Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts

The Birth of a Widow by Kathie Giorgio: Blog Tour & Giveaway

Monday, June 01, 2026

The Birth of a Widow by Kathie Georgio

Multi-talented writer Kathie Giorgio is returning to WOW for the launch of a tour for The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems. Through this book of poetry we explore not only the many facets of grief but also the power a relationship has to shape our life. Join us as we celebrate her launch with an author interview and book giveaway. Let's start the month with poetry!

But first, more about the book:

The Birth of a Widow is utterly shattering portrait of the sudden loss of a husband and a shared life that will speak to anyone who has ever loved or lost a loved one. In these poems of electric honesty, Giorgio explores how she struggles to survive her first year as a widow, using all her wisdom, humor, anger, to cross the vast sea of grief to the other shore, bringing us—wiser, too—along with her.

—Jesse Lee Kercheval, author of I Want To Tell You

Sixty-six days after Kathie Giorgio’s husband was killed when he was struck and run over by a passenger van while walking to his bus stop, Kathie’s grief broke out unbidden into poetry. For the year after his death, she wrote the poems as they arrived. An intimate study of traumatic loss, Giorgio exposes the full depth of grief’s sadness, anger, and confusion.

Publisher: Kelsay Books (Feb. 24, 2026)
AISN: B0GQ45W871
ISBN-13: 979-8901467190
Print Length: 88 pages

Purchase your copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You'll also want to add it to your GoodReads reading list.

About the Author, Kathie Giorgio

Kathie Giorgio is the author of seventeen traditionally published books: eight novels, two story collections, an essay collection, and five poetry collections. Her new novel, Unique In All The World, will be released in February 2027. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry and awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and the Eric Hoffer prize for fiction, among others. 

Giorgio is also the founder and director of AllWriters’ Workplace &Workshop LLC, an international creative writing studio offering online and on-site courses and workshops for all genres and abilities, as well as coaching and editing services.

Find the author at:

Instagram: @kathiegio1
Twitter/X: @kathiegiorgio

-- Interview by Jodi M. Webb

WOW: You published many different types of books: novels, poetry collections, short stories, personal essays. As writers, do you think we should “stretch” our skills by trying many genres?

Kathie: I believe that writers should stretch with genres, but not for building a skill set or for sales or for a brand. They should stretch because they really want to write something in that genre. If you’re a poet, but you think you have a great idea for a short story and it’s all you can think about, then write it. Ditto with any genre to any genre. We should always write what we feel strongly about, whether or not we’ve ever written anything like that before.

WOW: Do you have a favorite genre to write or does it depend on the project/idea?

Kathie: If I was told I could only write in one genre for the rest of my life, I would choose the short story. I love writing in all the possibilities – fiction, nonfiction, poetry. But the short story was my first love and remains my #1 passion. What I write does depend, of course, on the idea. I often don’t know what something is going to be until it is. I once set out to write a novel, jotting down ideas throughout the day on a list. Later, when I looked at the list, I discovered it was a flash fiction piece, already written. You just never know.

WOW: That's an amazing story! How did The Birth of a Widow come into being? Because the poems follow your first year of being a widow, I wonder if you wrote them as part of journaling and the later decided to collect them into their own book?

Kathie: I never intended to write The Birth Of A Widow. 66 days after my husband Michael’s death, I went (ran, really) to the Oregon coast, which is my place to get away, drop all roles, and just be alone. While I was there, I suddenly began to have lines from what appeared to be poetry appearing in my head. So I wrote them, and they were all about Michael and what happened. Because they kept coming after the initial 5, I decided to let it continue (as if I had a choice!). I never once sat down deliberately to write one of these poems; I just wrote them as the words came to me. I did put a deadline on it – I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life writing about losing my husband. So I said I would give in to these poems until the first anniversary of his death. Of course, the writing itself made the final decision – on that anniversary, I found myself unable to write. But the morning after that first anniversary, I woke up with the poem in my head I decided to show the collection to my poetry publisher. She said they should be published, and I agreed.

WOW: Do you find writing helpful in dealing with the challenges of life?

Kathie: Yes, I definitely find writing helpful in getting me through life’s challenges. For years, when I’ve found myself in a situation that I just can’t figure my way through, I sit down to write a short story about it. I create a character who is totally unlike me, but in the same situation. That distances me. Then I move the character through the story. If I can get the character out the other side, I can get myself out too. (Incidentally, I have a novel being released next year, which has a main character who has just lost her husband. Yes, I needed help with this challenge too.)

WOW: Tell us a little about your process. Do you write daily?

Kathie: I don’t write exactly daily. I don’t write on weekends. Typically, I don’t write on Wednesdays either, as I teach all day that day. But I write the other days, and if I’m on a break, I write all day, every day. I’m typically an afternoon writer. My mornings are spent with clients, then I write, then in the late afternoon and into the evening, I teach classes and meet with more clients. If I have a day or a week where nothing comes, I don’t fret anymore. I’ve been writing long enough that I know it’s temporary, and my mind is only taking a rest.

WOW: After being a writing teacher for decades, you must have some great advice. What would you tell all our writers out there?

Kathie: The first thing I would advise is to not put the selling before the writing. Don’t even think of selling or publication. Just write. Once you start publishing, there is tremendous pressure to keep publishing, and you tend to get caught up in that, rather than the passion for putting down just the right words. Don’t write because you think it will sell; write because you have something to say.
    
The second thing I would advise is don’t reach so quickly for the delete key. Even if something doesn’t seem to be going well, give it a chance. We are our own worst critics, and sometimes, when we’re struggling, it actually means something great is on the way. Write it out.

WOW: Do you think teaching helps you as a writer?

Kathie: Teaching definitely helps me as a writer. It puts me right smack in the middle of a community that not only loves what I do, they want to do it too. I’m with people who understand the draw to do such a strange thing. Plus, I can’t hardly expect my students to write if I’m not writing.

WOW: I never thought about the motivation you receive from being a writing teacher. What’s up next for you (and your writing)?

Kathie: I have a novel, Unique In All The World, being released on February 18, 2027. I also decided it was time to fully immerse myself in my first passion, so I’m writing a short story collection.

WOW: Ooh, I am definitely looking forward to that. You are so passionate about short stories I can't wait to read your collection.

