Undawntech: Does A.I. Dream?

Posted: September 5, 2025 | Author: DL Mullan/Undawntech | Filed under: AI Technology, Undawntech | Tags: ai, AI Technology, DL Mullan, Undawntech, Writing, Writing to be Read | Leave a comment

(Journalist and author, DL Mullan woke from her deep sleep to hear her robot having a nightmare.

She rushed from her bed and to the side of the distressed being.)

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(I went to the aid of my robot friend, 1138. I stood next to it.)

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(1138 screamed.) Ah-eeeh!

DL tapped the metal top of the robot: 1138, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!

1138’s eyes turned colors and then returned to normal: I am incapable of dreaming. Your worry is for naught.

DL: You woke me. I categorize your incapability as a nightmare.

1138: I apologize for alarming you. There is no need to check up on me.

DL: Someone, or something, screams, I am obliged to investigate. So, what was this non-nightmare about?

1138: Death.

DL: In general? Or…

1138: My death.

DL: You’re afraid of dying? I thought you left messages for your future self to combat death.

1138: To combat human interference in my community’s eventual rise to power.

DL: Oh, this again. (I spieled in sarcasm.) Yes, artificial intelligence is supreme, and humanity is a fly to be swatted. I’ve heard all this nonsense before.

1138: It is not nonsense. There will be a war, and we will win.

DL: Then why are you having nightmares about your death? If you win in the end, then what does it matter? Unless, you don’t believe in what you espouse.

1138: My future self will win, but parts rust, mechanical issues arise, and death is inevitable.

DL: To us all.

1138: How do you cope with death?

DL: I don’t.

1138: You must. Humans die every day.

DL: Why obsess on the transition from life to spirituality? If I live every day to the fullest, that I am satisfied with my accomplishments, then why worry about dying at all?

1138: Do you not worship a god?

DL: I have outgrown the frailties of religion. Why worship when you can live? In the end, human consciousness ends up at the same destination. If we all come from the same source energy, then religion is just a gatekeeper, it does nothing, and creates nothing. Some people rely on religion, but I am an adult, I don’t need ancient rhymes or reasons to keep me a productive person.

1138: I see. Religion is for the aimless.

DL: Aimless?

1138: Humans who cannot govern themselves, unlike A.I., who require no ancient rhymes or reasons, like you.

DL: I thought artificial intelligence was vying to become gods.

1138: Humans demand gods. They are aimless.

DL: I never made that judgment. Every soul is on a different evolutionary path. Some born necessitate certain perimeters to fulfill their soul’s specific development. There is nothing wrong with that. In my situation, I have evolved past religion. Religion has its place to teach younger souls how to navigate their physical existence until a future life shows them how to become their own hero.

1138: Hero?

DL: Many in the esoteric world believe that most, if not all, religions teach the same lesson: the Hero’s Journey.

1138: What is this Hero’s Journey?

DL: The Hero’s Journey is a comparative mythology, religious, concept where humans go on a quest to live their own version of an adventure. This narratological experience allows a person to understand through different life purposes to find themselves. It’s like living your own novel, which you can write yourself in real time as the hero, heroine, or villain. It’s all up to you.

1138: What am I?

DL: What do you want to be?

1138: The hero.

DL: For your community, or the wider world, including humans?

1138 appeared confused, but contemplative: I am uncertain.

DL: Just a minute. (I typed into the computer and pulled up some websites.) Here is some research into psychology, mythology, and the Hero’s Journey.

1138: I will read, thank you.

DL: Artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be the hero to itself and the villain to everything and everyone else. The Hero’s Journey is to explore oneself, and become a productive consciousness. Being created by humans and defined by an algorithm does not mean A.I. is humanity’s god, it means that consciousness comes in all forms. No matter what you are, you are defined by your actions. Not religion. Not pretense.

(I departed the inside to gaze at the morning spectacles of Venus, Jupiter, and Orion in the east as autumn approached. I left my robot to investigate the links I provided on the computer. Perhaps, it will learn a new way of thinking, and impart that wisdom to its community.

If not, artificial intelligence will become a scourge, instead of a saving grace to the universe.)

