Winners in the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour Giveaway
Posted: January 17, 2026 Filed under: Blog Tour, Giveaways, Memoir, Nonfiction, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter News | Tags: Healthcare, Memior, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafer Press, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 4 Comments
We had a great tour with four chapter excerpt readings by author, Nurse Sammy, and interview and three wonderful reviews. We’re giving away three digital copies of The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and each person who left a comment so I would know that they had visited at each stop received an entry. If you visited and commented at each stop, you would have five chances to win. Winners are chosen in a random drawing, where I literally draw names out of a hat, and now, all that’s left to do is to announce the winners.
And the winners are…
DRUM ROLL PLEASE
- Restlessjo from Day 2 – Roberta Writes
- Tidalscribe.com from Day 2 – Roberta Writes
- Carol anne from Day 1 – Poetry by Mich
Congratulations to the lucky winners!
If your name is on the list above and you have not heard from me yet, please contact me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com.
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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 CommentsIt’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
_____________________________
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Day 4 of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour
Posted: January 15, 2026 Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Books, Fiction, Giveaways, Memoir, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Excerpt Reading, Memoir, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 3 CommentsYou can join us over at Book Places for Day 4 of the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour, where Nurse Sammy offers one last chapter excerpt reading. (Then tomorrow, we’ll wrap up with an interview and a couple reviews, right here on Writing to be Read.) I do hope you’ll join us.
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Day 3 of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour
Posted: January 14, 2026 Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Book Review, Books, Giveaways, Memoir, Review, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: Excerpt, Giveaway, Memoir, Nurse Sammy, Nursing, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 6 CommentsFor Day 3 of the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Undawnted where Nurse Sammy offers another chapter excerpt and host DL Mullan shares her review of this lovely memoir. Join us in sending off The Ones Who Stayed With Me and get in on the giveaway. Undawnted doesn’t take comments, but you can comment on this stop here.
http://www.undawnted.com/2026/01/OnesWho.StayedWithMe.TourStop3.Undawnted.html
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Day 2 of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour
Posted: January 13, 2026 Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Books, essays, Fiction, Giveaways, Memoir, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Chapter Reading, Giveaway, Memoir, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafer Press, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 6 CommentsToday’s tour stop is over at Roberta Writes on the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour with another chapter excerpt reading by the author, Nurse Sammy. Please join us in sending off this unique collection of stories that will open your eyes and touch your heart.
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Welcome to the Opening Day of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour
Posted: January 12, 2026 Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Giveaways, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter News | Tags: Memoir, Nurse Sammy, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press 2 CommentsTomorrow, January 13th, is the release day for a fabulous new memoir-ish collection of personal essays, stories that will make you laugh and some that will make you cry, written by a debut author, Nurse Sammy. Whether you are in the health care industry, or just curious for a glimpse behind the scenes, The Ones Who Stayed With Me will educate and entertain. Her open and honest voice will draw you in and capture your heart.
Join Us
Today is the opening day for the WordCrafter The Ones Who Stayed With Me Book Blog Tour, where we’re sending Nurse Sammy’s book off right, with chapter excerpt readings by the author at each stop, except the last. That one is reserved for a delightful interview with Nurse Sammy, right here, on Writing to be Read. There’s a great giveaway, where your comment at each stop offers a chance to win a free digital copy of the book, too.
For all the details and today’s reading, please drop in on today’s tour stop, on one of three different blogs:
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/
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Announcing the Winners of the WordCrafter “Midnight Oil” Book Blog Tour Giveaway
Posted: November 2, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Horror, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Anthology, Dark fiction, Giveaway, horror, Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 7 Comments
We had a great tour last week for the release of Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, with guests posts from contributing authors, Christa Planko, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, and Paul Kane, readings from Joseph Carrabis and DL Mullan, and my interview with the author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo. I want to thank all of you for visiting and commenting, and I want to thank our lovely hosts, Michelle Ayon Navajas, Kay Castenada, and Carla Johnson-Hicks.
Now to wrap things up, here are the winners of the Midnight Oil tour giveaway. Below are the three lucky winners of a digital copy of Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares. I don’t know any of these folks, so if you know them, please tell them to contact me at kayebooth@yahoo.com to collect their copy. I’ll be working to contact them all in the meantime.
And the winners are….
(Drumroll please)
- Thomas Stigwikman
- Joni Caggiano
- Dracul Van Helsing
Congratulations to all the winners and thank you all for visiting the tour.
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Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Midnight Oil” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 31, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Audio Excerpt, Author Interview, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Horror, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Stories, Supernatural, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: "The Initiation", "The Vanishing", Dark fiction, Denise Aparo, DL Mullan, horror, Midnight Oil, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 12 CommentsToday is the last day of the WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour. This week we’ve been celebrating the release of Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, volume 3 in the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series. We’ve got a great group of contributing authors and you’ve met a few and we’ve shared excerpts from all of their stories.
Today, we’ll finish up by meeting the last of the fourteen contributing authors, and the author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo, and we’ll learn a little about the winning story, “The Vanishing”. But first, let me tempt your literary taste buds with excerpts from “The Price of Beauty” by Rebecca M. Senese, and introduce you contributing author DL Mullan with a reading from her story, “The Initiation”, followed up by an excerpt from Mario Acevedo’s “Villa’s Gold”.
“The Price of Beauty”
Meet Author DL Mullan
DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology.
Her lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lecture invitations. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. She has been a panelist at speculative fiction, science fiction, and other regional conventions. Her digital exhibition pieces have won awards at convention art shows, as well as garnered her Second Premium at the Arizona State Fair. Currently, Ms. Mullan’s artistic renditions are seen on book covers, blog sites, and various merchandise. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate the way she perceives the creative arts.
As a writer, DL Mullan loves to stretch her imagination and the elasticity of genres. She writes complex multigenre stories in digestible and entertaining forms, be it poetry, short fiction, or novels. Her science, history, mythology, and paranormal research background is woven into her writings, especially in Undawnted’s Legacy Universe. Ms. Mullan’s creative endeavors are available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is also a record label owner, an electronic musician and award-winning poet.
Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at www.undawntech.com and www.undawnted.com.
Reading Excerpt from “The Initiation”
“The Initiation”
Meet Author Denise Aparo
Denise Aparo is an author with four published short stories in the horror/supernatural genre in the WordCrafter Midnight Anthologies. Her Midnight and Curses Series stories are written under Denise Aparo and are edited by Kaye Lynn Booth, through WordCrafter Press.
As a native New Englander, she lives with her husband Joe, spending much of her time writing, reading, gardening, making crocheted blankets, and crafting with her grandchildren.
She loves the paranormal historical fiction genre and has recently completed edits on her first novel, a historical fiction titled Crossbows, which will be self-published in the near future.
She has a Master’s Degree in English – Fine Arts/Creative Writing with concentration in Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). And a member of five honor societies with leadership recognition.
She is published in several newspapers and magazines—special interest articles, along with poems and short stories that have been published in print and digital format. She is a member of the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association (CAPA) and the author of a WordPress writing blog, The Write Voice.
Denise has three short stories in the horror/supernatural genre in the Midnight Series, through WordPress. These short stories are published under Denise Aparo. The third and last of the Midnight Series, Midnight Oil: Stories To Fuel Your Nightmares. Her story, “The Vanishing”, was the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest.
A short story published in another anthology is titled Curses: Chronicles of the Darkness,is titled “The Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond,” a horror/supernatural genre based on curses. This anthology is also edited by author, Kaye Lynne Booth.
Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors created 23 paranormal stories of horror. Creepy tales that give you goosebumps! Her short story is “The Pines.”
Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors crafted 21 eerie horror stories. Her short story is “Jack Moon and the Vanishing Book.”
Interview with Author Denise Aparo
Why do you write? What is your inspiration?
I began journaling from a young age. Writing has always been the best way for me to communicate my emotions. I wrote poems, songs, and stories about my experiences when I was younger. Now I love to write fiction. I weave my characters and stories into authentic history.
I believe my inspiration comes from history, events, myths, and/or legends, from the past. I love to read about American History and then find ‘holes’ in time, where a story is either lacking, or has no account of what had transpired in the past. Then, I fill in the gaps. I insert my characters into the loop-holes of a timeline and create my fictional story either with actual historical people or I will place my own characters.
What is the best piece of writing advice that you have ever received?
Stephen King advised writers to “Rewrite!” Also, to “sit in the chair (or where ever) and just write. Eventually, the story will come.”
Your story, “The Vanishing”, was the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest and is now featured in Midnight Oil. Did it surprise you to learn that your story won?
I was definitely surprised! I feel honored to have been chosen this time, amid all of the other very talented authors. I have learned so much from my editor and fellow authors through their stories and interviews.
Would you tell readers a little about “The Vanishing”?
I love to watch YouTube instructional videos about science, science fiction, legends, myths, health/wellness, and medical marvels. I remember a video about an actual syndrome that a few pregnant women have experienced, called The Vanishing Twin Syndrome.
Vanishing Twin Syndrome (VTS) is a miscarriage that causes a pregnancy involving twins to become a pregnancy involving one embryo. It occurs when one of the embryos detected during an ultrasound stops developing and the viable twin is thought to ‘absorb’ its sibling. VTS can’t be treated or prevented.
I found it fascinating and eerie. I did further research on the subject and created questions, such as; what would happen if the viable twin had either memory or sense about the lost twin? What if the cells merged and carried the soul of both newborns—two souls occupying one body? What if the surviving twin had experiences involving the lost twin, or if the twin had an extrasensory perception and actual knowledge about the lost twin—communicating throughout their lives? Lastly, what if the twin, who had not survived, was in control of the body without the knowledge of the surviving twin?
I created a story taking into consideration all of the subject matter in mind and created “The Vanishing.”
You now have had stories featured in all three Midnight anthologies from WordCrafter Press: “The Vanishing” in Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares; “The Pines” in Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Tales; and “Jack Moon and the Vanishing Book” in Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow. Your story, “Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond” is also featured in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. All of these stories are dark fiction. Are they written by an equally dark mind? (I bet Stephen King hears that one all the time. 😉)
I hope not! However, I believe that I definitely have an imaginative mind! I’ve always been curious, inventive, and love creating things. I love making crafts and crafting stories! My favorite thought when creating a story is “Okay—things are supposed to be this way. But, now, what if?” And, then I write from that point!
Which of these stories was the most difficult to write? Why?
Actually, I have a lot of fun creating stories. I didn’t have too many difficulties with them, but I suppose the one that took me the longest to craft was “The Pines.” It was my first published short story. I agonized over every detail!
I find that the most difficult process in my writing can actually be my plot structure! I love to research and usually have lots of it scribbled onto a page. Then, I need to sort it all out—giving proper measures to the story’s motivation, inciting incident with a crisis, and then crafting my resolution. I usually end up cutting a lot out and then focus on my main objectives. I do a lot of rewriting!
In real life, I am a person who always avoids conflict, at all costs. Therefore, I am always revisiting/rewriting to include more conflict.
You have a new novel which you are planning to release. Is it dark fiction, as well?
Yes, it has dark aspects, but it is countered with light. My novel, Crossbows, is a historical fantasy. (I say fantasy instead of fiction, because I have time travel, a mystical tome, magic, monsters, and creepy legendary characters!)
I have dark antagonists, and very spiritual protagonists. It is definitely a mix in this hero’s journey.
What other outlets do you find for your creativity besides writing?
I crochet blankets for all sizes—couch, beds, lap covers, and make baby blankets. I also crochet doll blankets with shams, and many accessories such as hair ties, scrunchies, key-chains, wristlets, hats, and plan to try making Amigurumi toys this winter.
I have a large craft room over my garage where I do scrapbooking, paint on canvas with acrylics and water-colors, and craft things out of common household items, such as mason jars and wire hangers. I make decorative containers and rag-wreaths, swags, or garlands. Depending on the season I try anything trending.
Where do you hope to see yourself as a writer in ten years?
My dream is to become an experienced and seasoned author, selling stories that will ignite passions and make readers want to read more, know more, and maybe even write their own stories! I hope to become an author who will inspire others.
Please tell my readers how they can find you online, if they’d like to learn more about you and your books. (Include links here.)
My social links are:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/denise.aparo?_
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/deniseaparo/?ref=xav_igxfb
WordPress – https://gravatar.com/tometamer?utm_source=hovercard
“The Vanishing”
“Villa’s Gold”
About Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares
14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare.
Contributing authors include Mario Acevedo, Joseph Carrabis, Jon Shannon, Rebecca M. Senesse, DL Mullan, Zack Ellafy, Christa Planko, C.R. Johansson, Kaye Lynne Booth, Robert White, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Chris Barili, Paul Kane, and author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo.
Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil
Book Trailer
That wraps up today’s tour stop and it also finishes up the WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour. Thank you all for joining us in sending off volume 3 of the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series, Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares.
The Giveaway
You can follow the links in the tour schedule below to visit any stops that you’ve missed, and be sure to comment at each stop, for a chance to win one of five digital copies WordCrafter Press will be given away in a random drawing following the tour.
Tour Schedule
Day 1– Poetry by Mich, Masticadores Phillipines & Hotel by Masticadores – Christa Planko Guest Post/Excerpt “Sangoma, Zombie Elephants, & Tokoloshe, Oh, My!” & “Cattails”
Day 2 – Writing to be Read – Joseph Carrabis Reading – “Jeremiah”/Excerpt “The Boy Who Loved Horses” & “Them Doore Girls”
Day 3 – Book Places – Roberta Eden Cheadle Guest Post/Excerpt “Darkness Tolls” & “The Snow Globe”
Day 4 – Carla Loves to Read – Paul Kane Guest Post/Excerpt “Inside Out” & “The Stairs”
Day 5 – Writing to be Read – Denise Aparo Interview & DL Mullan Reading/Excerpt “The Price of Beauty”
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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
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Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Midnight Oil” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 30, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Book Review, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Horror, Paranormal, Review, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: "The Whistling", Anthology, Book Review, Dark fiction, horror, Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, Paul Kane, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press 1 CommentFor Day 4 of the WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Carla Loves to Read with Carla Johnson-Hicks and a lovely review, and a guest post from contributing author, Paul Kane about his story, “The Whistling”, and short video excerpts from Jon Shannon’s “The Stairs” and C.R. Johansson’s “Inside Out”. Join us in celebrating the release of Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares and enter our giveaway by simply leaving a comment to show your support and let me know you were there.
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Day 2 of the WordCrafter “Midnight Oil” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 28, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Giveaways, Horror, Paranormal, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: "Jeremiah", "The Boy Who Loved Horses", "Them Doore Girls", Joseph Carrabis, Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 11 Comments
It’s Day 2 of the WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour and we’ve got some great treats in store for you. Today is release day for Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, volume 3 of the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series from WordCrafter Press. Thanks for joining us and helping us to send off this deliciously dark anthology.
On this stop, I’ll be introducing author Joseph Carrabis and learning about the three stories he has in Midnight Oil, including a reading of an excerpt from his story, “Jeremiah” done by Joseph himself.
Meet Author Joseph Carrabis
Joseph Carrabis is a master storyteller with a sharp sense of humor and deep linguistic expertise. Hailing from New Hampshire, USA, his passion for writing began at the age of seven while washing dishes with his older sister, Sandra. She’d read ‘Mission to the Heart Stars’ for a book report and shared her fascination and excitement over the story. Joseph, a plate in one hand and a dish towel in the other decided, “I want to give that joy in the written word to people.” With a career deeply embedded in evolving technologies, Joseph served as Chief Research Officer, Chief Neuroscience Officer, and Senior Research Fellow at several institutions and agencies while earning numerous awards for his journalism and trade technical writing.
Joseph refers to himself as boring – something loudly debunked by his readers and peers – and weaves wildly imaginative stories that dance on the boundary of the known and unknown sciences where natural, preternatural and supernatural intersect. Fans’ comments regularly mention Carrabis’ ability to bring together advanced mathematics, quantum physics, cybernetics, and neuroscience with believable multi-dimensional characters and spellbinding future technology. Joseph has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, recommended for a Nebula Award, and received an honorable mention in ‘Writers of the Future’.
“Them Doore Girls”
“The Boy Who Loved Horses”
Reading of Excerpt from “Jeremiah”
That wraps up today’s tour stop, but you can join us tomorrow over at Book Places. to meet contributing author, Roberta Eaton Cheadle and learn about her story, “Just Deserts”, and see excerpts from “Darkness Tolls”, by Zack Ellafy, and “The Snow Globe”, by Chris Barili.
The Giveaway
You can follow the links in the tour schedule below to visit any stops that you’ve missed, and be sure to comment at each stop, for a chance to win one of five digital copies WordCrafter Press will be giving away in a random drawing at the end of the tour.
Tour Schedule
Day 1– Poetry by Mich, Masticadores Phillipines & Hotel Masticadores – Christa Planko Guest Post/Excerpt “Sangoma, Zombie Elephants, & Tokoloshe, Oh, My!” & “Cattails”
Day 2 – Writing to be Read– Joseph Carrabis Reading – “Jeremiah”/Excerpt “The Boy Who Loved Horses” & “Them Doore Girls”
Day 3 – Book Places – Roberta Eden Cheadle Guest Post/Excerpt “Darkness Tolls” & “The Snow Globe”
Day 4 – Carla Loves to Read – Paul Kane Guest Post/Excerpt “Inside Out” & “The Stairs”
Day 5 – Writing to be Read – Denise Aparo Interview & DL Mullan Reading/Excerpt “The Price of Beauty”
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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
