Kaye Lynne Booth's Blog: Writing to be Read, page 6

Book Review: “Mason’s Missing”

About Mason’s Missing

Reluctant Allies, Small-town Secrets, & Stormy Weather

Old cowboy-turned-fixer TUPER is hired to find five-year-old MASON, who was likely taken by his father. But when Mason’s father is found dead, the boy is nowhere to be seen.

In a futile search during a cold Montana blizzard, TUPER and his hacker friend LANA pursue a quest that blurs into insanity
and murder. As wounded TUPER fights to stay alive in the bitter cold, LANA searches cyberspace and finds someone working hard to ensure secrets remain secret—especially Mason’s true identity.

Mason’s Missing is the first book in the Tuper Mystery Series and a gripping tale of suspense and redemption that will keep you hooked until the end.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Masons-Missing-Tuper-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B075963GJB

My Review of Mason’s Missing

I purchased a digital copy of Mason’s Missing, by Teresa Burrell via a Saturday Bookbub deal. All opinions stated here are my own.

Mason’s Missing is tale filled with mystery from beginning to end. Right from the start, things begin not adding up, and the more Tupor uncovers, the more mysteries are revealed. Tupor is the protagonist, an aging cowboy turned investigator. A worried mother comes to him, asking him to help find her abducted son, Mason, pointing a finger at her estranged husband. But, when the husband turns up murdered, Tupor soon questions if the woman is who she says she is. And who is Mason, really?

This mystery kept me guessing until the end, where author Burrell ties things up nicely and all is revealed. I give Mason’s Missing five quills.

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; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.

LINDSEY’S WRITING PRACTICE: Punch Up Your Writing with Parallelism

Many superb professional writers—poets, playwrights, novelists, and essayists—often use parallelism to structure sentences in an eye-catching way. Note how various forms of parallelism can engage readers with its sounds, rhythms and imagery. And you can do this, too, First, examine these samples of experts using parallelism to structure sentences. (I ask students to choose two different sorts of repetition and create their own sentences using that specific repetition format—but with their own words and sentences.):

1. THE REPETITION OF KEY WORDS

A. Basal repetition—the repetition of key particles, especially prepositions and articles.

“I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

—Martin Luther King, “I have a Dream”

B. Conceptual Repetition—the repetition of major conceptual terms, particularly nouns, verbs, or adjectives.

“There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed: It was white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s flesh crawl—a tree toad white, a fish-belly white.”

—Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

NOTE—This format is my favorite. And here’s my sentence employing Conceptual Repetition: Her eyes were deep blue: not a cornflower blue, not like a typical sunny-sky blue, but deeper than that, a blue as deep as an ocean, a blue that lured you into them—a blue that held you so tightly you couldn’t resist them.

C. Parallel Modification—using the same word to modify two different words in a sentence.

“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

—William Shakespeare, Macbeth

D. Isocolon—precise word-for-word repetition of two or more members (phrases, clauses, and so forth) with the exception of one or two words.

“. . . He did not know the Somali proverb that says a brave man is always frightened three times by a lion: when he first sees his track, when he first hears him roar, and when he first confronts him.”

—Ernest Hemingway, “The Short Happy Life of Frances Macomber”

2. THE USE OF OPPOSITE WORDS (ANTITHESIS)

“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

—Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)

3. THE REPETITION OF GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS

A. Nominal

“The hazy sunlight, the warm and drowsy air, the tender foliage, the opening flowers, betokened the reviving life of nature.”

—Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

B. Verbal

“Suddenly one of these gypsies, in trembling opal, seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage, and, moving her hands like Frisco, dances out alone on the platform.”

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

C. Participial

“They move in orderly lines around the box, crowding one another precisely, without injury, peering down, nodding, and then backing off to let new people in.”

–Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell

D. Infinitival

“Manny Greenhill is hoping to get Miss Baez to write a book, to be in a movie, and to get around to recording the rock ‘n’ roll songs.”

—Joan Didion, “Where the Kissing Never Stops”

E. Gerundive

“And with her cries came the sound of hoofs and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions.”

—Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

F. Adjectival

“His features are strong and masculine, with an Austrian Lip, an arched Nose, his Complexion olive, his Countenance erect, his Body and Limbs well proportioned, all his Deportment majestick.”

—Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels

G. Adverbial

“The Bible’s account of Moses is, alas, as geographically perplexing as it is spiritually enlightening.”

—National Geographic

Now it’s your turn: Select at least two of these format and write a sentence emulating the form by repeating the a specific word in the format one of these writers used. Good luck—and have fun.

About Lindsey Martin-Bowen

On Halloween 2023, redbat books released Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s 7th poetry collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison. Her 4 th collection, Where Water Meets the Rock, was nominated for a Pulitzer; her 3rd, CROSSING KANSAS with Jim Morrison was a finalist in the QuillsEdge Press 2015-2016 Contest. In 2017, it won the Kansas Writers Assn award, “Looks Like a Million.” Writer’s Digest gave her “Vegetable Linguistics” an Honorable Mention in its 85th Annual (2017) Contest. Her Inside Virgil’s Garage (Chatter House Press 2013) was a runner-up in the 2015 Nelson Poetry Book Award. McClatchy Newspapers named her Standing on the Edge of the World (Woodley Press/Washburn University) was one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. It was nominated for a Pen Award.

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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

___________________

This segment of “Lindsey’s Writing Practice” is sponsored by  WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services .

Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.

Stop by and see what we have to offer today: https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/

Call for Submissions: Into the Deep Dark Woods

The 2025-26 cohorts for Western Colorado State University’s Master’s in Publishing program have put out a call for submissions. As always, this call is a paying gig, so be sure to READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND FOLLOW THEM. If you’ve got a story that fits, or a story idea that you want to bring to life with this theme, then get busy writing and polishing because the deadline is October 15th, 2025. You can find their submission guidelines at the link below.

https://wordfirewestern.moksha.io/publication/into-the-deep-dark-woods/guidelines?fbclid

Good luck and happy writing!

Writer’s Corner: Independent Author (Key Word – Independent)

Author’s Note: This was mistakenly published last Monday, along with the “WordCrafter News” post, so you may have already seen it. I’m re-publishing it on its scheduled day for those who may not have caught it on the earlier date. I’m not sure what happened, but please forgive the misposting.

I studied the craft of writing in the master’s program at Western State Colorado University from 2012-2016. At that time, the term ‘independent author’ left a bad taste in most author’s mouth. Times were rapidly changing in the publishing industry as independent publishing grew in popularity among authors who were tired of waiting to be discovered, which often took many years, and sometimes, not at all. But at that time, the term was associated with poorly written and cheaply manufactured books which were flooding the market by authors who not only wanted to bypass the gatekeepers of traditional publishing but also wanted to use independent publishing as a short cut, skipping over editing, as well, which in most cases, was badly needed.

As I said, things were rapidly changing in the publishing industry, and today, we’ve seen the ‘Big Five’ traditional publishers, dwindle down to the ‘Big Three’, as they struggle to try and keep up with those changes as independent authors take advantage of new technology which make it possible to publish themselves both cheaper and easier. With digital eBooks and aggregates like Draft2Digital, which use P.O.D. (Publish On Demand) for print books, there are no up-front costs to publish your work, and once everything is ready to publish, the whole process can be done in just a few hours. The rise of independent authors has forced traditional publishers to change and adapt, or become extinct.

The key word in ‘Independent Author’ is Independent. Independent authors don’t need to wait for someone to take interest in their work, but we must remember that this also makes us a business and we’re the boss, and we are solely responsible for the quality of the product we put out. Independent publishing should not be used as a short cut to avoid having your book edited, because in most cases, it’s pretty obvious.

That being said, many authors today chose independent publishing because of the control it gives them. Like I said, we are our own bosses. That means we can control the quality of our work, and everything else: title, cover, price, production, and promotion. Certainly, this was one of the main reasons that I chose to become an independent author after gaining a five-year contract for my first novel and finding that having a publisher wasn’t giving me any advantage in selling Delilah. The cover they had given me was not representative of the character or the story, and as far as I could tell, they provided little or no promotion. I began WordCrafter Press and started publishing collaborative projects long before that contract ran out, and when it did, I revised Delilah to be the first in my Women in the West series. I had to learn new skills to provide my own covers, and find people willing to edit my work in an exchange of services due to my limited budget, but when the book was re-released, I sold more copies a month than my publisher had in five years.

