTM has to be a man in his late twenties or early thirties.'
'Has to be? This is my advert, remember? Not yours!'
Anne smirked. 'So you'd prefer "Recently dumped flat-chested brunette, early forties, lives life with the handbrake on, would like to meet man forties/fifties for visits to the library"?'
'I'd prefer not to be doing it at all.'
Anne squeezed her hand. 'I know, sweetie. And you can stick another pin in your effigy of William when you get home but right now we need to get you back out there before life passes you by.'
ABOUT ELLIE HOLMES
Paula Guyver
Ellie Holmes writes commercial women's fiction and romantic suspense. She takes her inspiration from the beautiful Essex countryside and the sublime Cornish coast. The Flower Seller is Ellie's first full-length novel. Ellie is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Romantic Novelists' Association. To find out more please visit www.ellieholmesauthor.com
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15076107.Ellie_Holmes
authorsEllie Holmesnovels


For many homeowners, the roof is just the structure above their heads that tops the property. The roof, however, is a complex structure actually made up of several parts and does more than just keep rain and sunshine out of your interior.
In this post, Koziatek Contracting lists four things you should know about your home's roofing system.
The gutters play an integral role in keeping the roof in good condition. Water that spills on the roof from the gutters not only accelerates rot, it also causes mold to grow and spread. Additionally, clogged gutters will weigh down and physically pull the roof from the side, causing the shingles to loosen. Keep your gutters in good condition and you'll keep your roof secure.
Most roofing problems become obvious only when they have already caused damage. You'll only notice leaks, for example, when water is actually leaking from the roof during a rain. As such, it pays to do preventive roof repair and maintenance on your roof. Not only do you keep your roof in good condition, you address problems before they become a bigger and more expensive problem.
Since the roof is a bit vague when in terms of showing its true condition, it's a must to let a professional roofer perform an in-depth inspection of your roof. Experienced roofers like us know exactly where to look and we'll be able to spot warning signs that you might miss when you're doing your own inspection.
Finally, remember that your roof won't last forever. For asphalt shingles, the average service life is around 15 to 20 years. Once it reaches its 20th year, you should consider replacing your old roof as any repairs you perform might end up being as costly as a full replacement.
As your local roofing contractors, Koziatek Contracting offers complete roofing services. Call us now at (314) 837-8262 and we'll help you with your preventive roof repairs and inspections. We offer expert roofing services throughout St. Charles, MO.


PLYMOUTH, N.H. – After putting up seven goals in a win for the fifth time this season the Plymouth State University men's ice hockey team moved up one spot in both the USCHO and D3hockey.com national rankings.
The Panthers are now ranked #14 in the nation after topping Framingham State University, 7-1, in their only game last week.
PSU got on the board first with a blast from freshman Hunter Gunski (Goffstown, N.H.) before the Rams scored the equalizer at the 7:37 mark of the opening period. From there, junior Michael Covach (Shillington, Pa.) and the Panther offense took control. PSU scored six unanswered goals, including three from Covach, to run away with its 14th Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season win of the year. Covach's first career hat trick was the highlight as the Panthers reached 14 conference wins for the fourth straight season and fifth time in six years.
The top four teams in both polls are identical with Adrian holding the top spot, followed by St. Norbert, Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Salve Regina. Plymouth State trails Marian, ranked 13th, by 30 points in the USCHO poll and trails Norwich, ranked 13th in the D3hockey.com poll, by 27 points.
The NCAA will release its second of four regional rankings later today. Last week the Panthers debuted at #8 in the East Region.
The Panthers (18-4-2, 14-2-1 MASCAC) wrap up the regular season at home against Westfield State University tonight at 6:00 p.m. PSU has already secured the MASCAC regular season title and the top seed for the MASCAC Tournament. Plymouth State will receive an opening round bye and will host a semifinal game next Tuesday (Feb. 27) at 7:00 p.m.


Join ArtTable DC for a behind-the-scenes conversation on the latest technology initiatives from the Hirshhorn Museum. Test out their new mobile experience and tour their largest interactive technology exhibition to date, three major installations from Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's Pulse series come together for the artist's DC debut.
Join us for an exclusive chat and Q&A with AT members Alice Walker, Director of Creative Strategy & Global Head of Interactive Design at Antenna International, and Hilary-Morgan Watt, Digital Engagement Manager at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Thank you to Hilary-Morgan Watt and Alice Walker for organizing and participating in this program.
Image: Hirshhorn Eye: Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin, 2016. Courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.


