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Jacqueline Howett is the author of The Greek Seaman, a seafaring novel, and the poet to a chapbook titled, Amorphous Angelic, selected poems.
Hello to all you book lovers and blog readers.
Welcome to my first blog. Hope to make this a blog to share books, opinions, comments, news, travel tidbits, reviews, interesting and attractive sightings online, other authors and their new books, my own world of being an author as well as sharing recipes and healthy eats.
I have just started up blogging and so I will get what I can up today. If there's links not linked up yet where you can see links should be, I'll catch them on my next blogging.
Among the world of enjoying all that is books, and announcing here my new book, The Greek Seaman, my seafaring novel, one of my many other passions on the side is cooking. Due to my editing novels mainly at this time, I thought it would be fun to enjoy some of my recipes I shall be sharing with you on this blog, taken from several of my cookbooks that I’m still compiling in the wings.
I was a big traveler in my time before settling in the USA.
Born and educated in London, England. My father is English and late Mother, Greek. I have seen quite a lot of the world since a child and all through my teens, twenties and thirties, it was mostly just around Europe and to Greece and then later Africa, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Mexico. I think I was lucky to see some of the world before the crazier times. Airports these days are not much fun, but I take my hat off to all those who are getting around without a care in the world. My father is one of them, he loves taking off to Europe. And more recently, just in the past five years my father has visited me in the USA. Prior to that I hadn’t seen him for twenty years. My parents divorced when I was twelve.
My Mother was still travelling to Greece for short visits and visiting me here in America before she passed. However, I still think one should travel the world while they are still very young. Although I had been coming to America since the seventy’s, it was in 1988, I came to live in America. Maine is where I first landed to live. From there I visited all the major northern spots and then I lived in California, and since 2002, I have been living in Florida.
I am happy to announce the arrival of my novel The Greek Seaman.
The thunder clapped and the mysterious voice of the sea made itself known about them, and as the ship made its sudden precipitous descent once more it rendered them powerless to move.
The captain shook his head. "This is not a hurricane, this is something else. I have never seen a hurricane like this before, have you?"
My seafaring novel is now available to purchase as an eBook from Amazon - Kindle Smashwords (Various formats)
It has been a long time coming. Well I guess not many gals write sea adventures, but I have had a bit of an unusual life. This novel was based on my own true story. A former me, so long ago.
Description to The Greek Seaman novel.
What is an eighteen year old newly wed doing travelling on a massive merchant ship anyways? Hadn’t she gone to Greece on tour in a ballet as a dancer? These are questions Katy asks herself while travelling the high seas with Don, her chief officer husband. However, little do they know a smuggling ring is also on board for this ride. After various ships pass in the night, the smugglers must reach their contact in rescue operations coming from Crete to complete the blue diamond exchange. When explosions and threats to sink the ship also happen, Don and Katy must try to save themselves.
Getting to know the smugglers, the Arabic and Pakistani deck hands and Don, the Greek Seaman is an exciting sea adventure with enough suspense and romance that will make you laugh and cry. It will take you on a voyage to experience the magnificent soothing wonders and beautiful scenery at sea, and take you through storms and hurricanes where Katy finds herself navigating through it with a seasick crew. From Piraeus, Greece, your visit the ports of Lebanon and Libya and enjoy the exotic magic of the bazaar. The bond between Don and Katy, in their ordeal at sea makes this a memorable story.
To review
Request a free copy of The Greek Seaman by e-mail.
New books by other authors and Poets.
I had the opportunity to give my own review for a few authors and poets. I have just finished reading Vincent Spada’s new book of poems One under the sun. Here is my review of his poetry book with link.
