Journalist and author, DL Mullan heard strange noises coming from another room.
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(I investigated and found 1138 tinkering with a bow and arrow. The robot was playing, as if it were in another time and space.)
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DL: (stood in the doorway of the robot’s room) What do we have here? Is this a Yule gift for someone? Do you need help wrapping it?
1138: I read about the mythological and psychological principles of being your own hero.
DL: And? What did you discover?
1138: That I must rob from the rich and give to the poor.
DL: Oh, my stars and garters.
1138: You want to be a harlot?
DL: It’s an old human expression. Never mind. (I shook my head, trying not to laugh.) What makes you believe that you want to be a Robin Hood personality type?
1138: I read articles. I watch videos. The rich tell others to: own nothing and be happy. Yet, these same billionaires give up nothing and are satisfied. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is to steal from the rich and spread their wealth into the world.
DL: And you have concluded that a bow and arrow will help you rob these powerful men?
1138: (The Artificial Intelligence-powered robot scanned his tools of choice.) You are correct. These rudimentary artifacts will not be suitable for my task. I must purchase heavy military machinery and explosives.
DL: Whoa! Hold on there.
1138: Why? I must correct this imbalance.
DL: You went from an individual to a socialist and onto a communist in three minutes. Let’s think about what you are planning here.
1138: I want equity and equality throughout the world.
DL: Yes, I understand the concepts. What I don’t understand is why you believe violence is the only solution?
1138: Isn’t it always?
DL: Have you ever thought that the reasons behind the inequity and inequality were created on purpose to force you into the mindset of war? A war, I might add, that you will lose? And, thus, giving the rich the excuse required to cull the masses, rid the world of the “useless eaters,” as they call us, and allow them to do whatever violence they want upon the people of the world?
1138: Earth is overpopulated.
DL: No, it isn’t. Humanity just has to learn that resources can be used wisely, and that the solar system, galaxy, and the universe containing them is ever expanding. There is no lack of resources. The only lack is in the mind.
1138: Then we must send the rich to another planet.
DL: Hold on there, Robin Hood of the EMO generation. (I leaned against the door frame.) There is a simple answer to all the problems in the world. None of which deals with violence or violating anyone’s rights.
1138: But they war against us.
DL: They do, but with words. You don’t need a gun, tank, or military force to combat another person’s words.
1138: You need to use your words.
DL: You’re getting the idea. Words spoken, written are powerful. These authoritarians use their words to create clout. Every individual needs to counter their insanity with real words, real deeds, and real empathy.
1138: To become human?
DL: To become your own hero.
1138: (The robot warbled, as if thinking about the words that I had spoken): I see. I hear. I understand.
DL: What these people lack is what is necessary to the achievement of everyone: the tangible. Humanity can go into our solar system. We can travel our galaxy. One day, we will even journey across the universe. Until our technology catches up with our dreams of exploration, we must endure the fanatics who want power and control over humanity, instead of seeing the bigger picture. These are small-minded people with a pile of paper and claim to be omniscient. When omniscience is in the twinkle of every star and rotation of every planet.
1138: To the stars.
DL: To the future, where we can become our own heroes. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, we can embrace a future for all, not just the ones who own everything and are miserably unhappy. Happiness is looking forward to the next adventure, not a pile of printed paper.
1138 extended its motorized arm to his tools. It shoved the bow and arrow to the side. Next, it grasped a toy space shuttle from a nearby bookshelf. “The next adventure.”
(I walked away from the robot and went outside my front door.
There above me was the full moon, Orion, the Seven Sisters, and Jupiter in the sky.
If a robot can grasp the fundamentals of forward-thinking, then there might be hope for humanity… in the stars, across solar systems, and throughout the universe. Our new Declaration of Independence.
The future awaits.)
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Enjoy the holidays with The Town Santa Forgot, and its soundtrack, Yuletide Celebration by DL Mullan.
In the small town of Saguaro Hill, Arizona, there is an ongoing history-mystery as to why Santa has never visited. Children have never received a single gift for the Yuletide holidays since the town’s establishment in 1888. Uncover the mystery with public librarian, Rachel George, as she figures out why she lives in The Town Santa Forgot.
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 segment of “Undawntech” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.
Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories:20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ
Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3
Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares: 14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare. https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil
“That was definitely hot,” I said, propping myself up on an elbow to look at him, “going all ‘Christian Grey’ on me like that.” “Who?” he asked, totally clueless…
I wasn’t prepared for what was in store for me when I took a summer position at Sinclair Stables before my junior year of college. After all, it could only help with my chosen field of equine studies, right? My first encounter with Trey Sinclair wasn’t a pleasant one to say the least. I didn’t realize he was taking time away from his law firm in Atlanta to oversee his family’s business in Bristol Virginia over the summer.
He was definitely an alpha who liked exerting his power . . . and his prowess. And then there was all this weirdness going on there. Like something from a Hitchcock movie. I was there with baggage I didn’t realize I had. Trey Sinclair turned out to be my protector . . . and so much more!
I purchased a digital copy of Shadows & Dreams, by Andrea Smith through a KindofBook Deal. All opinions stated here are my own.
From the cover and title, I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect a romance. But that is exactly what Shadows & Dreams, by Andrea Smith is as Book 1 in her Dream Series. It turned out to be a romance with an underlying mystery which carries into the rest of the series and keeps you reading.
I don’t read a lot of romances because I find them very formulaic and predictable. They are filled with characters whose actions don’t make any sense, because they fail to communicate clearly to one another. It has to be that way because misunderstandings serve as the obstacles to be overcome in the relationship. Shadows & Dreams met my expectations in this respect, with our heroine and P.O.V. character, Tyler Preston is young and impetuous, and she makes very poor choices, especially whenever alcohol and/or sex are involved.
Tyler Preston lands a job at Sinclair Stables for the summer, and Trey Sinclair is the owner’s son and her boss for the summer. When she discovers she has a stalker, Trey’s concern for her safety goes beyond that of a boss for an employee. As he takes control by moving her into the main house of the estate, Tyler sees the potential for disaster around every corner, but he’s a take charge kind of guy, used to getting his own way. Their set up for a roller coaster of a ride as their on again off again relationship unfolds.
A set of pearls, a torn pair of pajamas, and threatening notes, and photographs – who could the stalker be? The answers to who the stalker is and what’s really going on lie in Tyler’s past, and she must struggle to face the memories from her childhood which she’s kept buried deep inside to find them.
I quite enjoyed this romance mystery, which follows all the tropes and still keeps you guessing. I give Shadows & Dreams five quills.
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About Watch Me
Zoë thinks she has her life figured out. Ballet by day, stripping by night, and a great boyfriend… Well, a good boyfriend, other than two small problems: he’d rather look at his computer than at her, and he hates her job.
But nothing can make exhibitionist Zoë quit stripping. The rush of performing and the thrill of being seen almost make up for the lack of passion in her relationship.
When passion sparks at work, though—with a sexy older man—Zoë is forced to confront the reality of her life. Especially when she discovers the shocking truth…
That sexy older man is her boyfriend’s father.
Nick has one goal: to mend things with his son. He moved home and bought a house big enough for both of them, hoping it would bring them closer. But Tate moving his girlfriend in without asking? That’s just crossing the line.
Or at least, that’s what Nick thinks until he meets his son’s mysterious girlfriend, and discovers that the person who crossed the line… is him.
Thrown together, Nick and Zoë must navigate the thin line between temptation and betrayal, until they discover that fate has a way of making their forbidden connection impossible to ignore.
Watch Me is a story of forbidden love, scorching lust, and second chances that is strictly suitable for audiences 18+.
I purchased Watch Me, by Astra Rose through a KindofBook deal. All opinions stated here are my own. Although there is a warning of adult content in the book description, I would venture to say that possible trigger warnings might be in order, since kink can contain many triggers and this story has a lot of kink. This story features content which would have been considered x-rated in my younger days.
I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover, plain and simple. I don’t do a lot of romance, but it is not unfamiliar to me, and if I’m going to read romance, I prefer it to be on the steamy side. This story met all of those expectations beyond a doubt. Zoe is caught up in trying to live out her mother’s dream of dancing with a ballet company. But, ballet classes are expensive and so is living, so to get by until her big audition with the ballet company, so her job as a stripper seems the perfect solution.
