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Bristol TV has just put out a short film about my latest psychological thriller, One Year Later! At its heart, it's a novel about family secrets and grief.
Bristol TV has just put out a short film about my latest psychological thriller, One Year Later! At its heart, it's a novel about family secrets and grief.
I'm so thrilled – my fourth psychological thriller is out on 1 August. Just in time for you to pack in your bag for a beach holiday! It's partly set in Somerset and Bristol, but mainly on a seemingly idyllic island in Italy. It's available to pre-order.
Some secrets won't stay buried….
Since Amy's daughter, Ruby-May, died in a terrible accident, her family have been beset by grief. One year later the family decide to go on holiday to mend their wounds. An idyllic island in Italy seems the perfect place for them to heal and repair their relationships with one another.
But no sooner have they arrived, than they discover nothing on this remote island is quite as it seems. And with the anniversary of the little girl's death looming, it becomes clear that at least one person in the family is hiding a shocking secret. As things start to go rapidly wrong, Amy begins to question whether everyone will make it home…
My writing talisman is a beautiful painting by artist, Elaine Jones. It's of Cornwall – have a look to see why I love it so much and why it inspires me.
What inspires you to write?
In a few days time I'm heading to Ted Hughes' old house, Lumb Bank, in Hebden Bridge, to teach an Arvon Foundation course on how to write a literary thriller, with fellow author, Adam LeBor. I'm looking forward to meeting guest author, Felica Yap, who wrote, Yesterday, as well as returning to the wilds of Yorkshire where I grew up.
Most of what one can learn about writing a thriller will apply to any kind of fiction – character, plot, setting, dialogue, language, style and voice are, of course, vitally important. But what is critical in a thriller is information: who knows what, and when and where and how did they or will they find it out? The key is to think about what is going to happen next. If you set up a question in the first few pages, finding out the answer is what will keep readers turning the pages.
Think of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which begins:
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
Immediately this raises small questions: what is Manderley? Who is telling us this story? Why aren't they at Manderley anymore? What is so special about Manderley that our unknown narrator dreams about this place? And then quickly we're introduced to the larger questions: who was the first Mrs de Winter? What was she was like? What happened to her – and what will happen to our protagonist? These questions are what keep us reading.
The two main ways the writer can heighten this sense of anticipation is through the structure of the novel, and via suspense. The structure of the novel is essentially about presenting information in a particular order. For example, in a psychological thriller, moving the second most thrilling or exciting moment in the story to the prologue can create anticipation because we know that something bad is going to happen, yet in the first few pages, that terrible deed has not yet occurred.
For instance, here's the prologue of Bone by Bone.
Another example of how structure can lead to anticipation is through the withholding of information, by delaying telling the reader the answer to a question: leaving a scene early, just before the information is about to be revealed, is one way to do this. The resulting cliff hanger will hopefully make the reader want to find out what happens next. Think of Harry Potter: The Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling. When the Dursleys are hiding on a boat at sea and someone beats down the door and steps inside, we're on tenterhooks – and this is where the chapter ends.
Of course, endless cliff hangers could well become annoying, so another way of delaying answering the question is by complicating the story. This can be done by adding more information and greater levels of complexity – through a sub-plot, for instance, or by switching the Point Of View to another character.
Suspense, in contrast, is about who knows what at which point. Do the characters know, or only one of them? Does the reader know the secret but the characters do not? For instance, in My Mother's Secret, the main protagonist, Emma Taylor, knows the secret, and her daughter, Stella, is trying to discover it. The reader finds out the secret about half-way through the novel, but the daughter does not – which is dramatic irony – and, I hope, has readers swiftly turning the pages, hoping against hope that Stella doesn't do anything too foolish to jeopardise everyone's safety….
I write, 'My mother has a secret.'
If you're interested in writing novels but missed signing up to my Arvon course, do ask me about assessing your manuscript or work-in-progress.
My Mother's Secret is out in paperback! To celebrate, I'm launching a competition.
As I'm sure you're aware my love of cake has made its way into My Mother's Secret. Not only is the protagonist, Emma Taylor, a baker, but quite a few kinds of cake are mentioned throughout My Mother's Secret.
So what better way to celebrate the paperback release than with cake and prizes!
I'll be holding a competition on my Facebook page from the 7th – 14th of October to see if anyone can guess how many types of cakes there are in My Mother's Secret! The winner will receive a signed paperback copy of My Mother's Secret and a £10 voucher to spend in Hart's Bakery! I spent quite a bit of time at Hart's Bakery when I was researching My Mother's Secret, and 'Kate's' (the bakery that Emma Taylor works at) is based on it, so it only seems fair to let you indulge there too!
All you need to do to enter is post your guess on my Facebook page and tag @SanjidaKayAuthor with #MyMothersSecret. If you add a photo of your favourite sweet treat you'll be entered TWICE!
The competition ends on the 14thof October and I'll be selecting the winner the following day.
Good luck!
I've written as a Jesuit priest in Outer Mongolia, a nine-year-old in inner city Bristol, a child abductor, an angry teenager, a man in his twenties, a Victorian lady trapped on an island in the Southern states of America at the turn of the Civil War. I've written about slaves, Buddhist lamas, racketeers and drug addicts, accountants and artists, actors and academics. As a writer, I want to tell any story I'm moved to, from the perspective of any character I wish, regardless of their race, religion and culture – or perhaps because of it.
My own background is that I'm half Bangladeshi, half Irish and grew up in Africa, Ireland, England and Wales in a Protestant-Catholic household, only distantly knowing the Muslim-American side of my family. Yet I rarely, if ever, read about anyone from a culturally diverse background in British fiction.
Many years ago, when Zadie Smith burst on the literary scene with White Teeth, and Salman Rushdie was still in vogue, I thought the situation was about to change. Cut to the present day. The long lists for most literary awards are still filled with white authors. The multi-culturalism this country is famous for is rarely represented in literature. You can buy a Dansak, raw sauerkraut, Thai green paste and a Za'tar rub in your local supermarket, but have you found a novel where the majority of characters represent the Nigerian-Welsh, the British Somali, the Ukrainian-Bristolian and the Russian-Irish kids in my (Asian-Irish-Scottish) daughter's class?
In my own genre, crime, BAME (Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority) writers only make up 4% of all authors. Mixed race characters and authors are still few and far between. Worse, according to a report, Writing the Future, commissioned by Spread the Word and edited by Danuta Kean, which was published in 2015, BAME writers are often pressurised to produce characters and settings that conform to white middle-class stereotypes of racial minorities, and the places ('exotic', 'gritty') they believe them to live. Publishers tell me that my market, like that of the majority of writers in this country, is largely 35-55 year-old white women. Yet in a scant thirty years, it's predicted that one in five people in this country will be from an ethnic minority.
For me the situation is a broader issue. As Kean says, 'The big elephant in the room is class and socio-economic background.' Those in the publishing industry, including agents, editors and people running literary festivals, are overwhelmingly white, middle or upper class. They, unlike many BAME candidates, are often educated privately and attended Russell Group universities (at a time when only 7% of the UK population has been privately educated and only 1% attended an Oxbridge University). Furthermore, BAME would-be publishers are frequently from families who can't afford to subsidise them for a year or so as an unpaid intern in London. Kean comments, 'Change is cosmetic and has not been structural or institutional.'
In other words, it's not simply that British and American literature is not ethnically diverse, but that the very people deciding what is to be published and how it should be edited are largely not from diverse backgrounds, either in terms of their culture or their class. In this country, the children that borrow most of the books from libraries are British Asian…and yet, and yet, as adults, Asians are not buying or reading books. I've rarely attended an event where I was not in the minority solely down to my skin colour. And I'm still not reading books or seeing screen plays where the main characters are British Asian, so maybe this sector of the population are giving up because they are so overwhelmingly underrepresented in British fiction.
I think it's fantastic that there are now initiatives to encourage more BAME writers into fiction, but until the publishing industry itself becomes more representative of the population as a whole (and pays interns and junior staff better), I fear these small shoots will not produce the multiplicity of multi-coloured blooms we crave.
I'm delighted to welcome Tasha Locke to my blog this week. Tasha graduated from Bristol University this year with a degree in English Literature. I met Tasha through my role as a Role Literary Fund Fellow at Bristol University. Her insight into literature prompted me to ask her if she'd write the Book Club questions (My Mother's Secret Book Club Questions) for you. There are a number of novels mentioned in My Mother's Secret, mostly by one of the main characters, bookish teenager, Stella Taylor, who is in a Book Club at school. Stella is obsessed with Jane Eyre, but it's Henry James' The Golden Bowl that runs like a leitmotif through my thriller… Over to Tasha.
The novels mentioned in My Mother's Secret provide layers for both the characters and the plot. These novels all present love in an unconventional, often forbidden, light. The debates on these novels in Stella's book club get us to think about the complexities and themes of My Mother's Secret.
Introducing the theme of adultery to My Mother's Secret, Stella's book club first read The Golden Bowl by Henry James. The group can't agree whether the book is about love, sex, or betrayal. Their book club debate invites us to reconsider our own opinions about betrayal and deception in relationships, which becomes increasingly important as the story of My Mother's Secret goes on.
The bowl from The Golden Bowl is also symbolic in My Mother's Secret. In James' novel Maggie Verver is about to get married and is gifted a golden bowl by her best friend and fiancé (who happen to be lovers) that has a crack in it. The symbolic crack in James' The Golden Bowl mirrors the secret in My Mother's Secret – but not just Emma Taylor's, the mother and main character in the novel. It is not until the final twist of My Mother's Secret that we realise the significance of Stella's earlier statement: 'the only person I know who's read it is my dad.'
Another novel mentioned in My Mother's Secret is Jane Eyre. My Mother's Secret opens with a quote from Jane Eyre and Bronte's gothic setting of Thornfield Hall resembles Tyntesfield, the estate outside of Bristol, where parts of My Mother's Secret are set. Tyntesfield, like Bronte's Thornfield, becomes a place of secrecy, deceit and even ghost-like doubles.
