Winners in the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour Giveaway

Posted: January 17, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Blog Tour, Giveaways, Memoir, Nonfiction, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter News | Tags: Healthcare, Memior, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafer Press, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 4 Comments

Tour Banner: Stethescopes, Thermometers, and other medical periphinalia with The Ones Who Stayed With Me in foreground. Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours presents The Ones Who Stayed With Me by Nurse Sammy

We had a great tour with four chapter excerpt readings by author, Nurse Sammy, and interview and three wonderful reviews. We’re giving away three digital copies of The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and each person who left a comment so I would know that they had visited at each stop received an entry. If you visited and commented at each stop, you would have five chances to win. Winners are chosen in a random drawing, where I literally draw names out of a hat, and now, all that’s left to do is to announce the winners.

And the winners are…

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

Restlessjo from Day 2 – Roberta Writes
Tidalscribe.com from Day 2 – Roberta Writes
Carol anne from Day 1 – Poetry by Mich

Congratulations to the lucky winners!

If your name is on the list above and you have not heard from me yet, please contact me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com.

Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour

Posted: January 16, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Author Interview, Blog Tour, Book Review, Books, Memoir, Nonfiction, Review, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Book trailer, Giveway, Interview, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafer Press, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 7 Comments

It’s the final stop on the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour.

Giveaway

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free digital copy of

The Ones Who Stayed With Me

By Nurse Sammy

One entry per stop.

Winners are chosen in a random drawing.

About The Ones Who Stayed With Me

Chronicles of the journey into the medical field as a young nurse and beyond, told with raw sensitivity and compassion. The Ones Who Stayed with Me offers small glimpses into the world of an L.P.N. put in difficult, often touching or humorous, situations—and Nurse Sammy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all. In these pages, Nurse Sammy tells her story and that of those she met along the way.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed

Short Trailer

About Nurse Sammy

Nurse Sammy has spent her life walking the quiet edges of human suffering and human grace. Long before she ever wore scrubs, she learned how to read a room by the way someone breathed and how to steady a shaking hand. How to listen to the stories people only tell when they think it might be their last night to say them. Nursing wasn’t a career she chose; it was the language her heart was already speaking.

She has worked in places where life is beginning, and in places where life is ending; in rooms lit by hope, and in rooms where grief hangs heavy in the doorway. Rehab centers, memory care halls, pediatric units, assisted living, private homes, wherever someone needed gentleness, she went. She became the one who held vigil, the one who noticed the quiet details, the one who stayed.

Her personal life has carried its own ache, abuse survived, love lost, a marriage that bruised the soul, another built from healing, and a grief that still hums beneath her ribs. She writes from the tender, broken places, from the nights she rebuilt herself alone, from the mornings she rose anyway. Her words are shaped by both the wounds and the resilience that followed.

The Ones Who Stayed With Me is her first published work, a collection of truths disguised as stories, honoring the people who left fingerprints on her life in ways they never saw. Her writing is soft but unflinching, honest but merciful, threaded with the belief that even in darkness, someone is always holding a light.

Nurse Sammy lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she continues to care, to witness, to learn, and to turn the hardest parts of her journey into something that might help someone else breathe a little easier.

My Interview with Nurse Sammy

Kaye: The book tells a lot about your journey as a nurse. Would you tell us a little about your author journey? What inspired you to write The Ones Who Stayed With Me?

Sammy: My first year of nursing was very adventurous. I knew these stories would be written in a book one day. There was just something in me. I kept record of these stories. It took me a few years to work up the courage to write, but in the summer of 2025, I took the time to finally start. I started a new sticky note on my phone and wrote down the stories I wanted to write. I started a rough draft in word and would work on it before or after work. I spent lunch on my phone writing titles and brainstorming ideas. I was enjoying the process of writing so much that it was consuming my life, I could not stop. The emotions of writing helped me process what I had experienced and what others did too. I wanted to teach people what really happens behind the curtain.

Kaye: What are some of the challenges in writing this book for you?

Sammy: Writing was never my strong suit in school. I am a horrible speller, and grammar is not my forte. I was nervous that my stories would be unreadable and hard to digest. As I wrote, things got easier. I was stressed that this wouldn’t work out. I had to take a step back and remember that I was writing this for me first. No one had to see it if I chose that. I got more confident and showed some friends. It became easier.

