10 #Books for #Christmas #Gifts from my #Reviews this year.

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Here are my suggestions from my reviews this year. Click the links for the reviews. Or click the book image to go to Amazon.

10 Book Ideas for Christmas

Dancing to an Irish Reel by Claire FullertonLiterary Fiction, Ireland, Contemporary

#Book Review of Dancing to an Irish Reel by @cfullerton3

“You might at times want to hit Liam over the head with something, like his accordion, but then, he is a man, it’s love, and he’s young, so what else would you expect? And that is one thing that makes this book real and allows the reader to connect with it. No one is perfect in the book. “

The Judas Apocalypse by Dan McNeilHistorical Fiction, Adventure, Archaeology, WWII

The Judas Apocalypse by @DanMcNeil888 “At times his encounters are humorous, deadly, and explosive.”

“He’s been referred to as the new Dan on the block of historical fiction conspiracy theories. I don’t agree. Dan McNeil handles his subject with a better hand than Brown ever has. Yeah, sure, you want to knock him across the room at times but who doesn’t want to read something that gets them on an emotional level at times? If you want a fluff read, skip this review. McNeil isn’t about fluff.”

Sex and Samosas book cover by Author Jasmine AzizMarriage, Relationships, Humor, Self Discovery

#Book Review by @RonovanWrites of Sex & Samosas by Author @JasmineAziz

“Nothing is perfect. Sex isn’t perfect like a scripted movie. Things happen, and man, I am still dying over the what I call ‘on fire’ part of the book.”

Jesus vs. Santa: Christmas Misunderstood by Jason E. RoyleChristian, Inspiration, and Parenting.

Jesus vs. Santa: Christmas Misunderstood by @JERoyle #Book Review by @RonovanWrites

“You’ll learn where the answer to how we handle the issue of Santa with our kids begins. A great deal of what you find in Jesus vs. Santa you can use in everyday life with not only your children, but yourself as well.”

jason royle

Judas: Hero Misunderstood by @JERoyle

“The style he chose to use is contemporary in the use of language and symbolism in order for anyone today to relate and connect to the story. Unlike many other takes that are similar to what Royle has done you don’t get a preachy style. At the very end, after the story is all done and over with, you receive a look at passages from the Bible to show you what may or may not bring credence to what Royle has written.”

alesha escobarFantasy, Vampires, WWII, Magic, Wizards, Adult

#Book #Review of The Tower’s Alchemist The Gray Tower Trilogy Book 1 by Alesha Escobar @The_GrayTower

“Isabella George is not your typical spy. For one she’s a female spy in WWII sneaking in to German occupied France. Yes, there were female spies but not the norm in literature of this type. And for another thing, she’s a wizard. Her mission in this first book of the Gray Tower Trilogy is to find and bring home the wizard creating a chemical weapon for the Nazis. But would it be a book worth a Trilogy if it were that simple?”

Levant Mirage by Oliver F. ChaseAction, Adventure, Terroists

Levant Mirage by @OliverFChase “It’s so possible, it’s scary.” #Book Review

“Levant Mirage takes snapshots from the headlines of the past few years to build a character and combines it with frighteningly realistic possibilities to give a story you pray never happens.”

Close Up on Murder by Linda TownsdinMystery, Suspense

Close Up on Murder by Linda Townsdin @ltownsdin. A #BookReview.

“Levant Mirage takes snapshots from the headlines of the past few years to build a character and combines it with frighteningly realistic possibilities to give a story you pray never happens.”

ali isaac jane doughertyIrish Mythology, Folklore, Short Story Collection

#BookWorm @RonovanWrites Review Grá mo Chroí Love Stories from Irish Myth @aliisaac_ & @MJDougherty33

“The stories are of love and tragedy and more. I felt while reading the stories I was reading not about people in a book, or about love between two people and what befalls them but the love of a people for their homeland and their culture and the tragedies they faced throughout the ages. Yes, it hit me where it hurt, or it felt. Got me in the heart. “

A Haiku Perspective by Annette Rochelle AbenPoetry, Haiku

New Book! A Haiku Perspective by Annette Rochelle Aben @YouAreTheExpert

“Welcome to my haiku perspective on life. It is easy to enjoy this book because haiku flows, which means it can be experienced effortlessly. Perhaps reading this book will open up some creative energy within you and if so, you will share your haiku as well. Those who live to express themselves with words, craft a world using the alphabet, are giving life to imagination and thought.”

© Copyright-All rights reserved by litworldinterviews.com 2015

Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt #5 Entries: THE LINKS

First time visiting? Click HERE for the details of the Challenge and the Free eBook Project.

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

GL below stands for Grade Level. Harry Potter is a GL of around 5. Tolkien is around GL 6.5.

The Writers with The Links
Digging to China
by Clarence Holm (PrairieChat)
Clarence tells a tale of something we probably all thought of when we were kids. 307 words and a 2.9 GL, this is right on track for being in the perspective of a child.

Not now but soon
by Willow (willowdot21)
A tragic story that is all too real. With emotions and dialogue that is spot on for the story, Willow’s first attempt at flash fiction is more than a success. 410 words and a 4.5 GL make this just the right level for the target audience.

A Beautiful Life
by Geetha Prodhom (Geetha Balvannanathan’s Blog)
A wonderful nonsensical sort of tale about Spinach and a lonely young lady. I wonder if the spinach has anything to do with the lonely part? Although I love spinach, as does my son. 756 words at a GL of 6.4.

Love Me Tender
by Teresa Smeigh (Writing is my Life)
A fast pace hospital room scene. Judy has to protect her husband and her mother from revenge minded gang members. 589 words. GL of 2.7.

It will rain
by Geetha Prodhom (Geetha Balvannanathan’s Blog)
You know, sometimes a story … well you can read this one and probably know where I was going. 209 words. GL of 4.3.

Candle in the Wind
by Kat Myrman (like mercury colliding…)
A story of friendship and hard decisions. If I said much more I would reveal too much. 393 words. 2.8 GL.

The hanging tree
by Sarina (Shining Seeds)
A story about school kids and dealing with a common aspect of life these days. 1409 words. 2.2 GL.

The End or a New Beginning
by Meredith Haynes (Meredith’s Musings)
A couple+A party+Late Again=What? Meredith’s first trip into the challenge. 441 words and 3.2 GL. You would swear from the amount of emotion and storytelling there would be a larger word count.

Strong Enough
by Florence Thum (Meanings and Musings)
Florence chose a poem that is a story at the same time.

Don’t Let Go
by Ritu (But I Smile Anyway…)
We have a story of an event that will haunt a person forever. Good imagery and pace. 287 words, 4.4 GL.

Christmas Stockings
by Greg Wolford (Potholes in the Road of Life)
An interesting story. Know Greg as I do I can see one possible reason for a story like this. It’s still a tough story to put out there. But I think it is a needed one. I believe parents should read them one for sure. 1441 words and 4.7 GL. I think this one read quicker than the word count might imply.



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out Valentine’s Day of 2016. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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, a new Friday Fiction Writing Prompt Challenge, and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

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 2015

Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt #4 Entries: THE LINKS

First time visiting? Click HERE for the details of the Challenge and the Free eBook Project.

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

The Writers with The Links

The Escalator
by Clarence Holm (PrairieChat)
Clarence takes a trip back in time to a day out with his mother. From the comments left as of this review, he captured exactly the right feel. Memories abound for the readers.

Ice Cream Tummy Aches
by Kat Myrman (like mercury colliding)
This one gives attention to an all too common part of society. Memories will come flooding in for some, while others reading need comprehend and apply what they discover here.

It’s Not Happening
by Ritu Bhathal (But I Smile Anyway)
Much like Kat in the previous entry, Ritu takes a similar subject and approaches it from a different angle. This one is also very common and parents need to read this and understand it. Children all over the world react this way every day and carry these traits into adulthood.

Judy and John: Part 4-The Hospital Under Siege
by Teresa Smeigh (Writing is my Life)
Tessa continues her series with our couple in more uncomfortable moments than the title suggests.

Betrayal
by Carol Campbell (WritersDream9)
Carol goes extreme with keeping her piece under 100 words. A story of the inner turmoil of a woman betrayed represented by the world around her. A very nice story idea.

Buried
by Melissa Barker-Simpson (Author Blog)
What has this woman gotten herself into? Will you figure it out before times up?

Crocodiles
by Jane Dougherty (Jane Dougherty Writes)
Corcodiles, stags, and magpies all in a row. What brings the smile to a little boy’s face?

Double Standards
by Janni Styles (JanniStyles1)
You know, I witness this type of thing in my own home. I observe and have begun to point out the times it does happen.

Button Holed
by Melinda Kucsera
A scene from the world Melinda’s created. Also part of an advent series she is doing. I think you’ll want to read the other parts after this one.



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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, a new Friday Fiction Writing Prompt Challenge, and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

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 2015

Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt #3 Entries: THE LINKS

Update! The Free eBook Project will be through Smashwords and/or Amazon. This is an update to include Smashwords. The reason being, Amazon, as far as I can tell at the moment, only offers FREE eBooks all the time as a price match option. Smashwords offers it all the time and a great many ways to download and read, including Kindle. Click HERE for the details.

As we continue with these challenges I’ll find a balance between blurbs and my insanity at reviewing and hopefully bring some entertainment to the table.

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

The Writers with The Links
Fear of Flying
by Kat Myrman (like mercury colliding)
The title gives you a bit of an idea as to the story. Kat shows her writing experience here very well. No passive writing and she keeps the reader engaged. Also, there are no unneeded extras to take away from the story and feeling. Very nice. A MUST READ!

Mile High Club
by Ritu (But I Smile Anyway)
With a title like that, do you need to ask? Yes you do. Go check it out. Ritu and her imagination shining through.

Judy and John-The Flight: Part 3
by Terese Dean Smeigh (Writing is my Life.)
Part Three of the story has an interesting turn of events. I doubt anyone saw this coming.

A safe place
by Jane Dougherty (Jane Dougherty Writes)
An interesting bit of fantasy, of sorts, this week from our author, Jane. Going in a direction few would think, and some may even wonder now what direction that is. I find the leaving of a certain element in the unknown for the individual to discern allows one to learn how one thinks about life and situations.

Number 26
by Clarence Holm (PrairieChat)
Clarence publishes his first ever, shared piece of fiction. A first person account of a situation, the story pulls the reader in through emotional as well as physical detail. I know the disturbing aspects of writing a work like this on the author. Perhaps that’s why I go there so few times these days. A MUST READ!

Chicken
by Melissa Barker-Simpson (Author Blog)
Melissa brings some action with a touch of comedy with her first entry in the Friday Fiction challenge. You can tell there is experience behind the writing of this fast-paced ride. Her fans are loving her return to sharing her short fiction.

Takeoff
by Melinda Kucsera (in medias res)
Melinda manages to incorporate the prompt into her story world nicely. The descriptions of environment are well done and one is almost able to see it all.

Cupid’s Arrow~Take Two
by Michelle Lunato (Chasing Life and Finding Dreams)
Nato’s first entry into the challenge and she gives us a story about first loves reuniting. We see realistic thoughts surrounding the situation, not a fairy tale story.

Take Off
by ShidaTahirah (876LoveR)
Shida flips the point of view this week. Normally we see the feminine side of things, now the masculine comes through. A contemporary and realistic story with a surprise ending.

Memento
by Florence T (Meanings and Musings)
Florence gives a family moment that may be all to real these days. There is almost the taking of a headline and peeking behind it to what happens where the cameras and the reporters don’t reach and don’t seem to care.



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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, a new Friday Fiction Writing Prompt Challenge, and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com. For my own take on the prompt, and my last entry in the Friday Fiction challenges, visit my new site dedicated to fiction writing, WritingsByRonovan and the story UPSIDE DOWN: Part Two-The Flyby.

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 2015

The Flyby.

“Hey, Rob. You with me man?” I focused my attention, a return trip from lost in space.

“Sorry, Phil. Not all here at the moment.” An understatement if ever there was one.

Understanding showed in my friend’s eyes. “No worries. I was only talking about plans for after we land. These conventions are great for connections and a few The Flyby by Ronovan Hesterbook sales but I like hitting a few spots not on the agenda.”

His smile made it evident to me his spots and my spots would not connect to form a picture of Central Park and the historic apartment buildings adjacent. “I plan to tour the city and get a feel for some of the architecture and people, take some notes, get the atmosphere of it all for a book idea I have swirling around in this old brain of mine.”

“Rob, you need to have some fun, and I don’t mean with buildings and tour guides, unless the tour guide is a little blonde.”

Friend is not the right word to describe the affiliation Phil Marks and I have. We both belong to the same writing group in the area. And when traveling, we did so together to have company and sometimes to split costs of rooms and fees. Colleagues, that’s the right word to use.

“Not quite up for that.” I didn’t smile. I was not in the habit of encouraging things I didn’t like. Why placate?

“I get it. It takes time. It took me almost a month after my split before I got back in the game.” Phil turned and focused on the security process of the busiest airport in the world.

He did not get it. It was not about recovering from a divorce, it was my not being a party guy. I liked my quiet time, visiting historic places in the cities I traveled to, and taking my notes for future books that might never happen.

Phil wrote books to get one thing, I wrote to get something else. Those two things were about as far from each other as one could get. You could tell from our books’ topics what those reasons for writing were.

Phil passed through and it was my turn.

~*~

“Mom, we’re fine. You enjoy yourself.”

John hugged me and stepped back. “You take care of your sister, understand?” I attempted a stern look. I failed.

“That’s Uncle Drew’s job. I’ve got a game to focus on, not some princess. Ow!”

“Don’t call me princess!” Lena uncurled her fist and hugged me even tighter than her brother had. “I want a T-shirt, okay?”

“I knew there was something behind the ferocity of the hug.” I smiled and looked at the beautiful girl, almost eye to eye with me. A few more months and I would be the shortest in the family.

“No, but a shirt would be cool.”

“I know, dear. Drew, are you certain these two will not be a trouble?”

My younger brother shook his head. “With my brood, who’s going to notice two more?”

“If this had only been next weekend their father would have them and no imposing on you.” There were still a few sorting pains over the managing of situations such as this. The divorce was going along fine, but the little things still popped up that were new and caused brief headaches. Precedents could not be set to undermine the plans put in place. This weekend was my responsibility.

“Just go. You’ll miss your flight.”

Drew and I hugged the quick hug of adult siblings, and with a smile and wave, I turned, pulled my bag behind me, and joined the queue for the security check. My mind went to the sites I wanted to see after landing. Traveling alone had its advantages. There would be no biggest whatever store in the world for me.

I looked up and caught the security people looking at me. Great, I was going to get extra attention, again. And then there were the disadvantages.

~*~

“Mind me taking the window?” Phil sat and stared through the small glass panel.

“No, I’ll most likely take a nap.”

“Awesome, thanks.”

They do not make planes with people my height in mind. Not even seated yet, my knees hinted at not being able to stretch when needed. I glanced up to the other passengers making their way to their seats. Now that, is the height I would like to be for flights.

Dark hair swirled around and I could see the woman’s face. Pretty. I’m glad Phil was looking out the window, I knew what he would say, and I did not want to hear it. She was classy looking, intelligent. Phil would spoil it with some vulgar suggestions.

She glanced up before turning to sit down. A weird feeling went through me.

~*~

Do I know him? He has that look on his face as if he knows me. Something about him is familiar. But I’m mistaken for someone people know all the time. So many Americans cannot tell the difference from one Asian nation to the next. But he does look familiar.

~*~

This is going to drive me insane. Where do I know her from? The headache was beginning. It would be a migraine before New York. Why couldn’t I let mysteries stay mysteries?



My entry for the Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt Challenge. Also a continuation of a story begun last week in The Library Date. Also visit Using Proofing To Help Your Fiction Diction & More! for some tips in regards to tools to assist you in improving your writing.



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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 , a Weekly Fiction Prompt Challenge, and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

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 2015

Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt #2 Entries: THE LINKS

Update! The Free eBook Project will be through Smashwords and/or Amazon. This is an update to include Smashwords. The reason being, Amazon, as far as I can tell at the moment, only offers FREE eBooks all the time as a price match option. Smashwords offers it all the time and a great many ways to download and read, including Kindle. Click HERE for the details.

As we continue with these challenges I’ll find a balance between blurbs and my insanity at reviewing and hopefully bring some entertainment to the table.

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

The Writers with The Links
The Legend of Wolf’s Crossing Lodge
by Kat Myrman (like mercury colliding)
An awesomely spooky story using all six prompt words. Kat creates the perfect atmosphere to help the story go to that next level. All this achieved in a short story. A MUST READ!

The Library Date
by Ronovan Hester (Ronovan Writes)
My entry this week. Love comes and goes in glances and heartbeats. We’ve all been there. I like to say comedy is present from beginning to end, you can decide for yourself, but there is also that uncomfortable awkwardness that makes things painful to watch because you want to tell the main character what to do. Or at least that’s how I feel.

I Thought We Were Forever
by Ritu (But I Smile Anyway)
This is a story about a woman who discovers her husband of so many years is moving on with love without her being included in that part of his life. The how she finds out is very much today. Ritu mentions in the comments the ending somewhat created itself. It’s a surprise ending in a way. At least the woman’s reasoning is surprising to me. GREAT READ!

Judy and John—The Newlyweds
by Teresa Dean Smeigh (Writing is my Life)
Part two of Teresa’s work, although it can stand alone. Judy and John are enjoying a moment as newlyweds when disaster strikes.

Staircase to Nowhere
by Melinda Kucsera (in medias res)
This week Melinda shares a scene from an upcoming Kindle eBook. One of her characters comes upon a strange object, well not so much strange as strangely located.

The Cabin
by Michelle (The Journey)
Thanksgiving memories shared in this particular tale. Some legitimate life situations, emotions, and all that comes with them are shared in this Thanksgiving memory filled tale. But don’t think you know anything. Just when you think you know, Michelle throws in a twist.

Movie Night: Part Two
by Greg (Potholes in the Road of Life)
Greg continues his story, although it can be a stand alone piece, with this quick read about how one young woman handles her man being far from home. And she does it in a most constructive way. At least I think so.

Laila’s Brother
by Alka Girdhar (Magnanimous Words)
An almost behind the scenes look at the headlines of today. I’ve often thought of something like this. What goes through the mind of a mother when she sees her adult son in the headlines and on the news around the world? GREAT READ!

What a Mess
by Shida Tahirah (876LoveR)
A cozy time is had by Shida’s two characters in the story. But if you focus on the end you miss what is being said throughout. There is some social commentary in this one and we get how people react to things in today’s world. Even if today’s world in the story is in 2017. And no, it’s not a Science Fiction Futuristic piece.

Dust Devil: the whole story
by Jane Dougherty (Jane Dougherty Writes)
Jane brings science fiction to the challenge this week. I know Jane’s writing through the retelling of Irish legends in a book I reviewed and then had the pleasure of her answering a few questions for an interview. This work is a complete surprise in genre. MUST READ!

To live another day
by Florence T (Meanings and Musings)
An interesting piece in first person voice. I wonder if the speaker is insane, honest, or perhaps both. A surprise of an ending and in truth a surprise of a story. Very Nice.



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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.

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 2015

 

This Week with Ronovan Writes!

In case you missed anything click and go!

haiku-challenge-image
71st HAIKU CHALLENGE COVER&COLOR
We Color The World A Haiku-Ronovan
HAIKU POEM “We Color the World” a Tribute to Paris
Copyright HaikuHound.WordPress.Com
A BLOG WORTH KNOWING-HaikuHound
The Writers with The Links
FRIDAY FICTION LINKS from Challenge #1
Southern Serenade by Ronovan Hester
Southern Serenade: A Work of Fiction
Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes
Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Challenge #2
The Library Date: A Flash Fiction Story
The Library Date: A Flash Fiction Story

The Library Date

The Library Date: A Flash Fiction Story

“Where you get that weave at?”

“Weave? Girl, you better hush. This ain’t no weave. I am all natural goddess.” I watched the two girls a few tables away. This was not going in a good direction.

“Girl, you the one better hush. Tellin’ me to hush. They got them so tight you can’t even blink. Go ahead and try. That is, if you can stop slappin’ your all ‘natural’ head long enough.”

“OOOOO, that was a burn for sure. She got her good with that one, Mac.”

I stood and put my backpack on my shoulder. “I’m out of here. They’re going to fight and I don’t want to be anywhere near it. Besides, I have a paper to research.”

My Italian-American baseball scholarship best friend wasn’t taking the hint that he should go too. “You go ahead. I’ll record anything that happens and post it. If it’s good, that is.”

“Don’t get caught in the middle of it or coach will eat you alive.”

He glanced away from the girls and up at me. “You worry too much. These are the last years we get to enjoy ourselves before being adults for real. Lighten up man. Find a girl. Go on a date. Kiss her. Do something. All books and no play makes Mac a depressed watch dog of a friend. Besides this is a girl fight. And you know what that means.” He put the sly smile on his face. Why did I choose him as my best friend?

I cast a last look toward the girls and saw the signs a fight was about to happen. Each was standing, had one hand on a hip, the other hand up with a finger working in the face of the other, and the head was going. I’d tried to do the head thing myself, for fun, but it was too painful. Men weren’t supposed to do that. Maybe it had something to do with women and their ability to look after children and families so well. They needed to see in all directions at the same time.

“See you later.” I zipped my jacket and headed away from anxiety central. There was always something going on here.

The air was crisp when I stepped outside the student center. Fall on campus was one of my favorite times. Light filtered through the orange and gold leaves and speckled the ground in front of me. Now where should I go?

I told Tony I needed to research so I could get away from the mayhem, but I did need to get that paper done. I couldn’t afford to burn the one lowest grade drop Dr. Goddard gave us for the semester. With two tests left before finals, I needed to do my best on something I had complete control over, just in case. I did not want to lose my 4.0. That meant, library time, and my date.

An hour passed with my head bent over a book. I loved history, a lot, but I wasn’t sure why I needed to know that old Louis didn’t want to conceive with Marie Antoinette, and her brothers showed up to get him drunk and circumcise him. Okay, so I know why I needed to know, but after almost four years of study, the details were beginning to play on my nerves. But the class was better than the Bosnia & Serbian class last semester. I never wanted to know the exact details of impaling and now I would never forget them. The guy Dracula was based on was one sick puppy.

My neck and back felt the pain of study or maybe I was having a sympathy pain in the neck for old Marie. Rotating my head to relieve some of the pain, a flash of silver caught my attention. The real reason I was in the library sat one table in front of me.

I didn’t know her name, was too scared to ask. She arrived every day at this time, sat at that table, and studied. She was beautiful, brainy, and real. But she was unreal at the same time. The necklace she wore seemed to signal me of her presence every time. I wasn’t even sure how the light reflected off it, but I was happy it did. That reflection had caught my eye that first time last semester.

Her hair was that dark brown so dark it looked black, and she was the most delicate looking creature I’d ever seen. But there was something strong about the look in her eyes as she read, and the way she sat. The way she moved between book and paper and drinking her bottle of water told of her determination and intelligence. I’d never seen her with anything other than water to drink. That must explain her skin.

Her head moved and I looked back down at my book. She almost caught me. My ears were beginning to burn. I hope she didn’t notice. If she did then she would know I had been staring at her.

~*~

Why doesn’t he talk to me? Does he not like me? Is it because I’m not from here? Americans can be so weird sometimes. I’ve been here every day since I saw him that time. Maybe I’m not pretty enough or he thinks I study so much because I’m not smart enough. Couldn’t he just say hello once? It must be warm in here, his neck and face are flushing. He should take that jacket off.

The Library Date: Flash FictionFor my Friday Fiction Prompt Challenge.

(For those who may wonder if I am trying to stereotype people during the beginning exchange, just ask women who have a weave done what happens. They have to have it done tightly so it lasts and you can’t scratch your head at that point so you pat your head to stop it from itching. If looks funny because if you don’t know what’s going on it looks like they are slapping themselves.)



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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, a Weekly Friday Fiction Prompt Challenge, and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

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 2015

Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt #1 Entries: THE LINKS

Nine responses to the first Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes. I call that better than expected. You will notice this is more of a round-up than a review. Being that these are long works of fiction and so many aspects of writing could be commented on, I felt it best to give the links and a blurb about each piece. The story ideas for each had their own merits. And as with my own work, we each had areas we could improve upon. But then, that is one reason we are doing this. One reason all writers do challenges, to keep improving.

As we continue with these challenges I’ll find a balance between blurbs and my insanity at reviewing and hopefully bring some entertainment to the table.

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

The Writers with The Links

That sinking feeling.
by Ritu (But I Smile Anyway)
Our first entry in a brand new challenge, we have a story you might want to keep reading until the end. Ritu throws a curve. | A young woman on a voyage finds herself falling for the ship’s captain when nature takes its course. A familiar story with a very modern twist.

Movie Night
by Greg (Potholes in the Road of Life)
A modern military version of a love letter home. In Movie Night, Greg gives us an idea of how life has changed in some ways for today’s soldier while the core remains the same.

Southern Serenade
by Ronovan (Ronovan Writes)
An untold scene from a work in progress.

Saved by the Chocolate
by Sarina (Shining Seeds)
A young woman brings her fiancé to her family for the first time. And there is some explaining to do.

The Man in the Captain Uniform
by Michelle (The Journey)
A piece of flash fiction about a little girl and her father in his military uniform.

Heart of Gold
by Shida Tahirah (876LoveR)
A shy Jamaica romance between a man, woman, and a beach at sunset.

Judy and John
by Tessa Dean Smeigh (Writing is my Life)
Judy is on the beach when John arrives home. A small disaster happens with an even bigger ending.

As always
by Florence (Meanings and Musings)
A seductive rendezvous is told from the view of the woman arriving at a surprise destination.

Captive Dragon
by Melinda Kucsera (in medias res)
A fantasy story set in a world of her own making, with a character from her previous work.



Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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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@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

Southern Serenade.

Southern Serenade by Ronovan Hester

The hand carved swing was beneath the trees along the back fence line and I let my body and the wood find each other in their common curves, as I knew was the thought behind its creation.

The early fall night was cooler than I had expected, but cooler rather than hot was a good thing. The temperatures were higher than usual for this time of year.

The candle flame wavered slightly on the tree stump used for a table. He’d thought of everything. A lot more of everything than I knew about, even now.

The flame didn’t do much for reading, but that wasn’t why it was here. There was something warm about it. The kind of warm a heart needs, not the flesh. Staring into the flame could help a person get lost for a while. But I had been lost for too long. I was searching. I wanted, I needed to find.

Crickets chirped a Southern serenade. I drifted between their harmonies and the dancing of the flame. If asked I would’ve sworn the swing moved, although I knew it didn’t. At least not by my doing. The flame grew large and then small again, back and forth, with the size changing as if in time with my heartbeat.

A sky filled with dots of dreams and wishes, twinkling their good luck and smiles down on those they were intended for. Those dreams, those wishes burned bright and rained down to a place between the flame and me. The serenade grew louder. One wave after another assaulted my peace.

An ocean roared and waves crashed against the hull chasing the moon. A voice called and I turned. Dark hair moved and sun bronzed cheeks glowed in the moonlight, lips parted an—

“Sis?”

I jerked. Two figures stood over me, each with an arm around the other and looking down at me. “What time is it?”

“About 9:30. We stopped by Mom and Dad’s and got caught up in talk. Sorry we’re late.” Blue eyes of our father searched the eyes I’d inherited from our mother.

“And your mom had lasagna made.” The young woman rubbed the man’s stomach.

“Shh, you weren’t supposed to mention that part.” Mother’s lasagna was his kryptonite.

I smiled up at the miniature version of our father. “You two are lucky you got out of there this early, considering you two were together. Wait until they find out.”

“Well, it was a bit uncomfortable, but they were doing their best to talk about anything and everything other than something.”

My brother and I both looked at my best friend then at each other and then back again. “That was amazing.”

“What?”

“Sis means you just made so much sense while saying so much nonsense. You could be my partner in a law firm one day. ” He leaned down and kissed her the top of her hair. His lips lingered. I could see him inhaling her scent. He had wasted so many years not realizing she had been right in front of him … waiting.

He turned, a grin of joy, a look of bliss on his face. His eyes caught mine and frowned.

“Don’t you dare.” I held up a warning finger. “It’s okay. My turn will be soon enough. I know it. It has to be. After all these years, he can’t give up now.”

“It would take an army to stop him.”

The golden glow of the candle blurred. “But that’s what they have.” Arms wrapped around me and the stirring of the wind blew out the flame. My world plunged into darkness. The stars were dim compared to the heart of the flame. Even when it couldn’t be seen.


 

This is my entry into my first Friday Fiction with Ronovan Writes Prompt Challenge. The story is one you can choose to have it fit in the manner you wish for it to. I hadn’t planned for this to be a Be Writing on Wednesday post but it’s the day I was able to have it ready for.



I don’t write about something unless I am either interested in the subject or am part of the character make up of the cast. For today’s story I looked around and believe I found an appropriate quote.

“What I can say is that all my characters are searching for their souls, because they are my mirrors. I’m someone who is constantly trying to understand my place in the world, and literature is the best way that I found in order to see myself.”~Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho Quote of Characters Searching for SoulsVisit SilverThreading.Com for more quotes this week.


 

Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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.

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 2015

Bag O’bones-Biddle

black cat transparent
 
 
Ticky tocky ricky rocky
The cat hummed its favorite tune
Watching from overhead
All snug in its rafter bedLarge-Cat-Paw-Transparent-left-down
It knew dinner would be coming soon.

