Welcome to the Opening Day of the WordCrafter “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” Book Blog Tour

Tomorrow, 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/


WordCrafter 2026 Dark Ficton Contest – Call for Submissions

It’s time for the annual WordCrafter Press short fiction contest. This year’s entries will have a chance of being featured in the fourth volume of the WordCrafter Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares. The theme is dark fiction, but it can be dark fantasy, dark science fiction, paranormal, dark humor, or horror, as long as it is dark and scary, or thought provoking. I like stories that make me think. The contest entry fee is $5, and the submission deadline is April 30, 2026. You’ll find the submission guidelines below.

Submission Guidelines

WordCrafter Press is looking for original short stories with dark elements. Previously unpublished stories only.

Genres: Any genre as long as the story is dark.

Length: up to 5000 words

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026

Pay: Royalty share

Rights: First Anthology Rights and audio rights as part of the anthology; rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive right to include in the anthology as a whole. 

Open to submissions from January 1 through April 30, 2026.  

Submit: A Microsoft Word or RTF file in standard manuscript format to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com

If you don’t know what standard manuscript format is, review, for example, https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/

Multiple and simultaneous submissions accepted.

Find some helpful tips for submitting short fiction here, but mainly just follow the guidelines.

____________________________________________________________

Submit your story with a cover letter to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com with “Submission: [Your Title]” in the subject line and pay the $5 entry fee below.

Contest Entry

Enter the 2026 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest for a chance at an invitation to the Midnight Madness anthology, from WordCrafter Press.

$5.00

This Call for Submissions is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.

Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ

Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3

Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares: 14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare. https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil


WordCrafter News: January Release – “The Ones Who Stayed With Me” & What’s Ahead in 2026

Newsprint background. WordCrafter quill logo Text: WordCrafter News

The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy

I’m pleased to announce the release of a collection of true-life stories from the career of an L.P.N., written by a debut author known only as Nurse Sammy on January 13, 2026. I am so excited to be partnering with Nurse Sammy on this book and publish it through WordCrafter, because my own experiences in the health care field makes Nurse Sammy’s accounts ring true. Some stories will make you laugh. Others may make you cry. But there’s never any doubt that these stories come straight from the heart.

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.

What’s Ahead in 2026

WordCrafter Press has a busy year planned for 2026, with a book release almost every single month, and two months designated to the writing of my own works, I may find little time to breathe. But, I’m excited about the new works by rising authors that are scheduled, including the one above, by Nurse Sammy, a paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater, and two novels by rising author Lindsey Martin-Bowen, as well as a nonfiction work on a new approach to treating diabetes, by Daniel Cox, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

We’ll also be publishing two themed anthologies which are by invitation only, as well as our annual short fiction contest and the resulting anthology, which will be book 4 in the Midnight Anthology Series.

February: Writing Month

I’ll be using this month to finalize the second book in my Time Travel Series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions, which will be scheduled for release in March. This book was originally scheduled to release in 2025, but due to unforeseen technical difficulties, (my laptop died), I was unable to make those deadlines, so I’m excited to be releasing it at last.

March: The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions – Book 2 in the Time Travel Adventure Series, by Kaye Lynne Booth

In 1887, LeRoy is stuck, bringing trouble down on those around him. When Sissy is kidnapped and he’s the only one who can save her.

In 2030, Amaryllis will stop at nothing to find LeRoy fix what she messed up in the past, when she wakes up in a future very different to the one she knows, one in which she may not be born.

She and a version of Monique which is different from the one she grew up with travel back to 1887 to try and make things right.

When they cross the other time loops, already created, things change, but not the way Amaryllis intended.

Add two time travel regulators from the future who are after the time module, and things start to get wild.

April: Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons poetry anthology

The annual WordCrafter poetry anthology, Poetry Treasures will be released in April in celebration of National Poetry Month. 2026 brings us volume 6 in the Poetry Treasures anthology series with a theme of ‘Seasons’. The contributors for this anthology are selected from the guests on Robbie Cheadle’s “Treasuring Poetry” blog series in 2025.

May: The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen

A Romantic Comedy set in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1970’s. Charli Erickson is a “rock poet” who’s a bit “flippant.” Each chapter will be music to your ears.

June: Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater

A paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater.

June: Diabetes: How to prevent or treat it with a new and effective approach that does not involve supplements, weight loss or medication, by Daniel Cox Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

Personalized, research based, practical, empowering, effective workbook. For individuals who want to take control of their diabetes. 

July: Marta – Book 3 in the Women in the West Adventure Series, by Kaye Lynne Booth

Marta is a woman trying to make a new start in hostile territory.

Marta is not the timid Mormon woman, who was abducted by Utes as her husband and children were killed in the raid. Now she is determined to make her way as an independent woman, after her partner tried to cheat her out of her share of a gold mine.

Determination and inner grit bring this strong and spunky heroine into the company of a cast of colorful and unique female characters and together, they face down banditos, Comancheros, and angry husbands and fathers, as well as Marta’s disgruntled partner as they travel the rugged desert landscape to unruly border town of El Paso, Texas.

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

August: Legends anthology

A WordCrafter themed anthology

September: Deep City in Times Roman, by Lindsey Martin-Bowen

A “Roman Clef” based upon the Moony movement, popular in the 1970s and ’80. Set in the 1980s, Lynette and Shirley are quite angry at the Reverand Yun Sung Ghunne, who has separated their husbands from them as he is forming his Ghunies movement. This story spoofs the Mooney movement, or any movement that is mainly designed to dupe persons into supporting the leader and building his wealth.

October: Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares dark fiction anthology

Volume 4 of the WordCrafter

Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series

November: Writing Month

This month I’ll be working on revising what I have of my Playground for the Gods science fantasy series. (It’s been a while since you heard about this one. I bet you forgot all about it, but I didn’t.) Originally planned as a massive four-book series, I now plan to release this entire series in serial installments on Ream.

This series started out as my thesis project for my first M.F.A. degree. I left off with the first book completed, and part of the second, as well as a few chapters for the third. Once these have been revised, which is planned for the month of July, I should be ready to take off with new chapters and continue the saga. Look forward to seeing this series released on Ream as a serial in 2027!

December: The 12 Dark Nights of Christmas anthology

‘Twas the night before Christmas

And all through the crypt

Not a body was stirring

Not a single bone twitched.

The corpses were nestled in eternal beds

While visions of the macabre lurched through their heads.

The Spirits were restless and flitting about

In anticipation of mayhem when the demons came out.

Twelve dark stories that prove Santa isn’t the only thing stirring on Christmas.

Happy New Year – Have a Great 2026!


Merry Christmas to All!


Christmas for Kids Sale

Starting Black Friday, November 28th and running clear through December 25th, for those last-minute gifts.

Click on the book title to go to the landing page. Then, select the distributor of your choice.

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.

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans$2.50 Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans is a picture book with a moral message from a young turtle’s perspective. Meet Timothy Turtle, who has a sweet tooth. He eats too many jellybeans and finds himself in a pickle. His friends Katy Cat and Betsy Beaver try to help, and Timothy learns that you can get too much of a good thing.

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend $2.50Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend is a picture book with a message of friendship and cooperation. Heather Hummingbird and Ethan Eagle are two unlikely friends who discover that it is good to accept help from others and that is what friends are for.

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home$2.99Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home is a story of survival from a young bird’s perspective. Charlie Chickadee is happy with his family in their cozy nest. But whem the violet-green swallows take the nest for their own, Charlie finds himself alone, separated from his parents and on his own to face the dangers of the forest. His new friend Nicholas Nuthatch shows him the ropes and teaches him about the other birds and the woman who puts out food each day, and by a stroke of luck, Charlie discovers the perfect spot and builds a new nest that he can be proud of.

November 28th – December 25th, 2025

Get your copies today!


The Gift of Poetry Sale

Starting Black Friday, November 28th and running clear through December 25th, for those last-minute gifts.

Click on the book title to go to the landing page. Then, select the distributor of your choice.

The Poetry Treasures Series

Open the cover

and you will discover

Poetry Treasures

from the guests on Robbie Cheadle’s “Treasuring Poetry” blog series on Writing to be Read.

The Poetry Treasures Series books on a beach in front of an open treasure chest with garland across the top of the sky.

Poetry Treasures $2.99 – Open the book and discover the poetry treasures of Sue Vincent, Geoff Le Pard, Frank Prem, Victoria (Tori) Zigler, Colleen M. Chesebro, K. Morris, Annette Rochelle Aben, Jude Kitya Itakali, and Roberta Eaton Cheadle.

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships $2.99 – Relationships are golden and each of Arthur Rosch, Elizabeth Merry, D Avery, Robbie Cheadle, Harmony Kent, Lauren Scott, Jules Paige, Leon Stevens, Colleen M. Chesebro, Miriam Hurdle, Marjorie Mallon, and Lynda McKinney Lambert pay poetic tribute to their most intense personal moments.

