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Dreams Awakened . . .

3/21/2023

38 Comments

 
Hello, dear blog friends. It's #TankaTuesday, and I've another poem to share. Writer Colleen Chesebro invites us to write an Ekphrastic poem, using Claude Monet's beautiful painting below. As always, the poems need to be in a syllabic form.

Imagining Spring and with Monet's painting in mind, I've crafted a Butterfly Cinquain with the pattern of 2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2. I hope you enjoy it. I also hope signs of Spring are everywhere present in your part of the world. 💚
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38 Comments

The REDEMPTION book tour ~ with Staci Troilo

3/16/2023

 
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​Hello blog friends.

Thank you for joining my book tour. I'm excited to visit with writer and friend Staci Troilo on her blog site today. She's asked me to share a bit about my book, REDEMPTION.  If you have a moment, please swing by here. Let's make it a party!

Most of you know Staci well. An exceptional writer with more than a dozen books to her name, she's at home in multiple genres, time periods, and literary points of view. She's a teacher with a huge heart. Her latest book, The Haunting of Chatham Hollow, is co-authored with Mae Clair. Together Staci and Mae created a masterpiece. If you click on the image below, you'll travel to Amazon, where The Haunting and Staci's other books thrive.  

I hope you have a wonderful day. Let's chat -- here. ​​

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Verdant fields . . .

3/14/2023

42 Comments

 
Hello blog friends, it's #TankaTuesday, and I've another poem to share. 

Writer Colleen Chesebro's prompt for this week is to use synonyms for the words spring and green. She asks that we create a syllabic poem according to the Word Craft guidelines. My response is a tanka, 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. I hope you enjoy it, and also hope you'll share your spring poem. 

Have a wonderful week and stay warm, laugh much. ❤️
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42 Comments

REDEMPTION Book Tour ~ with Jan Sikes

3/14/2023

4 Comments

 
Hello blog friends.

Today author Jan Sikes welcomes me to her blog to discuss my latest book, REDEMPTION. Most of you know Jan through her online presence, her music, and her successful writing career. It's truly an honor for me to visit with her. You'll find Jan's thoughts and my comments on her blogsite linked here.

Jan's recent White Runes Series is a 5-star collection. I've linked the image below, so you can easily hop over to Amazon to read the reviews and purchase the books. If you're looking for a love story to tug at your heartstrings, this series will surely do that for you.

Have a wonderful day and thank you for celebrating with me. I hope to chat with you on Jan's site linked  here . ❤️
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4 Comments

What prompts us to write?

3/12/2023

25 Comments

 
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Hello blog friends. 

Of recent I've thought about how writing changes us - the word-crafting, the research, the humbling process of marketing. I hope you'll walk with me as I try to explain. 
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If we look back through the years, I suspect we'll all discover a naiver version of ourselves. We've grown because we've dared to share our imaginations and aspirations. 

Some, like my sons, climb mountains. Others embark on a pilgrimage. My friend hikes the Camino de Santiago, and he's on his sixth journey now. Whatever our path, life draws us forward. It is for this reason, that I read with a sense of awe for all the hours upon hours writers put into their books. 

I'm much behind on my Kindle, but I've committed to dive deep and lighten its weight. Presently, I'm focused on the Wake Robin Ridge series. Marcia Meara is a gifted writer, and I'm entranced by her stories. 

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I'm also reading a nonfiction book -- Secrets of the Light. Brinkley writes of his realizations after three Near Death Experiences. Though most of us have not had a NDE, there's a good chance we've come close. Many of us have touched mystery through our personal struggles and wondered why. Why me? Why now? Why … ?

Doesn't that question, why, in all its various forms, drive many of us to write? Reading Meara's series, I'm mindful of her characters' questions and answers, and as I read, I discover my own. Do you have a similar experience? 

Have a wonderful week, my friends. I hope to focus on your books soon, if I haven't already done so. Happy reading and writing! ❤️

25 Comments

The REDEMPTION book tour ~ with Beem Weeks

3/9/2023

 
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Hello blog friends!

