All posts by Linda

Books, Interview, Travel

Gypsy For God Book Tour

I’m pleased to be part of the “Gypsy For God” book tour. “Gypsy For God” is a Christian fiction book written by Yvonne M Morgan. In this book Yvonne has put together a novel that showcases not only her own love of travel but also her deep relationship with God.

BOOK SUMMARY

Kathleen is a middle-aged woman who loses her job, which leaves her doubting herself and fearing the future. This event sends her on a journey to find purpose and meaning in her life. She flourishes in a new career as a travel agent, but fear and doubt keep her from experiencing all life has to offer. Finally, an unexpected encounter changes everything as God begins to reveal His plans to Kathleen. Each new country she visits brings her closer to finding her real purpose. This story offers hope for readers seeking meaning in their lives regardless of their situation or age.

Publisher: Elk Lake Publishing

ISBN-10: 1649499280

ISBN-13: 978-1649499288

ASIN: B0C7NN5M41

Print Length: 332 pages

MY INTERVIEW

Please welcome onto the blog the lovely Yvonne to tell us more about her travels, her book and her faith …. Hi Yvonne!

Hi everyone. I’m Yvonne Morgan. A little about myself, I was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and spent most of my summers there as I grew up and I also lived in Canada for eleven years before immigrating to the USA in 1974. I’m a mom to five children (two girls, an adopted set of twins and a son who lives in heaven). And, I’m a grandmother to five grandkids. I love Jesus, doing short-term mission trips and traveling.

Who or what inspired you to write “Gypsy For God”?

We started going on mission trips in 1983 to honor our son after his death. For many years, everyone wanted to know about the travel aspect of our mission journeys. So after writing my other books, I wanted to try my hand at fiction and include travel to other places. We learn so much when we travel. And as I got older and retired, I thought the book should inspire people who think they are no longer as useful in life. I didn’t start writing till I was in my 50s, so I know God can use any of us, no matter our age or circumstances. So all that came together as Gypsy for God.

I really enjoyed reading your book, “Gypsy For God ”and I particularly enjoyed the character of Kathleen. Researching for your novel must have been quite interesting…describing the various countries visited, for example. I know you love to travel and have done mission work too, so did you draw on your travel experiences? 

Yes, I drew on my travel experiences and each country in the book is one that I visited in my life. I wanted to really describe them in accurate detail for my audience, so picked the countries for that reason. Kathleen ends up visiting Spain, United Arab Emirates, India, Kenya, Nepal and Ireland. I found so much joy in revisiting those places in my mind as I wrote about them and digging out photos from my trips to make sure I got the details just right. I’m glad you enjoy the travels as I hoped and prayed that the travel sections would apply to lots of people as well as inspire them.

Streets of Dublin, Eire . Copyright © Photograph by Linda Hobden

Having been to some of the locations myself mentioned in the book, I admired how you described the coexistence of the extreme poverty alongside the extremely wealthier parts – as it is a total shock to the system when you first encounter this. I found this especially true the first time I visited with Kenya – especially when I saw the slums and “rubbish/garbage” hills of Nairobi. Where did you get your first culture shock?

My first genuine culture shock came on my first mission trip to Haiti. Even before my mission trips, I traveled a lot with my parents, but not to such impoverished places. In Haiti, we worked with children at a summer feeding program. Then one night, after dinner, I noticed our host agency collecting all our scraps from dinner. When she took them outside the compound to the trash area, dozens of children ran after her to claim the food we had not eaten. It broke my heart to watch them, but then it also encouraged me to keep trying to make a difference for poor children in the world. Somethingwe continue to do. As a side note, we are off to Kenya in the middle of August for me to teach at a women’s conference in a church outside Nairobi.

Prior to “Gypsy For God” you have written your memoir, a prayer journal, bible study books, Bible based children’s books … Gypsy For God book is the first Christian fiction novel you’ve written.  Was it harder or easier than you imagined to write a fiction book? Did you enjoy the experience? Were the characters based on people you know or met in your travels? 

Writing fiction was so much harder than I imagined after writing the non-fiction books and children’s books. I wanted to give up often because I thought it was too hard to make the transition. But God kept impressing on me to keep going, so I did and am thankful I did. During the process of editing, if you had asked me if I enjoyed it, I would answer, no. But now, I look back and I learned so much that I will try it again, probably with a sequel to Gypsy. None of my characters are based on actual people,but more of a combination of many of the people we have to meet or worked with over the years. I used the various personalities from the countries to comprise my characters.

A village on the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde. Copyright © Photograph by Linda Hobden

Growing up, did you envisage yourself as a writer or did you have other career aspirations?

I used to love writing poetry in elementary and middle school but then lived happened. I never pictured myself as becoming a writer. But, I pursued a degree in accounting and worked my entire career in the accounting field. So when I felt the nudge to write, I tried to laugh it off. But God kept nudging me to write, so I started about 8 years ago. After my first book, I thought that would end my writing because I had done what God called me to do. But He kept nudging me with other ideas and so I keep writing them. Writing is a journey I never expected, but it has blessed me so much.

Is “Gypsy For God ” available to purchase worldwide?

Yes, because it is available on Amazon and I think it holds a universal appeal for trying to understand our purpose in life.

If you could visit any place in the world to inspire your next book, where would you go and why? 

 I have a bucket list, lol. I really like to travel to remote, unspoiled by tourism type places. So one place I really want to visit is Mongolia. The vastness and history of the country appeal to me and, of course, I could incorporate it into a story. The other place is Morocco. I love their food and culture and dream of visiting it someday too. In both countries, I could see my main character get lost in a search for some kind of divine guidance. I might have to schedule some trips and call it research, lol.

Are you a bookworm yourself? If so, what genres (or authors) do you usually like to read? And are you a kindle or “proper book” fan?

I love to read and in some past years have read over twenty books in a year. Gypsy for God kept me busy for the last while. And I really do like all kinds of books. Right now, I’m looking over my books on Kindle to see if I can determine just one genre. So I love books set in other lands and full of adventure. I also like reading Christian non-fiction to strengthen my faith. I really love Alexander McCall Smith’s series called the “No. One Ladies Detective Agency,” set in Botswana. I’ve read all of them. I recently read the Gumbeaux Sistas series by Jax Frey. They are set in New Orleans, a city I love to visit so I can eat too much. And I just started “The Pinecraft Pie Shop” series by Tricia Goyer and Sherry Gore. These are Amish fiction books with great recipes. I prefer paperback books but use my Kindle when traveling on long trips so I can have more than one book available to me.

Menu from a Madagascan Restaurant copyright © Linda Hobden

Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?

