After The Bloodwood Staff, by Laura E Goodin: A fun riff on adventure books

‘If you’re thinking that I’m just a middle-aged woman who should stay at home with her cats and her book club for a couple of decades until its time to go into a hospice and die, then you can think again.’ (Sybil in Chapter One.)

So, its been another dreary week of blah work and same-old, same-old, has it? You deserve something for yourself. So you head to a book shop (of course) seeking an old time adventure, a ripping yarn, a tale of deering do and plucky heroes, a tale that involves absolutely no commuter trains and no grey-walled offices. Oh look, here’s one with a cover of a faded mustard colour and the title, After The Bloodwood Staff by Laura E. Goodwin, printed in enticing Art Nouveau font. Oh, this looks perfect.

‘Why would you want me along? Fat, unemployed, out of shape.. how would I stand up to pirates or savages or wild beasts or even leeches? …. The thought of trudging through a jungle picking leeches off his private’s and drinking blood from a cut on the neck of his pack horse .. ‘ ( Chapter One In Which Hoyle Meets An Adventurer.)

You start to read. The main character, Hoyle, enters a bookshop (good man; already you like him) after his pretty dreadful week. He selects an obscure vintage 19th Century adventure novel called After The Bloodwood Staff which has a cover of faded mustard colour and a title printed in enticing Art Nouveau font .. (Umm, what?) .. But a woman snatches it from his hands. This is Sybil who has convinced herself that it contains a Vital Clue to a mysterious artefact.

Next thing Hoyle knows, he is travelling to a far flung land (Australia) to trudge through gum-tree-jungles alive with creepy birds (kookaburras) in search of the artefact described in the vintage novel, the ‘Bloodwood Staff’. It’s a bizarre journey for a soft middle-aged city dweller to set out on with someone he barely knows. But then again, why not?

‘What is this, Lord of the Rings? he thought irritably. Be careful what you wish for. You wanted an adventure? You wanted to do something meaningful? Well, here you go.‘ (Hoyle in Chapter 21).

In this twist on the classic vintage yarn, with chapter headings like ‘In Which Things Go Badly Wrong’ and ‘In Which The Anarchists Descend Into Anarchy’, the redoubtable Sybil leads Hoyle and Ada, a foul mouthed ‘urchin’ from Sydney, into one predicament after another. We get kidnappings, hideouts, bad-guys, murders, daring rescues, mad evil villains, mysterious ancient powers, and even romance! It’s all here, the adventure that is going to take you away from that working day dreariness, at least for an afternoon. You might even close the book wondering, as I did, whether to just leave your present existence behind and charge off on a crazy adventure yourself. I mean, apart from the leeches, why not?

After The Bloodwood Staff is published by Odyssey Books.

Also from Laura E Goodwin is the fun romp, Mud and Glass, packed with conspiracies and mayhem on a university campus. I loved this madcap book. Just a couple of of the lessons I took from it are – do not underestimate librarians, and never order a cup of macadamia-chilli ice-cream, even if you do want to ‘feel more alive’. See more about it in my review.

Mark is guardian and blundering typist for Mawson, one of this bright world’s few published bears. Mawson is the writer-bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In and She Ran Away From Love.

‘A magical little grand tour into the meaning of happiness’. Review about She Ran Away by Sharie Williams, Author of The Maybelline Story.

Alina: A Song For The Telling, by Malve Von Hassell: A trobairitz in the court of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem

‘Something tugged at me – a dream of seeing distant lands’. Ch. 3.

‘Fourteen-year-old orphan Alina refuses to accept the oppressing life her strict aunt wants to impose upon her. When the opportunity comes along for her to escape, she and her brother embark on a journey through the Byzantine Empire all the way to Jerusalem.’ Back Cover.

In the Spring of 1173, orphans Alina and Milos set out from Provence on a perilous journey to the Holy Land. Milos has lost the inheritance of his land to his uncle. Alina faces only a bleak arranged marriage. But she does possess the highly valued gift of making music and song. And this, on reaching Jerusalem, is a gift that opens up a new world for her, perhaps even an independent future. For Alina, as a woman, this had been an impossible. But now her dream is to become a trobairitz like Beatriz de Dia, that is, a woman troubadour, making her own way in the world.

I enjoyed the children’s journey from Provence to Venice to Acre and on to Jerusalem as if I had become a tourist a thousand years ago and was seeing the sights for myself. Once in Jerusalem the pace of the story changes as Alina and Milos get drawn into the complexities of the court. The author skilfully disentangles all the plots and factions and the competing suitors for the hand of princess Sibylla – who is even younger than Alina. I galloped through the last half of this story. Suspicions mount and danger follows danger.

