What happened to the fun-loving girl we met in Ooh Matron! #RPBP

As regular readers will know, book 2 in The Nomadic Nurse Series had a quiet launch in February this year and this September sees the official launch of both the digital and paperback formats (with audio coming soon).
This is an exciting month filled with book signings, book fairs, giveaways and price promotions to spread the news about this new nursing memoir which has a slightly different twist on it. 

Amazon

Is Sarah Jane playing with fire?

What happened to the fun-loving girl we met in Ooh Matron! Who almost by accident entered the world of nursing after leaving school? 

Sarah Jane's life is set to be turned upside down as she juggles the pursuit of her nursing career with the roles of wife and mother. Her nursing career deviates off course into the aged care sector to accommodate her personal life and calls for a variety of sacrifices and compromises to keep a career and family life on track. It's a journey that sees Sarah Jane dealing with childbirth, bereavement, divorce, miscarriage and child custody issues at the hands of a real life Casanova!

Check out latest 5* review for
Bedpans to Boardrooms 
*****

"While autobiographical books are not my usual genre, I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah-Jane's account of nursing in Care Homes.
Being an ex-nurse it brought back many happy memories for myself as, during my career, I also looked after the elderly although in a hospital situation.
Her accuracy and explanations of various procedures are spot on. You feel for her in her personal life but she has overcome all tribulations and come out smiling at the other end.
Altogether a very good read"
To view the review on Amazon click here

The countdown is on to the first Goodreads Giveaway for Bedpans to Boardrooms!
Enter to WIN a signed copy on Goodreads from 12th Sept - 30th Sept

Enter here

Would like to meet Sarah Jane? Well, there will be many opportunities over the coming weeks starting in Narberth on 23rd Sept 

Click here to Meet all the authors taking part

Did you miss book 1 Ooh Matron? 

Don't worry here is the universal link to all good online stores to catch up on the story so far...

books2read.com/OohMatron

*****Award Winning Nurse Memoir*****

I am not sure what Florence Nightingale would have made of Sarah Jane! The story starts with a sixteen-year-old country girl who, for no apparent reason at the time, suddenly decided that she wanted to be a nurse.

Sarah Jane was entering adulthood with no obvious career path in sight. She had planned a traditional, some would say old fashioned, future. Her vision was to leave school, find a job in a local store, get married and eventually have children. Then everything changed, as she embarked on a journey which would help to map out her future by offering opportunities in a variety of places and healthcare settings. Find out how Sarah Jane deals with births, deaths and everything in between with laughter, tears and humility in this touching, sometimes heartrending, superbly written memoir. 

‘Ooh Matron!’ is the first book in The Nomadic Nurse Series. Each book in the series takes you on a journey through medical specialisms and environments that formed part of Sarah Jane’s nursing career. Throughout the series Sarah Jane uses her trademark honest and entertaining writing style to share insights into her thoughts, reflections and the changes in her personal life and circumstances as she moves forward in her career.

Day 4 Feeling Festive #BooksForChristmas: Two Awesome Memoirs! #RPBP #ASMSG

Welcome To Day 4 Of #BooksForChristmas from Sarah Jane & Rukia Publishing

For your reading and listening delight today we have TWO memoirs to recommend to you.

Prunes for Breakfast

by John Searancke 

Many years after the deaths of my parents, my aunt handed me a box filled with letters that my father had written to my mother over the period from 1940 to 1945. This was the starting point of a journey for me to rediscover the father I had never really known.

This is the story of John Searancke's parents, told mostly from the side of his father, Eddie Searancke, from the time of his calling up in early 1940 to his release from a prisoner of war camp in Germany in 1945, thence his return to England to try to pick up the pieces of his old life. Nothing could ever be quite the same afterwards.

The letters take listeners through five captivating years, telling of the ups and downs, the plots and counterplots, as Eddie rose through the ranks to end his war as a captain, elevated to that rank in the field as his troops faced the formidable might of the SS Panzers. The letters also reveal where his battle came to an abrupt end, in an orchard surrounded by the enemy and captured after a series of bloody skirmishes as the British army spearheaded its way from the beaches of Normandy. The journey as a prisoner across France and Germany in a truck, with comrades dying each day, may be as hard to listen to as it is to tell, particularly when a new life and new harsh rules had to be learned and rigidly enforced in a prison camp in northern Germany, the final destination.

