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Thank you so much to Balroop Singh for these wonderful reviews of Colleen Chesebro’s Wordcraft Prose and Poetry and Mr. Sagittarius Poetry and Prose. So thrilled.
Do pop over to Balroop’s blog to find out more: https://balroop2013.wordpress.com/2021/06/03/bookreviews-prose-poetry/
Amazon Synopsis:
Are you ready to learn how to craft Japanese and American poetry? Consider this book the first step on your journey to learning the basics of how to craft syllabic poetry. Inside, you will discover many new forms, syllable combinations, and interpretations of the different Japanese and American forms and structures of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, renga/solo renga, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, the cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry.
So… what are you waiting for? Let’s craft syllabic poetry together!
My review
Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry by Colleen M. ChesebroColleen M. Chesebro is a Michigan Poet who loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of syllabic poetry.
Along with JulesPaige, Colleen is also a co-editor of “Word Weaving, a Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse,” at wordweavingpoetryjournal.com. The debut issue of this journal will publish in October 2021.
Colleen’s syllabic poetry has appeared in various other online publications. Recently, she created the Double Ennead, a 99-syllable poetry form for Carrot Ranch. Colleen’s poetry has poetry in various anthologies and journals including “Hedgerow-a journal of small poems,” and “Poetry Treasures,” a collection of poetry from the poet/author guests of Robbie Cheadle on the “Treasuring Poetry” blog series on “Writing to be Read” in 2020.
Colleen published “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry,” which illustrates how to write various syllabic poetry forms used in her Tanka Tuesday challenges; and a collection of poetry, flash fiction, and short stories called, “Fairies, Myths & Magic: A Summer Celebration,” dedicated to the Summer Solstice. She contributed a short story called “The Changeling,” in the “Ghostly Rites Anthology 2020,” published by Plaisted Publishing House.
Find Colleen at Word Craft: Prose & Poetry at wordcraftpoetry.com.
Find Colleen’s author blog at colleenchesebro.com
Synopsis
Is Jackson Thwaite ready to discover the secret of Makewright Orphanage?
Although he doesn’t know it, he has been selected to be part of something vital to the land of his birth.
Norlandia is a country under threat, as never before. The old heroes are but a memory, while evil forces gather, seeking power. They are armed with the latest devices that perverted science has devised. Control of Norlandia and everyone in it is their ultimate aim.
Who will stand in their way?
Under the command of the mysterious Mortimer Langdon, all that stands between civilisation and anarchy are Jackson and the rest of The Orphan Detectives.
Beta readers comments.
“A fantastical world filled with gears, pneumatics, airships, and intrigue aplenty that kept everyone on their toes. It has that rare ability to pull you deep into the story even when things are building and moving slowly, you sit down to read for a few minutes and all of a sudden; its hours later!”
Is Jackson Thwaite ready to discover the secret of Makewright Orphanage?
Although he doesn’t know it, he has been selected to be part of something vital to the land of his birth.
The Sensaurum and the Lexis by Richard Dee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was curious to discover more about steampunk… and this has confirmed how interesting and different this genre is.
The Sensaurum and The Lexis is a Steampunk Spying mission story set in Norlandia with lots of fascinating details, secrets and discoveries.
You can expect… unscrupulous scientific experimentation, artificial limbs, flying machines, The Watchmen, (law of Norlandia,) a beast called the Drogan, spy accouterments, (007 for orphans!) the Rotaplane, walking exo-men, and other such imaginative wonders. Oaths to be made, secrets and lessons to be learnt, the ever-present fear of discovery, or dying on duty, as well as shameful moments to boot!
The main character Jackson Thwaite’s father and mother die in a terrible accident in a factory whilst making artificial limbs for the government. Intriguing, or what? Fellow spy Jessemine Batterlee is plucky and resourceful!
Relationships are forged and questioned – Is it a good idea to fall in love if you are a spy?
Richard Dee does a great job world building and creating wonderfully engaging characters.
Really loved this. Great story and great fun! 5 stars. Highly recommended.
