You too can be a part of Writing to be Read and WordCrafter Press
We already ran the annual sponsor drive on Writing to be Read this year, and even a second request for sponsors. But, Writing to be Read has only a single sponsor this year. The yearly hosting fees and my Microsoft subscription are coming due this month and next and there’s not enough in the WordCrafter coffers to cover the annual subscriptions that keeps the site up and running, so I’m offering another chance to partner and advertise with Writing to be Read and sending out a third plea for sponsors.
✨Maybe the third time will be the charm. ✨
I offer sponsorship for this blog site to help support the time and effort required to assure we can continue to bring you great content. Sponsorship money helps cover the costs of the annual hosting fee, (which is coming due soon), and other services required to keep our content going. Right now, the WtbR blog team contributes not only content, but time and effort without any kind of compensation. My ultimate goal is to be able to compensate the members of the blog team for the content they contribute, but right now, I’m just hoping to pay the hosting fees on time.
If you enjoy the content on Writing to be Read, don’t just click ‘like’ on those blog posts you enjoy so much. You can be a sponsor for as little as $5 for a single blog segment, or you can sponsor your favorite blog series for a full year, (12 segments), for only $50. See your blog, your website, or your book advertised right here, on Writing to be Read. When you become a sponsor, your ad, with a direct link to your blog or website appears at the bottom of the Writing to be Read post.
The following blog series are still open for sponsors:
“Writer’s Corner”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Everyone is a Critic”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“WordCrafter News”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Poetry Treasures”, with Robbie Cheadle
“In Touch With Nature”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Undawntech”, with DL Mullan
Your support is greatly appreciated by this author/publisher/blogger, whether you sponsor the blog or make a donation to help keep WordCrafter Press/Writing to be Read running smoothly and producing great content.
You can find out more about sponsoring for Writing to be Read by visiting the Writing to be Read Sponsor Page. Sponsorships are first come, first serve, so hurry to be sure you can sponsor the blog series of your choice.
Don’t want to advertise or sponsor, but still love the WtbR content and want to show your support? No problem. You can make a donation in the amount of your choosing. Even a buck or two will help: Donate Now
Please, won’t you help keep the great content of Writing to be Read going strong, and WordCrafter Press running smooth? We can’t do it without you.
Raven on a crossHill with grass and trees and blue sky behindOld mill tower rising up to the skyRock cliff rising up to blue skyTurkey vulture riding the currentsBlue sky between buildings on a Cripple Creek streetblue skyBlue sky between buildings on a Cripple Creek streetStorks flying inBlue skies above Cripple Creek, ColoradoOld mill equipment with blue sky in the background
Blue Waters
blue water with ducksblue water with ducksblue water with ducks and gueeseStork on blue waterDuck on blue water
Blue Shirts, Blue Ice, Blue Buildings
Kaye Lynne Booth in a blue overshirt in front of remains of old cabin, with trees and blue sky in the backgroundKaye Lynne Booth in a blue shirt and helmet – Ready to ridePink building with blue trimIce Castle in Cripple Creek lit up at night
I know we already ran the annual sponsor drive on Writing to be Read this year, but we didn’t get even one sponsor. So now, I’m running the sponsor drive again, with a sincere plea for your help, in hopes of better results. The hosting fees will be coming due in June, and there just isn’t enough in the WordCrafter coffers to pay them. Partner and advertise with Writing to be Read. Won’t you please help to keep the great content coming?
I offer sponsorship for this blog site to help support the time and effort required to assure we can continue to bring you great content. Sponsorship money helps cover the costs of the annual hosting fee, (which is coming due soon), and other services required to keep our content going. Right now, the WtbR blog team contributes not only content, but time and effort without any kind of compensation. My ultimate goal is to be able me to compensate the members of the team for the content they contribute, but right now, I’m just hoping to pay the hosting fees on time.
