Kaye Lynne Booth's Blog: Writing to be Read, page 63

Growing Bookworms – Meet children’s author and blogger, Norah Colvin, creator of Readilearn #childrensfiction #childrenseducation #Growingbookworms

Today, I am delighted to introduce you to children’s author, Norah Colvin. Norah is a retired teacher and runs a marvelous educational site called Readilearn which is packed with wonderful teaching aids and ideas for promoting learning among children. Welcome Norah!

I have read and enjoyed a few of your children’s pictures books. They comprise of delightful age appropriate stories and lovely illustrations. Is there any particular children’s book author whom you admire and consider to be a role model for your writing?

Robbie, thank you so much for inviting me here to talk about my books and favourite authors. There are so many authors whose work I love, it’s hard to know where to start, but I guess if I had to pick just one, I’d have to say Mem Fox.

Mem has written so many wonderful picture books that touch my heart. Each one is a gem. She is enormously prolific and writes in many different styles. Possum Magic, her first picture book, was published in 1983, too late for my son and a few years before my daughter was born. I fell in love with this book and Mem as soon as I read it. But I love so many others of her books too, especially Koala Lou (I can’t read it aloud with tearing up), and Whoever You are (same thing). For others of her books that I love, it’s best to just go to her website and check out her full list. I love them all!

One book of Mem’s that I found especially inspiring was her memoir Mem’s the Word. I had always wanted to be a published writer but had never been successful in having any of my submissions accepted. In the memoir (great name for a book about Mem, eh?) Mem revealed that she’d had her first book published when she was forty or almost forty. That gave me hope. I was not yet 40 at the time, only almost. Not only that, Possum Magic had been rejected nine times and had gone through many changes and edits before it was published. Possum had even started life’s journey as a mouse. I thought maybe there was hope for me yet. It took decades after that for me to have these little picture books published with Library For All, but I have been a published educational writer since the early 1990s (last century!)

Mem has also written a brilliant book for parents called Reading Magic. It is all about the importance of reading aloud to children and I just love it. Whenever I know someone who is becoming a parent for the first time, I gift them this book and one of Mem’s picture books as well, usually Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes if I can find it, or Possum Magic. While I can talk (and write, which I often do) about the importance of talking with, reading to and playing with children, a message from Mem gives extra authority to the message. While we’re talking about Mem – although she is an Australian and was born here, she grew up in Africa, Zimbabwe, I think.

You can read more about Mem Fox on Norah’s blog here: https://norahcolvin.com/2015/09/25/a-celebration-of-australian-picture-books-mem-fox/

Where do you find inspiration for your children’s picture books?

This is a tough one to answer, though it should be easy, as stories are everywhere. One of my favourite sayings to children I was teaching, my own children and now my grandchildren is “There’s a story in that”. A story can arise from almost any situation, and be triggered by a thought, a word, a scent on a breeze, a sound. A story is taking a moment, a thought, and turning it into something magical that resonates with others. Of course, if I’d had more success with that latter part, maybe I’d have more stories published and would be more confident in answering this question. But I guess, in fact, children are my inspiration. I love spending time with young children. They are just the most amazing, joyful, full of wonder wonderful little humans with huge hearts. When I’m writing stories for or about children, I try to capture what it means to be a young child and release the six-year-old that still resides within me.

How do you go about ensuring the language and flow of ideas in your children’s books are appropriate for the target age group?

I hope the language and flow of ideas in my stories is appropriate for the young children in my target audience. I have spent a lot of time with young children. I was one once myself and am still a six-year-old at heart (see above). I was a teacher of 5 – 7 year-olds for almost 30 years, had two children of my own, and two grandchildren. A day never went by in the classroom or at home when I didn’t read at least one (often many more) stories to my children. I think all these things – talking with children, spending time with children, and reading stories and books to them (and to myself) – have helped me write in language that is age appropriate.

Do you include specific messages for young children in your picture books? What are your aims with these books?