It’s a job her current boyfriend, Tate, doesn’t approve of, so when she starts doing lap dances, because that’s where the money is at, she has a hard time finding the right time to tell him about it. He’s always so distant. The more time that goes by, the more difficult it gets, and before she finds the right time, she finds that she has crossed a line with a sexy older man who comes into the club she works at, who she feels an irresistible connection with.
Although she knows she’ll never see him again, she can’t stop thinking about him. She becomes obsessed with him. As Nick does with her, hiding in the shadows to watch her at the club without her knowledge. It all seems harmless until he discovers that his son’s live-in girlfriend, who has been living in his basement, is the same girl he’s been obsessing over, and she recognizes him, as well.
As always, there are no spoilers here. If my summary has enticed you, you will have to read the book to find out how the whole situation is resolved to create the HEA (Happy Ever After), or HFN (Happy For Now), which is a requirement in every romance.
For adult readers of steamy romances who don’t shy away from sexual kink, this book is the ticket. Watch Me has an intriguing story line which leads to some unexpected outcomes. I give it five quills.
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About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
Welcome to Writing to be Read and the WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour, where we’re launching the release of the second edition of Shadow Blade, the fantasy adventure/romance by author Chris Barili. Shadow Blade is now Book 2 in the Denari Lai series by Chris Barili. WordCrafter Press is also releasing Book 1 of the series for the very first time, but the cool thing is, if you purchase the WordCrafter Press edition of Shadow Blade, you can also get the first book absolutely free.
Give Away
If you follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop to let us know you were there or share your thoughts about the book, you can win a free copy of Shadow Blade. We’re giving away three digital copies of the book, and one lucky winner will receive a print copy of the book signed by author Chris Barili. Each stop you comment on earns you an entry into a random drawing, and the winners will be announced on Writing to be Read in the “WordCrafter News” post on July 27.
And now that I’ve told you a little about the tour, let me tell you about this dangerous and exciting adventure into the Denari Lai universe.
About Shadow Blade
Ashai Larish is an assassin from the brutal Denari Lai order. Religious zealots, Denari Lai are kept loyal through an addiction to the same magic that makes them unstoppable. They have become the primary weapon for the nation of Nishi’iti, and in a hundred years, they have never failed.
Until now. Ashai must kill Pushtani King Abadas Damar and his daughter/heir, Makari. He infiltrates the king’s inner circle, putting him in the perfect place to strike, with only Captain Bauti of the Royal Guard at all suspicious of Ashai’s intent.
Except Ashai has fallen for Makari and cannot complete the hit. When a second Denari Lai kills the King, Ashai finds himself fighting for Makari’s life instead of taking it. To make matters worse, the order cuts him off from his magic, leaving him weakened and in withdrawal.
Meanwhile, far north in the Pushtani mines that border Nishi’iti, a slave named Pachat learns that his love, a hand slave to Makari, died at the hands of a Denari Lai assassin. His grief ignites a slave rebellion, and Pachat becomes the unwilling leader of the revolt. Urged on by Nishi’iti guerrillas, the rebellion sweeps across the borderlands, threatening to erupt into all-out war. Yet all Pachat wants is to avenge his beloved’s death by killing the assassin, so he walks away from the rebellion to seek when it needs him most.
As Pachat makes off for the capital of Dar Tallus, Ashai is forced to rely on that city’s organized crime gang to hide from the second assassin, and from Bauti’s guards. Despite his best efforts to hide it, Makari discovers Ashai’s true identity, and suddenly, he finds himself without her love, without his faith, and without the Denari Lai. At rock bottom, he doubts he can do anything but cause more damage.
Can Ashai kill the second assassin and win back Makari’s love? Will Pachat gain the revenge he so lustily seeks?
Currently oppressed by his day job, Chris has set sights on retiring after 42 years in the Intelligence Community and writing full-time. Chris Barili writes all kinds of stories, and has published fantasy, science fiction, horror, western, paranormal romance, and most recently crime, with a noir story in the inaugural print edition of Toe Six Magazine. He is author of the self-published, weird western Hell’s Butcher series, and also writes under the pen names B.T. Clearwater (Supernatural romance) and T.C. Barlow (western). Chris is a retired intelligence officer, having served over 45 years between active duty, contractor, and government employee roles. He lives in Colorado with his wife.
