Kaye Lynne Booth's Blog: Writing to be Read, page 87

“Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships” featuring Miriam Hurdle!

Hello Everyone! Today we are over at Bay Dreamer Writes, where Lauren Scott hosts Day 4 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships Book Blog Tour, with a delightful guest post by Miriam Hurdle in celebration of Pay It Forward Day. Please join us in sending this amazing poetry anthology off and don’t miss this very special post.

Baydreamer

Dear Friends,

This is day 4 of the blog tour for Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships, a beautiful anthology compiled by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle. The tour schedule is below…

Day 1: Kaye Lynne Booth at Writing to be Read started the tour with a guest post from contributing author Lauren Scott.

Day 2: D. Slayton Avery at ShiftnShake shared a guest post from blog series host, contributing author, and editor Robbie Cheadle.

Day 3: Miriam Hurdle atThe Showers of Blessingshosted contributing author Lynda McKinney Lambert.

Day 4:Lauren Scott at Bay Dreamer Writesis hosting contributing author Miriam Hurdle.

Day 5: Victoria Zigler at Zigler’s Newswill host contributing author M.J. Mallon and share a review by Victoria Zigler.

Day 6: The publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth, will be in the interview spotlight with James J. Cudney over at This Is My Truth Now

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Dark Origins: African myths and legends, The Zulus – Part 1

The Zulu are the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with a population of between 10 and 12 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The Zulu tribe originated from the Ngunis who inhabited central and eastern Africa. They migrated to Southern Africa as part of the ‘Bantu Migration’ which occurred centuries ago.

One of the most famous Zulu chief was Shaka (1816 to 1828) who founded the Zulu empire. He is credited with uniting more than one hundred independent Nguni chiefdoms into a formidable fighting force. Shaka armed his warriors with short-handled stabbing spears for close-contact fighting and trained them to move up to their opponents in close formation with the body-length cowhide shields forming an almost impenetrable barrier to long-handled assegai thrown by enemy forces.

This is the theme song from the Shaka Zulu TV show called We are Growing:

The first interesting Zulu cultural belief I want to share is about the Buffalo Thorn tree.

Like many other cultures, the Zulu people believe that a person’s life continues in the spirit world after death. Every person who dies within the Zulu tribe must be buried traditionally or the deceased may become a wandering spirit. An animal is slaughtered as a ritual and the deceased person’s personal belongings are buried with them to help them on their next journey.

Ancestors, known as amadlozi and abaphansi, are believed to live in the spirit world, unKulunkulu, and are regarded as intermediaries between the spirit world and the world of the living. Ancestors make their presence known through dreams, sickness, and snakes. At opportune times like birth, puberty, marriage, and death, the ancestors are asked for blessings, good luck, fortune, guidance and other assistance. Sacrifices of animals are made to appease the ancestors and offerings of home-made beer and other things are given as offerings.

The buffalo thorn blooms in southern Africa from October to Zulu. It is a deciduous tree and sheds its silvery-grey leaves annually. It is unusual in that its thorns grow in pairs with one thorn being straight and the other hooked. This makes this tree an effective perimeter barrier.

In Zulu culture, a twig from the Buffalo Thorn is used to collect the spirit of a deceased person from their place of death, and taken to their final resting place. If the transporter of the spirit travels, the branch will have its own seat in the vehicle.

This is a branch of a Buffalo Thorn. You can clearly see the two types of thorns from each node.

In a traditional Zulu kraal, the beehive hut on the highest point, furthest from the entrance, is occupied by the chief’s mother and is also home to the family’s ancestors. Modern Zulu settlements all have a beehive shaped traditional spirit hut.

This is a random picture of a Zulu home near Fugitive’s Drift Guest Farm. You can see the ancestor hut at the back with the conical thatched roof

It is also common for the Zulu people to plant a Buffalo Thorn tree at the site of a graveyard or mass burial site.

This Buffalo Thorn tree was planted at the burial site of the warriors who fell during the Battle of Isandlwana. You can read my post about this battle here: https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/thursdaydoors-isandlwana/ This Buffalo Thorn tree was planted as the site of the warriors who fell at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift. You can read my post about this battle here: https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/thursdaydoors-the-battle-of-rorkes-drift/About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.

Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has 2 published novels, Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy, and A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa.

Roberta has 9 children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle.

Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.

Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written 7 publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5

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Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Dark Origins” 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 entertaining, please share.

Poetry Treasure 2: Relationships – Launch Tour with Lynda McKinney Lambert

For Day 3 of the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships” Book Blog Tour, you’ll find us over at “The Showers of Blessings” with a guest post by contributing author and poet, Lynda McKinney Lambert. Join us there to help celebrate the release of this delightfully unique poetry anthology. A comment at each stop earns a chance to win a free digital copy of “Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships”.

The Showers of Blessings

Welcome to the launch tour for Poetry Treasure 2: Relationships. It’s my privilege to have Lynda McKinney Lambert as my guest today. She is a contributing author to this anthology. I’ll invite her to tell you about her poems.

Please follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop to be entered in a random drawing for a chance to win a free digital copy of Poetry Treasure 2: Relationships. The tour schedule is at the end of this post.

Here is Lynda:

Walking by Inner Vision with Lynda McKinney Lambert

Presents

A BOOK LAUNCH and Blog Tour

of Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships (Anthology)

NewFromWordCrafter

Edited and compiled by Robbie Cheadle and Kaye Lynn Booth

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Four of my personal favorite poems appear in this new collection created by Robbie Cheadle and Kaye Lynne Booth.

As a visual artist, I bring the unique skills of conceptual art into my…

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Robbie Cheadle reads! Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships

Hello! We’re all over at the “ShiftNShake” blog for Day 2 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships Book Blog Tour, with a guest post and 3 readings from contributing author and poet Robbie Cheadle. Thanks to D. Avery for hosting today. I do hope you’ll join us in celebrating the release of the Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships anthology.

ShiftnShake

Why I enjoy poetry anthologies

By Robbie Cheadle

I have always enjoyed reading poetry. My love started with nursery rhymes which I read repeatedly when I was a child. I had some personal favourites including The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly, and Who Killed Cock Robin. My enjoyment of nursery rhymes developed rather naturally into a delight in poetry.

When I was at school, we were made to learn certain poems off by heart. This was required for both English, my first language, and Afrikaans, my secondary language.

Astonishingly, some of the poems I learned impacted me so much, I can still recite them. Do you recognise these lines?

“When you hear it languishing

and hooing and cooing, and sidling through the front teeth,

the Oxford voice

or worse still

the would-be Oxford voice

you don’t even laugh any more, you can’t.”

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Welcome to the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships” Book Blog Tour!

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships Book Blog Tour

In Celebration of National Poetry Month!

Relationships are golden and each of

 Arthur Rosch, Elizabeth Merry,

D Avery, Robbie Cheadle,

Harmony Kent, Lauren Scott,

JulesPaige, Leon Stevens,

Colleen M. Chesebro, Miriam Hurdle,

M J Mallon, and Lynda McKinney Lambert 

pay poetic tribute to their most intense

personal moments.

This is Day 1 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships Book Blog Tour, and I want to tell you all, you are in for some real poetic treats this week. This wonderfully unique collection of poetry features works by Robbie Cheadle and her poetic guests from the 2021 “Treasuring Poetry” blog series right here on Writing to be Read, and it really is a treasure chest filled with poetic gems. We’ve got a fantastic eight day tour planned for you to learn more about this poetry anthology and I hope you will all join us through each tour stop.

Day 1: Opening Day here on Writing to be Read with a guest post from contributing author Lauren Scott.

Day 2: Finds us at the Carrot Ranch Blog with a guest post from blog series host, contributing author and editor Robbie Cheadle.

Day 3: The Showers of Blessings will host a guest post from contributing author Lynda McKinney Lambert.

Day 4: Bay Dreamer Writes will host a guest post from contributing author Miriam Hurdle.

Day 5: Zigler’s News will bring us a guest post from contributing author M.J. Mallon and a review by Victoria Zigler.

Day 6: The publisher, (that’s me), will be in the interview spotlight over at This is My Truth Now.