The Birth of a Widow Blog Tour

-Blog Tour Calendar

June 1st @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems by Kathie Giorgio. Read an interview with the author and enter to win!

June 3rd @ Word Magic
The spotlight is on The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems by Kathie Giorgio. Drop by & learn more.
https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

June 4th @ A Storybook World
Kathie Giorgio, author of The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems, tackles the challenge of honesty in writing on today's post.
https://www.astorybookworld.com/

June 6th @ Boots, Shoes and Fashion
Don't miss today's interview of Kathie Giorgio, a creative writing instructor and author of 17 books.
https://bootsshoesandfashion.com

June 7th @ Shoe's Seeds and Stories
Kathie Giorgio takes you behind the scenes of My Own Writing Retreat: Created, Directed and Thoroughly Enjoyed by Me. Don't miss a review of Kathie's latest book: The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems.

June 8th @ A Wonderful World of Words
Kathie Giorgio, author of The Birth of a Widow, shares how Poetry is Like a Postcard.

June 11th @ Words by Webb
Today Jodi writes abut the secret parts of grief we don't talk about as well as a review of The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems.

June 16th @ Cozy Home Delights
Stop by for thoughts on Writing About Grief from Kathie Giorgio as well as a review of her latest poetry collection The Birth of a Widow.

June 18th @ Boys' Mom Reads!
Learn about the latest by writer Kathie Giorgio: The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems.

June 23rd @ Beverley A. Baird
Beverley shares a review of Kathie Giorgio's latest book: The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems.

June 23rd @ Tracey Lampley
Author Kathie Giorgio gives us a peek at the balancing act of Writing While Caretaking.

June 25th @ Beverley A. Baird
Kathie Giorgio, author of The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems, is back with a guest post about the everchanging life of a writer in Everything Writer - Writing in Multiple Genres. 

June 30th @ World of My Imagination
End the month with a little poetry. Nicole shares a review of The Birth of a Widow: Collected Poems by Kathie Giorgio.


***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter to win The Birth of a Widow by Kathie Giorgio. Fill out the form below for a chance to win. The giveaway ends June 15th at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day and follow up via email. Good luck!

The Birth of a Widow Giveaway

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Sleeping with Ghosts by Jen Payne: Blog Tour & Giveaway

Monday, October 14, 2024

Sleeping with Ghosts by Jennifer A. Payne
We're excited to announce the blog tour for Sleeping with Ghosts by Jen Payne. If you appreciate poetry, memoir or the thought that we are all living with our ghosts of memory, let us introduce you to the ghosts on this tour. Join us as we meet author Jen Payne in an interview and enter to win a copy of her latest book Sleeping with Ghosts.

About the Book

“Beautifully crafted and luminous, these poems take the reader on an intimate and unforgettable journey of love found and lost, the joys of creativity, and the power of memory.” — Judith Liebmann, Ph.D., Poet Laureate of Branford, CT
 
“Sleeping with Ghosts is not an ordinary ghost tale. Jen's latest collection of writings is a poignant meditation on a life of love confronted.” — Mary O'Connor, author of Say Yes! to Your Creative Self

Known for her meditations and musings about our outside world, Jen Payne takes readers inside this time…into the heart and mind of a poet, where memories wander, hearts break, and ghosts appear in dreams. Those ghosts — her lovers, soulmates, and muses — reveal themselves slowly, one at a time, chapter by chapter, in this wistfully reflective, time-traveling memoir.

Publisher: Three Chairs Publishing
ISBN-13: 979-8990152311
ASIN: B0DDYSK5XM
Print Length: 182 pages

You can purchase a copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and Etsy. Be sure to add Sleeping with Ghosts to your GoodReads reading list.

About the Author, Jen Payne

Jen Payne is inspired by those life moments that move us most — love and loss, joy and disappointment, milestones and turning points. When she is not exploring our connections with one another, she enjoys contemplating our relationships with nature, creativity, and spirituality. Ultimately, she believes it is the alchemy of those things that helps us find balance in this frenetic, spinning world.

In addition to Sleeping with Ghosts, Jen has published four books: LOOK UP! Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness, Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind, Waiting Out the Storm, and Water Under The Bridge: A Sort-of Love Story. 

Her work has been featured in numerous publications including the international anthology Coffee Poems: Reflections on Life with Coffee, the Guilford Poets Guild 20th Anniversary Anthology, Waking Up to the Earth: Connecticut Poets in a Time of Global Climate Crisis, the 2024 Connecticut Literary Anthology, and The Perch, a publication by the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health. 

Jen is the owner of Words by Jen, a graphic design and creative services company she started in 1993, based in Connecticut — where she keeps house with a cat named Molly. 

You can find her online at:
 
 
3 Chairs Publishing: https://3chairspublishing.com/

---Interview by Jodi Webb

WOW: Jen, welcome back to WOW! Women on Writing with your fifth book Sleeping with Ghosts. What inspired you to write about past relationships?

Jen: Hi Jodi. Thanks for welcoming me back to WOW! I loved working with all of you for Evidence of Flossing and am happy to be back for Sleeping with Ghosts.

What inspired this new book and its focus on past relationships? Good question. I have always had an acute ability to recall moments in time—I call them “defining moments.” You know, the point in time when something shifts or that you bookmark to remember later? As a writer, those “defining moments” are a pretty fertile source of inspiration for all of my work, most especially when it comes to writing memoir and poetry.

I think it’s called autobiographical memory—like photographic memory, but related to people, conversations, emotions, and interactions. I can easily find and settle down into memories and re- experience them in order to write about them. Sometimes I consciously rummage around to find something interesting, but often, the memories just show up—like ghosts—and ask to be written about.

I’m also a storyteller by nature. I frequently use analogy and story not only to talk about my own experiences, but to say, “I understand yours, too. Let’s talk about it.”

WOW: This book of poetry if so personal. Have you ever found it difficult to write about relationships featured in your poetry?

Jen: Some of these poems were definitely a challenge to write. There’s often sadness or grief knotted up in a memory. So when I untangle it to tell the story, those emotions resurface. But it’s more cathartic than difficult.

Other poems come more easily, welcoming the chance to reconnect with a love story, or remember moments with a dear friend, or find counsel from cherished mentors.

