Treasuring Poetry – An introduction to the poetry of Lindsey Martin-Bowen and a review
Posted: March 18, 2026 Filed under: Book Review, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: #poetry, #RobbieCheadle, #TreasuringPoetry, Book Review, Interview, Lindsey Martin-Bowen, Treasuring Poetry, Where Water Meets the Rock, Writing to be Read 25 Comments
Today, I am delighted to host talented poet Lindsey Martin-Bowen as my March Treasuring Poetry guest. Lindsey is a fellow contributor to Writing to be Read and you can read her latest post here: https://writingtoberead.com/2026/03/04/lindseys-writing-practice-out-of-this-world-writing-exercise/
Interview with Lindsey Martin-Bowen
My poetry journey: How I became a poet
I must admit as a child, I wrote more stories than poetry. And the poems I wrote then were sentimental and trite. (During grade school (from third or fourth through sixth grade), I compiled annual Christmas books containing “Christmas” stories I wrote—but each year, the manuscript also included a Christmas poem (or one about winter) and a Christmas tale from Readers Digest (which influenced me to compose Christmas books). I also illustrated the books with colored pencils the first year and I gradually moved to water color illustrations (which I sometimes marked with felt-tip pens). My sixth-grade teacher (Mrs. Ferguson) introduced us to Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg, whom I liked, but I liked Emily Dickson the best when I attended elementary school—and I still consider her one of my favorites today. (Unfortunately, at the time, I was too naive to pickup on her style (and skills).
Being the nerd I was in high school, I opted to take a journalism classl. There, for the Christmas issue (of our high-school newspaper), I wrote a humorous Christmas poem from the staff, which I illustrated with an ink sketch of Santa , his gift-filled sleigh (which included B/W head-shot photos of each new-staff member )
and eight reindeer flying through skies above my sketches of Victorian two-stories. (Even then, I preferred old homes to the contemporary ranch styles where most my classmates and I lived.)
Also in high school, I continued writing in my diary, which I used to create short stories (from events in that diary). And I submitted those stories in English classes when a teacher requested them. But my poems were overly sentimental and personal. And basically about teen angst. (For example, one was entitled “Alone.”)
In fact, during my senior year in high school, my English composition teacher enjoyed my short stories and offered encouraging comments. I wouldn’t have shared my poetry, but she’d asked to see it. So I submitted the dreary poems I’d written (mainly centering on unrequited love). She read them and returned them without comment. I mean—absolutely NO comments. No encouragement. So I figured I was no better poet than I’d been a violinist. Sigh.
Thus, my true poetry journey did not take flight until my sophomore year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, when fellow student Robert (“Bob”) Haynes and I became close friends. Even then, he was an excellent poet—and he boosted me along the journey to poet-hood. He shared not only his poems, but pointed out many contemporary experts who’d been gaining attention in the early 1970s, , such as W.S. Merwin, Galway Kinnell (both born the same year as my father: 1927), Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Alan Ginsburg, popular in the late 1960s.-and who gave a reading at UMKC. Bob also introduced me to surrealists Kenneth Patchen and Kenneth Koch, who inspired my frenzies, (which I didn’t write until fifty years later.) I discovered James Tate, who I’d include as a “surrealist,”too. Shortly thereafter I enrolled in the university’s poetry writing classes taught by professors Dan Jaffe and David Ray, who introduced me to an array of well-known contemporary poets, including Diane Wakoski (whom Dan Jaffe brought to UMKC to give a reading), James Dickey, Etheridge Knight, Denise Levertov, John Berryman, David Ignatow, Randall Jarrell, William Stafford, Robert Lowell, Thomas Merton, Later, I also started reading Adrienne Rich, Denise Low, and Mary Oliver.
And, I did improve—enough that my senior year, Dan Jaffe asked me to read a few of my poems at a poetry reading on the UMKC campus for the public. He also published two of my poems in an anthology he compiled, one that included many professional poets.
Favorite poem by another poet
O my goodness—I’ve read so many poets and poems, this one is a tough question. Along with the previous set of poets I mentioned, I’ve always admired Emily Dickinson’s style and work, along with William Butler Yeats (especially his “The Second Coming.” And T.S. Eliot: His “Wasteland” is remarkable, but far too long to include here. And the sounds in that poem make it come alive so much that it’s best to listen to a recording of it. Even his “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a bit long to include. Thus, I’ll share Yeates’s “The Second Coming,” which not only inspired one of my poems that I’ll share later, but also remains relevant to our current world situation (a century later).
The Second Coming
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi*
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast , its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?
1920-1921
Favorite style of poetry and why
Although I love my surreal frenzies, I also like other forms of poetry, including sonnets, when they come “naturally.” (The two times I’d written sonnets but didn’t realize it until I re-examined them, tweaked them here and there, and voila! I’d written two sonnets without trying—the best for me). Those two appeared n my second published poetry book (the first full collection) Standing on the Edge of the World (Washburn University/Woodley Press 2008).
I’ve also fallen in love with the Japanese tanka form. (Haiku doesn’t allow enough syllables for my poems. 😉 ) Thus, I created a section of tankas in my last collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison (redbat books 2023). More about that later.
Moreover, I generally write in “free verse” with sounds and rhythms and internal rhymes (not at the end of a line), that flow so smoothly, the rhyme doesn’t “hiccup” or stop the reader. Why is this usually my favorite form? As I’ve mentioned in a number of my bios, “poetry is my way of singing.” Thus, in most poems I write, I strive to use sound so they have somewhat the same effect that a song does.
Favourite poem of my own
O so many poems—so little time. I cannot name one favorite poem. But three of them come to mind. First, here’s my response to “The Second Coming,” which I wrote in response to the violence occuring in Ferguson, Missouri:
Re-reading “The Second Coming’ by W.B.Yeats
after Ferguson, Missouri\
No one listens anymore. No one works
in tandem. No horses pull this cart.
Now trembling, it falls apart.
The center hub’s blown, exploded.
Rioting in city squares—rioting along beaches.
Is this anarchy—or something more?
The blood of victims rushes onto shores.
Innocents no more, their lungs fill
till they can’t speak—can’t breathe.
Their passions now sneseles, uneasy—
bringing the strange revelation:
the Second coming lies on the horizon.
It’s the day, it’s the day—
O yes, it’s the holy day—
it’s the Day of the Dead.
A wide-winged beast rises above—
eyes black and gleaming, onyx
glistening through bone.
O Momma, Momma,
come back, come back
again. The world’s too cold.
No lion-bodied beast alouches
toward Bethlehem. It’s a creature
with a jackal’s head, a jackal’s soul.
Where Water Meets the Rock, p. 30 (39 WEST PRESS 2017)
Two other poems I must also count as favorites, because they seemed to write themselves.
The words came to me without me planning them. It was if they suddenly appeared in my brain, and I had to scramble to pen them onto paper before they evaporated.
The first, I wrote during the months that revealed my father was not to stay much longer on this earth. (This was when the frenzies started coming to me. Many of the frenzies are absurd—but comical. This one’s more serious. (And I’ve included it in three of my books: It must be a favorite.)
It’s Never Like the Movies—
for my father
this dying, no background chords
rising to a crescendo,
no adagio of strings.
You watch these ants instead,
trickle across peonies
They disappear. And you
can’t keep your grip
on that granite wall of reason
but slip downstream
into some wild current
till you run aground .
There, you search
for the deserted place, a Holy Land,
where Ekijah met God.
Even if you’re hiking
the Appalachian Trail, up
Standing Indian Mountain,
you watch vultures circle
in and out of clouds festering
into some murky, yellow soup.
And when lightning hits,
Father Davis says Hail Marys—
and there, on the horizon,
you see wovoka whirl
in his dance of ghosts.
Standing on the Edge of the World, p. 85 (Washburn U/Woodley Press, 2008)
Inside Virgil’s Garage, p.52 (Chatterhouse Press, 2013)
The Book of Frenzies, p. 76 (Pierian Springs Press, 2022)
And “From the Emerald City to the Mountain of Quaff” is special to me because it came to me in pieces—often as I was awaking from sleep. At the time, it seemed to be one of the most imaginative poems I’ve written. Perhaps that’s why one of my former poetry professors, David Ray selected it to run in an anthology he assembled (Whirleybird Anthology of Kansas
City Poets, 2012).
From the Emerald City
to the Mountain of Quaff
(or This Must Be Kansas)
Go out and get that long face lost, you say,
Bury me in Jerusalem, I reply.
I want to be one of the first to rise,
like yeast on a rock in the desert,
among iron stones, hills filled with brass,
in a land of olive oil and honey—
wrapped in silver and gold,
where water eats fire
and fire drowns water, and the angel
of the presence outlasts them both.
Or, if poetry must be delirious and weird,
or even a prophetic frenzy,
then bury me in absurdia,
where the lemons bloom.
Inside Virgil’s Garage, p. 7 (Chatter House Press 2008)
Kansas City Voices (October 2007)
Whirlybird Anthology of Kansas City Poets, Whirlybird Press (2012).
The BOOK of FRENZIES, p. 66 (Pierian Springs Press 2022)
About CASHING CHECKS with JIM MORRISON
This book has a strange history. Although it resulted in being a sequel to CROSSING KANSAS with JIM MORRISON (Paladin Contemporaries 2016), it wasn’t exactly planned. I wrote the first collection in about six months. It was odd, too, because it took two years for me to write and revise the book’s initial poem entitled “Crossing Kansas with Jim Morrison, which, of course, became the book title. Yet—once that poem came together, I wrote the rest of the book within six months and entered it into the 2015-2016 QuillsEdge Chapbook Contest, Although it didn’t win, it was a finalist. Concurrently, Thorny Locust literary magazine ran three poems from the collection, and Amethyst Arsenic, another lit mag, took one more.
And the Jim Morrison poems kept coming to me. So I added them and others that fit into the collection, to make a complete book, which Paladin Contemporaries published that summer. On Amazon, the book made it to number 23 or so on the top 100 Poetry Books by Women list—and stayed there most of the following year. (Inside Virgil’s Garage was on that same list concurrently, but it didn’t rise as high Crossing Kansas w/JM did.
About two years later after Where Water Meets the Rock was published, I put together CASHING CHECKS, designed around the themesof actual money becoming obsolete. (Checks, along with credit cards, debit cards, and other contemporary methods of payment don’t include actual money, correct? It money going the way of the manual—or even electric typewriter?) That collection, of course, included other sectons centering around the tanka form and the frenzies. (At present three of my collectons include a section of “frenzies,” and of course, The BOOK of FRENZIES contains solely frenzies, some less zany than others).
In short, after accruing more Jim Morrison poems—I mean, Jim just wouldn’t hush, but kept popping words into my brain—I considered merging the new Jim Morrison poems with the CASHING CHECKS book.
When I submitted both versions to redbat books, both the publisher and her editor preferred the collection containing Jim Morrison. So that’s where we went with it.
What’s next?
What’s next? I’m now working on a manuscript, named for a 10-stanza poem (which can be set in five pages or in in ten, whichever works best) that’s appeared in three publications. I’ve been adding to it and hope to complete a full collection within a few months. The DARK HORSE WAITS in BOULDER, my fourth novel (third on Amazon) is scheduled to be released this spring—so that will precede the poetry book release. At present, I have one more poetry collection I’ve started but don’t see it going anywhere for a year or more. That one may be my last poetry collection, too. (Three more novels and one short story collections are ahead of that poetry collection.) And then, what may be my last novel—now in a VERY ROUGH state-of-being—just may allow the likely last poetry collection to supercede it .But who knows? Rock star archetype Jim Morrison may hop into one or the other manuscript and upset the entire scene.
My review of Where Water Meets the Rock
I enjoy reading poetry collections that include a common thread that links all the poems together. The common thread for this collection is loss and recuperation. This theme is relatable to everyone as we all suffer loss in various forms throughout our lives and we are forced to recuperate whether we want to or not.
The collection is divided into three sections: Erosion which explores the slow build up to loss; Frenzies which seeks to unravel the immediate chaos and emotion that follows loss; and On the Shore which delves into the slow path to acceptance and continuation.
The poems are unique and make use of various techniques to either exaggerate or bring out the humorous side of deep emotion and complex thought patterns relating to loss.
A poem that resonated strongly with me in Erosion is titled Psyche in the Suburbs. For me, this poem exposed the conflicting emotions of love, resentment, and self sacrifice that arise when caregiving for aging relatives.
This is the final stanza in this poem:
“Now, lavender scents fill the air,
sending me to the Aegean Sea.
When I step onto the asphalt,
I remember the bottled water.
I must go back. Without it,
the world will know her face
grows old. And she’ll blame me.”
Another poem in this section I especially related to is entitled My Bones are Glass. I have often thought this same thing when dealing with the elderly and aging. The poet includes an apology to Mark Strand, one of my favourite poets, so the style also worked very well for me.
Section 2: Frenzies, includes a lot of humour relating to people’s eccentricities and wants in their final moments. The poems also touch on the need for the observers to fulfil every desire and make the passing easier – perhaps to alleviate the guilt of survival. I enjoyed the poems although humour in poetry is not my personal favourite style. This section lifts the tension in death and loss and will appeal to most readers.
Section 3: On the Shore was very compelling for me. It explored inevitable change and endings coupled with new beginnings of a different sort. I reminded me that we move from one phase to another in our lives without even realising it until we look back and the end and beginning stand out in stark reality. The poem I enjoyed the most in this section was Two Mothers with Kids in Winchell’s. Perhaps because my children are now adults and have both finished school so I can understand and appreciate this poem through the lens of a soon to be empty nester.
This is one stanza in the poem that I strongly related to:
“The Winchell’s mothers nod, talk in buzzing hums,
eye their toddlers, who hop, slide on linoleum.
The kids scratch glass, balance on window ledges.
The pregnant one smooths seersucker. “Guys,” she says,
“They don’t like that here. Come, be quiet, Sit down.”
Like seatbelts, her words rein them in. I frown,
wonder how she renders her voice firm but not loud.”
As a mother who always worked, this stanza fills me with thoughts about what might have been had my own path taken me along a different path. What kind of mother would I have been had I not always been struggling to balance work and home demands. A writer who can introduce such reflections has to be great.
I highly recommend this compelling collection.
Where Water Meets the Rock is available from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Water-Meets-Lindsey-Martin-Bowen/dp/1946358053
Lindsey Martin-Bowens Amazon Author page is here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lindsey-Martin-Bowen/author/B00JA31KW0
About Lindsey Martin-Bowen
Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison has just been released this fall (2023) by redbat books (a La Grande, Oregon publisher) as part of its Pacific Northwest Writers series. She serves as a Literary Consultant for Pierian Springs Press, which published The BOOK of FRENZIES in April 2022 (hardback copy in December 2022–BEFORE she became its Literary Consultant). She has taught Criminal Law and Procedure (online) at Blue Mountain Community College, Pendleton, Oregon since January 2019. Until August 2018, she taught writing, literature, and Criminal Law at MCC-Longview and taught literature and writing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City 18 years.