I’m a casual girl. I live in Oklahoma City and our summer is very hot. So most often I will be in shorts and shirts or sundress. I love my sandals and running shoes. It’s fun to dress up occasionally, but I am most comfortable in casual clothes. And if I’m completely honest, a lot of mornings, I stay in my pajamas while I write and drink lots of coffee.

Do you have any favorite shops or online sites?

 When we travel, I like to visit grocery stores to see what things they sell that differ from here in the USA and to see the prices on staple items. There is a store in New Orleans called California Drawstrings that carries lots of the clothes I love. That includes dresses, pants and tops made of 100% cotton or gauze like material. 

What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?

I am going to a wedding in Toronto, Canada at the end of September so need to go shopping for the event. It will be semi formal so I’m looking for a sparkle in the outfit and shoes.

Boots or Shoes?

Shoes – it’s too hot most of the time in Oklahoma for me to wear boots. But I own a red pair of cowboy boots, which I love. 

Links you would like to share:

a. Author’s Page: https://yvonne-morgan.com

c. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ymmauthor

b. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YMMauthor

d. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonnemorganauthor

e. Blog: https://turningmountainsintomolehills.org

f. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17829417.Yvonne_M_Morgan

g. Charity work page: https://orphan-relief-effort.org

BOOK TOUR DATES

Thanks to Yvonne for agreeing to be interviewed and for a copy of “Gypsy Of God” . All photographs are by me, apart from the author photo and the book cover.

Linda x

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Bridal

Guide To Planning And Budgeting A Wedding

2023 has seen both my daughter and my eldest son get married – both had a different “theme” and venue. My daughter organises weddings as part of her job at a local hotel too. There is such a variety of venues and themes to choose from, and various costs involved that planning a wedding can become a logistical nightmare. This week’s post is by my guest blogger, Dan from The Financial Wilderness, a UK Personal Finance Blog, who has just recently got married himself….. Welcome Dan….

For pinning later

Hello everyone! Today’s post has a fairly clear inspiration – a few months ago we got engaged, and we’ve been spending the last couple of months researching, creating a budget and visiting various wedding venues. We’re so happy with the wedding venue we ended up as our choice, and I thought I’d share with you our thinking and process on how to choose and budget for your wedding venue.

When you start looking at the wedding it can feel quite initially daunting – there’s so many options out there and we walked away feeling a little overwhelmed at first – so we’ll also be going into tips to help manage that side as well.

What type of wedding venue would you like?

Our first bit of advice is to try if you can to work out what type of wedding you want in big picture terms – some suggested questions would be:

• Would you like to have your wedding in a town or in the country?

• Roughly where would you like to get married geographically?

• Do you see yourself getting married in a barn, country house, registry office, park, abroad etc.?

• Is there any x-factor that’s particularly important to you (for example, would you want a church nearby?)

• Do you want to get married at a particular time of the year, and would you want it to be at the weekend?

The reasoning for doing this is that once you’ve established a type of wedding it helps keep things within a certain budgetary range and (and helpfully starts to cut down the list of places to consider).

In our case for instance we were looking for a barn wedding in Sussex – once we’d got that, we found from our further research that the venue costs were going to be in a 2k-3k span no matter where we chose – so we could think much more about the venue itself.

You may of course have absolutely no idea – in this case we’d suggest picking out just one or two of each type you might consider, and visiting those venues in a very broad sense, simply thinking about if this is somewhere you’d like to get married.

In terms of finding the venues themselves, we found the websites Hitched (which has some great planning tools) and Bridebook particularly helpful.

Challenge if the type of wedding venue fits your overall budget

Weddings are generally expensive affairs, and it’s pretty easy to get yourself on a path of going into cost overboard through not realising how much everything might cost at an early stage.

So once you’re at that stage of having decided the type of wedding, I’d recommend doing a quick check on your venue preferences against overall budgetary expectations to just do a check on feasibility before starting to fall in love with particular venues.

Firstly, I’d suggest taking at least three venues you’ve found of the right type and “look good on paper” and averaging their hire into a venue price.

It’s worth now setting up a planner to come up with some rough figures on what everything might cost.

This will take a little time to research but will set you up well for the future, as you’re building a framework you and use to track and manage the actual wedding costs.

In terms of using estimated number for now, web research and friends experiences can with this. In some cases like caterers it may be worth asking for some rough details to get your started. And with any budget I’d suggest starting by assuming the higher end of spending!

Top Tip: One thing you need to be extra careful about when speaking to vendors is what’s included or excluded – for instance, we found that many places quoted us figures excluding VAT, but in practice we’d be paying that.

Some suggested items to go on this include:

• Venue Hire

• Church if needed

• Catering

• Flowers

• Wedding Rings

• DJ/Band/Entertainment

• Dress/Suit

• Photographer

• Stationary

• Accommodation

• Wedding Cars

• Other decorations

• Cake

Having this framework in a broad sense means you can assess the feasibility of the type of venue that you’ve chosen and answer the key question:

When I put everything together, is this an amount I’m happy to pay for this type of venue?

And if not….

What would I be happy to change and make compromises on?

Shortlisting your potential wedding venues

Now that we’ve got a type of wedding and our rough budget, we created a “longlist” of venues which based on their details on line had the characteristics we’d want to see.

We made top level notes on each, making notes on:

• What the final hire price was

• What we particularly liked or had concerns about.

• Specific x-factors which we wanted to compare on. (For instance if the venue had a corkage or dry hire policy and their catering flexibility was important to us).

In our case, this left us with about 50 venues. We used a combination of the notes we’d made and a revisit to the website to whittle these down to a shortlist of 6. We then went to visit these to see how the reality matched up to expectations – this way we got to 2, then 1 .

(Whilst we didn’t end up picking one of these, if a longlist venue was fairly close to a shortlist venue we made a point to drop in – sometimes places can surprise you!)

Questions to ask your wedding venue

We found all the wedding venue staff really helpful and friendly, but remember that they are ultimately there to sell you the venue! It’s therefore really important to ask the questions they’re not naturally going to tell you.

Here’s some things we asked about that might be a bit less obvious than standard questions but we found helpful – if you have any other good ones, please do let us know in the comments below!

(We asked every venue these and some more standard ones and tracked them on our phones).

• How many caterers do you partner with? Am I tied in to one of these?

• Aside from the caterers, do you require me to use any other specific service?

• Do you have any sound or time restrictions on bands and DJ’s?

• Do we need permission for a band?

• When can we start the wedding set-up from?

• What is included/excluded with the hire price (tables, chairs?)

