I know having a tooth extracted is very minor surgery, but nonetheless, it’s what I had done this week. I had an infection that had spread to my sinus. Horrible!

I tried to avoid antibiotics. Once the culprit (tooth) was gone, I finished a course of steroid nasal spray, and kept up regular intake of paracetamol and ibuprofen but none of that helped at all. I couldn’t cope any longer, so I used the back-up prescription for antibiotics. Four days later, I’m feeling almost 100%.

Thankfully, I’ve never had any other type of surgery! I’ve been extremely lucky with my health down through the years – except for many minor ailments, but you don’t want to get me started on that!

At least I got some reading done while I was under the weather.

Do you read? What’s your favourite genre?

Would you like a peek inside the pages of my fictional novel? You never know, it might just be your cup of tea!

Set in a gossipy small town in Ireland at a time when marriage is for keeps and sexuality is repressed, Secrets in the Babby House is a family saga over three decades that starts in 1956. It is a story of love, deception, and stolen diaries filled with sins and secrets.

Flossie Lynch is heartbroken when her only love, Frank Connolly, marries another. So when John O’Malley—the well-off catch of the parish—proposes to her, she resigns herself to a marriage of convenience, hoping to learn to love him.
For John, Flossie is mostly a respectable wife and caring mother to their son—and the perfect façade for his dark secret. But bloody Frank Connolly and his blackmailing wife are making things difficult for him.
Another victim of his jealous wife’s abusive behaviour, Frank stays in his loveless marriage for the sake of his two wee girls. He turns his childhood fort into a babby house to give them a refuge from their cruel mother. But for Frank, there is no refuge.
When Flossie rekindles her friendship with Frank, she tries desperately to save him from a life of misery and promises to always look out for his daughters. As the two star-crossed lovers near a second chance, tragedy strikes, forcing Flossie to make good on her promise—while attempting to protect her husband and son.
But as long as there’s a Connolly with a score to settle, there is no escape from the past and no promises for the future.

Daily writing prompt

Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

View all responses

Top of my list for this one is jelly and ice cream. My mother made jelly nearly every Sunday for us. Sometimes we had it with ice cream, other times it was Instant Whip. Both were delicious!

She set the jelly in a large green glass bowl and served it in little matching ones. I actually searched for them on the internet and voila!

These bowls are tiny compared to the dessert bowls we have now. The portions are bigger these days. How did that happen?

My childhood memories and listening to stories of times gone by, inspired me to write Secrets in the Babby House.

Would you like a peek inside the pages? You never know, it might just be your cup of tea!

Set in a gossipy small town in Ireland at a time when marriage is for keeps and sexuality is repressed, Secrets in the Babby House is a family saga over three decades that starts in 1956. It is a story of love, deception, and stolen diaries filled with sins and secrets.