Mind Fields: Evil
Posted: August 29, 2025 Filed under: Mind Fields, Poetry | Tags: Arthur Rosch, Mind Fields, Poetry, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Evil
is the movement of pain
from one place to another.
Evil has a source, a river of fire
rising from Hell. Evil
dwells in the Land of Bad Intentions,
where power is never shared.
Who makes the pain?
How does suffering dive off the board
of one person’s mind
and land
in a pool of fear in someone else’s?
Should I be surprised to find evil
right here, inside myself? Hardly. I know what evil I carry.
I won’t surrender any more
to the cruel aspect of my mind. I can think in polarities,
evil is “this”, good is “that”. I get exhausted with polarities.
Can Evil simply Be? There is no countervailing impulse, no good deed to excuse the causing of pain.
The goal of evil is undeserved suffering. That suffering
is everywhere. The ones who cause it
are also everywhere.
More of his work can be found at www.artrosch.com
Photos at https://500px.com/p/artsdigiphoto?view=photos
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Mind Fields” is sponsored by the Roberta Writes blog site, where you can find the poetry, photos, videos, and book reviews by Robbie Cheadle and so much more.
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Book Review: Shocking Celebrity Murders
Posted: August 22, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Nonfiction, Review | Tags: Book Reveiw, Jack Smith, Nonfiction, Shocking Celebrity Murders, True Crime, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
About Shocking Celebrity Murders
Hollywood has long fascinated the masses. Not just with blockbuster films, but also by way of the Hollywood lifestyle. The lives of the rich and famous stars who strut down Sunset Boulevard hold us mesmerized. One can’t help but wonder about what being a celebrity must really be like. And the same goes for Hollywood tragedy. When tragedy occurs, people can’t help but find themselves drawn to the spectacle. Cases of celebrities being murdered in particular are bound to get attention.
Some of the cases mentioned in this book are rather clear-cut instances of murder, while others still remain a complete mystery to this very day. It was quite obvious for example, who the culprits were in the deaths of aspiring actresses Rebecca Schaeffer and Dominque Dunne, since the killers of these two aspiring actresses, readily admitted to doing the killing. These tragic instances have shown that even the rich and famous are just as vulnerable as the rest of us. Then again, for Hollywood screenwriter Gary Devore, there was no such luck. In fact, when the celebrated writer was found with his hands cut off, no one seemed to have a clue as to what had happened to him.
Here in this book, we will highlight some of the most infamous Hollywood murders, along with a few that you might not have heard much about, including:
- George Reeves
- Bruce Lee
- Desmond Taylor
- Selena
- Lana Clarkson
- Kristi Johnson
- Bob Crane
- And many more!
Read on your favorite devices such as Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Android cellular phone, tablet, laptop, or computer with Amazon’s free reading Kindle App.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Shocking-Celebrity-Murders-Brutally-Hollywood-ebook/dp/B09L58HY76/
My Review of Shocking Celebrity Murders
I purchased a digital copy of Shocking Celebrity Murders, by Jack Smith via a KindofBook Deal. All opinions stated here are my own.
Shocking Celebrity Murders, by Jack Smith gives us the bare bones facts about the deaths of some of Hollywood’s most famous. Even the most gruesome of murders are reported with known facts and no added supposition or gory details.
Included are the deaths of Hogan’s Heros’ star Bob Crane; Saturday Night Live’s Phil Hartman; the original Superman, George Reeves; Martial artist and rising star, Bruce Lee; actress Natalie Woods; Musician Marvin Gaye; con-artist and with of Robert Blake, Bonnie Lee Blakely; and even the gruesome murder of Sharon Tate by members of the Mason ‘family’, along with several others whom I’d not heard of.
Smith covers the spectrum well, but I was surprised that certain deaths were not included, such as Marilyn Monroe, Janice Joplin, John Belushi, or even Elvis. They certainly qualify, since he includes unsolved cases, suspected suicides, and disappearances where the fate of the victim was never resolved. Because of this, I don’t believe the subtitle of the book- “True Crime Cases of Famous People Who Were Brutally Killed”- is misleading. While the author has done an excellent job of presenting the known facts, those facts often only lead to questions and speculation. While all the deaths included were tragic, I don’t consider all of them to be brutal, and not all were murders.
