I am honored and grateful to be included in Gabriela Marie Milton’s upcoming anthology of haiku! This is the second anthology I’ve been part of following the beautiful Petals of Haiku released in May 2024. Thank you again, Gabriela and Literary Revelations for believing in my work. 🙏
From Gabriela’s blog post:
@LR_Publisher, just sent out letters of acceptance (or rejection) for our upcoming book Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted. Please help me spread the news. Soon, we will send you the whole design of the cover – as you know, the art on the cover belongs to Japanese artist Hikari and the fine art photography included in the book to Japanese artist Naoki Kimura. Over 240 authors were included.
All photos courtesy of Literary RevelationsPublishing House.
For more information and gorgeous photography by Naoki Kimura, and to read beautiful and evocative poetry by Gabriela and other poets she features, please visit her site by clicking the link below.
I am honored to be a part of this beautiful anthology created, compiled, and edited by Gabriela Marie Milton at Literary Revelations! Over 150 poets with four haiku each are included in Petals of Haiku which is a Top New Release on Amazon, and my copy has arrived! I’ve already immersed myself into the lovely and delicate poetry – truly a beautiful collection!
I sprinkled some pink blooms throughout the post for this joyful occasion, and I recorded two of my haiku for your listening pleasure.
A few words from Gabriela about the Anthology:
Petals of Haiku is not just an anthology that Literary Revelations is proud to publish. It’s a masterpiece that encapsulates the essence of haiku poetry like never before. The spectacular haiku writers featured in this collection bring to life the delicacy of seasons and the profound range of human emotions, from joy to grief, in a way that is both delightful and deeply moving.
The art on the cover by award-winning painter Hikari sets the tone for what awaits inside – a world where words dance off the page and into your heart. The background photo by award-winning Japanese photographer Naoki Kimura adds another layer of beauty to this already exquisite collection.”
To order your copy!
If you’re not familiar with Gabriela’s blog, I’m including some facts to entice you because each time you visit Literary Revelations, it is easy to lose yourself in the beauty through the written word…
We publish most poetry genres: epic, lyric, narrative, or prose poetry. We expect work that dazzles the intellect, and delights the soul; work that makes feelings blossom into symphonies of love, beauty, and sorrow. Interpret the silence. Find the place where love was born, and tears are entombed. Be the voice of prophets. Be the soft whisper of Sakura.Dream, create, suggest. Avoid cliches. Avoid the banal and the explicit, even if both have become trendy. Remember “To define is to kill. To suggest is to create.” (Stéphane Mallarmé).We also publish fiction such as mystery, romance, fantasy, and other types.
Congratulations to Gabriela and to all authors in Petals of Haiku, and thank you, Gabriela, for this amazing opportunity! ❤️
I am honored and thrilled to be a part of Yvette Prior’s newly released anthology, This is How We Grow. She has worked hard with thirteen contributing authors to make this special book a reality. If you haven’t met Yvette, I encourage you to visit her wonderful blog. Below summarizes what you’ll find when you visit:
Priorhouse blog is continuing with the interview series – the master page is HERE
Priorhouse blog continues to join in with photography challenges, which mainly includes the Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge (LAPC) and sometimes Thursday Doors.
Priorhouse Street Shots continue to surface
Other posts unfold naturally, which include book reviews, movie reviews, opinion posts, extra photo challenges (besides the LAPC), writing challenges, and the annual spring #Dickenschallenge.
Yvette also surprised me by inserting a plug for my new book, a poetry collection, Ever So Gently, which is available now, and I will do a post soon! Her book and mine just happened to release around the same time.
And now for Yvette’s interview:
Hello Readers,
Recently we introduced the book,THIS IS HOW WE GROW, and I will be posting about it on and off for the four weeks.
Today’s post is to share about Lauren Scott’s chapter, Numbers Lie
But first – let me share that Lauren has a collection of poems – hot off the press – in her book called Ever so Gently. My paperback copy is on the way and I look forward to reading it in August.
She still cringes when she peruses old albums with photos of her as a young chubby girl. The memory of her ten-year-old self in the hospital after having her tonsils removed causes her stomach to somersault. Following the tonsillectomy, she rested in the recovery room with other children. A blonde-haired boy about her same age wore a wicked grin just before the words slid from his tongue, “Hey, fatso!” Those three syllables caused her to crumble into the white sterile bed sheets. Maybe they sparked her insecurities. Or perhaps the childhood chubbiness that dogged her footsteps into adulthood goaded the insecurities to surface.
Lauren’s commentary:
Keri’s narrative is fiction, but I can insert it into my life story for an accurate fit. When hurtful words are tossed at us, they remain audible. We cannot throw them back because their effect is branded in our psyche. Traumatic moments and events stick with us regardless of how vigorously we try to peel them away from our memory. I endured similar moments on the school playground as a chubby little girl. Throughout the years, I could gain ten to twenty pounds, then lose it, stare at my reflection, and still view myself as chubby. I dislike the word fat, so I never use it. No one deserves to be called fat.
Lauren Scott’s chapter in This is How we Grow is an engaging fiction followed by author commentary about the topic of weight, labels, and adjusting a critical spirit to become more accepting. Her story reminded us that empathy consists of both affective and cognitive components and Lauren reached a cultural artery as her wisdom reminded us that people are more than externals as we have “heart, soul, and beauty, inside and out.”