Have you read Brené Brown’s book Rising Strong? It’s one of my most dogeared books. She talks about being brave, showing up, telling our stories. It ends with her “Manifesto of the Brave and Brokenhearted”:

We are the authors of our lives.
We write our own daring endings.

We craft love from heartbreak,
compassion from shame,
grace from disappointment,
courage from failure.

Showing up is our power.
Story is our way home. Truth is our song.
We are the brave and broken hearted.
We are rising strong.

I love that!

I have to tell you…a side story…that the process of revisiting the ghosts in this book was fascinating. I had two amazing editors who read and critiqued every chapter, poem by poem. I spent hours with each of them, reviewing and reconsidering. It gave me the chance to dive deep into those past stories and live with the ghosts again for a while. That was an incredible experience—to be steeped in memory like that—it was visceral. Heartbreaking and beautiful all at once.

The insights and time from these two women were a true gift. The book is enormously more powerful as a result.

WOW: I am in awe of poets because I simply don’t have that lyrical talent. Tell us a little about how a poem is born. Does it come out in a rush of words or do you have to fight to create each line? 

Jen: I know that some poets anguish over poems for weeks and months. To be honest? I don’t have that kind of patience. On the rare occasion when I do anguish, I end up with an over-kneaded poem that’s too tough and lost its original flavor.

I always say the poems “show up,” which is what it really feels like. Something will trigger a memory or offer up the first line…and whoosh…there’s the poem!

Ok, it’s not that quick of a process. I probably spend at least an hour or two on a poem—write, rework, read it out loud a few times, rework some more, repeat. Sometimes I go back later and edit, but not much and not often.

The poem that took the longest to write in Sleeping with Ghosts was probably “Under His Spell.” That took a few days, mostly because it’s a rhyming poem, and I don’t often rhyme. (In general, I resist writing to [poetic] form…though I’ve been challenged recently to give it a try.)

“Dear Jenny,” one of my favorites, took almost no time at all. That one showed up as if I was channeling the ghost himself and just transcribing his words. Like magic!

Poetry always kind of feels like magic to me.

WOW: A magic that is out of reach for so many of us. So tell us, how do you curate a poetry book? Do you select a topic and write poems, do you look at poems you’ve already written and perceive a common thread or is it some combination of the two?

Jen: Would you believe I’ve had the title of this book in my mind for more than 10 years? I even saved the cover art and artist’s name in a file for safekeeping!

The poems span about 20 years of work. The curating of them was fairly straightforward when it came to the ghost chapters—the seven ghosts are seven of those defining moments for me, with plenty of poems written over the years. But there were other poems—like the small pieces of stories you find in the Ephemera chapter, or the ghosts that reappear in Dreamwork—that needed to be included.

My favorite chapter to put together was Muses—these are the women who have shaped and continue to shape my life. It felt important to include them.

Most of the poems were already written, but about a dozen of them are new, written specifically for the book or because of the book. The very last poem I wrote for Ghosts is called “The Poet at Midnight,” which describes, in a sense, what the curating often feels like—a wandering through old memories and the discovery of which ones we hold onto.

WOW: Fascinating! I love the idea that you saved that image, knowing that someday there would be a book to go with it. Let's take a peek at your life beyond poetry.  In addition to a poetry and prose writer, you are also an artist, photographer, graphic designer (let me know if I’ve forgotten anything). Do you have a favorite creative outlet? 

Jen: Writer, artist, photographer, graphic designer, yes. Also blogger and zinester…business owner (Words by Jen) and publisher (Three Chairs Publishing).

I don’t think I see them as individual roles, so much as tools I use for my Creativity. And I don’t have a favorite, really. Sometimes I love poetry—like in April when I write a poem a day for NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), and sometimes I’m all about creating the next zine. It’s more like whichever burner is fired up is the one I’m cooking on today—LOL!

I need to create. It’s my raison d'être—who I am and how I move around in this world.

I’m just lucky that I get to participate in the creative process all day long, either for my clients or with my own various ideas and projects.

WOW: What a lovely life to lead. You mentioned being a zinester. Could you tell us a little more about MANIFEST (zine)?

Jen: The zine is like storytelling lite!

I had always dreamed of doing installation art—in my “spare time.” LOL!—like large spaces filled with words and visuals that visitors could walk through and experience. As an alternative, I came up with the idea of doing a zine that could hold the same ideas on a much smaller scale.

I had published another zine back in the early 90s, so I was familiar with the format and the (fabulous) zine community. It just felt like the perfect venue for my essays and poetry, and my other creative pursuits, like collage and photography.

MANIFEST comes out quarterly with a different theme for each issue. It has covered topics like change and transition, solitude, the pandemic, time and time travel—sometimes politics, like gun control and women’s rights. I just mailed issue #15 called Write, about finding inspiration.

WOW: So where are you finding inspiration? What are you working on now? 

Jen: Mostly, right now, I’m working on shepherding Sleeping with Ghosts out into the world. So there’s a lot of publicity work and events to prepare for, including my blog tour with you!

But I also have the next issue of MANIFEST (zine) in process, and I’m trying to decide if I should resurrect an old manuscript or start fresh with a new project of essays and poems. Maybe also a podcast?

I guess we’ll have to wait to find out, right? Folks can follow along on my blog and social media for all of the latest HERE. 

Thank you for your time, Jodi. It’s been great to talk with you!

WOW: And you. I'll let you get back to your being creative and your WOW blog tour with Sleeping with Ghosts.

Sleeping with Ghosts by Jen Payne Blog Tour

---Blog Tour Calendar

October 14th @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Jen Payne's memoir through verse Sleeping with Ghosts. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of her book.

October 16th @ Create Write Now!
Today Jen Payne writes about the Importance of Retreat.

October 17th @ Words by Webb
Jodi shares her thoughts on Jen Payne's latest book of poetry: Sleeping with Ghosts.

October 19th @ Boys' Mom Reads
Today's spotlight is on poetry and the book Sleeping with Ghosts by Jen Payne.

October 20th @ Chit Chat with Charity
Charity will be reviewing Jen Payne's newest book of poetry: Sleeping with Ghosts and sharing a poem from the book.

October 21st @ Tracey Lampley
Poet Jen Payne shares How One Phone Call in 1996 Led to a Life of Self-Publishing.

