Kaye Lynne Booth's Blog: Writing to be Read, page 90

Coming to “Writing to be Read” – “Bowlesian! – Short Stories from the Brink

Bowlesian!

Jeff Bowles has been a member of the Writing to be Read team since March of 2017, as well as being a talented science fiction and horror author with his own unique style. He’ brought us blog series such as “Jeff’s Pep Talk”, “Words to Live By”, “Craft and Practice”, “Jeff’s Movie Reviews” and Jeff’s Game Reviews”. He’s been on haitus for several months, but now he’s coming back with a fantastic new blog series, “Bowlesian!: Short Stories from the Brink”, which will feature some of his amazing short fiction each month. You can catch it on the first Wednesday of every month starting… tomorrow, March 2, 2022. You won’t want to miss it!

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Jeff Bowles is a science fiction and horror writer from the mountains of Colorado. The best of his outrageous and imaginative work can be found in God’s Body: Book One – The Fall, Godling and Other Paint Stories, Fear and Loathing in Las Cruces, and Brave New Multiverse. He has published work in magazines and anthologies like PodCastle, Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, the Threepenny Review, and Dark Moon Digest. Jeff earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing at Western State Colorado University. He currently lives in the high-altitude Pikes Peak region, where he dreams strange dreams and spends far too much time under the stars. Jeff’s novel, Love/Madness/Demon, is available on Amazon now!

Check out Jeff Bowles Central on YouTube – Movies – Video Games – Music – So Much More!

Day 2 of the WordCrafter “Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog” Book Blog Tour – Author Interview & My Review

Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog Book Blog Tour

It’s day two of the WordCrafter Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog Book Blog Tour, and today I’m bringing you my review of this wonderful little book. Robbie and her son Michael co-write the Sir Chocolate books, illustrated with lovely fondant scenes and filled with delectable recipes which will make your tummy rumble. Many of us know Robbie and are familiar with her “Growing Bookworms” blog series and the Sir Chocolate books, so today I’d like to bring you and interview with her son and co-author, Michael Cheadle and share my review of Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog.

The Authors – Robbie and Michael Cheadle

Author Interview

Kaye: How old are you, Michael?

Michael: I am 16 years old.

Kaye: How long have you been writing Sir Chocolate books with your mom?

Michael: Mom and I started writing the Sir Chocolate books when I was 7 years old and in Grade 1 at school.

Kaye: Being such a young author is quite an accomplishment. Does it make you a celebrity among your friends?

Michael: No, I have not told my high school friends about my books. It just hasn’t come up.

Kaye: Do you help your mom with the baking for the books, too?

Michael: I used to make a fondant creation for inclusion in the books although I haven’t done that for the most recent two books in the series. I don’t do fondant art anymore. I do enjoy baking with my mom and now I also cook with either mom or dad depending on who is doing the cooking that day.

Kaye: What do you like most about writing the Sir Chocolate books?

Michael: I enjoy thinking up a fun storyline with my mom and deciding on new and interesting characters for inclusion in the stories.

Kaye: What is the most difficult part of being a co-author with your mom for you?

Michael: My mom doesn’t always listen to my ideas and sometimes she changes them which can be annoying for me.

Kaye: Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog is the eighth book in the Sir Chocolate series. Which one is your favorite and why?

Michael: Sir Chocolate and the Sugar Crystal Cave story and cookbook is my favourite. I liked learning how to make sugar crystals. Mom and my first attempt to make the crystals was a failure because we didn’t let the water cool down enough before we inserted the sugar-coated sticks in the sugar mixture. The sugar on the sticks melted and no crystals formed. We redid the experiment and it worked very well.

Kaye: Do you think you might write books of your own when you are older?

Michael: Yes, I think I might write in the future. I have lots of ideas for stories.

Kaye: What are your aspirations for your future?

Michael: I want to go to university to study a Bachelor of Science: Computer Science like my brother, Gregory. I will write in my spare time like my mom does.

Kaye: What is the most important lesson gained from the collaborative writing experience?

Michael: I learned that if you put your mind to something, then you can achieve success in it. I wanted to write stories about a little man who lived in a world where you can eat everything. With my mom’s help, we have created Chocolate Land and all the creatures that live there and published 8 books in this series.

Kaye: Are you planning more Sir Chocolate books in the future?

Michael: Mom and I have a few books that are already written. My mom does most of the illustrations so it will depend on her and whether she wants to do more fondant and cake art. I think she will and the books will be published.

I want to thank Michael for agreeing to this interview. I think he provided some wonderful answers. It’s great to chat with an aspiring young author, and delightful to learn that Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog wont be the last in the Sir Chocolate book series.

