A couple of years ago, my family visited an elephant sanctuary near the Cradle of Humankind. For those of you who don’t know the Cradle of Humankind, it is an area in South Africa where many fossils, tools, and other traces of early humans have been found.
We also visited the Sterkfontein Caves where the 2.3 million year old fossil of Mrs Ples is on display, but this post is about the elephants.
We participated in a guided tour of the elephant sanctuary and one of the discussions with the guide revolved around the differences between African and Asian elephants. I thought it was quite interesting.
Picture caption: Two large African savannah elephants. Picture by Robbie Cheadle
The above photograph is of African elephants. There are two species of African elephants, the larger being the African bush elephant (or African savannah elephant) which is the one I’m most familiar with, and the smaller being the African forest elephant. The above picture is of African savannah elephants.
Picture caption: this is an Asian elephant. Picture by Niels Baars from Unsplash
Can you spot the differences. They are as follows:
Size: African elephants are much bigger than Asian elephants. African savannah elephants weigh approximately 8,000 kg or 9 tons and are between 3 and 4 metres tall (10 and 13 feet) at the shoulder. Asian elephants weigh approximately 5,500 kg or 6 tons and are not taller than 3,5 metres at the shoulder.
Ears: African elephants have much bigger ears and they are shaped like the continent of Africa. Asian elephants have smaller, round ears. African elephants have larger ears because they dissipate heat through their ears and Africa is hotter than Asia.
Head shape: African elephants have rounded heads and Asian elephants have a twin-domed head.
Tusks: Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only Asian male elephants have them. Not all elephants grow tusks.
Picture caption: African elephants at the waterhole at Tau in the Makikwe Game ReservePicture caption: this male African elephant has broken his tuskPicture caption: This big boy walked right past the vehicle. I could have touched him without stretching my arm.
Elephants playing in the river at Madikwe (this is at Thakadu Tented Camp)
A very grubby elephant (taken at Makikwe Game Reserve – Madikwe Hills Lodge)
I adore this video of a herd of elephants walking in line:
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
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 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/.
Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “In Touch With Nature” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by Midnight Roost: Weird & Creepy Stories and WordCrafter Press.
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.
Today my guest is author Sylva Fea, whose debut book is a short fiction collection, rather than a novel. She got her start writing for children and has published several children’s books. Let me introduce her, and then we’ll go on to the interview, followed by my review of her short story collection, No Fairytale.
About Sylva Fae
Sylva Fae is a married mum of three from Lancashire, England. She grew up in a rambling old farmhouse with an artistic family and an adopted bunch of dysfunctional animals. Her earliest memories are of bedtime stories snuggled up close to Mum to see the pictures. It was a magical time, those last special moments before dozing off to sleep would feed dreams of faraway lands and mystical beings. She spent twenty plus years teaching literacy to adults with learning difficulties and disabilities but now lives in Cheshire, juggling being a mum, writing children’s stories and keeping up with the crazy antics of their naughty rabbits.
Sylva and her family own a small woodland and escape there at every possible opportunity. Adventures in their own enchanted woodland, hunting for fairies and stomping in puddles, originally inspired Sylva to write stories for her girls. Whether it’s sat at the campfire in her own woods, or pottering around the beautiful local countryside, Sylva now finds her story inspiration being out in nature.
Sylva published her first children’s book Rainbow Monsters, in 2017. She has since published seventeen other children’s picture books, two chapter books, four illustrated anthologies, and has several short stories published in other anthologies. Three of her books have won Best in Category for children’s books at the Chanticleer International Book Awards and she’s seven won Reader’s Choice Awards. In addition to writing her own, Sylva has ghost written several books, and is an editor and writer for Mom’s Favorite Reads magazine and Connections eMagazine.
Kaye: I just released the first three books in my own children’s series, so I want to ask you to talk about being a children’s author briefly. How did being a children’s author come about for you? How did you handle illustrations? What were the challenges in writing for children?
Sylva: I started making up stories to entertain my children when we went on walks in our woods. Hunting for pixies and faeries hiding in the trees turned a boring walk into a woodland adventure, and it kept my girls amused. Later on, my middle daughter asked if I would write the stories down so she could read them herself, and then she demanded pictures to go with the stories. I obliged, of course, but I never intended to publish anything – these were just to entertain my children, and fun for me to create.
