A GHOST AND HIS GOLD: A BOOK REVIEW
Posted: April 15, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized 13 CommentsIf you follow “Writing to be Read”, you know Robbie Cheadle for one or more of her monthly blog series, (“Growing Bookworms”, “Treasuring Poetry”, or “Dark Origins”), but you seldom see the author side of her. Today, Annika Perry offers a review of Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s latest paranormal historical release and her first adult novel, “A Ghost and His Gold”. Drop over to her site and learn more about Robbie’s new book.
A Ghost and His Gold combines the paranormal with intense violent battle scenes from 1899-1902; it features three ghosts not only haunting a house and its occupants in present-day South Africa but who are themselves haunted by events in their past lives; it’s a story about seeking forgiveness and ultimately finding redemption.
Furthermore the book explores not only the horror of war, concentration camps, scorched earth policy but also date rape, rape, violence against women. Can any ever be forgiven? Can anyone carrying out these acts ever find peace within themselves and acceptance by loved ones again?
Initially, A Ghost and his Gold appears to be a normal paranormal ghost story as Michelle and Tom, both working in the finance sector although she is also a part-time writer, move into their new home. The new townhouse is situated on the site of an old Boer homestead. Michelle immediately senses and…
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“Unmasked”: An appropriate short fiction collection for a pandemic era.
Posted: April 12, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Stories | Tags: Book Review, Kevin J. Anderson, Short Fiction, Unmasked: Tales of Risk and Revelation, Writing to be Read 8 Comments
This pandemic has changed a lot of things for everyone, including what we wear and how we interact with others. Who hasn’t walked away from an encounter with someone, who we know, but didn’t recognize under their mask? Who hasn’t struggled to understand a situation properly due to the fact that we are unable to read someone’s facial expressions beneath their mask? (I have often wondered over the past year how the deaf have adapted since they cannot see any lips to read.) The necessity of wearing masks has made simple social interactions more difficult in many ways, and added an element of mystery to everyday interactions, when we are fortunate enough to be able to interact under government restrictions.
Masks may hide a lot of things, but they can also be revealing in some ways, as you’ll see if you read the new WordFire Press short fiction anthology, appropriately titled Unmasked: Stories of Risk and Revelation. Edited by Kevin J. Anderson, this collection of short stories offers many different ways to look at masks and some surprising revelations about what may be hidden beneath the mask. There are many reasons to wear masks. Sometimes they are the key to awakening super powers that we never knew we had, as in the first story by Seanan Maguire, “Pygmalion”, or perhaps the mask grants the ability to hide in plain sight, as is the case in “I Have No Name”, by Andi Christopher, or perhaps a mask holds a savior in disguise, as in “The Green Gas”, by Liam Hogan or “The Fog of War”, by Edward J. Knight. In “The Faces of Death”, by Ed Burkley, masks hold the past, or perhaps predict the future.
Masks are a form of disguise, camoflauge for what truly lies beneath, an illusion which covers what is real, as in “Framing Marta”, James Romag or “Death by Misadventure” by John M. Olsen. A mask may take the form of the shadow of a soul searcher, as in “The Quota”, by Tom Howard, or that of a self-aware sex-bot, as in “Qualia”, by Russell Davis, or a shadow creature, as in “Shot in the Dark”, Brennen Hankins. Masks can hide the true identity, as in “Pagliacci’s Joke”, by Travis Heerman, or perhaps enhance the strengths of the persona underneath, as in “La Marionnette, by Alicia Cay or “A New Purpose”, by Rebecca M. Senese. The parallel post-pandemic world of “Speakeasy”, by Keltie Zubko, hits close to home and removing the mask may not be worth the risk after all.
My favorite story from this collection has to be “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast”, by Eugie Foster. A tale which takes place in a world where masks are the norm, with individual personas that are imprinted on the wearer so that they may live a different life each day.
In Unmasked: Tales of Risk and Revelation, each story stays true to theme and they are filled with surprises. I found this anthology quite entertaining and enjoyable. I give it 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? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Every Story Needs a Bad Guy
Posted: April 9, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentAuthor Tim Baker has a series in the works from his book, “Unfinished Business”, but he ran into a few obstacles and had to adapt his plan. Tim’s books are always fun reads and I can easily see how a series might be made from this one. You can read my review here: (https://writingtoberead.com/2013/09/25/unfinished-business-by-tim-baker-an-entertaining-read/) And you can read his post to learn how you can help make it happen.