Jane Eyre is Stella's favourite book. She moulds herself on Jane, and, appropriately, her Instagram name is Mrs Rochester. Stella's desire to find out what her mother's secret is frames her narrative in a Jane Eyre-esque Bildungsroman, and the secret, like the character of Bertha in Jane Eyre, becomes the threat to her teenage romance.
Stella's teenage crush Adam – MaddAddam on Instagram – builds an unlikely connection between Jane Eyre and Margret Atwood's novel Oryx and Crake. Whilst placing teenage love on social media is fitting, Atwood's post-apocalyptic dystopia seems worlds away from Bronte's 19th century England. But the twist in Stella and Adam's love story – the reason their love must remain forbidden – draws these two novels together.
My Mother's Secret invites a re-reading of one of Jane Eyre's most famous lines, which Stella quotes:
No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.
Stella will regret wanting love like that… like Adam says of Atwood's 'speculative fiction': 'it means that everything could happen right now'.
Stella's book club, and the books they read, provide a platform for the reader to speculate on the relationships in My Mother's Secret. But the constant twists prove that these books cannot be relied on; the complexities of love in My Mother's Secret is utterly new.
As My Mother's Secret has been wending its way into the world, I've been working on another psychological thriller. It's called One Year Later…
One year ago, the Flowers family gathered at The Pines, a rambling farmhouse in Somerset, to celebrate the youngest child's third birthday. Tragically, the day before her birthday, Ruby-May drowned in the garden pond while her grandfather, David Flowers, was meant to be looking after her.
One year later, Ruby-May's anniversary is fast approaching. The three Flowers siblings, Nick, Bethany, and Amy, who is Ruby-May's mother, decide to hold the anniversary of the child's death on a remote island off the coast of Italy. They've barely spoken to each other for a year, and none of them have seen their father, David, since the funeral. This is their chance to heal and come together as a family before it's too late.
But as the extended family, including partners, children and hangers-on, gather in what appears to be an idyllic location, a rural farmhouse next to a stunningly beautiful beach, David shows up, still refusing to admit he was culpable. As the tension escalates, buried secrets will be uncovered…and not everyone may make it home…
Originally called The Anniversary, the novel is book-ended by scenes in Bristol and Somerset, where I live, but most of the action takes place on a tiny island off the coast of Italy. Sadly, I didn't manage a research trip, as my husband pointed out I've been to Italy more than enough times to satisfy most normal people, and I should just do what writers are meant to – use my imagination. Fortunately, the weather this summer is breathtakingly-hot, which helps, although I would much rather be on a beach than at my desk.
One Year Later will literally be out one year later…August 2019. Just in time for your summer holiday.
It's hard to believe, for me at least, but after doing little else but think about the characters in My Mother's Secret for a year and a half, my novel is out in the real world! We had a fantastic launch party at Waterstones, Bristol, with locally-brewed beer and locally-bought prosecco, and squidgy cakes inspired by the ones baked by my protagonist, Emma Taylor.
My wonderful friend and talented voice-over artist and presenter, Gillian Burke, read the part of Emma Taylor, and rising star, Abbi Bayliss, read the part of her daughter, Stella. I put my Northern accent to good use and read Lizzie Bradshaw's section, which is quite dark. I hope I haven't scared my daughter for life.
Big thanks to my lovely husband, Jaimie Rogers, my publicist, Kirsty Doole, and sister, Emma O'Connell, who kept the show on the road!
Book blogger and health journalist, Victoria Goldman, asked me to tell her what my essential writing toolkit is for her blog, Off-the-Shelf Books. Here goes:
Our exciting news is that we're renovating a house in rural Somerset. In the meantime, we've downsized so I no longer have an office, but a desk in the corner of an open-plan room. I look out over a small, but beautiful green garden that backs onto an urban nature reserve. Jays and blue tits peep through the window. I can't think if there's any clutter, and I like to have a flower or two next to me. I work on an Apple Mac and a laptop. This has revolutionised my life: because everything is in the cloud, I can pick up my laptop and go, without having to check it's saved, and I no longer have that awful realisation that I've spent hours working on the wrong document.
I love having different notebooks with lovely covers. I have one for ideas, one for quotes and overheard snippets of conversations and a working one, with what I need to do next. It helps me keep track of where I am – for instance, My Mother's Secret is just about to be published out, but I'm still talking to readers about my previous thrillers, Bone by Bone and The Stolen Child, whilst editing the fourth one, The Anniversary. I find writing long-hand is a good way of generating ideas too, although I actually type my novels straight onto the computer.
Writing is incredibly sedentary, so I need to move! I get up before anyone else and do an hour to an hour and a half of the Tracy Anderson Method. Tracy is a trainer in the states; I stream her classes, which are a combination of light weights and dance cardio. At the weekends I run or go mountain biking. I love walking. One of the characters in My Mother's Secret lives in the Lake District, so it was a great excuse to head up there for 'research'. I find walking helps with creativity and general resetting of one's mental equilibrium.
Coffee and chocolate
I start my writing day with black coffee and 80% dark chocolate. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic coffee roaster, Extract, at the bottom of our road and I buy their organic espresso, which tastes of hazelnuts and cocoa. Apparently.
I light a candle when I start working. I like scents that are quite sharp when I'm concentrating: my favourite is St Eval's Rosemary and Bay; and then soothing, like Sandalwood, when I want to unwind. I love being surrounded by greenery so I fill the house with lots of plants.
Protein shake
I get through that mid-afternoon slump with a protein shake, usually made of fruit and vegetables, non-dairy milk and protein powder. I normally add spinach; this one also has raspberries and coconut milk.
Since we're all in one room, there's quite a lot of 'negotiation' about who gets to watch downhill mountain bike racing, How to Train your Dragon, or have some peace and quiet to write their novel. I spend quite a lot of time wearing headphones and pretending I can't hear anyone speaking to me. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts when I'm doing chores; I'm a big fan of The Story Grid podcast and book, which is by editor Shawn Coyne and is aimed at helping writers and editors improve.
My daughter and I love baking: this is a cake that I made for one of my sister's for her birthday. It's a great way to relax and a slice of cake feels like a nice treat after a week of writing several thousand words and drinking spinach smoothies!
What's your essential toolkit?
This is a blog post I wrote on the importance of setting for The Asian Writer, and I thought would be most appropriate as I've just got back from a quick trip to the Lake District, where My Mother's Secret is partly set.
There's a thin band of cream silhouetting the cranes that hover over the half-built office blocks in the city centre. I head home, below an arc of houses that will be bright as jewels when the sun comes up. At this time of the day, it's beautiful; the river is still, and seagulls fall above it, like flecks of confetti.
I love Bristol, where I live, as anyone who's read my first thriller, Bone by Bone, might be able to guess! For my third, My Mother's Secret, I've returned to Bristol as a location, but also placed another character – Lizzie Bradshaw – in Leeds and the Lake District. The settings in my novels are extremely important to me, but I'm certain a well-drawn location enhances any book. Can you imagine Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children without the blooming buzzing confusion of Delhi, or Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney without the smell of money and crack-hustle of New York?
A detailed backdrop in fiction helps create a tangible world for one's characters, as well as being a tool the writer can use to heighten tension or thicken the atmosphere. My main character, Emma Taylor, lives in a leafy suburb of Bristol: Long Ashton. The 'world' this woman inhabits tells us a lot about who we think she is: middle class, comfortably off, the kind of person who shops in M&S for a treat and takes her youngest daughter to ballet lessons. It seems calm, safe, secure. Emma, though, is tense and anxious: she's hiding a secret from everyone she knows, so Long Ashton appears the perfect place for her. Similarly, her job as a baker makes us believe she's in a cosy, comforting cafe, filled with the scent of bubbling yeast and buttery croissants. When the reader discovers the bakery is actually in a tunnel beneath a train station, it might, perhaps, start ringing alarm bells. In contrast, Belle Isle in Leeds city centre, where Lizzie Bradshaw works, really is a dark and dangerous place.
A couple of boys around thirteen, but already taller than her, were hanging about on the street corner, and there was another group of young men in the centre of the housing estate, smoking and swigging from cans. She could hear the wind, boxed in by the flats, moaning round the corners. Chocolate wrappers and newspapers rustled across the ground, and a Staffordshire terrier tied to a bench with rope growled at her through bared teeth.
Stella, Emma's fourteen-year-old daughter, is determined to discover what her mother's secret is. She's a spiky, book-obsessed girl, and constantly reads Jane Eyre to make herself feel less anxious. Many of the Bristol scenes take place at Tyntesfield, a gothic mansion near Long Ashton.
William Gibbs' collection of curiosities is stacked up and draped in sheets, but my torch picks out a few that haven't been covered up: a glass dome with tiny, stuffed hummingbirds, the smooth carapace of an ostrich eggshell, a jade-green ammonite. This would be the perfect place for someone to stalk us. There are so many hiding places.
The architecture and the claustrophobia of the rooms mirror both Stella's gothic obsession, and the escalating tension in Emma's life. The suburbs and the city centre are densely populated: as Emma says, 'I like being surrounded by people – it feels safe;' Lizzie, who lives in a remote village in the Lake District, feels safe precisely because there is no one around. She tells DI Simon Duffield, 'You can walk for miles and never see a soul. Please, let me go home. I'll be safe there.' But, of course, in a thriller, nowhere is safe and the places we feel most secure are often the most dangerous.
The editor of The Asian Writer interviewed me for her new podcast. I was her first guest! It's here if you'd like to listen:
I'm giving a talk on plot at Novel Nights on Wednesday 23 Many. This is a wonderful monthly event, organised by writer, Grace Palmer, in Bristol. A writer talks about an aspect of their work, and local authors and aspiring writers read short extracts from their work-in-progress, all over a glass or two of wine.
If you happen to be in Bristol, do come along – the details are here. The full story, about how to plot, will be on the blog on Sunday 27 May.
