D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 69

Sunday Book Review – Walk Away Silver Heart – Poetry – Frank Prem

My Sunday Book Review is for some unique and gorgeous poetry by Frank Prem – Walk Away Silver Heart, inspired by the 1919 Poetry by Amy Lowell – Madonna of the Evening Flowers.       Blurb: All day long I have been working Now I am tired. I call: “Where are you?” But there is only the oak tree rustling in the wind . . . from Madonna of the Evening Flowers Drawing on the phrasing of the early 20th Century Amy Lowell poem Madonna of the Evening Flowers (above) Frank Prem has produced a collection of personal and interpersonal love poems written, as always, in the unique style that allows every reader to relate. Prem’s interpretations breathe new life into contemporary love poetry and utilise Lowell’s original phrases to inspire a tender immediacy and warmth of response as in the eponymous poem: silver heart I look at you see myself the way I should have been but something pure was lost along the way from walk away (silver heart) Walk Away Silver Heart is the first 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 second collection, a kiss for the worthy, draws on Walt Whitman’s classic work Leaves of Grass, 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.   My 5 Star Review: The author has created some moving poetry through using an interesting method of taking lines from a poem written in 1919 by Amy Lowell – Madonna of the Evening Flowers, and translating into new poetry of his own from each line of Lowell’s poem. Walk Away Silver Heart is book one of a Love Poetry Trilogy. Observant romantic poetry – finding the beauty in simple gestures, moments, beautiful imagery, raw emotion, unabashed declaration of love and longing. An intimate telling of love – deep love, inspired love, lost love, a celebration of love, creating vignettes of moments to savor and ponder.   ©DGKaye2020  

Colleen’s Tuesday Tanka #Poetry Challenge – Poet’s Choice

Colleen Chesebro’s Weekly Poetry Challenge. This week is Poet’s Choice. I’ve written a Tanka.     Colleen’s 2020 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 176, #Poet’sChoice   It’s the first of the month and you know what that means! Poets, choose your own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc. It’s up to you! Are you looking for inspiration for your syllabic poetry? Find an image on Pixabay.com or experiment with “found poetry” as a way to find some inspiration. Another option is to try some magnetic poetry. You still have to count syllables, but it’s like putting together a puzzle! If that doesn’t work… take a walk in nature. Engage your five senses. Remember, always write your poetry for yourself. Make it meaningful to you! . . . continue reading at Colleen’s blog.       The Change   The drums beat louder. Natives edging on restless. Thunder rolls the sky. History is repeating. Sad endings – new beginnings.   Visit Colleen’s original post and join in the fun anytime! Different challenge weekly and your choice of style of poetry!   ©DGKaye2020  

Writer’s Tips – Scams, Video Marketing, Book Selling, Photo Library

Welcome to this month’s edition of Writing Tips. Learn about why Amazon isn’t the only game in town from 111 Publishing. Hugh Roberts is back with more great blogging tips. Two great posts from Nicholas Rossis on email video marketing and how to get our digital signatures for documents. And I took the liberty of sharing an important scam alert in these times of Coronavirus where many dirtbags take advantage of ripping off people by email.   Doris Heilmann of 111 Publishing with information on diversifying when it comes to selling books. Are You Still Selling Books Only Via Amazon?     Nicholas Rossis shares the value in Video Email Marketing. Is it the next best thing? Email Video Marketing   Hugh Roberts, blogging guru, offers up 21 Great Ways to spruce up our blogs! 21 Ways To Freshen Up Your WordPress Blog And Help It Standout   Hugh Roberts with blogging tips on how to access a secret photo library right in your WordPress dashboard. How To Access And Use The WordPress Free Photo Library     Another great find from Nicholas Rossis is Wondershare Sign X. Ever have a document that requires a digital signature and wish you didn’t have to print, sign and scan back? Nicholas shares a helpful app. https://nicholasrossis.me/2020/03/25/...   And last of all. I came across this informative article from Norton Antivirus, informing and alerting about the new Corona cyber scams going on with emails. Get informed so you don’t get caught! https://us.norton.com/internetsecurit...   ©DGKaye2020  