Day 7: Robbie’s Inspiration hosts with a guest post from contributing author Colleen M. Chesebro.

Day 8: Writing to be Read will wrap things up with a guest post from contributing author Leon Stevens.

Follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop to be entered

in a random drawing for a free digital copy of

***Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships***

That all being said, I’m going to turn this post over to a wonderful author and poet, Lauren Scott. Enjoy the tour. Don’t forget to leave your comments for your chance at a free digital copy of this wonderful collection of poetry gems.

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I am thrilled to announce the release of Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships, an anthology consisting of poetry from twelve authors. It is an honor to be among a group of amazing poets in this lovely collection that was compiled by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle. Below is a little backstory of how Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships was born:

Kaye’s words:

In January of 2020, Robbie Cheadle introduced a new blog series on Writing to be Read called “Treasuring Poetry”, which quickly rose in popularity. Once a month, Robbie would feature one
author/poet in a formatted Q&A and review their latest book on a blog platform where favorite poems could be shared and discussed. Robbie had some wonderful guests who are both talented poets and authors, and Robbie was attracting quite a bit of blog traffic.

By the end of 2020, we had a list of 12 talented poets who we felt were gems, so in 2021 we created a poetry anthology and invited Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” guests from the previous year to add their own contributions. The result was the first volume of Poetry Treasures, which was well received. 2021 had an equally talented line-up of guests, so we decided to do it again.

In Poetry Treasures 2: A Treasure Chest of Relationships, we’ve found some new gems. From the “Treasuring Poetry” guests of 2021, we have contributions from some very talented poets who are treasures in and of themselves: Arthur Rosch, Elizabeth Merry, D. Avery, Harmony Kent, Lauren Scott, Jules Paige, Leon Stevens, Miriam Hurdle, M.J. Mallon, Lynda McKinney Lambert, and of course, Robbie Cheadle. But unlike the pirates of olden days, we won’t bury our treasures. We want to share them with the world. I hope that you will enjoy reading these poems as much I’ve enjoyed helping to put them altogether.

I have contributed four poems, and the first, “The Fine Points” was inspired by my 33-year marriage to my husband. He is literally my best friend. The love we have shared over the years survived tough times when life threw us curveballs out of our control, but that same love thrived in more joyful moments than I can name. From the beginning when we shared our vows, when cell phones and computers were unheard of, we delivered unconditional love to each other that harbored no expectations of us to change in any way. I can’t ask for anything more.

After a couple years of marriage, our daughter was born, then our son completed our family three years later. Fast forward many years and our children are well into their adulting years.

“2020 in Digital” speaks of the chaos that raged in 2020, but how our year was brightened by our daughter and son-in-law’s unconventional yet beautiful wedding. They had been engaged for two years, together for nine, then Covid entered into the equation. A big wedding wasn’t going to happen due to restrictions, and they didn’t want to wait. So, they chose to do the next best thing.

“Something Right” was inspired when my husband and I were close to becoming empty nesters. Our daughter who is mentioned above had been out of the house for three years. Our son was about to venture into the world, paving his own path. Exciting, joyful, yet bittersweet. They both live across the country, pursuing their dreams, and we couldn’t be prouder knowing they’re making it on their own. But there are just too many states in between us, so hopefully, we can minimize that number in the near future.

Lastly, the poem entitled, “The Roses” is about my parents who have left our physical world. They used to love working in the garden, taking special pride in their roses. We miss them so much. It’s very surreal losing both parents, the family’s foundation.

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Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships

If you’re a fan of poetry, I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this fabulous anthology that Kaye and Robbie worked hard in putting together. I’m sure there are poems within these pages that will resonate with you and touch your heart.

To purchase a copy:

Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3kP8aK

Thank you for reading!

Lauren

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Lauren Scott resides in California with her husband of over three decades and their lovable lab, Copper. Their adult daughter and son live on the east coast. Lauren began writing poetry as a teen, but life intercepted her university plans, so as an adult she took writing classes at the local community college. Apart from these classes, her studies of poetry originated from reading the works of many great poets. Her strong connections to family and friends provide writing inspiration, as well as her love of nature and the marvelous wild world surrounding her. Backpacking trips with her husband along the California coast and Sierra Nevada mountains have stirred thoughts to pen about love, loss, family, and the many possibilities waiting to materialize.

Lauren was published in the anthology, Indra’s Net (2017). Additionally, she has been published in Woman’s World Magazine and The San Francisco Chronicle. She has authored three books: two collections of poetry – New Day, New Dreams (2013), and Finding a Balance (2015), and her recent memoir, More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose (2021).

Visit/contact Lauren:

Blog: baydreamerwrites.com

Shop: hittps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B08NCRH4MK

Email: baydreamer25@gmail.com

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Ask the Authors 2022 is here!

Ask the Authors 2022

That’s right. The writing reference you’ve all been waiting for has arrived. Ten talented authors and industry experts have gathered together with me to share their writing tips and advice in essay and Q&A, creating a writing reference anthology like no other.

Where can you find publishing industry experts willing to share their secrets? 

Ask the Authors 2022 is the ultimate writer’s reference, with tips and advice on craft, publishing and marketing. Eleven experienced and successful authors share what works for them and offer their keys to success in traditional publishing, hybrid, and indie. You’ll learn industry wisdom from Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Kevin Killiany, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Bobby Nash, Paul Kane, Nancy Oswald, Chris Barili, Jeff Bowles, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Mario Acevedo and Kaye Lynne Booth.

This book offers up-to-date and tried-and-true ways to improve your craft, explores current publishing and book marketing worlds. Take a peek inside and find out what works for you.

Praise for Ask the Authors 2022

“Ask the Authors is an up-to-date and broad-based compendium of advice from today’s working writers, to help you with understanding your own writing career. Great information!”
—Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of Spine of the Dragon

Ask the Authors 2022

Ask the Authors 2022 is available in both digital and print. You can get your copy from your favorite book retailer through the Books2Read universal book link (UBL) here: https://books2read.com/u/3LnK8e

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Sign up for the Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Newsletter for and book event news for WordCrafter Press books, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of Kaye Lynne Booth’s paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets, just for subscribing.

Treasuring Poetry: Meet poet and author, Chris, Hall and a review of Following the Green Rabbit

Today, I am delighted to host poet and author, Chris Hall. Like me, Chris is UK born and South Africa is her adopted country. We both love the bushveld and many of Chris’ poems and books reflect this love.

Which of your own poems is your favourite?

Call of the Maiden is a poem I wrote in response to a call for submissions to a poetry anthology by the wonderful poet and all-round creative, Tara Caribou. I was delighted when this, and another four of my poems, were accepted to be published alongside a whole host of amazing poets and artists in Creation and the Cosmos, edited and published in 2021 by Tara’s micro-publishing company, Raw Earth Ink.

Call of the Maiden

The breeze-caressed veld sways

sending dry waves to break on a distant shore

whirlwind dust-devils dance over bare earth

rising up to be scorched into stillness.

Evening swells across the veld

and the thorn tree’s shadow

reaches out with tendril fingers

to caress the smudge-blue foothills.

As daylight fades, the breeze quickens

and the new maiden emerges

standing on the threshold of the distant kopje

in that powerful place between hearth and wilderness.

She turns and kneels at the young man’s side

offering herself to him.

Limbs entwine and under the eyes of the ancestors

they become one.

Darkness closes in and the great African she-moon rises

pin-prick stars stab the violet-thick night

and now the once-maiden cries out

her triumphant ululation echoing across the empty veld.

What inspired you to write this particular poem?

The poem was inspired by the timeless feeling of being in wild, unspoiled places, and by what I’ve learned about the lives and myths of the ancient people who first trod the earth in the south-western corner of Africa where I now live. In composing the verses, my aim was to capture the atmosphere of the ancient and still-persisting African landscape, embodied in a timeless act between two people; the power wielded by a young woman on the cusp of womanhood and her celebration of the wonder of creation.

What are your plans for your poetry going forward?