The Poetry book of Vincent Spada
ONE UNDER THE SUN
Book Review
by Jacqueline Howett
Vincent Spada’s remarkable book of poetry One under the Sun allows you to escape to another state while he hits on the complexity of adolescents to maturity, using at times old language that is deep and touching. He is a sensitive poet with much compassion for his fellow man. A visionary and yet a realist who draws from life’s stark moments as he stands like a witness at the edge touching on topics usually unseen, or what others want to quickly dismiss. He can follow a simple emotion to bare the recognition of himself interacting in the play of life. Be it the fantasy of a thrill or the visions of war, morbid coffins, tragedy or to love and know the stars above, he manages to shed light on the extraordinary to eventually embrace what one thinks they fear in a playful, whimsical manner. His semi dark stance, which he projects, is just to make a point to make you reflect and question what your own picture of reality and existence is. A wonderful poet for the book shelf.
I also look forward to reading Vincent Spada’s new children’s book, titled, The cat said to the kitten. Link to purchase Vincent’s Spada’s book. Amazon
Mari Delgado Travis has numerous poetry books to her name, and she has just announced a new kind of book titled, What if. And this I shall look forward to reading.
I had a chest of classic books in England that I left behind before coming to live in America. Marie Delgado Travis’ poems felt like someone had opened that old chest and my favorite classic reads like Ibsen, Shakespeare, and Don Quixote came alive again. Her poems reached deep inside me to look at forgotten treasures. Here is my review.
The poetry of Marie Delgado Travis
Reviewed by Jacqueline Howett
The poems of Marie Delgado Travis are a joy to read over, and over again.
The zest of her unique imagination hold nuggets of wisdom and philosophy filled with meaning to evoke varied emotions, transporting you to enchanting places in a spellbinding, reviving language where you linger on every word. Hints of nostalgia for the lover of the classics leave the reader playfully entertained and enriched by her zenith.
Link to purchase Marie’s Delgado Travis’ books at Amazon
I shall be posting these reviews to a link for new books by other authors and poets on my website, so if you are an author or poet and have a new book you want mentioned, please e-mail me. at jacquelinehowett@yahoo.com place in subject line, newbook announcement. Some maybe mentioned on this blog. Scroll down
A free excerpt from my novel, The Greek Seaman, is also available at my website.
Food lovers
Recipe for today
My Mother passed my Greek cooking skills down first, then going to Greek restaurants in my frequent visits to Greece and from family there. Every where I went they had a slightly different version of the same recipe, depending on what mountain or village you came from, but all are simple and so tasty. I hope you enjoy making my versions as much as I have.
Moussaka/potatoes and meat
1 1/2 lbs. potatoes or eggplant or zucchini
canola oil or any other oil for frying
2 med. onions (chopped)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 (8 oz.) can tomatoes sauce
1 tsp. cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/3 c. grated kefaloteri cheese
Peel potatoes or eggplant and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Deep fry in canola oil until golden brown, drain. (Or you can shallow fry and top up oil if using eggplant. Eggplant tends to drink it up). Arrange half of this in an even layer in 13 x 9 baking dish. Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Set aside. In remaining oil cook beef, stirring until done. Add onion, garlic, tomato sauce, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Pour over layer in baking dish. Arrange remaining slices over meat. Beat eggs and milk, pour over meat layers. Sprinkle with cheese, bake in moderate 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cut into squares to serve. Kefaloteri cheese: A creamy color hard cheese, very much like Parmesan, which can be used as a substitute.
Optional. Serve with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, slice Vidalia onion, black olives and feta cheese, or just a sliced tomato, drizzled in olive oil and a tiny dash of apple cider vinegar with a dash of oregano.
Enjoy.
Quick tip healthy side dish lunch today is...
Micro waved sweet potato. Is so good for the soul.
Micro wave for eight to ten minutes turn sweet potato over four to five minutes in. serve with Brummel and Brown yogurt butter. Delicious. Healthy for your lungs too. This is a good snack any time or a meal in itself for the small eater.
Follow it later with red grapes, or an apple. Optional: Serve with cheese and crackers. (Ryveta or Wasa crackers are good.)
Between the re-editing to my other novels, I have managed to write more poetry and micro fiction. After the long haul of novels, micro fiction is a blast.
Alien skin magazine published my micro fiction piece earlier in the year, titled, The next take, and I have decided to post it here.
