Living as Well: A Sijo Poem

Lions Living. Lion, Lioness, and cub.

 

 

 

 

Not all life is about life, it’s about living as well.

Playing in the in between moments of need, want, loss, and fear.

Relenting to the everyday only leads to the everyday.

Father and children lying on grass.

 

 

 

 

For the Sijo Challenge this past week.

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© 2014-2023-  Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

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Surf – a poem.

Surf
by Ronovan Hester

No peaks, valleys, or destination points.
Never was a road map pointing the way.
No guarantees the fall will eventually end.
The trek back to the top not blazed or marked. Lost. Alone.
Unique in your success, and one more number in the failures.

Dreams ride the random undulating waves.
The crests unstable and never solid for long.
The high only lasts a moment before the crash.
The climax ends in a churning trough of descent, expected, unknown.
To climb this mountain your vision is vast and wide, planning, and watching.

Carried by the past dashed dreams of others,
and the burning saltiness of millennia of failures.
Just one unbalanced breath, and your ride in peril.
And your next, you slip, not along rough terrain to the bottom of dirt and stone.
But down the wall of see-through glass, life on the other side. Predators of players?

Or the dramatic plunge, less graceful than chaos.
Watching the greeting sun reflecting surface below.
Chest raw from the impact through the vanishing hopes.
Pushing through, chin, knees, shins, scrapped with sandpaper of pulverized dead things.
Bloodied and bruised, but not the end, tumbling over and over, gasping for breath. Dying?

Your limp body washes up on the sand, choking.
You join the other eons of unrecognizable rejects.
No one to help. No roadside assistance. No guardian.
People walking along, heads down, looking for empty shells, and finding you.
But you’re not enough, not quite dead enough, you stink of fresh disappointment.

Their heads refuse to look out to the horizon,
never seeing the sun-soaked crests of possibilities.
None of those tumbles, those survivors, or those joys.
They always walk safely on dry sand, toes dry, just out of reach of adventure.
The chance, the opportunity, of living. Heads not in the sand but forever bowed.

Lives only change with empty shells of the living.
Polished with time to the point they all look the same,
yet the wary keep up their search for the next perfect vessel.
Only inches away, a vibrant and exciting life calls with a roar they no longer hear.
But you’ve survived, and you tremble to your battered and pain-filled knees, again.

You stand, turn to that uncharted, desired filled world.
Wading in up to your chest, deep in the sting of the past.
Now dive and swim to fight the tide, or others will drag you.
They’ll help you along or drown you with their own failures, sinking before they’ve crested,
back to those footprints in the sand, now another empty shell to add to their dead collection.

Turn, wade, dive, scan the playing field, and wait for the swell.
Each fall, each ripped open chest and scrapped chin, battle scars.
No success without trying, nor without appreciated amounts of failure.
With each toe that leaves the sand behind, it dips into the salty dreams of ancient warriors.
You learn to descend from those crests in control, with less in chaos. With more success than not.


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© 2021- Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

A Foolish Vow: a Décima Poem.

My entry for this weeks Décima Poetry Challenge No. 6 EYE. (A New Challenge here on ronovanwrites.com)

A Foolish Vow

Threading his way through the thick crowd,
he takes pains to draw not an eye.
For which of these could be their spy?
His escape must not be allowed,
as to their master they have vowed,
if not alive … then severed head?
Would a bloodied corpse do instead?
But their mission will bring but pain,
cause each life will drain from each vein.
With their fate no tears will be shed.

To scene before this one, click for “Gypsy Guest: a Décima Poem.”

© 2020 Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

To Smile, To Live: A Haiku.

To smile is to live

A life filled with potential

Is one of God’s gifts.

 

 

© 2020 Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

Gypsy Quest: a Décima Poem.

My entry for this weeks Décima Poetry Challenge No. 5 MATE. (A New Challenge here on ronovanwrites.com)

Gypsy Quest

She disappeared without a trace.
He does not know her by her name.
Still, his love burns hot as a flame.
The one clue is her scented lace,
delicate as a cloud’s embrace.
He determines he is to locate
the one he calls his gypsy mate.
His heart beat strongest facing west,
that direction begins his quest.
for his thirst no other will sate.

For the next scene of the story click for “A Foolish Vow: a Décima Poem.

basic decima poem image no poem

© 2020 Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

The Pursuit: A Haiku.

The Vile give chase as

Beauty races from her clouds

of the Misty Peaks.

 

© 2020 Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

Only 4 Days Left to Get Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling #FREE!

My Birthday Week Celebration continues. When I asked Peggy about putting the book up for FREE on my birthday, she said she was already wanting to do it. Little did we know that in less than 24 hours hundreds of people would download it. Okay, maybe we did know. We knew people wanted to read the book, but even our friends can’t always afford to pay.

But seriously, we are very pleased we are doing so well. If you have already downloaded your FREE copy, share this post with your reader, friends, twitter followers, facebook friends, google+ friends. Anyone you can think of that would like a FREE book. I did a lot of research for this book, spent a lot of time writing it. It went through three drafts before I sent it off to Peggy for her turn at it. It’s nice to see people going after it now, even when FREE. I know not everyone picks up a FREE book. I pass them by when I get my daily emails about them. It could be the cover, the description, or the overall reviews are not good enough.