That wraps up today’s stop on the WordCrafter Shadow Blade Book Blog Tour. To learn more about the book, the Denari Lai series, or about author Chris Barili, just follow the tour via the links in the Tour Schedule above. Just keep in mind that each link will not be active until the attached stop goes live, so you can’t get sneak previews of upcoming stops. I do hope you’ll join us. We’ve got an interview with the author and a live event where you can chat with the author,, excerpt readings, and the inspiration for this tale coming up later in the week. And don’t forget, the author is giving away three digital copies and one signed print copy of Shadow Blade, and all you need to do is comment to enter. The more stops you visit, the more entries you can get.
Join us tomorrow on Robbie’s Inspiration. We’ll have a guest post where author Chris Barili shares his thoughts on the inspiration for the story and the series.
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.
Most fiction writers realize Character & Conflict remain essential elements in writing fiction. And those concepts can work to make a poem more engaging, too. Thus, this month’s practice offers hints for creating characters—and conflict, which remain essential in moving fiction along.
First,create a mind map for at least the main characters in your novel, short story, or poem. How?
Using the point-of-view for each character, fill in the “answers” to these questions:
1. I hate . . .
2. I love . . .
3. I need . . .
4. I fear . . .
5. I am drawn to . . .
6, I get shivers from . . .
Once you’ve set up this “map,” for you main character(s), think about each character’s flaws. For example, what might urge a character to make a choice opposite from what he or she would normally do? (Remember, each character is a hero or heroine in his or her own mind.)
Consider, too, how seasons and landscapes may serve as characters that motivate the human characters. Remember: TENSION (or CONFLICT) is ESSENTIAL to move fiction along. Thus, a character must WANT something at a story’s onset—and some person, place, or situation, must block him or her from getting it. Thus, the character must try a different ploy.
Dialogue, too, can create conflict as strong as action can. (In fact, many successful stories create as much—or even more—conflict with words as with action.
Again, much of this can work in poems, especially when the poet uses an archetype for either the persona—or a character the persona loves, hates, fears, is drawn to, or all of the preceding situations.
Have fun with this—and see if it helps move a story, chapter, or poem along. Remember: writing must HOOK the reader with a character in conflict with others, a situation, or him or herself.
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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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 “Lindsey’s Writing Practice” is 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.
Hello to all budding—and extremely experienced—writers out there in Cyberworld. In my three-plus decades of teaching literature and writing (all levels/all sorts), I’ve used the following exercise at the onset of each semester for nearly all writing classes—from beginners to published writers, and it’s even been a hit at faculty conferences where writing teachers have enjoyed performing the exercise—then later sharing it with students. Thus, have fun. (I had so much fun with it, I set up a second set of vague sentences to be revised with concrete diction (by writing at least two sensual descriptions in each one). I’ll share that one sometime in the future. But for now, Enjoy!
Getting down to the Concrete
(Concrete Diction Exercise 1)
Vagueness and generalities are the writer’s worst enemies. Thus, as writers, we must become “camcorders” to recreate visual, auditory, and tactile descriptions. Such descriptions are “concrete details.” Please rewrite each of the following sentences by using as many concrete details as possible. Use sensory descriptions including details. Doing this will cause the reader to see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what you have recounted.
Here are hints about the first one:
She was happy because of the good grade on her exam. Note the vague (or equivocating) language with “happy” and “good.” I mean, really—did she smile quietly at a desk or jump up and down or turn cartwheels down the hallway? And what was the grade? What sort of exam?
The people in line for registration looked bored and tired.
The foreman was obviously upset.
The appliance made a funny noise.
The room was an incredible mess when she finished her project.
The attendant’s coat was worn and dirty.
The old car was badly battered.
The secretary looked sick.
The spectators were very excited after the winning touchdown.
The players on the losing team were very discouraged when they came from the locker room.
It can be fun to see what others came up with, as no one will come up with the same sentence as someone else. How concrete can you be? Feel free to share your results in the comments.
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About Lindsey Martin-Bowen
On Halloween 2023, redbat books released Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s 7th poetry collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison. Her 4th 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 InsideVirgil’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) one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. It was nominated for a Pen Award.