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2021 Wordcrafter New Beginnings Virtual Writing Conference
Posted: April 5, 2021 Filed under: Book Event, Book Promotion, WordCrafter, Writing, Writing Event | Tags: 2021 New Beginnings Virtual Writing Conference, WordCrafter, Writing Events 1 Comment
Spring is in the air! It’s a time for new beginnings! That’s why the theme for this year’s virtual writing conference is “New Beginnings”. I hope you all will join us for this fantastic writing event. On Monday, May 3rd, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. MDT, we will gather on the Facebook Event Page for a promotional and social event, sort of a pre-event cocktail party and attendance is absolutely free! Meet some of your favorite authors or meet and learn about authors who are new to you, enter giveaways, or just hang out with us for awhile.
The interactive conference will take place on Zoom, May 4th & 5th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. MDT. We have a great line-up of presenters offering a wide variety of interactive workshops and panel discussions. This year, we’ve included something special for the poets in all of us, with a Writing the Rain Poetry Workshop with poet Erin Robertson and a poetry panel including author and poet, Geoff LePard, and author and poet Radha Marcum. Other presenters include national and international bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy, Kevin J. Anderson; author, editor and media tie-in writer, Russell Davis; U.S.A. Today best selling author, Dan Alatorre; national best selling speculative fiction author, Mario Acevedo; author and liscensed universe writer, Keith R.A. DeCandido, speculative fiction and romance author, Chris Barili; fantasy and science fiction author, Anthony Dobranski; science fiction and horror author, Jeff Bowles; award winning fantasy author, Ellie Raines; novel and short fiction author, Rick Wilber; science fiction author, Kevin Killany; award winning science fiction author and poet, Jim Nesbitt; and young adult fantasy author, L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright, with a Keynote by best selling horror author Paul Kane.
Tickets are available and affordable, for $5 for each individual hour session, or in a Full Event Pass for $50. I’ve created a Writing to be Read Event Page, where you can see the full conference line-up of offerings, author bios for conference presenters and purchase tickets.
Don’t miss this virtual writing event. Purchase your tickets today.
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Don’t miss your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card and have your story included in the next WordCrafter paranormal anthology!
Posted: March 31, 2021 Filed under: Fiction, Paranormal, Stories, Writing, Writing Contest | Tags: Paranormal, Short Fiction, Where Spirits Linger, WordCrafter Paranormal Short Fiction Contest 3 Comments
Don’t miss the fast approaching submission deadline for the 2021 WordCrafter Paranormal Short Fiction Contest.
April 30th is right around the corner. We want your stories about ghosts, spirits, and things that go bump in the night.
Winner receives a $25 Amazon gift card and inclusion in the Where Spirits Linger anthology.
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#Bookreview – Last Call and Other Short Fiction by Kaye Lynne Booth
Posted: March 24, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Stories | Tags: Dystopian, Kaye Lynne Booth, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, origins, Science Fiction, Short Fiction, Short Story Collection, Time travel, vampires 1 CommentRoberta Eaton Cheadle features a review of my short story collection, “Last Call and Other Short Fiction” on her “Roberta Writes” blog site today. Drop by and see what she has to say about the short fiction of Kaye Lynne Booth
What Amazon says
Six premium short storiesby author Kaye Lynne Booth. Stories in this collection has something for everyone witha mixture of time travel, suspense, humor, origins and speculative fiction.
Last Call- (Time travel science fiction) -Things aren’t going too good for Derek and he thinks his life is over, until he stops in for a Last Call. Will a bar in the middle of nowhere turn out to be his curse or his salvation?
Terror on the Mountain Trail- (Suspense) – It’s a perfect spring day until Kellie and Randy are attacked by a crazed man in the wilderness.
Earth Mother– (Origin Story)
A Turn of the Tables– (Speculative fiction) – Are vampires really invincible? One vampire is about to find out.
A True Hero- (Humor) – Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. This one is heroic indeed.