• Can guests pick up their cars the next day?

• Do you have any specific restrictions? (We found many places banned stilettos owing to the risk of damage to the dancefloor!)

• What is your policy on candles/fire pits/fireworks?

• Do you have links with a local church?

• What is your deposit policy?

When you’re at the point where you’re pretty serious about a venue, we’d also suggest asking for a copy of their contract to review before you make your final decision, as this can sometimes throw up a few unexpected surprises!

And finally good luck – choosing your wedding venue is an incredibly exciting part of the process, so be sure to enjoy it along with the practical stuff!

If you’ve enjoyed this article, please do check out The Financial Wilderness for some great UK Personal Finance content!

Thank you Dan!

Linda

All photographs are by Linda Hobden

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Accessories/Jewellery/Bags, Arts & Crafts, Childrenswear/Child & Family Related Posts, Eco Friendly, Fashion, Home Furnishings, Vintage

Crochet Vibe

The rejection of fast fashion and the heightened awareness of sustainable clothing makes it no surprise that in 2023 crochet clothing has featured heavily on catwalks and in clothing brand collections. Handmade crochet clothing is the only handicraft that cannot be made on a machine, unlike knitting. There was a crochet boom in the 1960s too – the “granny square” came into vogue, as well as a huge trend for crocheted home ware. Sound familiar?

For Pinning Later. Copyright ©Linda Hobden

My husband’s gran was a big knitter and she also crocheted granny squares to make enormous throws for our family. They are treasured heirlooms now as unfortunately she died in May this year aged 97. The latest recipient of a “granny square” item lovingly created by gran was my grandson who had a blanket made, but I think it was more appreciated by my daughter in law. Our family throw has been with us a number of years and has featured in many blog photographs over the past 10 years …

Copyright © Linda Hobden

Crochet clothing though. I had a crocheted top that I adored in the 1990s and it remained in my wardrobe until around 2007 when it snagged and unravelled and I decided to get rid. It was a camel colour and it was one of those tops that went with everything – an ideal wardrobe capsule item. The current dresses featured in stores at the moment are a mixture of plain crocheted styles alongside those in your face granny square numbers that look like gran’s throws!

The advantages of wearing crochet dresses are that they will keep you cool and comfortable. They are also sustainable – especially if made using organic cotton. The disadvantages – well, they are bulkier than usual summer dresses and crochet uses more yarn than the equivalent knitted fabric.

Joe Brown’s catalogue

So what underwear should you wear under a crochet dress? Well , wearing underwear that matches your skintone will give you a seamless look. Or you can opt for a camisole style slip dress either in skintone or the same colour as the crochet dress. A slip dress not only gives a streamlined look but is also lightweight and you shouldn’t feel overheated. If you are using your crochet dress as a beach cover up , then it really up to you if you want to wear a colour co ordinated swimsuit or not underneath. A crochet cover up dress will enable you to look smart enough to go from beach areas to your hotel room – especially with the new Spanish rules banning the wearing beachwear in public in areas away from beaches and pools.

Crochet dresses, pouffes, bags and accessories I like …. but I’m not quite sure if I like crochet “square” trousers….. however, on Etsy I did spot a digital crochet pattern to crochet some extremely cute black & white skull pattern trousers… they would look fab with a white bikini top – you’ll just need the talent to crochet them in the first place!

Copyright © HomescapesOnline

Lastly, I can’t let a crochet post go past without giving a quick mention of this adorable crochet animals wallpaper by Anne-Claire Petit, featuring crocheted animals on a cream crocheted background….

Copyright © Lime Lace

Linda x




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Shoes

All About The Espadrille

The Espadrille. The ultimate summer shoe – unisex, flat, wedge, with or without ties. The espadrille first “emerged” in the Basque & Catalan regions of Northern Spain/Southern France. In 14th century Spain, espadrilles were not fashion items but workwear worn by soldiers and peasants alike because they were cheap and practical. The Basque & Catalan rebel fighters habitually wore espadrilles because they were cheaper than leather army boots, easy to replace and forgiving on hot terrain. Espadrilles became the a symbol of the Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939) when pictures emerged of Catalan rebels marching nagainst General Franco’s armies wearing espadrilles on their feet.

Whilst the Spanish Civil War was going on, over the Spanish border in the French Catalan region, the village of St Laurent de Cerdans embraced the Catalan espadrille and developed the traditional craft into a flourishing industry which has given families in the entire valley a livelihood for 100 years. In the 1960s production went into decline – caused mainly by cheaper, foreign imports. From 15 factories in the 1930s , there is only 1 factory today – “Creation Catalane”. Creation Catalane was created in February 2008 in a former espadrille factory, producing hand made espadrilles in a traditional way – with the French flag on the back to differentiate the espadrilles from those being made over the border in Spain.

By the end of the Spanish Civil War, the humble espadrille was getting international attention. Artist Salvador Dali played up his Catalan roots by wearing laced up espadrilles with red socks and a skull cap. Hollywood movie goddesses wore them: Rita Hayworth in “The Lady From Shanghai” in 1947 and Lauren Bacall in “Key Largo” in 1948. In the 1970s, Yves Saint Laurent happened to meet traditional Spanish espadrille maker, Castaer, at a trade fair and asked him if he would consider making an espadrille in a different shape … and the wedge heeled espadrille was born.

In Spain, like in St Laurent de Cerdans, traditional espadrille makers are few – the most famous are Castaer and Naguisa, based in Barcelona. In Spain, a store that sells traditionally handmade espadrilles is called “Alpargateria” . Today, the majority of the world’s espadrilles are now mass-produced in Bangladesh.

The word “espadrille” derives from “esparto”, the Mediterranean grass traditionally used to make the braided sole. Each part of the espadrille was traditionally made by a different artisan:

  • Flax Uppers ( now cotton canvas – each Catalan region has its own fabric pattern)
  • Wearing and pressing on the rope soles
  • Assembly the shoe with decorative stitches
  • Sealing soles with pitch (replaced nowadays with rubber)
For pinning later

Espadrilles are ideal as summer footwear. Recommended to be worn without socks – the espadrille is made with natural fibres that absorb humidity and allow the foot to breathe. If you do happen to get the shoes wet, leave them to thoroughly dry out for 5 – 7 days until the rope is thoroughly dry and then they will be good to go. You can wash your espadrilles, preferably by hand using a soft brush and natural soap. If you do want to machine wash them, a cold wash is preferable but whatever method you use, let the shoes dry naturally- don’t tumble dry. When you first get your espadrilles, they should be a tight fit as they naturally mould to your foot. That’s what I love about espadrilles – having a narrow foot I find that they keep moulded to my foot shape and don’t slip off! My pink espadrilles below have been washed in the sea numerous times and are almost 10 years old …. and they still maintain their shape.