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions $2.99Passion treasures within. Included are treasures from: Patty Fletcher, D. Wallace Peach, Yvette Prior, Penny Wilson, Colleen M. Chesebro, Abbie Taylor, Yvette Calliero, , Smitha Vishwanath, Chris Hall, Willow Willers, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, and Robbie Cheadle.

Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature $ 2.99 – Included are poetic gems from: Andrew McDowell, Robbie Cheadle, Patricia Furstenberg, Marcia Meara, Luanne Castle, D.L. Finn, Emily Gmitter, Kaye Lynne Booth, Selma Martin, Merril D. Smith, Frank Prem, and Colleen Chesebro.

Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures $2.99 – 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.

Individual Poetry Collections

Small Wonders: Reflective Poems, by Kaye Lynne Booth – $1.99 – The world is filled with amazing things, if we will just stop a moment and take notice. In this vast universe, we are but tiny individuals, filled with awe and amazement. From reflections on first love, to reflections on growing old. The poems within these pages express a lifetime of unique reflections in Small Wonders.

Behind Closed Doors: A Collection of Unusual Poems, by Robbie Cheadle – $2.99 – What goes on behind closed doors: in the boardroom, after death, in the home, during lockdown, and in nature? This collection of poems, ranging from rhyming verse to twisted nursery rhymes, captures the emotions and thoughts people hide behind the masks they present to the world.

                                                                                          What thoughts are hidden

                                                                                          Behind her immobile face

                                                                                             Quite expressionless

                                                                                           Eyes cold and indifferent

                                                                                          Scrutinising me – hawk like

This book includes some of Robbie Cheadle’s spectacular fondant art and cakes.

Feral Tenderness: Poetry & Photography, by Arthur Rosch – $2.99 – A lifetime of poetry and photography gives a unique view of life, nature, the world, and the universe. 

November 28th – December 25th, 2025

Get your copies today!


WordCrafter Holiday Book Bash

Starting Black Friday, November 28th and running clear through December 25th, for those last-minute gifts.

Click on the book title to go to the landing page. Then, select the distributor of your choice.

WordCrafter Novels

Women in the West Adventure Series, by Kaye Lynne Booth

Strong Female Protagonists

Fictionalized Historical Characters

The Western Frontier Brought to Life

Delilah – $1.99Delilah is a woman haunted by her past.

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

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

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

Sarah – $2.99Sarah is a young girl trying to make a place for herself in the world.

Sarah is not the young girl stolen away from Delilah anymore. Now she is Hair of Fire, mate of Three Hawks, even as she blossoms into a young woman and tries to make a place for herself among the Ute tribe.

When she is stolen away from the life she’s made, she struggles to survive in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. A streak of stubbornness and determination take this tough, feisty heroine up against wild beasts of the forest and the rugged mountain landscape to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where she receives a less than welcoming reception by some.

Will this young woman find her way back to the Ute tribe, which she’s come to think of as family, or will she discover a place among the colorful inhabitants of the Colorado hot springs and mining town?

Follow along on her journey to learn who she truly is and where she belongs in this rough, and often hostile frontier.

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

Marta – Coming in 2026

Time Travel Adventure Series, by Kaye Lynne Booth

The Rock Star & The Outlaw – $2.99A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back.

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

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

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

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

The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions – Coming in 2026

Shadow Blade, by Chris Barili

Shadow Blade – $5.99

The Denari Lai: An order of religious zealots who control their assassins through an addiction to magic.They haven’t failed in over one hundred years.

Ashai Larish: An unstoppable Denari Lai assassin sent covertly to kill the Pushtani king and his daughter. But he falls in love with the princess and finds himself, despite struggling withdrawal symptoms from his magic, as they flee from a second assassin and the King’s guard.

Makari: A beautiful and unconventional princess seeking to change the laws of her father’s kingdom  when she learns Ashai’s true identity.

Pachat: A Pushtani slave who unknowingly sparks a slave rebellion all along the border between their nations.

Will Pachat gain the revenge he so lustily seeks?

Can Ashai kill the second assassin, win back Makari’s love and return her to the throne that is rightfully hers? 

Short Fiction Singles

Baiting the Hook – Free! – On the ice-polished rooftops and the otherwise dark allies now choked with snow, Tabe Ge Nishi, the past pursues the future, old chases young. The Chargh Lai—leader of the brutal assassin’s guild, the Denari Lai—searches for the perfect leader to take over the order when he passes on. But the boy has other suitors and wishes only to be left alone. Betrayals have made Ashai cautious, and just as he rebuffs the advances of a street gang, he also rejects the Chargh Lai’s offer of constant brotherhood. But “no” is not an answer the Chargh Lai is used to hearing. And he pressures Ashai to join him. And meanwhile, another assassin hunts them both.

What will Ashai choose? The camaraderie of the Denari Lai, or freezing alone on the streets? The final battle will determine the fate of both men, and an entire nation.

Hidden Secrets – $.99Cassie wants nothing to do with the legacy her grandmother wants to hand down to her.

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

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

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

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

November 28th – December 25th, 2025

Get your copies today!


WordCrafter Holiday Sales Start Today

Click on the book title to go to the landing page. Then, select the distributor of your choice.

All WordCrafter Novels – Up to $4.00 off!

Shadow Blade (Denari Lai Book 2), by Chris Barili – $5.99

Delilah (Women in the West Book 1), by Kaye Lynne Booth – $1.99

Sarah (Women in the West Book 2), by Kaye Lynne Booth – $2.99

The Rock Star & The Outlaw (Time Travel Series Book 1), Kaye Lynne Booth – $2.99

WordCrafter Short Fiction Singles – Under a Buck

Baiting the Hook (Denari Lai Book 1), by Chris Barili – Free!

Hidden Secrets (Paranormal Mystery), by Kaye Lynne Booth – $.99

WordCrafter Poetry Anthologies and Collections – $2.99 or less!

Poetry Treasures$2.99

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships$2.99

Poetry Treasure 3: Passions $2.99

Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature$2.99

Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures $2.99

Collections

Feral Tenderness, by Arthur Rosch – $2.99

Behind Closed Doors, by Robbie Cheadle – $2.99

Small Wonders, by Kaye Lynne Booth – $1.99

Children’s Titles, by Kaye Lynne Booth – $1.00 off!

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend$2.50

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jelly Beans $2.50

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home$2.99

All sales run through December 25th for all your last-minute holiday gifts.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Basket filled with gourds
Text: Happy Thanksgiving from WordCrafter 
Press and Writing to be Read

WordCrafter News: Holiday Book Deals

Newsprint background. WordCrafter quill logo Text: WordCrafter News

Happy Holidays!

WordCrafter Press is running some great holiday sales this season, because I believe that to give a book is to give a gift of love. All sales run from Black Friday, November 28, all the way through December 25th to help out with those last-minute gifts.

Christmas for Kids Sale

Field of Flowers in the background with digital copies of Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Timothy Turtle Discovers Jelly Beans, and Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home in the foreground.

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend – $2.50: https://books2read.com/MBF-HeatherHummingbird

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jelly Beans – $2.50: https://books2read.com/MBF-TimothyTurtle

Charlie Chickadee Finds a New Home – $2.99: https://books2read.com/MBF-CharlieChickadee

The Gift of Poetry Sale

A treasure chest in background with Poetry Treasures volumes 1 - 5 in the foreground.

The Poetry Treasures Collection – $2.99 each

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

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

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/PT3Passions

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

Poetry Treasures 5: Small Pleasures: https://books2read.com/PT5-SmallPleasures

Digital and print copies of Small Wonders

Small Wonders: Reflective Poems

by Kaye Lynne Booth – $1.99:

https://books2read.com/SmallWonders

Behind Closed Doors: A Collection of Unusual Poems

by Robbie Cheadle – $2.99

https://books2read.com/BehindClosedDoorsCheadle

A print copy of Behind Closed Doors on a white desk.
Book Cover: Close-up of a succulant pllant with black background Text: Feral Tenderness: Poetry and Photography by Arthur Rosch, Compiled and Edited by KAye Lynne Booth

Feral Tenderness: Poetry and Photography

by Arthur Rosch – $2.99

https://books2read.com/FeralTenderness

WordCrafter Holiday Book Bash

Women in the West Adventure Series

Delilah – $1.99: https://books2read.com/DelilahWiW1

Sarah – $2.99: https://books2read.com/Sarah-Women-in-the-West

Marta: Coming in 2026

Shadow Blade, by Chris Barili – $5.99

https://books2read.com/ShadowBladeDenariLai

Book Cover: Black background, red framed box with a blade in it.
Text: Shadow Blade, Chris Barili
Digital copy of The Rock Star & The Outlaw by Kaye Lynne Booth

The Rock Star & The Outlaw

by Kaye Lynne Booth – $2.99

https://books2read.com/RockStarOutlaw

The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions – Coming in 2026

Hidden Secrets, by Kaye Lynne Booth – .99 cents

https://books2read.com/HiddenSecretsBooth

Image of Indian overlayed over lake with trees.
Text: Hidden Secrets, Kaye Lynne Booth