D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 58

Take Four Minutes and Twenty-Nine Seconds and Listen – #Humility and #Kindness

I was surfing around Youtube and came across this video. I love this song ever since the first time I heard it four years ago. It touches me on so many levels and goes back to grass roots, respect and empathy. And if the song isn’t enough, there couldn’t be a more perfect video to paint the words. It’s also been the ringtone on my cell phone since the first time I heard it. Take four minutes and twenty-nine seconds to enjoy listening (and looking at) to Tim McGraw and his reminder song about humility and kindness. The music and lyrics are beautiful and the video is reaffirming – extra touching at this seasonal time of the year. And a little more powerful because it reminds we are all one globally.     ©DGKaye2020  

Sunday Book Review – Plunge – #Memoir – #Travel by Liesbet Collaert

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m excited to share my review for Liesbet Collaert’s new release – Plunge: One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover – as well as the beautiful cover. Written in a conversational style that takes us in to Liesbet’s life living in paradise – where it’s not always paradise when the daily living is not all beach and fun, but survival methods, weather obstacles, and the toll it can take on a relationship living 24/7 in close quarters.     Blurb: Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir, as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs. Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone. Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love. Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea? ### Have you ever wondered how life could be if you had made different choices? If you didn’t marry early, commit to a large loan for the house, focus on your career, start a family? Maybe you’re just curious about how a person thinking outside the box manages? A person without boundaries, striving to be flexible, happy, and free. What you are about to read is how one such person follows her dreams, no, her intuition, and how she survives her naivety, life altering twists, and a relationship in close quarters. Plunge is a story of what happens when you go with the flow, when you have a bright idea – or thought you had one – and ride the waves of the unknown. Ready to hop aboard and delve in?   My 5 Star Review: Where to begin with this book? I’ll start with the genre – travel and memoir, adventure and heart is the perfect description. This author takes us with her on her journey to follow her passion for travel. We are immersed into the story by tantalizing descriptions of locales, ensuing problems that arise when living on a boat, and the dilemmas, emotions and crises that occur along her travels. What could go wrong? Liesbet is a world traveler with no desire for the 9-5 life. After Liesbet and Karl had finished their last sailing trip, they decide to stop in California. This is where she meets her husband to be, Mark. No spoilers in that transition, so moving forward, Liesbet decides to expand her travel visa to stay in Cali long enough for her and Mark to put together a new venture to sail the seas. But after testing out the sailboat life with their two dogs, they discover that Liesbet and the two dogs were constantly seasick, so plan B became to sail by catamaran, offering more room and more stability. Collaert is a true rock. The one you want to be on your team if you were stranded on an island. Together she and her husband sail for 8 years, staying for months at a time on various islands from Mexico to the South Seas! If you think sailing is a luxurious and relaxing adventure, think again. A boat requires tons of work to maintain, especially when you live on one, and if you knew nothing about boating before, you’ll get a good education from this book. Living life out in nature can be difficult despite the beauty of the surroundings. I think when most of us think about living on an island we picture fun and adventures, but when this is your lifestyle, it’s not all fun and sun. Despite the many obstacles and health issues taken in consideration, Collaert invites us in to her own thoughts and decisions, and isn’t shy about sharing her personal feelings about her marriage and other circumstances and conflict that arise, as she defines her decisions and indecisions bringing us into the love story embedded in this story. Life on the water can be tricky when there are dips in the relationship, not just the water. We are peering into relationship and its ebbs and flows. Problems mount when loved ones back home aren’t well, when Liesbet goes back to Belgium for one of her visits and has grief once again as she has to enter back into the U.S. and when Liesbet shares her soul-searching and her struggles with indecision, weighing thoughts about if she should have children. We learn how lonely this lifestyle can sometimes be, about self-doubt, following instinct, maturity and other life lessons we absorb through the journey. We get a feel for what’s it’s like to live with someone around the clock when tensions rise. When you’re living in nature and you’re also trying to run an internet business inside a sweltering cabin with dicey internet in a tropical storm or stifling heat, we learn how difficult it is to mix business with pleasure. Often there’s nowhere to go to blow off steam when emotions escalate and everything begins to get on our nerves. The author gets an award for that one! I admire the author for bearing her raw honesty in her story. I loved this book as it encompassed so many aspects of life – desires and passions, determination, love, fragility, travel, and heart. Three (of many) favorite quotes: “Word storm.”, “You can’t escape your struggles. You can only carry them elsewhere.” When asked by an old friend she encountered, where she lives, Liesbet replies, “Nowhere and everywhere.”   Visit my interview with Liesbet Collaert at Q & A with D.G. Kaye   ©DGKaye2020    

Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Author Liesbet Collaert and ‘Plunge’

Welcome to December Q & A. Today I’m excited to be featuring friend and new published author with her brand new book – Plunge: One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. Liesbet is literally ‘a world traveler’. She currently travels on land around the America’s with her husband and dog, but Liesbet has traveled for many years to many places, including a few years at ocean and seas on a boat(s). Can you only imagine the stories Liesbet has to tell? Well I can because I’ve almost finished reading her book, and I’m just going to say that I love it, because I’ll be writing a review soon. So today we’re going to get some insights about Liesbet’s life of travel and how she managed to write and publish a book in her traveling life – often without internet.     About Liesbet: Liesbet Collaert is a bilingual freelance writer, translator, editor, and photographer from Belgium who has been writing and traveling her entire life. Her work is published internationally in anthologies and magazines, including Cruising World, Blue Water Sailing, Ocean Navigator, Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book, Islands, Yachting World, Sailing Today, All At Sea, Caribbean Compass, and Zeilen. She also created walking tours for Marigot and Philipsburg in St. Martin. The author has been interviewed about her alternative lifestyle by Multihull Sailor, Modern Day Nomads, Ocean Navigator, The Wayward Home, The Professional Hobo, and Grey Globetrotters among others. She contributed to extensive cruising surveys for All At Sea and Caribbean Compass and became an assistant-editor for Caribbean Compass in January 2019. Liesbet loves animals, nature, and the promise of adventure. A nomad since 2003, she calls herself a world citizen and currently lives “on the road” in North America with her husband and rescue dog. Find her stories and photos at www.itsirie.com and www.roamingabout.com. Plunge is her first book.   Get this book here on Amazon #NewRelease   Blurb: Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir, as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs. Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone. Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love. Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea? ### Have you ever wondered how life could be if you had made different choices? If you didn’t marry early, commit to a large loan for the house, focus on your career, start a family? Maybe you’re just curious about how a person thinking outside the box manages? A person without boundaries, striving to be flexible, happy, and free. What you are about to read is how one such person follows her dreams, no, her intuition, and how she survives her naivety, life altering twists, and a relationship in close quarters. Plunge is a story of what happens when you go with the flow, when you have a bright idea – or thought you had one – and ride the waves of the unknown. Ready to hop aboard and delve in?   Let’s ‘ride the waves’ a bit now with Liesbet and get to know more details     When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? I don’t think there was much of a realization, but more of an “easing into” writing for me. It came naturally. As a child in Belgium, I enjoyed writing, which was done in cursive, in the form of letters to friends and essays at school. In fourth grade, one of our daily assignments was to create a journal. Half of the page in this notebook was filled with words, the other half with a drawing that accompanied the text. This journaling task was my favorite part of the day and I picked up the writing portion again when I was a teenager. Ever since I was fourteen, I’ve written a daily diary! As I traveled throughout my twenties, I stated: “One day I will write a book.” But who hasn’t said that at some point in their lives? I wrote weekly travel reports to family and friends, first by hand, then via group emails. After a year-long RV journey in Mexico and Central America, I actually started drafting my first book. But, three months after that trip, we dove into the next adventure, and those plans were shelved. No time! New experiences to document! In 2007, when we changed gears from overland travel to sailing the world, I started blogging. For eight years, I kept up my www.itsirie.com blog about our cruising journey in the Caribbean and the Pacific. During that time, I published articles in magazines and I could finally call myself a writer! I guess, at some point, I had aspirations to be become a travel writer, but I quickly realized this would take away pleasure from writing and from traveling. It’s hard work, there’s a deadline and a format, your travels have a purpose other than enrichment or excitement. In my opinion, both should be done independently to produce the best results and find the most enjoyment and focus. D.G. – Love your story about slowly becoming a blossoming writer. And I agree with you, writing about travels is exciting and a great way to document your life, but travel writing specifically, is another ballgame altogether.   Where do your book ideas grow from? So far, I’ve only written one book. Like my articles, blog posts, and diary entries, the writing grows from personal experiences. I lead a very full, exciting, and adventurous life, by choice, and have the urge to share a lot of it – from mishaps, to amazing encounters, to tips, thoughts, and opinions. My book, a travel memoir, is written differently, however. It’s enveloped in a personal style I love to incorporate and I believe my voice – in the present – differs from other narratives. I have an infinite amount of story and book ideas, because we never sit still to digest any of it. And, that’s a problem… Writing and working from the road – or the water – is difficult, because the lifestyle itself is challenging and exhausting. So, the combination travel + write poses issues in my daily life. Which do I pick? Do I keep exploring or do I stop (temporarily) and turn those explorations in a book? D.G. – The inspiration will come when it’s ready. For now, you are doing all the legwork by living the experiences you can store up and discover where it will lead you next.   Do you agree with the general consensus that writers are loners? I’ve heard and noticed often that writers are introverts. Yet, there are exceptions. People like you and me, for example. We enjoy social contact, interactions, and being out and about. I’m not a total extrovert either (I don’t like to be overstimulated, overwhelmed, or part of a massive crowd), but have personality traits from both categories. I’m a toughie to put in any kind of box! I LOVE to be on my own. It’s when I’m most productive and self-confident; a theme I touch upon in my travel memoir, Plunge. I strive when I am by myself and can schedule my entire day around my own needs. Or not plan at all, which is more likely. I cherish my me time and feel that’s when I am truly and totally free. Does that make me a loner? Let’s just say that a balance of hermit-life and small social gatherings would make me a happy camper. D.G. – Touche my friend. Yes, we are very similar in these traits. I love being in social environments, but I treasure my alone and writing time just as much. Writing is a solitary sport for the most part, which I’m sure attributes to the assumption that all writers are introverts. We aren’t.

