Hello dear blog friends,

It's #TankaTuesday and poet Colleen Chesebro has a very different prompt for us today. She invites us to find our spirit animal by taking this quiz. After doing so, we're instructed to craft a syllabic poem with some of the identified traits.

It turns out that my spirit animal, according to this quiz, is a bear. At first I was surprised but upon reflection, it fit. I was a single mom with four kids for many years. And I spent my career in higher education, overseeing all things related to student behavior. I was the "mom" who sat bedside to sick or hurt kids, until the real mom arrived. And the "mom" who interfaced with the police, town officials, FBI, and more. Looking back, I have no idea how I managed as I did. But, I think bear fits me. 😊 

Maybe you'd like to share your spirit animal? If you're like me, the quiz will open an unexpected door - to an animal friend you've known all along. 

Have a wonderful week! 

​Hello blog friends,

I'm super excited to announce a new release by Vera Day. When Did We Lose Sylvia? is the first cozy mystery  of the Tulip, Texas, cozy mystery trilogy. The tiny town of Tulip is based on Vera's real-life town, which she playfully says is more like a stop sign at an intersection.
 
In her own words, Vera explains:

     I live in the most darling area south of Eastland, Texas. The craftsman-style  houses, the wildflowers, the chickens and cows, plus friendly neighbors (and one HUGE red bull) give a sense of being grounded. There are literary-poetic folks here, humorous folks, too, and a feed-n-seed that acts as a community watering hole. My favorite house is a pink house off Main Street, and you bet it makes an appearance in When Did We Lose Sylvia? 
     I wrote horror under the name Priscilla Bettis for several years but felt a Divine nudge to transition to Christian fiction. So, can a former horror author make the transition to cozy mysteries? I hope readers give my new book a chance and see.

I've just begun reading When Did We Lose Sylvia, and I'm mesmerized by Vera's writing. Bravo, Vera!  

​​Southern humor, faith, and murder intersect in the tiny town of Tulip, Texas.
 
Betty Bell is a famous poet, or at least a local celebrity, in the tiny town of Tulip, Texas. Gossip runs amok when a Goth teenager, Sylvia Smith, and her elderly grandfather arrive. Even worse, they’ve moved into the creepy, old Sanchez place on the outskirts of town.
 
Betty volunteers to teach a summer poetry class to restless Tulip teens. Soon, the kids are expressing themselves in stellar stanzas and heart-rending rhymes. But what was supposed to be a summer of ministering to the teens becomes a season of sleuthing when one of Betty’s students, the spooky Sylvia, goes missing.
 
When Sylvia turns up dead, suspicions point to Sylvia’s reclusive grandfather. Deputy Miller is a good man and excellent investigator, but after a second death shakes the small town, Betty is convinced the deputy is after the wrong suspect. Betty, her left-brained husband Larry, and her quirky friend Flora must use haunting haikus, couplet clues, and lots of prayer to track down the real killer.

AUTHOR BIO:
Vera Day is an avid reader and a joyful writer. After decades coasting along as a lukewarm
Christian, and after a few more years of writing in a secular genre under a different pen name, she experienced a series of events that can only be described as epiphanic… in the God sense, not the light bulb sense, though that also applies.
 
Now Vera Day writes in a new genre, the faith-inspired cozy mystery.
 
Vera lives in small-town Texas with her two-legged and four-legged family members. Her
neighbor is a cow, but as far as neighbors go, Daisy is a good ’un!
 
When Did We Lose Sylvia? is Vera’s first cozy mystery novel.
 
Vera is a member of the The Well Read Fish Christian fiction book review team.
Connect with Vera: https://twitter.com/VeraDayAuthor
​

Hello blog friends,

I've a new poem to share. This week Colleen Chesebro challenged followers to stretch a bit and write an Acrostic poem. I had never heard of this form before reading Colleen's post. Just in case it is new to you as well, Colleen explained that Acrostic poems are ones in which a word is spelled out vertically, and each letter becomes the first letter of each line.

She instructed us to choose one of these words: magical, charm, specter, fantasy, conjure, unicorn, imagination, oracle or malevolence. I decided to go with FANTASY. Additionally, she asked that we use a syllable count of 8, 9, or 10 syllables per line. 

My poem has 7 lines, and each line has 9 syllables.

​Whew! I did it, and I hope you like it. 

Have a great day, my friends. 😊

Hello blog friends,

The high desert of Arizona is abloom and even the weeds are celebrating. This past weekend, I worked in the garden a bit and then enjoyed handfuls of fresh strawberries. It was a delight.

Today master poet Colleen Chesebro invites followers to write a syllabic poem with synonyms of WORK and PLAY. My contribution relates to my strawberry patch and uses opposites of rainfall/sunshine and buried/released -- both capturing work and play. I hope you like the tanka.  

Have a wonderful week and enjoy Spring's celebration! ❤️

Hello blog friends,

I've another poem to share. Writer Colleen Chesebro posted a beautiful spring photo by Terri Webster Schrandt for her Tanka Tuesday prompt. She's invited us to follow our inspiration with a poem. 

My response is a simple tanka (5-7-5-7-7). I hope you enjoy it.

If you'd like to participate in Colleen's weekly challenge, click here to be linked to her website. You'll find lots of helpful resources and meet some great poet friends. 

I hope spring shines brightly in your area. Be well and laugh often. ❤️

Having grown up in the desert, the above photo caught my attention. There's a strange beauty to the vast areas of sand, but there's also threat.

My father built a dune buggy before such vehicles existed. And with it, he'd take us back into the sand dunes and the deserted Chocolate mountains. I've several stories of rattlesnakes, badgers, and tarantulas. And I've vivid memories of sunburns and blisters on bare feet. 

If you've a moment, check out Dan's challenge. You might find memories that prompt a story or poem. I'd love to read your share. 😊

Hello blog friends!

I'm participating in author Dan Antion's Third Annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge. Dan invited photographers, who follow his Thursday Doors posts, to submit photos for this challenge. Writers were asked to study the photos and when inspired to create a poem or story. 

I've written two poems, each a two-stanza Tanka. Both deal with time.

​The first is a response to Sherry Felix's photo. 

Susan Rushton's photo inspired my second set of Tankas. 

If you are a writer and and would like to join in the fun, you can view the doors on the ​TDWC page.  Be sure to leave a link to your post in a comment on that same page.

Have a wonderful week! 😊