Man of Her Dreams-…
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Criticism – it’s an art form
Posted: March 22, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized 3 CommentsDrop by Barbara Spencer’s “Pictures from the Kitchen” for a eye-opening post on the importance of criticism in writing, and ways to deal with seeming negativity based on her own experiences. Lot’s of food for thought, and it’s a great lead in for the release of the third book in her “Children of Zues” trilogy, “The Drumming of Heels”.
Why do people write books?
It’s a question I’ve been asking myself for years. On the face of it, tying yourself to a desk for months and months is crazy, especially when our world offers a never-ending cornucopia of delights. Is it the story that gets lodged in your brain and refuses to disappear like the line of a song you keep humming? Or is it a passion for words – their use and arrangement on paper – as it is for poets? I can more easily understand an artist who sees the world in terms of colour, aquamarine and ochre, or a musician who hears a sequence of notes which he embroiders into a symphonic poem, than I can an author.
For me, though, it’s always been about telling a story, which makes me a plotter not a pantser and for years I have told my stories, both funny…
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“No Secret Too Small”: A historical western novel
Posted: March 22, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Historical Fiction, Review, Western | Tags: Book Review, Historical Fiction, Loretta Miles Tollefson, No Secret Too Small, Old New Mexico Novels, Western, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
I always love reading the historical western novels of Loretta Miles Tollefson, and No Secret Too Small was no exception. It has all the attention to detail that I’ve come to expect from her Old New Mexico Novels, placing me into a setting and time that no longer exist, yet Tollefson makes it feel oh, so real, even if only for the time it takes to read the story. Loretta Miles Toleffson masterfully paints a visual picture for the mind’s eye, bringing historical times and events to life with brutal clarity.
Miles’ Old New Mexico Novels are skillfully written to feature many of the same characters at various points in time. So, while No Secret Too Small features Alma, who was introduced as a baby in Not My Father’s House, (see my review here), this story is easliy followed when read as a stand alone book. This story is a part of more than just the saga of one family, it is a part of a piece of history, a time when living was a gamble, in a land where survival is no game.
No Secret Too Small speaks to that struggle to survive, but it also speaks to the racism and predjudice of the period. Old New Mexico in the 1800’s is no place for a woman alone with two children. But pride is a funny thing and that is just where Alma and her mother and brother find themselves in a time of civil unrest and rebellions, after her mother discovers the truth about her father’s heritage. We receive Alma’s story through her young eyes, as she watches her mother struggle to survive as she discovers and deals with the predjudices she didn’t even realize that she had. Alma learns much about the world and human nature, much of it too ugly for such young eyes to view. She yearns to return to her valley, and to be a whole family once more, but she has little control over the adult world around her. She can’t make her father come for them any more than she can make her mother decide to return home.
If you like historical novels that paint their periods vividly for readers, and features characters you can care about, then No Secret Too Small is a must read. A well-crafted story that holds the reader’s interest until the last page has turned, Tollefson draws you into the story and takes you back with her characters into times long past with period details that have obviously been well researched. A story that will no doubt touch hearts, I give it five quills.
Buy Link for No Secret Too Small
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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? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Day #4 of the WordCrafter “Seizing the Bygone Light” Book Blog Tour: My Review
Posted: March 18, 2021 Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Review, Books, Photography, Poetry, Review, Story Telling Methods, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, Hadiya Ali, Photography, Poetry, Seizing the Bygone Light, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, Writing to be Read 3 Comments
Day four of the WordCrafter “Seizing the Bygone Light” Book Blog Tour brings this wonderful tour to a close. Thanks to all who ventured on this brief book tour with us. On Day #1, I introduced this wonderful collection of photgraphy and poetry, Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography, an amazing collaborative effort from Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, and Hayida Ali, right here on Writing to be Read.
On Day #2, we visited Barbara Spencer’s Pictures from the Kitchen Window, where she interviews the three members of the ArtProMo Collective about their inspiration for Seizing the Bygone Light and the combining of poetry and photography as a storytelling medium.
Day #3 found us over at Robbie Cheadle’s Robbie’s Inspiration, where we get a guest post from the authors about their visions and collaborative efforts to create this unique collection of visual imagery and verse.
Now here we are, back where we started, where my review of this very interesting collection will finish off the tour. I want to thank you all for joining us, and if you missed any of the four blog stops along the way, just click on the links above to go back and see what you miss kelellpe.