Gratitude for Good Doctors and Medical Staff in #Coronavirus Times

What a day. When did it all begin? Never mind. We’re here now. It was not a great lab report, but it got the ball rolling.   In this time of corona, it’s difficult to see a doctor now with all the lock-downs in place. But that doesn’t mean we stop needing them. I can’t help but wonder just how many are scared and sick with other diseases and maladies that require regular checks and testing. Truly a frightening time to be sick and worrying about other illnesses besides the worry of this ominous virus. I know first-hand how much red tape has come down in the medical system in order to deal with the global virus – we can’t go to our doctor for concerns, we can’t even get our blood pressure taken at our local pharmacies right now as they’ve closed off the machines. Now, anything that can’t be dealt with by telephone means having to go to an emergency hospital room, and most of us don’t like going there under normal circumstances, let alone with fears of crowded ERs and an invisible virus looming. Elective surgeries everywhere have been postponed indefinitely, and elective is a loose term covering a huge umbrella which would cover things like – surgeries that people have chosen to have – or not, colonoscopies, which are nobody’s favorite but are life-saving, among many of other cancelled procedures and postponed testing that are necessary. Unfortunately, during uncertain times while protecting the health system from becoming overwhelmed, there’s going to be fallout somewhere. But there are ways to deal with circumstances, and Tele-health calls are a good start with our doctors. And if we happen to be lucky enough to have an amazing doctor who knows us well as their patient and agrees with symptoms, they can request a test. We are our own best advocates when we know something isn’t right, so we must convey how we’re feeling to the doctor on the phone. And there it begins. It was touch and go when I was informed that since there was only one operating room available, there was a possibility hub’s surgery time may be delayed. But we were halfway to the finish line. Dr. B was finally able to schedule Hubby for his long awaited procedure. You may be wondering how we managed to even get scheduled for the ‘elective’ surgery that suddenly became emergency when evaluated by the doctor, finally allowing him to schedule a surgery because it’s deemed necessary. My husband’s recurring bleed out episodes had him losing a lot of blood. He’s usually facing one of these episodes annually ever since he had maximum radiation for his prostate cancer 10 years ago.. But this one decided act up 2 days before we were to fly home from Mexico, a mere 4 months after his last procedure. I’d emailed Hub’s surgeon’s secretary, Lisa, who knows the drill. I told her we’d be home in 2 days and asked if she could book him a surgery for the following week, and we were elated to have an appointment for a week after our return.. But that was the same week the world changed and I got an email from Lisa at Dr. B’s office 2 days later, informing she was sorry, but no elective surgeries till further notice. Then she called to elaborate on the new hospital rules and  we did a Tele-health call with Dr. B and he said he was working on a plan to get Hub in. The only other way into getting a surgery in Corona times is by having to go through the ER as an emergency. I know all the signs of Hubby’s health and I also know when it’s hospital time. Dr. B knows Hub’s history and knows my husband needs a fixing. But there is only one operating room for Endoscopy floor set up now and it’s for emergency surgeries. Since we’d spoken to Dr. B a few weeks prior, he gave me all that info and told me if Hub bleeds again to call his office and he’ll schedule him as an emergency. Well thankfully there’s been no episodes since the call 2 weeks ago as we awaited, but gratefully, Hubby has his lab blood-work done monthly and copied off to 4 of his doctors. And just because he hadn’t bled again didn’t mean that he wasn’t weak and tired from the 3 big bleeds since Mexico, and I knew last week’s labs were not going to be a good number based on Hubby’s weakness. I was right, and so it turns out, his very low hemoglobin number at the lab, sent an alert to 2 doctors, one, our GP, and to Dr. B.  Our GP’s office called to let me know the number was low, which I’d already seen a copy online of the report. I told the secretary I took him to the pharmacy to check his pressure, but they closed off the area. She told me Dr. K would call me Monday. She did, we chatted about Hubby’s health and I told her he wouldn’t go to the hospital as she suggested, to check his pressure because he doesn’t want to be in the ER fearing the virus. So she was kind enough to invite me to bring him to her office and the secretary would check his pressure. And it was low. We went straight home as I was expecting a call from Dr. B after receiving an email from Lisa earlier in the morning after Dr. B saw the report, informing he’d be calling us later. And he did. It unfortunately took my husband’s sorry labs for Dr. B to finally be able to deem his procedure an emergency, and Dr. B booked him in for Monday (yesterday), which was ultimately changed  when Lisa called me and informed me to relay that once again the hospital changed Dr. B’s surgical on call day to Thursday. My Hubby said, he’d waited long enough for Dr. B, he can wait another few days, not wanting another doctor involved. And another bonus was Dr. B had taken the liberty to set up 4 sessions of iron infusion at the hospital for Hubby because his iron levels are dangerously low. Personally, as I write this, I’m concerned at my husband’s weakness and am going to send another email to Lisa to inform Dr. B that he may well need a bag of blood as the infusions take a few weeks to be effective. So, I took Hub to hospital last Friday for his first infusion, although this is not the first time he has had them. I was so impressed with the setup. Nobody allowed to accompany the patients past the entrance, so Hubby had a lot of anxiety over this visit without me with him to guide him around the hospital and answer questions and fill out forms. I told him it was all organized and I wrote a note for the nurses of allergies and meds and my cell phone number, asking to please call when he’s almost done. And it was perfect. I parked in front of the door, took him in to a temporary station in the lobby where you tell them what you’re there for, they sanitize your hands and give you a mask (if you don’t have one on, of course we did!), ask you if you’ve been sick or traveled in the last 2 weeks then send you on your way with directions or to the attendants a few feet away for those who need assistance. So I asked if a volunteer could take Hubby in a wheelchair as he has no energy to walk for long, and of course a nurse aid gowned and masked wheeled him to the pharmacy first where he had to pick up the vial of iron infusion because for some reason it’s not covered under hospital medicine so required paying for, which our private prescription plan pays 80%.  Then the nurse administers it through intravenous in the clinic. The hospital was well setup with friendly cheery personnel and staff as usual, so I knew Hub was in good hands. After I returned to pick him up, Hub told me the pharmacy said we were no longer covered for that drug and charged him $100 instead of the $20 I recalled from past infusions. I was pissed as I pay way too much monthly for that extra prescription coverage and that stuff was covered 2 years ago when we needed it for him then. As soon as we got home I called the insurance company inquiring how to be reimbursed, got an incompetent agent who didn’t have answers, kept putting me on hold (which was my clue he was clueless), and finally told me we needed a special form from them that has to be submitted by the doctor who prescribed the medication. I laced into him asking what this run around was, and why I have to get a doctor to fill it out when he already prescribed it. I didn’t receive direct answers. Once I received it by email, I looked it over and the page for doctor to tick off and fill in was pretty foreign to me. So once again, I scanned the form into an email and sent it off to poor Lisa asking her if she was familiar with this  form, and I filled her in with a condensed version of how the hospital pharmacy charged us full price. Lisa to the rescue, again! Ten minutes after sending her the email, my phone rings. Lisa informed me that she thought it was better to call and explain better than in an email. We ended up chatting for over an hour and I discovered just how much she is like me when it comes to injustice. Then she filled me in. Apparently this drug is not on a list for insurance to pay without going through ‘the special form process. Why? Bureaucracy and BS method of insurance trying to get out of paying. The doctor must fill out the form and ‘code’ for the drug, of which there is no code because it’s considered a universal life-saving drug. Because there’s no code for the drug, it must get sent to the Ministry of Health for approval from the doctor’s office. If the Ministry approves it (which Lisa said there’s no reason they shouldn’t given the circumstances), then they will cover the costs for future infusions and reimburse me for the last one – EXACTLY what insurance hopes for. But if they’d decline, then they’d send the decline form to the doctor and Lisa would forward to me, then I would have to submit the decline form from the government, along with any unpaid receipts to my insurance, and then they would have to pay me back. THANK YOU LISA! And no thanks to you greedy, robber insurance companies. So, as it stands now, we’re crossing fingers for Thursday that all goes well and that the procedure goes forth. Hopefully, we won’t have to lay out another $100 before the next infusion before the ‘yay or the nay’ comes back from the government approval. And lastly, am I ever lucky and glad to have such an amazing team of doctors and medical assistants. Compassion can actually extend beyond the call of duty! Good rapports and asking a lot of questions can go a long way when we need our doctor to step up to the plate. My persistence has paid off. Now crossing my fingers Hubby gets his procedure Thursday and hopefully, no emergencies will push him to the end of the line. I’ll keep you posted!   ©DGKaye2020    

