Sanctuary by Neetu
July 26, 2024 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as Neetu, quiet room, sanctuary, sleep
Sanctuary
my room
a sanctuary
at the end of the day
sound of dying traffic
and a deep silence
settling in
I exhale
the fumes and frustration
prepare for sleep
all it takes
to remember tomorrow’s list
forget things I don’t need
is to remind myself
nothing lasts forever
not even pain, however deep
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
Obsession by Kidd Wadsworth
July 25, 2024 by Kidd Wadsworth in category Infused with Meaning by Kidd Wadsworth tagged as Obsession, poetry, trusses, words
Obsession is my natural state.
As an undergraduate in Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University, I was required to take a Mechanical Engineering course where we analyzed the forces in a truss. Trusses, often triangular networks of beams, are commonly found in bridges. As I recall the course material now, some 40 years later, there were two methods of analyses. I had been intently studying those methods for an upcoming test, when I closed my books and went to bed to catch some z’s. Immediately, I began to dream about trusses. In my dream there appeared two beams. As I, with great speed, analyzed the forces in each beam, the beams themselves, like some terrible organic disease, reproduced. Suddenly, there were four beams. Terrified, I worked even faster, but the beams again reproduced. Now there were eight. Pencil flying, I analyzed. Sixteen beams.
Thankfully, my roommate shook me awake. “You’re mumbling,” she said. “Are you okay?”
I have no idea what I replied. But when I closed my eyes, two beams appeared. I began my calculations. Ut oh. Four beams. Eight beams. Sixteen beams. Thirty-two beams.
She shook me awake again. Understanding it wasn’t real, I cried out, “There is no truss!”
Yes, she thought I was nuts, but I did manage to sleep without that nightmare returning.
Years earlier, at thirteen, I had discovered poetry. I remember jotting down lines of verse on any scrap piece of paper I could find. When I was sixteen, and got my driver’s license, my mom sent me all over Dallas running errands. (Yes, I loved it.) One evening, flying home on the freeway, I pondered the word “mobile.”
I pronounce this word with a short ‘i’, like the gas station, or a child’s toy hung over the crib. Thus, it is nearly impossible to stop the word from leaving the palate quickly. As I drove, through the mix-master and across the city of Dallas, I repeated the word “mobile”. Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.
I was in love with words.
Somehow, when I wasn’t paying attention, when I didn’t realize what I was losing, I abandoned my love of words and my love of poetry. Perhaps I was too busy pursuing romantic love or trying to analyze trusses. But now, years later my obsession with the sound of words, and all things poetry, has returned.
Consider the word, “blink”. Say it out loud. “Blink”. Notice how the hard “b” at the beginning and the hard “k” at the end are like clicking switches. So that the word “blink” turns on with the “b” sound and turns off with the “k” sound. Great word, “blink”.
And yes, I’m entering poetry contests. Not once, but as many times as allowed.
This could get expensive.
I’m obsessed. And I don’t mind. I’m dreaming about poetry. (It is infinitely better than dreaming about trusses.) I’m waking up in the middle of the night and scribbling down lines. And no, I don’t want it to stop. My mind has gone down a rabbit hole.
Pour the tea. I can handle the Queen of Hearts. I love it here.
–Kidd
Hey, have you ever thought about the words effervescence and quiescence? Go on, say them fifteen times. I LOVE WORDS!!!
Some of Kidd’s stories are in the following anthologies:
When Plans Go Awry: A Review by Veronica Jorge
July 22, 2024 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as book review, Denise M. Colby, new release, Veronica Jorge, When Plans Go Awry
WHEN PLANS GO AWRY by DENISE M. COLBY—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
WHEN PLANS GO AWRY
Best-Laid Plans Book One
DENISE M. COLBY
Scrivenings Press
2024
ISBN: 978-1-64917-391-1
A Review by Veronica Jorge
Olivia Carmichael couldn’t have wished for a better life. A beautiful home on her family’s estate. High society friends. And at age 19, the perfect fiancé. God is in His heaven smiling down at her and all is well.
Until tragedy strikes like a lightning bolt.
The sudden loss of Olivia’s parents is difficult enough to bear, but she can probably get through that with the help of her faith. But when her father’s fraudulent business dealings are discovered she loses the house, her status, her so-called-friends, and her fiancé. Where is God now she wonders.
Homeless and penniless, smeared with the shame of her father’s actions, and finding it impossible to continue living in her Cincinnati town that will never again accept her, Olivia answers an advertisement to move to California to become a teacher. She steels her heart to live an independent and loveless life because people cannot be trusted. And determines to make her own way in life without depending upon anyone…not even God.
Olivia prepares to fight to survive when she reaches Washton, California, but she is not prepared for the warm welcome she receives from the townspeople. Their kindness disarms her and she grows to care for the children she teaches. Add to the mix a certain young man who makes her heart leap with possibility and hope, emotions she promised herself never to feel again.
But can Olivia who vowed to stand alone learn to trust God with her life? And can she open her heart to love again?
When Plans Go Awry is a lovely debut novel about strength and resilience, the power of love, and the importance of faith in God.
And if you love an old fashioned love story, this is the book for you.
To learn more about Denise M. Colby and her writing connect with her at, www.denisemcolby.com.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on August 22nd!
Other Books Reviewed by Veronica Jorge
Alina K. Field July Featured Author
July 14, 2024 by Alina K. Field in category Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Alina K. Field, Featured Author of the Month, Regency Romances
Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with two furry four-legged girls and keeps a dependable stash of lollipops for the munchkins in her life.
She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!
Books by Alina K. Field
Hot! Hot! Hot! by Carol L. Wright
July 13, 2024 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as 2025 Short Story Award, anthologies, BWG, Carol L Wright
And we’re not even talking about the summer weather. What’s so hot right now?
Hot topic #1:
This month, the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, announced the winners of its 2024 Short Story Award competition for works of 2000 words or fewer on the theme of “Holiday Tales.” For this competition, “holiday” was defined as anything from U.S. Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. The talented authors whose stories are honored are:
First Place: Rhonda Zangwill, New York, NY, for “Oh! Christmas Tree”
Second Place: Bettie Nebergall, Mt. Dora, FL, for “Just Ask Santa”
Third Place: Mary Adler, Forestville, CA, for “Nellie the Narragansett and the Transferware Platter”
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order by author’s last name):
- A. C. Blake, West Columbia, SC for “A Feast to Die For”
- J. Bosley, New York, NY for “A Wintry Mix”
- Joan Mularz, Palm Beach Gardens, FL for “Cousin Bonnie’s Plus One”
Many thanks to Marlo Berliner, our Guest Judge, who selected this year’s winners.
Hot topic #2:
For the first time in the history of the Short Story Award, BWG decided to offer print publication to the second- and third-place winners instead of only to the one who won first-place. This means that you’ll get to read all three of these terrific stories in one volume.
Hot topic #3:
The book in which these stories will appear, Season’s Readings: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Holiday Tales will be published this fall in print (ISBN: 978-1-954675-04-9) and ebook (ISBN: 978-1-954675-05-6). In addition to this year’s contest winners, the 2023 contest first-place winner, Sally Milliken’s “First Thanksgiving,” will also be included. And, of course, you’ll also get stories from the authors of the Bethlehem Writers Group. Some of the stories are heart-warming, others quirky, and still others with a hint of magic. Watch for the book to be available on October 1.
And a bonus sizzle for writers!
As if the book coming out on October 1 weren’t enough excitement, we’ll also be unveiling the 2025 Short Story Award competition that day in the fall issue of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable (https://bwgwritersroundtable.com). For next year’s contest, which will open on January 1, 2025, we’ll be looking for stories of science fiction and/or fantasy, and this year we’ll allow the stories to be a bit longer with a 2500 word maximum. The top three winners will receive cash and offers of publication (in print or online in Roundtable). We’ll have all the info for you in October, but until then, sharpen your pencils, grab a cool drink, find a place in the shade, and fire up your sci-fi/fantasy muse. Your story could be the next hot topic!
Enjoy your simmer, er summer.
Book from BWG
Books by Carol L. Wright
Featured Books
BRUISED SPIRITS
It's 1924 and Daisy Gumm bands with friends to help Lily Bannister, whose abusive husband nearly killed her.
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