Pebbles rittled and rattled
Night mice skittled and skedaddled
The man skipped to the beat of his head
Though the house up ahead was in gloomLarge-Cat-Paw-Transparent-right-down
And the beaten head needed a bed.
 
Bag O’bones-Biddle
Watched the skipping man’s skediddle
A smile spread across his big shroom
He turned to stoke the cooling fire
And swept up ashes with a broom.
 Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-left-down
“Greetings  my good dear friend,”
The man said to O’Bones-Biddle as if kin.
“Might I partake of a spare piece of floor?
As the night has come on quickly
And I find myself without safety of a door.”
 Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-right-down
The answer was yes,
O’bones-Biddle was quick to confess.
“Pardon the house it’s not as I wish.
My keeper has all but left.
But he makes a delicious dish.”
 
The night’s dinner was thin
“Too much is a sin.”
The skipping man said in fun.
“Or so the saying goes”Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-left-down
O’bones-Biddle nodded. “It’s a good one.”
 
“I wonder this night,
If by chance you just might,
Help an old man such as me?”
Bag’s spoke in a voice
To bring pity upon one such as he.
 Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-right-down
“Of course I may,
Anything you might say,
Of this grateful stranger.”
The man did smile
Not the least aware his danger.
 
“I hope it’s not much trouble.
With two we may carry double,
And the fire will be stocked up as could be.”
Bag O’bones-Biddle went out the door.Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-left-down
The man belched, sated and hunger free.
 
“Pardon me, your dinner was divine,
It was the best I’ve had in quite some time.”
“Thank you, kind sir. It was the last in my larder.”
But to fill it once again,
I need not look much farther or harder.”
 Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-right-down
Ticky tocky ricky rocky
The cat hummed its favorite tune
Watching from overhead
From its rafter bed
Shaking its head at the buffoon.
 
First one load then two
Back and forth the men flew.
Wood stacking up higher.
“What all of this
You could build a bonfire.”
 Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-left-down
“Oh no, dear me,
I am no one for a party.
But I like to be prepared for a dish.”
Bag O’bones-Biddle took up is fiddle,
“I’ll play whatever you wish.”
 
“Oh, I don’t think so.
It’s time for bed, you know.”
And the man looked about for a way.
O’bones-Biddle, ignored the denialLarge-Cat-Paw-Transparent-right-down
And with a drawing he began to play.
 
“Ticky Tocky Ricky Rocky
That was what me Mum sung.
Ticky Tocky Ricky Rocky
Until the day she was hung.”
Bag O’bones-Biddle played and hummed.
 
The man danced and danced,
Though the music was un-balanced.
“What are you doing to me, you’re mad?
I can’t do this much more,
Or me heart will burst and I’ll be had.”
 Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-left-down
Bag O’bones Biddle stepped to the man,
His hands fiddled as fast as a fan.
The man backed his back away,
Toward the rolling boil,
Whose fire had helped stoke to stay.
 
The cat sat and it watched through the pane.
Seeing nothing as wrong but all for its gain.
For it knew it would not be too long,
Once the fiddle began,
And heard Bag O’bones-Biddles’ mum’s song.

Large-Cat-Paw-Transparent-right-down
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

Ronovan Hester is an author, with his debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling due out in December of 2015. He shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer 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.

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 2015

#BookReview of Levant Mirage by @OliverFChase

 

Levant Mirage by Oliver F. Chase

You all know I don’t often cross my two sites over with each other. LitWorldInterviews is its own beast. I could count on one hand the times I recall having shared a book review here on RW, as it’s known behind the scenes. Today I wanted to share this one that I wrote for Levant Mirage by Oliver F. Chase. Why? Read on and you’ll see.

I received a copy of this book for an honest review and I’m glad I did. After having read it, I almost want to send him a check.

Levant Mirage takes snapshots from the headlines of the past few years to build a character and combines it with frighteningly realistic levant miragepossibilities to give a story you pray never happens.

35 year old U.S. Army Major Adam Michaels is no James Bond, nor did he ever set out to be. What is he? He’s a man who rejects the easy path that being the heir to a shipping empire gives him in order to join the military, serve his country, and be a father. Right, no money other than what he makes as a Major in the Army. You don’t see jet flying, limousine riding, womanizing and all of that. I would trade in the 10 year old Corolla for something a little better though. Tap into the trust fund already.

Finding himself used as a scapegoat for a foreign relations nightmare, Michaels works out his days in the Pentagon pushing papers, and paying alimony, child support and the mortgage on his rising political star ex-wife’s house. You see the everyday life to some extent leading up to the changes in life the military can throw at you. You don’t control you in the Army. And there are times when that twists the guts out of Michaels.

Michaels is of a dubious parentage, with his father not being who he thought he was, but upon finding out explains a great deal. This in part leads to his choice of path in life. He wants to be his own man. He doesn’t want to be identified with a past that isn’t really what he thought it was.

But part of that past comes back in one night and changes a quiet world into a search to find the defense against a missile guidance system he created that is now in the hands of terrorists. Which terrorists? Who is the enemy? You won’t believe it. Or you will believe it but be surprised.

The believability of Levant Mirage is what makes it so freakin’ scary at times. Perhaps the guidance system isn’t real, or I hope it’s not. But I’m sure there is something like it out there. The enemy Michaels must fight against is out of this world. If he fails, billions die. If he succeeds?

Chase writes with detail and a knowledge base that gives the story realism. You are able to submerse yourself into Levant Mirage and you don’t get pulled out by oddities and unbelievable scenes. Some scenes are high energy and amped up, but still possible.

Being honest, the amount of detail is incredible at times and I could have done with a little less of the technological speak, but it doesn’t take away from the story. In truth, it adds the believability—you don’t have these leaps from action to intellect in the span of a few seconds. Okay, maybe you do but for a whole different reason, but I’m not giving those parts away. Ah, that does remind me of one scene that did cause me pause and have to reread in order to get it clear. In part, that was due to the surprise of those involved.

I enjoyed the handling of the terrorists. As you read you’ll develop ideas but never get to comfortable, you never know what is going to happen next, who is going to happen, or what the truth is until it’s almost too late. But there are clues along the way.

RECOMMENDATION

I would recommend Levant Mirage to those who like believable action thrillers. Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt and other NUMA series books come to mind, but not that fantastical or off the charts. Where Cussler takes you over the edge of believability at times, Chase keeps you here on earth and scares the life out of you with reality you can find in your neighbors living room.

Character Believability: 4levant mirage
Flow and Pace: 4
Reader Engagement: 4
Reader Enrichment: 4
Reader Enjoyment: 4
Overall Rate: 4

Seriously Share this Review in any form you are able to in order to Support this Author and this great book.

Author: Oliver F. Chase
Title: Levant Mirage
File Size: 3416 KB
Print Length: 309 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Pearl River Publishing Group; 1 edition (October 15, 2015)
Publication Date: October 15, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B015G7TWYQ
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Enabled
Formats: Paperback & Kindle
Pricing: $13.99 & $3.99
Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Suspense, War

About the Author

Oliver F. Chase AuthorOliver spent five years in a police department working narcotics and SWAT, and the next 22 in the FBI. Now he’s the author of Marsh Island, Blind Marsh, the first two installments of the Hirebomber Series. And now Levant Mirage, releasing Oct. 15, 2015.
oliverchase.net
https://oliverchase.wordpress.com
facebook.com/oilverchase
https://twitter.com/OliverFChase

 



About the Reviewer

Ronovan HesterRonovan is an author, blogger and former educator who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though 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  LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com, a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources.  For those serious about book reviewing and interested in reviewing for the LWI site, email Ronovan at ronovanwrites (at) gmail (dot) com to begin a dialogue. It may not work out but then again it might.

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@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by LitWorldInterviews.wordpress.com 2015

Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Challenge #Review 64. 50 #Poets & over 70 #Poems

With words like Tide & Flesh you kind of wonder where people would go this week. One reason I didn’t put an Opening Haiku in the actual challenge post was so as not to influence people’s thoughts. My personal contribution this week can be viewed as being of a human nature or from that of those of an animal in nature. The image gives one a thought, but those thoughts may be wrong. That’s the great thing about Haiku.

Haiku Challenge Review ImageClosing Haiku

Waves of hunger end,

With the potato  now gone,

The skins can be baked.

 

Brand Spankin’ New this Week!

Tessa: Writing is my life is the name of her blog for the challenge. The other is Advocate for Mental Illness, although the URL says TessaCanDoIt.com. I kind of like that, I think it encompasses the Advocate title as well. Her first blog title pretty much matches what my blog title means. Seems we have a few things in common, especially why we blog. But I don’t have grandchildren yet. Thank goodness. Otherwise my 11 year old would have a lot to explain, or some old girlfriend of mine would have even more explaining to do. How did I get to talking about my old girlfriends? O,O Before I go anywhere else, let’s go to the Haiku. The Waves! Okay, she kind of made me think about sand and stuff, and if you read the comments you’ll see what I mean. 

J Lapis:   Yearning For the Tide | DarkLight Harbor. Ah, a very insightful message. Very people actually think about the truth of this. Awesome. Couldn’t find information to share. But we have a definite poet. How do I know? Well the name of the site has the subheading of Poetry to it. I sort of take that as a sign, plus all the poetry that is on there. 😉

Daniel Schwamm: Redeeming Flow | Musing Life’s Mysteries. Great Haiku. Seriously. And from the comments and just the general feel of the blog I get an energy from this guy. I’ve taken select parts of his About page to share, but you click HERE to see the rest. Seriously. “A human being in all the complexity and uniqueness that being human involves. Think with me. Share your thoughts.
Let’s explore together. If this is your cup of tea, or coffee for those so inclined, feel free to follow me and walk this journey together.” And there was more in the middle. Where is he from? Where did he go to University? And what is his blog about? Click that HERE up THERE and find out.  

Annie: Cleansed | Gentle Kindness. Love that middle line. “This is my blog and I have become quite attached to it. I think that bloggers come alive and discover their true inner voice when they nurture and water their blog on a regular basis. It takes on a life of its own that you could not have foreseen when you wrote that very first post.” So that’s part of her About page and I agree with what she says. If you’ve read my blog long enough you know that already.

Peter Bouchier: Drifting | Wherever I lay my pen, that’s my home. The title is mine, of course. And it fits what I saw the two events occurring. Or at least I saw two events, but then I am a Gemini, whatever that means. Peter comes to us through Jane Dougherty, as he reblogged her offering this week and provided one of his one at the same time. Thus I decided to throw him into the mix.

cbhanek: Returning Evil  and Love, Crocheted |Quick Thinks about Literature & Life (Redundant?) At first I was a little concerned my past was coming back to haunt me, perhaps that old girlfriend I mention in a review further down in the review but was technically entered before this one. Fortunately I was wrong . . . maybe. About cbhanek: “As you might not have guessed, “cbhanek” is the pen name of a mother-daughter team of teacher-authors. Between us, we have taught language arts-literature to every grade from preschool through adult school.” And there is a lot more, of course. Click HERE to read the rest of the story. 

Nagrij or (Greg Pierce) yeah, I snooped. (Author): Halloween | Nagrij Writes the Hits You Never Knew Existed. (Coffee infused it seems.) 🙂 Swarming flesh? Well kind of. OOoooOOooOOOoOO. Okay, I’m better now, back to normal. Okay so no info on the Nagrij. 🙂 But, apparently a person of their word. They said they would give the challenge a shot and they did and they did it well. So I snooped and found some stuff. You can check out the list of books on Amazon by clicking the Author link above.



 

First to enter the Flesh Tide this week!

Annette Rochelle Aben (Best Selling Author, Radio Show Host): Talkin’ Dirty Laundry | Annette Rochelle Aben. She’s stuck in the pun zone since last week. It’s a scary thing. Check out Annette’s books at the Author link above and her Radio Show at the Host link. @YouAreTheExpert A side note here. I was able to catch her Friday show and connected with her author guest. Very intelligent guy and I now have a book to review, a friend on Twitter, and an enemy in College Football, especially after Saturday’s game results. Very nice man by the name of And you can catch his interview with Annette by clicking here, and I’m the one in the chat room that asked the question Annette asks him.



 

Greg: Grace | Potholes in the Road of Life. I somehow knew he would go there. 🙂 @greg_wolford

TJ Paris: The Fleshpots! |La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin. When I first read the intro to this Three Haiku offering, I was almost expecting a vegetarian trio, but nope. @Roccoco_a_GoGo

Judy: Bone | Edwina’s Episodes. Oh just wait until you see this one. Was I surprised? Does anything this woman does surprise me? @EdwinasEpisodes

jazzytower: Feeling Beachy | Thoughts and Entanglements. Well, when you don’t think of the prompts in a certain way and then read a Haiku the word DUH comes to mind. So, DUH.

Alice: Water Erosion | Boomerang Zone. You know, considering Alice’s background, I have to say I am not overly surprised at this. But then you take a look at this nice, sweet, pleasant looking lady and think, “No way she would think like that.” @Vidocq_CC

Liz: Tide of Light | Quilted Poetry. This one had some nice reactions in the comments. And some confessions by moi. I think that last word was French, without the funny thing over the funny things over the letters.

Meredith & Martha: (Meredith) Attraction and Undercurrent, (Martha) Hang On and Melancholy | Meredith’s Musings. Cellular? Cool. I like the alternate of tide in Hang On. @Meredithlbl

Kat: Boxed Out? | like mercury colliding. I dare you to count ’em all. She pen the med oh, against the times.

Mira: Ghostly Night | They, You And Me. oooo Spooky. And a new use for the prompt Tide. indifference | To Wear A Rainbow. You know, that is one interesting way of putting it. And she is so very correct. @BediMona

Clarence: Lovers Touch | PrarieChat. oooo Clarence, you devil. And a second one would be Dream Catcher. Ah, nice take on the flesh prompt. Good turn there, dude.

Ritu: Need | But I Smile Anyway. Oh . . . my . . . Ritu. O,O. @PhantomGiggler

Melissa Barker-Simpson (Author): Pound of Flesh | M Barker-Simpson. Who thinks it’s cool how Mel relates the Haiku challenge prompts back to her Work In Progress? 🙂 I think I might be scared. Click the Author link above to visit her on Amazon.

Khor: Waverings | Project Prose. Oh those thinky people.  

Elizabeth: feelings | Tea & Paper. Feelings, wo-o-o feelings,
Wo-o-o, feel you again in my arms. @teandpaper

Jen (JK): Endless Cycle | the secret keeper. Oh this is a fun one. Childlike in nature and the image is very appropriate and not in the normal way. I can actually see certain images in my mind this describes perfectly. Thank you for this one. @occultguardian

Sandra: Numbers | Wild Daffodil. o,O Only Daffy the Wild One would do something like this. Tsk tsk tsk. (Some of you may have read my recent post Make the Most of Your Post. Well, Delicious Daffy does exactly what I talk about in that post.

Dr. Kottaway: I gotta say it up front. I always  want to say Mr. Kotta when I see her name. Don’t sweat it, I’m not a hog. (How many of you got any of that?) 😉 Okay, now to the Haiku. Fresh flesh | KO Rural Mad As Hell Blog. Some of you may not be familiar with the good doctor, but well, that blog title should tell you a lot. This is one disturbed doctor. I so am not going to her. Nope. And such a nice photo too. But then that makes even more disturbing. So actually excellent! Had to give her a difficult time there. It’s been a while.

Al: Sleepless Nights Remedied | Al the Author’s Blog. Now some of you will go and read the two Haiku this week and think, “Where did that title come from?” Then some of you are thinking now, “Where do any of his titles come from?” So read and enjoy AND he has a link to a short zombie tale for you to start off October right. @AlistairLane

D.B. Mauldin (Author): Jelly Fish Mornings | mama bear musings. Not sure what exactly her image was when writing but this is what came to my mind from when I spent about 2 months the year after high school during the spring break season in Florida on the beach. I would take a walk each morning before the heat and crazies came out. Check out the Author link for offerings on Amazon and click HERE for the About page links to other online distribution such as Smashwords.

Olga: Ever Lasting | Stuff and what if. I at first read the final line incorrectly. That’s what I get for doing these Reviews when tired and in the middle of the night, but then I’m always tired and there is no day or night for me. If you know me then you know what I mean. But that incorrect reading is why I read the Haiku several times before I type anything. Then I think about it, and then I dig when the words warrant it. For this one I feel a personal connection to it in that no matter what happens to me in my ailments, that last line is something I hope is real for me.

Elusive: Powerlessness | Elusive Trope. Back to nature with this one. And I mean that in many ways.

Janice: Nature Rebounding | Ontheland. You know, I haven’t done a study yet, but I should of my personal situation and see what the phases of a certain orb does in conjunction with my said situation. Funny how a Haiku can set your mind to thinking. 🙂 But then y’all know my mind gets to thinking a lot. @ontheland1

vronlacroix: Tidal waves | Simply Snapshots. Ah, a great take on the prompt words but also a nice play on words with the title of the Haiku and then the meaning. Surprise there and very true. Great. On a funny note. I love the image and when I pass my cursor over it and off it looks like it’s a lightning storm. Very appropriate with the image. Very cool. (I’m a guy. Things amuse me.)

denis1950: Feeding with the tide | Haiku hound. As always we have some great photos with the Haiku and I like the explaining of what is in the photos. By the way, he continues with the 3/5/3 form of Haiku here.

Jane Dougherty (Author): Food for Fowl | Jane Dougherty Writes. Took a little freedom by using the painting she shared and combing what the Haiku could mean. She said there might be another, and as any author knows, always bring the sequel when you have success the first time out. The Sea Provides Needs. And actually there are 2 Haiku there.  Check out Jane’s books on Amazon at the Author link above. @MJDougherty33

Pat B.: A Mother’s Tide | A season and a time. Well I do believe I came across the most unique take on the prompt words. This one never would have crossed my mind. 🙂

Nato: Tide of Love | Chasing Life and Finding Dreams. Girl got some Romance going on over there. O,O And the comments seem to agree. @MichelleLunato

The Jane Dougherty Gang:  Click HERE for the Haiku post. And the poets’ names below for their personal blogs. Yes I know she has an entry above but this is for other poets who posted in her comments. She wanted to share their efforts with us. From Published Author Harriet Goodchild there is The Tideline Taking and from Peter Bouchier  we have Drifting. Peter appears in the New section at the beginning of the challenge, as his Haiku appeared on his blog. And wouldn’t you know, Jane also joined in for a third go with Crab Delight.

R. Todd: Objects | A Flash of Fiction. Wow, right to the point, and he nails it for so many. Chesapeake Bay. Bit of a history lesson of sorts, what with the image used. But then it is appropriate. I love old images and history. I wonder why. 😀 

Sue Vincent (Author): Waning | Daily Echo. Where in the world did she come up with that six syllable word in the second line? Wow. This could be the Haiku of the week. Seriously awesome use of words. Click the Author link for Sue at Amazon and her many books. @SCVincent

Colleen: Family Relations | SilverThreading. Not having read the comments to this one, as I don’t until after I review, much like when I review a book, I think of how Colleen is moving and her life is somewhat starting anew. @SilverThreading

Vashti Quiroz-Vega (Author):  Cosa Nostra | The Writer Next Door. She went HIT us with one that left is stone cold. Check out Vashti on Amazon at the Author link above and you can see her interview by clicking HERE. @VashtiQV

Ruby Manchanda: Tides rush in | Whispering Thoughts. Ruby got some praise this week. I see, I can’t exactly say what I see imagery wise with this one, but I think that sort of actually says a lot. Once you read it you might get what I mean.

Steven: Flow | Ramblings of a Drabbling Mind. Ha, not creepy unless you do “at your own peril”. Muahahahaha.

Melissa: Come Out Of Your Shell | The Aran Artisan. Okay, the um header is new. No but heads about it. I just want to know how they turned into those things, one blonde, one brunette. Awesome but kind of creeps me out thinking about it. Ireland has lots of ‘splainin’ to do. Melissa writes about something her families has to do for the winter and it’s something you just don’t think about nor do you consider the thought you must put into it, the planning. Very interesting.

Alka: Ebb and Flow of Poetic Challenges | Magnanimous Words. SIX Haiku in this one? Wow. 😀 And I loved her self portrait at the end. 😀 @girally

Marje: Spookapaloosa | Kyrosmagica. Why? Because she wrote 5 spooky haiku, that’s why. Another Wow! @Marjorie_Mallon

Florence: A Rotten Time | Meanings And Musings. Yes, I said it and I mean it. Rotten! And a rare occurrence, a second one. Non-Fiction. She went all emotional and stuff with this one. Making up for the previous one I think. But I have to give her props for the first one, she didn’t to typical route that many could have. @FTThum

Juliette: Pheromonial Dance | Battered Wife seeking Better Life. Yeah baby! I think I just channeled Austin Powers. o,O @BWseeingBL

E. Rawls (Author): Erosion & Man Eaters | Rawls E. Fantasy. Very interesting. That first one was so excellent and then the second with the two nature creatures. Awesome. 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_

Mine (Ronovan): Tide to Love | Ronovan Writes. Some say it’s about people but oddly it is also about nature and what tides bring in and take out of the lives of those dependent upon it.


Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though 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.WordPress.com.

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Submissions to Rivet Journal. Experimental is a good thing. @RedBridgePress

Rivet Journal Submissions

Article from RivetJournal.com  

Rivet: The Journal of Writing That Risks publishes new literary work that breaks from the confines of mainstream realism to surprise, delight, and challenge readers.

We seek writing that crosses boundaries of form, content, and style — either subtly or radically. Send us works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that are too fabulist, surrealist, or experimental for traditional publishers. We are glad to consider work that uses genre elements in interesting ways (e.g. an urban noir fairy tale), but we are not looking for work that is primarily aimed at a genre audience (e.g. high fantasy or hard science fiction). To get a feel for the range of writing that interests us, check out the anthology Writing That Risks: New Work from Beyond the Mainstream.

General Guidelines:

  • All submissions must be previously unpublished in print or electronically. Author must be the sole rights holder of the submission.

For the rest of the Guidelines, what they are looking for and the remainder of the article, click here.

 

In Search of Life #FlashFiction

“You’re such a liar.”

“Shut up. You have NO idea what you’re talking about.” I didn’t care if he did or not, but I wasn’t in the mood for anything he had to say right now.

There was only one problem with that. “That empty hole in your chest, the cold-hollow ache in your bones like a cancer…you know what it is.”  He just never knows when to shut up and didn’t give a crap about my moods.

“This is none of your business, so for the last time shut it.” If I clenched my teeth any tighter they would break.

“This is just as much mine as yours. I’m just not the coward here who’s afraid to admit the truth.”  I hated him. I wasn’t a coward, I just didn’t want to hurt again. I didn’t want the tidal waves to come pounding back in where her love had left from me.

“Ever think about what-ifs?” I didn’t expect or wait for an answer. “I live on them. They are my protein that keep me alive.”

“I know that, Walker. You think that’s news to me? You think I don’t know about your every feeling of dread at every wasted second without her?” If anyone would know it was him.

“I’m tired. This tornado of emotions I live, not knowing when the next moment will be…it hurts.”

“Which hurts worse…pain of never knowing or the pain after the joy of having her for those few brief moments? That is what you need to decide.”

“I already made my decision. Don’t you know that, Mr. Know-Everything? Would I be like this if I hadn’t? Do you think I could live without her…even if having her is for only minutes at a time?” I hated him. Why couldn’t he let me wallow in my self pity?

“I know all of that. I’m here to keep reminding you of it…lest you forget it.” I slammed the notebook shut.

READ ME NOW!

I stared at those words on the cover–words I had been reading for years.

Gripping the notebook in both hands, I tore it in half with only the binding keeping the two pieces together. The small trash can beside the hotel bed rattled and rocked from the fall of the notebook into it.

I didn’t want to read any more.

Walker: In Search of Life by Ronovan

(Tales from my drafts folder. I rarely share my fiction. I know good writing when I see it. But with limited computer abilities right now I thought I would show you why I review books and do interviews.)

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Are you ready for it? Only @RonovanWrites 4 Days

Are you ready for it?

Only here, on RonovanWrites.

4 Days

 

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What happens in 5 Days?

What happens in

5 Days?

day-2

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6 Days.

6 Days

 

Only here on RonovanWrites.

 

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Character is Huge.

Football isn’t something I talk about much. I do have something to say about it in light of the current New England Patriots deflated balls controversy and quarterback Tom Brady. I’m not going to discuss the blames for and the who cares about it anyway of the whole thing. I’m not going to discuss the stats from the first half compared to the second half. That’s all for the uber fans to talk about. And in truth that’s not what people come here to check out.

What it did was remind me of something. Part of a chapter from a Romance I wrote. Yes, I wrote a Romance novel.

Bear with, there is a point to it.



 

Jennie fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “All these years you have all known and no one said anything and now you all know how I feel and–mother fix it.”

Laura laughed as she laid down next to her daughter. “I can’t. This one is all yours, dear.”

“If Gary would just have kept being a jerk it would have been easy,” Jennie said.

Laura sat up and hugged her knees with her cheek against them, looking down at her daughter. “Tonight ask your father about Peyton Manning and how he was drafted.”

“What?” Jennie asked. She sat up propping back on the palms of her hands.

“While you’re eating, ask him. We saved dessert so we could eat with you while you had your hotdogs. Trust me. Ask him, it might help.”

Chapter ##

Jennie had been able to get herself together enough to eat, thanks to her mother. Everyone else already knew about the love Corbin had for her and were handling things as usual. She went along with the conversations as they ate dessert, waiting for the right moment to ask her father the question.

Things turned to spring training at the university, which led to old games, and rivalries and then she jumped in. “Dad, Mother said you had a story about Peyton Manning and how he was drafted,” she said.

 

Mitch McElroy looked at his wife. The years of marriage telepathy passed between them and Jennie knew he could tell there was more to this than her wanting to know a football story. He laced his fingers together in his story mode and began. “First I have to say my least favorite color is orange,” he said, and everyone laughed. The locals’ rivalries all had orange in their uniforms.

“But Peyton was a class act and still is. The team with the number one pick in the NFL draft needed a quarterback and it came down to two men. With their having the first pick before any other pro team this was a big decision. Both men had great numbers and in fact the other guy had slightly better numbers than Peyton, but they picked Peyton and ended up with a Super Bowl ring.”

“Why didn’t they pick the other guy?” Jennie asked.

 

“Character,” her father said. “Both did well on the field but in the pros, the guys in the office were making an investment in a future and they wanted to make sure of a good return on that investment. So what it came down to was how the two were away from the field.”

He took a drink of coffee and kept thinking for a moment. Jennie had always noticed he had coffee or milk with dessert. He said iced tea didn’t work because the sweet of desserts killed the sweet of the tea. “They didn’t want the drama of the press and personal life. They wanted a solid go to guy that they could count on, who was the same all the time everywhere. That was Peyton.”

 

“And the other guy?”

 

“Out of football now, never had success and has pretty much hit rock bottom, although he was drafted.”

 

Jennie looked at her plate. She was a mustard girl for her hotdogs at home. She picked up a fry and scooped up a stray bit of mustard.   Her Dad’s voice made her even more comfortable and she found herself slowly returning to a normal calm, or maybe what was turning into her new normal, whatever that was going to be.

“If I had an opening right now at work,” her father began. “I would take a good long look at the person’s history and even at their friends. You can tell a lot about a person about who they pick as friends, how close they are to family. Even by what books they read,” he said, putting his hand over hers.

Jennie looked at his eyes. This was the first time he had actually given her an open clue to his feelings. She smiled back at him and then her eyes widened. “I almost forgot,” she said jumping up.

“What in the world?” Her father asked.

 

Jennie returned in seconds and glared at Benny. “Dad, this is for you,” she said sweetly as she sat the chocolate pie down in front of him.

 

Glee spread across his face and his shoulders shrugged up in little boy delight as he rubbed his hands together. “You do love me,” he said as he took a big bite. The whipped cream covered his lips.

 

 

“And this,” she said. “Belongs to you, dear brother.” And the empty second pie tin, with what was left of chocolate was placed satisfyingly down upon her brother’s head. “Thanks, Sis,” he said and burped. “You do love me.”

Everyone laughed including Jennie.



Character goes a long way in every aspect of life. For Jennie she had a decision to make. Her father was giving her some advice she needed to take. As for what this has to do with the New England Patriots? Well years ago they were busted in a scandal where the head coach was caught having the opposing teams’ defensive signals videoed so he would know what they were calling during the game and thus know what offensive play to call. His character took a big hit. If not for that this whole thing now would not be such a big deal.

Now the Patriots are often called the most hated team in the league. Opposing teams will look for things to point out against them. Every quarterback likes the football to feel a certain way to be comfortable to his hand. Every quarterback. But here we have a man who is arguably one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game being questioned on his Character.

Because of this what could possibly happen is brand new footballs are opened on the side line and the quarterbacks are forced to use wax covered, slippery tools that will affect everyone and now the people who are cheering for the demise and questioning of Tom Brady will be hit with the results of it. Because your own Character of being a malicious and sad individual it is possible it will come back to bite you in your own quarterback being made to suffer in the football he has to use.

The results of the before and after halftime, when the balls were switched to ‘good’ balls will tell you how the game would have turned out. The teams in the Championship Game would be the same. Good Character everyone.

Character is huge.

 

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