D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 67

“#Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” – NonFiction #Photoprompt with Suzanne Burke

Suzanne (Soooz) Burke is running a fun weekly writing challenge at her blog. This week it’s a PhotoPrompt #FictionInAFlash. We’re invited to write in any genre, 750 word count max. When I came across Soooz’s challenge in my blog roamings, once I saw the prompt, hundreds of memories flashed by me. So 750 word cap is going to be a challenge!     Hello everyone and welcome to week #4 of my  “Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” Each week I’ll be featuring an image and inviting you to write a Flash Fiction piece inspired by that image in any form and genre of your choosing.  Maximum word count: 750 words.   “Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” Week #4. Image Prompt: Join in, have fun, and let loose your creative muse.#FictionInAFlash @pursoot @IARTG #ASMSG #WritingCommunity.     From the first time I ever visited Las Vegas, I felt an inexplicable energy through me, an unfamiliar state of feeling that I should be living on the west coast. This feeling had nothing to do with the fact that Vegas is like a Disneyland Mecca playground for adults but more about the atmosphere – desert, climate and just being in the southwest. It must have been my colorful childhood education from some of the shady characters I’d met in my mother’s circles that began my fascination of mobster stories. After my first Vegas experiences there were plenty more visits there, sometimes 2 and 3 times per year. After so many years of going to Vegas, and one helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, I had an instant feeling that I needed to relocate our vacations to Arizona, more evidence to myself that it was the southwest calling me, more than the casino attractions in Las Vegas. The first time I landed in Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, I remember strolling the carry-on through the airport with hub, on our way to grab a taxi, when I stopped myself in my tracks and took a pause when this incredible feeling of something inexplicable came over me and told me this was where I needed to be. A familiarity ran through me as though I were home, like I was familiar with a place I’d never before been other than in a helicopter landing in a canyon. My long fascination with everything southwest, from the climate to the beauty to the rich history of the various Native tribes and cultures, felt familiar and I’d always had this longing to drive Route 66, pretty much inspired by Thelma and Louise. I’d flown over the spot where the movie ends and their car goes off the cliff, while in the helicopter, the tour guide made it a point to announce. Our first trip to Phoenix was fantabulous. My husband loved all the cowboy stores, venues and paraphernalia, and me, well, I couldn’t get enough of the views, and of course, shopping anything southwest. Don’t even get me started on beautiful Sedona, but those are other stories for another time. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t going home without something ‘Route 66’ and it seemed only fitting when I spotted a set of luggage on discount while I was in the market for a new bag to return home with since what I’d come with was already overflowing. The luggage was colorful with Route 66 plastered all over. And along with some other goodies I found at a flea market when our new friends had taken us to in Mesa, I picked up this sign.     Here I am living living in the east living still in the dream of being a southwest coast girl someday. Who knows what will come when the new world opens up. Never stop dreaming!   ©DGKaye2020   If you’d like to hop on Soooz’s challenge, click on the link below. Source: “Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” Week #4. Image Prompt: Join in, have fun, and let loose your creative muse.#FictionInAFlash @pursoot @IARTG #ASMSG #WritingCommunity. – Welcome to the World of Suzanne Burke.    

Sunday Book Review – Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl – #Memoir, Nonfiction