Writer’s Tips – #Twitter Tricks, Scheduling and #Blogging Tools

Welcome to December edition of Writing Tips. Today I’m sharing some worthy articles for writers on how to maximize your Twitter, how to colorize your photos, a Twitter app scheduler, Mistakes to avoid, and attention authors – Author Central has moved!   Hugh Roberts offers up a new tutorial for those bloggers who aren’t familiar with how to attach your name to your Twitter share button on your blogs. https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2020/11...   Deborah Jay features Reedsy writer – Desiree Villena with 5 important things to avoid when self-publishing The Five Most Common Publishing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)     Nicholas Rossis shares a great editing tool for writers – The Picture Colorizer Picture Colorizer: Free Photo Editing Tool   Looking for a good app to schedule your tweets? Check out Signal. https://www.pensignal.com/?src=cross_...   Here’s an interesting article I came across by the Writing Cooperative – How to get more retweets for your Twitter posts – Twitter does not like external links! And how to make Twitter Threads https://writingcooperative.com/your-a...   And last but certainly not least for authors! Attention all authors, Author Central has moved! Manage all your authorly needs here Source: Amazon Launches New Author Portal | The Digital Reader   ©DGKaye2020  

Sunday Movie Review – I am Greta – #Documentary – #ClimateChange

Welcome to my Sunday Movie Review, where I share a review for movies I’ve watched that I feel deserve attention. HBO special- I am Greta – the journey to becoming Greta Thunberg, documented. I watched this documentary two weeks ago when I came across it as I searched my saved lists of docs to watch. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to elaborate on who Greta Thunberg is – the teenager from Sweden who has Asperger’s and created a global movement for climate change. This doc is the story of how Greta’s movement gained world attention, from its inception to the global stage her protests grew into.   My 5 Star Review: The documentary begins with 15 year old Greta’s concern with the state of the planet and climate change, and nobody seemed to care. One lone girl, Greta, sits on the pavement in front of parliament on a Friday afternoon in Sweden with a protest sign, handing out papers she’s written about the danger in the world of climate change globally. Greta has Asperger’s and explains how she has no friends, often doesn’t like to speak, and her best supporter is her father, who tells us Greta has a photogenic memory and that Greta began pulling out plugs and turning off lights at a young age to conserve energy. Greta begins gaining national attention when her Friday protests grew bigger as her movement eventually reached global attention. She’s eventually invited to speak at the UN. As her cause and popularity get noticed around the globe, the Friday ‘no school’ climate protests catch on around the world where thousands of kids join the fight. “I don’t care about being popular, I care about climate justice and the living planet,” Greta laments. “It will be over soon and nobody will recognize me,” Greta says after a big televised conference. But nobody did forget Greta. The press began to follow her closely. Greta gained worldwide attention and supporters who said they cannot let her do the fight on her own, as she raises awareness everywhere she travels, thousands of teens join the fight globally. The official hashtag for Greta’s mission becomes #FridaysfortheFuture. This girl’s dedication, despite the flack and obstacles she encountered, is and was relentless. I cried my eyes out on so many levels as I took in the magnitude of her plight. Greta stands true to her beliefs. As her mission is to cut emissions and pollutions – Greta’s movement was expanding globally and she had to begin making appearances to support her movement and embolden her supporters. But Greta would not fly in airplanes, it went against everything she fights for, but she takes the long road and becomes a globetrotter to show up for the cause and protests, as her father staunchly supports her and accompanies her on her missions taking long train journeys throughout Europe. President Macron invites her to Paris, in a televised conversation, he shares the importance of rich countries needing to help lead the way to climate change. Macron: “How do you manage school doing this?”  