If you would like to check out traditional Catalan espadrilles – there is an English version :

www.espadrille-catalane.com

Linda x

All photographs are by Linda Hobden.

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Books, Interview, Reviews

Author Interview: Paul Graham

My guest this week is author Paul Graham, whose debut psychological crime thriller has just been published by Mereo Books – “In The Shadow They Cast”. I do enjoy a good thriller, and this novel is fast paced with twists and turns that kept me entertained from start to finish. The threads of the novel were very cleverly intertwined and I really can’t believe that this is Paul’s debut!A most excellent read.

BOOK SUMMARY

A gripping, psychological crime thriller set in London, Brighton and New York that explores the deadly nature of consequences.  

·         In the murky world that surrounds the powerful Vignone family, one man’s ruthless actions unleash wide-ranging and deadly repercussions. 

Despite his impoverished, tough childhood in New York, Paolo Vignone has built a thriving, if morally-dubious, business empire which he rules over with harsh discipline – a discipline that he also applies to those closest to him.  So, when his son Lorenzo becomes involved in a relationship which does not meet with Paolo’s approval, he sends him to Europe to defuse the situation. However, when Lorenzo returns the situation is not as Paolo had planned.  The chain of events that follows leads to tragic and murderous consequences.

MY INTERVIEW

Hello Paul, welcome ! Please introduce yourself.

Hello, I’m Paul. I was born in Brighton and now live in Hove. That journey of less than 5 miles took me via Reigate, London, Barcelona and Bournemouth. I have worked in bookselling and IT, and currently teach English as a foreign language. I have two wonderful children each of whom has a partner and a dog.

“In The Shadow They Cast” is your debut novel – a psychological crime thriller set in London, Brighton and New York that explores the deadly nature of consequences. What inspired you to write a novel ?

A combination of things. I wondered if I could write an entire novel. I had dabbled with writing, produced short stories and filled notebook after notebook, but was never been sure that I had a book in me. 

Circumstances conspired to provide me with the opportunity and the idea. There is a an old story about a servant trying and failing to escape his destiny and also a tradition found principally in Asia which concerns The Red Cord which joins two people together. Those thoughts about connection and destiny form the backbone of In The Shadow They Cast. 

We can decide when to catch a bus, we can decide which bus to catch but we cannot decide who is on the bus, nor can we ever predict all the consequences of our actions. My novel is a story of decisions, actions and consequences (intentional or otherwise). 

In addition I wanted to explore the question of motivation – why people act the way they do. There are similarities in the difficulties that my characters, Paolo and Patricia, experience in their lives, but their reactions are very different.  Is the way people act and react a matter of nature?  Or is it cumulative, reaching a tipping point where everything becomes too much?

Are the characters based on observations of people you’ve come across in the past and incidents you’ve experienced? Who were the hardest characters to portray?

Here is a photograph which I took on Brighton seafront very early one September morning many years ago. ….

This scene was highly influential in my novel, providing me with characters, locations, incidents and atmosphere. I have no idea who the people in the photograph are, nor if their lives were anything like the one I have created based on them. All the characters are imagined, but many have quirks and foibles borrowed from people I have known. I also listened a lot to what people were saying and to the extraordinary things that had happened to them. However, there is one particular character who is more closely linked to reality than the others, but even so I have adapted the personality freely. 

The structure of the book is very important to me. I always knew the ending and worked back from that. The characters evolved by dint of that process, incidents were added to cause the characters to behave in a certain way, so the process was organic rather than each having a fixed set of characteristics at the outset.

Were there any aspects of writing your novel that surprised you, either by being harder or easier to write about than you expected?

For me the most difficult thing was leaving room for the reader. I believe that reading is an imaginative process. If the writer explains exactly how the character feels the reader can feel excluded. If the writer does no more than describe an incident then the reader can surmise how a character feels or what effect the incident has.

It was strange to realise that the writing process varied from day to day. Some days the words would flow and other days I would sit down to write and nothing would happen. Sometimes I would force myself and then have to delete it the next day, on other occasions the content was right but did not flow. Many times changing the order of the paragraphs solved the problem. There were other periods when I had to stop because I had set myself problems which I could not yet solve. 

I am pleased with the structure of the novel as a whole and there are some passages and dialogue which I particularly enjoyed writing and find satisfying when I re-read them

Hypothetically speaking, if In The Shadow They Cast was made into a film, who would you love to see portraying the characters, especially Lorenzo Vignone, Paolo, Patricia and Michael?

Paolo – Robert de Niro

Lorenzo – Ralph Macchio

Patricia – Olivia Coleman

Michael – Dan Stevens

Audrey – Emma Thompson

How did you come up with the book title? Did you consider any other titles?

The book had a working title (Like This) which was adequate when I started writing, but which no longer fitted as the book developed. The title In The Shadow The Cast is more closely linked to the themes of the book and is derived from a suggestion by the editor Chris Newton. 

Have you always wanted to have a career as an author or did you have other aspirations?

I have toyed with the idea of writing as a career and was once offered the opportunity to produce the in-house newsletter for a large company. I declined it because the role seemed to me very limited. I have never seriously thought about writing as a career. In The Shadow The Cast took a long time to write so I do not think I would ever be able to make a living from it.

 Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?

Paper. For me there is something special about having a book in my hand. As for genre, at the moment I am in a thriller phase. I really enjoyed The Silent Patient and some of the books by Carmen Mola, but felt cheated when it was revealed that she is three men. I particularly like the mixture of myth and mystery in The Baztán Trilogy by Dolores Redondo. I am also drawn to metaliterature as exemplified by the early work of Jasper Fforde and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Is In The Shadow They Cast available to purchase worldwide?

Yes

Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?

Cargo Pants, shoes by Josef Seibel, bright check shirt by Charles Tyrwhitt.

Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?

Charles Tyrwhitt; Next

What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?

New boots – I’ve been looking for ages. I found some a few weeks ago, but they didn’t have my size and then discontinued them! The search continues.

Boots or Shoes?

Boots – it’s something to do with solidity and contact with the ground. If I don’t have the right connection then everything above it is wrong. 

For Pinning Later

Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc

Website: paulgrahamauthor.co.uk

Facebook: Paul Graham

Twitter: Paul Graham @paul_paulgraham

Instagram: Paul Graham paul_paulgraham

Thank you very much for the interview, Paul. Thanks also for the copy of “In The Shadow They Cast” for reviewing – I found the story most excellent and have no hesitation in giving this book a 9/10!

