All books available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=philomena+digings&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&crid=RRA0WL6SW83O&sprefix=philomena+digings%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C214&ref=nb_sb_noss
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2024
Where Humans & Spirits Meet
In this story there are beings and creatures from the Otherworld who blend with the humans who live in the Earthly time of the 11th century. A 21st century young woman, Alice, who is fascinated by that period in time, meets Beings from the Otherworld who take her on a journey into the past. There, she is lucky enough to meet some of the characters, as well as witnessing some of the events from the 11th century in England and Normandy. The story is told by the characters themselves. Most of what we read about Duke William and the Normans’ invasion and settlement in England comes down to us from historians. However, myth was also a feature of all pre-Christian societies and, as we shall see in this tale, early English myth was a dominant medium for the transmission of beliefs and concepts of kingship as well as a general description of the world or indeed, the universe. These beliefs continued throughout history and still exist today if we know where to look !
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2024
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”
Summer 1967 - Now promoted to Detective Sergeant, Anna Kinsale continues to work at Woodstone Police station on the Essex outskirts of London. Help the Homeless is a charity providing a hostel with sleeping quarters and hot meals for people who are living and sleeping on the streets. However, is the Manager of the hostel a good Samaritan or is he up to no good ? Anna has a new flatmate, Philomena O'Farrell. It transpires that Philomena's brother, Patrick, has been working as a volunteer at the Help the Homeless hostel. Is he in the pocket of the Manager or is he an innocent party in respect of any illegal actions? Anna also discovers a community living underground. Are they involved in the illegal activities exposed in the story ?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Radar-Anna-Kinsale-Book/dp/B0CTXHTPBZ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0hZTFxB6bi_3PobiWAis7ZrXo273u5-D0_UvBUDFqpBsCIHEzYmtWEIvoZPFw_Fz.u1jwbDst3OH6hCaNxG8DtjL0AUoR7cKOqtLK9z89U3s&qid=1709127769&sr=8-1
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2023
From the Bubble to the Stars
This time Aoife visits her future incarnation:
![Aoife's Journal - Book 4 - From The Bubble To The Stars : from NewWorld to OldeWorld to Otherworld by [Philomena Digings]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Ra8blrDQL.jpg)
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August 2022
Hurray ! Aoife's Journal - Book 3 - From the Otherworld to the New World - is available for sale on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. This time, the modern Aoife is writing in 2022. Her earlier incarnation, Aoife Ni Maille, lived in the 16th century. The younger sister of Grainne Ni Maille, the famous Irish Pirate Queen. As accomplished mariners, they sail the Atlantic waters, trading with both Spain and France. Eventually, they join a Spanish fleet, captained by Diego de Alcossebre, on a journey to the New World. They survive many hardships and eventually arrive on the coast of Florida. They meet indigenous Indians. Will Aoife return to Ireland with her sister ? Or will she remain to explore and get to know more about; the local tribes ? A difficult decision. .....
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June 2022
I have been working on the third novel in the 'Aoife's Journal ' series this year. It's about 2/3rds complete and I am planning and shaping the last part of this story. This time Aoife comes in touch through her dream world into her persona in 16th century Ireland. She is the younger sister of Grainne Ni Maille (Grace O'Malley) who was a real life pirate queen ! In my story , Aoife, as cartographer and crew member, travels on trade missions down the South-West coast of France and as far as Spain. The Spanish were allies of the Irish - against the English !! The Spanish fished in Irish waters off the Atlantic coast and in return the Irish bought Spanish wine and other goods. The Irish also bought French wine from the Bordeaux region !
In the last part of the story Grainne and Aoife's fleet of ships join with those of a Spanish sea captain in order to sail to the New World. There they meet indigenous people and have numerous adventures.....
Have a look at my other books on Amazon - available in paperback and Kindle formats. Happy reading !
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January 2022
My new novel , 'Aoife's Journal : a Warrior, A Goddess and a Saint ', is now available for sale on Amazon in both paperback & Kindle formats. If you like mystery and mythology , I hope you'll like this !!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aoifes-Journal-Book2-Warrior-Goddess/dp/B09PMG2MLN/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=philomena+digings&qid=1643541064&s=books&sr=1-1
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August 2021
My new book, ‘Aoife’s Journal – A Celtic Dream’, is now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats.
Through my Irish heritage I have always been fascinated by Irish mythology and legend.
Celtic gods and goddesses are an amazing bunch of characters. They exist in The Otherworld, a Multiverse, yet have a direct influence and impact on human life here on Earth.
Nowadays, we might think of them more in terms of aliens.
However you prefer to view them, there is no doubt that they are awesome. They move between dimensions and across time in infinite ways beyond our imagination.
For thousands of years, back before recorded history, they have protected and nurtured our planet, our world and watched it grow and develop.
At this point in time, they are saddened and angered by the pollution and disaster that we are causing to the natural world.
The story is related by Aoife Ryan, an Irish woman who has kept a journal since girlhood. She relates her experiences and relationships with the goddesses Aoife, Banba and Epona as well as her Otherworldly
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June 2021
Stig Tomas has just published his new book: 'The Virgin Pedagogues - to Infinity & just beyond the Co-op'.
Here's the link to Amazon - it's available in both paperback & Kindle formats.
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April 2021
Hurray ! At last 'White Swan Black Swan' is available for sale on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. It's the second in the Detective Constable Anna Kinsale series. This time, Anna has to go undercover in a nightclub as a hostess ! Enjoy the adventure !
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1st February 2021
Detective Anna Kinsale is still awaited ! In the meantime, I have started on a new novel. This time it's about three warrior queens from history. Although the women existed centuries apart, they have special links. No publication date yet envisaged. Still, I have plenty of time on my hands to keep writing !
January 2021
Happy New Year everyone. It's a very strange time and I do feel a bit like a hermit. I have finished my next detective story 'White Swan, Black Swan', which is the second case for Detective Constable Anna Kinsale. The story is set in 1965 when women police officers were very much a novelty and mostly regarded as tea makers and typists ! Anna is a strong character and soon establishes herself as part of the team. Unfortunately, because of a delay with the printers, the publication date has been put back. But she will return soon !
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8th November 2020
I think we should remember those who died in wars. They should be commemorated. It should not be a celebration with pomp and ceremony. We should also remember living ex-members of the armed forces who don't always get the help and support they need. Some with mental health problems. Some living rough on the streets. This is so wrong. I hope my poem 'Cenotaph' reflects these concerns:
I am an empty memorial, a stone and chilling tomb;
Which the restless spirits of the fallen inhabit in the gloom.
Swathed in total darkness and freezing to the touch.
Young lives mowed down before they had experienced much.
For their families, memories of loved ones have gradually faded.
Yet, still living compatriots are forgotten, lying homeless and degraded.
The bones of the dead are now whitened, their blood is long since dried.
The only heroes we recognise are those who have fought and then died.
These sad nameless victims of decades of slaughter
Are feted by those who never knew them, gave them no quarter,
Won no medals, wore no khaki nor suffered in black boots.
Their distant orders were given from armchairs by men in suits.
The moment of 11 strikes. The vacuous ceremonies begin.
Rule us our dear old Britannia, for we will always win.
Prostrate on the pavement, the homeless soldier did his best.
They didn’t see the once proud medals displayed upon his chest.
The crowds are now departing. Patriotism served with ease.
While bright red poppies fly and flutter, softly in the breeze.
They step across the bundle, so still and dressed in grey,
Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away.
(Philomena, November 2018)
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25th October 2020
Still locked down folks as I expect you all are. I'm so grateful to have my writing to keep me busy. As well as continuing with Book 2 of Detective Constable Anna Kinsale's adventures, I am busy with 3 abandoned kittens. My other half found one of them out in the rain and after searching he found two more. Two ginger ones named Biggles & Ginger and a black one called Inky !
May 2020
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Machinations-Malpractice-Murder-Introducing-Detective/dp/B08972CGJD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=11KD227P32B1U&dchild=1&keywords=philomena+digings&qid=1593171257&s=books&sprefix=philomena+digings%2Cstripbooks%2C-1&sr=1-1
Anna KInsale joined the Police Force in 1958. In the first of this series, set in 1965, at the age of 25, Anna has been newly promoted to Detective Constable. She's stationed in Essex, close to the East End of London. Anna’s role as a detective in the British police in 1965 and the way she reacts and behaves in her job, has to be set against the cultural and social norms of that period in history. Some of her male colleagues feel aggrieved about this plum job being awarded to a woman, but Anna is strong. She's on a high and cares little for what she sees as petty jealousies. Soon she's thrown in at the deep end, involved in a complicated case,. She has to help solve the mystery of some very dodgy financial dealings, as well as a double murder !
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Spring 2020
'Oceana' is the third book in the Minnie-May trilogy.
Minnie-May is the narrator, using both her diaries and her memories to create her autobiographical stories.Minnie-May introduces herself in Book 1, 'Wild Waves & Dragon's Song'. She begins her story at the age of 11 and continues into her early 20s. Home is a state of mind. She is an outdoor girl in much of what she does in life. She can sleep under the family of stars above, or slumber in a boat, where the waves are members of her clan. She loves the ocean; the feel of rippling water gently caressing her toes when she paddles from the shore.She visits a remote island off the coast of Ireland and falls in love. She gets a job as a DJ on a pirate radio ship, moored off the Essex coast !In Book 2, 'Planing Footsteps in the Sea', she develops her skills as a researcher, learns to dive, encounters a stranger who appears to belong to the 16th century and meets a young woman, a sailor, who is circumnavigating the world. She records her own adventures as a sailor, culminating in her experiences as a competitor in the 1974 Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race. Reality merges with fantasy during this challenging race when she and her fellow crew member are stranded on a remote Scottish island after a storm at sea. Mysterious happenings occur in this place. She and her co-sailor and childhood friend become lovers.In this final Book 3, 'Oceana', Minnie-May, continues her work as an oceanographer. She gains a place on a three month research voyage to the Puerto Rico Trench, one of the deepest parts of the ocean on Earth. She takes on the role of general dogsbody on board, but also gets the opportunity to dive to amazing depths and see miraculous creatures belonging to the other world of the deep sea.
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Summer 2019
'Planting Footsteps in the Sea' This is Part 2 of the Minnie-May story.
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In the first book of a planned trilogy – Wild Waves & Dragon’s Song’ - the reader is introduced to the main character, Minnie-May Houghton. She begins a diary and account of her life in 1960 at the age of 11. Therein can be found the first part of her story. There are extracts from her diary and accounts of her life from 1960 until 1971. This book, ‘Planting Footsteps in the Sea’ - is a sequel with further diary extracts and accounts taking her from 1971 at the age of 22 up until the age of 25 in 1974. This time the story is interspersed with flashbacks to earlier times and the dreams and the dragons are still present.The story is in two discrete parts:
Part One, ‘Dragon’s Island’, begins in the autumn of 1971. Minnie-May describes her trip, as an environmental researcher, to the mysterious sounding ‘Dragon’s Island’. Strange things happen. The science becomes interspersed with the fantastic !
Part Two, ‘Sail Away’, she records her adventures as a sailor, culminating in her experiences as a competitor in the 1974 Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race. More other-worldly happeningsand a life-threatening accident.
February 2019
My autobiographical book, 'Lambourne - A bridge to Childhood' has just been published. It's available for sale on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions.
The book contains memories and anecdotes about my childhood in the 1950s - being brought up in a Victorian School House where my Dad was the Headmaster and the school was an extension of home. Happy Days !
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March 2018
My new novel 'Wild Waves & Dragon's Song' has just been published and is available for sale on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats.
HAPPY READING !
THE PLOT: Minnie-May Houghton begins writing a diary and an account of her life in 1960 at the age of 11. In this book is to be found a series of extracts from each of these, dating from 1960 until 1971 when she is 22 years old. She writes of her happy family childhood in the protective bubble created by her Dad and Mam. She relates experiences of schooling within the tight constraints of a Roman Catholic convent school; her initiation into the Catholic religion and, later, her rejection of the Faith. She talks of her love of myths and magical places, especially islands. She relates her adventures on an expedition to a far-away place. She describes her involvement with radio hamming and broadcasting, including her escapades as a DJ on the pirate radio ship, Boudicca. She confides encounters with the opposite sex, including the joy of first love and the devastation of parting.
May 2017
My novel, 'The Centre Cannot Hold' has been published and is available for sale on Amazon in both Kindle and Paperback versions.
I have dedicated it to my husband, Roger Digings. In 2015, a collection of my poetry was published. Whilst helping me to search through my numerous files and papers for poems I had written over the years, my husband came across the bare bones of a novel I had begun in 1974. It had lain forgotten for many years. With his encouragement, I decided to pick up the threads and finish the story ! So, thanks to Roger, here it is - 43 years later !
In respect of this novel, I was a student in 1974, so the highly charged political atmosphere of the time was an integral part of my being. To bring that era back to life, has been an emotional and intellectual journey. I find it uncanny that many of the issues and events I have portrayed here, still hang over us like ghostly shadows from the past.
Please do enjoy reading it. I welcome comments and constructive criticism. I would appreciate feedback via email or the 'WordsFlyPast' page on Facebook. You can also review it on Amazon.
Thanks !