Blog Archives

A Sedona Winter

1/31/2024

Hello, blog friends!

It's Tanka Tuesday, and Colleen Chesebro invites us to share poetry related to the season. My contribution is a journey chronicled through three tankas (5-7-5-7-7).

I live about an hour from Sedona, a town in Arizona. It's a place I dearly love. Hubby and I visited recently and what we discovered prompts my poems today. Snow lightly covered the area and all was quiet. The typically crowded streets and sidewalks were surprisingly vacant of tourists. We were free to roam.

I've tried to capture the grandeur of the red rocks and the solemnity that they evoke to share today. Winter draws me into my heart more than other seasons. Perhaps the same is true for you. Enjoy . . .

I hope you have a wonderful, magical week! ❤️

48 Comments

An Eerie Howl

1/23/2024

47 Comments

Hello blog friends,

It's Tanka Tuesday and Colleen Chesebro invites us to reflect on our seasonal weather through a poem. Yesterday, dark clouds threatened the sky and as they inched forward, they left an icy trail. It is this chilly experience that prompts my poem.

The tanka below (syllables of 5-7-5-7-7) uses the seasonal words of ice, dark clouds, and thunder to capture the volatility of our wintery weather. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a wonderful week and happy writing! ❤️

47 Comments

A poem for Grandpa

1/16/2024

47 Comments

Hello blog friends,

It's mighty cold in my area. Some of the snow has melted but plenty remains. The often gray skies and blustery winds leave me wrapped in sweaters and jackets. And somehow in the mix of this challenging weather, nostalgia visits.

Poet Colleen Chesebro invites participants to create a syllabic poem with at least one kigo phrase related to the season. My phrase is withering winds, and my poem is a simple tanka (5-7-5-7-7).

Today nostalgia prompts me to think of Grandpa. I hope you enjoy the simple verse. And I'd love to hear is this season takes you back in time as well.

47 Comments

A New Release

1/14/2024

26 Comments

Hello blog friends,

Today I'm excited to announce the release of my new book: The Soul Whisperer's Decision. It's a story that's dear to my heart, and hopefully, readers will find it true for themselves as well.

The book includes a Near Death Experience that transforms the life of the protagonist. Mystical gifts emerge that assist others. The story also tackles the burdens carried by those who suffer a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Through a journey along the El Camino de Santiago in Spain, healing emerges.

Life and death, good and bad, and the healing power of Love - all are elements of The Soul Whisperer's Decision. If these themes resonate with you, I invite you to read the book. I'd love to know what you think.

BLURB:

Sarah Jameson, a nurse at County Central Hospital, survives an accident that kills her two young children. While comatose, she travels into the heavenly realm where she visits with her precious little ones. She is given a choice – return to her husband, Jack, or remain with her children in their celestial home.

Jack was not in the fated automobile. Though he heard the crash and ran to help, there was nothing he could do. He suffers the loss of his children, fears the potential demise of his wife, and wonders about his own sanity. His struggle with PTSD from his military years has returned and at times, he cannot distinguish between the present and the past.

An accident tragically changed the lives of this young family, but out of sorrow emerges unexpected blessings. Love conquers all.

Amazon
E-book Paperback Hardcover

Barnes & Noble
E-book Paperback Hardcover

26 Comments

Advance with Caution

1/9/2024

40 Comments

Hello, blog friends.

It's freezing in this part of the world, and my poem reflects that chill. As per writer Colleen Chesebro's instructions, I've written a haibun poem, using the kigo phrases of winter winds. A haibun is a paragraph of prose that includes a haiku.

I hope you enjoy it.

Memories of my first Midwestern winter give me shudders. Icy winds and mountains of snow. Wearing canvas sneakers, I braved the storm but my toes suffered. As a young Californian lost in an Indiana storm, I knew nothing about winter and had to be treated at the hospital for frostbite. I should have known better.

40 Comments

Congratulations, Harmony!

1/8/2024

44 Comments

Hello, blog friends,

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Harmony Kent as she celebrates the release of The Room at the End - the final novella in the Harbor Pointe series.

