Kaye Lynne Booth's Blog: Writing to be Read, page 39

Day 2 of the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 4” Book Blog Tour

Today were over at Merril’s Historical Musings for Day 2 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 4 Book Blog Tour with a lovely reading from contributing poet, Andrew McDowell. Join us in launching this delightful poetry collection and support the contributing poets. And don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance at a free digital copy in the #giveaway!

Poetry Treasure 4: In Touch with Nature, Blog Tour, Day 2

Welcome to the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature” Book Blog Tour

It’s day 1 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 4 Book Blog Tour, and today we have contributing poet D.L. Finn with a reading of her poem, “The Island”. Stick with the tour for the rest of the week for readings and guest posts from contributing authors Andrew McDowell, Patricia Furstenberg, Merril D. Smith, Selma Martin and Robbie Cheadle, an interview with contributing author Emily Gmitter, and a review on Carla Loves to Read. If you leave a comment at each stop, you’ll be entered in our great giveaway.

Giveaway

Leave a comment for a chance to win one of three free copies of

Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature .

Leave a comment at each stop for additional chances.

Winners chosen by random drawing.

You can keep up with the tour through the links in the schedule below, but they won’t work until each stop goes live.

Mon. April 8 – Writing to be Read – Reading by D.L. Finn

Tues. April 9 – Yesterday and Today: Merril’s Historical Musings – Reading by Andrew McDowell

Wed. April 10 – Book Places – Interview w/ Emily Gmitter & Reading by Selma Martin

Thurs. April 11 – d.l. finn author – Guest post by Patricia Furstenberg

Fri. April 12 – Colleen Chesebro, Author & Poet – Guest post by Merril D. Smith

Sat. April 13 – Carla Reads – Review/ Reading by Robbie Cheadle

Book TrailerBook Trailer for Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature – created by Robbie CheadleAbout the Anthology

This volume of the Poetry Treasures series is a special one for me because it is the first volume to feature my works. I am proud to be featured along side such talented poets as Colleen Chesebro, D.L. Finn, Frank Prem, and Robbie Cheadle who I have gotten to know and I am familiar with their works. In addition, I got to work woth many creative poets who were new to me, introduced through Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” series right along with the series readers. These include Andrew McDowell, Patricia Furstenberg, Emily Gmitter, Marcia Meara, Selma Martin, Luanne Castle, and Merril D. Smith. Without their contributions and willingness to pitch in with the promotions, there would be no anthology. I have so enjoyed working with this group of poets, who have stuggled to meet tight deadlines and put up with my confusions as I shuffled through emails to & from hosts and contributors, and contributors who were also acting as hosts as I put this blog tour together. A big thanks goes out to them for all their efforts and hard work.

The quality of poetry in this volume makes it a poetry treasure to be sure, and I’ve had several contributors thank me for all my hard work. It has been a labor of love. But although I co-edited and did the final formatting, this is really Robbie’s baby, and without all of her hard work, this project wouldn’t be. The anthology was born from Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” blog series, and it is Robbie who invited the guests to submit their work, compiled and organized them all into a coherent manuscript, and did the first round of editing. Somehow, she fit all that into her very busy life, and it is she who should be commended, not I.

This is my blog post, my addition to the tour as a contributing author, as well as editor of the project. I will not burden you with my photo and bio, which you, my readers, see with every post I make. Instead I will get right to the main attraction for this stop and move on to a reading by contributing author D.L. Finn.

Introduction of D.L. Finn

Author of children’s books, adult fiction and poetry, D.L. Finn is a multi-talented Califirnia author. Her Haibun and syllabic poetry draw vivid pictures in the mind and I am pleased to feature her works within this volume of Poetry Treasures. She shares with us today a reading of her poem, “The Island”.

Reading of “The Island”, by D.L. FinnAbout D.L. Finn

D. L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 she relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to Nevada City, in the Sierra foothills. She immersed herself in reading all types of books but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations include children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to all readers to join her.

About Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature

Poetic Treasures Within.

Open the cover

and you will discover

Poetry Treasures

from the guests on

Robbie Cheadle’s 2023

“Treasuring Poetry”

blog series

on Writing to be Read.

Included are poetic gems from: Andrew McDowell, Robbie Cheadle, Patricia Furstenberg, Marcia Meara, Luanne Castle, D.L. Finn, Emily Gmitter, Kaye Lynne Booth, Selma Martin, Merril D. Smith, Frank Prem, and Colleen Chesebro.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/mlM5YA

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That wraps up today’s stop. Don’t forget to leave a comment and enter the giveaway for a free copy of this lovely poetry collection. Tomorrow will find us over at Colleen Chesebro, Author & Poet with a guest post by contributing poet, Merril D. Smith. Join us and don’t forget to leave a comment for another chance to win a free digital copy of Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature.