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Q: Stripping Specific HTML & Content from a page with PHP for RSS I am building a mobile version of my company website, and one thing we are in need of is an RSS feed.
I have the RSS pulling in fine with this code:
<?php

    $url = 'http://www.someurl.com/rss/articles';
    $feed = simplexml_load_file($url, 'SimpleXMLIterator');
    $filtered = new LimitIterator($feed->channel->item, 0, 15);
    foreach ($filtered as $item) { ?>

<a href="<?php echo $item->link; ?>"><?php echo $item->title; ?>

<?php echo $item->description; ?>

<?php echo $item->category; ?>

    <a class="link" href="<?php echo $item->link; ?>">Read More

<?php echo $item->pubDate; ?>

 <?php } ?>

What I would like to do is utilize either the fopen() or file_get_contents() to handle the clicking of the 'Read More' link and strip all of the contents of the incoming page except for the
 tag.
I have searched Google the past day, and have not been successful in finding any tutorials on this subject.
EDIT:
I would like to load the stripped HTML contents into their own view within my framework.
SECOND EDIT:
I would just like to share how I solved this problem.
I modified my $item->link; to be passed through the URL as a variable:
<a href="article.php?rss_url=<?php echo $item->link; ?>">Read More

On the article.php page, I collect the variable with a if() statement:
if (isset($_GET['rss_url']) && is_string($_GET['rss_url'])) {
    $url = $_GET['rss_url'];
  }

Then building on the suggestions of the comments below, I built a way to then collect the incoming URL and strip the necessary tags to then format for my mobile view:

  <?php
    $link = file_get_contents($url);
    $article = strip_tags($link, '<title>

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Sheldon Jones named superintendent of year
The Louisiana Association of School Superintendents has named Sheldon Jones, superintendent of the Richland Parish School Board, as the 2021 Louisiana Superintendent of the Year.
"I am humbled to receive this honor from my peers and will use this platform to elevate public education in Richland Parish and northeast Louisiana," Jones said. "We are fortunate to have outstanding board members, students, parents, employees, and community supporters in Richland Parish."
Read more about Sheldon Jones named superintendent of year
Mangham police officer dies
Mangham Police Officer Marshall Waters died early Nov. 5 after being shot in the line of duty last month.
"It's with great sadness and broken hearts that I and the Mangham Police Department have to inform you of the passing of Officer Marshall Waters, PD3, who was shot in the line of duty on Oct. 17, 2020." Mangham Police Chief Perry Fleming said in a statement. "We ask that you please continue to pray for Marshall Waters family and the Mangham Police Department family during this time."
Read more about Mangham police officer dies
The Manger is closed after 55 years of service
The Manger Center for the mentally challenged adults of Richland and Madison parishes has been forced to close after 55 years of operation.
The center served all areas of Richland Parish and the Waverly and Tallulah areas of Madison Parish.
Read more about The Manger is closed after 55 years of service
Richland unemployment rate dips in September
The Richland Parish unemployment rate fell slightly in September according to figures release by the Louisiana Works Commission.
Richland Parish's rate fell from 7.5 percent in August to 7.3 percent in September. It's up from 6.3 percent in September 2019.
That means 608 people were looking for jobs in the parish in September, as opposed to 619 in August and 520 a year ago.
Overall, 7,688 people were employed in the parish in September as opposed to 7,689 in August and 7.766 a year ago.
Read more about Richland unemployment rate dips in September
Tue, 11/03/2020 - 9:57am
Voters in Richland Parish elected two local officials, sent a third to a runoff and voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump for president and Start native Luke Letlow for congress along with helping decide other ballot issues on Tuesday according to Wednesday morning's election returns.
In local races, Jim Archibald was elected Justice of the Peace in Ward 4 by 68.6 percent with 749 votes to Jackson Torrey's 343 votes.
Brenda Daniels and Cody Uehling each received 200 votes for Justice of the Peace in Wards 6 and 7, forcing a runoff.
Read more about Election Results