With my recent computer issues, I was glad that I had control of my work and the decision-making process. Because I had limited computer time and was writing in longhand and doing most of my publishing and promotional tasks on my phone, I wasn’t able to keep up with my promotion schedule and had to push back the publishing dates on my own work in order to keep my collaborative projects on schedule and as the boss and decision maker, I was able to do that. It was a tough decision. I have the second book in my Time Travel series near ready to publish, and although I’ve outlined the third book in the Women in the West Adventure series, I’ve not yet begun to write it. Both of these books may need to be pushed back so far as to be added to next year’s production schedule, but I’m thankful for the freedom to do so. Had I been working with traditional publishers, my deadlines would have been set in stone, and I would not have been able to make them.

Just as the child who can’t wait to grow up soon learns that growing up means taking responsibility for one’s self, so the independent author is also responsible for creating and presenting their own work to the world. Hopefully, we all want that to be the best work that it can possibly be, and we will take the proper steps to ensure that it is, making the best decisions possible for our work. With freedom, comes responsibility, so use both wisely in your author journey.

Until next month,

Happy Writing!

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; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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.

_______________________________________

Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

_____________________________________

This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.

Undawntech: Deep Fake Down

Greetings, Undawntechs!

Since the public unveiling of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there have been an increasing number of disturbing images being published online. The combination of AI, imagery, and trickery is known as a “Deep Fake.” Deep Fake is an image or recording, which has been altered and manufactured to misrepresent a person to such a degree that others believe that the aforementioned person acted or spoke, but did not do so.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deepfake

In recent years, many people have become prey to depraved predators. Celebrities first were targets of lewd scenes, as well as videos, portraying them in a sexualized manner. Next, girls and women in a private capacity were victims of such unscrupulous and degrading behaviors turned into public fare. Thanks now to the Take It Down Act, the nonconsensual publication of intimate images is a criminal act and platforms must remove such items as a part of a “notice-and-removal” process at the depicted individual’s request.

Click to access LSB11314.1.pdf

Sexual content is not the only vignette that has been misused. Politicians’ speech and depictions have become fodder for the irregular warfare crowd. Irregular warfare (IW), is “a form of warfare where states and non-state actors campaign to assure or coerce states or other groups through indirect, non-attributable, or asymmetric activities, neither as the primary approach or in concert with conventional warfare.” Another form of this IW is fifth-generation warfare (5GW), 5GW encompasses non-kinetic military actions such as misinformation, cyberattacks, and social engineering, rather than traditional military force.

Also, see Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/5736

www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF12565/IF12565.5.pdf

stratheia.com/5th-generation-war-and-global-challenges

Welcome to the war you were unaware of that you are a repeat casualty. For years, governments around the world have conducted influence operations online and through the media. Rumors, speculation have created an unhealthy drive toward destroying people’s lives, livelihoods, and reputations.

In addition, the sphere of influence is a means of thought and behavior control over the general populace. Physicians were banned from social media after confronting the lies during the “pandemic.” Political operatives were deplatformed from online venues as well as banks. People knew that if they stepped out of line from the mainstream narrative that there were consequences.

This command-and-control infrastructure has created a network of global corporate control, which was manufactured through libertarian governmental deregulation, changing laws to benefit only large transnational conglomerates, and the desire to dismantle nation-states for lawless regimes and a one-world government. The times of corporate neutrality without national laws are over. It used to be that the market decided who the winners and losers were in the products and services division of economies. Now, corporations are stepping into the arena as payment processors are demanding online games to be removed from consumption due to their “morality” clauses and other contractual nonsense, only used as specific political, social regulation.

www.sg.ethz.ch/publications/2011/vitali2011the-network-of

www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/valve-confirms-credit-card-companies-pressured-it-to-delist-certain-adult-games-from-steam

Wonder when the slippery slope was established? Look no further than President Ronald Reagan’s Executive Order 12564—Drug-Free Federal Workplace on September 15, 1986. This invasion of privacy has allowed employers and corporations to make your decisions for you. All in the name of just saying: no.

http://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/executive-order-12564-drug-free-federal-workplace

Isn’t that special?

Well, at least the peeping Toms of the world cannot publish their depraved fantasies about their victims anymore. We just have to worry about corporate “morality” envisioning a world where no one has rights, including of judgment and privacy, to justify their actions and existence.  

Isn’t that a form of irregular warfare too?