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Reviews of my poetry collection, “Small Wonders”

On sale for National Poetry Month – Only $2.99

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/SmallWonders

Small Wonders by Kaye Lynne Booth #Poetry #BookReview #Blog Tour

Robbie Shares Her Poetry

Robbie Cheadle shares her poem “He Walks Away”.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reblog: My poem, He Walks Away on MasticadoresUSA #poetry #cakeart

A Look at Poetry Reviews from the Past Year: Ever So Gently

It celebration of National Poetry Month, I’m reblogging my poetry reviews from the past year on Saturdays throughout April in case you missed any of these noteworthy poetry collections.

Today’s selection is Ever So Gently, by Lauren Scott

Book Review: Ever So Gently – A Collection of Poetry

Undawntech: Technology That Is Stranger Than Fiction

Imagine a world where an insane aristocracy oversees the human race. Classic dystopian novels tell of such extreme societies and caution readers to avoid falling into the trap. The question is: have we heeded the warnings?

1984, Animal House, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and The Handmaid’s Tale are some of the most popular and recognizable stories in this genre. As modern-day writers, we have seen the world fall from stable nation-states to the dehumanization of culture wars, sneak attacks, propaganda, economic downturns, and invasions. Either
the writers from a bygone era were psychic, or everything we are seeing now… was planned. Planned to keep humanity distracted while an elite class work on technology beyond any innocuous application.

Past narratives could not have foreseen the future of augmented reality, artificial intelligence, biochips, mRNA technology, or tracking satellites. By any other name, would dystopic smell as sour?

Let’s take a journey into next generation technologies, most being hidden in plain sight:

For instance, currently, Iridium Satellites can track wildlife, personnel, data and assets, as well as bridging the internet of things… this technology is real-time situational awareness.

“Iridium’s unique constellation architecture makes it the only network
that covers 100% of the planet. Satellites are cross-linked to provide
reliable, low-latency, weather-resilient connections that enable
communication anywhere in the world.”

www.iridium.com

On a mundane level, medicine has exceeded its normal perimeters. With new technology, comes new issues that medical science has no answers to give. mRNA technology has potential, but its numerous and fatal consequences have been obscured from public scrutiny:

“In this paper, we call attention to three very important aspects of
the safety profile of these vaccinations. First is the extensively
documented subversion of innate immunity, primarily via suppression of
IFN-α and its associated signaling cascade. This suppression will have
a wide range of consequences, not the least of which include the
reactivation of latent viral infections and the reduced ability to
effectively combat future infections. Second is the dysregulation of
the system for both preventing and detecting genetically driven
malignant transformation within cells and the consequent potential for
vaccination to promote those transformations. Third, mRNA vaccination
potentially disrupts intracellular communication carried out by
exosomes, and induces cells taking up spike glycoprotein mRNA to
produce high levels of spike-glycoprotein-carrying exosomes, with
potentially serious inflammatory consequences. Should any of these
potentials be fully realized, the impact on billions of people around
the world could be enormous and could contribute to both the
short-term and long-term disease burden our health care system faces.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9012513/

Or is there more to injecting untested, unregulated technologies into our bodies than heart inflammation, other serious adverse reactions, and increased morbidity in the injected? What if, the scare of 2020 was to introduce tracking systems into the human genome?

Internet of dead bodies Bluetooth MAC address corpses

https://www.brighteon.com/41a1e7f3-ca8a-42d3-b201-f31e4a2c3189

In a novel, a scientist might believe the only thing the human brain would need to plug into technology like brain chips, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality would be a third strand of DNA made from silicon, but that is so 1980s and 90s technology:

Science: A triple helix to cripple viruses

“As scientists accumulate more knowledge of the sequence and function
of human genes, the triplex approach should allow scientists to turn genes
on or off at will, says Hogan.”

www.newscientist.com/article/mg13017644-100-science-a-triple-helix-to-cripple-viruses

What has grown from hypothesis and curiosity of the scientific community has transformed from the dystopic and into the realm of horror. Technology being employed to change the human race sounds as if the nightmare of Mary Shelley has been realized. The author of Frankenstein once wrote of surgically combining body parts with an electric jolt from lightning. Today’s scientists have gone beyond ethics and straight into creating artificial life forms.