My Review

I’m a huge fan of Dr. Suess, and the cadence and ryhming in the verse written by Robbie and Michael Cheadle is reminiscent of that found in the lovely books from Dr. Suess, so of course, I loved Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog. And then there is the beautiful illustrations created by the talented Robbie with fondant figurines making up the lovely scenes described in the verse, which let the story unfold before your eyes. (They may make you hungry too, because they look deliciously sweet.) One I found especially endearing is the scene for the actual rescue of the Sugar Dog, where Chocalate Fudge is emerged in the hot chocolate pond.

The extra added feature that the Cheadle books include which Dr. Suess never thought to include is the wonderful recipes, and the accompanying photo illustrations for each one are sure to make whet your appetite. Included in Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog, are recipes for scrumptious peanut butter cookies, delectable Oreo cupcakes, mouth-watering avacado and bacon scones, poured fondant icing, and chocolate chip shortbread dipped in chocolate. Yummy!

Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog is a delightful children’s book with delicious recipes sure to please both young and old. I give it five quills.

Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog Purchase links

Paperback: https://tslbooks.uk/product/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Fudge-Saves-Sugar-Dog/dp/1914245547

Ebook: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/michael-cheadle-and-robbie-cheadle/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/ebook/product-j7k4e6.html?page=1&pageSize=4

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Thanks for dropping by and helping us celebrate the release of Robbie and Michael’s wonderful new book, Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog. In case you missed the opening day, yesterday on “The Showers of Blessings” with a post by Robbie and a review by blog host, Miriam Hurdle, you can still read it here.

I hope you all will continue to follow the tour, because we’ve got some great things planned for each blog stop. Tomorrow’s stop features an interview with Robbie and we have at least two more reviews coming, too, in addition to Robbie’s wonderful posts on Thursday and Friday. I hope to see you there.

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Welcome to the WordCrafter “Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog” Book Blog Tour

Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog Book Blog Tour

Welcome to the WordCrafter Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog Book Blog Tour! This tour celebrates the release of book eight in the Sir Chocolate book series, by Robbie and Michael Cheadle. We have a great tour planned with guest posts by Robbie and reviews and interviews with some of our tour hosts.

For this opening day, we’re over at “The Showers of Blessings” blogsite with a guest post by author Robbie Cheadle and a review of Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog by blog host, Miriam Hurdle. Please join us there to learn more about this fantastic new book.

The Many Faces of Poetry: My Credo

My Credo

Art Rosch

There is no truth but your own experience.

There is no method other than what you have, by trial and error,

found best enables you to survive.

There is no psychological health, because we are always deluded.

There is no physical health because we are always dying.

There is no teacher other than personal experience;

all other teachers are more like friends from whom one gleans

important information.

The quality of information one possesses translates to the quality of the life one lives.

Bad parents transmit bad information.  This information has far reaching negative consequences, and one must struggle all one’s life to minimize the harm wrought by these consequences.

Consciousness is an experiment with different forms of information,

sifting through those that denigrate the self, selecting those

that optimize the self.

With the above in mind, it behooves one to act with the best judgment possible

under the circumstances, always bearing in mind that one’s compulsions, i.e.

the results of bad information, are always undermining good judgment.

It is useless to create inner tension between some mythical ideal of health

and what one actually is.  Being what one is always takes precedence over

myths and ideals of competence, good judgment, wholeness, wellness

and enlightenment.  Enlightenment (or the total apprehension of Truth) is possible at any moment, but the more

it becomes a goal, the more elusive it will be to attain.

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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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Dark Origins – African myths and legends: The San (previously Bushmen) Part 2

Last month, I introduced you to the San (previously Bushmen) of southern Africa and shared about their rock art. You can read the post here: https://writingtoberead.com/2022/01/26/dark-origins-african-myths-and-legends-the-san-previously-bushmen-part-1/.

Today, I am going to share a poem from the extinct IXam tribe and a little more about the San.

San hunting methods

The San are excellent hunters. They do some trapping of animals but hunting with a bow and arrows is their preferred method. The San arrows are smeared with a deadly poison that kills the animal slowly. As the animal takes a long time to die, the hunters have to track it sometimes for a few days.

The San make their poison from a caterpillar called ka or ngwa or from the larvae of a small beetle. Sometimes they use poison made from plants or snake venom. San poisons are highly toxic. In order to prevent accidental contamination, they reverse their arrow points and keep them inside the reed collar of their arrows. They also smear the arrows with the poison just below the tips.

The San use every part of the animals they hunt. Hides are tanned for blankets and the bones are cracked and the marrow eaten.

Water is scare in the areas inhabited by the bushmen. During the dry season, moisture is collected by scraping and squeezing roots. They also dig holes in the sand to find water and also carry water in the shells of ostrich eggs.

Myths of the IXam

One of the myths of the IXam is about how the Milky Way was formed. They have a poem/story called The Girl Who Made Stars which tells this story.

You can listen to me reading this story here:

This story demonstrates the San belief that feminine energy is dominant in the creation of the cosmos.

In this story, a girl who is menstruating for the first time throws wood ash and edible roots into the sky. The ashes and roots become stars and light the people’s path as they walk by at night. This myth depicts the creator of the Milky Way and all the stars in the dawning womanhood of a pubescent girl.

The girl in this story is confined to a small hut during this time. She may not eat the young men’s game as her doing so would destroy their abilities as hunters. A look from her can turn a springbok wild. She is a fragile girl but she is powerful and to be feared at this time. She is also kind and benevolent, creating the stars so that people can see at night.

The Bushman Heritage Museum in Nieu Bethesda

During our road trip earlier this year, we were fortunate enough to visit The Bushmen Heritage Museum in Nieu Bethesda and see the beautiful wall hangings that have been created by the descendants of the now extinct IXam tribe to celebrate their mythology and to help remember it.

This short video shares a bit about the creation of this museum and what it stands for. The story of the bushmen is a tragic one and this video will give you gooseflesh.

The picture above is of the restaurant at the museum which also has some wonderful local art made by the descendants of the IXam tribe available for purchase.

If you would like to learn more about the Bushman Heritage Museum, you can do so here: https://bushmanheritagemuseum.org/

Next month, I will share the last post in this short series about the San or Bushmen of southern Africa.

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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Writer’s Corner: Researching down a rabbit hole

I just took a short trip to Glenwood Springs, Colorado; one of many that I have taken in search of the truth about Doc Holliday; a curiosity that began while doing research for Delilah back in 2016. At the time, I found evidence connecting Doc Holliday with the mining camp of Leadville, where that story ends up, and I used that in my story line to give it authenticity. I learned a lot about John Henry (Doc) Holliday, but I also found a lot of facts which are conflicting, and those conflicts have tickled at my brain ever since.

Many of the facts which are not to be disputed are John Henry Holliday’s birthplace and date: Griffin, Georgia on August 14, 1851. In addition it is known that he attended the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, but before he could get his practice well established, he was diagnosed with consumption, what we know of today as tuberculosis, ruining a promising career when no one wanted to be treated by “a lunger”, so headed out west to be a gambler, which was considered a legitimate way to earn a living in those days, similar to that of a professional poker player today, as differentiated from a gambler.

But it wasn’t until the 1881 events in Tombstone Arizona and the “shoot-out at the O.K. Corral”, involving Doc Holliday and the infamous Earp brothers that his noteriaty grew into legendary proportions. months to seek relief from the reported health benefits of the natural mineral hot springs and vapor caves located there. In those days there were close to fifty hot springs running up and down the banks of the Grand River (now known as the Colorado River), as this was before Walter Devereaux purchased the townsite of Glenwood Springs and secured funding to build The Hotel Colorado and The Hot Springs Pool, as well as the city’s first power plant in 1892.

Glenwood Springs is where Doc died in 1887. It is there that he was supposedly buried, although there are claims that the hillside cemetary was flooded and several graves were washed out into the streets below and bodies scattered, so that no one really knew whose bodies were reburied where, leaving the exact location of Doc’s final resting place a bit of a mystery. A more recent addition to the cemetary is a sign suggesting that because he was destitute and could no longer hold a job as a dealer in one of the saloons, that he may have been buried further up the hillside in the pauper’s graveyard where many were buried with no headstone. I find this assertion to be highly unlikely, and assume this sign was made in an attempt to deter vandalism.

Sign at the bottom of the trailhead to the hillside Linwood Cemetary in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

When talking to the locals, I learned that vandalism has been a problem for the cemetary and particularly for the grave of the infamous dentist, gambler and gunman, and the headstone which currently marks Holliday’s alleged gravesite in the Linwood Cemetary is the third headstone to mark the spot. The one prior to this one is displayed in Bullock’s Store, where the basement houses The Doc Holliday Museum with an interesting collection said to be connected to the man, as well as the only surviving pieces of the original building, which was destroyed in a fire in a 1945 fire. The building is in the loction where The Hotel Glenwood stood, Doc spent the last six months of his life, in a room on the third floor, destitute and dying of consumption. It is rumored that, broke and unable to work due to his failing health, and according to Bill Kight of the Glenwood Springs Historical Society, it is rumored that a friend, Walter Devereaux and his longtime companion, Mary Katherine Horony-Cummings, also known as Big Nose Kate, cared for him during his last days and were at his side when he died. (Glenwood Springs: The Official Insider’s Guide 2021-22, “Get to Know Doc Holliday”, by Bill Kight)

These are pictures of the older headstones that have since been removed from the Linwood Pioneer Cemetary. You can tell how old they are because of the grainy quality of the photos. The one on the right is now on display at Bullock’s Store. There was too much snow to make the trek up to the hillside cemetary on this trip, so I wasn’t able to get a picture of the current headstone.

A few doors down on the block from Bullock’s is Doc Holliday’s Saloon. I couldn’t find any evidence that there was any real connection to Doc here, but they serve good food and historical atmosphere make it a favorite of mine whenever I visit Glenwood Springs. It’s a great place to relax and enjoy a rib-eye sandwich and a game or two of billiards. Nobody said a research trip has to be all work and no play.

It seems a little bit ironic that Glenwood plays up the association with Doc and Leadville doesn’t, knowing that he spent much more time in Leadville than Glenwood Springs, where Doc visited in hopes of improving his health to make his last days a bit more comfortable. Another irony of this move was that the moisture of the waters and the steam, as well as the altitude, would have actually been detrimental to his failing health, which is why Doc did better in the desert atmosphere of Arizona, but he was forced to flee and seek sanctuary in Colorado, due to being wanted for murder after the Tombstone affair. (Gary L. Roberts, True West Magazine, “Doc Holliday’s Lost Colorado Years”, June 2013)

Delilah

The story of Delilah takes place during the time when Doc would have been in Arizona, but Doc had visited Leadville prior to that and so he received a mention in my book, although he wasn’t present in the story. Delilah takes place in a very small time in Colorado’s vast history which I used bits and pieces of in my story, but there is much more history that the story didn’t cover, so don’t be surprised if Doc Holliday shows up in person in one of the books in the Women of the West Adventure Series, which Delilah may soon become a part of, now that I’ve spent all this time down a research rabbit hole.

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and artist, Smitha Vishwanath

Which of your own poems is your favorite?

There are quite a few poems I like – some for the flow, some for the imagery and some for the memories they bring back with them, there’s one poem that has stood the test of time. It’s a poem I penned when my girls were one and three respectively. Seventeen years later, the girls have grown – each into young ladies with a distinct personality, but it’s beautiful how the description of them in the poem still holds true. It’s special because this poem is one thing that the girls agree about.

Tender Moments

I sneak silently into the room
A quick peak I take of my budding blooms
Their breathing soft – rises and falls, a melodious rhapsody
To the soothing sound of a Spanish symphony

Their countenance silken smooth; serene
Tugs my heart, an enticing scene
Each distinctly different, yet subtly the same
Contrasting as night and day; asleep, they look- Oh! So tame

Their striking silhouette, in the mellow moonlit night
Slightly stirring, they curl; enraptured I gaze at the sight
One’s creamy-white skin peeps from the warm woollen quilt above
And the other’s little chocolaty toe pushes its way from below

One, strong and athletic; the other, dainty and petite
Poles apart in every way; a miracle I behold, a divine treat

The window slightly ajar, lets in the wintry wind
Blowing their untied tresses over their satiny skin; I lean

O’er their tender frames, and sweep the bouncy, brown curls away 
And the silk-smooth strands of the other, as in deep slumber they lay

Both unique, both special, both a part of me
Peas in a Pod, they are and shall forever be

What inspired you to write this poem?

I had walked into the children’s room one night, sometime in 2008; the girls were asleep. The curtains were drawn, and the moonlight cast a soft glow on them. I looked at them and I scribbled a version of the poem in my diary. However, it was only later, in 2017, that I reworked on the poem and published it on my blog for the NaPoWriMo prompt, ‘Write a poem that explicitly incorporates alliteration,’ on 12th April.

What are your plans for your poetry going forward?

I co-authored a poetry book ‘Roads- A Journey with Verses’ which was published in 2018. My poems have been published in various journals since then, but I haven’t got to publishing a solo book as yet. I’d like to do that, but I have a lot of starting trouble, and so, it’s taken me longer than I expected, to do it. Hopefully, I can do it this year.

What is your favorite poem?

It’s difficult to choose a favorite. I have quite a few that never fail to speak to me. However, if I have to choose it will be Emily Dickinson’s ‘Hope is a thing with feathers’ (copied from the poetry foundation)

“Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.

Why do you like this poem?

No matter how many times I read it I can not help being in awe of the choice of words, the simplicity and most importantly, how easily and perfectly ‘hope’ is described. Every line in the poem is a gem and anyone who has ever experienced ‘hope’ will vouch for it.

Roads: A journey with versesWhat Amazon says

“Roads” is a poetic rendezvous that takes the reader on a panoramic journey, making one pause, ponder and celebrate life.

The book is a light, alluring read that instantly strikes a chord and elevates one’s spirits. A trove of 60 poems, it is quilled with beads of nine virtues: Courage, Wisdom, Serenity, Love, Hope, Strength, Joy, Compassion and Gratitude. The verses encapsulate life’s ebbs and flows while prompting the reader to enjoy its simple pleasures.

“Roads” is a book that you would want to keep on your bedside, for a quiet read before retiring for the night or for the morning wisdom to seize the day. With poems revolving around emotions that each of us experiences, “Roads” very easily develops a personal connect with the reader that is defiantly refreshing.

“Roads” is a journey with verses. Take it on yours.

My review

Roads: A Journey With Verses is a beautiful book of mainly freestyle poetry written by Smitha Vishwanath and Vandana Bhasin. I have read and enjoyed a lot of poetry on Smitha’s blog in the past, but this was my first introduction to Vandana’s poetry.

I thought this was a wonderful combination of work by two talented poets and I enjoyed the different styles of writing by the two contributors. Smitha writes delicately beautiful poems in which her messages are subtly shrouded as if within a loving cocoon of words. Vandana’s writing is more strident and forthright, but I enjoyed her style equally and her strong messages for women’s rights moved me greatly.

This book is divided into sections as follows: Courage, Wisdom, Serenity; Love, Strength, Compassion and Joy, Hope, Gratitude. Each section is divided into subsections setting out an arrange of delightful poems in each subcategory. Each subsection is introduced with a short introductory verse which conveys its meaning for the poets and each poem is introduced with a paragraph setting out the the meaning and purpose of the specific poem to the writer. I really enjoyed reading about the inspiration and meaning behind each poem.

A selection of my favourite verses from this book are as follows:

From the sub-section Strength –

Believe in yourself by Vandana Bhasin

“They’ll laugh at you, and even ridicule you

They’ll even endeavor to enervate your spirits

But let the force of their dissuasion empower your faith

and the sound of their derision echo your beliefs

Believe in yourself, even when none believes in you.”

From the sub-section Compassion –

Help! She’s calling by Smitha Vishwanath

“Her eyes shone a tear, her lips quivered with

fear; down her face ran a scar, like a spear.

Her leg bruised, her hand bleeding, she felt a

shooting pain.”

From the sub-section Joy –

Tender moments by Smitha Vishwanath

“Their countenance silken smooth; serene

Tugs my heart, an enticing scene

Distinctly different, yet subtly the same –

Contrasting as night and day; asleep, they look

– Oh! So tame

Their striking silhouette, in the mellow moonlit night

Slightly stirring, they curl; enraptured, I gaze at the sight

One’s creamy-white skin peeps form the warm woolen quilt above

And the other’s little chocolaty toe pushes its way from below

One, strong and athletic; the other, dainty and petite

Pole apart in every way; a miracle I behold, a divine treat.

From the sub-section Hope –

Wings of freedom by Vandana Bhasin

“Wings of freedom are all I need

I want to live and not just breathe

I want to fly high like a bird

I want to dream big, not chase the world”

Purchase Roads: A Journey with verse

Amazon US

About Smitha Vishwanath

Smitha Vishwanath is your quintessential ‘bored banker’ turned writer. After a rewarding career in Banking in the Middle East where she worked for leading banks in senior positions, she quit and moved to India in July 2018 with her husband who had been transferred to the country on an International assignment. Therein began her writing journey.

‘Roads’ is the first book she has co-authored. Having lived and studied in different countries and different states within India and worked with different cultures, Smitha understands that ‘change’ and ‘ups and downs’ are very much a part of life. It is this experience that reflects in her poems and her writing which are filled with positivity, acceptance and willingness to change for the better.

She also writes regularly through her blog : https://lifeateacher.wordpress.com

Smitha’s art

Smitha is also a wonderful painter. I wrote a blog post about one of her painting that I have hanging in my bedroom here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2021/07/10/a-new-painting/

You can find more of Smitha’s artwork here: https://www.spacesbysmithav.com/

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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Review in Practice: “Mastering Amazon Descriptions” & “How to Write Fiction Sales Copy”

Mastering Amazon Descriptions

It’s not enough to just write the book.

Today’s author must be both writer and marketer. Authors in the the world of digital media and the rise of independent publishing are responsible for not only writing the book, but selling it, too. Even authors who are traditionally published are often responsible for a good portion of the promotional efforts.

These days, everyone knows that people can and do judge books by their covers. Most authors emphasize the importance of a a good book cover in selling books, but they’re talking about more than just the image and text on the front. Perhaps as important as that front cover, is the book’s description or blurb, found on the back cover for print books, or in your ebook’s meta-data.

A good book description’s job is to capture reader interest and make them want to know more,. Whether we’re talking about the hook of the first line, which must make you read on to the next sentence and then the next, or about the description as a whole, which must hook the reader, making them want to buy the book to learn the rest of the story, the book description is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to sell books. According to Brian D. Meeks, a good book description has three elements: a powerful hook, engaging copy, and visually appealing formatting.

Mastering Amazon Descriptions

In Mastering Amazon Descriptions, Brian D. Meeks offers a formulaic plan for writing book descriptions that will sell books, including examples of description re-writes for books in varied genres. Although these descriptions are specified as Amazon descriptions, I’m sure this technique will work equally well with Kobo, or Barnes & Nobel, or even the Apple Store. By the time you’ve read through this book, you’ll be writing back cover copy like a pro, because Meeks’ method is simple enough that almost anyone can do it.

To prove it, I’ll share with you the re-write I did of the description for Delilah, which I am preparing for its re-release in the coming year.

Here is the original description:

“Brutally raped and left for dead, her fourteen-year-old ward abducted, Delilah’s homecoming from prison quickly turns into a quest for vengeance. Tough and gritty, sheer will and determination take her to the Colorado mining town of Leadville in her hunt for her attackers and the girl, Sarah. Somehow along the way, the colorful inhabitants of Leadville work their way into Delilah’s heart, giving her a chance for a future she thought she’d lost along with her innocence.”

Here is the description I wrote for the re-release before I read Mastering Amazon Descriptions:

Delilah is a woman haunted by her past. Her homecoming from prison quickly turns into a quest for vengeance when she is brutally raped and left for dead, and her fourteen-year-old ward is abducted. Sheer will and determination take this tough and gritty heroine up against wild beasts of the forest, Indians and outlaws to the Colorado mining town of Leadville, where the colorful inhabitants work their way into Delilah’s heart, offering a chance for a future she thought she’d lost along with her innocence.

Now, here is the description I wrote using Brian D. Meeks’ method:

Haunted by her past.

Raped and left for dead; her fourteen-year-old ward abducted.

Sheer will and determination take this tough and gritty heroine up against wild beasts of the forest, Indians and outlaws.

Can the colorful inhabitants of Leadville work their way into Delilah’s heart, offering a chance for a future she thought she’d lost along with her innocence?

I don’t think anyone would argue that this last description is an improvement. It has a better hook, shorter sentences, and leaves the potential reader with a question to make them want to learn more and read the book.

How to Write Fiction Sales Copy

How to Write Fictin Sales Copy, by Dean Wesley Smith offers three different formulas for writing back cover blurbs and sales copy, which are aimed toward a wide distribution, and several different approaches. Smith is an old pro in this writing game and he’s good at what he does, (which is write). While his methods are not as formulaic and are not specific to Amazon, they are never-the-less effective in posing unspoken questions about the book and making readers want to know more. Smith also offers 32 actual story blurbs as examples in multiple genres.

To experiment with one of Dean Wesley Smith’s techniques, I thought I’d try to rewrite the blurb for my paranormal mystery novella, which is riddled with what Smith calls “The Author Problem”, which results from too many passive verbs and too much focus on the plot. My description doesn’t have a lot of passive voice, but it does focus on the plot too much, revealing more than necessary, which is a common author error. The idea behind the blurb is to give potential readers just enough to pique their interest and make them want to purchase the book. If you reveal too much of the plot, there’s no reason to buy.

Cassie is nervous about her return to her ancestral lands with her boyfriend Tony for more reasons than one. She hasn’t been up in these mountains since the unexplained drowning of her parents. And her parents aren’t the only ones who have died or mysteriously disappeared in the area. Cassie doesn’t really believe the old legends passed down from her Native American ancestors, but she harbors no desire to become the keeper of her tribal legacy or the protector of the gold that goes with it. In fact, she plans to tell her Grandmother to pass the legacy to someone else, perhaps her cousin Miranda, who has been searching for the treasure for years. Cassie wants nothing to do with it now that she carries Tony’s baby in her womb. When Cassie forces herself to go out on the lake that took the lives of her parents and she discovers a cave which holds the treasure of her people, she must admit that the legacy is real, which means the curse that guards the treasure and threatens the males of her tribe must also be real. When Miranda’s boyfriend, Jake disappears on the lake, Cassie must find a way to stop the curse, before Tony becomes the next victim.

So here is my attempt at a rewrite, using Smith’s basic blurb pattern, beginning with a character summary that “nails the genre if possible”.

Cassie wants nothing to do with the legacy her grandmother wants to hand down to her. She doesn’t believe in all those Native American legends anyway.

She and Tony plan to be married and start a family. They’re only returning to her ancestral lands now to tell her grandmother to pass the tribal legacy on to someone else, along with the cursed gold that goes with it.

When she forces herself to go out on the lake where her parents drowned, she discovers the cave which holds the tribal treasure and the lake takes another life. Now Cassie must rethink all that she believes. If the treasure is real, could the curse be real, too?

Can Cassie find a way to stop it before Tony becomes the next victim?

If you love paranormal mysteries, pick up a copy of “Hidden Secrets”.

Which one of these descriptions would make you more likely to buy the book? You can see what a difference a few simple changes can make.

Authors must be able to write sales copy, as well as fiction or nonfiction, because stories don’t sell themselves. On The 6 Figure Authors podcast suggest that if a book isn’t selling well, the first things to look at are cover art and blurb. We see here with the examples I provided, what a difference changing up the blurb can make. I recommend both Mastering Amazon Descriptions, and How to Write Fiction Sales Copy to any author who wants to polish their blurb writing skills and improve their sales copy.

Growing Bookworms – Letting Go!

I’m going to start today’s post with a short, hopefully amusing, story about my taking my oldest son to get his university access card last week. By way of background, the relevant entrance for this task is on a busy street with no parking. The area is also not a good one, so hanging about on the street in front of the entrance is not particularly appealing. Another thing to note is there have been a spate of kidnappings of older teens and young men recently in South Africa.

“I think that Greg should go on his own to fetch his University card,” I say to Terence. “He won’t want his mother with him. I will embarrass him.”

“No,” Terence says with authority, “Parents go with.”

Hmmm, I think. You attended this university thirty years ago, things might have changed.

There is no arguing with this man who is over the moon that his son has achieved a scholarship to study a BSc Computer Science at “his” university. Thirty years has disappeared in a trice and Terence is back in full University mode. You’d think he was going and not Greg.

At 8.30am on the appointed morning, a determined Terence drops Greg and I off on the street in front of the entrance, waves cheerfully, and heads off to work, which is fortunately close by.

We go to security. Greg calls a number and is granted access. I call the same number and am not allowed in. I notice a few other parents outside the security gate.

“You just go on your own,” I say. “I’ll wait for you here.”

Off Greg goes and I am stuck standing on the street in this undesirable area. There are two security guards and a few other waiting mom’s so I don’t panic. One lady is very nice and makes conversation while we wait.

Ten minutes later, Greg texts me: I don’t know where to go.

I message back: Come back to the gate and the security guard will tell you where to go. I saw her telling another boy.

Greg does not come back to the gate. There is complete cyber silence

Another ten minutes pass and he texts: I’ve found it and I’m waiting in the queue.

Happiness! He’s doing this on his own [as he should] and I’m confident we’ve come early and he won’t take long. I feel an idiot waiting outside the barred gate like an unwelcome guest. Other arriving students stare at me suspiciously.

The time drags. One hour passes and my back is aching. I don’t like standing here on the street. I feel agitated. I text Greg: How much longer?

He replies: I’m getting on a bus and going somewhere else.

I text him: where are you going?

He replies: I don’t know.

Complete cyber silence.

I text him – no reply.

I call him – no reply.

I decide he has been enticed into a bus by kidnappers and is on his way to Nigeria to be forced into male prostitution.

I have a panic attack and call him six times.

No reply.

I phone Terence at work and tell him our son has potentially been kidnapped.

Terence knows me. He doesn’t say anything. He gets into his white car and charges to the rescue.

Terence arrives and I jump into the car and burst into tears.

Greg sends a text: I’m getting my card.

I tell Terence that the kidnappers are responding to messages on Greg’s phone so they can throw us off the scent and cross the border.

Terence is undecided: Should he take me to the closest mental institution or try to find Greg.

Greg texts: I’m finished. Can you fetch me from Alpha Campus.

***

It was very funny. Afterwards. Of course, I broke a major rule of “letting your child go.” Stay in the moment rather than imagining the worse-case scenario. Catch yourself if you are catastrophizing a situation.

Letting go is more about letting go of our own fears and anxieties as parents. It is adjusting to the idea that you are no longer in control of your child and they are now making their own choices and decisions. It also means they are responsible for any fallout from those decisions.

I blame my anxiety about my children on their collective 32 operations, chronic health problems, and the two home invasions I have been involved in. I have trust and anxiety issues, but I still need to get a grip and accept that my son is now an adult. Even Michael, needs some freedom and to be given wings.

Some other advice to parents who struggle to let go is as follows:

Stop trying to raise a “happy” child. Accept that making decisions and choices is going to result in mistakes and the resultant misery these bring. People need these experiences to grow and learn.Empower your child over time by giving them some power of less important decisions as they get older. If they refuse to study for an important test, let them fail. You can’t shelter your child from all the difficulties in life and they need to learn to prioritize. Set boundaries and follow through on punishments if your child fails to comply. If you tell him/her to be home by 10pm and he gets home at 11pm, ground him. He needs to learn about consequences for actions.Have respect for your child and his/her ability to handle situations as they grow up. Have faith in the values and ethics you have instilled in them.

Did you struggle to let go when it come to your children? Let me know in the comments.

To round this post off, I am sharing a poem I wrote about letting go. It is included in my book, Behind Closed Doors.

He walks away by Robbie Cheadle

From the first day

he took a tentative step

on uncertain chubby legs

attached to adventurous feet

he moved away from her

embracing with enthusiasm

the mysterious outside world

She watched over him tenderly

as he learned about life

discovered the joy of friendship

and the heartbreak of loss

embarked on his academic journey

exploiting his strengths and

overcoming his weaknesses

and during all this time

mom was always enough

her smile healed all wounds

her kiss cured all pain

but she knew in her heart

that this investment of hers

was ultimately for another

a nameless faceless other

who would eventually take her place

she was preparing him to leave

and find his place in this world

His independence draws ever closer

her smile no longer enough

as he jostles for position

in the heartless world of men

her kiss no longer wanted

as he seeks the lips of the other

It’s heart wrenching to let go

knowing he must suffer pain

before he finds his enduring love

encounter setbacks and loss

before success and satisfaction

but it’s the duty of a mother

to set her son loose

to fly alone

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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Mind Fields – Cannabis Can And Sometimes It Can’t

Mind Fields

I started smoking marijuana at fifteen. At that time, marijuana was simply Pot. Weed. It was Reefer, Dope, Ganja. Sometimes it was just Shit. It was so hard to obtain that we went to dangerous housing projects like Jefferson Barracks or East St. Louis.. These are completely black ghetto neighborhoods. Here’s the classic scenario: drive to East St. Louis, to a certain intersection. A man will be there at nine p.m. taking orders. Give the man your money.  Pull around the corner and wait in the car. Half hour goes by and everyone who passes gives you the skank eye. Wait in the car. Another twenty minutes pass. Shit, did the fucker burn us and bail? There’s more skank eye from the locals. A nondescript Ford rounds the corner, driven by a white man in a fedora. “Get down, that’s a narc!” We hunch down over the drive shaft that runs down the center of the vehicle.  He could be anybody. Probably not an officer of the law. We laugh nervously: maybe he’s scoring weed, too. Haha.

I’m about to crank it up and call it a night, write it off to misery when the connection shows up, rapping quietly on the frosted window. He’s palming a baggie. Whew. Groovy. Thanks, man. More side-eye looks than a herd of horses as the connection sneaks off. 

Cannabis Bud

Now it’s called Cannabis. From old habit when I talk to myself I call it Weed. But…hey… It’s the majestic Cannabis. It’s not a weed. I won’t call it that any more.

I could write about cannabis all day. One thing that stuns me (aside from the THC) is the post-legalization culture that has arisen in a few short years. The explosion of new ways to consume cannabis is one aspect of this cultural eruption. Would you have dreamed, twenty years ago, that you would go to the “pot store” to get your cannabis? YES! I go to the POT STORE! WARNING: it CAN get expensive. Some of the marketing is clever and ‘scammy’. The research for this article has cost me a couple hundred bucks. Pot is getting the late-capitalist treatment and is being commodified in ways inventive beyond the craziest dreams of any baby boomer. Vape pens full of THC. Resins, waxes, elixirs, inhalers, collectors, nectar tubes, dab nails, glass in a thousand exotic shapes: this stuff Is appearing at breakneck speed, overwhelming in its complexity if not hilarity. 

Oh…cannabis…wonderful cannabis, the jazz musician’s vitamin. I have smoked in many cars of vintage breed. They were not, at the time, vintage. Back in the day we called auto vehicles “shorts” i.e. Where’s your short, man? I parked it around the corner. Continentals. Thunderbirds. Impalas. Our shorts were often the only places we could smoke pot, so they loom large in our fantasies of past reefer madness. Now we have cannabis named for every kind of wacky idea that marketers can devise. Here are a few brand names: OG Skunk Cult, Canna Candy, Fumero, Caldera, Purple Phase, Errl’s Oil. Here’s one: Guava Fig X Face Mintz Extract.

In 1965 ten bucks would get you a matchbox of Mexican grass. The name brands were Michoacan and Panama Red. There were Thai Sticks. Sometimes we could get black or brown hash from Lebanon or Nepal. An ounce of grass was called a “lid”. Of course, three and a half lids are an eight ball. But back in the matchbox days it was either a nickel bag or dime bag. This is sixties stuff, I aint jamming with Fats Waller.

Legal weed is a fucking explosion! The pot store looks like a bank! The packaging for the inventory is on display in cases against two walls, while the cashiers occupy windows at waist-high counters around the other two walls. The merchandise is offered in all its colorful boxes, jars, droppers, cartridges and spliffs. Twenty-five-year-old cannabis experts talk to customers about the products. This strain of cannabis has such and such a percentage of THC ratio to CBD. This one has 88.5% THCV. This one’s good for pain, this one’s good for sleep, this one won’t increase your appetite, this one will. We get new terpenes every six months. We have designer dope for the elite. Ninety bucks for a one gram jar about the size of a quarter. Shee-it! Weed should not be expensive! Never never. Stop it! 

I get my dope from a dude named Steve who lives in an RV at the corner of Colegio and Runyon. It comes in baggies. No boxes no jars. Ten bucks for a big bag of buds. That’s more than a lid.

That’s Old School.

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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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