Everyone is a Critic: “The Last Stop in Yuma County”
Posted: May 12, 2025 Filed under: Crime, Everyone is a Critic, Movies, Psychological Thriller, Review | Tags: Everyone is a Critic, Psychological Thriller, The LAst Stop in Yuma County, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
When I noticed The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023), my first thought was that it sounds like a western, but the image on the cover indicated something else. Set in a 1970s Arizona diner, this fast paced crime drama that ratchets up the tension with every passing moment, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout. Filled with a plethora of twists and turns, and plenty of surprises.
When a traveling knife salesman, (Jim Cummings), pulls in to the last stop in Yuma County, he is stranded at the diner waiting for a fuel tanker that will never come. The waitress, (Jocelin Donahue), serves up coffee and he bids his time, anxious to get going to spend his daughter’s birthday with her. Things heat up when they are joined by two bank robbers, (Richard Brakes and Nicholas Logan), with an empty tank and hair triggers, and each new patron who comes in adds a new complication. It seems everyone has a gun, and it is anybody’s guess what will happen next.
Although psychological thriller takes place mostly in the diner, the tension is more than enough to make you keep watching. Thoroughly enjoyable. This is one that you’ll never guess the ending.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Chatting with New Blood” is sponsored by the Time Travel Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.
When a Girl with a Guitar Meets a Man with a Gun, It’s Time to Travel
The Rock Star & The Outlaw: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Star-Outlaw-Time-Travel-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0CJBRRCN1/
The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Seeing Doubles: Coming in 2026
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Book Review: “Weeping Boughs Don’t Break”
Posted: May 9, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Review, romance | Tags: Book Reveiw, romance, Staci Troilo, Weeping Boughs Don't Break, Writing to be Read 13 Comments
About Weeping Boughs Don’t Break
A vow broken. A covenant shattered. A duty she can’t escape.
Claudia Abruzzo expected her mid-life crisis to begin when her kids left for college and culminate in a trip around the world when her husband retired. Instead, it started with Leo divorcing her for a woman young enough to be their daughter, and there was no end in sight to her heartbreak.
Five years later, the only change is her last name—back to Valenti. She still lives in the same memory-filled house in the same tiny town with the same financial and emotional struggles since losing her partner. While she doesn’t miss her ex, she does miss being married. She’d meant it when she’d said for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or health, and forsaking all others.
Leo had meant none of it, especially the forsaking part.
Now, his life is on the line and he—as well as his family—expects her to uphold her vows.
Crises of conscience, faith, and family test the flimsy tether of resolve that kept her moored when her life blew apart. Leo is forcing her into another no-win situation, and this time, when her world inevitably explodes, she might not have the strength to pick up the pieces.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Weeping-Boughs-Break-Staci-Troilo-ebook/dp/B0F3Q4T2JQ
My Review of Weeping Boughs Don’t Break
I requested and received a digital copy of Weeping Boughs Don’t Break from author Staci Troilo in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
This book affected me on a personal level, speaking to women and the strengths which are not always seen, especially not by the woman herself. When responsibility and the stresses of life overwhelm us, it feels like the world is crashing in on us and we can’t bear anymore. While others may see our amazing strengths in the trials of life, we don’t feel strong inside.
That’s how it was after my son was taken from me at the age of nineteen, when those around me claimed that I was the strength that held my family together, even as I felt my life crumbling around me. It was a time when family gather, which means dealing with all the people with whom I had a history, and while each came to lend support, they all had their own perspectives and thoughts on how things should proceed. At times, I felt pulled in several different directions, like Gumby, but not nearly as flexible. I remember thinking that I needed someone to stop the world from spinning and let me off.
That is without a doubt the biggest tragedy I have ever experienced, but I’ve had my share of lesser tragedies that brought me down to the lowest of lows, where it was a struggle just to face each day. We all have tragedies, big and small, that assault our emotions and mess with our heads. This story was a reminder of how strong we, as women, can be when they must.
For Claudia, who never learned to say “no” to anyone, even when those demands of others are totally unreasonable, and she tends to push her own needs to the back of the line, pushing those who care for her away unintentionally.But, when her manipulative and emotionally abusive ex-husband begins demanding of her after five long, painful years following their divorce, her emotions are stirred and the lines are blurred, and she doesn’t know how much more she can take. As a reader, Claudia’s strengths are apparent, and those who care about her see it, as well. But, there are events which Claudia hasn’t yet dealt with, which she must, if she is to ever fully heal, and that involves being honest with herself.
