tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3498866180370061922024-03-12T20:34:39.341-07:00Barbara's MeanderingsI write about events that happen to me and around the world from a writer's point of view. Nothing in my life ever goes smoothly. My focus is on young adult and children's authors, but occasionally I will bring you an adult author. It is my pleasure to introduce new books and authors to my readers. Writing is my life! By Barbara EhrentreuBarbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.comBlogger365125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-90150063371977048972021-12-02T14:14:00.005-08:002021-12-02T14:21:44.360-08:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YIlIDFtGCwA/YalC8Y8aGwI/AAAAAAAAED0/3Bxboc8dVJcPTfXLAroU9Udunkx1dSTBwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0615.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YIlIDFtGCwA/YalC8Y8aGwI/AAAAAAAAED0/3Bxboc8dVJcPTfXLAroU9Udunkx1dSTBwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0615.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This is a photo of me during my birthday dinner this summer. I was surprised by the sparkler on my tiny cake. So much fun and I saw my family too. Over the summer I also received the Indian Independence Day Award from Gujarat Sahitya Academy again. I am very proud to be a two-time winner of this very prestigious award. Here is what it looks like from last year. We didn't receive our individual awards yet.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o1KuUAQMz8g/YalD4yGGoXI/AAAAAAAAED8/4B66xYelDM0qfK6cd6tW8syL3yWXncdFQCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/Barbara%2BIndian%2BIndependence%2BDay%2BWorld%2Bcertificate.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="428" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o1KuUAQMz8g/YalD4yGGoXI/AAAAAAAAED8/4B66xYelDM0qfK6cd6tW8syL3yWXncdFQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Barbara%2BIndian%2BIndependence%2BDay%2BWorld%2Bcertificate.jpeg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">During this year my focus has been mainly my computer and my family. Lately, my world has expanded and just as I feel I can go back to normal there is a new strain of Covid that is going to dampen my outlook and make me worry again. I spent months worrying and then got my shots and now my booster shot and thought I could go out again. Yesterday, I went to my Greenwich Pen Women Holiday luncheon. This was the first one we have had in two years. I saw all my friends and hugged them with and without a mask. We all had to show proof of vaccination before we could come. That is the way of the world these days. So I thought all would be okay. Then I went home and read about omicron, the new variant. Today there is news that this variant is now in the United States. We decided to move our theater tickets to another date, while they figure out how to combat this one. So it's back to online everything again for awhile. I have learned to tutor online and to have meetings online and speak to friends on Facetime. But there is nothing like hugging your friend. Yesterday was wonderful and seeing all of the people I have known for so long in person was the best. We have all learned to live with masks. We had them on and took them off and then when there were too many people we put them back on again. Masks have become so normal that people are using them as accessories. Also, the way people use them is interesting. Some hold them in their hands and some put them on a wrist and others wear them on their chins. But wearing a mask is a sign that you care about people and your own health. So having one is important if you are going out. You never know when you will need your mask. Sometimes, I walk out of the car without my mask and pretend that everything is the same. But then I get to the store and have to put it on. Actually, I usually put on my mask in the car and walk to the store with it on. It's better to be safe than sorry.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On another note, my publisher went out of business. So I have to find a way to republish my books. I spoke with someone in the business today and I am probably going to republish with Amazon or Ingraham. So, anyone who loved my books, they will be available again for readers ages 10 and up. Unfortunately, I don't think I can get them out for Christmas, but please expect the new and improved version of If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor with a new cover soon. I am hoping to publish the entire Mill Valley High series by next year. But if you are interested in reading a bit of it you should click <a href="https://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/p/if-i-could-be-like-jennifer-taylor-free.html">here </a>for a free chapter. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I didn't have a November show, because there was too much to do that month. I am doing my annual Holiday show this year on December 23, 2021 at 4pm Eastern time. If you were a guest of mine during this last year or past years you are invited to be on this show. Please prepare a holiday story to read. For my listeners this is probably the best show of the season. Everyone reads a holiday story or poem and we all enjoy ourselves very much. Here is the link to last year's Christmas show:<br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/booksandentertainment/2020/12/24/welcome-to-the-books-and-entertainment-tales-from-the-pages-holiday-show-2020">https://www.blogtalkradio.com/booksandentertainment/2020/12/24/welcome-to-the-books-and-entertainment-tales-from-the-pages-holiday-show-2020</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate. We have two menorahs this year. One is the traditional one and one is made out of cloth. You insert the candles into the fabric menorah. It hangs on the hall closet door and it's fun. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, hope you are all staying safe, and remember to wear your mask. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time. Thank you to anyone who has checked to see if I wrote anything new. You are all awesome. </span></p>Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-21930640695150529642021-04-05T15:00:00.025-07:002021-04-05T15:24:42.662-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R1uGWfzK1iw/YGuNfyJ2jiI/AAAAAAAAD_E/P4SlQq4PYsYSgTTHjMkbssspSPXDEP_WACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0352%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1284" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R1uGWfzK1iw/YGuNfyJ2jiI/AAAAAAAAD_E/P4SlQq4PYsYSgTTHjMkbssspSPXDEP_WACLcBGAsYHQ/w228-h320/IMG_0352%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" width="228" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Hi friends. The photo is from the summer. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: left;">It's been over a year since I have posted and what a year this has been! I won't go into everything but it has been a year that I hope I never have to live again. I have received all of my vaccinations and I am free to go outside. Yet I still worry, because my daughters, who live with me, are not completely vaccinated. One had her first shot this Friday, and what an experience that was. </span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I went with her and so did my older daughter in the car to Lord and Taylor's parking lot. We had to go into a certain entrance and we were in traffic waiting to go. Traffic was directed by a National Guard officer and then we went up into the parking lot where lanes of cones denoted where we could drive. National Guard officers directed us there too. After almost an hour of waiting we were directed to the place where they could speak with us. My other daughter had tried to schedule her appointment but at the exact moment that both of my daughters were scheduling their appointments the computers on the scheduling end went down and so they only got one of my daughters appointment. My other daughter had come hoping to persuade them to give her a shot but it didn't work. She was not happy but she managed to schedule one for tomorrow. So that is good. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Getting the shot was fast and then we were directed to move through to another place where someone put this box on our car and then at the place we had to wait the designated fifteen minutes afterward to see if you have any reactions. My daughter barely felt anything and then did not have any real after effects. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I got mine back in the beginning of March and I couldn't move my arm above my head both times for a day or two. But the second time the injection site got red and my arm got swollen and red to the elbow. It went away after a day. No other real symptoms except both times I felt tired and cranky. LOL</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">During this year I have also published another poetry book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Child-Poet-Poetic-Galaxy-Children-ebook/dp/B08KPQD2DC/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Barbara+Ehrentreu&qid=1617660544&sr=8-4" target="_blank">The Child Poet</a> unfortunately not under my name but I co-authored and the other author published it without my knowledge. It is a wonderful book for children so please check it out. I have also been baking a lot and have rediscovered my love for this. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">April has ushered in National Poetry Month and I have been writing at least a poem a day. I have gotten out of the habit of writing this blog and since I am so busy otherwise I may not write another post for awhile. But I thought I would connect with anyone who is still reading this and will share with my new friends who do not know this side of me. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I think poetry has kept me sane these months, since I could write whenever it got to be too much. And there has been so much that has happened that it was hard to keep quiet. Physically, there was the fear in the beginning and the constant vigilance to be safe. Hand washing has caused my hands to be dry and scaly and lotion doesn't help that much when you are washing your hands too many times to count. Using hand sanitizer also affects your hands. But everything is better than being exposed to this disease. Cardboard has come to be my enemy. Packages have to sit awhile or else you need to wash your hands after touching them. We get a lot of packages, since we have been doing all of our shopping online including groceries. I have ventured into a few stores in the last week and it has been a very enlightening experience. What I used to enjoy has become a stressful task. I am still wearing a mask in public and I am waiting for the day when I can safely go unmasked everywhere.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I have done a lot of live things online with my new friends and that is what I feel is the best thing to have come out of this. I have met so many wonderful and creative people through my position as Regional Director of the West of Motivational Strips. Connecting through writing and poetry is the best and making friendships with people who are halfway across the world is an awesome adventure. As a result of so many in person Zoom meetings too, I have become very comfortable on live videos. This has made me think that perhaps I might want to try doing a video version of my radio show. But that is a topic that has yet to be discussed with my network. But I have also been a guest on several interview shows.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On the writing side I have so many new poems I am thinking of publishing another book soon. And I am almost finished with the second sequel to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/If-Could-Like-Jennifer-Taylor-ebook/dp/B005NWRLL6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Barbara+Ehrentreu&qid=1617659457&sr=8-1" target="_blank">If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor</a>, The Mill Valley High Five. I am hoping to make this a series: If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, Who Is Jennifer Taylor? The Mill Valley High Five as the Mill Valley series. Right now I am on Chapter 30 and hope I get to the end. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I have an idea but I am not sure when the end will come. I have a feeling it will be very soon. I never know when I'm going to end a book until the writing stops. For me that is the end.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So hope you all had a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover. Our Passover was just for the three of us and we did a whole dinner. Or let me say, I did a whole dinner and also shopped for a little of it in real stores. Then I did the cooking and the cleaning up afterward. My daughters helped a little but for the most part it was me. I was happy to do it, because it is important to have traditions. I usually spend that time with family but my family couldn't come. But as we read the Haggadah and the old words were said I truly felt that it was very important to have a Seder this year. We have gone through so much and we are in a way like the Jews who were forced to leave their land. We were forced into our homes and many things were forbidden to us for a long time. We had a terrible oppressive leader that we needed to remove and we did that. Unfortunately, the venom he sewed was not that easily removed so we had January 6th. That is a day I will never forget.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">January 6th and September 11th were two of the worst days I have ever spent. Add in the one where I saw George Floyd killed and the very worst day when my husband passed away. I felt grief for our country and sadness that a monument to democracy had been desecrated and lives were lost. But I am thankful that despite all of the violence and chaos we finally were able to have a new president. And now life has gone back to a more relaxed pace and I can have faith that a sane person is at the head of our government and will keep our country safe and running. It makes me feel better and I can sleep a little better most times.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">What I learned from all of this is that nothing is going to last and we have to keep being vigilant to protect ourselves and our democracy. The same kind of vigilance we are now using to protect ourselves from the Covid-19 virus should be given to watching our government by every person in this country. We can't be complacent that all will turn out okay. We have to be making sure that it stays the way we want it to stay.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So that's it for now. I still have my radio show but it has a new name: Books and Entertainment Tales from the Pages. It is still on the 4th Thursday of every month at 4pm Eastern time. If you miss it you just click on the link on my page and you will hear it. My next show has two great authors: Roberta Seret and Michelle Burns. Check this out. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time I hope all of you are vaccinated soon and that very soon our world can go back to normal. I leave you with a poem I just wrote about this:</span><br /></p><div class="ecm0bbzt e5nlhep0 a8c37x1j" style="color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-top: 4px;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d9wwppkn fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>What Does the Future Hold?</b></span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For me it means walking outside without a mask</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And meeting my friends for lunch</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Having meetings in person and not on Zoom</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Things I never dreamed would be wishes a year ago</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pummeled by the onslaught of so much in so little time</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have craved the idea of being normal again</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As if it were an exotic elixir never to be drunk</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My thoughts have caressed it as a forbidden dream</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And though that dream is almost a reality</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My brain does not completely believe it is a truth</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For why should we trust when all trust has been tarnished?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our future is brighter now than a year ago</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and as we converse about a subject never conjured before -- vaccination status -- </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I picture a time when this will be a fun memory to discuss </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">as we all laugh about the time we had to wear masks </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and were shut in our house for 6 months </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and had to wash our hands so much </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">they were red and scaly and even lotion didn't help</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What does the future hold?</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I only hope the future will allow our children to live the lives</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">we hoped and prayed they would have</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and the world will finally accept that peace is the only way</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">for us to live together</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Though if we don't act soon there will be little left for our future generations. </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Really as I think about it, I hope the future holds bright days </span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and more friends and lots of writing.</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright 2021 by <a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl oo9gr5id gpro0wi8 lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/128014503940258/user/1207200136/?__cft__[0]=AZX4GO675nwSwpWvYf_eBNBVq5nm2YP5lc8lytEcFKLDIlTH6vy0oJN4DSD4DcCa0nLA9mzauK0X_ShYQhp2HhGmJU6WMtxfezsqCk02x-zo9A7c5amoJZ4wFBTnLdhq08o&__tn__=R]-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><div class="nc684nl6" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Barbara Ehrentreu</div></a></span></span></div></div></span></div>Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-5504352047149195072020-03-27T14:24:00.000-07:002020-03-27T14:24:30.964-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CS7RLSledHk/Xn5tfnPBDbI/AAAAAAAADkI/bwmbqhj3N8oZfZVbR5ZpCcBuDJmj9wS-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/covid-19-pandemic-hour-detroit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="800" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CS7RLSledHk/Xn5tfnPBDbI/AAAAAAAADkI/bwmbqhj3N8oZfZVbR5ZpCcBuDJmj9wS-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/covid-19-pandemic-hour-detroit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">IS stock from The Hour Detroit</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I meant to write on Wednesday but I was unable to find the time. I wound up having a very full day. First, a student needed to be tutored and I got approached on my tutoring app to do it. I haven't tutored all year so I did it and the lesson went well. We scheduled a lesson for today and tech was not kind. First the girl couldn't see the whiteboard and then all of a sudden the sound on my end cut out. I had been using a computer but that wasn't working. So I switched to my iPad and that was worse. Finally, since it was obviously a problem on my end, we rescheduled for Monday. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So it's weird getting all dressed up from the waist up. I put on makeup to hide my scary eye scars. I had to had eyelid reduction surgery this summer and it made me look freaky for awhile. Now they are almost back to normal but without makeup they look scary red. So makeup, a decent top and fix my hair. On the bottom I'm wearing my Betty Boop sweat pants. So I feel like a TV announcer who is wearing jeans and a very nice suit jacket and tie. But we never see the jeans. LOL</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, this is Friday and the 5th day of our complete stay in the house. My daughters are working from home and so am I. Of course, I do that all the time, except for tutoring. So after the tutoring I went straight over to this awesome website: Poetry of Dark Angel that is on Facebook and did a 15 video. You can see it there. I read my poetry and talked a little bit. As I have told many of my friends, I hate seeing myself on the screen. I guess that almost everyone feels that way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I said, I meant to write Wednesday but then it was too late. On Thursday my entire day was devoted to my radio show, <a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/booksandentertainment/2020/03/26/be-tales-from-the-pages-brings-you-four-outstanding-women?fbclid=IwAR1mWkV2cUhinlT0WFo3rjHcqAj8VI2GXyOeTQu44DQRurjGkZuwq1QAqhI" target="_blank">Books and Entertainment Tales from the Pages.</a> Here it is for anyone who would like to hear it. I think it was a great show this week. Many times this week I have heard how the arts can heal us and I believe it. Watching the Broadway stars sing to me and hearing the exquisite violin music of one of my friend's soloists on my show was breathtaking. Art does soothe your soul so if you aren't doing anything that concerns art you should try it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also yesterday I got outside on my balcony!! Feeling and breathing in the fresh air did wonders for me. And I talked with the Aetna nurse and was able to allay some of my anxiety that I'm sure many of you have. Being calm and doing some deep breathing helps a lot. The air helped too. It was great seeing that the world was still going on but it was emptier. People are still walking on the boardwalk and walking their dogs. Kids are still playing and it was fun to hear the bird and feel the sunlight. It's 65 out now so I will be getting out there again soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Life is going on and though I am in the house I am trying to do things to keep myself occupied. I am watching less TV and more people doing things on TV. I rarely watch a movie, though I did last night. And I am watching the news sporadically to keep up with stuff. It is too devastating to watch all the time and I hope that it gets better. Right now we are having a huge storm of disease and this one we can't run away from as I said a few times. We are in a bunker and safe for now and hopefully it will protect us and all of us will come out of our safe havens stronger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I talked with my brother about having a virtual Passover. We are going to connect the entire family in England and Japan and Manhattan and right here in Greenwich,CT. it should be fun as it always is and we'll just do the best we can to follow a seder together. During normal times that is not always very successful so online it should be different. This is the ultimate in social distancing I think!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In closing I would just like to say how grateful I am to the medical profession who are fighting this pandemic and who are constantly updating us on the seriousness of this virus. Life in the time of Covid-19 is feeling more and more like the beginning of a dystopian novel. I think I said this before but it can't be said enough. I have never lived in such a strange time and I think all my dear departed relatives, including my late husband, would never believe this could happen. Although, I think he would have not been fazed by it. I'm getting by and each day feel a little better about dealing with this crisis. As a TV doctor says: We will get through this and we are now probably at the end of the beginning. So there's lots more to follow. I will be writing as much as I can, because this helps a lot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time everyone please stay healthy and safe. </span>Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-69772444501511605042020-03-24T10:16:00.004-07:002020-03-24T13:38:47.293-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6jIRwtmJ9Y/XnpALMqwCsI/AAAAAAAADjw/9LBvFAkeFeUvTNiU3ssQ5B6rWmgBNcNiwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Happy%2Bwoman%2Bwith%2Barms%2Bwide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="500" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z6jIRwtmJ9Y/XnpALMqwCsI/AAAAAAAADjw/9LBvFAkeFeUvTNiU3ssQ5B6rWmgBNcNiwCEwYBhgL/s400/Happy%2Bwoman%2Bwith%2Barms%2Bwide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is how we should all feel and I don't. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is my second blog post during this time of being inside due to the corona virus Covid -19. I have been anxious and not able to sleep very much. Every little body problem concerns me and causes worry. But I am telling myself not to panic and to try to realize I am still okay.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday we had food delivered and it was a lot and on a cart. The person rang the doorbell and then stood in the hall with the cart. I answered the door thinking all I would see would be groceries and saw the delivery person. I immediately closed the door and talked to her from behind it. I felt insane but I didn't want to chance that she could have it. Then my daughters took in all the bags and I was worried because this virus can last on paper. So I stayed away and didn't help with putting them away. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But this fear has caused me to change everything. As suggested I am washing my hands whenever I am touching food or anything that could hold the virus. So I am washing my hands at least 10 times a day. At night I am slathering cream on them to keep them from getting rough, red and peeling. This amount of hand washing rubs off your outer skin. It is truly insane that we are having to do this. But this caution is necessary. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Today I am working on setting up my radio show for this month. I am looking forward to talking with everyone. It should be lots of fun and hopefully we will have a good audience. Lots of people are at home and looking for something to do. I will put the link here tomorrow but also it will be on Facebook. I just have to do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My mother had a term for how I feel: discombobulated. It's when you are not sure what to do next. You start something and stop it and then start something again and then go back to the first thing. It's exhausting to be this way and I want to get back to my normal way of living. However, I have a feeling that normal is not going to happen for a long time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was talking on text today to a friend and said now I see why there were all those zombie books and she also brought up the dystopian Cassandra Claire books as well. I hope that it doesn't turn into that kind of world but it is getting closer and closer as I worry about human contact being dangerous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, enough of this madness. Please be kind to the people who are with you and be safe and we will all see each other on the other side. Until the next time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-67293048143435862342020-03-23T14:20:00.001-07:002020-03-23T14:38:38.835-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nMov1n3vgk/XnkjuFgGYeI/AAAAAAAADjk/6Is53cb_4K81YUzlE2MfSNu_v85nIhS9QCEwYBhgL/s1600/stock-photo-coronavirus-in-united-states-quarantine-and-global-recession-american-dollar-banknote-with-a-1631119204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="1500" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nMov1n3vgk/XnkjuFgGYeI/AAAAAAAADjk/6Is53cb_4K81YUzlE2MfSNu_v85nIhS9QCEwYBhgL/s400/stock-photo-coronavirus-in-united-states-quarantine-and-global-recession-american-dollar-banknote-with-a-1631119204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b> <span style="font-size: large;">LIFE IN THE TIME OF CORONA VIRUS COVID-19</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is now an entire week when the country has pretty much shut down. I don't think as many took it seriously until the middle of last week. Each day I learn of someone new who has contracted the virus and I am in panic mode. I have been in the house almost the entire time except for driving around with my daughters. The world has gotten different for sure. My life is pretty much the same except my daughters have now been home from their offices every day. They used to work at home on Mondays and then one worked from home on Wednesday and the other on Friday. Now they are both home and this is going to be the new normal for us I guess. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We no longer shop at supermarkets. We are getting our food delivered. Living in a large apartment complex a lot of things have changed for us. Our complex had many amenities such as a full time gym of two levels, a community room with free coffee and free wifi with several computers available. We also have a Conference Room and a theater where you can screen your own movies or watch the broadcast they have there. It is equipped with the latest reclining chairs and a wide screen. There is also a basketball court and a squash court. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We also have a concierge who lets in people and who takes packages. Our building has a gated parking area and that is still working. So they closed all the amenities. I have been inside my apartment since Saturday and will probably be here for the entire week. My car was started on Saturday to make sure it is still okay. But I am afraid to go out at all. I am over 70 and have diabetes. So I am in the danger zone for contracting this virus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have changed my daily habits. Now I wash my hands very frequently for 20 seconds whenever I do anything. I have been baking a bit so that entails washing your hands even more. I am not having any physical contact with my daughters for fear they might be carrying the germ unknowingly. They are taking precautions. I also did that. When I went out on Saturday I had a glove to touch the elevator button and the door handle and then threw it away. We bought masks before the whole thing actually escalated and we are very prepared with lots of toilet paper and other essentials. We are waiting for our food order and my daughter just said that some things are out of stock. They are not ordering as much food because people are not buying it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a writer I have been writing poetry and wrote two poems about the disease. I also wrote a chapter on my WIP although now I don't feel much like writing. This is the first writing I have done in a few days. Everything seems to have changed in priority. I find that although I enjoy being in the house it is starting to get to me. I mean, what is great about this time is that creative people in the arts are stepping up. Since Broadway was closed several celebrities have started shows that feature the talents of these people. My daughters and I have been watching #Stars on Broadway and last night we spent over three hours watching Rosie O'Donell stream live so many celebrities I couldn't count. It's fun to see that the talent of these people doesn't need costumes and scenery. Also a performer is doing live performances every day at 7pm. It's just him, his guitar and his piano. All of this just soothes my soul and gives me hope that soon life will come back to normal. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Several of my meetings have been either canceled or moved to Zoom. I, myself, will be on Facebook and I have my radio show: Books and Entertainment Tales from the Pages on Thursday, March 26, 2020. I am hoping all of my guests will be available.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thank goodness for technology so we can get food. I guess we could live on what we have now. We have plenty in the freezer and pantry. But day to day essentials are what we are running out of and so happy we can restock. I am hoping that other people are able to navigate this situation without things getting out of hand. I am not looking past this week and hope that the country will come back to normal soon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Passover is April 8 and I fear we will have to cancel our seder with my niece. She lives in Manhattan and it's pretty much going to be a given that I won't be traveling and that we will not be gathering. Though we are family and my brother lives close to me I haven't seen him. He stopped traveling two weeks ago and we were supposed to get together all of us for Passover. Now I have no idea what is going to happen. I hope this will all be over but I fear that we have at least a month more to go before we can feel comfortable about going out in public. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm finding it harder and harder to sleep. I woke up two hours after I fell asleep and had no idea why. I am trying to keep my mind off of this as much as possible but my body isn't getting the message. I don't usually have trouble sleeping. This is something new for me and I don't like it. Let me know how you are coping in the comments. And hope you will join me for my events. One is on Poetry of the Dark Angel on Wednesday and the other is my radio show: BE Tales from the Pages on Thursday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is one of the poems I wrote:</span><br />
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<b>INVISIBLE MENACE</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A scourge has overtaken our world</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">one more deadly than nations fighting nations</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It has plunged its claws into our country</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">when we thought we were safe and nothing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">could stop our freedom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now we all sit isolated from each other</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in our boxes — some boxes smaller than others</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">yet we must stay in them to escape this</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">deadly force that is rushing across our nation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">forcing us to restrict our freedom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over two hundred years we have fought for this</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">freedom to be where we want to be and do what</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">we want to do</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">now we must stay inside to keep away from</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">this invisible menace</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">No school, no work outside your home, no restaurants, no bars,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">no lying on the beach with your friends, no fun get togethers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">no talking with your neighbors or shaking hands or hugging</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">no movies, no concerts, no festivals, no book events or poetry readings</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We must do all this virtually now</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Too many have been affected by this invisible monster that seeps</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">into your body without your knowing and for some it is a death sentence</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The bodies piling up so high in places the cemeteries have closed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And still it keeps destroying without care for anything</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As the brave medical profession struggles to contain it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stuck inside my home to avoid its deadly consequences</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I pray every day for an end to this awful mess that started</span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">with a tiny insect and now has caused the entire world to</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">come to a stop — creating a time to reflect and wonder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and then appreciate all the freedoms we so took for granted</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like walking outside and greeting passersby, shopping without care,</span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or hugging a loved one after a long time apart</span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or cheering at a concert for a performer in the midst of cheering others</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or watching basketball players bump up against each other</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">not concerned that one of them may be deadly</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It will be a sad and painful time for all of us</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">as we watch the procession of bodies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and the researchers search constantly for a cure</span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to stop this invisible pestilence that has stumped</span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the world and decimated the ease of life.</span></div>
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Copyright 2020 by Barbara Ehrentreu</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time I hope everyone is staying safe and observing the rules so we can get rid of this pestilence that has invaded our lives. </span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-88167723652367462742020-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:002020-01-05T11:20:21.774-08:00A New Year - A New Beginning: My Review of Zeeka Chronicles by Brenda Mohammed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hi everyone. I realize it is almost a year since I posted and I apologize for that. My life has become extremely busy with poetry and Greenwich Pen Women and Motivational Strips. In the meantime a lot of stuff has happened and it's mostly all good. One of my poems was chosen to be in <i><b>The Walt Whitman Bicentennial Anthology, Poets To Come.</b></i> Another was chosen to be hung on the wall of an art exhibition at the Canton, CT Library and one was chosen to be in a brochure for an art and poetry exhibition at The Norwalk Public Library called "Art&Text". </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have had many different people on my radio show and our network has changed its name to Books and Entertainment network. So if you're looking for my shows they will be under Books and Entertainment Tales from the Pages. Now I can shorten it to BE Tales from the Pages. How cool those are my initials too. I swear we didn't choose it for that reason, though. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am working steadily on my third novel, "The Mill Valley High Five". Also, ta, da, I finally sent my second novel, the sequel to If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, called: Who Is Jennifer Taylor? to my publisher. She has still not done anything about it but at least it is there. I am excited about this last book in the series, because it is written in third person. This is the first time I am writing in this POV so it's a challenge. I did it because I felt that some of the characters in the second novel needed a chance to be heard. Actually, some of them asked me to please give them more of a story. You know that authors are always having their characters talk to them. Mine did all summer and that is why when that happened I started the third book. I am now on Chapter 27 so it should be finished soon. As you might know if you have been reading this blog for awhile, I don't outline and never know what my ending will be. It is still a mystery even now. My characters will figure it out I'm sure. LOL</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So as the new year begins I thought I would start with a review of a very unusual and interesting book by Brenda Mohammed, a woman who has twenty-four books published and has won many awards, including: Readers Favorite International Book Awards 2018 for her book, <b style="font-style: italic;">I Am Cancer Free</b><i>. </i><b><i>Zeeka Chronicles: Revenge of Zeeka</i> </b>won a gold award from Readers Favorite in Magazine Readers Choice Awards 2018, placed in the top ten for the Author Academy Global Awards 2018 and won an award in the category of young adult thriller in readers Favorite International Book Awards 2018. So it was with great delight that I began to read this book. Here is my review and afterward I will put the interview I had with Brenda here for you to hear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Review for Zeeka Chronicles: Revenge of Zeeka Books 1-5 by Brenda Mohammed</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Zeeka Chronicles will grab you in the beginning and compel you to keep reading</span></b></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The story begins with a dream that a renowned doctor has and then finds out what he has dreamed is about to come true. Imagine you are thirty years in the future on a small island that is very developed and was once a haven for tourists. However, due to a freak outbreak of the Zika virus and the rise of zombies created by a rogue doctor, the tourists have abandoned this idyllic island. Now the nightmare that Dr. Raynor Sharpe had experienced is about to come true. A man with a false head has arrived and claims that he is Number Nine, a zombie created by Master Zeeka. He tells the doctor he knows of others who have false heads and mechanical bodies who are being trained by this Master Zeeka to kill. But attempts to find out more are thwarted by the disappearance of this strange man. All that is left is the false head and the recording made of his admission. Although this is a small thing it sets off a whole series of episodes where there is a search for this mysterious Number Nine. As the search continues we are introduced to a series of characters that could have come out of the movies of the 40’s and 50’s including several police detectives and one called Hammer. Hammer could have been played by any of the stars who were hard on the outside and good at strong arming the bad guys with warm hearts. In fact, the entire book feels like a rerun of a good mystery story with its cinematic scenes. The bad guy creates a big disturbance during a public event and the whole thing escalates. There are scenes everywhere including the forest where the police detectives go to try to find the missing zombies and the evil Dr. Zeeka. Dr. Zeeka was believed to be dead but he is very alive as he manipulates his zombies to cause trouble and kill innocent people. In the middle of all this is the love story of Raynor and Janet and how it is related to the story unfolding around them. During the entire time reading this book the reader keeps wondering what will come next. There is almost never a time when the reader feels that things are settled in the first book. By the second book when the reader feels everything has calmed down things escalate again and the whole story continues at a breakneck pace until the end of Book 5. During the reading of this story there are many scientific advances in it. Since the story starts out in 2034 and continues to 2036 there are things in there that are probably in the beginning stages now. However, it is clear that the author has done extensive research on certain of these advances. As someone who likes a little romance with my science fiction I really enjoyed the relationships here. I would recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction. Let’s hope that some of the things she has in here will come to fruition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Here is the radio show on which Brenda and Shiju H. </span></b><span style="background-color: #f0f0f0; color: #454747; font-family: "gibsonlight" , "tahoma";"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pallithazheth were guests:</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/booksandentertainment/2019/05/23/rrr-tales-from-the-pages-welcomes-shiju-h-pallithazheth-and-brenda-mohammed" target="_blank">https://www.blogtalkradio.com/booksandentertainment/2019/05/23/rrr-tales-from-the-pages-welcomes-shiju-h-pallithazheth-and-brenda-mohammed<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time I hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve and you are starting the new year well. Please comment here and tell me about what some of your plans are for the new year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I forgot to mention that I am on Twitter as @barbehr. I have joined a wonderful group called #WritingCommunity. If you are a writer on Twitter this is a great place to be. It is very supportive and will get you more quality followers who are writers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My next radio show: BE Tales from the Pages, will be on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 4pm Eastern time with Cynthia Sharp, Michael Amidei and Susan Strecker. This should be an amazing show! Cynthia is a poet laureate, Michael is an incredible musician and poet and Susan is a multi-published author with a new book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't forget to leave a comment here. Or you can comment under the Facebook link or send me a word on Twitter. </span><br />
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-71497370695482374282019-03-19T20:35:00.000-07:002019-03-22T12:06:43.356-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">So it's March and I haven't posted for six </span><span style="font-size: large;">months. Sorry, but life got in the way. I got involved with another poetry group, Motivational Strips and this has taken a big chunk of my time. Also had a lot of events going on so I neglected this blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I originally started a blog because I didn't think anyone was listening to me and so I decided to write out what I was thinking. Now with Facebook it seems like everyone writes everything anyone is thinking and sometimes a little too much. I usually try to post the happy things and stay away from anything that might be too sad. I don't post cute puppies and kittens but there are enough of those around to make me happy. I do post happy photos of me and my family and achievements that I have had. Sometimes, rarely, I still post poetry and announcements of things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a post to let you know that I got another 5 star review for <b><i>If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor</i></b>!! it's very exciting to get a review for a book that was published six years ago!! I am putting it here, though I had it on Facebook and Twitter and Google Groups+. But there are still some people who don't read any of that and just do blogs. If you have seen this before I apologize for repetition but for me I can't show you this review enough!! LOL</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reviewed by <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">Lisa McCombs</span> for Readers' Favorite</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. How many times do we hear this in a lifetime? Jennifer Taylor seems to have it all...<a href="https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/if-i-could-be-like-jennifer-taylor?fbclid=IwAR2QNZW-YfZlNj8oERkBG5nydC7sVz3OXTPq9iGfzaPyUdCSynP1lMoVRBk" target="_blank">More </a></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YB2RvWcH2bY/XJGuf3d1QSI/AAAAAAAADdY/SGThNgmzWiE_mXIGHL8InZds_PFMSgjFgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">My guest author today is Joshua Grant or Joshua the Gamer from his outstanding and innovative website: <a href="http://diabolicalshrimp.com/">diabolicalshrimp.com</a>. I met Josh because I got an email from him, went to the website and immediately wanted to know more about this person who was an author and who gave back to charity from his website. So I invited him to be on my radio show, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages. He was my guest for October and he also is my guest today here on the blog. Let's meet him:</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span><b><i>Where were you born and where do you live now</i>?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was born in the District of Columbia after my family got stationed there. I've lived most of my life in lovely sunny Colorado where I still reside (because it's lovely, and sunny, and mountains).</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Besides writing what is your occupation</i>?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I used to act and teach. Nowadays I substitute teach just to be involved, work with kiddos at church, and run Diabolic Shrimp.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>What do you do besides writing? Do you have any hobbies?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I do a LOT of writing! :) But on the rare occasions that I come up for air, I love to play video games and watch movies with friends. I think food is a hobby maybe? I love to just get together with people, joke and laugh and share a meal together.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Who or what influenced you to begin writing?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">My middle school teacher Mrs. Munos definitely made me believe I could write something decent. From there, it was largely a smattering of good movies, books, and video games that drove my creativity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <i>I<b>n what kind of genre is your writing? Do you want to explore other genres?</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I mostly write Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, with the occasional Horror/Thriller novel. Not sure I can branch out much more than that! :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Please tell our audience what a typical day of writing would be for you.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I either write first thing when I get up or last thing just before going to sleep. I usually just spend an hour or two a day writing and that's it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>How many books do you have published? Please let us know the path to publication for your first book.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Currently I have three books published: <b><i>Pandora </i></b>(Horror/Thriller), <b><i>Jericho</i></b> (Horror/Thriller), and <b><i>The Fifth Ascendant </i></b>(Young Adult Fantasy). For <b><i>Pandora</i></b>, my first book, I originally went the path of trying to woo traditional publishers. Eventually, I began to look at self publishing and found that to be a wonderful path as long as you're willing to work very hard. I ended up publishing physical and ebooks through Amazon.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Would you please tell our listeners about each of the books you have published?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Pandora</i></b> is a horror/thriller book set aboard a cruise ship. After the Emerald Rose disappeared and returned a week later, business tycoon Patrick Carver sends out a special forces team to investigate. <b><i>Pandora </i></b>is filled with clever twists, creepy monsters, and hapless heroes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Jericho</i></b> is the second book in my horror/thriller series The Organization. A father takes is son to live in the mountain town of Shadow Pines with his exwife for the summer. A police officer searches for her missing brother in the same town. They will all quickly discover that Shadow Pines isn't as empty as it appears.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i>The Fifth Ascendant</i></b> is my fun and actiony Young Adult Fantasy novel. Kal is an Ascendant, a warrior with ultimate powers. But is he fighting for the right side?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>How did you get the idea to make a website called Diabolic Shrimp?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">When I was a brand new author, I quickly discovered how hard it was to find a place that was truly supportive and didn't have a million rules or cost money. Thus, I set out to make one. I created a place that's free and no hassle to authors and readers where I buy and review books and give books away to readers. The 'Diabolic' is for my diabolic plan to get every author on there one day and take over the world. The 'Shrimp' is because authors are just the little guys, but together we're pretty impressive. Plus, it's just a fun quirky title that brings a smile to peoples' faces and I love that. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-weight: normal; text-indent: -36px;">•</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-weight: normal; text-indent: -36px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -36px;"><b><i>About how many books do you buy from visitors to your website a year? What benefit do you find from buying and reviewing your visitors’ books?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I currently am up to buying a book a day from authors! It's really grown in the couple of years Diabolic Shrimp has been around! There are many benefits to this. First off, I get to support other authors which is why I set out to create Diabolic Shrimp in the first place. But the cool part is, people really respond when you show them kindness. I gain money through advertising on the site which makes it sustainable, and I get to put some of that money towards meaningful causes like ocean exploration or breaking the world's poverty cycle.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>What gave you the idea of sending a shrimp into outer space? Do you think this will ever happen?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Haha! That mission was just my way of sprucing up the site! Diabolic Shrimp used to be a lot more rigid back in the day. I wanted to make it a little more fun (and I totally love space exploration and would be over the moon if I got to send shrimp to the moon). It hasn't happened, yet, but as they say, if the sky's the limit, why are there footprints on the moon?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Do you have any in person or online events scheduled for your books in the near future? Please tell our listeners where they can find these.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I'm really focused right now on bringing two new projects to market, Nexus my young adult sci fi thriller and Silly Tales from Albanon my quirky short fantasy. That's taking most of my time outside of Diabolic Shrimp, so I don't really have much else planned on the horizon at the moment.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Where can our listeners find your books? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Readers can find my books on Amazon or Diabolic Shrimp. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can read any of them for free. Links are below if you want to check them out!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">Amazon: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Grant/e/B01M62JM1J/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1540524658&sr=8-1"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(71, 135, 255);">https://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Grant/e/B01M62JM1J/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1540524658&sr=8-1</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">Diabolic Shrimp: <a href="http://www.diabolicshrimp.com/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(71, 135, 255);">www.diabolicshrimp.com</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span>• <b><i>Finally, one last question I always ask my guests. Are you a plotter or a pantser? That is do you need to outline or do you just write?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">I think both? Haha! Maybe like a Plotantser or something. I have each chapter generally plotted out in my head and then I just start writing from there.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Thank you so much for being my guest today, Josh, and I hope that readers will go and listen to the excellent radio show where you talk more about everything. It took a few months but you got here. I also hope that my readers will check out your website. It has the two f's: free and fun!!!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Until the next time, I apologize for the delay and in that time you may notice that there is no longer a side panel here. Many of the features have been discontinued on this so I will be moving to another place very soon. Watch this space as Rachel Madow always says.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Also, my radio show, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages will be on this Thursday, March 21, 2019 at 4pm EDT. Check my Author page or my Facebook page for the link. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Happy almost Spring!!!</span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-47592183921359515632018-08-23T02:31:00.000-07:002018-08-23T02:31:56.364-07:00Meet Guest Author A. M. Wilson<span style="font-size: large;">Is it really August 23 already? It seems that summer has sped by and true to my word I am trying to post at least once a month. So much has happened in the short time between my last post and now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, I just realized that in my haste to post the new video for After I posted instead my documentary "Remembering Hal". Anyone who was confused I apologize. I am going to put that video on here now. <iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/880UxiRjToM" width="560"></iframe></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also will edit that post to include this video now. There will be a new version of "Remembering Hal" with better sound balance on my channel on YouTube soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so hope you all have been having a great summer. I will discuss the things I've been doing after I introduce you to my Guest Author, A. M Wilson. He is also going to be a guest on my show on Thursday, August 23, 2018 at 4pm EDT on Red River Radio Tales from the Pages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you miss the interview I am posting it here for you. Any listeners who remember the technical difficulties we had when A. M. was first on the show will also know that he was rescheduled to come back in August alsong with my other delightful guest author and poet, Cynthia Sharp. I will have Cynthia on the blog at a later time. Until then, please enjoy my guest today, A. M. Wilson:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hi A. M. so happy you are on my blog. I am very glad you have come back on the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Would it be okay to ask why you are called A M? What is your first name?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><b> </b>A M came from a practical desire to have a name that was unique and stood out -- especially in today's search field. Alex Wilson is a Detroit Tigers pitcher, an LA-based weather person, and a 19th-Century Scottish Ornithologist. My college freshman year roommate suggested A M as a way to separate myself from the pack -- drawing F. Scott Fitzgerald and David Foster Wallace as other noms de plume from notable authors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"> <b>So your name is Alex Wilson. I actually like initials for authors.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><b>Where were you born and where do you live now?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;">I was born in Flint, Michigan, which has seen some hard times. Any fan of Michael Moore knows well the economic contraction that Flint has gone through. We moved when I was an early teen to a small farming community where my mom grew up -- Carson City, Michigan. The journey since then has taken me all over the U.S. from Owensboro, Kentucky, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to St. Louis, to Silicon Valley, California where I live now. A lot of that went into <i><b>Populace</b></i>, which I think is about not only the main character's coming of age, but also what it means to be an American.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"> </span><b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-size: large;">Besides writing, what is your occupation? Do you have any hobbies and/or interests? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"> I have a lot of hobbies -- I love to hike and cook. I play guitar and try to solve complex math problems. My ambitions often outstrip my capacity, though, which is most often tied up with my year old son. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"> <b>Who or what influenced you to begin writing? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">I began writing as a reaction to my parents' divorce. I was five or six and having a rough time. My mother, an English professor, offered me a big spiral notepad and told me to write, anything and everything that came to mind, about the experience. I was so young I think a lot of the early stuff were badly drawn pictures but over time I fell in love with telling stories, by using allegory and with trying to affect the world around me. I was hooked, and I've been trying to create stories ever since.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">When did you begin to write seriously and what did you write? Have you published anything before </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><i>Populace</i></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">?</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><i><b>Populace</b></i> is my first novel. I began to write seriously in college. I had a great friend and roommate who encouraged my work. His dad was the head of the English department, coincidentally, and while my grammar was sometimes lacking, he could tell there was a deep passion in what I created. I had my first fan, which spurred me to push myself to get better. He also offered up a lot of new literature that was so different from what I had read from my parents, that it blew my mind. I began to understand writing as a continuum, with James Joyce, and later Thomas Pynchon on one end, and Ernest Hemmingway and later Cormac McCarthy on the other. I had the privilege to fall anywhere on the spectrum I wanted. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is your writing process? Please tell our listeners about a typical day of writing for you.</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">In a word: chaotic. I don't really experience writer's block, but I do experience a lot of non-sequiturs and pieces that try to connect. Sometimes it works well. A lot of time there's at least twice as much on the cutting room floor as what makes it in the final. The only way I've figured out where I can keep the good (lots of ideas, creative and interesting!) is to embrace the bad, which is having to read then re-read then read again the work for continuity and clarity. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">What inspired you to write <i>Populace</i>?</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">When I lived in St. Louis, I would have to drive through Northern St. Louis. It had broken roofs, collapsed buildings and no people on the streets. It reminded me of the images I'd seen of a war zone. I had grown up with this experience in Flint, and seen it in so many places -- from Owensboro to Chicago, but not in the same way in foreign countries. To have such poverty alongside such wealth was one thing, but to be so aggressively ignorant of it was another. This was a uniquely American ailment. And I've always wanted to write a uniquely American book.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">What went into the writing of this book? Did you have to do a lot of research and what was it? </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">I did a fair amount of research, but I really relied on stuff that I had around me. My dad has a sailboat, and there's a long passage in the piece on a sailboat. I've lived in many of the cities listed (Owensboro, for example). I spent a lot of time looking at the distances and had a friend engineer check the math. I spent a lot of time, kind of oddly, looking at maps. It was important to me that the journey was as seamless as possible. I didn't want it to raise any eyebrows for the reader, and the best way to do that is to make sure that everything makes total sense. I've driven out west a couple of times from middle America. Those trips also influenced the book. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Would you please describe the path to publication for <i>Populace</i>? </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">Starts and stops. I drafted it, sent to agents, and had one interested. She requested that I "clean it up" a bit and resubmit, which was the month before my son was born. I ended up taking six months to clean it up, and then the agent asked for me to go back through the whole process. I said "this is good enough to publish," so I did. Create Space and Kindle Direct Publishing have awesome tools. I had a friend design the cover. It all came together really quickly after I made up my mind to do it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please tell our listeners a little bit about your book, <i>Populace</i>. </span></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">It's a novel set after America has torn itself apart. All that remains of the New United States is Omaha, which is run by one company. The main character, Thomas Ignatius Stout, survived a terrorist attack and then was sent to find and destroy the man who committed the crime. </span><br /><b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></b><div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Tahoma;">Would you call it a dystopian novel? Why or why not?</b></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">Yes. Likely more dystopic than what I meant. Brave New World was a major influence on the book. I read it, and I remember thinking how incredible the logic of the whole thing was. It was inescapable. And to create a world like that was amazing. But, I think the heart of your question is do I consider the world dystopian, and in a way I most definitely do, but more specifically I just chronicled the world I saw around me. So I feel that if we say the book is dystopic, then we're saying that the world is dystopic. I think that it is in some ways, but that's the burden of a writer. We're tasked with the duty to lift men's hearts, as William Faulkner said. I think that it's like AA says about alcoholism, the first step is admitting you have a problem. People occasionally don't like my book -- they view books as a way to escape from their modern lives. But we in modern culture have so much escapism, I wanted to create a story that could entertain, sure, but also acted as a mirror -- as a cry in the woods for a better tomorrow. </span><br /><b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where can we find your book and you? </span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Amazon </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Populace-M-Wilson/dp/1985066750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530315126&sr=8-1&keywords=populace">https://www.amazon.com/Populace-M-Wilson/dp/1985066750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530315126&sr=8-1&keywords=populace</a> or <a href="https://www.amwideawake.com/">https://www.amwideawake.com</a></span><br /><b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are you doing any in person or online events? If so what are they and where can we find them?</span></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">Nothing scheduled. </span><br /><b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><b>Well, that isn't true, because you are now on my blog and on Red River Radio Tales from the Pages. LOL</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally this is the last question I always ask every guest. Are you a plotter or a pantser? In other words, do you write an outline or do you just sit down and write?</span></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">Ha, I like the term "pantser." I definitely just sat down and wrote when I started. I think now, I still do sometimes. It yields some really incredible perspectives and insights. Every once and a while I'll plan out things, but even when I get to the details themselves, I'll sit down and just come up with something. Then I have to make it all coherent, which is painstaking, but I think yields a much a stronger story, a much more emotional story, in the end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;">A. M. Wilson Bio:</span></div>
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A M Wilson has loved telling stories since he couldn't see over a kitchen counter. His first breakthrough novel Populace, an Orwellian thriller, is set for release in spring 2018. In his own words, Wilson has always loved humor, "humor that challenges our worldview, humor that gets us through hard times, humor that makes us realize our own humanity." As a novelist, has the burden to believe in everything as possible.</div>
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A M is from Flint, Mich., and has moved around a lot, entering a lot of brave new worlds -- to Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, California, Spain and Argentina. A M has been a farmer, a groundskeeper, a librarian, a fast-food worker, a bagboy, a political organizer and a shill. </div>
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A M Wilson lives in the Bay Area with his wife and son. You can reach him at <a href="http://www.amwideawake.com/" target="_blank">www.amwideawake.com</a></div>
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America 2151. New York. Washington. Chicago. Los Angeles. All wiped out from nuclear blasts. The New United States of America is centered in Omaha, where the Leviathan Corporation provides a muted, controlled existence for its populace. Synthetic drugs keep them sane. The people are safe — for now — from the threats on the outside. </div>
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Summoned to the president’s office, unlikely hero Thomas Ignatius Stout receives an extraordinary mission: Hunt down and return, dead or alive, the vicious killer responsible for destroying the lives of millions and millions of Americans, Joe Ikowski, who remains a thorn in the government's side. Tom accepts his burden and leads an expedition past Omaha's protective barrier and into the great unknown. That’s when Tom’s journey really begins.</div>
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Taking him from Kentucky to Arizona to Mexicali and the Rocky Mountains, Tom finds far more than he is searching for — and starts to learn the deeply complicated, disturbing truths of his own identity and a world in which he had only before scratched the surface. In this poignant page-turner, a novel that blends elements of science fiction, political thrillers and an Orwellian-style future, rising novelist AM Wilson takes readers on a wild ride inside what could become the future of the United States, if we ruin ourselves from the inside. It’s a novel that will make you think, no matter what you think of America.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously, if you like dystopian or urban dystopian books check this one out and hope you get to hear the interview on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2018/08/23/red-river-radio-tales-from-the-pages-welcomes-back-amwilson-and-cynthia-sharp" target="_blank">Red River Radio Tales from the Pages.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now for my summer. We went to the Taylor Swift concert and it was held even in the rain. It drizzled all the time but there were times when you needed an umbrella. We had ponchos but we got soaking wet. It was warm so it wasn't too bad and the music and special effects were outstanding. Then the following weekend we went to see "Mean Girls" on Broadway. That was so good we had to go home and see the movie. But you know what, the show is better than the movie so if you get a chance go see it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer and tune in to the show today. If you can't get there don't worry. You can hear it in archives. Just click on the link either on Facebook or Twitter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, I might surprise you and post another time in August. Stay cool and dry.</span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-9718940330722715292018-07-22T00:18:00.001-07:002018-07-22T00:18:27.840-07:00A new video for After<span style="font-size: x-large;">When I met Astara Brynmor she said she did videos. And yes, for a very reasonable price, she has done a new video for After.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I hope you enjoyed that and you can go to <a href="https://www.brynmorproductions.com/" target="_blank">Brynmor Productions </a>to see all the different kinds of videos you can have done for your books. Also, Astara is a pleasure to work with. I am a very picky person and she listened and changed everything I asked her to change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Also, I wanted to let everyone know that I am going to post a few author interviews soon. Meanwhile, I just wanted to share this video and please tell your friends who might have teens. You can also go to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-Barbara-Ehrentreu-ebook/dp/B00NDYDC3C/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and check out what reviewers are saying about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On Thursday of this week coming up my show will feature two outstanding writers. Andrew Jonathan Cole and Joshua the Gamer. Andrew is a poet and Joshua is a published author and manages a website dedicated to helping both authors and the environment. His website, <a href="https://diabolicshrimp.com/" target="_blank">Diabolic Shrimp</a>, is very unusual. He randomly buys an author's book and will review it. I met Joshua when he picked my book to buy and after exchanging a few more emails I decided I needed to have this author on my show. How many websites not only promote authors and their books but donate to the environment? Please tune in on Thursday, July 26 at 4pm EDT to hear both of these outstanding writers. The name of the show is Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio. The link to the show will be on my Facebook page either Tuesday or Wednesday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Until then, I hope you are having a good weekend. We went to see "Mama Mia" on Friday night and Sunday night my daughter got tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert. This should be a lot of fun but it may be in the rain. Anyway, we will be prepared as we can be. There are very strict rules on what you can and can't bring. So, no umbrellas and bags can only be a certain size, etc. I will be letting you know about how I felt about it. Might be a little old for one of these but I do like her music! </span><br />
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<br />Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-36309019316027021812018-07-16T01:54:00.003-07:002018-07-16T02:00:49.540-07:00AFTER is In Print!!<div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Finally, </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">after<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">almost two years after the galley was completely ready, my book, <i><b>AFTER</b></i>, is in print.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I will be debuting this on my Facebook pages and there will be a big book party here and on Facebook to celebrate soon. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">I know I haven't posted on here in a long time. Again, thank you to all who have stuck around to see if I do post. A lot of stuff has happened and now I have several people waiting to be seen on this blog. So I am back and ready to bring you more of new authors I have met and of course more about my life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">First about my life. After last summer I started working on my manuscript of Who Is Jennifer Taylor and I can finally say that after a few final tweaks when I read all the comments, it will be sent to my publisher at last. For anyone who doesn't know and just stumbled on here for the first time, I am the author of <i><b>If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor </b></i>and Who Is Jennifer Taylor is the sequel to this book. My publisher is Lea Schizas of MuseItUp Publishing and I am hoping she will want to publish this. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Now, for the people who are here from "Character Takeover", here is the answer to your first question:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>The teacher opened the window and everything flew all over the room.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Now go <a href="https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B00J0URGVM/ref=dbs_p_pbk_rwt_abau?redirectedFromKindleDbs=true">here</a> to find out the answer to the second question.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">For the third question, you will need to go <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-Barbara-Ehrentreu-ebook/dp/B00NDYDC3C/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Okay, thank you to all who participated in this little contest. I hope you had fun and learned a little bit about <i><b>After</b></i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Until the next time, my guest author for the first time in over a year, will be A.M Wilson, who has written a sci-fi urban dystopian novel. He will also be on my August radio show: Red River Radio Tales from the Pages. My July show will feature Andrew Cole and Joshua the Gamer from the very unusual and worthy <a href="https://diabolicshrimp.com/">Diabolical Shrimp </a>blog. Check it out. Hope you are enjoying your summer. Next time I will talk about what I have been doing this summer. </span><br />
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-75399865255262094632017-10-06T14:14:00.001-07:002017-10-06T17:21:10.446-07:00What Did I Do This Summer?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's hard to believe it is October and I haven't posted here all summer. It has been a busy summer and I frankly had too much to do. So when someone on my publisher's thread said she had a new blog I realized I hadn't said anything about my summer here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So for all those who have been waiting to hear and have not found out through Facebook or Twitter, my summer was fabulous! It started with my winning the award in the photo above at IndieGathering a film festival in Hudson, Ohio. I didn't go, but my dear friend and mentor, Amy Leigh McCorkle, picked it up for me there. She had her own awards to gather too. She is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. Her films have also won awards. So here is the story of how I, a young adult author, decided to write my first screenplay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For anyone who has read my poetry book, <i><b><a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/probabyforgetme">You'll Probably Forget Me: Living With and Without Ha</a>l</b></i>, you have read my story of how I met my husband. I told this story to Amy and she said that it would make a great screenplay. I should write it. She urged me to write it and then enter it into a couple of film festivals. I did write it and Amy was kind enough to help me learn how to format a screenplay. With her help I found the entrance to all the film festivals and I entered my short screenplay, "The Kiss" into two of them: IndieGathering and Action on Film. I also tried entering it into a film festival close to me. So with my screenplay in three film festivals, I was sure it wouldn't be accepted into any of them. Imagine my surprise when both IndieGathering and Action on Film selected my screenplay. That would have been enough for me, but my film was nominated by both film festivals. IndieGathering nominated it as a short Romantic Comedy and Action on Film for Best Dialogue in a short screenplay. Ecstatic over these nominations I wanted to go to both film festivals, but finances were a problem. I felt sure I wouldn't get an award, but Amy kept assuring me I would place. So I was thrilled when I got FIRST PRIZE!!! at IndieGathering!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not believing that Action on Film would even give me an award, I decided to prepare to go to Las Vegas where the festival was being held at the Palms Hotel. What clinched my decision to go was the film in which I was in was also nominated. Not sure if I talked about this film when it was done, but it is called "Remembering Hal". It is based on my book: <i><b>You'll Probably Forget Me: Living With and Without Hal</b></i>. Again, Amy loved my poetry and wanted to do something to help me remember my husband. So she picked out five poems and I read them interspersed with answering her questions. My daughter interviewed me and filmed it on the IPad and I sent it all to Amy. She put it together and this film was nominated for Best Short Documentary at Action on Film. It was supposed to screen there, but unfortunately, there was a problem with the DVD and it never screened. You can see it here on YouTube:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This movie was done last year and I had thought it was just a fun experience. But when I heard it might be screened in a Brennan Theater, which has reclining soft chairs and a large screen, I wanted to go. The experience in Las Vegas was fabulous and I met some amazing people including celebrities. But the best part is my short screenplay, "The Kiss" won RunnerUp for Best Dialogue in a short screenplay. I went to two awards dinners, met a few actors and an actress, and had a meaningful conversation with a director about his new film just screened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Palms was an awesome experience and it's sad to think that on that Las Vegas strip just outside our hotel the vicious actions of a deranged gunman caused so much pain and sorrow. Having been there so close to the time of the shooting, I felt it very strongly. My time in Las Vegas consisted of partying and dancing and having a good time. That is what people go to Las Vegas for and I hope that with this terrible tragedy, it won't affect the spirit of that place. You can see it even in the cab drivers, who were very courteous and informative. My heart goes out to this city that has suffered so much strife and my hope is that somehow we can stop these awful things from happening again. My deepest sympathy to anyone who lost a loved one or friend there and for all the hundreds of people who have been injured by the diabolical plan of that shooter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There you have it, why I didn't blog all summer and I promise you I will try very hard to bring you special guests and authors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, enjoy the Fall weather and try to listen to my radio show this month. It will be on the 4th Thursday of October - October 26, 2017 at 4pm EDT on Blog Talk Radio. It is called: Red River Radio Tales from the Pages. I will have Amy Leigh McCorkle on the show talking about her long-planned project, "Letters to Daniel" the movie. She and her co-writer, Melissa Goodman have written the screenplay and it has also won awards. The next step is to film it and she is in the process of gathering her team together for this venture. Please join us as we talk with Amy and her team to find out more about this exciting project!</span>Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-4172714604367492612017-05-25T00:17:00.000-07:002017-05-25T00:19:31.455-07:00Welcome Back Author Dellani Oakes!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V71wFy5Zm9U/WSaDGbbng6I/AAAAAAAADWU/iUSIRpwFrfMjVMMn2jHPeIzTLXtJUbiMgCEw/s1600/dellani%2Bphoto%2Bdark%2Bred.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V71wFy5Zm9U/WSaDGbbng6I/AAAAAAAADWU/iUSIRpwFrfMjVMMn2jHPeIzTLXtJUbiMgCEw/s640/dellani%2Bphoto%2Bdark%2Bred.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The month of April flew by and suddenly it became May and that was even busier for me. So I am finally getting back here and I think you will be very happy that I did!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My guest author today is a longtime friend and multi-published author, Dellani Oakes. Let's learn all about her. Then we will be treated to a preview of her new book: The Maker, the third book in her Lone Wolf series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome back to my blog, Dellani!! I know you are on your blog blitz and I am so happy you stopped in here. I have a few questions that my readers might want to know about you.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Where were you born and where do you live now?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee but have moved around a lot. My husband and I moved to Florida, just south of Daytona Beach in 1989.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Who or what influenced you to begin writing?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My parents are the major influence in my writing life. They both encouraged reading, storytelling and writing when I was younger. My father was an English professor and my mother a school teacher, who was also a storyteller and poet. Neither of them wrote fiction, I went my own way on that</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Besides writing do you have any hobbies?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I used to, but now don't really have any hobbies. Wow, that sounds terrible, doesn't it? Unless you can count a serious Netflix Binge Addiction a hobby. When I'm not writing or tending to my family, I am glued to Netflix. I tend to favor cop shows or those with a medical bent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tell our readers what a typical day of writing would look like for you.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My days follow a loose schedule. In the morning and early afternoon, I check and share blog posts for myself and my friends. If there are any chores associated with the blogs, I tend to them. Short break for a late lunch, then I decide what I'm going to work on. If I'm editing, I'll work on that during the day and into the evening. Most of my writing is done late evening or at night. My creative mind seems to work best then.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If I've just finished a book, like now, I will take a break from it and do some casual editing of something I've already finished. I am constantly perfecting, finding errors and rewriting things so it's not as big a job when I decide to get something reader ready.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>How did you get the idea for The Lone Wolf series?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I originally set out to write the adventures two friends of mine, and I had in a <i>Traveler</i> game back in the early 80s. <i>Traveler</i> is like <i>D&D</i>, only set in outer space. Matilda, Marc and Wil were born in those long ago games. Once I started writing, the characters took over, and what happens in the books is nothing like what happened in the games. That's okay, though, because the book adventures are better.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>How did reading science fiction and watching science fiction influence your choices for The Lone Wolf series?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Reading science fiction gave me a feel for the unique and off the wall, no holds barred mindset of sci-fi. You can go anywhere, do anything, and it doesn't matter. As long as you set your parameters and don't violate them (too much) you can travel the stars.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I try not to be influenced by series like <i>Star Wars</i> or <i>Star Trek</i>, because people have expectations for those worlds. I want my universe to be unique and not a carbon copy of something else. I've tried very hard to stay away from those worlds.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Maker - Book 3 tells the story of Wil and his wife Matilda, who are battling evil on the planet Shazakan. For readers who haven’t read the other two books, can you tell us how he got there?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wil VanLipsig is a former Galactic Marine Colonel. He's been genetically enhanced by the Marines and at the age of 86, he doesn't look over 30. Unbeknownst to him, he fathered a son with his first love and now that indiscretion has caught up to him. His son has set him up for a fall, then takes off for parts unknown. Wil and Matilda must follow him in order to save the universe, quite literally, from a legendary evil race known as the Kahlea.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By a few twists of fate, and lots of crazy adventures, they end up on the planet, Shakazhan, a virtually dead planet in deep, uncharted space. It is on this planet that an ancient warrior race, the Timokuan, made their last stand and drove the Kahlea away. Because of Wil's son, though, the Kahlea are coming back and they and their companions must stand against them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>In the excerpt you provided for us here, something happens to Matilda. Will she be okay in the rest of the book?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That's something readers will need to find out by reading the book. I won't give spoilers, but I rarely kill off main characters in my stories.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>How did you get the idea for Wil and Matilda? Are they based on any real life people you know?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Wil, </span>Matilda<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> and Marc, are based on characters two friends and I created for a </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Traveler</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> game back in 1982. My character was Matilda Dulac, also known as Romance. One friend created Marc and the other Wil. I changed their characters' last names, though, because I couldn't remember them. Except for having been loosely based on their characters and mine, they are completely my own creation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Are you planning any in-person or online events to talk about this new book?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">No. Maybe later when Book 4, The Kahlea, comes out – which will be late summer or early fall of this year – I hope.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>If you could meet any writer living or dead, who would it be and why?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Oh, there are so many! I think I'd have to pick Andre Norton, because her book, <i>Star Man's Son</i>, was the one that woke a love of science fiction in me. I went through a time when I was in the third grade, where I didn't want to read. I'd been told by a clueless school librarian that I couldn't read above my grade level. In third grade, I was reading at least a sixth-grade level. She banned me from the older books.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My mother, wise woman that she is, took me to the city library instead. One of her dear friends was the head librarian. She took me to the young adult section of the library, told me to pick whatever I wanted, and I could check it out. If I didn't like it, I could always get another. I remembered that my mother had taken my cousin to meet Andre Norton when he was a boy, so the name struck a chord. I fell in love with her books and that stuck with me my entire life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for providing us with such complete answers and I know my readers now want to see an excerpt. So I just happen to have one from <b><i>The Maker:</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Blurb:</b></span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 27, 153); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #321b99; text-indent: 21.6px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Maker – Book 3 in the Lone Wolf Series by Dellani Oakes</span></b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If anyone had asked Wil VanLipsig where he'd be in five years, he surely wouldn't have said he'd be fighting the ultimate evil on an unknown planet in a lost galaxy. Fighting a war, probably. Killing off insurgents, righting political wrongs, following another man's agenda, decidedly. Funny how life throws things in our paths that we must overcome. Wil is no different. With the help of his wife, Matilda, their good friends and benevolent aliens, they battle the Kahlea's slaves, wondering when the Grand Master himself will arrive. What's next for this tiny, insignificant oddment of miners and marines? Travel to the forgotten world of Shakazan and find out!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Maker is Book Three in the Lone Wolf Series, with more to come. The story is far from being told.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Excerpt:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wil dragged Matilda back down the tunnel. Roaring, Surau rushed them from the rear. Ben and Marc took shots at him, but they didn't have time to aim carefully. The shots went wild, zinging around the tunnel dangerously. They holstered their weapons and provided a meat shield for Matilda. Wil ran, dragging her down the tunnel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They encountered nothing until they got to the first junction, where the metal passage intersected with the stone tunnels. Instead of being empty as it had been, they found themselves facing tall, dark humanoids. These carried lethal looking spears and didn't appear angry, just startled. Raising their spears threateningly, the dark men charged the group.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Finding the way blocked, the unlucky humans veered off down the metal passage, footsteps echoing hollowly as they ran. Matilda tripped over her skirt, as it wrapped around her legs. Taking one set of claws, she slashed a portion of it away, freeing her feet to run more efficiently. Wil's grip on her arm was painful, bruising her skin, leaving her muscles feeling numb. She did her best to keep up, but his legs were far longer than hers, his stamina greater. The passage grew increasingly dim as they went further in. They had never been so far from Sentience and her repaired networks before. They initiated their Kindred suits as the air around them thinned and grew stale.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The dark men surged down the tunnel after them, their numbers overwhelming. Ben and Marc formed a wall, with Wil directly behind them. He tried to contact the ship to teleport them out, but there was too much interference. Backing slowly as the men advanced, Marc picked off two with carefully aimed shots. Ben joined him, taking out a couple more. Their weapons were set to stun, but to the dark men, their comrades appeared to be dead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Instead of stopping, the men grew more determined, advancing rapidly. As one, they suddenly lunged forward, making a grab for the small, retreating party of humans. One grabbed Marc, who crushed the dark man's skull with a blow from his gun butt.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Another held Ben, who summarily broke his arm, yanking it from the socket. The dark man screamed in pain as Ben's blow to his head killed him. Wil kicked a third in the teeth, before aiming down the tunnel, targeting the leader. His kill shot was true.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The dark men stopped advancing as their leader's head exploded. With a mighty roar, they made a last, monumental attempt to grapple with the humans. Wil pressed his wife behind him, trying again to contact the ship. There was a crackle of static and a faint acknowledgment from <i>Hammer</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Smith, get us the hell out of here!" Wil roared into his com.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The dark men gathered their dwindling numbers, preparing for a final assault. Growling angrily, they reformed their ranks around the fallen, glaring at the humans with hatred.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wil shouted to his wife, "Run, Matilda! We'll catch up to you! Run! Run!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Matilda hesitated a moment. The passageway was dark, she could feel it surround her. Even the Kindred suit couldn't compensate for the complete lack of light. Her nightmares came back, freezing her in place.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Wil, I can't! I can't see a thing! Oh, God, Wil, I'm so scared!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Babe, it's okay. <i>Hammer</i> has us. He'll get us out of here. Please, keep going a little longer."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Hesitantly, she picked her way along, the floor sagging beneath her feet. The ceiling was partially collapsed, filled with so much rubble, she had to stoop to move. The others were engaged in combat, she could hear it. All her instincts screamed at her to go back, to fight beside her mate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wil's voice echoed down the passage, "Run!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One of the dark men broke through their line, scrabbling over the stones, nearly on top of her. Matilda knew Wil was aiming at him. Flattening herself against the wall, she pressed back as far as she could.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Now!" she screamed. "You have a clear shot!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The weapon fired as she ducked, turning further away, sensing the electromagnetic pulse from Wil's gun, hit the dark man in the back, hurling him toward her. She tried to dodge him, but a hand shot out from his dying body, clutching at her flowing dress, dragging her with him. The floor collapsed beneath their combined weight. The man fell like an anchor into the nothingness below her. Kicking wildly, Matilda struggled for a hand hold, screaming hysterically.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wil heard her scream, felt the give in the floor and ran full speed down the passage. The ceiling collided with this forehead, the sides of the passage snagged his clothing. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Hang on!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Wil! Oh, Wil! I'm falling! Wil!" A scream ripped from her throat, fading away as she fell.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wil reached for her a second too late. He saw her dropping into the bottomless pit. His cry of despair turned into a howl of grief. A moment later, the men found themselves on the bridge of <i>Hammer</i>. Matilda wasn't with them. Wil lay on the floor, still as death.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Oh, God," he whispered. "Oh, God! No!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>I know that I definitely want to read more about these characters. Where can we find this book?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Maker – Book Three is ready for pre-order and will be available May 15, 2017</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HH7CK8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493922761&sr=8-1&keywords=dellani+oakes">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HH7CK8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493922761&sr=8-1&keywords=dellani+oakes</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ASIN: B071HH7CK8 </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It has been delightful to talk with you today and I also want to tell my readers that you can hear Dellani on her two radio shows in her bio.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Bio:</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Dellani Oakes is a Tennessean by birth, a Floridian by a quirk of fate. She resides in a town south of Daytona Beach where her constantly changing household usually has at least one grown child in it. Dellani loves science fiction and grew up reading the greats. She always felt something was missing from their story lines—a little romance. Taking that idea to heart, she began her Lone Wolf Series, incorporating all she loved about sci-fi, but adding a strong romantic bond between Wil and Matilda.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dellani is an avid writer, but when she's not writing, she's reading anything she can get her hands on. She leads a small writers group through the Council on Aging, enjoying her time away from home. She also hosts two blog talk radio shows a month, <b>Dellani's Tea Time</b> – Every 2</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>nd</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> Monday of the month, and <b>What's Write for Me</b> – every 4</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> Wednesday. She and her co-host, Christina Giguere, interview other authors.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">You can find more about Dellani Oakes here:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://dellanioakes.wordpress.com/">https://dellanioakes.wordpress.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dellani-Oakes/e/B007ZQCW3A">https://www.amazon.com/Dellani-Oakes/e/B007ZQCW3A</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://cerealauthors.wordpress.com/">https://cerealauthors.wordpress.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As always all of your comments are welcomed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, I hope you will be able to tune into my radio show on Thursday, May 25, 2017, to hear author and poet, Cynthia Sharp and award-winning author Eleanor Kuhns. If you miss the time you can hear it anytime by clicking on the link.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you are a Facebook friend then you already know this, but to any who have not seen this news, my short screenplay, "The Kiss" and my poem, "My Thoughts Turn To You" -- a Scriggler poem of the day, are official selections for Action on Film festival. I was so surprised because this is the first screenplay I have ever written!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many people have said that my poems affect them. If you are looking for a gift for someone who has lost a loved one, you might want to think of my poetry book, a memorial to my late husband. <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/barbara-ehrentreu/youll-probably-forget-me-living-with-and-without-hal/paperback/product-22862168.html">You'll Probably Forget Me: Living With and Without Hal</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> If you buy the book and would like it signed just either leave a comment here or contact me on Facebook. I will send you a personalized bookplate.</span><br />
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-87221361826149509982017-04-16T12:05:00.002-07:002017-04-16T12:26:49.057-07:00What Can You Find When You Google Yourself?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ordinarily, I don’t Google myself. After learning about an awareness initiative run by Reputaion Management.com I decided to write a post about this very subject. So I did Google myself and I found 10,200 results. After I went through 13 pages I found 150 hits and most of them were about me. I am an author with three published books, so they were for various websites including Amazon and also there were entries for places where I had been a guest blogger or a guest or where you could find reviews of my books. This was all fine and I was very pleased to see that I had to go through 13 pages before I came to anything that wasn’t specifically about me. In addition to places where I posted there were those where I had left a comment and even a few where I had signed my name to a petition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This was all okay, but when I came to the 14<sup>th</sup> page I found that there were references to another Ehrentreu. My husband’s family has a very famous rabbi and I found many references to this person whom I have never met. Also, there were references to other Ehrentreu’s that I didn’t know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I checked the photos I found a lot of me, my book covers, and photos of me holding my books taken at various places where I had been selling them. But there were also photos of book covers from authors that I had hosted on my blog and other photos that were related to a poetry site to which I had belonged. In addition, there were photos of other Ehrentreu’s. There were also photos of people I had never met. There was even a photo of an actress who I had never written about or had any contact with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The interesting thing about signing out of Google is that there were only eight pages shown and all of them were about me or related to me. I went to the photos and videos and I found a video of myself being interviewed that I hadn’t remembered. It was fun to see it and it brought back memories for me. Also included were videos not about me, but they were the same program on which I had been. So I wondered why these were included.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I went to the News about me I saw the article from The Huffington Post that I had written and there were a couple of other items that had nothing to do with me except for having either written a comment or signed something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was happy not to find anything that I needed to delete since that has happened to me before with Google. At that time there was a pornographic site in my results. I wrote to Google and they deleted it immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In conclusion, I think it is very important to Google yourself every once in awhile to see what is showing up under your name. I was pleased for the most part, because as I said, at least 8 pages without being logged into Google were about me. I think it’s interesting that when I was logged in it brought up more hits about me and added other people named Ehrentreu, who I know are related to me somehow. Now I’m wondering if you Google yourself while being logged into Google are they bringing up other people who have your name due to the relationship? Anyway, I learned something new about Google. I have a bigger profile than I thought I had. For an author, this is a good thing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am including a graphic that was given to me by <a href="http://reputationmanagement.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Reputationmanagement.com</span></a> in case you decide to Google yourself.</span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Until the next </span>time,<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> I apologize for not writing since my last post. I have been extremely busy and writing poetry. My next Blog Talk Radio show, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages will be on Thursday, April 27, </span>2017,<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> with Eleanor Kuhns and Betty Jean Craige, two amazing authors.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy Passover to those who are now celebrating as I am and Happy Easter to those who are celebrating this weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s finally Spring so I am going out to feel the sunshine!</span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-74259716458159243602017-02-28T13:01:00.000-08:002017-02-28T13:01:53.992-08:00Welcome Guest Author Susan M. Strecker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y1-CctUDZFo/WLSXjtezGcI/AAAAAAAADUU/M-3OvlKnuRwlqzzfXzIw2T0bD4DL97PkgCLcB/s1600/SUSAN%2BSTRECKER%2BAUTHOR%2BPHOTO%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y1-CctUDZFo/WLSXjtezGcI/AAAAAAAADUU/M-3OvlKnuRwlqzzfXzIw2T0bD4DL97PkgCLcB/s400/SUSAN%2BSTRECKER%2BAUTHOR%2BPHOTO%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I meant to put this on here on Friday, but as you know, real life gets in the way. So here it is now only a few days late!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Susan Strecker was my guest on my radio show: Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on Thursday, February 23, 2017. If you click on the link you can hear this great show! To help you learn more about her I am including that interview here on the blog and also I am giving you the blurbs and excerpts from her wonderful books: Night Blindness and Nowhere Girl.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Here is the interview:</span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1 </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: 4.5pt;">1.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="text-indent: 4.5pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Where were you born and where do you live now?</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: 4.5pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: 4.5pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">I I was born in Stamford, Connecticut and grew up in Madison, Connecticut. I’ve lived in Essex, Connecticut with my husband and kids since 2009.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">2.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Besides writing, what do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">I grew up riding horses and quickly learned that the responsibility of owning a horse (or being their person, as a horse person would say) was more of a lifestyle than a sport or hobby. I rode and competed all over the country all through my childhood, college and afterwards. My kids, Cooper and Ainsley, started riding almost as soon as they could walk. Now I am loving being a horse show mom and helping them take care of their ponies. I also love watching my kids play lacrosse. When I have a free moment, I needlepoint belts and love to read. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">3.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Who or what influenced you to begin writing? What was your first piece of writing and when did you write this? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">My mother has been my biggest influence on my writing career. When I was little, my family spent a lot of time fishing on boats. I felt bad for the fish and didn’t want to hurt them with hooks. To give me something else to do, my mom would bring me a notebook and pens and tell me to write stories about our adventures. I’d have to say that my first piece of writing was about a little girl who was on a boat with her big brothers and I wrote it when I was six.</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">4.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">How did you get the idea for your first novel, <i>Night Blindness? </i></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">I wrote Night Blindness as a tribute to my dad, who died of cancer several years ago. He was one of the greatest men I have ever known and I wanted to have something permanent inspired by him. There’s so much of my dad in Sterling (the main character’s father) and I loved including bits of real life into a work of fiction. I get such a thrill when a fan tells me that Sterling was his or her favorite character in that book. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">5.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Please take us through the path to publication for your first novel. How did this change your life? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">How much time do you have? With the help of my fabulously talented development editor, Suzanne Kingsbury, I created a specific and methodical system for querying literary agents. After a year and 63 rejection letters, the amazing and lovely Lisa Gallagher took a chance and signed me. She gave me the statistics of just how hard it is to sell books to publishing houses and that there were no guarantees. But, she is a genius and eleven days after she signed me, she sold my book at auction. Five publishing houses bid on <b><i>Night Blindness</i></b>. Thomas Dunne Books bought Night Blindness and signed me for a second book, as well. The publishing process changed my life in that I became 100% dedicated to writing and becoming a novelist. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">6.<span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">When did you get the idea for your second novel, <i>Nowhere Girl</i>? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">I was listening to the radio when a Red Hot Chili Peppers song came on called “Scar Tissue”. I love that band and immediately felt connected to the song. It evoked so many images of what scar tissue could mean, and I thought it’d be a great title for a book. I went home that night and started writing- which was a pretty bad idea. I had no beginning, no middle, no end, no plot and no characters- just a great title. This book ended up being the second one involved in my deal with Thomas Dunne. Once it went to production, my team and I decided on a different title, Nowhere Girl. But it never would have been written if I hadn’t heard that Chili Peppers song. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">7.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Did having experience from your first novel prepare you for what you had to do with <i>Nowhere Girl</i>? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">The experience of working with crazy talented people prepared me for my second book more than anything else. Writing is a craft and like any other skill, the more it’s practiced, the easier it gets. Of course, I still have plenty of days when I have nothing to say and I use the backspace button on my computer a lot. But, the support system Suzanne Kingsbury and Lisa Gallagher and my team at Thomas Dunne Books have created for me has helped me tremendously. Also, having been through book tours, publicity, signings and interviews, I had a better idea of what to expect the second time around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">8.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Please take our listeners through a typical day of writing for you. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">When my kids are in school, I try to write from the minute they get on the bus until they get home. I will also write in the orthodontist’s office, during the seven-minute halftime at a lacrosse game and at four o’clock in the morning when I wake up with an idea. When I’m not editing a client’s work, I make myself write 2000 words a day. It doesn’t sound like much- it’s only about six pages. But, for every 300-page book I write, there are about 150 pages in the cut file. So, if I cut 1000 words because the scene just doesn’t work, I really have to write 3000 words that day. The 2000-word rule only applies to my first drafts. Once I start editing and rewriting, it’s a bit of a free for all. The first draft of a book is an entirely different story than what ends up in bookstores. So the rewriting and editing process is slow, often painful and never easy. Once I start that stage, I just make myself work and write and rewrite until my kids come home. I have also been known to bribe myself with cookies to motivate myself to finish a scene or a chapter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">9.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">What are you doing to promote your work either in person or online? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">I have become a one-man band. I contacted every bookstore I was at during my first tour to ask if I could come back when Nowhere Girl came out. I also called local TV stations and newspapers and told them I had a second book. I am shameless with promoting myself on social media. I’d never used Twitter before I signed with Thomas Dunne. Nor did I have a website. Now I do whatever I can to get my name and my books out there. I hired a publicist for my second book, and she was tremendously helpful in getting me into new bookstores. Since <b><i>Nowhere Girl</i></b> launched in March, 2016, I have done 37 bookstore appearances, talked to students at eleven elementary, middle and high schools, given nine radio and TV interviews, been featured in four newspapers and have traveled to more than twenty book clubs to talk about <b><i>Nowhere Girl</i></b> and my writing. Many people reach out to me via my website or social media and I’ve been honored to be a frequent guest lecturer at writing conferences and workshops. Marketing and promoting myself and my books is a full-time job and one I knew nothing about before I got signed with Thomas Dunne. It’s exhausting and there’s a huge learning curve, but I love every minute of it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">11.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Do you have any tips for beginning writers? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">Write. And then write. And then write some more. No matter what- just keep writing. And give yourself permission to write crap (pardon my language). A lot of days I have nothing to say and no inspiration. But, I make myself write anyway, fully aware that I may chuck the whole passage in the cut folder the next day. But, if I can salvage one paragraph or a sentence, or even just a thought, it’s worth it. And don’t ever expect to get it right the first time around. Sloppy, messy writing is the foundation of what will eventually become the finished product.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">12.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">What WIF’s are you working on now? Are you planning a sequel to either of your novels? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">I am currently working on my fifth book, tentatively titled, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. I love music and often get inspiration from songs. That title is the name of a Neil Young song and it’s so fitting for the subject. This book will be dedicated to my grandmother who passed away last year at the age of 100. Grammie was the matriarch of my family and was the high priestess of a remote group of cabins in upstate New York where I spent every summer and many winter weekends growing up. Woodland was the stage of every milestone and best memory of my childhood. It’s also immune to technology, modernization and the worries of the world. And it happens to be a place that you can’t get to from here. Hence, the title. It’s a profoundly personal book and a tremendous responsibility to make sure I do justice to this very special place. I will not write a sequel- ever. Nelson DeMille (who I worship) wrote a sequel to one of my favorite books and he said it was the hardest thing he’s ever done and would probably never do it again. That pretty much scared me away from sequels. Also, by the time I rewrite the ending to a book ten or twelve or fifty times, I truly feel like the story is over. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></b> <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";">13. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Are you a plotter or a "pantser"?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">I am freakishly organized and have an unnatural love of lists, spreadsheets and label makers. So, I guess that makes me a plotter. My kids keep me running all the time and I have to be a planner to fit everything in. Also, I love the feeling of crossing things off my to-do list. It makes me soooo happy! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>(If you listen to my radio interview with Susan she talks about being a "pantser" in her writing. She says she never knows where a story is going until it ends.)You can listen here to that interview.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">Here are the blurbs for both <b>Night Blindness </b>and <b>Nowhere Girl</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Night-Blindness-Novel-Susan-Strecker-ebook/dp/B00J6U7KZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488312649&sr=8-1&keywords=Night+Blindness+by+Susan+Strecker"><span id="goog_1779190997"></span><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o2V1P8kWyWE/WLXYuLVwcMI/AAAAAAAADUo/uODuLN0QYBc5jHK2bWyB9GVyLosUJWtQQCLcB/s320/NightBlindness_FINAL.jpg" width="211" /></a><span id="goog_1779190998"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A future as bright as the stars above the Connecticut shore lay before Jensen Reilly and her high school sweetheart, Ryder, until the terrible events of an October night left Jensen running from her family and her first love. Over the years that followed, Jensen buried her painful past, and now, married to a charismatic artist, she has created a new life far away from the unbearable secret of that night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jensen's father, Sterling, is diagnosed with a brain tumor, she returns to her childhood home for the first time in thirteen years, and the memories of her old life come flooding back along with the people she's tried to escape. Torn between her life in Santa Fe with her free-spirited husband, Nic, and the realization that it is time to face her past, Jensen must make a terrifying decision that threatens to change her life again—this time forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An emotionally thrilling debut set during a New England summer, Susan Strecker's <i>Night Blindness</i> is a compelling novel about the choices we make, the sanctity of friendship, and the power of love.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #111111;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-Girl-Novel-Susan-Strecker-ebook/dp/B013P2QWGK/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=68CH7TH5V4KQJ6HGH34R" style="color: #222222; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGRD-KsY7HM/WLXYzx6hdJI/AAAAAAAADUs/bOIcsUGOS1UI9E-xj6WlojijH8RYVEAfgCEw/s320/NOWHERE%2BGIRL%2BPHOTO.jpg" width="210" /></a></span></span></div>
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In Susan Strecker's <i>Nowhere Girl</i>, sixteen-year-old Savannah Martino is strangled to death in an abandoned house. The police rule Savannah’s murder a random attack of opportunity, which prompts the small New Jersey town to instigate a curfew and cancel football games. Isolated and afraid, Savannah’s sister, Cady, continues to communicate with Savannah through dreams. Cady knows Savannah in ways no one else knew: The beautiful, ethereal twin everyone thought was an angel was actually on the road to self-destruction. </div>
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Years later a chance encounter while researching her latest novel coincides with an unexpected call from the once-rookie cop on Savannah’s case, Patrick Tunney, now a detective, who tells Cady that Savannah’s case has been reopened. Through new evidence, it has been determined that Savannah’s death wasn’t a random attack and that whoever killed her sister loved her.</div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Despite years of interviewing convicted killers, profilers, and psychiatrists for her bestselling thrillers, Cady isn’t prepared for the revelation that someone close to her could have killed her sister. Cady is drawn into a labyrinth of deception and betrayal reaching all the way back to her childhood that will force her to find the strength she never knew she had in order to face the truth.</span><br />
<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></b> <b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></b> <b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> My Review of </span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><i>Night Blindness</i></span></span></b></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">I read Susan's first book, <b><i>Night Blindness</i>. </b> I found this book to be readable and a page turner. In the beginning of the book Jensen is living in Colston with her husband, Nicco and modeling for him and his friends. She has night blindness since the death of her brother, Will. At a birthday celebration for her she receives a phone call from her mother back in Connecticut that her father has a heart tumor. She leaves immediately and finds herself engulfed in childhood memories and family drama. As her father's illness takes up her entire summer she also reconnects with Will's best friend, Ryder, with whom she has a deep connection. In a coincidence, he turns out to be her father's doctor. As she relives all of her childhood experiences she forms a strong bond with her father and realizes she cannot go back to her old life until she solves this mystery of her brother's death and the cause of her night blindness. In doing this she finds that maybe everything she has thought was her life is suddenly changed. I really enjoyed reading this book and wanted to know more about this character as she struggled to make sense of events as they changed daily. The author writes her character with care and the other characters are well drawn too. After reading it, I wanted to read more of her work. This author writes with a compelling voice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">I give it 5 sailboats: </span><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b> <b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">Please tell us where we can find your books. (links to website, etc.)</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">My books are available at major bookstores everywhere as well as online at amazon and Barnes and Noble. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.susanstrecker.com/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Night-Blindness-Novel-Susan-Strecker/dp/1250042844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487865394&sr=8-1&keywords=night+blindness"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">https://www.amazon.com/Night-Blindness-Novel-Susan-Strecker/dp/1250042844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487865394&sr=8-1&keywords=night+blindness</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-Girl-Novel-Susan-Strecker/dp/1250042852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487865538&sr=8-1&keywords=nowhere+girl"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">https://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-Girl-Novel-Susan-Strecker/dp/1250042852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487865538&sr=8-1&keywords=nowhere+girl</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Susan-Strecker-359417830838753/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">https://www.facebook.com/Susan-Strecker-359417830838753/</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="https://twitter.com/SusanStrecker"><span style="font-size: large;">https://twitter.com/SusanStrecker<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you so much to my Guest Author Susan M. Strecker. It has been a pleasure to have you on my blog. Please return when you have a new book!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, I don't have another guest for my blog, so if you are interested, please let me know. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">On my next radio show for Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio on March 23, 2017 at 4PM EST my guests will be poet Lily Swarn and author Linda L. Kane. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I know I said a lot of things that were political on my last post and unfortunately, the climate has not changed at all. I just keep hoping each day that things will get better!! At least it is getting closer to Spring!!! </span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-72195874026695312612017-02-12T12:55:00.000-08:002017-02-12T12:55:12.760-08:00Happy February and Sorry for the Late Posting!!!<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so I took a little break from this blog because things in my life got really complicated. In August I scheduled a complete knee replacement for my left knee and then in October, I had the surgery. It all went pretty well, but there was a month when I really did very little except stay in bed and get rehab and nursing at home and that was it. The next two months I spent in rehab and I got pretty far in the use of my leg. However, I had to stop due to insurance not paying for it anymore. I stopped in January and now with doing the exercises at home, I am pretty much mobile. It doesn't hurt much anymore, except for just before it is going to storm. Then for some reason, both knees hurt. LOL</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have also been pretty busy in other ways. Just before I had my surgery I published my very first poetry book called: <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/barbara-ehrentreu/youll-probably-forget-me-living-with-and-without-hal/paperback/product-22862168.html">You'll Probably Forget Me: Living With and Without Hal</a>. It is a book dedicated to the memory of my husband. As everyone who reads this blog knows, he passed away in May of 2014. After he passed I wrote a lot of poems so these and some of my previous poetry are in this book. I am very happy to say it was published by Wildfire Publications by the lovely and talented Susan Joyner Stumpf. She published it on lulu.com and I have a button on the side of my blog now where you can find it. I am including the link here too so you can check it out. I am very proud of this and I think my husband is very well represented here. I consider it a memorial to him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So you have an idea of why I didn't post a blog during this time and oh what events have occurred since then!!! I don't usually use my blog to talk about politics, but with this country in the condition it is in I had to write something. I have written poetry about it and signed petitions to stop what is happening. However, it is still happening. I know some people believe everything is fine and that this president is better than sliced bread, but I differ with this greatly. If my husband were alive he would also be very upset about events, but he had a way of dealing with them. I, on the other hand, do not. He would have been able to tell me how things fit in a historical timeline. He would have found a way to get through all of this. Without him, I have to depend on the people who have investigated and have a historical perspective on these events and that person. I am disgusted by the things he has done and I don't know how I will live for the next four years with a tyrannical dictator like him and the people he has dragged in with him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am sorry to any who feel that I am wrong. I will never change my mind unless this so-called president changes his behavior. I have lived through presidents from Truman, Eisenhower,JFK, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama. That is a lot of presidents to have seen and experienced. Though Nixon was certainly a criminal and some of the others were not so great, I have never seen a president behave like this one. He has almost destroyed our country in only three weeks. That is terrifying to me and I feel he should be taken out of office. As you can see, I have had a lot of presidents to observe. Not one of them has done what this one has in so short a period of time. I fear that he will dismantle our entire government and destroy all of our freedoms. He is running roughshod over our Constitution. So yes, I think he should be gone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I said, I don't usually use this blog for political use, but I feel I need to speak out. I am hoping that my author friends will feel the same way I do and start to speak out about how they feel. I welcome your comments, but if you are going to be nasty or mean I will delete you from my blog. I believe in peaceful resistance and I am not the only one speaking out against this president. <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/trade-shows-events/article/72739-awp-2017-this-year-s-conference-will-be-all-about-and-against-trump.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=98a454dfd3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-98a454dfd3-304492125">The Association of Writers and Writing Programs</a> is holding its conference in Washington, D.C. Guess what the topic is? Check it out! Plus there are all kinds of groups you can join on Facebook and in person now. #Resist.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Also if possible I try to listen to Robert Reich, who is live almost every night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will end this with the poem I wrote for the wonderful page on which I have been posting my poems every week: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Garden-of-Poetry-Prose-1706002499726846/?ref=bookmarks">The Garden of Poetry and Prose</a>. You need to scroll down to the Week 11 poems and mine is the banner that is hot pink with a peony:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">LIVING WITH HIRAETH AND THE INEFFABLE FEELING OF LOSS</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I wake each morning with the<br />ineffable feeling of loss<br />Not for the spirit of my country<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />for that is still there in the<br />crowds that surged forward<br />to show the best of us</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No, it is a greater yearning<br />that will probably stay with me<br />for the coming years<br />Unlike mourning a lost love<br />it is the loss of an ideal<br />as if somehow overnight<br />truth and justice disappeared</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It seems like nothing has changed<br />and yet everything has transformed<br />And suddenly I feel the loss of power<br />for no longer will my voice be heard<br />And no longer will the people be heard<br />We are to watch on the sidelines as<br />a tyrant and his cohorts strip us of our rights</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is a Hiraeth deep in my soul that<br />will remain until his ilk are replaced--<br />the grabby handed, popinjays -- who<br />care nothing for human beings and<br />live in a world where only they are<br />the ones who know all the answers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Who operate under the assumption<br />that all of us little people are so dumb<br />we won’t notice the lies or as they say<br />“alternative truths” spewing forth from<br />their duplicitous mouths to cover their<br />reality in a blanket woven together<br />so skillfully they can fool their followers<br />into believing they are telling the truth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I feel that Hiraeth every time I think of<br />what our country could be and what we<br />will need to see in the coming years<br />And there is a sadness so deep I<br />find it ineffable and must carry it<br />as a burden until this nightmare ends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">© 2017. Barbara Ehrentreu. All rights reserved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, I will be doing my radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on Thursday, February 23, 2017, and my guests will be: Susan Strecker and Alex Maxwell. Susan has a best-selling book and Alex is an accomplished poet. It should be a really great show. Also, there may be some surprises as always.</span><br />
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<br />Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-45248289837714474132016-08-11T01:00:00.000-07:002016-08-11T14:14:57.189-07:00Ken and Anne Hicks Come Back for a Visit!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome Ken and Anne Rothman Hicks to my blog. I was pleased to be a guest on their blog earlier in July and now they are coming here to talk about their new book Stone Faces: An Alice and Friends book published by MuseItUp Publishing, which comes directly from Ken's fascination with rocks. To hear Ken and Anne talk about how they came to write this book you need to go to their interview on my show: <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2016/07/28/red-river-radio-tales-from-the-pages-with-ken-and-anne-hicks-and-michael-amidei">Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio.</a> Today we are going to highlight the new book and learn more about this unusual writing team. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is a little bit about Ken and Anne Rothmans Hicks:(taken from their blog)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are somewhat scattered in approach. Anne and I write novels for adults and for tweens and middle readers that are character driven and in whatever genre seems to fit the story — mainstream, mystery, suspense and fantasy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #141412;">We also take pictures and turn them into books or use them in our books for children. We published a book based on images of hearts that were made by accident out of paint or broken concrete or tar or any one of a number of things (</span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/hearts-no-flowers/id699864579?ls=1&mt=11" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bc360a; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hearts (no flowers) Signs of Love in the Gritty City</em></a><span style="color: #141412;">). We published a book called </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/picture-stones/id710107094?ls=1&mt=11"><span style="color: red;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><i>Picture Stones</i></b></span> </span></a><span style="color: #141412;">which is made up of photographs of stones with pictures on them that were just lying there on the beach until we happened to notice them and pick them up. And then we did a middle reader book called </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/stone-faces/id671365101?ls=1&mt=11" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bc360a; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><i>Stone Faces</i></b></span></a><span style="color: #141412;"><i> </i>that grew out of the fact that we had found a stone on the beach at Cape Cod. That book has been published by MuseItYoung a division of MuseItUp Publishing in both digital formats and in paper.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #141412;">Ken and Anne have also published adult stories: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Weave-Murderous-Web-Larson-Novel-ebook/dp/B01CDMB72W" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bc360a; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Weave a Murderous Web</i>,</b></a><i> </i></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black;">(Adult fiction) (<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red;"><a href="http://www.melange-books.com/authors/hicks/diana.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bc360a; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Melange Books</a></span>) </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Her-Diana-Anne-Rothman-Hicks-ebook/dp/B00NVDGCIM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412950005&sr=1-1&keywords=praise+her+praise+diana" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bc360a; text-decoration: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><i>Praise Her, Praise Diana</i></b><i>, </i></span></a><span style="color: #141412;">(adult fiction) (</span><a href="http://www.melange-books.com/authors/hicks/diana.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bc360a; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Melange Books</a><span style="color: #141412;">) and </span><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Kate and the Kid</span></i></b><span style="color: #141412;"> (adult fiction) (</span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/hlfkfns"><span style="color: #990000;">Wings ePress</span></a><span style="color: #141412;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So this is our approach — to stay aware of all the things that are interesting and beautiful in the world and try our best to convey to all of our fellow citizens of the world just why we find them so interesting and beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And you have been able to capture the attention of many children and adults with your books. So they are multi-genre authors. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #141412;">Now let's look at their new book: </span><b><span style="color: red;"><i>Stone Faces</i></span></b><span style="color: #141412;">: An Alice and Friends book, which suggests that there will be more in this series and if you listen to the interview you will hear Ken talking about the upcoming sequels to this book. The book came from their discovery of a rock that reminded both of them of a happy man. From this came the idea of the book, which originally was supposed to be a picture book. Then they decided to expand it and make it a middle grade book.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141412;"><span style="font-size: large;">We know a little bit about this book, so let's see the blurb and an excerpt from this unusual book:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141412; font-size: x-large;">Blurb</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">STONE FACES</span></i></b><span style="color: #666666;"> </span>is the story of a ten-year-old girl named Alice who notices one day that her parents’ faces have turned to stone. Soon afterward, they tell her they are going to get divorced and, in reaction, she allows her own face to turn to stone because she doesn’t want anyone to know how much this hurts her. It is easier to deal with her friends when her stone face is in place, but she also begins to find herself alone more and more. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-size: large;">While on her summer vacation at her aunt’s house on Cape Cod, she sees a stone on the beach in the shape of a laughing man’s face (called Mr. Happy Man). She soon discovers that this stone can talk and that it has friends among the other beach stones, who play games in the sand when people aren’t around. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Together with Mr. Happy Man and his friends, Alice develops an ingenious scheme to help her parents resolve their differences. Their plans are thrown awry when a woman finds Mr. Happy Man in the sand and walks off with him. Alice decides to rescue the stone and sneaks into the woman’s house where she learns that the woman is actually a witch.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Now of course we need to see an excerpt from this extraordinary book!!!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>EXCERPT:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I put on my stone face when my mom told me that my dad alone would be taking me to visit my aunt that summer. Aunt Bess was my father’s sister, so it would be awkward if Mommy brought me. And of course we couldn’t all go as a family. Of <em>course</em>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Then I’ll go by myself.” I said (okay, maybe I yelled), and I ran out of the room and slammed my bedroom door behind me and wasn’t nice to either of them until they agreed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even when they said I could go myself, I cried. Not in front of them, of course. I waited until I got back to my room and then the tears started rolling. I don’t think I ever cried that much in my entire life. It was a <em>really</em> bad day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After that, I just did not want to talk to anybody because it seemed to me that everyone knew about my parents, and I didn’t want to hear that stupid lie that it would be all right. I didn’t want to go to dance class or soccer practice anymore. I didn’t care what I got on tests at school.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One day at recess, my friend Samantha came up to me.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I’m sorry your parents are living in different apartments,” she said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I glared at her and mumbled something like, “Yeah, okay.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What’s it like to have two bedrooms?” she asked then.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What’s it like to be so nosy?” I shot right back. She ran away.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">That afternoon, my teacher, Mrs. Hamel, asked me to stay after class for a few minutes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“You know it’s not unusual to be angry at your parents over a divorce,” she said. “And sometimes we’re even angry at our friends.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I said nothing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She paused. A sad sort of smile crossed her lips.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“If you would like to talk about it, I would be happy to listen. I might be able to help.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Guess whose face was hard as stale saltwater taffy?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Thank you, Mrs. Hamel,” I said and clamped my lips together.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After a few more minutes she let me go. My report card in June was not pretty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The only good part of being a stone face was that it made it easier to get prepared for being on my own in Provincetown. When the day arrived for my trip, I was ready. Both my mom and my dad came to the bus station with me. My dad carried my bag and gave me two new comic books to read on the bus. My mom brought water and snacks, including my favorite cookies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Thank you, Mother,” I said. “Thank you, Father.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When it was time to get on the bus, they each kissed me on the cheek.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I didn’t kiss them back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I’m going to miss you, Honey,” my mom said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Me, too, Sport,” said my dad.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Goodbye,” I said in a small, cold voice that I imagined a stone-faced girl would use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I climbed up the stairs to the bus and found a seat by a window. I did <em>not</em> cry. I breathed in and out and <em>concentrated</em> because I had read somewhere that monks who live in mountain caves practice breathing and can withstand cold and heat and wet and any kind of pain. My mom cried and my dad’s eyes got all red like he was going to cry too. I sat on my hands and stared at them out the window as the bus started to pull away. Then I saw my dad put his arm around my mom to comfort her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. A tear slid down his cheek too. I felt like my heart was being torn in half. Still, not one tear came out of my stony eyes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>You know as I told you on the show, I think this book is a great one to give to any child who might be going through something similar, because this girl's story gets to the heart of what a child might be experiencing. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Here is their bio:</b></span></div>
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Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks </h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks have been married for a little over forty years and have produced about twenty books and exactly three children in that time. At press-time, they still love their children more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Their most recent novels are set in New York City, where they have lived for most of their married lives. Anne is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College where, in 1969, as the fabled Sixties were drawing to a close, she met Ken, who was a student at Haverford College. They don’t like to admit that they met at a college mixer, but there it is. Ken and Anne have a website: </span></span><a href="http://www.randh71productions.com/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">www.randh71productions.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">. There, they have links to some of their books and display images that they hope will be used in future efforts. In case you were wondering abut the website address, “R” is for Rothman, “H” is for Hicks, and 71 is the year of their marriage. No secret codes or numerology anywhere. Sorry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally, please give us your links:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11133" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11132" style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><b>Kenneth Hicks and Anne Rothman-Hicks<br />Facebook Author Page </b></span></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;" /><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11137" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11136" style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><b id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11247"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenneth-Hicks-and-Anne-Rothman-Hicks/622272714477979?ref_type=bookmark">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenneth-Hicks-and-Anne-Rothman-Hicks/622272714477979?ref_type=bookmark</a></b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=349886618037006192" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11246" rel="nofollow"><br />Web site www.randh71productions.com</a><br /><b>Authors of:<br /><i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11138">Weave A Murderous Web</i>, <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11245">(mystery/thriller) Melange Books</i><br /><i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11352">Praise Her, Praise Diana, (thriller) <a href="http://www.melange-books.com/authors/hicks/diana.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Melange Books </a></i><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></b></span></span><b><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11244" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11243" style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11242" style="font-style: italic;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11241"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11240"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11239"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11238">Things Are Not What They Seem (middle reader) (MuseItUp)</span></span></span></span>Kate and the Kid</span>, <i>(mainstream)</i>(<a href="http://www.wingsepress.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wings ePress</a>)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11237" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11236" style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11474" style="font-style: italic;">Hearts (no flowers) Signs of Love in the Gritty City</span> (Apple iBookstore)</span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1469806287329_11292" style="font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif;">Picture Stones, Nature's Own Art </i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">(Apple iBookstore)</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thank you Ken and Anne for coming back on the blog today. It is always a pleasure to have you here. If you have read this and not gone to the wonderful interview on my show you are missing a great opportunity to hear this delightful couple talk about their books and their writing style.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time I have three amazing guests for my next Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on the 4th Thursday of this month, August 25 at 4PM EST - 6PM: Nina Haberli, author and playwright, Judith Alter, who has been a guest author on this blog and Radine Nehring another excellent author. As always it will be a great show and there might be some surprises as well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also I am publishing my very first book of poetry dedicated to my husband about my life with him. I do not have a publication date yet, but I am in the process of doing it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My summer has been extremely hectic, because I have also been a guest poet on Poem Kubili. My poems were published for Poem Kubili 29, 30 and 31 as a guest poet. It has been a great experience and I have made some wonderful new friends who are excellent poets too! Check it out: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/poemkubili/home">Poem Kubili</a></span></span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-26404534411742811812016-07-24T00:08:00.000-07:002016-07-25T06:53:51.959-07:00Welcome Guest Author Sara Jayne Townsend<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XF7bEak7viY/V5J0OSkUmzI/AAAAAAAADRs/Moej_flustMsoVq4JSUiGmIeHCbUOAPLwCEw/s1600/SJT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XF7bEak7viY/V5J0OSkUmzI/AAAAAAAADRs/Moej_flustMsoVq4JSUiGmIeHCbUOAPLwCEw/s400/SJT.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My guest author today, Sara Jayne Townsend, has been a guest author on my radio show and she was supposed to be here a long time ago. However, she is here now and she has brought us a guest post. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Her post is about something we all have thought about. Which form is better to read? Is it a print book you can hold in your hand or an ebook on your phone, a tablet or your computer? </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">Print books vs e-books<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">By Sara Jayne Townsend<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">Every writer dreams of the first time they
hold a copy of their book in their hands. To do so is one of those ‘milestone
moments, along with the first acceptance, the first </span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><u>novel</u></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"> contract, the first
review on Amazon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">In the digital world, though, this goal
becomes much more complex. There are far more options for the up and coming
writer than the traditional path of <span style="color: red;"><u>agent</u></span>, publisher, book shop signings. There
are a great deal of small publishers out there, most of whom are far more
willing to take a chance on the unknown writer than the larger, commercial
publishers. However, quite a lot of those publishers only deal in e-books. And
those that do deal in print tend to use Print on Demand (POD) publishing
arrangements, which are very difficult to get into book shops (at least in the
UK), since most chain stores will only accept Sale or Return arrangements.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">My horror novel <b><i>SUFFER THE CHILDREN</i></b> will be released in e-book format by MuseItup Publishing on 9 August. This is the third
<span style="color: red;"><u>edition</u></span> of this novel since 2010, when it was first published by Lyrical Press.
It has been far and away my most successful publication, sales-wise, but it has
never been available in print.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">Does this matter? Well yes, and no. I still
dream of holding print copies of my books. I do have two books available in
print – my horror novel <b><i>THE WHISPERING DEATH</i></b> and my short story collection <b><i>SOUL
SCREAMS.</i></b> Sales of the e-book version of both, though, far outstrip the print
sales and I have to wonder if the whole print book thing is worth the effort.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">Personally, I love my Kindle. It’s
invaluable for commuting, and travelling, and I increasingly find myself these
days browsing the Kindle store during my lunch hour to discover new writers and
new books to read instead of browsing the bricks-and-mortar book store. It’s
not that I am buying fewer books. Far from it. I love buying books. But I like
to keep them when I’ve finished reading them, in case I ever want to read them
again, and I am physically running out of space to store any more paper books.
My Kindle allows me to store thousands of books, and if I finish reading one on
the way to work, I can just open up a new one on the journey home without
having to <span style="color: red;"><u>lug</u></span> around two paperbacks. So I find myself buying more books than
ever before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">I know there are people out there who still
prefer the feel and smell of paper, and view the whole e-book revolution with suspicion.
But I am not one of them. I am a big fan of e-books and not just because of the
convenience. I spent years – literally – submitting to agents and editors and
building up a stockpile of rejections. And then it was a small electronic publisher
that first decided to take a chance on me and my writing, and for that I will
always be eternally grateful. I may not be able to attract the crowds at book
stores, and I may never be as famous as JK Rowling, but I have editors and
publishers who believe in me and my writing. And that makes the whole writing
game worthwhile.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I have to admit that I really enjoy reading a print book, but at times I like reading an ebook. I think there is room for both of them. What do you think? Give your answers in the comments. Let's do a little blog poll. I will publish the results on my next blog. </b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now let's learn about Sara Jayne Townsend's books:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dj-2rVqYHKk/V5J3UgfycEI/AAAAAAAADR4/2qIi2_ijwWQumzgaWsi-XF8WZbqR1LIwACLcB/s1600/Suffer%2BThe%2BChildren%2B200X300-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dj-2rVqYHKk/V5J3UgfycEI/AAAAAAAADR4/2qIi2_ijwWQumzgaWsi-XF8WZbqR1LIwACLcB/s400/Suffer%2BThe%2BChildren%2B200X300-1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Fear has a face…<br /><br />Orphaned at eighteen, Leanne’s life is adrift in a sea of grief and drug use. She washes up on the shore of estranged relatives, the Carver family, struggling with loss of their own. The transition from her South London council estate to her new home in the Surrey middle-class suburbs is difficult for Leanne.<br /><br />But beneath the respectable veneer of the quiet neighborhood, something terrifying lurks. Displaced and troubled teenagers are disappearing. Leanne recruits her cousin Simon and his girlfriend Carrie to help get to the bottom of the sinister mystery. Can the three of them stop a creature of unimaginable evil before Leanne becomes a target?</span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6e8TfAux2n4/V5J3ZgdjvdI/AAAAAAAADR8/byR_7QF7g14JGlXV00xEKqudjZQrN41AQCLcB/s1600/STCbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6e8TfAux2n4/V5J3ZgdjvdI/AAAAAAAADR8/byR_7QF7g14JGlXV00xEKqudjZQrN41AQCLcB/s400/STCbanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is an excerpt:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial black" , "avant garde";"><span style="font-size: large;">Excerpt</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fumbling for her key, she reached her front door. It had once been painted blue, but the original colour was lost under many layers of spray-painted graffiti.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The interior of the flat was dingy, as usual. Even during the daytime it was dark because the living room window, which gave an uninspiring view of the walkway outside, was covered with a big piece of hardboard. Someone had lobbed a brick through the window a few months back. Though the estate manager reluctantly came to knock out the shattered glass and board over the empty space, he never returned to replace the glass. Most of the windows on their level were in the same state. Leanne wrinkled her nose at the strong smell of liquor that assailed her nostrils as she walked through the door.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The TV blared from the living room, its flickering lights providing the only illumination. Leanne flipped on the lights. The room was a mess: dirty dishes everywhere, two empty vodka bottles, rumpled clothing scattered over the floor. “Mum?”</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There was no answer. She switched off the TV. A dog barked outside, a woman a few doors over screamed at her kids, but the flat was silent.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The pungent aroma of unwashed flesh mingled with the liquor smell. Leanne stepped into the hallway and pushed open the door to her mother’s bedroom, inadvertently kicking another empty bottle of vodka that lay on the floor. The putrescent smell in the air was stronger, a smell of sour flesh and bed linen long overdue a change. Leanne had learned to associate the smell with her mother’s drunken binges, when she would spend days in bed and ignore basic hygiene. Seeing her mother lying on the bed, she called again, “Mum?”<ins cite="mailto:Les%20Tucker" datetime="2016-04-03T15:13"></ins></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Claire was lying face down on the bed, amongst the rumpled and soiled covers, wearing a satin dressing down. The dressing gown had been a present from Colin, who’d spent a lot of time at the flat for a couple of months and then disappeared. Whether he’d been a boyfriend, a punter, or a pimp, Leanne had never known. She didn’t care much about the men in her mother’s life. At least Colin had left her alone. Others hadn’t.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But it wasn’t a man who had done this to Claire. Her right arm was pinned beneath her body, the left dangling over the side of the bed. Leanne saw the tourniquet on the left arm and the empty syringe lying near the outstretched fingers. She touched her mother’s arm to shake her awake and felt ice-cold flesh.<ins cite="mailto:Les%20Tucker" datetime="2016-04-03T15:13"></ins></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Leanne backed slowly out of the room, stumbling into her own bedroom, and sat on the edge of her unmade bed. If her mother was dead, what would become of her? Would she have to leave the flat? They couldn’t throw her out, could they? She would end up on the streets. All the hours spent on hands and knees cleaning up after her mother, hiding the drugs and the booze. The nights spent alone, while her mother lay comatose on the bed, sleeping off the effects of a drinking binge. Her efforts to get Claire looking clean and sober to get through visits from the social worker. The hours Leanne had spent doing her homework by candlelight, because the electricity had been switched off again. The days she’d gone to school hungry, trying to concentrate in spite of the aching emptiness in her stomach, because she didn’t want social services to come snooping when she cut classes. Had it all been for nothing?<ins cite="mailto:Les%20Tucker" datetime="2016-04-03T15:14"></ins></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She got up and walked out of her front door, leaving it ajar. The phone in their flat had been cut off months ago, and her mobile phone had long ago run out of credit. She knocked on the next door along, where old Mr Solomon lived. He was the only neighbour she had time for—a Jamaican octogenarian who was always nice to her, never judging anyone or interfering. Sometimes he came round and gave her groceries—bread and milk and the like—when there’d been no money and her mother was too drunk to care.<ins cite="mailto:Les%20Tucker" datetime="2016-04-03T15:14"></ins></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She was standing in the walkway outside Mr Solomon’s door for a long time, shivering in the cold, before there was shuffling inside the flat. She put her face in front of the spy hole on the door. “Mr Solomon, it’s me, Leanne, from next door. I need to use your phone.”<ins cite="mailto:Les%20Tucker" datetime="2016-04-03T15:14"></ins></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The door opened a crack. Mr Solomon’s lined brown face peered out from behind the security chain. “What’s wrong, child?”</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I need to phone for an ambulance. It’s my mother. She’s…ill.”</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The door closed abruptly. A moment later, there was the sound of a chain scraping against wood, and Mr Solomon swung open the door wide. “You’d better come in, then.”</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She went to Mr Solomon’s phone in the hallway and dialled 999. After what felt like an age, a polite female voice enquired, “police, fire, or ambulance?”</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She asked for an ambulance and was put on hold for a moment, then a calm male voice came on the line asking for an address.”</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She gave the address, doing her best to keep the quaver out of her voice, hesitating when the male voice asked what the problem was. She still couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone her mother had overdosed on heroin. Again. Last time, Claire pulled through. The odds didn’t look too good this time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Besides this new book, Sara has several other books you should check out. Here is her Bio.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Bio:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sara Jayne Townsend is a UK-based author of crime and horror. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">She decided she was going to be a published novelist when she was 10 years old. It took 30 years for her to fulfil that dream.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Her horror novel SUFFER THE CHILDREN is released by MuseItUp Publishing on 9 August, and is available on pre-order from Muse and all e-book retail outlets:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/coming-soon/suffer-the-children-detail">http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/coming-soon/suffer-the-children-detail</a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Learn more about Sara and her writing from her website (<a href="http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com/">http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com</a>) and her blog (<a href="https://sayssara.wordpress.com/">https://sayssara.wordpress.com</a>).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time don't forget to tune into my radio show Red River Radio Tales from the Pages this Thursday, July, 28, 2016 at 4PM EST - 6PM. My guests will be Michael Amidei, <span style="color: red;"><u>musician</u></span>, radio host and published author and multi published children's authors Ken and Ann Hicks. </span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-30160283981285540452016-07-01T23:01:00.005-07:002016-07-01T23:01:54.227-07:00Welcome Back Guest Author Penny Ehrenkranz (Penny Lockwood) Part Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L11VW9wu9Wg/V3QakfdhylI/AAAAAAAADQw/nXK6KOdFfVwBSZI0afRC7bReKXoZH9rjQCKgB/s1600/pennyehrenkranz-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L11VW9wu9Wg/V3QakfdhylI/AAAAAAAADQw/nXK6KOdFfVwBSZI0afRC7bReKXoZH9rjQCKgB/s320/pennyehrenkranz-3.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is unusual for me, but this blog post is in two parts. I am happy to host Penny Ehrenkranz for another day! Now we are going to learn more about her and specifically more about the books in </span><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Ghostly Visions.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">My Interview with Penny Ehrenkranz<i>:</i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><b>What made you decide to write Ghost for Rent</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><b>?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">I had been writing short stories and
non-fiction articles for magazines for several years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My young daughter wanted me to write a “real”
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friend told me about a piano playing
in her rental house when no one was at the piano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea intrigued me, so I decided writing a
ghost story for the middle grade reader would be the perfect story for a “real”
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have to credit my daughter
for giving me the inspiration to write a full-length novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took several years and lots of rejections
before I found my publisher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, they went out of business shortly after the book was
published.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What made you decide to write a sequel to Ghost for Rent?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">I had fun with the story and the characters
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghost for Rent. </i>When I found a
publisher for it, I thought about writing a sequel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a few more years before I actually
followed through on my plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took an
article in a local paper about a haunted restaurant in a neighboring town to
get me going on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghost for Lunch.</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>In Ghost for Lunch you continue the story of the ghosts in
the first book. Is this based on a real story? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">As I said above, one of our local
restaurants has been reported to have ghosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve eaten there many times, but I’ve never witnessed anything
myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Employees, however, swear
they’ve heard strange goings on, voices, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I added odors, sounds, and mists to give my young sleuths clues to follow.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>You bring up the idea of Tarot cards in this book, but why
didn’t you actually have Mrs. Adams read the cards for Wendy?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">I’m intrigued by Tarot and know several
people who read the cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I
purchased a deck many years ago and toyed with the idea of learning how, I
never did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought about having Jon’s
mom read Wendy’s fortune, but then I decided there was enough going on with the
ghosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Wendy will be ready for a
Tarot reading in the next book.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Did you have to do a lot of research for Ghost for
Lunch?</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I based the story loosely on the newspaper article.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s set in the county my husband, children,
and I have lived for almost 38 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
relied more upon my memory than research for the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I started writing the book in the mid
1990s, I set my books during that time period. At this point, I guess they may
be considered historical, too. LOL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
isn’t any reference to time in the first book, but I do mention in the second
that Wendy will graduate in 2001.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Now I understand why it feels dated. It takes place in a different time period. I don't think I really caught that, so thank you for letting us know. </span></o:p></span></b></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ghostly Visions is the first book and the sequel. Whose idea
was it to bundle it like this and rename it?</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">My publisher, Vivian Zabel, at 4RV
Publishing LLC, wanted to publish the two as a bundle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I submitted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghost for Lunch </i>to 4RV and they accepted it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my cover letter, I mentioned I had written
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghost for Rent</i>, published by Hardshell
Word Factory in 2002, but they had gone out of business, and I had regained my
rights to the book<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> Vivian wanted to
see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">GFR </i>and after reviewing both
books wanted to publish them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on
the length of the books, the editorial and art staff felt it would make a nice
package bundled together as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghostly
Visions</i>. I’m not sure who came up with the new title, but it worked for me.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Besides these two books, have you written any others? What
are the titles? Tell a little bit about them each.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have a picture book aimed at
preschoolers, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boo’s Bad Day</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s based upon a true story of our black cat
Boo who had been trapped in one of our tall fir trees during an ice storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is also published by 4RV.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have three romances published by
MuseItUp Publishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love Delivery</i> is a contemporary story
about a waitress and a deliveryman who connect over their love of cats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a sweet story with a happy ending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lady in
Waiting</i> is an historical romance where my main character finds herself
mistaken for her mistress, a princess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After several ups and downs, she, too, finds her happy ending. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mirror, Mirror</i> is a time travel
romance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My young protagonist is thrust
back in time to the middle ages where the only way she can get back to her own
time is to make sure two lovers get married despite the differences in their
station and a father’s decree they shouldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This time there is a delicious twist and a happy ending.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">My other book is a collection of short
fantasy and science fiction stories, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Past and A Future</i> published by Alban Lake Publishing. Each of the stories
has a touch of romance, but that isn’t the main focus of any of the stories.
Here’s what’s included:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">1. "Flight of the Roc" --
What would you do if your master told you to collect a roc's egg? What
would happen if the egg you collected hatched?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">2. "Blurred Vengeance" -- Temur's father is murdered. Will his journey
to avenge his father's death bring him what he wants, or will it destroy him?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. "Who Will Heal the Healer" -- Marzan teaches Niane to control the winds,
but what about the winds of fate? Will Niane be able to save her mentor
when the underworld claims him?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 4. "Ashley of Ashland" -- Ashley, a young magician covets his brother's
fiancé, but what are her feelings? Can Ashley's magic be enough to save
him and his true love?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5. "The Watcher" -- Zerelda is a watcher in a world of women. When a
prince comes to impregnate her ruler, will they find a forbidden love instead?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">6. "Enchantress" -- Merlin knows his fate, but he struggles to stand against
it. Will his powers be stronger than his apprentice’s, or will he find
himself a victim of love?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">7."Drakoni" -- She is from this world. He is from another. A
dragon draws them together. Will she look beyond his pointed ears and see
the man of her dreams? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8. "Heshe" -- Lyda runs, hiding her identity from her abusive
stepfather. Her rescuer has a secret of his own. Will they both
find happiness or will their pursuers stop them before they find their
paradise?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9. "The Baby Makers" -- How far would you go to have a baby if you can't
conceive on your own? Would you accept a clone? Would you fight for
that's child's rights in a world unprepared for it?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">10. "3-D Pictures" -- Avery's boss thought he was crazy, but was he?
When he stared into the 3-D picture, he saw a land others couldn't. Will
he enter the picture, or accept the doctor's diagnosis?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">11. "Screen Saver" -- Clancy is used to strange people. His boss
represents them. But when the bullets start flying, will the screen saver
save him?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">12. "Isolation" -- The world has died, except for small pockets of isolated
communities. But what if you are tired of the isolation? What
if you wanted to find somewhere to be free? Would you take the chance?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">13. "Love in a Different Hue" -- Chiri's father is a scientist who invents
artificial life. What should she do when the robot her father
created looks better to her than her husband?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">14. "Down So Low The Ground Looks Like Up" -- Sylvan is sensitive to
others’ feelings. It drives her crazy, so she drinks to dull the
pain. Will Dev, the police officer who finds her, rescue her from her
demons?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">15. "Rebels With a Cause" -- Shahleena is bored with her existence. Will
volunteering to help juvenile offenders help her or help them?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">16. "Clockworks" -- John lives in Structured. His ancestors came from
Upheaval. On a whim, he decides to visit. What will happen to him
when he cannot leave fast enough?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Will you be doing any in person or online events for Ghostly
Visions? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">I’ve got several blog spots set up and
I’m happy to answer questions anyone may have for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have donated books to our local libraries
and have press releases in both our local newspapers. Since we no longer have
any bookstores in towns, I’m not planning on doing any book signings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may do a couple of school visits in the
fall, but I haven’t set up anything yet.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><i><b>You say there are no bookstores, but I think they are making a comeback in some places. I hope you will reconsider this.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Where can my readers find your books? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Ghostly Visions</b> </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">is available direct from the publisher 4RV
Publishing LLC for $15.99 including shipping and handling: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><a href="http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/penny-lockwood.php">http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/penny-lockwood.php</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can
also be ordered from your local bookstore with the following ISBN numbers: </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ISBN-10:</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> 0982642326, </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ISBN-13:</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
978-0982642320, or through <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Visions-Ghost-Rent-Lunch/dp/0982642326/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467313793&sr=1-1&keywords=ghostly+visions">Amazon</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">My MuseItUp e-books
can be ordered from the publisher and from Amazon:</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/lady-in-waiting-detail"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/lady-in-waiting-detail</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/love-delivery-detail"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/love-delivery-detail</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/mirror-mirror-detail"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/mirror-mirror-detail</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><b>A Past and a Future </b></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">is
available in print and e-book from the publisher and Smashwords<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://store.albanlake.com/product/a-past-and-a-future/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">http://store.albanlake.com/product/a-past-and-a-future/</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please post your links where we can
find you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">My web page is </span><a href="http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">I am also on Facebook and Twitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My blog is no longer active, but there are
archived articles about many fascinating authors at </span><a href="http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Barbara, thanks so much for hosting me
today and for your ongoing support for so many years.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Light"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">You are very welcome, Penny. It has been my pleasure and you are always welcome back here to talk about any new books you might have. Now I see you have brought excerpts from <i><b>Ghostly Visions</b></i>.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YVb_lau_WFA/V3TIXbLbB9I/AAAAAAAADRA/9qEpiHvm37ENoWDIQEX1nyw9FDRjcavwgCKgB/s1600/Combined%2BGhostCover%2B-%2BAidana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YVb_lau_WFA/V3TIXbLbB9I/AAAAAAAADRA/9qEpiHvm37ENoWDIQEX1nyw9FDRjcavwgCKgB/s320/Combined%2BGhostCover%2B-%2BAidana.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: AGaramondPro, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Excerpt Ghost for Rent</b></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Before the girls
could leave the porch, a light breeze came up, creating a swirling of mist and
wet leaves. The twirling mass took on the shape of what appeared to be two
people. Startled, </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Wendy and Jennifer
stumbled back and bumped into Mike. All three trembled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Wendy couldn’t
believe how scared she was. Her mouth was dry, and she licked her lips. She
looked at Jennifer and Mike. Jennifer put her hand to her mouth and whimpered
softly. Mike’s eyes looked like saucers in his face, and she saw his knuckles
were white where he gripped the porch railing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">She turned her gaze
back to the mist. While they didn’t have distinct features, clearly the
swirling leaves looked like a couple dancing. Strange music played. Wendy’s
hand grasped Champ standing between her and Jennifer. His neck fur stood on
end, and a low growl rum- bled in his chest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Mom said there was
no such thing as ghosts, yet right before her danced two very ghostly beings. <i>Could
this be possible</i>? She reached for Jennifer’s hand. It felt cold and clammy
as Jennifer squeezed back. Jennifer at least was real. Frightened more than she
had ever been before, Wendy felt tears in her eyes, and she squeezed them shut,
hoping when she opened them the figures would be gone. They weren’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“What’s going on?”
Wendy whispered. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;"><br />
“I...I don’t know,” Jennifer said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;"><br />
“What are you two scaredy-cats worried about? It’s just a bunch of leaves blowing
in the wind.” Mike chuckled, but Wendy heard the tremor in his voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Unable to move,
they watched the couple glide around the summerhouse, dipping and swirling to
the music. The forms came together in an embrace. A third, smaller form
appeared, and the embracing couple flew apart. The smaller figure tumbled
backward, rolling down the steps followed by a crashing noise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Wendy and Jennifer
jumped. A strong wind blew through the open house, blowing the misty figures
away and leaving wet leaves scattered on the floor. A strange stillness settled
over everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Wendy and Jennifer
looked at each other, wild-eyed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“Boo!” Mike yelled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">They screamed and
clutched at each other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: AGaramondPro, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Excerpt Ghost for Lunch</b></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">They finally got to
old town St. Helens. Wendy loved it here with the quaint shop fronts and
Columbia River just past First Street. The 1906 county courthouse, located on
the river, was built from stone and always intrigued her. Wendy had heard
rumors the courthouse was haunted by a criminal who had been hanged there in
the early 1900s. Wendy felt goose bumps pebble her arm as the car drove past
the Plaza Park in front of the courthouse. <i>So many ghosts for such a small
town, </i>she thought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“Here we are,” Mr.
Adams said as he pulled into a parking space in front of the restaurant
building. Everyone piled out of the car, and Wendy got her first look at the
Adamses’ new restaurant. The building was a large, clapboard structure on the
corner of First Street and Cowlitz Street. It had a small porch and stairs on
the side. Even Wendy could tell it needed a good coat of paint, and some of the
stair boards should be replaced. There were a few windows on the ground level
and several more on the upper floors. A couple of the upper windows had cracks.
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">A cold shiver crept
down Wendy’s spine when she looked up. Maybe it was only a play of the
sunlight, but she thought she saw someone looking down at them. “Is there
anyone else in the building now?” she asked in a small voice, then swallowed
the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“No. Of course not,
Wendy,” said Mrs. Adams. “We will be the only ones here today. We plan to hire
a cleaning crew, but we will be doing the initial work ourselves. Today, we
just wanted to show you, Mike, and Jon the building. Come along now.” She
lifted her long, flowered skirt and hurried up the few stairs. “Watch out for
that rotted third step.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Mr. Adams followed
along behind. “ The realtor told us this was originally called the First Street
Hotel. It was built in 1910. The main portion of the hotel extended down the
block, but it was torn down in 1954. What’s still here was the dining hall and
kitchen on the main level and some of the guest rooms on the two upper
stories.” He unlocked the front door and a puff of cold air pushed past to hit
Wendy squarely on the chest. She rubbed her arms to shake off the chill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">The old building
smelled musty, and dust stirred when they passed through the dark entryway into
the main room. There were wood- en tables and benches along the window side of
the room, and off to the right was a separate area which looked like it might
have been a bar. More tables and chairs were in an open space beyond the bar.
Mr. Adams flicked on some lights, and Wendy saw swinging doors at the rear of
the bar area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;"><br />
“What’s back there?” she asked. She felt something brush against her leg, and
she shook her foot as she looked down. Nothing was there! Goose bumps peppered
her arms, and her body gave a little involuntary shake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“That’s the
kitchen. It’s quite interesting. A lot of the original equipment has been left
behind. It’s quite an antique lover’s paradise.” Mr. Adams gently pushed Wendy
in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ve heard rumors that some of the kitchen
utensils will just sway and bang together by themselves. I know Mrs. Adams
believes it’s a ghost, but I’m sure it’s only a draft causing the commotion.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Wendy wasn’t sure
it was a draft at all. When she entered, she glimpsed a wisp of white out of
the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look full on, it disappeared.
Wendy shivered and rubbed her arms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Mr. Adams turned on
the light switch. The lights flickered to life, and then died, leaving only a
small illumination from the adjoining room filtering in through the door. “Hum,
I wonder if the fuse blew. All the lights couldn’t go out at once.” Mr. Adams
murmured to him- self as he snapped on a flashlight and opened</span><i><span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">the basement door.
As he started down the stairs, an odor like rotting meat rolled out the open
door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Wendy gagged,
backed out of the kitchen, and ran to find Mrs. Adams and the boys. She found
them at the rear of the common room standing in front of a locked door. “I know
one of these keys fits,” Mrs. Adams muttered as she tried one key after
another. She looked up as Wendy joined the group. “There you are, dear. Where’s
Mr. Adams?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“He went down into
the basement to check some fuses. The lights went out in the kitchen.” Wendy
looked back toward the kitchen doors and shivered again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“Watsa matter, Sis?
Ghosties in the kitchen?” Mike jeered, poking Wendy in the shoulder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“Maybe. I don’t
know,” Wendy replied, too ruffled to rise to the bait of his jab. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">“Ghosts? Really?”
Mrs. Adams perked up. Her expression became curious; her eyes brightened; and
her head jerked around. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: AGaramondPro, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">****************************************************************</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Until the next time, I hope you have enjoyed this two part blog post. It is certainly a first for me and really, Penny is an author who deserves more than one post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">On July 25, I will be participating in an event on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1796577403909795/">Christmas in July</a>. My appearance will be at 10AM EST - 11AM. Come over and join in the fun there. It will be going all day. On my spot I will be giving away prizes and we will be playing games. I will share a little of my next novel, the sequel to <i><b>If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor </b></i>and part of The Mill Valley High Series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">News about After: The print edition of After will be available this summer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "AGaramondPro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Happy 4th of July to my American friends and Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends! </span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-30312601924622414512016-06-30T01:17:00.000-07:002016-06-30T11:59:16.100-07:00Welcome Back Guest Author Penny Ehrenkranz (Penny Lockwood) Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have known Penny Ehrenkranz for years and she was interviewed on this blog five years ago for her book. Now she is on this blog again to talk about her new series: <b><i>Ghostly Visions </i></b>from 4RV Publishing. If you want to know more about her you can read this interview from <a href="http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome-penny-ehrenkranz.html">February 6, 2011</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will be talking with Penny about <b><i>Ghostly Visions,</i></b> which is made up of two books: <b><i>Ghost for Rent,</i></b> which she published a few years earlier and <b><i>Ghost for Lunch</i></b>. First I had the pleasure of reading <i style="font-weight: bold;">Ghostly Visions. </i>Here is the blurb and my review. Penny will be here very soon. Meanwhile, enjoy learning more about her books. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Blurb for Ghost for Rent:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "nobile";">This young adult, paranormal, ghost story is aimed at youth in grades four to six. The story begins when eleven year old Wendy Wiles learns her parents are planning to get divorced. Forced to leave her beloved city home for a cheaper country place, Wendy, her mother, and her twelve year old brother move to rural Warren, Oregon.</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Nobile;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "nobile";"> On move-in day, Wendy meets a neighbor girl who tells her their quaint country home is haunted. Events proceed quickly as Wendy, her new friend, Jennifer, and Wendy's brother, Mike, see ghostly figures dancing in the woods. Despite Mom's claims that "there's no such thing as ghosts," paranormal events continue to occur in the Wiles' home. Meanwhile her brother Mike, arch-tease, continues to torment Wendy, claiming he's causing the unusual happenings.</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Nobile;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "nobile";"> Wendy searches through library records to get to the bottom of the mystery. Finally with Jennifer's help, Wendy begins to unravel the truth. At last even Mike can no longer disbelieve and decides to aid Wendy in her search. By the end of the story, the three young sleuths have uncovered an accidental death, a suicide and a murder. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wendy Wiles attracts ghosts, first in <b><i>Ghost for Rent,</i></b> when her parents separate and she, her brother, and mother move into a haunted house. The mystery of who the ghosts are and why they "live" in the Wiles' home brings answers and a reunited family. In <b><i>Ghost for Lunch</i></b>, new neighbors and their restaurant bring new ghosts into Wendy's life, and she, her brother, and their new friend discover the two cases are connected.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review for Ghost for Lunch</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I had read <i><b>Ghost for Rent </b></i>many years ago when it was first published. I thought it was a fun read and that it was perfect for middle grade students. The story moved along and there was a satisfying ending. So I was surprised that not only was there a sequel, but the sequel <i><b>Ghost for Lunch,</b></i> is bundled with the original book, <b><i>Ghost for Rent</i></b>. I started reading <b><i>Ghost for Lunch</i></b> and the familiar characters invited me into the story. If you haven't read the first book it is there for you to read. For anyone who hasn’t read <b><i>Ghost for Lunch</i></b>, it takes up where <b style="font-style: italic;">Ghost for Rent </b>ended. Only this time, Wendy’s best friend Jennifer moves to California and is replaced by a new family from California that moves next door. Mike, Wendy’s brother, is thrilled when he finds the family has a boy his age. When Wendy and Mike find out this family has bought an old restaurant in the nearby town that they think is haunted, Wendy is both intrigued and worried remembering her experiences with the ghosts in their old farm house. As the children begin to uncover more secrets about the ghosts who had haunted them in Ghost for Rent, strange things begin to happen in the restaurant leading them to believe that this place is indeed haunted. You can feel her fear as the author brings you into the story. The reader feels how Wendy is feeling as Ms. Lockwood describes the experience as if you were there. As the story progresses you just might believe there really are ghosts. The writing is crisp and clear and aside from the fact that certain things in this book seem a little dated, and there is no real time reference, the story moves along at a fast pace. I would recommend this as an excellent book for grades fourth through sixth.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I give this book 4.5 ghosts</span></span></div>
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I was born and raised on the East Coast, in Stamford, Connecticut. I attended Stamford public schools and graduated from Stamford High School in 1964. Classmates back then knew me as "Susan Lockwood." After high school, I attended and graduated from business school and also attended community college.</div>
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My family and close friends have known me as Penny since before I was born. My brother was enamored of Sky King's niece, Penny. He asked my parents if they would name me Penny. My dad wanted to name me after my mother, so my birth certificate says "Susan." No one called me that, however, and in my mind, "Susan" is my mom, not me. I am "Penny," and all of my bylines are either Penny Lockwood or Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz.</div>
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Like a great number of writers, I knew I wanted to write from the time I was a youngster. Writing for me has always been easier than talking, and as a child, I spent a lot of time writing letters and crafting stories for my own enjoyment. I find it somewhat amusing that one of my early stories was "Patty and the Country Ghost," and my first published novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghost for Rent,</span>is the story of a country ghost.</div>
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I lived on the East Coast until 1977 when I moved to California and I met my husband. In 1978, we moved to the Pacific Northwest where we made our home. We are the proud parents of a son and daughter, both of whom are now happily married. We have two lovely granddaughters, and an adorable grandson. We currently share our rural six acres with two dogs and two cats. Over the years, in addition to dogs and cats, we've had goats, rabbits, doves, cockatiels, finches, budgies, and a turtle. I spend my "spare" time with my family and friends, gardening, crocheting, and sewing projects. </div>
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I have worked and volunteered for a number of non-profit organizations. Much of that work is reflected in the non-fiction articles I have written offering advice to both parents and teenagers. My non-fiction has appeared in parenting, writing, and teen magazines. My fiction leans toward fantasy and soft science fiction, often with a touch of romance, and has been published in a number of small press genre magazines and online. My children's books have a touch of the paranormal (ghosts), and I have released one picture book with another under contract. I have been writing since I was a child, and if I'm not writing, I'm reading. I'm pleased to have been published both in print and online. You can find out more about my books by clicking on the various links on my website.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "nobile"; font-size: 22px;">In addition to my writing, I worked as an editor with MuseItUp Publishing, Damnation Books LLC/Eternal Press, and 4RV Publishing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "nobile";">Website:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "nobile";"> </span><a href="http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com/">http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Blog: <a href="http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/">http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/pennyehrenkranz">https://twitter.com/pennyehrenkranz</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/penny.ehrenkranz">https://www.facebook.com/penny.ehrenkranz</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, which will be tomorrow, I hope you will think of someone who would love these books. My next blog will feature Penny's interview so you can learn more about this fascinating author.</span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-56910035067405078172016-06-22T01:38:00.003-07:002016-06-22T01:38:46.016-07:00A Review of Jacqueline by Jackie Minniti<span style="font-size: large;">I have great news for one lucky person who commented on my last blog, <a href="http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/2016/05/welcome-guest-author-judy-alter.html">Welcome Guest Author Judy Alter! </a>about Judy Alter's novel, The Gilded Cage. The winner of the free book is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Ina Roy</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to Judy Alter for being on the blog and thank you to the people who commented on it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today I would like to share with you a middle grade novel, which I received from the author, since she is going to be on my radio show, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages, this Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 4PM EST - 6PM. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I always try to read as much of the work of each author I interview as much as I can, but I don't always succeed. Usually I read a few pages and then I have to stop for various reasons. This was not the case with this book. The book, <i><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-Jackie-Minniti/dp/0996329080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466583725&sr=8-1&keywords=jacqueline+by+jackie+minniti">Jacqueline</a></b></i>, grabbed me from the start. The writing is clear and enjoyable. It is written in the point of view of a ten year old girl during World War II in a small city in France. She and her mother are in a tiny apartment awaiting the return of her father who is fighting in the war. In her building are a Jewish family, who are being taken care of by the building's occupants, except for one who is going out with a German officer. One day a letter comes saying that her father has been lost in battle. Not believing this is true, Jacqueline becomes obsessed with finding her father. Meanwhile, she discovers a slightly damaged cat, and her Jewish neighbors, except for their son, David, are taken by the Germans. Her mother takes in the boy, and Jacqueline tries to live a normal life going to school when she can and teaching David to live like a Catholic boy. Always she keeps searching for her father. When she meets an American soldier she has hope that at last she will find her father. Jacqueline's determination to keep going while the war rages and the relationship she finds with this American soldier kept me reading this book as much as I could. The story is believable and based on a real story related to Ms. Minniti by her father. I would recommend this book to every child in grades 5 and up. This is an excellent way to show what it was like for children during that time period in France. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I give it 5 stars: </span><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: x-large;">*****</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Jackie Minniti Bio:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Jackie Minniti was born and raised in the heart of New Jersey where she spent 25 years as a classroom teacher and was an education writer for the <i>Courier Post</i>. After retiring from teaching, she moved to a small beach town on the west coast of Florida and turned to writing full-time. Jackie decided to pen a book showing what it’s like to be on the front lines in the classroom. She incorporated the information from her master’s thesis into a story that combines the readability of a novel with the elements of a self-help book. <i><b>Project June Bug</b></i>, the story of an idealistic young teacher’s determination to help a high school student with ADHD,<i> </i>was published in 2008. It won several literary awards including an Eric Hoffer award and a Mom’s Choice Silver Medal and was named Premier Book Awards “Book of the Year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Her latest novel, <i><b>Jacqueline</b></i><u>,</u> is a middle grade historical based on her father’s experience in France during WWII. Set in Nazi-occupied Rennes, it tells the story of a 10-year-old French girl and the American soldier who befriends her. <b><i>Jacqueline</i></b> combines the drama of fiction with the authenticity of personal history in a tale of faith, family, unusual friendships, and the resiliency of the human spirit that will capture the interest of even reluctant readers and give young readers a window into history. To accompany the novel, Jackie has created a study guide that is cross-referenced with the Common Core standards for Language Arts/Literacy and History/Social Studies (Grades 4-8.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Jackie is currently a columnist for <i>The Island Reporter</i> in St. Petersburg. She is a member of the Florida Writers Association, the Bay Area Professional Writers Guild, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Several of her stories have been included in <i style="font-style: normal;">Chicken Soup for the Soul</i> collections. She lives on Treasure Island with her husband, John, and two noisy macaws and enjoys reading, walking on the beach, boating, and visiting her three children and six grandchildren in New Jersey. Jackie has been a featured speaker at schools, book clubs, women’s clubs, and libraries and writes a blog featuring Florida writers (<a href="http://www.fabulousfloridawriters.blogspot.com/" style="font-style: normal;">www.fabulousfloridawriters.blogspot.com</a>. She can be reached through her website: <a href="http://www.jackieminniti.com/" style="font-style: normal;">www.jackieminniti.co</a>m</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time, I hope you will tune in on Thursday to listen to Red River Radio Tales from the Pages and learn more about Jackie Minniti. I will also have Susan A. Royal, another author on the show talking about her new book. There might be some surprise guests calling in as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My next guest here on the blog will be Penny Ehrenkranz, who has added a sequel to her new book, Ghost for Lunch in the series, Ghostly Visions. Check back later this week.</span></div>
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<br />Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-17518892999045515062016-05-16T01:19:00.001-07:002016-05-17T00:02:24.036-07:00Welcome Guest Author Judy Alter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today I am welcoming author Judy Alter to the blog. I am very happy to be introducing you to this author. Her new book, <b><i>The Gilded Cage</i></b> examines late nineteenth century life in Chicago. Besides this book she has written several others as well. I am very happy to have her here and she has decided to tell us about her methods of researching and why she decided to write her book <b><i>The Gilded Cage.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0.5in;">Researching the past
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As a young child growing up on Chicago’s South Side in
the Hyde Park neighborhood, I wandered the land that once boasted the World’s
Columbian Exposition. My mother took me out in rowboats around Wooded Island,
and I learned to ice skate on the Midway, which still cuts a swath of green
through the city for more than a mile west from the lakeshore. My friends and I
made countless trips to the Museum of Science and Industry, the only exposition
building that survives. Much later I attended the University of Chicago, which
sits almost on the exposition grounds. That part of the city was “my” Chicago.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My love for that part of Chicago more recently became
entwined with a fascination for Bertha Honoré Palmer, frequently known as
Cissy. Raised to be a socially prominent and financially secure wife and
mother, she moved far beyond those roles to demonstrate her strength,
individuality, and civic concern. Where she could have spent her days, as the
saying goes, eating bonbons and reading frivolous novels, she became one of the
first to combine wealth with civic responsibility. Active in Chicago's Hull
House—a pioneer settlement house in an immigrant community—she also strove to
improve the lot of workingwomen and played a major role in the Woman's Club, an
organization devoted to civic concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her crowning achievement was as president of the board
of lady managers of the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Against the backdrop of an
artistic, intellectual, and showmanship event never rivaled in the twentieth
century, she managed to call international attention to the achievements of
women throughout the world while mediating between extremists among both her
sisters and the male population. No small feat, and the real Cissy Palmer has
my utmost admiration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My interest in the Palmers and their era was intensified
when I read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>What the Lady Wants</b> </i>by
Reneé Rosen (New York: New American Library, 2014), a novel about Marshall
Field, the mecca of department stores in my childhood.<span style="text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My own trip with the past began with a children’s book
on Cissy Palmer, one I researched and wrote. I knew of course about the luxury
of the Palmer House, the hotel Potter built and then built again after the
Great Fire of 1871. I began to dig deeper, beginning as always with obvious
sites on the internet, even Wikipedia which is a great place to start. This
internet study yielded among other gems several pictures of the house Potter
built for Cissy on the North Shore, now perhaps Chicago’s most fashionable
address but in Cissy’s day a sandy, weed-filled wasteland. The house was
extravagant and outrageous, and behind his back people referred to it as
Potter’s Folly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But for me real research must finally come around to
books. For historical background, I am indebted to several sources. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>The Fair Women</b></i>, by Jeanne Madeline
Weimann (Chicago: Academy Chicago, 1981), a lengthy, detailed, and superbly
researched account of women's role in the exposition, provided much of the meat
of this story. Also helpful for information about the exposition was Reid
Badger's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>The Great American Fair: The
World's Columbian Exposition and American Culture</b></i> (Chicago: Nelson Hall,
1979) and Robert Muccigrosso's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>Celebrating
the New World: Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893</b></i> (Chicago: Ivan R.
Dee, 1993). For general history of Chicago, I consulted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America</b>, </i>by
Donald L. Miller (Simon & Schuster, 1996), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago,</b> </i>by Robert G. Spinney
(Northern Illinois University Press, 2000), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>Chicago,
Crossroads of American Enterprise</b>,</i> by Dorsha B. Hayes (New York: Julian
Messner, Inc., 1944), and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>Chicago, A
Pictorial History</b></i> by Herman Kogan and Lloyd Wendt (New York: E. P. Dutton
and Company, Inc., 1958). Most recently I read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair
that Changed America</b>, </i>by Erik Larson (New York: Crown, 2003).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My primary source for details about Cissy Palmer's life
was Ishbel Ross' <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silhouette in Diamonds:
The Life of Mrs. Potter Palmer</i> </b>(Harper & Brothers, 1960), but Ross, a
well-known biographer, must not be blamed for the direction Mrs. Palmer's life
takes in these pages of fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And finally some points of the story come with my own
love for and familiarity with the South Side of Chicago. Though it is now more
than fifty years since I lived there, I still carry Chicago in my heart.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">How wonderful of you to share your research with us!! I know I want to know more about this well-researched book!! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Blurb:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Born to a society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and become one of the major robber barons of the city, giving generously to causes of which he approved. She put philanthropy into deeds, going into shanty neighborhoods, inviting factory girls to her home, working at Jane Addams’ settlement Hull House, supporting women’s causes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It was a time of tremendous change and conflict in Chicago as the city struggled to put its swamp-water beginnings behind it and become a leading urban center. A time of the Great Fire of 1871, the Haymarket Riots, and the triumph of the Columbian Exposition. Potter and Cissy handled these events in diverse ways. Fascinating characters people these pages along with Potter and Cissy—Carter Harrison, frequent mayor of the city; Harry Collins, determined to be a loser; Henry Honoré, torn between loyalties to the South and North; Daniel Burnham, architect of the new Chicago—and many others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Gilded Cage</em> </b>is a fictional exploration of the lives of these people and of the Gilded Age in Chicago history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Yes, this sounds just like the kind of novel I enjoy reading. I have this on my TBR list and hope to get to read it soon. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here is an excerpt from the book:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Excerpt:</b></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"You upset about Little Egypt?"
Carter Harrison edged cautiously into Cissy Palmer's office. He found her
sitting at her desk with a murderous expression on her face, and, for a long
moment, he thought she wasn't going to speak to him. She simply stared, anger
in her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"I said, are you upset about Little
Egypt?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Why not?" she replied, her
voice deadly quiet. "I'm upset about everything else. You might as well
add Little Egypt to it."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He began to fumble in words. "Well,
I mean, the commissioners’ statement . . . ."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Have you read this?" She
thrust a newspaper toward him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">The offending passage had been underlined
in red, no doubt by Cissy herself. "The building," Carter read,
"is practically a white elephant." The statement was from Secretary
Hovey of the commission, and the article went on to quote Secretary Hovey's
opinion that women artists of the highest rank had refused to have anything to
do with the Woman's Building. "I think we should turn the building into a
large kindergarten," he concluded.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Do you wonder I'm not upset over
continued performances at Little Egypt?" she asked as he raised his eyes
from the article. "They don't care that we exist, let alone that an
exhibit on the Midway is offensive to us." Then, after a moment, she said,
"I suspect Phoebe Couzins . . . or one of her cohorts . . . got to him. I
will never be free of that woman!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"And St. Gaudens' 'Diana' on our
building—now I'm hearing that women are offended by its so-called immodesty.
Good heavens, Carter, we get a renowned sculptor like St. Gaudens practically
to contribute a magnificent work of art, and women quibble because of its
drapery!" She threw her hands in the air in impatience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He could, he knew, placate her, point out
the success of the building, the prestigious works it housed, the crowds who
had poured through it in the first week. But she would counter that Ellen
Richards had kept her Rumsford Kitchen out of the building, putting it in the
liberal arts building. Throughout the fair, women were exhibiting in other categories,
so that Cissy's dream—a building where visitors could see the produce of women
all in one place—was shattered. And she would counter, rightfully so, that no
matter what she did, she was criticized.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Get your hat," he said quietly
but with determination.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Pardon me?" She had expected
him to argue against her anger, persuade her of the importance of her work and
the building, cajole her out of her mood. She had not expected to be ordered
about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Get your hat," he repeated,
"and your purse, unless you feel comfortable leaving it here."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Where are we going?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">The first hint of a smile crossed his
face. "Never mind. Just do as I say." Then, as an afterthought,
"It's past noon. Are you hungry?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She'd been too angry to think about food,
but now that he asked, she admitted, "Maybe. A little."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Good," he said, holding out
his arm, "I wasn't planning to feed you one of those fancy twelve-course
meals you're used to."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">With her arm safely tucked in his—he put
his big hand over her smaller one, so that she could not gracefully escape when
she saw where they were headed—Carter Harrison escorted Cissy Palmer from the
Woman's Building. Once outside, he turned directly west, toward the Midway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She hesitated. "Carter . . . ."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"I won't listen," he said.
"I'll drag you if I have to."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She looked to see a smile on his face,
but he seemed deadly earnest, staring straight ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">They paraded past most of the
concessions—the Algerian Village, the ring where John L. Corbett challenged any
and all comers to a boxing match, even the infamous Little Egypt. Cissy, now
feeling incapable of rebelling, kept her eyes straight ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">They stopped in front of the Ferris
wheel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Two," Harrison said to the
ticket-taker, who smiled and said, "No tickets for you, Mr. Harrison. You
and your friend go right ahead on. Boss' orders."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Cissy tried to pull her hand away.
"No. I won't set foot in that thing." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking at her, Carter saw the slightest
sign of fear, an emotion that Cissy Palmer would never publicly admit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"It's perfectly safe, Cissy. Thousands
of people have ridden it already."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Something—her fear, perhaps?—loosened her
tongue. "That only means it's about to crash," she said, her anxiety
totally uncharacteristic of the controlled woman he knew. "I've heard
people talking . . . predicting a horrible accident from this
monstrosity."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Nonsense," he said. "They
had a problem at first with the brakes—not strong enough to stop it once it got
going—but they've got air-powered brakes now, and they've not had one problem.
Come on," and he walked determinedly into the cage, which sat at ground
level.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Cissy's choices were to accompany him or
create a scene, and she was too much the lady to do the latter, no matter how
horrendous the situation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She was astonished at the size of the
cage they entered. Made of wood and iron, it had swivel seats to hold forty
people—Cissy did a quick rough count—and along one end was a counter where food
and drink could be purchased. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Carter saw that she was seated in a chair
near the counter—he did not exactly shove her, but his touch was firm as he
helped her into a chair. "Stay here," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He returned in a moment with two plates
of cold chicken, fresh fruit, and glasses of champagne.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">She ate more hungrily than she had
expected, and she felt the tension ease away from her as she sipped her
champagne. But as the wheel began to move again and the car lurched with
movement, she grabbed the sides of her chair convulsively.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Carter stared at her. "Cissy? You're
afraid of height, aren't you?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"I don’t know," she managed to
say. "I've never been higher than the third floor of our house."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"You lived on top of the Palmer
House," he reminded her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Oh, but that was inside,
different," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He reached out and took one of her hands
in his. "You'll be fine," he said, "and you'll love the
view."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">At first she wouldn't look, but as the
car climbed higher—with frequent stops while other cars, below, were loaded
with passengers—she began to steal glimpses straight ahead. Then she would look
to one side and the other, and finally she stood to get a better view.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Better sit back down," he
said. "It's safer."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"But look, you can almost see our
house."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">He followed her pointing finger and
thought he saw the absurd turrets of the Palmer mansion, miles away on North
Lakeshore Drive. Between them and the mansion lay the city, spread out like a
relief map. They began to point out this place and that to each
other—"Look, there's State Street" and "Isn't that Prairie
Avenue?"—until they were giggling like schoolchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">To the east, the lake glistened and
shimmered. "I can see clear to Michigan," she told Carter, who smiled
and shaded his eyes as though to see farther.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Cissy grew silent, and he watched her
surreptitiously. But the look on her face was one of rapture as she gazed out
at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i> city and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i> lake, spread out before her in a way that, previously, only
birds had seen them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Carter," she said, turning to
him with such enthusiasm that she, without thinking, took his hand in hers,
"It's the most wonderful thing I've ever seen! And to think I'd have
missed it if you hadn't bullied me into going."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"I didn't bully you," he
protested, but he never moved his hand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">When their cage began its descent, Cissy
complained, "I can't see as far." And when it reached ground, she sat
unmovable for a moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"You want to go again?" he
asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"No," she said, laughing,
"not now. But later, yes."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"You liked it?" He beamed with
pleasure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, Carter, I loved it." Her
mood, she realized, was lighter than it had been since before the controversy
over who would ride with the Duchess of Veruga had put her in a frenzy. But
even as she spoke, she remembered that Potter had said he was going to ride the
wheel days ago . . . and she had never asked if he did, nor with whom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Judy Alter's Bio:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her work has been recognized with
awards from the Western Writers of America, the Texas Institute of Letters, and
the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame. She has been honored with the Owen
Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement by WWA and inducted into the Texas
Literary Hall of Fame and the WWA Hall of Fame. <a href="http://judyalter.com/">http://judyalter.com</a>/</span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here are her links:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Blog URL: <a href="http://www.judys-stew.blogspot.com/">http://www.judys-stew.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Facebook URL: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/judy.alter">https://www.facebook.com/judy.alter</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Skype: juju1938<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Buy link for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Gilded Cage<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Cage-Judy-Alter/dp/0996013121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460738028&sr=8-1&keywords=the+gilded+cage+alter">http://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Cage-Judy-Alter/dp/0996013121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460738028&sr=8-1&keywords=the+gilded+cage+alter</a></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Judy has a blog tour planned for <b style="font-style: italic;">The Gilded Cage </b>starting on May 23rd. Go to her blog to find out the details.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thank you for being my guest today and I am looking forward to our radio spot. Judy Alter is giving away a free book to the lucky commenter who is picked. So leave a comment to be in the running for a free book!!!</b></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time Judy Alter will be my guest for August on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/.../rrr-tales-from-the-pages-welcomes-authors%20-pam-webber-and-steve-schwertley">Red River Radio Tales from the Pages </a>along with my friend Nina Haberli, so mark your calendars now for Thursday, August 25 at 4PM EST. Don't worry I will remind you before then if you don't remember. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My guest on Red River Radio Tales from the Pages for May on Thursday, May 26th will be Amy Leigh McCorkle, who will be bringing her cast for the film, Letters to Daniel. We will be talking about the award winning screenplay and her journey so far with this very unusual project. In addition we will be discussing her <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1638215327/letters-to-daniel-an-independent-feature/posts/1568705">Kickstarter</a> for this. She is trying to raise money for her movie and once you read about this very brave and determined woman you might want to contribute to help her make this film a reality. For anyone who has bipolar disease or knows someone with bipolar disease, this program will also be discussing Amy's experience with her own bipolar disease. The screenplay explores how she has learned to live with it. </span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-44453959626894118692016-05-04T01:22:00.001-07:002016-05-04T01:22:18.554-07:00The Rest of April Poem A Day Poems: Days 23,24,25,26,27,28.29,30<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cjc8C8gPvxY/Vymw0ESmTzI/AAAAAAAADOQ/-5GAFZ6YgD42W5ewaoj_l-iZpPLvRcZHACKgB/s1600/cherry-blossom-spring1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cjc8C8gPvxY/Vymw0ESmTzI/AAAAAAAADOQ/-5GAFZ6YgD42W5ewaoj_l-iZpPLvRcZHACKgB/s400/cherry-blossom-spring1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I didn't think I could do it, but I was able to write 60 poems for April!!! The ones I am posting here were done for <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides">Poetic Asides </a>and they are posted there for anyone to see in the comments for each day. The others were done for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldPoetryOpenMic/">World Poetry Open Mic</a> and they are posted on their website on Facebook for each day. I hope you have enjoyed reading these. I just finished writing them today. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I can't believe April is over and it really doesn't feel like May at all with 50 degree days and rain. Hoping the sun will come out soon. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here they are:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 23</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a poem about footwear, any kind</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Red Espadrilles</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">They were my favorite shoes</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the sides were formed with string </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">wound around them </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">with red cotton uppers that let</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">your toes peek out from a hole</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">platform shoes that felt as light</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as wearing no shoes and for me</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">this was such a rare occurrence</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">they hold a special place in my memory</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">my red espadrilles worn without socks</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">or stockings with bare legs</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">newly shaven and nails freshly painted</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">so the toes that peeked out sported</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">reds or corals each time</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">love is a small word for how I felt</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">about those gorgeous, sexy shoes</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and I would have them today except</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for a puppy mishap when he decided</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">these would make a great chew toy</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and gnawed off most of the string</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">leaving the luscious red espadrilles</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as if a war had been fought on them</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">such a predicament since my newfie, Flash,</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">when I confronted him with the deed</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">looked at me with puppy eyes</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and really, who could be angry</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">with a sweet, black ball of fuzz</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">who came at me and licked me</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">every chance he could get</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and really wasn’t it my fault for leaving</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">them out and not cherishing them</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as I should have done</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and I forgave him for the deed</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">petting his head and scratching him</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">under the chin — no reprimand from me</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">though my heart was broken for I had lost</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">my brilliant red espadrilles and besides</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">when we moved I never did find the other one.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shoes are shoes, but a dog like Flash </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">was a treasure and he lasted a lot longer </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">than those espadrilles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 24</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write about something that is lost and has been regained</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Temporary Garment</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">For awhile happiness flew away</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the free spirit inside of me ceased to exist</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and was replaced with an antiquated version</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">a crone with stringy hair and frowning mouth</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">sadness weighed her down as if she were</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">carrying a mountain of sorrow </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">she ruled my days with her bouts of tears</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and sad reminiscences of a man no longer here</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">sweet remembrances of him filled my days</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and pushed sleep from my nights</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I struggled with this persona</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">slipping out of it to greet the outer world</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">yet donned the presence once more in the</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">private world of my own space</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">all the while trying each day to move the weight</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">of the sadness she carried</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">until finally one day I found I could</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">slip off this version of sadness and remain at peace</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for I had discovered my happiness had lived </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">inside of me all this time</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">protected by the cushion of comfort my mind had </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">conceived and I had not lost it</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">instead it had been misplaced </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">under all of the misery</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">of my sorrowful self who could now be dissolved</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for I had found my freedom and with it came </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the renewal of my happy self</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">though the sadness lived inside of me</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I no longer needed to parade it </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as if it were my only garment</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">April 25</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prompt: Write a poem about exercise or about an exercise machine</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Don’t Think About Exercise</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Like anything else exercise when </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">thought about too much</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">becomes a chore you push to the side</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">like washing the dishes — if you think too much</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the pile will appear to be a mountain </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">too high to climb</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">but climb you must and </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">you roll up your sleeves and begin</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">to wash one plate or one pan after another</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and you don’t dare think of exercise </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">for it will stay </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">just a thought </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">if you don’t begin the routine</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">where you find your clothes and put them on</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">then the task becomes doable </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and you stop thinking</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">your mind is on auto drive as you </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">gather the things </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">you will need, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">your IPad, water, remember to put on</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">your sneakers and you are ready</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">not thinking you walk down the hall, </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">convenient, and </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">find your machine, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">the one you always use</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">familiar and comforting, </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">like a well worn easy chair</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">your legs pump up and down </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">as you get into the </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">rhythm of the workout </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">and you don’t think about</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">what your body is doing, because it is automatic</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">up and down your legs go and your arms go back</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and forth holding the handles and pushing your</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">body to move faster and faster or going against</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the pressure of increased tension or height</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">not really thinking as your body absorbs the </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">activity and you move in a practiced motion</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">up and down your legs go and back and forth</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">your arms go as you move and move</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">ignoring the wetness on your face and pushing</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">your body to its outer limits</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">until the machine ends and you realize</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">you have spent almost an hour exercising</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">how much fun to fool your brain.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">April 26</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prompt: Write a love poem and/or an anti-love poem</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Seeds of Your Love</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">You planted the seeds of your love in my heart</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">watered them with the sweetness of your soul</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and tended them with the goodness of your heart</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">these seeds sprouted and spread their beauty</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">throughout my life as it blossomed in</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the garden of our love</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">yes weeds sometimes choked off the growing plants</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">but we pulled them out and allowed it to grow stronger</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">as we admired the lush foliage as the years continued</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the flowers continued to flourish as they formed </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">new plants who carried this love inside of them</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">cuttings from the original plant who thrived</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">if love could truly grow plants my darling </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">we would have had homes covered in ivy and trailing roses</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">perfuming the air we breathed</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Now though you are not here to water and tend</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the seeds of your love they grow on their own</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">though they miss the presence of their gardener</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">April 27</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prompt: Write a poem about a take off, maybe from work or taking off in an airplane, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Taking Off</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Today I had to take off from work, from my daily life</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">my mind is whirling as I remember the day</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">two years ago to the moment when I lost him</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">a loss so devastating it turned my world upside down</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the down remaining for months as an empty space</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the place where he belonged a void now</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and this was where it stayed until </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">time paved over the pain and it lay there</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">beneath the surface like the molten magma</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">waits patiently beneath the earth’s crust</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">churning and boiling and awaiting the crack</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">then today on the second anniversary of his passing</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">a crack opened and the sadness poured out</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">covering all like the lava of an open volcanic eruption</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and caused my mind to sleep under the volume</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">of the immense feeling that had laid beneath the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">surface as my life went about its ways</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">time to take off from everything and instead</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">sift through the rubble of my remembrances.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">copyright by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">April 28</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prompt: Finish this title: Important______</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Important Moments</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">How do we know what is important</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">as our life sifts through each day</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the moments pass by too quickly</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">some seeming so slight </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and yet on second thought</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">those small moments </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">appear as gems in our life</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">not big ones like graduations or births</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">these are momentous and celebrated</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">but what of the times your eyes met</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and you knew you had someone who</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">loved you across the room</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">or when you spent the day on the sofa</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">dozing and watching a baseball game</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">with the one you loved by your side</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">or the many times you held his hand</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and felt the joy of belonging with him</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">or the countless moments of bliss</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">you never counted as the days passed</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">were these important </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and did you let them slip by as </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">you walked through life like raindrops</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">falling on you and not knowing which</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">one will cause your eyes to close </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">with the splash. Unimportant moments</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">that splashed you with a tiny drip at the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">time.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">April 29</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prompt: Write a haphazard poem, about a haphazard situation or the way the poem is formed</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Zag Zig Life</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">My life zags when it should zig</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">a haphazard collection of days</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">teetering sometimes on the </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">brink of disaster</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">no routine in sleep patterns</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">staying up late and waking up late</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">avoiding the morning</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">for the morning holds discomfort</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">haphazardly getting through the days</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">moment to moment balancing </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">finding no rhyme or reason in the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">spacing of things and still never</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">feeling balanced</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">as if I were playing a long game of</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Jenga and losing badly</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">pieces pulled suddenly from the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">wrong place and hoping the whole</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">thing won’t cave in and fall on the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">table of my life</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">April 30</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prompt: Write a dead end poem - about any dead end</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Cul de Sac</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Once we lived near a cul de sac</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">homes of ordinary size and colors</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">surrounded it forming a lovely gate</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">children played there </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">in a cocooned playground</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">safe from the cars that zoomed on the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">other streets and safe from the world</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">their own comfort zone as they explored</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the world around them</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">playing on adjacent driveways </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">as they careened on their bikes or</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">ran up and down shouting and </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">waving their arms for a game</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">never discovered</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">children didn’t notice the adults</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">watching all the time</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">even if they were in their homes</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">waiting to hear the sound that</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">would make them leave and</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">examine the crisis</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">a smooth flowing river of children</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">on safe concrete away from the</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">danger of the oncoming vehicles</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">unaware of the beauty of the blooming trees</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">or the lush green grass growing on </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">each lawn for their bare feet to enjoy</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">their sounds a continuous soundtrack</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">to my life as the pleasant hum emanated</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">from the filled cul de sac</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Then it changed and became a siren wail</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and I found her between the mangled bikes</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">my wild will o the wisp child on the </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">cold cement of the sloped driveway</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">a melange of legs and bodies beneath</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the pile of bicycles</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">wrenching her from between her </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">only way to fly through the neighborhood</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">now lost as she limped from the scene,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I never realized this was the time</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">she would place in her book of memories</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">paste the joy of riding down hills and</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">gliding around with ease on her bike</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">into the scrapbook of her life</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">for her this was the close to childhood </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">her cul de sac, her dead end</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #323333; font-family: Lucida Sans;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Until the next time, my next guest author will be Judy Alter on May 16, 2016. She is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Cage-Judy-Alter/dp/0996013121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462349605&sr=8-1&keywords=the+Gilded+Cage+by+Judy+Alter">The Gilded Cage</a>, which is all about Chicago during </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);">the</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> early days of the city. She will also be a guest on my radio show in August.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #323333; font-family: Lucida Sans;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Also, for anyone who didn't know this, my poem won an award in the Nassau County Poet Laureate's Society Annual Poetry Contest and I will be accepting that award on Saturday, May 14. I will be posting the poem soon.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #323333; font-family: Lucida Sans;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">In some ways I am sad April is over. Spending so much time on poetry was a lot of fun. I hope all of you were able to either write or read as much poetry as you could during the month. But don't give it up because April is over. I love the spring, because it inspires me to write all the time! </span></span></span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-75694639733699323382016-04-23T00:26:00.000-07:002016-04-23T00:26:53.651-07:00Poems for April Poem A Day: Days 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JdhgBHjtK6g/Uz0Ns2ySIpI/AAAAAAAAC5I/jDEMX3ayXickMsSzqHbtzIQ1jUTT80RKQCKgB/s1600/Poetry%2Bmonth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JdhgBHjtK6g/Uz0Ns2ySIpI/AAAAAAAAC5I/jDEMX3ayXickMsSzqHbtzIQ1jUTT80RKQCKgB/s400/Poetry%2Bmonth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The days have been so busy and I have had so much to do that I have not posted poems for a whole week!! But here are the latest poems up to Day 22. I can't believe April is almost over and wondering what I will do when I don't have to write a poem a day. Or in my case have to write two poems a day. It has been exhilarating and I have tried new kinds of poetry too. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As usual all of the prompts here come from Robert Brewster's blog: <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides">Poetic Asides</a>. I am also writing to prompts from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldPoetryOpenMic/">World Poetry Open Mic,</a> but I am not posting them here. After April I will post all of the poems I have written in the Poetry tab on this blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Also, I announced it on Facebook, but those who might not have seen it, one of my poems has won an award. It has placed in the Nassau County Poet Laureate's Annual Poetry Contest. I am thrilled of course and looking forward to the ceremony. Also with me at that ceremony will be Pearl Ketover Prilik and Nurit Israel, two fabulous poets who I have known for several years. Thank you to the Nassau County Poet Laureate Society.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So here are all the poems I missed posting:</span><br />
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 16</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write about a restaurant you like</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pony Express</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Having a few hours before the movie</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and our stomachs growling close to </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">dinnertime we happened upon this</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">unassuming place where you order</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">at the counter and your food is</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">served on metal trays</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">yet in the menu above it we saw</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">homemade buns and all organic</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">my mother always said when you</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">don’t know what the food is like</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">order a cheese sandwich so I </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">ordered grilled cheese — expecting</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the usual soggy, yet dry experience</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">my surprise came when I was rewarded</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">with crunchy and creamy on what seemed</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">like the largest slices of bread ever</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">toasted to perfection and keeping the</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">taste of butter in my mouth</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">along with it the homemade chips</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">with guacamole and their french fries</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">crispy and delicious making me wonder</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">how the tiny space in back of the counter</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">could possibly bring forth such delicacies</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">my palate knew we would return</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as the riders of the old Pony Express</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">returned to their place of origin</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and did I mention the homemade hot dog buns?</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 17</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a haiku</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The full moon rises </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">a light apricot orb </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">held by the dark night</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">soon stars will twinkle</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">forming a carpet of light</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">across the black sky</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">how peaceful nature</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">can be every night primping</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as we view its show</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 18</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write an office poem</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Human Office</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is an election this year</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">to elect someone to fill the</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">office of President</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why do they call it an office?</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">does the President have windows</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">or cubicles or a boss to tell him/her</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">what to do?</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">is it because the President has an office?</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">an office most would dream to have</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">can you imagine every day walking into</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">a room appointed especially for you</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">with the prerogative to shut the door</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">on all who are on the opposite side?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is is like to hold the office of President?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">our current President’s hair has turned almost </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">white in only eight years from the strain of this </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">office pressing on him</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">why does anyone want to take this office</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">maybe they feel they will do a better job than</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the one who came before them</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">it’s as if Sisyphus created a job where he could</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">push his ball of dung up the hill while sitting in</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">a really posh surrounding and having people wait </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">on him hand and foot — yet that ball needs pushing</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and he must do it himself — others can try but</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">it is his job and he must persist in this fruitless attempt</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">so we change the pushers every four or eight years</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but that ball still is their major job and it is a dirty</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">little secret that this is the President’s job</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">So welcome to the Oval Office to the next elected President</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and get ready to start pushing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 19</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a poem about cool or uncool</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Being Cool</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the fifties and early sixties</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">being cool was wearing black</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and a nifty beret on your head</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">visiting a dark, dank coffee house</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">where you listened to very cool</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">poets expounding on their angst</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and you didn’t clap for that wouldn’t</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">be cool. You snapped your fingers</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you were a cool cat — a beatnik</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">too cool to be seen during the day</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">appearing only at night in your haunts</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the sixties it was cool to love rock music</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and the guitar sounds of the Byrds</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jim Morrison and the Beatles blaring from</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the radio in your refinished </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">convertible Chevrolet</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and it was cool to have been to Woodstock</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and wallowed in the mud and melody there</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">swallowing the sweet smoke and digging</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the vibes</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">then it all changed and it was cool to </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">make money and to move up in the world</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">to accumulate possessions until you had </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">to buy more homes to find them a place</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">never caring for the way you destroyed</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">everything you touched, including the</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">ones you supposedly loved</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and finally it was cool to eat organic food</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">care about the environment</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">cool to be who you were</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and poetry became cool too</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">perhaps it was cool all along</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and rediscovered like those</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">flowers lining the road you only</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">glance at while driving, but when</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you walk along the side of the road</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the beauty of these golden daffodils</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">astounds you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 20</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write what goes unsaid</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Words Unsaid</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">People are always telling me secrets</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">don’t tell this one and don’t tell that one</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and I don’t ever, because I lock them away</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">in a secret place where I hold the things</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">people tell me in a spot where the unsaid</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">lives in a bubble inside of my head</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">when they tell me their faces hold such pain</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I feel if I told the words they gave to me</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">they would dissolve in sorrow</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">so I hold them close to me </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">words unsaid</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">powerful words like bullets in my brain</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">waiting to pounce if ever the chance arrives</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">they push and push to be unfettered</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but I keep them corralled and left unsaid</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">though they chafe to be let out of my mouth</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">would I could regurgitate all of these secrets</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">vomiting the words unsaid to clean my mind</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and yet I know if I do more will replace them</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for I can’t say no to: “Can I tell you a secret?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 21</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a poem in response to another poem</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">After: How to Triumph Like A Girl by Ada Limón</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">http://gulfcoastmag.org/journal/252/how-to-triumph-like-a-girl/</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Plunging Ahead</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sure the race is rigged. You're a girl</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the rules are warped for you</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you must carry the heavy weight</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">they've handicapped you from the start</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">your saddle bag is heavier than a male's</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but you carry it like a thoroughbred</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">forging forward through the crowd</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">aware of your handicap but shouldering it</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">forging ever forward against the hard wind</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">of a man's world with your steady gait</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and sometimes you fall back as in any race</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but the course is straight and you will succeed</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and throw that weight in the face of the</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">males who will still sneer and say never can happen</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">when there you will be in the winner's circle</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 22</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a poem using the title Star____</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Star Light Star Bright</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the brief interlude between sunset and dark</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">we played a game when I was a girl</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">watch the sky and find the first star you see</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">make a wish as soon as you spy this light</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and don't tell anyone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I wish I may and I wish I might</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">have the wish I wish tonight</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and I would dream wish for things</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">a doll, a new dress, to stay up late</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but childhood is a blip in time</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">eons while you are in it,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but gone in a flash like a star's light</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and the grown up girl/woman still wished</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">upon the first star playing the game</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and wishing for the impossible</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the marriage dream, the children dream</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and as each year passed the dreams</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">became reality yet the game continued</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">each night as the sun closed down for the day</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and darkness overcame the sky </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I peered upward for the first star </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">teaching my children and hearing them </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">play the game as they wished </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for the impossible to come true</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but now as the first star's light </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">shines in the evening sky </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and purple turns to black</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">my only wish on this light </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">sent from light years away</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">to shine on me </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">is to see your face again </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and watch you</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">laugh as I play my silly game </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">of catching the first star</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time my friends, thank you to any who enjoy my poems and read them and I hope to be more on time for the rest of the month. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">My radio show Red River Radio Tales from the Pages is coming up this Thursday, April 28 at 4PM EST - 6PM. My guests are going to be returning guest, esteemed poet and author Phillip Matthew Roberts and novelist Nicholas Maze, who is a first time author on the show. Also we will be hearing from Susan Joyner Stumpf, who is the publisher of Phillip's book, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/phillip-matthew-roberts/lost-and-found/paperback/product-22490410.html">Lost and Found</a>. This looks to be a great show and not to be missed. I know I say that about all of my shows, but this one will be special I am sure. If you miss it at the time it is live you can always listen to the archive. Just click on the link I will be posting on my page and you can hear it at any time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #323333; font-family: Lucida Sans;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Hope </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);">you are</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> enjoying the spring weather and writing or reading poetry. I will soon have big news about both my book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-Barbara-Ehrentreu-ebook/dp/B00NDYDC3C/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">After</a>, and my new poetry book, Losing My Love, Finding Myself, which will be published very soon. </span></span></span></span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-52373600486414191492016-04-15T23:42:00.000-07:002016-04-16T00:07:23.617-07:00Day 14 and Day 15 for April Poem A Day <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
. <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JdhgBHjtK6g/Uz0Ns2ySIpI/AAAAAAAAC5I/jDEMX3ayXickMsSzqHbtzIQ1jUTT80RKQCKgB/s1600/Poetry%2Bmonth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JdhgBHjtK6g/Uz0Ns2ySIpI/AAAAAAAAC5I/jDEMX3ayXickMsSzqHbtzIQ1jUTT80RKQCKgB/s400/Poetry%2Bmonth.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the poems for Days 14 and 15 for April Poem A Day from <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides">Poetic Asides</a>. I hope you are enjoying them so far as much as I am enjoying writing them. I can't believe it is the halfway point of the month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">April 14</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a poem about time out</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Time Out</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I would like to take a time out from aging</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">see my face in the mirror as I was at twenty-five</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">eyes not underlined with circles </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and pains coming and going like guests</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">at first it is fun to add on years to your age</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">at twenty you always want to be older</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">if only I could be twenty-nine and then</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you hit a wall and thirty hops in </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">then you find forty is a hurdle you can't jump </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the years skip by as you frolic in the frenzy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">of mature recognition - the fun forties</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">ending in the fifties and moving gently</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">into the sixties and suddenly there is</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the milestone you never thought you </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">would reach and you want a time out</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">enough you say</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I understand and want to stop now</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but there is no time out from aging</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">only the acceptance that you must</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">befriend the clock and make it your BFF</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for though your outside may show the</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">wear and tear of the years</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">inside you are and always will be the blithe</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">twenty-five year old who swallowed life</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and spit out the pits</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">April 15</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: write a poem with at least four of the following eight words:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>flat</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ring</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>lavish</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>vessel</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>paper</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>6<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>blacklist</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>7<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>gaudy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>tooth</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Off the Blacklist</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">She dressed to the nines</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">hoping her flat chest would</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">be plumped by the additions</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">she had bought remembering</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the times when she was a girl</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and stuffed herself with paper</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">now she primped in front of </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the mirror thinking her dress</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">might be too gaudy and yet</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">she had been on the blacklist</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">too long and tonight was her</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">night to shine</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">she had gone all out with a </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">lavish gown and a ridiculously expensive</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">ring and had acquired the services</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">of a chauffeur so she would arrive</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">in a suitable vessel for the gala</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">tonight she would be back with </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">her friends and again part of</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the tooth fairy glitterati</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time I hope you can either write or read some poetry in the next few days. Check back here for more in a few days. </span></span></div>
Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349886618037006192.post-63325431014070663942016-04-14T01:24:00.000-07:002016-04-14T01:24:07.911-07:00Days 11, 12 and 13 April Poem a Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can't believe it is Day 14 of April Poem a Day tomorrow. I have had a very busy week and writing two poems a day added to this. But I am posting the poems I wrote the last three days. If you are reading them and have a comment you can scroll to the bottom of the page and comment there. Your comment may not show up right away, because i moderate them. Be patient. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to all who have commented on any of my poems. I am thrilled you are reading them and I enjoy sharing them with you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 11</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Write a poem about defense or defending something</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Defense of </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Arctic is melting</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">islands of ice floating</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">it's our fault for believing industry </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">was all and the atmosphere would </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">heal itself -- like a flesh wound</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and now we are stuck with defenseless</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">animals who must find a way to live</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">in this changing world</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">we are not defending their lives</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as we should, but instead we are</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">allowing this to happen</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">watching as species after species</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">finds it impossible to live in their homes</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">places where they have lived for eons</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and they see the safe world in which</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">they lived and raised their young</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">disappearing as the icebergs melt</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">polar bears separated from their </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">babies as the ice floes move </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">farther and farther apart</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">they are our canaries</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">we are under a time crunch</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">for our lifestyle will soon be</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">up for grabs if the climate keeps</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">changing and spring moves from winter</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">to summer in a matter of days</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">while those who think only of money</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">defend the notion that this is not manmade</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">that of course the climate will change </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">cite instances from history</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">but it is inevitable and can't be defended</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is changing and many don't hear the rumble</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">as the canary dies and the opening fills up with sand.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">April 12</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prompt: Two for Tuesday: Write a poem about silliness and/or one about being serious</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let's Be Silly</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let's be silly today</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">act like seven year olds and </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">turn in circles until the room spins</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">only say we are okay and bump</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">into the wall giggling as we go</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let's be silly today</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">leave our grown up cares behind</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and live in the mind of a five year old</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">exult in the longer days so we can play outside</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">slam our bikes into each other </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">caterwaul in glee as we glide around</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">a five foot area joyously</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let's be silly today</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let's crawl under a blanket tent</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and pretend it's a jungle </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">squeeze the day until </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">joy pops out all over the place</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">uncontained and glorious</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">April 13</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Prompt: Use Last___</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last Night</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We visited you as we had done for days</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">seeing your strong body deteriorate</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and your hands shake so much I had to</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">feed you the small amount your withering body</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">could handle -- a joke of a meal, a few sips of soup</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and yogurt, then pudding, spooned into your mouth</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">plastic spoon reminding me of spoon feeding our daughters</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">pale as the hospital sheets your face stared back at me</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">trying to be the man I always knew</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and then you looked over at us</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the small group assembled there of me and your girls</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">your whole life standing before you</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and with eyes bright with tears you motioned us</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">towards you encircling us with your arms</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">still able to move </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and you said how much you loved us</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">in a voice thin as paper</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you whispered to me how much you loved me</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">had always loved me and thought only about me</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you gave your usual advice to each daughter and</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">one last hug</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I could feel that hug around me as I </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">said goodnight to you</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">see you in the morning </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">our usual goodnight</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">you wanted to die, had mentioned it all week</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">and now the hugs -- though I pushed it away </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">the thought -- a demon in my head-- told me</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">this was the last time I would ever feel you</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">next to me and I knew when the curtain dropped </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">on our life the next day -- this was your final encore</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: x-small;">copyright 2016 by Barbara Ehrentreu</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until the next time I hope you are all writing poetry, but if you aren't I hope you are reading poetry. One book of poetry everyone should read is <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://lulu.com/">Lost and Found </a></i>by Phillip Matthew Roberts. Recently he received this awesome <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1273191822709226&set=a.1123059814389095.1073741826.100000552606863&type=3&theater">review</a> for this book. He is going to be my guest author on Red River Radio Tales from the Pages on April 28. You are not going to want to miss this show. Mr. Roberts is not only brilliant and funny, but he is an excellent guest as well. Also on the show is Nicholas Maze another excellent author.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also, for any who don't know about it there is <a href="http://www.worldpoetryopenmic.net/">World Poetry Open Mic </a>every Friday night at 10PM EST. Come over and read your poem on the air to fellow poets. All are welcome. </span></span></div>
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Barbara Ehrentreuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06317588534441254146noreply@blogger.com0