November 2020
SEA TO SEA STORIES
Santa Maria Cathedral Ciutadella, Menorca | 11.2020
Berlin Butterfly Bulletin:
In the early hours of 13 August 1961, residents of East Berlin awoke to a cavalcade of sounds—military trucks roaming the streets, soldiers rolling out barbed wire, and cries of confusion from the residents. On the street known as Bernauer Strasse, the buildings themselves became the very boundary line between East and West Berlin. In response, alarmed residents proceeded to climb out of, or jump from windows as high as five stories to reach the allied sector. Firemen from the West did their best to assist but the desperate people of the East at times could not wait and attempted to flee with only the clothes on their backs. 58-year-old Ida Siekmann lived on Bernauer and in an instant became separated from her family and friends as authorities moved swiftly to seal off building entrances to the street. In a panic, Ida threw her bedding out of her third-story window, and without waiting for help from below, she jumped. The bedding did not protect her from her injuries and she died on the way to the hospital. Ida became the first known death associated with what would become known as the Berlin Wall.
courtesy of The Berlin Wall Memorial
Ida Siekmann
23 August 1902-21 August 1961
CHARLOCK’S CORNER:
Charlock’s Secret was initially written as a stand-alone novel. However, both in the critiquing stage and the early days of its release, comments came back that readers wanted more. They did not want this to be the end of Kat and what might be in store for her. Well, I am happy to announce I have added a Prologue of “Return to Charlock” at the end of “Charlock’s Secret” with a release of the full novel in the Spring of 2021. If by chance you have not had a chance to read it from an earlier copy of the book, I am pleased to share it here.
SECOND SURVIVOR SECTION:
The backstory of this incredible Mediterranean tale…
In 2018, as part of an archaeological dig, I became familiar with the Balearic island of Menorca (Menorca is the Spanish/Catalan spelling. Minorca is the English/Latin spelling), the town of Ciutadella (aka Ciudadela), and the areas known as Sanisera and Sanitja Port. I have always been fascinated with centuries-old churches and convents and spent some time in the Convento de San Agustin (convent) in Ciutadella. While there, I discovered a room with various shipwreck stories and artifacts (there were many!) and stumbled upon a French newspaper clipping of the Général Chanzy shipwreck. I was immediately drawn to the story. I remember being fascinated with the idea that there was only one survivor. Then of course my mind began to spin. What if there was a second survivor? One who did not want to be found. From that point on, every afternoon after being in the field, I walked to the coast which was only a few streets from my flat and sat on the rocks, and penned my story.
Pre-order Second Survivor today for a Nov 22 Release
Meet the characters from Second Survivor on Facebook
Thought of the Day-
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. –Stephen Covey
BUCKET LIST ITEM OF THE MONTH-
This one comes from Katherine Sam of AZ.
#325 Write a thank you note to 3 people who have changed your life.
I absolutely loved this suggestion, especially for November. How often do we truly recognize other’s hands in who we are and then take that a step further and thank them!
*If you have a bucket list item you want to share, select contact me at leahmoyes.com and include your name and location and I will add it to my list. Have a great month!