In Touch With Nature – Leopard Tortoise, one of the Small Five #Africanwildlife #leopardtortoise

Posted: September 24, 2025 | Author: robertawrites235681907 | Filed under: Africa, Animals, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Poetry, Wildlife | Tags: In Touch With Nature, Leopard Tortoise, Robbie Cheadle, South Africa, Wildlife, Writing to be Read | 23 Comments

This month, I am featuring the leopard tortoises. One of the small five African animals, along with the elephant shrew, ant lion, rhinoceros beetle, and buffalo weaver.

Leopard Tortoise

One of the ‘small five’

whose names relate to the big five

the leopard tortoise

with its distinctive patterned shell

is a signature animal

of the African savannah.

Lacking a nuchal shield

this tortoise is the only member of its family

that can raise its head

and is thus, the only tortoise

that can swim. It can also stay under water

for up to ten minutes.

It’s sex is determined by

the temperature at which

the egg is incubated. Amazing!

And, this incredible creature

can climb. It uses its strong toenails

to manoeuvre over rocky terrain.

Living up to one hundred years

you can tell its age by counting

the scutes or ridges on its shell

just like counting rings on a tree.

If you find one in South Africa

you may not keep it without a permit

as they are a protected species.

Should you manage to get a permit

do not hibernate it in the refrigerator

as leopard tortoises do not hibernate

but rather enter a state of reduced activity

called brumation which is similar

to deep sleep. They require supplemental

heating during the winter months

as they are not adapted to cold.

Picture caption: Leopard tortoises at Madikwe Game Reserve

my video of a leopard tortoise that came into the lodge grounds.

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author photograph 2025

Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.

Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).

Roberta is also the author and illustrator of seventeen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of four poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

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

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

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

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

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Like this post? Are you a fan of this blog series? Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.

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Treasuring Poetry – Kevin Morris shares about his book, Passing Through: Some thoughts on life and death, and a review #poetry #poetrycommunity #TreasuringPoetry

Posted: September 17, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: Book Review, K. Morris, Passing Through, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | 45 Comments

Today, I am thrilled to welcome talented Kevin Morris back to Treasuring Poetry. Kevin was one of my inaugural guests when I first started this series nearly six years ago. Kevin’s latest book is a real treasure and I am proud to showcase it here.

The blurb of your book, Passing Through: Some thoughts on life and death, explains the circumstances that resulted in this book of poetry. Please can you give a bit of background to this health event and how it motivated you to write the poetry in this book.

In late January this year I collapsed whilst at home. At that time I had no idea that I had suffered a seizure. Therefore, I continued my life as normal. Then, on the first Sunday in February I suffered another seizure whilst out walking with my guide dog, Apollo, and a friend and her dog.

Following my seizure I was admitted to Croydon University hospital where I suffered another seizure, as a consequence of which I was kept in overnight for observations and tests.

The next morning I was discharged with a diagnosis of epilepsy and Levetiracetam, tablets designed to treat the condition.

Following my discharge from hospital, I decided to spend a week with my family in Liverpool to recuperate prior to returning to work. However, a few days after having arrived in Liverpool I lost most of the movement in the right side of my body, began slurring my speech and became very confused. Consequently I was admitted to hospital where a scan revealed that I was suffering from a brain abscess which was causing the health issues I was experiencing.

Having undergone an operation for the removal of my brain abscess, I spent some 6 weeks in the Walton Centre recovering, during which time I was treated with antibiotic drips and, in the latter stages by a combination of drips and oral antibiotics. My health scare brought me face-to-face with my own mortality in a profoundly shocking manner. And being a poet I responded in the only way I knew how, by spending a considerable part of my time in hospital in the composition of poetry. Hence my book, “Passing Through: Some Thoughts on Life and Death” was born.

What is your main hope for readers of this poetry book? What would you like them to take away from the experience?

Writing poetry whilst recovering in hospital provided me with tremendous solace. I hope that those who read my work will derive both pleasure and solace from my collection. We all must come face-to-face with death and I believe that poetry can help us when this occurs.

Which poem/s is/are the most meaningful for you in the collection. Please share the text of the poem/s and what it means to you.

The first poem in the collection, “On the Death of a Writer”, was written in 2024 prior to me becoming unwell. It relates to the death of a writer I met only once. However, I was reminded of the poem on becoming ill, hence it seemed appropriate to include it here:

“The rain is falling again.

The garden smells fresh

And a solitary blackbird sings.

I heard of your death.

Your book remains unread.

You had others to write

And now are dead.

Each man has his plans,

Literary or otherwise.

But none knows

When his eyes may close.

The clock ticks as I write.

The scent of wet earth

Enters the house.

Tonight, I will close my eyes

And tomorrow write…” .

Whilst in the Walton Centre, I longed to return to my home in London’s Upper Norwood, and my poem “Humility” deals with my yearning to be back in my own space:

“My old blue armchair

Is still there

By the wooden bookcase.

In that space,

I sat and read

As the antique clock ticked

My day away.

Here, no clock ticks

And my need

Is for these antibiotic drips.

But how I miss

My old bookcase

And the ageing armchair where

I read the day away.

When I return again

To my own private place

The tick tock

Of my old clock

From high on the bookcase

Will teach me humility.”

Are there any poems by other poets on the subject of life and death that influenced your writing? If yes, is there any specific poem that you would like to share.

Following my discharge from Liverpool’s Walton Centre, I spent some time recovering at my mum’s home. My poem, “Emily’s Carriage” was composed during this period and stems from a walk I took on a sunny windswept day. It was also influenced by Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I Could not Stop for Death”, hence the title “Emily’s Carriage”:

Because I Could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – ’tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses’ Heads

Were toward Eternity –“.

What’s next for Kevin Morris?

Back in 2019 I published “The Selected Poems of K Morris”. Since then I have published several other collections, including this one. I have long intended to update my “Selected Poems” and will now sit down and do so.

My review of Passing Through: Some thoughts on life and death by K Morris

Picture caption: Cover of Passing Through: Some Thoughts on Life and Death by K Morris

I have read a lot of this poet’s thoughtful and though provoking poetry and, for me, this is his best collection to date. A short collection of intense and heart felt poems written by the poet in the aftermath of a seizure leading to brain surgery, and his subsequent recovery in hospital.

Having experienced a similar health incident with a loved one, I related strongly to Kevin’s reflections on both life and death as he grappled to come to terms with ‘looking death in the eye’ as depicted in his poem, Seizure:

“I felt no cold breath of Death
Nor the Reaper’s skeletal hand
Yet he greeted me
And I mumbled and tumbled
And found myself on the cold ground
Where all are bound.”

The tedium and drift towards institutionalisation that characterise a long stay in hospital are exposed through the poet’s fine words in Free Air”

“How dear the air is to me.
It enters through my window
And calls to me of liberty
And says how, below, people don’t know
The profundity of the air.”

A change in attitude towards life having faced mortality intimately is a common reaction. I have witnessed this same change in others and I believe it does lead to better life choices and seizing joy in moments. All of these reflections and subtle changes in outlook are clearly evident in these compelling poems.

Extract from A Garden in Early Spring:

“I could decide to go inside
As the temperature has dropped.
Yet the blackbird has not stopped
His song, which brings delight.
So I stay as the day
Moves imperceptibly towards the night.

A beautiful and moving collection.

Purchase Passing Through: Some thoughts on life and death from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0F8TWMZJD

About Kevin Morris

Picture caption: Author photograph of Kevin Morris

I was born in Liverpool on 6 January 1969, a year best known of course for my birth. Well no actually it is better known for the moon landings which certain

peculiar conspiracy theorists still maintain never took place (the moon landings that is, not my birth!).

One of my earliest recollections is of eating roast dinners, on Saturday in British Home Stores with my grandfather. Although cooked in the kitchen of a department store they tasted wonderful to a small boy but then again it is easy to look back at one’s childhood with rose tinted spectacles.

On Saturdays my grandfather and I would invariably pop into W H Smiths and buy a book. Often he bought Enid Blighton books and I’ve happy memories of him

reading to me about the adventures of Julian, Dick and Ann – not forgetting Timmy the Dog (who could!) Being blind, it was a real treat to sit on my grandfather’s knee, hearing him regail me with children’s adventures. It was from my grandfather – a man who had never so much dreamed of going to university that I derived my love of literature.

As I grew older I learned to read braille which opened up a world of independent reading to me. Only a tiny proportion of books are available in braille, however it was still amazing to me, as a young boy to be able to sit with a book on my knee reading for myself. Besides braille I was also a huge consumer of spoken word cassettes, everything from Treasure Island to Wuthering Heights.

I still possess almost all of the many cassettes which I have purchased and had bought for me over the years but many of them have now warped with age so are, sadly unusable. Today it is the text to speech facility on my Kindle and iBooks (using voiceover) on my iPad which is my favourite means of accessing the wonderful world of literature.

I attended school in Liverpool and later went on to read history and politics at university. I must be a glutton for punishment as having obtained my degree

I went onto study for and obtain a MA in political theory (I can see your eyes glazing over already)!

Since 1994 I have lived and worked in London. I live in Crystal Palace, a part of London high above sea level and famed for it’s steep hills. It is very

green and the air is much fresher than many parts of London. I like were I live and I’m lucky that my home overlooks a large garden and an historic park.

I began to write seriously in mid 2012. All of my writing takes place in my spare room surrounded by books. Being blind I use a standard laptop with Jaws (software which converts text into speech and braille allowing me to access my computer’s screen).

I can not write with background noise other than the singing of birds, as conversation and other extraneous sounds interfere with my concentration. I do most of my writing at weekends and once the bit is between my teeth I can write for hours sustained by copious cups of coffee!

Other than writing I enjoy walking in green places with my guide dog Trigger, listening to a wide variety of music and socialising with friends.

I hope that you enjoy my books.

To find me on amazon.com please go to: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CEECWHY

You can visit my website here for regular updates: http://kmorrispoet.com

About Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author picture

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

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

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

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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This segment of “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

Treasuring Poetry – A chat with poet and blogger, Marsha Ingrao, and a review #TreasuringPoetry #poetrycommunity #bookreview

Posted: June 18, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry, Women's Fiction and Poetry | Tags: Embracing the Power to Live, Marsha Ingrao, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | 68 Comments

Today, I am delighted to host blogger and hostess of Story Chat about which she says the following: “Story Chat is more than a writing challenge. It is a unique and proven online program that encourages interaction between authors and readers. It’s part writers group, part beta readers, part fun fiction, and pure enjoyment.”

You can find out more about Story Chat here: https://alwayswrite.blog/story-chat-2025-a-unique-blogging-program/

Now, over to Marsha.

Robbie, thank you so much for inviting me to be on your blog. It is such an honor. I’ve spent a lot of time reading and researching poetry since you sent these questions to me, so it’s taken me a long time to come up with the answers.

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

I adore reading tankas, but my favorite style to read is freestyle, words that are natural without the constraints of order.

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

Mary Oliver is a new author to me, but well-known to many. I picked her because I have so many favorites among our friends, and I don’t want to choose. Mary Oliver published poetry from 1963 to 2015 before she passed in 2019. She was well known for her observations of the natural world, tying them to deep emotions or emotional events, as you can see in the following poem.

Gethsemane

By Mary Oliver

The grass never sleeps.

Or the roses.

Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.

Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.

The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,

and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,

and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.

Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe the wind wound itself into a silver tree, and didn’t move,

maybe

The lake far away, where once he walked as on

a blue pavement,

lay still and waited, wild awake.

Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not

keep that vigil, how they must have wept,

so utterly human, knowing this too

must be a part of the story.

What I loved about this poem is that it takes a familiar biblical event way outside the box. When you saw the title, Gethsemene, did you think about the grass sleeping or the wind winding itself into a silver tree? I didn’t, until her poem suggested that I think about it.

How can I train myself to think past and around the outer edges of my topic? That is my goal this year.

What is your favourite style of poetry to write?

I like free style, acrostic, limericks, and tankas best. But I also enjoy other syllabic poems and some of the French form poetry when I want a challenge. What I want to improve this year are some of the nuances that I’ve missed in writing syllabic poetry as well as thinking outside the box with freestyle poems.

What is your favourite of your own poems?

Messages From the Cat (free verse)

Poems, no longer innocent kittens,

Intentionally sneak up on you at night,

Concise imagery padding silently across the carpet,

Weaving its way into your dreams.

Rhyming couplets stealthily leap onto your bed,

Pretending they would curl at your feet for a long nap,

Or lie warm against the curve of your spine,

But instead, they pounce on your head, tearing it open.

If you cry out, call for help,

Precise verses slip away, leaving only an open gash.

Life’s language drips from the wound.

You jump to consciousness, capture each phrase

As it percolates from your throbbing skull

Like slush melting away from Frosty on a sunny day.

At sunrise, linguistic gems gleaming,

Iambic felines sun themselves

In a streaming hot shower of midmorning light,

Licking their forms to glistening perfection,

For all to stroke with admiration,

While you trod off to work,

Exhausted from your sleepless scratch with immortality.

Please tell us about your poetry book, Embracing the Power to Live. How did this book come about? What would you like readers to take away from this collection?

You’ve asked several important questions, Robbie. I hope I’ll answer the first question as I answer the second and third ones.

I’ve written (and kept) poems since the 1980s when my first husband and I moved to Visalia, California, to pastor a tiny church in the rural community of Ivanhoe, California. At that time, I experimented with different styles of poetry, most of which were out of date, but writing them challenged me.

After I retired in 2012, I wanted to write a book, but my blog led me in a different direction. Arcadia Books contacted me because of some of my posts about Woodlake, California. Five months later, they published my book, Images of America Woodlake.

Then I tried fiction, and struggled for years trying to write a bestseller that would become the next Netflix series. That didn’t happen.

I loved blogging, and that’s what I did best, so I gave up my dream of publishing a book of my own work until I met Colleen Chesebro and had a year of writing Haiku and other syllabic poetry under my belt. Meanwhile, several of my blogging friends started publishing poetry books. I was intrigued. Normally, I struggled to read a whole book of poetry. However, Robbie, when I read your book, Lion Scream, that changed for me. I was not ready for this poem. I had to put the book aside and wait for my heart to calm down. I had never read such moving poetry in my life.

Rhino Dilemma

Near-sighted eyes observe

Through tall, swaying grass

Yellowish curtain hides heavy-set body

But, camouflage fails him

The poachers close in

Small bird cries a warning

Animal reacts

Stands upright, facing the wind, ready for flight

Tranquiliser gun fires

Ground shakes when beast falls

Savage men move quickly

Hack out valued horn

Animal left bleeding;

awakes to sure death

Tears of pain and anguish

Slide from fading eyes

Cheadle, Robbie. Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife (pp. 22-23). Kindle Edition.

As I read the poem aloud to a friend, while I prepared for this interview, it brought tears to my eyes and made my stomach churn. I wanted my poems to matter, but I didn’t have an agenda. So, I fell back on what I do naturally, which is to encourage people to do what they do best.

When I picked my word of the year for this year, the title fell into place. I wanted to create something that would be uplifting to others and would help them fulfill their own dreams. So, somehow, I had to go from the poems I had written about random topics and pull them together with new poems that would minister to people’s souls and encourage them to find their own creativity.

I drew a lot from Sunflower Tanka and Cindy Georgakas’s book Celebrating Poetry. As I read her book, I fell in love with certain poems and the titles of poems. For example, isn’t her title “Messages from the Moon” a great title? The idea of the moon sending me messages set my imagination on fire. It became “Messages from the Cat” in Embracing the Power to Live. There were no similarities in the poetry or the subject, but I loved the title.

I have already started to realize the joy that comes from reaching the goal of helping others. I’ve shared on social media and my blog about my neighbor Dan Daniels. Dan started writing poetry at age 11 when he was a rough and tumble New York City kid in a large family. He started working at about age seven.

As he handed me an aged sheet of paper with a typewritten poem, he told me I was only the second person he had ever shared his poem with. I was blown away. He is now in his 80s, and he and his wife inspired one of the poems in my book, “Aging Gracefully.” This is his poem, and I am proud to announce that you are now collectively the third person he is sharing it with.

Stand Amongst the Flowers Gentle

By Dan Daniels

Stand amongst the flowers gentle

Look and smell and feel their power

How they light the day with beauty

Not long enough to stay an hour.

Stand amongst the flowers gentle

Let them fill your soul inspired

Touch them all with love and kindness

Nothing more of you required.

Nature all around us speaks

We, who hear, must answer strongly

Love all that nature has to give

Stand amongst the flowers gentle.

Robbie, I can’t wait to read what your readers say about Dan’s poem. When I called to ask permission to use his poem, he and his wife were sitting in their living room reading Embracing the Power to Live and talking about where he might have hidden the other poems he wrote through the years. Dan has Parkinson’s Disease, so I am going to help him publish them in a small book that he can give to his family as part of his legacy to them.

Another friend called me the week the book came out to tell me she was ordering it for a couple of relatives of hers who had stopped communicating with each other and with her. She thought somehow my book might encourage them to start talking. Helping Dan come out of his poetry shell and helping people find ways to communicate their feelings exemplifies the reasons I wrote the book, Embracing the Power to Live.

Thank you again for inspiring and encouraging me, and for inviting me to take part in this project. It means so much to me.

Thank you, Marsha, for this wonderful interview. It is truly amazing how much you have gained from being part of this on-line poetry community. I am deeply honoured that my poem resonated with you and thank you for the contribution of Dan’s gorgeous poem as well as detailing how Sunflower Tanka and Celebrating Poetry inspired and guided you.

My review of Embracing the Power to Live

Picture caption: Cover of Embracing the Power to Live featuring a painting of a teenage girl stepping through a door

What Amazon says

Embracing the Power to Live is a poetic journey of a woman’s perseverance despite life’s hard knocks. This collection taps into the true spirit of poetry—reaching ordinary people with the message that they are enough. Some poems hold profound meaning. Others are included simply for the fun of playing with words – a joy reborn when she stepped into the world of syllabic poetry.
Told by different authority figures in her life that she would never marry or achieve her dreams, the author defied the discouraging voices. Her poetry shatters shame uplifts the spirit, and encourages readers to embrace the strength to do the same.
This collection isn’t a self-help guidebook—it’s an invitation to laugh, weep, grow, and live together, connecting hearts through poetry. Embracing the Power to Live is for anyone who seeks to rise above a spinning world to gain strength, perspective, and a new beginning.

My review

This is a most unusual and enjoyable collection of poems, photographs, memories, and religious quotes that collectively tell the story of the poet’s life. A most interesting memoir, the poet has not shied away from sharing her human experience in all its marvelous highs and compelling lows. The short paragraphs embellishing the poems with additional colour and memories are enlightening and the photographs make the whole experience more visual and vivid.

This book is presented in different chapters, each focusing on different aspects of life and living to highlight and reveal in. While the poems are all encompassing and share moments of sadness and discomfort, the collective package is a positive experience of finding contentedness and peace to support the poet on her journey through life in all its manifestations. Religion, the poet’s guiding light, is threaded throughout the book as a common thread of hope and support.

I am sharing one poem, It’s hard being semi smart (pantoum) which I feel embodies the spirit of this book and its relatability to us all.

It’s hard being semi-smart because,
It’s so hard to choose.
I have many skills with several flaws
And activities that enthuse.

It’s so hard to choose
Because I’m sort of good.
And activities that enthuse
Make me think I should.

Because I’m sort of good,
I try to do too much.
Makes me think I should,
But nothing has the master’s touch.

I try to do too much.
I have many skills with several flaws.
But nothing has the master’s touch.
It’s hard being semi-smart because.

In closing, I must mention the cover of this book which I think is gorgeous.

Purchase Embracing the Power to Live from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Power-Live-Marsha-Ingrao-ebook/dp/B0F6423PSJ

Find Marsha Ingrao’s Amazon Author page here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CJ9ZLQ9C

About Marsha Ingrao

Picture caption: Marsha Ingrao’s author photograph featuring her in a blue top with her dog against a setting sun background.

Marsha’s newest book, Embracing the Power to Live, a poetry anthology and memoir, is set to come out in late May or early June. She is the contributing editor for Story Chat Volumes I and II. Previous works include a chapter in This Is How We Grow (2023) by Yvette Prior, contributions to Sunflower Tanka, a Poetry Anthology by Colleen Chesebro and Robbie Cheadle (2024), and Images of America: Woodlake – Arcadia Publishing (August 13, 2015), available on Amazon. In addition, Ingrao published numerous poems and articles. She has blogged since 2012.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts, Teaching, and Administrative Credentials from Fresno State University. As a bilingual teacher, she earned a CLAD Certificate. While employed at Tulare County Office of Education, she earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Fresno Pacific University. At the county office, she developed curriculum for Migrant Education and later served as a History Consultant for the county’s Educational Resource Services.

Ingrao believes in lifelong learning. Today, she remains active as a blogger, writer, photographer, and history buff.

She grew up in Indiana and Oregon, moved as an adult to Colorado, then near the Giant Sequoias. After living in Arizona for four years, she and her husband, Vince, her dog, Goldie, and her cat, Moji, have recently returned to the land of the big trees in California.

About Robbie Cheadle

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

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

Get Your Copy Today!

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

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

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

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

Wrapping up the “Poetry Treasures 5: Simple Pleasures” Book Blog Tour

Posted: April 27, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Editing, Giveaways, Poetry, Treasuring Poetry, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Kaye Lynne Booth, Poetry, Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, Robbie Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 40 Comments

Picture Caption: WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Tour Banner

We’re wrapping up the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Book Blog Tour. We’ve had a great tour this past week and I hope you all visited each stop and left a comment for a chance to win one of three digital copies of Poetry Treasures 5 in our giveaway. If you missed a stop or joined us late, you can still go back and meet more poets featured in the anthology, but the giveaway ends tonight, so get your comments in now.

I want to thank contributors Michelle Ayon Navajas, Dawn Pisturino, Barbara Harris Leonard, Ivor Steven, and DL Mullen for their participation in the tour. And thanks also goes out to the hosts for this tour: Colleen Chesebro of Colleen Writes & Publishes, Patty Fletcher of Patty’s Worlds, Carla Johnson-Hicks of Carla Loves to Read, Michelle Navajas of Poetry by Mich, Kay Castenada of Book Places, and DL Mullen of Un dawnted. I feel everyone did a great job and it is appreciated.

I’d like to.make this stop a celebration of the author/poets who contributed to the anthology-those who shared their work on the tour and those who weren’t able to join us. They are all talented poets, and I feel fortunate to feature their lovely works in a WordCrafter poetry anthology.

Tour Schedule

April 21-28 – Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, by Kaye Lynne Booth, et.al.

Mon. 4/21 – Opening Day- Writing to be Read – (Intro. post & Book Trailer)

Tues 4/22 – Colleen Writes & Publishes – (Dawn Pisturino. Guest Post)

Wed. 4/23 – Patty’s Worlds – (Michelle Navajas Guest Post)

Thurs. 4/24 – Carla Loves to Read– (Ivor Steven’s Reading)

Fri. 4/25 – Poetry By Mich – (Barbara Harris Leonhard Reading)

Sat. 4/26 – Book Places – (DL Mullan Reading)

Sun. 4/27 – Writing to be Read – (Wrap up) – Undawnted (Interview with Dawn Pisturino)

Today we have a double stop. Along with the final stop here, we have DL Mullen interviewing Dawn Pisturino over at Un dawnted. You can’t comment on that site, but you can leave your comments for DL and Dawn here. And here on Writing to be Read, I’ll be introducing you to the contributing poets who did not provide content for the tour. Their valuable contributions to the anthology are not to be overlooked, for it was a group effort that made this anthology such an exceptional collection of poetry.

About Poetry Treasures 5: Simple Pleasures

A cup of tea sitting on books with a dawn landscape in the backgrouind Text: Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, A WordCrafter Poetry Anthology, Compiled and Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle.

Open the cover

and you will discover

Poetry Treasures

from the guests on

Robbie Cheadle’s 2024

“Treasuring Poetry”

blog series

on Writing to be Read.

Join poets DL Mullan, Barbara Harris Leonhard, Jude Itakali, Ivor Steven, Robbie Cheadle, Michelle Ayon Navajas, Gwen M. Plano, Elizabeth Gauffreau, David Bogomolny, Dawn Pasturino, Maggie Watson, and Colleen Chesebro share their own small pleasures in poetic verse.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures

Giveaway

This tour we’re giving away digital copies of Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures to three lucky winners. Follow the tour and comment at each stop, so we’ll know you were there. You’ll be entered for another chance in the giveaway at each stop. Winners are chosen through a random drawing by WordCrafter Press. Winners will be announce in tomorrow’s “WordCrafter News”.

Meet the Contributors Who Didn’t Make the Tour

Robbie Cheadle

That’s it for today’s stop on Writing to be Read. Be sure to visit the second part of this double stop over at Un dawnted, where DL Mullan is interviewing author/contributor Dawn Pisturino. I hope you enjoyed the tour and the poetry samples shared enough to get you to buy the book. By using the Books2Read UBL, above, you can purchase from your favorite distributor around the world. Be sure to drop by and catch tomorrow’s “WordCrafter News”, here on Writing to be Read, to find out who the winners in the giveaway are.

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Welcome to the “Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures” Book Blog Tour

Posted: April 21, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Editing, Giveaways, Poetry, Treasuring Poetry, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Barbara Harris Leonhard, Colleen Chesebro, David Bogomolny, Dawn Pistrurino, DL Mullan, Elizabeth Gauffreau, Gwen M. Plano, Ivor Steven, Jude Itakali, Kaye Lynne Booth, Maggie Watson, Michelle Ayon Navajas, Poetry, Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, Robbie Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | 27 Comments

Picture Caption: WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Tour Banner

Welcome to the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures Book Blog Tour. We have a great tour planned, and I hope you all will stick with us and visit each stop, because comments at each stop enters you for another chance to win one of three digital copies of Poetry Treasures 5 in our giveaway. We’ve got guest posts from from contributors Michelle Ayon Navajas and Dawn Pisturino, readings from Barbara Harris Leonhard, Ivor Steven, and DL Mullen, and a special interview with Dawn Pisturino. Plus you may find a couple of early reviews from our wonderful tour hosts. So please join us and follow along on the schedule below to learn more about this outstanding poetry anthology and enjoy a few Small Pleasures.

Tour Schedule

April 21-28 – Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures, by Kaye Lynne Booth, et.al.

Mon. 4/21 – Opening Day- Writing to be Read – (Intro. post & Book Trailer)

Tues 4/22 – Colleen Writes & Publishes – (Dawn Pisturino. Guest Post)

Wed. 4/23 – Patty’s Worlds – (Michelle Navajas Guest Post)

Thurs. 4/24 – Carla Loves to Read– (Ivor Steven’s Reading)

Fri. 4/25 – Poetry By Mich – (Barbara Harris Leonhard Reading)

Sat. 4/26 – Book Places – (DL Mullan Reading)

Sun. 4/27 – Writing to be Read – (Wrap up) – Undawnted (Interview with Dawn Pisturino)

About Poetry Treasures 5: Simple Pleasures

Open the cover

and you will discover

Poetry Treasures

from the guests on

Robbie Cheadle’s 2024

“Treasuring Poetry”

blog series

on Writing to be Read.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures

Giveaway

Book Trailer

A special thanks goes out to Teagan Genevieve for our lovely book trailer. Thank you so much Teagan.

About the Editors

You will meet some of the contributors along the way on this tour, but in this opening day post, I’d like ton tell you a little about the editors who put this project together and made it happen. I also thought it might be interesting to share a brief glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes when putting together a poetry anthology, which I hope you’ll find of interest.

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.

My job is to edit the final manuscript, format and publish it. I find poetry to be a personal endeavor, so I do very little editing of the actual poems for fear of changing the poet’s meaning, since poetry often does not follow the rules of grammar and punctuation which apply to the English language. In addition, we have poets from all over the globe included in the anthology, which makes for variation in style and differences in spellings, so I pretty much leave the poetry as is unless it is something I know is a typo or mistaken word.

But the person who truly makes this anthology possible is my co-editor, Robbie Cheadle, who finds and schedules poets to be interviewed on the “Treasuring Poetry” blog series on Writing to be Read. It is Robbie who selects and interviews each poet, and she usually reviews their latest release, as well. Then, at the end of the year, Robbie sends out invitations to the anthology and collects and compiles all the materials into a manuscript before turning it over to me. Without Robbie to do all of the preliminary work, there would not be any Poetry Treasures Anthologies. I couldn’t do it without her.

Robbie Cheadle

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

That’s it for today’s stop. I hope I gave you enough of a taste of this delectable poetry anthology to make you want to sample more. There are several more tasty morsels from then contributing authors along the way. Join us tomorrow, on Colleen Writes & Publishes, where author/poet Dawn Pisturino will share a guest post and poetry from Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures.

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author V.M. Sang and a review #poetry #poetrycommunity #bookreview

Posted: April 16, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: January to June, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, Treasuring Poetry, V.M. Sang, Writing to be Read | 74 Comments

Picture caption: Treasuring Poetry 2025 banner

Today, I am delighted to Welcome V.M. Sang, author and poet, as my April Treasuring Poetry guest.

Welcome Viv!

Thank you, Robbie, for inviting me to come and chat about poetry. I am honoured that you asked me.

What is your favourite style of poetry to read?

I enjoy Haiku and Tanka. I appreciate the structure and the work that goes in to make the syllables fit. But I also enjoy sonnets.

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

I struggled with this. There are so many I enjoy. I like the 1st World War poets and their take on the war. Particularly poignant are the two lines from Yeates An Irish Airman Forsees His Death.

Those that I fight I do not hate

Those that I guard I do not love.

But one poem I’ve loved since studying it at College is the sonnet, Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It is a warning to all who strive to get above themselves. I think it is particularly pertinent at this time.

Ozymandias

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said, “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that Colossal Wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

What is your favourite style of poetry to write?

I enjoy writing most forms, but particularly those with a strict form, like the sonnet and the Japanese forms, but I especially like to write rhyming poetry. I know it’s not fashionable at the moment, but I find the discipline a challenge. Discovering words with the right sound and number of syllables can be quite a challenge.

What is your favourite of your own poems?

I have to admit that there are two, both related. ‘I Am Earth’ appears in my first poetry book, Miscellaneous Thoughts, and the second one ‘I Am Earth 2’ is in From January to June, February 7th.

I Am Earth

I am Earth.

I am your mother.

I gave you birth.

I gave you a nest.

A wonderful home

On which you can rest.

I gave you food .

Plenty to eat.

You waste all that’s good.

I gave you the seas

And forests and hills,

But you chop down the trees.

You think you’re so cool,

But you pollute the air

By the burning of fuel.

You heat up the air

And care not a jot

For the poor polar bear.

Animals die

Because of your greed.

You hear not their cry.

I teemed with life,

Both great and small,

Yet extinction is rife.

Like a cancer you spread

Throughout the whole world.

It won’t end till you’re dead.

But I’ll make you pay

For all you have done.

You’ll be sorry one day.

I’ll shiver my skin.

Your buildings will fall

And bury your kin.

The land I will flood

By raising the seas

And drown all in mud.

My mountains so high

Will belch forth their flames

And you will all die.

I am Earth.

I am your mother.

I gave you birth.

BUT I WILL DESTROY YOU.

I Am Earth (2)

I am Earth.

I am your mother

I gave you birth.

I told you

What will occur.

And now you will rue.

You ignore me

And take little heed

Of my anxious plea.

So I send you rain

To flood all your homes

And give you pain.

I send the drought

So no crops will grow.

There’s famine, no doubt.

I heat the world

And many will die

From the heat I have hurled.

Winds I will send

In hurricanes now.

Your lands they will rend.

Yet you will not learn.

To me you are deaf

So the world I will burn.

Fires in the summer;

Deep snow in the cold.

You get dumber and dumber.

My skin I do shiver

And make buildings fall

As the ground it does quiver.

I will belch forth fire

From deep in my heart.

Make Earth like a pyre.

Will you now learn?

Don’t exploit my wealth.

Or you I will burn.

I AM DESTROYING YOU.

Please tell us about your poetry books, One Poem A Day Series? How did this book come about? It is a big commitment to write a poem a day.

My daughter, when she was little, had a bedtime story book with a very short story or a little poem for each day of the year. It was amazing because when she asked for more, as children will, I could say that the next poem or story was tomorrow’s.

For some reason I found myself thinking about this book one day. I’ve no idea why. It was decades ago when she was so small.

Then I thought, “Why not try to write one poem each day for a year, just like that book.” So that’s how it began.

It was quite difficult. Some days I had no inspiration and had to search for it. Other days I just didn’t feel like writing.

The discipline was good for me. I tend to be a procrastinator. There were some days when I couldn’t write due to circumstances, but I caught up by writing two poems until I was back on track.

My review of From January to June (One Poem A Day Series Book 1)

Picture caption: Cover of From January to June (One Poem A Day Series Book 1)

I enjoyed this collection of poetry very much. It is very British in its content and language and the poems reminded me of the stories of my mother has told me of her childhood growing up in a small town in Suffolk, UK. The references and descriptions are all familiar to me and reading this book was like putting on a comfortable dressing gown.

The style of the poems is varied from freestyle, to rhyming verse, to syllabic poetry and I enjoyed this aspect. There were also several limericks to make the reader smile. The content is also wide ranging from nature, to a Roman gods theme, to friends and family. The poems are grouped by month and tell a story of the poet’s daily experiences during that month in terms of the environment, the holidays, and entertainment.

A few of my favourite poems with a short synopsis:
Grown Up – a fun poem asking about why the poet should do certain expected things in order to be deemed grown up;
The Peacock – a delightful descriptive poem of a male peacock;
Destruction – a sad commentary of the damage humans have, and continue to, inflict on the planet;
The Fishmonger’s – a delicious commentary on the yummy seafood enjoyed by the poet;
Robin – a gorgeous depiction of a robin in the poet’s garden;
Starlings – a tanka about a murmuration of starlings going to roost;
Tea – a poem about English tea;
Blackpool – a comparative poem between the Blackpool of the poet’s childhood memories and the modern Blackpool;
Mum – a very special tribute to the poet’s mother;
Boudicca – a poem about this famous historical queen. I was interested to note that the name of this woman has been changed from Boudicea which is the name my mom always calls her. It cleared up a confusion for me;
Son – a delightful poem about the poet’s son;
Rainbow – an interesting and unique take on the colours of the rainbow;
Spring cleaning – an entertaining take on spring cleaning which is very familiar to me;
I am a Writer – a poem about why the poet writes. I always enjoy peeks into why poets and authors write;
True Love – a romantic poem about a lost love;
Teddy – a delightful poem about the poet’s teddy bear from childhood. I also had mine until recently;
Fickle Muse – a commentary about when the words don’t come;
Gardens, I’ll quote this short poem:
“Gardens are bits of heaven
Fallen from above.
Gardeners are angels
Tending them with love.”
Ode to Beer – an amusing poem about the historical and modern joys of beer;
The Village Green – my personal favourite in this collection. A poem about British communal life;

This is a delightful collection that really warmed my heart.

