We had a great blog tour and I want to thank you all for joining us to support the release of The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen. Now that it’s over, I’ve counted up comments and got out my hat, and now I’m ready to share the names which I pulled out. Here are the names of the three lucky winners:
And the winners are…
(Drumroll please)
Resa
Liz Gaufreau
Teagan Riordan Genevienne
All three of our winners came from the Day 2 stop over at Roberta Writes with host, Robbie Cheadle. Congratulations to all of you. You all should have already heard from me, but if not, please contact me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com.
Thank you all for joining us for the final stop on the WordCrafter The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder Book Blog Tour, where we’re celebrating the release of this zany rom-com, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen. Today, the author shares a post about “The Dark Horse”, the blue-eyed black stallion which makes multiple appearances in the adventures of divorcee, Charli Erickson.
Tour Schedule
Mon. 5/11 – “Inspirational backgrounds for The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder”
Thurs. 5/14 – “Phase Fourteen – Let Me Know the Way” Reading –Patty’s Worlds
Fri. 5/15 – “About the Dark Horse (the black stallion with blue eyes)” Post – Writing to be Read
The Giveaway
We’re giving away three digital copies of
The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder
In a random giveaway.
Leave a comment to enter.
Opportunity for an entry at every stop.
Short Book Trailer
Check out the short trailer for the book and don’t forget to Like, Share, or Subcribe.
About The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder
Recently divorced Charli Erickson arrives in Boulder, Colorado during the 1970s—a wild time for that city—where she hopes to develop her “rock poet” talent and find the perfect mate. Instead, she links up with the imperfect Ched Lyons, a Boulder native who leads her in a multitude of adventures, including scaling a mountain and a 1,200-mile motorcycle ride to southeastern Utah. While she intermittently envisions a black stallion with blue eyes, who puzzles and enchants her, she also strives to make sense of its appearance.
Through Charli’s snarky humor recounting her tales, readers will enjoy this Rom-Com doubling as a woman’s adventure story and may relate to scenes from the wild, zany era that followed the serious, revolutionary 1960s.
About the Dark Horse(the black stallion with blue eyes)
I didn’t create the elusive—perhaps imaginary Black Stallion until this year. After reading and reviewing numerous “other worldly” short-story collections, I considered interweaving an image within this tale that would serve as one more metaphor. Initially, the title included “Dark Horse” as an allusion to the stereotypical racehorse who appears to be a loser—but then takes first place at the end of the run.
Thus, might the Dark Horse be an image of the Boulder environment in the late 1970s? At that time, the city had grown from the college town hosting many 1960s demonstrations, some violent, wherein radicals damaged stores on The Hill. Yet a decade later, this once “dark” town had grown and progressed into a winning environment. (It continues to do so. Last year (2025), it was voted by a majority as the most desirable location to live in the U.S.)
Further, the novel’s characters gather regularly at The Horse, a bar that’s more a three-story entertainment center than the standard western bar. The Horse is especially Ched’s hangout. Because Charli leaves the small city before Ched does, he could be the Dark Horse waiting in Boulder.
Then, the fantasy (or is it?) of the Black, blue-eyed Stallion adds another level of meaning—Charli’s vision of a world beyond our material reality. It’s significant, too, that Ched, like many persons, doesn’t believe blue-eyed stallions exit. O but they do—albeit rarely. And considering that Charli sees herself as a loser of a wife at the novel's onset—then later in her relationship with Ched, might she be the Dark Horse who wins in the end?
About Author Lindsey Martin-Bowen
On Halloween 2023, redbat books released Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s 7th poetry collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison. Her 4 th collection, Where Water Meets the Rock, was nominated for a Pulitzer; her 3rd, CROSSING KANSAS with Jim Morrison was a finalist in the QuillsEdge Press 2015-2016 Contest. In 2017, it won the Kansas Writers Assn award, “Looks Like a Million.” Writer’s Digest gave her “Vegetable Linguistics” an Honorable Mention in its 85th Annual (2017) Contest. Her Inside Virgil’s Garage (Chatter House Press 2013) was a runner-up in the 2015 Nelson Poetry Book Award. McClatchy Newspapers named her Standing on the Edge of the World (Woodley Press/Washburn University) was one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. It was nominated for a Pen Award.
That wraps up today’s stop and the WordCrafter The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder Book Blog Tour. You can follow the tour schedule above and leave comments at each stop for additional chances to win in the giveaway. The winners will be posted in a separate post on Sunday, so watch for it to see if you are one of three lucky winners of a digital copy of this wild women’s adventure.
It’s Day 4 of the WordCrafter “The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder” Book Blog Tour, and we’re over at Patty’s Worlds, where author Lindsey Martin-Bowen shares an excerpt reading from the book. Join us in sending off this fantastic new RomCom Adventure and get in on the giveaway for a free digital copy.
It’s Day 3 of the WordCrafter The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder Book Blog Tour. Today, we’re over at Carla Loves to Read, where author, Lindsey Martin-Bowen shares a guest post about the main character, Charlie Erickson, and Carla shares a lovely review of the book. Join us in sending this new rom-com women’s adventure off and get in on the giveaway, for one of three free digital copies of the book.
Join us over at Roberta Writes for Day 2 of The WordCrafter The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder Book Blog Tour, where we have a reading by author Lindsey Martin-Bowen. It’s release day! Help us celebrate and send this zany new rom-com women’s adventure off right.