Maybe it’s time we just said: NO, again.

——-~o0o~—oOo—~o0o~~——

The Reality Hackers

If you would like to read a dark fiction tale about how technology is used as a consciousness gateway, read my story, The Reality Hackers. This publication is available in novelette form on Amazon. Or, read the short story version in WordCrafter’s Visions anthology.

For more information, visit: http://www.undawnted.com/p/the-reality-hackers.html

About the Author

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, and various merchandise. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate the way she perceives the creative arts.

As a writer, DL Mullan loves to stretch her imagination and the elasticity of genres. She writes complex multigenre stories in digestible and entertaining forms, be it poetry, short fiction, or novels. Her science, history, mythology, and paranormal research background is 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 a record label owner, an electronic musician and 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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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This segment of “Un dawn tech” is sponsored by The D.I.Y. Author and WordCrafter Press.ever before. Whether you pursue independent or traditional publishing models, or a combination of the two, being an author involves not only writing, but often, the publishing and marketing of the book.In this writer’s reference guide, multi-genre author and independent publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth shares her knowledge and experiences and the tools, books, references and sites to help you learn the business of being an author.

Topics Include:

Becoming ProlificWriting ToolsOutliningMaking Quality a PriorityPublishing Models & TrendsMarketing Your BookBook Covers & BlurbsBook Events—In Person & VirtualAnd more…

Get your copy today: https://books2read.com/The-DIY-Author

Mind Fields: “Ugly”

Unfortunately

There is really ugly

And I don’t mean an ugly look

I mean an ugly vibe a thing that got loose

Like a contagion

It wears a face

An ugly face

It is shrill

It steams like poop

That’s how ugly and

I’m having a tough time

Getting that shit out of my head.  I mean

It’s everywhere

I can’t take a piss without hearing about ugly

Can’t wipe my ass without comparing uglies

And I’m a beautiful lad, trust me, I am.

I don’t like ugly but it’s the opposite of beautiful

And what can you do?  That’s the way shit works: there

Isn’t one thing without the other.  So if ugly has to exist

I better change myself to accommodate

Make rom in my spirit for such crap cuz it isn’t going away

Any time soon.

About Arthur Rosch

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

______________________________

Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This segment of “Mind Fields” is sponsored by Feral Tenderness and WordCrafter Press.

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

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Feral-Tenderness-Arthur-Rosch/dp/1393311261

Writer’s Corner: Independent Author (Key Word – Independent)

I studied the craft of writing in the master’s program at Western State Colorado University from 2012-2016. At that time, the term ‘independent author’ left a bad taste in most author’s mouth. Times were rapidly changing in the publishing industry as independent publishing grew in popularity among authors who were tired of waiting to be discovered, which often took many years, and sometimes, not at all. But at that time, the term was associated with poorly written and cheaply manufactured books which were flooding the market by authors who not only wanted to bypass the gatekeepers of traditional publishing but also wanted to use independent publishing as a short cut, skipping over editing, as well, which in most cases, was badly needed.

As I said, things were rapidly changing in the publishing industry, and today, we’ve seen the ‘Big Five’ traditional publishers, dwindle down to the ‘Big Three’, as they struggle to try and keep up with those changes as independent authors take advantage of new technology which make it possible to publish themselves both cheaper and easier. With digital eBooks and aggregates like Draft2Digital, which use P.O.D. (Publish On Demand) for print books, there are no up-front costs to publish your work, and once everything is ready to publish, the whole process can be done in just a few hours. The rise of independent authors has forced traditional publishers to change and adapt, or become extinct.

The key word in ‘Independent Author’ is Independent. Independent authors don’t need to wait for someone to take interest in their work, but we must remember that this also makes us a business and we’re the boss, and we are solely responsible for the quality of the product we put out. Independent publishing should not be used as a short cut to avoid having your book edited, because in most cases, it’s pretty obvious.

That being said, many authors today chose independent publishing because of the control it gives them. Like I said, we are our own bosses. That means we can control the quality of our work, and everything else: title, cover, price, production, and promotion. Certainly, this was one of the main reasons that I chose to become an independent author after gaining a five-year contract for my first novel and finding that having a publisher wasn’t giving me any advantage in selling Delilah. The cover they had given me was not representative of the character or the story, and as far as I could tell, they provided little or no promotion. I began WordCrafter Press and started publishing collaborative projects long before that contract ran out, and when it did, I revised Delilah to be the first in my Women in the West series. I had to learn new skills to provide my own covers, and find people willing to edit my work in an exchange of services due to my limited budget, but when the book was re-released, I sold more copies a month than my publisher had in five years.