Kaye: What is the most gratifying part of this book for you?

Sammy: Being able to share the stories with others. I wanted to educate and teach people what healthcare professionals go through. These are common stories in healthcare. A lot of us have had similar shifts. I wanted patients to understand that they are not alone either.

Kaye: What has been the biggest obstacle for you, as an author?

Sammy: Believing in myself. Having faith in myself to follow through on something. To start something and finish it. This was a big project for me. I was proud of what I was doing, that it kept me on track. I had to persuade myself once to keep going, I was determined.

Kaye: What author (dead or alive) would you most like to have lunch with?

Sammy: Judy Blume. She wrote childhood classics. Some of my favorite days in school were 4^th and 5^th grade. Judy Blume’s books were the books chosen for those two years. We read them out loud together. Did book reports on them. And had quizzes over them. I fell in love with them. They are simple cute books. But they were my childhood. Even as an adult, I read her books.

Kaye: What is the best piece of writing advice that you have ever received?

Sammy: Start. Just start writing. Everything will flow out as long as you start. Let the emotions out and write for yourself first and others second.

Kaye: Are there more books in the works, or is this just a one-and-done thing?

Sammy: I have started brainstorming and have a sticky note in my phone for my second book. There are many stories that still haven’t been written. The more years I work, the crazier things have gotten. Especially after Covid. I am excited to keep writing and hope I can educate more and more people.

Kaye: Where do you hope to see yourself as a writer, and as a nurse, in ten years?

Sammy: I hope to have a few more books written. I really enjoyed this process and hope to continue it. As a nurse, I dream of having my doctorate in nursing. I hope to go back to school soon to work towards a higher degree in nursing. I plan to one day be a Nurse Practitioner for pediatrics or geriatrics, only time will tell.

Kaye: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Sammy: Believe in yourself, even if no one else does. That spark in you wants to grow, let it. Even if you just write a sentence a day. Understand you are allowed to learn and grow as you write. You don’t have to be perfect.

Kaye: Where can readers learn more about you and your books?

Sammy: I am currently working on social media accounts as an author. I will have profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Stay tuned.

Denise Aparo’s Review of The Ones Who Stayed With Me

The Ones Who Stayed With Me by Nurse Sammy
Book Review by Denise Aparo

The Ones Who Stayed With Me by Nurse Sammy is a powerful debut collection of true stories that leaves a lasting impression on both the heart and mind. These narratives are raw, honest, and emotionally intense—sometimes humorous, always compassionate—and reveal how grace can be found in the merciful field of nursing through care, service, and human connection.

Written in a memoir-style, journalistic format, Nurse Sammy chronicles eight years of her life working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). She guides readers through her journey from the very beginning, presenting her experiences through a series of chronological snapshots. The book may be read cover to cover or opened at random, as each chapter stands on its own while contributing to a larger, meaningful whole. The stories explore life’s beginnings, endings, and everything in between, taking place in rehab centers, memory care halls, pediatric units, assisted living facilities, private homes, and wherever compassionate care is needed most.

Interwoven throughout the book are deeply personal reflections on heartache, surviving abuse, profound grief, a lost marriage, and ultimately, healing and rediscovered love. The opening chapter, This Job Will Break Your Heart, immediately grounds the reader in the emotional reality of nursing, while also emphasizing resilience, strength, and the wisdom gained through hardship.

Each chapter offers a gripping short story filled with Nurse Sammy’s experiences, emotions, and adventures in the field. Not every story has a happy ending—some have no ending at all—but each carries a moral and a life lesson, delivered with sincerity, empathy, and at times, gentle humor. For readers considering a career in caregiving or nursing, this book provides invaluable insight into both the emotional demands and the profound rewards of the profession.

Ultimately, The Ones Who Stayed With Me serves as a moving reminder that angels often appear in our darkest hours—sometimes wearing scrubs.

Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s Review of The Ones Who Stayed With Me

The Ones Who Stayed with Me—Raw Stories from the Bedside (WordCrafter Press 2026)

Whew! Even though I am not a member of this collection’s target audience, indeed its true stories hooked me. (I admit, with a mother who was an RN from the late 1940s and returned to the profession after raising seven children, and a sister who works as a Nurse Anesthetist with a daughter whose first year of being a nurse was during the COVID epidemic, a story collection penned by an author named Nurse Sammy aroused my curiosity.)

