Interview/Review Mavis Thompson author of Angels Come in Strange Disguises

Please welcome Mavis Thompson to the blog. She is the author of Angels Come In Strange Disguises its a short and sweet book divided into two parts, the first part are personal short stories about the presence of angels and the second part is her poems.
I hope this interview and my review reminds you of those times when the presence of someone kept you from harms way.
Enjoy!

• ISBN-13: 9781909477100
• Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
• Publication date: 7/14/2014
• Pages: 74

 

Overview

Angels Come in Strange Disguises' gives meaning to the true stories therein. They are a light hearted compilation of experiences from many unconnected events, occurring over a wide span of years and encompassing travels to various countries and destinations.

The poems at the back of the book have come to mind quite spontaneously and the words have never been changed. This gives credence to the fact that angels are there to guide us.

It is hoped that the book will entertain, inspire, encourage and assist readers to recognise that angels are a reality in their own lives.

Mavis Welcome to The Reading Frenzy

The first half of your book is dedicated to short stories about the presence of angels in your life and the lives of those close to you.
What made you write down and finally publish the stories?

 I started jotting down these stories over the past 20 years. My late husband was a great raconteur with a huge zest for life, although he had his serious side and a very successful career. His great faith in Our Lord, nurtured by his schooling at Stonyhurst college in Lancashire. The college was run by the Jesuits, and this foundation gave him great resilience and determination to face all life's trials and tribulations. 

He loved telling everyone how he seemed to always had his guardian angels whenever he seemed to find a difficulty! All our friends enjoyed his stories.

This led me on to collecting other incidences of friends and family finding "angels" in their own lives. My daughter-in-law, Janet Fawcett, also urged me on, as she has a great interest in angels. 

I realised that so many people have such sad lives and think there is nothing to live for. I hoped, that if they read my book, that they may realise that there is help from the many "angels in strange disguises" that are all around them in every day life.

Now a few of my friends who have have read my book, are telling me of their experiences and may not have recognised them as angel assistance at the time!

The second half of the book is dedicated to your poetry.
How long have you written poetry?

~The sun was setting in the west
calling the shepherds to rest to rest~

Not exactly Wordsworth! However I illustrated it in water colours and was inordinately proud of this feat and of course my parents thought I was budding poet!! In fact my Mother seemed certain her family was related to the famous English Bard
Robert Browning, but there is no proof of this to my knowledge!!

I have continued to write poetry throughout my life. Most of the poems have been written for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, funerals. I also get an urge if something touches me deeply. Once I embark upon a poem the words seem to flow easily and I rarely change them. I don't seem to be able to write them, as it were, to order!

Mavis, many of your stories are about you first husband, Peter who died of Leukemia at the age of 59.
Was writing about him cathartic to you?

After my husband died it certainly was a great comfort to me to recall these many events and relive them through setting them down in writing. My own faith had at one time lapsed and it was him that made me re-think and I converted from a rather poor Anglican to find renewal in the Catholic faith after 19 years of our 32 year marriage which led me to find so many answers and I felt that I should continue to write on further. Initially it was for my own benefit.

Mavis your stories and poems are very inspirational and reflective and I love how they revolve around real life happenings.
Do you still write?
Are you planning to publish anything soon?

I love writing, I once was the village correspondent for our local newspaper and several of my poems were also published.

I also kept a journal of the time when my present husband Michael and I embarked upon creating an additional exciting adventure in our lives when I designed and we subsequently built our dream home on a wonderful traditional Greek island,
unspoilt by mass tourism. 

This has led us to living two equally happy lives in our home with family and friends in the UK and new and often much younger, friends in Greece!

I have also written about my parents who left England in 1926, for a fulfilling and challenging life in India where I was subsequently born. I feel it will be interesting for my family to have, as life has moved on unbelievably. I seem, like the proverbial cat, to have lived many lives and I am still recording some of these events for the benefit of my family. 

However, I think it unlikely that I can write another book. Self publishing is very expensive, for one thing. In addition, as you can imagine, having a large and extended family now, as well as our separate life in Greece keeps us very busy and time is also running out as I am approaching 77!! However I am so very blessed!!

Mavis at the end of your book you tell stories about butterflies and how their appearances relate to your late husband.
Can you tell us why?

I mentioned in my book, that when my husband Peter knew his time was coming to an end, I asked him to send me a sign to let me know he would still be around. I then had these extraordinary visitations from butterflies (and still do to this day, particularly on special occasions). Michael often shares these appearances and feels, like me, that Peter is there saying "I am enjoying all you both do. I too would have liked to have visited Greece". As a matter of fact after Peter died we found out his grandmother had been part Greek!!

Unbeknownst to me at the time of Peter's death, many religions believe that God sends his spirit, or his angels, in the form of butterflies, birds and feathers!!

Mavis thank you for your visit. It was a joy to read your book and I hope many others are able to share the joy.

My Review

Did you ever do or not do something that turned out to be a literal lifesaver? Did you ever have that little voice in your ear telling you which way to turn? Well then you’ll be happy to know you’re not alone. Many of us experience these “signs” but Mavis Thompson wrote them all down for us to enjoy. And enjoy them you will. They are inspirational, heartwarming and timely reminders that we do all have angels that watch over us.

She dedicates the first half of her book to these angels in our lives stories and the second half to her inspirational, spiritual poetry. It doesn’t matter who you are or how young or old you are you will enjoy this collection.

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