Greta tells Macron she’s a nerd who makes up for missed school at home. As Greta gets invited to more European climate change summits where her fight grows in recognition, she begins to question why she is getting so popular, “I honestly don’t understand why I get invited, so they can be spotlighted to look like they care as if they’re doing something. They’re doing nothing.” Greta is challenged with her Asperger’s and her struggle for wanting to be left alone and her need to spread the message. Preferring to be alone, Greta must conquer her struggle while rallying up a charge and taking up those invitations requesting her presence. Her frustration often requires alone time. “Everyone promises to do things better, but they never do. Pretending feels kind of fake. What matters is emissions must be reduced and has to start now.” Greta visits the Pope who encourages her to keep up the fight as thousands gathered outside the Vatican shouting Greta’s name, chanting for ‘Greta to save the planet.’ But of course, with glory also comes the bad press and negativity from some of the more ‘authoritarian-type’ world leaders who don’t seem to be interested in saving the planet. Putin thinks it’s a bogus cause, Trump makes fun of her, Balsenaro cuts her up, and her own government says she’s just a kid, in fact, most world leaders interviewed and asked about her, feel the same way – except Macron. Then come the death threats as social media starts picking on her. But Greta said she didn’t care. “Humanity sees nature as this giant bag of candy, that we can just take what we want. But one day nature will strike back, I don’t know exactly how but there are heatwaves and floods and fires.” She’s invited to the EU parliament to speak among hundreds of diplomats and gives a well researched speech on the devastation of climate change, through tears she shoots her words and finally gets a standing ovation. Greta is asked, “Why did you cry during your speech?” Greta: “Animals and people are dying.” “Why do some think of you as a radical baby who can’t really do anything,” one politician asked her. “Sometimes I feel like the microphone isn’t on. Is it on? Because I’m begining to wonder. You lied to us and gave us false hope. Nobody is talking about it, nothing has changed. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.” Greta gets invited to speak in the USA at the UN climate summit in New York. “Since I don’t fly because of the enormous climate impact on aviation, it’s going to be a challenge.” It took two weeks for Greta and her dad to sail to America. “I don’t want to be a person who says one thing and does something else. I don’t want to fly across the world because it’s easier that way,” Greta says as as she and her dad prepare the journey across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England. Droves of people wish them well as they sail off on rough waters in a sailboat. Greta encounters both seasickness and homesickness on the trek. “I don’t want to have to do all this. It’s too much for me, around the clock. I know that it’s important and what’s at stake. But it’s such a responsibility. I should be back in school, not the other side of the ocean.” Greta writes and dictates during the journey, questioning herself if her cause has taken her too far out of her comfort zone, in awe that her meager beginnings of being a solitaire young girl who began her lone protest sitting in front of her parliament building with a sign, one Friday afternoon. The sails are up as Greta and her dad reach New York harbor. The crowds of people awaiting her were magnificent in size and chant. Greta shouts to the people, “We are dependent on each other to survive. If you see a threat it’s your responsibility to sound the alarm. I feel like this is my responsibility in a way.” Greta goes to the 2019 climate summit in New York where world leaders congregrate. Her speech begins, “My name is Greta Thunberg, and I want you to panic. The world is waking up and change is coming whether you like it or not.” The speech ends with, “If you deal with probems in time instead of waiting, your problems won’t get as big because if you do that, you come out on the other side and there it’s better.” Greta planted the seeds of hope and still runs her protests every Friday since 2018. Since that time, over 200 activists have been murdered for fighting for clean air. In 2019, more than seven million people joined Greta’s protest. Despite Greta’s efforts, the world is still not on track yet to meet the requirements for the Paris Climate Accord.   “We will not stop until we’re done” ~ Greta Thunberg   Below is the powerful trailer for ‘I am Greta’     If you’d like to visit Greta’s website for Climate Change Europe: https://climateemergencyeu.org/   ©DGKaye2020    

#WATWB – Toronto Carpenter is Building Insulated Shelters for the Homeless – Goodnet

It’s that time of the month again, WATWB – the last Friday of the month, and time to share a good deed going on in the world to celebrate goodness and deflect from the negativity in the world for the We are the World Blogfest. Today once again, I’m thrilled to share this initiative I came across, happening again in my own city of Toronto, where a carpenter, Khaleel Seivwright, has put his skills to work to build tiny shelters for the homeless. With our cold Canadian winter already taking effect, and the numerous amount of growing homeless growing with the evictions taking place in this pandemic, sadly, we can expect more of the same.  But Khaleel has started a Gofundme to raise monies to continue to build these shelters – fully insulated, complete with a window and a door. As much as I appreciate people like Khaleel and his efforts, it’s a sad situation to know people are homeless, but somewhat of a comfort to learn that they won’t freeze to death. Read on to learn more about this endeavor.   Toronto Carpenter is Building Insulated Shelters for the Homeless   Winter is almost here and in Canada, that means very cold weather. It also means bundling up outdoors and staying indoors more. Nothing is more relaxing than drinking hot cocoa by a fireplace and watching the snow falling outside. But for people who don’t have homes to warm up in, Canadian winters can be treacherous. That’s why Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter in Toronto is building and giving away tiny portable shelters to people who are homeless according to CTV News. He told CTV that he wanted to build “something that would be useful for people that are staying outside this winter.” He knows they work because he built the first one for himself a few years ago in British Columbia and it kept him warm in -15 degrees Celsius. Seivwright has already dropped off two shelters. The tiny shelters are built of wood, insulated with home insulation and have a door and a window. They have caster wheels to make them portable and each one has a smoke detector to keep occupants safe. There is just enough room for a person to lie down in it. Each of the homes cost around $1,000 to build. . . Please continue reading on Goodnet Video is courtesy of CBC.ca news   Advocates warn of ‘catastrophic’ winter Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...   Source: Toronto Carpenter is Building Insulated Shelters for the Homeless – Goodnet   If you’d like to hop on to the WATWB share with a post of your own, you can add your link to our Facebook group page HERE. Hosts for this month are: Lizbeth Hartz, Inderpreet Uppal, Shilpa Garg, Damyanti Biswas, and Roshan Radhakrishnan There will be no December posting, so I’d like to wish all participants happy and safe holidays.   ©DGKaye2020  

D. G. Kaye Explores the Realms of Relationships -November 2020 – People Pleasers. Do you know one? Are you one? | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Today I’m sharing my recent article for my Realms of Relationship series at Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The topic is People Pleasers.   Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – D. G. Kaye Explores the Realms of Relationships -November 2020 – People Pleasers. Do you know one? Are you one?   Realms of Relationships: People Pleasers. Do you know one? Are you one? People Pleasers are those who live perpetually by appeasing others—despite whether they’re happy doing so. And sadly, for some, the practice often becomes a programmable setting after so much time passes. People pleasing goes beyond the act of being kind, it means one who always puts the wants and needs of someone ahead of their own even when there’s no joy in it. Let’s clarify. I’m not talking about something we may do with joy in our hearts for a loved one. I’m referring to those who’ve somehow made themselves feel obligated to the point they’re taken for granted. So where do we draw the line with our urge to please others, to stop it from becoming a damaging regular occurrence to the point we become a doormat? And what is it that makes us so afraid to disappoint to the point we can’t say no? Mostly, these urges to be so accommodating have a lot to do with acceptance issues, low self-esteem, loneliness, and the possibilities are endless, because we worry we’ll be judged or unloved, unliked, ignored—you get the picture. Let’s stop pretending, where does it get us? It gets us in a place we aren’t happy being, and it’s being inauthentic to ourselves. If we constantly agree to people’s whims and demands, putting others before our own needs, we need to learn how to draw a line for self-preservation. Why do some of us feel compelled to bite our tongues while trying to avoid saying how we really feel about someone who takes advantage of our good nature? Why do some of us repeatedly get sucked into people’s drama, leaving us with a constant need to appease? Think about it, if we aren’t comfortable around someone or have to walk on eggshells when in their presence, WHY ARE WE THERE?   ~ ~ ~ How much courage do we need before we’re propelled to remove ourselves from situations that aren’t healthy or enriching, or maybe not even interesting to us? Okay, sure, there are just some things in life we must endure even if we don’t enjoy doing them, like having to go to the dentist or any other matter we must attend to, but that is a different conversation. I’m talking about repeatedly subjecting ourselves to things or people we don’t wish to serve, or going to places we don’t want to be, because it’s not productive for us or the other party when we do things without putting our hearts into them. Feigning interest isn’t fun and will eventually take its toll whether that be in the form of depression, anxiety, unease, boredom, and that’s not even counting our loss of happiness time.     But one thing is certain in life, we have free will. So why do we stay somewhere we’re uncomfortable staying, or go somewhere we don’t want to go, or do things for people who impose on us? We allow ego to take over our heart’s desire. It’s one thing to feign we’re having fun when we’re not, but going somewhere we don’t want to be just to show good faith, respect, or whatever the endgame may be for going, is essentially accommodating someone else’s needs and inconveniencing ourselves. We need time to take a pause and assess. . .please continue reading at Sally’s Smorgasbord.   Source: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – D. G. Kaye Explores the Realms of Relationships -November 2020 – People Pleasers. Do you know one? Are you one? | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine ©DGKaye2020  

Sunday Book Review – Amazing Matilda – A Monarch’s Tale by Bette Stevens

Welcome to the Sunday Book Review. In between reading my current read, I had to give this book a quick read before I gifted it to my young grandniece. The book is Amazing Matilda – A Monarch’s Tale by Bette Stevens. A short and beautiful tale about Matilda the caterpillar, eagerly awaiting her transformation and wings so she could fly.     Blurb: Inspire the Kids with an Award-winning (Excellence in Children’s Literature) Monarch Butterfly Tale. In this age of instant gratification, there’s an award-winning children’s picture book out that teaches kids that patience and hard work really do pay off. ‘AMAZING MATILDA: A Monarch’s Tale’ is a timely tale that follows MATILDA, a tiny monarch caterpillar, from the time she hatches from her egg on a giant milkweed leaf until she realizes her dream to fly. The story provides challenges and adventure at every turn. Grandparents, parents and teachers will find that AMAZING MATILDA is a book that kids will want to read themselves and hear read to them again and again.   My 5 Star Review: What a beautiful book this is – both in story and illustration. Stevens has written a clever story about Matilda the caterpillar who is anxiously awaiting her transformation into a butterfly. The story is engaging and educational. Besides evoking the transformational process from caterpillar to butterly in a clever and conversational manner between Matilda and her friends Sparrow and Rabbit, there are lessons in the story to be taken. As Matilda laments on about her excitement waiting to transform, her friends give her friendly reminders to both – have patience, and to trust her instincts. Worthy advice in life. And as Matilda finally begins growing her first pair of wings and attempts to fly, but not quite ready yet, her friends advise – “If you try long and hard enough, you can accomplish anything.” Alas Matilda could fly! This is a wonderful book to teach children about the butterfly transformation. I’d say from six or seven on, children can enjoy this book reading by themselves, but also a great book for parents to read to their younger children, accompanied by beautiful pictures. A sweet story for the young ones.   Before I sign off, I wanted to share a link to Diana Peach’s blog MythsoftheMirror where she shared a great list of reviews for books she read in November. And I was thrilled to find one of my books included on her read list. Diana is a wonderful reviewer and her monthly reviews are partially responsible for my bursting at the seams Kindle.

Q & A With D.G. Kaye, Featuring Author/Marketer Extraordinaire, Effrosyni Moschoudi