My Review
Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography combines the visual media of photography and the art of poetry into a insightful method of storytelling. Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, and Hadiya Ali are visionaries in their arts. This collaborative effort employs the use of styles of both photography and poetry, which they have created themselves, exploring new and unique realms in their individual mediums.
The book is structured into three sections of black and white photographs. The third section combines the Pareiku and Haibun poetry of David Ellis with photographs of bygone days, while the reminigrams created by Cendrine Marrout produce timeless photos, and the captivating subjects and striking images of nature by Hadiya Ali are inspired by the photographic images of Irving Penn and Karl Blossfeldt, but her young eye and fresh vision offer unique perspective. The result of this collaborative effort is a stunning collection of inspiring visual stories that pay homage to the black and white era of days past, while at the same time, celebrating the rise digital photography with their original and innovative styles
Inspirational and innovative, Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography, is a must for anyone with an interest in photography or its history and for anyone who likes to view the world through a unique and captivating lense, as well as those who just have an appreciation of poetic form. I give it five quills.
Buy Link for Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography
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About the Authors
Hadiya Ali is a 19-year-old Pakistan-born artist who now lives in Oman. A keen observer of people,
she noticed at a very young age how talented market workers were at what they did – but that they
seemed unaware of their own talent. So she decided to capture their stories with her camera.
Before she knew it, her project had attracted attention and she had been booked for her first
professional photoshoots, suddenly realizing that she, too, had been unaware of her own talent all
this time.
Hadiya works on projects that capture unique stories and themes. Some of her photography is
featured in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: 2020 Edition.
David Ellis lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent in the UK. He is an award-winning poet, author
of poetry, marketing workbooks/journals, humorous fiction and music lyrics. He is also a co-author
and co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms, and the co-creator of PoArtMo (Positive Art Month and
Positive Art Moves) and the Kindku / Pareiku.
David’s debut poetry collection (Life, Sex & Death) won an International Award in the Readers’
Favorite Book Awards 2016 for Inspirational Poetry Books.
David is extremely fond of tea, classic and contemporary poetry, cats, and dogs but not snakes.
Indiana Jones is his spirit animal.
Cendrine Marrouat is a French-born Canadian photographer, poet, and the multi-genre author of
more than 30 books. In 2019, she co-founded the PoArtMo Collective with Isabel Nolasco, and
Auroras & Blossoms with David Ellis. A year later, Ellis and she launched PoArtMo (Positive Art
Month and Positive Art Moves) and created the Kindku and Pareiku, two forms of poetry. Cendrine is
also the creator of another poetry form (the Sixku) and a type of digital image (the Reminigram).
Cendrine writes both in French and English and has worked in many different fields in her 17-year
career, including translation, language instruction, journalism, art reviews, and social media.
Together, Cendrine, David, and Hadiya comprise the PoArtMo Collective, an artist collective dedicated
to creating and releasing inspirational and positive projects.
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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
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#Blogtour – Behind-the-Scenes Look at ‘Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography’
Posted: March 17, 2021 Filed under: Blog Tour, Books, Photography, Poetry | Tags: Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, Hadiya Ali, ProArtMo Collective, Seizing the Bygone Light, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Leave a commentDay #3 of the WordCrafter “Seizing the Bygone Light” Book Blog Tour finds a guest post from the authors, Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis and Hadiya Ali to tell us more about this amazing collection on “Robbie’s Inspiration”, hosted by Robbie Cheadle. Please join us in supporting these authors in their ambitious efforts to pay historical tribute.
Welcome to Day 3 of the Seizing the Bygone Light blog tour hosted by WordCrafter Book Blog Tours.
Welcome to the talented David Ellis, Cendrine Marrouat and Hadiya Ali with their new book Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography.
PoArtMo Collective started as FPoint Collective, a group of photographers. When we recently relaunched, we decided that it was time to welcome a larger diversity of artists.
Our passion for photography is still there, though. And while some of us are professional digital photographers, we are all indebted to the pioneering days of the art form, a time when documenting the minutiae of everyday life was the norm.
In 2020, we wondered how we could pay tribute to those old days through a multimedia project involving three artists, digital images, and poetry. The concept would be challenging, but we knew we could achieve something unique.
We decided…
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