Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Guest book review - Love on the Edge (Mindful Writers Retreat Series Book 3)


Experience love’s emotional gamut from the authors of Mindful Writers Retreat, sure to bring joy and bliss to your heart any time of year. 

From love in the time of war… to love at first sight and long walks in the snow… to sparks flying because of nosy neighbors… Love on the Edge reveals the essence and evolution of the human need for relationship, written in a time when we’re all searching for deeper meaning and connection. 

Featuring works by: Lorraine Donohue Bonzelet, Jennifer D. Diamond, Abigail Drake, Judy England-McCarthy, Phil Giunta, N. J. Hammer, Kimberly Kurth Gray, Hilary Hauck, S. M. Kraftchak, Ramona DeFelice Long, MaryAlice Meli, Amy Morley, Gail Oare, Kim Pierson, James Robinson, Jr., Kathleen Shoop, Demi Stevens, Lisa Valli, Deborah Vita, Madhu Bazaz Wangu, Denise Weaver, and Michele Zirkle. 

Proceeds benefit Allegheny Children’s Initiative—Partners For Quality, Inc.

Available at....
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Book Excerpts

Finn & Chloe

Kathleen Shoop

O

nce upon a time a guy sat in a bar. Stood up, mortified, unmoored. Finn Corbett’s perfect life had been balled up and tossed into the garbage like a plane spiraled out of the sky when its engine gave out. He sighed then downed the rest of his Iron City Light, glancing around the Three Rivers Tavern. Had anyone noticed the fat bouquet of ranunculus sitting beside him like it was his Valentine date? He’d gone to three florists on his postal route to find the right combination of every shade of pink and red colors that ValentineDreamer2 had said would melt her heart.

Turns out she was heartless, leaving a guy to stew in his ranunculus juices after sounding so excited to meet him. He checked his watch. Over an hour late. The lights dimmed, the dancefloor filled, and the band cranked out its first moody love song. Time to escape. He slid a twenty for a $4.50 beer under the bottle and stuffed the bouquet into his mail bag. Slipping out of the booth, trying to stay as small as possible, he jiggled the table, knocking the bottle off. A waitress breezed past, scooping it up just before it hit the floor. She set it on the table and bent down. “Um, your flowers.” She straightened bearing a couple of stems.

Pulling up to his full six feet four height, his hairline pricked with sweat.

“They tumbled out of your bag there… oh…” she brushed the blooms with her fingertips. “Like velvet. Ranunculus. A lucky la-dy…” her voice trailed off when she looked back at the table and realized there was no lady. She shoved them toward him. “They’re beautiful.”

“Keep ’em.”

Her face brightened, but before she said more, a customer called her away. Finn pulled his bag-strap over his shoulder and balked, the shocking pain reminding him he’d never get back on the pitcher’s mound if he didn’t baby it a little. Switching the bag to his other shoulder he limped, dismayed. He stopped and lifted his foot. What had he done to it? The leap over the fence when the Rottweiler chased him? The slip off the wet curb when the downpour kept Mrs. Renfrew on her porch with a letter she’d forgotten to add to the box?

He shook his head. Five months since he’d been released by the minor-league baseball team, Altoona Curve. There was only one way back to making his dream come true and that was to be fully healthy. Turns out, being cut from Double-A ball, having no savings or health insurance, made that harder to do than most would expect. But then his luck shifted, just a little tiny bit, like the sun splitting through dark clouds and an ump saying “Play ball,” he found the job as a postal carrier in Pittsburgh.

It had been perfect. His route kept him moving, he had the energy to work out and do physical therapy in the evening and the job paid that bill. All seemed to be going in the right direction until that night there in the tavern when his aloneness sat heavy as a just-filled mailbag. Weaving through dancing couples toward the exit, he considered that he’d never been stood up before, not once in his entire life. Perhaps he should have added the fact he had been (and soon would be again, he just knew it) a professional baseball player to his profile, and ValentineDreamer2 would be nesting the ranunculus in her arms that very moment.

But then he’d have to explain the whole system, why he wasn’t playing right then. It was true, very few people understood the competition in Double-A ball was often better than Triple-A… oh, there he went again. How often did he talk about baseball? Maybe ValentineDreamer2 could sense it through the internet, his self-centeredness sucking away all the energy in the room. Wasn’t that what Sarah had always said to him? Yep. He shook his head as he wove through the Valentine lovers, arms looped around necks, as bodies melded on the dance floor. Perhaps his loneliness had settled in long before he admitted it that night. Perhaps he was getting just what he deserved.


