Two Anniversaries

Last Saturday was a special day in two ways.
First, it was the 41st anniversary of me joining my first ship, the Oil tanker Talamba in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
It was all a new experience to me and I left my camera in my bedroom in the flurry of packing and regret it to this day.

The second anniversary was that of the Battle of Hastings, no I wasn't there, but I did write a short story about it in the collection 1066 Turned Upside Down.  The collection actually reached number 1 in the kindle charts yesterday as well.

My pen name is Richard Dee and I did a time-travel piece involving the battle.
I found a couple of reviews that I thought you might like to see (big excuse for some promotion), and the links are included if you want to read the full review.

 Here goes:-

http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/1066-turned-upside-down-by-joanna.html

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If You Changed One Thing by Richard Dee
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Richard Dee was another new author for me, but his submission stood out for a couple of reasons. Unlike his fellows, Dee put a bit of a sci-fi twist on 1066 and wrote a story that is set largely in the modern world. It was a dramatic shift and it threw me at first, but looking back I think the submission one of the strongest pieces in the anthology. I thought it was fun, I thought it was creative, and I liked how it allowed the reader a unique vantage point and perspective.

http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/rating-5-stars-i-will-be-first-to-admit.html

The biggest surprise (in two ways) came for me during the May/June 1066 story by Richard Dee. It is called "If You Changed One Thing" and dealt with time-travel. That was the first surprise. The second surprise was that I enjoyed it. I would have to say this might be my favorite story of the whole collection, which is kind of a big deal because they're all great and all have many strengths. This story is told from the perspective of a teacher talking with his students. They are discussing 1066 and the idea of going back in time to change the outcome, but then how that might impact their lives, if they would exist - basically the Butterfly Effect. A boy in the class says that his father's work involves a time machine and he would be able to go back to that fateful battle. His teacher does not believe him...and I will not spoil the rest. Just know that it has the perfect outcome, which also makes it a most-favorite.

And on the Goodreads page for the book I found these gems:-

Anne Harvey said, Or perhaps someone went backwards in time to change events? (Loved the twist in the tale in this one!)

Tricia Preston said; Moving on to the authors who are totally new to me, I found the inclusion of a story from Richard Dee, of the science fiction genre, a masterstroke and a worthy contribution. 

Pardon me for feeling pleased by those comments, I had wondered how a sci-fi writer would fit in with Historical Fiction, especially given the calibre of the other authors, it seems from these comments that I held my ground.

In other news, Yvonne has finished another square for Lovequilts, another space themed one

and we're off to Totnes Good Food Market shortly, Steak and Cake today!!!!