Tag Archives: poetry

Yuletime at Cherrywood Hall: Once Upon a WolfPack Anthology by Veronica Cline Barton (Book Showcase)

Once Upon a Wolfpack

Contributing author, Veronica Cline Barton

I was so honored to have my short story, Yuletime at Cherrywood Hall, Pippa’s First Christmas, included in the #WolfpackAuthors anthology that was published earlier this year. The anthology is a compilation of works by authors of all genres, and all proceeds are donated to the Lockwood Animal Rescue Center (LARC) My contributed short story is one close to my heart—it is a prequel to a storyline in the 3rd book of my #cozymystery series, Deadly Receptions; the Debut of Castlewood Manor. It tells the tale of a tainted bridal veil from years gone by and introduces the readers of my series to Aunt Pippa, the beloved ancestral aunt who saved the Cherrywood Hall estate with her marriage to Charles Lancaster, the 4th Marquess of Kentshire.

The short story takes place in the weeks before Christmas. Pippa has been receiving demeaning messages criticizing her every move as an American married to the popular marquess. A chance snowstorm brings her nemesis to Cherrywood Hall. Pippa meets her husband’s previous fiancé, the author of the critical notes–a jilted woman who is filled with anger at the woman who holds the position and privilege that she thought would be hers. As a blizzard rages outside, her mind is set on deadly revenge…Will Pippa’s first Christmas at the hall be her last?

Read more about the #WolfPackAuthors anthology and the great cause it benefits here:

The idea was simple: form a group of authors based on the mantra, “Do good things for the right reasons.” We are a pack – #WolfPackAuthors. Together, we expand exposure for our books, help one another with all aspects of the process, pick each other up when the lonely life of writing gets us down.

As with wolves, words can be dangerous or healing. The reintroduction of the wolf, hunted to the brink of extinction, carries such far-reaching results as to make vegetation grow on what was once barren, and to change the paths of rivers. Considering these powerful facts, we chose to donate the proceeds of this anthology to Lockwood Animal Rescue Center /LARC, a facility with a unique mission. They are one of the few organizations focused heavily on wolves, integrating military veteran rehabilitation into the caretaking process.

In this collection of work, you will find a showcase of many of our members’ talents: A young girl betrothed to a werewolf, yet her father, a human, is the true monster. Two snipers who lay in wait, an otherworldly supreme being watching them, in the form of a majestic wolf. A she-wolf sets her sights on a young woman, married to the man she loved. The paradoxical story of the big bad wolf, who through no fault of his own sets out on a calamity filled adventure. A batch of witty private investigators at work solving crime. A sarcastic banshee, a shapeshifting detective, and a vampire, all friends, investigate a string of murders. There are many others, varied in style or genre.

Come on an adventure with the WolfPackAuthors. We’ve got the stories you want; together, we hope to make the world a better place for wolves, humans, and those who dare to dream.

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Cozy MysteryYuletime at Cherrywood Hall: Veronica Cline Barton
Fairy Tale/ ParodyUnfairy Prosecuted: J.W. Crawford
Fairy TalePoppy: Tia Fanning

Fantasy/ SupernaturalFor the Love of the Pack: Sharon Lopez
Horror/ Meta horrorThe Untold One: B.L. Clark
HorrorFrost Harbor: Alexander Pain

LiteraryOmega Road: Lee M. Tipton
Magical RealismAn Early Snow: Andi Marchal
P.I./ DetectiveThe Wolf: Joe Congel 

P.I./ Detective, Cozy MysteryMrs Solberg’s Problem: CW Hawes
PoetryWolf Pack United: Angie-Marie Delsante
PoetryWelcome to the Den: Lori Katherine

Romance/ SupernaturalThe Soap Maker’s Mother: Christina van Deventer
Science Fiction/ MilitarySacha: Jeff DeMarco
Science Fiction/ ParanormalWolf Cry: Z Gottlieb
Science Fiction/ ParanormalCircus of the Night: Stefan Angelina McElvain
Urban FantasyTrue Nature : Luna Selas

 

Veronica Cline Barton earned graduate degrees in both engineering and business and has had successful careers in the software and technology industries. Her lifelong love affair with British murder mysteries inspired her to embark on a literary career. The Crown for Castlewood Manor and Cast, Crew, & Carnage; the Filming of Castlewood Manor are the first and second books in what she calls her My American Almost Royal Cousin Series. When not traveling and spinning mystery yarns, she lives in California with her husband, Bruce, and her two cats, Daisy and Ebbie.

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Interview with Teesa Mee

Welcome, Teesa Mee❣
 
 
1. For those who might not be familiar with you, would you be a dear and tell the readers a little about yourself? How did you get your start in the writing business?
 