I try to not be didactic in my stories but to allow messages of empowerment come through the events and character development, encouraging children to love themselves, to be confident, to be friendly towards and respectful to others, to be courageous and curious and try new things, and … I often consider my stories to be ‘a slice of life’, an incident that could occur in any family, an incident that children may identify with. I avoid the darker emotions and try for something lighter. There’s too much darkness. Let there be light, I say. Learning and life are meant to be fun after all.

Your books are part of the Library for All initiative. Could you please share a bit about the objectives of Library for All and why you are a participant in this project.

I’m so pleased you have asked about Library For All (LFA). It is Library for All that has published these first picture books of mine that you have mentioned. I am absolutely delighted and feel extremely honoured to be able to contribute to the Library For All collection. It is such an amazing organisation with a mission that is close to my heart – to make knowledge and books accessible to all equally. Authors and illustrators donate their stories and illustrations to LFA. It’s a great way to be able to support their work. I have fifteen books published with LFA. The first one to be published Wombat Digs was written in a workshop run by LFA with the aim of expanding their titles. I was lucky to have this story written and accepted in that workshop. Most of my stories are nonsense phonics stories written at the request of LFA. Two of the stories have been translated, one for Timor-Leste and one for Kiribati. I was so surprised to receive the one for Kiribati this week. I didn’t know it was being translated. How exciting. You can see all the titles on my Amazon author page. While I receive no income from sales, I’m delighted that the funds contribute to the good work of LFA.

You have a website, Readilearn, Digital Resources for Teachers. Please tell us a bit about your objectives with this website and how teachers and other caregivers can benefit from your digital resources.

Readilearn has been a labour of love. When I was teaching, as most teachers do, I spent many hours away from the classroom preparing lessons to not only encourage learning but to make learning fun. I was/am never in favour of handing out worksheets just to keep children busy. I’ve never considered that respectful of their intellect or a good use of time. I believe that children learn through trying things for themselves and through discussions with the teacher and each other.

When I left the classroom, I wanted to support teachers by doing some of the preparation for them, preparing lessons that were ready for them to teach, lessons that gave the children opportunities to interact with and discuss what they were learning. I wanted to make the lessons a bit more fun and meaningful than just filling out numerous worksheets filled with repetitive exercises. I also wanted to make it affordable so that teachers didn’t have to spend a lot of their hard-earned money (as most of us, especially early childhood teachers, do) on quality resources.

As most of my teaching days were spent working with 5 – 7-year olds, that’s the age group I’ve targeted. Teachers of children in that age group don’t have to scroll through oodles of resources to find something age appropriate. However, as I said, they are lessons ready for teachers to teach (including home-schooling parents). They are not designed for children to use on their own. It is the interactions and the discussions that are important. This is especially so for the interactive lessons which are accessed online. While there are some downloadable worksheets (many of them free), they usually provide follow-up support for the online lessons or provide other teaching ideas. Teaching is an amazing job. It has enormous rewards, but it has its challenges too. If I can make a teacher’s day a little easier and learning a little more fun and meaningful for the children, I’m happy.

Thank you, Norah, for being a wonderful guest and sharing all this amazing information about your writing and Readilearn.

My review of Wombat Digs In by Norah Colvin

This is an adorable book for small children about a wombat who is struggling to keep up with some of the other animals including the kangaroos who can bounce, the possums who can climb, and the fruit bats who can fly. Wombat is feeling a little dejected, but when Baby Koala falls out of the tree, Wombat’s own special skill of digging comes to the forefront. This little book is illustrated with simple and bright pictures that small children will love.

Purchase link:

Amazon Au: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/192596003X

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Wombat-Digs-Norah-Colvin/dp/192596003X

My review of Let’s Move by Norah Colvin

This is a delightful little book for teaching very young children about animals and movement. The illustrations are adorable and I particularly liked the snails that slide and the snakes that slither.

Purchase link:

Amazon Au: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/1925960064

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Move-Norah-Colvin/dp/1925960064

About Norah Colvin

Norah Colvin is a passionate educator and writer.

She is a published educational writer and freelance author for publishers such as Jacaranda Wiley, Greygum Software, Blake Education, Pascal Press, MacMillan and ITC Publications.

She has two children’s books published with Library For All, a ballad included in the Share Your Story Tell ‘Em They’re Dreaming anthology and flash fiction in the Carrot Ranch Rough Writers Anthology Vol 1. She loves to write picture books manuscripts for the six-year-old in her own and others’ hearts.

She belongs to the following writers’ groups:

SCBWI

Queensland Writers Centre

Book Links

Write Links

Writing NSW

Creative Kids Tales

and other Facebook writing groups.

She blogs at www.NorahColvin.com and produces teaching resources for her educational website www.readilearn.com.au.

About Robbie Cheadle

Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published thirteen children’s book and two poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

The ten Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie’s blog includes recipes, fondant and cake artwork, poetry, and book reviews. https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Review In Practice: Content for Everyone

Content for Everyone is a must-read for creative entrepreneurs looking to improve the usability and accessibility of their website, email and social media content.

With over a billion people living with some form of disability worldwide, it’s more important than ever to make sure your content is accessible. In this easy-to-follow practical guide, you’ll learn techniques to make your content more accessible, without needing any in-depth technical knowledge. From adding meaningful alternative text to images, to choosing colors with enough contrast for easy readability, to adding captions to your videos and more, Content for Everyone has everything you need to reach a wider audience and improve the user experience for everyone.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to improve your content and reach more people.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Content-Everyone-Practical-Entrepreneurs-Accessible-ebook/dp/B0BT6Z51N7/

We all want to be inclusive, right? Of course, we do.

But how do we, as authors and creatives do that? Many authors don’t have the first clue as to how to do that. I know I didn’t.

Content for Everyone, by Jeff Adams and Michele Luchini is a book which tells you how to make your website content more accessible to a huge audience who many authors overlook or bypass. Adams and Luchini talk about how we can create more accessible content for visual or hearing impaired readers on our websites, in emails and newsletters, in blogposts and in social media posts. They talk about ways in which we can reach a much wider audience by making our content inclusive for readers regardless of whatever adaptive technoloy they’re using, or whatever device is their preference for consuming content.

With the right amount of time and effort, websites and digital communications can be made accessible to those with disabilities or use adaptive technology in accessing digital content. But it requires work and/or money to make that happen, and many authors probably wonder why they should go to the trouble.

I’m here to tell you why. When you make your website or your books accessible to those with disabilities and impairments, you are reaching out to a whole new audience with your writing. It is a large community, “with millions of impaired or disabled readers, who would read if they could access the content” (Patty Fletcher, email March 24, 2023), and it makes good sense to make your content inclusive to these potential readers. Awareness of the large audience of potential readers who are visually impaired was the main reason that I sat up and paid attention when I heard about this book.

Content for Everyone deals with how to make digital content accessible. There are many things we can do to make our content more accessible including providing the right contrast for visually impaired individuals, or even the proper use of headers. It’s no secret that I’m a bit old fashioned and I’m not always aware of the incricate details of the tech I use, although I am always learning. Content for Everyone discusses many ways in which you can make your content accessible to those with disabilities, who must use adaptive technology in order to access online and digital content. Some of these areas wouldn’t seem to be problematic to those of us without disabilities, but they are for individuals who are impaired.

Although all of this is a lot of work, Adams and Lucchini offer up individual steps which can be performed singularly, instead of trying to undertake the enormous task of accessiblility as a whole, which could be daunting. Picking one area of accessibility at a time seems to make the goal more attainable. I found that I hadn’t been using my headings correctly, and this is something that I never dreamed made any difference to anyone. But it does make a difference to those using adaptive technology, such as screen readers. after finishing the book, the first thing I did, was to go and change all the headers on my upcoming blog posts. Then, I went through and fixed them all through my blog site. It’s not anything a sighted person would probably notice, but for someone who uses a screen reader, it can make a difference as they try to navigate my site. Knowing that it makes a difference to some people, and knowing that by making it accessible, I will be widening my potential reader audience considerably, makes my decision to use headings correctly from now on seem a small step to take.