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City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson | Mini Review
Posted April 24, 2017 by Cristina (Girl in the Pages) in Reviews / 6 Comments
City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson
on January 24th 2017
Pages: 432 •Goodreads
In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn't exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to build a new life and home. Her mother quickly found work as a maid for a prominent family, headed by Roland Greyhill, one of the city's most respected business leaders. But Tina soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. So when her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, she knows exactly who's behind it.
With revenge always on her mind, Tina spends the next four years surviving on the streets alone, working as a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City's local gang. It's a job for the Goondas that finally brings Tina back to the Greyhill estate, giving her the chance for vengeance she's been waiting for. But as soon as she steps inside the lavish home, she's overtaken by the pain of old wounds and the pull of past friendships, setting into motion a dangerous cascade of events that could, at any moment, cost Tina her life. But finally uncovering the incredible truth about who killed her mother--and why--keeps her holding on in this fast-paced nail-biting thriller.
2017 seems to be a year rife with diverse titles, and one of my reading challenge goals has been to read more widely and diversely this year. City of Saints and Thieves seemed like a great way to expand my reading horizons as it's a book featuring diverse characters, set outside of the United States (in Kenya) and deals with many political and humanitarian rights issues. What I also didn't glean until I started the book and paid attention to the synopsis more closely is that it's a thriller, with the protagonist on the hunt for revenge for her mother's murder the main driving force of the story.
While the author is not from Kenya herself, it's clear that a lot of thought and research went into this book. While the initial set up of the book didn't really engage me (the gang environment, the job-gone-wrong, etc.) I found myself pulled by the socio-political aspects that developed from subtle mentions to full blown plot points throughout the course of the book. There's the exploration of the great wealth disparity in Kenya through Tiny Girl's upbringing vs. her dangerous birth in the Congo and her status as a refugee. There's explanation of the dangers faced by the constant state of warfare in countries like the Congo, and the effects are shown instead of told, through the character's struggles, actions, and fears. The narrative manages to convey the sense or fear and uncertainty without ever veering into "info-dump" territory, but rather lets the story itself do the work through the settings and character interactions. I personally found the setting of the the church hospital in Tiny Girl's hometown of the Congo to carry the most impact, as it shows the strength of human resilience even among the most damaged and vulnerable. So many types of strength, especially females' strength in the face of unfathomable horrors, are showcased and developed in this novel.
Overall: City of Saints and Thieves was a book outside of the normal thrillers I read, but I am so, so glad that I read it. Rather than relying on fantasy or dystopian elements, it crafted a compelling story out of the very real horrors that are being perpetuated in the world today, while still crafting a story about resilience, strength, and hope. As an added bonus, the content feels well researched as the author has worked directly with NGOs and the UN on refugee relief in Africa, and mentions in her author's note that many, many real stories and experiences of those she worked with inspired and made their way into her novel. While the pacing of Anderson's debut dragged a bit for me throughout the first half of the book, it's evident that she's a strong, capable writer and I can't wait to see what she produces next.
3.5 Star Books
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6 responses to "City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson | Mini Review"
Celeste Castillo
I read this book some months ago and would also recommend it! I learned a lot about the same issues you mentioned and it was a fast read too :).
It definitely was! I am so glad that I picked it up despite it not being the usual types of books I read- I feel like it enlightened me to a lot of topics and issues!
Kareena
I just borrowed this book from a friend and I'm so excited to read it! Love your review!
Thank you, Kareena! Hope you enjoy it!
Laura W
I haven't read many books set in Africa and this seems like the perfect book for me to dip my toes into the water. I've read books about the crisis in Iran and India, but have yet to do so for other parts of the world. I'll be sure to give this a read soon! Lovely review, Cristina!
Thank you, Laura! This book was definitely out of the norm for me but I'm so glad that I read it!


Hard to believe that August is here! Not to worry… we have a few months of lovely weather yet to come. Nevertheless, might be time to consider what you would like to add to your yard.
Have you considered a flowering Dogwood Shrub? They are lovely to look at and easy to maintain. AND this month, your friendly nursery, Heritage Hill, is offering a whopping 25% off!
Another favorite that has a short, but oh so sweet blooming season, is the Lilac Bush – now 20% off! We simply cannot resist that alluring frangrance and of course the beautiful brilliant flowers in a variety of rich colors.
Check our Seasonal Tips for more info about the above plants… and stop in, won't you? We're here to help! You know you can count on Heritage Hill Nursery for healthy strong plants.
Visit Heritage Hill Nursery soon! We are conveniently located, close to Cedarburg, Jackson, West Bend, and Slinger, WI.
25% off All varieties of Dogwood Shrubs!