Authors Website: https://richarddeescifi.co.uk/
@jamescudney4 @jamesjcudney_author @didioviatt #NextChapterPub #historicalfiction #spiritual #metaphysicalnovel
Weathering Old Souls
by James J. Cudney & Didi Oviatt
Genre: Metaphysical, Spiritual Historical Fiction
Abigail has always struggled with the voices. From the relentless tyranny a woman faces on an antebellum plantation to the unknown prison camps in America during World War II, our heroine discovers the past in a way that changes her future.
Moments from the past serve as guiding posts for the country’s growth, and also mark the transitions for Abigail’s own personal history. Her best friend, Margaret, partners with Abigail to discover the identity of the mysterious voices, while focusing on her passion and quest to become a United States senator.
Through it all, a serial killer torments the country, romance blossoms between people they meet during the journey, and long-buried secrets come to light in devastating ways. As elements twist, numbers align and spiritual powers connect, no one will be the same again.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56709730-weathering-old-souls
Buy Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZHQPFKD
Books2Read:https://books2read.com/WOS
Book Trailer:
Weathering Old Souls is definitely different from anything I’ve read before. It begins with a murder ( there is a serial killer, called the Fashionista.) An undercurrent of uncertainty and fear continues – there is a murderer on the loose but Abigail’s behaviour is so odd too, driving her father to distraction. I was particularly drawn to how Abigail could connect to her past lives in such a striking way.
The relationship she has with her father is not an easy one and she relies heavily on neighbours for emotional support. She becomes especially close to Margaret and the two women are both strong, interesting characters.
I liked the spiritual/metaphysical aspect of this novel and it is not something I have come across before. Perhaps I should read more books like this!
A detailed novel, written by two authors James Cudney and Didi Oviatt and yet the writing is seamless as if it were just one person writing.
I’d recommend this novel if you enjoy stories that combine more than one genre – in a way that is different from the norm.
Highly recommended. My rating 5 stars.
Didi Oviatt is an intuitive soul. She’s a wife and mother first, with one son and one daughter. Her thirst to write was developed at an early age, and she never looked back. After digging down deep and getting in touch with her literary self, she’s writing mystery/thrillers like Search for Maylee, Justice for Belle, Aggravated Momentum, and Sketch, along with multiple short story collections. She’s collaborated with Kim Knight in an ongoing interactive short story anthology, The Suspenseful Collection. Most recently, she published her first romance novella titled Skinny Dippin’ which was originally released as a part of the highly appraised Anthology, Sinners and Saints. When Didi doesn’t have her nose buried in a book, she can be found enjoying a laid-back outdoorsy lifestyle. Time spent sleeping under the stars, hiking, fishing, and ATVing the back roads of beautiful mountain trails, and sun-bathing in the desert heat play an important part of her day to day lifestyle.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Author Links
Website: https://didioviatt.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/didioviatt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Didi_Oviatt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/didioviatt/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/didi-oviatt
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Didi-Oviatt/e/B00HVJJTLE
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7207389.Didi_Oviatt
James J. Cudney
James is my given name, but most folks call me Jay. I live in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and graduated from Moravian College, an historic but small liberal arts school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a degree in English literature and minors in Education, Business and Spanish. After college, I accepted a technical writing position for a telecommunications company during Y2K and spent the last ~20 years building a career in technology & business operations in the retail, sports, media, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Throughout those years, I wrote short stories, poems, and various beginnings to the “Great American Novel,” but I was so focused on my career that writing became a hobby. In 2016, I committed to focusing my energies toward reinvigorating a second career in reading, writing, and publishing.
Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Author Links
Website: https://jamesjcudney.com/
Blog: https://thisismytruthnow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesJCudneyAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamescudney4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescudney4/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/james-j-cudney
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/James-J-Cudney/e/B076B6PB3M
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17128817.James_J_Cudney
Giveaway
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/weathering-old-souls-book-tour-and-giveaway
Didi and James are giving away 4 prizes as part of this marketing campaign. Winner will be drawn the week after release:
Wishing James Cudney and Didi Oviatt much success with their tour.
“LIFE & MOVE” are the prompt words this week.
For life I chose fate, for move I opted for disturbed
I saw these trees whilst out for a walk with friends. There was something quite melancholy about their soaked roots.