The Next Take
Micro Fiction
By Jacqueline Howett ©2010
My former lives, melted into a puddle of mercury.
In the next take, came magic.
I went with the flow. I merged comfortably into the new era with pierced body parts and tattoos. But I still tremble, knowing it took black holes of time to my rebirth.
I was crawling around on all fours for a time in my living room, separating myself from my sticky embryo. I became a wild nymph like cave creature, who had entered up through the earth where the sky greeted me as one. I spoke in tongues in the process of being born anew, in my developing metamorphosis, wiping the sticky slime from my eyes.
I touched my new form in the mirror. I was pleased.
As I evolved, I started wearing jeans lower on the hips.
A happiness came I had never known. With my first real freedom, I merged into your world.
~ Jacqueline Howett, Florida ©2010
The latest news on my poetry eBook,
Amorphous Angelic, selected poems.
I hope to have the eBook version of my printed poetry chapbook out some time in November on Amazon kindle and Smashwords. Sample poems are available at my website and on this blog. Some wonderful reviews were posted at Authors Den magazine to Immortality’s Fountain the poem that is in my book. As they are not recent reviews I am not posting them here, but for those interested in reading them, here is the link for Authors Den.
A sample Poem - from page twenty five, from
Amorphous Angelic, Selected Poems.
A chapbook by Jacqueline Howett.
IMMORTALITY'S FOUNTAIN.
Beyond mountain tops I did reach,
To a new world I did greet,
no fairer plains did I ever meet,
To challenge my wits as a passing fleet.
Oh, what treasures you now reveal,
Such splendor alone, secrets seal,
No man can utter what we feel,
Hearts true glory and soul that's real.
We freeze, yet move beyond the speed of light,
To experience alone gifts of sight,
Searing forever higher above the clouds,
Gone the illusions out of the shrouds,
With the truth 'one' experiences alone;
And here the spiral from a timeless zone,
We end the story to the unknown,
Knowing its 'faith' that brings you home,
To immortality’s fountain.
Product Description
Amorphous Angelic, selected poems by Jacqueline Howett is my metaphysical poems of wisdom, death, rebirth, and the inner workings of the soul’s journey. They are also 35 selected poems of love, inspiration, wonder, visions, hope, faith and connecting to the higher self as well as with the sad & strange, to elevating out of darkness to reveal the mystery of life that cover an important time factor in my life while living in London, England between 1980-1985, and have remained my most memorable.
Most of these poems I wrote in 1983 and 1984 during a death/rebirth experience.
I shall be going through a similar review process with my poetry book just as I have been doing with my novel The Greek Seaman. So if anyone wishes to review my poetry chapbook, a free review e-file copy will be sent to you by e-mail or a signed chapbook copy by mail. Just place in the subject line of your e-mail, review poetry book and send to: jacquelinehowett@yahoo.com If you just need a reminder when my poetry eBook will be available to purchase, email me and in subject line place, Poetry book reminder.
Thanks. J.H.
Great sightings. I found a nugget of an ezine magazine: Head Butler.
I found a wonderful site I would like to share by Jesse Kornbluth who has an online magazine with some wonderful books he likes to suggest as well as drama, movies and music. He is quite a character, also a humorous writer who deserves a mention. Here is the link to Head Butler. http://headbutler.com
Long story Short magazine published one of my latest poems in the September’s issue, titled, When a man has no enchantment. In October they published my poem titled, Work, a means to view the world. They will also be publishing more of my poems in November and in February 2011. To view click on the LSS link and go to the poetry section.
It’s time for a little tea break for me.
Yes, my English half still drinks hot tea in the late afternoon when ever I can, and I like all kinds of tea with English tea biscuits. My favorite teas are Earl Grey, or spiced orange pekoe with a dash of milk and honey and I like the water to be piping hot like most English people do. My favorite green tea is raspberry or a mix of fruit berry blends. Then, I might take another walk to the beach, or maybe dabble a bit on the piano. Being this is my first blog post I guess it will do. I hope you have enjoyed reading this far. Until my next blog post, my best to you all.
Thanks. JH
