#TheSundayPost | XXI | I’m living in my Sci-Fi era! A journal of #SciFiMonth and the crises as they arise in life!

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Yes, you read that correctly!

I am living in my S C I – F I  E R A!

this Sci-Fi month recaptured my LOVE of all things Science Fiction and I am having wicked incredible reads as I tuck into the selections I *knew!* I wanted to be reading right now.

Jorie’s life behind the blog:

: as writ on the 1st of December :

Despite appearances to the quandary – November proved to be a wicked good month for me to tuck into Science Fiction and reaffirm my love of these lovelies which take me into the Cosmos!

I was not quite prepared for November – at least not emotionally. The month started out on strong footing for me, as I didn’t waste time settling into the stories I wanted to focus on reading during the #SciFiMonth event, as it is my capstone event for the year. I love how I can shift into Winter by starting to soak and focus on Science Fiction for a solid month every November. The goal of course is to always read SF throughout the coming year and feature those stories during my #SciFiSundays featured showcases – however, that has been an evolving goal!

I normally would have disclosed the news about my Mum’s health during #TheSundayPost but I wasn’t quite myself during those moments of crisis and I was having issues with fatigue from both my jobs – so in effect, the news sort of stumbled out across posts on my blog and Insta. The first time I mentioned it was on a Book Spotlight for “Georgia’s Folly” – as I owed the tour company and author an apology as my feature ran a bit late that day. Secondly, I mentioned it on Insta whilst announcing my enthused reactions to reading “Heaven’s Edge” by Jennifer Silverwood.

The truth of it is that despite the fact high blood pressure (ie. hypertension) runs in my family on both sides it doesn’t always affect the people in my family. My Mum has lived her life without it until it snuck up on us a fortnight ago as we debated about going to the ER on Saturday morning – as it was between 1 and 330a and I was meant to go into work by 7a that day. I knew we should just go to the ER but I understood why Mum was hesitating – as all things being equal no one really wants to go there unless you know you have too. I wasn’t sure what was wrong as she had pain in her leg and arm, but I wasn’t convinced it was her heart or any issues with it. When they took her vitals at triage when you first arrive, I tried to not panic as the BP read 235 over 125. Yeah. That was a hard pill to swallow as that just isn’t the right combination of numbers!

I have a very understanding boss and we’re able to reach him quite early in the mornings if we need to call out – so I found myself texting him by 5a almost an hour after we had arrived in the ER. We were able to go home shortly after 7a and I didn’t wake up to the world until after 130p in the afternoon that day and somehow felt I had the energy to go into my night job. Wherein I broke the news to my night boss who is as compassionate and understanding as my day boss. She was just as worried over Mum as he had been himself. They both like my Mum a lot and I understood their concerns. What we hadn’t expected was how hard it was to get a primary care appointment with insurance as the hospital wanted Mum seen within seven days and the earliest four doctors told us they could see her would be within two months! Imagine? Finally, the fifth doctor we tried said she could be seen within a day and that was a blessing!

It appeared all was going well – the doctor was running tests to rule out different things but some of those appointments were in December. She was on medicine to regulate the high levels she was experiencing but on the day before Thanksgiving (which was Wednesday here stateside) – she called me at work and asked me to drive her back to the ER as something was ‘off’. My manager on duty understood immediately and I left so fast I barely remembered what I had been doing before I received the call. I was with Mum in the ER for nearly four and a half hours before they admitted her and that gave me a new wave of anxiety and emotions to work through as I wasn’t expecting that end result. It was hard enough it was the day before a holiday but what really struck me is that I kept telling the doctors I felt it was an imbalance of the medicine. Meaning, I felt she needed either a different combination of medicine to regulate the hypertension or she needed a higher dose than the one they first prescribed.

Of course no one listened to me. I’m used to that by now but still it was frustrating. I had more luck with the nurses who told me as much as they could despite the fact the doctors themselves were not sharing much information with any of us. Especially of course as it was the day before Thanksgiving – which seemed to make the hospital information system work like a snail. I left a few hours before my night job as I needed a distraction and that gave me just enough time to pick up a light lunch and update my night boss about what was happening. I have sent so many texts this week to my bosses and coworkers I’ve lost track of them all. Everyone has been very supportive, and I’ve appreciated their encouraging words and notes.