I see a wonder
Trees disturbed in deep water
Soaking up their roots
Drinking in fate’s wilful woes
Sorrow is an endless pit
I originally wrote this before I knew the prompt synonyms! The 2nd line was: Trees submerged in deep water, which I changed to Trees disturbed in deep water. And thereafter, I made a few other adjustments – fourth line – was Drinking in life’s wilful woes, I changed to fate’s wilful woes. Colleen’s SYNONYMS made me dig deeper for a different word!
Congratulations to Colleen on her new release and on her new poetry journal. So exciting!
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsNEW RELEASE: Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry by Colleen M…. https://t.co/0eSqU4z0Es via @amazon
— 🌸Word Craft: Prose & Poetry🌸 (@ColleenChesebro) May 14, 2021
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSubmissions are Open for the Word Weaving Syllabic #poetry Journal. Start counting your syllables! https://t.co/jZNWvcBcY6 pic.twitter.com/S0RZWM9c3l
— 🌸Word Craft: Prose & Poetry🌸 (@ColleenChesebro) May 15, 2021
Thank you so much to Robbie Cheadle for this lovely feature on Treasuring Poetry over at Kaye Lynn Booth’s Writing To Be Read
Curious about my favourite poem? A clue… think Autumn. Want to know what my favourite poem is from Mr. Sagittarius? A clue… a bird. There’s more… a wonderful review of Mr. Sagittarius from Robbie, (thank you so much,) and a discussion about my inspirations.
Do pop over to Writing To Be Read to read more about it at source: Treasuring Poetry: Meet author and poem M J Mallon | Writing to be Read
My good friend, and sis Colleen Chesebro has some wonderful news!! Her new book Word Craft Prose and Poetry is out in kindle! Such a huge accomplishment. I know that Colleen has worked so hard on this. It is a huge poetry community endeavour and she includes so many of her community’s poems as examples in the book.
I’m thrilled that my Garland #Cinquain poem about a copse of trees is included!
Over to Colleen…
In her words: I’m honored to share with you the Ebook release of “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry.” Are you ready to learn how to craft Japanese and American…
Are you ready to learn how to craft Japanese and American poetry? Consider this book the first step on your journey to learning the basics of how to craft syllabic poetry. Inside, you will discover many new forms, syllable combinations, and interpretations of the different Japanese and American forms and structures of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, renga/solo renga, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, the cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry.
So… what are you waiting for? Let’s craft syllabic poetry together!
My review:
Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry by Colleen M. Chesebro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a comprehensive guide covering both American and Japanese poetry including Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Gogyohka, Haibun, Renga, Crapsey Cinquain Etheree, Nonet, Shadorma, and variations, as well as examples of all the forms and recaps to refresh the memory too.
It is written in such a way that it is easy to understand and get the most from.
The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry begins with an introduction to how Colleen’s journey began – her poetry community, and goes on to discuss definitions of “meter, syllable, and stresses,” and the hard work required to find your creative soul. She suggests ways to encourage creativity, and talks about figurative language too.
It is clear that author Colleen Chesebro has put her heart and soul into this guide and loves helping others to be the best poets they can be. She runs a wonderful community of poets with weekly prompts, (which again must be an incredible amount of work,) and is now expanding her repertoire to include online submissions to her poetry venture with poet JulesPaige. Colleen is also a co-editor of “Word Weaving, a Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse,” at wordweavingpoetryjournal.com more about that below in her Bio.
What an incredible amount of work, dedication and research has gone into this book and into everything that Colleen Chesebro does.
It is a wonderful resource for both new students of poetry to learn and to refer to whilst writing poetry and for old hands, (such as me,) to jog our memories and to avoid making careless mistakes about the forms!
There is a bibliography at the end with the names/links/detail of all the poets who have contributed to the anthology. I’m delighted that my #Garland #Cinquain poem is included amongst this section along with so many awesome contributions from poetry community members.
My recommendation: This is a fabulous book, and one that Colleen Chesebro should be very proud of.
5 stars. I’ll be buying a paperback to use as a resource.
View all my reviews
More news! Today Colleen’s poetry submission window opens for her new word weaving journal. Pop over to her blog to find out the theme: https://wordweavingpoetryjournal.com/2021/05/15/announcing-the-theme-for-the-1st-word-weaving-poetry-journal/
Feather Groom and Gossip
“Annie, you of heard of Ida?”