Yes, once reading these episodes, I was snared. Nurse Sammy penned these true stories about her experiences serving in an array of positions in the nursing profession, (which she entered when she was 18), as a guide for those entering that field. By age 20, she served as a night shift Charge Nurse for a huge retirement community enclosed in a “sprawling” building linked to “elegant corridors easy to get lost in.” There, she “oversaw 190 residents, six Med Aides, and fourteen CNAs until 10 pm.” After that hour, she reminisced, she and six CNAs served that retirement home.

Afterwards, in a section entitled Finding My Groove: Rehab #3, Vancouver, WA, she describes where she believes she “finally received real training, two weeks across all shifts.” There, in that place which “felt like family,” she worked as a Floor Nurse from Monday through Friday, 2 p-10 pm.

“Nurses handled all meds and treatments,” she recalled. “It was intense, but I thrived. My usual shift included seventeen patients.”

And she remained there when “COVID-19 hit,” and she “volunteered for he new Covid wing. Sixteen rooms, one nurse, two CNAs, twelve-hour shifts, five days a week. I did it for five months. No one died on my watch.”

About halfway through this collection, she included another episode about the Covid experience, “2020 The Year the World Shut Down,” occurring when she was “twenty-two years old and two years into my nursing career.” There the residents were “people who already could not breathe on their own, long before COVID was a headline.”

When the facility received its “first positive [COVID] case” . . .[w]e all knew it was over,”

she wrote, then described how ill-prepared that institution was for the pandemic: “We stored our masks in paper bags, labeled with our names, praying they would still be ‘clean’ the next day. Some of us used the same face shield for weeks, wiping it down between patients, cracked forming in the corners. We all knew it was not enough.”

And here, she included the heart-breaking story of a 55-year-old patient she dubbed “Jane,” who’d been a resident for years.

“She had a trach and was on a vent, but she was vibrant, She had a laugh that filled the whole house, even with the voice that comes through a speaking valve. Every morning, she wanted her hair brushed, red lipstick on and her gospel music playing. She was not supposed to die, not yet.”

Nevertheless, Jane tested positive, and “she knew. She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes I wanted to believe. ‘No Jane. You are strong. You will beat that.” I could not. We both knew what this virus did to the lungs. Especially lungs relying on machines.”

Her body’s oxygen needs “skyrocketed” a day later, and by the third day, she could no longer laugh. Nurse Sammy sat by her bed in sweat-soaked gown, held Jane’s hand in

“double-gloved fingers, and whispered “Your are safe. You are not alone.”

Jane died the next day. Nurse Sammy added, We did no even have time to mourn her,” and added, “I did not sleep. I barely ate. I cried on the bathroom between med passes. Still, I came back the next day, and the one after that. Who else would sit with them? Who else would make sure they did not die afraid?”

Later, in the sections, Better Than Textbooks and Jane the Bitch, set in the second and fourth assisted living centers where she served as a memory care nurse, Nurse Sammy shares the experience with “John.” a senior citizen raised during the Great Depression, who shared stories about his family using “flour sacks for curtains” and “talked about sneaking sis of bootleg gin during Prohibition. “John lit up when I sat beside him. His eyes usually dull and half-lidded would brighten.”

Similarly, her short about “Jane the Bitch” revealed how that resident, a retired nurse, who “had worked nights for decades,” was sharp, sarcastic, condescending and downright mean,” was tamed when Nurse Nanny watched how she liked to take her meds “with ice cold milk” and “liked the lights dimmed,” and stared serving her milk “in a chilled glass,” turned down the lights and “picked up on her other quirks.”

“ . . .surviving Jane meant learning her code. Once I cracked it, something unexpected happened. She started talking. Not in her usual bark, but in something softer. Once night, she told me about her first years as a nurse. How she worked in the E.R., sometimes twelve days in a row. How she buried her stress in sarcasm and bourbon, How she lost her husband, and how pain had followed her for years before it ever settled in her bones.”

Especially in those two pieces, Nurse Nancy revealed how a nurse may connect with elderly persons who must live the rest of their lives in assisted living centers.

She added that after she and Jane connected that night, she caught Jane “watching me from her recliner while I quietly filled the med cup.”

“She said, ‘You are good. You pay attention.’ That was the closest U ever got to a compliment fro Jane. Weirdly, it meant more than the thank yous I had gotten that week. . . I learned that even the most difficult people need connection. Even bitches deserve consistency. Sometimes the person who fights you the hardest is the one who needs you the most. . . Jane was the bitch I never saw coming, and one who never left me.”

(Note—Nurse Nancy refers to all the male patients as “John” and all the female patients as “Jane,” to preserve their identities.”

A Pacific Northwest writer, Nurse Sammy continues to serve the medical community as an LPN. This collection of stories is her first published book, which she wrote to “honor the

people who left fingerprints on her life in ways they never saw.” And by doing so, she created a collection well-worth reading—even for us non-nurses.

—Lindsey Martin-Bowen

Cashing Checks with Jim Morrison (redbat books 2024)

Wrap Up

That wraps things up for today’s stop and for the tour. Thank you all for joining us, and don’t forget to leave a comment to show your support, and for an entry in the giveaway for a free digital copy. If you missed a stop, you can still visit each one through the links in the schedule below.

Tour Schedule

Mon. 12 – Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores & Masticadores Phillipines – “The Backbone of Healthcare: The C.N.A.” Reading by Nurse Sammy –

Poetry by Mich: https://michnavs.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/

Hotel By Masticadores: https://hotelmasticadoreshouse.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/

Masticadores Philippines: https://masticadoresphilippines.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/

Tues. 13 – Roberta Writes – “Better Than Textbooks” Reading by Nurse Sammy – https://roberta-writes.com/2026/01/13/roberta-writes-guest-post-the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-wordcrafter-book-blog-tour/

Wed. 14 – Undawnted – “Is it B.M. or Chocolate Pudding?” Reading by Nurse Sammy & Review by DL Mullan

Thurs. 15 – Book Places – “The Year I Ate $2 Hotdogs” Reading by Nurse Sammy – https://bookplaces.blog/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-day-4-word-crafter-book-blog-tours/

Fri. 16 – Writing to be Read – Interview, Review by Denise Aparo & Review by Lindsey Martin-Bowen

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Day 4 of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour

Posted: January 15, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Books, Fiction, Giveaways, Memoir, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Excerpt Reading, Memoir, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 3 Comments

You can join us over at Book Places for Day 4 of the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour, where Nurse Sammy offers one last chapter excerpt reading. (Then tomorrow, we’ll wrap up with an interview and a couple reviews, right here on Writing to be Read.) I do hope you’ll join us.

The Ones Who Stayed With Me – Day 4 Word Crafter Book Blog Tours

Day 3 of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour

Posted: January 14, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Book Review, Books, Giveaways, Memoir, Review, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: Excerpt, Giveaway, Memoir, Nurse Sammy, Nursing, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 6 Comments

For Day 3 of the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Undawnted where Nurse Sammy offers another chapter excerpt and host DL Mullan shares her review of this lovely memoir. Join us in sending off The Ones Who Stayed With Me and get in on the giveaway. Undawnted doesn’t take comments, but you can comment on this stop here.

http://www.undawnted.com/2026/01/OnesWho.StayedWithMe.TourStop3.Undawnted.html

Day 2 of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour

Posted: January 13, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Books, essays, Fiction, Giveaways, Memoir, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Chapter Reading, Giveaway, Memoir, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafer Press, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 6 Comments

Today’s tour stop is over at Roberta Writes on the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour with another chapter excerpt reading by the author, Nurse Sammy. Please join us in sending off this unique collection of stories that will open your eyes and touch your heart.

Roberta Writes – Guest Post: The Ones Who Stayed With Me WordCrafter Book Blog Tour

Welcome to the Opening Day of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour

Posted: January 12, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Giveaways, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter News | Tags: Memoir, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | 2 Comments

Tomorrow, January 13th, is the release day for a fabulous new memoir-ish collection of personal essays, stories that will make you laugh and some that will make you cry, written by a debut author, Nurse Sammy. Whether you are in the health care industry, or just curious for a glimpse behind the scenes, The Ones Who Stayed With Me will educate and entertain. Her open and honest voice will draw you in and capture your heart.

Join Us

Today is the opening day for the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour, where we’re sending Nurse Sammy’s book off right, with chapter excerpt readings by the author at each stop, except the last. That one is reserved for a delightful interview with Nurse Sammy, right here, on Writing to be Read. There’s a great giveaway, where your comment at each stop offers a chance to win a free digital copy of the book, too.

For all the details and today’s reading, please drop in on today’s tour stop, on one of three different blogs:

Poetry by Mich: https://michnavs.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/

Hotel By Masticadores: https://hotelmasticadoreshouse.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/

Masticadores Philippines: https://masticadoresphilippines.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/

Book Review: “In the Name of Blood Vampires are Relative”

Posted: January 9, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Review, Speculative Fiction | Tags: Book Review, DL Mullan, In The NAme of Blood Vampires are Relative, Speculative Fiction, Vampire fiction, Writing to be Read | Leave a comment

About In the Name of Blood Vampires are Relative

Riley Austin believes life is predictable. That is, until she helps her friend, Tony, catch the kidnapper of three little boys. While using her sixth sense to find the missing kids, she and Tony are attacked and Riley is taken by Julian, a vampire, who wishes to use her gift for his own purposes.

When he asks for her assistance, Riley discovers a kindred spirit in Julian. Moreover, she discovers that an insane, power-hungry vampire, called Wilhelm, is at the center of many disappearances. A bond grows between Julian and Riley and is strengthened when she saves his life. For her own protection, Julian returns her to the safety of the mortal realm.

What Julian does not realize is that Riley was never going to remain safe…

My Review of In the Name of Blood Vampires are Relative

I received a digital copy of In the Name of Blood Vampires are Relative from author DL Mullan in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Lured into a conflict between two vampires, one a viciously insane vampiric killer who thrives on torturing her, Riley is determined to see Wilhelm stopped at any cost. The other vampire, Julian, is after the same prey, placing them both on the same side, and he is equally determined to keep Riley from harm’s way because they are related. This is book one in Mullan’s Legacy Universe series, and I got the distinct impression that Riley will play an important role in something much bigger in future books.

Mullan doesn’t use dialog tags, which makes it difficult to know who is speaking at times, but probably reads aloud smoother. Perhaps she plans to do audiobook versions in the future. Her characters are larger than life, and you can almost feel Riley’s pain from Mullan’s vivid descriptions. I’m not sure I buy into vampires with governing bodies, as these seem to, but I can accept it for what it is and immerse myself in the world for a time.

An interesting take on the vampiric universe. I give In the Name of Blood Vampires are Relative four quills.

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 book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, 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, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. 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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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARC digital copies, (she also accepts print copies). Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.

Writer’s Corner: To use AI, or not to use AI?

Posted: January 5, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Writer's Corner, Writing | 4 Comments

I’m not a big tech person, but I have found uses for AI tools as they develop, as we all have. Today we use AI search engines, and have an Alexa or Seri or, whatever yours is named in nearly every household, AI creates illustrations, narrate books, and can even write our books for us. (Just because it can, doesn’t mean it should.) I use generative AI tools to work out my descriptions of places I’ve never been, or places I have been but far in the past. I don’t use the AI description given, but rather, pluck little gems from it and make them my own. I use book covers created with AI assistance. So, I definitely see the potential uses for AI.

I was the holdout parent, who would not allow my children internet access when “everybody else does” at school, because I saw the potential for the invasion of privacy. But eventually, I relented. I usually do. I still don’t do my banking online, use credit cards, or share address and phone number online. (To tell the truth, the identity theft who steals my identity would be sorely disappointed, so I don’t know why I worry.)

I don’t have a smart home device, but I do have a Google Assistant on my phone, and it scares the heck out of me when I’m talking to someone else and out of the blue the Assistant responds to something that was said, and I didn’t even say, “Hey, Google.” I have to ask myself, “Is someone listening in on my conversations?” It gives me the creeps. (Maybe there’s a story there.)

Do these things bother anyone else? I mean, don’t you ever wonder?

Now, they are telling us that generative AI has been using authors’ works without the proper permissions to train the AI, resulting in a weird form of plagiarism. I don’t quite understand how that all works, but I do understand that it is a bad thing. Our words are like our brain children and AI has committed a massive kidnapping of our intellectual properties. (My first response upon hearing about this: “Wow! If my stuff is good enough to train AI, I must be smoking! But come to find out, it doesn’t really matter whether you are a good writer. AI doesn’t care and will use anything it can get, regardless of quality.)