With my recent computer issues, I was glad that I had control of my work and the decision-making process. Because I had limited computer time and was writing in longhand and doing most of my publishing and promotional tasks on my phone, I wasn’t able to keep up with my promotion schedule and had to push back the publishing dates on my own work in order to keep my collaborative projects on schedule and as the boss and decision maker, I was able to do that. It was a tough decision. I have the second book in my Time Travel series near ready to publish, and although I’ve outlined the third book in the Women in the West Adventure series, I’ve not yet begun to write it. Both of these books may need to be pushed back so far as to be added to next year’s production schedule, but I’m thankful for the freedom to do so. Had I been working with traditional publishers, my deadlines would have been set in stone, and I would not have been able to make them.

Just as the child who can’t wait to grow up soon learns that growing up means taking responsibility for one’s self, so the independent author is also responsible for creating and presenting their own work to the world. Hopefully, we all want that to be the best work that it can possibly be, and we will take the proper steps to ensure that it is, making the best decisions possible for our work. With freedom, comes responsibility, so use both wisely in your author journey.

Until next month,

Happy Writing!

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; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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.

_______________________________________

Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

_____________________________________

This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.

WordCrafter News: Winners of the “Shadow Blade” Tour Giveaway & Upcoming WordCrafter Press Projects

Last week we stayed busy sending off the re-launch of Shadow Blade with the WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour. WordCrafter Press also released the original story prolog, Baiting the Hook, but we’ve added it as a free bonus book when you purchase Shadow Blade. The tour went off wonderfully, with many visitors who commented and entered in the giveaway. We were giving away three digital copies and one signed print copy of the book. Now it’s time to announce the winners of that drawing.

(Drumroll Please)

And the winners are…

Beetley PeteHouse of HeartsKamal at Boundless Blessings Blog

The winner of the signed print copy is Esther Chilton. If your name appears on the list above, please contact me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail to collect your prize.

August Projects

In July, I had an angel sent to me, or if not an angel, at least a guardian spirit, and as a result, I once again own a working computer, and I am slowly getting caught up on my production schedule. Because I was trying to operate Writing to be Read and WordCrafter Press mainly from my phone for the past few months, I’ve had to make some drastic changes, like putting my own personal projects on the back burners and pushing back my release schedule for collaborations.

So, for August, I’ll be playing catch up. I’ve pushed back the release of the Curses anthology to September, and I am currently working like mad to get my own two stories for the anthology, (“Death Clock” & “Carverna Del Oro (Cave of Gold)”, which were created in longhand, digitized and sent off to my beta reader before compiling and publishing the anthology in August. I’ll also be digitizing my story for Midnight Oil, (“Zombie Elephant”), and getting it off to the beta reader. Midnight Oil will be the third volume in the Midnight Anthology Series, which will be released in October.

Reminder

There are only a few days left before the Writing to be Read WordPress subscription runs out. We’ve raised part of the money through the annual fundraiser, but we’re not quite there and time is running out and we need your help.

So, if you enjoy the great content you find here, on the blog, please consider visiting the link below and giving a small donation. Every $10 donation will receive a digital copy of the WordCrafter Press book of your choice as my way of saying “Thank You”.

https://writingtoberead.com/2025/07/04/annual-wordcrafter-writing-to-be-read-fund-raiser/

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; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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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Wrapping up the WordCrafter “Shadow Blade” Book Blog Tour

Today is the final stop on the WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour. We’re wrapping up the tour tonight with a live appearance by author Chris Barili, where you can ask him questions about the book and the Denari Lai universe. If you are following the tour and want to get in on the giveaway, comment or ask a question at the event or on the blog. (Details below)

Meet Author Chris Barili

Tonight only, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., join author Chris Barili in a Facebook Live event, where you can chat with him, ask questions about the books or the series in general. Join in the fun by clicking on the link below.

https://fb.me/1O476GvbDnSYL9u

About Chris Barili

Currently oppressed by his day job, Chris has set sights on retiring after 42 years in the Intelligence Community and writing full-time. Chris Barili writes all kinds of stories, and has published fantasy, science fiction, horror, western, paranormal romance, and most recently crime, with a noir story in the inaugural print edition of Toe Six Magazine. He is author of the self-published, weird western Hell’s Butcher series, and also writes under the pen names B.T. Clearwater (Supernatural romance) and T.C. Barlow (western). Chris is a retired intelligence officer, having served over 45 years between active duty, contractor, and government employee roles. He lives in Colorado with his wife.