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A "Must Read" from Canadian Dimension. The Ugly Face of Today's New Democratic Party.
It's probably too late for New Democrats to reclaim their party but at least they need to grasp how degraded it has become under their leader, Tommy Angry Beard.
They can start with two terrific articles from Canadian Dimension.
First up: Yves Engler's fine piece, "The 'N' in NDP Now Stands for NeoLiberal."
And next there's Richard Swift's, "Death of a Candidacy."
Tom Mulcair in completing what Jack Layton began has now Blairified the New Democratic Party. The New Dem faithful are clinging to a delusion that their party remains social democrat, somewhere to the left of centre. That's nonsense.
What do Mike Duffy and Tom Mulcair have in common? 1. They both chose parties they thought would float their boat. 2. Neither one of them truly did their respective parties any good.
zoombats said...
Yeah but what choice do we have?
By chance I have just read the article and it scares the shit out of me.
Living in Nanaimo where a split vote could mean a shitty Conservative candidate win I am caught between a rock and a hard place.
For fucks sake we do not want a TONY BLAIR.
@ Zoombats, at this point I don't know, I honestly don't. It's too close to the election to do anything, I suppose. There are a number of people who think we need to form another party of the Left, one that reflected the interests, concerns and needs of blue collar and white collar Canadians, organized labour and the poor. There was a time when those people could look to the party of Tommy Douglas but that's about over.
@ Anon, I get your predicament. Just look at the mess Labour is in today. A left-winger is making a dark horse bid for the leadership and the right is mobilized to do everything they can to stop him. Blair has weighed in, so too has that dismal failure, Brown. They'll do anything they can to prevent Labour becoming 'labour' again.
The political spectrum is shrinking at a dangerous rate. Everything is moving powerfully to the Right. The voters don't see alternatives, just slightly different grey suits stuffed with wet cardboard.
I personally find the Greens the most progressive party of the lot. So too does James Laxer and he carries some weight with the Canadian Left or what remains of it. Whether it's the atrocities in Gaza or C-51, Elizabeth May doesn't wait to see which way the wind is blowing. She stands up for what's right and she backs it up with clear and compelling reasons.
The only thing consistent about the Angry Mound is his hatred of the NDP.
Notice that he's perfectly Ok with the neoliberal ideology that the Green party platform is founded on. (Preston Manning green for the fail.)
Interesting, Anon, that you have no dispute with either of those articles. I'll take that as your admission that they're accurate - and they are.
Thanks for playing.
Purple library guy said...
Well, I've more or less given up talking about this subject around here. But maybe there's still room for a position with more than one note.
OK, first, the whole thing about turfing a candidate for less-than-complete support of Israel is putrid, and I've been dead set against Mulcair's position on Israel since before he was elected leader; it's a key reason why I put a number of people ahead of him on my ballot. So I can agree about that.
Second, the NDP is . . . kind of a little neoliberal, but it is frankly unrealistic to claim that it's all the way there, even under Mulcair. The child care alone pretty much puts the lie to that; any neoliberal worth their salt must by definition insist that such things should be done by the private sector. They're far to the right of my preference (so are the Greens), but they are nonetheless still somewhat distinct from the Liberals (and that's imagining the Liberals ever kept their promises, which they rarely do).
Third, your own line about Mulcair is ludicrous. The man is too much of a Liberal for my taste, but he certainly didn't pick the NDP out of opportunism. Nobody seems capable of remembering the circumstances under which Mulcair joined the NDP. They had, what, one riding in Quebec (Pierre Ducasse if I remember right) which they held purely on the basis of the MP's personal popularity. The conventional wisdom was that an NDP breakthrough in Quebec was impossible, the leader of the BQ was formidable, and there was Jack Layton, busily trying to convince people the NDP could take Quebec. Turned out he was right and now it looks like becoming the NDP's Quebec lieutenant is this no-brainer stepping stone to power, but at the time it was becoming one more voice crying in the wilderness; nobody would have gone for it out of opportunism. It's just silly, the only people aside from MoS who maybe believe that are those Conservative spokespeople so stupid they believe the talking points they're fed. You can dislike someone without believing every piece of crazy shit anyone says about them.
Finally, no matter what MoS thinks of the NDP, at the moment there is exactly one electoral hope for the Green Party and future better parties to the left of the NDP to come into existence: The NDP promise to bring in proportional representation. If the NDP doesn't get in, the chances of PR arriving and enabling small parties (both directly and by defanging "strategic voting" arguments) are a dead letter again for at least four years and more likely a decade. So anyone who wants the Greens to get anywhere, and who doesn't live in Elizabeth May's riding, should be voting NDP no matter how sneer-worthy they may be.