Something else which I’ve been working on since reading this book is adding the alt text for the screen reader crowd. Doing this is not hard, and should be done when you set the image in the post, but it does take extra time. I work with several visually impaired authors who use screen readers, so I know this audience is quite large. This is a simple thing to do, which really doesn’t take much time if you do it as you go. My site is image heavy, with lots of book covers, so it may take some time to add alternate text to the visuals which are already there. Even though it does take time and effort, the increase in portential readers from taking a few simple steps is so great that I have to ask, why would you not want to take this step to ensure that your content is accessible to more potential readers?

I am so pleased to be able to work with the wonderful authors within the visually impaired and print disabled community. It would be a shame to not be able to include their content within the WordCrafter tribe because of inaccessibility. And it would be a shame to have them miss out on WordCrafter content because they can’t access it. As Poetry Treasures 3 comes out this month, I’m pleased to be able to say it is the first book I have ever published with alternate text for each image. It’s just a small step in making Wordcrafter Press books more accessible to all.

You can learn more about these authors and their book, as well as learning a few things you may not know about accessibility in their interviews on the Stark Reflections podcast (episode 294), and on The Creative Penn podcast (March 13, 2023).

National Library Services

My grandmother was blind, and as a little girl, I often listened to her “talking books” with her and didn’t think much about it. I’m not sure, but I am thinking that those little cassette tapes that used to come to her in the mail, were sent by the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled Library of Congress was behind them, even then. Yep. The visually impaired were doing “audio books” before they were even a thing. Today’s audio has caome a long way from those talking books on cassette, and there are now many adaptive technologies available to make books accessible to visually impaired and print disabled readers. And it makes sense for authors to tap into this audience by enrolling their their books in the NLS programs that are available. You can find out more about the National Library Services here.

Author Patty Fletcher encourages authors to enroll their books in the National Library Services to make them accessible to those who are visually impaired or print disabled to widen your audience and make many overlooked readers happy. She recomends that you read “That All May Read: Technological Innovations Extend Reach of National Library” by Wendy Maloney and then, if you are interested in making your books accessible, email  nlscollections@loc.gov to find out how.

What is Accessibility and Assistive Devices?

“To know what accessibility is, one must first know what assistive technology is.”

Author Patty Fletcher

You can find out more about accessibility, what it is, and why we need it in our content. Patty Fletcher shares the following articles, which talk about assistive technology, how it works, and why it is important:

The Print Barrier, by Anne ChiapettaThe Importance of Alt Text for Screen Reader Users: A Guide to Best Practices and Accessibility by Virtual Tech Advisor and Research Assistant Casey Mathews

The subject is vast, and this book and the above articles are a good place to start.

Patty Fletcher is a visually impaired author and member of the American Council for the Blind, which is a large community of visual and print disabled readers. Patty’s goal is to bridge “the great chasm which separates the disAbled from the non-disAbled.” Toward that end, Patty is organizing a virtual event to help authors understand what adaptive technologies there are and steps we can take to adapt our websites, digital correspondence and books to be inclusive of these potential readers. Please reach out to myself or Patty if you would like to participate in this event.

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About the Author

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. 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.

Happy Easter!

Book Review: Bundle of Fears and Frights

About the Book

THERE’S NO ESCAPING THE EVIL THAT RISES WITHIN OUR OWN HEARTS.

On a work trip to Los Angeles, Michael Andrews stumbles upon the rising underground movement of the Proud Fighters for America, a white-supremacist group hell-bent not only on vanquishing any outside their predefined definitions of the one pure race, but also on leveraging long-buried paranormal experiments conducted by Nazi Germany to create an army of super soldiers.