Linda x

All photographs have been published with kind permission of Paul Graham.

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Books, Interview, Reviews

Dark Side Of Grace Book Tour

I’m thrilled to be part of author Ronald Chapman’s “Dark Side Of Grace” book tour. “Dark Side Of Grace” is the sequel to the much acclaimed novel “A Killer’s Game”.

BOOK SUMMARY

A devastating terrorist bomb blast at a spiritual retreat outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, sends journalist Kevin Pitcairn and his beloved Emmy on a quixotic quest to understand the roots of violence. Travelling across the country deep into the bowels of Southern Appalachia, their search takes them through a long-standing rift in the American consciousness to confrontations with remarkable and anomalous characters, some of them deeply spiritual, others well-grounded in research and psychology.

In this sequel to the much-acclaimed A Killer’s Grace, Pitcairn and Emmy return to the exploration of innocence while adding to it a deepening understanding of injury and ordeal―and its amazing corollary of Post-Traumatic Growth. As the quest and its dangers rip their lives apart, doors open that lure them back and forth across the country in search of tendrils tying together the events and anguish, as well as bringing the protagonists more deeply together.

  • ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1948749874
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Terra Nova Books (May 1, 2023)
  • Genre ‏ : ‎ Mystery Action & Adventure, Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction, Psychological Thriller
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 200 pages

The Dark Side of Grace  is available in print and as an ebook at Amazon. You can add it to your GoodReads reading list as well.

MY INTERVIEW WITH RONALD CHAPMAN

Hi Ronald and welcome to the blog! Please introduce yourself 😊

Hello. I usually refer to myself as a full-time, all-time student of life and living! It’s the only thing that seems to capture the breadth of my interests. Some years ago a career counselor told me I am a “spanner,” that I would never be able to ignore connections that I could make to other fields, disciplines, people and arenas. That has proved to be pretty accurate. Many of my professional clients know me as a master coach, a strategic consultant, and a process facilitator and trainer. Those in the twelve-step recovering community know me as a long-time student of the principles and practices of recovery. In the Toastmasters realm, in which I’ve developed my speaking talents, I’m an Internationally Accredited Speaker and Workshop Leader. For me, I’ve sometimes just said I’m an aspiring mystic, and want to learn all I can. I also sometimes christen myself Ron Quixote as well, because sometimes I find myself flailing at metaphorical windmills. Since that all seems like a lot, my favorite introduction from those who know me is, “This is my friend, Ron.”

Dark Side Of Grace” is the sequel to the much-acclaimed “A Killer’s Game”. What inspired you to become a writer?

As a kid growing up in a small city in Oklahoma, the local library was a refuge and sacred space. I would hang out in the dimly-lit bowels of the basement amid all those musty smelling books and lose myself. Books and reading were magical. There’s just no way that kind of love of books could not bring me round to writing. To this day, I get lost in the craftwork and the storyline. It is a happy place for me.

Sacred Red Rock at Jerez Pueblo in New Mexico – where Ron’s soul feels at rest

The characters in your book are all very strong and “vocal”, especially Kevin Pitcairn and Maria Elena (Emmy); but these strong characters expand to the people Kevin meets at his AA meetings too.  Are your characters based on observations of people you’ve come across in the past and incidents you’ve experienced ? Who were the hardest characters to portray?

What a great observation, Linda. Yes, all these characters are reflections of real people I’ve come across in my wanderings. It’s almost like I have a psychological imprint as I engage people, many of whom I find fascinating. And the enticement to understand who they are, and what animates them, is so captivating. So when I translate those experiences into characters, they really do come to life for me. Of course, when on occasion we get a really good look at what lies deep down inside someone else, its as if their whole being suddenly makes sense.
An author once told me an interview that everything we write is in some way or another biographical, that we can’t see the world of others except through the lens of our own realities. No surprise the characters most challenging to capture are those most unlike me. Though with enough engagement with the real people, it can become much clearer how they are wired. Since I’m inherently optimistic, and enlivened by potential, it’s a real stretch to get inside the character of someone who is deeply pessimistic, or disengaged, or attached to their own futilities. Not that I have not had to navigate my own dark and difficult insides, but I’m much more compelled by transformation and realisation .

Were there any aspects of writing your book series that surprised you, either by being harder or easier to write about than you expected?

Another great question. I really have to slow down and be intentional about connecting things. It seems like connections come very quickly and naturally to me, that I can just see how things are related. The most common feedback I’ve received over the years is to spend more time bringing readers and listeners along in and through those connections. Curiously, I’ve become pretty good at it when I can remember to pay attention to that, though often I just get to rolling and have to backtrack. A few clients routinely record our conversations so they can play them back and then follow up with me with clarifications. I find that a bit embarrassing, to be really honest. As a social worker by education and sometimes by practice, it seems ridiculous I can’t remember to slow down and be more intentional and bringing others along in my thinking.

Ronald’s 2nd sculpture, now in bronze, “Longing”

Your writing works, whether fiction or non fiction, tend to explore many psycho spiritual themes such as innocence, spirituality, forgivenesss, 12 step recovery… what is it about these themes that ignites your passion for writing?  Would you ever consider branching out to encompass a completely different genre? If so, what would you tackle?

LOL … even my attempt to write an allegory, My Name is Wonder, turned out to be a psycho-spiritual journey! As an aside, that was inspired by a visit to a petting zoo in Victoria, British Columbia, when I had a transcendent experience with goats and crows. The story of a goat named Wonder on a spiritual quest with his spirit guide, Mac Craack Crow, was really a treat to channel onto the page. That aside, a balance for me, and one very much present in my social media posts is expressions of art, gardens and beauty. I guess that’s less about communicating and more about reflecting the wonders of the world. I do write some poetry, though I feel pretty inept. Oh … and I journal a great deal, which is very much stream of consciousness writing.

Have you always wanted to have a career in writing or did you have other aspirations?

The Enneagram psychological assessment pegs me as a #2 – The Helper, which is a very apt description. I have a constant tension between the act of creation, and the need to make it useful or applicable for others. No wonder I ended up with a Masters in Social Welfare, and no wonder so many of my worldly roles involve coaching, consulting, mentoring and guiding. I guess the other part of my personality that finds a lot of expression is The Wanderer. Those who know me well often ask, “Where the hell are you now?” And my daughters, Natalie and Brianne, have joked about the need to put a microchip for tracking under my skin so they can find me. There is so much to see and to experience. To keep that all together I have really strong meditation and contemplative practice to keep me grounded.