As you know, PLG, we disagree on that one. The way Harper appears to be self-destructing our differences might be moot.
Scotian said...
Well, we all know my view on the transformation of the NDP into something it bears little resemblance to, so this latest proof is not a shocker to me. I will say though that this party still likes to brand itself as what it once was is pretty much the same thing the Harper CPC did after it murdered the PCPC, and the fact so many Dipper partisans here and elsewhere not only refuse to see it, or see it as a good thing while denouncing such elsewhere only underscores why in my mind ANY overly ideological party mindset, or my party right or wrong mindset, in inherently unhealthy in the long run, period.
From where I sit, for the NDP to have a chance at returning to its roots is for them to take a major hit in this election, lose to a Trudeau majority and then return to its roots, otherwise it will continue to become everything it always used to denounce as bad and evil about the Liberal party of Canada. I find it both ironic and infuriating to see the NDP go from a real party of real principles to being everything they always denounced in others but see as fine in themselves. A more perfect reflection of the Harper CPC M.O. is hard to see.
And of course for those that will continue to claim I am a hard core Lib partisan despite anything I've ever said to the contrary (since of course they all know better than I what my political beliefs and leanings are) and therefore must hate the NDP, my wife was a decade ago as hardcore a Dipper partisan as you could wish for, and it was the way the party changed, not anything I said or did, that has turned her not just away from the NDP with her own rage, but these days she is a Trudeau supporter much more than I.
She is in no small part what the NDP sold out with Layton and then Mulcair, me I blame them for selling out the nation when Harper was still stoppable and seeing protecting their electoral position as more important than defending Canada from the most destructive anti-progressive force in our history as the priority. Indeed, worse, de facto teaming up with Harper to try and destroy their mutual electoral rival the Liberals was the most important, which shows that for all the claims of high minded statecraft and principles when push comes to shove this NDP is all about the power expediency game first and foremost, which when you claim to be the only ones not so motivated has a really nasty stench to it.
These days I am wondering whether it should be spelled NaDP, or New anti-Democratic Party between the actions around the debates with Mulcair, and the purges he has periodically enacted within his party, including the latest one. Not to mention the willingness of so many of the partisans of the party to STILL stand by them despite the massive changes that have happened to this party over the last decade and to believe that somehow once in power they will still advance the old NDP promises and agenda.
Oemissions said...
i would talk to Libby Davies and other NDP MPs and members about all this before making a total condemnation
The grassroots has been pushing back with the BC NDP and moving them forward such as on Kinder Morgan
Get in there and make some NOISE
I just decided this weekend to vote for the NDP candidate and not E May (who i campaigned for last time) after 2 important FN people introduced her and explained why they are supporting her
Running on tax cuts = neoliberal ideology. Running on reversing tax cuts and increasing social spending = opposite of neoliberal ideology.
Big difference between not trying to appear radical and mistaking neoliberal economics for evidence-based policy.
The Cons are doing everything to win including a large dependence on vote split. We need to be brave and vote for the future of Canada not vote for some wishy washy threat that is baseless. Think of hiring Mulcair as signing the best player from somewhere else for a local sports team. The goal is to win. Why would you run with a lose?
Anon@3:58AM:
There is a large difference between a local sports team and picking a potential Prime Minister, and in our system of government the leader while important is not the entire hire either. You need to consider what kind of Cabinet and major Ministers are likely to come from that leader's party as well, and it is there that many people find Mulcair and the NDP comes up short to the Liberals. The thing is the Liberals while having a leader who is clearly not as experienced overall in the political game as either Harper or Mulcair has the candidate pool best qualified on the experience front to come in after the Harper CPC, while the NDP may have the more experienced leader but a party and candidate pool with far less such, and whose institutional governing knowledge federally is zip. This last matters especially when following a disaster government that came to power with no such experience either.
I would also point out another one of Trudeau's selling points despite his relative inexperience. We have a government that is in massive disarray and having been systematically weakened and destroyed by Harper. Trudeau took over a party that at the time everyone expected to disappear, and if by some means it survived to not be a political force for at least a few elections. Yet in less than two years he rebuilt it financially, from the ground up at the riding and Constituency levels, and has made it a real option for government in this election (and that takes far more than his name to be doing, and he put in the hard ground work, it is why he was away from Parliament so much, and in the case of his party it clearly was needed). I have pointed out in the past his rebuilding shows leadership skills ignored by his critics, but that this particular feat also shows that he has the right leadership skills to follow a disaster PM/government like this one is a point I only recently recognized myself.
So yes, while getting rid of Harper is job one, it is also important to consider who is best qualified to pick up the pieces he is leaving behind, and on that front Justin Trudeau with his successful rebuild of the Libs despite all reasonable expectations has actually shown himself to be the first round draft pick, to continue with your sports analogy, not Mulcair. That Mulcair is as of late showing more and more his true colours with these purges and the way he plays along with Harper on the debates while claiming to be the real defender of our democracy, well that only underscores why he is not the "best player" to hire.
Back in '06 I was asked to write a piece for a CTV election web board.
Long lost of course due to a hard drive meltdown.
I said then that far too many Canadians only had the imagination and wit to treat an election campaign as a sporting event and once they'd picked their team that was it.
In the years since, every time I read the online comments sections in the national news media I'm confirmed in that.
And now here too.
Libs, New Dems - Harper Has You Right Where He Wan...
Living in a Real Life Dystopian State
It's Up to 98% Cleaner! Buy One, Get One Free.
Possibly the Most Poignant Tattoo Ever
The Ugliest American
The Question They're Not Asking
What Do Ashley Madison and World Espionage Agencie...
Oh Great, Now the Stasi Want to Screen Your Mail
Give It a Try
Stop the Endless Whining. It's the Deal You Made. ...
Where Is the Exit Door?
Why Didn't We Think of That?
Chet and Mark - See You In My Dreams
Get With the Programme
Sea Levels Rising Faster than Predicted - Again (a...
Just a Reminder to you Dippers. No Woolies for You...
Paul Martin Gives Tommy Angry Beard a Well-Deserve...
"Harperman" Lands EnviroCan Scientist in Trouble w...
I Knew the Harper PMO Reminded Me of Something.
The Unist'ot'en People of Northern B.C. versus Che...
The Iron Curtain is History. Is the "Ice Curtain" ...
Props Wanted. Great Pay and Benefits.
I'll Vote "No" on Strategic Voting.
Wishful Thinking. Oh, to Dream.
Why the Far Right is Always Wrong
Living (Usually Broke) in Harper's Petro-WonderLand
British Columbians Say It's Time to "Heave Steve"
Conservatives Have a Big Decision in this Election...
Another "Dog (Ate My Homework) Day" Wraps Up Duffy...
Andrew Coyne Nails It - Again. It's Not About Duff...
Lifeboat Europe. Man the Oars!
First You Stabilize Your Population. Then You Stab...
C'mon Christie, Give Us a Break.
David Phillips' Weather Whiplash Warning
Wherein John Ibbitson Explores the Darkness that L...
If the Past Two Weeks Has Taught Us Anything, It's...
Will Sergeant Horton Please Take the Stand
Ben Perrin Knows What Wright's "Good to Go" Email ...
Take It From Seth Meyers - Donald Trump Will Never...
Now It Makes Sense. It Was Magic.
The Soul of a Monster
So Much for the Myth of the "Smartest Man in the R...
Harper and the Conservative Third Option
Islam Meets Climate Change
Legal Advice, Schmegal Advice.
Hey MarineLand
It's On!!!
Hey, Greece, Here's a Way Out of Your Debt Crisis.
Tory Veteran Ready to Throw In the Towel?
You Just Know Someone is Going to Do It.
Of Alchemists and the Apparent Obstruction of Just...
Defrocking the Choir Boy
Wait a Second. May Was the Hottest Month in Record...
Shifty's Alternate Reality
Harper, You Moron, It's the Legion Hall!
Ibbitson Detects the Scent of Revolution in the Air
A "Must Read" from Canadian Dimension. The Ugly F...
That Whiff of Watergate
You See, I've Got These Friends...
I Don't Think Harper Can Survive This. He's Done.
Whereby Justin Pulls Old King Steve's Beard
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario versus H...
The Duffy Archives
Bayne Bares His Fangs, Nigel Winces
Let's Cut the Crap. They're Called the "Slave Sta...
Out of the Fry Pan, Into the Fire - Bad News for D...
They're on the March Again. This Time Their Target...
Harper Could Be In Trouble this Time Around
A Bit of the Cross-Examination I'd Love to Put to ...
Oh, Damn! Jimmy Carter has Cancer.
Big Day Tomorrow - It's Earth Overshoot Day - Augu...
Sure, Nigel, So Why Didn't You Just Write Him a Ch...
Well Isn't That Just Typical - Two Old Jews...
NDP Candidate Dares to Speak the Truth - And Is Pr...
IPCC - "Criminally Complacent"
The Sparks Will Fly on Wednesday
The Tyee Outs "Harper the Serial Abuser"
The New York Times' Fuzzy Logic
I Know How I'm Voting
The Point of No Return?
Gorbie Says - "Ban the Bomb"
Dippers, Beware of a Left Wing Insurgency
You Can Always Plaster Harper's Face on a Billboard
Think About It. Are You Really Okay With This?
The Guardian Sums Up Last Night's Debates.
The Guardian Nails What's at Stake in Canada's Fed...
If They Can Call Me an Extremist, I Can Return the...
Truth from the Sea
About Those Republican Debates Tomorrow Night
I'll Bet Harper's Crazy Glad He Sacked Most Depart...
As If Any Canadian Needs a Good Reason to Turf Harper
Robert Reich: Trump + Sanders = Looming Revolt.
On Bullets Dodged - For Now
Oh Dear. One of the Last Credible Justifications ...
It's Come to This
Of Israelis and Palestinians and Our Fairy Tales
Why Doesn't Harper Erect a Statue to Canada's Very...
The Best Consolation Prize - EVER


text:
Le Corps Mince de Françoise, men allt oftare förkortningen LCMDF, är namnet på ett elektropop-band från Helsingfors, Finland. Gruppen bildades år 2007 av systrarna Mia och Emma Kemppainen samt Malin Nyqvist. Året 2010 lämnade Malin Nyqvist bandet, som sedan dess varit en duo.
Bandet är baserat i Berlin, Tyskland.

Diskografi

Album
 2011: Love & Nature (Heavenly Recordings)

Singlar och EPs
 2013: #haters feat. Black Cracker (singel, officiell låt på Helsingfors Pride 2013)
 2013: Mental Health pt.2 EP (FAN Recordings)
 2012: Mental Health pt.1 EP (FAN Recordings)
 2011: Cool And Bored
 2011: Future Me (släppt som promo)
 2010: Gandhi EP (Heavenly)
 2009: Something Golden (Kitsuné Music)
 2009: Bitch Of The Bitches (Relentless Records)
 2008: Ray-Ban Glasses (New Judas)

Externa länkar
 Le Corps Mince de Françoise (MySpace)

Finländska musikgrupper
Musikgrupper bildade 2007

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Kalzip's polyester-coated FC rainscreen system on Dewey&Blohm-Schröder Architekten's Spirit of Spice warehouse in Willich, Germany.
Rainscreen cladding systems consist of an outer leaf with air gaps, a ventilated cavity and an inner wall. Though the concept has been around for centuries, modern rainscreen cladding was developed in Scandinavia during the 1940s using timber cladding.
One of the earliest and best-known examples of this type of construction is the 30-storey Alcoa building in Pittsburgh in the United States, which was built in 1952 and clad in open-jointed aluminium baffle panels. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that the term "rainscreen cladding" was adopted and such systems became commonplace.
In a rainscreen cladding system, the outer leaf shields and controls the majority of rainwater, and is typically made from high-pressure laminate, aluminium, stone or glass.
The cladding system's inner leaf or structural wall acts as the final barrier to moisture, and insulates the building. The primary air seal of the wall must also be achieved by the support wall or by an applied vapour barrier.
The inner leaf may be constructed of concrete, steel, timber or, on a refurbishment project, the existing outer brick wall. All other facade elements — such as windows, curtain walling and doors — must be sealed to this element in order to ensure compliance with air leakage regulations.
In a back-ventilated system, there are openings at the top and base of the system, and there may also be open joints between panels.
A back-ventilated system has a continuous cavity that can run for several storey heights or panel widths, limited by the requirement for cavity barriers under Building Regulations (see below). Any water ingress drains down the back of the external cavity, and either runs out at the opening at the bottom of the cavity or evaporates and escapes at the top or through the horizontal joints.
In a pressure-equalised system, cavities in the cladding are compartmentalised, and pressure is equalised on either side. This prevents rain ingress into or across the cavities, and drains or vents between compartments allow any water ingress to escape.
Kalzip's FC system comes in a range of finishes and materials.
They offer good thermal performance, allowing designers to create very efficient thermal envelopes to meet the highest environmental standards.
They can be included as part of refurbishment projects to extend the life of a building, weatherproof it, and improve its thermal performance.
They are simpler and quicker to install than traditional constructions, reducing construction time and costs.
The systems' inherent flexibility means they can be installed with relatively little impact on building users and interior spaces.
A range of finishes and materials are available, including high-pressure resins, terracotta tiles, stone tiles, timber cladding, fibre cement panels or metals such as aluminium, aluminium composite material (ACM) or steel.
Aluminium rainscreen cladding systems are lightweight, durable, cost-effective, offer many colour choices, are suitable for both new build and refurbishment schemes, and have a design life in excess of 40 years.
There are various considerations when designing rainscreen systems to meet Building Regulations. The three most important are structural performance, which is covered by Approved Document A, fire performance, and thermal performance and the risk of condensation, outlined in more detail below.
The Centre for Window and Cladding Technology has also developed a performance standard for the weathertightness of building envelopes, which covers airtightness, impact resistance, watertightness and wind resistance.
Testing a rainscreen system on a standard back wall will give an indication of its likely performance, but its watertightness will be influenced by the complete wall construction, and particularly the effect of any membranes incorporated into the wall and the detailing of interfaces around windows.
The airtightness of the system will be entirely dependent on the backing wall.
To demonstrate adequate wind resistance, calculations for the layout of panels, rails and brackets will generally be required.
Impact resistance of rainscreen panels may be affected by the rigidity of the back wall. Tests carried out with rainscreen panels supported on a rigid structure will have the widest application.
Where the full details of the wall construction are known, tests for weather-tightness and impact resistance can demonstrate the likely performance of the proposed wall construction.
Sciences in Germany, and for water resistance and impact resistance at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland.
The fire-resistance of a rainscreen system is determined by the backing wall. With regards to spread of fire, the CWCT standard is more restrictive than Approved Document B, requiring both the external surface of the envelope and the inner face of the rainscreen to satisfy Class 0 or equivalent.
Such materials or products are generally required to be non-combustible, or to have a Class 1 rating for surface spread of flame. Fire stops to restrict the spread of heat and smoke must be provided between the building envelope and compartment walls and floors, and must have the same resistance level.
Approved Document B requires cavity barriers at the perimeter of cavities, window openings, and along compartment walls and floors, and they may also be required to limit the maximum extent of the cavity to 10m or 20m, depending on the materials used in construction. The CWCT standard requires that insulation materials have appropriate resistance to combustion, and a minimum of one non-combustible fixing per square metre.
Various types of insulation can be used to meet thermal performance requirements, and product choice may also be influenced by fire performance criteria.
When calculating thermal bridging, the overall construction must be taken into account as the support sub-structure will determine the appropriate U-value for the wall.
The regulations for air leakage allow a maximum of 10m3/hr/m2, but in practice the airtightness requirement may be greater, depending on the desired CO2 emissions for the overall building.
Most air leakage occurs at interfaces, such as between the wall and the roof, or between windows and the wall. Performance is therefore dependent on the detailing at design stage, and on good quality workmanship on-site.
The risk of condensation can be reduced by avoiding cold bridges, using a vapour control layer to keep moisture out of the wall and by ventilating cold cavities.
Kalzip's FC replicated the dome's original aluminium appearance.
Kalzip's Fix Click (FC) rainscreen system was first installed on the 34,000sq m facade of the Superdome in New Orleans, which required significant refurbishment after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
At the beginning of 2009, the FC system was in the early stages of development when the State of Louisiana's Facility Planning & Control Agency called for tenders, but Kalzip's engineers accelerated the process and won the contract to overclad the stadium in time for the 2010 football season.
The brief was to replicate the iconic stadium's original aluminium appearance, while protecting it from future hurricanes with windspeeds of up to 120km/h. The cladding had to be cost-effective, flexible and lightweight, and fast and safe to install with scaffolding up to heights of 80m.
The Kalzip FC system is installed on vertically fixed modular click rails, with each lightweight aluminium panel hooked at the top and push-clicked into place at the bottom, using no rivets or screws. This means that individual panels can be replaced without affecting adjacent components, allowing any future storm damage to be repaired.


New Delhi, May 08: With violence and unrest continuing in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to quit the PDP-BJP coalition government saying the "unholy" alliance was the "gravest provocation" to the people of the Valley.
In a series of tweets, the former Home and Finance Minister claimed the "muscular and militaristic" approach of the central government had driven the state towards the present "catastrophic" situation.
Chidambaram said he shared the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister's concern that statesmanship required to get the state out of the vicious cycle of killings but it was sad that she did not see that her coalition government is the core of the problem.
A tourist from Chennai died on Monday after he was hit on the head by a stone during a protest on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Five Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including an assistant professor of Kashmir University, were killed in an encounter in the Valley on Sunday.
Five civilians, who were staging protests near the encounter site, were also killed in clashes with forces. The sixth civilian succumbed on Tuesday.


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text:
Home Disability & Workers Compensation Social Security Disability Disability Benefits Information Waiting for Your Disability Decision
How Long Does It Take to Get a Decision for Social Security Disability?
It can take a month to more than two years to get approved for disability benefits. The more serious your disability is, the more likely you are to get approved quickly.
The question of how long it takes to get a decision on a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplement Security Income (SSI) benefits claim is not easy to answer, for several reasons. Social Security disability and SSI cases can be won in as little as 30 days or can take as long as three years for benefits to be awarded. There is no way to predict how long a case will take because, unlike other programs, the federal disability program does not have deadlines for applications or appeals. In a survey we took of our readers, the average time from application through multiple levels of appeals to a decision was 27 months.
Initial Application and Reconsideration Decisions
On average, a decision for an initial disability claim takes three to four months, and a reconsideration (the first level of appeal) takes about as long. In our survey, we found that while almost 40% of our readers received an answer on their initial applications within three months, the same number of readers had to wait between four and eight months for an answer. We didn't ask readers how long their reconsideration took, but government statistics say reconsideration takes about 100 days on average.
Appeal Hearing Decisions
About half of all disability claimants go on to request an appeal hearing. An appeal to an administrative law judge (ALJ) usually takes much longer, because a hearing has to be scheduled. This generally takes at least six months, but in some parts of the country, the wait is as long as 18 months or two years). Ultimately, the time it takes to get your hearing scheduled depends on the number of cases pending at the hearing office and how many judges work in the office, which varies considerably by geographic area.
How to Get a Disability Decision Faster
It can be difficult not knowing when you'll get an answer from Social Security when you are out of work and experiencing tough financial circumstances while you wait for your disability case to be resolved.
One way to speed up getting a decision is to make sure you immediately request an appeal at each stage (reconsideration, ALJ hearing, and possibly Appeals Council), rather than waiting until close to the 60-day deadline. This can shave four to six months off of your wait time.
Or, if you have a very severe illness with a clear diagnosis, you may be able to get an expedited decision through one of Social Security's expedited disability benefits programs:
The Quick Disability Determination program identifies straightforward and easily determined disability cases through a software program.
The Compassionate Allowances program is available for many cancers and some other illnesses that are easily diagnosed and assessed.
The Terminal Illness program, or TERI, is available for those with terminal illnesses or who are in hospice.
The Presumptive Disability program, for SSI only, gives applicants with certain conditions monthly SSI benefits even before their disability claim is approved or denied.


Delf Removal Tool is a small software application specialized in removing Delf virus entries from your system. It is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
Delf infections are responsible for stealing personal information by remotely accessing your PC. The virus may disable several programs from your computer, redirect you to insecure webpages, and alter other system settings. Popup advertisements may also be present while browsing on the Internet.
It takes nothing more than a fast and simple installation process in order to gain access to the GUI. The layout looks easy to decode so you are not going to spend a lot of time getting an idea about how to tweak the dedicated parameters.You cannot appeal to a help manual to read more about the virus removal process.
Delf Removal Tool offers you the possibility to scan your entire computer in order to detect possible Delf infections. Plus, you are allowed to examine the results at the end of a scan task.
The time needed to complete a task pretty much depends on the number of files detected on the disk. It is quite friendly with system resources so the overall performance of the computer is not affected. The program is able to delete registry keys and all infected items.
A few extra utilities are included in the package for helping you reset all browser settings to the default values. The supported web browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. Plus, you can immunize your removable devices (like USB flash drives) against all sorts of threats.
To sum things up, Delf Removal Tool Keygen provides nothing more than a simple software solution for helping you remove malicious Delf entries from your system. It cannot offer the same protection as an antivirus program so you still need to have one deployed on your PC.


text:
/*
 * Swaggy Jenkins
 *
 * Jenkins API clients generated from Swagger / Open API specification
 *
 * The version of the OpenAPI document: 1.5.1-pre.0
 * Contact: blah@cliffano.com
 * Generated by: https://openapi-generator.tech
 */

#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Default, Serialize, Deserialize)]
pub struct CauseAction {
    #[serde(rename = "_class", skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub _class: Option<String>,
    #[serde(rename = "causes", skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub causes: Option<Vec<crate::models::CauseUserIdCause>>,
}

impl CauseAction {
    pub fn new() -> CauseAction {
        CauseAction {
            _class: None,
            causes: None,
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub