Vacation Recovery Begins Now.

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 Ronovan Life Busy, Editing, Life, Proofreading, Vacation, Writing

This past weekend and early part of the week was an impromptu vacation for me. It was the first time in 8 years I had been more than an hour and a half from my home.

I intentionally left my laptop and tablet behind. In their place I had a pad of paper and a pen. My phone was the only electronics I had on me and it was used to take some photos…

…and phone my parents upon arrival at the hotel. The hotel was great. I think it could’ve slept 10 adults or 5 of me. A Jacuzzi everywhere you looked on the ground floor around the pools. 6 pools, most of those were heated. Full kitchen. The last hotel at the end of the beach before residential areas, across from a golf course, and a yacht club, made for a very nice, quiet time. All at a very great price.

With that knowledge now in your hands, you may understand that I am a bit behind on some commitments. Maybe not behind according to agreements, but according to my own personal preference. Blogging will be sparse the coming week until I…

Read at least one book for Review. (I have several)
Proofread and edit a book for a friend of a friend.
Proofread and edit at least three articles for a friends business site.
Write a short story for a contest. (I’ve only entered one short story contest before and won it, by luck. Maybe this will happen again.)
And there is something else that I am forgetting but that nagging feeling at the back of my skull tells me it’s out there waiting to make its presence known.

I’ll be back in the saddle fully soon. Enjoy the challenges and the entries in the comments of each one. If you haven’t been visiting the short stories for the Friday Fiction challenges you are missing out.

Much Respect,

Ronovan

PS-You know I have a book. You know you can click the image in the side bar to go get it. The reviews have been great. 9 five stars and 2 four stars so far. I’ll take that for any book I write ever.

10 Quotes of Trust.

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 Ronovan Quotes Advice, Life, Quotes, Trust, Wisdom, Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” Golda Meir ((born Golda Mabovitch, Голда Мабович; Golda Meyerson/Myerson between 1917-1956; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was an Israeli teacher, kibbutznik, stateswoman and politician and the fourth Prime Minister of Israel.

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Charles Spurgeon (/ˈhædən ˈspɜːrdʒən/; 19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the “Prince of Preachers”.

“Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.” James Broughton (November 10, 1913 – May 17, 1999) was an American poet and poetic filmmaker. He was part of the San Francisco Renaissance, a precursor to the Beat poets. He was an early bard of the Radical Faeries[1] as well as a member of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,[2] serving her community as Sister Sermonetta.

“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.” Billy Wilder (/ˈwaɪldər/; German: [ˈvɪldɐ]; June 22, 1906[1] – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist and journalist, whose career spanned more than fifty years and sixty films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood’s golden age. With The Apartment, Wilder became the first person to win Academy Awards as producer, director and screenwriter for the same film.

“It is unfortunate, considering that enthusiasm moves the world, that so few enthusiasts can be trusted to speak the truth.” Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL (UK /ˈbælfə/;[1] 25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930) was a British Conservative politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from July 1902 to December 1905, and later Foreign Secretary.

“A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts.” Harold MacMillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC, FRS[2] (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963. Nicknamed “Supermac,” he was known for his pragmatism, wit and unflappability.

“Trust is the first step to love.” Munshi Premchand, Premchand (pronounced [mʊnʃi preːm t͡ʃənd̪] ( listen)) (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand, Munshi being an honorary prefix, was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,[1] and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century.[2] Born Dhanpat Rai Srivastav, he began writing under the pen name “Nawab Rai”, but subsequently switched to “Premchand”. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the “Upanyas Samrat” (“Emperor among Novelists”) by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

“Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent.” William Shakespeare (/ˈʃeɪkspɪər/;[1] 26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616)[nb 1] was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.[2] He is often called England’s national poet, and the “Bard of Avon”.[3][nb 2] His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,[nb 3] 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

“Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go.” Natalie Goldberg (born 1948) is an American popular New Age author and speaker[1] She is best known for a series of books which explore writing as Zen practice.

“Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath.” Solon (Greek: Σόλων; c. 638 – c. 558 BC) was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic, and moral decline in archaic Athens.[1] His reforms failed in the short term, yet he is often credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy.[2][3][4] He wrote poetry for pleasure, as patriotic propaganda, and in defense of his constitutional reforms.

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling Available on Amazon.

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10 Questions for Ronovan Hester

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 Ronovan Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling 10 Questions, Action, Amazon, Author Interview, Historical Adventure, KDP, Kindle, Life, Pirates, Royal Navy, Southern Author, Southern United States, Vashti Quiroz-Vega

With only being able to reblog once, and having done that with this interview to my author site, I’ve copied and pasted the article here. It isn’t as nicely formatted as author Vashti Quiroz-Vega has it on her site, and I suggest everyone visit the original for the full experience by clicking HERE.

Hello everyone! I have a treat for you today. I’m an avid reader and self proclaimed bookworm and to me as well as others like me it is always fun when a new, intriguing book is released. Do you enjoy fascinating stories about pirates? Well then you’ll love The Razor’s Adventures Pirate Tales by P.S. Bartlett. I have featured P.S. Bartlett and her books on this blog and you can check out that post here.

Today’s focus will be on the wonderful and talented Ronovan Hester since P.S. Bartlett’s recent installment in The Razor’s Adventure series, Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling is co-authored by him. This is not your typical pirate story since Ronovan puts his love of History and his 20+ years of writing experience to use in his debut Historical Adventure set in 1705 England, American Colonies, and Caribbean.

♦

Ronovan’s Bio:

Ronovan Hester is a writer living near Athens, Ga, home of his alma mater, The University of Georgia, where he received a B.S.Ed. in History Education. Ronovan puts his love of history and his over 20 years of writing experience to use in his debut Historical Adventure set in 1705 England, American Colonies, and Caribbean co-authored with P.S. Bartlett.

Ronovan’s devotion to history and writing sometimes competes with his love of tacos and fresh fruit. At times, all his favorite things work hand in hand in mouth during long binge writing sessions that have been known to last nonstop for over 24 hours. Rather than see a sleep disorder as a hindrance, he uses the time for creative purposes or watching old TV shows on online.

Ronovan enjoys putting elements of history, if only as nods to the past, in all of his book projects. He currently instills that love of history and learning in his son daily as he helps him through his college prep courses, meaning hours of homework every night, even while not yet a teenager–his son, not Ronovan. Now if he could find a very good mute for that trumpet his son just began learning.

10 Fun Facts About Ronovan

One of your 10 fun facts is that you love to cook. If P.S. Bartlett arrived at your house for dinner what would you make for her?

I would go Southern. I make very good Southern Fried Chicken, biscuits, and I these potato wedges that I batter then fry, then oven bake. It’s something I created, and everyone loves them. I fry them enough to get them brown and slightly crisp, then into the oven to finish cooking over a rack to let the excess oil come out. I cover them with foil so as not to let the brown much more or burn. You end up with a crispy on the outside, completely done on the inside oven fry. You spice the batter how you like it and either make or use your favorite condiment if you want to dip them in something. There would of course be sweet iced tea. For dessert a peach cobbler, since I live in the Peach State.

Another fun fact about you is that you love the sound and feel of the ocean at night. Have you seen the movie ‘JAWS’?

I did. I also saw the Jaws 3D in the movie theaters when it first came out with some older cousins.

One more fun fact about you is that you enjoy eating lunch sitting under a tree while watching and listening to birds. If you could be any bird which would you be?

I think I’m pretty much a Robin if you look at me. I can’t escape that.

10 Questions for Ronovan Hester

1/ Tell me about your book

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling is a historical adventure beginning in a sailor’s pub in 1705 London and then taking to the seas. Court-martialed due to the events in the pub, Captain Gabriel Wallace of the Royal Navy finds aide with his former crew who mutiny against the Royal Navy, just in time to avoid capture by his enemies. Wallace has more than one mission/objective during his war against the men behind his disgrace but only he is aware of it. This secret causes some problems as the story unfolds and Wallace and his men go after the biggest haul a pirate has ever attempted in the waters of the Caribbean, all in the name of revenge and loyalty.

Reads like a riveting story! And not your typical pirate story.

2/ What inspired you to write this book?

After many conversations with PS Bartlett, the creator of the Ivory Shepard world of pirates, the discussion came around to her thoughts of a sequel to her very first pirate novel, The Blue Diamond: The Razor’s Edge. A book I enjoyed a great deal. I had the idea of her writing a prequel series of books of how her main character became a lady pirate captain, while I wrote the book that would currently be the beginning of the entire series and become known as Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling. By the way, not only does Microsoft Word object to the use of lady in this paragraph, but Ivory Shepard would as well.

Ah, ha, ha. I guess ‘female’ is the word that comes to mind then. The idea of a ‘prequel series’ telling how the main character comes to be, who she is in the original series is quite brilliant.

*Clarification from Ronovan: I should have worded the part about the prequel ideas coming up between PS Bartlett and I about the same time. It was an idea to expand the world she created and bring in more attention to the character of Ivory Shepard. The Blue Diamond was a great book.

3/ Why team up with another writer, instead of writing this book on your own?

I looked at it as a two-fold thing. One, I would be helping PS Bartlett get one more book out in her series. In this book, I could give a different perspective, a different voice than that of Ivory Shepard. There needed to be that different voice. Second, I’m a historian and love research. Thus, I saw this as a challenge of sorts. Just as I challenged myself to write a Southern Romance, completely out of my comfort zone, I did this, which was a new genre for me. I do historical fiction more around WWI and WWII.

Although not a historian I share your love of research. I’m happy you took this on and wish you continued success.

4/ Which is your favorite character in the book? Why?

I would have to say Gabriel Wallace is my favorite because I put so much of me into him. Some of that’s been taken out because of the collaboration, but I know where I show up. People that know me will know what I wrote and not. The styles mesh but my personal character is different from some of what Wallace ends up as. Gimby, the helmsman is a good one too.

5/ Which character in the book would you not get along with? Why?

That’s a tough one. There are times, due to circumstances a couple of people are difficult to deal with. One is somewhat obvious when you begin reading the book, and the other grows into someone less than a joy to know.

Very diplomatic answer.

6/ Finish these statements:

-If I wasn’t afraid I would move to a better climate part of the world with a beach and a nice ocean view, although I’m not really afraid of much.

Florida awaits!

-Someday, I want to be successful enough at writing to pay the bills and maybe help form some sort of foundation to fight some children’s problem.

7/ You have multiple personalities, describe some of them.

First, I’m not sure how you knew that. Second, I’m a workaholic one minute and a total veg the next. That might be part of some health issues though. I have the funny guy side, then the serious the next. Yes, I’m a Gemini.

I pay attention, Ron.

8/ List 5 adjectives to describe yourself?

Hopeful
Romantical (My creation of a word.)
Caring
Idealistic
Inquisitive

Yes! I agree with all five. I’ve come to see all of these in you and your writing.

9/ How have your physical problems affected your writing?

That’s a big one. I could make a long list of negative things, but I look to the end result being I use the time I have to write as much as I can, which at times is a lot. If I had normal health I wouldn’t have a book out right now. I see this as one of those things where God took an extreme bad thing and used it for an extreme good in my achieving getting a book published which can show others anything can happen if you work at it.

That’s a very positive and inspiring way to look at a traumatic experience in your life. I love your outlook.

10/ How is Captain Gabriel Wallace like or unlike Captain Jack Sparrow?

The two are about as opposite as you can get. Wallace is a trained captain in the Royal Navy, member of the upper class of society, actually a member of the House of Lords, well educated, and has a certain level of morality that dictates a lot of his actions. He doesn’t mind fun and jokes but his focus is his mission and the well-being of his crew. Wallace is not really a pirate, but more a soldier at war with a given enemy.

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on Amazon.com

Amber Wake; Gabriel Falling on Amazon.UK

Amber Wake; Gabriel Falling on Amazon.CA

Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling on Amazon.IN

You may connect with Ronovan through:

Amazon Author Page: Ronovan Hester

Amazon UK Author Page: Ronovan Hester

Personal Blog: RonovanWrites.WordPress.com

Author Site: RonovanHester.com

Book Review Site: LitWorldInterviews.com

Twitter: @RonovanWrites

Goodreads Author: Ronovan Hester

Facebook: Ronovan Writes

Google+: Ronovan Writes

LinkedIn: Ronovan Hester

About.me: Ronovan

Pinterest: RonovanWrites

Synopsis

The autumn of 1705 brings Royal Navy Captain Gabriel Wallace to face off against an enemy within the ranks of the Admiralty itself that threatens his career, his reputation, his family, and something even more far-reaching in its plot.

Court-martialed and with Admiral Chambers, the mastermind fearfully known as the Chambers of Hell, out for his destruction, Wallace finds he has allies willing to face the might of the mightiest power on earth, with some allies in the most unlikely of places. The crew of his former command, the Majesty’s Venture, mutinies from the Royal Navy. With capture by his enemies close behind, Wallace agrees to become captain once again.

With a ship at his command, Captain Gabriel Wallace sets out to fulfill his mission, the completeness of which only he knows.

Now a pirate by situation, Wallace sets out for the Colonies and the Caribbean. Will his crew remain loyal as they leave the rule of the Royal Navy behind? Will his lifelong friend, Miles Jacobs, follow Wallace blindly without knowing the whole story? Finally, will the young Lieutenant Maddox Carbonale stay under the command of Wallace or have plans to lead instead?

With these questions in his thoughts, Gabriel Wallace wages war on Chambers and goes after the largest haul in the history of the Spanish Main. Whom does Wallace meet along the way? To whom are his loyalties to: vengeance or something more powerful?

If you love tales of adventure, of the sea, of the struggles of men, and nods to history, this is your book. Read Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling and you’ll have a new appreciation for all of The Razor’s Adventures Pirate Tales.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this author Spotlight/Interview. Be sure to check out some of the links.

Enjoy the weekend!

Stressed out

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

A good post to live by.

MEANINGS AND MUSINGS

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

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

View original post 298 more words

My Way From Hell.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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RonovanWrites 84th #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry #Links

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

AUTHOR CENTRAL

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

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

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

New Offenders!

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

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

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

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

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

First to Offend this Week!

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

Must Reads

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AUTHORS CENTRAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not participating this week.

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

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

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

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

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

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HUMOR

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

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INSPIRATION

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

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

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

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

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LIFE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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LITERATURE

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MOMENTS

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

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

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NATURE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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STORYTELLING

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

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

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

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THINKY

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WISDOM

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

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

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

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@RonovanWrites

Be still … know … breathe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John 16:33 Jesus speaks to the disciples.

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

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

Philippians 4:6-7

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ronovan

Don’t Let it Go … Hold on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hold on to what is important.

Hold on to what you love.

Hold on to what gives you joy.

To what do you hold on?

Moments of Challenge.

February 17, 2016February 17, 2016 Ronovan #BeWoW, Inspiration & Motivation #BeWow, Character, Christianity, God, Inspiration, Life, Motivation, Psalm 73:26, Writer's Quote Wednesday

As you all know, I don’t participate in may of the various pass it on blog things. You know, as in ‘do this and then have people do the same thing.’ One I don’t mind doing is the Three Quote Challenge. I’ve done it once before and I’ve been asked to do so again.

Susan Langer has asked me to join in this time. Many of you know Susan from her blog Susan’s Personal Blog where she enjoys doing various challenges and offers services to help other bloggers and writers.

I’ll give the rules and such at the end of my run of quotes. If you want to know them right now, click HERE to visit Susan’s post and quote. Do so anyway to support her blog.

My quote today:

“My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.”-Psalm 73:26
Asaph, Worship Leader for King David.

Lately, life seems to be throwing things my way to challenge me in my writing life.

Where is the time for it?
Do I take short cuts?
Do I resort to the tricks and gimmicks to make things more successful?
Do I devote even more time to blogging and writing than I do now?
Do I compromise my beliefs and character for gain?

Those moments of challenge may come at you from any direction. Asaph was talking about looking around and see people of less than respectable practices seemingly prospering while those who lived on the straight and narrow path struggled.

Eventually, he figured it out. Although we see a visage of prosperity for a time in this person, in the long run, those who follow the right path, the right decisions will be more satisfied and happier because of how they have achieved what they have, and because of where they end up. We know we have not burned bridges or broken lives along the way. Our conscious and heart are clear.

“The artist produces for the liberation of his soul.” #BeWoW #Quotes

February 17, 2016February 17, 2016 Ronovan #BeWoW, Quotes Author Quotes, Bret Hart, Cancer, Famous Quotes, Life, Mark Helprin, Quotes, Ronovan Writes, RonovanWrites, W. Somerset Maugham, Wrestling, Writer's Quote Wednesday, Writing Quotes

I was led to my author today by a man named Martin Gabel, an award winning stage actor from the mid 20th Century. I’m not positive the quote I went looking for was correct, but I ended up in some great ones anyway.

W. Somerset Maugham was a British writer who wrote in just about every form you could at the time: Plays, Novels, Short Stories. He served in the Red Cross during WWI and was recruited into the British Secret Service in 1916.

The man’s views on writing are solid. Other aspects of life are a bit more fragile. Due to the time he lived in there were secrets he kept and veils he hid behind that could only do damage to the man within. I’m giving you today his thoughts about writing with a few thrown in that influence you as a writer

13 Quotes from W. Somerset Maugham

It seems that the creative faculty and the critical faculty cannot exist together in their highest perfection.
~*~
The crown of literature is poetry.
~*~
It is unsafe to take your reader for more of a fool than he is.
~*~
The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit.
~*~
The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill.
~*~
When you choose your friends, don’t be short-changed by choosing personality over character.
~*~
There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
~*~
It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.
~*~
It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know.’
~*~
Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.
~*~
People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.
~*~
Writing is the supreme solace.
~*~
Habits in writing as in life are only useful if they are broken as soon as they cease to be advantageous.

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

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

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RonovanWrites 83rd #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry #Links

February 14, 2016February 14, 2016 Ronovan Haiku Poetry Challenge Reviews Community, Daily Post Event, Haiki, Humor, Inspiration, Life, Nature, Poetry, Ronovan Writes, Ronovan Writes Haiku Review

Comments are bit skimpy this week. With the book launch of today for Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling now live on Kindle as well as Paperback, I may be able to get back in the swing of things. But after only links last week I felt I needed to get back to a normal review this week. Not that I ever am normal in anything I do.

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