Fiction and life . . . from the desk of Gwen M. Plano
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The Muse ...

11/29/2020

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Every week, author Suzanne Burke offers a photo prompt for her Fiction In A Flash Challenge and invites readers to submit a poem, a one-liner, or a story. Her prompt this week is a photo of a solitary bicycle on a path.

I’ve chosen to respond with a Tanka poem, 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, that I've entitled The Muse. If you'd like to participate, just click on the link above and you'll travel to Suzanne's blogsite, where you'll find much information. Hope you decide to join me. Happy writing! 
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THE MUSE

deep in the forest

a light shines through the darkness

beckoning dreamers

with bewitching mysteries

seeding the hunger to write



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Author Jan Sikes showcases The Culmination

11/25/2020

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Author Jan Sikes is showcasing The Culmination on her site. If you have a moment, please stop by and glimpse the book through an excerpt. Happy Thanksgiving! 
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Happy Thanksgiving!

11/23/2020

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For many of us, Thanksgiving this year will be spent without loved ones gathered around a table. A phone call will replace our "pass the potatoes, please." May each of us find ways to experience the past joys through our memories and thus bless all the years that lie ahead. 
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The Culmination, a new beginning

11/23/2020

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I'm excited to announce that The Culmination, a new beginning hit the shelves of Amazon and Barnes & Noble today. To celebrate, the Kindle and NOOK editions are on sale at 99¢ through December.
 
So, what’s the book about? The Culmination can best be described as a military thriller. It tackles difficult topics such as denuclearization, the power struggles over oil in the Middle East, as well as the ever-present danger of war. Readers will find themselves sitting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walking in the historic Red Square, and laughing with children in an orphanage in Turkey. They will glimpse the horror of war and watch the give and take of a negotiated peace. Readers will also meet the two Heads of State who fall in love and subsequently commit themselves to creating a world in which all are family.
 
I never expected to write this book, but in some ways, I had no choice. The characters crowded into my office and insisted that I listen to them. In a very real way, they wrote the book. I simply tapped the keys and learned of the urgent need to become family. 

These last months of all-things-COVID have overshadowed international concerns. Our focus has been and is social distancing, face masks, and personal wellness. Of course, the elections have taken center-stage as well. But quietly across the great oceans, tensions mount. 

It's important to know that The Culmination, a new beginning is fictional, but the situations, the armaments, and the carrier strike groups are all very real. The two Heads of State who become lovers? They are fictional as well, but their love is universal, and it is up to us to ensure that love prevails. 

I hope I've stirred interest, and should you decide to read the book, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 💗 Happy Thanksgiving! 
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​BLURB:
 
The Culmination, a new beginning is the third book in The Contract thriller series.
After an assassination attempt on an Air Force base in northern California, tensions mount. Heads of State meet to craft a denuclearization agreement.
The meetings between these nuclear powers take a murderous turn.
A nefarious conspiracy re-emerges and leads the characters into the heart of the Middle East, where they encounter the unexpected and find a reason for hope.

EARLY RESPONSES:
 
“If you like action, adventure, love and political intrigue you will enjoy The Culmination!”
John W. Howell 
 
“The Culmination is an absolute must-read for all thriller lovers.”
Suzanne Burke


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Love at First Sight

11/15/2020

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Every week, author Suzanne Burke offers a writing prompt and invites interested folks to create a story or craft a poem  from her selected photo.

The Fiction In A Flash Challenge series now crisscrosses the globe from Australia to Europe and to the United States.

Maybe you'd like to join in the fun? If so, just click on the link above. You'll be taken to her website, where you'll find contributions from a number of writers. 

My submission ... 


LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
​Are you sure we’re on the right path?

I’m following the coordinates, Kath.

Well, it looks like the middle of nowhere.

By my calculations, we’re almost there.

Maybe the map was for something else, George.

Anything’s possible, but let’s keep going. We’re not far from the location.

The whole thing is strange, how we found the room.

Or blessed? Maybe we’ll discover a treasure.

Yeah sure. How long have we been walking?

Come on, it hasn’t been that long.

You kidding me? What time is it?

Just after midnight.

Thought so. We’ve been walking a couple of hours.

It’s just another 30 yards or so.

Says the football player. Like I know distances in yards!

Take my hand, Kath. It’s not far, I promise.

What was that?

What do ya mean?

That!! Don’t you hear it?

The owl?
​
Freaky, don’t you think?

Just sounds of the night. Five more yards. Come on.

Ohhh.

Now what?

Look George!  
​
I’ll be... No wonder the map said Love At First Sight. 
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Story Empire ~ a visit with science fiction writers

11/13/2020

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In case you missed my post on Story Empire yesterday, please stop by and meet four notable science fiction writers. Their insights might spark your own. The topic - Science Fiction and 2020. ​Happy Saturday! 
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Veterans Day 2020

11/10/2020

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Today is Veterans Day, and to all the veterans, I extend a heartfelt thank you for your service. Though I did not serve, my dad, my husband, my brother, and many cousins served or are currently serving in the military.

During WWII, my mom and her twin joined thousands of other young women to work as a Rosie the Riveter. It was the “patriotic thing to do,” my mom explained.


This day, this week is always emotional for me. The friends who did not return and the friends who still carry the weight of war, bring me to a place of sorrow and yet profound gratitude. I wish I could repair the hearts of mourners, the minds of the traumatized, the bodies of the broken. But, I can’t. I can only honor their courage and their efforts by how I live.

When our National Anthem is played, my thoughts are focused on the courageous masses who have offered me the gift of freedom. For them I stand, for them I sing. The hope, the dream is liberty and justice for all. It is a weighty dream, but collectively, there is the possibility that it can become a reality.  
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A father's hands...

11/10/2020

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Author Suzanne Burke provides a touching prompt for this week's Fiction In A Flash Challenge. Her photo of a child's hand in a father's palm led me to respond with a Haiku poem of 5-7-5 syllables. I hope you enjoy, and if you are inclined to jump in and write a story or poem, just click on the link above. You'll find plenty of information. 

A father's hands... 
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Memories of Barcelona

11/4/2020

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Each week author Colleen Chesbro offers a poetry challenge, and this week she invites poets to choose their inspiration. How fun!

A year ago, my sisters and I (and our husbands) took a cruise from Barcelona to Rome. It was my first adventure on a ship. While wandering the streets of Barcelona, we came across a wall with a carving of a turtle and doves. It inspired me then and inspires me now. My haiku follows. 


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Perhaps you’d like to join in the fun? If so, please check out: Colleen M. Chesbro #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 201, #POET’SCHOICE!
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Breathe...

11/1/2020

15 Comments

 
Each week author Suzanne Burke provides a writing prompt. This is her 23nd week for a Fiction In A Flash Challenge and the image is a beautiful nature scene.

With the election just hours away, I've decided to respond to the prompt with a simple poem entitled BREATHE. If voters kept nature scenes before them as they cast their vote, we might at least have peace.

Perhaps you have a story you'd like to share or a poem or a thought. If so, please click on Suzanne's name and you'll travel to her website where she will welcome you and offer advice if needed. 
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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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