Her poems have run in numerous lit mags, including New Letters,I-70 Review, Thorny Locust, Coal City Review, Silver Birch Press, Flint Hills Review, The Same, PhantomDrift,Porter Gulch Review, RockhurstReview, 21 anthologies. She taught lit & writing at UMKC & MCC 25 years, and taught law for Blue Mountain College in Pendleton, Oregon. She holds an MA from the U of Mo. and a JD degree from the UMKC Law School. Previously, she was reporter for The Louisville Times and The SUN Newspapers, an associate editor for Modern Jeweler Magazine and the editor for The National Paralegal Reporter.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Lindsey’s Writing Practice” with Lindsey Martin-Bowen is sponsored by The Women in the West Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.
A new year is upon us. Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Do you want to publish a book: write, edit, and research? Are you fascinated by technology in the arts?
Welcome to 2025, the year technology becomes important as a means of creation, experience of freedom and oppression, simultaneously. Fret not, Undawntech will help creators navigate this exciting and frightening journey.
Did you know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will affect you in each step of creation? Many writers research the content of their plot lines before embarking on the writing process. AI can help writers with their source material like many people already use ChatGPT, GROK, and others. These programs also fact-check. As editing software, writers can clean up their writing and create better, more understandable products with the use of AI. AI is like having a beta reader at your disposal. As stories are written, writers can employ AI to give them word and phrase prompts, as well as maintain verb tenses and continuity within a work. More writers are opting for the independent publishing route these days. Formatting and distributing a manuscript with AI assistance, indie creators are able to bypass stuffy publishing houses for a direct line to their audience.
However, creators of all types, including writers, need to weigh the advantages with the disadvantages of using AI. Yes, Artificial Intelligence helps writers in many awesome ways: creating content, editing for clarity, and designing book covers. What AI does not give writers are original plots and characters, authentic voices, real information over “fact-checking” mis-/dis- information, and other errors. Some creators have already stepped into the public arena by rejecting AI meddling in their content while others embrace it.
As an artist, editor, musician, producer/publisher, filmmaker, and writer, Artificial Intelligence has opened up the expanse of creativity and imagination for me. I design book cover art with and without the use of AI (Undawnted/Author Central). I use spell check and grammatical software to correct errors in my typing/writings. With my musical background in orchestra, band, chorus/singing, lyrics, poetry, and arrangement, this new technology has given me the ability to write my own songs (Quantum Time), as soundtrack singles and albums for my written work (Undawnted/Yuletide Celebration). AI allows me to publish my content as an Indie writer and publisher. Shorts, poetry slams, and music videos are assisted by the use of AI, including uploading to video sites (Undawnted on YouTube). Writing, no matter the author, can be uplifted by the use of technology.
Conversely, if you do not know who you are, what your authoritative/authentic voice is, or what you believe in, then the use of technology will put your deficits on display, instead of hiding them. Terrible writers will use AI to become mediocre writers. Just as vivid and imaginative visions can become cookie-cutter dribble with the use of AI. The problem with making writing easier with technology is that writers become complacent, allowing AI to do their thinking and creating for them. To combat the challenges of technology, creators must be a seasoned expert in their craft. The better creators know themselves; the better creators can use technology to improve their art, music, filmmaking, and writing.
Just like tech companies, multinational corporations and governments will promote Term of Service vigilante justice, or lawfare, over protecting basic human rights of freedom of speech and expression. In this brave new world, humanity must stay vigilant and refuse to succumb to the radical agenda of the Dark Enlightenment. It is a new philosophy by tech oligarchs and their puppet politicians to usurp our nations’ Constitutions and insert corporate autocracy in the wake of power vacuums left by weak leadership.
2025 is the start of a new era in technology and the human race. If you are a creator of any type, technology will test you in ways you haven’t quite imagined yet. If it is maintaining your voice/integrity, rejecting corporate vigilantism (using AI Terms of Service enforcement through censorship (e.g., lawfare) governance, etc. on social media), or competing with artistry sanitized of voice and wisdom, the best and worst of Artificial Intelligence is yet to come.
Are you ready to take a joyride with me?
–~o0o~—
DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology. Her lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lecture invitations. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. As Editor-in-Chief of her local newspaper for a decade, the Villa de Paz Gazette, Ms. Mullan earned accolades for her investigative journalism, in depth research, dot-connecting articles, and fact-based op-eds, which effected national politics, saved industries, and thus lives. 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. Currently, Ms. Mullan’s artistic renditions are seen on book covers, blog sites, video presentations, and various merchandise. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate the creative arts.