Sunday Book Review – Marjorie Mallon’s – Mr. Sagittarius – Poetry

My Sunday Book Review is for Marjorie Mallon’s newest whimsical release – Mr. Sagittarius. A delightful read with wonderful prose, poetry and images.     Get this book on Amazon Here   Blurb: Twin brothers Harold and William love the magic of the natural world. When Harold dies he leaves a simple memorial request. Will his brother William and his sister Annette honour it? Or, will the garden work its magic to ensure that they do. A magical story expressed via an original compilation of poetry and prose with photographic images. #Poetry #Prose #Photography #NaturalWorld #Trees #Magic #Spirit #Animals #CircleofLife #Humour #Halloween #Cats #Buddha   My 5 Star Review: This was a charming and whimsical read. The author, Mallon, takes us into a magical world in her prose in a tale about 2 siblings, Annette and William, both aging and dealing in their own ways with the grief and some resentments of their departed brother Harold, twin to William. They open up to each other on a bench under the Golden Weeping Willow tree where nature reveals messages. Mallon did a wonderful job projecting the imagery as the story interconnects with intermittent poetry taking place in the magical botanical gardens, and beautiful photographs added to complement the story. This is a short upbeat read with great descriptions and an engaging story.   ©DGKaye2020

Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge – #Themeprompt – The Day After

I jumped into Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge with a Reversed Mirror Double Etheree. This week’s challenge is a #Themeprompt – The Day After.       The Day After   The beginning of the new world order. Breathe in the glorious gift of life. We remain distanced, gloved and masked. Behold, our new world awaits. Taking in the outdoors, People emerging, Unshackled gates. Aftermath. The day Came.   The New gifts Presented. Our creator  Replenished the world. Rivers and streams run clear, Black sooty air has vanished. Take a glimpse and taste of the world. Savor it and drink it in, listen. Take heed, yesterday is gone – welcome home. . ©DGKaye2020   Want to try out some poetry? Check out Colleen’s weekly challenge. Visit Colleen’s Original Post.        