In the meantime, here's a sneak preview, inspired by a story my daughter wrote for me when she was four. Like most kids, she fascinated by dinosaurs and pirates. Now, if I could come up with a movie concept – Jurassic Park meets Pirates of the Caribbean – I'd be minted.
There are 25 different kinds of cake name-checked in My Mother's Secret, from Daim cake bought over the counter in Ikea, to scones with cream and jam, and lavender shortbread, served with Earl Grey from Tyntesfield's National Trust tea shop, to chocolate-orange brownies and courgette cake decorated with a cream-cheese frosting and scattered with rose petals and rosemary flowers, made by my protagonist, Emma Taylor.
The chocolate cake doesn't rise, so Harry and I rescue it by soaking it with an espresso-rum syrup and layering it in tiers with salted-caramel butter cream.
Emma Taylor
It's an odd juxtaposition: cake and crime. Emma is a baker, working in Kate's. Although she spends her days in what seems the most secure and seductively comforting of occupations – baking cakes and sourdough bread – Emma is anxious and nervous, hiding a terrible secret from her family and her friends. Whilst she rises around 4 a.m. to feed the yeast, her teenage daughter, Stella, is spying on her, determined to find out what her mother's secret is. Meanwhile, a young student, Lizzie Bradshaw, out of her comfort zone in Leeds city centre, witnesses a shocking crime that will have repercussions for the rest of her life.
'She doesn't like alcohol in cakes. That's Katie's thing. And she isn't into gluten-free or, you know, polenta. She doesn't think it's right for cake. Anyway, it's what poor people eat.' My dad winces, in spite of his best Dr Seuss face. 'In developing countries like Mexico, I mean. You have to be middle-class to afford it here.'
Stella Taylor
The cakes – from the blackberry muffins, to the Black-forest gateau – are, of course, symbols of security, but in a thriller, nowhere, least of all the places where we live and work, are safe.
'It sounds like something a pirate would eat.'
Paul Bradshaw
Whilst I was researching this novel, I had to delve into organised crime on the one hand, and on the other, hang out in a bakery (Hart's Bakery in Bristol, which is the one Kate's is based on) learning how to make croissants and discovering what on earth a friand is. Fortunately, I love baking anyhow so I found it a wonderful indulgence and a relief to write about cake in between the rather more chilling happenings in My Mother's Secret.
'She'd like a Victoria sponge with lots of cream and some fruit. Raspberries and jam. Something simple.'
He looks disappointed. I can see he wanted a statement of a cake. Like his love.
Stella Taylor
Unlike Emma, though, I don't eat gluten and try not to consume sugar, so cake, in my real life, is an infrequent treat, usually made with polenta or gluten-free flour and sweetened with dates. Emma would not approve.
What are your favourite cakes? Do you have any favourites in My Mother's Secret?
Thank you to Steph Rothwell, who first published this blog.
I love reading and writing – obviously! And I then love meeting up with people to chat about what I've read, maybe over a glass of wine!
In case you'd like to talk about My Mother's Secret in your book club, we've put together some questions to get you started. You can download them below. Do email me if you have any of your own, or have a look at a Q&A with me.
My Mother's Secret Book Club Questions
In the meantime, I'll let you into a secret – the character I like best in My Mother's Secret!
Do let me know who you like best!
My Mother's Secret is out now! It's available to buy in bookshops or from Amazon. You can read some extracts from it if you'd like to, or find out more about the book by downloading these links.
My Mother's Secret – Chapters 1 & 2
The wonderful writer and the editor of the Asian Writer, Farhana Shaikh, interviewed me for her new podcast, Dear Writer. She had some lovely, sensitive questions and we discussed writing from fear, why I write thrillers, the link between nature and creativity and being British Asian.
And here's a short interview with me talking about My Mother's Secret.
Let me know what you think!
I've got ten free copies of My Mother's Secret to give away! To enter the competition, please sign up to my newsletter (the sign up is to the right). The competition closes on the 3rd May and I'll be selecting winners at random the following day.
You can also sign up The Pigeonhole to win My Mother's Secret, which will be serialised in ten extracts. The chance to win this competition ends on 3 May too.
Good luck!
It's perhaps no surprise that two of the settings in my third thriller, My Mother's Secret, are based at National Trust sites. For me, the best part of being British is the National Trust. I love the fact that the charity preserves great swathes of our countryside (over 248,000 hectares), including parts of the Lake District, fens and forests, 775 miles of our coastline, as well as conserving nearly a million works of art and over 500 historic houses, castles and ancient monuments.
As a trained zoologist, what's most important to me personally, is the investment in our wildlife. More than half of the species in this country are in decline and need help urgently. Peter Nixon, the National Trust's Director of Land, Landscape and Nature, said, 'Birds such as the cuckoo, lapwing and curlew are part of the fabric of our rural heritage. But they've virtually disappeared from the countryside. We want to see them return to the fields, woods and meadows again, along with other wildlife which was once common and is now rare.'
I'm a keen walker, but not everyone can trek along our rocky Cornish coastline, or hike up Scafell; another aspect that I think is wonderful is how accessible the charity has made our heritage, whether you're five or eighty-five. Plus the cakes in the tea rooms are pretty nice!
The spoken word flies away, the written word remains.
Inscription in Latin in Tyntesfield library
Many of the scenes in My Mother's Secret are set at Tyntesfield, a gothic mansion and parkland just outside Bristol. Because I'm drawn to nature, I generally have some wildlife in my books (Paul Bradshaw's son, Dylan, for instance, is helping Bristol University track foxes in Ashton Court), but also, as a thriller writer, I like the juxtaposition of urban and wilderness. As human beings, we've evolved to be frightened of being away from our tribe, of being on our own and in the dark in a forest or other wild place. Including these settings in a thriller feeds into the fear we feel when we read a tense passage, where the protagonist could be danger.
'My voice bounces around the old stone walls, and the echoes make me even more scared. I'm crying properly now. How could he just go out and leave me? The pain drowns out my shame, just for a few moments. I take out my phone, but there's no signal here. I'm starting to feel really frightened. I'm on my own in the dark, and no one knows where I am.'
I'm also interested in exploring what historic sites mean to us today: perhaps, as someone who is mixed-race, I feel this more acutely, but many were built using money from slavery. At the very least, the families that originally owned them, such as the Gibbs at Tyntesfield, inherited or made a fortune, whilst those less fortunate toiled in their fields or scrubbed their stairs for a pittance.
'We drag our heels, going slower and slower, as the path winds steeply down through the ironically named Paradise, with its tree ferns and palms – all part of the Victorians' plunder of Third World countries, to bring back rare stuff and show off. Everything is ornate. Even the benches are made of stone and carved with Tudor roses. All those poor people, chipping granite just to get some stale bread.'
However, I do think it's important that these mansions and monuments are preserved, so that future generations understand where we came from and how many once lived – and that the surrounding estates and parklands are preserved to help our wildlife flourish.
If you'd like to see some more photos of the settings that inspired me, do have a look at my Pinterest board.
I'd love you to come to my book launch party if you can make it! It's 7 p.m. Friday 11 May at Waterstones, Bristol. There'll be readings from My Mother's Secret, and since the lead character, Emma Taylor, is a baker, it's only right and proper that we should have plenty of cake! There will also be fizz, beer and soft drinks to wash it down! It's a free event, but do RSVP so we know how much cake to bake!
I will also be discussing plot at Novel Nights on 23 May at 7.30 p.m. and reading in one of the locations featured in the novel – Sticklebarn, Langdale in the Lake District on 26 May. Please check my Events page for details.
If you're interested in finding out a bit more about what inspired me, have a look at this mini video, or take a look at In Conversation with…
If you'd like to download a free sample of chapter one and two, told from Emma, and her daughter's perspective, they're here:
My Mother's Secret – Chapters 1 & 2
My Mother's Secret is available to pre-order.
It's one month until my next thriller, My Mother's Secret, is going to be published!
I thought I'd share a Q&A with you on what my novel is all about, where it's set and the inspiration behind it. You can download it here, My Mother's Secret Q&A or else read it in the blog below.
In the meantime, here's a free sample: My Mother's Secret – Prologue
If you are interested in reading further, it's available to pre-order here.
So, Sanjida Kay, tell us what My Mother's Secret is about.
My Mother's Secret is told from the point of view of three women: Lizzie Bradshaw, Emma Taylor, and her teenage daughter, Stella. Stella thinks that her mother has a secret. She knows her mother had a traumatic childhood, and that she's an unusually anxious person, who sometimes has panic attacks. But she believes her mother is hiding something bigger, and Stella is determined to find out what it is. As Emma tries to keep her secret, Lizzie is caught up in a terrible crime… and Stella's investigations will uncover something truly shocking that could shatter all their lives…
I write, 'My mother has a secret.'
What was the inspiration behind My Mother's Secret?
It's hard to say exactly what the inspiration was, because that would give away the secret Emma is hiding! There were a few stories in the news that obsessed me at the time. One of them was about undercover police officers who infiltrated environmental activist groups and had families with some of the women they were investigating. Although My Mother's Secret is not about undercover cops, it made me think about longterm lies and deception within close relationships, whether you can ever truly know those you love dearly, as well as power imbalances within marriage.
…as you can see, my dear, I know who you are and where to find you…
The story is mainly set in Bristol, the Lake District and Leeds – with two National Trust estates featuring prominently! Setting is really important to you. Can you tell us a bit about the locations for My Mother's Secret?
The settings in My Mother's Secret are all dear to me. Emma and her husband, Jack, and their two daughters, Stella and Ava, live in a suburb of Bristol called Long Ashton. Emma frequently visits a 'friend' at Tyntesfield, which is a magnificent Gothic mansion owned by the National Trust, just outside Bristol. Stella says the house looks as if it was designed by 'an architect on crack'; the estate was funded by the Gibbs' family's trade in guano. An episode of the BBC's Sherlock Holmes was filmed there! Tyntesfield is surrounded by wonderful grounds and woods. I love visiting – and researching the novel was a brilliant excuse to go as often as possible!
