<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Tea Time Morsels</em> is a collection of bite-size tales, based on ordinary people's lives and made all the more remarkable due to their many delightful twists. <br /><br /> The stories are portrayed through a varying age range of characters, thereby reflecting voices which everyone can appreciatively identify and empathise with. </span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /> Whereas human emotions and contentious issues are mainly explored through family life's trials and tribulations of: marital discord, loneliness, wistful memories; a fear of the unknown, what ifs, teenage angst, lost love and death to name but a few - additionally, the juxtapositions of humour, warmth, hope, light-heartedness, faith and tongue-in-cheek devilishness - provides an engaging and uplifting read throughout. </span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /> Take for example the tale entitled: '</span><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Killing Time</em>,' which is told from an old lady's point of view. Whilst she sits at the window to witness present day-to-day familiar routines, the reader feels like a neighbour listening to gossip. The tone of the piece is beautifully paced and does seem to evoke sympathy in aid of the elderly. A differential however, between the readers' expectations in comparison to the author's intent, reveals quality writing, which leaves one questioning their own assumptions. <br /><br /> Something readers will very quickly become aware of is that the characters are never stereotyped - if anything, they nearly all, including `the third-agers,' come across as gutsy; a bit wacky and full of spirit. </span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /> This reader is not going to give anything away, but did Judge Smythe kill his wife? Again, the author keeps us guessing and it's a case of make-up-your-own-mind-time. I'm still contemplating. </span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /> '</span><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Give me a Break (2)</em>' had me laughing out loud. This snippet is based on a heated dialogue between daughter and mother. A classic and wonderful example of teenage angst, meet menopausal mum. <br /><br /> Some of the collections have been published before, in collaborative anthologies and one in particular: `</span><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Sudanese Cries</em>' was used in `Woman Alive,' a Christian women's magazine. <br /><br /> A particular favourite in the collection that is published in the June 2009 issue of the `First Edition' magazine, is the story entitled: `</span><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Mirror Image</em>.' <br /><br /> Overall, the only difficulty with this collection is in choosing which of the 36 stories to read first, as they are all good and less fattening than a digestive biscuit.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The magazine can be purchased here:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&amp;field-keywords=Tea+Time+Morsels&amp;x=0&amp;y=0" title="Tea Time Morsels">http://amazon.co.uk</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&amp;field-keywords=Tea+Time+Morsels&amp;x=0&amp;y=0" title="Tea Time Morsels">http://amazon.com</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?fListingClass=0&amp;fSearch=Tea+Time+Morsels" title="Tea Time Morsels">http://lulu.com/uk</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p>