This book so deftly written that you would almost not realise the depth of the research it must have taken to create it. The story is set in a fascinating but little known time and Alina is a wonderful creation. I also enjoyed the portrait of Princess Sibylla, imperious and arbitrary to Alina, but really just a child struggling to face her imminent responsiblities in the little kingdom facing danger on all sides. This is highly readable historical fiction.

I have always loved stories set in medieval times. I devoured books by Henry Treece, Geoffrey Trease, Rosemary Sutcliff and Zoe Oldenburg. Most of these novels featured knights or barons – men in a male world. Few placed a woman centre stage, and these were the highborn wives of powerful men. In Malve von Hassell’s story, however, Alina is the heroine and her musical gift widen her world not just for herself but her brother too.

Malve von Hassell is a writer, researcher, and translator. On her website you can learn more about her works including Letters from the Tooth Fairy, written in response to her son’s letters to the tooth fairy, The Falconer’s Apprentice, her first historical fiction novel for young readers and The Amber Crane, a historical fiction novel set in Germany in the 17th century,

Learn more about Trobaritz, the women singers and song makers of the Twelfth Century, on Malve’s excellent blog, Tales Through Time. The quote that precedes the tale of Alina is by Countess Beatriz de Dia, who composed the one piece from that time that survives with musical annotations, the A chantar m’er.

Where to find Alina, A Song For the Telling

Alina, A Song For The Telling can be found by looking at Malve’s website, where you can also learn about her other fascinating books. It is available via these links here, and on Kobo and on Kindle, , and as an Audiobook on Apple Books.

Your host, Mark, is Mawson Bear’s Guardian, photographer, editor, blundering typist, chocolates fetcher and cushions re-arranger. Mawson’s own Blog is Mawson, A Writer-Bear for Our Befuddled Times.
Baffled Bear Books ABN: 4787910119.

What Do Your Bears Want To Get You for Christmas? More Books, of course

Mawson’s Guardian Says: Fortunately, we happen to know about books that are entirely suitable for your bears. They are suitable too for everyone you know who loves them. Oh yes, our Mawson the Writer-bear’s little books are just the thing to get your paws on

As everyone knows, bears read books. They’re not just sitting idly on your bookshelves -they are reading. But when they aren’t looking you can take out the books and read them yourself!

Our publisher is Odyssey Books. Just type in www.odysseybooks.com.au and there they will be. They will look like this:

What Mawson's books look like on Odyssey Books Website — What Mawson’s books look like on Odyssey Books Website

Plonk Down Your Paw: Just click on this blue stuff right here to find them. Collect them all for your bears, for your plushie loving friends, or … Just for yourself. Carry them about and dip into on dreary days.

Where else to find them

Our publisher is Odyssey Books. Look also at Bookshop Org (supporting local bookshops), at Amazon everywhere, at Booktopia, at Walmart, at AbeBooks, Mighty Ape (New Zealand), Google Books, at Booklubben and more.

KINDLE TOO: Mawson’s books, It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In and She Ran Away From Love , are FREE on Kindle Unlimited on most Amazon regions. Or buy the Kindles for only around $US 3. All the books are in soft cover copies that you can keep and turn to whenever you feel a bit too baffled, a bit too ruffled, and just want a cosy world to sink into.

Happy Christmas reading for you and all your bears and friends.

PLEASE FOLLOW US At Baffled Bear Books .
Simply plonk your paw on the FOLLOW buttons on this very page.
You can also follow on Amazon and on GoodReads. We are also on Instagram, and Tiktok, and Spotify and Mastodon (link is @mawsonbear@mastodon.au. )

Conversations From The Bridge, by Pauline Dewberry (Ollie Cat’s last diary)

This book is not only for cat lovers, but for all everyone who has lost a pet and wondered wondered about how they are, over there, across The Rainbow Bridge. In the third and last of his diaries, Ollie reports from beyond the Bridge.

Cover of Conversations from the Bridge, by Pauline Dewberry — Ollie Cat himself as he arrives over The Bridge

Ollie, the bouncy young cat, is back. But no longer does he recount his exploits within the Lazypaws Guest House For Discerning Felines, as he did in his previous two diaries (Click here to see my reviews) . For Ollie has taken himself unsupervised on a walk across the road (Oh, No!) … And now finds himself in what he thinks is a dream. “Iridescent beautiful colours seemed to be everywhere, shimmering in the early morning haze’. (Chapter 1). To his further surprise, Ollie is greeted by former departed cats of the Lazy Paws Guest House, wise old Garfield, Ricky, Timmy and Billy.