Don’t just click ‘like’ on those blog posts you enjoy so much. You can be a sponsor for as little as $5 for a single segment, or you can sponsor your favorite blog series for a full year, (12 segments), for only $50. See your blog, your website, or your book right advertised right here, on Writing to be Read. When you become a sponsor, your ad, with a direct link to your blog or website appears at the bottom of the Writing to be Read post, and you pick which blog series you’d like to sponsor:
“Writer’s Corner”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Everyone is a Critic”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“WordCrafter News”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Poetry Treasures”, with Robbie Cheadle
“In Touch With Nature”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Read and Cook”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Undawntech”, with DL Mullan
“Lindsey’s Writing Practice”, with Lindsey Martin-Bowen
“Mind Fields”, with Arthur Rosch
You can find out more about sponsoring for Writing to be Read by visiting the Writing to be Read Sponsor Page. Sponsorships are first come, first serve, so hurry to be sure you can sponsor the blog series of your choice.
Don’t want to advertise or sponsor, but still love the WtbR content? No problem. You can make a donation in the amount of your choosing, even as little as $1 here: Donate Now
We can’t do it without you, so please dig deep and help us keep all the great content of Writing to be Read coming strong.
It’s that time of year again. Time for the annual sponsor drive on Writing to be Read.
I offer sponsorship for this blogsite to help support the time and effort required to assure we can continue to bring you great content. Sponsorship money helps cover the costs of the annual hosting fee, and other services required to keep our content going. Right now, the WtbR blog team contributes not only content, but time and effort without any kind of much deserved compensation. My goal is to be able me to compensate the members of the team for the content they contribute.
Don’t just click ‘like’ on those blog posts you enjoy so much. You can be a sponsor for as little as $5 for a single segment, or you can sponsor your favorite blog series for a full year, (12 segments), for only $50. Advertise your blog, your website, or your book right here on Writing to be Read. When you become a sponsor, your ad, with a direct link to your blog or website appears at the bottom of the Writing to be Read post, and you pick which blog series you’d like to sponsor:
“Writer’s Corner”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Everyone is a Critic”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“WordCrafter News”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Poetry Treasures”, with Robbie Cheadle
“In Touch With Nature”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Read and Cook”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Undawntech”, with DL Mullan
“Lindsey’s Writing Practice”, with Lindsey Martin-Bowen
“Mind Fields”, with Arthur Rosch
You find out more about sponsoring for Writing to be Read by visiting the Writing to be Read Sponsor Page. Sponsorships are first come, first serve, so hurry to be sure you can sponsor the blog series of your choice.
We can’t do it without you, so help us keep all the great content of Writing to be Read coming strong.
I’ve invited author Sara W. McBride to join us today to share a really cool new opportunity in the writing community with us. This is for those of you who enjoy a good writing challenge, and it doesn’t hurt that there are cash prizes, large enough to be considered above professional writing minimums. Sara McBride has been participating, and well, I’ll let her tell you all about it.
Please welcome author Sara W. McBride as she offers us a guest post on Writing Battles.
Guest Post: Writing Battles
Hi. I’m Sara Wesley McBride. Kaye asked me to write a post about Writing Battle because I recently won the October FEAR battle. $3400! Amazing, right? Absolutely! I’ve never won anything, or been paid for any of my short story submissions, so I’m currently staining my folder of rejection letters with a muted red wine ring in celebration of getting paid $3.40 per word. (Professional rate is $0.10/word, so I just walloped that.)
If you want to improve your Flash Fiction skills, check out WritingBattle.com.
My story and the new FEAR winners just got posted this week. Go check it out!
What is Writing Battle, you ask? It’s this enthusiastic, supportive community of writers who love to write a story in a short amount of time, based on prompts they didn’t expect. So. Much. FUN!! It’s like improv for writers, but your stories duel each other and you win money.
Yes, it does cost money to enter, usually in the $30 range. But you get tons of feedback, so I think it’s worth it. I refuse to pay for anything, except Writing Battle. And now I’ve won enough to cover writing battles for the next twenty years.
For 2025, each competition had four genres to compete within, thus four 1st place winners.
2026 will have nine genres, thus nine winners. Whoa! 1st place winners earn $2000+ and runner-ups earn $500+. (Varies from battle to battle, but in that zone.) Eight battles scheduled for 2026.
New for 2026, you can choose a “Class.” If you ever played D&D, these will look very familiar. Your chosen class will lead your card draw toward certain genres. This is new. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m excited. I’ve chosen Rogue!
But you don’t get to send in that story that’s been beta read seventeen times. Oh no! That would be way too easy. You are dealt a random genre (within your chosen “Class”), a random character, and a random object to build your story upon. You can redraw your genre once, but only once. And you get a few extra redraws for characters and objects, but not many. Then you have a few days to write your story ranging from 48 hours for micro-fiction (250 words) and 5-7 days for 1000 or 2500-word stories.
Your story has to use the prompts in some way, shape or form, otherwise you might get disqualified. This is to prevent prewritten, perfectly edited stories. My winning story had a typo in it! So embarrassing. Let me know if you find it.
I won for the 1000-word, FEAR, pro-judged competition. There were four genres (Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Dystopian, and Mystery) and I won Mystery. I think there were 1800 stories total and about 300 in Mystery. I’m guessing that lots of people were dealt Mystery and redrew for a different genre. (Horror had about 600 stories.) I’ll admit, Mystery in a thousand words is really bloomin’ difficult! I chucked three stories before I finally got the last one to work.
There are peer-judged battles and pro-judged battles. Everyone is sorted into houses of about forty stories, all in your genre. The early 5-8 rounds of duels are against your housemates. There is no genre crossover. Genres never compete against each other, which I think is a good thing. Imagine Sword & Sorcery stories going up against Alternative History. Such different mind sets. That would be incredibly weird to judge.
Peer-judged Battles–all writers read ten stories in five duels, give feedback and pick a winner of the five duels. There are two duels for each of the five rounds. Then the final showdown duels go to “Spartan Judging,” where you’re dealt a duel and have to pick a winner, no comments required. You only ever judge stories outside of your genre, so you’re never judging your competition.
Then “Debrief” opens, and you can read everyone’s stories and give & get feedback. You can also check out your house competition. After the results are revealed, you receive all the feedback from your ten judges. And it’s really good feedback!
Pro-judged Battles–professional judges give out trophies and pips during the early dueling rounds, which is fun, and you can read everyone’s stories and give & get feedback. In the first round, my winning story received an “Impact” trophy, meaning of all the stories a judge read in that round, he/she thought mine had the highest “Impact.” It also got a “character” pip, which is a cute little chicken symbol meaning they really liked my main character.
Feedback from the judges is great if you make it to the final showdown. Then you get full paragraphs from 3-5 judges. One judge gave me a full page essay. It was awesome! But otherwise, if you’re in the lower 80-85% of your house, you only get a few phrases from the judges of what they liked and thought could be improved upon. But the feedback from your peers is amazing. And with Debrief open for about a month before the judges’ results, you get a ton of useful feedback on your story and in the forum discussions.
The Forums! The website has forums. My favorite forum is “Hidden Gems.” When you stumble upon a great story, but not many people have commented on it, then you post it in the Hidden Gem forum and people will go check it out and give feedback. Everyone is so supportive. You don’t have to win a big payout to feel like you won. My story got a shout-out on a “Historical Fiction Stories” forum, and I was on cloud nine. For someone to stumble through a forest of 1800 stories, randomly read yours, and then like it enough to take the time to post it to a forum … Whoa! That is huge gratification, validation, and induces a happy dance. And you can offer that amazing gratification to other writers. It’s a giant feedback loop of happiness!
There’s also a friendly etiquette of return reads. If you read a person’s story and leave feedback, there’s a magic “Return Read” button in your comment allowing them to easily flip to your story so they can return the favor. So if you give feedback on 20 stories, you’ll probably get at least 15 or more reads and feedback on your story.
Reading other stories, pondering them, giving feedback, and then reading all the other comments, is so incredibly educational. I’m typically a playwright and novelist, focusing on longer form storytelling. But flash fiction is becoming popular with magazine and journal publications, so I wanted to learn it. Writing a story limited to a thousand words is an immense challenge when you come from the land of eighty-thousand word novels.
My Flash Fiction skills have objectively improved over the past six months.
My first battle, my story won a couple of battles and died. It was a mess of a story and my first attempt at Sci-Fi. But I rewrote it based on feedback and now I’m submitting it around.
My second battle, my story won an honorable mention, meaning it was only one vote shy of moving on to the Final Showdown. I’m also shopping that story.
Finał Showdown–Each genre has a final showdown. The top 5-7 stories in a house move into what looks like basketball brackets. Top 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, Winner!
My third battle, my story made it to the Final Showdown and lost out in the Sensational 64 duel to the full genre winner. The winning story’s name was “Pancakes McBride,” and I’m a McBride, so I did enjoy a bit of humor about that loss. Another story getting shopped.
My fourth battle, my story won first place in the Mystery genre. I received a congratulations message from the author of “Pancakes McBride,” saying, “I’m glad there will be another McBride on the winner’s list!” This story is officially published on the Writing Battle website, so I can only shop it to magazines that accept reprints. But I got paid $3400 for it, so I’m okay with that.
I’m getting better at Flash Fiction because of Writing Battle. And it’s so much fun! It’s nice to finish a polished story within a day or two. My novels and plays take months and always hit “The Messy Middle” slog phase. There’s a happy satisfaction with finishing an entire 1000-word story quickly and sending it into Battle or out for publication. And writing Flash Fiction definitely teaches you to edit.
My winning story started as 1500 words, and I had to whack it down to 1000. It hurt. I bled. But it resulted in judge comments like: “This writer knows how much to give the reader; he trusts us. That’s a really beautiful thing. I see so much overwriting. Not here!”
If you haven’t yet, go check out my story at the Writing Battle winner’s page. And if you’re a writer, consider joining WritingBattle.com. It’s a blast!
About Sara W. McBride
Sara Wesley McBride suffers an unhealthy obsession with the haunted city of Venice and has written a novel and lots of short stories set in Italy’s greatest floating city. She just won first place in the Mystery Genre for Writing Battle’s Fear competition and is currently writing a ghost-filled choose-your-own-path book set in Venice. More info at SaraWesleyMcBride.com.
It’s that time of year again, and the WordPress subscription and Writingtobe Read domain are coming up for renewal. I have until the end of July to come up with the money to renew, and the WordCrafter coffers are empty.
As followers of the blog know, Writing to be Read has some really great content. You may be a fan of one of my monthly or bi-monthly blog series: “Writer’s Corner”, “Review in Practice”, or “Everyone is a Critic”. Or perhaps you come here to enjoy the very popular blog series by Robbie Cheadle: “Read and Cook”, “In Touch with Nature”, or “Treasuring Poetry”. Or maybe you enjoy something by our single series authors, like Arthur Rosch’s “Mind Fields”, or DL Mullan’s “Undawntech”, or Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s “Writing Practice with Lindsey. Or maybe you just visit for my hard hitting book reviews that call them like I see them. Whatever the reason thar you visit or follow Writing to be Read, I want you to be able to keep coming back for more.
As avid readers of this blog, I’m asking for your help through this fund raiser. Below, you will find a list of books from the WordCrafter catalog, and for a small donation of as little as $10, you can pick any book of your choice and I’ll send you a free digital copy in appreciation of your support. If you wish make a larger donation, you may do so by clicking up to increase the amount. You may pick one book for each $10 donated.
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2025 Fund Raiser
Support Writing to be Read with a donation.
$10.00
You can make a donation through the portal above. Then choose a book or two from the list and email your choices for your free book(s) to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com. I’ll send you a Bookfunnel link for your book(s) as a thank you. Easy peasy.
Whispersof the Past paranormal anthology
Spirits of the West paranormal anthology
Where Spirits Linger paranormal anthology
Once Upon an Ever After dark fantasy anthology
Refracted Reflections dark fiction anthology
Visions dark fiction anthology
Midnight Roost dark fiction anthology
Midnight Garden dark fiction anthology
Hidden Secrets paranormal mystery by Kaye Lynne Booth
Last Call and Other Short Fiction, short story collection by Kaye Lynne Booth
Delilah, western historical women’s fiction by Kaye Lynne Booth
Sarah, western historical women’s fiction by Kaye Lynne Booth
The Rock Star & The Ourlaw, time travel adventure by Kaye Lynne Booth
Small Wonders poetry collection by Kaye Lynne Booth
Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature poetry anthology
Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures poetry anthology
I am appreciative of your readership and your support. So, let’s gear up for another year of great content from Writing to be Read and WordCrafter Press.
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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 sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.
Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.
It’s time for the annual sponsor drive on Writing to be Read.
Last year I started offering sponsorship for this blogsite to help support the time and effort required to assure we can continue to bring you great content. Sponsorship money helps cover the costs of the annual hosting fee, and other services required to keep our content going. Right now, the WtbR blog team contributes not only content, but time and effort without any kind of much deserved compensation. If I can get enough sponsors, it would also enable me to compensate the members of the my team for the content they contribute.
You can be a sponsor for as little as $5 for a single post, or you can sponsor one of our blog series for 90 days or a full year. Advertise your blog, your website, or your book right here on Writing to be Read.
She tries hard to be the perfect mother, the perfect partner, the perfect daughter – but Ellie never seems to get it right.
When an old friend from university re-enters her life, dark memories from Ellie’s past begin to resurface.
As Ellie starts to unravel some shocking and sinister realities, she realises that she must choose between keeping the family she loves – and facing the truth.
From the Top Ten ebook bestselling author, this twisty psychological thriller will have you hooked from the first page to the last jaw-dropping twist.
My Review of Truth Games
I purchased a digital copy of Truth Games, by Caroline England from Freebooksie. All opinions stated here are my own.
Everyone has secrets, some buried deeper than others. As Ellie Hastings searches for the truths of a past she can’t remember, she uncovers many truths which she’s been hiding from herself. Told from a singular point of view, this introspective tale of deceptions, uncovers the lies and ommisions of those she loves and cares about. Obsessed with learning the truth, Ellie reveals all their secrets, as well as her own, each more devastating than the last.
At first, with all the dreams mixed in with snippets of memories, I thought perhaps Ellie was just a bit paranoid in feeling that the people around her were all lying about various things. But as the story unfolds it becomes evident that she may not be crazy, as her suspicions prove to be true, one by one.
A psychological thriller that keeps readers guessing. I give Truth Games three 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.
During our recent trip of Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, we had a good sighting of a secretary bird roosting in a tree. That sighting prompted the creation of this poem which tells you all about this fascinating bird.
Ode to a Secretary Bird
My mouth smiles, a grin spreading from ear to ear
When I spy the Secretary Bird perched in a tree
It looks around, hoping its favourite food will appear
A slithering snake its equivalent of scones and tea
An eagle type body perched atop legs like a crane
Giving it a height of up to 1.3 meters; tall for a bird
Crazy feather spikes surround its face – a bad hair day
Or does it think it’s a lion with a shaggy black mane
During a courting ritual, its frog-like call is heard
The rest of the year, a calm silence holds sway
Picture caption: Secretary bird with its black crest up. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
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Breeding usually takes place once in a year
During spring and summer when food is plentiful
The male helps to incubate the eggs, he’s quite a dear
Mating with one female for life, he’s also faithful
Preferring to stay grounded, it will fly if it must
Legs sticking out behind it in a ridiculous way
Outside of mating or nesting, it does its thing alone
When it needs to run, you only see a cloud of dust
With a wingspan of two metres, it creates a great display
Living out its life within a fifty square kilometre zone
Picture caption: Secretary bird stretching in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
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Grey tailcoat and dark knee-length pants its claim
To male secretary status – it even has goose-quill pens
Carried behind its ears, the combined cause of its name
Also called ‘Devil’s horse’ by its traditional African friends
In honour of the great speed at which it hunts its prey
Including reptiles, amphibians, and mammals like rats
And venomous snakes which it beats to death on the ground
Popular due to their diet, people encourage them to stay
At keeping land free of vermin, they’re better than cats
Once they were numerous, but they no longer abound
Picture caption: Secretary bird in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
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This bird’s endangered classification mankind’s great shame
Along with its relatives, buzzards, vultures, and harriers
The fault of human greed and selfishness, nothing else to blame
I’m grateful some are protected behind fences and barriers
An important feature in the South African coat of arms
It’s chest a protea, also endangered or vulnerable to extinction
Powerful legs formed by a crossed knobkierie and long spear
Symbolism as the protector of the nation one of its many charms
You’d expect its status to afford it a measure of distinction
The loss of this messenger of the heavens not something people fear
A fascinating YT video featuring a secretary bird (not my video):
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of three poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Like this post? Are you a fan of this blog series? 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 “In Touch with Nature” 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
