Good afternoon! At least it is afternoon in my part of the world. Good morning/day/evening/night, to the rest of the world. I can’t seem to help but be aware that life is never in the same time slot for all of us.
Maybe that is a good thing. Noticing there is life outside the confines of my small world.
There are many countries showing up, at one time or another, as viewers of my posts. I enjoy exploring, visiting online maps and pictures, finding information for what to me feels like exotic destinations. It’s amazing how many beautiful places there are in this world of ours.
I’m also aware of the impossibility of ever experiencing all there is to see in real life. One experience drives this fact home for me. In an online search for a small island country in the southern hemisphere I came across a travelogue type video. It was unprofessional, shot by a visiting traveler, which may have added to the feeling of wanting more, so much more.
The area he was visiting was obviously a popular resort area but it was also densely populated with locals. The winding streets were narrow with shoulder to shoulder buildings. The whole island appeared to be inhabited from shore to shore. It was beautiful and interesting. I wanted him to slow down so we could have a better chance to take it all in and at the same time I wanted it to last much longer so we could cover more ground.
I knew for sure in that moment there would be no way in this life time to see everything there is to see in the world. I could also tell that videos are not a bad way to go. It isn’t the same as being there but … more travel miles can be packed into our lifetime if we do it while sitting in front of a screen. No airport waiting rooms, no long road trips, no expensive tickets and hotel rooms.
It will be a while before I forget that video experience.
There is another question coming out of it all, still rattling around in my head. How in the world do they survive on a small relatively flat island, in the middle of the ocean, covered from shore to shore with buildings? What happens when tropical storms arrive? How do they escape destruction? Maybe there is something about the location that deflects the storms? Sheltered in some way by other islands? Maybe they are not in the path of prevailing winds?
I will probably never know the answer but will still wonder.
If I remembered what country it was, I could ask. I think I know but I’m not very sure. I’ve researched too many of them.
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This has turned out to be a rambling post. Must get back to books since we have a few suggestion emails today.
This first one is from BookBub. The first book in this series showed a few months ago and I did read it but don’t remember what I thought about it. She does seem to write on a higher level than some, that is a good recommendation right there.
Unfortunate Homecoming: a clean romantic suspense novel (Jeopardized Reunions)

Renovating the old family home and living on the quiet Magnolia River in Magnolia Springs, Alabama sounded perfect to Shaun Bartley. But when trespassing treasure hunters threaten not only his life but his ex-wife’s life too, will he fight for what is his or forfeit the fortune in order to save their lives?
After ten years on the Okefenokee Swamp as a fishing guide, Shaun Bartley returns home to conduct tours on the Magnolia River and to renovate his great great-grandfather’s old home. When Deputy Fire Marshal and volunteer fire fighter Sierra Beaumont, Shaun’s ex-wife, warns him about deadly treasure hunters who will kill for a chance to explore his property, he thinks she’s trying to run him out of town. When he discovers she’s pregnant with twins by her recently deceased second husband, Shaun can’t help but want to be there for her. But Sierra’s heart has been broken twice, and she’d rather raise the children alone than be abandoned again.
Shaun must deal with his past and find a way for Sierra to forgive him or risk losing any chance he may have at winning back her heart. Since keeping her safe means keeping her far from his home and the trespassers, yet she is the Fire Marshal assigned to his case, it will take a miracle for them to survive.
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1531 Entertainment has a new Christy Barritt mystery for us.
Not on My Botch (The Worst Detective Ever Book 11)

She never thought she’d have to fight for the leading role in her own life . . .
Actress Joey Darling enjoys playing the part of Detective Raven Remington on her TV show Relentless. But for now, she’s enjoying some downtime with her new husband, Jackson Sullivan.
Joey’s peace is shattered when a woman comes into town, who not only looks and sounds like Joey, but who claims to actually be Joey. The resemblance is uncanny, but Joey has blundered her way through too many real-life episodes to let some impersonator ruin her life. She sets out to unmask this imposter and put an end to the woman’s charade.
But the real-life plot isn’t wrapped up in a nice, tidy bow like on TV. The case of her stolen identity soon turns into a dangerous fight for survival.
Will Joey have the chance to write the script for her own life? Or will her plans be botched one final time?
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One more interesting suggestion showed up in today’s browsing session. An author we see often, including having read the first two books in this series.
Three Missing Days (The Pelican Harbor Series Book 3)

Police Chief Jane Hardy’s teenage son has been accused of a horrific crime—and three days of Jane’s memories have been stolen from her. In the gripping third installment of the Pelican Harbor series, the truth is finally coming out.
Chief of Police Jane Hardy plunges into the investigation of a house fire that claimed the life of a local woman as well as one of the firefighters. It’s clear the woman was murdered. But why? The unraveling of Jane’s personal life makes answers for the case even more difficult to find.
Then Jane’s fifteen-year-old son is accused of a terrible crime, and she has to decide if she can trust her ex, Reid, to help her prove Will’s innocence—and if she can trust Reid with her heart.
Three days of Jane’s past are missing from her memory, and that’s not all that’s been stolen from her. As she struggles to find the murderer and clear her son’s name, finding out what happened in those three days could change everything.
It all started with one little lie . . . but the truth is finally coming out.
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Still thinking about the questions coming out of the travel video…
Maybe the sight of old well maintained sturdy buildings hugging the shores should be an answer to the question of surviving tropical storms. It doesn’t appear that they have been flattened anytime in recent memory. That right there is a very comforting thought.
Til next time
Happy Reading.