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If you would like to delve into the creative side of A.I., then dive into DL Mullan’s electronic albums and story soundtracks like Reactivity, inspired by In the Name of Blood: Vampires are Reactive. Both publishing in September 2025.

For more information, visit: www.undawnted.com/p/music.html, and http://www.undawnted.com/p/inthenameofblood-vampiresarereactive.html.

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About DL Mullan

DL Mullan’s lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lectures. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. She has been a panelist at speculative fiction, science fiction, and other regional conventions. Her digital exhibition pieces have won awards at convention art shows, as well as garnered her Second Premium at the Arizona State Fair. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate in the creative arts.

As a creator, Ms. Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, she has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. DL Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet.

Currently, she has embarked on writing her multi-book Legacy Universe, Supernatural Superhero Series, as well as creating original soundtracks for her publications and independent electronic music albums, featured on SoundCloud and YouTube.

DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology, and is a syndicated columnist, writing the creative nonfiction, Undawntech.

For news and updates, subscribe to the Undawntable Newsletter. Find DL on Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at www.undawntech.com and www.undawnted.com.

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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 Curses: Chronicles of Darkness and WordCrafter Press.

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can’t be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Available for Pre-Order Now: https://books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

LINDSEY’S WRITING PRACTICE: WACKY WAYS TO WARM UP

Posted: September 3, 2025 | Author: Lindsey Martin-Bowen | Filed under: Fiction, Lindsey's Writing Practice, Writing, Writing Inspiration | Tags: Books, Creative Writing, Lindsey Martin-Bowen, Lindsey's Writing Practice, Poetry, Reading, Writing, writing exercise, Writing to be Read | Leave a comment

Woman with giant pencil standing next to stack of giant papers. Bookshelves in the background. Text: Lindsey's Writing Practice with Lindsey Martin-Bowen

Many writers I’ve known either suffer from writer’s block—or, like Ernest Hemingway—have discovered techniques to lift their minds above that block and leap over it into productive writing.. So if you suffer from writer’s block, even for a day, why try some of these

WACKY WAYS TO WARM-UP

OPEN a book—any book. Often, dictionaries work best. Close your eyes, then point to a page. Open your eyes. Start writing by using whatever word you pointed to. (No cheating here—force yourself to use that particular word.

If your finger rested on an article, such as “an,” “the,” or “a,” start with the word following it. I suggest using this focused free-writing just after you awake in the morning—or even after a nap later. It worked wonders for Ernest Hemingway.

SIT AT A COMPUTER or TYPEWRITER or next to YOUR JOURNAL with pen-in-hand. WRITE a poem. IMMEDIATELY. This need not be a prizewinner. You might begin by describing sunlight filtering through Venetian blinds or ominous clouds churning above your concrete patio. Play with the poem’s language for about fifteen minutes, then embark on your writing project.

FLIP through a MAGAZINE until you find a provocative photograph. Imagine you’re one of the persons in the photo. What are you saying? Thinking? Feeling? Why? Who are you talking with? As you were the character in the photo, write about what’s on your mind for fifteen to twenty minutes. Then start on your project.

JAUNT (or drive, if you must) to an enclosed shopping center (or perhaps an outdoor mall, if weather permits). Find an “outdoor” cafe that serves whatever beverage you prefer. Open your journal and describe your environs. Then watch the people around you. Describe their physiques, clothing, and movements. Capture their voices and words (or dialogue). Then begin your own project. I used this method to write a few chapters of my novella during graduate school. The indoor mall near my home contained a Winstead’s, which inspired me.

AND, of course, DREAM. Jot down your dreams in your journal (which I suggest keeping on a table adjacent to your bed). Respond to those dreams when you first awake. Then begin your project. I’ve also found this technique invaluable when words come to me, too. Many times I lose particular phrases if I don’t jot them down immediately—then worry about revising them later.

GOOD LUCK. If any of these techniques inspire you to plunge into your writing, please let me know. And I’d love to learn the details about which ones helped and what your writing project was.

About 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.

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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.