Sometime later, I joined Twitter (X) and my first follower was the amazing author, Lesley Hayes. She asked me to write a short story for her blog. I was daunted by the prospect, but gave it a go. Lesley convinced me to keep writing, she encouraged and supported me and gave me the confidence to publish my first children’s book. I discovered how much I loved writing stories and haven’t stopped since.
Kaye: You started your writing career with children’s books and then, moved on to short fiction for adults. How did that transition happen?
Sylva: Lesley Hayes encouraged me to join a group for indie authors (I now admin it) so I could learn from the more experienced authors. The group was putting together an anthology (You’re Not Alone) in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, an although it wasn’t my genre, I wanted to get involved. I enjoyed the challenge of writing a short story, and submitted more stories to our group’s anthologies. A couple of years later, I joined up with some author friends to run an online magazine, Mom’s Favorite Reads, which ran a monthly flash fiction challenge. This gave me the opportunity to write flash stories – another new challenge to master! I now help author, Melanie P Smith with Connections eMagazine, and contribute 1000-word stories for the picture prompt challenge. The transition from children’s stories to adult shorts was quite easy because the word counts are similar and my brain is programmed to tell a whole story in a few words.
Kaye1; I’m curious. Why did you choose to use a pen name? And how did you choose the name to use?
Sylva: When my children were little, I wanted to safeguard them from the world of social media, and so set up accounts under a pseudonym, Sylva Fae. This meant I could have a public account and keep my real name account for just family and friends. My youngest daughter’s name is Sylva – I love the name – and it means ‘of the woodlands’. Fae is a term to cover all kinds of faerie folk, so Sylva Fae simply means woodland faerie. I like names with meanings, and this fit with how I started out, telling faerie stories to my girls in the woods.
Kaye: You’re just now releasing your first short fiction collection, No Fairytale. Tell us about these stories. Do they have a common theme? What inspirations can you share with us?
Sylva: The stories are very random, both in subject, and in length. They range from 200-word flash fiction stories, to 8k words. There are a few familiar themes that appear; I often use my woods as a setting, and characters are based on people I know. I guess the common theme is me, because every story contains a little of my real-life experiences.
Kaye: You are a wife and mother, and you write, too. Do you have any advice for juggling family and writing life?
Sylva: All of my stories are planned in my head before they ever make it onto paper. I play around with ideas, and think through how the characters would react to different scenarios, while I do mundane tasks, like washing up and vacuuming. A boring chore becomes an opportunity to plan a story. I tend to work out dialogue while walking, so walking to and from school to pick up my girls also becomes a multitasking opportunity. I try to give myself a little time to write each day. Some days I get the chance to work on my laptop for a few hours, but on other days, I grab five minutes here and there, typing on my phone. Writing every day keeps me sane, but family comes first, so multitasking is the only way I can do this.
Kaye: Some of your books have won awards. Can you talk about the award-winning books? Which award do you feel is the most prestigious?
Sylva: My books have won sixteen awards over the years. It’s hard to pick the most prestigious, so I’ll pick my favourite. My very first book, Rainbow Monsters won in the children’s story category in the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Winning this award gave me a huge amount of confidence to become a children’s author.
Kaye: You also write for Connections emagazine. Would you tell my readers a little about that? What type of content do they print? And what type of writing do you do for them?
Sylva: Connections is primarily a magazine for people who love to read books. It features author interviews, new book releases, short stories and poems, but it also contains general interest articles and interviews. As I mentioned before, I write short stories for the magazine, but I also contribute articles, interviews and source general interest content. The magazine is always free to download, so feel free to check it out: https://melaniepsmith.com/emagazine/
Kaye: Do you plan to stick with short fiction? Or do you envision a novel in your future? Do you already have future works planned out?
Sylva: Now my children have grown up, I keep meaning to leave the children’s genre and write for adults, but I still have a ridiculous number of works in progress that I want to finish before I leave picture books for good. I have a YA story ready for publishing, and two adult novels on the go. The new challenge of writing a full-length novel is a little daunting but I keep telling myself, to just take one chapter at a time, and each chapter is just the same as writing a short story. We shall see…
Kaye: 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.)
Sylva: You can find me on most social media by searching for Sylva Fae, but I am stuck in my ways, and mainly use Facebook for connecting with readers.
This multi-genre collection of 36 tales is comprised of 18 short stories and 18 flash fiction stories. From crime in a quaint village to woodland horror. Go on a time-travelling mystery, or imagine the horror of encountering a real earworm. Discover magic and mayhem, mystery and adventure, and delight in tales of karma and vengeance. No Fairytale is an eclectic assortment of stories to entertain a wide audience.
My Review
I proofread a copy of No Fairytale, thus discovering both book and author. What follows is my honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
No Fairytale is a collection of short stories by author Sylva Fae. Tales of magic and mystery with a hint of life lessons mixed in. With more than thirty short and flash fiction stories, this collection is a worthy read. Too many stories to review individually, but I’ll offer up here my favorites.
“The Magic Box of Apples” – A tale about the magic of kindness. This one touched my heart. Granny Apple has a magic box that is always filled with what she needs. But is it really magic? Peter Aspen learns the secret as this short tale unfolds.
“Hollin Hey” – I’m a bird lover, so it is only natural that I would fall in love with this story about an animal sanctuary and a recued crow. The touching ending makes it all worth it.
“No Fairytale” – The book’s namesake story is one of cheating and revenge. No Fairytale indeed! When this girl says it’s over, she means it.
“The Witch in the Woods” – A short ditty about a self-perpetrated deception. But this witch has good reason and good intention.
“Dwelling in the Shadows” – I love this story because of the somber tone and poetic language that could make one believe they have stepped into a fairytale. The story of a secret pact told so eloquently I had to read on to the end.
The collection, as a whole, is delightful; a mixture of short and flash fiction which has a little something for everyone. The characters in these stories are easy to relate to because we’ve all been there. Sylva Fae takes the ordinary and finds the magic in it. I give No Fairytale five quills.
Shadows of recent events follow James as he leaves Alaska, traveling through Canada with a group of strangers until a detour brings them to a house nestled deep in the forests of British Columbia. Haunted by his failures, conflict and mystery threaten to pull James into the very thing he’s been trying to run from.
When the fate of other people’s lives are affected by the choices James makes, will he take a side in a conflict he doesn’t fully understand, or will he look to the road again, distancing himself from any involvement, and the potential consequences it brings.
I purchased a copy of Darkness Within the Forest from FreeBooksie. All opinions stated here are my own.
Darkness Within the Forest is the Darkness series Book 2, by Mathew Neighbors. On the run from one surreal situation, James quickly finds himself in yet another situation in which choices must be made, even when he doesn’t fully understand the stakes. Or perhaps it is the reader who did not grasp the depth of this tale, because I certainly wasn’t feeling it.
The writing contained a lot of telling and minimal showing, making it difficult for me to relate with any of the characters, least of all the protagonist, James. It begins by offering up backstory, which will affect his behavior throughout the story. Perhaps that is where the tale should actually begin? Because the relating of the backstory, for me, seemed far more interesting than the tale that eventually unfolds.
While Darkness Within the Forest has the potential to be an interesting and entertaining tale, it falls short in structure and writing style. I give it three quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
Today, I am delighted to welcome talented poet and author, Elizabeth Gauffreau, as my Treasuring Poetry guest.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
My favorite style of poetry to read is free verse, although recently I’ve become quite taken with the duplex and the pantoum. I also enjoy reading persona poems, such as T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which has been a long-time favorite of mine. In addition, I enjoy narrative poems such as George Franklin’s Angel of Sorrow poems. (Travels of the Angel of Sorrow and What the Angel Saw, What the Saint Refused)
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
Because I’ve been reading more poetry collections in the past several years than I ever have before, it’s hard to pick just one favorite poem. I’m going to go with Patricia Smith’s “Now He’s an Etching.”
The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which is definitely not my favorite poetry form. However, Smith uses it so skillfully, I didn’t even notice the meter until someone pointed it out to me.
I strongly encourage readers to listen to Smith read the poem herself to get the full experience of it. https://poets.org/poem/now-hes-etching (Click on the blue speaker icon on the right side of the screen.)
Now He’s an Etching
of the sluggish, coolly vengeful way
a southern body falters. Muscles whine
with toiling, browning teeth go tilt and splay,
then tremulous and gone. The serpentine
and slapdash landscape of his mouth is maze
for blue until the heart—so sparsely blessed,
lethargic in its fatty cloak—OKs
that surge of Tallahatchie through his chest,
and Lordy, hear that awful moan unlatch?
Behind the mic, he’s drowning in that great
migration uniform of sharkskin patched
with prayer and dust. His cramped feet palpitate
in alligator kickers, needle-toed,
so tight he feels the thudding blood, so tight
they make it way too easy to unload
his woe. The drunken drummer misses right
on time, the speakers sputter static, but
our bluesman gravels anyhow—The moon
won’t even rise for me tonight / now what’s
a brokedown man gon’ do? That wretched croon
delights the urban wanderers, intent
on loving on this perfect underwhelm
of Negro, jinxed and catastrophic, bent
into his hurting halves. Inside the realm
of pain as pageant, woozy revelers raise
their plastic cups of fizz and watered rye
to toast the warbler of decay, whose dazed
and dwindling lyric craves its moonlit sky.
“Now He’s an Etching” made such an impression on me that I actually sent a “fan girl” message to Patricia Smith (to which she responded graciously with “thank you”). Then I wrote a puente in response to her poem. (I’ve sent it out to literary magazines in hopes of getting it published.)
I would be remiss if I didn’t include Smith’s commentary on her poem:
About this Poem
“I mourn the elders. I mourn the black bluesmen and women who could only move sanely through their hours with the help of heartbreak. I miss their stout southern stature, bodies resolute with a recollected woe. I ache for the gut gravel of lyric, the knowledge that my crooner is truly suffering, and that she or he has decided to allow us to suffer too. But many of the elders still with us have become millennial playthings, one of the many ‘woke’ things to sample and add to the cultural resume. Hopefully, this poem springs from that space.”
—Patricia Smith
Your new poetry book, Simple Pleasures, comprises of haiku. Is that your favourite form of poetry? Why?
No, it isn’t. My go-to is free verse. In this instance, though, haiku was the best form to convey the experiences I wanted to share with readers.
What is your favourite of your poems in Simple Pleasures?
I’m going to go with this one because it was inspired by the Green Mountains of Vermont, which is where my heart is.
back in the valley
peeling fence to lean on
Green Mountains steadfast
Tell us a bit about Simple Pleasures. What inspired the book? How did you choose the title and cover?
My husband and I were on a scenic drive to escape the awful mess the world is in, and a haiku just popped into my head. So I wrote it down (fiddled with it, of course) and took a picture of the scene which inspired it. My husband and I had fun going on the hunt for the wild haiku together, so we kept at it for a year, until I had enough poems and photographs for a collection and had covered all four seasons. Now that the book is finished, I miss those hunts!
The title Simple Pleasures refers to the simple pleasures of life, which never fail to restore my equilibrium in difficult times. The subtitle, Haiku from the Place Just Right, refers to the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts,” which was part of my childhood, probably from church camp. Simple pleasures and simple gifts are synonymous to me, so the title and the subtitle seemed just right!
As far as the cover went, I wanted something that would show up clearly in an online thumbnail, which is why I went with a saturated color for the background. The branch of flowering crabapple spoke to me as having a haiku feel to it in its simplicity.
My review of Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right
Picture caption: Cover of Simple Pleasures featuring a spray of pink blossoms against a dark blue background
Simple Pleasures is a collection of delightful haiku written about a variety of different places that have moved the poet to write due to their beauty, family connection, or historical meaning. Each poem is accompanied by a gorgeous colour photograph (I read the ebook). As a South African, I found this book to be a wonderful visual and literary tour of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
One of my favourite poems in the collection is as follows: “grey heavens, grey sea goldenrod out of context lighthouse bears witness”
This short collection of 53 poems will fill your heart with joy.
Picture caption: Elizabeth Gauffreau author photograph
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.
Liz has published a novel, TELLING SONNY: THE STORY OF A GIRL WHO LOVED THE VAUDEVILLE SHOW, and a collection of photopoetry, GRIEF SONGS: POEMS OF LOVE & REMEMBRANCE. Her latest release is also photopoetry: SIMPLE PLEASURES:HAIKU FROM THE PLACE JUST RIGHT. She is currently working on a novel, THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968.
Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018.
Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
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Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
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This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.
July’s challenge did not recieve any entries, so I’m thinking maybe last month’s challenge was too specific. I decided to use a more general prompt, like the one from June, in hopes of getting at least a few submissions.
There is nothing to vote on this month, but I’d like to hear from you if you think this idea could be fun and would like to participate at some point in the future. I need to know if there is enough interest to continue this blog series.
This Month’s Prompt
Monsters of Legend
Your story must contain a legendary monster. So, pull out your shapeshifters, blood suckers, walking dead, gargoyles, goblins and ghoulies, wraiths, dragons and trolls. It can be dark. It can be funny. It can be a monster romance. Whatever the genre, there must be a monster of legend at the heart of it.
The Rules
Remember, your story can be any genre, so you can get creative. Publish the results on your blog and send the link to me by the last day of the month. Be sure to label them with #WtbRStoryChallenge. Or, if you don’t have a blog, you can send the results directly to me at kayebooth@yahoo.com, and I will publish them or the links back to your blog the following month along with the writing prompt for the next month.
Stick to the rules and after 30 minutes of writing stop. I’ll be writing right along with you. I know the prompt ahead of time, but I won’t begin writing until it has posted. Be sure to have your entry to me by the last day of the month, so I can share them all for readers to vote on.
Another good thing about this not being a live event is you will have the opportunity to edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation before submitting, and I do want it to be the best you’ve got, of course.
How does a farm boy and son of a poor country preacher become one of the world’s greatest naval commanders, a hero to one nation, and a pirate scourge of the Spanish Main?
July 1557. One month after England’s entry into the Anglo-French war. A world where kinship and patronage are as important as national identity.
Follow the 17-year-old Francis Drake into a cutlass-slashing, cannon-blasting sea raid as he joins his cousin John Hawkins in cutting out one of the Hawkins’ ships, and rescuing its crew from French captivity.
One raid will create a legend.
Please note that Retribution is a short story. This is bridge story between two upcoming novels, Adventures of Francis Drake–Sic Parvis Magna and Adventures of Francis Drake–First Blood.
I recieved a digital copy of Retribution, by Paul Jariabek in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Retribution is a short story, (about 23 pages), which can be read in a single sitting. In fact, I read it while waiting during a dental visit.
Let me start by saying that this is not a genre that I would normally pick up, even though it is historical fiction, although I did enjoy the swashbuckling antics of Pirates of the Carribean. It is the tale of a rescue mission and subsequent battle during the Anglo-French war in 1557. Readers are privy to the reasoning and planning of the raid to retrieve a stolen ship, and the fast moving execution of the plan through the eyes of young Francis Drake, a young man trying to prove himself and find his place in the world.
A fast-paced quick read, that will make you want to read the stories it bridges. It is obvious that the author has done his research from his realistic descriptions. I give Retribution four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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. 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.
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This post sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.
Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.
Young adult fiction, abbreviated as YA, is fiction aimed at a reading audience aged between thirteen and eighteen years old.
YA fiction is intended to bridge the gap between middle-grade fiction and adult fiction. It is more emotionally and thematically advanced than middle-grade fiction.
Characteristics of young adult fiction?
The characters are young adults in the same age group as the target audience;
The language and writing style are designed to be relatable to the target audience;
Common themes explored in YA novels are personal identity, self-discovery, and the transition to adulthood. Friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality are frequent sub-themes;
YA novels often present dilemmas relating to the themes and sub-themes that face young adults; and
YA novels are generally fast paced, emotional, and end on an optimistic note.
A list of fantastic YA books
I have read all of the following YA books and recommend them highly:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
The Book Thief by markus Zusak
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. By Judy Blume
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A few excellent quotes from YA books
“His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” ― William Golding, Lord of the Flies
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
I have written a YA novel, Through the Nethergate. It is intended to make young people think about technology, politics, extremism, and the potential threats they pose to peace and cohesiveness in our world. Of course, things have deteriorated significantly in the world since I published this book in 2018, so its messages still ring frighteningly true.
About Robbie Cheadle
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fifteen children’s book and three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael’s new Southern African Safari Adventures series is aimed at teaching young children about Southern African wildlife in a fun and entertaining way. Each book contains a rhyming verse story about a particular animal, as well as illustrations by Robbie Cheadle, photographs and links to video footage about that animal.
Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Growing Bookworms” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
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This segment of “Growing Bookworms” is sponsored by the My Backyard Friends Kid’s Book Series and WordCrafter Press.
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.
NOW THERE WILL ALWAYS BE LOVE. AND … THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MURDER
For P.I. ferret Lee Alvarez first comes murder, then comes love, then comes marriage… and now Lee and her drop-dead gorgeous Navy SEAL groom Gurn Hanson are stumbling across bodies together.
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This wryly romantic box set is a bonanza for fans of The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, featuring a full-length novel, Book 5 The CEO Came DOA, PLUS two novellas. Together they tell the story of the action-packed, homicide-solving week leading up to Lee and Gurn’s wedding followed by the too-eventful weeks in Kauai and their return home when they were supposed to be resting and relaxing. Not to mention romancing.
Lee and Gurn – think Nick and Nora Charles in Silicon Valley…with a Mexican flair – will delight fans of PI stories, cozy mysteries, and women sleuths, especially if they love sharp funny female protagonists like Sue Grafton’s witty Kinsey Millhone and Janet Evanovich’s lovable Stephanie Plum.
I received a free box set from The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries series, Love Can Be Murder, including The CEOCameDOA, and two novellas, MarraigeCanBeMurder, and Honeymoons Can Be Murder, by Heather Haven, from a newsletter which landed in my email.
In Lee Alverez, Haven has created a female Sherlock Holms, and her significant other, Gurn, becomes her Watson, as mystery, mayhem, and murder seem to find her wherever she goes in this series. In the Love Can Be Murder set, it finds her during a routine cybercrime investigation in the main story, The CEO Came DOA, (which is Book 8 in the series), on her honeymoon, and as a favor to her mother, in the two novellas, Honeymoons Can Be Murder and Marraige Can Be Murder.
Each of these stories hold their own, and could be read as a stand alone, but there are plenty of Easter Eggs hidden for those who read through in sequence to find. The characters are pleasant to spend time with, if a little too perfect at times, and the storylines carry an underlying humor, which makes them comical at times, and always entertaining.
The CEO Came DOA
A routine technology theft investigation turns into more than Lee Alvarez bargained for when she comes upon the apparent suicide of the company C.E.O. Something is off, the circumstances are strange, and Lee is determined to get to the bottom of it. But proving a murder and solving the who done it makes it difficult to prepare for a wedding and a honeymoon with the man she loves. To top things off, someone doesn’t want Lee to uncover the truth, and they’ll go to any length to stop her.
Honeymoons Can Be Murder
Ready for the three Rs: Rest, Relaxation, and Recuperation, Lee Alvarez and her new husband, Gurn, are off to a tropical paradise for their honeymoon after solving a harrowing case of technology theft which turned into murder. But murder follows Lee. She can’t seem to get away from it. And when a murdered woman is discovered outside their bungalow, her new husband is on the radar of the local law as the prime suspect. Lee and Gurn must stay one step ahead of the police, to discover who the real murderer is.
Marriage Can Be Murder
When a overly melodramatic former actress, who changes moods more than she does outfits, falls prey to a series of mysterious accidents, Lee Alverez and husband Gurn are called on to investigate the situation. The list of suspects includes her seven ex-husbands, as well as a her household staff, or perhaps her long lost daughter, who has recently appeared on the scene. While it appears the actress is quite generous, and everyone seems to love her, Lee and Gurn find eveidence that the accidents were not accidental, at all. It’s up to Lee and Gurn to discover who done it, and why, before the would be murderer succeeds.
The Box Set
This set of mystery stories, Love Can Be Murder, was a fun and entertaining read. Light and humorous storylines and likeable, diverse characters. I give Love Can Be Murder five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
I love collaborations.
They offer me the opportunity to meet and work with many wonderful authors. Collaborations are mutually beneficial to all participants involved, and there are many types of collaborations to choose from.
Co-Authors
There are different ways to handle this type of collaboration.
Some co-authors handle different character’s POV, like Mark Leslie did with his co-author, Julie Strauss with his Canadian Werewolf series book, Lover’s Moon. Mark wrote the chapters that were in the POV of the protagonist, Michael Andrews, while Julie wrote the chapters which were in girlfriend, Gail’s POV. They also narrated the audiobook in the same matter, which worked quite well.
Other co-authors just alternate chapters, or even sections of the book, passing it back and forth, each author beginning writing where the other author left off. I’m sure they begin with some type of outline, so everyone has a general idea of where the story is going.
I’ve never co-written a book in this manner, but I think it would be fun to get several authors together and improvise a story without an outline, with unexpected twists and turns galore, so none of the authors know where the story is going ahead of time. My most recent collaboration of this nature was an author/illustrator collaboration, with my children’s book series, My Backyard Friends. In this type of collaboration, I wrote the stories and Robbie Cheadle did the illustrations. The ways that you can collaborate on a book are endless.
Anthologies
I publish one or more anthologies each year, and they really are a lot of fun, in spite of all the hard work that goes into them. Anthologies are great because they multiply the promotional power of each book and offer extra editing power. They also offer opportunities to work with several talented authors, who also happen to be some pretty cool people.
During the editing process, after I’ve gone over each story, the authors have revised them and they’ve been compiled and edited as a whole, I send the manuscript out to all the authors to get a second, and even a third set of eyes on every story. I have them go over their own story, as well as the story of one or two others, instead of tying up their time editing the whole thing, because we all know authors are busy people.
Anthologies multiply promotional power, too. Each contributing author brings their own fan base with them, increasing the number of potential readers for the work as a whole. How many more readers will see a book promoted by twenty different authors than one promoted by a single author? The reach of the book is increased expotentially.
Blogs and Other Publications
That’s right. I collaborate with my wonderful blog team members, because each one brings something different to the table to help Writing to be Read offer some really great content which I couldn’t produce on my own, making it something of interest which draws traffic and brings in readers. Each one of them brings their own following with them, and over time, some of their readers have become fans of my works as well. Without my team, there would be no “Mind Fields”, “Undawntech”, “Growing Bookworms”, “In Touch with Nature” or “Treasuring Poetry” series, which currently make up the blog’s content.
“Treasuring Poetry” offers antoher collaboration opportunity in the annual themed poetry anthology in the Poetry Treasures series, which Robbie and I co-edit, working with the poets who have been guests on the blog series from the previous year. 2025 will be our fifth year for the anthology. Through this endeavor, I’ve been privaleged to work with so many talented and creative poets.
Other Types of Collaboration
Online magazines, ezines and other publications, podcasts or online talk shows or other interviews, or even online courses are collaborative and mutually beneficial to all collaborators. I’m sure there are others, but these are the ones that come to my mind.
Some types of collaboration benefit many, such as participation in writing events, either online or in person. As a graduate student and intern, I participated in a large public book signing with multiple authors, and WordCrafter hosted and organized two online virtual writing conferences, in 2020 and 2021. It was a lot of work, but it was an opportunity to work with many talented writers when setting up workshops and panel discussions, as well as promotional efforts. It also offered attendees opportunities to learn and make connections.
I’m thinking about doing another conference in 2025, and would welcome feedback from anyone who would be interested, either in attending, (I promise, tickets would be affordable), or collaborating on the program end.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. 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.
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This post is sponsored by The D.I.Y. Author and WordCrafter Press.
Being an author today is more than just writing the book. Authors in this digital age have more opportunities than ever before. Whether you pursue independent or traditional publishing models, or a combination of the two, being an author involves not only writing, but often, the publishing and marketing of the book.
In this writer’s reference guide, multi-genre author and independent publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth shares her knowledge and experiences and the tools, books, references and sites to help you learn the business of being an author.