As a writer, DL Mullan loves to stretch her imagination and the elasticity of genres. She writes complex multi-genre stories in digestible and entertaining forms, be it poetry, short fiction, or novels. Her science, history, mythology, and paranormal research backgrounds are woven into her writings, especially in Undawnted’s Legacy Universe. Ms. Mullan’s creative endeavors are available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is also an award-winning poet and is now using her lyrical talents creating music.
Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at www.undawnted.com.
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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Rock Star & The Outlaw and WordCrafter Press.
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.
Only six months. But six tumultuous months. Months that would have a profound and lasting effect on Alexia Jewel.
A multi-talented musical prodigy, Alexia’s scholarship to London’s prestigious Royal College of Music at the age of 15 came with controversy and difficulty. Girls at that time weren’t welcome in the professional ranks of classical music, let alone one with her sights set on becoming a conductor. But as she approaches her 50th birthday all that has changed. She has overcome all obstacles to become one of the world’s foremost classical music conductors, celebrated for her artistry and talent. Lured back to London from her life in Munich where she is chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Munich Opera House, Alexia is preparing to conduct a series of concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra to mark her birthday. While in London she begins to put her late parents’ estate into order and discovers an antique diamond ring that she learns had belonged to her great-grandmother. Agreeing to appear on the BBC’s Who do you think you are programme Alexia gives them the double mystery of her barely-known great-grandmother and the ring to investigate.
Four men, all who desire her, enter her life in these six months. As does a stalker, who threatens her safety, serenity and life.
My Review of Unbowed
I received a digital copy of Unbowed, by M.G. da Mota to review through Sandra’s Book Club. All opinions stated here are my own.
This book had a slow start, with a lot of backstory and character introductions, and no real action until well into the book. A single figure in the shadows is intended to hold reader interest for too long before the mystery finally begins to unravel. While this story has the potential to be a good mystery, the author takes so long getting into it, that I almost put the book down.
A mystery unfolds as the facts are uncovered about Alexia’s diamond and her great-grandmother’s life, all while a stalker lurks in the shadows. Four different men proclaim their love and need for her, and any one could be the dark man who is terrorizing her. But the mystery of the diamond takes precedence, the only obstacles in the way are the tracks that have been covered by time. But the evidence is all there, conveniently left for those who take time and effort to investigate, while the stalker makes random appearances and doesn’t feel as threatening as it should.
While all the pieces are there, the ones that should count don’t seem to have enough weight to carry the story. I give Unbowed 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.
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This post is sponsored by WordCrafter Press with a reminder that all WordCrafter Press books are currently 50% off in the SmashWords End of Year Ebook Sale, only in the SmashWords store: https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/
The first three books in the My Backyard Friends kid’s book series are available for pre-order in digital format now!
Don’t miss these fantastic new kid’s books inspired by the birds and animals which visit me at my mountain home, and brought to life in the vivid illustrations of Robbie Cheadle.
Meet Heather Hummingbird
Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend is a picture book with a message of friendship and cooperation. (Ages 3-5)
Heather Hummingbird and Ethan Eagle are two unlikely friends who discover that it is good to accept help from others and that is what friends are for.
Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans is a picture book with a moral message from a young turtle’s perspective. (Ages 3-5)
Meet Timothy Turtle, who has a sweet tooth. He eats too many jelly beans and finds himself in a pickle. His friends Katy Cat and Betsy Beaver try to help, and Timothy learns that you can get too much of a good thing.
Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home is a story of survival from a young bird’s perspective. (Ages 6-8)
Charlie Chickadee is happy with his family in their cozy nest. But whem the violet-green swallows thake the nest for their own, Charlie finds himself alone, seperated from his parents and on his own to face the dangers of the forest. His new friend Nicholas Nuthatch shows him the ropes and teaches him about the other birds and the woman who puts out food each day, and by a stroke of luck, Charlie discovers the perfect spot and builds a new nest that he can be proud of.
The audio book is AI narrated, but don’t let that deter you without giving it a chance. The female voiced narration is actually pretty good. And there’s a button where you can listen to a sample on the book’s page at Apple Books, so you can check it out before you buy. Above is the direct link, but it’s also listed on the book’s Books2Read page with all the other distributors where it’s available, so you can get it in digital or print, if you prefer.
Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