Welcome to my November Q and A. Today’s guest is Effrosyni Moschoudi – a.k.a. Frossie, Frostie, Fros, (as she is known to fellow bloggers) Fros has a vast array of books available in the romance genre. She also has a comprehensive newsletter where she shares many books on sale and free, besides her own, as well as offers a few FREE downloads for some of her own books. Frossie has her newest release out now – The Boy on the Bridge, currently available on pre-order for  just .99 cents!       About Effrosyni: Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. As a child, she loved to sit alone in her garden scribbling rhymes about flowers, butterflies and ants. Today, she writes books for the romantic at heart. She lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with her husband, two cats, and a ridiculous amount of books and DVDs. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, has won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers' Favorite. The Ebb, her romance set in Corfu that’s inspired from her summers there in the 1980s, is an ABNA Q-Finalist.   GET THIS BOOK ON PRE-ORDER FOR 99 CENTS!   Blurb: A young man determined to protect his girl… A teenage boy offering prophecies… and a series of unexplained events. Lefteris and his darling girl, Evgenia, live a quiet and happy life together in a mountain village in Zagori, Greece. One day, as Lefteris crosses an old stone bridge, he meets a teenage boy who warns him that Evgenia is in danger and gives him instructions to follow. Lefteris doubts him, but does as he is told, just in case. The warning turns into reality and the girl is saved, so the next time the boy warns of danger, Lefteris is more willing to listen… What follows is a series of astounding events as the boy’s prophecies of mortal danger continue, and Lefteris does his best to protect his girl. Now, he considers reverting to his old ways of solving all differences with his fists. Will he allow himself to resort to violence? How does the mysterious boy on the bridge fit in all this? And why does he refuse to meet Evgenia? Note: This is an extended version of the story of the same name published in “Facets of Love.” It has more scenes and a new ending! Escape to a Greek mountain village today and lift your spirits with this fabulous short read!   Now that we’ve learned a bit about Frossie, let’s get to know a bit about her writing and her books!     Tell us a little about your latest book, The Boy on the Bridge. Where did the inspiration for it stem from? The story of this book came to me out of the blue as I swam in the sea in my little town near Athens. The image of a teenage boy smoking a pipe as he stood on a stone bridge simply popped up in my head. By the time I’d come out of the water I already ‘knew’ he was a supernatural entity, and that he was going to warn the hero in the story that his girlfiend was in danger – more than once. The Boy on the Bridge is a supernatural romance novella that mixes sweet romance with suspense and a great measure of mystery. A shorter version of the story was originally included in my short story collection, “Facets of Love,” which I make exclusively available as an ebook to my new email subscribers. Earlier this year, I decided to revisit the story, as I felt there was room for improvement and a little more to be said. Indeed, I feel the changes and the new scenes have done justice to my characters and I am very pleased with the result. The book (around 75 pages) launches on kindle on December 14. It’s available on preorder at 99 cents, but also as a FREE book for any readers who may want to try my newsletter. The preorder is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MQVQG8G The FREE book is here: https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/... D.G. – What a creative you are Frossie, I’d imagine beautiful nature and scenery would be a great motivator for inspiration. I got my copy!   How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite of your books and if so, why? Including this new novella, I have written eight books, and I couldn’t pick a favorite, just as a parent couldn’t pick a favorite child (as much of a cliché as this may sound.) However, I can say that “The Ebb” (book 1 in The Lady of the Pier trilogy) is the one closest to my heart as it is highly autobiographical, mixing with the fiction real life events and situations from my summers on the island of Corfu in the 1980s. As a young girl, I used to spend three-month vacations there every summer, staying with my beloved grandparents. I regard this time as the most precious of my life. In The Ebb, I have recorded the same feelings of bliss and the same memories of family love that I often revisit in tough times in my life to draw strength from. D.G. – That is beautiful inspiration. I have that book too. I’m so behind, but I look forward to reading it.   Do your books have messages in them? If so, what are the messages you feel are well received by your readers? Indeed, I like to include messages in my books. For example, in “The Amulet,” a paranormal romantic comedy with guardian angels, one of the themes is giving others the benefit of the doubt, especially people who seem cruel or distant. I won’t say more as not to give any spoilers, but basically, my message is that things are not always what they seem so we should never judge others. In my latest novel, “Running Haunted,” a paranormal romantic comedy with a ghost, my heroine is a marathon runner. As I am a health nut, I couldn’t help imparting healthy-eating advice to my audience through her, LOL! As for which messages get well received by my readers, I believe they all are – especially any that are about family love, compassion and understanding. D.G. – I love that there are messages to take from your books. Who better than your characters to reveal them!   Do you believe in ‘writer’s block’? If so, how do you deal with it? I used to believe in it, but after seven years as an indie author, I now see it for what it really is. To me, writer’s block is a form of procrastination. And procrastination hides fear and doubt. To overcome these you need self-discipline and confidence. To acquire the first is a little harder, but the second is easy as confidence comes with repeated successes, i.e. experience. I’ve worked hard to acquire both self-discipline and confidence as an indie author. But once I got to that point, writing became an easy process – something I can now turn on and off as if using a switch. The last prerequisite is to have a basic scene-to-scene outline of the book handy. If I know the content I have to create for the day, the writing just flows. D.G. – Thanks for that wise advice.   How do you promote your work? Do you find marketing and social media overwhelming? Thankfully, I’ve always had a healthy attitude towards social media. I don’t use them more than I need to (i.e. I don’t waste time on them) and I am not afraid to open up and post photographs of myself either. To be frank, I don’t get the authors who don’t post a single photograph of themselves anywhere, not even on their sites or Amazon page. A healthy balance is necessary, because once a reader likes one of your books, they will want to read another, and then another after that. And in the process, they’ll look you up, trying to learn more about you as a person. Trying to feel ‘connected’ to you. This is why it is necessary to humanize yourself as an author, up to the point where you feel comfortable to, of course. And to do it constantly, because your readers will want to follow you, and with time they’ll become all the more thirsty to hear from you. To me, humanizing myself is of paramount importance and I do it constantly, mainly on Facebook and in my newsletter. In the latter, I share a lot of fun stuff from my personal life – including my vacations and days out, pictures from Greek restaurant meals, and the antics of my naughty cats