Wednesday night I was let off early to make visiting hours at the hospital – spending an hour with Mum and not getting much of an update from the doctor. She was in good spirits throughout everything and had a nice roommate too. I told her just to rest and I would be back tomorrow. What hit me like a ton of bricks was when I was in the parking lot — I think emotionally it was just too much for me at that point and it just hit me full and centre that this was the first time I had to drive home alone. Usually I’m with someone else – as especially with Dad, Mum and I were a team and did everything together. This time round, I’m the last one standing.

I had a wreck of a night as a result. Sleep was not my friend that night. I woke up sick tired. Meaning I was beyond exhausted and felt it hard that morning. I checked for messages and called Mum but still no news about anything. I tried to fitfully sleep more for a few hours. Finally chucked the idea and checked my messages again. I told Mum I’d just come over and visit and wait it out there as it was Thanksgiving morning afterall. She agreed. Then as I was getting ready she was discharged as they finally decided she needed stronger medicine to regulate her blood pressure. Yeah. I was trying not to roll my eyes when I heard that bit of news. Oyy.

The best bit is that I was off work Thanksgiving Day. The bad part is I had to go back on Friday and Saturday to both jobs and have Sunday off. Ugh. I was still so tired from the whole ordeal but thankfully, I received a bit of a respite on Saturday as I was training people during my shift and that took the pressure off me, and I had a lighter day than expected. It was well timed!

We’re still re-adjusting after all that chaos. I will say, my cats took it quite hard – especially my sweet sensitive and overly emotional orange tabby! He just couldn’t handle the fact she didn’t come home on Wednesday. He even almost got outside as he couldn’t sort out why I had come home but Mum did not. He’s truly attached to her and has issues with separation. I thought for sure I could comfort him, but he ended up going up high on a shelf and just made noises all night long that he was most displeased and upset. He didn’t really shift from there until he heard her walk through the door just before noon on Thanksgiving Day. My other cat took it more in stride. He was upset but he didn’t emotionally shut down like the other one. I felt bad as nothing I did eased his state of mind.

We’re also changing what we’re eating in the New Year (and right now) as our landlord blessed us with a new stove! We haven’t had a working one for over a year now as they always refused to replace it and their expensive to fork out the expense on our own. Plus, knowing we’d have to pay for one and not take it with us when we relocate was a bummer too. I can’t wait to start cooking and baking again. I’ve missed the bakes especially as I find baking relaxing! This one has a proof setting and so now I’m trying to find some easy bread bakes too. It also has an air fryer setting and I’ve never even had the pleasure of trying that either.

Lots of positive changes for us and a new obstacle to work through as hypertension is not the easiest to sort out but we’re staying positive and taking it one day at a time. There was an issue with me trying to purchase a blood pressure monitor at home which involves trying to exchange a defective one for a new one but as that is getting resolved in an unexpected way, I’m not going to talk about how frustrating that experience was as well.

Whilst at the same time, on Tuesday, we were able to have a proper Thanksgiving celebration with my Dad at his care home as they threw a wonderful Thanksgiving meal for family and residents alike. It was just the three of us in the end, as everyone ate so dearly fast, it was hard to believe they enjoyed what they had eaten! We were able to stay, talk, share and be with Dad – whilst enjoying a wonderful meal. I think the other families missed out on the point of the day. For us, it was a bit of gaining back the joys of the holidays in the past and being able to be with Dad in the present. I am so very grateful for that Tuesday. It was made possible by my boss at my day job – as I normally wouldn’t ask for a day off during a holiday week, but as our Thanksgiving last year was a bit wrecked by cold food, the care home wanted to make amends and ensure we had a better one this year instead. Hence why I asked if I could ensure to be off that Tuesday.

