Welcome to my corner of this wonderful community where I share my poetry, short stories, and occasional photos. My husband and I have been married for almost thirty-five years, and we have two adult children. Our furry family member is Copper, an 80-lb chocolate lab mix, and he just turned 13 years old.
I have published two collections of poetry: New Day, New Dreams (2013) and Finding a Balance (2015). My memoir, More than Coffee, was published in 2021, and my recent publication is a poetry collection titled Ever So Gently released in July.
I have finished my first children’s book and am working with my illustrator with plans to publish in 2024.
When you visit, I hope you find something to take with you, but that you also find something enticing enough to keep bringing you back. I truly appreciate your visit.
Cheers,
Lauren ❤️
My latest collection of poetry – I prompt you to reminisce and reflect on your past, present, and future. Through the ups and downs, what matters most is to love and live ever so gently. Please click on the link to purchase your copy. Thank you to those who have bought a copy and who have shared wonderful reviews. My heart is full of gratitude.💙🩵💙
Isolation could slide into a deafening-silence loneliness, Suppression of joy needing a breath of a gentle breeze, Or it could fashion new moments with love and Laughter even with a faint line of essential distance. Adapting to this unique state of ‘togetherness’ Takes time like slow healing of energy – it’s not the Ideal means of making postcard memories, but who needs Ordinary? For the both of us in these circumstances, there is Nothing like being comfort and company while isolating together!
letting inspiration in during Covid finding the silver lining finding the smiles
My latest collection of poetry – please click on the link to purchase your copy. Thank you to those who have bought a copy and who have shared wonderful reviews. My heart is full of gratitude. 💙
Pink lines dictate rules for the near future with Ominous news initially because of the unknown. Scattered thoughts from this positive result of what will unfold – Initiation after three and a half years of Taking care of self and counting six feet from others. Isolating from humans, but not from the warmth of nature. Variant, new, old, irrelevant – time to buckle down while Eager to enter into civilization once again.
A first time for everything, I suppose, and this is a first for hubby and me. It’s probably just as well we get Covid at the same time. But the worst part is over, fever and major fatigue. Now only mild symptoms that we have to plough through until we test negative. The sun is shining. The sky is bright and blue and lovely. We have our patio and backyard to visit nature and breathe in some fresh air. I think we’re both feeling a bit underwater from tasks needing our attention. But with low energy, we can’t push ourselves. We can only do so much before resting again. It is what it is. We just want to get better so we can enter society again, and we will. Patience.Rest. Patience. Rest.
Anyway, thank you for stopping by and stay well! This is the second lost weekend for us, so enjoy yours! Go outdoors and mingle with Nature! 🩷
My latest collection of poetry – please click on the link to purchase your copy. Thank you to those who have bought a copy and who have shared wonderful reviews. My heart is full of gratitude. 💙
I was knocked off my feet from a flu bug since last weekend and am now slowly returning to the land of the living. With fever and fatigue, sleep was my only activity, so I’m sorry for missing your posts, but I’m trying to catch up a bit. In the meantime, I’m also late in sharing another friend’s review of my book, Ever So Gently. Pooja is so kind and her blog, Lifesfinewhine, offers a variety of topics for her readers such as lifestyle, travel, mental health, beauty, blogging advice, six word stories, poetry and inspirational posts along with other occasional posts. She also offers multiple services, so if you haven’t met Pooja, please pay her a visit. You will be glad you did!
And now for Pooja’s detailed amazing review:
Ever So Gently By Lauren Scott Review:
I was first introduced to Lauren Scott’s writing when I followed her WordPress blog. Even though I was new to her blog, I thoroughly enjoyed her writing. And I’m pretty sure I have read the vast majority of the blogs she has published since I followed her if not all the posts she has published since. A good number of her posts include poetry so I was used to her style of writing and knew that I enjoyed it. When I saw that she had published a poetry book recently, I was very excited to give it a read. And since I loved the book (spoiler alert lol!) I decided to share my review of Ever So Gently by Lauren Scott.