Ronald’s daughters, Natalie and Brianne, on a wandering into the North Georgia Mountains looking for waterfalls

Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?

Love, love, love a really immersive continuing storyline! (Of course I’d be writing five books as The Chronicles of Grace involving Pitcairn and Emmy. Manuscript #3 is in the hands of the publisher, manuscript #4 is up to about fifty pages, and I have the outline for Manuscript #5, after which I think it comes to closure.) I recently re-read the Dune series, and The Hunger Games when the latest book released. When Carlos Ruiz Zafon died a few years ago, I honored his passion by re-reading his series on the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. And I’ve been reading and studying Maurice Nicoll’s five volumes on the Psychological Commentaries on the Teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky for many years. So too all the writings of the great American mystic, Joel Goldsmith, and his Infinite Way.

Is “Dark Side of Grace” available to purchase worldwide?

Yes! Only as English language however. The audio book should be out by September.

For pinning later. The West Mesa, high desert outside Albuquerque where A Killer’s Grace and The Dark Side Of Grace are centred.

Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?

A big and delighted belly laugh on this question! Due to some problems with how my big toes function, I’ve had to gravitate to loose fitting shoes: clogs, moccasins and sandals. However, I can spend hours in the western, hand-tooled boot stores in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And I am a total sucker for jewel tone colored heels on women. For reasons unknown, they jump into my awareness when I’m walking through public places.

Do you have any favourite shops or online sites ?

I love eclectic offerings, and sometimes wander off down rabbit holes looking for things I haven’t found elsewhere. Oh, and roomy, comfortable pullovers are a most beautiful thing!

What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?

Just has a passion recently for heavy cotton, jewel tone t-shirts, which are perfect to wear under a sports coat.

Boots or Shoes?

Heavyweight hiking boots or beautiful western boots, though my feet just don’t like them much anymore.

Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc

Home Site from which all my other sites pivot is RonaldChapman.com Fresh psycho-spiritual content released free several time a month at SeeingTrue.com/blog Free twelve-step recovery content added regularly at ProgressiveRecovery.org Constantly pushing out reflective material at https://www.facebook.com/ron.chapman.5
Note: All this stuff is free because of the recovery principle that saved me from myself, “Freely received, therefore freely give.”

BOOK TOUR DATES

My thanks to Ronald Chapman for inviting me onto his book tour and for the preview copy of the Dark Side of Grace. All views expressed by me are 100% my own thoughts and observations. All photographs have been published with the kind permission of Ronald Chapman

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Food/Drink

Take 5 Ingredients: Salted Caramel Ice Cream

“You scream, I scream, Everybody screams for Ice Cream”! Salted Caramel Ice Cream is my favourite ice cream flavour …one of my favourites anyway! I decided to dabble into making my own and this is really an easy recipe – it requires no ice cream machine – just a mixer (or by hand if you want ) ; 5 ingredients…. well 4 and 1 optional ingredient ! This recipe is a lot creamier and saltier than shop bought ice creams ; and it is fun to make….cost wise it isn’t a cheaper option but this recipe makes roughly 450 – 500ml . Same amount as a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.

I made 2 variations of this ice cream – one that was smooth and one with chunks of fudge in it (my son’s personal request). I tried using full fat double cream and I have tried using half fat double “Elmlea” . Tasted great both times…

INGREDIENTS

  • 270ml carton of Double Cream
  • 397g tin of “Caramel” Condensed Milk
  • Handful of Sea Salt ( I used Maldon sea salt, as I live just outside the town!)
  • A few drops of Madagascan Vanilla Extract
  • Quartered fudge pieces (optional)

METHOD

Blend cream in a mixer for approximately 1 minute. Add the caramel. Blend well for approximately 1 minute. Add a generous pinch or two of sea salt. Blend for 1 minute. Taste. Add more salt, if desired, and blend for another 10 seconds. Add a couple of drops of vanilla extract. Another 10 seconds blitz.

Chop fudge pieces into quarters or even eighths and stir well into the mixture. Pour into an ice cream or freezer container. Put into the freezer for about 3 to 4 hours , then stir well as you’ll find the fudge pieces will migrate to the bottom of the tub, so you’ll need to agitate them! Then leave for another 6 hours or overnight in a freezer. This is a soft scoop ice cream.

I hope you enjoy this ice cream recipe, inspired by the shop bought ice creams I have bought and tasted over the years.

For Pinning Later

Linda x

All photographs are by me 😊

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Home Furnishings, Interview

An Interview With Lagom Glassware

There is more to glass than meets the eye – and this week’s interview is with Karolina Obroniecka Perez-Maura, founder of Lagom Glassware. This glassware has been designed in London, handmade in Czech Republic and has been made to last a lifetime. Welcome to the blog, Karolina!


Hello! My name is Karolina Obroniecka Perez-Maura I am 28 y.o. I am originally from Poland but I was born in France. While my background was originally in Graphic Design, I now also hold a degree in Product and Industrial Design degree from UAL Central Saint Martins where I currently work as an Associate Lecturer. I started Lagom Handmade Glassware back in 2022 while being 8 months pregnant with my first baby. There was something about completing my dream of creating my own company before becoming a new mum. Mission accomplished!

What inspired the creation of “Lagom Handmade Glassware”?

The thought of creating Lagom Handmade Glassware was born after I had graduated (2020). During my last year of studies I worked on a really fun ice cream project during which I discovered borosilicate glass and had the chance to meet some incredible cratfs people who showed me everything there is to know about scientific glassblowing. I did go into working in the industry for over a year after graduating. However I got so tired of re mote working (covid times!) that I started to work on setting up my company again. Finally in Q1 of 2022 I just went for it.

I’m always interested in the origins of company names – so what does “Lagom” mean and why did you pick that name?

Lagom actually means “just the right amount” in Swedish. I absolutely love this concept as it re the balance that I try to achieve in my professional (and private life) between beauty, utility and environmental impact.

You have a lovely range of glassware – I particularly like your Vivienne decanter. What designs are proving popular amongst your customers so far?

All of them have been quite successful so far but people definitely love buying sets. The Alexandra set and Bernice sets are the most popular – especially with fluted glass.

Do you have a particular favourite design?

The Eileen glass is my absolute favourite, it was the first one that I created and I guess that I am just emotionally attached to it!

Your glassware is handmade in the Czech Republic using borosilicate glass – what is borosilicate glass?