About Shadow Blade

Ashai Larish is an assassin from the brutal Denari Lai order. Religious zealots, Denari Lai are kept loyal through an addiction to the same magic that makes them unstoppable. They have become the primary weapon for the nation of Nishi’iti, and in a hundred years, they have never failed.

Until now. Ashai must kill Pushtani King Abadas Damar and his daughter/heir, Makari. He infiltrates the king’s inner circle, putting him in the perfect place to strike, with only Captain Bauti of the Royal Guard at all suspicious of Ashai’s intent.

Except Ashai has fallen for Makari and cannot complete the hit. When a second Denari Lai kills the King, Ashai finds himself fighting for Makari’s life instead of taking it. To make matters worse, the order cuts him off from his magic, leaving him weakened and in withdrawal.

Meanwhile, far north in the Pushtani mines that border Nishi’iti, a slave named Pachat learns that his love, a hand slave to Makari, died at the hands of a Denari Lai assassin. His grief ignites a slave rebellion, and Pachat becomes the unwilling leader of the revolt. Urged on by Nishi’iti guerrillas, the rebellion sweeps across the borderlands, threatening to erupt into all-out war. Yet all Pachat wants is to avenge his beloved’s death by killing the assassin, so he walks away from the rebellion to seek when it needs him most.

As Pachat makes off for the capital of Dar Tallus, Ashai is forced to rely on that city’s organized crime gang to hide from the second assassin, and from Bauti’s guards. Despite his best efforts to hide it, Makari discovers Ashai’s true identity, and suddenly, he finds himself without her love, without his faith, and without the Denari Lai. At rock bottom, he doubts he can do anything but cause more damage.

Can Ashai kill the second assassin and win back Makari’s love? Will Pachat gain the revenge he so lustily seeks?

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

Wrapping Up The Tour

That’s about it for the WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour. I hope you have enjoyed meeting Chris and learning about this stealthy fantasy romance adventure. Be sure to pop over to the live event tonight, at the link above and chat with Chris. He’ll be there live to answer all your questions or just shoot the shit.

One thing we weren’t able to get in time for the tour were reviews. We had a tight time schedule for this one and the reviews haven’t come in yet. But if you’re interested in seeing a review, I reviewed the story when it was released by WordFire Press and you can read my review here.

And don’t forget to leave your comments. Each stop you visit and comment on gets you an entry in the giveaway. If you missed a stop, you can go back and visit by clicking on the links in the tour schedule below. For tonight’s event, you can come back here and comment if you like, but if you participate in the chat with Chris, that counts, too. WordCrafter has never done a live event like this before, so I’m anxious to see how it turns out. Any thoughts on would be appreciated.

Thanks for joining us in this re-launch of Shadow Blade. Remember, there’s a free copy of Baiting the Hook when you purchase the WordCrafter Press edition of the book, so what are you waiting for?

Until next time, happy reading!

Tour Schedule

Monday, July 21: Writing to be Read– Book Trailer

Tuesday, July 22:Robbie’s Inspiration – Guest post

Wednesday July 23: Undawnted – Interview with Chris Barili (Leave comments on Writing to be Read)

Thursday, July 24: Roberta Writes – Reading Excerpt from Baiting the Hook, narrated by Jeff Bowles

Friday, July 25: Writing to be Read – Live appearance by Chris Barili

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Shadow Blade” Book Blog Tour

Today we’re over at Roberta Writes for Day 4 of the WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour with an excerpt reading by Jeff Bowles from the free prequel, Baiting the Hook, which comes with the WordCrafter Press edition of Shadow Blade. I hope you’ll hop on over and join in the fun as we re-launch this exciting fantasy romance adventure. We’re giving away three digital copies and one signed print copy of the book, so be sure to leave a comment at each stop that you visit.

Roberta Writes – WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour Day 4 #fiction #readingcommunity