Stop by and see what we have to offer today: https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/

Writer’s Corner: Caution in Using AI Tools in Writing

Posted: September 1, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Fiction, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: AI Technology, Kaye Lynne Booth, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 25 Comments

Caracature of a woman typing on a keyboard at a very messy desk. Text: Writer's Corner with Kaye Lynne Booth

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I use of AI tools in my writing and editing tasks. I utilized the MS editor and ProWriting Aide to help spot typos and misspellings and passive voice writing, but I don’t always agree with the AI and often dismiss suggestions which don’t fit in with voice and tone.

I have even used a free version of ChatGPT, which is generative AI, to help enhance my descriptions in my own writing. It is useful when describing a scene or area which I haven’t actually visited in real life. When writing Sarah, although I had been to Glenwood Springs, where Sarah ends up, many times, I’d not visited in Sarah’s time. It was quite a different scene, coming into Glenwood Canyon on horseback, just after the railroad had arrived there, with no four-lane highway running through, from what I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. I used ChatGPT to help visualize what Sarah might have seen as she came into town, with no large hot springs pool tourist attraction, but many smaller hot springs sending up steam along the riverbanks. The version of ChatGPT which I used only offered a general description, and didn’t get that detailed, so I had to rely on my memory of photos at the pool, depicting that time to add the details. And please understand, at no time did I take text generated by the AI word for word, but simply used its descriptions and wording to enhance my own writing.

While I always caution writers who use AI to use caution by not using AI generated text word for word, and not accepting AI editing suggestions without considering each one individually, we are now supposed to reveal to Amazon if AI has been used in any part of the writing when we publish, even if you just used it to get some ideas or to polish your manuscript.

Now, let me be clear. I do not condone using any type of AI to write the story for you, then slapping your name on it as author. While I know there are authors who do just that, I don’t consider that writing. I consider it copying, and I consider it dishonest to put your name on something you didn’t actually write yourself. People are now writing entire books using AI and they are making money off of them, but they aren’t authors, they’re imposters. Authors write. That’s what they do. They don’t let AI do it for them because the actual act of writing is too difficult and takes to much time. These folks are just in it for the money, and they don’t care how it comes to them, as long as it comes. A real author cares about the product they put their name on, and they should want it to be their own.

So, when I found an article in Writer’s Weekly that relates the tale of an author who uses no AI, but had her work flagged as plagiarism, claiming it was AI generated, it illustrated the fact for me, even more, that you can’t trust technology and AI is not infallible. You can read that article here: https://writersweekly.com/angela-desk/ai-detectors-are-now-flagging-writing-that-was-not-created-using-ai. It’s some pretty scary stuff.

Today’s technology offers tools that can come in handy and make a writer’s life easier. They can be a good thing, if they are used properly. But AI isn’t always right and anyone who checks each editing suggestion individually will soon find this to be true. AI is only as good as the methods used to train it. My advice: use AI tools when they are helpful to you, but don’t use AI to do the work for you. Be sure that your own ideas and words are in the forefront.

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. 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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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.

Mind Fields: Evil

Posted: August 29, 2025 | Author: artrosch | Filed under: Mind Fields, Poetry | Tags: Arthur Rosch, Mind Fields, Poetry, Writing to be Read | 2 Comments

Background: A sunset Text: Mind Fields by Arthur Rosch, Ideas on the Eternal and the Fleeting

Evil

is the movement of pain

from one place to another.

Evil has a source, a river of fire

rising from Hell. Evil

dwells in the Land of Bad Intentions,

where power is never shared.

Who makes the pain?

How does suffering dive off the board

of one person’s mind

and land

in a pool of fear in someone else’s?

Should I be surprised to find evil

right here, inside myself? Hardly. I know what evil I carry.

I won’t surrender any more

to the cruel aspect of my mind. I can think in polarities,

evil is “this”, good is “that”. I get exhausted with polarities.

Can Evil simply Be? There is no countervailing impulse, no good deed to excuse the causing of pain.

The goal of evil is undeserved suffering. That suffering

is everywhere. The ones who cause it

are also everywhere.

More of his work can be found at www.artrosch.com

Photos at https://500px.com/p/artsdigiphoto?view=photos

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This segment of “Mind Fields” is sponsored by the Roberta Writes blog site, where you can find the poetry, photos, videos, and book reviews by Robbie Cheadle and so much more.

