Happy Thanksgiving – My San Francisco Highlander is on SALE – And I can see! #Giveaway

Happy Thanksgiving!

To celebrate, My San Franciso Highlander is on sale for .99 this week! Grab your copy quick…

A love three hundred years in the making —

After being knocked out in battle, Angus Cameron wakes in a terrifying new world with flying beasts, horseless carriages, crazy music, and strangely dressed people. Has he gone mad? When Angel Adair discovers a man in 1975’s San Francisco Lands End park dressed in little more than a Scottish kilt, is he just a confused drifter or her dream-lover come to life?

       

(Last chance to enter the giveaway at the end of the blog)

I’m also grateful for my returning eye-sight! Hallelujah!

I am delivered from 24-hour head-down position and the torturous
devices used to maintain said position. The doctor announced me as his “miracle patient of the week.” Meaning, I am further along with the healing than expected, which is a big deal considering my history with medical procedures. This is also due to the surgeon deciding on a less radical form of the surgery, which I also favored. Take the conservative route whenever possible.

Although, success is a relative term. My left eye vision has improved from
cubism images, something akin to images like this, with the added distortion of scattered blots of gel throughout:

Image taken from this website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubism#/media/File:Pablo_Picasso,_1910,_Girl
_with_a_Mandolin_(Fanny_Tellier),_oil_on_canvas,_100.3_x_73.6_cm,_Museum_of_M
odern_Art_New_York..jpg

Now, I have advanced to Impressionist images. But not images as seen from a
short distance, where the paintings form pleasing images with defined edges. It’s more like an impressionist image when you stand too close or enlarge it until the image, still identifiable, takes on blurred edges with odd blots and splashes of color standing out.

And in my case, I still have a few added blobs of gel scattered over the surface. Still, it is an improvement.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c9/90/90/c9909059acfdf2f107642a5070d50a50–

blue-kimono- silk-kimono.jpg

This image appeals on many fronts, not the least of which is the periwinkle

kimono. But it clearly represents the level of change in my vision.

I adore the following modern impressionist painting. The form, the color, and
the fact that her skirt resembles the unfurling of a butterfly in flight. Though the image,
when viewed up close, is more representative of my vision somewhere between pre-and
post-surgery, and is what happens when the eye grows tired.
Here’s the link to the website for the following picture:

https://afremov.com/DANCE-OF- ANGELS-Original- Oil-Painting- On-Canvas- By-
Leonid-Afremov- 30-X40- SKU19530.html

I wonder if any of the earliest impressionists had vision problems like mine.
Did their skewed vision lead to the emergence of a new and fascinating form of art? If  only I could replicate their genius.

But I’m encouraged, and the doctor advises it may take up to a year before the
full extent of vision improvement is known. Now we wait and consider when we might need to perform the same surgery on the right.

I must rest the surgical eye for another week with an additional few weeks
after that where I do not bend, lift, or strain. No flying, no long drives into the mountains, and limited hours on a computer or reading. All in all, good news worthy of giving thanks.

It’s been fun finding paintings that convey my changing levels of eyesight.
You may have to go to the original websites to enlarge or zoom to see detail that matches
my explanations.

May all of you share many blessings with family and friends this Thanksgiving Holiday.

REFLECTIONS ON AUDIOBOOKS

As you know, I’ve been recovering from eye surgery. Therefore, I’ve not been
“reading,” but I have enjoyed listening to the following audio books. I couldn’t have
survived the first week of confinement without audio books and plan to enjoy many
more. Since I’m not really supposed to be at the computer yet, and am writing this with
my eyes glued to the keyboard, I will not delve deeply into detailed reviews that you can
easily find on-line, but will give my honest opinion of the stories.

In romance: Wilde in Love: The Wildes of Lindow Castle, by Eloisa James
I will undoubtedly re-read this story in the near future. A great beginning
novel for a new series. Why will I re-read the story? Because although I really did like
the slow-burn romance and the characters, the narration came across with a heavy,
breathy tone that bored me to tears. However, if left running at night, when I had trouble
sleeping, the drone of the narration managed to put me to sleep rather quickly.
Considering my circumstances, that was a very good thing. Now I want to read it on the
page when I’m able to. Excluding the narration, I rate this a solid 4-star in romance.

Contemporary: All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
I’m going to borrow the quote from The Seattle Times: “Stupendous…A
beautiful daring, heartbreaking, joyous novel.” I couldn’t say it any better. The language knifes into your soul and swirls you along a river of turbulent chaos during World War II, while narrowed in the intricacies of individual characters. I’ve read countless novels set in this time frame but nothing that grabbed me quite like
this. The characters are flawed, some as damaged as the unraveling landscape, some capable of transcending their limits, all exquisitely written.

The book has over 27,000 reviews and maintains a well-deserved 4.6 star
rating. And, Zach Appelman, delivers a perfectly nuanced narration. No sleeping through
this one. I have a few more chapters to complete, but already rate this a solid 5-star must
read. You won’t be disappointed.

Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult
I’ll honestly admit that I love some of Ms. Picoult’s novels, but not all. This
one, however, is gripping. An important novel that refuses to shy away from the difficult
realities of racial prejudices and the roots of hatred. At the beginning of the novel, I
feared I might not be able to stick with it as some aspects were truly abhorrent. But the
author dives so deeply into her characters and writes so beautifully that you cannot stop
reading (or listening, in my case.)

A compelling, well-paced novel from beginning to end. I’m sure this will become required reading in Social Science classes everywhere. Definitely one not to be missed. The primary narration by Audra McDonald is exquisite. There are two other narrators, but Audra’s voice resonates in my head.

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