But this group isn’t confined to the west coast. Their numbers have also spread to New York, Michael’s home stomping grounds.

Michael has to determine if a mysterious woman he is falling in love with who has ties to the PFA and a unique paranormal ability of her own can be trusted, and if the two of them, along with another supernatural creature and an occult scholar, are enough to take down the growing legion of evil.

FEARS AND FRIGHTS combines the complete texts of the two-book story arc that unrolls in the novels FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES and FRIGHT NIGHTS, BIG CITY into a single digital bundle.

Purchase Links:

Amazon/Audible: https://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Fears-Frights-Canadian-Werewolf/dp/B0B7V2ZY2J

Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/a-bundle-of-fears-and-frights-by-mark-leslie

My Review

I listened to the audio book, Bundle of Fears and Frights, by Mark Leslie, and narrated by Scott Overton. As he has through the whole series, Scott Overton does a smashing job of bringing Leslie’s characters to life.

This is a two book bundle which includes Fear and Longing in Los Angeles and Fright Nights, Big City, which are, I believe, books 2 & 3 in Lefebvre’s Canadian Werewolf series. Together, they make nine hours of audio book entertainment, and characters which you can’t help but invest into.

My first thoughts when learning about book 1, Canadian Werewolf in New York, was that it might be similar to the movie, American Werewolf in London, which I enjoyed enough to watch two or three times. My second thought was that the werewolf thing has been soooo overdone, as have vampires, and zombies. As it turned out, Lefebvre’s werewolf different from that movie in several ways. And his character, Michael Andrews is not like any other werewolf that I’ve heard of. I mean, how can you not like a werewolf superhero? Not a role you’d expect to see a werewolf in, right? No, I find Lefebvre’s werewolf to be fresh and original, and I’ve never regretted picking up that first audio book, which was also narrated by Scott Overton. You can read my review of that book here.

Bundle of Fear and Frights takes Lefebvre’s werewolf to Las Angeles and back to New York, in his human form as Michael Andrews, of course, to battle a white supremacists domestic terrorist group. As a human, Michael is vulnerable like the rest of us, and he’s trying to come to terms with the loss of his true love, Gail, and move on to a new chapter in his life.

In Fear and Longing in Las Angeles, Michael finds a new love interest, Lex, but his supernaturally enhanced wolf senses and strengths offer advantages, and he can never walk away from someone in need. He just can’t seem to help himself. Before he knows it, he also finds himself battling the PFA, a domestic terrorist group involved in the occult, which has supernatural powers to rival his own wolf senses and strength. All, while trying to navigate his love life and his writing career. To make matters worse, strange things are happening with his wolf senses, which he doesn’t fully understand, but he grasps at the chance to once again have a normal life with Lex.

In Fright Nights, Big City, he’s back in New York with Lex, but trouble follows them, or at least, the PFA does. In L.A., Michael had decided to walk away and let the professionals deal with them, but now, in New York, it looks like they have no choice but to try and stop them from carrying out their evil plot to take over the city. Together with Lex, his new girl, and Gail, the girl he can’t seem to get over, they battle occult forces of evil to save the city, and themselves.

Mark Leslie’s Michael Andrews is one of the most likeable werewolves I’ve ever met. I love that he weilds his enhanced powers like a superhero, because of his compassion for others, which is a very human trait. I give a Bundle of Fears and Frights five quills.

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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 here.

Information for Authors: Accessibility Article #2

Hi, at Patty’s Worlds, Patty Fletcher answers the questions, What is Accessible technology? and how can I make my materials accessible to those who are visually challenged, or totally blind?

 Here she is with more.

Earlier last month, I was approached by a fellow author with the question, “How can I educate the authors I work with concerning accessible tech and how to make their writing available for readers who are blind, visually impaired, or who have some other print disability?”

After giving this some thought, I decided the first course of action would be to explain just what accessible tech is.

Read the full post here:  https://pattysworlds.com/the-importance-of-alt-text-for-screen-reader-users-a-guide-to-best-practices-and-accessibility-by-virtual-tech-advisor-and-research-assistant-casey-mathews-accessibility-assistivetechnology-printd/

Information for authors: Accesibility Article #1

At Patty’s Worlds, Patty Fletcher answers the questions, what is Accessible technology? and how can I make my materials accessible to those who are visually challenged, or totally blind?

 Here she is with more.

Earlier this week, I was approached by a fellow author with the question, “How can I educate the authors I work with concerning accessible tech and how to make their writing available for readers who are blind, visually impaired, or who have some other print disability?”

Read the full post here:  https://pattysworlds.com/the-print-barrier-by-author-and-multimedia-specialist-ann-chiappetta-accessibility-assistivetechnology/

Writer’s Corner: Revisiting Poetry – A Look Back

It All Started with Poetry

When I first started writing, I wrote poetry. In fact, my first sale of my writing, back in 1996, was for a poem. I wrote on a manual typewriter and submitted via snail mail, (I know. I’m dating myself terribly.). My poem, “A Prayer for Guidance” was published in a small poetry magazine called Dusk & Dawn, which is no longer in publication, and I made a whole $5 from it, but boy, was I ever proud of that sale.

I put my poetry on backgrounds, like the one above for my very first writing event. It was a local event that a friend saw advertised in the paper and said, “You should see if you can get a table. I called and got a table at the event, then realized I had nothing to offer at my table. I hadn’t yet published a book or anything, so I printed up my poetry on backgrounds , which I sold at my table for $5 a piece, and made almost $100.

For that event, I had a poem called “Voices” about the different voices that speak in my head, and as I was searching for backgrounds, I came across a painting of the same title, that I knew was the perfect background for this poem. So I poked around on the internet until I found a way to contact the artist, Mitchell Barret, and sent him an email, requesting to use his painting as my background. I was more than surprised when I recieved a phone call from him all the way from England. You must understand that this was right at the beginning of the internet era, and I still had a land line with long distance charges, so a call from another contentent was a pretty big deal to me, and I absolutely adored his English accent, although I had to ask him to repeat himself a couple of times during the call. He gave me permission to use his painting for the writing fair, and we conversed for a while, sparking up a friendship that was one of my first internet networking experiences.

Poetry & Art

In a later contact, Mitch said he was working on a series of paintings and he would like to include some poetry with them. He sent me the sketches for the paintings, and I wrote a poem for him. “Intimacy and the Harliquin Dance”. To my knowledge only one of those paintings ever came to fruition, but he did use a portion of my poem in his painting, which he titled “Intimacy”. The painting was on display and was sold at the Keliedescope Gallery, in Battle Sea Park, London in 2010.

After Michael

When my son died in 2009, I wrote poetry almost constantly. When I wasn’t physically putting words to page, I was putting my feelings to verse in my head. I wrote enough poetry about Michael and my loss of him to fill a chapbook. It was my way of processing my grief, I think. I don’t know if any of it was really good, but I felt it to be some of the most powerful writing I’d ever done.

Most of my poetry was rhyming, and by this point, I had taking some creative writing courses, where my poetry professor informed me ryhming poetry was no longer in vogue. Because of the rhyming, sing-song style of my poetry, it was evaluated by one critic as childish. And perhaps it is a bit childish. Rhyming poetry is fun to write. I’m a big fan of Sid Shelden and Dr. Suess, after all.

When I enrolled at Western State Colorado Unversity to earn my M.F.A. in Creative Writing, my focus shifted away from poetry and I began writing fiction, which has taken up my energies ever since, but I’ve never lost my love for poetry. I still submitted poetry here and there, even getting a few published in magazines such as Colorado Life Magazine, and anthologies such as Manifest West #5: Serenity and Severity. I just wasn’t writing anything new in the poetry realm.