Peggy made this cover herself, a theme that runs through all her pirate series. The reviews? 4.8 out of 5 on both Amazon and GoodReads. 16 and 15 reviews respectively.

Get it today and help me reach the top of the ranks. I appreciate all who have ordered so far. I truly am.

Reblog and Share this post anyway you can to help!

Check your Amazon. Below is the American Amazon link.

https://www.amazon.com/AMBER-WAKE-Gabriel-Falling-Adventures-ebook/dp/B01BI6BI82?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

Free Promo Day 2 Image Click for Amazon.


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Get My Book for FREE beginning TODAY!

Happy Birthday to ME! You get the gift!

Get my debut Historical Fiction, Action-Adventure

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling

for

FREE

on

Amazon Kindle!

No sign ups for newsletters or anything. Just go and get it!

Reblog and Share this post anyway you can to help!

Check your Amazon. Below is the American Amazon link.

https://www.amazon.com/AMBER-WAKE-Gabriel-Falling-Adventures-ebook/dp/B01BI6BI82?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

Amazon Reviews ImagePromo Image


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One week left!

There is only one week left to get my debut novel for FREE!

This opportunity expires at the end of 4/30/2016 EST, New York Time.

Want to read this book?Five Gold Stars“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 in a classic adventure novel will have a grand time reading this authentic and suspenseful tale. It’s highly recommended.”

By Jack Magnus of ReadersFavorite.com

Readers' Favorite 5 Stars Book Review Image

Fill out the form below and receive an e copy of the book to review, if you want to do that part, as well as a an occasional message from me when I have something useful to share. This should be no more than once a month, if even that.

If you do review it, it would be awesome if you put it on the Amazon.COM site. The more we have on that site the better. So if you go to Amazon.com and get redirected to your home country’s Amazon, make sure you don’t click the option to go to your home site when you get that message pop up.  If you have questions or want to give me detailed feedback, email me at ronovanwrites (@) gmail (dot) com.

I personally don’t slam authors in book reviews even when an author asks me to post regardless of the rating. It’s not what I’m about.  You can always opt to be removed from receiving future messages from me later by clicking here and filling out the short form.


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Two years in the blogging and here’s something I have to show for it.

This opportunity expires at the end of 4/30/2016 EST, New York Time.

Want to read this 5 Star ReadersFavorite.com book for Free?Five Gold Stars“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 in a classic adventure novel will have a grand time reading this authentic and suspenseful tale. It’s highly recommended.”

By Jack Magnus of ReadersFavorite.com

Readers' Favorite 5 Stars Book Review Image

Fill out the form below and receive an e copy of the book to review, if you want to do that part, as well as a newsletter that may or may not come out once a month. I’ll only put something out if I have something worthwhile to share.

If you do review it, it would be awesome if you put it on the Amazon.COM site. If you have questions or want to give me detailed feedback, email me at ronovanwrites (@) gmail (dot) com.

I personally don’t slam authors in book reviews even when an author asks me to post regardless of the rating. It’s not what I’m about.  You can always opt to be removed from receiving future messages from me later by clicking here and filling out the short form.

 


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@RonovanWrites

© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016

Sign up and Receive!

This opportunity expires at the end of 4/30/2016 EST, New York Time.

Want to read this book?Five Gold Stars“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 in a classic adventure novel will have a grand time reading this authentic and suspenseful tale. It’s highly recommended.”

By Jack Magnus of ReadersFavorite.com

Readers' Favorite 5 Stars Book Review Image

Fill out the form below and receive an e copy of the book to review, if you want to do that part, as well as a newsletter that may or may not come out once a month. I’ll only put something out if I have something worthwhile to share.

If you do review it, it would be awesome if you put it on the Amazon.COM site. If you have questions or want to give me detailed feedback, email me at ronovanwrites (@) gmail (dot) com.

I personally don’t slam authors in book reviews even when an author asks me to post regardless of the rating. It’s not what I’m about.  You can always opt to be removed from receiving future messages from me later by clicking here and filling out the short form.


Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016

Book Review – Ronovan Hester – Amber Wakes by @PhantomGiggler

Ritu read my book! And then left a review and even posted it on her blog. Thought I would share.
Please click through and support her original post!!!

I Want You to Host me!

Do you want to help me spread the word about my novel?

I want people from everywhere,  . . . I WANT YOU!

There is every kind of marketing gimmick you can think of, but the only sure fire way of getting people to know about a book is by people sharing it with others. Friends tell friends about it.

You read it and like it, tell people about it.

You do an actual review, share it.

Do a review. Hopefully it’s a good one.

Always review as a reader, not as a writer or author.

If you want to help by being a host, fill out the form below.

I’ve been to 15 sites so far. I’ve done How To articles, Book Excerpts, Answered Book and Random Questions, Provided a Stock post about the book.

I like answering questions. People always come up with some that are different. If you’ve read the book and have questions, then you can ask them, and some I might answer as long as it doesn’t give away the story too much.

I have two previous hosts that want a return visit. Now I need you.

I’ll keep at this until we sell a lot of books and get a lot of Book Reviews. The more reviews we have on Amazon.com the better they will show us in lists and emails to Amazon customers.

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on Amazon

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@RonovanWrites

Visit and Follow RonovanHester.com.

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016

READ THIS and GET TO KNOW MY BOOK!

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.

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on Amazon

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 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2016

Fellow Bloggers Publish Book

Our friend Nato asked me a few questions for my book blog tour. Check her out. I mean the interview people! Geesh.

Chasing Life and Finding Dreams

What do you get when you mix a handsome virile sailor with the seductively beautiful wife of an admiral? You get an intense barroom brawl that ends in murder, and that’s only the first chapter! What happens in the second chapter? I can’t say. Well, not yet.

That’s because the book, Amber Wake-Gabriel Falling, just came out yesterday. The interesting thing about the book, well outside of the sex, lies and murder, is that it was written by fellow bloggers, P.S. Bartlett and Ronovan Hester.

One of my blog ideas for this year was to expand into doing interviews. And with the publishing of a new book, I knew I needed to start with Ronovan. As a fairly new blogger, I stumbled upon Ronovan’s blog in late 2014. For over 82 weeks now, he has been hosting a weekly Haiku Challenge. I can’t say I had really written many…

View original post 1,492 more words

Support for Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling by @RonovanWrites & @PSBartlett is growing!

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling Supporters.

The Support Page, Now Open. Click HERE to see it. eMail you holding the book or like the kindle one here, it can even  be just your hand holding it in the picture, and I’ll share it as one of my supporters. No name need be provided, unless you say you want it included. If you do and you have a blog, I’ll link to it. I am so excited with the ones who have shared so far!

email ronovanwrites (at) gmail (dot) com

The above were sent in messages on facebook.

Silver’s Coming Attractions – “Amber Wake – Gabriel Falling,” by @PSBartlett & @RonovanWrites

Check out the Five Star review of Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling from Colleen Chesebro of SilverThreading.com

#Read about Guest #Author Ronovan Hester

The Big Guy himself has me on his blog today. When you appear on The Story Reading Ape’s blog, the big supporter of authors, you know it’s for real. You’re an author.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

The Why

ronovan-hesterWhy did I co-author a Historical Adventure novel as my first published novel? I’m insane, okay, only a little. All the tests aren’t back. Those that really know me know how close to true those previous sentences are.

After I readThe Blue Diamond: The Razor’s Edgeby PS Bartlett, she and I began to talk a lot about writing and book promotion. In my opinion her book was not receiving the push it deserved, but not every book does. The idea for a sequel came up and then prequel’s to generate more interest for The Blue Diamond, a fantastic book or I wouldn’t be here talking to you right now. There was one character we decided needed his own story before the sequel, and he would be great for me to write.

The Blue Diamond and the prequels are classified as historical romances. I’m not…

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Five Star #Book #Reviews & #99Cent #BookSale!

2 Reviews In So Far.

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling by PS Bartlett and Ronovan Hester

“Now, I want to warn you… this is not your typical pirate tale! It’s BETTER!
When the raging sea battles ensued I found I could not put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next! I discovered many surprises along the way which made the book totally unpredictable, a real plus. Always present was the battle that raged between good and evil leading you into an adventure on the high seas filled with risks and peril, and the struggles of men.5 Star Review

“A Story to Fall in Love With
Hats off to the team of Ronovan Hester and P.S.Bartlett for breathing life into this swashbuckling tale, that put this reader in mind of Errol Flynn! I enjoyed meeting the characters, kept turning the pages to see what was happening next and am looking forward to more great adventure tales from these two authors.” 5 Star Review

Click the link and choose Paperback or Kindle!

http://www.amazon.com/Ronovan-Hester/e/B01BIA300W/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_2

AND

Click this link

http://www.amazon.com/P.S.-Bartlett/e/B00CP4PF4U/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1455347175&sr=1-3

They say 2.99 but click the cover and you’ll see the discount down to .99! You can get all of the Razor’s Adventures Pirate Tales for .99 EACH!

PS Bartlett Books 99 cents each.

#Revenge is a Meal Best Served With Hot Lead by a #RedHead!

Gotta love the title of this post from my co-author! 😉

Author P.S. Bartlett

AMBER WAKE – Gabriel Falling is now available for pre-order @ Amazon.com!

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling by P.S. Bartlett and Ronovan Hester

Where do I begin?
That’s a difficult question in and of itself but when your life is transformed into something else, do you start when you’re born or when your life truly began?
I was born in London as Gabriel Wallace. The child of high society; although I was raised to appreciate
everything that softly landed in my hand. I followed all the rules. I worked hard, studied hard and ended up a captain in the Royal Navy before my twenty fifth birthday. Unfortunately, I saw the world through my own eyes, not the eyes of my superiors and my vision was clear.
I knew my duty. I knew my job. I also knew deep down, regardless of the loyalty my commission required, my stance was in opposition and it was but a matter of time before they’d…

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