You just never know what is coming down the pike in life and it is best to hold fast to the moments which give you the happy memories as they arrive – as sometimes, a bit of stress and strife is literally waiting around the corner.

: one week later :

whilst listening to my Year in Review via Spotify for (2024)

Read this post via BlueSky

I give myself credit this past week – I had full intentions of sorting out my first posts for #blogmas, my reading queue for #blogmas (as I have certain stories, I will be featuring this December which are distinctively #ChristmasReads) whilst I was in the process of finishing a few of my leftover #SciFiMonth reads. This was until the health crises of my Mum’s new struggle with hypertension sort of took over our lives. I had the futile hope the new medications would start to regulate the levels and give us a bit of peace. Yet, her side effects were starting to collect momentum, and her levels were getting super scary most days. I am not sure how I wrangled my emotions whilst at work but somehow work itself was a distraction I dearly needed. Despite the fact half the time I was worried about Mum and what her levels were that day.

We were also in/out of the ER – mostly as visitors asking questions this week rather than bonafide admitted guests, however, it was a lot of crazy hours to visit the ER and one day in particular, we weren’t sure how it would go which is why I called out at work as I knew I had to drive Mum over to the ER and I couldn’t be at work that morning. Ironically, in the end I was only late to work by forty minutes as a nurse helped Mum understand her rescue pill better and we were sent home with instructions rather than an admission to the hospital. My boss only knew I had called off due to this ER visit and was pleasantly happy to see me at work as he came later in the morning – as we have morning managers too. The long, short – the reason he was so happy it worked out for Mum is because I had two trainees that day, and consistently every day after Wednesday, I had two trainees for my shift. He is a very compassionate and considerate boss – so for him, the first priority is family and health, etc, so if Mum was okay that was all he cared about rather than me coming back to work. It just helped with the extra training going on this week for me to come in rather than stay called out.

Being able to train worked as a blessing for me. It kept me challenged and occupied without time to settle on unwanted or cluttered thoughts about Mum, blood pressure levels and all the other issues that could intervene into our lives with it. I love being a trainer and so, for me, it was a good week on the work front. The only downside to the week is I was so emotionally fatigued with a wreck of nerves and anxieties – as I’m not a morning person (despite the fact I go to work early in the mornings!) and so, waking up in the middle of my slumberment goes against me. Plus, just the regular emotional angst of seeing your Mum boomerang back to the ER was enough to unsettle me truly.

Thereby, this post never posted, and the stories were left unread – I indulged in a new wine after I came home from my second job, and it helped relax my frazzled nerves. Pinot Noir is my jam now. I also consumed an unhealthy number of sticky buns and dark chocolate and ate my full of spaghetti.

Hey, a girl has to fill up on comfort foods if her whole world feels off-kilter, right?

: a dream becomes reality :

Mum and I have been watching our knitty podcasts on YT recently – as a cosy comfort to unwind and relax after our visits to the hospital. During one of those, it was mentioned about baking sourdough bread and how you need a starter from someone to begin your own starter and journey with sourdough. It left me thinking about how much I’ve ached to learn more about baking and especially to start my journey into baking bread! Especially sourdough – as it is one of my top favourites! I pushed those thoughts aside as try as I had over the years, if I found a bakery who might have been keen to take-on an apprentice baker – there was a wait list. Or, they had already found their crew and team, and there wasn’t room for one more to learn the trade.

Years ago, I used to have opportunities to review cookbooks but one in particular was a book about baking. It renewed my love and zest for bakes and despite the years continuing to stack and get away from me in respect of sorting out how to learn more and do more than just the home bakes I regularly do which tend to be scones and biscuits – a particular new opportunity arose out of the blue this week during all the chaos! A co-worker of mine has a Mum who is opening a local bakery. I can see how you’re connecting the dots before I can type them. Yes, I asked if she would be open to teaching me to bake – in particular *sourdough bread* – as my co-worker told me that is one of her specialties. Turns out her Mum was more than keen to take me on and said that whilst she’s teaching me the art of baking, I can help them with their Christmas bakes and orders! Imagine!?

I should be starting this new adventure on Tuesday, and I couldn’t be happier if you pinched me!

I also asked if it went well, if I could stay on and continue past the holidays.

Sometimes… our dreams become reality at truly unexpected moments of arrival.

What Jorie is currently reading:

The Heart of the Uni-verse by S.D. Henke

Forever Lately by Linore Burkard (Book One of Forever in Time series)

Five Ordinary Teens and the Monarchs of the Ten Dimensions by Andrew Dewey
(Book One of The Tenth Dimension series)

and my capstone read for #SciFiMonth:

Resonate by Courtney Grace Powers

You might recognise these titles – as they were ALL featured “On the Scopes” post via #bookstagram – with one exception, my capstone read “Resonate” which has a unique story of its own on how I came to acquire the book and find the author. When I realised I still wanted to finish reading some of the stories I selected this year – these four novels were at the top of the list. They each are uniquely different from the other – each of them delving into different areas of Science Fiction and that was the best bit of all. Finding four different kinds of Sci-Fi to conclude my journey with during Sci-Fi Month – even if they’re going to be read and finished throughout December.

The Heart of the Uni-verse is a very unique Middle Grade novel – so much so, I wanted to share how the author first described the story to me when she pitched it for review consideration.

“The Heart of the Uni-verse” is a heartfelt Middle-Grade novel that invites readers into the mind of the brilliant, science-minded fifth-grader, Pi. Like any typical fifth-grader, Pi deals with the everyday complexities of life, family, and friendship. Compound that with his upcoming heart surgery, and you have the recipe for a galactic-level disaster. Sandwiched between his exhausted mother, his deployed military father, and his declining grandfather, it feels as if his universe is set to implode. When it’s announced that his school will host a national science contest, Pi sees this as his chance to change the course of his life. Unfortunately, only eligible sixth-grade students can participate. With the help of his friends, Pi concocts a plan to enter, taking his dream beyond the limits of space and time, and together they discover how to heal more than just a broken heart. The story combines poetry and prose in a unique fusion, making it an exciting and refreshing addition to the Middle Grade genre.

I believe “The Heart of the Uni-Verse” will appeal to readers of all ages, as it encourages self-expression, creativity, and the appreciation of language. It introduces them to the beauty and power of poetry while delivering an engaging and genuine reading experience. The novel touches upon themes of friendship, self-discovery, the importance of imagination, and the power of positive thinking, which I hope will resonate with you and your audience.

From the moment you first start to read this novel, you can tell it is going to be told in a very unique and interpersonal way. The poetry which carries through the storyline is a bit of an additional glimpse of insight into Pi as a person and as someone who is very introspective. Those are word windows into his internal thoughts and as such, the poetry felt like a journal of his musings as we read his story. A journal of verse and insight and curiosities.

I felt this story amplified the prompt this year of a Journey of Inner Space. Which was one of the Friday Fives for A (Space) Odyssey. I received this book last year and felt quite guilty it took me another year to finally lay my mind and heart inside the story. I fully believe I’m reading it at the right moment now – as Henke is definitely a writer, I want to shine a light on and encourage others to give her story a chance at warming their book readerly hearts, too.

If you’ve spent time with me on my blog, you’ve noticed I have a bit of an affinity of love for the time trifecta of literature: time bent, time shift and time travel narratives! Thereby, Forever Lately won’t come as a surprise to be included on my #SciFiMonth reads! Except of course – I received both of these lovely novels last year and had meant to read them for Sci Fi Month 2023!

As a knitter, one of my favourite knits are charity knits and it just so happens that my charity knit of choice are prayer shawls. This pertains to the novel because on the synopsis it was mentioned it is the discovery of a prayer shawl which gets the ball rolling with the story becoming anchoured to both the present and the past in 1816 England. Prayer shawls have a very long history, and I find knitting them to be both therapeutic and mediative for me as a knitter. I love knitting in the prayer as I work the stitches of the patterns, too, as I am hopeful those knitted and stitched prayers can be felt by the receivers of the shawls.