Bio:
Lauren Scott is an author, poet, and blogger who specializes in short stories, both fiction and non-fiction, about life reflections and finding joy in the simple things. Her new collection of poems, Ever So Gently, was released in July 2023 and her first children’s book will be released later in 2023.
She has published two poetry collections, New Day, New Dreams (2013) and Finding a Balance (2015), a memoir, More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose (2021), was a contributing author in Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships, and was nominated “Author of the Month” May 2023 at Spillwords Press.
Lauren and her husband, Matthew, have two grown children and a Labrador named Copper. Her writing inspiration comes from family and the great outdoors while enjoying small-town living in Northern California. Lauren can be found online at baydreamerwrites.com.
This is day 4 of the blog tour for Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships, a beautiful anthology compiled by Kaye Lynne Booth and Robbie Cheadle. The tour schedule is below…
Day 1: Kaye Lynne Booth at Writing to be Readstarted the tour with a guest post from contributing author Lauren Scott.
Day 2: D. Slayton Avery at ShiftnShake shared a guest post from blog series host, contributing author, and editor Robbie Cheadle.
Day 3: Miriam Hurdle at The Showers of Blessingshosted contributing author Lynda McKinney Lambert.
Day 4: Lauren Scott at Bay Dreamer Writes is hosting contributing author Miriam Hurdle.
Day 5: Victoria Zigler at Zigler’s News will host contributing author M.J. Mallon and share a review by Victoria Zigler.
Day 6: The publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth, will be in the interview spotlight with James J. Cudney over at This Is My Truth Now.
Day 7: Robbie Cheadle at Robbie’s Inspiration will share a guest post from contributing author Colleen M. Chesebro.
Day 8: Kaye Lynne Booth at Writing to be Readwill wrap things up with a guest post from contributing author Leon Stevens.
If you follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop, you will be entered in a random drawing for a chance to win a free digital copy of **Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships**
Today I am thrilled to feature my guest, Miriam Hurdle, a lovely poet and blogger and a contributor in this anthology. And now, I invite Miriam to talk about her poetry…
Hi Lauren, thank you for hosting me today. I’m excited about the new release of Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships. It’s my privilege to be a contributing author.
There are six of my poems in this anthology collection:
Autumn Leaves
Baby’s First Steps
I Walked Barefoot
Kindness Repeats
Rainclouds
Snow Joy
April 28 is Pay It Forward Day. I want to discuss the poem related to doing a simple act of kindness to pay it forward.
Kindness Repeats
Life has ups and downs Friends will stay around While outlook bright on good days Who knows what’s ahead? When you’re half dead Promising scenes fade away
The kindness of heart Brought you a fresh start Real friends hard to be found Only wisdom knows What tomorrow holds What goes around comes around
One’s fate made a turn Stumbled, fell, and churned Drowning into ocean’s deep You’re right around Sensed cries without sounds Graciously kindness repeats
I wrote this poem with two incidents in mind.
During the recession in 2008, a friend and his subordinates lost their jobs because of the company’s downsizing. Ted was a kind person who was friendly and gentle with the guys he supervised. He kept in touch with those guys during this hard time. It was difficult to find a job during the recession. When one job was open, there would be hundreds of applicants. Ted was unemployed for many months. One day, he received a call from his former subordinate about a job opening and asked him to apply. He did and got the job. His subordinate became his boss.
Ted and I were in the same choir. He was excited to share the news with the choir members. I couldn’t help but think that Ted’s kindness toward the people working under him paid off. He received kindness in return.
We don’t always return the favor to the same person who was kind to us. But we can Pay It Forward.
On April 28, 2007, Blake Beattie started Pay It Forward Day. After beginning in Australia, the holiday now spreads love and kindness in over 85 countries. It’s a celebration of a small act of kindness that makes a big impact on the world.
In 2008, I was diagnosed with stage II melanoma cancer that progressed to stage IV. I was a recipient of ongoing love and kindness from people near and far during the entire year of treatment. I can’t return kindness to all these people. What I can do is continuously Pay It Forward to show kindness to myself and the surrounding people, no matter how small the kind act is.
Why is kindness important?
Most research on the science behind kindness has centered on oxytocin. Dr. Waguih William IsHak, a professor of psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai, said that a simple act of kindness can reward our bodies and minds with feel-good chemical substances. Sometimes called “the love hormone,” oxytocin plays a role in forming social bonds and trusting other people. It’s the hormone mothers produce when they breastfeed, cementing their bond with their babies. Acts of kindness can release hormones that contribute to your mood and overall wellbeing. However, the effect isn’t lasting. Therefore, acts of kindness have to be repeated.
I’m grateful for the kindness I received, and I want to keep my overall wellbeing. With these in mind, I practice Pay It Forward and repeat kindness.
About Miriam
Miriam Hurdle is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She published four children’s books at twenty-six years old. Her poetry collection received the Solo “Medalist Winner” for the New Apple Summer eBook Award and achieved bestseller status on Amazon.
Miriam writes poetry, short stories, memoir, and children’s books. She earned a Doctor of Education from the University of La Verne in California. After two years of rehabilitation counseling, fifteen years of public-school teaching and ten years in school district administration, she retired and enjoys life with her husband in southern California, and the visits to her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters in Oregon. When not writing, she engages in blogging, gardening, photography, and traveling.
Baydreamer Writes ~ Lauren Scott, Author 