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m sharing my thoughts in review for Viktor E. Frankl’s powerful psychological examination of life- Man’s Search For Meaning. I have always been fascinated by WWII era history and holocaust survivor stories as my curiosity for the human condition never ceases to wonder how survivors of such atrocities – actually managed to survive.   Victor Frankl was a psychoanalyst who was also a prisoner at Auschwitz and 3 other camps. He first published this book in 1959 and the book has been revised twice since in this current 2006 edition. In Part 2, Frankl elaborates on his Logotherapy method of psychology, which is an amazing and positive method of healing the mind of concerning issues without dragging through past negativity, followed by a deeper look into Frankl’s life work and small biopic in the afterword. In the first part, Frankl shares his experience in the camps, but not to dwell on the horrors, but his observances while being a prisoner – of the human condition, resilience, and what motivates the will to live despite all odds. The second part is a fascinating approach to psychoanalysis that Frankl invented called Logotherapy – an approach that enables the patient to discover the meaning of their lives through passion I’d like to add that in my recent interview with historical fiction writer – Paulette Mahurin, I asked her to share a book that moved her so much it stayed with her. She replied that it was this book: “Frankl made it out of the camps and went back to his psychiatric profession in Vienna, and was subsequently a visiting professor at Harvard. What a teacher he must have been. He certainly changed my life for the better—to me there is no better educator.” You can find the interview with Paulette HERE.       Blurb: Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. At the time of Frankl’s death in 1997, Man’s Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a “book that made a difference in your life” found Man’s Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.   My 5 Star Review: ( Difficult to make this review short with such a book) I was introduced to this book by an historical fiction author friend who recommended it, and I’m thrilled that she did. She expressed that this book is one of the most important books to read about the holocaust. It is no surprise that this book is touted as one of the top ten most influential books in America with over 10 million copies sold in various languages. Frankl, a former holocaust survivor and psychoanalyst shares his observations of survival during his imprisonment in part 1 of this book as a memoir, and part 2 is focused on his formal analysis of the human condition and his Logotherapy system. As Frankl states about this book, “We are never left with nothing as long as we retain the freedom to choose how we will respond.” This book is a factual accounting of life in a concentration camp and Frankl’s observations reflected from that of a prisoner’s mind. As Frankl begins his story, he informs us this is not just another holocaust story, but a study about how the mind adapts to life in captivity, how some managed to survive, and the power of the human mind and how it can be uplifted as easily as it can live in a dark place. The author’s original intent was to remain anonymous, but Frankl later came to realize by remaining anonymous would ‘mar its validity.’ Frankl had obtained a US visa prior to the outbreak of war to enable him to teach in the US. He shares with us his decision not to flee from Vienna after he questioned his father asking why he’d kept a mere piece of marble on a mantle. His father told him it was a piece that broke off from the tablet of the 10 Commandments housed in one of Vienna’s oldest synagogues til the Nationalist Socialists had burned down the synagogue. His father picked it up and inscribed on it was one Hebrew letter on the back which stood for one of the commandments – Honor thy father and mother. The simple broken piece of history was taken as a sign for Frankl to remain in Vienna with his parents. This book is written like an essay on life as a camp prisoner,  accounting for how prisoners survived, how they were affected by suddenly having their lives and dignity stripped, and coping mechanisms – a look into the human psyche. The essay covers the 3 phases a prisoner goes through mentally, as quoted by Frankl: “When one examines the vast amount of material which has been amassed as the result of many prisoners’ observations and experiences, three phases of the inmates’ mental reactions to camp life become apparent: the period following his admission; the period when he is well entrenched in camp routine; and the period following his release and liberation.” The first phase, naturally, would be shock. The second is apathy – the blocking of emotions to the point of  no longer caring – a self-defense mechanism. Survival of the most primitive occurs when all that becomes important is having an extra piece of bread, a cigarette, and dreams of a hot bath.The only decisions left to be made by a prisoner were if he’d save the daily piece of stale bread for later or eat it right away. Survival meant being in the right place at the right time – a roundup, a transfer, a beating, depended on a moment. Their last human freedom was that every day left a new decision whether or not to submit – “a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom . . .”. Those prisoners who looked to the past to hold on to sanity, left themselves in danger. Frankl elaborates on this, saying nothing to look forward to and choosing to vegetate within was a common chosen method of survival – “It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future . . .”.  Frankl continues to explain how he used visualization to take himself out of the present and focused on freedom – “The prisoner who lost faith in the future – his future was doomed,” he added that the state of one’s immunity of his body will and a loss of hope will no doubt bring on death. He adds a Nietzche quote – “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.” Phase 3 of the stages is how a prisoner’s mental state of mind reacts after liberation. Frankl talks about the guards in the camp, which I’m sure many of  us wonder how any human can become so inhumane to his fellow man. Frankl informs us that naturally, there were some hardcore sadists who enjoyed their jobs, as well as during ‘selections’ within the camps for these jobs, the Nazis chose the worst of the lot to be capos, as well as some of the meek who were to do their jobs or die. Years of them being guards emboldened them to ‘do better’. Frankl continues on by declaring there are only 2 races of men in the world – decent men and indecent men. The psychology of a liberated prisoner is well documented by Frankl. One would think that prisoners would all feel jubilation, but freedom was still a word difficult to grasp. Frankl describes it as seeing a flower for the first time again giving only momentary joy because everything now seemed too unreal and most prisoners had become depersonalized. He shares that for many prisoners it took some time until they could actually speak – an unfamiliar god-given right. Frankl shares his personal moment when he again found his voice: A few days after liberation he walked through a flower meadow – one he’d walked daily since his release. He took in the silence and beauty of the field as though it were his first time experiencing the beauty. He acknowledged “the freedom of space”, dropped to his knees and quote: “I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and He answered me in the freedom of space.” That was the day he said his life started and he became a human being. Frankl continued his observances well after liberation and noted some prisoners would go on to become ruthless and malevolent in retaliation for their own sufferings. It is far from easy to assimilate back into the race. Severe psychological damage leave moral deformity, disillusionment, bitterness, and melancholia. Frankl remarks that suffering has no limits. It was a devastation many could never overcome when they went back to their homes and found either or both of no home and no family. And for those who allowed themselves to eventually look back on their imprisonment, could not even fathom how they endured living in a nightmare, realizing there was nothing left on earth to fear but God.   Part 2 of this book is a fascinating insight into Frankl’s work and his successful invention of his Logotherapy, a new kind of psychoanalysis which focuses on the meaning of human existence as well as on man’s search for such a meaning. Frankl explains the difference between psychoanalysis and Logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy which focuses on the future for people to heal and get on with their lives, rather than rehashing their pasts bringing up painful memories – described as a reorientation toward the meaning of life. Poignant: -Approximately 1 in 28 people survived the camps. -Logotherapy focus was not to change lives but to change attitude. Quote : “…it may well be that an individual’s impulse to take his life would have been overcome had he been aware of some meaning and purpose worth living for.” -Frankl’s recanting of his arrival at Auschwitz and through all he’d been through managed to still cling to his manuscript – his legacy, kept hidden under his clothing, until they were stripped down for the showers. He goes on to explain, “I had to undergo and to overcome the loss of my mental child. And now it seemed as if nothing or no one would survive me …”. “Pleasure is, and must remain, a side-effect, or by-product, and is destroyed and spoiled to the degree to which it is made a goal itself.” “For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.”   A small summary of Logotherapy from Frankl: “Logotherapy is neither teaching nor preaching. It is as far removed from logical reasoning as it is from moral exhortation. To put it figuratively, the role played by a logotherapist is that of an eye specialist rather than that of a painter A painter tries to convey to us a picture of the world as he sees it; an ophthalmologist tries to enable us to see the world as it really is.” This book was a most...

Project 101 – Resilience – Acidity/Alkalinity pH Balance for Health Part One and Music Therapy – Sally Cronin | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Sally Cronin is running a superb health series at her Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Project 101 – Resilience. In these weekly articles, Sally focuses on common health issues and how they affect us, what we need to balance these conditions with food and supplementation and exercises to motivate us and help us achieve optimal health. In this important edition, Sally is talking about the pH Balance in our bodies and why it’s so important to maintain stable levels.   Project 101 – Resilience – Acidity/Alkalinity pH Balance for Health Part One and Music Therapy – Sally Cronin     Project 101 – Resilience is aimed at developing a strong  immune system and a body that can fight off disease at any age. One of the key factors in achieving that level of robust health is being a healthy weight. There have been a number of risk factors identified that put certain groups of the population at a higher risk of a critical outcome from being infected with Covid- 19 – Opportunistic pathogens like nothing better than an acidic environment to thrive in.   Health and energy and long life all begin with a correct pH balance. The pH balance refers to the acidity or alkalinity of every living organism. The scale for measuring this balance is called Potential for Hydrogen or pH balance and each system or organ has its optimum balance for health. The scale goes from 0 to 14 with 7.0 being neutral with anything above 7 as alkaline and anything below 7 being acidic. Each step up or down is ten times the previous which means that even a change of .1 will have an effect on your body.   For example human blood stays in a very narrow pH range between 7.35 and 7.45. If the balance goes either side of this there will be varying symptoms of disease. In fact if the pH level drops too much below 6.8 or above 7.8 the heart can stop. This illustrates how critical this level of acidity and alkalinity is for our health.   If you have a health problem you are very likely to be acidic. Some of the early symptoms are acid after eating, acne, panic attacks, cold hands and feet, food allergies, bloating, mild headaches and fatigue. Sound familiar? More acute symptoms are cold sores, depression, migraines, asthma, hives, and urinary infections (urine pH should be between 7.0 and 7.2. Under 5.3 you cannot absorb vitamins and minerals), hair loss, fungal infections and numbness and tingling.   Advanced symptoms are the diseases such as Crohn’s disease, MS, Leukaemia, Peptic ulcers, Cancer (thrives in a balance of 4.5 to 5.0), Hodgkin’s Disease, Tuberculosis, Lupus and Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoporosis.   For example, an aging problem that both men and women are likely to experience is osteoporosis. One of the primary causes of osteoporosis is a lifetime of eating too much daily protein and refined sugars. This is very acid forming and necessitates the body continually pulling calcium from the bones to buffer this acidity. Animal protein is somewhat worse than vegetarian protein foods, but all exert an acidic effect. Eating a diet high in processed foods that contain a high sugar content also results in an increase in high acidity. Too much acid will decrease the energy production in the cells and the ability to repair damaged cells. The body is unable to detox heavy metals and allows tumour cells to thrive. It will also cause a depressed immune system leaving the body wide open to infections. As we age, we gradually dry up at the cellular level. . . please continue reading at Sally’s Smorgasbord.   Source: Project 101 – Resilience – Acidity/Alkalinity pH Balance for Health Part One and Music Therapy – Sally Cronin | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine   ©DGKaye2020  

Writer’s Tips – Action Writing- Apple Books for PC- Self-Hosted Blogs and More!

Welcome to this edition of Writer’s Tips. I’ve come across a wealth of insightful articles these past few weeks that I’m happy to share here for writers and bloggers. In today’s curated articles there’s a plethora of information on everything from better writing tips, publishing with Apple books news, onlines tools for free, self-hosting vs. WordPress.com, editing tips, and how to get more viewers for Youtube. Also, Harmony Kent has been running a series at The Story Empire with a detailed description on how to load our books on the Amazon platform. Check it out!   Author Meghan Ward is guest writer at the blog of Anne R. Allen sharing a wealth of tips of how to keep the action alive in our writing. Is Your Story Getting Lazy? 5 Ways to Improve the Action in Your Story   David Gaughran demonstrates how to publish with the new Apple Books for Authors now available for PC. Apple Books For Authors Launches – With PC Access   Nicholas Rossis is sharing some great online tools for writers. Free Content Creation Online Tools   Also from Nicholas Rossis- a free tool – the Amazon Book Description Generator! Free Amazon Book Description Generator     Jessica Norrie is sharing some great editing tips on how to de-clutter our writing. Declutter your writing – advice from a hoarder   Natalie Ducey has another informative post on the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress self-hosting and what’s involved. WordPress*com or WordPress*org? Hosted or Self-Hosted? The differences every blogger needs to know.   Janice Wald of MostlyBlogging.com has an excellent article on what’s involved to get noticed on Youtube. https://www.mostlyblogging.com/not-ge...   Last, and far from the least, Harmony Kent has a writer’s help series at the Story Empire where you will find all the links to each article in-depth on how to publish on Amazon. Below find the first part of the series: How to Publish with KDP: Part One     I hope you find these articles as helpful as I do, and I suggest saving what is relevant to you in folders for easy access.   ©DGKaye  

Recycling Sentiment – Revisiting Birthday Cards

He’s threatened it for years, then we’d end up laughing. Every year another birthday was rolling up my husband would joke around and remark how expensive greeting cards have become and add that ‘next year’ he’s going through the saved bags of cards in the storage room and going to pick one out from there. His logic was that I was unlikely to remember every card and he would pick one from there. I’d chuckle and tell him I probably wouldn’t remember anyway, and what are the odds that when purchasing a new card, it could well be a repeat of a previous card anyway. I’m most certain there’s a double in the pile, lol.     My husband always buys me beautiful cards. I take credit for training him well over the years. He also takes pride in finding – just the right card and grins proudly as he awaits me to open the envelope to read his words of endearment. Well this year was finally the one where he really did go through the bag of sentiments accrued through the years. As we’ve only been going out for errands and medical appointments, the choices were slim for picking up a new card. He tried a few times at our local pharmacy, but found ‘all the good cards’ were gone and lots of empty slots in dire need of replacing. He couldn’t find the right card to satisfy what he wanted to say, so it became time to visit the old bag of saved sentiments. So this past Sunday, it was my birthday and once again my hubby presented me with a beautiful card. I certainly didn’t remember the card so it was just as beautiful to open what he had chosen. And judging by the price on the back of the card, I’m guessing that card had to have been purchased close to 20 years ago, lol. I don’t remember the last decade a card cost $3.99 lol. I have to admit, I did get a little lost in the nostalgia as I was digging through the big box where the big bag of cards was stored. I keep 2 big shopping bags of cards, one each for me and my husband. I enjoyed looking through the odd card once I pulled out the bag, and found all kinds of treasures in there, including this beauty that my little grand-niece beauty made for me: (Yes, wine may have been mentioned, but there was also the ‘princess forever’ sticker I got a kick out of.)     It was a nice quiet birthday. I had oodles of birthday wishes on social media, a few select phone calls from some family, some beautiful cards sent from some of my closest friends, a 2 hour conversation with my bestie in the UK. then I went out to the park grounds outside my building complex for a nice walk and sat outside on a park bench and spent some time reading, while taking in some glorious rays. And then we ordered in Sushi, my fav, for dinner. So, once again, I’d like to thank so many of you for your well wishes and virtual flowers and cakes. I’m so grateful for my wonderful community of friends here. And I have to ask- do any of you recycle birthday cards?   I thought it would be fun to share 2 special readings I received as part of birthday wishes I received on my Facebook page. The first one is from my dear and very spiritual sister Colleen Chesebro:     Today, to honor your birthday, I asked the good neighbors for a message especially directed at you. This is the Tarot card: No. 16, Life Experience, from the Major Arcana. Here is your message: Change can be disconcerting, but you don’t have to fear it. You’re loved by the Divine, and whatever new opportunities come your way are meant to make your life richer and more fulfilling. Ask the fairies and the angels for signs that will lead you toward everything that’s vibrant and uplifting. Keep your eyes on the future. What transitions do you see coming? How can you plan and prepare in order to continue on your path to happiness? If you watch the skies for coming challenges, then you can weather any storm and move on to new, exciting, peaceful horizons. The fairies on this card pray for guidance and direction about the next step to take. Additional meanings of this card: The need for significant change. Spiritual awakening. Seeing the truth. Releasing belief systems that no longer work for you. Wake-up calls.   Also, a numerologist who follows me on Facebook, left me birthday wishes and this message:   Hi Debby!!! #Happy #birthday!! Today starts your new year. Bringing you the very best chances and finishing on 6/6/2021, filled with joy. Be sure to thank for all graces received, so that good vibes continue to develop your potential in the coming years. Personal Year 8. You will work a lot this year, excellent for material achievements and success in all your undertakings. Through discipline and organization you will be able to reach your desired goals during the nine year cycle.   Sounds like a busy year ahead for me!   ©DGKaye2020  

Sunday Book Review – Everything My Mother Taught Me #Shortstory by Alice Hoffman

My Sunday Book Review is once again for another Alice Hoffman book – Everything My Mother Taught Me, albeit, a short read, nonetheless, powerful. This book, as does most of Hoffman’s books, offers up lessons, which makes it right up my reading alley. The very first paragraph of this book reads:   “There are those who insist that mothers are born with love for their children and place them before all other things, including their own needs and desires. This was not the case with us.” Young Adeline informs us, her mother ruined both hers and her father’s life, yet, failed to notice. “She was the sort of person who saw only herself and her shadow, and the rest of us disappeared in the bright sunlight.” That was enough to grab my attention as the introduction brought up a flashback of my own life and mother, as some of you who have read my books will be familiar with. This story resonated with me, especially the line where Adeline describes the adoration her father held for her mother, regardless of the fact she wasn’t worthy of his adoration: “Perhaps he was a fool, because even after all she’d done, he was most likely still in love with her on the day he died.” That line really hit home with me, because that was my father.     Blurb: In this haunting short story of loyalty and betrayal, a young woman in early 1900s Massachusetts discovers that in navigating her treacherous coming-of-age, she must find her voice first. For fatefully observant Adeline, growing up carries an ominous warning from her adulterous mother: don’t say a word. Adeline vows to never speak again. But that’s not her only secret. After her mother takes a housekeeping job at a lighthouse off the tip of Cape Ann, a local woman vanishes. The key to the mystery lies with Adeline, the silent witness. New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic Alice Hoffman crafts a beautiful, heart-wrenching short story. Alice Hoffman’s Everything My Mother Taught Me is part of Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single setting. By yourself, behind closed doors, or shared with someone you trust.   My 5 Star Review: This book is an Amazon short of only 24 pages, but Hoffman, as usual, can pack a zinger in a story, and she has done well by fleshing out 12 year old Adeline’s character and that of her mother Nora, perfectly, despite the length of this story. The story begins with Adeline sharing stories about how she adored her father and shares some of the lousy things her mother did to her as an emotionally absent mother focused on herself and her own needs, and she reminds her daughter not to tell her father the bad things she’d found out about her mother. Adeline makes a decision to no longer speak again after her mother’s warning. The story takes place off the coast of Massachusetts on the island of Cape Ann after the death of Adeline’s father, where Nora and her daughter are forced to move to the Lighthouse for work and shelter along with the Fuller, Ford and  Ballard families. Nora doesn’t like doing work and passes the load onto her daughter while Nora begins an affair with Rowan Ballard who happens to be married to Julia. Adeline and Julia become very close, as Julia treats her like the mother Adeline wished she had. Adeline remains true to her vow to keep silent and communicates by writing notes. She comes up with a plan to help Julia leave her philandering husband, which becomes a karmic occasion for the wrong-doers and gives wings to Adeline and Julia. I’m going to leave it here because continuing on with what happens would be spoilers, so I recommend picking up a copy of the book to find out what transpires.   ©DGKaye2020    

Revelations – #Poetry Challenge for Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday #Haiku

This week at Colleen Chesebro’s Weekly Poetry Challenge, it’s a Poet’s Choice. I’ve chosen to write this simple but powerful Haiku.   Colleen’s 2020 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 180, #Poet’sChoice         Revelations   The Mother Goddess Reveals the consequences Of our decisions.       You can join in Colleen’s weekly challenges HERE.   ©DGKaye2020  

Q & A with D.G. Kaye, Featuring Poet – Frank Prem

Welcome to June’s Q & A interviews. Today I’m delighted to be featuring Frank Prem who is sharing some of his writing journey and his fabulous new and unique Love Poetry Trilogy Collection. Frank has focused on an unusual form of poetry where he takes a work of a famous poem and recreates his own version from in a new poem. I’ve recently read and reviewed – Walk Away Silver Heart. You can read my review HERE. And I’m very much looking forward to reading the next in the series – A Kiss from the Worthy, which awaits me on my Kindle. Frank is generously giving us a special peek with excerpts from some of his new poems from this book on Youtube. Check it out because Frank has one of the most amazing reading voices!     About Frank: Frank Prem has been a storytelling poet for forty years. When not writing or reading his poetry to an audience, he fills his time by working as a psychiatric nurse. He has been published in magazines, e-zines and anthologies, in Australia and in a number of other countries, and has both performed and recorded his work as ‘spoken word’. Frank has published several collections of free verse poetry, including, Small Town Kid (2018), Devil In The Wind (2019), The New Asylum (2019), Walk Away Silver Heart (2020) and A Kiss for the Worthy (2020) He and his wife live in the beautiful township of Beechworth in northeast Victoria (Australia).   Frank is featuring his newly released book in his love trilogy here today – A Kiss for the Worthy. And below, Frank shares his inspiration for this series:   A Love Poetry Trilogy I recently became enthralled by an idea, which was to take three poems, written by three eminent poets of a hundred years or more ago and to take each line or phrase individually, and to use the phrase as the inspiration for my own new piece of work. This was an idea that first arose many years ago with the involvement internationally of a group of poets each responding to a line or phrase, and creating an interactive new work. The three poems were quite diverse, but each in their own way was, to my mind, a love poem.   The poems and poets were: Amy Lowell – Madonna of the Evening Flowers (1919) Walt Whitman – Leaves of Grass (1855) T.S. Eliot – The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915) My personal project involved writing a poem or each in turn, rotating poems and phrases at a rate of knots, until – a little to my own surprise – I found that I’d crafted three discrete new collections of poetry: Walk Away Silver Heart (from Madonna of the Evening Flowers). A Kiss for the Worthy (from Leaves of Grass). Rescue and Redemption (from Prufrock). Walk Away Silver Heart was launched in February 2020. A Kiss for the Worthy has only recently been released (May 17 th on Amazon), while Rescue and Redemption will come out a little later in the year. Today I thought it might be most appropriate to focus on A Kiss for the Worthy, and I’ve selected an early review of the book to share, but in addition, I thought readers might appreciate listening to a few poems from the collection being read by the author, so I’ve recorded a short YouTube video, especially to accompany this interview, and not released to any other viewers, at this stage.   Check it out on YouTube!       Blurb: Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with perfumes, I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it, The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.. . . from Leaves of Grass Drawing on the phrasing of Walt Whitman’s great late 19th century poem Leaves of Grass (above) Frank Prem has produced a collection of expansive and outward looking love poetry written, as always, in the unique style that allows every reader to relate. Prem’s interpretations breathe new life into contemporary exploration of themes of love in poetry, and utilise Whitman’s original phrases to inspire a contemplation of the self in the context of landscape and the wider world: and as they open I realise they are filled with sweet perfumes golden glory wafted aroma from a house filled (with the sensual) A kiss for the worthy is the second of three collections that together comprise A Love Poetry Trilogy, with each revisiting outstanding work by stellar poets of the past to produce vibrant new collections. The first collection, walk away silver heart, draws on Amy Lowell’s deeply personal Madonna of the Evening Flowers, while the third, rescue and redemption, derives from T.S Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. This is a new kind of poetry that tells stories, draws pictures and elicits emotional responses from readers. Just as the best poetry should.   A Recent Review of A Kiss for the Worthy, posted on Goodreads by Elizabeth Gauffreau (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Australian poet Frank Prem’s a kiss for the worthy is the second book in a trilogy of love poetry inspired by the work of three well-known poems: “Madonna of the Evening Flowers” by Amy Lowell, “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman, and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. In each book, Prem reproduces the inspiration poem and then writes a poem of his own prompted by each line of the inspiration poem. The approach makes for a very interesting call- and-response effect among the original poem in its entirety, the inspiration line, and Prem’s new poem. At the same time, each of the poems in the collection can easily stand on its own with no loss of effect. I have to applaud Prem for his decision to take on “Leaves of Grass.” It was a bold and gutsy move to try to match Whitman barbaric yawp for barbaric yawp. But Prem pulled it off—and pulled it off admirably. A kiss for the worthy is about love of self and love of life, a celebration of what it feels like to be fully alive and fully aware of the natural world. I would describe Whitman’s use of celebratory language in Leaves of Grass as extravagant, with long lines piling word upon word, whereas Prem’s use of language is very spare, with many lines comprising only one or two words. Yet the celebratory feel of the poems is the same as Whitman’s. It’s really quite remarkable. Here are a couple of examples: from a kiss (for the worthy) is that not a tune worthy of singing worthy of a kiss from zephyr passing by from not until (I die) I am alive and it is so very good this ambrosia of breathing of being . . . me may I go on and on and may I last For me, the two standout poems in the collection are “is beautiful (this year),” in response to “I loafe and invite my soul” and “soft warnings,” in response to “I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin.” “Is beautiful (this year)” is an ode to wool gathering on a beautiful spring day, just taking in all of the day’s sights, sounds, fragrances, and sensations, while your mind roams free. “Soft warnings” takes a more contemplative approach, as the speaker considers the man he was at age thirty-seven, who thought himself “so fine,” “so very fine.” He now wishes his thirty-six-year-old self had whispered soft warnings that it wouldn’t always be so. I heard Prem read this poem, and it was incredibly moving. I highly recommend a kiss for the worthy for anyone feeling low at the end of a bad day, anyone feeling the need to celebrate a particularly good day, and anyone stuck in a rut of the day-to-day. “A kiss for the worthy” is a prime example of why we need poetry.   Now that we’ve gained some great insight into Frank’s works, we’re going to learn more about Frank:       “Hello Debby, thanks for having me visit with you. Hello readers!” D.G. – Hello Frank, I’m delighted to have you over at my blog today. I know many of my readers here enjoy poetry, so I’m thrilled to introduce your work here.

Do Your #Kindles and Readers Runneth Over?

How many times have we heard it, read it and said – My Kindle is ready to burst with books and my wish list is ever-growing. But yet, we’re compelled to purchase that next book. It’s ingrained in us avid readers and writers when enticed by a book’s lure, we must have it. It’s no different from any other desire or addiction – we just have to have it when we’re captivated by a book. And of course being a blogger and writer and constantly being introduced to new shiny books – it’s like Christmas, but always.   Books give us something to always look forward to, and they’re a great escape from reality, which is always a welcome break – especially now in our dystopian-like times. Whatever the occasion or mood, there’s something for everyone to read. Whether taking in lessons from a nonfiction story or escaping into a steamy beach read or going into an alternative dystopian universe, there are so many places books can take us. But how on earth are we supposed to choose what we read next? I know I always have good intentions and try to create a strategy for my next read. I’ve always got 2 books on the go. One on my Kindle and one in paperback. Usually the one on my Kindle is a novel in one of my favorite genres – historical fiction, family sagas, memoir and chick-lit are my favs, depending on my mood, ( My mood of course dictates what I feel like reading and there-in lies how good intentions for next planned read to go awry). My paperbacks are the majority of my books pertaining to writing and resource guides. For me, I need tangible books where I can mark-up, dog-ear, and refer back to sections easier than digitally when it comes to books on writing and reference books. So, as I said, I will have my next reads planned before I finish a current read but that could change on a whim. When another jewel crosses my path, I might be swept up in a moment of great anticipation that may not allow me to get through another book before I can sink my eyes into the newest one. I’m like those little kids on Christmas morning unwrapping gift after gift with new enthusiasm for the current one almost forgetting about the one I just opened 2 minutes before. I’ve shuffled my planned reads around so many times with good intentions for my next to read books I don’t know how many gems are awaiting their turn to be read anymore as each new book adds to the load, further burying my good intentions. The book problem becomes like the toy maker who pulls out another new and shiny object – another shiny book with a tantalizing cover and enticing blurb to draw me in, and oooh, magically intrigued, I want to read this new one next. It’s like the thrill of the next chosen read gets overshadowed by a newer thrill of another discovery and before we know it, that book we were dying to read 3 books ago gets toppled over with more new books we want to read. This is the only way I can explain it. If only we could spend a year with no responsibilities or cares and just read! I can’t conceive the thought that I could actually plow through all the books I currently have, and how many hundreds or thousands more to come. But like a brand new pretty pair of shoes that I probably don’t need, there’s always room for one more book!   Please feel free to share how you handle your own toppling book piles, and how you choose your next reads!   ©DGKaye2020  

Sunday Book Review – New Reviews for D.G. Kaye Books – #Memoir – #Nonfiction

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review(s). Every Sunday I share a review of a book I’ve recently read, but due to the full moon and Mercury Retrograde soon approaching, as usual, it’s interrupting my life. With that said, and in all fairness, I am also currently reading 3 books simultaneously, which I’m blaming for the cause of not finishing a book this week. In lieu of my missing review I’m sharing a few reviews I found for my own books that I’d like to share here today. I hope you enjoy.     Twenty Years: After “I Do”   My rating:  5 of 5 stars ] Twenty Years: After “I Do” by D.G. Kaye James‘s review Feb 02, 2020 It was amazing. Twenty Years: After “I Do” is an autobiographical non-fiction book about the author’s experience with marriage and relationships. I’ve previously read another of her autobiographies about her relationship with her mother, and it was such an emotionally charged and well-written book, I decided to keep reading more from her every few months until I caught up on all her works. In this one, Debby tells us what happened almost twenty years ago when she debated whether to marry the man who is now her husband. Given he was twenty years older, she had a lot of decisions to consider when it came to how her life would change. At the core of this book, and her approach to life, is her commitment and honesty in all that she achieves. Debby knew… if she married him, she would have to accept all that came with it in the future. From there, she dives into key aspects of married life: emotions, sex life, personal time, separation of couple and individual, fighting, decision-making, and death. Lessons we all need to consider. Debby’s writing style is simply fantastic. It’s easy to devour in a short sitting, but it always makes you feel like part of her life. She openly shares so much (the good, the bad, and the ugly) while holding back in all the appropriate areas to allow for proper balance, e.g. we learn about the impacts to her sex life when one partner is ill but she doesn’t go into the details. She tells us how she and her husband tackled the issues from a day-to-day perspective and moved on… because they loved one another (to the moon and back). There is a refreshing honesty and truth in her words, and readers will quickly find themselves a path to compare their own lives to that of the author’s. What have I done well? What could I do better? What needs to change? Excellent questions to consider, but Debby doesn’t directly tell us to do this–her actions show us why this is at the core of a good marriage. I’m thrilled I had the chance to read this one today. Although I’ve only been with my partner for 8 years, it’s easy to track where things are and what we could do differently. Debby bravely tells us her story, allowing us to interpret for ourselves what everything means, especially in this ever-changing world where people live longer and have access to more things but it’s harder to get them. I highly recommend this book to nearly anyone in a relationship, or those who want to know how to handle one when they are. Debby shares a few secrets, some hints, and a few suggestions to consider. It’s not just for newbies or long-term couples… there’s a bit of everything for how to co-exist and still be who you are. Great work!   Conflicted Hearts   Customer Review Miriam Hurdle 5.0 out of 5 stars Good Insight from a Painful ExperienceReviewed in the United States on March 5, 2020 Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase In her book Conflicted Hearts, Kaye recounted her vivid memories of painful experience growing up with a narcissist mother whose interest was partying, smoking, gambling and getting male’s attention to herself. Her mother threw out her father frequently and had male companions in the house with the children’s presence. Kaye’s father returned home long enough to make babies but had no guarantee to stay. She felt sad for her father. She couldn’t concentrate at school. Instead, she expected the disappearance of her father or anger from her mother. She did not receive the nurturing needed for a happy childhood. Instead of being a child, she felt responsible and be the parent to her father. Later, she found out that the paternal grandparents didn’t like her because her mother was pregnant with her and caused her parents’ marriage. She felt it was her fault, and that she was the reason for her father to marry her mother. She considered herself as the black sheep, the accident. If her father married someone else, he would have been happier. Her mother was never home and had babysitter watching the four children until Kaye was twelve and became a babysitter. Aunty Sherry was the only adult to show her guidance, concern and attention. Sherry got married in her forties and didn’t have children. Kaye moved to an apartment at age eighteen. She went to university part-time studying classical music and singing, but never made it. She then supported herself by working in the Casinos dealing cards. During those years, Kaye had relationships with married men. Eventually she married a loving, thoughtful husband. Eventually she got married to a love and caring husband. As a mother and a grandmother, I couldn’t imagine such a person as Kaye’s self-centered mother. I felt horrified when Kaye’s baby brother wandered off a mile away while the mother was asleep late in the morning recovering from the late-night party. Children are the ones who suffer the most in a dysfunctional home. Kaye’s parents had problems with their marriage, yet four babies were brought into the world. I feel that Kaye’s mother had sex for pleasure and didn’t understand the consequence. Kaye should never feel responsible for causing the parents to get married. Regardless, Kaye became a sensitive person and led a happy life.     Pete Springer 5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Read! Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2020 Format: Kindle Edition D.G. Kaye shares the story of growing up with a self-centered and narcissistic mother and the effect that this took on her self-esteem. I felt as if I were a character in Kaye’s life as she details the struggles of living with a mother who was unable to love and nurture her. It is not a book filled with rage, but one of a girl’s journey to find acceptance and love. The author is not without loving figures in her life; her father and aunt provide stability and love. While dealing with a sad subject, Kaye’s story is also uplifting as she eloquently describes the health struggles that she and her husband endure. Their love is evident as they support each other through their challenges. If you want a book that pulls no punches and shares the highs and lows that all of us can relate to, this is the one for you.   P.S. I Forgive You   Customer Review E Tyler 5.0 out of 5 stars A rare glimpse into rawness and vulnerability… Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2020 Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase I see that other reviewers have talked about this book as a “story.” And that is true—there is certainly a story, a true one, woven through these pages. But this is not a novel, nor did I read it simply as a memoir. I think what I appreciated the most, in fact, is that the author is not trying to be literary. She is not trying to move in a chronological flow with a traditional arc. She isn’t even trying to teach or encourage people to do this or that based on what she herself has experienced. Like a personal journal, this book is not prettied-up for the sake of onlookers. Reflections wind their way between now, not long ago, childhood, then back to the present. Some thoughts resurface throughout the book, as the author struggles again with something she thought she’d already packed safely away. It’s a rare glimpse into rawness and vulnerability, with no other goal but honesty. So on one hand, yes, it is a story—one that will invoke empathy in any reader, just as a novel might, though its characters may be disparate from the reader. Yet for those who have, in fact, lived a similar experience, I believe this book will, without ever suggesting solutions, allow many to begin or continue their own process of acknowledgment, grieving—and ultimately letting go. One person found this helpful. Words We Carry   https://karendowdall.com/2020/03/20/a... It is my belief that every woman on the planet should read this non-fiction inspirational story that reveals the negative self-esteem experiences that many if not all women encounter during various incidents throughout their lives, and the consequences of those experiences often begin in early childhood. D.G. Kaye writes with empathy, compassion, and a plethora of knowledge using her own experiences to help other women understand the importance of realizing their sense of self that is intimately associated with our self-worth. Self-worth is not a vanity and it not excessive pride. It is how we access our own sense of being, of who we are. The author, D.G. Kaye, writes with a warmhearted conversational style that beautifully eliminates dogma and in effect the judging of us, by us, and others for what we may perceive as a failure to have fallen victim to ridicule, to embarrassment, and instead we begin to believe in our personalities and our value in the world. Our society often appears to judge women by our appearance: a cultural sense of what beauty is, a person’s station in life, and least but not last – money. If as a child we experienced being bullied, laughed at, ignored, and ridiculed, our self-worth without a positive, loving alternative from your parents, grandparents, and siblings—is damaged and our chances of feeling unlovable, inadequate, and homely take root in our psyche. A psyche that is damaged presents difficulties in our self-expression, our personalities, and our ability to thrive in the world without a sense of inadequacy. This sense of inadequacy leaves us open to being further damaged by others. D.G. Kaye, the author, encourages us, helps us to understand, and presents a rationale that can and does present a newer, healthier view of ourselves as well as to develop healthier relationships. Once we rid ourselves of negativity, jealousy, envy, and that awful feeling of inadequacy; our inner personalities, our joy of life, and a sense of inner happiness will begin to shine. D.G. Kaye’s inspirational non-fiction for women is the best of its kind that I have ever read, and a must read for all women. I give this book a 5-star rating.         Thanks for reading, feel free to visit my Amazon Author Page to view all my books.   ©DGKaye2020