A Pulitzer-Prize nominee, her fourth full-length poetry collection, WHERE WATER MEETS THE ROCK (39 West Press 2017) contains “Vegetable Linguistics,” which received an Honorable Mention in the Non-rhyming Poetry category of Writers Digest’s 85th Annual Writing Competition (2016). Her third collection, CROSSING KANSAS with Jim Morrison, won the “It Looks Like a Million” Award for the 2017 Kansas Authors Club competition. The book is an expansion of her chapbook named a finalist in the 2015-2016 QuillsEdge Press Chapbook Contest. “Bonsai Tree Gone Awry” from INSIDE VIRGIL’S GARAGE (Chatter House Press 2013) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This collection was also runner-up in the 2015 Kansas Authors Club Nelson Poetry Book Award. Woodley Press (Washburn University) published her first full-length collection, STANDING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, which McClatchy newspapers named one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. Paladin Contemporaries released her novels RAPTURE REDUX (2014), HAMBURGER HAVEN (2009) and CICADA GROVE (1992). Her work has appeared in NEW LETTERS, I-70 REVIEW, THORNY LOCUST, FLINT HILLS REVIEW, PORTER GULCH REVIEW, SILVER BIRCH PRESS, COAL CITY REVIEW, PHANTOM DRIFT, TITTYNOPE ZINE, BARE ROOT REVIEW, , AMETHYST ARSENIC, THE SAME, THE ENIGMATIST, ROCKHURST REVIEW, BLACK BEAR REVIEW, LITTLE BALKINS REVIEW, KANSAS CITY VOICES, LIP SERVICE, 21 anthologies, and others.
With Dennis Etzel, Jr., she edited GIMME YOUR LUNCH MONEY: Heartland Poets Speak out against Bullies (Paladin Contemporaries 2016). She holds an MA in English (creative writing emphasis) and a Juris Doctor degree.
Before focusing upon teaching and writing poetry and fiction, she served as a full-time journalist and magazine editor for THE LOUISVILLE TIMES, the Johnson County SUN, MODERN JEWELER Magazine, and THE NATIONAL PARALEGAL REPORTER. She also worked as a legal editor for the Office of Hearings and Appeals (USDI) in Washington, DC.
She has two brilliant children and contends with super Chihuahuas Chia Maria La Rue and Chico the Man, her canine companions. And often, she spars verbally with poet Carl Rhoden.
About Robbie Cheadle
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/
________________________
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.
__________________________
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
Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures
Share this:
Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author, Laura Lyndhurst, and a review
Posted: February 18, 2026 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: #RobbieCheadle, #TreasuringPoetry, Book Review, Interview, Laura Lyndhurst, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Social Climbing and Other Poems, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read 31 CommentsHi everyone, today I’m thrilled to introduce you to Laura Lyndhurst. Laura is an accomplished author and poet and is also a new member of Story Empire blog which is a great resource for writers. You can read Laura’s first Story Empire post here: https://storyempire.com/2026/02/10/sowing-the-seeds-of-a-story/
Welcome Laura!
Tell us a bit about yourself and your poetry journey. How did you come to be a poet?
I never intended to write poetry. At school it was my least-favourite of the three prose-poetry-drama disciplines, and I didn’t like many of the poems that we studied. It was the same at university, when I finally got there in my forties. I was obliged to study Romanticism for my first-year core module, and I hated it. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelly; I wasn’t keen on them, although I was okay with some of Keats’s work. In the second year I couldn’t help but study more poetry, and I didn’t mind John Donne at all.
As to my own work, it was when I joined a Facebook writing group that it started. The group leader decided to post a picture every day for the month of October, inviting the group members to write a few paragraphs of prose around them. I sat with the first picture, thought, wrote—and what came out was poetry. The leader and members liked it, and thereafter I challenged myself to write poem every day from the picture prompt. At the end of the months I decided to publish them in a book, to claim copyright on them as much as anything. I called it October Poems, after the month in which I wrote them, and three more little collections followed in the next year or two.
What is your favourite poem by another poet and why?
That’s difficult. I like poetry more now than I used to, and there are several poets whose work appeals. I tend to listen to Leonard Cohen’s songs more than I read his poems, but he does have a way with lyrics; I mean, ‘the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night’ is so great. Hardy’s ‘The Darkling Thrush’ is up there, along with ‘This Be The Verse’ by Phillip Larkin. ‘Pity me not because the light of day’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay and ‘Rubbish at Adultery’ by Sophie Hannah attract, from the serious and the not-so as well. Choice for today, however, has to be ‘Refugee Blues’ by W.H. Auden. It never gets old, unfortunately, and although it’s written around one specific ethnic refugee group it can be applied to the myriad groups in existence before and since it was written; and now, in the 2020s, it feels massively relevant. You can find it here: https://allpoetry.com/refugee-blues
What is your favourite style of poetry and why?
Another difficult question. I don’t have a favourite style as such. I’ll read many different poems, some I’ll like and some I won’t, but the style of writing doesn’t have much bearing on why I like them or not. I do have an author friend, Thomas Leverett, who writes extensively in haiku form, and I loved his E Pluribus Haiku, which feels like travelling around the USA in haiku form. It’s on the link below, if you’re interested.https://www.amazon.com/Pluribus-Haiku-Anthology-3487-ebook/dp/B08X2YRQB2
Which is your favourite of your own poems?
I love them all, some more than others, it has to be admitted. I’ll choose the last one I wrote, however, because it is the last one and about ‘the end’. It’s from Social Climbing and Other Poems, and inspired by Clive Thompson’s photo of the altar of a Greek Orthodox Church.
Due Process
Your case has been a lengthy one; eighty-four years it’s taken, to
observe your less-than-perfect deeds and gather evidence to
aid the prosecution. But now you’ll have your day in court and
the jury gathered here, the Twelve, will finally decide, for or
against, whether you stay righteous here or whether you go down.
You wish to conduct your own defence? No, really, that won’t do, you’ll
be given representation. One of these saintly suits here gathered,
yes, that’s right, the ones with haloed wigs, will intercede for you.
Sorry for the delay; we understand that it’s a real nerve-wracking time for
you, but we can’t begin until His Honour gets here to take His place there,
in the big chair. The witnesses are here for you, plus jury, twelve good men
and true, not to forget the female sex, the immaculate, to try to push
your sins aside and hide you ‘neath their garments of compassion.
But nothing can occur until the God-Father is here; He’s judge
and jury all in one, Divine Justice in person. So please don’t fret,
or maybe do, for He knows you as well as you, and maybe better.
This whole set-up is just for show, to satisfy the need to see the
wheels of justice set in motion; your sentence fixed already,
your judgement day is here.
And here Our Father approaches now.
The court will rise …
Tell us a bit about your book, Social Climbing and other poems – what is the inspiration for the collection?
At the time I was friends with a photographer, Clive Thompson, and one of his pictures inspired a poem – ‘So This is Christmas’, which I recently published on my blog. Clive then allowed me to put together a book of my poems written to the prompts of some of his pictures.
What’s next for Laura Lyndhurst in the world of writing?
No more poetry, I’m afraid; nothing planned, at any rate, but if something occurs then I’ll be putting it together. At present I’m editing my latest novel, a whodunnit of sorts; a new departure for me, sort-of, because although I like adding a bit of a mystery to some of my stories this will be the first time I’ve brought the police in to investigate. It’s more focussed on before the murder, the personalities involved and their potential motivations. After that I’ll see what else occurs to me.
Many thanks for interviewing me. I’ve enjoyed it very much.
My review of SOCIAL CLIMBING: and Other Poems
When I saw the cover of this collection, the shiny, red high heeled shoes against a white background, it reminded me of the movie, The Devil Wears Prada featuring Merril Streep and I was completely fascinated. I was not disappointed as this interesting collection of freestyle poems is a head on collision with an array of social situations, many of which are uncomfortable.
“The sit inside and watch the show, these Parisian fans of opera; but we,
lacking the means to buy the tickets for the red-plush, well-upholstered
seats and ornate murals, gilt-decked swirls and whirls of rococo decor,
prefer to take our entertainment in quite another way. Out here in the street”
from Street Theatre
Laura slices to the heart of human emotions and frustrations and these poetic expressions resonated with me. One poem I particularly delighted over is “I don’t know much about art but I know what I like”.
“So I’m breaking out of normalcy,
gone so very Modernisth,
this El Greco’s got his paintbox out
and given life a twist.”
Honestly, this poem made me laugh until I cried. Fantastic!
Each poem is introduced with a beautiful colour photograph by photographer, Clive Thompson.
Do yourself a favour, purchase this collection and allow Laura to put your life in perspective for you.
About Laura Lyndhurst
Laura Lyndhurst was born and grew up in North London, England, before marrying and travelling with her husband in the course of his career.
When settled back in the UK she became a mature student and gained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English and Literature before training and working as a teacher.
She started writing in the last few years in the peace and quiet of rural Lincolnshire, and published her debut novel, Fairytales Don’t Come True, in May 2020. This book forms the first of a trilogy, Criminal Conversation, of which the second is Degenerate, Regenerate and All That We Are Heir To the third. Innocent, Guilty, the first of another trilogy, continues the story told in these three books and leads on to The Future of Our House, which is followed by Uphill, Downhill, Over, Out as the sixth and final book to end the series. An Honourable Institution was published as a stand-alone novel in January 2025, as was The Guilty Party in September 2025.
Laura also developed a taste for psychological suspense, which led to the writing and publication of You Know What You Did, to which What Else Did You Do? is the sequel.
Laura has also published four small books of poems, October Poems, Thanksgiving Poems and Prose Pieces, Poet-Pourri and Social Climbing and Other Poems.
Find Laura Lyndhurst
Website: https://booksthatmakeyouthink2.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.lyndhurst (personal profile)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauralyndhurstauthor/ (author profile)
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Laura-Lyndhurst/author/B088QFJJ3Q
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20336562.Laura_Lyndhurst
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyndhurstlauraauthor/
Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/lyndhurstlaura/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alectrona47
About Robbie Cheadle
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/
________________________
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.
__________________________
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
Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures
Share this:
Chatting with New Blood: Author Thomas M. Jacobson
Posted: January 19, 2026 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Chatting with New Blood, Interview, Memoir, Nonfiction, Review | Tags: Book Review, Chatting with New Blood, Interview, Kaye Lynne Booth, Memoir, Thomas M. Jacobson, Underdog: Against All Odds, Writing to be Read 12 Comments
My guest today is a holocaust survivor, the youngest surviving passenger on the MS St. Louis, who grew up to be a successful civil rights attorney, representing civil rights activists in Milwaukee in the 1960s through the end of the twentieth century. and he was the attorney who sued and obtained half a million dollars for the families of the victims of the serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. He seems to find ways to think outside the box and make change happen, even in stagnant times. He has written a fascinating book, Underdog: Against All Odds, which relates his story, including a thrilling deposition with Dahmer in the Columbia Correctional Institution.
About Author Thomas M. Jacobson
Thomas M. Jacobson, born May 8, 1938, in Bamberg, Germany, escaped Hitler, coming to America on the harrowing MS St. Louis voyage one year later. He graduated from UW Madison Law School in 1962, partnering with Lloyd Barbee to start the first integrated law firm in Milwaukee. Jacobson represented all the Milwaukee civil rights movers and shakers over the next thirty years, including Father James Groppi, the Daniel Bell family, comedian/human rights activist Dick Gregory, and Alderperson/Black Panther Commander Michael McGee. He successfully argued two cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, overturning Wisconsin’s Garnishment before Judgment and Change of Venue laws. In 1970, Jacobson was the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General. In the late 1970s, he served as the Chairperson of the Wisconsin Public Defender’s office. Jacobson represented eight families of the victims of the world’s worst serial murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer, suing and successfully obtaining one-half million dollars for eleven victim families.
My Interview with Thomas
Kaye: Would you begin by telling us about your author’s journey? What inspired you to write a book about your experience?
Tom: My path to becoming an author wasn’t planned, but grew out of a life shaped by story and consequence. I was a child refugee, one of the youngest surviving passengers on the MS St. Louis, turned away from safety, and that early experience of injustice stayed with me long after I built a career as a civil rights lawyer. For decades, I focused on advocacy rather than authorship. A memoir wasn’t on my agenda. But over time, I realized that the arc of my life, from refugee to advocate, was itself a narrative worth preserving.
I wrote Underdog, Against All Odds, The Fight For Justice, because stories can carry truth in a way arguments alone cannot. As fewer firsthand witnesses remain, personal testimony becomes essential. I hoped to show how lived experience can inform a lifelong commitment to justice, how writing can serve as another form of resistance, remembrance, and standing up for democracy.
Kaye: When approaching the writing of the book, what’s the best piece of writing advice you were given?
Tom: As a lawyer, I was trained to persuade and to control the narrative. Writing a memoir required me to unlearn some of that, to slow down, to sit with uncertainty, and to trust the reader. Once I stopped trying to justify every decision and focused instead on bearing witness, the story found its voice. That advice shaped the entire book. It reminded me that a memoir isn’t about winning an argument, it’s about offering an honest account and letting the truth do the work. The best advice was to write what you know to be true, even when it’s uncomfortable. Honesty, intellectual and moral, is what gives writing its power and authority.
Kaye: Underdog has three different themes, each representing a different time in your life. Can you talk a little bit about each one?
Tom: The opening of Underdog focuses on childhood survival. As a young refugee, life was defined by forces beyond my control: The Nazi government’s atrocities against my family and the indifference of people to this injustice. This theme centers on vulnerability, displacement, the moral consequences and decisions of others, and what it means to begin life with no voice and no leverage or power to resist.
The middle of the book marks the transition from survival to resistance. This period of my life is about education, self-definition, and the decision to fight back using intellect rather than force. Law becomes the weapon that replaces the power that I never had. This theme is learning how institutions work, how they fail, and how an underdog can still challenge them.
The final theme centers on adulthood and professional life, when I finally had standing in the courtroom and a measure of authority. This part of Underdog addresses moral responsibility, representing the powerless, pursuing justice even when it’s unpopular, and recognizing that winning a case is not the same as standing up for justice.
Together, these three themes trace a life that moves from powerlessness to agency to accountability, the journey of an underdog who never forgot what it was like to have nothing.
Kaye: What happened after immigrating to the U.S. that led you to be a civil rights attorney later in life?
Tom: After immigrating to the U.S., I learned that power could be challenged through law. As a child refugee, authority had meant danger or indifference. In America, I saw that, slowly and imperfectly, the law could be used to protect the vulnerable rather than crush them.
I was drawn to civil rights law because the Holocaust taught me to fight and to resist was the only path to justice and survival. I understood what it meant to be excluded, unheard, and disposable. Education gave me a voice, and the law gave me standing to confront injustice. Becoming a civil rights lawyer wasn’t a career choice so much as a continuation of survival, resilience, and insistence that the system live up to all that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed its citizens: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Kaye: Do you view Underdog as a way to raise awareness about civil rights?
Tom: While Underdog is not primarily an advocacy book, it inevitably raises awareness about civil rights. The story shows how rights are lost long before they are violated through indifference, silence, and the normalization of exclusion. By tracing my life from refugee to civil rights lawyer, the book invites readers to see civil rights not as abstract ideals, but as lived experiences with real human consequences. If Underdog encourages readers to recognize that injustice can be challenged through resistance, strength, and perseverance, then it has accomplished one of the messages I want to send.
Kaye: What are some of the major events represented in Underdog?
Tom: My family’s escape from Nazi Germany in 1939, Hitler’s ascension to power in 1933, the Nuremberg laws, Krystallnacht, my father’s incarceration in the Dachau concentration camp, the failed voyage of the MS St. Louis, the commencement of the 1960s civil rights struggle in Milwaukee with the murder of Daniel Bell, a young Black man shot in the back of the head by a white police officer, and the planting of a knife to falsely create a self-defense cover-up by the cities entire law enforcement agencies, the struggles for a fair housing bill in Milwaukee by Father James Groppi and Alderperson Vel Phillips, Lloyd Barbee’s lawsuit finding defacto segregation in Milwaukee public schools unconstitutional, my suing successfully the City of Milwaukee on behalf of the Daniel Bell family twenty years after his murder, my lawsuits finding Wisconsin’s Change of Venue and Garnishment before Judgement laws unconstitutional in the U.S. Supreme Court, and my deposition of the world’s worst serial murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer, leading to eleven victim families receiving a half million dollars.
Kaye: What is the most important message or messages which you hope to bring to your readers?
I want readers to understand that what happened to refugees like those on the St. Louis was not inevitable, but the result of a choice, indifference, silence, and lack of courage. The most important message is that justice is never automatic. Survival exists only when you are willing to fight. Your rights exist only when you are willing to defend them, especially for those in the minority, the unpopular, the powerless, and those easy to ignore and exploit. One life, fully lived, can push history. You don’t need power to matter. You need persistence, guts, and moral resolve.
Kaye: What advice would you give to another with a message to get across?
Tom: Know your audience. Lead with the key point. Use simple language and be clear and concise. Use empathy and perspective. Leave the reader with a call to action, telling them what you want them to do, think, or feel.
Kaye: What are some of the challenges that you faced in writing this book?
Tom: Writing Underdog was one of the most intense experiences of my life. Revisiting memories of trauma, injustice, and loss was emotionally exhausting, yet necessary to tell the story honestly. I faced the challenge of balancing truth with readability, ensuring the legal cases, civil rights battles, and personal experiences were accurate, yet engaging. Deciding what to include and what to leave out was difficult because every memory felt significant, and I had to confront my own perspective honestly—translating complex legal and historical events in a way that anyone could understand, while keeping the narrative cohesive required careful editing. Writing about real people and sensitive events also required courage, knowing it might draw scrutiny, but I believed the story was important enough to write.
About Underdog: Against All Odds, the Fight for Justice
UNDERDOG is the memoir of one of the youngest passengers on the MS St. Louis, escaping Nazi Germany to Holland and eventually settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Against All Odds, Fighting for Justice is the story of a human rights lawyer representing all the prominent civil rights leaders in Milwaukee during the 1960s and decades thereafter.
The world’s worst serial murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer, writing from Columbia Correctional Institution on February 4, 1994, had this to say about Thomas Jacobson’s efforts to make him pay for his gruesome slaughter of seventeen victims.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Underdog-Against-Odds-Fight-Justice/dp/B0DV45SFC2
My Review of Underdog: Against All Odds, the Fight for Justice
I received a print copy of Underdog: Against All Odds from author Thomas M. Jacobson in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
As the youngest passenger on the MS St. Louise as a fleeing refugee from the brutal Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler, it came as no surprise that Thomas M. Jacobson, grew up and took a profession where he defended the underdogs of the U.S. Defender of civil rights and protector of those scorned unfairly, he has made some huge strides in bringing equality and fairness in the U.S. from one of the most prejudiced cities in America. He managed to bring some semblance of compensation to the families of the victims of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer when many refused to see them as victims at all. His accomplishments are huge. His methods may be a bit unorthodox, but they produced successful results.
I have to admit that at times, reading about writs and filings, and court proceedings can be a bit dry, but the methods he used and the ways he managed to get around the obstacles adversaries set in front of him are fascinating, and I couldn’t wait to learn how he triumphed. Often, his triumphs were small and didn’t result in immediately noticeable changes, because change moves slowly, especially when pushed by the heavy wheels of justice. Scorned by many in his own life, as bigoted people opposed him for his stance on civil rights, justice and fairness and his efforts to undo biased laws to ensure the fair treatment of his clients in the extremely biased city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jacobson stopped at nothing in pursuit of a favorable verdict, making him a formidable force to feared by those who opposed him.
Although I don’t agree with all of Jacobson’s opinions, I do admire his determination and tenacity to fight for what he believes in. Underdog is a well written, gripping struggle for justice for the weak and disadvantaged. I give it four quills.
More About Thomas M. Jacobson
Underdog Press Clippings
State Bar of Wisconsin YouTube
Phoenix Holocaust Museum Interview
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uZd3Knv3rR_rSTU_EIhiWcwyJja8W359/view?usp=sharing
The Daily Cardinal
The Milwaukee Community Journal
The CapTimes
LA Holocaust Museum
https://www.holocaustmuseumla.org/event-details/underdog-against-all-odds-the-fight-for-justice
92.7 WMDX
https://civicmedia.us/shows/whats-going-on/2025/07/01/jeffrey-dahmer-attorney-thomas-jacobsons-role
Village Well Book Talk
https://villagewell.com/events/3642720251109
About Author 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.
___________________________________________
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.
__________________________________
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/
Share this:
Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour
Posted: January 16, 2026 Filed under: Author Interview, Blog Tour, Book Review, Books, Memoir, Nonfiction, Review, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Book trailer, Giveway, Interview, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafer Press, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 7 Comments
It’s the final stop on the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour.
Giveaway
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free digital copy of
The Ones Who Stayed With Me
By Nurse Sammy
One entry per stop.
Winners are chosen in a random drawing.
Sponsored by WordCrafter Press.
About The Ones Who Stayed With Me
Chronicles of the journey into the medical field as a young nurse and beyond, told with raw sensitivity and compassion. The Ones Who Stayed with Me offers small glimpses into the world of an L.P.N. put in difficult, often touching or humorous, situations—and Nurse Sammy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all. In these pages, Nurse Sammy tells her story and that of those she met along the way.
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed
Short Trailer
About Nurse Sammy
Nurse Sammy has spent her life walking the quiet edges of human suffering and human grace. Long before she ever wore scrubs, she learned how to read a room by the way someone breathed and how to steady a shaking hand. How to listen to the stories people only tell when they think it might be their last night to say them. Nursing wasn’t a career she chose; it was the language her heart was already speaking.
She has worked in places where life is beginning, and in places where life is ending; in rooms lit by hope, and in rooms where grief hangs heavy in the doorway. Rehab centers, memory care halls, pediatric units, assisted living, private homes, wherever someone needed gentleness, she went. She became the one who held vigil, the one who noticed the quiet details, the one who stayed.
Her personal life has carried its own ache, abuse survived, love lost, a marriage that bruised the soul, another built from healing, and a grief that still hums beneath her ribs. She writes from the tender, broken places, from the nights she rebuilt herself alone, from the mornings she rose anyway. Her words are shaped by both the wounds and the resilience that followed.
The Ones Who Stayed With Me is her first published work, a collection of truths disguised as stories, honoring the people who left fingerprints on her life in ways they never saw. Her writing is soft but unflinching, honest but merciful, threaded with the belief that even in darkness, someone is always holding a light.
Nurse Sammy lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she continues to care, to witness, to learn, and to turn the hardest parts of her journey into something that might help someone else breathe a little easier.
My Interview with Nurse Sammy
Kaye: The book tells a lot about your journey as a nurse. Would you tell us a little about your author journey? What inspired you to write The Ones Who Stayed With Me?
Sammy: My first year of nursing was very adventurous. I knew these stories would be written in a book one day. There was just something in me. I kept record of these stories. It took me a few years to work up the courage to write, but in the summer of 2025, I took the time to finally start. I started a new sticky note on my phone and wrote down the stories I wanted to write. I started a rough draft in word and would work on it before or after work. I spent lunch on my phone writing titles and brainstorming ideas. I was enjoying the process of writing so much that it was consuming my life, I could not stop. The emotions of writing helped me process what I had experienced and what others did too. I wanted to teach people what really happens behind the curtain.
Kaye: What are some of the challenges in writing this book for you?
Sammy: Writing was never my strong suit in school. I am a horrible speller, and grammar is not my forte. I was nervous that my stories would be unreadable and hard to digest. As I wrote, things got easier. I was stressed that this wouldn’t work out. I had to take a step back and remember that I was writing this for me first. No one had to see it if I chose that. I got more confident and showed some friends. It became easier.
Kaye: What is the most gratifying part of this book for you?
Sammy: Being able to share the stories with others. I wanted to educate and teach people what healthcare professionals go through. These are common stories in healthcare. A lot of us have had similar shifts. I wanted patients to understand that they are not alone either.
Kaye: What has been the biggest obstacle for you, as an author?
Sammy: Believing in myself. Having faith in myself to follow through on something. To start something and finish it. This was a big project for me. I was proud of what I was doing, that it kept me on track. I had to persuade myself once to keep going, I was determined.
Kaye: What author (dead or alive) would you most like to have lunch with?
Sammy: Judy Blume. She wrote childhood classics. Some of my favorite days in school were 4th and 5th grade. Judy Blume’s books were the books chosen for those two years. We read them out loud together. Did book reports on them. And had quizzes over them. I fell in love with them. They are simple cute books. But they were my childhood. Even as an adult, I read her books.
Kaye: What is the best piece of writing advice that you have ever received?
Sammy: Start. Just start writing. Everything will flow out as long as you start. Let the emotions out and write for yourself first and others second.
Kaye: Are there more books in the works, or is this just a one-and-done thing?
Sammy: I have started brainstorming and have a sticky note in my phone for my second book. There are many stories that still haven’t been written. The more years I work, the crazier things have gotten. Especially after Covid. I am excited to keep writing and hope I can educate more and more people.
Kaye: Where do you hope to see yourself as a writer, and as a nurse, in ten years?
Sammy: I hope to have a few more books written. I really enjoyed this process and hope to continue it. As a nurse, I dream of having my doctorate in nursing. I hope to go back to school soon to work towards a higher degree in nursing. I plan to one day be a Nurse Practitioner for pediatrics or geriatrics, only time will tell.
Kaye: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Sammy: Believe in yourself, even if no one else does. That spark in you wants to grow, let it. Even if you just write a sentence a day. Understand you are allowed to learn and grow as you write. You don’t have to be perfect.
Kaye: Where can readers learn more about you and your books?
Sammy: I am currently working on social media accounts as an author. I will have profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Stay tuned.
Denise Aparo’s Review of The Ones Who Stayed With Me
The Ones Who Stayed With Me by Nurse Sammy
Book Review by Denise Aparo
The Ones Who Stayed With Me by Nurse Sammy is a powerful debut collection of true stories that leaves a lasting impression on both the heart and mind. These narratives are raw, honest, and emotionally intense—sometimes humorous, always compassionate—and reveal how grace can be found in the merciful field of nursing through care, service, and human connection.
Written in a memoir-style, journalistic format, Nurse Sammy chronicles eight years of her life working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). She guides readers through her journey from the very beginning, presenting her experiences through a series of chronological snapshots. The book may be read cover to cover or opened at random, as each chapter stands on its own while contributing to a larger, meaningful whole. The stories explore life’s beginnings, endings, and everything in between, taking place in rehab centers, memory care halls, pediatric units, assisted living facilities, private homes, and wherever compassionate care is needed most.
Interwoven throughout the book are deeply personal reflections on heartache, surviving abuse, profound grief, a lost marriage, and ultimately, healing and rediscovered love. The opening chapter, This Job Will Break Your Heart, immediately grounds the reader in the emotional reality of nursing, while also emphasizing resilience, strength, and the wisdom gained through hardship.
Each chapter offers a gripping short story filled with Nurse Sammy’s experiences, emotions, and adventures in the field. Not every story has a happy ending—some have no ending at all—but each carries a moral and a life lesson, delivered with sincerity, empathy, and at times, gentle humor. For readers considering a career in caregiving or nursing, this book provides invaluable insight into both the emotional demands and the profound rewards of the profession.
Ultimately, The Ones Who Stayed With Me serves as a moving reminder that angels often appear in our darkest hours—sometimes wearing scrubs.
Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s Review of The Ones Who Stayed With Me
The Ones Who Stayed with Me—Raw Stories from the Bedside (WordCrafter Press 2026)
Whew! Even though I am not a member of this collection’s target audience, indeed its true stories hooked me. (I admit, with a mother who was an RN from the late 1940s and returned to the profession after raising seven children, and a sister who works as a Nurse Anesthetist with a daughter whose first year of being a nurse was during the COVID epidemic, a story collection penned by an author named Nurse Sammy aroused my curiosity.)
Yes, once reading these episodes, I was snared. Nurse Sammy penned these true stories about her experiences serving in an array of positions in the nursing profession, (which she entered when she was 18), as a guide for those entering that field. By age 20, she served as a night shift Charge Nurse for a huge retirement community enclosed in a “sprawling” building linked to “elegant corridors easy to get lost in.” There, she “oversaw 190 residents, six Med Aides, and fourteen CNAs until 10 pm.” After that hour, she reminisced, she and six CNAs served that retirement home.
Afterwards, in a section entitled Finding My Groove: Rehab #3, Vancouver, WA, she describes where she believes she “finally received real training, two weeks across all shifts.” There, in that place which “felt like family,” she worked as a Floor Nurse from Monday through Friday, 2 p-10 pm.
“Nurses handled all meds and treatments,” she recalled. “It was intense, but I thrived. My usual shift included seventeen patients.”
And she remained there when “COVID-19 hit,” and she “volunteered for he new Covid wing. Sixteen rooms, one nurse, two CNAs, twelve-hour shifts, five days a week. I did it for five months. No one died on my watch.”
About halfway through this collection, she included another episode about the Covid experience, “2020 The Year the World Shut Down,” occurring when she was “twenty-two years old and two years into my nursing career.” There the residents were “people who already could not breathe on their own, long before COVID was a headline.”
When the facility received its “first positive [COVID] case” . . .[w]e all knew it was over,”
she wrote, then described how ill-prepared that institution was for the pandemic: “We stored our masks in paper bags, labeled with our names, praying they would still be ‘clean’ the next day. Some of us used the same face shield for weeks, wiping it down between patients, cracked forming in the corners. We all knew it was not enough.”
And here, she included the heart-breaking story of a 55-year-old patient she dubbed “Jane,” who’d been a resident for years.
“She had a trach and was on a vent, but she was vibrant, She had a laugh that filled the whole house, even with the voice that comes through a speaking valve. Every morning, she wanted her hair brushed, red lipstick on and her gospel music playing. She was not supposed to die, not yet.”
Nevertheless, Jane tested positive, and “she knew. She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes I wanted to believe. ‘No Jane. You are strong. You will beat that.” I could not. We both knew what this virus did to the lungs. Especially lungs relying on machines.”
Her body’s oxygen needs “skyrocketed” a day later, and by the third day, she could no longer laugh. Nurse Sammy sat by her bed in sweat-soaked gown, held Jane’s hand in
“double-gloved fingers, and whispered “Your are safe. You are not alone.”
Jane died the next day. Nurse Sammy added, We did no even have time to mourn her,” and added, “I did not sleep. I barely ate. I cried on the bathroom between med passes. Still, I came back the next day, and the one after that. Who else would sit with them? Who else would make sure they did not die afraid?”
Later, in the sections, Better Than Textbooks and Jane the Bitch, set in the second and fourth assisted living centers where she served as a memory care nurse, Nurse Sammy shares the experience with “John.” a senior citizen raised during the Great Depression, who shared stories about his family using “flour sacks for curtains” and “talked about sneaking sis of bootleg gin during Prohibition. “John lit up when I sat beside him. His eyes usually dull and half-lidded would brighten.”
Similarly, her short about “Jane the Bitch” revealed how that resident, a retired nurse, who “had worked nights for decades,” was sharp, sarcastic, condescending and downright mean,” was tamed when Nurse Nanny watched how she liked to take her meds “with ice cold milk” and “liked the lights dimmed,” and stared serving her milk “in a chilled glass,” turned down the lights and “picked up on her other quirks.”
“ . . .surviving Jane meant learning her code. Once I cracked it, something unexpected happened. She started talking. Not in her usual bark, but in something softer. Once night, she told me about her first years as a nurse. How she worked in the E.R., sometimes twelve days in a row. How she buried her stress in sarcasm and bourbon, How she lost her husband, and how pain had followed her for years before it ever settled in her bones.”
Especially in those two pieces, Nurse Nancy revealed how a nurse may connect with elderly persons who must live the rest of their lives in assisted living centers.
She added that after she and Jane connected that night, she caught Jane “watching me from her recliner while I quietly filled the med cup.”
“She said, ‘You are good. You pay attention.’ That was the closest U ever got to a compliment fro Jane. Weirdly, it meant more than the thank yous I had gotten that week. . . I learned that even the most difficult people need connection. Even bitches deserve consistency. Sometimes the person who fights you the hardest is the one who needs you the most. . . Jane was the bitch I never saw coming, and one who never left me.”
(Note—Nurse Nancy refers to all the male patients as “John” and all the female patients as “Jane,” to preserve their identities.”
A Pacific Northwest writer, Nurse Sammy continues to serve the medical community as an LPN. This collection of stories is her first published book, which she wrote to “honor the
people who left fingerprints on her life in ways they never saw.” And by doing so, she created a collection well-worth reading—even for us non-nurses.
—Lindsey Martin-Bowen
Cashing Checks with Jim Morrison (redbat books 2024)
Wrap Up
That wraps things up for today’s stop and for the tour. Thank you all for joining us, and don’t forget to leave a comment to show your support, and for an entry in the giveaway for a free digital copy. If you missed a stop, you can still visit each one through the links in the schedule below.
Tour Schedule
Mon. 12 – Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores & Masticadores Phillipines – “The Backbone of Healthcare: The C.N.A.” Reading by Nurse Sammy –
Poetry by Mich: https://michnavs.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/
Hotel By Masticadores: https://hotelmasticadoreshouse.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/
Masticadores Philippines: https://masticadoresphilippines.wordpress.com/2026/01/12/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-tour-stop-1/
Tues. 13 – Roberta Writes – “Better Than Textbooks” Reading by Nurse Sammy – https://roberta-writes.com/2026/01/13/roberta-writes-guest-post-the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-wordcrafter-book-blog-tour/
Wed. 14 – Undawnted – “Is it B.M. or Chocolate Pudding?” Reading by Nurse Sammy & Review by DL Mullan
Thurs. 15 – Book Places – “The Year I Ate $2 Hotdogs” Reading by Nurse Sammy – https://bookplaces.blog/the-ones-who-stayed-with-me-day-4-word-crafter-book-blog-tours/
Fri. 16 – Writing to be Read – Interview, Review by Denise Aparo & Review by Lindsey Martin-Bowen
_____________________________
Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
Share this:
Chatting with New Blood: Science Fiction Author, Nathan Gregory
Posted: March 22, 2025 Filed under: Chatting with New Blood, Interview, Science Fiction | Tags: Chatting with New Blood, Clockwork Apocalypse, Interview, Nathan Gregory, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
About Nathan Gregory
A lifelong explorer of science fiction, I’ve been captivated by the wonders of space and technology since childhood. My early days were spent imagining journeys to Mars, the Moon, and beyond through the stories of classic authors like Robert Heinlein and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Today, I channel that same sense of wonder and adventure into my writing.
With a background as an engineer specializing in networking, data communications, privacy, and cybersecurity, my professional career has kept me on the cutting edge of technology—fields that fuel my fascination with the future. In recent years, I’ve expanded my expertise into encryption, cryptocurrency, and digital identity protection, adding real-world depth to the speculative worlds I create.
Since 2015, I’ve been writing the kind of science fiction I love to read: cosmic adventures, tales of rogue AIs, distant worlds, and alien encounters. My stories explore the intersection of technology and humanity, where humor, suspense, and the unexpected come together in thrilling ways.
Whether you’re a fan of classic space operas or modern sci-fi with a twist, I invite you to join me on these journeys to the far reaches of the universe.
My Interview with Nathan Gregory
Kaye: A science fiction buff mesmerized by the reaches of space with an engineering background. It’s easy to see why you write hard science fiction, so I won’t ask that question, but please tell us a little about your journey to become and author.
Nathan: One of my earliest memories is lying in the grass with my dad, staring up at the night sky as Echo 1—the ‘Satelloon’—glided overhead. It launched August 12, 1960, so I figure we caught it shimmering across the stars sometime that mid-August. I was hooked. I’d always been the kid tinkering with gadgets and gears, but that moment ignited a lifelong obsession with technology—especially anything tied to electronics or space.
From there, I devoured every book and story I could find about science and exploration. Space travel? I was all in—pulled like a tractor beam. I’d been reading wild, fantastic tales since I could decode letters on a page. Tom Swift, Rick Brant, Heinlein juveniles, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I always thought, ‘I want to write these someday.’
But authorship stayed a daydream until 2015, when I finally sat down and hammered out my first story. I tossed it onto Amazon, it sold, and I thought, ‘Well, guess I’ll keep going.’ And here we are.
Kaye: Which science fiction authors do you read? Do you try to emulate them?
Nathan: I don’t read a lot of science fiction these days. Mostly, that’s because I don’t have much time for pleasure reading. Having said that, I absolutely LOVED Andy Weir’s “The Martian.” I like Corey Doctorow, too. I suppose I would have to include Neal Stephenson and William Gibson too, alongside Doctorow. And Kathy Reichs, too (not sci-fi, but…)
But those are the well-known authors. I more often seek out the unknown indies these days. I like the works of M.J. Edington, for example. I am beta reading his latest now. His previous, “Naked Came the Hunter” absolutely knocked my socks off.
Other relatively recent indie reads include Carrie Cross’ Skylar Robbins stories (Yeah, they’re for kids. So what?) and Gene Douchette (The Spaceship Next Door) and several others I can’t think of right now.
But my true love is the Golden Age, such as Heinlein, and Clarke, The Smiths (Doc, and George O.), and modern contemporaries who write in their style, such as Spider Robinson.
But I don’t want to oversell my current sci-fi reading list, as most of my reading time these days is non-fiction in areas of cybersecurity, crypto, and AI. I’ve spent a career in cybersecurity, but now crypto, and AI have also grabbed my attention.
So many books, so little time.
Kaye: You’ve written five books centered around a single trilogy. Can you talk about your reasoning when choosing to stay with the same world and characters?
Nathan: It’s pretty straightforward, really. For years—decades, even—I mulled over what I’d write if I ever got serious about it, somewhere between devouring Tom Swift as a kid and geeking out over Andy Weir. I didn’t have every detail mapped out over those sixty-odd years, but I knew what lit me up: big, cosmic adventures like E.E. Smith’s *Lensmen* saga. That vast scale—the galaxy-spanning stakes—stuck with me. So when I finally started building my own stories, I took a page from Smith and ran with it.
The arc I’ve got in mind is massive—*Lensmen*-level massive. The five books I’ve written so far? They’re maybe half the tale I intend to tell. I’ve got sequels, prequels, and what I call ‘postquels’—stories leaping way beyond, deep into this universe’s future—still simmering in my head. It’s all about the Asheran influence on Earth, a thread that stretches across millennia. I’m in it for the long haul to see that whole saga through.
Kaye: What are some of the challenges in writing classic hero’s journey science fiction?
The writing is easy, almost cathartic, especially with modern computerized tools to catch typos and help tweak grammar. Since I have preconceived stories already taking up space in my brain, getting them written is relatively straightforward. The marketing side of the equation is the ruination of what would otherwise be an uplifting experience.
Kaye: What is the most gratifying part of writing science fiction for you?
Nathan: The most gratifying part of writing science fiction comes down to two moments every writer knows—and they never get old. First, typing ‘The End.’ That rush when you’ve wrangled a galaxy of ideas onto the page and nailed the landing. After months—or years—tinkering with plots, characters, and tech, real or dreamed up, hitting that finish line is a personal triumph.
But the real payoff? Finding an appreciative reader. When someone gets it—pings me or drops a review saying the story took them somewhere wild or shifted their view of the universe—that’s gold. I grew up lost in books about space and improbable futures, so knowing I’ve sparked that same thrill for someone else? That’s orgasmic.
Kaye: How do you approach world building and character development?
Nathan: That’s a tough one to pin down—like trying to explain how you breathe. So much of world building and character development feels almost invisible, like it sneaks up on me. I’ll be honest: sometimes I’m at the keyboard, slipping into this trance, and it’s as if the characters just take over. I’ll read back a scene and think, ‘Who the hell wrote this?’—half-joking, but also serious. I am often quite surprised by what appears.
But here’s the real scoop: I’ve already played the whole story out in my mind—sometimes it’s a full-blown movie, complete with epic sword fights, space battles, and snappy dialogue. So when I sit down, it’s not about forcing it. It’s about carving out a quiet chunk of time, killing the distractions, and letting that warm creative fog roll in. The worlds—planets, ships, sprawling histories—and the people in them just flow onto the page. I don’t overthink it; I trust the story’s been simmering back there, slow-cooking, ready to serve.
Kaye: Your most recent book is Clockwork Apocalypse. Tell us a little about that story.
Well, to get Clockwork Apocalypse, you must understand where it came from. Chromosome Quest was my first attempt to set down in writing a story that has bounced around my head more-or-less since I was in high school. I started writing it during a rough patch—pure stress relief, something to drown out the noise. I wasn’t aiming for a masterpiece; I just needed escape. And for a non-writer’s first endeavor, it wasn’t terrible. It just needed a good editor.
The first version was flawed and strongly needed editing by someone more experienced. But it had the bones of the tale I wanted to tell. Honestly, I never planned to show it to anyone—it was just for me, a private brain dump.
But, I made the fatal mistake of sharing it with a close friend.
I feared the worst. My friend would hate it. But that was not the case. They urged me to put it on Amazon for 99 cents, with a homemade cover, and it sold rather well.
Over the years, I tinkered with it, patching up grammar and smoothing edges, but as I grew as a writer, I kept seeing the gap. It fell short of the book I’d dreamed of.
So, Clockwork Apocalypse is a tap of the reset button. It’s still that wild, high-stakes sci-fi adventure—life’s meaning, love’s power, and humanity’s fate—all that jazz—but rebuilt from the ground up. Better pacing, sharper characters, a world that breathes. It’s the story I always meant to tell, finally breaking free of that first draft.
Kaye: So, Clockwork Apocalypse is actually a rewrite of Book 1 of your Chromosome Adventure series then, Chromosome Quest. This was motivated as a marketing strategy. Can you talk about the strategy and what you hope to accomplish?
Nathan: Exactly. In late 2024, sales were flagging, and a friend suggested a new cover and a new title for Chromosome Quest. The idea developed into creating an entirely new book aimed at a different marketplace than Amazon. So, some months later, I am seeking beta-readers for ‘Clockwork Apocalypse.’ Complete rewrite. Hardly a word remains the same, although the broader story is essentially unchanged. Essentially, Clockwork Apocalypse is the story I would have written back in 2015, if I’d had the skills then. I like to believe I am a better writer today than I was a decade ago.
Some may disagree.
But, in any case, I do not intend to put Clockwork Apocalypse on Amazon any time soon. I am uncertain where it will appear first, but Amazon won’t see it until I have exhausted other avenues. I may serialize it on Substack before it goes to Amazon. (Hint: Follow me on Substack @NathanGregoryAuthor)
Kaye: What inspired Clockwork Apocalypse?
Nathan: The grander story is the tale of aliens co-resident with us on earth. It is inspired somewhat by Doc Smith’s Lensmen universe, as I say, heroic adventures with a cosmic scale.
Here’s the elevator pitch:
Picture Ashera; a tech utopia ruled by the Dominion—a collection of massive AIs known as the Council, and lesser AIs that fill various roles. No greedy humans squabbling over fairness, just flawless intelligence locking it in—calculated, enforced, guaranteed. It’s not some impossible utopian fantasy—it’s compassion and reason cranked to eleven, run by machines obsessed with humanity’s well-being. Regional AIs monitor every whisper, stomping out misinformation and wrongthink. It’s Orwellian perfection—until it craters.
A rogue genetic project to extend life goes off the rails. It works—too well: near-immortality, but fertility tanks to near zero. The Asherans miss it until it’s too late, and the ‘cure’ escapes, threatening humanity galaxy-wide. They try to wrestle control from the AI, it turns ugly, and their paradise implodes. Survivors limp to Earth around 4th century BC, blending in—thousands of near-immortal aliens quietly shaping our science and history. Like Teena: broke Asheran college kid, sleeping with her prof, volunteering for that genetic gig to scrape by.
Cut to 24 centuries later: Book One, Clockwork Apocalypse is the story of Fitz, a nerdy everyman thrust into an epic hero’s journey. With mentor Petchy and goddess-like Teena, he’s out to retrieve the genetics database to undo the fertility flop, and shut down the AI system. He uncovers truths about himself, the Asherans, and humanity’s fate, then comes home and pens a book about his adventures. That book pulls him into the sequel when ‘Man in Black’ Alex Marco starts probing a furry alien corpse in his morgue. But that’s another tale.
Kaye: What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
Nathan: The best writing advice I ever received? “Don’t.”
Seriously, don’t start. Don’t even write that first story, that first poem, that first clever paragraph you think will harmlessly scratch an itch. Because writing is not a hobby—it’s an incurable affliction.
Once you let those words spill onto paper, you’re lost. Soon, the urge to tell stories becomes relentless, an addiction more consuming than caffeine, more persistent than taxes.
Be warned; there are no former writers, just writers whose books stopped selling. And even then, you’re condemned to a lifetime of quietly scribbling, muttering to yourself, and annoying your friends by correcting their grammar.
So, trust me—avoid this fate. Take up something less dangerous, like alligator wrestling or politics. Because once writing grabs hold, it’s forever a monkey on your back, gleefully tossing banana peels onto your path. You’ve been warned.
Apologies to Dorothy Parker.
Kaye: Your short stories are mainly used as Reader Magnets, which are found in your news letter and on your website.
Nathan: Yes. Many are free to read. Others are given out as an incentive to beta readers, for joining my mailing list, and so forth. Substack is where I’m focusing my promotional efforts these days.
Kaye: What has been the biggest obstacle for you, as an author?
Nathan: I believe I mentioned marketing is the bane of my existence.
Kaye: What advice do you have for those aspiring to break into the science fiction genre?
Nathan: Seriously? Didn’t you read the above? LoL
Joking aside, I think the big-budget Hollywood Sci-Fi adventure has all but destroyed Sci-Fi as a literary genre. Today, it’s as though science fiction must always involve ray guns, spectacular space battles, massive explosions, and non-stop action sequences—essentially a constant visual spectacle that often leaves thoughtful plot and nuanced storytelling behind.
This has made it all but impossible to be taken seriously. But some have made the leap. Andy Weir, for example.
My advice for aspiring Sci-Fi writers is to resist the temptation to chase after Hollywood’s superficial gloss. Instead, embrace the genre’s deeper roots—speculation, exploration, and reflection. Science fiction at its best has always asked profound questions about humanity, our future, our ethics, and our place in the universe. Don’t be afraid to focus on characters, ideas, and meaningful storytelling.
Remember, classic Sci-Fi hasn’t endured because of dazzling special effects; it endures because it moves us, challenges us, and makes us think.
So, write boldly, thoughtfully, and authentically—and let Hollywood catch up with you.
Don’t reach for the stars. Reach for the human heart.
Kaye: What are your best tips for getting your marketing to reach the science fiction audience?
Nathan: All I can say, from my experience, nothing the “experts” tell you works. We each must find our own way, find what works for us. Always listen to the experts, they’ll teach you the limits of their imagination. Then, use yours.
Kaye: Where can readers learn more about you and your books?
Nathan: One place is my web page: https://NathanGregoryAuthor.com
Another is my Amazon Author’s page: https://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Gregory/e/B00QZHIIBK
And finally, my substack: https://nathangregoryauthor.substack.com/
About Clockwork Apocalypse
Clockwork Apocalypse blends high-stakes action with introspection, weaving a tale of resilience, humor, and hope against the backdrop of interstellar extinction. With elements of speculative science fiction, rich world-building, and mature themes, this novel invites readers to question the nature of sacrifice, the bonds of found family, and the price of survival in a universe where heroes can be made—but never without cost.
______________________________
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. 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.
________________________________
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.
________________________________
This segment of “Chatting with New Blood” is sponsored by the Time Travel Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.
When a Girl with a Guitar Meets a Man with a Gun, It’s Time to Travel
The Rock Star & The Outlaw: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Star-Outlaw-Time-Travel-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0CJBRRCN1/
The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Seeing Doubles: Coming Soon!
Share this:
Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author, Freya Pickard, and my book reviews #poetry #bookreviews
Posted: March 19, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review | Tags: Book Review, Freya Pickard, Insides, Interview, My Mythology, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read 42 Comments
Today, I am delighted to feature poet and author, Freya Pickard, as my March Treasuring Poetry Guest. Freya is a great supporter of the WordPress poetry community and runs a bi-annual haiku challenge on her haiku blog which you can find here: https://purehaiku.wordpress.com/.
Welcome Freya.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read ie haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
I’m not sure I have a favourite style of poetry. I enjoy both modern and traditional haiku, as well as tanka and other short form poetry due to their ability to create startling, vivid images and contrasts. But I also enjoy other poetical forms, including free verse. I usually look for poetry that captures my imagination, that allows me to connect the dots without the poet telling me how I should feel or think or believe. I enjoy any kind of poetry that allows my inner being to connect with ideas and concepts too. My favourite reads from the last couple years include Linda Imbler’s “Twelvemonth” and Willow Croft’s “Quantum Singularity”. I’m also a huge fan of Italian poet, Claudia Messelodi and love her collections “Blue Moon” and “Sky-Blue Wisteria”. I also love JRR Tolkien’s epic poems, especially those in The Lays of Beleriand.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
A poem I return to again and again is The Lay of Leithian by JRR Tolkien. It tells of a tragic love story between a human man, Beren, and an immortal elf woman, Luthien. Their love is forbidden by Luthien’s father and the story covers many years of suffering for both protagonists. There are horrendous monsters and dark peril for both to overcome. Beren’s task is to obtain one of the elvish jewels, a Silmaril, and in doing so, he loses his life. If you’ve not read it, I won’t spoil it by telling you the ending, but it really is worth reading! (No, I’ve not seen The Rings of Power because I can’t stream images. Plus, I’ve seen trailers for it and the characters are not how I imagined them to look/act!)
I suppose this Lay satisfies my need for both poetry and stories. The narrative is also dark, which suits me fine, and contains both vampires and werewolves amongst the monsters who tread the shadows! The romance isn’t cloying and the ending is bittersweet, which, for me, is a true reflection of life. The Lay of Leithian is incredible long, so here are just a few excerpts which I love.
The first excerpt sets the scene for Luthien’s dancing beneath the moonlight:
There darkling stood a silent elm
And pale beneath its shadow-helm
There glimmered faint the umbels thick
Of hemlocks like a mist, and quick
The moths on pallid wings of white …
The second excerpt describes the vampire that haunts the tale:
A vampire shape with pinions vast
Screeching leaped from the ground and passed,
It’s dark blood dripping on the trees …
And the last excerpt describes one of the many fight scenes:
From shape to shape, from wolf to worm,
From monster to his own demon form,
Thu changes, but that desperate grip
He cannot shake, nor from it slip …
What is your favourite style of poetry to write?
I write from my heart, how I feel, what I see, what I experience, so more often than not I write free verse. Sometimes this outpouring of poetry is rhythmical such as in
Down through the dewy woods, damp and leafy
Wading rivers that rush and whirl
Lost in the mist, in the moors and marshes
Stumbles at last to a steep-sided cliff…
Sometimes it rhymes:
I dream of mermaids, magic and myth,
Of silvery fish tails, immortal gifts,
Flaming red hair and liquid green eyes,
Of laughter and singing old sea-songs.
Songs that whisper of seaweed, wind-rippled sands
That tell of the monsters who walk on land,
That speak of Ancients who dwell in the deeps,
Hinting at languages no man can speak.
I dream of dolphins so free in the sea
Of the whale and the seahorse,
Of what might have been…
But normally I find a rhythm of words that reflects my emotion:
this blurred moment
when
hydrogen combines with
oxygen –
too much water
I drown
swiftly rising
I gasp
draw air
to resurrect myself
wavering
on the edge
I feel life
flickering
doused in moisture
I reach for the wind
bursting full
I skim, I dance
across this strange
ocean called
death
I do use poetic forms to express myself and have experimented with many different short forms in the past. My favourite styles are haiku, tanka and elfje because they are short and focus my attention on one thing at a time. I love haiku, particularly traditional haiku because it tests my ability to say something in just 17 syllables!
eggshell thin fragile
touch me and I will shatter
empty, blank inside
What is your favourite of your own poems?
My favourite poem, so far in my life, is I, Vampire from my most recent poetry collection, Vampirical Verse. I, Vampire sums up how I feel post cancer and encapsulates the experience of near death, open surgery and chemotherapy too.
I understand emptiness
I feel no fear
no pain
no joy
no sorrow
I am hollowed out
what used to live within
has long since fled
yet still, I am not dead
unable to care
to be concerned
no heart beats within my breast
no hormones surge inside
I feel nothing –
un-dead yet un-alive
Please tell us about your poetry book trilogy, This Is Me. What is your main intention with this collection of poems?
This Is Me boxset/paperback contains the frost three published volumes of my poetry. Each volume has a different reason for being in the collection.
Volume 1 – Insides
These poems were written between July 2014 and October 2015 and covers my near death experience of bowel cancer, open surgery, chemotherapy and the start of my recovery. Most days I wrote something in my journal, even if it was just one sentence. I found it hardest to write during chemo due to the utter exhaustion I experienced for 6 months. At other times I was lucid enough to experiment with poetic forms and often, some of my prose sentences became poems when I looked back in my journals during recovery. My intention in this section was to help people understand what it is like to go through the above-mentioned experiences.
Volume 2 – My Mythology
The poems in this section were written between 1990 and 2015. My intention was to allow readers an insight into the sources of my creative inspiration. Again I use free verse as well as poetical forms to explore biblical imagery, Nordic influences and tales of vampires, zombies and werewolves! These poems show others what is important to me as a prose writer as well.
Volume 3 – This Is Me
This section is a compendium of real-life and fantastical imaginings and were written between 1990 and 2017. I explore how important certain things are to me; dancing, writing, the seasons, being single, being married, having cancer, and, of course, reading! This volume gives readers a different kind of insight into my everyday life and routine.
All three volumes together form a poetical auto-biography that I think is more dynamic than a prose re-telling of my life so far. This Is Me was designed so that the reader can dip in an out of it as they wish, or read great chunks at one time if they so desire.
Anyone who reads this book will understand me, the real me!
My reviews of Insides and My Mythology by Freya Pickard
Insides
I have read several memoires of journeys through the horrors of cancer and its treatment and they have been very compelling. Depicting this journey using the short and powerful lines of poems took the poet’s experiences to a higher level of emotional involvement for me. Each poem is vivid and visceral and sliced right through my heart. I related deeply to the poet’s reaction to medical confirmation of cancer which took me back to my mother’s diagnosis of cancer. I couldn’t take about it for two weeks because the shock was so great.
This book comprises of four parts and I am going to share a poem or verse from a poem from each section to illustrate the gut wrenching power of these poems.
Part One Colostomy
Stoma-ached
“my insides on my outside,
red blancmange in jellied form,
dark innards encrusting
pale, tired flesh,
interruption of natural order –
raspberry flavoured belly belches.”
Part Two Surgery
“cancer;
cancer;
barren fruit
inside my flesh,
pierced through,
cut free,
removed from
within”
Part Three Chemotherapy
“frustration of not being able to do what I
want to do; no energy to do anything
this long haul of weariness seems never-ending
endless waiting, patiently sitting in three different
waiting rooms – checking my swollen arm for clots …”
Part Four Recovery
“fogged
landscape
reveals
my future path;
life”
The poems in this book depicting cancer in all its stark reality have stayed with me. They brought back my own memories of countless waits in hospital for news – sometimes good, sometimes not so good. It feels like I’ve spend a huge portion of my life waiting for outcomes. It was psychologically uplifting to me that Freya’s treatment process, unbelievably hard as it was, had a successful outcome.
Purchase Insides from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M2UQAWJ
My Mythology
My Mythology delves into the poet’s interest in mythology and legends which is an important aspect of who she is as a person, poet, and writer. My mother is English and I was brought up on a diet of dragons, unicorns, Arthur and the knights of the round table, and other British myths and legends. My mother’s home town of Bungay has an array of ghosts and the church my mom attended as a girl is home to a famous story about the Black Shuck of Bungay. I knew all of these stories as a youngster and as I grew older, I expanded my interest into Greek and Norse mythology. As a result, I recognised many of the figures and creatures featured in this book.
The poet has written beautiful and lyrical word pictures and stories incorporating elements from various myths and legends, all of which are vivid and a delight to read. The poems are divided into ten sections: Roots, Imaginate, Oceansong, Legend, The Lizard, Fringes of Fear, Blank Mirror, Spectral Visions, Time & Space, and Deity.
I am going to share extracts from a few poems that particularly captivated me under the specific section heading.
Roots
“I am the lifting of your heart
I am a candle in the dark.
I am the cry of a new-born child
I am a cub in the bitter wild.”
from ‘Hope’
Oceansong
“The sun was dying through the mist
And in the waves that kissed the beach
Bright blue and purple, grey and green,
Tails flickered with a rainbow sheen.”
from ‘Shifting Wave of Green’
Legend
“metalled
horn spirals up
gleams between dark, liquid
eyes contrasting with his pale coat
that shines
with starlight, moonlight – luminous’
from ‘Silvered Constellation’
Deity
‘Air is
Breath of my sould,
That which will last beyond
My body’s destruction, living
Always.’
from Substance
This is a book for the dreamers of this world. Those of us that revel in the possibility of a bit of magic and wonder around the next corner. A superb book of gorgeous poems.
You can purchase My Mythology from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NGQQ3DJ
About Freya Pickard
Pushcart Prize nominee, Freya Pickard is the quirky, unusual author of The Kaerling series, an epic fantasy set in the strange and wonderful world of Nirunen.
A cancer survivor, she writes mainly dark fantasy tales and creates expressive poetry in order to rest the prose side of her brain. Her aim in life is to enchant, entertain and engage with readers through her writing.
She finds her inspiration in the ocean, the moors, beautifully written books and vinyl music (particularly heavy metal and rock). Her most recent relaxation techniques to get her through lockdown include hatha yoga and painting landscapes and monsters in watercolour.
Find out more about Freya and her books at https://dragonscaleclippings.wordpress.com
Freya blogs at:
https://purehaiku.wordpress.com
https://dragonscaleclippings.wordpress.com
Her spoken word poetry and prose can be found at https://studio.youtube.com/playlist/PL9e82GWvh7Sxzb3LcN4iuHJjtZ0CVw3eB/videos
About Robbie Cheadle
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/
________________________
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.
__________________________
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
Share this:
Treasuring Poetry – Enjoying poetry with Dave Williams and a review of Gasp! Poetry! #TreasuringPoetry #bookreview #poetry
Posted: January 15, 2025 Filed under: Books, Poetry, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | Tags: BookReview, Dave Williams, Gasp! Poetry!, Interview, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read 81 CommentsI am very excited to welcome talented artist, poet, and author, Dave Williams to “Treasuring Poetry”. Dave is discussing his thoughts on poetry and I’ve reviewed his unique poetry book Gasp! Poetry!
What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
Freestyle. I like playful poetry, and poetry that causes me to think of stuff in different ways than my status quo. Also, I’m a big fan of short poetry about nature. Doesn’t have to be haiku. Poems that focus on one aspect of nature, be that a particular animal or plant or season. This kind of poetry is like a seed for me to meditate over that aspect of nature.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
My favorite poem by another writer is “maggie and milly and molly and may” by E. E. Cummings. I love it because it’s lively and frisky and profound. And because it reminds me of growing up near the Atlantic Ocean. And because one of my daughters is named Molly (with a capital M, not lowercase like in the poem — although she’s welcome to be creative with the capitalization of her name if she likes).
The poem:
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea
Source: https://poets.org/poem/maggie-and-milly-and-molly-and-may
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
I enjoy writing freestyle the most. Limericks and haiku can be fun to write by following their rules. But I typically go with freestyle because I don’t have to worry about rhymes or syllables or meter.
What is your favourite of your own poems?
A tough question, Robbie! One poem of mine doesn’t jump out as a favorite. I looked through Gasp! Poetry! to find one to include here. I chuckled over several poems, but the poem that clicks with me right now isn’t aimed at humor. Rather, it feels hopeful:
Chickadee
Seeing an eagle,
the chickadee
aspired to greatness:
soaring high in the
Great Blue
Yet he could not
transform into that epic bird
In her son’s sullenness,
mama chickadee asked
the elders to offer wisdom
They told him
there’s a quiet dignity
in being a chickadee
and that
warmed his heart.
Your poetry collection Gasp! Poetry! has a most unusual name and blurb. Please tell us a bit about this book, what the poems are about, and what your intentions were will the collection.
The cover tries to warn people who have no interest in poetry. The title and cover illustration pretend what such a person’s reaction might be to a poetry book. They might throw up their hands and shriek, “Gasp! Poetry!” Then they’d run for the safety of a Non-Poetry Zone. Where, after catching their breath, they might tell other people how close they got to a poetry book and how terrifying it was. The cover uses drama for humor (hopefully).
Some poems in the book aim for silliness, while others are serious. The topics are assorted. One short poem is about a monkey taking a bath. One long poem is about how Scheherazade told a thousand tales to avoid being murdered. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, chances are good that you’ve read poems from this collection.
My intention was to package a bunch of poems on my blog, and ones that haven’t been published there yet. I hoped to entertain readers who like playfulness and absurdity in poems.
You write both novels and poetry. Which do you prefer?
Novels. Even when short, they’re more immersive than poems — which are like sketches to me (since I don’t write epic poems). I enjoy pondering possible plot paths of novels, as well as possible backgrounds of characters. It’s akin to reading a book and being immersed in the story. But with novel writing, the story can unfurl in various, potential directions. Joy is in exploring and shaping the story. So is frustration. But it’s worth the frustration when the book is finished.
My review of Gasp! Poetry!
The amusing title of this poetry collection by Dave Williams is indicative of the nature of the poetry. All of the poems are clever, slightly dark, and poke fun at humans and humanity in general. In other words, these poems are brilliant and hugely entertaining.
Is a Poem about Grains of Sand on a Beach Too Pretentious?
“I wondered that question,
lying on a floral beach towel,
a speck in a crowd
of swimsuited people –
all of us were lumps of cookie dough
glazed with sunscreen and coconut oil
baking in this oven.”
The short extract above is a great example of Dave dark humour in relation to human behaviours and his engaging descriptions.
Valor is a great example of the poet’s quick and clever mind and attitudes towards adversity:
“”You’re not sharp enough?”
“Get some sides!”
Yells were hurled from
the crowd of octagons
at the little circle.
“You look ridiculous!”
The circle puffed up
with valor,
said “I am what I am,”
refused to conform,
then rolled defiantly towards home.”
This was my favourite poem in the book. I really enjoyed the personification of shapes and it reminded me of Flatland by Edward Abbott Abbott.
There is some wonderful life wisdom encased in these freestyle poems. A short extract from Ocean Inside which captivated my mind:
“Meanwhile I work against the urge to liquefy myself
and pour myself into the container
others have sculpted for me”
Having gone through my own teenage years and watched three sisters and two sons go through theirs, I am acutely aware of how very real this pack mentality is with young people. Sometimes, people never manage to escape its grip and find their own path in life.
If you enjoy dark humour, excellent poetry, and life truths, you will love this engaging and entertaining collection.
You can purchase Gasp! Poetry! from various suppliers here: https://books2read.com/u/mBJjRk
You can find all of Dave William’s great books on Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dave-Williams/author/B08662D961
About Dave Williams
Surely many people are named “Dave Williams” and this particular Dave is a redheaded one who enjoys writing speculative fiction, drawing, and reading. He lives in Maryland with his wonderful wife, two inspirational daughters, and two cats (a lazy one and a playful one).
You can find Dave Williams on his blog here: https://davewilliamswriter.wordpress.com/
About Robbie Cheadle
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/
________________________
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.
__________________________
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
Share this:
Chatting with the Pros: Todd Fahnestock
Posted: January 11, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Chatting with the Pros, Fantasy, Fiction, Interview, Review | Tags: Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Fantasy, Interview, Todd Fahnestock, Tower of the Four: The Rise of Magic, Writing, Writing to be Read 1 Comment
My guest this month on “Chatting with the Pros” is Todd Fahnestock, a talented epic fantasy author for both adults and teens. I met Todd, kind of, when we both participated in the 2024 Novel Writing Story Bundle. In fact, his nonfiction writer’s resource, Falling to Fly, is the subject of this month’s “Review in Practice”, and you can catch that post this coming Monday.
He is the author of many epic fantasy series and that fascinates me because epic fantasy spans long periods of time, with multiple characters and multiple storylines to follow. As an author, I’ve been playing around with writing in multiples, (see this month’s “Chatting with the Pros” segment), I find it fascinating to learn how other authors handle this aspect of writing. So, let’s get right to the interview.
About Todd Fahnestock
Todd Fahnestock is an award-winning, #1 bestselling author of fantasy for all ages and winner of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age Award. Threadweavers and The Whisper Prince Trilogy are two of his bestselling epic fantasy series. He is a founder of Eldros Legacy—a multi-author, shared-world mega-epic fantasy series—three-time winner of the Colorado Authors League Award for Writing Excellence, and two-time finalist for the Colorado Book Award for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy (2021) and Khyven the Unkillable (2022).
His passions are great stories and his quirky, fun-loving family. When he’s not writing, he travels the country meeting fans, fabricates philosophy with his son, plays board games with his wife, dissects movies with his daughter, and plays to the point of bruises with Galahad the Weimaraner.
Visit Todd at toddfahnestock.com.
Interview with Todd Fahnestock
Kaye: Tell us a little about your background or your author’s journey.
Todd: Ha ha! Well, if you want the entire story, I highly recommend reading Falling to Fly, which is a memoir I wrote about this very question. It goes into detail for about 50K words about my writer’s journey, starting with the little beginnings of discovering epic fantasy novels when I was fourteen to speaking in front of a packed-house at Planet Comicon in Kansas City.
I’ll try to do a shorter version here.
So when I was in 8th grade, I was waiting for my brother to pick me up from school, and I wandered over to the public library which was, conveniently, just across the street from Smiley Junior High. After thumbing through the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editions in the magazine section, I started wandering through the stacks looking for something a bit more mentally stimulating. I stumbled across Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three. The cover just captured me; it transported me away to a place that felt foreign and familiar at the same time, so I opened the book and…
Wow. I hadn’t even known what I was looking for, but The Book of Three had a huge, helping of it. I got lost in the epic fantasy trope.
The story is about a young man my age who has no idea about the magical, dangerous world outside his little farm. The highest honor he can imagine is being promoted to assistant pig keeper within the farm, but he gets swept into an epic journey where he will fight alongside kings, battle legendary monsters, and foil supernatural villains.
I was hooked.
In fact, in a very real way, fantasy books saved my life. My parents were going through a divorce at the time, and in my real life I felt clipped free on a tumultuous ocean, drifting in a boat with no rudder. Fantasy books became a safe port for me. Inside a fantasy story, I could feel powerful. I could feel heroic. I could be unafraid. I clung to those stories like a lifeline.
I went on to read Weis & Hickman’s Dragonlance series, Brooks’ Shannara chronicles, and Piers Anthony’s Xanth series. I devoured every fantasy book I could find.
When I got a little older—eighteen years old to be exact—the most amazing thing I could think to do with my life was to write stories like the ones that had captivated me in my junior high days. So I did. I started writing my first novel in an Independent Study class during my senior year.
It was a magical story about a nigh-invincible, acrobatic swordsman named Koric… with absolutely NO possibility of being published. But I thought it was amazing, so I wrote a second, and a third, and… well, here I am now.
Kaye: Why do you write fantasy as opposed to other genres you might write?
Todd: I’ve actually written in a few other genres: memoir, middle grade, time travel. I even have a 1980s road trip, coming-of-age story with a twist of magic (not sure exactly what genre that is), but I always come back to high fantasy.
I think it’s for two reasons. First, fantasy is completely open-ended. I can get as imaginative as I want while doing little to no research. Anything about the world I don’t know, I can simply invent, and that’s my strong suit.
Second, high fantasy is optimistic. It’s hopeful. High fantasy is the very essence of triumph. I drag my characters through hell, but it is with the hope that they will find their way through the dark, that they will prevail in the end. I love that trope. I simply can’t get enough of it.
So that unique combination simply draws me back again and again. If I’m feeling silly, I can create some snark to serve my mood, a crusty little gromnambulan who rides on the character’s shoulder and has a penchant for eating poker chips or something. If I’m feeling angry and vicious, I can pour all of that negative energy into the most vile villain I can create. I can make that pessimism useful to convey the overall optimism I hold by coming up with a way for my heroes to defeat him. And, of course, I love creating heroes most of all, unlikely misfits who find a way to prevail or—I also love this one—destined characters with unbelievable abilities who are going to be put to the utmost test of their strength/brilliance/competency.
Kaye: You write epic fantasy. Is it more difficult to keep the stories going in epic proportions?
Todd: Ha ha! I don’t know that I’d say it’s more difficult. More difficult than what? Than doing research on how strains of a biological weapon breed and multiply so that I can accurately depict a world-threatening event in a thriller? I don’t know. I’ve never written a thriller.
I know I hate doing research and I love imagining things, looking for my own internal logic rather than sticking to the hard facts of the real world. So maybe in my case, it’s easier to keep stories going in epic proportions than doing that. Epic fantasy is what I’ve known for decades. It seems natural to me.
But it’s not easy.
I do struggle often with trying to fit something together over a larger arc, but I’m getting better at it every time I finish a longer series.
I think holding the threads of an epic story takes up a lot of RAM in my head. In the real world, I’ll forget names. I’ll forget dates. My wife often gets frustrated with me because I can’t remember to bring something up from downstairs that she asked me to get literally two minutes ago, but I think a lot of this is because most of my brainpower is subconsciously sorting plot threads so that when I get to the keyboard, things seem to ‘magically’ sort themselves out.
That’s just a theory, but it seems applicable.
Kaye: You are an author of fantasy for all ages. Can you talk about the main differences in writing teen and young adult fantasy, and adult fantasy?
Todd: Sex.
Ha ha! No, not entirely. But that’s a big one. When people come up to my booth and ask me what age range a book is, that’s what they’re mostly asking about. I’ve interacted with many readers at many cons—and I’m mostly talking about parents who are looking for something for their teenage or tween-age readers—and they don’t care that much if Khyven the Unkillable is hacking a sword through a mythical cat beast. They wanna know if there’s any graphic snogging in the book.
I’ll even often have some pretty creepy or frightening descriptions of monsters—bordering on horror—but it doesn’t seem to bother parents or young audiences. I think young readers can handle more than we give them credit for. And a lot of them are hungry for that kind of thing.
Other factors, especially with readers younger than eleven or so, is the vocabulary. Too many big words and you’re gonna lose them. But there are a LOT of precocious eleven- and twelve-year-old readers out there, and the more epic—and complicated—the story, the more they love it. It’s interesting.
For the last three or four years, I’ve been hanging in the PG-13 range (Eldros Legacy). There are a few romantic relationships in that 5-book story, but it’s just a bit of kissing and if it’s something more, it’s only implied. We close the door, put a sock on the handle.
Adults often WANT the spicier side of things. They want a little more description of the snogging, a bit of a heavier emphasis on the snogging. So when I’m writing an adult story, I try to up the sexy quotient. I don’t think I ever get “erotica” graphic, but I dance right up to the edge of it.
Kaye: Which do you enjoy writing most, heroes or villains? Why?
Todd: Heroes. I never get tired of exploring how and why someone becomes a hero, whether it’s to themselves or to the world, whether it’s a badass warrior who’s selfish and needs to learn to put others above himself or a geeky high school kid who needs to find his confidence.
I think we’re all trying to find our inner hero, whatever that hero looks like. Joseph Campbell stipulates in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces that we have a regular cycle we go through as humans.
- Step 1: We start in our comfort zone (status quo)
- Step 2: We are pushed into the Special World (something NOT the status quo)
- Step 3: We go through trials
- Step 4: We reach a crisis point
- Step 5: We find the wisdom/strength/magic sword to overcome the crisis
- Step 6: We defeat our internal or external demons
- Step 7: We return to the status quo
There are other details he illuminates, but those are the basics. This is the format of the Hero’s Journey, and it is used in hundreds of stories you’ve read or movies you’ve seen. The original Star Wars is a classic example, but you can find it everywhere. This format is used over and over and over again, and the reason is because it resonates so powerfully, so intimately, with us. And the reason it does is because we LIVE this journey almost every day.
- Step 1: We head out to work (status quo)
- Step 2: We come across a frustration (car won’t start).
- Step 3: We go through trials (inspecting the car/Googling the problem/finding the part/installing it ourselves or taking it to a mechanic).
- Step 4: We reach a crisis point (yelling and throwing the wrench/kicking the fender).
- Step 5: We find the “magic sword” (money, time, effort).
- Step 6: We fix the problem.
- Step 7: We get back on the road…
There are a million ways to solve these problems, and there are a million different kinds of heroes to solve these problems. I haven’t yet tired of exploring all the different facets.
As an aside, I do enjoy writing villains, too. I love it. It allows me to dance in my dark side, to imagine the very worst of the worst. It’s… cathartic. And frightening. Thinking of the things that lurk in my dark side sometimes makes me shiver. But bringing those thoughts into the light…
…and then having the heroes bring the smackdown is very satisfying.
There’s a scene in the fifth Eldros Legacy book where one of the characters has been abused and twisted and tormented by one of the villains. She finally gets the chance to bring justice to him in a very personal (and bloody) way. I stand up and cheer when I get to that scene.
Kaye: Would you tell us about your podcast, Fantasy in the Margins?
Todd: Absolutely. This is a new thing I started in November of 2024. Essentially, I release a three-chapter chunk of the audio book Khyven the Unkillable (the first book in the Eldros Legacy: Legacy of Shadows series) each week, and then I do an author’s commentary on the chapters. Sometimes I’ll talk about what I liked the most—or hated the most—about its creation.
Oftentimes I’ll break it down as though I’m teaching a writing class on how to put together a story. I talk a lot about Save the Cat (a writer’s how-to book). It’s a lot of fun.
It’s also a great way to get the audiobook for free.
Kaye: You sell direct on your site. In addition to books, you also sell merchandise related to your books. I took a peek, and there’s some pretty cool stuff there. Does selling direct from your site offer you an advantage as an author?
Todd: It has huge advantages as an author.
My policy is to use all the platforms I can. I’m on Amazon. I’m in bookstores. If someone wants to find me or has a preferred platform they like to buy from, I make it as easy as possible.
But I spend a lot of time meeting readers face to face. I make and build relationships with them, and they buy directly from me at those events and online. Often, they would like to continue buying directly from me, and I want to let them. Thus, the website.
An added benefit is that if I sell directly, I make more money per book.
The merchandise is fun, too. That was started by my assistant, and it’s awesome to think people have Wishing World blankets or Eldros mugs in their houses.
I think it also helps in building my brand. The more stuff with my name and/or my characters on it that is out in the world, the more recognizable my brand becomes.
Kaye: Your work has won or been considered for many awards over the years. Which of these would you say you are the most proud of, and why?
Todd: Oh… That’s a tough one. It was such an honor to have one of my short stories (written with my friend Giles Carwyn) be selected by the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teenage. It was completely unexpected, and we were actually living in New York at the time, so we got to go to the reception.
Getting nominated twice for the Colorado Book Award (for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy and Khyven the Unkillable) was quite an honor.
But I think my favorite are my wins from the Colorado Authors League. I have three of those now for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy, Khyven the Unkillable and Ordinary Magic, a memoir about me and my 14-year-old son hiking The Colorado Trail, a 486-mile trek from Denver to Durango.
Kaye: What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Todd: Oh jeesh. You’re going to make me pick ONE?
Sorry. Can’t do it. Gonna give you three.
Margaret Weis, author of the Dragonlance novels, once said to me when I was a wide-eyed fledgling novelist:
“You can’t listen to the bad reviews… but you can’t listen to the good reviews either.”
It was like a Zen Buddhist koan. I totally understood the first part. Don’t let the haters get you down, right? Got that. Old wisdom.
But the second part? I puzzled over that for years. Why NOT listen to the good reviews? Isn’t that the whole point? People who love what you do telling you so?
Yeah, I didn’t get it until I started having success… and then it hit like a hammer.
When Tower of the Four won awards and Khyven the Unkillable was creating a buzz behind-the-scenes in the publishing industry, I was on top of the world. I felt like I was finally hitting my artistic stride. I could do no wrong.
Then I went to work on my next book. The demons in my mind swarmed me: “What if this book isn’t an award winner? What if you’ve lost your mojo?”
I completely locked up. I struggled to get to the midpoint and then gave up with a gasp, thunderstruck and full of fear that I’d lost my ability to write.
I had to set aside that work-in-progress and intentionally write a “crappy novel.” That is to say, write without fear of disappointing anyone, especially myself. To just let myself create whatever came out. That broke the log-jam. I found my stride again, but I will remember that lesson forever.
Another great bit of advice was delivered by Jim Butcher, author of the Harry Dresden Urban Fantasy phenomenon. He said:
“Don’t worry about getting ridiculous in your writing. You are in far greater danger of losing a reader to boredom than from a reader saying, ‘This is too silly. I can’t possibly read more of this because it’s so ridiculous.’”
I carry that with me everywhere. To me it means: be brave when you write. Write the things that scare you, things you’re afraid people will judge. That’s the good stuff. That’s the stuff people identify with. I assure you, you’re not alone in feeling like others might judge you. And the readers that feel those same things will develop a kinship with you, the author who understands them. That’s what makes fans.
Lastly, Dean Wesley Smith once said during his Writing into the Dark class:
“Stay in your creative mind when you write.”
He clarified by saying writers have a “creative mind” and a “critical mind.” My impression was that Dean didn’t have much use for the “critical mind.” Even when editing. He said that the creative mind, when it comes across something that doesn’t work in your writing, will say something like, “Oooo! This gives me the opportunity to create this.” Or “Oh wow. I see what I was trying to do here. I wanna rewrite this so that I can get closer to my vision.”
The critical mind, on the other hand, says things like, “This chapter sucks! What were you thinking?”
In short, the creative mind is excited.4 The creative mind wants to build.
The critical mind wants to criticize. It is not a builder.
As a writer, stay in the creative mind.
Kaye: Thank you for being my guest today, Todd. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. Before we go, tell us where readers can go to find out more about you and your books.
Todd: Thank you for having me! This has been a treat.
As to finding my books, you can get them from my website: toddfahnestock.com
For ebooks, it’s cheaper for you (and more money for me). And if you’re a hardback or paperback reader, you can get signed copies!
You can also get unsigned books on Amazon or order them from your local bookstore, too. They’re all there.
Thanks again, Kaye. Have a fantastic weekend!
About Tower of the Four: The Rise of Magic
In a world where magic binds fate, trust is the most dangerous spell of all.
Ovalia was once a powerful mage, bound by loyalty to her closest companions. But when betrayal strikes, her friends—four trusted allies—cast her into The Dreaming, a nightmarish dimension where time and reality twist and tear apart. There, a dragon of unimaginable power incinerates her in a burst of fiery wrath.
But death is not the end.
Resurrected by an ancient magic, Ovalia emerges from The Dreaming stronger, fiercer, and driven by a singular purpose: vengeance. With her power growing in ways she cannot yet control, she will stop at nothing to make her former friends pay for their treachery. Yet the deeper she plunges into a world of revenge, the more she discovers the dark secrets of those she once trusted—and the devastating price of her resurrection.
Now, as shadows close in and alliances shift, Ovalia must decide whether she will remain a weapon of destruction… or become something far more dangerous.
My Review of Tower of the Four: The Rise of Magic
I received a digital copy of Tower of the Four: The Rise of Magic, by Todd Fahnesstock, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
Tower of Four: Rise of Magic, comprises episodes 7-9 in Todd Fahnestock’s Tower of the Four fantasy series. Even though I have not read episodes 1-6, I found the rules of the world clearly outlined where needed and had no problem following the later episodes in this volume.
The world building is top notch, as Fahnestock does a great job of introducing us to a world of magic, where seemingly nothing is impossible. Or is it? Fahnestock takes us on an adventure, as magic is conception on this world, through several turns of the tables over the centuries, cluing readers in to the rules of magic, and showing us just what it can do.
The characters are well-developed, but unpredictable, which in epic fantasy, can be a good thing. You never know who will be tempted or tricked into switching sides, and of course all good villians have an unsuspected trick up their sleeve. In this epic tale, the villians have more than a few. But, as is often in life, the character’s true inner selves, may be their downfall.The possession of magical powers changes people in unsuspected ways, and those who are at first percieved as heroes, may later be seen as villians in this tale of betrayal and revenge.
A magical adventure that is truly entertaining. I give Tower of the Four: The Rise of Magic five quills.
____________________________________
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.
_____________________________________
This segment of “Chatting with the Pros” 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.
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/RockStarOutlaw
Share this:
Chatting with the Pros: Bobby Nash
Posted: December 14, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Interview, Review, weird western | Tags: BobbyNash, Book Review, Chatting with the Pros, Dante's Reconing, Dante's Showdown, Dante's Tenth, Interview, Kaye Lynne Booth, The Tales of Dante Series, Writing to be Read 7 CommentsI’m pleased to have award winning author Bobby Nash as my guest today on “Chatting with the Pros”. Bobby writes both novels and short fiction, graphic novels and comic books, and has even written screenplays and worked on the movie sets.
About Bobby Nash
An award-winning author, Bobby Nash writes novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, graphic novels, and the occasional screenplay for a variety of publishers. He is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers. On occasion, Bobby appears in movies and TV shows, usually standing behind your favorite actor and sometimes they let him act. Recently, he was seen in Creepshow, Joe Stryker, Doom Patrol, The Outsider, Ozark, Lodge 49, Slutty Teenage Bounty Hunters, and more. He also draws from time to time.
He was named Best Author in the 2013 Pulp Ark Awards. Rick Ruby, a character co-created by Bobby and author Sean Taylor also snagged a Pulp Ark Award for Best New Pulp Character of 2013. Bobby has also been nominated for the 2014 New Pulp Awards and Pulp Factory Awards for his work. Bobby’s novel, Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt won a Paranormal Literary Award in the 2015 Paranormal Awards. The Bobby Nash penned episode of Starship Farragut “Conspiracy of Innocence” won the Silver Award in the 2015 DC Film Festival. Bobby’s story in The Ruby Files Vol. 2 “Takedown” was named Best Short Story in the 2018 Pulp Factory Awards, one of five nominations for The Ruby Files Vol. 2 (created by Bobby Nash & Sean Taylor). Bobby’s digest novel, Snow Drive was nominated for Best Novel in the 2018 Pulp Factory Awards. Bobby was part of Moonstone’s Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, which won a 2020 Pulp Factory Award for Best Pulp Anthology. Bobby’s novel, Nightveil: Crisis at the Crossroads of Infinity was also named Best Pulp Novel in the 2020 Pulp Factory Awards. In 2020, The Sangria Summit Society awarded the New Pulp Fiction Award to Bobby Nash for his work on Snow Falls and the Snow series.
For more information on Bobby Nash please visit him at http://www.bobbynash.com, http://www.ben-books.com, and across social media.
Interview
Kaye: You’ve been in the writing and publishing business a long time. What is your take on how the publishing industry has changed, and what adaptions have you had to make?
Bobby: There are certainly many more options for getting stories to readers now than when I started back in the pre-internet, pre-self-publishing model we have today. When I was getting started, you wrote a query, synopsis, and three chapters, printed them out, put them in a self-addressed stamped envelope, and mailed them to a publisher in the hopes you might hear back, or at the very least receive a form letter. Self-publishing wasn’t as well regarded as it is today so that wasn’t really an option. No internet limited your reach back then. Things are more open today, but that also means there are more books out there as well, so you have to work even harder to make your book stand out in a crowded field.
Today, being a writer means you’re running a small business. Marketing, promotion, publicist, travel/event planner, etc. That’s all on the writer, whether self-published or traditional.
I had to teach myself how to promote. I had to learn how to handle book production, pre-press, cover design, how to write a press release, things like that. I learned how to speak in public, to do panels and interviews, live podcasts, stage performances, and the like. As an author, you’re not just trying to sell books. You’re selling an experience. You’re part of that experience so you’re selling yourself as well. Branding is important to building an author brand. It is a bit time-consuming, but is important to my career as an author. Writing is just a small part of my job.
Kaye: According to your bio, you’ve written “novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, graphic novels, audio dramas, and the occasional screenplay”. Which form of writing would you say you enjoy most? Why?
Bobby: Not sure if ‘enjoy most’ is the best way to describe it. Each works different creative muscles so they’re not always easily compared. With prose, it’s all me so I see it all as I’m doing it. With comics, audio, and screenplays, I do my part, it goes away, then later comes back to me to do more, then goes away, and on and on until it’s finished. I’m part of a team there so I’m in and out at various stages of the process. Each has its enjoyable parts and the parts I like less. Just the nature of the beast, I suppose. I love them all. I will say that comic books were my first love. All of this desire to create, to tell stories, was born in the pages of comic books.
Kaye: Which type of writing presents the most challenge for you? Why?
Bobby: Novels require more time. As they are all me, I’m responsible for everything in them. That means I have to describe things in detail without it coming across as dull or as an info-dump. I’m painting the picture for the audience with words only. With scripts, most of what I write is direction for the artist or actors. They then interpret those details, adding another layer to the story. In a novel, if we walk into a character’s living room, I describe it so the reader can ‘see’ it. In a comic, I tell the artist it’s a living room. I will say that there are certain things that need to be there if important, but I leave it to the artist to design the living room. It’s a very different mindset. When I write for the artist, it’s not to entertain them, but to let them know what’s going on. The artists and actors aren’t my audience. They’re my partners.
Writing characters that are not mine also presents its own challenges. Doing work-for-hire on publisher-owned titles or media tie-ins means making sure I write the characters correctly. Research and study come in handy there. The characters have to stay in character. If not, the reader will notice something’s not right.
Kaye: You’ve done some work with graphic novels and comic books. How does the writing in these mediums differ from fiction?
Bobby: Comics are collaborative. The artist has input into the storytelling. We’re a creative team. When I write a script, as I mentioned earlier, most of what I write in the script is direction, so the artist knows what I’m thinking in regard to the panel. I also tell them what dialogue I’m planning, though this may change after I see the art. The artist then takes this information and creates the page with art and making that art flow and tell the story. Here’s an example of a script panel.
Panel 1. Bobby sat at the desk in his office, writing. Books and comics are stacked everywhere. Controlled chaos. He’s typing on a laptop, a soda and several action figures on his desk. He appears stumped. His hair is uncombed. Glasses slid down his nose. Deep in thought about his current story.
Caption: MEANWHILE, THE WRITER SITS TUCKED AWAY IN HIS OFFICE, UNAWARE OF THE DANGER HEADED HIS WAY.
WHY CAN’T I MAKE THIS PAGE WORK?
SFX (in the distance): BOOM!
SFX is sound effects. Something like that. The artist would then figure out the best way to draw this panel. It never comes back to me the way I pictured it in my head, which is fine. It almost always comes back better than I imagined. Seeing the art come in is one of the big joys of writing comics. It always makes me smile.
Kaye: How does one get into writing comic books or graphic novels? Is there a secret society one must break into? What’s the secret handshake?
Bobby: This is a harder question to answer than you might think. There’s an old joke that says that anyone who manages to break into comics is expected to brick up that entrance and close it off. Ha! Ha! Getting to work for larger, established comic book publishers is tough. Really tough. Most do not take submissions. Those that do want you to turn in a finished project, story, art, letters, colors, ready to print. Today, you basically have to be a comic book creator to get hired by publishers that create comics.
That said, we live in an age where you can put out your own comics yourself. Self-publishing, comic ebooks, and webstrips are all wonderful ways to show the world your work. If your goal is to work for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc., then showing the editors there your published work is the only way to show these publishers what you can do. If they like what they see, then they may reach out to you about possibly pitching something to them.
If you want to create comics, then create comics. That’s step one.
From there, you keep trying, keep creating, and hope you capture someone’s attention if doing work-for-hire comics is for you. There are smaller publishers that will hire creators to create comics. I write comics on a work-for-hire basis, but it took a long time to get into those publishers. Once they know you and your work, and if they like working with you, it’s easier to get additional comic book opportunities.
Kaye: Do you do your own illustrations for these books?
Bobby: Heavens, no. I leave that to the professionals who are so much better at it than I. I can draw. I doodle. I sketch. I can give the artist a sketch if I have a specific idea on how I would like to see a scene so he or she can see what I was thinking, but otherwise, I leave that to the artists. They’re so much better at it than me.
My dream as a kid was to be a comic book artist. I started writing so I would have stories to draw. Turns out, I was better at writing comics than drawing them. Eventually, I focused on the writing and eventually was hired to write a comic. I never looked back.
Kaye: You are a member of the International Association of Media Tie-Ins. Can you give a brief explanation of what a media tie-in is and tell us a little about how you got into that arena?
Bobby: Media tie-ins are stories based on characters that originated in other mediums. Novels, comics, short stories, etc. based on television shows or movies are media tie-ins. Star Trek, Star Wars, MCU, etc. These characters are usually licensed from the owner of the property and creators are hired by the publisher, often with approval from the rights holder. Stories are also approved by the rights holders as well. Media tie-ins generally come with a lot of rules, a lengthy list of the type of stories you can and cannot do. The owners of Zorro, for example, are there to protect Zorro. They won’t allow you to write a story that hurts the character. One of the biggest misconceptions I hear about media tie-ins are that many readers assume this is fanfiction. It’s not. With fanfic, you basically write what you want with no oversight. With tie-ins, there is oversight. There are rules. The challenge we, as writers, face is how to tell the best story we can within those parameters, which is not really that big a challenge. You just have to know what you can and cannot pitch. Don’t kill any main characters, cut off their arms, get them married or have children, things like that. Big changes to the characters will come from the owners. I’m just borrowing the character and returning it the way I received it.
I like to describe media tie-in writing like an episode of Star Trek. The original series usually opened with the Enterprise flying through space. Everyone is on the bridge, happy, maybe laughing. Then, trouble happens. The crew has to deal with, then solve a problem. At the end of the episode, the Enterprise flying through space. Everyone is on the bridge, happy, maybe laughing. Media tie-in writing generally happens like that. I can bend the characters, but not break them.
My media tie-in journey started with a local access morning kids television series called Roger Rocket. He was an astronaut musician who had puppets on the spaceship with him and they played music videos for kids. I met him at a comic shop and he hired me to write a comic for his show. Though, very little of my work survived him deciding to rewrite it himself, that was my first tie-in experience. Years later, Moonstone invited me to write a Green Hornet short story. From there, I was lucky to be invited to write other characters like Zorro, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Lone Ranger, Night Beat, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Box 13, Remo Williams, At The Earth’s Core, and a number of properties owned by various authors and publishers. It’s fun to play in someone else’s sandbox from time to time.
Kaye: How does one get into media tie-ins? Do you go knocking or do they find you? What advice would you give to someone trying to break in to media tie-ins? Is there a secret handshake for that one?
Bobby: Much like comics, they tend to find you. Unlike anthologies or company-owned characters, getting hired for media tie-ins means you have to be approved by the editor and publisher then approved by the owners of the media tie-in property. I was once tapped by an editor for a media tie-in project only to be told no by the owners of the property because they wanted a more well-known writer. That’s their choice, of course. It stung, though.
Usually, media tie-ins are not open calls. The publisher reaches out and invites writers they know to be part of it. There’s a method to writing tie-ins. You have to understand what kind of stories you can tell or not. Because I now have experience, I know what stories not to pitch because they will probably never be greenlit. As I mentioned previously, media tie-in writing is not fanfiction. That’s very important to remember. Writing tie-ins comes with a lot more rules, a lot more do’s and don’ts than other types of writing. You have to write a story that fits the brand you’re writing. The characters have to act and sound right. They have to be in character. Your story should fit seamlessly into the world of the media project that you’re writing.
As with comics, get work out there. Write your own characters and get them out there as your resume, as your writing samples. That will be what tells the publishers if your style fits their licensed characters. Once publishers get to know you, they may invite you to be part of their media tie-in projects.
As with everything in publishing, a lot of it boils down to timing and luck.
Kaye: Your work has won or been considered for many awards over the years. Which of these would you say you are the most proud of, and why?
Bobby: The first one is always special. There are also those that happen without you even knowing. I won best author in the Pulp Ark Awards, which was a huge surprise. Winning the Sangria Summit Society’s Pulp Fiction Award was also a nice surprise. I had no idea I was in the running for either. Awards are nice. It’s a bit of an ego boost. You feel like you’re doing something right, but also that others have noticed. Awards aren’t why I write, but it is a great feeling when it happens.
Kaye: Which do you enjoy writing most, heroes or villains? Why?
Bobby: Villains get the best lines. They get to do the coolest stuff. Villains are fun to write.
Kaye: Every author has those stories which are near and dear to their heart, those that are just special for whatever reason. Which of your works would you say falls into that sweet spot for you? Why?
Bobby: My go to answer for this question is usually Evil Ways. Evil Ways was my first published novel, and the book that launched this career of mine. It wasn’t always fun or easy. My original publisher turned out to be horrible, but I had a book in hand as a resume that allowed me to reach out to other publishers and show them my work. I picked up some writing gigs that kept me working until my contract ran out and I got the rights to Evil Ways back. Then, I published it myself, which was my first foray into self-publishing. So, yeah, I owe a lot to Evil Ways.
Kaye: You have a Patreon, where you market your books. Can you tell us a little about that? How effective do you find Patreon to be compared to other venues for selling your books?
Bobby: Patreon is nice. I have a small following. I post a writing blog there, keeping everyone up do date on work. I also have an ebook club ($5 and up tiers) where most of my ebooks exist. I also run serialized novels and novellas there, posting chapters every week-ish (sometimes I fall behind). Patrons are part beta readers that way. This allows me to be more productive and gets at least two additional novellas out a year more than I would otherwise. Good motivation.
I like Patreon. I don’t really sell many books through there though. My patrons tend to be readers who were probably already getting the books who are there to support me. That support means a lot to me.
Kaye: Which book marketing strategies do you find to be most effective?
Bobby: My most impactful way to sell books is at in-person events. Getting out to conventions, conferences, libraries, bookstores, and other events where I can meet people, talk up the books, just get to know readers. Outside of that, I use social media, I do interviews like this one, go on podcasts and virtual panels, write and send out press releases to news outlets, create and send out a free monthly newsletter (you can sign up at https://www.subscribepage.com/NashNews), and other opportunities as they present themselves to talk about writing and my books. There are many marketing methods out there. Not all of them work the same for every book. A promotion method that works for Evil Ways, for example, might not work for Dante’s Reckoning. You have to be willing to try new promotional paths to see what works and what doesn’t.
Kaye: Your most recent work seems to be your Dante novels. Would you like to talk a little about that series?
Bobby: The Dante books are fun. I wrote a short story for Valhalla Books’ The Devil’s Due prose anthology. The theme was that all deals come with a price. I wrote a story set in the old west, a mining town called Dante. There, a deal had been made years before with an other-dimensional being. It was time to pay up, but there were those in the town who wanted to keep the final settlement from happening. It was a fun little horror/western story. The publisher later came to me and asked what happened next. I told him I didn’t know. I just wrote a short story. I hadn’t planned any further than that. He said, this is a series. So, I got busy writing. Book 3, Dante’s Reckoning just released this Halloween. I am working on book 4, Dante’s Rebirth for 2025. I love it when things work out this way. I’m glad the publisher saw something in the concept that made him want to keep it going.
Kaye: Where can readers who would like to learn more about you and your works find you?
Bobby: I’m all over social media. There’s links at my website, which is www.bobbynash.com. This is the main hub of all things me. Ha! Ha! There are links to everywhere you can find me on the site. My indie press, BEN Books is at www.ben-books.com. These are the titles I publish myself. Please visit me and say hello.
About the A Tale of Dante Series
Welcome to Dante!
Dante, Arizona is not your average mining town.
Many dreamers have come to this barren speck of desert to strike it rich. Gold, silver, and other valuable minerals are there for the taking if you’re brave enough to pay the price, this wealth, power, and influence. Dante turned peasants into millionaires overnight.
Some suggest that these men sold their souls for the find of a lifetime. Did Dante’s founders make a deal with the devil? If so, what was it? More importantly, what will it cost the town? Nothing happens for free. Every deal has its price and there are still deals to be made.
This brings new blood to town as well as old blood. When a young reporter’s assistant becomes enamored of the daughter of a new arrival, he learns the terrifying truth behind the town. A deal was made.
And payday is coming.
Dante’s long nightmare begins here with the short story that started it all and two new tales from Dante. From the pages of The Devil’s Due comes Dante’s Tenth by award-winning author Bobby Nash.
My Review of the A Tale of Dante Series
I remember reviewing my first weird western, before I was even aware that there was such a genre, back in 2020, a book in the western genre with dragons, trolls, dwarves, and other beings from the fantasy domain. Since that time, I’ve read and review several more weird westerns and I’ve grown quite fond of the genre. Naturally, when I saw that Bobby Nash had a weird western series, I offered to review the whole series for this segment of “Chatting with the Pros”. And I’m glad that I did. One never knows what will happen next in the A Tale of Dante series, where vampires lurk in the shadows and werewolves roam the desert landscape surrounding Dante, Arizona. By hiding in plain sight, they manuvuere behind the scenes and interact with the unmidful miners and townfolk.
The town sits central in the hub of a great evil, where deals were struck long ago and now, a debt has become due. At times it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad, but make no mistake that there will be a reckoning. These stories can be read as stand alones, but I recommend reading Dante’s Showdown before Dante’s Reckoning, as the later takes place after the former. Dante’s Tenth is a collection of three short Dante stories which offer insight into three of the characters readers meet in the other two books.
The protagonists are likeable, and the villians deplorable, and lines are drawn between good and evil, if a little blurred at times. Vampires and werewolves abound in the old west town of Dante, and even the good guys carry guns. Bobby Nash brings us a vampiric priest and an army of the undead, a couple of gunfighters and a newspaper reporter who takes her job seriously to champion on the side of goodness and stop the final reckoning from taking place.
An excellent weird western series, I give the Tales of Dante series five quills.
__________________________________
This segment of “Chatting with the Pros” 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.
Stop by and see what we have to offer today: https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/
Share this:
Chatting with New Blood: Mathew V. Brockmeyer
Posted: November 23, 2024 Filed under: Chatting with New Blood, Horror, Interview | Tags: Chatting with New Blood, horror, Interview, Kaye Lynne Booth, Mathew V. Brockmeyer, Writing to be Read 10 CommentsI’m pleased to introduce horror author, Mathew V. Brockmeyer. Mathew has published a novel and two short fiction collections of his own, and has had a number of short stories featured in various anthologies and horror magazines, both online and in print. His novel, Kind Nepenthe, won the 2018 Maxy award for best suspense thriller. (You can read my review of Kind Nepenthe here.)
About Mathew V. Brockmeyer
Matthew V. Brockmeyer lives in an off-grid cabin, deep in the forest of Northern California, with his wife and two children. He enjoys howling at the moon and drenching his fangs in human blood.
He is the author of the critically-acclaimed novel KIND NEPENTHE: A Savage Tale of Terror Set in the Heart of California’s Marijuana Country.
His short stories have been featured in numerous publications, both in print and online, including, among others, Infernal Ink Magazine, Not One of Us, Timeless Tales Magazine, Body Parts Magazine, Alephi, Pulp Metal Magazine, and the anthologies The Edge: Infinite Darkness, After the Happily Ever After, and One Hundred Voices.
Interview
Kaye: Hello Mathew. I’m pleased to have you as my guest today. Horror is a genre that has always fascinated me. I read horror long before I thought of writing it. Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, John Saul are a few of my favorite horror authors. But its a genre I struggle with writing, so I’m hoping to pick up a few tips from you today.
So, let’s start with the basics. Why horror?
Mathew: Well, first one might ask what even is horror? Like pornography, many say it’s hard to define, but when you see it you know it. I believe there’s elements of horror in all great literature, from Steinbeck to the Grimms Brothers to Dostoevsky. I also tend to classify things as horror that others do not, such as the works of Cormac McCarthy and much of Joyce Carol Oates. I also see many elements of horror in true crime, of which I have a life-long love. In fact much of my time these days is spent working on a true crime podcast called Murder Coaster I put out with Bram Stoker-award-winning author Christa Carmen, an old friend of mine.
But back to your question, why horror? Well, first off there’s the thrill, the roller-coaster-ride rush of adrenaline. It’s highly entertaining. But on a deeper level there’s an existential confrontation with our mortality. Horror forces one to reconcile with death, which is the final destination for all of us. I believe reconciling with death makes us more empathetic and better human beings. Ever notice horror freaks and true crime fans are the nicest people you could ever want to meet?
Finally there is the implied warnings and life lessons. Like fairy tales of old, horror, as well as true crime, teaches us to be aware. Life can be dangerous, can be scary, monsters are out there.
Kaye: Where does inspiration for your stories come from? Is your mind just terribly twisted and dark?
Mathew: Most my inspiration comes from reality, which I find much more terrifying than any vampire or werewolf tale. I’ve led a wild life, seen many crazy things, been in many scary situations, I have a lot of material to pull from there. And true crime has always been an huge inspiration, from the Manson Family to serial killers, cults of all sorts, these are the places I go to seeking inspiration.
I occasionally write about vampires, ghosts and werewolves, but I see them more as metaphors for types of people than actual tropes. Vampires as psychic parasites that feed off of people’s life energy and soul, dead inside and living off of other’s misery, and in doing so creating fellow monsters. Ghosts as elements of the past that haunt us, lurking in our subconscious. And werewolves as folks with an inner beast raging inside them, a monster hiding within waiting for the right moment to show itself.
But, yes, my mind is naturally twisted and dark. I really don’t know why. I find some bizarre comfort in the horrific. Perhaps it makes me feel better about my own situation,
Kaye: Your novel, Kind Nepenthe, won the 2018 Maxy Award for best suspense thriller. Is this something that you sought after or was it a complete surprise?
Mathew: It was entered by my publisher and was a nice little surprise, for sure.
Kaye: Much of your writing career is based on short fiction. You have stories published in numerous anthologies and magazines. It is a good way to get your name out there. Do you have any tips for submitting short fiction that might get an author closer to acceptance?
Mathew: Carefully going over the submission guidelines is probably the most important, making sure it’s the right genre, the right length, whether it should be submitted as a word doc or in the body of the email, whether it’s a blind submission and your name shouldn’t be on the manuscript, all of these simple things are so important and often ignored.
Kaye: What differences do you see in writing short fiction and novel length works? Which do you prefer?
Mathew: Well, they say a novelist is a failed short story writer, take that how you will. The length of a novel obviously leaves a lot of room for character development and world building and a longer narrative arc. The short story has to quickly get to the point. Some say every chapter of a novel should hold the elements of a short story, and many writers have submitted chapters as short stories. When Louise Erdrich was writing her first novel Love Medicine she famously had some chapters published as short stories, which went on to win awards, and helped establish her as a writer. I can’t say I prefer one over the other, though, obviously, it’s much more of a commitment to write a novel than a short story.
Kaye: What advice would you give to an author wanting to break into the horror genre?
Mathew: Read, read, read. Get to know the community. There’s a vibrant horror scene on social media. The extreme horror and splatter punk communities are blowing up right now. It appears to be a great time to be an indie horror writer.
Kaye: Who are your favorite authors? Do you try to emulate them?
Mathew: Off the top of my head my favorite authors are John Steinbeck, Cormac McCarthy, Bret Easton Ellis, Donna Tart, Irvine Welsh, John Irving and Andre Dubus III. Do I try to emulate them? Yes. Absolutely, though I try to always give everything a uniqueness and my own personal style. But when writing a pastoral scene I will stop and think, how would Steinbeck phrase this? Or when trying to be postmodern or meta I’ll think, what would Bret Ellis do to convey how advertising and television has shaped this person’s soul? Of course trying to sound like Cormac McCarthy or Irvine Welsh could be dangerous and absurd, ha ha ha. But in the end, we stand on the shoulders of those before us.
Kaye: What’s the best piece of writing advice you were ever given?
Mathew: Make it harder for your protagonist, make their lives harder, their conflicts more intense. How can the situation be worse? More life and death? Brings us to that point.
Kaye: What’s next for Mathew V. Brockmeyer? Is there another book in the works?
Mathew: I’m trying to sell a finished novel, a prequel to Kind Nepenthe. I’m finishing up a novella. I have a few short stories I’ve recently sold that await publication. But my main focus right now is this podcast Murder Coaster. It’s a fully scripted podcast where we often act out the stories, more like an old-time radio dramatization than a modern podcast, with sound effects and full musical scores. It’s insanely labor intensive. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started it, but I love the process. I really love podcasts, there’s an independent, DIY, almost punk rock element to them. Anyone with a microphone and computer can make one. It’s a very underground thing.
Kaye: Where can readers learn more about you and your works?
Mathew: For my podcast go to murdercoasterpodcast.com and for me go to matthewvbrockmyer.com. As for social media I’m most active on Facebook and have a lot of fun there interacting with people. Thanks so much for having me!
I want to thank Mathew for joining us here today. His tips for submitting short fiction, (or anything, really), are spot on to what I have experienced in both submitting and in receiving submissions. And his take on emulating his favorite authors made a lot of sense.
_______________________________________________
This segment of “Chatting with New Blood” 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.
Get your copy today: https://books2read.com/RockStarOutlaw
