Winds of Comfort by Neetu
December 26, 2019 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as comfort, poems, poet, soothing
wind whistles
in the distance
where desert sands
meet the sky
undulating waves of sound
break the silence
of remorse—
self-inflicted wounds
soothed by softly falling night
a balm of star-speckled skies
covers them
as lulling music hums and whooshes
almost like an ocean, rhythmic
cooling blistered souls
who wander lost
in the unknown
© Neetu Malik
Finding My Voice by Veronica Jorge
December 22, 2019 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as muse, voice
I didn’t lose my voice. I just can’t find the heart of my story or the right words to express it.
Like teenagers talking all at once, ideas wave before my eyes vying for attention and making me dizzy. I blink them away because I sense they are distracting me from finding the jewel I seek. I silence them using the voice of my 8th grade teacher. “Empty barrels make the most noise.” They flutter away. It’s silent now.
Silence. What is it they say about silence? Silence is golden. Aha, the treasure I seek. Which reminds me of a line from the 1956 musical film by Rodgers and Hammerstein, The King and I. In a pregnant romantic moment between King Mongkut played by Yul Brynner and Mrs. Anna portrayed by Deborah Kerr, the king says, “When one does not know what to say, it is a time to be silent.”
Sage advice. So I quiet all of my thoughts and emotions. In that silence, I hear a sound of rushing waters. Then music trickles out like a spring, new and refreshing. It is my voice.
My fingers tinkle the keys of my laptop. Like musical notes, I string the letters together to form the right words.
A vision of Disney’s The Little Mermaid appears before me. Ariel has lost her voice and found her prince. I smile for it was in her silence that she touched and won his heart.
See you next time on January 22nd. Happy New Year!
Veronica Jorge
Featured Author: Rebecca Forster
December 21, 2019 by Rebecca Forster in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as December Feature Author, Josie Bates, Lost Witness, new release, Rebecca Forster., The Witness Series
She marketed a world-class spa when it was still called a gym, did business in China before there were western toilettes at the Great Wall and mucked around with the sheep to find out exactly how her client’s fine wool clothing was manufactured. Then Rebecca wrote her first book and found her passion. Now, over twenty-five books later, she is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and writes full-time, penning thrillers that explore the emotional impact of the justice system. She earned her B.A. at Loyola, Chicago and her MBA at Loyola, Los Angeles. Rebecca has taught the Business of Creativity at University of California Long Beach Writers Certificate Program, UCLA and UC Irvine extension. Married to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, she is the mother of two grown sons and spends her free time traveling, sewing, and playing tennis.
December 1st sees the release of Rebecca’s newest novel Lost Witness the eighth in the Josie Bates Witness.
It’s two in the morning and an aging cargo ship lies off the Port of Los Angeles. Deep in the bowels of the vessel, an important man is dead and the woman who killed him is mortally wounded. On shore another man staggers out of the sea determined to save the woman before she dies or the ship sails. Exhausted and terrified, he goes to the only person he trusts to help, Josie Bates. He brings with him a history she can’t ignore, a problem that seems insurmountable, and a plea she can’t refuse. But Josie is up against international law, maritime justice, a Port Authority that doesn’t want anything to get in the way of profit, the U.S. Coast Guard who dances to the tune of politics and a captain who swears the people in question were never on his ship. With the clock ticking, Josie becomes ever more desperate to prove the woman is real and get her safely ashore. What Josie doesn’t know is that the sands of time that are running out may be her own.
More Books by Rebecca Forster
A Tiny Thank You That Warmed The Heart
December 20, 2019 by Meriam Wilhelm in category A Bit of Magic by Meriam WilhelmOver the past week, my two year old granddaughter has been staying at our home. She is the definition of joy and I am so very grateful to have her in my life. However, I now understand why I had my kids young; what a whirlwind of endless, positive energy she is.
I am pleased to say that her mom and dad have done a wonderful job teaching her to always say thank you – and I do mean always! Whether I am giving her a sippy cup or offering to help her walk down the stairs, she never fails to say, “Thank you, Grandma.” And when she doesn’t want to do something, she just laughs and says, “No thank you, Grandma”. Okay, maybe she says that part more times than I’d like, but heck, she’s only two!
This beautiful little child has shamed me, reminding me of something so crucial in life – the need to say thank you to those who help you along the way. It is humbling indeed to realize that I have not always done a good job in this area. Writing can be a solitary, lonely activity and I know I would never have continued trying, had it not been for the support of many other writers, family members and friends.
Marianne Donley offered me a chance to blog for A Slice of Orange when I was just starting out. And when I faltered, she gave me a second chance. Thank you Marianne.
And to all of you out there who have given me or another writer a helping hand, thank you. You may never truly know how much your help meant to us, but take it from me, it did.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Thank you!
Reviewing Reviews by Jenny Jensen
December 19, 2019 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as Book reviews, bookworms, indie authors, no spoiler alerts, reviews
Caution: This is a pet peeve. A rant may ensue.
I enjoy book reviews. I read reviews of books I might want to purchase, reviews of books I’ve read and loved, reviews on the works of authors I I know and love, reviews of books I’ve just finished, reviews of my client’s work. And I read reviews because, well, I really love listening to fellow bookworms talk about books.
Reviews are important to any author’s success, of course, but they’re especially important to the Indie author. Indie authors can promote any number of ways, but reviews are the crucial fuel for sales. Readers rely on reviews, especially if the author is new to them; Indie authors rely on reviews to find readers. It’s this fact that makes me so crazy when a review is an elaborate retelling of the story, complete with outing all the twists and mysteries as well as the resolution. That isn’t a review; it’s a damn book report.
I can feel my head begin to explode when a reviewer prefaces a sentence with ‘spoiler alert’. That’s not a pass to spill the beans. It’s a glaring neon sign declaring that this reviewer, this self appointed arbiter of storytelling, has kindly read the book for me. Now I can save my money because reviewer person has graciously taken care of that grisly chore of actually reading. (Audacity always makes my blood boil.) I mean, what about the word ‘spoiler’ don’t you understand?
A book review should give me some indication of why and how the book affected the reviewer. Specifics are welcome, the more insightful the better. Perhaps the author’s voice is particularly unique and pleasing, or the plot was a refreshing take on a well-loved genre. Maybe it’s the characters that win the day, or the book presented a world view that made the reviewer thoughtful. And if the reviewer didn’t like the book I want to know why. If the book was terrible, what made it a stinker? If some aspect of the story was off-putting be fair; not all readers like the same thing, which doesn’t necessarily make the work bad.
It’s not about the author. If a reviewer dislikes a book because the F-bomb and it’s numerous cousins were used it does not mean the author is in need of spiritual counseling. If the political bent of the tale does not suit the reviewer it does not mean the author could use time in a re-education camp. A review is about the story.
Being of mostly open mind and generally democratic spirit I’ll take the one or two line reviews of the “If you like fill in the genre then this is a must read” or “I spent a great winter weekend with this book. Highly recommend” variety. I may not have any specifics but there is something wonderfully persuasive about that kind of joyful sharing.
You may say I should just give a pass to the book reports and the spoilers, and you would be right. But I raise my pen-sword in defense of every Indie author I know, and those I’ve yet to meet. Insightful, honest reviews are sustenance to a writer. They impact sales and the writer’s heart. When you review, do it with substance. Please don’t retell the story – it’s the author’s story to tell and the reader’s tale to enjoy, and for the love of the muses, don’t give away the best bits. You’re going to make my head explode and I do not want my heirs to have to clean that up.
Well, I did say it might be a rant.
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