They explain that he is at The Rainbow Bridge. But Ollie wants to go back to Mum at home. They say that he cannot cross the Bridge back the other way. Ollie thinks this is a stupid rule. Time and again, he attempts to cross back over the Bridge. The other cats, and his new friend Michael Mouse, and even The Great Cat In The Sky, patiently help Ollie bear up through his shock, confusion, and longing..

This is a story, as the author says, of grief as seen in reverse. Just as Mum takes time to come to terms with Ollie’s sudden road accident death, so does Ollie parallel her bereavement. Eventually, looking back through a special portal, he sees Mum ‘get her purr back’ as she is comforted by other cats. Finally he feels ready to let go his responsibility for looking after her.

l recommend this book to all looking for comfort after losing a loved fur-friend. ‘Purr filled blessings” be upon you.

Conversations from the Bridge: More adventures of Ollie the Cat, by Pauline Dewberry is available in Kindle from Amazon. Take a look too at Ollie’s other diaries.

The first of Ollie’s three diaries is called Landing On All Four Paws: The diary of a kitten called Ollie, by Ollie Cat. I reviewed it here. It’s available on Amazon too. (FREE too, if you use Kindle Unlimited.) . The second diary, Further adventures of Ollie the Cat, is are also available on Kindle.

The author: Pauline Dewbery helped Ollie to record his adventures. The Daily Mews is Pauline Dewberry’s popular website for cat lovers. With cat humour and jokes, caption contests, guest articles about cat care and cat antics, it is your ‘purrfect way to start the day.’ It provides, among other things, a space to respectfully reflect on feelings of grief for our passed pets, for instance, in the tributes called “Napping on A Sunbeam”.

Cover of For Such A Time As This: My journey through cancer. How love and my cats sustained, fortified me, and helped take the pain away

Pauline also wrote For Such A Time As This: My journey through cancer. How love and my cats sustained, fortified me, and helped take the pain away. This is listed at Amazon UK and Amazon USA and on Amazon Australia. and more. It’s about $3 on Kindle and in some regions its FREE to read with Kindle unlimited.

You are at Mark’s blog called Baffled Bear Books. Mark is a dark coffee tragic, bibliophile and Guardian of Mawson Bear, a Ponderer of Baffling Things and one of this bright world’s few published bears.

Landing On All Four Paws: Further adventures of Ollie the Cat, by Pauline Dewberry

A book for cat lovers.

Cats rejoice! Ollie is back. By perusing this continuation of his diary, the discerning can learn and share the joys of how to play with the bits of broken sky (‘snow’), how to play with spiders on the windowsill and what to do about live birds in the mouth of your brother cat, and how to train your food-bowl-filler-person to fill your bowl with precisely what you require.

When will those who make cat food make plain and simple food.. Why can’t we have Mouse flavour, Little Furry Thing flavour, Next Door Neighbours Gold Fish From His Pond flavour? …
Ollie, Sunday 15th, attempting to have his bowl filled properly

By study of Ollie’s easy to read diary entries you can also learn how to be banned from every room in the house by trying to be helpful. Consider, for instance, the important cat job of supervising in the kitchen.

‘I helped her by overseeing what she was doing, so each time she did a new bit of floor, I sat on the bit that she had just washed. It was no trouble at all – I like helping, you know me! It all seemed a lot of hard work though, so I walked up and down on the wet floor”.
Ollie describes how to get banned from the kitchen.

With delightful chapter headings like, ‘Chapter 7. Hypnotised by the biggest bumble bee in the world’, and wise quotes about cats by famous cat lovers, your humans will also find this book a light easy read about their favourite subject – living with us cats.

Landing On All Four Paws: The diary of a kitten called Ollie, by Ollie Cat, is the first of Ollie’s diaries. I reviewed it here. It’s available on Amazon. (FREE too, if you use Kindle Unlimited.) . These Further adventures of Ollie the Cat are also available on Kindle.

The author: Pauline Dewbery helped Ollie to record his adventures. She trained to be an editor and had many articles published in teen girl’s magazines. Pauline is a pet bereavement counsellor. The Daily Mews is Pauline Dewberry’s popular website for cat lovers. With cat humour and jokes, caption contests, guest articles about cat care and cat antics, it is your ‘purrfect way to start the day.’ It provides, among other things, a space to respectfully reflect on feelings of grief for our passed pets, for instance, in the tributes called “Napping on A Sunbeam”.

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Share the Joy

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