I also have to wonder why they name AI devices and apps? Is it to make them seem more human?

They are even making sex-robots now, which can do anything a human partner can do in addition to fulfilling all your sexual pleasures. They are actually doing this, and each one carries the same name, probably with a number designation tacked on the end. They also speak like real humans, (they were probably trained with one of my books). AI narrators, too. You can choose from several, male or female, each with a different name, but they still have little glitches that give them away as AI. You also get to the reading speed for the AI, (at least on Google Play Books you do). I have three AI narrated audiobooks on Google Play Books, but no one has listened to them to ask for opinions on them.

You know the whole NaNoWriMo thing came to a screeching halt last year, after they allowed AI writing to be used during the annual writing challenge. I guess everyone raised a big stink about it, although I didn’t hear anything about it until this year when I went to sign up. As I said, I use generative AI during my writing, but I don’t use its words. I don’t know if they submitted completely AI written manuscripts in last year’s NaNoWriMo, or if they just didn’t disclose that their story was AI assisted. But even as I peruse a manuscript with the assistance of an AI editor, (I use two, Microsoft Word editor and ProWriting Aid), I realize there is something an AI just can’t quite capture, and that is the author’s voice. How silly it is for someone to try and pass off AI written work as human created. (Could it happen? Could an AI written story be passed off as human writing? Maybe… probably. Even if it can’t be done yet, (or maybe it can), I have no doubt that it will be possible, probably in the near future.

To use AI or not to use AI? That is the question. We all have to find our own personal answer that we are comfortable with, or can at least tolerate.

What’s your answer?

About Kaye Lynne Booth

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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.

WordCrafter 2026 Dark Ficton Contest – Call for Submissions

Posted: January 1, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Dark Fantasy, Dark fiction, Dark Humor, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Short Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Stories, Supernatural, Suspense, WordCrafter Press, Writing Contest | Tags: 2026 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, Call for submissions, Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Madness, WordCrafter Press | 6 Comments

It’s time for the annual WordCrafter Press short fiction contest. This year’s entries will have a chance of being featured in the fourth volume of the WordCrafter Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares. The theme is dark fiction, but it can be dark fantasy, dark science fiction, paranormal, dark humor, or horror, as long as it is dark and scary, or thought provoking. I like stories that make me think. The contest entry fee is $5, and the submission deadline is April 30, 2026. You’ll find the submission guidelines below.

Submission Guidelines

WordCrafter Press is looking for original short stories with dark elements. Previously unpublished stories only.

Genres: Any genre as long as the story is dark.

Length: up to 5000 words

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026

Pay: Royalty share

Rights: First Anthology Rights and audio rights as part of the anthology; rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive right to include in the anthology as a whole.

Open to submissions from January 1 through April 30, 2026.

Submit: A Microsoft Word or RTF file in standard manuscript format to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com

If you don’t know what standard manuscript format is, review, for example, https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/

Multiple and simultaneous submissions accepted.

Find some helpful tips for submitting short fiction here, but mainly just follow the guidelines.

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Submit your story with a cover letter to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com with “Submission: [Your Title]” in the subject line and pay the $5 entry fee below.

Contest Entry

Enter the 2026 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest for a chance at an invitation to the Midnight Madness anthology, from WordCrafter Press.

$5.00

This Call for Submissions is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.

Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ

Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3

Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares: 14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare. https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil

WordCrafter News: January Release – “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” & What’s Ahead in 2026

Posted: December 29, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Book Release, Book Sales, Dark Fantasy, Dark fiction, Debut novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Memoir, Poetry, Science Fiction, Short Fiction, Time travel, Western, WordCrafter News, WordCrafter Press, Writing | Tags: 2026 Publishing Schedule, Happy New Year, New release, Nurse Sammy, The Ones That Stayed With Me, WordCrafter News, WordCrafter Press | 12 Comments

The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy

I’m pleased to announce the release of a collection of true-life stories from the career of an L.P.N., written by a debut author known only as Nurse Sammy on January 13, 2026. I am so excited to be partnering with Nurse Sammy on this book and publish it through WordCrafter, because my own experiences in the health care field makes Nurse Sammy’s accounts ring true. Some stories will make you laugh. Others may make you cry. But there’s never any doubt that these stories come straight from the heart.