The realization that Trace sees something in her which she doesn’t see herself, comes as a shock, but to think he might be serious about her forces her to face her demons and her inner strength shines through.
Troilo manages to touch chords many women are familiar with and will relate to easily. It made me look at my own inner strengths as the character discovers strength which she never knew was there. I give Weeping Boughs Don’t Break five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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Writer’s Corner: Drawing on Experience
Posted: May 5, 2025 Filed under: Fiction, Writing 6 Comments
When I was a little girl, I had a recurring nightmare about spiders. There were thousands of them coming out of the woodwork in my grandparent’s house. I would try to run away from them, tearing up the stairs and into the bedroom I shared with my mother hoping that she could save me. But she couldn’t, and the spiders just kept coming until mom and I were both standing on our beds and there was no where else to go. Then, I would always wake up with my heart racing.
That dream stuck with me, and I’ve always had a fear of spiders. Somehow, I always knew that my nightmare would end up in a story one day. Put it together with a couple of creepy encounter, which involved actually watching a black widow’s egg sac hatch as a teen, and another quite recently, and wouldn’t you know it. Spiders found their way into the short story I’ve been writing for the Curses anthology.
The story is titled “Death Clock”, and it’s about, you guessed it, a cursed clock. But as I wrote, I didn’t feel like the atmosphere and mood was hitting the mark. I had a very creepy experience with real spiders, which brought my nightmare to the forefront of my mind and it suddenly hit me, that spiders was what this story needed. I wrote them into the story in two different scenes with the spiders and the story just came to life.
It’s not the first time I’ve drawn on real life experiences as fodder for my stories. My not so short story, “Terror on a Mountain Trail” (Last Call and Other Short Fiction, 2020), is based on a true life experience I had when I was up trail riding on my ATV and was attacked. My children’s book, Charlie Chickadee Finds a New Home (2024) was inspired by a group pf swallows that swarmed in and chased a family of chick-a-dees from their nest in a tree in my front yard. My short story, “Woman in the Water” (Whispers of the Past, 2019),was inspired by a real setting as I sat on the rocks above a waterfall one day. And of course, it’s no secret that I write a lot of historical fiction, which revolves around the true life experiences of others which I experience vicariously through my research.
In fact, “Death Clock” is based on the true history of Ormulu clocks, bronze gilded clocks made in the sixteenth century through a process that involved using mercury to bond the gold to the bronze, which killed or drove many clockmakers insane before it was finally prohibited by law. And the second story I’m writing for the Curses anthology, “Caverna Del Oro (Cave of Gold)”, is based on the legend of a cursed cave in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, near Westcliffe, Colorado. As a native Coloradoan, I have hiked in many of these mountains, and although I haven’t actually been on Marble Mountain, where the cave of gold is located, my own experiences exploring the Colorado mountains are interwoven into that story, as well.
I’m sure other writers do something similar in their writing processes. What kinds of experiences find their way into your writing?
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.
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“Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures” is Everywhere I Look
Posted: May 1, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized 12 Comments
I’m thrilled to announce that Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures made the list of Best New Poetry /anthologies on Amazon. This is the fifth year that WordCrafter Press has published a Poetry Treasures anthology, but the first time we’ve made this list, so it really tickled me to learn this. We have a great group of poets this year and an uplifting topic for the theme. Below are links where information about Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures can be found. I hope you’ll check it out.
Check out all the places you’ll find Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures.
3.https://thebharatnow.com/poetry-treasures-5-small-pleasures-available-worldwide/
4.https://thecovermagazine.com/poetry-treasures-5-small-pleasures-available-worldwide/
5.https://theindianmirror.com/poetry-treasures-5-small-pleasures-available-worldwide/
6.https://theindianmirror.com/poetry-treasures-5-small-pleasures-available-worldwide/
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Authors Be Aware – Know Your Author Rights
Posted: April 28, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 Comments“What’s all the fuss about?”, you may ask.
In recent times, there has been a lot of hullabaloo about the practices of companies in training their AIs with pirated content. There is currently a class action suit ongoing on behalf of authors whose works have been found to be pirated and used for this training. You can check the article from The Author’s Guild to find out if your books are on the list of pirated works included and what you should do next at the link below.
https://authorsguild.org/news/meta-libgen-ai-training-book-heist-what-authors-need-to-know/
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WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures” Book Blog Tour Recap
Posted: April 27, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 CommentsThanks to Barbara Harris Leonhard for this lovely post.
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Wrapping up the “Poetry Treasures 5: Simple Pleasures” Book Blog Tour
Posted: April 27, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Editing, Giveaways, Poetry, Treasuring Poetry, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Kaye Lynne Booth, Poetry, Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, Robbie Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 40 Comments
Picture Caption: WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Tour Banner
We’re wrapping up the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Book Blog Tour. We’ve had a great tour this past week and I hope you all visited each stop and left a comment for a chance to win one of three digital copies of Poetry Treasures 5 in our giveaway. If you missed a stop or joined us late, you can still go back and meet more poets featured in the anthology, but the giveaway ends tonight, so get your comments in now.
I want to thank contributors Michelle Ayon Navajas, Dawn Pisturino, Barbara Harris Leonard, Ivor Steven, and DL Mullen for their participation in the tour. And thanks also goes out to the hosts for this tour: Colleen Chesebro of Colleen Writes & Publishes, Patty Fletcher of Patty’s Worlds, Carla Johnson-Hicks of Carla Loves to Read, Michelle Navajas of Poetry by Mich, Kay Castenada of Book Places, and DL Mullen of Un dawnted. I feel everyone did a great job and it is appreciated.
I’d like to.make this stop a celebration of the author/poets who contributed to the anthology-those who shared their work on the tour and those who weren’t able to join us. They are all talented poets, and I feel fortunate to feature their lovely works in a WordCrafter poetry anthology.
Tour Schedule
April 21-28 – Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, by Kaye Lynne Booth, et.al.
Mon. 4/21 – Opening Day- Writing to be Read – (Intro. post & Book Trailer)
Tues 4/22 – Colleen Writes & Publishes – (Dawn Pisturino. Guest Post)
Wed. 4/23 – Patty’s Worlds – (Michelle Navajas Guest Post)
Thurs. 4/24 – Carla Loves to Read– (Ivor Steven’s Reading)
Fri. 4/25 – Poetry By Mich – (Barbara Harris Leonhard Reading)
Sat. 4/26 – Book Places – (DL Mullan Reading)
Sun. 4/27 – Writing to be Read – (Wrap up) – Undawnted (Interview with Dawn Pisturino)
Today we have a double stop. Along with the final stop here, we have DL Mullen interviewing Dawn Pisturino over at Un dawnted. You can’t comment on that site, but you can leave your comments for DL and Dawn here. And here on Writing to be Read, I’ll be introducing you to the contributing poets who did not provide content for the tour. Their valuable contributions to the anthology are not to be overlooked, for it was a group effort that made this anthology such an exceptional collection of poetry.
About Poetry Treasures 5: Simple Pleasures
Open the cover
and you will discover
Poetry Treasures
from the guests on
Robbie Cheadle’s 2024
“Treasuring Poetry”
blog series
on Writing to be Read.
Join poets DL Mullan, Barbara Harris Leonhard, Jude Itakali, Ivor Steven, Robbie Cheadle, Michelle Ayon Navajas, Gwen M. Plano, Elizabeth Gauffreau, David Bogomolny, Dawn Pasturino, Maggie Watson, and Colleen Chesebro share their own small pleasures in poetic verse.
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures
Giveaway
This tour we’re giving away digital copies of Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures to three lucky winners. Follow the tour and comment at each stop, so we’ll know you were there. You’ll be entered for another chance in the giveaway at each stop. Winners are chosen through a random drawing by WordCrafter Press. Winners will be announce in tomorrow’s “WordCrafter News”.
Meet the Contributors Who Didn’t Make the Tour
David Bogomolny
You can catch David’s interview with Robbie Cheadle on “Treasuring Poetry” here: https://writingtoberead.com/2024/09/18/treasuring-poetry-meet-poet-and-blogger-david-bogomolny-the-mastermind-behind-the-skeptics-kaddish-blog-and-w3-prompts-poetrycommunity/
Maggie Watson
You can catch Maggie’s interview with Robbie Cheadle on “Treasuring Poetry” here: https://writingtoberead.com/2024/11/20/treasuring-poetry-meet-poet-maggie-watson-and-a-review-of-pieces-of-me-a-collection-of-poems-treasuringpoetry-poetrycommunity-bookreview/
Elizabeth Gauffreau
You can catch Liz’s interview with Robbie Cheadle on “Treasuring Poetry” here: https://writingtoberead.com/2024/08/21/treasuring-poetry-meet-author-and-poet-elizabeth-gauffreau-and-a-book-review-poetrycommunity-bookreview-treasuringpoetry/
Gwen M. Plano
You can catch Gwen’s interview with Robbie Cheadle on “Treasuring Poetry” here: https://writingtoberead.com/2024/07/17/treasuring-poetry-meet-talented-author-and-poet-gwen-m-plano-and-a-review-poetry-bookreview-readingcommunity/
Jude Itakali
You can catch Jude’s interview with Robbie Cheadle on “Treasuring Poetry” here: https://writingtoberead.com/2024/03/20/treasuring-poetry-meet-poet-and-novelist-jude-itakali-and-a-review/
Robbie Cheadle
That’s it for today’s stop on Writing to be Read. Be sure to visit the second part of this double stop over at Un dawnted, where DL Mullan is interviewing author/contributor Dawn Pisturino. I hope you enjoyed the tour and the poetry samples shared enough to get you to buy the book. By using the Books2Read UBL, above, you can purchase from your favorite distributor around the world. Be sure to drop by and catch tomorrow’s “WordCrafter News”, here on Writing to be Read, to find out who the winners in the giveaway are.
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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
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Day 6 of the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures” Book Blog Tour
Posted: April 26, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 CommentsFor Day 6 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Book Places, where host Kay Castenada brings us a reading of “Daybreak” by poet DL Mullan. Join us as we celebrate the small pleasures in life and send off this very special poetry anthology.
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Day 5 of the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures” Book Blog Tour
Posted: April 25, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized 10 CommentsIt’s Day 5 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Book Blog Tour and we’re over at Poetry by Mich with a reading of reading of “Sleeping with Giants”, by Barbara Harris Leonhard. Join us in sending off this very special poetry anthology and comment for a chance to win a free digital copy in our giveaway.
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Book Review: “If She Knew”
Posted: April 25, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller | Tags: Blake Pierce, Book Review, Crime Fiction, If She Knew, Writing to be Read Leave a commentAbout If She Knew
55 year old empty nester—and freshly retired FBI agent—Kate Wise finds herself drawn out of her quiet suburban life when her friend’s daughter is murdered in a home invasion—and she is implored to help.
Kate thought she left the FBI behind after 30 years as their top agent, respected for her brilliant mind, tough street skills and her uncanny ability to hunt down serial killers. Yet Kate, bored with the quiet town, at a crossroads in life, is summoned by a friend she can’t turn down.
As Kate hunts the killer, she soon finds herself at the forefront of a manhunt, as more bodies turn up—all suburban moms in perfect marriages—and it becomes apparent there is a serial killer stalking this quiet town. She unearths secrets from her neighbors she wishes she never knew, discovering that all is not what it seems in this picture of model streets and neighbors. Affairs and lying are rampant, and Kate must sift through the town’s underbelly if she will stop the killer from striking again.
But this killer is one step ahead of her, and it may end up being Kate who is in danger.
An action-packed thriller with heart-pounding suspense, IF SHE KNEW is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/She-Knew-Kate-Wise-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07GX3BR7P
My Review of If She Knew
I received a copy of If She Knew, by Blake Pierce through FreeBooksie. All opinions stated here are my own.
If She Knew is the first book in Blake Pierce’s Kate Wise Mystery series. I relate well with the aging female protagonist who isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel and settle into retirement. (Telling Kate Wise to stop solving crimes is like telling me to stop writing. Lol.) I enjoyed this book so much, I grabbed a second series starter from the back of the book, so watch for that review next week.
Kate Wise is a retired FBI agent, but when her friend’s daughter is murdered, she must step in to help. Her involvement earns her an invitation to come out of retirement and officially work on cold cases, but if she doesn’t knab this killer, her career could be all washed up. The great thing about police procedurals is watching at they break procedure. The only obvious connection between the victims is the area they live in, but Kate knows there must be more. It’s a race with the clock, as another victim turns up. Can she find the real connection before the killer strikes again?
This book is everything a good procedural crime novel should be. I give If She Knew four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
