Love Letter

Love Letter

You transformed my life.
took me from a place
of loneliness
to one of happiness
so gentle, so understanding
you laid aside my fears
held my hand
wiped away my tears
finally, I had awakened
to my true self
made a soul connection
I need never walk alone
 again.

 

 

 

Mandy Gayle Edwards 2013 (c)

 

Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge ... has arrived.

When I first began this blog, I was preparing to launch my first children's novel - Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge ... set in Otago, New Zealand, involving a spate of sheep rustling, cannibis growing and a bit of friendly, cousinly rivalry ... when city born and bred, Maggie Mackenzie is forced to spend part of her summer holidays, with country relatives she doesn't know - including her irritating, cousin Tom. Maggie's Mum is in hospital, preparing for tests for skin cancer, and possibly needing further treatment. The stress of this, adds to Maggie's drama, as she prepares for the bordom of living in the country. However farm life proves to be far from boring ...

It is designed for the 8 to 12 year old age group, but could be enjoyed by a variety of ages, depending on their reading ability, or whether they have a keen parent or older sibling, willing to read it to them.

It is very exciting to have published my first book, and I look forward in the years to come, to look back on this and think - this is where I started, and I have loved writing ever since.

A big thank you to Janis van der Laan and Des Hunt for their proofreading and editing advice; Des for formatting it into an ebook for me; and all my friends at NZIBS (New Zealand Institute of Business Studies) who encouraged me along the way.


Des Hunt is a well established author; both traditionally published and electronically published - and I thoroughly recommend his books for children; and for adults who enjoy reading engaging, interesting books that reflect who we are, and how we connect with each other; that are 'true to life', and extremely entertaining.


Here is the link to Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge. Why not download a sample, and see what you think!

http://amzn.to/149v0A4

 

Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge - Kindle edition by Amanda Edwards, Des Hunt, Janis van der Laan, Amelia Hamilton. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge.


The cover illustration was painted by Amelia Hamilton, aged 15 who is the daughter of an old school friend of mine. She was one of the first children to read my book and was inspired to paint a cover, and draw some wonderful illustrations for each chapter. One day I hope to publish this book in the traditional way, and make full use of Amelia's talents. Thank you so much Amelia - you are amazing and I loved discussing the book as if it were a 'storyboard',  using your illustrations. It gave me so much enthusiasm to get this finished.

A poem for Mother's Day

 

A mother’s gift.

You treat me like the miracle
I am

the door to your heart
is always open

your love never fails
to shine through

The moment I was born
you transfixed me

I studied your face
with earnest devotion
as you did mine

I looked into your eyes
and saw my reflection
mirrored in your Soul

I demanded so much from you
expected you would grant my
every wish

And this you did for me
without question

You gave up your identity
for me

Set aside your dreams
so I could dream

Dedicated yourself to me
so I could be free

you taught me life-long values
to say please and thank-you
respect my elders

strive to be the best me
I could possibly be

Of course as I grew older
I knew better than you
Or so I thought

but now
now that I’m a Mum
I understand your infinite wisdom

to let your children know

no matter what they do
or what they say
or what they believe

you will love them
unconditionally

that's the gift you gave to me


Mandy Gayle Edwards 2013 (c)

Gratitude: Louie Schwartzberg at TEDxSF - this is simply beautiful. Enjoy.

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=932271668&gid=4683976&type=member&item=234302472&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fow%2Ely%2FkaKzc&urlhash=aR2X&goback=%2Egde_4683976_member_234302472

Autumn Leaves

---

Autumn trees

shed leaves like half-forgotten
memories
shaking off the past
to reveal their naked truth

 
in wintry silence wait to be reborn


We toss those piebald leaves
in wild abandonment
delight in scrunching them between our toes
 

It must feel nice to be an autumn tree
flinging off its clothes and shouting … look at me!

 

 Mandy Gayle Edwards 2013 (c)

 

 

Spring hath long passed on

summer but a sigh
autumn leaves compost
sheets of rain fall
somewhere it is snowing

Winter is nigh.
 

Trust

You stand there, watching me.
A startled bird, poised for flight.
I hold out my hand.
You take a few steps forward,
then back.
So unsure of me.
I kneel to you, hold out my arms.

You look for your mother
want to hide behind her skirts
suck furiously on your thumb
Your brow is furrowed.
Where has she gone?
Why did she leave me?

Your eyes pool with tears,
You tremble; fear wells up
deep within you.
so young, too young
to feel the loneliness
of separation.

 
Shyness cripples you.
You long to play out your stories
Delight a captive audience
Yet the moment you have
the spotlight,
You barricade yourself in
walls of silence.

Do not be afraid,
I am here for you.
It's time to shine.
Come, take my hand,
Let's do this together
Just you and me.

Anything is possible,
let's use our imagination,
give wings to our dreams.
Life can be a Fairy tale,
Full of story book Magic,
If we believe it to be true.
Together - You and Me.


Mandy Gayle Edwards 2013 (c)

 

Ode to the Exclamation Mark! (for all my proof reading friends)

Oh what joy, oh what a lark
To ponder the exclamation mark!
I'm told it is a dying art
to use the exclamation mark

In modern 'proof' it is not needed
But I'm afraid I've often pleaded
Why oh why must I delete it?
For it will leave me uncompleted
.
It serves a very worthy purpose
When pain and anguish are in surplus
Or for the element of surprise
Praps when your protagonist dies ...ahhh!!!!

In this modern age of texting
The exclamation needs some flexing
How else you get my voice and tone
Unless you answer your damn phone!

How can I write hip hip hooray!
Without the mark to join the fray?

I know the way we choose our words
Should speak our volumes

but how absurd

When just a stroke and little dot
Gives emphasis to mark that spot

So let me hear no more of this
Insisting it's just amateurish ...
 If this poet should have her way -

The exclamation mark, is here, to stay!