“Of course!” replied Annie, clucking. “A hen with attitude! Pecking mischief and mayhem everywhere! Remember her hen party?…”
“It was a bloodbath. Her ex and new beau fought fierce, feathers flying.”
“Ouch!”
“Her disapproving beak pierced the clouds’n’air. She skipped off with the drunken hens for a good ole night of feather groom and gossip. After which she eloped with a former beauty Queen. No more eggs, or demanding Cockerels just lots a gal time now!”
© M J Mallon
On Saturday, May 15, Charli has set up three Zoom Rancher Gatherings to cover a diversity of time zones and availability. Hop on to meet and talk with fellow writers at Carrot Ranch. Maybe meet the chickens of Boston or the wild Mause of the House. Celebrate. Socialize. I’ll read a snippet from my thesis and ask any questions about MFAs or writing. Bring your own bubbly! Times: 9 am/2 pm/7 pm (Eastern Time US).
If you are interested in the sound bath, socializing on Saturday, or setting up a time to chat, shoot Charli an email at wordsforpeople(at)gmail(dot)com for links and instructions. If you want to send graduation cards, you can mail to headquarters at 1112 Roberts Street, Hancock, MI 49930.
It’s Charli’s birthday on May 21. Her son and daughter-in-law are driving up from Wisconsin for the weekend. She will complete her celebrations that weekend and start the new journey in earnest. For now, She’s going to party like hens let loose in the berry patch.
Happy Birthday and Graduation Charli!!! xxx
May 6, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about party hens. Who are these chickens and why do they party? Go where the prompt leads!
Respond by May 18, 2021. Use the comment section below to share, read, and be social. You may leave a link, pingback, or story in the comments. If you want to be published in the weekly collection, please use the form. Rules & Guidelines.
To join in… https://carrotranch.com/2021/05/06/may-6-flash-fiction-challenge-2/
Hope you enjoyed!
Lol. That was a laugh!
Violet has a secret that could change the lives of everyone she knows and loves, especially the regulars at the run-down café bar where she works. After losing her parents at a young age, they are the closest thing she has to a family and she feels responsible for them.
Kai is a jaded music producer who has just moved outside of town. Seeking solitude from the stress of his job, he’s looking for seclusion. The only problem is he can’t seem to escape the band members and songwriters who keep showing up at his house.
When Kai wanders into the bar and Violet’s life, he accidently discovers her closely guarded secret. Can Kai help her rediscover her self-confidence or should some secrets remain undiscovered
My review
Shh… It’s Our Secret by Lizzie Chantree
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lizzie Chantree writes feel good romance stories with wonderful characters and interesting settings. Her latest, Shh… It’s Our Secret gives the reader a romance brimming with a great sense of community, friendships, family and the importance of standing up to bullies/aggressive partners. With Shhh It’s Our Secret, the venue is a particularly interesting one – a music cafe. This appealed to me as our house sometimes feels like a music venue! My hubby is a mad keen guitarist. Also, I liked how the main character, Violet grows in the story shaking off her down-trodden persona – after being horrendously treated by her mean partner Liam she finds a new strength and a way to trust and love again.
And the secrets revealed were also a great way to pull the reader in. Who doesn’t like a secret?
There are some wonderful characters in this novel, from Kai, Cole, the older ladies (Doris, and Esme,) who I loved to Violet’s sister Molly, and many others, with lovely touches of humour throughout.
Lizzie Chantree’s greatest strength lies in her ability to write her characters so well that you feel as if you know them!
A great ending full of emotional feels.
I listened to this on audio and thoroughly enjoyed. Would highly recommend.
View all my reviews
International bestselling author and award-winning inventor, Lizzie Chantree, started her own business at the age of 18 and became one of Fair Play London and The Patent Office’s British Female Inventors of the Year in 2000. She discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now works as a business mentor and runs a popular networking hour on social media, where creatives can support to each other.
She writes books full of friendship and laughter, that are about women with unusual and adventurous businesses, who are far stronger than they realise. She lives with her family on the coast in Essex.
Visit her website at www.lizziechantree.com or follow her on Twitter @Lizzie_Chantree https://twitter.com/Lizzie_Chantree
Thank you so much to Author D.L. Finn for these wonderful book reviews for Joan Hall, Robbie Cheadle, Kim Blades and yours truly!
So thrilled to be included amongst such great company!
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