CarrotRanch RODEO #2: DOUBLE ENNEAD SYLLABIC POETRY – Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry

  Colleen Chesebro ran a Double Ennead TUFF Poetry Challenge for Charli Mills’ annual Rodeo for the CarrotRanch writing contests. This was a difficult poetry challenge with lots of criteria involved. I hopped on this one.     Welcome to the Carrot Ranch Rodeo! This challenge is sponsored by the Carrot Ranch Literary Community at carrotranch.com and run by lead Buckaroo, Charli Mills. Almost everyone knows my love for syllabic poetry; especially haiku, tanka, cinquain, and more. Woo HOO! I’ve got something special wrangled up for this challenge! For this year’s rodeo, I’ve created a special form called the Double Ennead. The word Ennead means nine, and a double nine is ninety-nine! Carrot Ranch is famous for 99-word flash fiction. Now, the ranch has its own syllabic poetry form written in 99 syllables! The Double Ennead comprises five lines with a syllable count of 6/5/11/6/5, (33 SYLLABLES per stanza) 3 STANZAS EACH = 99 SYLLABLES, NO MORE, NO LESS!   CRITERIA:   * The Double Ennead features three stanzas of five lines, each with a syllable count of 6/5/11/6/5, totaling 99 syllables, no more—no less. Count your syllables. Read the instructions carefully. * For syllable and line count use: writerlywords.com. Your poem does not have to have a western theme. It can be in any genre, and can include any tone or mood. However, it must have a title. Punctuation and rhyming are optional and up to the poet. * For this challenge, your poem must include five words taken from the found-poem by Cowboy Poet, Charles Badger Clark, called “The Springtime Plains.” You must use the fives words you choose in the order you found them in one of the three stanzas. The word placement also depends on the line. Pay attention to the placement of these words in your poem. Line 1 starts with word 1 Line 2 ends with word 2 Line 3 starts with word 3 Line 4 ends with word 4 Line 5 starts with word 5 * Submit your five consecutive words from the poem “The Springtime Plains” so the judges can determine the placement of your words. Specify which stanza contains the five words. * Make the judges remember your syllabic poem long after reading it.   “The Springtime Plains,” by Charles Badger Clark   Heart of me, are you hearing The drum of hoofs in the rains? Over the Springtime plains I ride Knee to knee with Spring And glad as the summering sun that comes Galloping north through the zodiac! Heart of me, let’s forget The plains death white and still, When lonely love through the stillness called Like a smothered stream that sings of Summer Under the snow on a Winter night. Now the frost is blown from the sky And the plains are living again. Lark lovers sing on the sunrise trail, Wild horses call to me out of the noon, Watching me pass with impish eyes, Gray coyotes laugh in the quiet dusk And the plains are glad all day with me. Heart of me, all the way My heart and the hoofs keep time, And the wide, sweet winds from the greening world Shout in my ears a glory song, For nearer, nearer, mile and mile, Over the quivering rim of the plains, Is the valley that Spring and I love best  Poemhunter.com EXAMPLE of how to write the Double Ennead: Line 1 starts with word 1 = wild Line 2 ends with word 2 = horses Line 3 starts with word 3 = call Line 4 ends with word 4 = to Line 5 starts with word 5 = me Double Ennead: Five lines, with a syllable count of 6/5/11/6/5, 33 syllables per stanza, 3 stanzas each = 99 syllables.   ~ ~ ~   The five consecutive words I selected: “Shout in my ears a” used in the first stanza.     A Pitiful Plague   Shout loud at what it is. Words and actions in My head ring clear of the assault on mankind. Open your eyes and ears. A call for kindness. Stifling in ignorance, Poison fills the mind. This hate virus infects and sheds viral ash. Soil, rinse, spin, and again, The story repeats. The cure for this madness, Some will fail to learn, Only love and kind words can conquer this plague. For a fresh breath of life – Love thy fellow man. ©DGKaye2020   Source: Carrot RODEO #2: DOUBLE ENNEAD SYLLABIC POETRY – Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry