Author: Goylake Publishing

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Guest Posts

Anna Grace

Readers familiar with my Sam Smith Mystery Series will know that the stories are based on psychological and sociological issues. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Grace and I’m delighted that she agreed to write a guest post for my website. Please share the post and connect with Anna via the social media links listed below.

Should I Trust My Brain?

This is a question that I often ask myself. Its all well and good recognising the difference between me and my mental health, however, sometimes, in crisis, it comes down to; do I listen to my brain or not.

As someone who lives with Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety, has a possible diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and has spent the last 3 years battling with Anorexia, at times, listening to my brain can be deadly. All of these disorders come with intrusive thoughts. I like the analogy of the devil and the angel sitting on my shoulder. Each of these disorders sits on my shoulder like the devil.

A lot of my decision making comes down to whether I decide to listen to the devil or the angel. At times when I am most unwell all I can hear is the devil and I start to make decisions which are damaging for me and possibly for those around me. When I am well, its almost like I can hear a debate between both sides and I have to determine which voice is which; and there’s the catch, it would be all well and good if I knew which voice was the devil and which was the angel however the more I am mentally struggling the harder it is for me to determine which voice is speaking to me and therefore the harder it is for me to make decisions that are healthy for me. 

The devil and the angel don’t just affect my decision making, but also my self perception. This is where the eating disorder, anxiety and BPD come into play. My self perception is perpetually an internal argument between these two voices. Part of my eating disorder treatment is learning to identify my true voice and believe it rather than the voice of the eating disorder, for me this can be of some help with the anxiety and BPD too, I learn to identify the damaging voice and learn that it is untrue.

I in no way have perfected the art of ignoring the bad voice, however I have learnt techniques to remember some fundamental truths. For me, as a Christian, a lot of these surround receiving bible verses which I find helpful. For someone who is not religious this may be remembering some fundamental beliefs and reciting them as a truth on which they can rely. 

This technique helps me to remember the foundation of my identity and can help focus me in order to make a decision which is healthy for me.

Connect with Anna on social media

Blog: https://www.annagrace-mylifewithbipolardisorder.com/

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUN3AwHAiB19NQez7V2lfYQ

Twitter: @annagracemylif1

Instagram: @annagrace.lifewithbipolar

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader # 25

Dear Reader,

In Snow in August, Sam Smith Mystery Series book sixteen, Sam meets a family of otters. Otters often partner for life, their young stay with mom for a least a year, past maturity, and they like holding hands. Cute 🙂

I’m currently writing chapter nineteen of thirty-three and the book will be available early next year 🙂

Very proud of the wonderful authors at Mom’s Favorite Reads for coming together to support our charity of the month Christmas for CAMHS https://www.christmasforcamhs.org.uk Please visit their website and lend your support.

My Amazon top ten for November. Delighted to see that Ann’s War has proved so popular and that Saving Grace is back in the top ten. Also that Sam is represented with books from various stages in the series. Many thanks to all my readers for their interest.

Of course, I want people to read and enjoy my books. But some things are more important…

What have foreigners ever done for us?! Quite a lot actually…

I could do with him in my house…

A new word for the Oxbridge English Dictionary…

A British citizen this week.

“It’s 5pm. I walk out of Soho restaurant. On the cold pavement is a huddled bundle, young enough to be be my granddaughter. Too hopeless even to beg. I get her a coffee, give her my change. Does it make her feel better? Does it make me feel better? No. This is my country, 2019.“

Government sponsored austerity is brutal. It must end.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #24

Dear Reader,

This week saw record-breaking sales for my Ann’s War Mystery Series with Betrayal placed at #1 for the seventh time. Many thanks to everyone who has supported this series.

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Delighted to see that the Spanish edition of Saving Grace has entered the top ten of my personal bestseller chart 🙂

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Eton, the source of all Britain’s problems…

“A characteristic of the schooling of many senior Tories (I should know, because I went through the system) is extreme competition. Your worth is constantly assessed by whether or not you come out on top. You can’t succeed unless others fail. It embeds a win-at-all-costs mentality.

Virtue is unrewarded, unless it is the kind that can be measured by tests and marks and athletic competitions. Kindness, empathy, attendance to the needs of others, count for nothing. In fact they count against you, as they might prevent you from elbowing your way to the top.