An interesting read. I give Shocking Celebrity Murders four quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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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.
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Book Review: “Wings of Tabat”
Posted: August 15, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Review | Tags: Book Reveiw, Cat Rambo, Epic Fantasy, Wings of Tabat, Writing to be Read Leave a commentAbout Wings of Tabat
In the final book of Cat Rambo’s magical Tabat Quartet, we return to the city of Tabat, where Humans and magical Beasts co-exist—but uneasily. The exploited Beasts, used for both their labor and their very bodies, are finally fighting back, and turmoil abounds in the city.
At the same time, as Tabat prepares for its long-predicted elections, multiple factions are jostling for power—all of them preparing to oust the Duke. And the mysterious Circus of the Autumn Moon has departed from the College of Mages and is nowhere to be found.
Bella Kanto, once Champion of Tabat before being exiled for crimes she did not commit, has come home to her beloved city, carried by Dragons. If she is found, exiled Bella could be thrown into the Duke’s dark prisons.
Adelina, Bella’s former lover and best friend, has married Merchant Mage Sebastiano, but the two are still learning what it means to be in love with each other—and how to survive together.
Meanwhile, freed of his curse, Bella’s former companion Teo has escaped Lucy’s grasp, but finds the city an unwelcoming place nonetheless.
Now Bella must determine how to defend Tabat from a terrifying menace: the transfigured Lucy, transformed into a dangerous demigod. Monstrous in her power and angry at the city she feels has betrayed her, Lucy destroys the Duke’s castle and other vital parts of Tabat, raining down destruction and chaos, and threatening to eradicate the city entirely.
Now that she is reunited with her friends and family, can Bella manage to recapture her magical tie to Tabat in time to defeat Lucy before she destroys the city?
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Tabat-Quartet-Book-ebook/dp/B0FHC3M47Z
My Review of Wings of Tabat
I received a digital copy of Wings of Tabat, by Cat Rambo, from WordFire Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
Wings of Tabat is the last book in The Tabat Quartet, by Cat Rambo. I had a hard time getting into the story because I was busy trying to figure out all the characters, with which I was unfamiliar because I hadn’t read the first three books. The author included a note to bring readers up to speed, but not knowing the characters and the world made it difficult to understand what has come before. Although some series books do well as stand alone, this series is epic fantasy, and there is need to be oriented in the world to be fully committed to the characters, so I recommend reading it through from the beginning.
Tabat is currently ruled by the Duke, but the city is in unrest and the upcoming elections threaten to change all that. The beasts are tired of being slaves and being treated as less than the humans, and there are humans who feel the state of things, where beasts are concerned, is wrong and needs to be corrected.
The champion of Tabat, Bella Canto, has been exiled by the Duke. Something has happened to a young girl, Obedience, to turn her evil and give her great power, turning her into Lucy, who is bent on revenge to all who have wronged her, as she sees it. Now, she has returned to Tabat to wreck havoc on the Duke and the city at large, and make the people she holds responsible pay.
But Bella Canto has also returned to Tabat, hoping to reclaim the city that she loves, and once loved her. As it turns out, she may be the city’s only hope, if she can gather the city’s magic once more.
Once I felt a connection with some of the characters, I was able to better get into this epic tale. I give Wings of Tabat four quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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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.
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Everyone is a Critic: “Red Eye”
Posted: August 11, 2025 Filed under: Everyone is a Critic, Movie Review, Movies, Psychological Thriller, Thriller | Tags: Everyone is a Critic, Kaye Lynne Booth, Movie Review, Psychological Thriller, Red Eye, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
I stumbled upon this movie on Pluto TV and thought I’d give it a try. I don’t know what I was expecting when I chose it. At the beginning, I thought I’d picked up a romance, when the protagonist, Lisa (Rachel McAdams), meets a man, Jackson (Cillian Murphy), at the airport and they have a drink together. This impression was reinforced for me when he ends up on the same Red Eye flight and he takes the seat next to hers. My mind was quickly changed when his true intentions are revealed and it becomes obvious that this story is actually a smashing psychological thriller.