Q & A with D.G. Kaye Features Judith Barrow – The Memory

Welcome to the first of May’s Q and A author features, today I’m excited to have friend and author Judith Barrow over to share some of herself, her writing and her powerful new book, which I can’t wait to sink my eyes into – The Memory. Judith writes historical fiction and family sagas, like her Howarth family books series, and has taken a different approach with her newest book. As a writer who delves into family – and particularly ‘mother’ issues, I have no doubts I will love this book.       About Judith: Judith Barrow, originally from Saddleworth, a group of villages on the edge of the Pennines in Yorkshire, has lived in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for forty years. She has an MA in Creative Writing with the University of Wales Trinity St David’s College, Carmarthen. BA (Hons) in Literature with the Open University, a Diploma in Drama from Swansea University and has had short stories, plays, reviews and articles, published throughout the British Isles and has won several poetry competitions.. She is a Creative Writing tutor for Pembrokeshire County Council and holds private one to one workshops on all genres.   If you’d like to learn more about the writer in Judith, I invite you read this beautiful article Judith wrote – Something of Ourselves.       Blurb: Mother and daughter tied together by shame and secrecy, love and hate. I wait by the bed. I move into her line of vision and it’s as though we’re watching one another, my mother and me; two women – trapped. Today has been a long time coming. Irene sits at her mother’s side waiting for the right moment, for the point at which she will know she is doing the right thing by Rose. Rose was Irene’s little sister, an unwanted embarrassment to their mother Lilian but a treasure to Irene. Rose died thirty years ago, when she was eight, and nobody has talked about the circumstances of her death since. But Irene knows what she saw. Over the course of 24 hours their moving and tragic story is revealed – a story of love and duty, betrayal and loss – as Irene rediscovers the past and finds hope for the future. “…A book that is both powerful and moving, exquisitely penetrating. I am drawn in, empathising so intensely with Irene that I feel every twinge of her frustration, resentment, utter weariness and abiding love.” Thorne Moore “Judith Barrow’s greatest strength is her understanding of her characters and the times in which they live; The Memory is a poignant tale of love and hate in which you will feel every emotion experienced by Irene.” Terry Tyler   Latest review for The Memory: 5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping. Moving. Powerful. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2020 Verified Purchase I read Judith Barrow’s Howarth saga and loved it. When I heard that she’d written something else, something different, I was afraid I might be disappointed. I needn’t have worried. The Memory is a powerful book that holds you in its grip until the final, perfect page. It has two timelines. The current one exposes the physical and emotional exhaustion that often accompanies the care of a family member. Irene and her mother are locked in a claustrophobic battle that is vivid, real and frighteningly credible. The other timeline follows Irene’s life from just before the birth of her sister Rose who has Down’s Syndrome. The portrayal of Rose is beautiful and moving. Irene’s selfless care for her sister underpins so much of the novel. There are hardships, hatred and poverty running parallel with selfless love and sacrifice. I loved Sam for his strength and support of Irene and there were times when I loathed her mother. These aren’t two-dimensional characters, though, and the author brings them to life with an understanding of what drives the decisions that they make. The writing is what I’ve come to expect from Judith Barrow. The effortless prose brings a fresh quality to the mundane and familiar. There’s also a building menace to the book and a sense of foreboding that drives you on right to the surprising end. This is a remarkable book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.   Now, let us dig a little deeper into  Judith and her writing,   If you had the chance to re-do your childhood or teen years to enhance your future in writing, what would you have done differently? This question intrigued me; it suggests that I would have had some control over those years. It would be too easy to say I would have needed to have been born into a different family. That the writing I did, even as a young child, was something I could have shared. It wasn’t. Because what I wrote about was happening in the family and how I felt about it. I knew I couldn’t share it. It would have hurt my mother and angered my father. And, because it was my father who controlled everything, both emotionally and physically, I learned from an early age not to show how I felt. I knew how to hide, keep secrets. Keep out of the way. And watch. We lived together and yet, in a way, we lived separately. I was fascinated in how places were changed by the emotions that filled them. The rooms of our house, the shops in the village, the Methodist chapel I went to every Sunday afternoon, the moors where I wandered for miles on the moors with my dog. School. It’s the feelings of the people who are there at the time and it’s something I am still aware of. Maybe that’s a throwback to my childhood; from being aware. Being wary. I kept my school life private from my parents and was lucky that neither was interested in my education. Anyway, there were few things I enjoyed about school; I never felt as though I fitted in, especially in my teens. I loved the history lessons, but my true passion was obviously English. And from that evolved my plans for the future; I wanted to work as a journalist. Every year, with each new English teacher, I strived for approval with my writing. There was one teacher I will never forget. His name was Leslie Ellinore and, as I grew to trust him, I showed him some of the less personal stories and poems I’d written at home. He often entered them into the school magazine and, once, into a competition in the local newspaper. I won with that story. I was devastated when he emigrated to New Zealand but will never forget what he once said to me: “One day, Judith, I know I will read a book that you have written”. Encouraged by that, and as soon as I passed my exams, I applied in secret for a junior post at that local newspaper. The week before I was due to start there my father discovered how much (or rather how little) I would be paid, and forbid me to go. My wages were needed, so the more I could earn the better. There were many arguments. In the end I gave in and joined the Civil Service. So, I suppose, and being honest, the answer to what I would have done differently then to enhance my future in writing would have been to have more confidence, to have left home, to be determined enough to begin a career in journalism. D.G. – Powerful stuff Judith. Just from this response, it gives me so much more insight as to how similar we were in our dreams and thinking and observations as children, and how our aspirations got left to the wayside. Look at us now! <3   What prompted you to write in your chosen genre? I think it was, inevitable that I write family sagas of some form or another. My stories evolved from the diaries I kept in my childhood and reflected situations I lived through; what I saw. And the dynamics of people and how they interact with one another in a set of circumstances fascinates me. And, you know, family sagas can cross genres, so I get the best of all worlds; secrets and mysteries, criminal actions, romance. And family sagas can be written in any era – so can cross over into historical novels. I love researching for my books; giving a good sense of place. Making a world for my characters, being able to see where they walk, what they wear, the homes they live in, is as important as the lives they lead. D.G. – I love how you insert your slices of your life in your books Judith. Like the old saying goes – there is so much truth in fiction.   How do you promote your work? Do you find marketing and social media overwhelming? I would much rather go out and talk to people about my work. I work part time as a creative writing tutor under a lifelong learning scheme for the local Council. As well as that I also run private workshops where I’m inevitably asked about the way I write and about my books. I also interview other authors about their work for a brilliant online TV company, ShowboatTV; I suppose the promotion of my own books rides on the back of that. I have to admit that most social media does overwhelm me sometimes. When I first started I was on so many platforms; the stress of keeping up with everything finally became too much and I almost walked away from it all. So now I mostly stick to Twitter and Facebook; although I am being told I should really be on Instagram as well. Sigh! I admire anyone who manages the balance of social media with their writing. As for anyone who can produce an interesting blog or a long and insightful review of another author’s book every day, I am in awe. In the early days of my foray into this strange world, I was told that one should follow, promote and discuss only those who write in the same genre, but I can’t see how that is possible. Because I am helped by a disparate array of people I’m very conscious of trying to promote other authors, whatever they write. And a friend once told me not to forget that important word “social”, so, if someone mentions my books, I try to do the same. Then, before I realise it – I’ve lost a couple of hours. As you may be able to tell, I’m getting stressed out just trying to explain why social media stresses me out! Ha-ha! Perhaps, one day, I’ll stop myself for “scatter gunning” online and work out the best way to promote my books. D.G. – Your social media dilemma is one many of us writers contend with Judith. I too believe spreading ourselves everywhere becomes too thin and spend most of my social media time on FB and Twitter too. There are only so many hours in...