Borosilicate glass tubing is a type of scientific glass that is mostly used for research laboratories and hospitals due to its impressive resistance to thermal shock as well as the fact that its chemical composition makes it harder than most common types of glass, allowing it to be fabricated into more intricate and complex shapes. For our glasses it means that you can use them for both hot and cold drinks and put them safely in the dishwasher.
However what matters the most to me, is the uniqueness of each piece. Each one is entirely handmade, making each piece slightly different than the other with its minor imperfections.

I love that each product is named after an incredible woman that has shaped the land- scape of art, design and society! So, hypothetically speaking , if you were to pick a woman to represent your brand, who would you pick & why?

I feel very inspired and respectful of every one of them but if I were to pick just one, I would have to pick Isatou Ceesay or as they call her the “Queen of recycling”. She is a Gambian, an incredibly impressive woman that founded a social enterprise that is helping to fight plastic pollution and em powering women and young people to gain economic independence.

As you are based in London, are your products available to purchase overseas?

I am based in London but the products are handmade in the Czech Republic. I do ship overseas though.

Have you always wanted to have an artistic career or did your career aspirations lay elsewhere?

I have always been a very creative person. I have always liked to draw, paint and would hand make all of my gifts as a child/teenager! I did want to go into the History of Arts and interior design at some point but then I decided to study Graphic Design and then Product and Industrial Design.

Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?

99% of the time you will find me wearing jeans, a shirt or simple blue or grey sweater and white sneakers (usually Vera).

Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?

I always try to shop locally and favour small shops but THE HOME OF SUSTAINABLE THINGS comes to mind and AndHand for stationery and Bothanique workshop for plants.

What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?

Summer is around the corner so some some espadrilles for those warm nights! I’ve got my eye on a couple of very cute pairs from Alohas.

Boots or Shoes?

Shoes, sneakers to be more specific (almost always). As a mum of a 1 year it’s all about comfort! I would go for heeled boots for a date night though.

For Pinning Later

Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook/twitter etc so that readers can find out more about Lagom Glassware.
www.lagomglassware.com

@lagom.glassware

Thanks Karolina for enlightening us on the subject of glass and you have designed some very stylish sets indeed.
All photographs have been published with kind permission from Karolina Obroniecka Perez -Maura

Linda x

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Books, Interview, Life Issues/ Motivational Posts, Reviews

Hope Always Rises Book Tour

I’m so pleased to be part of author Kathie Giorgio’s “Hope Always Rises” Book Tour. Author Kathie Giorgio’s novel is on an emotional subject that few people tackle – suicide. “Hope Always Rises” is rich with empathy, with a sprinkling of humour and tons of imagination. I found the book very intriguing – although the subject matter is a very emotional one, Kathie’s imagination made me giggle in parts and thoughtful in others. I just couldn’t wait to interview Kathie …. but first here’s a book summary and an excerpt…..

BOOK SUMMARY

In Heaven, there is a gated community for those who end their lives by choice. This is a complete surprise to Hope, who ends her life one morning on the banks of the Fox River in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Hope has always dealt with deep sadness. From childhood on, she visited therapists, doctors, alternative medicine practitioners, Reiki artists, etc., to no avail. In Heaven, God reassures her that he knows what caused the sadness, but he won’t reveal it yet.

All community residents are required to attend weekly group therapy. Hope’s first group is led by Virginia Woolf. Several of the book’s chapters tell the stories of other members of this group.

Filled with many moments of striking humor, uplifting realizations, and difficult challenges, Hope finds her way in Heaven. She meets many people like herself, who help her restore her forgotten artistic talent and passion, and God himself, who is amazingly human in the most inhuman of ways. Hope finds understanding and forgiveness, and most importantly, friends.

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

ISBN-10: 1685132421

ISBN-13: 978-1685132422

ASIN: B0BV36PQKL

Print length: 342 pages

AN EXERPT

I never knew God slept. I certainly never expected him to wear pyjamas or have rumpled hair. But if he looked like the God I always imagined, the God with long white hair and a beard and a moustache and a serious, serious face, I never would have been able to rest my head on his shoulder, like I was able to do now.

I was very glad he wore blue flannel pyjamas.

“You knew you couldn’t expect them to be happy, right, Hope? You knew that,” he said, and wrapped his arm around me. “It was part of your choice to end your life.”

I turned my face into his chest and wept.

It had been my choice. I didn’t expect them to be happy.

But I never thought I would witness their sadness.

For the first time, I regretted Heaven. I wished for the black void that I thought death might be, that day that I swallowed each pill with a gulp of wine.

“It’ll be okay, Hope,” God said. Not a booming voice from a burning bush or a dark cloud. A soft voice that soothed me as I cried.

THE INTERVIEW

Hello. I’m the writer Kathie Giorgio, the instructor Kathie Giorgio, the business owner Kathie Giorgio, the wife and mom Kathie Giorgio…and a few other roles too. But the writer is who I am at my purest form. I knew I was a writer by the time I was eleven years old. All the others came afterwards. 

Who or what inspired you to write “Hope Always Rises”? 

As a creative, and someone who teaches creatives, I’ve known many people who have chosen to end their own lives. The incidence of suicide among creatives is higher than that of the average person on the street. For me, the decision to write this book came when I overheard a conversation between two women who were talking about a “friend” who’d recently chosen to end her life. They talked about how selfish she was, how awful, a monster, what a terrible thing to leave her husband and family behind. I was in a coffee shop, and before I left, I turned to them and said, “Did it ever occur to you to think about what kind of pain your friend must have been in to make this decision? To make it seem viable and the only way out?” And then I left. 

I went home and began to write this book.

It is always difficult tackling non conventional/emotional topics in novels but I think with “Hope Always Rises” you have tackled the topic with empathy, a dose of reality, a touch of humour and, as for the gated communities of Heaven – imagination!  In fact, the Heaven imagination is quite comforting, and makes the thought of death less “scary” (when it comes to the fear of the unknown). I’m not sure whether I can forget the vision I had when I read about God in his pyjamas! The characters in your novel are quite a believable  bunch – the main character Hope, her mentor Faith, her friend Joy, the coffee barista Joe, Virginia Woolf …. to name a few.    I had a fondness  for Hope but I also liked Joy!  She made me giggle. Did you base a lot of your characters on people you’ve met in life? Which character did you enjoy writing about the most?  Which character was the hardest?

My characters always come purely from me; I don’t base them on anyone I know. I am probably the most fond of Hope. She tried so hard in life, and she hasn’t given up in death. Her desire to know and understand is so strong. 

I think I probably enjoyed writing the character of God the most. There were a couple of times when I made myself gasp, such as when God admitted that he has made mistakes. But in my head, a human-like God would be the most empathetic of all beings. Nonjudgmental, totally filled with unconditional love, and someone you can talk to about all things. I have no idea if God is real, but if he is, I hope he’s like mine.