***

Angelica
(A Toxic Botanical Romance)

Lorraine Donohue Bonzelet

A

ngelica’s veins oozed of envy and spite. The sap coursed around her, bleeding down to her last veinlet. The unwanted jealousy was uncontrollable – and it was all Rosemary’s fault!

Before Rosemary’s herbaceous arrival, Edelweiss hovered over Angelica, showering her with loving dew-drops in the morning and glistening winks of his filaments at sunset. He hung high overhead from the rock wall’s crag, anchoring his roots deep into the gritty crevices.

Angelica lived amongst the wildflowers in the field below. She was grateful that she stood a solid foot above the others and closest to Edelweiss’s reach. He was her Noble White Matterhorn and she was his Chartreuse Elixir.

Angelica swooned remembering the days when she would splay her umbels wide and flash her snowy starburst to get Edelweiss’s attention. She wished that his silvery-white leaves would reach down to protect her from the sun and his hairy bracts caress her. Now, looking lovingly up at Edelweiss, all she could see was Rosemary’s orangish underside.

A tender perennial, Rosemary sat in her terracotta throne with the other potted plants: happy-go-lucky pansies, delicately drooping fuchsia, and sweet alyssum. Her handcrafted earthenware accentuated the oversized wrought iron stand that was strategically placed against the rock wall – blocking Angelica’s view of Edelweiss. The entitled plants luxuriated in a three-tiered towering complex, soaking up the organic tilth. From dawn of day until dark of night Rosemary flaunted her soft summer-blue flowers and petite sapid needles. She could almost, but not quite, touch Edelweiss. He shortened the gap, stretching his fuzzy filaments in her direction.

Angelica, on the other hand, was down with the dirt-trodden muck, disrespectfully grouped with the weeds. Her blistering sap was bubbling over! She could not allow Rosemary to connect with her true love. Born and bred on the wild side, Angelica had strong invasive and irritating qualities. But even with all of that going for her, she couldn’t tackle this devious task alone. Angelica called upon the queen of poisons, Aconite. Together they would formulate a lethal toxin to take out Rosemary and win back the undivided attention of Edelweiss. Aconite, the root of all evil, was devilishly up for an herbicidal attack.

Meanwhile, the unsuspecting Rosemary enjoyed being pruned and pampered and praised.


***

For Cheeku

Madhu Bazaz Wangu

A new sun rises, golden yellow, exquisite.

You spread freshness of swaddled joy in my lap.

Lips velvety petals, black amber eyes, silken eyelashes.

Fussy cheeks, wrinkly neck, dimpled hands.

Delight rises from the bottom of my belly, my heart, my head.

I am showered with bliss.


“Do you know who I am?” I ask, smiling from ear to ear. You simply stare.

I can’t stop hugging, can’t stop kissing until

you lay in your bassinet under moonbeams.

When you cry, adoring parents wrap you in a cocoon.

You lull back into a womb like trance.

Kisses on your forehead, on your cheeks, on your tummy

leave a sweetness in me lingering like a lullaby.

My cradle song puts me to sleep to treasure the day in my dreams.


***

Guest book review by Carly Louise Wilson
Love On Edge is a beautiful collection of stories written by multiple authors around the differing types of love. They are all charming, romantic and heartwarming in their own ways, and there wasn’t a single story within this collection I didn’t like.

I’ve been a fan of Kathleen Shoop for a long time, so when I saw she was featured within this collection, I knew I would be taken back to a different time and to become beautifully immersed in a love between fictional characters.

There is a story for everyone, and due to the book being split up into lots of short tales, it means people can read a story per evening, or as much as they’d like. I love how each story is unique, detailed and makes you understand the incredible feeling of being in love.

This book contained beautiful strong stories which painted clear pictures in my minds eye, and it was such a wonderfully refreshing collection of stories and poetry.

I’d recommend to all romance lovers, those of which who enjoy reading short stories and would like to be acquainted with an array of characters. Truly beautiful and left me feeling warm and fuzzy and in love with love.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Also available in the Mindful Writers Retreat Series...
Into the Woods is the title and theme for this assortment of short stories, poems, essays, music, and one walking meditation. Each piece is unique in tone and genre and the result is that the collection captures the fascinating, frightening, fun, healing, and fantastical wonder of time spent in the woods. The twenty-six contributors who attend Mindful Writers Retreats in the mountains of Ligonier, Pennsylvania, are donating one hundred percent of the proceeds to support the research and work of The Children’s Heart Foundation.

Available at....






A holiday pastiche from the authors of Mindful Writers Retreat, sure to light your festive candles!

From a Thanksgiving snow storm that mends old feuds… to the family misunderstandings that fuel new ones… a quirky elf and some romantic stardust will get you ready to go Over the River and Through the Woods on a journey through time!

Proceeds benefit Ligonier Camp & Conference Center Home of the Mindful Writers Retreats, Ligonier, PA

Available at....





Mindful Writers Retreat Authors 

The Mindful Writers retreat together several times a year in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. While there, they write books and come up with some wonderful stories. They share these in their anthologies.


Find the Mindful Writers Retreat Series on Facebook HERE

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Monday, April 12, 2021

Guest book review - Emma Lou the Yorkie Poo: Alphabet, Feelings, & Friends by Kim Larkins



Emma Lou and Pearl return with some old and new friends in Emma Lou the Yorkie Poo: Alphabet, Feelings and Friends. Join them as they experience, through a collection of whimsical rhymes, a wide range of emotions. From A to Z, Emma Lou and Pearl invite children to bring emotions to life and provide reassurance that all feelings are expected and accepted. 

To cope with our changing world during this vulnerable time in our history, children now more than ever need to feel free to express their fears, worries and joys. Alphabet, Feelings and Friends is a resource for parents, educators and mental health workers to assist children in developing meaningful discussions and insight into their present experiences. 

"In a short period of time, readers--and the adults who care for them--can review the brightly colored pages of this alphabet book. This A-Z guide provides rich examples of social and emotional growth experiences for children that can be utilized at home, in the classroom or at therapy spaces." -- Theresa Fraser, CYC-P, CPT-S, RP, MA, RTC, author of We're Not All the Same, But We're Family 

"Kim Larkins has written a sweet book that introduces young children to 26 emotions that align with each letter of the alphabet. She uses animal characters, rhymes and fanciful pictures as the vehicle for describing that mindful activities can influence how one feels." -- Laurie Zelinger, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S, board certified psychologist and author, former director: New York Association for Play Therapy 

"With delightful illustrations and lovely rhymes, this book is a must for any educator, parent or caregiver who wants to help children learn about and manage their emotions. Don't miss this opportunity to journey through the alphabet with delightful pups Emma Lou and Pearl and discover a little mindfulness too! " -- Kellie Doyle Bailey, MA CCC-SLP, MMT/SELI, author of Some Days I Flip My Lid, Some Nights I Flip My Lid - Learning to be Calm Cool Kids

"This book is an interesting resource to be used with one or more children as part of an educational or therapeutic process. It supports children in start learning how to recognize and manage feelings. I appreciate the background message implying, and somehow inviting to consider, that in difficult times we are not alone and we can rely on others. The use of the rhymes makes the text involving and pleasant to be read (or listened) out loud." -- Isabella Cassina, MA, TP-S, CAGS, PhD Student, INA International Academy for Play Therapy studies and PsychoSocial Project


Available to buy from...

Also available in audio!

Enjoy these beautiful excerpts...


Guest book review by Carly Louise Wilson
Emma Lou the Yorker Poo Alphabet, Feelings and Friends by Kim Larkins, is a very relatable illustrated read for all ages.

This book felt very prominent to me as I suffer from Stress and Anxiety disorder, and to a sufferer it’s about learning it’s ‘ok not to always be ok’ and the importance of speaking to others and learning realistic coping mechanisms to enable you to take control of your inner feelings. There’s many times people don’t understand your true fears, or why your mind automatically resonates with the negatives in situations, but this book was a good advice resource, which will widely benefit a lot of readers.

Anxiety affects people of all ages, and this book is tailored for all. It is beautifully illustrated, cleverly devised, and the use of animals softens the stigma.

A great supportive read that will help anyone through difficult and hard to handle moments.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the author
Kim Larkins is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice. For the past thirty years, Kim has dedicated her career working with children and families in the mental health and human services field. Most recently, Kim has worked in educational settings focused on the development of mindfulness skills in the classroom. Research shows that mindfulness in education improves attention, emotional regulation, compassion for self and others, and overall well-being for both students and teachers. Emma Lou the Yorkie Poo will introduce parents, therapists, educators and children to some of the many benefits of a mindfulness practice. 

Kim has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maine. She is also licensed in Maine where she works and lives. Kim has two adult children, Sarah and Theron and two grandchildren, Guyer and Giavanna. She enjoys travel, music, quilting, and the serenity and pleasures found in nature. You can contact her by email at kimlarkinslcsw@gmail.com or on Facebook @kim.larkins.author.
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Friday, April 2, 2021

Guest book review - Ghosts of Love by David Burnett


NEW RELEASE...
Richard McNeil has loved three women in his life. 

He feels abandoned by all three. 

His wife passed away in childbirth, leaving him alone, a single father with an infant daughter. His daughter, Emily, now twenty years old, is leaving, marrying and moving away. Two months ago, Kim, his almost-fiancé, the only woman he has dated in over twenty years, left as they broke off their relationship. 

On the weekend of Emily’s wedding, he is haunted by his memories. The day his wife passed away plays in his mind like a video. Stories of Emily’s childhood leave him both smiling and wanting to cry. And worst of all, his recollections of meeting, dating, and falling in love with Kim almost seem real, as if he can stretch out his hand and touch her. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot understand what went wrong between the two of them, and, although he yearns for a reconciliation, he cannot dismiss the cruel things she said to him. 

His memories haunt him like ghosts, and he knows he will not be happy until they leave him be. He wants his future to be like his past, and he suspects, that it is he who holds on to his memories, not they to him. How can Richard release them? Perhaps, he finally can lay his wife to rest. Surely, he can mumble the words to give Emily away. But releasing Kim might mean giving up all hope of ever being together. How can he do that? 

If you enjoy heartwarming stories with true-to-life behaviors, complicated relationships, and a less-than-certain outcome, then you will love Ghosts of Love. One Click this book today!

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Other books by the author...  

Guest book review by Carly Louise Wilson
Ghosts of Love is a beautifully compelling romance story by David Burnett. It is a story about love in all forms, and it was a book which completely crept into my heart.

The story is about Richard, a widow who is about to embark upon the journey of doing one of the hardest things of his life; give his only daughter away on her wedding day. With the joyous occasion, it has Richard taking a trip down Memory Lane, contemplating his past, present and future and how the three women he loves more than anything in the world have been incorporated in each.

Lisa is the woman of his past, the one he holds onto tightly and has had the most impact upon his heart. She was his first love, and a love he has allowed to consumer his every thought and moment for decades.

There’s Emily, his beautiful daughter and the product of a love that has been binding. She is about to commit to her own happily ever after, and she has been Richards world in its entirety. He is anxious at her flying the nest, but knows in his heart he wants her to be happy and experience a love like he had.

Then there’s Kim, the woman who has managed to creep into Richards mind without effort. She is the woman he allowed to walk away and the woman he is trying hard to forget. She is everything he shouldn’t be attracted to, but she could also have been exactly what he’d needed.

This story was beautiful and showed the different levels and layers of love. I was utterly captivated by Richards story, and transfixed to each and every love story woven into this book.

The book is a series of flashbacks and each part made up a very important piece of the overall picture, and it was cleverly written, and definitely gave me a lot to ponder. The book has a very poetic element to it, and it made for a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read.

This is an ideal read for those who love deep rooted romance and books which are true to life. It is about love overcoming loss, and how it comes in so many shapes and forms, but overall is beautiful and eternal in its entirety.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author
David Burnett lives in Columbia South Carolina, with his wife and their blue-eyed cat, Bonnie. The Reunion, his first novel, is set in nearby Charleston.

David enjoys traveling, photography, baking bread, and the Carolina beaches. He has photographed subjects as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, a Native American powwow, and his grandson, Jack. David and his wife have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During one trip to Scotland, they visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen. In The Reunion, Michael's journey through England and Scotland allows him to sketch many places they have visited.

David has graduate degrees in psychology and education and previously was Director of Research for the South Carolina Department of Education. He and his wife have two daughters.

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