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2020 #Family and #Friends – Meeting People for Reasons and Seasons by D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Sally Cronin is currently running a Post from the Archive Series at Smorgasbord Invitation. We were invited to share a post from the past that relates to Family and/or Friendships. Sally has generously featured my article on People We Meet for Reasons and Seasons.   Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2020 #Family and #Friends – Meeting People for Reasons and Seasons by D.G. Kaye     Welcome to the new posts from your archives with a theme of family and friends. Very important as our support system at the moment as many of us are isolated and out of physical touch. If you would like details on how to participate here is the link: Posts from Your Archives April 2020 Family and Friends In this post D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies explores why we meet people – some who stay in our lives and some that fade. ~~~   Ever wonder why some of the friendships and relationships we once may have considered important in our lives at one time suddenly disappear from our lives? Often, times we reflect back on our life relationships and catch ourselves wondering ‘whatever happened to so and so?’. Sometimes we remember why those people have exited our lives, and other times we can go back and analyze these relationships, looking back on what the significance was that person played in our lives. I refer to these short-term relationships as seasonal relationships for reasons – blessings and lessons. These people who come into our lives for brief stints appear for reasons, and because they don’t remain in our lives indefinitely, they are classified as seasonal. The universe has a way of knowing what we need in our lives at different times. There’s a popular phrase – What we focus on, we attract. For example, if we are focusing our attentions on something we wish for, we will eventually meet people who may possibly introduce us to avenues that we are focusing our attentions on. Similarly, if we focus on negative things, we may also be introduced to people who come into our lives who can teach us lessons. We don’t meet people by accident . . . please continue reading at Sally’s blog.   Source: Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2020 #Family and #Friends – Meeting People for Reasons and Seasons by D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine   ©DGKaye  

Reflections – The Domino Effect

  The Domino Effect   I’ve preached to many on occasion over the last decade as I observe the world around me –  God is angry at what man has done to his world. He did it before with Noah’s Ark, and he can do it again and Mother Nature is not one to be fooled with – everyone has their breaking point. This now, what we are experiencing – the higher powers that be slowing down civilization a beat, forcing us to take a look, both, inside and out.   The world is in over-drive, We’ve lost control of the gears. Now our earth requires a pause Mother Nature pumps the breaks Inhaling deep breaths, She clears her lungs and dulls the noise.   The everyday pace of life taxed to the max. Doctors squeezing in more patients, Causing longer wait times, Life in hurry up mode, Human empathy evaporates in the trickle- down effect, Life in the fast lanes had people forgetting to look up from their phones.   Human connections severely impaired, Digital takeover of human jobs, Companies contracting out work, Avoiding add to payroll for decent benefits, Forgetting our fellow man.   Greed, greed, greed everywhere you go, A price gouge here, no mercy over there, A fee for this a fee for that, Money, money, money, profits matter most, We’ve seen the face of money in all its green glory.   The universe is calling, Instructing us to open ears and eyes, Reminding we are we collective not me, Urging us to take this pause in reflection, Breathe in the glorious air that sustains us.   Pull up the sunken compassion from our hearts, Notice the beauty in all the world’s stillness, Back to basics. Reminder of smiles, kindness and gratitude, Imperative to indulge in this pause and reflect.   ©DGKaye2020    