You can purchase From January to June (One Poem A Day Series Book 1) from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CNW1NQPZ

And from Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/January-June-One-Poem-Day/dp/482418892X

About V.M. Sang

Picture caption: V.M. Sang author photograph

V.M. Sang was born and lived her early life in Cheshire in the north west of England. She has always loved books and reading and learned to read before she went to school.

During her teenage years she wrote some poetry, one of which was published in Tecknowledge,the magazine of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Unfortunately, that is the only one that is still around.

V.M. Sang became a teacher and taught English and Science at her first school.

She did little writing until starting to teach in Croydon, Greater London. Here she started a Dungeons and Dragons club in the school where she was teaching. She decided to write her own scenario. The idea of turning it into a novel formed but she did nothing about it until she took early retirement. Then she began to write The Wolves of Vimar Series.

Walking has always been one of V.M. Sang’s favourite pastimes, having gone on walking holidays in her teens. She met her husband walking with the University Hiking Club, and they still enjoy walking on the South Downs.

V.M.Sang also enjoys a variety of crafts, such as card making, tatting, crochet, knitting etc. She also draws and paints.

V.M.Sang is married with two children, a girl and a boy. Her daughter has three children and she loves to spend time with them.

She now lives in East Sussex with her husband.

Find V.M. Sang

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23500375-vivienne-sang

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/sang0566/

Amazon Author Profile: http://viewauthor.at/VMSang

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v.m.sang/

Bluesky: @aspholessaria.bsky.social

Find V.M. Sang’s books

FANTASY

The Wolves of Vimar series.

The Wolf Pack https://books2read.com/u/m0lxEy

The Never-Dying Man https://books2read.com/u/3R6ozR

Wolf Moon https://books2read.com/u/mvWjXe

The Wolves of Vimar prequels.

Jovinda and Noli

https://books2read.com/u/mgjrO0

The Making of a Mage

https://books2read.com/u/mddNNO

Dreams of an Elf Maid

https://books2read.com/u/4ElDZg

Horselords:

https://books2read.com/u/31XQ0a

Elemental Worlds duo.

The Stones of Earth and Air

https://books2read.com/u/mYygKV

The Stones of Fire and Water

https://books2read.com/u/brwoVE

Historical Fiction

A Family Through the Ages

Vengeance of a Slave

https://books2read.com/u/3kLZxR

Jealousy of a Viking

https://books2read.com/u/bMYGKk

POETRY BOOKS

Miscellaneous Thoughts.

tps://books2read.com/u/38Pzpr

January to June. One Poem a Day. Book 1

https://books2read.com/u/bx6azJ

July to December. One Poem a Day. Book 2

https://books2read.com/u/3kXvDR

Non-Fiction

Viv’s Family Recipes

https://books2read.com/u/mVR7dM

All the books are available in many formats, including audio for several of them.

About Robbie Cheadle

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

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

Get Your Copy Today!

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

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

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

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

Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and Filled Heart-Shaped Meringue Shells #bookreview #fiction #desserts

Posted: April 9, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Read and Cook, Recipes, Review | Tags: Milan Kundera, Read and Cook, Robbie Cheadle, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Writing to be Read | 59 Comments

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera

Picture caption: Cover of The Unbearable Lightness of Being featuring a bra and panties in black against a blue background

I knew when I started reading this book that it was unusual and had a big focus on extramarital affairs and womanizing, but I decided to try it anyway and see what all the fuss was about. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is set in Prague, Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968 and the subsequent Soviet invasion. The story revolves around four central characters who are all facing their own problems and difficulties with relationships. Both of the men are womanizers and unable to remain faithful to a single woman, even one they profess to love. One of the women is also unable to settle down with a partner and has a string of affairs with men, married and otherwise.

Tomas is a successful surgeon at the beginning of the book. He fears commitment and this has already led to one failed marriage. He does not have anything to do with either his ex-wife or his son. When Tereza arrives on his doorstep, huge bag by her side, he is effectively bamboozled into taking her into his home. She fascinates him and he does have feelings of great attachment for her which lead to him marrying her. He fights these feelings and continues to have his countless affairs, in particular, he has an on-going sexual relationship with Sabina, a beautiful artist. Tereza loves Tomas very much and when the Russian Invasion begins, she goes with him to Zurich where she expects him to give up his infidelities. This does not happen, and he continues to see Sabina who has immigrated to Geneva. Tereza decides to leave Zurich and return to Prague. Tomas, despite his desire for freedom, follows Tereza, knowing he will not be able to leave Prague again. His attachment to Tereza is strong but it does not result in a happy ever after due to Tomas becoming involved in a political situation that destroys his career.

Throughout, Tomas and Tereza’s relationship, Sabina has another on-going affair with Franz, a married man who lives in Geneva. Sabina and Franz don’t understand each other at all and when Franz ultimately leaves his wife to live permanently with Sabina, she disappears, leaving him alone with no-one.

The central theme of this book is the philosophical concept of eternal return which assumes that everything in life repeats itself continuously into infinity. The author, however, uses the characters in his story to dismiss the theory of eternal return while maintaining the view that it is the only path to true happiness and as each individual’s life path is a straight line, lasting happiness is not achievable.

This was not an easy read for me, and I returned to it several times in order to finish it. The philosophy is very different from my personal beliefs and while it was a worthwhile read in the long run, it is not a book that everyone will enjoy

A few quotes from The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“Anyone whose goal is ‘something higher’ must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves.”

“Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions, not merely different but opposite. Love does not make itself felt in the desire for copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman).”

“There is no means of testing which decision is better, because there is no basis for comparison. We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always like a sketch. No, “sketch” is not quite a word, because a sketch is an outline of something, the groundwork for a picture, whereas the sketch that is our life is a sketch for nothing, an outline with no picture.”

Filled Heart-Shaped Meringue Shells (copyright Robbie Cheadle)

To go with this rather extraordinary book, I am sharing a dessert from my children’s book, Sir Chocolate and the Valentine Toffee Cupid.

Picture caption: Heart-Shaped Meringues before filling

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature;

• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar;

• Pinch of salt;

• 1 cup castor sugar;

• Pink food colouring (liquid); and

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What you need:

• Electric hand mixer or stand mixer;

• Baking trays;

• Wax paper cut to fit the baking trays;

• A large heart shaped cookie cutter;

• Pencil;

• Large piping bag or a strong plastic bag with the end snipped off; and

• Large star piping tip.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius.

• Combine egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of the mixer (it must not be greased and must be clean and dry).

• Whisk the egg mixture on a low speed until the mixture becomes foamy.

• Increase the speed to high and gradually add the castor sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Allow for 20 seconds of mixing in between new additions of sugar.

• When the mixture is thick and glossy i.e. the spoon can stand up in the bowl, stir through the vanilla essence and a few drops of pink food colouring.

Instructions:

• Using a pencil, draw six heart shapes on the non-wax side of a piece of wax paper that fits inside the baking tray.

• Fit the star piping tip into the piping bag.

• Spoon the meringue mixture into the piping bag.

• Squeezing the bag, draw a thick line of meringue around the heart shape. Repeat twice to form three meringue layers, one on top of the other to form the sides of the meringue shell.

• Using the piping bag, fill in the bottom of the heart with meringue mixture.

• Pipe another layer of meringue around the sides of the heart.

• Pipe a few meringue stars to use up the last of the meringue mixture in the piping bag.

• Place the meringues in the oven and bake for 3 hours.

• Switch off the oven, and open the door half way. Leave the meringues to cool overnight.

Picture caption: Filled Heart-Shaped Meringues

Filling for the Heart-Shaped Meringues

Ingredients:

• A handful of chopped strawberries;

• A handful of chopped raspberries;

• Whipped cream; and

• Melted chocolate.

Method:

• Whip the cream and spoon a quantity into each shell. Don’t overfill.

• Add a small quantity of chopped strawberries and chopped raspberries.

• Drizzle tempered dark chocolate over the filling.

Tip:

Only fill the meringues just before serving or they will go soggy.

Sir Chocolate and the Valentine Toffee Cupid is available from Amazon US here:

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This segment of “Read and Cook” with Robbie Cheadle is sponsored by The Women in the West Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.

Historical Women’s Fiction

Get Your Copy Today!

Delilah: https://books2read.com/DelilahWiW1

Sarah: https://books2read.com/Sarah-Women-in-the-West

Marta: Coming in 2025

In Touch With Nature – Nyala antelope #southernAfricanwildlife

Posted: March 26, 2025 | Author: robertawrites235681907 | Filed under: Africa, Animals, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Wildlife | Tags: In Touch With Nature, Nyala Antelope, Robbie Cheadle, South Africa, Writing to be Read | 88 Comments

The Nyala is a spiral horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is the antelope with the highest sexual dimorphism (differences between male and female of the species). This is easy to see in the photographs and videos I’ve shared in this post so look out for the rusty or rufous brown coats of the females and juveniles and the dark brown or slate grey coat of adult males. Females and juveniles also have ten or more white vertical stripes on their sides which the stripes are greatly reduced or completely absent in the adult males. The males are significantly larger than the females.

Picture caption: Female Nyala with vertical white stripes

Picture caption: Above and below are pictures of a male Nyala

The Nyala is a shy animal and is usually seen in the early morning and the late afternoon when it browses, feeding on foliage, fruits, and grasses. They live in thickets within dense and dry savannah woodlands and are usually found in single-sex or mixed family groups of up to ten animals. These antelope are not fast runners, and their camouflage is their main defense against predators.

The main predators of the Nyala are lions, leopards, African wild dogs, and humans. The males are highly prized as game animals, and they are often victims of poaching. Human settlement is also encroaching on their habitat resulting in a declining population although they are classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Nyalas have a special relationship with the baboons and vervet monkeys with whom they share the woodlands. They eat any fruit dropped by these primates and also react to any alarm calls made by primates from their advantageous viewing points in the trees. The baboons and monkeys also benefit from the relationship as Nyala have exceptional hearing, smell, and sight. When a Nyala spots danger, it gives off a striking alarm call sounding a bit like a barking dog. This warning also serves the primates and other creatures sharing their habitat.

Interestingly, Nyalas are not territorial. They wander about in groups and do not try to protect any areas from other creatures.

Nyala buck have an aggressive way of breeding. Firstly, the males fight for dominance, crashing into each other with their sharp horns acting like swords. The horns often draw blood. The bulls fight until one backs down by walking away as a sign of submission. These battles can be fatal if the wounds become infected or if the bull is concussed. The winning bull then slowly dances within the group of females, using strange, stuttering movements and raising its head to show off its white underfur.

When a female is on heat, the male follows her on foot, pushing his nose between her legs. He gets excited and buts her hindquarters right off the ground. If the female is interested, she stops walking. The male then walks around her and presses her head down before he mounts her. Gestation is 220 days and ewes can conceive from the age of 14 months.

Picture caption: Close up of a young male Nyala

Picture caption: Close up of a female Nyala

YouTube video of Nyala herd comprising of young males and females:

Male Nyala licking his legs YT video:

YT video of a Nyala male feeding:

The Fire Part 1

Flamboyant performer
Sun takes final bow
Pitch black curtains descend; concealing the stage
Campers assemble fire
Restraining darkness
***
Wood ignites, flames crackle
Illuminating
Nocturnal animals materialise
Skulking in deep shadow
Bright eyes glittering
***
Feeding ravenous blaze
An essential task
Stopping potential diners from helping themselves
To a convenient
Snack of arms or legs

The Fire Part 2

Dawn makes her grand entrance
Painting the sky red
Men prepare to depart, water smothers fire
Murky vapour billows
Dark ashes sodden
***
Everything orderly
The campers move on
Single flickering coal smolders unnoticed
Mutely clinging to life
Nurtured by the breeze
***
Dry leaves fall stealthily
Embracing ember
Sustenance provided; leaves burst into flame
Cunningly building strength
Destruction ensured

These poem duo is from my book, Lion Scream, Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife, available from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Lion-Scream-Syllabic-Southern-Wildlife-ebook/dp/B0BXP5N766

Picture caption: Promotional banner for Lion Scream

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of three poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

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

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

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

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

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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author, Freya Pickard, and my book reviews #poetry #bookreviews

Posted: March 19, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | 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

Picture caption: author picture of 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://nirunen.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

Photo of Robbie Cheadle standing in front of trees.

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

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

Get Your Copy Today!

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

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

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

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

Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Ghost Train by Natalie Anna Jacobsen and a Japanese cooking class #Japan #bookreview

Posted: February 12, 2025 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Read and Cook, Recipes, Review, Supernatural | Tags: Book Reviews, Read and Cook, Recipes, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read | 59 Comments

Ghost Train by Natalie Anna Jacobsen

What Amazon says

“A haunting and immersive read.” – Eva Wong Nava, author of The House of Little Sisters. “With lyrical prose that evokes the mystique of 19th-century Kyoto, this meticulously researched narrative weaves together historical authenticity with the ethereal allure of ‘yokai’ folklore.” – Jake Adelstein, journalist and author of Tokyo Vice and The Last Yakuza

Set in 1877 Kyoto during the early years of the Meiji “Restoration” Era, Ghost Train tells the story of Maru Hosokawa, a samurai daughter who is thrust into a life opposite how she grew up. Her father has surrendered his sword with other samurai, assimilating into a role as a civilian merchant. As his work takes him further and further from home, she is left to find work of her own to help rebuild the family wealth — and protect herself, “just in case,” her father says. But during the summer festivals, ghosts begin appearing before Maru. Unsure of where to turn or who to trust, Maru fends for herself, facing an abusive employer, unreliable friends, and insecurity at home. In the search for answers, a kitsune offers to help in exchange for Maru’s aid in confronting a demon rampaging Kyoto at night. As summer passes on, more ghosts appear, plagues sweep through the city, and a stench of blood in the streets, and rumors of a samurai rebellion obscure reality, driving Maru to make a choice against all instincts, to save herself, her father — and Kyoto. Inspired by true historical events and based on myths of yokai, this story began taking shape first in 2010. With guidance by historians both in Japan and the US, subject matter experts in geisha, kimono, and samurai life, and countless beta readers and supporters, Natalie Jacobsen has carefully crafted this historical fantasy to reflect 19th century life during the tumultuous, society-altering leadership of Emperor Meiji… just with a few more ghosts.

My review

Having recently visited Tokyo, Japan, and being exposed for the first time to the concepts of Japanese Yokai and other supernatural beings, this book immediately caught my attention. During my short time in Japan, I also learned a little bit about the coming of the Black Ships to Japan in 1853, which marked the beginning of the end for the Tokugawa shogunate, and the last Shogun. This book, set in Kyoto in 1877 during the Meiji Restoration Era, addresses both of these fascinating aspects of Japanese history and culture.

The story revolves around a young girl, Maru, the daughter of a former-samurai, and her journey to understanding and acceptance of the end of the reign of the samurai and transitioning of her city (and country) into a new era of progress under the ‘young’ emperor.

Maru’s father has gone away, theoretically on ‘business’ and left her in the care of the geiko of an okiya – a traditional geisha house, in the role of shikomi, a junior position to the geiko and maiko of the house. Maru clearly dislikes her new role and is struggling to make the adjustment from the daughter of a former-samurai to her new life having to survive as a woman in a misogynistic, male dominated society where women were either wives, geiko/meiko (entertainer of men) or oiran (prostitute). The fate of women, in the new society under the Emperor, was worst than before and many girls had no option but to resort to prostitution in order to survive. Maru clings to the thin hope that her father will soon come for her and her life will return to how it was in the past.

Maru is traumatised by scenes of death and destruction from the past during the period of the demise of the samurai and daimyo, and has blocked out memories relating to her father and his decisions in order to adapt to her new situation. She is also surrounded by anxiety in the general population as people, especially women, struggled to integrate their superstitions and beliefs of the past with a new society including technology like trains. Maru hears stories about yokai and disappearing girls, and is conflicted about strange metallic smells caused by rain on the new electrical wires and which are reminiscent of blood. Many people believe the train and electrical wires are killing girls and feeding on their blood as well as causing general illness. All of this anguish and mental strain ultimately manifests as visions by Maru of various yokai and also kitsune, foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. Maru meets a kitsune which has the ability to shapeshift into various forms but which is ‘damaged’ by the new technology and needs her help to survive.

Maru must walk her path alongside her kitsune manifestation to find acceptance of her father’s decisions, her own rejection by her former friends and acceptance of her new life and progress in general.

This is an exciting tale with an abundance of amazing historical information and Japanese folklore woven throughout. There are exciting scenes of conflict and a grand finale which, the way I understood this story, are effectively all part of Maru’s spiritual and mental healing, in other words, in her imagination.

This is a clever and well research story, the history is fascinating, and the folklore mesmerising. It is a complex tale that requires attention throughout and the understanding of Maru’s mental state and internal conflicts for the story to pull together effectively.

An excellent book for people who are interested in Japanese history and folklore. It helps to have some knowledge and understanding of this era of transition and cultural shock in order to best appreciate the historical nuances and information presented.

I wrote this review as a member of Rosie Amber’s book review team. You can find out more about Rosie’s reviews and review team here: https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.

Purchase Ghost Train from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Train-Natalie-Jacobsen-ebook/dp/B0DHSXH8FM

Cooking Sun Tokyo

During my recent trip to Japan, TC and I attended a 10-course Japanese cooking class. It was great fun and the food was delicious.

The basis of Japanese cooking is dashi stock made with water and 1 – 2 kombu strips (dried kelp seaweed). The cold method for making good dashi stock is simple. Put water into a bottle with the kombu and let it steep overnight.

The dashi is used in all the recipes of which I am sharing two here.

Dashimaki Tamago (rolled egg)

Ingredients: 1 egg, 1 TBsp dashi, 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

Method:

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, dashi and light soy sauce.

Heat the prepared Japanese rectangular egg pan after drizzling the pan with a little cooking oil. When its hot, pour half the egg mixture into the pan ensuring the egg covers the full surface. Once the egg is starting to set, use cooking chopsticks to roll the egg to the far end of the pan. Pour the rest of the egg mixture into the pan. Allow it to go under the rolled egg by lifting the roll using the cooking chopsticks. Once the fresh egg mixture sets, roll it up over the previous rolled egg to make a bigger role. Remove from the pan and place on a bamboo mat. Shape the egg roll into a rectangular shape with patterns.

Picture caption: My egg roll is finished and on the wooden board. TC is cooking his.

Picture caption: Both our egg rolls presented with two other dishes.

Grilled stuffed lotus roots with chicken

Ingredients: 30 gram portion of lotus root, 30 grams of minced chicken, finally diced Japanese leek, finally diced carrot, a little fresh ginger, 1 tsp sake, sprinkle of salt, 1/2 tsp potato starch, 1 TBsp dashi

Method:

Dice Japanese leek and carrot and mix into chicken mince. Add the grated ginger, sake, salt and potato starch.
Powder one side of the lotus root with additional potato starch. Stuff the meat mixture into the lotus root holes and layer the rest of the meat on top of the lotus root.
Heat the frying pan and place the lotus root into the pan, meat side down. Cook for approximately 3 minutes. Turn the lotus root over, pour on the dashi and steam in the pan with the lid on for about 5 minutes until cooked.

Picture caption: lotus root turned over and dashi added, just before putting the lid on the frying pan.

Picture caption: Fully cooked stuffed lotus flowers

Picture caption: TC and I with our final meals.

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen 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.

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

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This post is sponsored by the My Backyard Friends Kid’s Book Series and WordCrafter Press.

Feild of colorful flowers and butterflies in background. Digital copies of "Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans, and Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home in foreground. Text: My Backyard Friends Kid's Book Series

The My Backyard Friends kid’s book series is inspired by the birds and animals that visit the author Kaye Lynne Booth’s mountain home. Beautiful illustrations by children’s author, poet, and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, bring the unique voices of the animal characters to life.

Get Your Copy Now.

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/MBF-HeatherHummingbird

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/MBF-TimothyTurtle

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home (Ages 6-8): https://books2read.com/MBF-CharlieChickadee