I can't help shuddering. He means the large, curved metal cage in the courtyard near the servants' entrance. It's large enough for a child to stand inside and, like the aviary on the other side, reminds me of something sinister out of a fairy story.
Lizzie and her young family, Paul and baby Dylan, live in Elterwater, a hamlet in the Lake District. Whilst Lizzie is commuting to Leeds for her job, Paul is doing a double shift for the National Trust, as a part-time warden in a mountain range known as the Langdale Pikes, and as a bar man in the National Trust's only pub: The Sticklebarn Inn. I love hiking, and visit the Lake District at least once a year. I normally stay in an amazing hostel in Elterwater; from there I can walk to one of my favourite mountains, Scafell Pike. And I normally manage to call in at the Sticklebarn Inn on the way back!
Apart from hanging out in National Trust tea shops and having mini breaks in the Lakes, what kind of research did you have to do for My Mother's Secret?
The life of an author is so tough! I had an odd juxtaposition with my research: Emma is a baker; she works in a bakery based on Hart's Bakery, beneath Temple Meads station in Bristol. So I spent a day hanging out with the bakers, as well as visiting pretty frequently! I was totally able to indulge my cake obsession in this novel! The other aspect of my research, though, was investigating the impact of organised crime. From the sublime to the horrific.
His words echo in my head: 'I can assure you that, as well as killing you, I will hunt down your family and I will kill them, and then I will find your friends and I will kill them, too.'
Although My Mother's Secret is a commercial thriller, you've included a few discussions on some literary fiction. Why is that?
Stella is in a Book Club at school. She's a spiky, slightly tom-boyish girl, who loves Jane Eyre – and, of course, the Gothic element in the book fits in beautifully with the Gothic mansion at Tyntesfield. One of the books she's reading in her book group is The Golden Bowl by Henry James. For anyone who knows me, they'll know that I like to write books that can be read as straightforward stories, but there's usually another element going on for anyone who is interested. In My Mother's Secret, the theme is from this wonderful tale, by Henry James. When American heiress, Maggie Verver, is about to get married, her best friend and her fiancé, who happen to have been in a relationship with each other, buy her a wedding gift. It's a golden bowl, but when they bring it home, they realise the bowl has a crack in it. It's a metaphor, a symbol, and also a key that unlocks one of the novel's revelations.
The book he was looking at has fallen open on a double-page spread. It's a quote in exquisite calligraphy: 'It isn't a question of beauty, it's only a question of truth.'
What are you working on at the moment?
I'm writing another psychological thriller for Corvus Books, provisionally called The Holiday. It's about a family whose three-year-old daughter drowned a year ago. The mother, Amy, wants the whole, extended family to go away for the anniversary of her daughter's death to try and heal. She books a house on a tiny island in Italy though an online company…but the holiday goes dangerously wrong. My inspiration for this one was the rise of online holiday companies, which might not always be the safest option for travellers…
I lean on the windowsill to look down at the swimming pool, and something sharp digs into my palm. I wince; embedded in the heel of my hand is a human tooth. It's tiny with a sharp point, a dull ivory, with a hollow where it once grew in a child's jaw.
Looking forward to hearing what you think!
We're coming up to the Easter holidays. My family had a lovely tradition when we were growing up: my mum would hide a book instead of a chocolate Easter egg for me…although I think there'd be a rebellion if I tried to do that in our house! I hope you enjoy some time to read over the holidays. Do let me know what you're reading and what you think of these suggestions. Chocolate optional.
So here I am, upside down in a woman…
So begins Nutshell, narrated by a foetus who sounds like an erudite, arrogant, aristocrat. Nearly full term, and fuelled by podcasts and Sancerre, our exceptionally young man is concerned because his mother and her lover are about to do something terrible to his father.
Now I'm certain…they're planning a dreadful event. Should it go wrong, I've heard them say, their lives will be ruined.
A combination of psychological thriller, treatise on modern malaise, ode to poetry and homage to Hamlet, this could be insufferable, but manages, instead to be wry, poignant, gripping as well as wonderfully written.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
A domestic noir inspired by Hitchcock's Rear View Window: psychologist Anna Fox has suffered some kind of trauma, which has left her agoraphobic and confined to her house in New York. She and her husband are separated, and he currently has their daughter, Olivia, with him. Anna spends her days playing chess online, counselling fellow agoraphobics and spying on her neighbours.
Some nights I haunt her room like a ghost. Some days I stand in the doorway, watch the slow traffic of dust motes in the sun. Some weeks I don't visit the fourth floor at all, and it starts to melt into memory, like the feel of rain on my skin.
New neighbours move in who seem to be a mirror of the family she's lost: a husband, wife and their teenage son. Then one day, Anna sees something terrible happen in their house but thanks to Anna's cornucopia of medication, and merlot as medicine, no one believes her.
The ash tree cowers, the limestone glowers, dark and damp. I remember dropping a glass onto the patio once; it burst like a bubble, merlot flaring across the ground and flooding the veins of the stone work, dark and bloody, crawling towards my feet.
This is a beautifully written book, which starts gently before the stomach-clenching, jaw-dropping twists begin. The characters are brilliantly realised, the guilt, the fear and the claustrophobia are palpable.
Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore
It's 1792 and Europe is rocked by political violence whilst in Bristol there is a property boom, that will, as we know now, collapse barely a year later when war breaks out between England and France. Birdcage Walk is a psychological and historical thriller about Lizzie Fawkes, daughter of radical feminist, Julia Fawkes, who marries property developer, John Diner Tredevant. I loved the historical details, particularly as the novel is set in Bristol, where I have spent most of my adult life.
We gazed out at the plunge of the Gorge. From here we could not see the river crawling in its bed, but saw the dark curve of the trees on the other side. The forest was so thick that I never wanted to enter it. It seemed as if anything might live within it.
Although the backdrop of the novel is political and social, the characters are incredibly realistic, at its heart, it's about the love between mother and daughter, and how Diner is threatened, not only by their relationship, but by Lizzie's independent and questioning nature.
My irritation melted. No one, I thought suddenly, would ever look at me like that, except for Mammie, because to her every good thing, every moment of happiness that came to me meant more than if it came to herself.
We learn early on what manner of man Diner is; his desire to control and suppress Lizzie is claustrophobic. This is a beautifully written novel, laced with dread, and shot through with emotional depth and compassion.
Birdcage Walk is the last book Dunmore wrote before she died. She finished it before she realised how seriously ill she was, but it's possible she knew subconsciously that she was failing, for this novel is suffused with darkness and loss. As she herself wrote, 'The question of what is left behind by a life haunts the novel.'
Shetland based on Anne Cleeves' Jimmy Perez detective novels: gripping, touching and emotionally raw; and thriller, McMafia, a taut, family-based drama, of one man's road to ruin, inspired by Misha Glenny's non-fiction account of international crime.
Story Grid Podcast based on Shawn Coyne's book on how to develop one's craft as a writer; with aspiring novelist, Tim Grahl. An absolute must-read/listen if you want to be a fantastic fiction writer!


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I was talking to a current supervisor of mine the other day. I had worked with her years earlier at another workplace. It wasn't the ideal work situation and I felt very uncomfortable from day one. I struggled to engage others and since my job was completely different than everyone else, it was somewhat hard to feel like I belonged.
My initial overtures were met with roadblocks so I tried to find a way to cope.
One of the ways I coped was to make sure I had my Ipod with me and I would listen to music while doing paperwork or when I was by myself to distract me from anxiety and that awkward feeling. Even though it was never an ideal workplace I stuck with it and eventually I struck some kind of balance with getting to know and getting along with others. As I became more comfortable I didn't carry my ipod (although I always had it playing in my office – still do come to think about it) and interacted more with everyone.
My current supervisor was telling me that she and another worker thought I was so unfriendly (which honestly is not a word used to describe me much) and that I thought I was better than them because I would sit and listen to my music rather than be open for people to interact with me.
I wonder how often people make judgments – believing the worst about people – rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt. I felt uncomfortable, not unfriendly and didn't feel welcome – not thinking I was better than my coworkers. It seems like they were unsure about me and had a negative experience with the past person in my position so they also assumed the worst about me. How much smoother my transitions into the job have gone if all of us had given the other the benefit of the doubt? It seems like a wasted opportunity because if initial if we had believed the best intentions from the other person the relationship may have been much more positive.
There are situations where you shouldn't give the benefit of the doubt such as harm or victimization of another but in everyday scenarios why don't we believe the best about others.
It is so easy to apply our own insecurities and concerns onto other's behaviors. We filter their behavior through our expectations. Next time you are interpreting someone's behaviors, consider giving them the benefit of the doubt and see how much better the situation may go.

subset: commoncrawl


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MIDI Reloaded: Why MIDI Still Matters, Part 1
Three decades ago, keyboards were wedded to tone generators in the same enclosure, and digital audio recording were expensive and rare—but then MIDI appeared. MIDI is a digital language by which synths, sequencers, and controllers talk to one another. Among its early benefits was separating the keyboard controller from sound generators so that a single keyboard could control multiple, less expensive, and typically rack-mounted tone modules. MIDI also offered a high-quality "multitrack" recording experience to composers and working musicians who couldn't have afforded their own multitrack tape machines. Today you can easily record 100 tracks of digital audio on a basic laptop, so MIDI may seem irrelevant in the studio. Yet MIDI remains not only viable, but valuable, because it lets you exploit today's studio in ways that digital audio still can't.
MIDI basics. Digital audio is a representation of sound itself—the numbers involved are eventually converted back into a voltage that can drive an amp or powered speaker. MIDI data is a set of instructions that in turn tell something that can make sound—like a hardware or soft synth—what and how to play. The classic analogy is the old-fashioned player piano: The paper piano roll isn't a recording you can play back in the absence of the piano itself; instead, the holes punched in it are read by a mechanism that then tells the piano's hammers what strings to hit.
