The Poetry Corner featuring Vic Tomlinson

Good morning and welcome to this week’s Poetry Corner, featuring Vic Tomlinson!

 

A Season of Life by Vic Tomlinson

The autumn leaves have many a shade
in all that nature has made.

I enjoy this season called Fall,
it is my favorite of all.

The chill is in the air
and I reach for my jacket to wear.

The winds are gusting, the leaves are falling,
and soon their clean-up comes a calling.

Those autumn leaves will soon disappear
and I eagerly await for new ones to appear.

Awesome poem, Vic! I miss seeing the Fall leaves. Thank you for sharing with us.

Keep up with Vic by following him on:

Twitter

If you would like to share your poetry here, or know anyone that would like to be featured, please email me at cpbialois@gmail.com

As always, any poetry shared remains the property of the poet. I only share it with the poet’s permission.

 

 

When I was told my books weren’t good

An awesome post touching on something close to my heart.

Amber Garza

It all started when my 14 year old daughter was invited to a friend’s birthday party. We had an extremely busy week leading up the party and we were running out of time to pick up a gift.

“Why don’t you give her one of my books?” I asked, thinking I had come up with the perfect solution. I write teen fiction, after all. My son has given my books as gifts to numerous girlfriends over the years.

“Never mind. I just won’t get her a gift,” My daughter answered.

“What?” I asked, certain I had heard her wrong. How was not getting her friend a gift better than giving her one of my books?

“If I can’t get her something good then I don’t want to get her anything,” she clarified.

“Are you saying my  books aren’t a good gift?” I responded.

“Yikes,” my son said, a cringe on…

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The Poetry Corner featuring Meagan Cahuasqui

Good morning and welcome to this week’s Poetry Corner! Please join me in welcoming back Meagan Cahuasqui!🙂

Trapped by Meagan Cahuasqui

i. Inhale

We rolled over under the sheets, coming face to face
eyes closed, breathing in and out. We lay too still
for two people sleeping. It was a charade,
and we both knew how good we were at that.
My sun-highlighted red curls tangled and intertwined
in a mess against the wrinkled pillow case under my head
while your stark white blonde coiffure didn’t budge an inch
or let a stray strand get out of line. Fire and ice were never meant
to coexist. My love, I exhale wordlessly, I don’t love you anymore.
Can’t you see? You inhale sharply, but don’t hear a thing.

ii. Exhale

Your jasmine scent lingers in my nose and for a moment
there’s the old sensation of longing, the gasping and grasping
for air as we get tangled in each other’s arms. Now,
we only grasp for the air between these lungs and nothing more.
My love, what are we holding on to? Silence. And then, I hear it.
It’s a silent cry, but oh the whaling rings in my ears, your plea to be released.
I breathe it in and answer with a sigh of relief, an exhalation. Go, be free.
A minute, and then the weight of your body on the mattress next to me
floats away like a passing breath.

fantastic poem, Meagan. Thank for sharing.

To read this poem on her website, please click here.

If you’d like to keep up with Meagan please check out her links:

Blog

Twitter

If you would like to share your poetry here, or know anyone that would like to be featured, please email me at cpbialois@gmail.com.

As always, any poetry shared remains the property of the poet. I only share it with the poet’s permission.

 

In the Books featuringEraden Tales and the Sword of Black Light by Kristin Vincent

Good morning and welcome to a new edition of in the books, featuring Eraden tales and the Sword of Black Light by Kristin Vincent.

Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the Book: Covered in thick forests, bright rivers and tall mountains of brown or white, the world of Eraden is a place touched by magic – and here in a forest far to the west, lived a young man by the name of Cadfayel.

It all started with the sword his grandfather had given to him so many years back. Only in recent days, something strange had come over that blade. Streaks of dark gray ran across the once white blade. Why this was? The boy wouldn’t stop until he found out. And he would; and with it begins what would be the boy’s destiny: The quest to restore the blade that is Eraden’s strength and battle the one who sought Eraden’s conquest hundreds of years ago.

Along the way, Cadfayel will meet new friends and allies such as a cheery dwarf, an obnoxious little goblin, a mysterious dark elf, the most nervous diplomat the lands had ever seen, a swordsman with a hidden past, and an adventurous, brave-hearted girl called Tenri. Friends and plenty of enemies as well; one who is none other than the dark East King himself and his army behind him.

Join Cadfayel and his friends as they set off through forests, up towering mountains, deep within an ancient maze – fighting against those who desire nothing more than to blot out the future’s light – to ensure Eraden’s future and freedom.

My Review: This is written in a style of Third Person Omniscient that isn’t used too much anymore, and it was refreshing. In this style, the author takes us into the characters’ heads while also dropping hints at what they would confront with the narrator’s voice. The latter is something that’s missing from many novels, and it took me back to my childhood and some of my favorite books.

I have to admit, it took a little bit to get used to the segues early on, but once I grew accustomed to the storytelling style, the book flew by. One of the reasons for that was the characters. Cadfayel is the prototypical here, but I really enjoyed his friend Falrid and his quick wit. It was entertaining to have a wise guy in the group to bring some comic relief.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this author.

The Poetry Corner featuring Vic Tomlinson

Good morning and welcome to this week’s Poetry Corner! Please welcome back Vic Tomlinson.🙂

Persons of Color by Vic Tomlinson

He had just started his new job
with this company.

After the initial introductions,
no one invited him
to go to lunch with them.

There were many small group meetings,
but he was never invited to join them.

Whenever he approached those
who were whispering to each other,
they just clammed up.

He felt isolated and left out,
shunned and humiliated.

Too often, persons of color
are subjected to these situations.

Too often, these situations
are not resolved quickly enough.

Awesome poem, Vic! Thank you for sharing with us.

Keep up with Vic by following him on:

Twitter

If you would like to share your poetry here, or know anyone that would like to be featured, please email me at cpbialois@gmail.com

As always, any poetry shared remains the property of the poet. I only share it with the poet’s permission.

ACTIVE SEARCH: SOMETHING WAS VERBING

Great, informative post.

Fantasy Author's Handbook

Has it really been since March of 2015 that I promised more posts ahead on the subject of active voice?

For shame.

Better late than never, let’s get back to the subject . . .

As an editor, I frequently run across certain issues in the books I work on and in the interest of time, I’ve gathered together a small Word file I call “Common Comments.” Here’s one of them:

That construct: “something was verbing” is often a sign of passive voice. It’s almost always better to let the action be more direct: “something verbed” so that thing is happening in the past tense “now” and doesn’t come across as feeling as though there’s an extra layer of delay between your readers and the action.

“Something was verbing” is not a mistake, per se. This is one of those components to the craft of writing that goes past what’s grammatically correct…

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Book Sale!!

What could be better than starting three great series for only $.99 each? Get them while you can!

Dr. Shay West

I’m currently offering the first book of each of my three series for 99 cents each. Great chance to check out other books if you haven’t done so yet! After the sale, they go back to their regular price of $3.99 so make sure to grab your copy while it’s discounted.

Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Amazon or Barnes and Noble

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