One thing I love about time travel stories of this nature is how it a modern woman nearly always falls for a man of the past. As it very rarely happens the other way round! Where a man from the past enters the present and falls for a contemporary woman here as he navigates our modern era. Except to say for Leopold in “Kate and Leopold” which is one of my favourite films of this nature of story!

I am wicked happy to finally be able to settle into this series and see where the stories take me – as each author has their own method of how the travelling in time occurs and how the two unsuspecting persons find themselves matched in a romance they did not see coming!

The main reason I wanted to dive into “Five Ordinary Teens and the Monarchs of the Ten Dimensions” is because I wanted to live in the world the author created. He has a very extensive galley of images on his Insta feeds which showcase the Monarchs and visually represents his world and universe of characters. Dimensional space is a new foray of mine – although, it was originally traversed via “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Flatland” as the former helped me understand the latter. Inter-dimensional travel in the Cosmos is also an interest of mine as a Science Fiction reader as much as the concept of the ten dimensions – whether in this reality of time and place this author has created or the ten dimensions as it applies to Quantum Physics and Mechanics – which is the heart of the Super-String Theory.

It felt like such a uniquely told Middle Grade Science Fiction novel and I was definitely game to see how the author brokered the balance between the teenage characters and the Monarches as well as he explained the ten dimensions and the ways in which everything was connected. I’m looking forward to beginning to read this one now that December has begun.

Resonate entered my life rather uniquely as the author first pitched me the novel for review consideration via my Review Policy here on my blog. However, as I was researching the author and the novel – I decided to do something quite extraordinary out of character! I made a very impulsive choice to purchase the limited-edition hardcover with sprayed edges and faux leather cover! I also bought the soundtrack songs for the novel which were on a purple hued cassette tape, and which can be heard via Spotify as well.

You could say, I gave myself a very early Christmas gift this year! I also surprised the author in turn who didn’t expect me to do that! Laughs. I was just blown away by what she had done with the Kickstarter campaign and wished I had known about it ahead of time as I seem to find out about this stuff too late. That is one thing I want to change in (2025) is becoming better engaged with writers and releases via Kickstarter.

Meanwhile, I gave you a sneak preview of what has me so dearly excited about reading Resonate:

Some of you might be aware of how important music is in my life – I have had significant appreciation for music the full of my life. I’ve moved through decades and styles and am constantly on the look-out for new talent, new voices and new styles of music as I peruse Spotify’s catalogues of playlists, artists and albums. Finding out *music!* is such an integral component of Resonate – to be used as fuell combustion and energy in Space? Goodness. It felt like this story was writ for gals like me who grew up on music in all its varieties and were wicked thrilled that music itself could be a carry of not just sound but actual usable energy! Especially as we’re on the fringes of harnessing alternative methods of energy in our own living timeline. I say on the ‘fringes’ as we’ve not yet reached the point where alt-energy resources are a mainstay.

-quoted from my forthcoming review of Resonate

What Jorie read or has been in the process of reading:

A collection of #25PagePreview selections tucked within my Top Ten Tuesday for Sci-Month
this was a two year project to bring to Sci-Fi Month! (see also my post via Insta)

My Astronavigation #25PagePreview of “Sweep of Stars” by Maurice Broaddus
(see also Post) (see also my post via Insta)

I answered the prompt “On the Scopes” via bookstagram

Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs by Victoria Williamson
(see also Review)

Heaven’s Edge: a series told in 3 novellas by Jennifer Silverwood
(see also Review) (see also my post via Insta)
This answered the prompt for “One Way Ticket”.

I will lament, this was a very unusual November for me as despite what was happening to me personally and how difficult it was to shift forward from those moments at the hospital awaiting news with Mum; I found tucking into stories this November was the best medicine I could give myself. The stories kept me a bit distracted by the anxieties and the emotions and gave me a bit of a distance from my thoughts, too. Happily they also rooted me in my Sci-Fi era – which I first picked up as new lingo when I watched the first two series of We Are Lady Parts. It feels like a proper return and grounding into a genre of interest I’ve had since I was seventeen. It should be my regular haunts throughout the year but I get smitten with other genres or other kinds of stories – you know how that goes – you dance through genres only to forget to return to your beloved ones. Laughs.