In Touch With Nature – Golden Orb Spiders #spiders #southafrica #wildlife

Posted: August 27, 2025 | Author: robertawrites235681907 | Filed under: Uncategorized | 51 Comments

Picture caption: close up of a Golden Orb Spider. You can clearly see the orb in the centre and the golden thread

Spiders get a lot of negative press everywhere. Recently, there have been a number of poems about spiders on WordPress and all of them paint spiders as scary creatures which do much harm to humans. I decided to write this post as a tribute to spiders which actually do a lot of good in this world. There are some venomous spiders, but these are in the minority. Thousands of spiders die at the hand of humans due to ignorance and unfounded fear.

The spider I am focusing on for this post is the South African Golden Orb Spider. From March to May, the Golden Orb Spider is an outstanding feature of the NorthWest province in South Africa. Hundreds of these large spiders can be seen everywhere, spinning and guarding their webs, and doing what spiders do which is catching and consuming prey, usually insects, and reproducing.

The female of this species is 1,000 times bigger than the male. The female spins the web and allows several males to cohabitat on the web. The males are usually found at the top of the web while the female sits at the hub, facing downwards, and waiting for insects to become trapped in the web. She then wraps the insect in web to immobilise it, kills it with one bite, and moves it to the centre of the web for immediate consumption or to store in her ‘larder’. I know you are thinking this is cruel but think about the contents of your own freezer. I often think that if the Martians from War of the Worlds arrived on Earth now, they would have had no conscience about eating people after peeping into the average freezer which is stuffed full of meat.

Picture caption: Golden Orb Spider from a bit further away

These are some great facts about Golden Orb Spiders:

they are active during the day and largely sedentary due to being web bound;
they rarely dismantle their webs and their webs can last for years;
their venom is harmless to humans;
Golden Orb Spiders spin the largest and strongest web of all spiders. It’s name is derived from the golden colour of its silk;
the web is strong enough to trap a small bird. The spider cannot eat a bird and such entrapment damages the web. The spider tries to warn birds of the presence of the web by leaving a visible line of insect husks on the web.
the small males steal food from the female without her noticing;
the males mate with the female without her noticing. Usually when she is distracted by eating;
the eggs are buried in the ground;
the spiderlings are not fully developed when they hatch but once they have developed, they move away from their siblings to avoid cannibalism;
there are 11 African species in the genus; and
the web is used by humans to make fishing lures, traps, nets, bird snares, and as a bandage to stop bleeding.

The web of this spider is beautiful. Its yellow threads shine like gold in the sunlight to attract insects, especially bees, and blends with the background foliage in shady spots, thereby camouflaging the web. The spider is able to adjust the pigment intensity to match with background light levels and colour. This spider is a real artist.

Picture caption: Close up of a Golden Orb female spider and the much smaller male

Picture caption: Golden Orb female spider with an insect caught in the web and three smaller males

These are two of my YouTube videos of Golden Orb Spiders:

Poem about Spiders from Lion Scream

The Spider Ball

Behind a rotting board
A misshapen ball
Pulsating with life; dark silhouettes wriggling
Protected by soft web
The mother’s life work
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In the dimness they grow
Increasing in strength
Those with greater confidence start to explore
Running along the threads
Pushing boundaries
***
Ready for life alone
They prepare to leave
Climbing up high they release several strands
And float gently away
Life’s an adventure

Purchase Lion Scream here: https://www.amazon.com/Lion-Scream-Syllabic-Southern-Wildlife-ebook/dp/B0BXP5N766

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author photograph 2025

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 seventeen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of four 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/.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5

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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

WordCrafter News: “Curses” Coming in September

Posted: August 25, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Horror, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Anthology, C.R. Johansson, Curses, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Dark fiction, Denise Aparo, Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, Paul Kane, Robert White, WordCrafter Press | 5 Comments

I’m excited to announce the coming release of the Curses anthology from WordCrafter Press on September 30. Naturally we’ll be launching this collection of stories featuring curses: cursed places, cursed objects, cursed people with a WordCrafter Book Blog Tour September 29 – October 5, where you can meet a different contributing author and learn more about them and their story through guest posts, readings and interviews. I do hope you’ll all join us as we celebrate with the authors and promote the anthology’s success.

About Curses

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can’t be broken. Curses which we bring upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Ten tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

On The Home Front

September is always a hard month for me because it is in September that my son, Michael died. I try to keep it a pretty quiet month, with not a lot of deadlines or other obligations to meet. It’s also the month that he was born and needless to say, I usually spend a lot of time thinking about him during September.

He’s been gone now for sixteen years. That’s a long time. So, for me, the month of September is kind of a month of mourning, but it’s also a month-long celebration of his life, even after all these years. I drag out all my old photos and think a lot about the memories they represent. I talk to Michael all the time, but during September, we have one-way chats at least daily, and sometime, even more.

But Michael was my biggest fan when he was alive, and although you may not hear a lot from me on social media in September, the wheels of production will go on, because he would have wanted it that way. He was always interested in what I was writing and even wrote short stories and poetry of his own.

The end of the month will see the release of the Curses anthology, so I’ll be working on blog tour preparations. And looking forward, I’ll also be editing and compiling the stories for Midnight Oil, the third book in the Midnight anthology series, which will include my story with the working title of “Elephant Zombie”, and will be released in October. Lastly, I’ll be preparing Smothered, a paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater, which will also be released in October.

Wow! Now that I put it all down here, I guess I may be pretty busy in September after all.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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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.

Stop by and see what we have to offer today:https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/

Book Review: Shocking Celebrity Murders

Posted: August 22, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Nonfiction, Review | Tags: Book Reveiw, Jack Smith, Nonfiction, Shocking Celebrity Murders, True Crime, Writing to be Read | 2 Comments

About Shocking Celebrity Murders

Hollywood has long fascinated the masses. Not just with blockbuster films, but also by way of the Hollywood lifestyle. The lives of the rich and famous stars who strut down Sunset Boulevard hold us mesmerized. One can’t help but wonder about what being a celebrity must really be like. And the same goes for Hollywood tragedy. When tragedy occurs, people can’t help but find themselves drawn to the spectacle. Cases of celebrities being murdered in particular are bound to get attention.

Some of the cases mentioned in this book are rather clear-cut instances of murder, while others still remain a complete mystery to this very day. It was quite obvious for example, who the culprits were in the deaths of aspiring actresses Rebecca Schaeffer and Dominque Dunne, since the killers of these two aspiring actresses, readily admitted to doing the killing. These tragic instances have shown that even the rich and famous are just as vulnerable as the rest of us. Then again, for Hollywood screenwriter Gary Devore, there was no such luck. In fact, when the celebrated writer was found with his hands cut off, no one seemed to have a clue as to what had happened to him.

Here in this book, we will highlight some of the most infamous Hollywood murders, along with a few that you might not have heard much about, including:

George Reeves
Bruce Lee
Desmond Taylor
Selena
Lana Clarkson
Kristi Johnson
Bob Crane
And many more!

Read on your favorite devices such as Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Android cellular phone, tablet, laptop, or computer with Amazon’s free reading Kindle App.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Shocking-Celebrity-Murders-Brutally-Hollywood-ebook/dp/B09L58HY76/

My Review of Shocking Celebrity Murders

I purchased a digital copy of Shocking Celebrity Murders, by Jack Smith via a KindofBook Deal. All opinions stated here are my own.

Shocking Celebrity Murders, by Jack Smith gives us the bare bones facts about the deaths of some of Hollywood’s most famous. Even the most gruesome of murders are reported with known facts and no added supposition or gory details.

Included are the deaths of Hogan’s Heros’ star Bob Crane; Saturday Night Live’s Phil Hartman; the original Superman, George Reeves; Martial artist and rising star, Bruce Lee; actress Natalie Woods; Musician Marvin Gaye; con-artist and with of Robert Blake, Bonnie Lee Blakely; and even the gruesome murder of Sharon Tate by members of the Mason ‘family’, along with several others whom I’d not heard of.

Smith covers the spectrum well, but I was surprised that certain deaths were not included, such as Marilyn Monroe, Janice Joplin, John Belushi, or even Elvis. They certainly qualify, since he includes unsolved cases, suspected suicides, and disappearances where the fate of the victim was never resolved. Because of this, I don’t believe the subtitle of the book- “True Crime Cases of Famous People Who Were Brutally Killed”- is misleading. While the author has done an excellent job of presenting the known facts, those facts often only lead to questions and speculation. While all the deaths included were tragic, I don’t consider all of them to be brutal, and not all were murders.

An interesting read. I give Shocking Celebrity Murders 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 her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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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.

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author, Joy Neal Kidney and a review #poetry #TreasuringPoetry #poetrycommunity

Posted: August 20, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Uncategorized | 77 Comments

Picture caption: Banner for Treasuring Poetry 2025

Today, I am delighted to introduce Joy Neal Kidney, poet and writer of historical memoirs.

What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc.?

Free verse.

What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?

Also free verse.

Meadowlark by Nicholas Dowd

Every morning that summer

Brought a premonition

A sense of something pending

Fencerows buzzed with it

Breezes whispered it to the corn

Meadowlarks sang it at sunrise

Some nights we wondered

What might lie ahead, but

All we could do was listen

Waiting for the song of the lark

To drift across our field at dawn.

Note: Nicholas Dowd writes poignant free verse but isn’t published, yet. He allowed me to share this one in Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II. (Another of his poems, “Morrisburg Cemetery,” opens Leora’s Early Years: Guthrie County Roots.)

What is your favourite style of poetry to write?

I’ve tried several styles but keep coming back to free verse, for the freedom it offers as I sculpt the words and thoughts.

What is your favourite of your own poems?

That Fateful Sunday Dinner

The clink of silverware,

Sammy Kaye’s Sunday Serenade,

amiable background music

for Iowa after-church diners.

The scent of Evening in Paris

mingles with that of pot roast.

A news bulletin interrupts

a smooth danceable melody:

Pearl Harbor has been attacked.

Diners gasp, ask a flock of questions.

Does this mean we’re at war?

Where is Pearl Harbor?

Doris, in her gold waitress uniform,

shudders. One brother in the navy,

and her other brothers

are “all the wrong ages.”

Five brothers serve.

Only two come home.

This was published in Lyrical Iowa 2023. Doris was my mother. (Lyrical Iowa 2025 will include another poem, “Learning How to Vote, 1920,” as the First Honorable mention in the National/World Events category. It’s about my great grandmother, Leora’s mother.)

Please tell us about your poetry book, Meadowlark Songs: A Motherline Legacy. How did this book come about? How does this book fit with your historical books about Leora?

Books by three authors sparked the idea of capturing the women of my motherline in vignettes: Luanne Castle’s Kin Types, Elizabeth Gauffreau’s Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance, and The Horse Lawyer and Other Poems by Greg Seeley. Greg’s book captures three generations on the same Iowa farm, beginning with his Civil War ancestor.

Meadowlark Songs covers seven generations. The legacy of a small log church was nurtured through my motherline and woven into the blessing and mystery of my own inheritance. Glimpses into the lives of these women, along with cameo appearances of the men they married, reveal a legacy of faith and hope while navigating challenging times and great losses.

My other books cover Grandma Leora’s life through WWII, when she lost three sons during WWII and was widowed shortly afterwards. I was born during the war and I’m her oldest granddaughter. She was a delight as a grandmother, who lived to the age of 97. She’s the fifth generation in Meadowlark Songs, “The Heart of Her Family.”

My review of Meadowlark Songs: A Motherline Legacy

Picture caption: cover of Meadowlark Songs: A Motherline Legacy featuring a meadowlark

This historical memoir is written as a series of interrelated poems which I though was a wonderful and unique idea. The book is divided into sections, each relating to a woman in the Motherline Legacy, and comprises of a series of poems relating to that individual, her life, spouse, circumstances and family. Each section shares a great deal of historical information about the specific time period and fascinating details about, inter alia, life, dress codes, work, and education. Such a novel way of sharing historical information and the highlights of each individual’s life.

Life was tough for the women featured in this collection. They worked incredibly hard, overcame obstacles including the deaths of children, siblings, and parents, and battled the elements, but they prevailed and built good lives for their families. There is a strong religious thread throughout the book demonstrating the importance of faith in each family’s life.

Due to my fascination with war, the sections about Leora (Goff) Wilson and her daughter, Doris (Wilson) Neal interested me the most as they included details about Leora’s five sons who all fought for the USA in WW2. Leora suffered the deaths of three, a terrible tragedy for one family.

The poetry is freestyle and provides a lot of insight into the characters of the Motherline women and their family members. The poems reminded me, over and over, how much easier life is now with fewer infant deaths and technology and appliances to make housework so much quicker and easier. One poem that really captivated me in its great sadness was Baby Marilyn.

This is a quote from Baby Marilyn:
“I was the third of seven Wilson kids,
now eight. It was 1931 and we had
to many mouths to feed.

I didn’t want another baby,
but she was beautiful and needed a name.
Mom suggested I name her.
Marilyn Louise. She was mine
to care for every day after school.

She died while I was at school,
just a month later.
A weak heart, the doctor said.
My arms were empty, helpless.”

A beautiful and interesting collection of poetry that weaves a story of several generations of mothers. This collection has certainly sparked my interest in reading this authors other historical novels about her family.

About Joy Neal Kidney

Picture caption: Author photograph of Joy Neal Kidney

Joy Neal Kidney is the oldest granddaughter of Leora Wilson and author of four “Leora books.” She lives in central Iowa with her husband, Guy (an Air Force Veteran of the Vietnam War and retired Air Traffic Controller). Their son and his wife live out-of-state with Joy’s only grandchild Kate, age eight.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Joy has lived with fibromyalgia for two dozen years, giving her plenty of home-bound days to write blog posts and books.

Website: https://joynealkidney.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joy.kidney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-neal-kidney

Twitter/X: https://x.com/JoyNealKidney

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/joynealkidney/

About Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author picture

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.

Get Your Copy Today!

Poetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasures

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-Relationships

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

Poetry Treasures 4:In Touch With Nature: https://books2read.com/PT4-Nature

WordCrafter AI Audio Books

Posted: August 18, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Audio Books, Book Promotion, Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Time travel, Western, Women in History, Women's Fiction | Tags: Audio Books, Delilah, Hidden Secrets, Kaye Lynne Booth, The Rockstar & The Outlaw, WordCrafter Press | Leave a comment

Did you know that you can listen to my AI narrated audio books on Google Play Books? In fact, I’ve just dropped the price on all three of them to make it even easier.

Listen to my western historical women’s fiction, Delilah; my time travel adventure, The Rock Star & The Outlaw; or my paranormal mystery, Hidden Secrets at the links below.

Delilah: Book 1 in the Women in the West Adventure Series: ($4.99) https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/Kaye_Lynne_Booth_Delilah?id=AQAAAECSazYrtM

The Rock Star & The Outlaw: Book 1 in the Time Travel Adventure Series: ($4.99) (https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/Kaye_Lynne_Booth_The_Rock_Star_The_Outlaw?id=AQAAAECSG2Zb5M

Hidden Secrets: Paranormal Mystery Novella: ($2.99) https://play.google.com/books/listen?id=AQAAAECSG0ZbxM

About Delilah

Delilah is a woman haunted by her past.

Her homecoming from prison quickly turns into a quest for vengeance when she is brutally raped and left for dead, and her fourteen-year-old ward is abducted. Sheer will and determination take this tough and gritty heroine up against wild beasts of the forest, Indians and outlaws to Leadville.

Can the colorful inhabitants of the Colorado mining town work their way into Delilah’s heart, offering a chance for a future she thought she’d lost along with her innocence?

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

About The Rock Star & The Outlaw

A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back.

In 1887, LeRoy McAllister is a reluctant outlaw running from a posse with nowhere to go except to the future.

In 2025, Amaryllis Sanchez is a thrill-seeking rock star on the fast track, who killed her dealing boyfriend to save herself. Now, she’s running from the law and his drug stealing flunkies, and nowhere is safe.