It is no coincidence that they met, or that they were on the same flight, for it turns out Jackson has been watching Lisa for quite some time, and his plans involve using her for his own dark purposes after making her his psychological hostage, threatening to do harm to someone she loves. It turns out Jackson is an international terrorist, making Lisa a vital part of his diabolical plan for a political assassination.
Both the main characters play their parts convincingly and I was easily sucked in and swept away in this gripping thriller. Directed by Wes Craven, this movie exceeds the B list in both the writing of the story and in the performance of the actors. I was pleasantly surprised by my discovery of Red Eye and if you enjoy psychological thrillers, you will, too.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This post 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: Coming in October, 2025!
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Book Review: “Mason’s Missing”
Posted: August 8, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Review | Tags: Book Review, Mason's Missing, mystery, Teresa Burrell, Writing to be Read 4 CommentsAbout Mason’s Missing
Reluctant Allies, Small-town Secrets, & Stormy Weather
Old cowboy-turned-fixer TUPER is hired to find five-year-old MASON, who was likely taken by his father. But when Mason’s father is found dead, the boy is nowhere to be seen.
In a futile search during a cold Montana blizzard, TUPER and his hacker friend LANA pursue a quest that blurs into insanity
and murder. As wounded TUPER fights to stay alive in the bitter cold, LANA searches cyberspace and finds someone working hard to ensure secrets remain secret—especially Mason’s true identity.
Mason’s Missing is the first book in the Tuper Mystery Series and a gripping tale of suspense and redemption that will keep you hooked until the end.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Masons-Missing-Tuper-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B075963GJB
My Review of Mason’s Missing
I purchased a digital copy of Mason’s Missing, by Teresa Burrell via a Saturday Bookbub deal. All opinions stated here are my own.
Mason’s Missing is tale filled with mystery from beginning to end. Right from the start, things begin not adding up, and the more Tupor uncovers, the more mysteries are revealed. Tupor is the protagonist, an aging cowboy turned investigator. A worried mother comes to him, asking him to help find her abducted son, Mason, pointing a finger at her estranged husband. But, when the husband turns up murdered, Tupor soon questions if the woman is who she says she is. And who is Mason, really?
This mystery kept me guessing until the end, where author Burrell ties things up nicely and all is revealed. I give Mason’s Missing five quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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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.
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LINDSEY’S WRITING PRACTICE: Punch Up Your Writing with Parallelism
Posted: August 6, 2025 Filed under: Lindsey's Writing Practice, Writing | Tags: Lindsey's Writing Practice, Parrallelism, Writing, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Many superb professional writers—poets, playwrights, novelists, and essayists—often use parallelism to structure sentences in an eye-catching way. Note how various forms of parallelism can engage readers with its sounds, rhythms and imagery. And you can do this, too, First, examine these samples of experts using parallelism to structure sentences. (I ask students to choose two different sorts of repetition and create their own sentences using that specific repetition format—but with their own words and sentences.):
1. THE REPETITION OF KEY WORDS
A. Basal repetition—the repetition of key particles, especially prepositions and articles.
“I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
—Martin Luther King, “I have a Dream”
B. Conceptual Repetition—the repetition of major conceptual terms, particularly nouns, verbs, or adjectives.
“There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed: It was white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s flesh crawl—a tree toad white, a fish-belly white.”
—Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
NOTE—This format is my favorite. And here’s my sentence employing Conceptual Repetition: Her eyes were deep blue: not a cornflower blue, not like a typical sunny-sky blue, but deeper than that, a blue as deep as an ocean, a blue that lured you into them—a blue that held you so tightly you couldn’t resist them.
C. Parallel Modification—using the same word to modify two different words in a sentence.
“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
—William Shakespeare, Macbeth
D. Isocolon—precise word-for-word repetition of two or more members (phrases, clauses, and so forth) with the exception of one or two words.
“. . . He did not know the Somali proverb that says a brave man is always frightened three times by a lion: when he first sees his track, when he first hears him roar, and when he first confronts him.”
—Ernest Hemingway, “The Short Happy Life of Frances Macomber”
2. THE USE OF OPPOSITE WORDS (ANTITHESIS)
“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
—Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)
3. THE REPETITION OF GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS
A. Nominal
“The hazy sunlight, the warm and drowsy air, the tender foliage, the opening flowers, betokened the reviving life of nature.”
—Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
B. Verbal
“Suddenly one of these gypsies, in trembling opal, seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage, and, moving her hands like Frisco, dances out alone on the platform.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
C. Participial
“They move in orderly lines around the box, crowding one another precisely, without injury, peering down, nodding, and then backing off to let new people in.”
–Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell
D. Infinitival
“Manny Greenhill is hoping to get Miss Baez to write a book, to be in a movie, and to get around to recording the rock ‘n’ roll songs.”
—Joan Didion, “Where the Kissing Never Stops”
E. Gerundive
“And with her cries came the sound of hoofs and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions.”
—Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
F. Adjectival
“His features are strong and masculine, with an Austrian Lip, an arched Nose, his Complexion olive, his Countenance erect, his Body and Limbs well proportioned, all his Deportment majestick.”
—Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels
G. Adverbial
“The Bible’s account of Moses is, alas, as geographically perplexing as it is spiritually enlightening.”
—National Geographic
Now it’s your turn: Select at least two of these format and write a sentence emulating the form by repeating the a specific word in the format one of these writers used. Good luck—and have fun.
About Lindsey Martin-Bowen
On Halloween 2023, redbat books released Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s 7th poetry collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison. Her 4 th collection, Where Water Meets the Rock, was nominated for a Pulitzer; her 3rd, CROSSING KANSAS with Jim Morrison was a finalist in the QuillsEdge Press 2015-2016 Contest. In 2017, it won the Kansas Writers Assn award, “Looks Like a Million.” Writer’s Digest gave her “Vegetable Linguistics” an Honorable Mention in its 85th Annual (2017) Contest. Her Inside Virgil’s Garage (Chatter House Press 2013) was a runner-up in the 2015 Nelson Poetry Book Award. McClatchy Newspapers named her Standing on the Edge of the World (Woodley Press/Washburn University) was one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. It was nominated for a Pen Award.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Lindsey’s Writing Practice” is sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.
Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.
Stop by and see what we have to offer today: https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/
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Call for Submissions: Into the Deep Dark Woods
Posted: August 5, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Call for submissions, Dark fiction, Short Fiction, Stories | Tags: Call for submissions, Into the Deep Dark Woods, Short Fction, Stories, Western State Colorado University, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
The 2025-26 cohorts for Western Colorado State University’s Master’s in Publishing program have put out a call for submissions. As always, this call is a paying gig, so be sure to READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND FOLLOW THEM. If you’ve got a story that fits, or a story idea that you want to bring to life with this theme, then get busy writing and polishing because the deadline is October 15th, 2025. You can find their submission guidelines at the link below.
https://wordfirewestern.moksha.io/publication/into-the-deep-dark-woods/guidelines?fbclid
Good luck and happy writing! 🙂
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Writer’s Corner: Independent Author (Key Word – Independent)
Posted: August 4, 2025 Filed under: Book Covers, Indie Publishing, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: Author, Books, independent publishing, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writer's Corner, Writing, Writing to be Read 6 Comments
Author’s Note: This was mistakenly published last Monday, along with the “WordCrafter News” post, so you may have already seen it. I’m re-publishing it on its scheduled day for those who may not have caught it on the earlier date. I’m not sure what happened, but please forgive the misposting.
I studied the craft of writing in the master’s program at Western State Colorado University from 2012-2016. At that time, the term ‘independent author’ left a bad taste in most author’s mouth. Times were rapidly changing in the publishing industry as independent publishing grew in popularity among authors who were tired of waiting to be discovered, which often took many years, and sometimes, not at all. But at that time, the term was associated with poorly written and cheaply manufactured books which were flooding the market by authors who not only wanted to bypass the gatekeepers of traditional publishing but also wanted to use independent publishing as a short cut, skipping over editing, as well, which in most cases, was badly needed.
As I said, things were rapidly changing in the publishing industry, and today, we’ve seen the ‘Big Five’ traditional publishers, dwindle down to the ‘Big Three’, as they struggle to try and keep up with those changes as independent authors take advantage of new technology which make it possible to publish themselves both cheaper and easier. With digital eBooks and aggregates like Draft2Digital, which use P.O.D. (Publish On Demand) for print books, there are no up-front costs to publish your work, and once everything is ready to publish, the whole process can be done in just a few hours. The rise of independent authors has forced traditional publishers to change and adapt, or become extinct.
The key word in ‘Independent Author’ is Independent. Independent authors don’t need to wait for someone to take interest in their work, but we must remember that this also makes us a business and we’re the boss, and we are solely responsible for the quality of the product we put out. Independent publishing should not be used as a short cut to avoid having your book edited, because in most cases, it’s pretty obvious.
That being said, many authors today chose independent publishing because of the control it gives them. Like I said, we are our own bosses. That means we can control the quality of our work, and everything else: title, cover, price, production, and promotion. Certainly, this was one of the main reasons that I chose to become an independent author after gaining a five-year contract for my first novel and finding that having a publisher wasn’t giving me any advantage in selling Delilah. The cover they had given me was not representative of the character or the story, and as far as I could tell, they provided little or no promotion. I began WordCrafter Press and started publishing collaborative projects long before that contract ran out, and when it did, I revised Delilah to be the first in my Women in the West series. I had to learn new skills to provide my own covers, and find people willing to edit my work in an exchange of services due to my limited budget, but when the book was re-released, I sold more copies a month than my publisher had in five years.
With my recent computer issues, I was glad that I had control of my work and the decision-making process. Because I had limited computer time and was writing in longhand and doing most of my publishing and promotional tasks on my phone, I wasn’t able to keep up with my promotion schedule and had to push back the publishing dates on my own work in order to keep my collaborative projects on schedule and as the boss and decision maker, I was able to do that. It was a tough decision. I have the second book in my Time Travel series near ready to publish, and although I’ve outlined the third book in the Women in the West Adventure series, I’ve not yet begun to write it. Both of these books may need to be pushed back so far as to be added to next year’s production schedule, but I’m thankful for the freedom to do so. Had I been working with traditional publishers, my deadlines would have been set in stone, and I would not have been able to make them.
Just as the child who can’t wait to grow up soon learns that growing up means taking responsibility for one’s self, so the independent author is also responsible for creating and presenting their own work to the world. Hopefully, we all want that to be the best work that it can possibly be, and we will take the proper steps to ensure that it is, making the best decisions possible for our work. With freedom, comes responsibility, so use both wisely in your author journey.
Until next month,
Happy Writing!
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
_____________________________________
This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.
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Undawntech: Deep Fake Down
Posted: August 2, 2025 Filed under: AI Technology, Undawntech | Tags: AI Technology, Deep Fakes, Undawntech, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
Greetings, Undawntechs!
Since the public unveiling of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there have been an increasing number of disturbing images being published online. The combination of AI, imagery, and trickery is known as a “Deep Fake.” Deep Fake is an image or recording, which has been altered and manufactured to misrepresent a person to such a degree that others believe that the aforementioned person acted or spoke, but did not do so.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deepfake
In recent years, many people have become prey to depraved predators. Celebrities first were targets of lewd scenes, as well as videos, portraying them in a sexualized manner. Next, girls and women in a private capacity were victims of such unscrupulous and degrading behaviors turned into public fare. Thanks now to the Take It Down Act, the nonconsensual publication of intimate images is a criminal act and platforms must remove such items as a part of a “notice-and-removal” process at the depicted individual’s request.
Sexual content is not the only vignette that has been misused. Politicians’ speech and depictions have become fodder for the irregular warfare crowd. Irregular warfare (IW), is “a form of warfare where states and non-state actors campaign to assure or coerce states or other groups through indirect, non-attributable, or asymmetric activities, neither as the primary approach or in concert with conventional warfare.” Another form of this IW is fifth-generation warfare (5GW), 5GW encompasses non-kinetic military actions such as misinformation, cyberattacks, and social engineering, rather than traditional military force.
Also, see Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/5736
www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF12565/IF12565.5.pdf
stratheia.com/5th-generation-war-and-global-challenges
Welcome to the war you were unaware of that you are a repeat casualty. For years, governments around the world have conducted influence operations online and through the media. Rumors, speculation have created an unhealthy drive toward destroying people’s lives, livelihoods, and reputations.
In addition, the sphere of influence is a means of thought and behavior control over the general populace. Physicians were banned from social media after confronting the lies during the “pandemic.” Political operatives were deplatformed from online venues as well as banks. People knew that if they stepped out of line from the mainstream narrative that there were consequences.
This command-and-control infrastructure has created a network of global corporate control, which was manufactured through libertarian governmental deregulation, changing laws to benefit only large transnational conglomerates, and the desire to dismantle nation-states for lawless regimes and a one-world government. The times of corporate neutrality without national laws are over. It used to be that the market decided who the winners and losers were in the products and services division of economies. Now, corporations are stepping into the arena as payment processors are demanding online games to be removed from consumption due to their “morality” clauses and other contractual nonsense, only used as specific political, social regulation.
www.sg.ethz.ch/publications/2011/vitali2011the-network-of
Wonder when the slippery slope was established? Look no further than President Ronald Reagan’s Executive Order 12564—Drug-Free Federal Workplace on September 15, 1986. This invasion of privacy has allowed employers and corporations to make your decisions for you. All in the name of just saying: no.
http://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/executive-order-12564-drug-free-federal-workplace
Isn’t that special?
Well, at least the peeping Toms of the world cannot publish their depraved fantasies about their victims anymore. We just have to worry about corporate “morality” envisioning a world where no one has rights, including of judgment and privacy, to justify their actions and existence.
Isn’t that a form of irregular warfare too?
Maybe it’s time we just said: NO, again.
——-~o0o~—oOo—~o0o~~——
The Reality Hackers
If you would like to read a dark fiction tale about how technology is used as a consciousness gateway, read my story, The Reality Hackers. This publication is available in novelette form on Amazon. Or, read the short story version in WordCrafter’s Visions anthology.
For more information, visit: http://www.undawnted.com/p/the-reality-hackers.html
About the Author
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.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Un dawn tech” is sponsored by The D.I.Y. Author and WordCrafter Press.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.
Topics Include:
- Becoming Prolific
- Writing Tools
- Outlining
- Making Quality a Priority
- Publishing Models & Trends
- Marketing Your Book
- Book Covers & Blurbs
- Book Events—In Person & Virtual
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Mind Fields: “Ugly”
Posted: July 30, 2025 Filed under: Mind Fields, Poetry | Tags: Arthur Rosch, Mind Fields, Poetry, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Unfortunately
There is really ugly
And I don’t mean an ugly look
I mean an ugly vibe a thing that got loose
Like a contagion
It wears a face
An ugly face
It is shrill
It steams like poop
That’s how ugly and
I’m having a tough time
Getting that shit out of my head. I mean
It’s everywhere
I can’t take a piss without hearing about ugly
Can’t wipe my ass without comparing uglies
And I’m a beautiful lad, trust me, I am.
I don’t like ugly but it’s the opposite of beautiful
And what can you do? That’s the way shit works: there
Isn’t one thing without the other. So if ugly has to exist
I better change myself to accommodate
Make rom in my spirit for such crap cuz it isn’t going away
Any time soon.
About Arthur Rosch
Arthur Rosch is a novelist, musician, photographer and poet. His works are funny, memorable and often compelling. One reviewer said “He’s wicked and feisty, but when he gets you by the guts, he never lets go.” Listeners to his music have compared him to Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Randy Newman or Mose Allison. These comparisons are flattering but deceptive. Rosch is a stylist, a complete original. His material ranges from sly wit to gripping political commentary.
Arthur was born in the heart of Illinois and grew up in the western suburbs of St. Louis. In his teens he discovered his creative potential while hoping to please a girl. Though she left the scene, Arthur’s creativity stayed behind. In his early twenties he moved to San Francisco and took part in the thriving arts scene. His first literary sale was to Playboy Magazine. The piece went on to receive Playboy’s “Best Story of the Year” award. Arthur also has writing credits in Exquisite Corpse, Shutterbug, eDigital, and Cat Fancy Magazine. He has written five novels, a memoir and a large collection of poetry. His autobiographical novel, Confessions Of An Honest Man won the Honorable Mention award from Writer’s Digest in 2016.
More of his work can be found at www.artrosch.com
Photos at https://500px.com/p/artsdigiphoto?view=photos
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Mind Fields” is sponsored by the Roberta Writes blog site, where you can find the poetry, photos, videos, and book reviews by Robbie Cheadle and so much more.