October 24th @ The Faerie Review
Ready to dive into something new? Try a book of poetry that captures the ghosts of Jen Payne's past.

October 24th @ Some Thoughts - Everything Creativity
Kaecey will be interviewing Jen Payne about writing and her latest book of poetry Sleeping with Ghosts.

October 26th @ Anthony Avina
Curious about the ghosts in Sleeping with Ghosts? Author Jen Payne writes about them today while Anthony gives his review of her new book.

October 27th @ Chit Chat with Charity
Hear from poet Jen Payne about the Importance of Storytelling. Second chance to win Jen's latest book, Sleeping with Ghosts.

October 27th @ Shoe's Seeds and Stories
Read a review of  Jen Payne's latest book, Sleeping with Ghosts

October 30th @ Beverly Baird
Jen Payne writes about Listening to Your Ghosts and shares one of her poems. Beverly also tells us her thoughts on Jen's new book, Sleeping with Ghosts.

October 31st @ Some Thoughts - Everything Creativity
Kaecey reviews the latest poetry collection by Jen Payne: Sleeping with Ghosts.

November 1st @ Hook of a Book
Stop by for a guest post on How to Read Like a Writer by Jen Payne, author of Sleeping with Ghosts and enjoy one of her poems.

November 2nd @ A Wonderful World of Books
Last giveaway of Jen Payne's Sleeping with Ghosts! Also, learn the story behind the book's amazing artwork.

November 5th @ Choices
Never seem to have enough time to write? Learn a few secrets from poet Jen Payne.

November 8th @ Jill Sheets
Learn more about poet Jen Payne in today's interview.

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter to win a print copy of Sleeping with Ghosts by Jen Payne! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win. The giveaway ends October 27th at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day via Rafflecopter and follow up via email. Good luck!

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Louise Alexandra Erskine: How Vulnerability Builds A Brand

Wednesday, May 08, 2024
Screw Prince Charming by Louise Alexandra Erskine

By Rosie MacLeod
 
Imagine if you could explore and confront your most traumatic experiences in a way that would help not only you but also your readers to heal?
 
This is precisely what Louise Alexandra Erskine has turned her hand to. Poetry helped her “unintentionally” to face—and progress beyond—the “compound trauma of childhood trauma, failed marriage [and] an abusive marriage.” One of her micropoems went viral, accumulating 50,000 repins on Pinterest. Fans have even been tattooed with its words:
 
And
from the
Chaos
of Her soul
there
flowed
Beauty
 
This year, she released her second poetry collection, Screw Prince Charming!, also home to many micropoems. Why micropoems? “The format is a tool that’s more accessible,” Louise muses, “it’s a really good way to pick apart your own hopes, dreams, disappointments, trauma and memories and make them digestible.”
 
Vulnerability, micropoems, and building your brand gradually—Louise Alexandra Erskine shares how to build your “personal brand of books” and resonate with readers in self-care poetry.

***
 
WOW: Thanks for joining us today. Your new collection, Screw Prince Charming! is very readable. Talk to me about your work, and how you got started.
 
Louise: It has all just grown up with me. It’s just me exploring what it is to be a woman, to be me, to have trauma, to heal. All these little parts of me, entwined. We—me and poetry—are growing up together, and we are not there yet. That’s why I haven’t written my experiences as a memoir yet. It’s a process that it is still working itself out publicly—not just healing, being brave enough to dream publicly. I think that’s the hardest part, sometimes.
 
WOW: So you and poetry are still growing, and in an interview, you said it had evolved into something larger. What is that something?
 
Louise: I never really set out to be a brand, but it’s evolving that way. I almost feel like it’s more of a movement than anything, this movement of people who have grown in that constant battle between feeling broken and searching for wholeness and meaning in all of the trauma. We are not lightness, and we aren’t darkness. Me and people like me are the light between the stars.
 
You are worth celebrating - Louse Alexandra Erskine

WOW: For readers searching that wholeness, your poetry books feature spaces for writing exercises geared towards self-care. What made you want to build this service-orientated brand around your books?
 
Louise: When I was 26, journaling was huge. I was divorcing. To have kept a diary or a journal would have been incredibly unsafe for me. A poem, on the other hand, if somebody found it, could just be a poem. So poetry enabled me to pin down on paper and gain perspective. I would feel less weighed down by ‘the things’ if I could just look at them in front of me, rather than feeling trapped beneath them. I just felt, if that works for me, there will be others whom journaling is overwhelming or unsafe.
 
WOW: Gosh, that’s a danger I’d never even thought could exist. What came first for you—the poetry or the therapy? Were you writing poetry when you found it to be a great healer, or recovering when you discovered poetry really helped?
 
Louise: I was healing and writing poetry, but I didn’t realize I was doing the two things simultaneously; it was just a natural process for me.
 
WOW: And was the self-care angle also a natural one to pursue? Did you see the therapeutic benefits of writing, and just need to get the word out there? Or was it something else?
 
Louise: It was just something I enjoyed. I realized then I would feel lighter because of it. It helped me to feel less alone. When I put my poems out there and they generate reaction; I know I am reducing peoples’ loneliness. And if my work could do that, that was everything to me. It was all about the connection. I did not want anyone else to feel as painfully isolated as I had.
 
Someone that loves you doesn't diminish you in an effort to make their own light brighter - Louise Alexandra Erskine
 
WOW: As well as relieving loneliness, you inspire other people to write. There are spaces for writing exercises in your books and journals. Why do you inspire other people to write?
 
Louise: We rise by lifting others. If you push a rock up a hill, you’re still going to summit! I want to be the best teacher or mentor. To be a leader, you must want to take people where you’ve been and equip them to go further. That is the joy of leadership.
 
WOW: And by leading them into creativity, your readers become writers. The receiver of the creativity becomes a creator. Are you deliberately pushing boundaries and asking, “What even is poetry?” and “What even is a poet?”
 
Louise: Yes, I absolutely am. I don’t just write poetry, I am poetry. There’s a Bible verse that talks about how we are God’s masterpiece—“masterpiece” is the Greek word for “poem,” pōema (also spelt “pōlema”), from where we get “poem”: you are a poem that God wrote. That’s me. I am literally walking poetry. No, you don’t have to write things in nifty little squares to be a poet. You literally are poetry. To be a poet is about pushing boundaries. If you can do it in poetry, you can push them elsewhere. You can challenge societal norms to improve the world. I know that sounds incredibly idealistic, but I am and I’m not sorry!
 
WOW: In pushing boundaries, you seem to define poetry as “An ongoing conversation—an energy—shared with my readers.” All your readers and followers are writing a chapter in your work. Am I right?
 
Louise: Yes. I love that so much. It is not about me or my writing or my personal glory, it is about creating a movement of people that can heal and evolve and challenge enough to change the world. That is my aim.
 
 
"We all have a distinctive backstory. It's a case of being able to be vulnerable enough to share it."
 
 
WOW: What tips do you have for building that movement and a brand around books? Is it a distinctive backstory? A landmark quote? Some other Unique Selling Point?
 
Louise: I wish I knew! I am figuring this out as I go. I think it’s all of the above. We all have a distinctive backstory. It's a case of being able to be vulnerable enough to share it. You are your brand, and you must find your people. A distinctive backstory could be absolutely anything. Whatever your story, your people will be out there, people who identify with you and share part of your story. You need to be brave enough to be vulnerable with them, and honest enough to show your genuine self. That is scary, especially at the start. A wide audience would be lovely, but my focus is on finding the right audience: meeting the readers my heart is for and then bringing them alongside me in the best possible way. A wide audience will help you to find more of the right audience. I keep trusting that focusing on the right audience will cause the rest to fall into place. It’s a balance. Maybe that is the unique selling point—nobody else can tell my story.
 
WOW: Do you find that very contemporary language helps to tell that unique story? I’ve noticed that the language in your poems is very colloquial.
 
Louise: It depends on the audience you’re trying to attract. If you want to connect with academics and intellectuals, then use all of the beautiful poetic language. But if you’re looking to connect with people who are broken and searching for a way to heal, then you need to speak to them and meet them where they are. I am not afraid to drop an F-bomb in a poem because that will connect with my target audience (trauma survivors). It’s mostly about knowing whom you want to connect with so you can know which language is best for you to use.
 
WOW: So that’s the advice for speaking to a readership—what about for writing in a positive and therapeutic way? Any advice on that?
 
Louise: Even when it’s something that hurts, you can still make it beautiful with poetry. I wrote a poem about a miscarriage I had. There was nothing in it to say it was about a miscarriage. It said, “And just like that you were gone, and I’m left here without you. Like a sky stripped of all its stars.” It helped me to put metaphor to something. It makes it simultaneously bigger and smaller. I feel like it’s okay now. I will never be a woman who hasn’t miscarried multiple times, but I can now hold that information without it breaking me because I processed it, wrote it in this way, and because I’ve made it into something that’s beautiful. I shared it and people have connected with the sense of loss and that is an incredibly powerful thing.
 
Not your puppet, not your strings - Louise Alexandra Erskine

WOW: You’ve also processed painful domestic abuse in poetry, as well as how you are overcoming it. Do you have any advice for writing about really traumatic issues?
 
Louise: Think about a moment that hurt. You can just take a small segment from it, without naming the whole, specific trauma. Just capture the essence of it. Write maybe ten micropoems about the same/similar moments. You will slowly build a picture of something that happened as well as how you are processing and healing from it. Don’t ever share it while it’s still raw. You need to write it, put it away and come back to it.
 
Don’t share it until you’ve finished processing it. The absolute last thing you want to do is write something traumatizing for you and attract invasive and overwhelming comments. The first time you share it, tell it to your best friend. Tell them things you haven’t been brave enough to say out loud. And you don’t have to give a huge life story. Sharing a little bit of trauma at a time is the most effective way to heal.
 
WOW: When you are confronting trauma through those micropoems, when you’re building up a picture of what you’ve experienced, how do you keep writing positively?
 
Louise: Balance. Try to share a combination of my goal—meeting my people in their pain and isolation. I do this by letting my readers know I have felt what they feel. It would be incredibly heavy to only discuss those things. So I will also write poems that discuss the beautiful moments.
 
Much of the time, writers and speakers tend to sell themselves to an algorithm that works beautifully in terms of initial growth but that is detrimental long term. So, if I share something painful, complaining, and it does well, then the tendency is to say, “the algorithm likes this, so I’ll just keep sharing that content.” You then tunnel vision your way to only having this very one-sided, narrow perspective on content that you are sharing. And you must keep the bigger picture in mind. It is better to grow slowly. And then have a body of work that readers can look back through. Keep the wider picture, don’t niche too far as tempting as it can be.
 
 
"If I share something painful, complaining, and it does well, then the tendency is to say, 'the algorithm likes this, so I’ll just keep sharing that content.' You then tunnel vision your way to only having this very one-sided, narrow perspective on content that you are sharing. And you must keep the bigger picture in mind."
 
 
WOW: Are there any topics you would avoid, to keep that balance and keep writing in a positive way? Or is nothing off limits?
 
Louise: I think it very much depends on the circumstances. In a domestic abuse interview or blog post, I might discuss a specific incident of sexual trauma. I won’t put those things into poems. If I do an interview about domestic abuse, the people watching it have consented to that content. I don’t feel like anything is off-limits for me, but I will be the one to choose how and when and where those things are shared.
 
WOW: And yet, you’ve managed to do all this writing and interviews and raising awareness without using your name! Your entire brand is known as “Beautifully Defected.” Why did you take this as your “nom de plume”?
 
Louise: One of the many ways this idea of being “beautifully defected” came about was when I was in what might be called a “situationship” with a guy. He went to a rave and sent me a picture of him with a sticker reading “we are defected” stuck to his forehead. I didn’t know if it was thoughtless or if it was a comment on our relationship. Either way, yes, we are defected as a couple and as individuals—but I’ll be damned if I’ll be ashamed of that. I am defected, but it makes me beautiful. I can be more beautiful for having been broken. I was fashioned into something beautiful. Nobody gets to tell me that my brokenness is ugly.
 
WOW: Well put, and poetic as always, Louise! Thank you for chatting with me today.
 
Readers, find out more about Louise and her books by visiting beautifullydefected.com and catch up with her on Instagram @beautifully_defected. 
 
***
 
Rosie MacLeod
Rosie MacLeod is a London-based translator, interpreter and reporter. She has made reports for Global Radio and regularly reports for ShoutOut UK and East London Radio. She has written for Drunk Monkeys, World Literature Today, Inside Over and the Journal of Austrian Studies. You can listen to her radio work here: www.mixcloud.com/rosie-macleod. She tweets as @RosieMacLeod4. Get in touch via LinkedIn. Website: rosiemacleod.com. Instagram: @rosie.macleod.3
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Why Non-Poets Need to Read Poetry

Thursday, April 18, 2024
A favorite poet.

April is National Poetry Month. If you’re not a poet, you may be tempted to give this post a miss. “Ugh, she’s just going to yammer on about poetry. Yuck.” But bear with me. 

Even if you aren’t a poet, it is an excellent idea to read poetry. Here are five reasons why. 

Depth 

Heaven help us, poems have depth. There is the topic that you see on the surface. “Hey, this is a poem about bluebirds. I adore bluebirds!” But there is also the underlying topic. “Wait a minute. This is a poem about memory and how it shapes the present.” 

If you’ve ever been told that your manuscript won’t stand up to multiple readings, study poetry. If you’ve ever been told that your piece was too flat, study poetry. Need to know how to incorporate multiple themes? That’s right. Study poetry. 

Originality 

Poetry manages to create pieces with multiple layers and all that depth because successful poets do it while spinning wholly unique look at a topic. Want to write about the quietness of nature? Then you’ll have to do it without writing about hummingbirds, egrets, or the stillness of a pond. Why? Because Mary Oliver already did that. 

Because poetry demands a unique approach, it is a great lesson on getting beyond cliché and all that is overused. 

Perspective 

As you read poetry, you get to see the world in many different ways. You get to experience Mary Oliver’s perspective as well as Sherman Alexie’s. Want to know how Naomi Shihab Nye sees the world? Pick up her poetry. 

Poetry is an excellent way to experience the world through someone else’s mindset. It is a way to broaden your view. 

Every Word Counts 

In part, it is because poems are short, but poems are a literary form in which every word matters. Every word has earned its place in the poem whether it impacts the mood, the rhythm, or the pattern. 

If you are writing picture books or flash, you too need to make a case for every word you choose. You should study the type of writing you are doing, be it picture books, flash, or poetry. But it is also an excellent idea to study all three. After all, you never know where you will find inspiration. 

Word Play 

Children’s poetry in particular involves a lot of word play. In addition to rhyme, there onomatopoeia (sound words), assonance (repeating vowels or diphthongs), alliteration (repeated consonants), and just the galloping, romping rhythm of words. 

I’m not going to say that word play makes an appearance in every sentence I write. But when I want a to pack a punch, the words come out to play. Did you know that a string of single syllable words can help create emphasis? 

I will never be a poet. No, really. It just isn’t how I’m wired.  But I can appreciate the poetry of others as well as the lessons poetry has taught me to use in my own writing. 

So, tell me. What poets should I be reading? Favorite poems? Let’s share! 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of 50 books for young readers.  
  • To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.  
  • Click here to find her newsletter.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin again on  May 6, 2024. She teaches:
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Friday Speak Out!: Poetry in the Pandemic Awakened My Love for Lyricism

Friday, May 20, 2022
by Ann Kathryn Kelly

One of the reasons I took up writing poetry in the pandemic is because I’m not a baker.

The sour dough starter trend that swept a world on lockdown two years ago—a world desperate for distraction from a 24x7 virus news cycle driven by ever-changing theories, rising death tolls, and naked fear—was a trend I knew was not for me. Up to that point in my life, I’d demonstrated expertise only in frozen pizza preparation. Well, my scrambled eggs aren’t bad, either. The secret to a zesty scramble? Pepper jack cheese slices, that I tear into pieces and drop into the egg mixture as it cooks. Yum.

But, baking bread? No thank you.

So, while several friends donned aprons and jumped into the bread trend with both feet—and both hands—I turned back to my writing to distract me from the news. I’d been writing creative nonfiction (CNF) essays for three years when the pandemic arrived, and was maybe 50,000-words into a draft of my memoir manuscript. I enjoy narrative writing as I plumb the depths, look for braiding opportunities, connect how my understanding of the world and my place in it needs to uncover a universality that will draw readers in. I like seeing what emerges from the quiet moments. I know this much about myself, at least in this point of my writing journey. I have no urge to try fiction. (Yet.)

I might have said the same thing about poetry but then the pandemic crept in, a silent mist that blanketed our world overnight. We couldn’t see it, it wasn’t something concrete we could feel, like a blast of heat or a cold front. We couldn’t smell it or taste it or touch it, but it shook us to our core and challenged our sensibilities. The pandemic made many of us reassess what drives us. What brings us joy.

Some looked for answers in sour dough loaves. Others took up knitting or container gardening or podcast listening or language-learning on tape. Many left jobs in droves. I turned to poetry. Though fiction held no appeal for me, poetry felt like something I needed at that point in time. A balm.

I’d never tried it, formally, and signed up for a six-week online class. I pushed aside intimidation in my first week as I dove into a poetry primer on meter and enjambment. I learned the difference between haiku and haibun, wrote my first sonnet and my first villanelle, and discovered a new love: the prose poem. What I enjoy most about prose poetry is that it feels like a first cousin to CNF. It abandons the need for conventional poetry hallmarks like lineation, meter, and enjambment. Prose poems read more like the narratives I was already writing—just in hyper-short form. Usually, one paragraph, and packed with poetic punch.

I came away from my six-week class with three prose poems, two sonnets, a villanelle, and a haibun under my belt. I continued writing and editing new work after the class ended, and submitted a few of my poems to literary journals. I was thrilled when several were published, including both sonnets I’d written in class.

The biggest confidence boost came when one of my prose poems appeared in Welter’s Fall 2021 issue. In their congratulatory acceptance, the poetry editor told me my piece was one of only 20 poems they selected from more than 1,000 submissions!

My greatest discovery? In the year that passed since that online class, I’ve seen how poetry has elevated my narrative writing through sound and imagery. Poetry changed how I write my essays. I also went through my memoir draft and rewrote passages with an eye for poetic possibilities.

I admire how poems must quickly establish a connection between writer and reader because of the form’s economy of words. I may have the luxury of writing 3,000 or 4,000 words to explore my points in a CNF essay, but with poetry it’s the challenge of capturing experiences and feelings in full arc through spare but layered language that I love and want to continue practicing.

Poetry awakened in me a love for lyricism, along with a set of reminders—more sound, stronger and more unique visuals, fewer words!—that I’m using to strengthen my narrative writing.

My venture into poetry was a wonderful development that emerged from seeking new creative outlets in a strange time of quiet, worldwide. It may not taste as good as a warm loaf right out of the oven, but it feeds the soul, nonetheless.

Tell me, what are your favorite writing “tools” that challenge or elevate your work? Did you embrace something in the pandemic that fed your creative pursuits?

* * *

Ann Kathryn Kelly writes from New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. She’s an editor with Barren Magazine, a columnist with WOW! Women on Writing, and she works in the technology sector. Ann leads writing workshops for a nonprofit that offers therapeutic arts programming to people living with brain injury. Her writing has appeared in a number of literary journals. https://annkkelly.com/

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Interview with Writer MM Wittle's on Her Experience with Local Gems Poetry Challenges

Thursday, June 10, 2021
MM Wittle Bio: MM Wittle is a writer of all genres who is a high school and middle school teacher during the day, a college professor at night, and a book worm and writer on the weekends. Wittle also knits book scarves because to her, books need to be kept warm, too. Wittle’s play “Family Guidance'' had a reading at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, PA and was selected for honorable mention at the 5th Annual Philadelphia Theatre Workshop’s Playwriting Competition. “The Education of Allie Rose'' was a finalist in the Philadelphia Ethical Society Playwriting competition and was shortlisted in the Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama in England. Wittle’s work has appeared in Transient, The Bond Street Review, Free Flash Fiction, The Fox Chase Review, The Four Quarters, Decades Review, *82 Review, Thin Air Literary Magazine, and Emerging Literary Journal and others. Wittle's creative nonfiction book, Three Decades and I'm Gone was published by Creeping Lotus Press in 2014. Follow MM Wittle on facebook. 

Congratulations on the publication of your chapbook Prescribed Burn, a winner in the Local Gems poetry challenge! How did you learn about the Local Gems poetry challenges and what prompted you to sign up? 

I've done their 30 Poems in 30 Days Challenge, which they didn't publish, and The Phoenix Rising Challenge. The chapbook I have now is from the Phoenix Rising Challenge. 

30 Day Challenge I've been on their mailing list and they have published my work before in two of their South Jersey Bards Collections. And I signed up for it because I knew I needed to push myself to write. With the pandemic and teaching, I wasn't leaving room for my writing. I figured if I had prompts helping me each day, I would be more likely to stay with it. 

Phoenix Rising Challenge I went with the Phoenix Challenge because it was only for 10 days and I figured I could write a response to a prompt for ten days while I'm teaching...during a pandemic.... 

Were there any moments during the challenges that you thought you wouldn’t finish? Were there any moments of euphoria? 

30 Day Challenge I won't lie; there were days when nothing came out. But then, there were days when I could write 5 poems. I used my Facebook writer's page to keep myself accountable and I even read some drafts on there to hear some reactions. I think there are a few poems in that chapbook I really like (and others I really hate). 

Phoenix Rising Challenge Not finishing wasn't an option. What I liked about this challenge was there were many different ways of looking at the prompt and I kept trying to push the idea of some of them. For example, the poem “The Shopping Cart” came from the prompt about what goes in a full shopping cart. For this poem, I thought about my trips with my mother to the local discount store. And the namesake of the book, Prescribed Burn, came from the idea of building from the ashes like the Phoenix. 

After you finished the poetry challenges, what was the process like submitting to and publishing with Local Gems? 

30 Day Challenge I wasn't sure if the email I had for them was working, so I kept emailing to check a few days before. Then I submitted on the day it was due and didn't hear anything until the winners were announced and I wasn't one of them. 

Phoenix Rising Challenge After I was done, I was given a few days to edit. Then I submitted the chapbook and the process moved along. I got my manuscript back for editing and then we discussed the cover. I used my picture of the High Water Mark monument in Gettysburg. 

What did you learn about yourself or your writing by creating these books? 

30 Day Challenge I really like this chapbook and do have it out making the rounds. I was able to see three themes emerged and I really liked how the chapbook just weaved itself together with very limited direction from me. So, I think from this I learned to trust my process and the book will present itself. 

Phoenix Rising Challenge The Phoenix Rising is a very limited print. There are only 74 copies printed. Ever. And I am using that as a nod to my father because as I was writing this book, his birthday and death anniversary fell around the time of the challenge. The 74 is the age he would have been if he didn't pass away in 1985. And while I am always writing about his and my mother's death (both passed before I was 18 years old), I think with this collection, it isn't just their deaths emerging and making its way on the page. There are different ideas peppered in here. And I think my biggest win is finally writing about Gettysburg, PA (which I LOVE and have been obsessed with since 1991). 

What were your thoughts or feelings when you held your books in your hand for the first time? 

30 Day Challenge It's still in manuscript form, but I do like it. 

Phoenix Rising Challenge "I gotta mail these copies!" I did a presale and was feeling very bad that my supporters were waiting for their copies. But after that, I think...this is going to sound weird but, it's almost like I have this need to get rid of the book as soon as I see it. I was like that with my other chapbook, Three Decades and I'm Gone. I was happy and thrilled the book was done, but it's almost like the book isn't fulfilling its purpose sitting in a box in my kitchen/home office/classroom on Wednesdays. Like, I wrote these books to get the stories out there and I want them far...far away from me. They no longer are just mine, but they are yours and you will take the lessons and words you need from them. That got hella deep!

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience writing and publishing your poetry? 

I feel like the biggest thing is to believe in your work, even if that means not getting it published right away. The world is filled with many fantastic poets, and you should be encouraged and empowered to add your voice to that conversation. And as a very wise woman once said to me, come up with a list of 10 places you feel your work adds to the overall voice of the magazine, published catalog, whatever it may be. Send out 5 queries. Once you get that first rejection, move down to number 6 and get your work out there. It has a place and it will find a home. And lastly, I would say believe in your work to occasionally make special editions. I have a special print of a Sylvia Plath poetry collection owned by her editor. We all can't and shouldn't be Sylvia Plath, but our work, our voice, is as important and needs to be dressed up in special editions and limited runs. 

Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, who connects with writers and readers @Dr_Greenawalt.
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Interview with Carole Mertz, Author of Color and Line (and poetry collection giveaway!)

Thursday, June 03, 2021

Today, I am excited to introduce you to an incredible author who just released a book of ekphrastic poetry and prose poems. She's here to talk about her new book Color and Line and share her writing journey with us.

Color and Line, Carole Mertz’s 2021 poetry collection, presents ekphrastic poems, and other poems of various literary references in formal poetry and free verse. Her ekphrasis treats some well-known paintings, such as Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party,” Van Gogh’s “La Guinguette,” and Pippin’s lesser known “The Domino Players.” Mertz’s prose poems present colorful essays and vignettes, telling little stories that record her deeply emotional responses to the artwork. Keats Epigraphs add artistic cohesion to the three sections of Color and Line. 


Carole Mertz, graduate of Oberlin College with a concentration in music and fine arts, is Book Review Editor at Dreamers Creative Writing, and Editorial Assistant at Kallisto Gaia Press. She served as member of the Prize Nominations Committee at The Ekphrastic Review, was a judge (in formal verse) of the 2020 Poets and Patrons in Illinois International Poetry Contest, and advanced reader for WNBA’s 2018 poetry contest. Her literary work is published in such journals as Arc Poetry, CutBank, Into the Void, Main Street Rag, Muddy River Poetry Review, Society of Classical Poets, The Bangalore Review, and World Literature Today. Carole is a reader for Mom Egg Review where many of her reviews appear. She is the author of the chapbook, Toward a Peeping Sunrise, Prolific Press, 2019. Her work is widely anthologized.

Find out more about Carole by visiting her website. Be sure to also add her book to GoodReads and purchase it on Amazon.

---- Interview by Nicole


WOW: First off, congratulations on your publication of Color and Line with Kelsay Books. You describe this type of poetry as being ekphrastic. Can you tell us more about what that means exactly and how it differs from other forms of poetry? 

Carole: Ekphrastic poetry is an old form that goes back to the time of Homer, if not earlier. I encountered it through my reading and especially through The Ekphrastic Review. Ekphrasis involves looking at a given piece of art (or music, or sculpture, or other forms of artistic creation), and allowing it to speak to you. When you respond, in a sense you are looking both outward and inward. Outward, in order to see as much as possible in the art, but inward to discover and record your response. Literally, the word ekphrasis (emphasis is on the first syllable) means “a telling out,” from the Greek. 

WOW: I love that description of that form of poetry! What draws you to poetry for your creative expression? 

Carole: I’ve thought and thought about your question and simply cannot condense my response to one brief answer. I find the variety of poetic forms and the diverse approaches to writing poetry so endlessly fascinating. Though I write mostly free verse, I’ve also done some formal verse such as sonnets, pantoums, sestinas, cinquains, and haiku. I like the challenge of trying to write with clarity and precision, yet allowing room for the unexpected mystical that may enter in. 

WOW: I completely understand not being able to answer that question in a brief answer. What are your chief poetic influences and what does the poetry community mean to you? 

Carole: I suppose the strongest influence on my sense of rhythm and form arose out of the singing of hymns from my early childhood on. My mother also taught me poems when I was a schoolgirl; these were poems she had memorized. I could sense her enduring pleasure in them. 

When I began writing poetry seriously (just about twelve years ago), I felt doors opening to a new world. In addition to writing poetry and getting published, I was also feverishly reviewing poetry collections and thereby “meeting” numerous contemporary poets, albeit indirectly, at first. I’ve since felt my community widening and now unexpectedly count some accomplished poets as personal friends. The thirty-plus years I spent in NYC placed me within a vibrant literary culture. 

As for other specific influences, I enjoy the poetry of John Keats, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Wallace Stevens. Some contemporary poets I especially admire are Lorette Luzajic, Wilda Morris, Carol Smallwood, Ada Limon, Louise Glueck, and Layli LongSoldier. 

WOW: You have some powerful influences! How did you decide which poems go into your current collection? 

Carole: For Color and Line, I knew I wanted the collection to be mainly ekphrastic. But I also had other poems, some surrealistic in nature, that seemed to belong to the collection. A case in point was “The Bequest,” the poem that derived from my experience of reading Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. Another concerned an evening in which I had dinner with the poet Louis Zukofsky, now deceased. Overall, I had so much more confidence in collecting the poems for this volume, than I did when creating my chapbook Toward a Peeping Sunrise; yet oddly, that chapbook remains dearer to my heart. Some of the poems in Color and Line are exuberant celebrations, some timid retreats. These are my own definitions. 

WOW: Reviewers have said that you write with sonority and wit, and with the authority of a skilled poet. Can you share a particular poem with us, or a part of one? 

Carole: I’d like to share this cinquain. Readers will recall a cinquain uses 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in second, 6 in third, 8 in fourth, and 2 in the last. 

If I
view birds beneath 
the tree out front, my mind 
soon sees boats sailing aloft a 
green breeze 

These I 
see as freedom 
to explore unknown sites, 
their histories revealing new 
delights 

As you see, a cinquain need not use rhyme.

WOW: I love it! It's so thought-provoking. What have you learned about yourself as a writer that has surprised you? 

Carole: My answer—how long it took me to give myself permission to become a poet! And this I offer as advice to new writers—recognize that desire within yourself, acknowledge it will require effort and persistence, give yourself permission to do it, and then do it! (I offer that as a gentle imperative with a non-literary smiley face attached.) I also think it’s beneficial to place yourself in the company of other writers, knowing that those with inspired diligence feed inspiration to others. It’s a give and take. I’ve drawn countless buckets of inspiration from the well of inspiration at WOW! Women on Writing.

WOW: I love your advice and it's something I need to hear as well. Thank you so much for your time today and best of luck on your book! 

Find out more about Carole by visiting her website. Be sure to also add her book to GoodReads and purchase it on Amazon.

***** Book Giveaway Contest *****

To win a copy of the book Color and Line by Carole Mertz, please enter using Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post. Giveaway ends on June 17th at 11:59 PM EST. We will announce the winner the next day on the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!


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