Renewed Interest

A couple of years ago, I came across a book by Coleen Chesebro, WordCraft Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry, which delves into the art of syllabic poetry. I couldn’t read this book without dabbling with the different forms myself, reviving my love for poetry all over again. (See my “Review in Practice” of WordCraft Prose & Poetry here.) And I used my newfound poetry skills to answer a creative challenge posed on the blog of Teagan Riordan Geneviene with a Shadorma poem with an image.

Now that my M.A. in publishing is completed, I find a have more time in which to ponder the words which I place on the page, and play with poetry. For that is what poetry ultimately is – play with words. I don’t mean that it shouldn’t be taken seriously, but that creating with words, no matter the form it takes, should be fun and satisfying for the creator, and poetry offers a wider license for this than do other forms of writing. This is known over at Colleen M. Chesebro’s WordCraft Poetry blog, where every Tuesday brings a #TankaTuesday challenge involving syllabic poetry, introducing readers with all kinds of new poetic forms. And so, I’ve been revisiting poetry once again, playing with sllybic poetry and rhymes. (I still love rhyming poetry, even if it is out of fashion.)

A New Poetry Collection on the Horizon

As I look through the poetry I’ve done in the past, I’m finding a plethora of poetry that needs to be shared. So, in addition to the two novels, and two anthologies which I had planned to publish through WordCrafter Press in 2023, I’m going to publish my first collection of poetry, some old, some new; some rhyming, some syllibic, and maybe even some freestyle to be included. It will take me down an old road to go through the poetry already written, and over a new road to experiment with forms of poetry both new and old, and the process of compiling the collection will be fun. Heck, it may even get me an invitation to be a guest on “Treasuring Poetry” with Robbie Cheadle.

To me, poetry is word play at its finest. What does poetry mean to you?

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Poetry Treasures 3: Passions in April

April is National Poetry Month here in the U.S., so it is fitting that the release of the annual Poetry Treasures anthology, from WordCrafter Press comes sometime in April each year. This year’s volume will be Poetry Treasures 3: Passions. It will be released on April 18, 2023, and is available now for preorder.

 Passions treasures within.

Open the cover

and you will discover

the Poetry Treasures

of guests on

 Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s

2022 “Treasuring Poetry” blog series

on Writing to be Read.

Included are treasures from:

Patty Fletcher, D. Wallace Peach, Yvette Prior,

Penny Wilson, Colleen M. Chesebro, Abbie Taylor,

Yvette Calliero, , Smitha Vishwaneth,

Chris Hall, Willow Willers, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer,

and Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Preorder Link: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

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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. 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 will 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.

Celebrate National Poetry Month with WordCrafter Press: New Release!

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions will release on April 18 and is available for pre-order now. This exceptional collection of poets & poetry includes the works of guests from the 2022 “Treasuring Poetry” blog series, as they share their passions with us. Learn more about this anthology and help WordCrafter Press send this poetry anthology off right with a book blog tour April 17 – 21, starting right here, on Writing to be Read.

About Poetry Treasures 3: Passions

 Passions treasures within.

Open the cover

and you will discover

the Poetry Treasures

of guests on

 Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s

2022 “Treasuring Poetry” blog series

on Writing to be Read.

Included are treasures from:

Patty Fletcher, D. Wallace Peach, Yvette Prior,

Penny Wilson, Colleen M. Chesebro, Abbie Taylor,

Yvette Calliero, , Smitha Vishwanath,

Chris Hall, Willow Willers, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer,

and Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions is available for pre-order now from your favorite book distributors through Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

WordCrafter Press Celebrates National Poetry Month

Celebrating National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month here in the U.S. and WordCrafter Press is celebrating the joy of the written word by putting four WordCrafter Press poetry books on sale for the whole month! You can get your copy of your favorite from your favorite book distributor.

Feral Tenderness, by Arthur Rosch

Behind Closed Doors, by Robbie Cheadle

Poetry Treasures anthology

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships anthology

A great interview with author Joseph Carrabis over on Patty Fletcher’s “Patty’s Worlds”

FRIDAY’S FANTASTIC FINDS: Joseph Carrabis Featured Author of the Week.