Engineers Put Tens of Thousands of Artificial Brain Synapses on a Single Chip for Portable AI Devices

“MIT engineers have designed a “brain-on-a-chip,” smaller than a piece
of confetti, that is made from tens of thousands of artificial brain
synapses known as memristors — silicon-based components that mimic the
information-transmitting synapses in the human brain.”

https://scitechdaily.com/engineers-put-tens-of-thousands-of-artificial-brain-synapses-on-a-single-chip-for-portable-ai-devices/

As technology advances, external sources to manipulate the human brain are becoming readily available. Pull up a seat. Put on a cap. Play your favorite video game without lifting a finger. Mind and artificial intelligence merge through frequency of brainwaves.

Transfer learning promotes acquisition of individual BCI skills

“Noninvasive brain–computer interfaces (BCI) based on
electroencephalography (EEG) have proven efficient in applications
such as neurorehabilitation (1, 2), robotics (3, 4), communication (5,
6), or virtual reality (7, 8). Motor imagery (MI)—mental rehearsal of
a limb movement without execution—is a common EEG–BCI modality.”

https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/2/pgae076/7609232?login=false

As writers, we have to ask ourselves: are we already in a dystopian novel, playing characters, who unknowingly, unwittingly are about to face a critical juncture in human evolution?

What does this evolution entail? Will humans and technology as one creature relinquish our independence? Individual sovereignty? Our Constitutional Rights? Will we be considered homo sapien sapien? Or, homo sapien extincti?

Horror has manifested in our world. The horror that dystopia was not an end, but a beginning to the ramblings of madmen. Writers have the obligation to warn humanity that we have ventured past derangement and into the immoral machinations warned in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

As the establishment plays god, what would the dystopian authors caution us about? What would Mary Shelley write as her sequel to Frankenstein with the knowledge present herein? To be, or not to be… human with all our flaws or a controlled serfdom at the whim of a plutocracy? According to science, we are already there. The only choice now is preservation or slavery.

Isn’t that the conditions writers should be asking of their readers? Because no one else is giving humanity the time to think about the ethical obligations, horrific consequences, or generational ruin that these technologies have laid at our feet. It is not difficult to ascertain: the world we live in is stranger than fiction.

“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Has the road of futurist technology been paved with good intentions? Only time will tell what the intention for humanity and these technologies are. For humanity’s sake, we better know evil when we see it.

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DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology. 

Her lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lecture invitations. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. She has been a panelist at speculative fiction, science fiction, and other regional conventions. Her digital exhibition pieces have won awards at convention art shows, as well as garnered her Second Premium at the Arizona State Fair. Currently, Ms. Mullan’s artistic renditions are seen on book covers, blog sites, video presentations, and various merchandise. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate the creative arts.

As a writer, DL Mullan loves to stretch her imagination and the elasticity of genres. She writes complex multi-genre stories in digestible and entertaining forms, be it poetry, short fiction, or novels. Her science, history, mythology, and paranormal research backgrounds are woven into her writings, especially in Undawnted’s Legacy Universe. Ms. Mullan’s creative endeavors are available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is also an award-winning poet.

Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at www.undawntech.com and www.undawnted.com.

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Want to be sure not to miss any of DL Mullan’s “Undawntech” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or informative, please share.

WordCrafter Press Celebrates National Poetry Month

Celebrating National Poetry Month with a Great Price

During the month of April, all poetry volumes on the WordCrafter Press backlist are on sale for only $2.99 each. That’s right. Any poetry volume on the WordCrafter Press backlist can be purchased for this great low price all month long. So, check out the list below and add these great poetic volumes to your library of poetry today.

WordCrafter Press Poetry BacklistPoetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasuresPoetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-RelationshipsPoetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/PT3PassionsFeral Tenderness, by Arthur Rosch: https://books2read.com/FeralTendernessBehind Closed Doors, by Robbie Cheadle: https://books2read.com/BehindClosedDoorsCheadleSmall Wonders, by Kaye Lynne Booth: https://books2read.com/SmallWonders

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Writer’s Corner: A Look at AI Narrations for Audiobooks

Three of my books are now available in AI narrated audiobooks: The Rock Star & The Outlaw, Delilah and Hidden Secrets. I’ve been wanting to get into audiobooks for some time now, but narrators are expensive. Their time is worth it and I don’t begrudge them that, but the hourly rates for narration are high enough to keep audiobooks out of reach for me. But the rapid rise and availability of AI narration has made having my books available in audio a possibility, and I’m really excited about it.

I’ve heard the argument that AI narration is taking work away from human narrators, but in this case, it just isn’t true. I would not have hired a human narrator instead, so I don’t see the harm in utilizing these tools which are now available to me.

I’d love to hear what you think about these AI narrated audiobooks or your thoughts on AI narration, in general. I’ve included my summaries of both experiences here and you can click on the links to hear a preview of each one. If you are feeling generous, you can buy a book while you are there.