Another good analogy is word processing. When you type on a QWERTY keyboard, it generates digital data representing letters, spaces, punctuation marks, and so on. This data flows into your computer, which can then translate the data into pixels on a monitor so you can see what you've typed, cut and paste words, email it, and so forth. A MIDI musical keyboard translates your playing into data that flows out from a MIDI output, then travels over a serial connection (more on this later) into a synth, tone module, or your computer. The data doesn't equal the music anymore than the data from your QWERTY keyboard equals your native language, but in both cases, the former issues marching orders to a system that then creates the latter.
Having a set of instructions that can be saved and edited separately provides all kinds of benefits. Before discussing those, let's cover a few more MIDI basics.
The MIDI interface. MIDI's interface protocol differed from the ones used at the time for printers and other peripherals. It used a five-pin DIN connector (see Figure 1 at left) for the MIDI output that transmitted data from your keyboard or computer, and another DIN connector for the tone module or computer MIDI input that received data. Early personal computers needed an external interface box that had MIDI connectors and converted the MIDI data to and from a standard computer interface protocol. (Atari's ST series and Yamaha's CX5M were two exceptions; they had built-in MIDI connectors.)
Most modern MIDI keyboards interface with computers over USB; its advantages include eliminating a separate interface and higher-speed data transfer. For older synths, DIN-to-USB converter cables can provide a computer interface.
MIDI channels and ports. MIDI sends data over any of 16 channels, and tone modules or virtual instruments can "tune in" to a specific channel. For example, suppose you assign three different synthesizers to receive data over MIDI channels 1, 2, and 3. Changing the transmission channel on your controller keyboard (or on a MIDI track's output in your DAW) chooses which synthesizer will play. For layering, you can set synths to the same channel. If your synth can split or layer, this works by the keyboard transmitting on different MIDI channels to the sound engine.
Eventually 16 channels weren't enough, so interfaces (and even some keyboards) started sprouting multiple ports—a four-port interface can send data over 64 (four times 16) different channels. One DIN connector equals one port, but a single USB connection can handle multiple ports simultaneously.
Another development, the multitimbral synth, plays back different sounds that respond to different channels. This is ideal for computer-based multitrack MIDI recording and playback because data recorded on one channel can drive (for example) a bass sound, while another channel plays back a piano sound, another triggers drums, and so on.
Today, external tone modules have been upstaged by software instruments (see Figure 2 at left), but these still take their orders from MIDI. Now let's consider some advantages of MIDI over digital audio.
Songwriting. If you start a composition with MIDI instruments, you can transpose pitch and alter tempo easily. Transposing simply tells the target synth to trigger notes that are a certain number of semitones higher or lower. For this reason, there are none of the artifacts associated with audio-based time or pitch stretching. Once you nail the right tempo and pitch for your arrangement, you can then start recording audio parts such as vocals. You can set up a multitimbral MIDI instrument template with different instruments on different channels, so as to get going quickly if inspiration strikes. You can also record "placeholder" parts to keep the creative flow going and not concern yourself with recording the perfect part, because MIDI allows for . . .
Deep editing. Digital audio allows for broad edits, like changing levels or moving sections around, and editing tools such as Melodyne are doing ever more fine-grained audio surgery. But MIDI is more fine-grained still: You can edit every characteristic of every performance gesture: dynamics, volume, timing, the length and pitch of every note, pitch-bend, and even which sound is being played. MIDI data can tell a piano sound what to play, or if you change your mind, a Clavinet patch. With digital audio, changing the instrument that plays a given part requires re-recording the track.
Different types of editing.
"Piano-roll" editing is the most common way to edit, but you can also edit on a musical staff view, a grid optimized for editing drum parts, a spreadsheet-like list of every single MIDI event in a part, and in some cases, even guitar tab (see Figure 3 above).
MIDI plug-ins.
These process MIDI data (see Figure 4 at left). They can set minimum and maximum velocity limits, constrain notes to a particular scale, repeat data for echo effects, change the order of notes in a phrase subtly or drastically, and much more. Not all DAWs accommodate MIDI plug-ins, but most of the majors do.
Mix and synth automation. In addition to notes, the MIDI spec includes dedicated, numbered controller data options that can control panning, level, modulation, sustain, and even amount to extra hands turning your synth's knobs as you play. With a multitimbral instrument, controller signals can alter the mix by changing instrument levels on the fly.
These are the basics, but MIDI can do much more—as you'll find out in part 2 next month.
Craig Anderton is the former executive editor of our sister magazine Electronic Musician, one of the original gurus of music technology how-to, and currently the "Chief Magic Officer" at Gibson Brands.


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On August 14, 1871, American malacologist and carcinologist Paul Bartsch was born, Bartsch was an authority on molluscs, but had broad interests in natural history including plants and birds. He was named the last of those belonging to the "Descriptive Age of Malacology.
Paul Bartsch was born in Tuntschendorf, Silesia, and emigrated with his parents to the U.S.A in 1880, first to Missouri and then to Burlington, Iowa. During his school years, Paul Bartsch founded a natural history club at his home. It is believed that he further collected birds and prepared skins which he displayed in a self made museum at home. Bartsch attended the University of Iowa where he graduated with a M.Sc. in 1899 and he received his doctorate degree in 1905.
Paul Bartsch was invited by William H. Dall to become his assistant at the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Mollusks. A few years later, he started teaching zoology at the Columbia University where he was given the professor title. In 1945, he retired as professor emeritus. Already in 1901, Bartsch started teaching histology at the Medical School of Howard University where he also became the director of the histology laboratory. Later on, Paul Bartsch became Director of the Physiology Laboratory and Lecturer in Medical Zoology.
Bartsch first began researching molluscs when he became Dall's assistant. He first started cataloging the exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution together with Charles Simpson. In 1901, he published his first malacological paper, entitled "A New Californian Bittium". One year later, he was able to publish his first work as a sole author: "A New Rissoina from California". During the next five years, Bartsch was able to publish twelve scientific papers on land and freshwater shells.
From 1907 to 1908 Bartsch took part in the expedition to the Philippines as a scientist of the Smithsonian Institution on board the Albatross collecting specimens of marine and non-marine snails. It is believed that more than 87.000 specimens were cataloged. In 1909, he published together with Dall a monography on the West American Pyramidellidae and in the next years Bartsch published further papers on the matter. He later led the research work commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution and Carnegie Institution of Washington on the incubation of snail eggs in the Florida Keys.
In 1912 Bartsch began a series of investigations that lasted until 1933 and which contributed to research into the Gulf of California, the Bahamas, western Mexico, Florida, Cuba, Haiti, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, all West Indian Islands between Puerto Rico and Trinidad, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
During the next years, Bartsch took part in further expeditions, including an expedition to the Bahamas and Cuban waters. In 1916, he was asked to study shipworms by the U.S. Navy and Bartsch was able to suggest several novel procedures against these clams in his paper "Report on the Marine Boring Mollusks in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". Bartsch continued traveling to the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, Cuba, as well as the West Indies and he collected more than a half million mollusks, marine invertebrates, fish, birds and reptiles.
Bartsch led the Johnson-Smithsonian Deep Sea Expedition to Puerto Rico in 1933 and the Smithsonian Roebling Research Expedition in 1937. He was the first scientist after John James Audubon to deal with bird ringing. After his age-related retreat into private life, Bartsch devoted himself to his collection of native plants on his estate near Pohick, Virginia. Paul Bartsch died on April 24, 1960, at age 88.
References and Further Reading:
- [1] Paul Bartsch Image at the Smithsonian Institution
- [2] Paul Bartsch at the Smithsonian Archives
- [3] Paul Bartsch at The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland
- [4] Paul Bartsch at Wikidata
- [5] Timeline of Paul Bartsch via Wikidata


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Week 10 – Wednesday
And… the last post for MC500, Church in Mission. An excellent course, challenging us to be aware of empire, colonization, and the followers of Jesus' response to it all. He was truly an incarnation of that which is from a different kingdom, and the King himself of said kingdom. But the crazy thing is, who would think that a king would welcome children into his arms, talk about loving your enemy, putting down weapons instead of taking them up, or operate in such a way that would allow the poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised into his very own presence. That would be like if the president. . . yeah, I don't know how to finish that.


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6 Reasons Why I'm Coco-Nuts
There are so many reasons why I like coconuts so much, I don't even know where to start! I use so many coconut-based products myself and recommend my clients do so too if they want to have strong, shiny hair, a smooth, hydrated skin, a happy stomach and a fit body! I love that they are a natural, sustainable and healthy fruit (yes, coconuts are technically a type of fruit), goes such a long way. You can have coconuts in the form of food, cosmetics, use it for anti-bacterial purposes… The list goes on!
I was staying with a friend for a few weeks recently and she noticed that I'm totally coco-nuts. My shampoo and conditioner are coconut-based, my moisturiser is made of coconut butter, my hair oil is basically coconut oil, my mouth wash is coconut oil, I cook with coconut oil, I drink and eat coconuts in every possible way… It doesn't end! Continue reading to find out why I'm so obsessed and how I use coconuts to optimise my body goals.
Let's start with coconuts' most raw form. The first thing that comes to mind is that deliciously sweet, yet so refreshing, coconut water. The younger the coconut, the sweeter its water. The amount of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus), which are needed for energy and a faster recovery, in one single fruit exceeds that in a sports drink by more than double. Coconut water is lower in sugar than most fruit, while the flavour of it is rich, which makes coconut water a great base for smoothies. My current go-to after a workout is coconut water with ice and a scoop of protein powder. So simple and quick, yet so satisfying and replenishing after sweating.