Overall Review
I generally like to start with what I liked about the book overall and then go into more detailed thoughts on it. As you must have guessed by now, Ever So Gently is a poetry book. And what I loved about the poems is that they were so vividly descriptive. The poems are inspired by the things around Lauren and her experiences. And her descriptions made me feel like I was there with her.
For the most part, her poems are quite light and beautiful. But some are darker and dive into darker themes. Although these poems are heavier, I still very much enjoyed them and found the emotionally raw poems to be really touching.
Ever So Gently is not trying to be like every other poetry book. It’s also not trying to be pretentious or trying too hard. It simply just is and as a reader I love that. There were moments I forgot I was reading because I got so into it and lost track of time. What was supposed to be a ten minute break turned into half an hour. And to me, that’s a sign of a great book and a great writer.
I rarely talk about book covers but I wanted to add that I really love the minimalistic book cover. I’m a big fan of minimalistic covers especially for poetry books. This one is so calming and it really captures what to expect from the book.
Specifics
My favourite poem from the book is called Unexpected. I don’t want to give away too much about the poem but it’s such an uplifting one. For those of you that know me, you know I suffer from depression and anxiety. This poem is about getting better and trying to see colour again when your life has been stained grey. Interestingly, I read it right before my therapy session as I waited outside my therapists office. The universe is funny like that sometimes. But I think that’s what made me really connect with the poem.
Even though I enjoyed all the poems, I think my favourite were actually the more heavy ones because they had so much emotion behind them. Such as “Things I Know, Believe, And Imagine.” I thought this poem was very relevant with how the world is at the moment. It’s a great reminder of how important love, acceptance, and kindness are in a world where we are so quick to turn to hate and violence.
Conclusion And Where To Buy “Ever So Gently”
Overall, Ever So Gently by Lauren Scott is a book I think is a must read. It’s really so well written that I think everyone would find it enjoyable and easy to follow even if you are not particularly a poetry fan. I would say this book can be enjoyed by both poetry lovers and those that don’t generally read poetry. The poems are largely uplifting but are still quite thought provoking and draw a lot of emotions from the reader. If you’re not sure what to read next or are looking for something to read, do consider this book. It won’t let you down.
You can find Ever So Gently By Lauren Scott on Amazon.
Thanks again, Pooja, for this amazing and thoughtful review of my book. To say that I’m grateful doesn’t justify how I feel, knowing the positive affect my poems had on you. ❤️ Click here to read Pooja’s post.
Please know that not all reviews of my book are on Amazon or Goodreads, so you can click here to visit my page for updates. Also, if you have read my book and were as touched by the collection as Pooja, please consider sharing your review. They are like hugs for Indie Authors, and who doesn’t like a hug? 🙂
Fun fact: My son offered to create the cover, but instead of doing it digitally, he painted it on canvas (a surprise to me) using colors I requested. I wanted minimalistic and gentle for this book and I’m so happy with the outcome.
Thank you for stopping by, and thanks to you who have bought my book! I hope you enjoy this collection where I prompt you to reminisce and reflect upon your past, present, and future. And what matters most is to love and live ever so gently.
Resa at artgowns.com designed a performance gown for the fabulous soprano, Charlotte Hoather. For those of you who don’t know Resa, her gowns are hand sewn from off cuts, repurposed clothes, curtains, table cloths, etc. and NOS (new old stock). To learn more about Charlotte’s incredible singing career, visit her blog: charlottehoatherblog.com.
Please visit Resa’s blog post for more gorgeous photos and videos of Charlotte. ❤️
I’m delighted to be featured on Sally’s blog today where she shares her truly lovely review of my poetry collection, Ever So Gently. Here’s a sneak peek of the review:
What a delightful, thought provoking and emotive collection of poetry from Lauren Scott.
I savoured each of the three segments of the book. I was engaged from the first poem to the last as the author shared her reflections on nature, her love of family through early days, love and loss, and her thoughts on life, the people around us, the world and the universe.