This year feels a bit different to me. I feel like this coming year, I’ll have a full shelf of recommended reads I encouraged myself to pursue as the year went past and thereby, have even more to talk about next #SciFiMonth!

I also decided to feature one Indie author in particular next year – their whole catalogue of Science Fiction reads – from novellas to short stories to flash fiction to a full-length novel. I’ll be featuring their stories on Saturdays during the 2025 event. It will be a wicked good wait to see what I reveal next year, too. 

My response to Astronavigation:

I knew this prompt was going to be about what we planned to read during the event – but I wanted to focus on where I wanted to ‘begin’ my journey this Sci Fi Month rather than plan out the entire event itself. I also knew – as I never seem to get time to respond to prompts or write secondary posts about them (except for the odd moment I’ve done this over the years) — I took a different route and found which prompts suited the stories I was reading this year instead! As you will find out, I did quite well – fusing prompts to stories and finding a bit of enlightenment along the way.

Therefore, my Astronavigation was to begin reading the Astra Black series by Maurice Broaddus – as I had received Sweep of Stars during the year of publication, and it was pushed forward to be read due to different reasons but mostly it was because two years ago my Dad entered the hospital during November (and Sci Fi Month) and exited into long term care. It sort of derailed my joy of reading and it was a very unsettling time for us as a family. He had three months of health crises, a variety of medical issues and illnesses and it wasn’t until January he was finally settled outside of a hospital.

When I learnt the sequel was available to request for review, I jumped at the chance if only to re-encourage me to dive back into a book I never had a proper chance to form an introduction.

The Muungano have a very formal community with different leaders and families who are of importance to the overall running of their governing order. At first, it was a bit hard to piece together what was happening in the opening parts of the novel, as we shifted away from the naming ceremony (as Leah became Amachi) and learnt that Astra Black was the founding person who helped create First World.

It wasn’t until the attack on OE (Original Earth) where the plot thickened and grew a bit more interesting for me as a reader. Mostly, as the beginning was mostly tethered on introductions and explanations of order rather than seeing what was happening behind it all. The explosion took me off-guard as much as the people who survived it as I wasn’t expecting an attack of that nature to happen so soon in the storyline. Amachi herself was thrust into a new chapter of her life – wherein, she was now being read into sensitive news and higher-level intelligence briefings. Whilst at the same time, the Orun Gate was offline or at least, was not able to be studied as it once had. This was the wormhole they had discovered, and it was a joint effort of industrious study by the Muungano, Mars and OE scientific communities.

And, that was the moment where my interest magnified. Anytime you have a wormhole of any sort and a lost communication signal – the story becomes much more intriguing for me! I did feel a bit lost and bogged down in the opening bridge of the novel, but I appreciated getting acquainted with Amachi and her father. Now, though I feel I am entering the more interesting bits of the novel, and I look forward to seeing what comes next!

-quoted from my reading preview of Sweep of Stars

I will be carrying my readings of these novels forward into December and hopefully will be able to conclude both of them before the turning of a New Year. At least, this is my goal, and I am hopeful I can achieve it. I am quite curious though – has anyone else read this series?

My response to Comms Are Down:

I wasn’t entirely ready to read a story which had BUGS as the centre of focus for the duration of the story but what captivated me about this story is how Williamson wrote the story with two lead characters who were able to overcome every challenge which met their path! Amberley and Ric are two wicked strong characters I felt any Middle Grade reader would be thrilled to chase after as they endured the mutabugs and proved to the adults at Skyfleet not to overlook the children because sometimes the children are the ones with the solutions!

The reason this was a ‘comms are down’ selection is because of how communication was dearly affected by the radiation of this world. Communication was a big issue throughout the story and it was how Skyfleet dealt with that complication whilst dealing with the mutated bug invasion which anchoured the story to the drama and heart of the messages Williamson was presenting in her novel. It was a strong first novel – complete with illustrations of the planes and bio reads about them which explained their strengths and weaknesses as they were part of a fleet of planes Skyfleet used to defend the settlers.