Another benefit of regularly drinking coconut water is that it helps curb sugar cravings. I noticed it when I started having small amounts of coconut water throughout the day and my usual trips to the fridge in the evenings weren't happening so often anymore. What I do now is always keep coconut water at home to be prepared for any unplanned cravings and have a glass of it with a tiny bit of lemon juice squeezed in and a few ice cubes. It's like a home made lemonade and it's a perfect light and healthy option instead of raging through the kitchen pantry or reaching for something not so healthy.
P.S. Make sure your coconut water has nothing else added. Many producers add fructose to sweeten it. Young coconuts are very sweet and don't need any sweetening. If a coconut water needs sweetening, it means it is not made from fresh coconuts and hence is not the best quality.
Besides using coconut oil for basically every meal that is cooked in high heat, I take advantage of all possible forms of coconuts as a form of food.
Since I eat a 90% plant-based diet, coconut milk and coconut kefir milk are always present in my kitchen. I love using both as smoothie basis, making matcha/turmeric lattes with coconut milk, use both for baking or simply carry a coconut kefir milk in my handbag as a snack. Coconut yoghurt and coconut cream are my favourite for adding creaminess to just about anything - porridge, desserts, stews, stir-fries, and muesli.
Coconut oil is one of the most versatile products I've ever used. It reacts well with heat, meaning that unlike other popular oils, such as olive oil, coconut oil does not break down and convert into trans fat when exposed to high temperatures. This makes it great for cooking and especially for baking, since it adds an extra bit of natural sweetness.
Important: When purchasing coconut oil, make sure it's unprocessed (virgin, organic), as processing strips off the nutrients and positive qualities.
Last, but not least - the actual nut can be used for an endless number of purposes. I regularly use it as an on-the-go snack, sprinkle some on salads, and decorate my smoothie bowls with it. Coconut shavings are a must for when I make plant-based desserts. I love making energy balls and rolling them in coconut shavings for a nice, nutty finish. If I drink coconut water out of the actual nut, I always open it and check if it's young enough to have that unbelievably tasty creamy consistency. It seems kind of slimy, but tastes too amazing to waste it.
Just like coconut water, other coconut-derived products are great for making you feel fuller for longer and hence, crave the bad stuff less! On top of that, they can actually play a huge role in your body being in a ketogenic state. This means that you are burning fat instead of carbs for fuel, which, as you can imagine, works wonders for your figure.
Did you know that coconut oil is the perfect sun block, since it blocks approximately 20% of the harmful rays getting into contact with the skin? On top of that, it adds that beautiful glow and makes you look like a total beach babe! I like mixing it with my sunblock lotion since I find that the oil on its own attracts more heat and turns me into a fried little nugget.
Another holiday hack using coconuts is making a coconut body scrub. It helps to get rid of dead skin cells and get your tan to soak in deeper and last longer. It's a two step process of mixing coconut shavings with coconut oil and ta-da! Money saved on expensive fancy shmancy products.
Also, coconut oil is the perfect solution for dry skin and hair, as it locks moisture, adds shininess, and acts as a natural conditioner. Not only is coconut oil good for daily use, but it can also be used to treat skin-related issues, like eczema.
I've been coconut-based products for cosmetic purposes for years and I swear by them. I used to have very thin hair that broke easily and my skin was so dry that if I didn't moisturise it twice a day, it used to look like crocodiles skin. While I believe that my currently strong hair and healthy skin formula is a combination of a diet based on whole foods and a generally healthier lifestyle, I've noticed that when I travel and don't bring coconut oil with me, my hair gets drier and breaks more easily.
What you can do to make your hair stronger and shinier almost immediately: dampen the ends of your hair (not just the tips, but good 5cm up) and coat them in a thick layer of coconut oil. Cover the oily ends with a small plastic bag and tie it with a hair tie so that your sheets don't get oily. Don't knot or plait your hair as you want to restore it from breaking, and keeping your hair tight can encourage it. I do this for not particular reason or occasion but especially if I have used a heated curler or a straightener in the last few days. All you need to do is wake up 5 minutes earlier to wash the ends of your hair and let it dry while you get ready. This simple trick has kept my hair hydrated, my ends healthy, and visually increased volume since my hair is more dense. Who said you need expensive hair products and treatments?!
Coconuts have been used for centuries as a natural antibiotic due to its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal qualities. Here is all the healing magic in simple terms: coconuts are known for their high content of fatty acids. 50% of the fatty acids content is lauric acid. When it's digested, it forms monolaurin, which together which lauric acid kills harmful pathogens.
Coconut-derived food products can be used to cure upset stomach and even more serious digestive problems, like candida, which is when too much yeast is present in the gut, it causes stomach cramps, bloating and digestive abnormalities.
Coconut oil pulling is a simple way to treat mouth and dental infections, and reduce bad breath. So recently my dentist told me that I'm not allowed to use an electric toothbrush because I over brush and try to keep my mouth cleaner than it can possible be by flossing way too hard core. However, to my big surprise, she also told me that she noticed an early stage of gum infection. I still don't understand how is it possible to get into trouble for keeping my mouth "too" clean but at the same time have a developing gum infection??? Anyway, my dentist advised me that I will have to come back in a few weeks to check on the situation to see whether my gums were simply inflamed from over flossing and over brushing or whether I actually had a gum infection.
Knowing my craziness about natural remedies, the first thing I did when I got home was oil pulling using coconut oil. I did it twice a day after brushing my teeth and within 2 days I could feel that my gums were no longer feeling weird and no longer bleeding when I flossed! I avoided antibiotics being injected in my gums with a scary syringe and was reminded once again how powerful nature is.
You might not have a gum infection but I'm sure you don't want the guy you like to be unimpressed by your breath? Mints might help here and now but coconut oil pulling is a long-term solution.
I have already mentioned that saturated fats have a great quality of keeping you fuller for longer and release energie over a longer period of time. This means that you're less likely to suddenly feel hungry and reach for the first thing you see. You end up consuming so much less junk, which is what you want when you aim for weight loss - to reduce and eventually eliminate processed foods.
In addition, slow energy release and satiety in combination with a ketogenic state (high fat, low carb = your body burns its own fat for energy) means that you automatically burn more fat. To top it off, MCT oil found in coconut oil increases endurance, which means that you have more energy to build muscle, which further helps to break down fat. Basically, coconuts build a domino effect on crashing down all the fat!
Achieving and sustaining ketosis is one of my current goals. I have experienced the benefits before going plant-based, but when I made the switch I found it a little harder to eat a low-carb diet, when all I was eating was grains and lots of vegetables. Now I feel like I'm ready to experiment again and I will keep you posted on what's it like to be a plant-based ketogenic!
What you can do now to start burning fat for fuel and feel fuller for longer:
- Gradually introduce a variety of coconut products into your diet
- Cook with coconut oil or take MCT oil as a supplement
- Schedule a health goals call with me to discuss what's the best way for you to transition to a ketogenic state.
(This should count as many reasons in one!)
I briefly touched on the positive impacts that ketones can have on our bodies. I feel like they need a whole separate blog post just about them. To keep it simple and understandable, I will list some of the biggest reasons why coconut oil (which contains ketones) is a must in everyone's diet:
- The fact that ketones feed on fat and not on glucose (like most cells), insulin-resistance and hence, lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. I won't go into details of explaining this, as I think that the end result is far more important than the chemical reactions that take place in our bodies.
- Fatty acids play an important role in heart health, as they lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase the god cholesterol (HDL). Also a large amount of ketones in the blood help lower resting heart rate and reduce the chances of stroke and seizures.
- Antioxidants in virgin coconut oil (extracted in low, heat, maintaining the nutrients and beneficiary powers) reduce inflammation and delay aging, which is otherwise enforced by stress and free radicals.
- Capric acid (a type of fatty acid found in saturated fats) improves thyroid function.
- Fatty acids in saturated fats balance estrogen levels and females hormones, reducing PMS hormone imbalances, period pains and migraines. When it comes to female hormones, we can't avoid the ups and downs at some stage in our lives and coconut products have earned brownie points from me on this one!
What is your favourite way of including coconut into your life? Let me know in the comments!
I hope this blog post gave you some ideas if you aren't including it already!


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About Us
About Rush Autos – Used Car Dealership and Auto Loan Experts
Did you know you can walk into Rush Autos and, within one hour, drive away with a vehicle?
Rush Autos is a unique dealership in Calgary. We specialize in low kilometre vehicles under $20,000 – and many of these are under $10,000.
We offer a variety of financing options from as low as 3.9%. Thanks to our excellent partnerships with multiple lenders, we offer auto financing for all credit types. To help people with challenged credit, for whatever the reason.
We indeed are different. Our on-site mechanics and exceptional staff are dedicated to a long-term commitment to our customers. Rush Autos does something few other dealerships do. We back what we sell with credible warranties. We recondition our vehicles correctly. We offer flexible servicing options at affordable prices. We can even provide servicing packages included in your payment.
Rush Autos is a family-owned business, celebrating seven years in NE Calgary. We are confident we can help you find the vehicle that you'll be proud to drive.
We are open seven days a week. Please drop in or call the dealership at 403-204-8282.
Rush Autos can help you get approved for a used car loan in Calgary AB regardless of your bad credit. Welcome to Rush Autos.com your source for used cars in Calgary Alberta. Are you looking for a Used Car in Calgary AB but have damaged credit? If so, don't worry, we can help you. Everyone is approved at RushAutos.com in Calgary AB. We have a large selection of used cars, used vans, used trucks, used SUVs, used sedans and family crossovers for you to choose from in Calgary. All of the used cars that we carry come standard with a Car Proof vehicle history report to ensure the quality of the inventory that we sell. Don't let your bad credit hold you back from getting auto financing approval any longer. We can help you get quick and easy used car loan approval today!
Bad Credit is OK, No Credit is OK, and Bankruptcies are OK! Rush Autos is located in Calgary Alberta, however we also offer bad credit auto loan approval to residents in: Calgary, Canmore, Banff, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Edmonton, Airdrie, Cochrane, Crossfield, Okotoks, Irricana, Black Diamond, Strathmore, Carstairs, High River, Didsbury, Olds, Nanton, Sundre, Three Hills and Vulcan Alberta.