Sunday Book Review – Father Figure by James Cudney

My Sunday Book Review for James Cudney’s – Father Figure is an engrossing read into two lives – Amalia Graeme and Brianna Porter. Amalia’s abusive upbringing inspires her to get far away from home as she can’t wait to move away to college. Brianna  is relentless when it comes to finding out who her biological father is and her determination to find answers becomes a sore spot between her and her mother as her mother continues to deny telling her daughter any information from her past, until Brianna discovers her mother’s diary.     Blurb: Between the fast-paced New York City, a rural Mississippi town and a charming Pennsylvania college campus filled with secrets, two young girls learn the consequences of growing up too quickly. Abused by her mother, Amalia Graeme longs to escape her desolate hometown and fall in love. Contemplating her loss of innocence and conflicting feelings between her boyfriend and the dangerous attraction for an older man, Amalia faces life-altering tragedies. Brianna Porter, a sassy, angst-ridden New York City teenager, yearns to find her life’s true purpose, conquer her fear of abandonment, and interpret an intimidating desire for her best friend, Shanelle. Desperate to find the father whom her mother refuses to reveal, Brianna accidentally finds out a shocking truth about her missing parent. Set in alternating chapters two decades apart, the parallels between their lives and the unavoidable collision that is bound to happen is revealed. Father Figure is an emotional story filled with mystery, romance, and suspense. Praise from readers: ★★★★★ – “The book deals with abuse, identity, acceptance, overcoming obstacles, crime, sexuality, family secrets, and knowing who you are. Another great story to read, especially if you love emotive, suspenseful family dramas.” ★★★★★ – “Gripping and emotional… Mr. Cudney has written a book full of twists and turns that kept my eyes glued to its pages.” ★★★★★ – “Amalia and Brianna are fully developed characters with all the fears, naivety, anxiety and angst of teen, young adults; full of questions and doubts… Can’t wait for James Cudney’s next work.”   My 5 Star Review: This book takes us into the life of Amalia Graeme in the mid 80s, a sweet teenage girl living in smalltown Mississippi. desperate to leave home and go to college to experience making friends, finding love, and most of all, getting away from her most deplorable excuse for a mother. Amalia is pretty green when it comes to learning anything about love and life because she is taught nothing by her mother. We are taken through Amalia’s sad life at home, save for her father who dearly loves her, but somehow seems afraid of his own wife. Amalia meets her first boyfriend Carter, a friend of her brother’s who ends up going to the same college as Amalia. We’ll discover how Carter is a bad boyfriend, and Amalia begins to find solace and then love with one of her professors – undoubtedly a father figure to console her as she desperately misses her father’s love. Then again, everything changes after Amalia is attacked. As the book goes between Amalia’s life in the mid 80s and switches to present day New York, we’re taken into the confusing life of Brianna, where she attends the same college that Amalia attended some 20 years earlier. Brianna is plagued with needing to know who her biological father is while she also struggles to figure out her own identity as she questions her attraction to her best friend Shanelle, and her preference in gender when it comes to relationships. Brianna spends a lot of time trying to corner her mother into telling her who her real father is, but her mother dodges at every opportunity, and the storyline continues creating curiosity for us readers wanting to learn too, who is Brianna’s father? Once Brianna finds her mother’s long lost and forgotten diary, Brianna is exposed to the people in her mother’s life, her relationships and why the paternal identity of Brianna’s fathering presents such a complicated mystery. But Brianna is determined to solve the mystery and hatches a plan with Shanelle to help her investigate what really did happen to her mother. Secrets are all revealed as the book comes to an end. The past always finds a way into the present.   ©DGKaye