I’ve been planning to put together a collection of my poems since mid-way through last year. I started reviewing my poems, and began revising and rewriting some of them with the idea of publishing the book to coincide with World Poetry Day on 21st March this year. However, ‘real life’ crowded in, and so many things slipped towards the end of last year that there was no way I was going to meet that deadline.

But now I’ve been consumed by the urge to begin another novel set in the same landscape as Call of the Maiden, and I’ve already started my new story, which takes up from where my most recent novel, Spirit of the Shell Man, left off.

Maybe my poetry collection will make it out for WPD 2023, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to start my week limbering up with Sadje’s weekly What Do You See photo prompts!

What is your favourite poem?

This was such a difficult decision and I’ve really agonised about this. In the end, I decided to reach back to my Liverpool roots with this poem by Roger McGough, a sound Scouse stalwart, and one of the leading lights of performance poetry, influenced by the popular music culture of 1960s Liverpool. I wonder if anyone remembers the song ‘Lily the Pink’ by The Scaffold, the band Roger was in with Paul McCartney’s much less well-known brother?

Let me die a youngman’s death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I’m 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I’m 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber’s chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I’m 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one Let me die a youngman’s death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
‘what a nice way to go’ death

Why do you like this poem?

I love the wit of Roger McGough’s words. His clever use of language has always made me smile, and I’ve always loved the sentiment behind this particular, and now very famous, poem. When I first read it in my early twenties, death seemed distant, but now later in life, having seen close up the sad decline of old age, the words really resonate.

I love the poem’s rebellious energy and its defiant attitude, the images it conjures up: the red sports car, the barber’s chair and the gangsters with their Tommy guns, and then there’s the reference to the Cavern Club where The Beatles famously first performed (although that was before a little before my time). The way Roger runs words together seemed quite anarchic at the time. How poetry has moved on!

The poem comes from a poetry anthology, The Mersey Sound, which included work by Liverpool poets, Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten. I acquired my copy in the early 1980s from the radical News From Nowhere book shop in Liverpool during my moody, student days. I have a vivid memory of sitting in the park in front of St Georges’ Hall, turning its pages and discovering this poem for the first time.

The collection made poetry accessible to a wider audience; me included. It also laid the foundations for performance poets like John Cooper Clarke and Benjamin Zephaniah, both of whom I was fortunate to see perform.

Finally, it reminds me of ‘The Dead Good Poets Society’ a group of poets and their supporters who met in The Third Room in the basement of the famous Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. I enjoyed going to the once weekly open mic nights but I never had the courage to participate. Had I stayed in Liverpool, I wouldn’t hesitate now!

Thank you, Chris, for being a wonderful guest. I love your choices of poems!

Following the Green Rabbit: A fantastical adventure What Amazon says

Chasing through Bluebell Woods after a strange green-furred rabbit, 12-year-old Bryony and Bethany, her eight year old sister, inexplicably end up in the olden times. Life in the village where they find themselves is hard under the wicked lord of the manor. The two girls are thrown into a desperate struggle in which the evil lord will stop at nothing to hold onto his power over the village.

Soon everyone’s hopes are pinned on Bryony and her new companions, Toby, who is under a severe warning for humiliating the disliked village pastor, and Tommy, who mysteriously arrived in the village one day and can’t or won’t speak. Together, they set out on a mission to bring help from a higher authority, but their journey is beset with difficulties. Will they be in time to save their friends from the hangman’s noose? 

A thrilling story for listeners aged 10 and above, and for anyone who enjoys losing themselves in a fantastical adventure!

My review

Chris Hall is a skilled writer and this book holds all the charm of classic children’s books like The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett and The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. It is also aimed at the same target age group of 9 to 16 years old. That being said, an adult will also enjoy this lively and entertaining story about two young girls, aged 12 and 8, and their tutor, who go back in time and end up befriending the villagers from an earlier century who are labouring under the tyrannical rule of Lord Childecott. Fortunately for the children, they become separated from their tutor as soon as they arrive in the earlier time and are spared being arrested and imprisoned along with Mr Eyre. The girls, Bryony and Bethany, are taken under the wing of Toby, the younger brother of the village apothecary, and who, having being identified as a trouble maker, is on the run from Lord Childecott’s henchmen.

Bryony and Bethany, together with their new friends, must formulate a plan to rescue Mr Eyre and save the village from destruction at the hands of the despot.

I enjoyed the characterisation of Bryony who is a sensible young woman, and able to protect her younger sister and make sensible decisions involving not only herself and her sibling, but also other characters whose impulsive behaviours could put them in danger. As the story progresses, Bryony comes more into her own and uses her education and intellect to help solve problems and make plans. Bethany is more of a side character due to her young age.

Toby is a determined and resourceful young man, albeit a little hotheaded. He is guided by Bryony and makes the right choices despite his temper flaring on more than one occasion.

Mr Eyre is every child’s dream tutor. I can’t help wondering whether he isn’t a manifestation of the author’s idea of the perfect teacher based on less happy experiences with her own teachers. He is fun loving and eager to impart learning through proactive experience, but he is also able to maintain discipline and retain the respect of his two young charges. The historical knowledge Mr Eyre manages to impart to Bryony is instrumental in the successful resolution of the troubles faced by the village.

This is a delightful story, imaginative and interesting with a solid and well research historical flavour. I would recommend it to adults and children you enjoy tales filled with mystery and delight.

Purchase Following the Green Rabbit

Amazon

About Chris Hall

Chris describes herself as a compulsive story-teller, cat slave and hen keeper. Originally from the UK, she now resides in the Western Cape of South Africa.

Her most recent novels, ‘Song of the Sea Goddess’ and it’s sequel, ‘Spirit of the Shell Man’ were inspired by the charm and beauty of her adopted country where, in Chris’s vivid imagination, myth and reality collide on the southern shores of Africa.

Other novels:

‘You’ll Never Walk Alone – Thrills and Spills in 1980s Liverpool’

‘Following the Green Rabbit – a fantastical adventure’

‘The Silver Locket’ (published under pen name, Holly Atkins)

‘Song of the Sea Goddess’ and ‘Following the Green Rabbit’ are also available as audiobooks.

A selection of her poetry is included in ‘Creation and the Cosmos – a poetic anthology’, published by Raw Earth Ink in 2021.

She has also published a tiny taster of her work in a short story collection, ‘A Sextet of Shorts’.

More of her short fiction has appeared in ‘Adler’s Writing’ and ‘One Minute Wit’. Her work also appears in the ‘Writing My City’ anthology, published in Cape Town in 2019.

Visit Chris’s website at http://www.lunas-online.com to read her short fiction, fan fiction, mini-series, poetry and more.

Find Chris Hall

Amazon Author page

Bookbub

WordPress blog

About Robbie Cheadle

Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with 9 children’s books and 2 poetry books.

The 7 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 has also published 2 books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.

Robbie has 2 adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories in the horror and paranormal genre and poems included in several anthologies.

Robbie writes a monthly series for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms. This series discusses different topics relating to the benefits of reading to children.

Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/ where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Blog: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Blog: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Instagram: Robbie Cheadle – Instagram

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

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Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” 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 entertaining, please share.

Book Reviews – First Bite: A Limited Edition Vampire Romance Collection

I’m kind of hesitant about vampire stories. I’ve read a few that were crafted quite well, like those created by Anne Rice, which I loved and more than a few with twinkling vampires or other gimmicks which veered from traditional tropes, which turned my stomach just a little. But when I received a review invitation from Jordan Elizabeth for the new anthology in which she has a story featured, I didn’t think twice before saying yes.

The Creative Words anthology, First Bite is a varied collection of vampire romance stories: vampires romancing vampires, vampires romancing humans, vampires romancing hunters, or vice verse, etc…., which might be classified as vampire erotica. While I must admit that horny vampires don’t do a lot for me, but many of these stories were explicit and the erotic portions were tastefully done. But be aware that some of these stories bordered on sizzling.

Several of the stories featured are prequels, leading into the rest of the series, rather than complete stand-alone stories. This may be a clever marketing trick to entice readers into the series, but it may also be frustrating to a reader who is expecting a complete story arc in each offering.