Welcome! Today, you can find us celebrating on three different sites: Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores, and Masticadores Phillipines, where our host Michelle Ayon Navajas has done a lovely job of setting up a stop to introduce us to Lindsey Martin-Bowen, the author of The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder, as she shares her inspiration for the story. (The link below goes to Poetry by Mich.) Join us in learning about this wild and zany woman’s adventure rom-com story from WordCrafter Press, and help us to send it off right. Get your comments in for a chance to win a free digital copy in our giveaway.
Winners of the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons” Book Blog Tour Giveaway
We had a great tour last week to celebrate the release of Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons. guest posts and poetry readings from the contributors, as well as learning fun facts about them and catching reviews of their latest releases. We had All those who followed the tour, or just dropped in a left a comment were entered in a random drawing to win one of five digital copies of the poetry anthology. (I think I originally said three, but we had so many wonderful commenters on this tour, I felt the need to give away five.) Now it’s time to reveal and congratulate the winners of the Giveaway, and here they are:
And the winners are:
(Drumroll please)
Beth
Teagan Genevienne
T.W. Dittmer
Beetlypete
Lauren Scott Author
If your name is on the above list and you have not heard from me, please contact me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail to get your volume of Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons.
May Release: The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen
WordCrafter Press is pleased to announce the upcoming release of award winning author Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s romantic comedy novel, The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder. Scheduled for release on May 12, 2026, you won’t want to miss this zany rom-com and the quirky Charli Erickson, who is full of surprises that will keep you chuckling through to the last page.
Recently divorced Charli Erickson arrives in Boulder, Colorado during the 1970s—a wild time for that city—where she hopes to develop her “rock poet” talent and find the perfect mate. Instead, she links up with the imperfect Ched Lyons, a Boulder native who leads her in a multitude of adventures, including scaling a mountain and a 1,200-mile motorcycle ride to southeastern Utah. While she intermittently envisions a black stallion with blue eyes, who puzzles and enchants her, she also strives to make sense of its appearance.
Through Charli’s snarky humor recounting her tales, readers will enjoy this Rom-Com doubling as a woman’s adventure story and may relate to scenes from the wild, zany era that followed the serious, revolutionary 1960s.
WordCrafter Spring Book Sale
April showers bring May flowers, and great prices on the My Backyard Friends Kid’s Book Series.
During the month of May, (May 1-31), all volumes of the My Backyard Friends will be priced at $2.50 each at the links below:
Approaching Deadline for 2026 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest/Midnight Madness Anthology
Reminder: Only three days left until the deadline for submissions, (April 30), for the 2026 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest, and a chance to have your story included in the Midnight Madness anthology from WordCrafter Press. You can find submission guidelines, submission portal and instructions here.
Time is growing short. So, get those stories in before the deadline comes round.
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.
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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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 post is sponsored by Small Wonders: Reflective Poems, by Kaye Lynne Booth and WordCrafter Press.
The world is filled with amazing things, if we will just stop a moment and take notice. In this vast universe, we are but tiny individuals, filled with awe and amazement. From reflections on first love, to reflections on growing old. The poems within these pages express a lifetime of unique reflections in Small Wonders.
The Winners of the WordCrafter Small Wonders Book Blog Tour Giveaway
We had a great tour last week for my debut poetry collection, Small Wonders. A full week of guest posts and poetry readings, DL Mullan interviewed me, and even a couple of reviews. Now it’s time to announce the winners of the WordCrafter Small Wonders Book Blog Tour giveaway.
And the winners are….
Drumroll Please
dg kaye
Beetly Pete
Brenda Marie Fluharty
New Release from WordCrafter Press
This is How We Grow: Reflections for Perspective Shaping, compiled and edited by Yvette Prior will be released on July 18, 2023.
About This Is How We Grow
The way we think and behave is impacted by mental filters. Understanding how people experience the world can lead to positive outcomes.
This is How We Grow brings you into the world of diverse authors to help expand outlook, cultivate empathy, and explore components of concious experience and mental filters. The way we see the world is impacted by many variables.
This book aims to increase the reader’s ability to take the perspective of others through essay, story, and poetry. Cognitive empathy is a crucial component of social problem solving and conflict avoidance.
The WordCrafter This is How We Grow Book Blog Tour
The WordCrafter This is How We Grow Book Blog Tour will run July 17-21, 2023. We will have guest posts from contributors, audio excerpts, an author/editor interview, reviews and a great giveaway. It is a wonderful book and it’s going to be a fabulous tour, so I hope you will join us.
We had some cool games and giveaways, great spooky movies and lots of rocking Halloween music. But, I think the coolest giveaway we had was the search for the best audio story or excerpt, read by the authors. It was a lot of fun, but now that Halloween is over, I’ve made the recordings public on the WordCrafter YouTube channel.
Drop by and check out the awesome stories and story excerpts which are available there. Each story is from one of the three anthologies put out by WordCrafter in 2022: Once Upon an Ever After,Refracted Reflections, and Visions. And don’t forget to ‘Subscribe’ while you’re there, so you can get the best WordCrafter’s audio and video recordings, expanding our methods of story telling back to traditional, and not so traditional, means.
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. 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.
Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining.
Thanks to contributing author Joseph Carrabis giving us a taste of the stories in the new Visions anthology from WordCrafter Press. Follow the link to learn more.