(Teesa) I am the oldest five children and the only girl. My last three brothers were born when I was 14, 16, and 17, so I became their built-in babysitter. I attended the University of Michigan in the pre-med program, but decided I was just not competitive enough to become a doctor. After a bad breakup, I failed to complete one class and forfeited my degree in Experimental Biology. However, I had a job waiting and did not return to college for 36 years. In the meantime, I married, adopted two children, worked in administrative and supervisory positions, and then lost my son to suicide when he was 24. The toll of the grief on my health was devastating. I lost my job in December 2009, and we soon lost our home and a vehicle to bankruptcy. (My husband has been totally disabled since 1999.) When Social Security granted me SSDI to deal with my health, I began to recover and returned to college. I graduated a year ago with a BS in Information Science, specializing in Web Development. However, along the way, I began editing for several independent authors and decided to pursue that instead of Web design. My business is called Indie Editing Services and you can find me on Facebook under that name and my website is www.indieeditingservices.com.
 
I began writing during my teenage years to deal with the angst I was feeling. I wrote poetry and song lyrics, and composed stories to tell my younger brothers.  When I overcame my grief over the loss of my son, I began a memoir on surviving suicide grief. I hope to publish that early next year. I have also participated in several anthologies, published those teen poems in a volume called Looking Back: Poems from the Adolescent Me, and just published my Thesaurus Erotica.
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, please share how you handle it.
 
(Teesa) Sometimes the words just flow. Other times, not so much. I have a novella on the back burner. I have written 5K of it, the beginning and the end. I’m stuck on the middle section and have decided to just let it sit, coming back to it now and again. I find that taking walks and reading other books often helps.
 
3. Contrary to what some people envision about a romance writer’s life, it’s not all glitz and glam. Well not for the majority of us. With that bubble sadly busted, when you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
 
(Teesa) I have a full-time job as the customer service manager for a start-up software company. The best part is I get to work from home. I also run Indie Editing Services, editing other authors’ books. I enjoy my two dogs and they demand my attention throughout the day. When I can, I spend time with my 11-year-old grandson. He is the joy of my life. Then there’s laundry, grocery shopping, vacuuming, and dusting.
 
4. I know many writers, such as myself, keep their pastime/career a secret. Do those close to you know you write? If so, what are their thoughts?
 
(Teesa) I have a pen name to protect my family of birth from my secret career. However, my close family members and friends know that I write and they are highly encouraging of me. Some of my best support comes from other authors I have met on social media.
 
5. Will you share with us your all-time favorite authors? If you’re like me, it’s a long list so give us your top ten.
 
(Teesa) Thanks for limiting it to ten, or I could be here all day
and night.
 
  1. Edna Ferber, who wrote one of my all-time favorite books, Show Boat, which became America’s first musical!
  2. Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind.  
  3. Andrew Greeley; I love his view of God as an adolescent girl in a huge crush with humanity.
  4. Stephen King, especially Salem’s Lot and The Stand.
  5. Anne McCaffery, all of her Dragonriders of Pern books and her Acorna books.
  6. JD Robb’s In Death Series. The relationship between Eve Dallas and Rourke is HAWT!
  7. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series
  8. Michael Connelly, especially his Harry Bosch books.
  9. Jane Austen, who doesn’t love her books and she has inspired so many more writers of Victorian romance.
  10. Mason Sabre, my good friend, who writes the most emotionally engaging paranormal stories I have ever read!
 
6. If you could choose one book to go to the big screen, yours or otherwise, which book would you choose and whom would you love to see cast in the parts?
 
(Teesa) Ooh, that’s a toughie because many of my faves have been turned into movies. I guess I would go with JD Robb’s Naked in Death starring Scarlett Pomer as Eve Dallas and Tom Ellis as Roarke.
 
7. Would you care to tell us what you’re working on now? That is if it’s not top-secret information. If so, just whisper it in my ear. I swear it’ll go no further.
 
(Teesa) It’s no secret at all. My current project is a memoir of surviving suicide grief called Who Am I Now? I’m also working on a novella about a family of serial killers and the cop who is hunting them. Then way back, I’m working on a full novel called Mementoes based on the song Lydia the Tattooed Lady.
 
8. Where can we find your stories, and is there a particular reading order?
 
(Teesa) In order of publication, but not reading order, I have Looking Back, Poems from My Adolescent Self (Kindle Purchase Link)
 
Demon Depression (essay) and Sunshine (poem) in This Beautiful Escape Vol. 1 
 
 
Don’t Give Up (essay) and Don’t Despair (poem) in
This Beautiful Escape Vol. 2
  
 
 
 
Two poems in
Warrior Women, Vanquishing with Passion and Path to the Light 
 
Thesaurus Erotica, a reference book for authors of romance and erotica (Kindle Purchase Link); and finally A Samhein to Remember in Detours in Our Destination which will be published in August.
 
 
9. Would you please share how your present and future fans can contact you?
 
(Teesa) Fans can email me at teesamee61@gmail.com
You can find me on social media in all these places:
 
10. Before we conclude this enlightening interview, do you have anything else you’d like to share? The stage is all yours.
 
(Teesa) This has been a blast and I just want to give a shout out to all my fans and friends for supporting my dreams, especially Melissa Ann, Mason Sabre, Angela Peters, David S. Scott, Jennifer Cleary Roche, Kathy Ossian, Jan Jimenez, Carmen Meerschaert, my daughter Suzie and her partner Jess, and my hubs Gary, who has the patience of a saint. I love you, Babe!
 
 
Wow, Teesa Mee, you have gave me and our lovely visitors plenty of ideas of what to read next. Now the real questions is…. What shall we buy first? Decisions, decisions……..
 
Before you, my sweet guests, run off to Amazon please take a moment to say howdy to Teesa. Ask her a question. We’d love to hear your thoughts on her responses and the books discussed today.
 
 
Thanks, 
Kam  
 

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Author Showcase and Review of “From a Soldier’s Perspective” – Michael Lee Womack

Website: www.womackpoetry.com
Twitter: @WomackPoetry
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMichaelLeeWomack
 

On the seventeenth day of February 1987, author and poet Michael Lee Womack was born in the small town of Sanford, North Carolina. While coming up through elementary school, middle school, and high school Mr. Womack was extremely shy. Michael Lee Womack was extremely shy, but he had a love for the ladies. His love for the ladies would eventually give birth to his love for poetry. Whenever he was in middle school and high school he was specifically known for writing poems for every beautiful woman that he was too shy to speak to. 

 
In the summer of 2005, North Carolina Author& Poet “Michael Lee Womack” graduated from”Lee Senior High School”. Approximately one month later from reaching this landmark in his life, this young man became a part of something bigger than anything that he had ever been a part of at this time of his life, the “United States Army”. He enlisted into the United States Army on the 30th of June 2005. From there, he would embark on a journey unlike any other. He attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky so that he could serve his country as a 19 Delta Cavalry Scout. 
 
Upon the completion of his training at Fort Knox, Kentucky the United States Army assigned him to the 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. In the years of 2006- 2007 he would deploy as a “Calvary Scout” with 3rd Squadron 4th U.S. Calvary Regiment located out of the Pacific Island of “Hawaii,”. 
 
In the year of 2008 this hard working soldier was ready to move on to another duty station. His next landing spot in the army would once again be Fort Knox, Kentucky. While there he would spend the next year of his life in the 1st Squadron, 16th U.S. Cavalry working as the OPFOR that assisted in the training of freshly new army lieutenants. After spending the first three years of his army career serving honorably as a “Calvary Scout” this trooper sought to learn another skill. 
 
The great southern state of “Georgia” would soon be his next home as he continued his journey onto the home of the “United States Army Signal Corps” , also known as “Fort Gordon”. It would be there in which he would learn the skills required to be a “25 Sierra” “Satellite Communication Systems Operator/Maintainer”. 
 
After obtaining the knowledge required to carry out the duties of his new occupation he would continue to “soldier on” to “Fort Stewart, Georgia” home of the 3rd Infantry Division. As soon as he made way to his new Army family, “Charlie Company 4-3 BSTB” he deployed with them to Ramadi, Iraq in support of “Operation New Dawn” from the summer of 2010 to the summer of 2011. 
 
Three years after that he would see his army career come to a close, and on the 27th of May 2014 he was medically retired from the military. Upon his departure from the military Mr. Womack would have problems adjusting to civilian life, however, his first love, a.k.a. “poetry” saved him. Through your reading of his newest published book, “From A Soldier’s Perspective” he hopes that you gain much insight from it on what life was like for him as a soldier, as well as what life has been like for him as a veteran.
 
 
 
 
 
As soldiers who have just returned from war, we fight a separate war daily in an attempt to leave the war behind. Many soldiers, just like myself, come home from war only to fight a separate internal battle, with debilitating illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. It was important for me to share my story not only for myself but for those who have fought, for those who have fallen, and for those who continue to wage war in order for the United States of America to continue to remain free. The price of freedom is not free. 

War is chaos, and many soldiers bear the scars from it for the rest of our lives.
 

 
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 (review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 
Unless you walked a mile in a soldier’s shoes, you can’t fully understand what their time deployed has done to their psyche and bodies. Yes, family and friends live with the aftermath right alongside them. However, loved ones can’t fully understand what’s going on in the soldier’s mind. The battles they still face well after their time of war is over. 
 
I have no doubt Michael’s poetry will have you appreciating a soldier’s job a bit more. 
 
I simply couldn’t pick a favorite poem. For me, they all were touching — so many emotions pouring from his heart/mind into ours. 
 
Thank you, Michael. Thank you for opening up to us, letting us in, and sharing your time over there and civilian life will us. 
 
My only negative point to address (which I brought up to him) was the pricing of the paperback/hardcover. He stated he had no control over it. I highly suggest reading this but, for those who are watching their wallets, I would opt for the kindle version. 
 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤
 
 
 
 PURCHASE LINKS:

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