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One of the most difficult and important decisions that high school students face is deciding where to go to continue their education. Selecting the right college or university to fit their needs is a decision that takes time, thought and planning. Because of the many factors that go into the decision, it is one that will shape the future of the student.
Some of the factors that go into the decision-making process for selecting a school are whether you are looking for a private or public school, whether the school is local or out of the area, two-year or four-year school and what area of study the student wants to focus. These are all important things to consider when parents and students get together and decide which school is best for their situation. Generally speaking, the college planning process for students and parents should start as early as possible.
One of the largest, and most expensive, pieces of the puzzle is how to pay for the education. In recent years the cost of college has steadily increased which has put a strain on parents and students to finance the education. Because of the higher cost of education, students and parents have become more creative in planning for college, including exploring the options of distance learning education. Parents should start planning when a child is early and start putting aside money that can be used for college expenses.
Students can also be helpful in this process. Many high school students take jobs after school or during the summers to help save money for use at college, either through school expenses or living expenses. Also, if the student works hard in school, they may be eligible for scholarships which can help offset the cost of college. This along with parents college savings, student grants, student loans and parent loans can help finance a college education.
To help you learn more about paying for a college education, we have put together the following helpful resources:
College Planning
- College Planning Information – Information for students which can help them begin the process for college planning.
- College Planning – Useful article which discusses many of the issues that are important to students in preparing for college.
- College Admissions – Informative web page which serves as a portal of information about college admissions.
- College Preparation Help – Information and resources to help students in the journey for college.
- College Planning Timelines – Useful information for parents and students which provides a timeline for the planning process.
Saving for College
- College Saving Plan – Tips for students and parents providing information on how to save for school.
- Saving for College – Informative page which provides information and ideas on how parents and students can save for college.
- Smart Saving for College – Resources and information on how to save for college.
- Saving for College – Article which explains how a 529 savings plan may be a good decision for college saving.
- Introduction to 529 Plans – Informative page from the Securities and Exchange Commission which introduces parents to a college savings program.
- Scholarship Search – Searchable website which provides students with information on available scholarships.
- Scholarship Information – Web page which provides information and a database of available scholarship money.
- Finding and Applying for Scholarships – Useful resource for students to utilize in assisting to find and apply for scholarship money.
- Grants for College – Informative web site which provides students with information about grants and how they may qualify for them.
Student Loans
- Student Loans – Federal web site which serves as a portal of information about student loans and the process that needs to be followed.
- Federal Direct Loans – Useful page which outlines how the direct loan for students work to finance colleges.
- Student Loans – Guide for students looking to learn more about the student loan program.
- Student Loan Information – Helpful article which provides links to news stories about student loans.
- Student Loan News – Articles which provides information and news about student loans for students and parents.
- Federal Student Aid – Information for students which contains information on the federal student aid program.
Parent Loans
- PLUS Loans – Information on the federal loan program aimed at parents to assist students.
- Parent Federal Direct Loans – Helpful page which provides an overview of the federal parent loan program.
- Parents Loans – Article from the New York Times which outlines the dangers to parents in financing an education for children.
- Parent Loan Trap – Informative article which informs parents of the potential concerns over taking loans for education.
College Financing Process
- Master the Financial Aid Process – Article which discusses the procedure which should be followed for financial aid.
- Paying for College – Lots of great information on Federal Financial Aid and the process to get started.
- Guide to College Financing (PDF) – Informative article which helps take the confusion out of the financial process.
- The Financial Aid Process – Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FASFA).
Compare the Best Student Loan Refinance Rates
Here are our top student loan refinance picks for 2019
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Student Debt Relief Loan Refinancing Advertiser Disclosure
Student loan offers that appear on this site are from companies or affiliates from which Student Debt Relief may receive compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including for example, the order in which they appear or whether a student loan provider or loan consolidation company is "featured" on the site). Student Debt Relief does not include all student loan companies or all types of offers available in the marketplace. Student Debt Relief tries to keep all rates offered by lenders up to date. There may be instances where rates have been changed, but Student Debt Relief has not been made aware of those changes, and/or has not yet had a chance to update its website. We make no guarantees as to the rates being offered. For more information see our privacy policy.
Lender Disclosures
College Ave: College Ave Student Loans products are made available through either Firstrust Bank, member FDIC or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply.
College Ave Refi Education loans are not currently available to residents of Maine.
1 – The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as the borrower or cosigner, if applicable, enrolls in auto-pay and authorizes our loan servicer to automatically deduct your monthly payments from a valid bank account via Automated Clearing House ("ACH"). The rate reduction applies for as long as the monthly payment amount is successfully deducted from the designated bank account and is suspended during periods of forbearance and certain deferments. Variable rates may increase after consummation.
2 – $5,000 is the minimum requirement to refinance. The maximum loan amount is $300,000 for those with medical, dental, pharmacy or veterinary doctorate degrees, and $150,000 for all other undergraduate or graduate degrees. Information advertised valid as of 04/26/2019. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation.
3 – This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a refi borrower with a Full Principal & Interest Repayment and a 10-year repayment term, has a $40,000 loan and a 5.5% Annual Percentage Rate ("APR"): 120 monthly payments of $434.11 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $52,092.61. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary.
ELFI: Subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions apply. To qualify for refinancing or student loans consolidation through ELFI, you must have at least $15,000 in student loan debt and must have earned a bachelor's degree or higher from an approved post-secondary institution.
LendKey: Refinancing via LendKey.com is only available for applicants with qualified private education loans from an eligible institution. Loans that were used for exam preparation classes, including, but not limited to, loans for LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE preparation, are not eligible for refinancing with a lender via LendKey.com. If you currently have any of these exam preparation loans, you should not include them in an application to refinance your student loans on this website. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents in an eligible state to qualify for a loan. Certain membership requirements (including the opening of a share account and any applicable association fees in connection with membership) may apply in the event that an applicant wishes to accept a loan offer from a credit union lender. Lenders participating on LendKey.com reserve the right to modify or discontinue the products, terms, and benefits offered on this website at any time without notice. LendKey Technologies, Inc. is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse, any educational institution.
CommonBond: Offered terms are subject to change. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC (NMLS # 1175900). If you are approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your credit profile, your application, the loan term selected and will be within the ranges of rates shown. All Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed assume borrowers enroll in auto pay and account for the 0.25% reduction in interest rate.
Splash Financial: Terms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Rates and terms are also subject to change at any time without notice. Offers are subject to credit approval.com
Earnest: To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or possess a 10-year (non-conditional) Permanent Resident Card, reside in a state Earnest lends in, and satisfy our minimum eligibility criteria. You may find more information on loan eligibility here: https://www.earnest.com/eligibility. Not all applicants will be approved for a loan, and not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Approval and interest rate depend on the review of a complete application.
Earnest's fixed-rate loan rates range from 3.89% APR (with autopay) to 7.89% APR (with autopay). Variable rate loan rates range from 2.50% APR (with autopay) to 7.27% APR (with autopay). For variable rate loans, although the interest rate will vary after you are approved, the interest rate will never exceed 8.95% for loan terms of 10 years or less. For loan terms of 10 to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95% (the maximum rates for these loans). Earnest variable interest rate loans are based on a publicly available index, the one month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Your rate will be calculated each month by adding a margin between 0.26% and 5.03% to the one month LIBOR. The rate will not increase more than once per month. Earnest rate ranges are current as of April 23, 2019 and are subject to change based on market conditions and borrower eligibility.
Auto Pay Discount: If you make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic, monthly deduction from a savings or checking account, your rate will be reduced by one quarter of one percent (0.25%) for so long as you continue to make automatic, electronic monthly payments. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance.
The information provided on this page is updated as of 04/23/19. Earnest reserves the right to change, pause, or terminate product offerings at any time without notice.
Earnest loans are originated by Earnest Operations LLC. California Finance Lender License 6054788. NMLS # 1204917. Earnest Operations LLC is located at 303 2nd Street, Suite 401N, San Francisco, CA 94107. Terms and Conditions apply. Visit https://www.earnest.com/terms-of-service, e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com, or call 888-601-2801 for more information on our student loan refinance product.


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Caprice Soames (CYA-E-RYT 500 Member)
- Location: Nanoose Bay, British Columbia Canada
- Website: http://
- E-mail: Private
- Service Offered: energy-based hatha
- Certified: Sammartino Yoga
- Years of Practice: >30
- Teaching Experience: 11
- Professor, Guru or Teachers: Sandra Sammartino, White Rock, BC Lilian Bianchi, Duncan, BC
- Date Joined: September 27, 2014
- CYA Insurance: HUB International
About Me
I am passionate about yoga and believe that it has 'saved my life' many times over. I have always felt that yoga was something that I was meant to give away to others. Being retired, I charge just enough to cover hall rental and insurance. Any profits are donated, by our group, to a local charity. I am grateful that we can do this.
About My Service
I teach energy-based yoga to seniors. 'Energy' refers to the energy of the body, a gentle style of yoga suitable for my students.
Continued Education


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STANDARD package– 3.800,- Kč
20 retouched photos on DVD
Any additional photos over this package – 150,- Kč.
Photography session of this type takes 2-3 hours.
LARGE package– 5.000,- Kč
30 retouched photos on DVD
Any additional photos over this package – 150,- Kč.
Photography session of this type takes 2-4 hours.
Newborn photography is undoubtedly one of my favorite types of photography!
The best age for photographing a newborn is as soon as possible after birth in the first 20 days of life. In this period the babies are very calm and sleepy, so during this period its possible to take the most adorable and beautiful pictures of your tiny sleeping baby. The ideal time of day for photography is when the baby is calm and well fed. Most commonly in morning or right after lunch. Afternoon and evening hours are not prefered because most babies are irritated. When we arrange a photosession, for example 10:00 in the morning, try to keep the baby awake some time before. If you are breastfeeding, please leave the feeding for after you arrive in the studio. Photography takes about 3 hours. All props and accessories for newborn photography are available in my studio.