This is written as part memoir, part fictionalized retelling and partly in letter format; John draws together all sources to recreate the five years of war and hardship that the letters span.

Now available as an audiobook

Listen to a sample on

Audible 

Amazon

iTunes

Get your ebook copy at all good online bookstores here

The Lullaby Illusion

By Susan Joyce

Watch the trailer

Meet the author here

Check out the book showcase here

Here's what Amazon readers are saying about The Lullaby Illusion.

"Rich in dialogue, humour and history, with glorious descriptions of her travels, in this memoir we see Susan Joyce develop from the innocent young wife into a wise and determined woman."

"An absolutely gripping memoir written by somebody who has that rare combination - experience of earth shattering events which turn our stomachs to water, and the writing skills to capture the whole experience."

"Each page brings another revelation, leaving the reader amazed at how intriguing her life has been so far. Mixed with emotional trauma, war and interspersed with details of other adventures, and leaving you wanting more. It is a Memoir that will leave you amazed."

Get your copy of The Lullaby Illusion 

at all good online bookstores

here

We hope you enjoy our recommended reads!

Merry Christmas

Let's take a look at When Angels Fly by S. Jackson #RPBP

Hello and welcome to an in depth look behind the scenes of When Angels Fly by S Jackson.

http://www.rukiapublishing.com/meet-the-author-s-jackson.html

S. Jackson is a retired registered nurse; a member of the Catholic Church, and has taught kindergarten Catechism; she has worked in various capacities for The American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, Cub and Boy Scouts, (son, Noah, is an Eagle Scout), and sponsored trips for high school children music. She loves all forms of art but mostly focuses on the visual arts; such as amateur photography, traditional, and graphic art as her health allows.

"When Angels Fly"
http://smarturl.it/AngelsFly99

We often find ourselves daydreaming about what our futures will be like. This may be especially true if one lives in an environment most would consider less than desirable. Some are lucky to find their futures much like their childhood dreams. Others find the paths to their dreams strewn with hurdles.

Growing up, Sarah dodged her mother's blows. She often hid in her room crying about her life. Still, she believes in her future and the happiness it can bring. In their book, When Angels Fly, authors S. Jackson and A. Raymond tell Sarah's story - their stories. The authors use their journals to describe Sarah's experiences of family dys-function, strength, courage, faith, abuse, grief, and so much more. You'll read how, like many, she attempts to escape from her mother's abuse through marriage. And like many, she learns it is not a viable alternative. Then Sarah experiences a parent's ultimate tragedy twice, the deaths of her sons, Joshua and Eli.

When Angels Fly is about much more than the telling of a family's tragedy. It is also the story of finding faith after it has wavered. Most of all, it's a story of love lost and found.

Before we get into some Q&A let's take a look at the book trailer.

Thank you for joining us today.
What was your childhood like?
I vividly remember my childhood. As a little girl, my mother would force feed me foods I hated, such as peas, until I threw up. She did this to me often and she seemed to enjoy the abuse she inflicted upon me. I had six siblings and none of them remember my mother doing the force feedings except for my older brother who was eight years older than me. Abuse affected him, too, and to this day he stays away from any kind of contention. I wish I could say that the abuse abated as I got older, but it didn’t. I was always a kicking and punching bag and she would drag me around by my hair. No one could please her and my father never saw the treatment she doled out to me as he was always working. I had absolutely no self-esteem and I would retreat into a fantasy world where I was a princess and loved by all. I would curl up in my bed and thrust that fantasy into my child’s brain as a form of escape. I liked reading and as soon as I could read well enough, I started reading the Nancy Drew series, Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames, and Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I would escape into a world of my own through books. I could stay in my little room, in my bed, and read. Sometimes I would make paper dolls and dress them up with paper dresses. I remember how I would oftentimes try to draw younger siblings into a hug as none of us received hugs from her and I tried to show them how to love each other.“ (I have pictures)

"Starting around age eight, I tried to please her in other ways by doing work around the house. I would vacuum without being told to do so, and I washed dishes. I started doing the entire households laundry from washing to hanging on the line, and then take down and fold. I delivered the clean wash to the respective recipient’s bedroom and it didn’t make my mother proud. In fact, she simply expected me to continue with these chores. She left my father after 21 years if marriage and I chose to live with my father as I was 14 at the time and could choose. Then she forced him to sell the house and he was forced into a tiny apartment, after which I had to move in with her again. In high school, she was relentless in her treatment of me, and she never bothered to show her anger to the world. To this very day, I don’t understand why this was allowed to go on. The only thing I can think of is the fact that our neighbors were just as scared of her and she kept her punches to areas that were covered by clothing. In looking back post high school, I could see that some teachers knew that my home life was rough but that was as far as it went. My only escapes were school and work. I was so tired of her beatings, and the emotional and mental abuse she inflicted.

Almost anyone would be excited to leave all that behind and strike out on her own. Is that what you did?
"Before I was age 18, I was looking for an escape ~ ANY escape. Working as a waitress left me with little money. I dated a few guys, and then my mother said to me one time, with a sneer, that I was only a “sperm receptacle” and that no one would want me. I wasn’t having sex. Eventually I found a guy I liked, and we dated for a few months and then we simply started living together. I had thought this was my escape into happiness and that he was my prince. He drank alcohol almost daily, and he invited me to move in with him. I thought that this was my chance! My chance to get away from my mother and the abuse she inflicted. I thought I could change this man into drinking less alcohol, I was in love and we married."

Did you love him? So many women go down this path, and they always think they love him. Is it because you've never known true love?

Read the answer to this question and many more here

The next stop for The Nomadic Nurse Series #RPBP

books2read.com/Bedpanstoboardrooms

As the pre-order launch of Bedpans to Boardrooms gets underway I must first apologise for the delay in bringing the second book in this series to my loyal followers. Those of you who also read my travel memoirs or are followers on my personal mailing list will know that my 4 children and 3 step-children are rapidly adding to the population as a further 3 grandchildren are expected over the coming months to add to our existing one! My family are the centre of my world and finding the work life balance can be tricky so I had added in a pre-order cushion period in case my time frames get pushed back, but I actually hope to be bringing the launch date forward!

In book one the scene was set when, as a sixteen year old slightly old-fashioned country girl, I found myself on a pre-nursing course at Ipswich College. This book has been my most successful today wining book industry awards for comedy, writing and excellence in story-telling.

books2read.com/OohMatron

*****Award Winning Nurse Memoir***** 

I am not sure what Florence Nightingale would have made of Sarah Jane! The story starts with a sixteen-year-old country girl who, for no apparent reason at the time, suddenly decided that she wanted to be a nurse. Sarah Jane was entering adulthood with no obvious career path in sight. She had planned a traditional, some would say old fashioned, future. Her vision was to leave school, find a job in a local store, get married and eventually have children. Then everything changed, as she embarked on a journey which would help to map out her future by offering opportunities in a variety of places and health care settings. Find out how Sarah Jane deals with births, deaths and everything in between with laughter, tears and humility in this touching, sometimes heartrending, superbly written memoir. ‘Ooh Matron!’ is the first book in The Nomadic Nurse Series. Each book in the series takes you on a journey through medical specialisms and environments that formed part of Sarah Jane’s nursing career. Throughout the series Sarah Jane uses her trademark honest and entertaining writing style to share insights into her thoughts, reflections and the changes in her personal life and circumstances as she moves forward in her career.

Available at all good bookstores books2read.com/OohMatron

books2read.com/Bedpanstoboardrooms

Bedpans To Boardrooms follows Sarah Jane's story as she endeavours to juggle being a Registered General Nurse, wife and new mum to two babies in quick succession. Her nursing career deviates off course into the aged care sector to accommodate her personal life and this tests her in a variety of ways. As Sarah Jane struggles to accept her new reality, career and personal sacrifices have to be made. It's a journey that sees Sarah Jane dealing with childbirth, bereavement, divorce and miscarriage in her personal life, whilst managing to use her new nursing qualification to take her from washing bedpans as a care assistant to sitting in the boardroom of a national nursing home group. As usual it's a roller-coaster ride that you do not want to miss as we find out more about aged care working practises, occupational therapy, community support and how aged care staff have to be highly skilled professionals to deal with the many and varied situations they find themselves in.

