K.D. Dowdall's Blog, page 36
June 3, 2018
SEVENTH SON by Author A. M. Offenwanger
A. M. Offenwanger has written a magical fantasy that is a delight to read. I know when a book is really good and that is when I can remember with clarity the characters and the story weeks later. This tells me that the characters were memorable, likable, and the story interesting. Offenwanger’s writing is memorable, delightful and magical. The story involves a former Librarian, Cat, who is not happy with her life and decides to do some traveling with the money she has saved. She has been “dumped” by her boyfriend and life seems to be going nowhere for her. A lover of museums, Cat visits a museum of antiquities and admires several beautiful and strange appearing turquoise bowls, that apparently have a magical quality about them. Little did Cat know that these bowls would change her life beyond anything she could imagine.The world building is simple, but effective. I highly recommend Seventh Son, as a delightful summer read. It is uplifting, with a love story that will make your heart melt.
June 2, 2018
Promote Your Writing!
A Wonderful way to share!
charles french words reading and writing
Hello to everyone! I want once again to offer an opportunity for all writers who follow this blog to share information on their books. It can be very difficult to generate publicity for our writing, so I thought this little effort might help. All books may be mentioned, and there is no restriction on genre. This include poetry and non-fiction.
To participate, simply give your name, your book, information about it, and where to purchase it in the comments section. Then please be willing to reblog and/or tweet this post. The more people that see it, the more publicity we can generate for everyone’s books.
Celebrate and promote your writing! Shout it out to the world!
Feel free to promote a new or an older book!
I hope this idea is successful, and I hope many people share information on their books!
Gallows Hill can be found here…
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June 1, 2018
Sour Grapes
What a charming poem and can be said about many things in life, because many things we do – need cutting back! Please feel free to visit Sam’s Peacock Poetry and her Coaching Creatively Sessions at: http://samallencoachingcreatively.com/
As I was scanning the scenery for poetic prompts on Saturday, I was amused to find myself drawn to the burgeoning vine leaves in our garden which had been the unsuspecting victims of a mass hack down by Android last year. Wise to the error of his ways, Android has taken a more gentle approach to his pruning this year I am relieved to say. The vines, so they tell me, were pleased to find their voice in the following poem penned on the morning of my Poetrython.
In Vine Voice
Well thank you sir, you listened then
‘Bout time we had our say
Do you think we’ve forgotten when
you hacked us all away?
It was unfair to chop us there
You punished us unduly!
We weren’t some mane of horses hair
That had become unruly!
Just little vines, the summer’s sign
That it was time for creeping
You…
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May 30, 2018
Wonderful Spring Time May
This beautiful poem is a joy to read and enjoy,
The sun sends light down to the Earth
to show the world that it is worth
the warmth, the sunbeams and the song
of Nature pure, it can’t be wrong.
**
When the ground it thirsts for something wet
if rain it needs, that’s what it will get.
Darkest clouds clot up there in the sky
The relief the dry ground feels like a sigh.
**
And still very soon after pouring rain
The world is bright and beams again.
The baby starlings scream for food
other birds as well, they feed their brood.
**
At night you hear the barn owls do
demand to eat, they’re hungry too.
Baby foxes play around, while Momma hunts
and the baby deer won’t make a sound.
**
Listen to nature and you can hear its song
when birds are racing all along.
Singing, twittering, and complaint
they live their life without constraint.
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3 Types of Conflict to Improve Your Story
by Ryan Lanz
I love the show Survivor. I know, I know. It’s a guilty pleasure.
I’m a bit of a junkie for the show. I’ve probably seen 90% of the episodes since it started 57 years ago (ish). May Jeff Probst never retire. I was wondering to myself why I love the show so much. Sure, the scenery is beautiful, and the challenges are fun to watch. But plenty of shows have that sort of thing. Then it hit me: the conflict. Survivor is rife with conflict. People are selected from different walks of life and put together as strangers in a high stress environment. Shenanigans ensue.
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May 29, 2018
The Tale of The Harpy – A Scary Short Story by K. D. Dowdall
I wish for a tropical breeze to lighten the intense humidity that hugs this August morning. The porch, thank goodness, is high off the ground and the mildew on the screens somewhat block the steamy rays from the sun. The sky is intensely blue and the ocean is still and quiet—waiting. I breathe in slowly through my nose and exhale gently through my mouth, waiting for what I know must come. I feel powerless to change my fate.
My notebook is before me and I stare at the cover, that I am unwilling to open. I have been siting here now for what seems like hours trying to begin a story that I must tell. I must make sense of it, at least in my own mind. Perspiration drips from the corners of my temples. Tendrils of fading blond curls are damp across my forehead and I push them aside with the back of my hand.
The old mahogany rocking chair I sit in, with its old cane seat, presses into my bare legs making my skin feel sticky and I am sure that deep patterns are now embed on the backs of my thighs that might blister, courtesy of the mahogany chair. I shift uncomfortably, and vow to retrieve a pillow from the sofa when next I rise.
The breeze I have been waiting for finally arrives like a soft whisper across my cheek and I turn my face toward its source, the sky and sea. In the morning light, I open the notebook and stare at the empty pages, that are now somewhat damp from the humid air and I begin again searching for the right words, the truest of words. It will come to me…..I know it will. I close my eyes and I try to remember all of it
_____________________
It began some years ago. I was standing on this screened in porch with my cousin, Jordan. It was after the funeral of my great Aunt who willed me this beach house that sits comfortably overlooking the ocean.
The sky was a vivid blue and the sea was quiet, until quite suddenly, a quickly moving storm, crossed the horizon and blocked out the sun. Darkness came, and a whispered voice, close to my ear, spoke, “Dare ye not linger lest she bring a curse upon ye, child.”
I turned quickly to the voice, but no one was there. A chill went up my spine. I thought I had imagined it. Moments later, again, the disembodied voice spoke, “Dare ye not linger lest she bring a curse upon ye, child!” This time the voice was urgent and fearful.
I began to tremble with an unreasonable fear, of what—I did not know. I grabbed my cousin Jordan’s arm to plead with him to let us head for home. He took no notice of me and continued to stare at something that was standing beyond the gate. I turned to look and before us was something that could only have materialized out of a Grimm’s fairy tale.
An unearthly woman glared at me from beyond the gate, and her dark crystal eyes began to glow so brightly that the darkness disappeared around us. The hag-like woman, lifted by unseen wings, soared over the gate.
The whispering voice behind me suddenly gave out an ear-splitting scream that shook the floor where I stood. The hag-like apparition beyond the screened porch screeched with such an unearthly sound that I dared not move, even if I could. I was still holding Jordan’s arm and he turned to me as if to wonder what I was doing.
“Jordan,” I whispered, “What is that?”
“What is what, Ana?”
“You know, the old hag, the woman, Jordan.”
“Ana, there is no woman, only a light in the window from the cottage down the road, but there was nothing to it. Let’s go home.”
I was incredulous. Was I the only one who saw the woman and heard the unearthly screams? My young cousins, Richie and Anise seemed not to be at all aware of what had happened as they played along the beach before me.
I couldn’t understand what was wrong with them and then once again, I heard the whispering voice behind me and I angrily turned to respond. The whispering apparition was floating in the air, now in front of me, her long dark hair was whirling around her head as though she was in the center of great storm, “Thou art hexed, forsaken in ye life, poor child,” she said. “I begged thee not to gaze upon the Harpy.”
The apparition’s voice was sad and low as she slowly vanished before me. The sky was once again blue, and the sea was quiet now. The storm was gone along with the screeching old hag.
______________________
The Mahogany chair is now hotter against my thighs as the chair begins to rock back and forth. I know she is coming. I look beyond the screened porch, knowing she will come. I see her now, the Harpy, she stands beyond the porch. Her dark crystal eyes glare at me, as her dark mane of hair blows in the dark storm she brings with her.
Another form appears on the porch, near me. It is the apparition, I now know as Nellie, who has been protecting me all of these years. The Harpy’s unholy screech suddenly pierces the air and in turn, Nellie’s high pitch scream drowns out all else.
Then it finally comes to me, the truest words: “Do not look at the creature, the Harpy. Do not listen to her screams, should you hear them, and abide this warning: Go as far away as you can, a quick as you can—for it is far too late for me.”
The Tale of The Harpy – A Scary Story by K. D. Dowdall
I wish for a tropical breeze to lighten the intense humidity that hugs this August morning. The porch, thank goodness, is high off the ground and the mildew on the screens somewhat block the steamy rays from the sun. The sky is intensely blue and the ocean is still and quiet—waiting. I breathe in slowly through my nose and exhale gently through my mouth, waiting for what I know must come. I feel powerless to change my fate.
My notebook is before me and I stare at the cover, that I am unwilling to open. I have been siting here now for what seems like hours trying to begin a story that I must tell. I must make sense of it, at least in my own mind. Perspiration drips from the corners of my temples. Tendrils of fading blond curls are damp across my forehead and I push them aside with the back of my hand.
The old mahogany rocking chair I sit in, with its old cane seat, presses into my bare legs making my skin feel sticky and I am sure that deep patterns, are now imbed on the backs of my thighs that might blister, courtesy of the mahogany chair. I shift uncomfortably, and vow to retrieve a pillow from the sofa when next I rise.
The breeze I have been waiting for finally arrives like a soft whisper across my cheek and I turn my face toward its source, the sky and sea. In the morning light, I open the notebook and stare at the empty pages, that are now somewhat damp from the humid air and I begin again searching for the right words, the truest of words. It will come to me…..I know it will. I close my eyes and I try to remember all of it
_____________________
It began some years ago. I was standing on this very screened in porch with my cousin, Jordan. It was after the funeral of my great Aunt who willed me this beach house that sits comfortably overlooking the ocean.