Photos are professionally prepared, retouched. On the DVD you get photos in the highest quality. On the DVD are only the number of the selected photographs according to the choosen package. You will be given the opportunity to choose the pictures you like the most from all the pictures taken during the photosession. The rest of the pictures taken during the photosession are not included.
The price is always payable on the spot after the photosession.
Few days after the photosession I will give you a link to your gallery of pictures, lightly retouched, where you can choose the pictures you like.
You will receive your photos in 21 calendar days. I reserve the right to extend the period, if necessary.
Prices from 1.1.2020


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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
After six years of blissful peace, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise returns with its fifth installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. If only that were true, then we wouldn't be subjected to this movie and we'd have one fewer bad summer blockbuster to watch. But, alas, here was are, watching the fifth movie in a franchise whose downward trajectory has begun to slow—but only because at this point we're getting close enough to the bottom of the rum barrel that anything other than a slowdown would lead us into unwatchable territory. We're not there yet but, at this rate, give it another movie or two and we'll get there.
One might think that after six years off, the filmmakers behind the franchise would have come up with a new direction to take the audience. We've got a new writer in Jeff Nathanson and two new directors, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, but everything feels the same—and I don't mean that as a compliment. We're once again dealing with cursed ghost pirates as our villains and a rag-tag group led by Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) trying to locate a magical MacGuffin to solve all of their troubles.
It's even worse this time, as the MacGuffin in question is the Trident of Poseidon, which has, and I quote, the power to "break all the curses of the sea." What that means for the franchise is that it can be reset to status quo, which effectively undoes a lot of the things that happened in earlier movies. How boring and how convenient. At this point, these films only exist to make money for Disney anyway, and we've gotten a lot of mileage out of something based on a theme park ride—but it might be time to put this thing to bed for a long time.
Jack teams up with not-Will-Turner, Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), who is looking to break the curse that is forcing his father (Orlando Bloom) to captain the Flying Dutchman, as well as not-Elizabeth-Swann, Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), who is a female astronomer and gets involved in their quest for reasons that are only somewhat even close to clear. We need a female lead, though, and the franchise's formula demands a bland romance between a young male and young female, so here she is.
It's sad to see how far the
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has fallen.
Each new installment tarnishes its legacy.
The villain is Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), who wants to kill Jack Sparrow for something that happened a while ago that made him and his crew into ghosts. Dead Men Tell No Tales is so formulaic that you can tell where almost every scene is going right as it starts, as well as the entire path that the film will take. (1) Get random characters to have similar goals and team them up. (2) Establish a villain (however flimsy). (3) Have random characters and villain both race for the MacGuffin, sometimes clashing along the way. (4) Conclusion. It's so boring that, if you manage to stay awake through it, it's hard to credit the movie. You deserve a round of applause instead.
Even the previous Pirates of the Caribbean that didn't quite work still had one element that was enjoyable: Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow. That ship has now sailed. Depp is barely intelligible, seemingly here just to stumble from scene to scene, spouting nonsense, and looking half asleep. Captain Jack is no longer fun; watching him is just sad. The supporting cast can't pick up the slack, either. They're all way too bland when it comes to their characters. There's little reason to care or watch.
What's also missing are strong action scenes and solid humor. These have always been action-comedies, but Dead Men Tell No Tales is really weak in both areas. The action is choppy and sometimes too poorly shot to tell what's going on. A late ship-vs-ship scene is incoherent. And the comedy feels like it's waiting for a laugh track; it's written like a bad sitcom. I didn't laugh once. I wasn't excited. I wasn't entertained.
It's sad to see how far the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has fallen. Each new installment tarnishes its legacy—at this point, even the second and third chapters feel like a slog. This new movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales tells a lazy, convenient plot filled with characters we won't care about and can't even entertain us with its action or jokes. What a poor bore. Let's hope all involved decide that the franchise needs a long rest in Davy Jones' Locker.
Conclusion: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a poor action-comedy, one that further tarnishes its franchise's legacy.
Recommendation: At this point, only die-hard fans should still be watching these.
- Rating - 3/103/10


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Exclusive Benefit! My Cisco CCNA Exam Experience
Today, I passed the CCNA certification test with 972. The exam time is 2 hours. I spent a complete of thirty-nine minutes to answer all the queries, and every topic was fastidiously scanned. I spent time on the test topic. This is also to tell everyone. The test time isn't a tangle, therefore please friends on CISCO Road, don't be concerned regarding time. The score isn't terribly high, the transcript says that I created an error within the configuration topic and therefore the chosen topic.
1: Reference Books:
Electronic business Press: CCNA Study Guide (Chinese sixth Edition) 640-802, I scan this book doubly, all the experimental topics during this book, all the English questions after class Finished. If you really take the CISCO route first, the foundation must be good at the beginning. I attended the coaching of senior network engineers for quite ten months, and that I have ordered the inspiration for a cub study.
2: Exam reference question bank:
Test Passport (v18.01). today, I take the test, and there are forty-four queries, two experimental configuration queries, 2 questions in the experiment view, 2 questions in the drag and drop. the other is the selected questions. Only one topic for all topics isn't in V18, and every one four experiments ar coated. I think that if you simply scan books and don't do the take a look at a bank, it's still tough to pass the take a look at.
The test ought to be a touch nervous at the start, therefore you ought to make certain {to check|to see|to ascertain|to envision|to testine|to visualize} the test location in some unspecified time in the future earlier once you take the exam. In addition, when applying for the CCNA exam online, be careful not to apply for Chinese. Be sure {to check|to see|to ascertain|to envision|to testine|to visualize} the e-mail to verify the exam. When you are within the test, if you are nervous, you can do the problem slowly.
Don't rush to do it. Be sure to believe in yourself. I believe that victimization the takes a look at Passport question bank is not any downside. At a similar time, you'll be able to breathe a couple of times and you'll be able to alleviate it. Do this, I believe you will not be nervous. In addition, once creating a configuration downside with a tiny low downside, make certain to recollect to answer all queries and press NEXT. Usually, don't perceive the matter within the topic or English words should be repeatedly scrutinized to seek out relevant info. The question bank is no problem. In addition, when making a configuration problem with a small problem, be sure to remember to answer all questions and press NEXT.
When you do a tangle, you may encounter issues that you just don't perceive or English words should be repeatedly scrutinized to seek out relevant info. The drag-and-drop downside within the question bank is once you cannot see the matter, so when you have the problem, you can start the drag-and-drop option. So once you do the question bank, if you do not see the matter, you need to totally perceive every choice. the meaning of. In the end, I did not even examine the question and solely selected one. Fortunately, after I ironed NEXT, I used to be prompted to decide on solely two, which is fortunate.
I have encountered 44 questions in the exam. I encountered a completely different topic of EGRIP. This topic is actually the same. The topic gives the EGRIP configuration of multiple subnets, but because NO AUTO-SUMMARY is not used, Will appear in the boundary summary. This answer is additionally this, it ought to be a category outline for the boundary, only host A can not CONSOLE host B.
3. Lab topic:
RIP configuration topic, the first screen appears a prompt, then the bottom left corner of the screen has "" "configuration instructions" and "TOPOLOGY", the configuration directions can offer the necessities to piece RIP, click TOPOLOGY, will jump out of the topology map, click on the "CONSOLE" computer of the linked router, CLI will appear, command line.
Anyway, thanks SPOTO. With SPOTO's facilitate, I will pass the test simply and quick.
Start the discussion...


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Recently an acquaintance who knows that I'm a minister asked a casual question (or was it?) that caught me entirely off guard: "How's the God business?"
I looked at her for a moment, then chuckled and said, "It's good." At the time I was in the midst of drafting resources for a marriage equality workshop…definitely good work, in my 'umble opinion.
Still, I'm not satisfied with my answer. Is it good, on a big picture level? And is "good" reflective of the work that needs to be done, the work that is getting done, the people (ministers and laity) who are doing God's work, the state of the church, the state of spirituality, the state of world religions…? Or does "good" give witness–more appropriately–to God and God's faithfulness?
All interesting questions, I suppose, but in truth "It's good" was a knee-jerk answer on my part that day. Other responses that I've brainstormed since then: "It's busy." "It's challenging." "It's lively." "It's enlivening." "It sure is somethin'!"
But I think that I would have liked to respond (had I thought of it at the time) by saying: "It's ongoing." A very Kingdom of God answer.
The God business is ongoing. It has started…and it is not yet finished. It's here…but still far off. Full of Kingdom of God glimpses and Spirit-filled moments…equally full of death-dealing divisions and Spirit-less routines. And the God business will be ongoing until the Kingdom of God has fully arrived.
…sounds like an early Advent prayer!


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Sales round-up: Anne Klein, Marc Jacobs, DvF
Who likes sales? We do, we do!
Take up to 35% off at GAP
More, more, more… How do you like it?
Find a purse on sale this weekend
Picking a few purses from the multitude of sales this weekend.
Take 30% off Sale Items at C. Wonder
A closer look at who C. Wonder is, and a romp through their sale section.
Melie Bianco Handbags
Delightful purses, totes, satchels, and clutches!
The Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale
With free shipping, free returns, and up to 55% ( up to 40% is just a ruse) off, this is a Nordstrom sale not to be missed!
Lands' End Canvas 60% Off Shoes and Accessories
Land's End Canvas is having a 60% off shoes and accessories sale for a very limited time. Started today, and ends tomorrow–peak inside for our picks!
Dooney & Bourke – Gear up for April Showers
Keep dry through spring with these deals from Dooney & Bourke.
Do Good – Hand in Hand from Kate Spade
Check out these beautiful products that benefit the Women For Women Organization.
Lastcall.com – 40% off one item, 25% off more
An explanation on the deal, and some picks to boot!