I crept quietly
Past the spooky haunted house,
I raced in terror.
My Halloween offering in concordance with the Haiku Challenge.
Writing
What I’ve been doing.
Thought I would share one of the things keeping me busy of late. Well sort of share.
http://www.aleshaescobar.com/magic-unveiled-an-anthology-fantasy-magicalrealism/
That link will tell you about an anthology I’m involved in with some bestselling authors. How I got in there, I have no idea. But I wrote a short story for it and it should be out in October.
The link tells you how you can preorder it for only .99. How you can even become an “advance copy review reader”.
That link will take you to the sign up list for hosting an interview with an author, a guest post, or even a book cover reveal. Yes, even something as simple as a Book Cover Reveal/Feature is a help.
Innocence is Freedom. #WQWWC
“Writing novels preserves you in a state of innocence – a lot passes you by – simply because your attention is otherwise diverted.”-Anita Brookner CBE (16 July 1928 – 10 March 2016[1]) was a British award-winning novelist and art historian. She was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1968 and was the first woman to hold this visiting professorship. She was awarded the 1984 Man Booker Prize for her novel Hotel du Lac.
When looking for a quote to use in this week’s Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge for Innocence, I ran across only a very few that I really liked. Then I came upon the one above. There is so much truth in that sentence.
I like the innocence I have. There is so much that I’m not aware of, so much I am glad I don’t know. I fill my mind and time with things I want to know. It’s like feeding my brain good food and no junk. I’m not influenced by the media, including the social kind, nor by trends. I keep my basic core in tact and am able to look around and see how the world really is in comparison to how we are led to believe it is.
Innocence means a lot of things. Ultimately I believe innocence is the sticking to your core values and beliefs without prejudice while respecting the world around you. (I think that made sense?)
Memories of an era
“Take care of all your Memories. For you cannot relive them. Bob Dylan”
It is fascinating how memories return, in the least expected ways.
There we were, travelling home late at night after his training. A winter’s night, and he had earlier jumped into the car, hugging himself tight and then putting his hands over the air vents, for some warmth. We had stopped for fuel and a hot chocolate for him, which he then clasped within his hands, taking sips every so often.
That action in a series of quick flashes reminded me of holding a takeaway cup filled with coffee, going to work, an association to being an adult, then looking over to him and realising that he was nearly there, an adult and absorbing his features of a young man eager to take on the world, invincible.
As I began saying, “I didn’t think I would see…
View original post 243 more words
Be kind…
“Be kind, for whenever kindness becomes part of something, it beautifies it. Whenever it is taken from something, it leaves it tarnished.” – Muhammad
You know, I’ve said before that I think it would be interesting if there were like a New Testament of the Quran. One that focused on the positives of Islam.
As some of you know, I’m an author and book reviewer. I have another site called LitWorldInterviews.com. I was reading a book called Waterkill by an author named Mark Donovan. It involved a bioterrorism attack and threat by Al-Qaeda. The book did a good job of showing that Islam is not just one sided.
In the book the above quote was at the very end, on the last page. It took me a long time to read the book for various reasons. This week the theme I chose for the Writer’s Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge was Beauty.
I don’t believe in coincidences. That theme, and my finishing this book last night seems to go hand in hand.
For more on the Beauty theme click here to visit the comments on SilverThreading.com.
KEEP ON LOVING.
1Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews 13)
Beautiful words, aren’t they? Some may even be surprised they come from the Bible. There are people that don’t realize there are two parts of the Bible, a historical half and an application part. I always like to point to the fact the ugly parts of the historical being included as being signs of how true the Bible is. If all those who put the Bible together wanted was a positive point of view without any negative parts for people to point fingers at, they would have left the Old Testament out.
But more about those words up there. I have a friend visiting the south this week. A stranger to this country and especially this part of the world. Southern Hospitality has reined and dispelled some naysayers to how Americans are, and how Southerners might be. I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t get adopted into a family here before she makes it to the airport for her trip back home.
As a Christian, living in the Bible Belt of the nation, I like to think some of the verses above seep into the culture. Even those not attending church, not reading or believing the Bible, are exposed to the behavior of Christians. Some say these characteristics are only basic polite gestures. If so, then why don’t all parts of the world do the same? I’m not saying all parts of the world don’t have nice people, every part of the world does have nice people.
What I’m saying is, here in the South we have this culture of politeness and respect for one another that even the young get eventually. They like to act a certain way in front of their friends but once away from them, they slip into the polite culture. They KNOW how to act.
Or perhaps it’s that they act that way around adults who don’t jump to a conclusion about them. Perhaps it’s to those adults that treat them with respect and pleasantries they will reciprocate. If anyone can find fault in the words above, well, it would be interesting.
Just because we have a loved one in prison does not mean they cease to exist. And as for those suffering, have you not suffered in some way that you cannot empathize?
The scripture at the beginning of this post are the first verses of Hebrews Chapter 13. As some of you who have read me long enough may know, I don’t like the chapter divisions of the Bible.
The end of Hebrews Chapter 12:
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
The above is the paragraph right before the paragraph I started off the post with. I like to show previous verses at times to show context and how one leads into the other.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016
Book Review – Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling
Another 5 Star Review for Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling! Gotta love these surprise notifications. 🙂
Full Title:Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling (The Razor’s Adventures Pirate Tales)
Author(s):P.S. Bartlett & Ronovan Hester
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, High Adventure, Fantasy
Summary:
Captain Gabriel Wallace of the Royal Navy finds himself tangled in a web of lies, deceit and betrayal. Following a mishap in a tavern involving the Admiral, his wife and her lover, Wallace is court-martialed. Along with his loyal crew, he steals his ship, and heads for the high seas. Although Wallace is now a pirate, he is still an honorable and fair Captain. With his mind set on vengeance, he sails to the Colonies and the Caribbean with the Royal Navy in pursuit.
Review:
Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling is ‘not-your-typical’ pirate story. And that’s a good thing for this reader who normally reads science fiction and thrillers. The authors did an excellent job maintaining the appropriate language for the early 18th Century. Historical events are…
View original post 96 more words
VOTE NOW! Annual Bloggers Bash Awards NOW OPEN
Voting is open. Vote for our blog for Best overall blog for 2016! It’s the bottom category. I see RonovanWrites as more a blog for all of us. I’ve had times where I’ve wanted to give up blogging, but the Haiku Challenge and Fiction Challenge hosting has kept me coming back and kept me active in life. That’s why I say vote for our blog, because there would be no RonovanWrites without all of you.
Or vote for someone else you think deserves it more. As long as you vote, you’re voting for someone to keep living and surviving.
Much Respect
Ronovan(LitWorldInterviews is up for best book review blog and is titled Ronovan et al.)
This is it. The waiting is finally over.
The Bloggers Bash Awards are now open for voting.
We had a HUGE number of nominations, over 350, so thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate.
Voting Closes June 9th at 12pm. The winners will be announced on June 11th at the Bash. If you can’t make it then a winners post will go live at 5:15pm on June 11th.
Choose carefully, you can only vote ONCE per category. There are 10 awards, (so it’s a long post) make sure you vote in them all.
Good luck to all the nominees.
Disclaimer: The committee has done their best to coordinate the nominations and to ensure, where possible, we gave nominees a choice of which category they wanted to be in. Due to time constraints and limited resources this may not have always been possible.
View original post 1,411 more words
Survey Question-Why do you put that book down?
One Question only. All answers appreciated.
Here is the first of our LWI Survey Questions. Never a list, just the one. Yes, I know there are two but the second is clarifying the first. The results will be shared, minus names provided.
Make sure to share this post around through social media and reblogging.
The Fantasy.
Moonlight, white silk sheets, and dark raven hair dominate my sight. She had given me a key. Maybe she’d forgotten . . . or maybe not. Once through the door I inhaled deeply and took in her expensive scent.
I fought to keep my eyes from closing, from losing sight of her curves under the silk. Mmmm, perhaps she was expecting me.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I observed her lines, her breathing. Her fingers gripped the pillow. I leaned in to her neck . . . her reactions were faster.
Lips found mine.
Hands pulled me to her.
She kissed me deep, her hand in my hair . . . while the other was searching.
“Glenn?”
“Wha?” I woke, looking up into dark eyes.
“You were gasping for breath, are you okay?”
“I was lost in a dream, a fantasy.” I smiled.
“Well, everyone needs a fantasy.”
I laughed. “Yeah.
She leaned over me her face close to mine.
“And you know what I always say.”
“Which one?” I asked.
“My single-minded aim is to give existence to fantasy.”
This is my contribution to the Writer’s Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge. Hosted this week by my co-host, Colleen Chesebro on SilverThreading.com. The theme is Fantasy. Click here to see other entries and to enter yourself if you like.
Find my Debut Novel on Amazon.com
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016
#WeekendCoffeeShare – May 1, 2016
“To be honest, Amber Wake is likely not a novel that I would have picked up had it not been from knowing Ronovan through our wonderful WordPress community. And, that would have been a shame as I am enjoying this fast paced novel and expect to have a review posted before the end of the month.”
If you and I were having coffee right now … I would apologize for letting the entire winter go by without catching up over coffee. I guess I’ve been in a bit of a funk. I still haven’t decided what kind of posting schedule works for weekend coffee share posts – weekly, monthly, quarterly, when the spirit moves me. Truth be told, I am still struggling with creating an editorial calendar for 2016.
View original post 769 more words
Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 23 – Season
I’m Hosting Hugh’s photo challenge this week! Go check out three of my photos I shared!
Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge – “Artist”
Head over and join in the challenge this week. I’m the host!!!
One week left!
Not really, now get it no later than Saturday, because Sunday the Free forms get removed.
This opportunity expires at the end of 4/30/2016 EST, New York Time.
There is only one week left to get my debut novel for FREE!
Want to read this book?
“P.S. Bartlett and Ronovan Hester’s historical adventure novel, Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling, The Razor’s Adventures Pirate Tales, is an exciting and fast-paced story set in the early eighteenth century. As I read of Captain Wallace’s trial and expulsion from the Royal Navy and his decision to turn to piracy, I was reminded of Sabatini’s classic pirate adventure tale, Captain Blood. The action scenes in this novel are vivid and filled with sounds and images, and the plot is compelling and complex. The authors’ characters are marvelously portrayed, especially that of Miles Jacobs, whose loyalty and concern for his friend prompts him to put everything at risk. Amber Wake is well-written and the plot is a delight. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a good pirate movie (and who hasn’t?) or found themselves wrapped up…
View original post 209 more words
Bad Comparisons by @YouAreTheExpert
Bad Comparisons by Annette.
Compare not your pearls
Filled with the wisdom of truth
To diamonds of swine
©2016 Annette Rochelle Aben
Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 22 – Group – Hugh’s Views & News
Love the birds in this one. Such a peaceful scene.
via Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 22 – Group
Loved this photo that was entered in Hugh’s challenge.
Time for a new theme for Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge … this time it’s Group. I won’t lie, when I first saw the theme I was thinking ” I don’t have any group shots!”. You see, my first thought on seeing the word “group” was a photo of a group of people. I have a thing about people photos … I just don’t like taking them. I don’t know why. I just want to photograph landscapes and wildlife 🙂
View original post 114 more words
Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 22 – Group
Get your entries in. I’m the host next week and will be choosing five people to feature from this weeks entries. Get your group on. Get it? Group on, Groupon. Muaahahahhaha!!!! Okay, I tried.
On Writing.
“To write great you must read greater.” Ronovan Hester
To write greater, read these:
Dancing to an Irish Reel by Claire Fullerton
The Judas Apocalypse by Dan McNeil
Sex & Samosas by Jasmine Aziz
ronovanwrites 