I personally, find this tactic annoying, because just when the author has grabbed your attention and you are really getting into the story, they pull it all away and say, “If you want more, go buy my book.” Seems a little underhanded, doesn’t it? But, I know this is a marketing tactic authors are often using these days. You usually see it in newsletter magnets and freebies, although I’ve not seen it in an anthology before.

But… I loved the unique, (at least to me), story concept for “Vampire Occupation”, by Kat Parrish. Although it ends with “to be continued…”, it left me intrigued enough that I’d like to read more. Apparently the tactic works, annoying or not.

There were no prequels or “to be continueds…” from the author requesting the review, Jordan Elizabeth. I’ve reviewed many of her YA novels in the past, and always find them quite enjoyable, and her story, “October in Elmdale “, was no exception. I was drawn into this story immediately by her skillfully placed hook, and her full story arc kept me riveted to the end, where love blooms around a broken curse.

Also worth mention in this story collection is “Must Love Humans”, by Amada Aggie, a complete story where love is kindled over a bet on a game of billiards; “Immortally Yours”, by Lenore Danvers, a complete story in which the vampire plays the part of knight rescuing a damsel who doesn’t yet know she is in distress, and “Once Bitten”, by Kathleen Ryder, a complete story where lost love is reclaimed in spite of a dark secret.

Only a vampire can cherish you forever.

Hidden among average cities and quaint little towns, monsters hunt unsuspecting prey. Secret predators prowl in plain sight, watching. Waiting. The lost souls they consume never see the beast before it hits. If they did, they’d willingly give in to the intoxication of the vampire’s sex appeal.

Overall, First Bite: A Limited Edition Vampire Romance Collection is a captivating anthology of vampire romance stories for the adult reader. I give it four quills.

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/First-Bite-Limited-Vampire-Collection-ebook/dp/B09L356DG1

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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? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Happy Easter!

Mind Fields: It Began With Television

Mind Fields

It Began With Television

April 2, 2022

It began with television. I was born in 1947, which makes me the first generation of TV people. I watched Howdy Doody, Sky King and Death Valley Days. How imprinted in my soul is Twenty Mule Train Borax? It’s permanent. As is….The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke and Rawhide.

Television took the ancient art of storytelling and whisked it away from our personal imaginations. It brought down a shutter on our fantasy and took the lead in guiding our young personalities in ways we could not anticipate. Regard the PURPOSE of television: to make money. We were beyond infatuation. We were addicted to the TV. We stayed up late until the test pattern came on.  When we turned the set off we watched the picture die into a small white dot that after a second turned black. It was time for bed. Our parents didn’t care what we watched. We watched most of it together, except on weekend mornings. There was nothing subversive or dangerous on TV in those days. There were only the illusions of the capitalist marketing system. It sold a lot of laundry detergent. It was very tribal and sad. Yet… hypnotic and cute.

TV affected us. We don’t yet know how the effect scales up. We don’t know what has been done. We base our existence upon what presents on the screen. We are Creatures Of The Screen and it continues, until we have whole walls as screens. And they keep getting bigger! The emitted light enters our bodies and charges our cells. Television is both success and catastrophe. Television morphs into cell phones and monitors. It’s in the gas station restrooms. It’s in our pockets. If it JUST STOPPED right now: what would we do? For a while we would be lost. Many of us would just give up. It’s too hard being a human in this culture without that continual entertainment. We might… some of us… turn to reading or writing. Or solving math problems. Or speaking to our friends and family. 

We are unbearably lonely. That’s what TV has done. It has infected us with our culture’s unprecedented loneliness. Americans are the loneliest people in the world. It doesn’t stop there. Go to the worst barrio in Manila. You will see satellite dishes on the most humble shack. You will see TV sets playing within tiny shops that sell pencils and sponges. Their owners don’t even watch them. They play  Exotic Soaps and Indian made porn tapes. In the souks of Damascus. In the bazaars. Television.

Only the automobile has had such stupendous repercussions. Now, the T.V. has entered the vehicle and drives us to our destinations. We are embraced into the womb of the new culture. Soon, we may not need destinations. We will just be. In our cars. With our media. With our T.V.s.

It is, after all, just story telling. 

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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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