Harmony heralds from the United Kingdom and is well known in the writing world. With more than twenty books to her name, she's developed a strong following which includes me. I look forward to reading anything she writes.

This final book in the Harbor Pointe series shares the same common elements as the prior seven novellas.
--The story takes place in the fictional town of Harbor Pointe.

--The story includes a lighthouse, and
--The Hawthorne family is part of the story.

Each book is a standalone and is situated in a unique time period. The eight stories cover two centuries, and Harmony's book takes us into the future.

If you're looking for an exciting read, I highly recommend Harmony's hair-raising conclusion to the series. She wraps up the collective stories via a journey through time that includes the contrasts of good and evil, hope and despair, forgiveness and guilt, and finally, beginnings and endings. It will keep you on your toes!

BLURB:

When guilt-ridden Mia checks in to a suicide hotel, but can’t go through with the final act, vengeful ghosts gather to torment her.

Set in the near future, the post-war world is in turmoil.

Mia Hawthorne suffers an emotional breakdown, following the death of her wife, and loses everything to a corrupt government.

In an ironic twist of fate, the government suicide department, The Last Sanctuary, allocates a desperate and destitute Mia to the very hotel and family heirloom which she has so recently lost.

On her first day at the Lighthouse Inn, beset with painful memories, doubts, and questions, Mia finds herself coming face to face with angry ghosts, who gather to goad and torment her.

Lost and alone, can Mia find enough strength and purpose to avoid her final, frightful fate?

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

44 Comments

Gray Skies

1/5/2024

40 Comments

Hello, blog friends!

I hope your holidays were filled with delight. I got to spend time with my daughter and grandsons, so you can imagine my joy. Family is everything, right? There's no greater gift. ❤️

I'm a little late with my poem this week. But poet Colleen Chesebro has faithfully provided another seasonal prompt. She also shared information about writing a haiku. Reading this material, and Colleen's beautiful haiku poem, prompted me to try the same.

It's been very cold in my area. Temperatures drop into the low teens at night and often stay at freezing during the day. The winds howl as the hours pass and then it's too chilly to walk outdoors. My haiku attempts to capture winter in my area. I hope you enjoy it.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, bundle up and stay warm. Those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy the warmth and have fun.

My haiku ~

40 Comments

Congratulations, Joan Hall!

1/1/2024

27 Comments

Hello, blog friends!

Today I have the extraordinary pleasure of welcoming author Joan Hall to my blog. Her novella, A Death at the Inn, is the seventh book in the Harbor Pointe series, and today is Release Day. I've already turned it's pages and can attest that this is an entrancing, 5-Star read.

Most of you know Joan, but here's a few brief facts about her. She lives in the great State of Texas, and since retirement, her focus is writing. All of her nine books were well-received, earning her the respect of readers everywhere.

Joan is an avid reader, and she attributes her interest in writing to her love of stories. At the age of ten, she wrote short stories and even dabbled in poetry. Her primary interest is mystery and suspense.

In her official bio, Joan confesses to being a fan of classic rock music and explains that songs often serve as the inspiration for her books and stories. She also likes full moons, exploring old cemeteries, taking ghost walks, and learning about legends and folklore.

BLURB:

After an argument with her fiancé, up-and-coming actress Leah Myers booked a room at the Harbor Pointe Inn. Near the end of her stay, someone found her body at the bottom of the nearby cliff. The police ruled her death a suicide.

Five years later, four people from Leah’s past visit the inn on the anniversary of her death. Her fiancé, her brother, her psychologist, and her close friend, Adele, who was a guest at Harbor Pointe the night Leah died.

Deputy Brad Sherman, assistant to the lead detective, has always believed something was amiss with the investigation. When he learns Leah’s former acquaintances are staying at the inn, he decides to look at the old case file.

The four guests soon learn each other’s identity and begin to discuss the events leading up to Leah’s demise. But someone doesn’t want them to know the truth. When Adele confesses she is haunted by the possibility she saw something important that fateful night, it puts her in grave danger.

Now it’s a race against time before she becomes the killer’s next victim.

For more information about A Death at the Inn and about the series, please go to the links below:

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

Harbor Pointe Series

27 Comments