For more news on release day events and celebrations subscribe to my personal mailing list. I email no more than once a month and there is no spam ever!

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http://sarahjanebutfield.wix.com/sarahjanebutfield
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Behind The Scenes of Exclusive Pedigree with Robert Fear #RPBP

Hello and welcome to a special guest blog by the very talented story teller, Robert Fear. Whenever I read reviews or features on this book I am filled with admiration for a son that has made his late fathers dream come true by publishing his memoirs. Today, Robert will share some personal family photographs and background as to how this incredible book came to be written and published.

John and Mary

Guest feature by Robert Fear:

A lot of my spare time over the past year has been devoted to making my father’s dream come true.

It started for me back in 1992 when my father, John, was becoming increasingly frail and was confined to bed most of the time. Visits to the hospital became more frequent and the doctors were talking about months, not years.

John had been working on his memoirs for several years and had already typed up many of the chapters. He also had plans in place for finishing the remaining chapters of his book. Now he was unable to continue and my mother, Mary, called me to see if I could help. I was more than happy to.

Robert, Grandma (Olive) Lynes and Mary

In the evenings and at weekends I sat at my computer and transcribed the chapters that John had already finished. These were duly printed off and sent back to him. There was a regular flow of padded brown envelopes with hand written corrections made by John and more words for some of the later chapters.

I also made the trip from Eastbourne to the village of Cumnor in Oxfordshire several times. It was a period of reconciliation between father and eldest son as we discussed changes that he wanted made and planned for the missing chapters.

The last time I saw my father alive was several months before he passed away in October 1993. I sat on the end of his bed for hours as we talked further about the book. Despite being breathless and in constant need of oxygen, he insisted that I turn the tape recorder on him. There then followed the most enthralling story of an experience that he had in his early twenties.

During the months following his death, I continued working on John’s memoirs with the help of Mary and my brother, Alastair. We completed the half-finished chapters as best we could and used some of the letters that John had written home, along with diary extracts and magazine articles, to fill in some of the gaps. Alastair also wrote the final three chapters, which covered the closing months of John’s life.

Robert and Alastair

John, Christine and Robert

A friend of the family who had print connections then took over and produced around a hundred copies for distribution around friends and family. The limited edition was published under the title Exclusive Pedigree and if it hadn’t been for a chance remark the life of the book could have ended there.

Original Paperback 1995

New Paperback 2016

Last year I was visiting my mother for a few days. Mary still lives in the same cottage in Cumnor and is near to my brother, Alastair, who lives with his family in Abingdon.  I gave her a paperback copy of the second edition of my own memoir Fred’s Diary 1981: Travels in Asia, which she wanted to read. Conversation turned to self-publishing and we started talking about John’s memoirs. Then came the bombshell, “Did you know Rob that John always wanted to have his book published properly?”

It had never occurred to me. I always thought that it was his wish to have it produced the way that it was. Now I had a fresh challenge and after discussing it further with Mary and my brother, I started looking at editing the previously published book and self-publishing it. With the experience of publishing my own memoir, I felt that I would be able to do my father proud.

But first I had to recover the files. The backup files that I had were sitting on a floppy disk and were in an old format, DisplayWrite. Neither my PC nor laptop had a floppy drive, so I bought an external one and then tried to copy the files across. Whatever format I chose the result was a garbled mess. Eventually I managed to get them copied across in plain text but then spent hours stripping out redundant data, before I could start the job of editing and formatting.

Move on a few months and thanks to the tremendous support of beta-readers and fellow authors alike, my father’s memoirs have now been professionally self-published. I think John would be proud of the finished result.

John and Mary (Retirement Years)

Thank you so much for sharing this with us Robert and congratulations.

Get your copy of 

Exclusive Pedigree: My life in and out of the Brethren

Robert Fear and John Fear 

From your favourite bookstore on this universal link

books2read.com/exclusive

Visit the Exclusive Pedigree Book Showcase