The sky was a vivid blue and the sea was quiet, until quite suddenly, a quickly moving storm, crossed the horizon and blocked out the sun. Darkness came, and a whispered voice, close to my ear, spoke, “Dare ye not linger lest she bring a curse upon ye, child.”
I turned quickly to the voice, but no one was there. A chill went up my spine. I thought I had imagined it. Moments later, again, the disembodied voice spoke, “Dare ye not linger lest she bring a curse upon ye, child!” This time the voice was urgent and fearful.
I began to tremble with an unreasonable fear, of what—I did not know. I grabbed my cousin Jordan’s arm to plead with him to let us head for home. He took no notice of me and continued to stare at something that was standing beyond the gate. I turned to look and before us was something that could only have materialized out of a Grimm’s fairy tale.
An unearthly woman glared at me from beyond the gate, and her dark crystal eyes began to glow so brightly that the darkness disappeared around us. The hag-like woman, lifted by unseen wings, soared over the gate.
The whispering voice behind me suddenly gave out an ear-splitting scream that shook the floor where I stood. The hag-like apparition beyond the screened porch screeched with such an unearthly sound that I dared not move, even if I could. I was still holding Jordan’s arm and he turned to me as if to wonder what I was doing.
“Jordan,” I whispered, “What is that?”
“What is what, Ana?”
“You know, the old hag, the woman, Jordan.”
“Ana, there is no woman, only a light in the window from the cottage down the road, but there was nothing to it. Let’s go home.”
I was incredulous. Was I the only one who saw the woman and heard the unearthly screams? My young cousins, Richie and Anise seemed not to be at all aware of what had happened as they played along the beach before me.
I couldn’t understand what was wrong with them and then once again, I heard the whispering voice behind me and I angrily turned to respond. The whispering apparition was floating in the air, now in front of me, her long dark hair was whirling around her head as though she was in the center of great storm, “Thou art hexed, forsaken in ye life, poor child,” she said. “I begged thee not to gaze upon the Harpy.”
The apparition’s voice was sad and low as she slowly vanished before me. The sky was once again blue, and the sea was quiet now. The storm was gone along with the screeching old hag.
______________________
The Mahogany chair is now hotter against my thighs as the chair begins to rock back and forth. I know she is coming. I look beyond the screened porch, knowing she will come. I see her now, the Harpy, she stands beyond the porch. Her dark crystal eyes glare at me, as her dark mane of hair blows in the dark storm she brings with her.
Another form appears on the porch, near me. It is the apparition, I now know as Nellie, who has been protecting me all of these years. The Harpy’s unholy screech suddenly pierces the air and in turn, Nellie’s high pitch scream drowns out all else.
Then it finally comes to me, the truest words: “Do not look at the creature, the Harpy. Do not listen to her screams, should you hear them, and abide this warning: Go as far away as you can, a quick as you can—for it is far too late for me.”
May 28, 2018
Thought of the Day!
Honor Memorial Day
There are many Americans who are from military families and that includes my family for several generations. I found this post by Charles F. French to be particularly important to me. Having lived in countries where there is no Democracy is an awakening experience and until you lose Democracy you never truly understand how very much you have lost. This is what our soldiers and their families fight for, die for – our Democracy, our constitution, and our way of life. In military families, like my own, it is a day of remembrance of those we have lost, and to honor them.
charles french words reading and writing
I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend, but I also hope you remember why this holiday exists. The word “holiday” comes from “holy day,” and the remembrance of this day and its purpose should be sacred. It was originally known as Decoration Day after the end of the Civil War, and it was designated Memorial Day in the 20th Century.
This day is intended to honor, give thanks, and remember those who have sacrificed their lives for The United States of America. Please honor the fallen and the wounded on this day. I realize the day was meant originally for the dead, but I extend my wishes and thanks to the wounded also. Regardless of political beliefs or stands on a war, these are the men and women who fought to keep us safe, and they deserve our remembrance.
They deserve our thanks and our…
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May 27, 2018
Beyond Cocky
Singular words in everyday use should not be allowed to be Trademarked. Will we be disallowed to use everyday words from the Dictionary?? If a word is unique and original that is an entirely different – Cocky, forever, other words in common daily use, and other dictionary words in common use is not only not original, but a sham and a scam.
I really hate to have to blog about #cockygate again. I really do. (You can read my previous post here.) Some of you might wonder why I’m continuing to harp on this topic. Others might think I’m giving Faleena Hopkins exactly what she wants – more publicity. The reason why I’ve decided to blog about this (again!) is because #cockygate is far from over. While Hopkins’ trademark of the single word “cocky” affects just a small group of romance authors, this has set a dangerous precedent. Over the past several days, numerous attempts have been made by other authors to trademark other commonly-used words.
There has been a lot going on, so I’m going to give you a general run down, rather than drone on and on in a long-winded, emotional post.
On September 12, 2017 Faleena Hopkins (under her company Hop Hop Productions) applies for three trademarks. The…
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