Apple Books

I uploaded The Rock Star & The Outlaw to Apple Books through D2D, using the manuscript I uploaded for ebook. They offered four or five narrative voices to choose from. The quality of the narration is acceptable, but they offered no way to preview the content, and did not provide an audio file that could be used on other sites. It also took almost two weeks from the time of upload to publication. Keep in mind that I am not publishing direct through Apple Books, but going through D2D. Perhaps publishing direct, the process might be faster and preview might be available through their author dashboard.

Google Play

I uploaded The Rock Star & The Outlaw, Delilah and Hidden Secrets on Google Play using the same digital epub files uploaded for ebooks. They have a wide selection of narrative voices to choose from. Through Google Play, I was offered a chance to preview the recordings and their dashboard offers the opportunity to edit the text if necessary without changing the digital ebook file. They took a few days from upload to publication, but I was also going through the account approval process at the same time, which may have slowed the process.

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About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Book 1 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.

An interesting article on AI narrated audiobooks from someone who’s doing them.

I’d like to know which platform she is participating in. I don’t have editing options with mine. Not like this.

But this author gives some good insights. Check it out.

Audiobooks, AI and Me

Mind Fields: Poetry Space Ship

Silly Humans

Feb 2022

We are so silly: humans.  Show a man

a little cleavage, nothing but a teeny crevice

between a woman’s breasts, squeezed

beneath a garment.  An inch of divide and all hungry eyes

go to that crease, as if it had the answers

to every riddle but one: why are we so silly?

Is it the mother-drive, so vast and potent

is it social conditioning, appetite fed by hints

of sex promise?  Cleavage is immodest to some

but envied by others.  It seems silly

at my age but it wasn’t silly to me twenty years ago.

Piano Lessons

I have ten fingers.

The piano has…really…

twelve notes plus octaves therefrom.

I tell my fingers

each day

“land somewhere new. Somewhere

you’ve never been.  If it sounds good

then lead me forward.  IF it does not.

We go again.

Ten fingers.  Twelve notes and octaves.

Fingers: spread yourselves newly.  Knuckle middle finger

rise a bit. Good.

Now…listen.  OK? 

send five left fingers to the lowest octave

teach them where they belong

repeat the patterns repeat the patterns

bring the fingers back up

then throw them like dice

at the keyboard let them fly

repeat the patterns again

repeat the patterns: over time

my fingers know things, acquire sense and pitch

before my ears know

before my brain knows

my fingers know.

And, strange as it may sound, always listen to your fingers.

Ukraine

It is one thing to think

“aw fuck, not again.”

Then it’s another thing to do

nothing, from a sense of overwhelm

at the misery of the world.  Many of these miseries

were created by human beings.  They are capable of un-creating them but that would take a lot of work.  Humans have

a streak of lazy when it comes to inquiry about themselves. 

One can say “My bad”

as if that dismisses responsibility.  I’ve been bad

but it’s over. That is not enough.  You can’t say “My good”

but you’ve got to do “my good”, 

you must keep making beautiful things in the face of ignorance.

Help other people with small daily tasks.

Use everything you’ve got

because in the face of this calamity,

it’s not going to be enough.

It’s just a motive to keep working so that,

some day,

it will be enough.

About the Author

Arthur Rosch is a novelist, musician, photographer and poet. His works are funny, memorable and often compelling. One reviewer said “He’s wicked and feisty, but when he gets you by the guts, he never lets go.” Listeners to his music have compared him to Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Randy Newman or Mose Allison. These comparisons are flattering but deceptive. Rosch is a stylist, a complete original. His material ranges from sly wit to gripping political commentary.

Arthur was born in the heart of Illinois and grew up in the western suburbs of St. Louis. In his teens he discovered his creative potential while hoping to please a girl. Though she left the scene, Arthur’s creativity stayed behind. In his early twenties he moved to San Francisco and took part in the thriving arts scene. His first literary sale was to Playboy Magazine. The piece went on to receive Playboy’s “Best Story of the Year” award. Arthur also has writing credits in Exquisite Corpse, Shutterbug, eDigital, and Cat Fancy Magazine. He has written five novels, a memoir and a large collection of poetry. His autobiographical novel, Confessions Of An Honest Man won the Honorable Mention award from Writer’s Digest in 2016.

More of his work can be found at www.artrosch.com

Photos at https://500px.com/p/artsdigiphoto?view=photos

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A lifetime of poetry and photography gives a unique view of life, nature, the world, and the universe. 

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/bPXpoA

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Want to be sure not to miss any of Arthur’s “Mind Fields” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you find it interesting or just entertaining, please share.