This encourages a ruthless disregard for anything but winning. Honesty, decency, other people’s lives: anything that might stand in your way is swept aside. You win or you have no self-worth. It’s a really toxic way to bring up children, and we see the results in public life.” – George Monbiot, author and journalist

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Margam, my local park

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt that a smile or a handshake is sufficient…

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Somewhere in Britain, in the near future…

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Winter is approaching. Cold, frosty nights. Snow. I love the frost and snow. It feels good under my feet and it looks beautiful. However, the cold weather is an enemy for many people, especially the homeless within our society.

Four homeless people in Britain died last night. An estimated 726 homeless people have died over the past year. These deaths are the direct result of austerity. These deaths are the direct result of Tory policies. A report in the Independent newspaper called them murder by government.

So, while you sit snug and warm beside your fireplace with your family tonight, enjoy your surroundings. And spare a thought for the man who will lay his head on a park bench for the last time. Spare a thought for the man who will bid this world goodbye.

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While writing chapter seventeen of Snow in August the subject of the Rorschach test cropped up. Named after Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach, the Rorschach test is a psychological test in which subjects’ perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation. This card, nine of ten, produces the most varied answers. What do you see here?

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As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #23

Dear Reader,

You know you’ve hit upon a good idea when the concept comes to you fully formed. That happened with Sam, Ann, Grace and my Spanish Civil War mini-series. Recently, while reading an item about the Second World War the idea for a mini-series came to me, fully formed. The central character, themes and events are clear in my mind. Now, I need to do more research and develop the characters. Then I can add my new idea to my writing and publishing schedule 🙂

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And speaking of research… Currently I’m reading The White Mouse, Nancy Wake’s autobiography. It’s a remarkable story, an example of the tremendous courage people have shown throughout the ages in their fight against fascism.

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Another excellent translation from Laura. This is the fourth book she has translated for me. I look forward to working with her in 2020 on new titles. Meanwhile, here’s an example of our partnership 🙂 https://hannah-howe.com/translations/francais/

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Many thanks to my readers in Australia for placing seven of my books in the top 💯 alongside greats such as Robert B Parker. And here’s a curiosity, the Italian version of Betrayal is #1 in Australia.

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A startling graphic highlighting the global climate crisis.

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And a moving graphic from Remembrance Day.

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I’ve been updating my Amazon author page and discovered that I have sixty-nine books listed. Many thanks to my readers, publisher friends, author friends, translators and narrators for making this possible.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

– Helen Keller

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OK7E24E

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As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #22

Delighted to announce my publishing schedule for 2020. It’s an ambitious one with the following books in the pipeline.

Snow in August: Sam Smith Mystery Series Book 16

The Olive Tree: Roots: A Spanish Civil War Saga Book 1

Looking for Rosanna Mee: Sam Smith Mystery Series Book 17

The Olive Tree: Branches: A Spanish Civil War Saga Book 2

Another beautiful translation from Cristina. Available soon 🙂

ANN'S WAR ESCAPE MASTER ITALIAN

Recently, I visited a series of caves in west Wales where I learned about the Red Lady of Paviland. The Red Lady of Paviland, pictured, is an Upper Paleolithic partial skeleton dyed in red ochre and buried in the Goat’s Hole Cave 33,000 years ago. William Buckland discovered the skeleton in 1823.

The Red Lady obtained her name because of the red ochre dye and jewellery found at the site. However, later analysis proved that ‘she’ was a man.

This incident will feature in Snow in August, out soon.

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The joy of research is it will often lead you to items you were not originally looking for.

While looking for books to place on the Europe by Book website https://europebybook.com I discovered the story of Nancy Wake, a remarkable woman.

“Nancy Wake (30 August 1912 – 7 August 2011) worked for the Pat O’Leary escape line and the Special Operations Executive in France during World War II.

After the fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940, Wake became a courier for the Pat O’Leary escape network. As a member of the escape network, she helped Allied airmen evade capture by the Germans and escape to neutral Spain.

In 1943, when the Germans became aware of her, she escaped to Spain and codenamed “Helene,” joined the Special Operations Executive.”

I intend to learn more about Nancy Wake and use elements of her story in a novel I’m currently researching.

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Struggling to find the right presents for your children this year? Here’s fun for all the family! The aim is to become a tax-dodging millionaire. If you fail, you lose!

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In a recent study, Buckets, Trapnell and Paulhus sought to examine the dark personality traits of Internet trolls. The researchers explored trolling in 1,215 participants and compared this to the dark personality triad, which is the dark triad – narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy – plus sadism. They discovered that all forms of dark personality were significantly higher in individuals who troll with sadism the strongest factor.

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So many good people do so many wonderful things. Our political leaders pale into insignificance in comparison.

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As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx