RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #86 Flash&Dance

February 29, 2016February 29, 2016 Ronovan Haiku Prompt Challenge Blogs, Community, Daily Post Event, Fun, Haiku, Haiku Challenge, Haiku Prompt, Humor, Nature, Poetry, Poetry Prompt, Prompt

Haiku Poetry Prompt Writing Challenge Useful Links.
Thesaurus: Flash, Dance.
HowManySyllables.com
Thesaurus.com
Haiku in English
How to do a Ping Back

The Challenge Words!

Flash & Dance

(REMINDER: Check that your ping backs are working!)

Not sure how to write a Haiku? Click HERE for a quick How to write Haiku Poem in English Form with links to articles for other forms of Haiku.

Use the 52 Week Photo Challenge hosted by some of our Haiku Challenge friends in unison with the above prompt words. This week’s photo prompt is EXTRA. Click HERE to see the full 52 prompts. And yes, EXTRA can be used with the Haiku words, although I didn’t plan it that way this week.

The Guidelines are simple.

Use the two prompt words in a Haiku. I use Haiku in English as my style, which is 5 syllables for the first line, 7 for the second, and 5 for the third, but you can use what you like. The link above gives you more specifics of a Haiku and other forms of Haiku.
Words have different definitions and you can use the definitions you like. You can even use a synonym word. Go to Thesaurus.com for Synonym help. I’ve also included the words at the top of the page.
Copy and paste the URL link of your finished haiku post into a comment here on the challenge post. I then know you did one, and we can all go visit your site to see what you have done. You can also do a ping back. What’s a ping back? Put the URL link from the address bar of this post, if you like, within your post. Your inclusion of the link encourages others to try the challenges out, be creative, and join a community to find friends and more followers (hopefully). I honestly gain nothing by more people visiting the post. I don’t have ads running I get paid for by your visit. How to do a Ping Back
Use the Tag of Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge. This will help me find you in case you forget to ping back or leave your URL in the comments.
The Challenge currently BEGINS at 8 AM EST (New York City time) on Mondays. And a DEADLINE is Noon EST (New York City time) on the Sunday following the Challenge Post release.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

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In a Flash by @YouAreTheExpert

February 29, 2016February 29, 2016 Ronovan Guest Haiku Haiku, Poetry

In a Flash. First in this week. I guess you can say she did this one in a flash.

Annette Rochelle Aben

Enjoy the day’s dance

All the experiences

In a flash are gone

https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-86-flashdance/

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The New #Haiku #Challenge #Review Week 85!

February 28, 2016March 1, 2016 Ronovan Writing Bloggers, Blogs, Daily Post Event, Haiku, Micropoetry, Poetry, Poets

Welcome to the new Haiku Challenge Weekly Review with Ronovan Writes. Brought to you by … The Word of the Week to Live by:

Vitality
plural vi·tal·i·ties
1 a: the peculiarity distinguishing the living from the nonliving b: capacity to live and develop; also : physical or mental vigor especially when highly developed

2 a: power of enduring b: lively and animated character

Narrowing the list down to 10 was a lot more difficult than I imagined. I had it down to about 17, then had to keep going. I think I know why I did all those links for so long.

For all the links, click HERE for the challenge post and the comments. All duplicates have been removed. In other words, if you click one, you won’t visit that same one again as you move through the list. I delete the ping backs of those who leave links in comments for the convenience of readers. The ping backs still work.

The Featured Ten

(In order of entry.)

TJ Paris Haiku – The Tight Rope http://wp.me/p5ipGi-1ub via @Roccoco_a_GoGo

Alice – Her experience (2) http://wp.me/p4g8gn-Uk via @Vidocq_CC

Judy – Molly http://wp.me/p54Obu-1Ho via @EdwinasEpisodes

Oneta – Spring Swing http://wp.me/p4Ipb9-i5

Doug – Enigma http://wp.me/s69SqY-enigma

Martha – Love Signs http://wp.me/pPFyE-1Lj via @MeridithLBL

Greg – Warmth Abounds http://wp.me/p51loS-js via @Greg_Wolford

Ruby – Tight pillow cuddles @RubyManchanda

Pancake Bunnykins – Slipped Away http://wp.me/p5JoVg-1RN

Crow – Poem 20160225 (Forgotten) http://wp.me/p1kF-IU via @crow

Special Mentions

OBA – All The Way Love – **Wedding Anniversary** http://wp.me/p5ptIl-292 via @obapathway

Clarence – Ode To RonovanWrites **Appreciation** http://wp.me/p3ZFSi-Vv

Authors

(Click Images to go to Amazon or SmashWords Author Pages for Books.)

Annette Rochelle Aben – Cozy Traditions http://wp.me/p4ayEo-15H via @YouAreTheExpert

Scott Bailey – Over the Plains http://wp.me/p3kG6h-1xC via @houseofbailey

Jane Dougherty – Cocoons to Spring http://wp.me/p2ESuy-2uX via @MJDougherty33

Bill Engleson – Democratic Dance via @billmelaterplea

D.B. Mauldin – Melting In http://wp.me/p2YiAw-37n via @dmauldin3

Vashti Quiroz-Vega – Spanx & Food Porn http://wp.me/p3eYyj-1cm @VashtiQV

Sue Vincent – Cold http://wp.me/s1wss8-cold via @SCVincent

Baheya Zeitoun – Drumming Hearts http://wp.me/p1FhVD-IO via @BaheyaZ

Click the Image.

“Now, I want to warn you… this is not your typical pirate tale! It’s BETTER!”

“The historical descriptions are done smoothly, and flow nicely without being to “teachy”.”

“What I found when I began reading was immediate engrossment in the cleanly written character of Captain Wallace, who is a seafaring man of high rank, with a conscious. That his first person voice is as confessional as it is kept me turning the pages. ”

“I enjoyed meeting the characters, kept turning the pages to see what was happening next …”

“Captain Gabriel Wallace is a man with a moral code that is largely unwavering; a confident man who holds himself with pride yet humble. A romantic hero for sure! This is an entirely engaging and enjoyable read!”

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A Change for Now.

February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 Ronovan Haiku Poetry Challenge Reviews Blog Change, Challenge, Haiku Challenge

I guess some of you may have noticed I am everywhere lately. I have posts across other blogs promoting my book. I am here promoting my book but trying not to because I don’t want to seem like I am forcing it on anyone. Then I am trying to do my normal blogging.

To be honest, it’s taking its toll. I’m having to wear compression gloves now to type and wow are they taking a lot to get accustomed to typing with. I guess you realize if I am wearing the gloves then the hands have gotten worse.

I love writing. I love blogging. Lately, really for months now, I don’t blog. I host challenges and put out reviews, both of which I like.

The problem is . . . I never knew the Haiku Challenge would ever get as big as it has. Would any of you have thought it that’s been around the whole time?

For the time being, I’m going to change the Haiku Review to include the Authors, because I know every extra mention helps, and choose 10 other Entries to feature along with the blog names. I am working on a way to maybe include all the links of all the entries just not in the format we have now. I’m going to work on the easiest way I can get it done so as many people can benefit. This may be temporary.

Other than my hands and overall health issues, I also want to get back to being creative again.

I loved writing poetry for so long, but now I don’t get into that space long enough to write. It’s time I created the chances to write again. I’ll be sharing the next phase of that journey with you. Keep an eye out for excerpts of that Southern Romance I’ve been working on for so long.

Much Respect

Ronovan

What’s a GL and PSS got to do with writing?

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Ronovan Writing Active Sentence Structure, Passive Sentence Structure, Reading Levels, Writing, Writing Tips

If you’ve been following my Flash Fiction prompt on Fridays, you may notice I mention things called GL and passive sentence structure. Why do I do that and why are those things important?

Some people think if you write, then you’re all good. The problem with that is, you are only as good as your editor when it comes to publishing.

You must know what writing is about.

You must know what it takes to make a story you like.

You must always be learning and realize you don’t know everything and never will, and that’s okay.

Grade Reading Level

GL is the reading grade level of a book. For fiction, you generally want your book not too difficult so the reader can get lost in the story and forget they are reading at all. If you can do that, you have a good reading level.

There are many ways the grade reading level is determined. The one I use it strictly based on the length of sentences and the syllables used. I don’t take into consideration the content of your work. That is something for professionals to determine. I think most of us know if we have violence, profanity, or sex in a book, the reading level is going to go up.

As time goes by, the suggested grade reading level drops according to what society sees as acceptable. In addition, you need to keep in mind the level will be different for the general public than it might be for schools where books are for educational purposes in classrooms.

You might think adults would read books at a level of 12 or higher. Realistically we want something simpler, where we know most of the words if not all of them. Most of the greatest fiction, or most popular, is written around a grade level of five or six, and that is for adult readers as well as teens.

Harry Potter is a GL of around five. Tolkien is around GL 6.5. In other words, don’t knock a GL of 5-6 when you see it in the weekly #Links post I put out.

If you are participating in the weekly prompts and are not writing around that level, it’s up to you to decide if you want to adjust. Now you know how to adjust. If you want a higher GL, use longer words and sentences. If you want a lower GL, then shorter words and sentences.

How do I determine the GL of the entries into the challenge? Word has a built in tool that does it for me.

Now you know why I include the GL in the comments/links for the entries to the challenge.

How about PSS?

I’ve more recently begun including the passive sentence structure percentage. Why did I do that? Passive sentences normally end up being longer and somewhat convoluted, causing the reader to do more to understand the sentence. Passive slows down the reading, the progress, and action of the story.

I know, some of you are thinking your book is not an action story, but each book has something going on that needs to move forward. You want to carry the reader onward. You don’t want to have your reader bogged down and their brain getting tired or bored.

Doing prompt challenges like the one I host, or any blog for that matter, helps you get in the habit of writing in the grade level you like and in an active voice. You don’t want to write an entire book and realize you need to change it all. 350 pages of do over is a daunting thing to face.

Use Word, if you have it, and set things up to check for passive voice. Yes, Word has that ability. Check out Using Proofing To Help Your Fiction Diction & More! to see how to set Word to work for you.

I don’t give much feedback about how to improve writing, because when I have given serious feedback I ended up with anger and defensiveness. That is another reason I put the GL and passive sentence structure percentage in the links.

Ronovan Hester is an author, whose debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling is available now on Kindle and in Paperback is ready to ship now. Click HERE to choose.

Click the image for Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on Amazon.com.

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FRIDAY FICTION with RONOVAN WRITES Prompt Challenge #15-A spill occurs.

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Ronovan Friday Fictions Daily Post Event, Fiction Writing, Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes, Movie Quotes, New Challenge, Storytelling, Weekly, Writing, Writing Challenge, Writing Prompt, Writing Tips

Useful links:
Grammarly.com
Click HERE for STRIPPING for FICTION or HOW TO WRITE FLASH FICTION.
Click HERE for Dialogue Tags, Action Beats, and the Dialogue Comma.
Click HERE for What’s a GL and PSS got to do with writing.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE COMMENTS ON YOUR WRITING, PLEASE NOTE AT THE END OF YOUR ENTRY THE AREAS YOU WISH FOR THE READER TO COMMENT ON, OR IF YOU WISH FOR AN OVERALL OPINION.

If you’ve been here before click Skip To Prompt.

Refrehs yourself on the Content Guidelines

FRIDAY FICTION with RONOVAN WRITES

With decades of writing behind me and daily learning of how to be a better writer, and by daily, I do mean constant, I wanted to give a way for current friends and future finders of this blog a way to push themselves to improve as well.

Through this challenge my hopes are you will:

Find your voice
Step out of comfort zones to discover a genre where your talent truly lies
Perhaps make connections that will help you become a better writer

DEADLINE IS:

23:59 EST (New York Time) Wednesday. I will then have Thursday to complete reading the entries and compiling the links and such. I do read all entries. You can ask any of my Haiku Challenge family/community members.

I DO ASK THAT YOU:

Keep it PG as all ages do follow the blog and may click through and read the entries. (Continue for exceptions.)
If you do write a piece of fiction that goes past the PG level, copy the link into the comments of this post and make a note of it being such and give the reasons you think it is, such as violence (See below for clarification.), sexual content, language/profanity.
No violence toward children by adults or predatory aspects toward children. I know you may have two kids have a fight. I get that, but I don’t want gratuitous violence such as glorifying bullying. Also I can see you having a kid kicking some bad guy in the face for some reason. I get it.
No sexual assault against anyone.

WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR WORK OF FICTION: (The below guidelines are less than they look.)

Copy and paste your URL in the comments of the challenge post, or do a ping back to this post. This does not mean you must share a link today, Friday, just because the challenge says Friday in it. It means you must return to this post or ping back to this post.

A ping back is copying and pasting the URL of the challenge post into your post. That lets people know about the challenge, sort of, and is one way to let me know you’ve entered. Just make certain to visit back here to see your ping back is showing. Confused? Click HERE to see how to do a ping back.

If your blog is with WordPress, TAG your post as Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes. This way people may find your work in the WP Reader.

IMPORTANT! For those wishing to participate in the possible FREE eBook Project for Fiction, click HERE for the Challenge Page with information at the bottom along with a form of agreement to fill out.

Click HERE for STRIPPING for FICTION or HOW TO WRITE FLASH FICTION.

Prompt for Challenge

FIRST OF ALL: Please remember, this is NOT a race. Take your time. Friday is only a part of the title, not a deadline. SECONDLY, if the story is flowing, don’t let the word count stop you; keep writing. THIRDLY, if you are an ACTIVE challenge participant and you just aren’t feeling the prompt, write something and ping back or paste your link. I’ll still include it in the #Links post the following Friday.

A spill occurs, what do you do next?
Use your imagination for what a spill is. Click HERE for the Thesaurus for spill.

See if you can come in at more than a Word Count of 600. Control your word usage. (SUGGESTED)
Using the above scenario, create a scene about a spill of some kind and what you happens. Is it related to you, to someone around you, the world, love, death, sports. Get creative. (REQUIRED)

For proofreading of your work you might check out Grammarly.com. They have a free option to download for Word or that will even work right here in the WordPress Post Editor. It also works in the comments of sites. An additional feature is you can turn Grammarly off and own for each site you visit.

Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling is available now for pre-order on Kindle or the Paperback is ready to ship now. Click HERE to choose. He shares his life through his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

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Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt #14 Entries: THE #LINKS

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Ronovan Friday Fictions The Writers with The Links Action, Adult, Challenge, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes, Humor, Middle Grades, Romance, Science Fiction, YA

I wasn’t going to do MUST READs this week, I mean most are must reads already. Then I read one that I could not ignore or pass by. Timely and for a writer this one hits home. Make sure not to skip it. We had everything from humor to death, and drama to suspense. Two new members joining in, and good storytellers at that.

A Must Read designation does NOT mean an entry is necessarily better than the other entries. It means that entry clicked with me in some way in that moment I read it.

The order appearing is the order in which the entry was received.

GL below stands for the reading Grade Level. Harry Potter is a GL of around 5. Tolkien is around GL 6.5. Passive Sentence percentage is included as Active Sentences are considered the preferred form of writing by most editors and publishers. Active moves the story along. Passive is not always bad. Sometimes a story works that way, perhaps through the language of a person or the type of story. Even then, keep the percentage low.

The Prompt for the Challenge was:

You’ve just been handed a message that makes you drop to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.

No more than a Word Count of 600. (SUGGESTED)
Using the above scenario, create a scene of what the note is about, and why it makes you react the way you do. (REQUIRED)
No external dialogue for this scene. (SUGGESTED)

NEW MEMBERS!

Coffins
Damean Mathews (Writing Is Life)
A family saga in few words. 686 words, 6.4 GL, and 5% passive sentence structure.
“My name is Damean Mathews. I an author with an immense love of the written word. This blog is here to help aspiring authors in their craft. I plan on giving as many tips as possible, sharing my own examples and experiences, and posting some of my work in order to get feedback and help give examples of various stages of work, etc. I am five times published in the Clinch Mountain Review and Jimson Weed, and due to my work in the Jimson Weed I served as Managing Editor for two and a half years, one of which was also spent as Head News Writer for the Highland Cavalier…[Click for more interesting information].” @MathewsMarvels

Messaged Received
Bré Sanchez (Writings of a Single Girl)
Not sure if this is part of an ongoing or not, but it has a lot of potential. Hooked in 345 words. 1.9 GL (Seems like higher.), 0% passive sentence structure.
“Single girl in her 20’s(ish), living in Dublin, sharing her thoughts and experiences.” @singleGRLbrain

Tonight You Die
TJ Paris (La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin)
To let the cat out of the bag or knot? Knot. Go and check it. You know TJ comes through with entertainment each week. 178 words, 5.1 GL, and 5% passive sentence structure. @Roccoco_a_GoGo

Just Friends (Part 4 or Jelly Legs)
Ritu (But I Smile Anyway…)
In the throws of guilt, embarrassment, and general day after insanity, Lara receives a message from the last person she expected. 696 words, 6.9 GL, and 0% passive sentence structure. @PhantomGiggler

Just a Little Slip
Teresa Smeigh (Writing is my Life)
A surprise awaits from a captured soldier and a family reunion. 811 words, 4.4 GL, and 4% passive sentence structure. @TeresaSmeigh

The Note – A Case for Sarah Bradley
KL Kaley (new2writing)
A police officer is up for a promotion when she receives an envelope with something inside that sends her reeling. 637 words, 4.3 GL, and 1% passive sentence structure.

Harper Lee is Dead…
MUST READ Bill Engleson (Writings)
A powerful inner turmoil and realization or disturbance. Depending on the reader, this story may bring about different feelings. 592 words, 4.2 GL, and 0% passive sentence structure. @billmelaterplea

A Child Remembers
Neel Panicker (NeelWritesBlog)
Trigger Warnings in this one for anyone with adult to child situation history. The story does get across the damage something like this does to a child mentally and emotionally. 654 words, 7.8 GL, and 0% passive sentence structure. @PanickerNeel

News
Jane Dougherty (Jane Dougherty Writes)
Another side of a story, one we sometimes don’t consider in our own actions. 406 words, 4.8 GL, and 0% passive sentence structure. @MJDougherty33

The Letter
Kat Myrman (like mercury colliding…)
Great story. Kat gives just enough and you can decide the meaning at the end. I think she writes that last part so well you must know the answer, but maybe I’m wrong. Kat can write! 422 words, 3.1 GL, and 4% passive sentence structure. @kat_myrman

Sentence
Athling (A Writer’s Life)
What do you do, what do you think when that times comes? 287 words, 3.7 GL, and 3% passive sentence structure.

Click the image for Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on Amazon.com.

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READ THIS and GET TO KNOW MY BOOK!

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 Ronovan Books Adventure, Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling, Caribbean, Free, Historical, KDP, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, London, The Blue Diamond: The Razor's Edge

You’ve probably seen me talking about Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on other sites. I’ve mentioned it here, but not really talked about it. Well, it’s time to tell you a little so you can decide to go and purchase either the Paperback or Kindle. Don’t have a Kindle? Neither do I. I use the Kindle App for my Android tablet and my laptop. Only my son has a Kindle. That’s what happens when you’re the only grandchild.

One reason I would like people to purchase is to read the book and write reviews. The more reviews we have, the better Amazon will promote us. It’s a shame that some great books have floundered because people don’t write reviews.

Another great thing about all of the books in this series is, they are available on KDP or Kindle Unlimited for Free to read.

The third thing is I want this book to be a bestseller. It’s my first book, and it would be so amazing to be able to put that label on something I’ve written. For a book to be a bestseller, it needs to move a lot of Kindle or Paperbacks. Every purchase helps. If you watched the ranks the way I have, you would be amazed what a few purchases can do. After a few days of being a top seller, we get a bestseller tag and wow. That is huge.

Now, although we’ve spread the word about the book including pirates, there aren’t that many. Captain Gabriel Wallace and his men set sail from London in 1705 after Wallace is court-martialed and then has an attempt made on his life. His crew is so loyal to him they mutiny and take his former ship the Majesty’s Venture after tying up and hiding away those members not agreeing with the majority vote.

Let me tell you about Wallace. He’s a member of the House of Lords sense the death of his father, but is primarily dedicated to his duties as a captain in the Royal Navy. His upbringing, education, and loyalty to Queen, Country, and God dictate a great deal of how he lives.

He is known as one of the sharpest men in the Royal Navy and all men serving under him would lay down their lives for him. Why? Because he always takes care of his crew. They are always assured of the dedication of their captain whenever it comes to their well being.

After his treatment in the courts and harm done to his family, Wallace wages war on those behind it all, Admiral Chambers, known as the Chambers of Hell for good reason, and his cohorts. After a secret meeting prior to his court-martial, Wallace had time to make plans for his coming war.

The story is told through first person by Wallace. What he thinks, you know. He has one mission, one goal in mind, and nothing will deter him from success. Even the sea itself cannot stop him, although it tries its best.

Beta-readers and reviewers alike have commented about the character development and the man Gabriel Wallace. It’s a fast paced, page turner. The internal monologue of Wallace, done so because he is the only one he can trust completely, makes you want to know what happens next.

This has been called “…not the ordinary pirate tale. It’s BETTER!” The reason this is not the ordinary pirate tale is because it wasn’t written as one. Wallace doesn’t see himself as a pirate. He has a war to wage. He’s also not a pirate for another reason, a reason only he is aware of among his crew.

By the end of the book, all is revealed and changes occur that are unexpected from someone like Wallace.

When writing the original drafts of Amber Wake: Grabriel Falling, I wanted to include things that would be nods to an original character from the first pirate book and give a good foundation for a future character named Rasmus Bergman that plays a big part in the development of Ivory Shepard, the main character in all of PS Bartlett’s other books, as a captain.

Following is a 4 Star Review by Claire Fullerton, published author with Vinspire Publishing. You may wonder why I am sharing a Four star rating instead of one of the Five Star ratings. It’s easy to quote a Five Star rating. Clarie Fullerton is someone I’ve asked to rip my writing apart. I want brutal honesty that will move my writing forward. She has the talent, experience, and the professionalism to push me to the next level in my career. I send her a chapter of my writing and she sends back edits with reasons and suggestions. Some I use, some I don’t, because there are reasons some parts are the way they are. She gets that.

Claire Fullerton bought the Kindle version of the book, then posted a review on the paperback, so it doesn’t show as a verified purchase. She’s one of those who isn’t going to post a review unless she wants to, and am I ever grateful she did. Her following review is as a reader.

If you don’t mind, I’ll bold certain sentences.

“Drawn by the pull of Ronovan Hester’s influence in the blogosphere, I quickly downloaded this book to my Kindle after reading a 5 star review of this book. What I found when I began reading was immediate engrossment in the cleanly written character of Captain Wallace, who is a seafaring man of high rank, with a conscious. That his first person voice is as confessional as it is kept me turning the pages. There is a humanness to Captain Wallace that the reader is privy to via his internal monologues, and this is what kept me engaged with this fast paced, undulating story of a man falsely accused by the English court, who then takes to the sea with a cast of supportive characters. It is an unusual spin on the idea of a pirate story in that Wallace has little other recourse but to go rogue, as it were, and because this premise is wonderfully set up in the beginning, the reader sympathizes with Wallace, who is motivated by the edification of his own reputation. This is a fun book: it is action packed, full of time and place appropriate language, and quite a departure from what I typically read. Here, here to the authors! Ronovan Hester and PS Bartlett clearly set out to collaborate on a joyous, highly visual ride, and it shows.“

With mild use of sailor language, this is a good read for just about everyone. PS Bartlett kept the book honest in many aspects when it came to certain areas, while keeping me and the background of the main characters in mind. Together we achieved a good story I think all of you will find different than what you are expecting.

This is a story that could be taken and put in any era, on sea or land, and end up a great story because of the characters within.

Click the image for the Kindle Page on Amazon. For only $2.99 you get one unique story. How large a story? The paperback is 346 pages, the Kindle 198.

Spread the word about my book. My Tweets reach my followers. My Google+, My Facebook, my, my, my … I think you see what I mean. I need your help. Word of mouth is the way books get sold. Buy a book, read it, enjoy it, and tell your friends about it.

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10 #Quotes of #Respect for #BeWoW Positivity.

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 Ronovan #BeWoW, Quotes #BeWow, Encouragement, Inspiration, Postivity, Quotes, Respect, Ronovan Writes, Writer's Quote Wednesday

Combining events across two blogs can bring inspiration. I’ve always been a quote person in my writings. Quotes naturally lead to positive thoughts, and positivity is what #BeWoW is all about. If we write positive words to share across the blog community, instead of rants, hatred, and veiled animosity that fools no one (check politics these days), we then promote a positive atmosphere.

Too many people get their kicks writing about junk. Too many people get their kicks reading about junk. I avoid junk as often as possible. One friend recently asked me to read a satire about Donald Trump in regards to his accepted role in the Republican Party in the United States. I refused. I waste no time with reading about Donald Trump, or any other candidates all that much.

“There exist only three beings worthy of respect: the priest, the soldier, the poet. To know, to kill, to create.” Charles Baudelaire

French Poet and essayist, Baudelaire named the three beings correctly, but these days each takes on a different guise. Those committed to revealing the world, bettering the world, and saving the world are encompassed in those descriptions above. If you are or know someone with those characteristics . . . respect them.

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” Bryant H. McGill

It is difficult to discover what a person is without listening. We have conversations buy how often do we listen? You my have several exchanges but points are completely missed. Each side is colored by their own opinion and thus interpret the other side of the conversation with that opinion. We are often so wrong.

“I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.“ Edward Gibbon

By listening you discover a great deal. One is when not to waste time. If someone won’t listen to you, then move on. There is a give in take in the world. There are no time limits or deadlines to the understanding of opinions as long as each are actively attempting to understand.

“It is so important to get respect for what you do and at the same time give it.” Estelle Parsons

People are so concerned with obtaining respect for their own opinions or accomplishments they forget there are two sides of the situation in many cases. In order to obtain respect, you must give respect in return. I know that can be difficult when you perceive others as not giving you respect, that’s where listening comes into play . . . true listening.

“Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.” Laurence Stern

For me, when I am well centered and focused on what is important in my life, I have a set of beliefs that allow me to respect myself and when I respect myself, I’m able to respect others more easily. When you can’t respect yourself it’s almost impossible to find how to respect others.

“As all human beings are, in my view, creatures of God’s design, we must respect all other human beings. That does not mean I have to agree with their choices or agree with their opinions, but indeed I respect them as human beings.” Stockwell Day

It can be tough at times to keep respect in mind. Sometimes you feel disrespected or ignored. Then when you are respecting you must push through those times when other people continue to ignore you, don’t listen to you, and disrespect you.

“I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.” Julius Erving

One thing to keep in mind is, no one has to like you. You don’t need like in this world. Society has because a click away from acceptance and popularity or depression and suicide. If we share something with people we look for a response. Since there is less and less face to face interaction, we now look at clicks for ‘likes’ on updates and posts.

“That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.” William J. H. Boetcker

People are going to disagree with you. The important thing is to stick to your beliefs. If you do that, stick to what you believe, you can always hold your head high. We all slip at times, but the important part is getting back up and moving forward and beyond whatever we allowed to influence our slipping in the first place.

“This world of ours… must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

Looking around you can see divisions everywhere. People demanding respect by not giving respect. You respect us, we’ll respect you. That’s not how it works. You want something, you be something. Communication is one of the most important tools we have as humans, and one of the least utilized ones.

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.” Lao Tzu

For more Writer’s Quotes Wednesday click HERE to visit SilverThreading.com, and check out the comments below for links to more #BeWoW articles. (#BeWoW stands for Be Writing on Wednesday, Be Wonderful on Wednesday, writing positively.)

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Fight for Parkinson’s

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 Ronovan #BeWoW Cause, Community Effort, Free to Help, Help People, Parkinson's, vote

Go help out with this great cause!

Stressed out

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 Ronovan Life anxiety, Life, stress

A good post to live by.

MEANINGS AND MUSINGS

Well I have been a little, and though my intellect, my mind tells me to chill, sometimes the emotions and the body react. I hope I am not alone when I say it is so easy, rather unthinkingly to take the stressed out emotions out on someone else.

That can happen, don’t flay yourself over it. I now watch this with a certain curiosity of ‘why’ and ‘how’. The intention is to pay attention to the triggers, to catch them before the emotions erupt, before relationships become strained, friendships threatened. And sometimes it may be simpler to identify our body’s reaction before recognizing our emotions, like the tense shoulders, the trembling heart, the shaking hands, the jiggling feet… so many of our emotions manifesting in our body if only we would ‘listen’. What does your body do when there is sadness, anger, fear… Perhaps the next time you feel compelled…

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My Way From Hell.

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 Ronovan Poetry Future, Life, Love, Moving On, Past, Poetry, Regret

The winds fight through memories walls,
Shaking earth and the very foundation falls.
Never does the howling cry release,
The heart relentless to true belief.

Is it the craven mongrel’s hunger,
Seething inside and sounding thunder?
Beating the heart until aching pains,
Thrust through the chambers built for love’s gains.

Phantasms drift through sleeping minds,
Haunting desires of different kinds.
One less stumbling step to take,
Until it’s time for goodness sake.

Pathways higher than others may stand,
Wind blown free from dangerous sand.
Particles of grime to taint the dream,
Will never bring the pure of heart to scream.

Take your wallowed mess of grievous hate,
And keep it for your eternal soul mate.
I have found my way from hell,
Finding love out of my pained shell.

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Haiku – The Tight Rope by @Roccoco_a_GoGo

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 Ronovan Guest Haiku Fremantle Prison, Haiku, Photography, Poetry, Prison

TJ Paris beats out Annette by 3 minutes to be first this week.

Life is too short to drink bad wine

numbers on wall (Large) This is a picture of a wall in the now closed Fremantle Prison. Prisoners would be made to line up next to the numbers. The hand painted numbers in the bright summer light had a strangely human quality lacking in the austere buildings that made up this disquieting place.

Stretched like a tight rope

Life, like sun drenched stepping stones

Too warm for comfort

Ronovan’s word prompts for this week are tight and warm

https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-85-tightwarm/

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RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #85 Tight&Warm

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 Ronovan Haiku Prompt Challenge Blogs, Community, Daily Post Event, Fun, Haiku, Haiku Challenge, Haiku Prompt, Humor, Nature, Poetry, Poetry Prompt, Prompt

Please use the tag of Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge with your posts, if you can remember. That way if links/ping backs don’t work I can find you. I saw about 5 or 6 people used the tag this past week. Unfortunately, they were not the ones that missed linking back to us.
Check your links you are using in your posts. Some are not working. If you are like me and like to copy a post from the previous week and just change what’s needed, check the link you may be using that’s built in.

Haiku Poetry Prompt Writing Challenge Useful Links.
Thesaurus: Tight, Warm.
HowManySyllables.com
Thesaurus.com

The Guidelines are simple.

Take the two words and write a Haiku. I use Haiku in English as my style, which is 5 syllables for the first line, 7 for the second, and 5 for the third, but you can use what you like. The link above has links within it to articles about how to write Haibun, Tanka, and even a new form I created called Freku. You can also do the 3/5/3 form if you likeinstead of the 5/7/5 that I usually use. Write, share, and have fun. For syllable help visit HowManySyllables.com. (You would be surprised at how many syllables some words actually have.)
The two words can be used as you like. Words have different definitions and you can use the definitions you like. You can even use a synonym word as long as it does not change the meaning. Go to Thesaurus.com for Synonym help.
Use the Tag of Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge. This will help me find you in case you forget to ping back or leave your URL in the comments.
Copy the link of your finished haiku URL in a comment so we can all go and visit your site to see what you have done. You can do a ping back. What’s a ping back? Put the URL link in the address bar of this post, if you like, within your post. Your inclusion of the link encourages others to try the challenges out, be creative, and join a community to find friends and more followers (hopefully). I honestly gain nothing by more people visiting the post. I don’t have ads running I get paid for by your visit. Click HERE for a detailed article on Ping Backs.
You may copy one of the badges/images appearing in this post below or above and place it on your site if you wish, most normally use it within their post. I am not saying you need to, but if you would like to do so then go ahead. It is simply my way of saying thank you for participating. I sometimes make custom images for the week, if time and health permits.
The Challenge currently BEGINS at 8 AM EST (New York City time) on Mondays. And a DEADLINE is Noon EST (New York City time) on the Sunday following the Challenge Post release.
Are you interested in having your Haiku entry included in our FREE eBook Project? Click HERE to find out more.

The Challenge Words!

Tight & Warm

Want to reach more people with your Haiku? Like photography? Click HERE. This week 8 photo challenge can be used in tandem with the Haiku challenge. The prompt word is closely related to one of the above. I did that purposefully. Check it out, follow the instructions (very easy), and meet some new people.

Not sure how to write a Haiku? Click HERE for a quick How to write Haiku Poem in English Form with links to articles for other forms of Haiku.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

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Howard E. Kennedy-The Most Wanted Nose in America.

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 Ronovan History Cologne, Coty, History, Howard E. Kennedy, Lady Stetson, Log Cabin Syrup, Perfume, Pfizer, Revlon, Seagram's, Stetson for Men, What's My Line

While watching a 1967 episode of ‘My Show’, the name it is affectionately it’s been given, I had a hunch. One of the guests the panel had to guess was a young man named Howard Kennedy. No, I never heard of him before this show. Once I found out what his occupation was, where he worked, and his goals, I had to check.

Begin at 12:20.

Howard E. Kennedy was an apprentice perfume sniffer/tester with Revlon. What was his goal? He wanted to go beyond sniffer and create his own fragrances. Did he succeed?

Let’s find out.

Mr. Kennedy didn’t stay with Revlon, he moved on to Pfizer’s Consumer Products Division (Coty). I have no idea what that is, okay, I didn’t know before now. Maybe the ladies do. Did he advance there?

Let’s find out.

Mr. Kennedy became chief perfumer for World Wide Fragrance and Development and ended up with five FiFi awards for Fragrance of the Year. Have you heard of his fragrances?

Let’s find out.

Iron, Lady Stetson, Stetson for Men, Sophia, and Nuance.

I know I’ve used Stetson for Men. Stetson and Sophia are two Mr. Kennedy most identifies with in what he wished to achieve. The others you may have heard of.

Let’s find out.

Wild Musk (Coty), Undeniable (Avon), and Ginger with a Twist (Origins). After such success what does a man do?

Let’s find out.

How about two companies formed?

Howard E. Kennedy — Credit: Google Books-Black Enterprises

With Royal Essence, Ltd. and H.K. Enterprises, Inc., 1987 and 1990 respectfully, Mr. Kennedy became his own boss and fulfilled an ultimate dream.

A few pieces of non-Perfume trivia:

He created the flavoring for Seagram’s Extra and Sunfrost Tea Wine Cooler.
He created the flavoring for Country Kitchen Syrup (Log Cabin).

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RonovanWrites 84th #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry #Links

February 21, 2016February 21, 2016 Ronovan Haiku Poetry Challenge Reviews Community, Daily Post Event, Haiki, Humor, Inspiration, Life, Nature, Poetry, Ronovan Writes, Ronovan Writes Haiku Review

AUTHOR CENTRAL

To view an author’s books on Amazon, click either the word Author in red, or the book image beside their name.

If an author does not have a comment, as do the entries, that means they did not have an entry this week, but I left their place here. Is it for the benefit of advertising their work? No, it is for the ease of my formatting their next entry in the challenge. It’s a bear to do those. (And maybe there is a little heart felt type thing I have for authors.)

BLOGGERS ABOUNDING
Must Reads
Fantasy
Humor
Inspiration
Life
Literature
Moments
Nature
Storytelling
Thinky
Wisdom

New Offenders!

Darkfire Pheonix: White Flow | Pheonix Feathers and Dragon Eyes. One of my favorite themes running this week. “This blog is my attempt to get myself back into the writing. I used write alot when I was younger but as life got more hectic and busy I stopped doing it however the ideas never stopped coming. In fact, they still are. I have set myself the challenge of writing at least one piece a week, be it a short story, drabble, poem or whatever and post here…[Click to Read More].”

Emma Major: Yum! | MS Calling (Thanks brain; I don’t think you’re funny!). Okay, the title I gave it should at least begin to give y’all some ideas of the subject. Best I can tell is she is a “Brit”, a Mum, and an MS Blogger, AND appears to be very involved and connected. AND has a cool name.

Elsie Hagley: Smooth Milk | Ramblings of a Writer. A smart message delivered. You have to think that how we got to exist in the first place. “My name is Elsie Hagley, I have been on the internet for some time now and enjoy writing. Was writing lens at Squidoo for nearly four years until their closure September 2014. [Click for a lot of interesting stuff on her about page.]“ @KiwiNana

Srivi: Icing on the Cake | The Piscean Me. Nice first entry. Tasty! Love the image of the Haiku itself. Very well done. “Ola! Hello! A very warm welcome to my blog 🙂 Why I am here: I am here mainly to express my thoughts and my views about any topic which I really feel needs to be shared. Something about me: To be honest mine is a very boring story. And it goes something like this: A workaholic software engineer from a decent engineering college whose … [Click and Read the Rest]!” @ThePisceanMe

Sri Sudha K: Venus ilk | Naa Prapancham, My World. The prompts she did rhyme, in order to be sublime. Also entered last week but on a participantes blog, Haiku title-Pretty gal. “Please don’t mind to find these words in an alien language,they are of my mother tounge Telugu., I just love to write and converse in it.. What i said is…
I have been penning down for years now..
But, I just found a new way to store it all..
My blog is the way that entices all in this digital world..
this is me and my world…. [click to see a great family photo]” Gotta love that sense of humor.

First to Offend this Week!

Annette Rochelle Aben (Best Selling Author, Radio Show Host): Dude . . . Really? | Annette Rochelle Aben. She used a word you never thought you would see in a Haiku. Check out Annette’s books at the Author link above and her Radio Show at the Host link. @YouAreTheExpert

Must Reads

MUST READ Mira: Eden | To Wear a Rainbow. Nice. Sensual. @BediMona

MUST READ Ken G.: Brew Debate | RIVRVLOGR. Purest may take issue with this one.

MUST READ Mahatma Kasireddi: Smooth As Milk | MagyKars. OOOO, it heads in a direction … and then … WHAM! Just like it should be. @MagyKarsPoetry

MUST READ Sandra: Home | Wild Daffodil. Very interesting. I loved learning something today. Go check it out! I need one of these. You can find the list of this years photo challenges, from her and Melissa, on Daffy’s blog by clicking here. And information about the challenge in her post.

MUST READ Natalia Erehnah (Author): Ghost Plant | Weaving Gold. Okay, great Haiku and an amazing learning lesson. Also nice to see where she took the photograph. Wow. @swanmothers

MUST READ 1000hoursleft (Mek): Within the Milky Way | Work In Progress. Love these. Story of parenting and children.

Must Read Kat: As Smooth As A Milk Maiden’s Skin | like mercury colliding. Wow, I had no idea. I won’t be using that description in a book anytime ever. @kat_myrman

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AUTHORS CENTRAL

Scott Bailey (AUTHOR): Milk | TheHouseOfBailey. Ode to Antecedent. As you may notice Scott is an Author, by clicking HERE or the AUTHOR link above you may visit his UK Amazon author page. Click the IMAGE for Amazon.com. @houseofbailey

Jane Dougherty (Author): Pearls Like Silk | Jane Dougherty Writes. Imagery filled, as we come to expect, and a great use of the words in their original prompt form. Check out Jane’s books on Amazon at the Author link above. @MJDougherty33

Bill Engleson (Author): Winter Gem. A heart felt offering inspired by terrible real life events. Click the Author Link for Like a Child to Home. @billmelaterplea

Natalia Erehnah (Author): Ghost Plant | Weaving Gold. Okay, great Haiku and an amazing learning lesson. Also nice to see where she took the photograph. Wow. @swanmothers

D.B. Mauldin (Author): Warning! | mama bear musings. Bit of storytelling in this one. All you men read and heed. Check out the Author link for offerings on Amazon and click HERE for the About page links to other online distribution such as Smashwords. @dmauldin3

Nagrij or (Greg Pierce). (Author): -Volcanic- | Nagrij Writes the Hits You Never Knew Existed. . You can check out the list of books on Amazon by clicking the Author link above.

Christine Randall: Easter Egg Warning | Christine R (Trying to keep the brain cells alive.) Drink fruit smoothies or/Get a dumpy derriere/Drink malted milkshakes. Also visit her Author site, CJRANDALL.COM. @cj_randall

E. Rawls (Author): Book Nerd/Sweet Dream | Rawls E. Fantasy. Why would she not write about the two things that define her? Muahahahaha. Check out Bleeding Hearts, a collection of short stories, poems, and riddles, at Elizabeth’s Author page on Amazon by clicking the Author link above. @VChronicles_

Vashti Quiroz-Vega (Author): Paradise Lost | The Writer Next Door. Vashti has a nice pair this week. Enjoyed by all her fans. Go see. Check out Vashti on Amazon at the Author link above and you can see her interview by clicking HERE. @VashtiQV

Sue Vincent (Author): Morning | Daily Echo. Very nice imagery supported by some great photography. Love the scene in that top photo. I may have to save it to write about one day. Click the Author link for Sue at Amazon and her many books. @SCVincent

Steven S. Walsky (Author): Chocolate Mint Day | Simplicity Lane. Now that’s a fresh idea. My mouth is kind of tingling with the idea. Click the Author link above to go to Steven’s blog where you will find all the available places for each book. He’s varied.

Baheya Zeitoun (Author): Waiting in the White | An Artist At Heart. A good story with this one. Excellently done. She has one nice looking blog. Love it. @BaheyaZeitoun

Not participating this week.

Wendy Anne Darling (Author): See-through Eyes | Wendy Anne Darling. . Wendy’s book Silver Lightning is on Amazon at the Author link above or the image. @AuthorWDarling

H. M. Goodchild (Author): | Folksong and Fantasy. . H. M. Goodchild is found on Amazon as Harriet Goodchild, yes, we have another author joining us. Click the Author link above to go to her Amazon Author page. @HMGoodchild

Marigold Deidre Dicer (Author): | Versus Blurb. An outlook on the New Year. Check out her book at the Author link above. One I keep trying to find the time to read. Grrrr. @MarigoldDicer

Janni Styles (Author): Where Home Resides | JanniStyles1. . Check her author page and books out on Smashwords by clicking the Author link above. One is a “wee collection of verse” and one is a collection of short stories and BOTH are FREE for now! @jannistyles1
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FANTASY

Colleen Chesebro: Fairy Dance | Silver Threading. Can you imagine, Colleen wrote about fairies? Really? No way! Click HERE to check out her Author Spotlight here on RonovanWrites that came out Saturday. @ColleenChesebro

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HUMOR

Judy: Smooth Operator? | Edwina’s Episodes. Judy gives a taste of the English culture with this one, I think. (Pun intended.) @EdwinasEpisodes

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INSPIRATION

Mira: The Perfect Recipe | They, You and Me. Nice poem. Good advice as well. @BediMona

Nato: Falling in Love | Chasing Life and Finding Dreams. Nato wrote a Freku this week. Not sure what that is? It’s a Haiku Poetry form I created. Nicely done. Good rhyming and of course, Romance and Love. @MichelleLunato

Must Read Greg Wolford: The Big Reveal | Potholes in the Road of Life. Okay, the Haiku is good, but the reason behind it is even better. Go and congratulate the old geezer. @greg_wolford

Don Massenzio: Flawed | Don Massenzio’s Blog Independent Authors Unite! The Haiku is in the comments, and his blog is the other link. @dmassenzio

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LIFE

MUST READ Mira: Eden | To Wear a Rainbow. Nice. Sensual. @BediMona

jazzytower (PR): Paradise: Lovers’ Style | Thoughts and Entanglements. This could have been in NATURE but I can see this one so well in my mind and I just love the setting. @jazzytower

Willow: Love Along the Way | Willowdot21. Two I combined into one title. Both great and stand alone.

Ritu: Charm Offensive/Latte Angel | But I Smile Anyway. Milk it, baby! That’s what first came to my mind as a title for the first one, she already named both. Then the second one could fit the title as well. Very nice. @PhantomGiggler

Geetha: Like milk and honey. | Geetha Balvannanathan’s Blog. Did you know you can listen to the reading of her poetry on her post? @geethap2007

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha: Perfect | A Cooking Pot and TwistedTales. Three this week. She couldn’t make up her mind which she liked best. @JacquelineOby

Janice: Even sun stars die | Ontheland. Two this week, with the second using milk as I was wondering if people would. @ontheland1

Al: Deep Milk | A Certain Point of View. He wrote Five Haiku. I had no idea what else to call them. He’s deep in the milk. I think I just gave him a name for his new Rock Band. @AlistairLane

MUST READ Ken G.: Brew Debate | RIVRVLOGR. Purest may take issue with this one.

Mira: Milky Way| They, You and Me. Hmm, makes you think. @BediMona

MUST READ Mahatma Kasireddi: Smooth As Milk | MagyKars. OOOO, it heads in a direction … and then … WHAM! Just like it should be. @MagyKarsPoetry

Meredith and Martha: Milk Bath/Milky Way from Meredith and Opal/Warning from Martha | Meredith’s Reveries. Very good selections with a nice family picture shared. @MeredithLBL

Teresa Smeigh: The Milk Bath | Always A Writer. This must be a thing. Maybe she could use Meredith’s formula. @TeresaSmeigh

OBA: Smooth love milk | The king’s oracle. Another tasty treat for you to partake of. @obapathway

Frances: Dripping Lips/Beware | imanikingblog. Two Haiku. Smooth operator advice. @imaniking

Jen (JK): Cold/Cheek| The Secret Keeper. Interesting images fitting so well with each Haiku. @occultguardian

Must Read Kat: As Smooth As A Milk Maiden’s Skin | like mercury colliding. Wow, I had no idea. I won’t be using that description in a book anytime ever. @kat_myrman

Melissa: BINGO! | The Aran Artisan. I am so misleading you this week. It’s a game, not Bingo, but you could spell it. Melissa and one of our other Haikumily members, Sandra the Daffy one, helped compile this years list of ‘photo word of the week‘ challenge. @TheAranArtisan

Elusive: Accounts Receivable | Elusive Trope. Days of selfishness /Breed walls to creative souls/And destroy life’s hope.

Olga: Curdled Cover-up| Stuff and what if… Speaking the truth here. Sad to say.

Florence: Smooth Transition | Meanings and Musings. Florence goes headlines with her Haiku this week. @FTThum

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LITERATURE

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MOMENTS

Kim M. Russell: Embers | Writing in North Northfolk. Ah, a different take. Good one. @kim88110

Crow: Poem 20160219b (Noisy Love Making) | Caw!. My title may be misleading, but not for long. mmmmmm. @Crow

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NATURE

TJ Paris: Moon in the Pond | La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin. Great Haiku. Interesting photo to go with it. An odd photo in a way, not a bad way, more an interesting way. Very much an art piece. @Roccoco_a_GoGo

Pat B: Pudding River | A season and a time. An awesome title I had to use from words in the Haiku. A real place.

Lizl : Star Treks, Anyone? | Quilted Poetry. That’s the title of the post, with the name of the Haiku, I think, being Enjoy an Extended Vacation. Very well done. Makes you smile. @QuiltedPoetry

Marie: Opals | The Syllabub Sea. I think someone has jewelry on the brain lately.

Clarence: The Beauty of Just Born | PrairieChat. Awww, so cute. I wish there had been a photo with this one. Anyone else enjoying the headers he’s been sharing?

Cathy: At Home on the Stage (or Take a Bow, my title) | Rambling in the Garden. Beautiful words and the photography is excellent.

Denis: 5 Milky Smooth Haiku | HaikuHound. His title this week. I have to say, I had a title in mind as I headed into the third Haiku then flush, it was gone. Great variety of photography this week.

VronLaCroix: Suckling Calf | Simply Snapshots. Sometimes you gotta wonder about calves. How many get the fool kicked out of them? Nice photography. By the way, I am the one that capitalizes her name that way. I may be wrong, but I like it.

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STORYTELLING

Alice: Her Experience | Boomerang Zone. Whoa. Go one of two ways with this one. One obvious and one you have to stretch for, but you can get there. @Vidocq_CC

Garima Jain: Confined! | PERFERVIDDREAMS. Very good story in this one. The bad thing is it is so real and true. @perferviddream

MUST READ 1000hoursleft (Mek): Within the Milky Way | Work In Progress. Love these. Story of parenting and children.

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THINKY

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WISDOM

R. Todd: Milk Does A Body … | A Flash of Fiction. Good advice, and if you are nosy you can see a photo of him. He has a chin like mine, one you can hang on to. Good for thinking moments. @psibrone

Neel Anil Panicker: Milking life’s joy. | NeelWritesBlog. Good advice with this one. @PanickerNeel

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Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling available now on Amazon. He shares his life through his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

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Be still … know … breathe.

February 21, 2016February 21, 2016 Ronovan Inspiration & Motivation Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus, Life, Peace, Scripture, stress

I’m tired. It’s been a long year in many ways. Many years ago, I went through a phase like this. At that time, I had a good support system in place. I was heavily involved in ministry. The type ministry and how many types don’t matter.

One night there was a gathering of the church leadership for prayer. We divided into small groups in the sanctuary, and within the group, each one of us had to pray for another person, and pray specifically. My partner was the youth minister and worship leader I had help bring to the church.

My problem was I didn’t know how to say no. I was the young and willing man in the church as well as business. In church if you are in your 30s your consider one of the young folk, that can even extend into the 40s. This inability to say no and wanting to help ended up with a very frazzled and sick Ronovan.

The youth minister prayed for peace to come into my life. The next week I was leading the youth on a concert trip to see Steven Curtis Chapman, arguably the king of contemporary Christian music. He sang a song that night, and I knew it was no coincidence.

Ever sense that night, one of my life verses has been Psalm 46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

We forget sometimes and worry about things way beyond our control. Stress hits us from every angle. Do you ever think, after the fact, of how insane some of the things we worried about were? Life is too short to worry about everything. What the Psalmist means is to remember God is in control of the ultimate outcome of the world. Bad things happen because of bad people and being in the wrong places at the wrong time. Put your eternal life in his hands. Nothing can take you from the hand of God once you give yourself to Him. When you pass own, you are with God. Nothing here on earth can stop that. Hurt me, harass me, do all types of damage to me, and I will still end up fine because I know God has me.

I may stress for a moment, but then I center myself, shake the stress off, and get back to my core.

John 16:33 Jesus speaks to the disciples.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus never said life would be easy here on earth. He never said that to his disciples or anyone that ever heard him speak. He said the exact opposite. Christians would be persecuted because of him. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11. As part of the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, you know it must be serious.

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I try to take away something good with every situation. My son and I were throwing the baseball a couple of weeks ago, as I am sure some of you saw the picture. Man did it get bad. I never got upset. I thought it was funny. I even looked at it as a learning experience I could use for my writing. I never had a black eye before. I now knew the pain of it, the coloring, and all of the things that goes with having a black eye.

My lack of stress helped with my son handling it as well.

Working on a positivity habit is tough sometimes. Habits take time to acquire. Eventually they take. I’m almost back in my zone now, and can breathe again. Now for the creativity to start up and have fun.

I don’t often speak about my faith here on the site lately. Life’s been busy. I do try to live my faith through what I do on my site. My faith is important to me. It’s important in every aspect of my work I do. Even in books I either plan to or have published, my goal is and was to put out something that has a core to it that will show the humanness of people and the war they wage with life and how sometimes they can’t win alone but need upbringing they have had, lessons they have learned, to turn to that will help them succeed.

Have a great Sunday, week, month, year, life, and eternity.

Ronovan

Guest Author to Know: Colleen Chesebro. Inspired by Fairies. @ColleenChesebro

February 20, 2016February 20, 2016 Ronovan Guest Author Author, Author Spotlight, Author Support, Colleen Chesebro, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, SilverThreading.com, Work in Progress

Hello, everyone, it’s me – Colleen, AKA Silver Threading. Ronovan has graciously asked me to share some of the most intimate details of my journey as I write my first novel, The Swamp Fairy.

First, I would like to thank Ronovan for featuring me as a guest author. I am honored to have this opportunity! Thank you, Ron, for your friendship and guidance.

You know, I have wanted to write a book since I was six years old. I read voraciously as a child, and I still do today. Reading and writing have always been what makes me the absolute happiest person in the world.

In college, I discovered a hidden talent for being able to write about other writer’s works. There is a special kind of thrill I get when I read a book and review it. It is a special connection I feel with the author. It’s the best feeling ever when the author realizes that you “get them.”

With all the reading I have done through the years you would think I would have written tons of books by now. The truth is, I never knew how to start. The passion was there but I had nothing that really spoke to me. I had a million ideas, I just did not know how to focus my writing energies.

When I started blogging, it was with the intention of writing and publishing a book. I decided that I would learn everything I could about writing, plot structure, and outlines. My main goal was to network and learn from others. It has been the most fulfilling endeavor I have ever undertaken! After I was blogging for about five months my creative juices were so fired up I was brimming with ideas.

Here was my inspiration:

Fairy Swamp

When we lived in Florida (we live in Colorado now) I walked each morning down a country road near our house. It was a foggy autumn morning that changed my life forever. That was my first experience seeing the swamp fairy fluttering in a bush at the edge of Fairy Swamp. Every time I think about that first meeting, I have to slap myself! What an experience!

I began to write posts for my blog about my walking experiences. I literally looked at nature and the real life occurrences that were affecting the reality of Fairy Swamp. I watched as the natural landscape was scarred by the construction crews who began to build a massive housing area on the edge of the swamp.
That gave me my first clue of what I wanted to write about. I wanted to write a young adult fantasy novel that at the heart of the story talked about what we are doing to our native habitats.

Construction land next to Fairy Swamp

Little by little, I developed a basic plot for my book. I even enlisted the help of my talented daughter, Tabitha who is going to draw the swamp fairy for us since I could not capture her in a photo. That fairy moved as quickly as a hummingbird!

Nevertheless, I still struggled with the outline of my novel. One day, while searching Google I stumbled upon The Better Novel Project.com. Christine takes best-selling novels like Harry Potter & The Sorcerers Stone, The Hunger Games, and Twilight and deconstructs them chapter by chapter. She shares how to study the different elements, from word counts to character archetypes. She also shares how to identify why the best sellers share a common element. I had hit pay dirt!

I am using Christine’s Master Outline to write my novel. I have plans to use it for the series, too. It is an excellent source for writing YA fantasy. Your characters and events will always be different even though you will use many of the same elements that are found in most fantasy novels. Her outline takes you through step by step how to write a trilogy story arc.

Here is the synopsis for The Swamp Fairy, Book 1 of the Heart Stone Chronicles to be published in late summer or early fall 2016:

Fourteen-year-old Abbigale Forester, recently orphaned and a Ward of the State of Illinois moves from Chicago to Florida to live with her aunt, her last living relative.

Aunt Magnolia becomes Abby’s Guardian and together they claim an ancient inheritance of land that has been in Abby’s mother’s family for generations.

Abby wears her mother’s most sacred possession – a stone pendant in the shape of a heart forged from a giant mystical stone found on the very swamp land that Abby now owns.

However, Rafe Cobb, a greedy land developer, has other ideas. He wants Abby’s land for himself and he is willing to stop at nothing to own that land.

All Abby wants is to be part of a family again and to learn to ride horses with her two new friends, Savanna, and Blake.

The swamp slowly gives up some of its secrets and Abby is summoned by a primeval nymph who teaches Abby that her true destiny is to protect the primeval nymphs from evil in an ever-changing modern world.

Can Abby save the swamp and the Naiad Nymph Clan from certain destruction before it is too late?

I want to share one other exciting aspect of my blogging experiences and how because of my participation in these events I am adding more creativity to my novel.

Ronovan hosts a Haiku Challenge with prompt words each week. I love haiku! There is something about the brevity of the words in haiku structure (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables) in each line that tells a mini story.

I decided instead of naming the chapters in my novel I would use those Haiku I had written each week to enhance the beginning of each chapter. Here is one of my haiku from the challenge: (I don’t know if this particular haiku will find its way into my novel for sure)

My two loyal muses, Sugar, and Spice spend countless hours with me in my creative room as I pound away at the keyboard.

Spice and Sugar, worn out from helping Mom write all day.

Now, I don’t know if all of this will knock your socks off when you read my book but I sure hope so! Somehow, it all feels right to me.

In fact, I can hear my fairy nymphs whispering in my ear again. Time to get back to novel writing!

Thanks for stopping by and please stay tuned to silverthreading.com for all the upcoming information on my book. I am so excited! ❤

Would you like to connect with me? Find me on Twitter @ColleenChesebro, and on Facebook at my page Silver Threading. Stop by anytime and share your thoughts!

All information, images, and content provided by Colleen Chesebro of SilverThreading.com.

Don’t Let it Go … Hold on.

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 Ronovan Inspiration & Motivation Be Positive, Encouragement, Inspiration, Life, Motivation, Positivity, Quotes

Today is a day unlike any in the history of the world. We are existing at a moment that has never taken place before. In these moments we breathe, and think, and love, we exhale the past filled with the air of anxiety, doubt, and confliction.

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a perfect world? Would we know it was perfect if there was nothing to compare? I’m thinking out loud at the moment. I’m not certain how much of this will make it to my clicking on publish, but I like to write out loud. It’s a great time to exist.

One of the first articles I ever shared was about how not to allow others to control you. People took from that, that you shouldn’t let people keep you from your dreams. That’s true on one level. Then there is the internal happiness. One emphasis I’ve had on my blog for quite some time is positivity. With life constantly bombarding us daily with negativity at every turn, especially the media, it’s nice to have a circle of the world that brings you positive influences.

I’ve been fortunate to have a great blog family and group of followers who encourage what I do, support my efforts, even when they come up short of my norm. We all need that. I think if we don’t we end up coloring our world with negativity at every turn.

Taking my deep breaths as one accomplishment has occurred and I set my eyes on the next, I let go of things.

That’s wrong. Letting go is a negative way of looking at things. It’s a form of giving up. Instead of Let It Go, think to “Hold on.”

Hold on to what is important.

Hold on to what you love.

Hold on to what gives you joy.

To what do you hold on?

FRIDAY FICTION with RONOVAN WRITES Prompt Challenge #14 -You’ve been given a message.

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 Ronovan Friday Fictions Daily Post Event, Fiction Writing, Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes, Movie Quotes, New Challenge, Storytelling, Weekly, Writing, Writing Challenge, Writing Prompt, Writing Tips

Check out the new THIRDLY included in the blurb right before the prompt reveal.

Useful links:
Grammarly.com
Click HERE for STRIPPING for FICTION or HOW TO WRITE FLASH FICTION.
Click HERE for Dialogue Tags, Action Beats, and the Dialogue Comma.

Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Challenge

IF YOU WOULD LIKE COMMENTS ON YOUR WRITING, PLEASE NOTE AT THE END OF YOUR ENTRY THE AREAS YOU WISH FOR THE READER TO COMMENT ON, OR IF YOU WISH FOR AN OVERALL OPINION.

If you’ve been here before click Skip To Prompt.

FRIDAY FICTION with RONOVAN WRITES

Through this challenge my hopes are you will:

Find your voice
Step out of comfort zones to discover a genre where your talent truly lies
Perhaps make connections that will help you become a better writer

DEADLINE IS:

I DO ASK THAT YOU:

Keep it PG as all ages do follow the blog and may click through and read the entries. (C0ntinue for exceptions.)
If you do write a piece of fiction that goes past the PG level, copy the link into the comments of this post and make a note of it being such and give the reasons you think it is, such as violence, sexual content, language/profanity.
No violence toward children by adults or predatory aspects toward children. I know you may have two kids have a fight. I get that, but I don’t want gratuitous violence such as glorifying bullying. Also I can see you having a kid kicking some bad guy in the face for some reason. I get it.
No sexual assault against anyone.

WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR WORK OF FICTION: (The below guidelines are less than they look.)

If your blog is with WordPress, TAG your post as Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes. This way people may find your work in the WP Reader.

Click HERE for STRIPPING for FICTION or HOW TO WRITE FLASH FICTION.

Prompt for Challenge

You’ve just been handed a message that makes you drop to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.

No more than a Word Count of 600. (SUGGESTED)
Using the above scenario, create a scene of what the note is about, and why it makes you react the way you do. (REQUIRED)
No external dialogue for this scene. (SUGGESTED)

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The Challenge Words!

Flash & Dance

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The Featured Ten

Special Mentions

Authors

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Grade Reading Level

How about PSS?

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If you’ve been here before click Skip To Prompt.

DEADLINE IS:

I DO ASK THAT YOU:

WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR WORK OF FICTION: (The below guidelines are less than they look.)

Prompt for Challenge

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Stretched like a tight rope

Life, like sun drenched stepping stones

Too warm for comfort

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The Challenge Words!

Tight & Warm

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New Offenders!

First to Offend this Week!

Must Reads

AUTHORS CENTRAL

FANTASY

HUMOR

INSPIRATION

LIFE

LITERATURE

MOMENTS

NATURE

STORYTELLING

THINKY

WISDOM

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If you’ve been here before click Skip To Prompt.

DEADLINE IS:

I DO ASK THAT YOU:

WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR WORK OF FICTION: (The below guidelines are less than they look.)

Prompt for Challenge

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Spread this stuff everywhere!