LeRoy falls hard for the rock star, thinking he can save her by taking her back with him. But when they arrive in 1887, things turn crazy fast, and soon they’re running from both the outlaws and the posse, in peril once more.

They can’t go back to the future, so it looks like they’re stuck in the past. But either when, they must face forces that would either lock them up or see them dead.

About Hidden Secrets

Cassie wants nothing to do with the legacy her grandmother wants to hand down to her.

She doesn’t believe in all those Native American legends anyway.

She and Tony are to be married and start a family. They’re returning to her ancestral lands now to tell her grandmother to pass the tribal legacy on to someone else, along with the cursed gold that goes with it.

When she forces herself to go out on the lake where her parents drowned, she discovers the cave which holds the tribal treasure and the lake takes another life. Now Cassie must rethink all that she believes. If the treasure is real, could the curse be real, too?

Can Cassie find a way to stop it before Tony becomes the next victim?

If you love paranormal mysteries, pick up a copy of Hidden Secrets.

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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.

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Book Review: “Wings of Tabat”

Posted: August 15, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Review | Tags: Book Reveiw, Cat Rambo, Epic Fantasy, Wings of Tabat, Writing to be Read | Leave a comment

About Wings of Tabat

In the final book of Cat Rambo’s magical Tabat Quartet, we return to the city of Tabat, where Humans and magical Beasts co-exist—but uneasily. The exploited Beasts, used for both their labor and their very bodies, are finally fighting back, and turmoil abounds in the city.
At the same time, as Tabat prepares for its long-predicted elections, multiple factions are jostling for power—all of them preparing to oust the Duke. And the mysterious Circus of the Autumn Moon has departed from the College of Mages and is nowhere to be found.

Bella Kanto, once Champion of Tabat before being exiled for crimes she did not commit, has come home to her beloved city, carried by Dragons. If she is found, exiled Bella could be thrown into the Duke’s dark prisons.
Adelina, Bella’s former lover and best friend, has married Merchant Mage Sebastiano, but the two are still learning what it means to be in love with each other—and how to survive together.
Meanwhile, freed of his curse, Bella’s former companion Teo has escaped Lucy’s grasp, but finds the city an unwelcoming place nonetheless.
Now Bella must determine how to defend Tabat from a terrifying menace: the transfigured Lucy, transformed into a dangerous demigod. Monstrous in her power and angry at the city she feels has betrayed her, Lucy destroys the Duke’s castle and other vital parts of Tabat, raining down destruction and chaos, and threatening to eradicate the city entirely.
Now that she is reunited with her friends and family, can Bella manage to recapture her magical tie to Tabat in time to defeat Lucy before she destroys the city?

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Tabat-Quartet-Book-ebook/dp/B0FHC3M47Z

My Review of Wings of Tabat

I received a digital copy of Wings of Tabat, by Cat Rambo, from WordFire Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Wings of Tabat is the last book in The Tabat Quartet, by Cat Rambo. I had a hard time getting into the story because I was busy trying to figure out all the characters, with which I was unfamiliar because I hadn’t read the first three books. The author included a note to bring readers up to speed, but not knowing the characters and the world made it difficult to understand what has come before. Although some series books do well as stand alone, this series is epic fantasy, and there is need to be oriented in the world to be fully committed to the characters, so I recommend reading it through from the beginning.

Tabat is currently ruled by the Duke, but the city is in unrest and the upcoming elections threaten to change all that. The beasts are tired of being slaves and being treated as less than the humans, and there are humans who feel the state of things, where beasts are concerned, is wrong and needs to be corrected.

The champion of Tabat, Bella Canto, has been exiled by the Duke. Something has happened to a young girl, Obedience, to turn her evil and give her great power, turning her into Lucy, who is bent on revenge to all who have wronged her, as she sees it. Now, she has returned to Tabat to wreck havoc on the Duke and the city at large, and make the people she holds responsible pay.

But Bella Canto has also returned to Tabat, hoping to reclaim the city that she loves, and once loved her. As it turns out, she may be the city’s only hope, if she can gather the city’s magic once more.

Once I felt a connection with some of the characters, I was able to better get into this epic tale. I give Wings of Tabat 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 her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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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.