As you can see from my bookstagram post – the author gave us unique gifts which parlay into the storyline itself. I loved putting together the fighter plane as that brought back happy memories of my childhood whilst the non-mutated seeds reminded me of a reference to our own world where gardeners like to seek out heirloom seeds to avoid GMO seeds.

Let me share a few of my takeaways from this uniquely written MG SciFi adventure:

The action sequences were the best! When all the planes were airbourne all at once and battling the mutabugs together – that was the synchroneity of action I love to see play out! Amberley was a skilled pilot who just needed one mission to prove her worth to the rest of the SkyFleet team and likewise her best friend Ric was a natural engineer but both of them lacked the ability to prove anything when the adults only viewed them as children. The acrobatic maneuvering in the skies and the ways in which the SkyFleet tackled the mutabugs was just wicked awesome! As a team – adults and children – together there was a special kind of harmony to the SkyFleet and I could see how this novel could easily be spun into a series! The door was left wide open for the further adventures of SkyFleet and the growing issues facing the settlers in an unforgiving environment wrecked by radiation and a mutated natural world.

-quoted from my book review of Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs

My response to One Way Ticket:

On my connection to Jennifer Silverwood:

When our paths first crossed, Ms Silverwood and I shared a mutual interest and connection; however, our friendship did not form for a while afterwards. It was truly after the interview went live and after I noticed I was reading her blog as much as she was reading mine – where I realised we shared a lot of commonalities in our reading lives as well as our writerly lives! We decided to stay in touch, and it is an honour to find someone who understands the bridge between reader, blogger and writer.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Silverwood through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I hosted her Silver Hollow blog tour and privately as well. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their releases as they are available. This also applies to hosting a guest feature by the author I share a connection.

It is hard to even summarise my JOY of reading “Heaven’s Edge” as it was a Space Opera series told through three interconnective novellas in one omnibus edition! It took me a considerable number of years I’m half-embarrassed to admit to dive into this fully – but goodness! Once I was engaged into the lives of the characters, I felt so dearly connected to this world! It is a challenging read for me on so many levels – from the violence of the world they were stranded on to the challenges of their lives outside of being crashed on an alien world.

There were aspects of the story which were unsettling to read but at the heart of the series is a love triangle, found family and determined survival. It is incredibly layered and pulls at your heart the entire time you’re reading it – which is what I expect from reading a story by Silverwood. She has that beauty of crafty stories which hit you hard in the heart and give you something to chew on after you’ve finished one of her stories. 

There are so many layers to this collection of stories – you feel as if you’ve become each of the characters Silverwood is highlighting in this collection as we take-on their essence as we transition from one novella to the other and with that transition comes a full sense of themselves, too. You can definitely understand the differences in their perspectives and personalities as much as gain further insight into their internal conflicts and consciousness. It is a clever way of setting the momentum for the stories whilst expanding our worldview of their experiences – complete with the bias and judgements they may or may not have towards each other as well.

For Space Opera readers – you’ll be instantly glued to the pages – Silverwood has crafted a wholly conceived universe within this series and it continuously pulls at your heart. Mostly as outside of the dangers of Space and of being stranded on an alien world – she tucks into the heart of relationships, found families and drawing alliances to defeat a common enemy. The relationships are both romantic and platonic – as naturally the survivors would consider whom to pair off with and forge a future together. If only to pass on their knowledge and experiences to a new generation of their kind.  However, they were also sisters and brothers of sorts – co-raising each other and forming a bond that was stronger than blood. Silverwood gave them a wicked good sense of fighting instincts and defined how they fought against enemies as a singular unit who moved in synchroneity with each other. It was quite the undertaking I would think to carve out that particular unity amongst her different characters and she did it with grace and a natural confluence of events.