In the ‘Wisdom of Nature’ Scott captures the essence of the natural world around us, the majesty of the redwood and the colours of autumn. Feathered visitors with tributes such as in ‘The Humming Bird’s Quest’ and ‘Feathered Friends’. There is also recognition of how the tragedy of wildfires can devastate lives leaving nothing but ashes.
To continue reading the review, click on the link below that will take you to Sally’s wonderful blog. Thanks again, Sally! 🩷
It Ain’t Winning If Without You by Michelle Ayon Navajas
Michelle Ayon Navajas’ 7th book, It Ain’t Winning If Without You, is a collection of beautiful poetry that is lovingly dedicated to her beloved father who has passed away. The poems are divided into three sections, most in her preferred form, freestyle, but many in various syllabic forms as well. Michelle pays tribute to her inspiring and hardworking muse that any author will find relatable. She writes about love for her father and love of the heart – its every edge, jagged and smooth. Then she pays tribute to those who read and love her work. A very endearing end to this collection.
This book is over 300 pages, so I took my time reading and rereading each poem. I nestled into my comfy sofa at the end of each evening and sunk into Michelle’s engaging words. Her poetry is written in the first person, very intimate, so it was effortless to slide into each phrase and feel the emotions enfold me in their deepest meaning. Her style of writing is accessible and conversational as though we’re sitting across from each other, sharing a cup of coffee or tea, and she’s divulging her personal feelings.
Since both of my parents have passed, Michelle’s poems about her father resonated. I know what the heart endures when a parent leaves our physical world. Her signature poem, “My Papa” truly tugs at the heart. But her love poems, well, the varied emotions are exquisitely expressed, and there were too many favorites to list, but a few are “Sixty-Five”, “Crimson Sky”, “What am I to You?”, and “Loneliness too.” A real beauty that exemplifies Michelle’s talent is:
The Moon
the moon envies my midnight soul for it shines brightly as it ever had now that your heart has been thawed from being frozen for so long without even knowing why without even asking why but one thing is sure my dear your unfrozen heart has made my soul euphoric and alive and ecstatic that even the moon has been jealous of.
This lovely collection of poems is meant to be savored, to slowly dip into the deliciousness for supreme enjoyment. Highly recommended for all poetry enthusiasts who love diving into poetry about the joys and sorrows of life, the struggles and celebrations of the heart, and poems on gratitude.
The Winding Road: A journey of Survival by Miriam Hurdle
The Winding Road by Miriam Hurdle is a detailed account of her journey after being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in 2008. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer because of its ability to spread to vital organs if it’s not detected early. But this rare form of melanoma was discovered when Miriam was seen for a routine procedure. Imagine going in for a procedure that is conducted on a regular basis, then leaving with news that shockingly obscures the view you have of your future. When I began to read Miriam’s narrative, a version of the old adage came to mind, “We can’t truly understand unless we walk in the same shoes.”
And yet, Miriam’s story is relatable on the surface as my husband is a melanoma survivor. Even so, reading Miriam’s experience evoked fearful memories of the days to follow the diagnosis when his outcome was still undetermined.
Miriam tells her story like it was without mincing any discomfort. Following the diagnosis, she was given two treatment options to choose from, and it was a difficult choice to make. Then The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost appeared in her mind, specifically these lines:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by.
And that has made all the difference.
Miriam wrote, “I gazed at the road of unknown. I sought affirmation.”
I was so moved by this profound declaration.
I was also touched by the kindness of others that shined in various ways throughout her journey. This loving support afforded her the strength to keep believing, to continue pushing through the grueling treatment. The pain that Miriam endured was beyond unimaginable. But her persistence, faith, and strength were beyond commendable.
If you don’t believe in miracles, I implore you to read this moving book because I know without a doubt, you’ll have a change of heart.
I hope you enjoyed these interviews, and to read more of these wonderful authors, visit Michele here and Miriam here.
Thank you for stopping by and I wish you a fabulous day! ❤️
Baydreamer Writes ~ Lauren Scott, Author & Poet 