I would say, though, that while God was the most enjoyable to write, the most poignant moment for me was Sarah, who was the main character in Chapter 16: The Fat Girl Takes The Long Way. That story originally appeared, in slightly different form, in my collection, Enlarged Hearts. All of the stories in that collection are set in a large women’s clothing boutique in a mall, and all the main characters are only known as the Fat Girl; no one has a name. But in this book, I was able to give her a name. Sarah. She so earned it. Because in Heaven, you just aren’t part of a group. You are yourself. 

The most difficult character? Probably Buddy, from Chapter 20: All Better?. His actions cost his little boy his young life. Trying to force myself into that head was so, so hard.

Your vision of Heaven –  I liked the idea of the numerous coffee shops and poodling around in golf carts!  What aspect of your Heaven appealed to you the most? 

Being able to eat and drink anything I want, and it won’t cause me any harm! Butter rum muffins for everyone! And the best coffee ever.

If you could visit any country/place in the world, to base a future novel in, where would you go and why? 

London. I have a very strong desire to see Big Ben. He was recently re-opened (yes, I refer to the big clock as a “he”) and now you can even go up inside of him, all 300+ steps. I would love to write a book about something that happened on the long trip up and the long trip down. There’s just something about that clock that is timeless.

For Pinning Later

Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book? 

Absolutely I’m a bookworm. I don’t think you can be a writer without being an avid reader. I prefer literary fiction. I love Anne Tyler, Ellen Gilchrist, John Irving, and so, so many. And it must be a real book. No e-book, please. When I travel, I always make sure I have a washing machine available, so I can fill my suitcase with books and not clothes. 

Is “Hope Always Rises” available to purchase worldwide?

Yes, it is.

Growing up had you always wanted to be an author or did you have other career aspirations?

I was writing before I knew I was writing. I told stories before I could hold a pencil. Eventually, I traced pictures out of my storybooks and rewrote the story the way I felt they should be written. And in the fifth grade, I read a story in front of my class, and from the back of the room, my teacher, Mrs. Fatticci, said, “Ohmygod, Kathie. You’re a writer!” And I knew that I was.

Apart from being an author of 7 novels, 2 story collections and an essay collection;  you have also written 4 poetry collections.  Do you have a particular preference ?

For what I prefer to write? Definitely fiction, though I love all forms. But if I was told I could only write in one genre for the rest of my life, I would choose the short story. Even my novels contain short stories. I just can’t help myself.

Personal now – what outfits and shoes wouldn’t you normally be found wearing?

During the fall and winter, you’ll find me typically in leggings and warm sweaters and boots, either ankle boots, or boots to the knee. During spring and summer, I’m in leggings or capris with polo-type shirts if I’m teaching, or t-shirts if I’m not. Oh, and sneakers. I have a pair of Skechers that are very subtly a rainbow. I keep buying one more pair so I’ll have it when the older pair wears out. 

Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?

Love ThredUp online, and I love scrounging at Goodwill and St. Vinnie’s. I also hit the sales at Lane Bryant and Torrid.

What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?

I was shopping this last weekend for something to wear at the launch for Hope Always Rises on April 27th. Thus far, I have 4 outfits, with two more on the side. And I’m still not happy. So I’d like something that looks classy, not frilly, intelligent…and makes me looks like I fit in a size 10. 

Boots or Shoes?

I would change shoes to sneakers, and then I’d ask if I could have both boots and sneakers. 

Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc

www.kathiegiorgio.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathie.giorgio.5/

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/kathiegiorgioauthor/

Instagram: @kathiegio1

Twitter: @KathieGiorgio

BOOK TOUR DATES

My thanks to Kathie Giorgio for a copy of “Hope Always Rises” for review purposes. All photos have been published with kind permission of Kathie Giorgio.

Linda x

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Arts & Crafts, Home Furnishings, Photographers/Models, Reviews

Review: Inkifi Classic Photo Frame

Disclaimer Alert: The Inkifi Classic Photo Frame has been supplied by Inkifi for the purpose of this review, however, all opinions expressed are 100% mine.

THE BRAND/WEBSITE

Inkifi is a photo printing company, founded in 2012, and based in Manchester, UK. Making the most of the digital age, Inkifi prints photographs direct from your instagram site or from your phone – and you can personalise your photo displays using the digital tool on the website. I placed my order via the company’s UK website using photographs from my iphone to create my photo frame images using the website tool. There is also a website for customers in the USA and an iPhone app which displays some but not all products.

THE PRODUCT

Inkifi sell a wide range of photo products from photo frames through to photo books. I ordered the Classic Frame 16 x 16” in Black (https://inkifi.com/wall-art/instagram-frame.html ). The Classic Frame comes in a choice of colours for the framework to match your decor – white, black, natural; it comes in 3 sizes: 12 x 12” , 16 x 16” or 20 x 20” . You can also pick the number of photographs to feature into your frame: 1,4,9,16,or 25 (I chose 9). The photo frame itself is sturdy and well made.

The digital tool on the website is relatively easy to use with plenty of helpful tips if you need it. Downloading my photos went very smoothly. It was easy to move the photos around on the screen so that you can envisage what the end result will be like. If I have one little criticism, it is that there should be more guidance on the margins we have to play with, especially at the tops of the photos. On screen, the photos look well aligned but upon receiving the finished photo frame, there isn’t much of a gap and the heads are very closely cropped! A minor issue though.

PACKAGING/DELIVERY

I was extremely impressed with the packaging! My photo frame was well secured with cardboard on both ends and well wrapped with oodles of bubble wrap. Delivery time was just as impressive too. The photo frame takes on average 2 – 3 business days to produce. The photo frame comes ready to hang, which is really useful.

PRICING

I was pleasantly surprised how reasonable the prices for the Classic Photo Frame. There are a couple of add on prices to the basic one – if you wanted a natural wood frame rather than black or white; number of photos; and delivery is speedy anyway but if you really can’t wait then a faster option is available. After briefly looking at the USA site too, prices seem pretty comparable. For under £50 you can own a quality gift that is pretty special.

CONCLUSION

I was extremely impressed with the photo frame quality and with my display of pictures as a whole. My frame is a great way to show off my family pictures from my daughter’s recent wedding. But any occasion could be featured – the Classic Photo Frame would be a great gift for Father’s Day, graduations, birthdays, holidays… the list is endless. My verdict: 9.5/10

For pinning later

Linda x

All photographs are by Linda Hobden

My thanks go to Inkifi for supplying the Classic Photo Frame for this review.

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