Chronicles of the journey into the medical field as a young nurse and beyond, told with raw sensitivity and compassion. The Ones Who Stayed with Me offers small glimpses into the world of an L.P.N. put in difficult, often touching or humorous, situations—and Nurse Sammy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all. In these pages, Nurse Sammy tells her story and that of those she met along the way.

What’s Ahead in 2026

WordCrafter Press has a busy year planned for 2026, with a book release almost every single month, and two months designated to the writing of my own works, I may find little time to breathe. But, I’m excited about the new works by rising authors that are scheduled, including the one above, by Nurse Sammy, a paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater, and two novels by rising author Lindsey Martin-Bowen, as well as a nonfiction work on a new approach to treating diabetes, by Daniel Cox, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

We’ll also be publishing two themed anthologies which are by invitation only, as well as our annual short fiction contest and the resulting anthology, which will be book 4 in the Midnight Anthology Series.

February: Writing Month

I’ll be using this month to finalize the second book in my Time Travel Series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions, which will be scheduled for release in March. This book was originally scheduled to release in 2025, but due to unforeseen technical difficulties, (my laptop died), I was unable to make those deadlines, so I’m excited to be releasing it at last.

March: The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions – Book 2 in the Time Travel Adventure Series, by Kaye Lynne Booth

In 1887, LeRoy is stuck, bringing trouble down on those around him. When Sissy is kidnapped and he’s the only one who can save her.

In 2030, Amaryllis will stop at nothing to find LeRoy fix what she messed up in the past, when she wakes up in a future very different to the one she knows, one in which she may not be born.

She and a version of Monique which is different from the one she grew up with travel back to 1887 to try and make things right.

When they cross the other time loops, already created, things change, but not the way Amaryllis intended.

Add two time travel regulators from the future who are after the time module, and things start to get wild.

April: Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons poetry anthology

The annual WordCrafter poetry anthology, Poetry Treasures will be released in April in celebration of National Poetry Month. 2026 brings us volume 6 in the Poetry Treasures anthology series with a theme of ‘Seasons’. The contributors for this anthology are selected from the guests on Robbie Cheadle’s “Treasuring Poetry” blog series in 2025.

May: The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen

A Romantic Comedy set in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1970’s. Charli Erickson is a “rock poet” who’s a bit “flippant.” Each chapter will be music to your ears.

June: Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater

A paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater.

June: Diabetes: How to prevent or treat it with a new and effective approach that does not involve supplements, weight loss or medication, by Daniel Cox Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

Personalized, research based, practical, empowering, effective workbook. For individuals who want to take control of their diabetes.

July: Marta – Book 3 in the Women in the West Adventure Series, by Kaye Lynne Booth

Marta is a woman trying to make a new start in hostile territory.

Marta is not the timid Mormon woman, who was abducted by Utes as her husband and children were killed in the raid. Now she is determined to make her way as an independent woman, after her partner tried to cheat her out of her share of a gold mine.

Determination and inner grit bring this strong and spunky heroine into the company of a cast of colorful and unique female characters and together, they face down banditos, Comancheros, and angry husbands and fathers, as well as Marta’s disgruntled partner as they travel the rugged desert landscape to unruly border town of El Paso, Texas.

If you like strong and capable female protagonists, you’ll love Marta.

August: Legends anthology

A WordCrafter themed anthology

September: Deep City in Times Roman, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen

A “Roman Clef” based upon the Moony movement, popular in the 1970s and ’80. Set in the 1980s, Lynette and Shirley are quite angry at the Reverand Yun Sung Ghunne, who has separated their husbands from them as he is forming his Ghunies movement. This story spoofs the Mooney movement, or any movement that is mainly designed to dupe persons into supporting the leader and building his wealth.

October: Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares dark fiction anthology

Volume 4 of the WordCrafter

Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series

November: Writing Month

This month I’ll be working on revising what I have of my Playground for the Gods science fantasy series. (It’s been a while since you heard about this one. I bet you forgot all about it, but I didn’t.) Originally planned as a massive four-book series, I now plan to release this entire series in serial installments on Ream.

This series started out as my thesis project for my first M.F.A. degree. I left off with the first book completed, and part of the second, as well as a few chapters for the third. Once these have been revised, which is planned for the month of July, I should be ready to take off with new chapters and continue the saga. Look forward to seeing this series released on Ream as a serial in 2027!