I'm on the cyber road today, visiting with author Beem Weeks in Michigan. He's helping me spread the word about my new book, REDEMPTION. You'll find his thoughts and my comments on his blogsite located here.

Beem is a very talented writer and editor. His books garner the highest recognitions and certainly my strong endorsement. Below are four of his books. The image is linked to Amazon should you want to visit him there. 

Have a wonderful day and thank you for celebrating with me. I hope to visit with you on Beem's site here.
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The REDEMPTION book tour ~ with C.S. Boyack

3/8/2023

 
​Hello blog friends.

Today author C.S. Boyack welcomes us to his magical site, where we will discuss my latest book, REDEMPTION. I hope you will join in the fun by clicking here.

Craig is a prolific writer, with more than a dozen books to his name. Each tome is a journey into mysterious worlds of fantastical characters. If you've not read any of his books, it's time to treat yourself to the best of fantasy. I've linked the Lanternfish series to Amazon, where you can check out his other books as well. 


Have a wonderful day and thank you for celebrating with me!

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At the river's edge. . .

3/7/2023

35 Comments

 
Hello dear blog friends,

I've another poem to share. Author Colleen Chesebro offers us a photo prompt this week. Terri Webster Schrandt snapped the image. Incredible, right? Our instructions are to create a syllabic poem with this photo in mind. Below you will find my response -- a simple Tanka of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. 

I hope you have a fantastic day, and let me know if you spot a goose or two or three. 😊
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35 Comments

A Goodreads  Book Giveaway . . .

3/6/2023

16 Comments

 
Hello blog friends,

I'm hosting a Goodreads book giveaway for my award-winning memoir. If you live in the U.S. and you'd like to participate, just click on this link or the image ​​below. At the close of the giveaway, the Goodreads staff will select ten winners for the signed copies. I hope you are one of the winners.

Please check out Amazon before you make your decision. You'll find 87 reviews with an average of 4.7 stars, which warms my heart immensely. If non-fiction, and especially memoirs, is of interest, I suspect you'll like this read.

I hope you have a wonderful sunny day. 🌞

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16 Comments

Cinnamon sugar cookies . . .

3/3/2023

26 Comments

 
Hello blog friends,

This week poet Colleen Chesebro has a special prompt for all interested poets. She asks that we choose a spice from our kitchen cabinet and create a poem related to a recent happening. 

A favorite spice in my household is cinnamon. It's sprinkled on morning oatmeal, applesauce treats, and special desserts. But -- I can think of no recent spice-related and poetry-worthy incident. So, I'm deviating slightly from the instructions and traveling back in time when my kids were young. With three sons and a mischievous daughter, there was always a ruckus about something. Rules were regularly ignored. And one of those rules included the refrigerator. 

I hope you enjoy my tanka (5-7-5-7-7 syllables).  😊
 
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26 Comments

The REDEMPTION book tour ~ with Joan Hall

3/2/2023

 
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​Hello blog friends.

Thank you for joining my book tour. Today I'm excited to visit with writer and friend Joan Hall on her blog site. She's asked me to share a bit about my book, REDEMPTION.  If you have a moment, please join us here. We'll make it a party!

Joan is an exceptional writer and her specialty is mystery and suspense. Her latest book, Menagerie, is a collection of thirteen short stories -- some heartwarming and others heart-pounding. I loved each one and highly recommend the entire collection. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and I look forward to chatting with you at Joan's site -- here. ​
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The REDEMPTION book tour ~ with John W. Howell

3/1/2023

 
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Hello blog friends.

Author and friend John W. Howell hosts me today on his popular Fiction Favorites blog site. I hope you'll join us as we celebrate my new release with a glimpse inside the covers of REDEMPTION. 

Just last week, the book went live, and I've been busy with questions and your good wishes. Thank you all for your encouragement and support. I hope to see you at John's e-home. You can visit here.

John is an award-winning fiction writer and has a very popular blog. His genre interests cover the spectrum. His most recent stories take readers on a ride not to be forgotten. Just tap the image and you'll travel to Amazon and see his books.  
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Have a wonderful day and thank you for celebrating with me. 
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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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