There are certain moments in reading this series, I felt there were some Shakespearean overtones and undertones occurring in the background of the stories themselves. In particular, the tragic love triangle and how tragedy played a strong role in the dramas of Shakespeare’s plays. The characters in this series have tragedy befalling them at every corner and yet, they find strength and perseverance to carry-on and transcend those circumstances whenever they arise. They are phoenixes rising out of ash and they are a testament to those of their people who liked before them. Part of me wondered if part of their story was only just beginning in Space and perhaps a final showdown if you would to be played out back on their own homeworld. A reckoning if you will and a righting of the wrongs which left them cast adrift in the Rims.

Silverwood has created different alien species in her series – the Var and Nuki live on this world they crashed onto after being taken from the sky whereas the Royals and miners are from the homeworld Qeya, Ohre and Tamn are from originally. Each of them has unique characteristics and differences amongst them and yet, there are murmurs of connection between them as well. Part of me wondered if this might not have been the first-time people from their world have travelled so far into deeper space and if perhaps, the destination on a lark of ill-fate might have a larger meaning to them all overall? Either that – or there are other species out in Space with similarities to those who crashed onto this planet.

-quoted from my book review of Heaven’s Edge

I am SO ready for MORE of this universe to become known in future stories! I know she has plans to continue the saga of the Royals and miners, but the timeline is unknown at the moment of when those stories will come to fruition. Just know – once their available to read, I’ll be one of the first to devour them!

What Jorie is reading next:

Prison Break Hostage by Anna J. Stewart
(Honour Bound, Book Five) (see also Review of how I entered the series)

King of the Night by D.J. Williams
(Chase Hardeman series, Book Two)

Death on the Golden Mile by Caleb Wygal
(The Myrtle Beach Mysteries, Book Three)

As you can see – I am returning to reading Cosy Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers this December! I’ve been hungering to chase back inside the Honour Bound series by Ms Stewart – and happily, I have several volumes of this series I can read back-to-back and firmly reattach myself into the heart of the stories again! Whilst I never meant to take such a long absence from reading Mr Wygal’s novels for Myrtle Beach nor the sequel to Williams’ The Auctioneer which was an #unputdownable read of mine this Autumn.

By reading Spooky stories during #SpooktasticReads in October and exploring Science Fiction this past November, I’ve been able to re-align myself back into reading regularly again. A true blessing of JOY for me as a reader – as I had a lot of starts/stops throughout the course of (2024) and it is nice to finally find myself able to soak into reading with a newfound rhythm of consistency. Especially considering my work life and the unbalance it sometimes gives me for downtime and personal goals. Not to mention, the health of my parents over the score of a year had its own moments of strife and stress – the latest being my Mum’s health crisis with her high blood pressure. Those are the moments where you feel more like a turtle tucking into your shell and just waiting for calmer moments to wash over you.

Reading during those heightened moments of stress this year truly alleviated my anxieties and stress levels whilst they gave me something calming to focus on despite the chaos.

I am also going to be tucking these showcases into my beloved featured reviews for #CloakAndDaggerChristmas – a readathon which used to be hosted on #booktube! I participated in this event during (2018) and (2019). Those previously featured stories and reviews are as follows:

• Murder in Keswick by William Todd, narrated by Ben Werling (audiobook review)
• Deck of Hounds by David Rosenfelt (book review)
• Naughty on Ice by Maia Chance (book review)
• In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon (book review)
• A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M. Wolfe (book spotlight)

It was meant to become an annual tradition on Jorie Loves A Story. However, I started to feature #blogmas posts more consistently than Cloak and Dagger and I sort of abandoned the idea of featuring Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers every December. Mostly as Decembers felt like they were a bit rushed and frenzied with work or life or just everything betwixt and between one year folding into a new one. This year, I feel differently as if December will be a slow transition into (2025) and will be a month I can enjoy reading these kinds of stories again. Thereby, I did take a quick look at #booktube but no one has hosted this since (2022). I’m carrying on myself and honouring the original hosts by giving them a nod at the original hosts of the readathon.

What have you recently read yourself?

And, what are you reading next?

And, a note about #blogmas – keep a ready eye out for my posts!

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