Surprises happen when you take a blogging break!

‘Tis the season! Photo taken by my son last year.

Dear Friends,

Happy December! First of all, on the weekend, I tried to activate the snow effect on my blog, but it wasn’t working. Then this morning, it was snowing! A miracle? I don’t know, but I’ll take it as a good sign. ❄️ Now for those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope yours was beyond wonderful! We had a lovely time seeing our son and daughter, feeling grateful for everything, but not just on that special Thursday – every day is a day of gratitude. Then we decorated the house for Christmas and it looks beautiful and festive. We played Scrabble, watched movies, went for walks, talked about life, and guess what? Yesterday, I wrote book reviews! Yes, I was behind, so I carved out some time yesterday! I’ll share them this month. Anyway, I missed you all, but I hope you’ve had a great week! And I normally don’t like to add too much to a post simply to keep things simple, but on the day I ‘left’ for a break, I received incredible and unexpected news:

Pushcart Nomination Overview

The Pushcart nomination is a process in which literary magazines and small presses select outstanding works—poetry, essays, or fiction—from their publications for inclusion in the annual Pushcart Prize anthology. Editors submit their chosen pieces to the Pushcart Prize editors, who review all nominations and select the winners for publication.Your letters of nomination will go out before December 1, 2025! Congratulations and good luck!

If you have time (smile), please pay a visit to Gabriela and Manuela. They’ll appreciate your presence, and I’ll appreciate your support. I look forward to reading your posts again, and wish you all a dazzling December! ❄️🩵

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Thank you for coming by! I’m grateful for you all! ❤️

All available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Click on sidebar image for more info, and to
purchase for your holiday shopping!
Thank you! 🙏

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
Author and poet, Lauren Scott, enjoys small-town living in the Bay Area with her husband, Matt, of thirty-seven years. Their adult son and daughter live out of state, and with frequent visits and technology, the family of four remains close. Lauren has published four poetry collections, a memoir, and her first children’s book. Her latest poetry collection is a tribute to her family’s Chocolate Labrador who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge in spring 2025. Lauren is a recent Pushcart Nominee and has been a guest on several podcasts. Her writing is featured on Spillwords Press where she was voted Author of the Month and garnered Publication of the Month awards. She is a contributing author in several anthologies, and her work is shared bimonthly on Gobblers and Masticadores. Her muse discovers inspiration from her family, spending time outdoors, reveling in simple things, and marveling at the mysteries of life.

Gobblers by Masticadores Publishes my short story, “She Sleeps”

Photo by Naga Sumanth L on Pexels.com

Good morning and Happy Thursday! I’m listening to raindrops tap dance on the roof as I type up this post. And I’m delighted to share that Editor, Manuela Timofte at Gobblers by Masticadores is featuring my short story today, “She Sleeps.” I’m always grateful to have my writing published on her esteemed site. So thank you again, Manuela, for your generosity and kindness. ❤️

She Sleeps

An eerie high-pitched note whirls around in young Becky’s mind as she sleeps. The howling is earsplitting, wailing just outside her window, imitating a music score in a horror film. Not that she would know because she isn’t old enough to watch scary movies, but her six-year-old imagination tells her so. The trees fall into a trance like a spell has been cast upon them. Rocking back and forth, their branches bend in unnatural ways, the tips like long, pointed fingernails scratching on the double-paned window. The howling grates on her brain like a fork scraping a plate. Raindrops pound with anger. Becky tosses and turns. She fights to stay asleep. Subconsciously, she remembers Beauty and the Beast on the wall above her headboard, the best musical ever, and how she adores Belle. She’s carried to a happy place, slowing falling back into a deep slumber, but only temporarily…

To read the full story, please click on the link below. And if you’re unfamiliar with Manuela’s site, I hope you’ll take time to peruse the various pieces of wonderful writing.

Thanks so much for your visit, and I wish you a fabulous day! 💖

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© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com

Click on my son’s image to order your copy! 🧡

Lauren Scott
Author – King Copper: Our dog’s life in poetry
Author – Cora’s Quest (a children’s book)
Author – Ever So Gently: A Collection of Poetry
Author – More than Coffee: Memories of Verse and Prose
Author – Finding a Balance: A Collection of Poetry
Author – New Day, New Dreams: A Collection of Poetry
Co-Author – Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku
Co-Author – Petals of Haiku: An Anthology
Co-Author – This Is How We Grow
Co-Author – Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships
Bi-Monthly Contributor on Gobblers by Masticadores
Spillwords Author of the Month May 2023
Spillwords Publication of the Month October 2024
Spillwords Publication of the Month June 2025

Gobblers by Masticadores Publishes “Lost Their Way”

Good morning!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Hello Monday! What a surprise for this morning to find my poem on Gobblers by Masticadores! Thank you so much to Manuela Timofte for sharing my writing. It’s an honor to be featured on her beautiful site among many talented writers. I hope you pay her a visit…

Lost Their Way

If hope was a color, mine would be blue,
struggling like a bird with a broken wing
tears fill weary eyes that blur
they fall with an unforgiving sting
My heart imitates emotional skies
unseen roadblocks disguise a silver lining
Wishing is what I do well, miles between,
my hell, mindset craves refining

You can read the full poem by clicking on the link below…

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© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
Does this poem resonate? If so, I’d love
to read your thoughts on Gobblers or here.
Happy Monday, thanks for visiting,

and I wish you a wonderful week! ❤️

Click on my daughter’s image to order your copy! 🧡

Lauren Scott
Author – King Copper: Our dog’s life in poetry
Author – Cora’s Quest (a children’s book)
Author – Ever So Gently: A Collection of Poetry
Author – More than Coffee: Memories of Verse and Prose
Author – Finding a Balance: A Collection of Poetry
Author – New Day, New Dreams: A Collection of Poetry
Co-Author – Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku
Co-Author – Petals of Haiku: An Anthology
Co-Author – This Is How We Grow
Co-Author – Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships
Bi-Monthly Contributor on Gobblers by Masticadores
Spillwords Author of the Month May 2023
Spillwords Publication of the Month October 2024
Spillwords Publication of the Month June 2025

Gobblers by Masticadores Publishes “Cozy Vibes”

I was excited to find in my inbox that my latest poem written about this beautiful season, “Cozy Vibes” is featured today on Gobblers by Masticadores! A huge thank you to Editor, Manuela Timofte, for her continued support of my writing by sharing it on her esteemed literary site. 🩷🙏

Cozy Vibes

Sidewalks no longer sizzle
beneath summer’s intense embrace –
a sign anticipated by the leaves
with an abundance of grace.

Each year around this time,
they’re excited for the change,
like a model walks the runway,
new colors rearrange.

Shades of cranberries and squash
warmly enter stage left…

To read the full poem, please click on the link below. 🙏 I’d love to read your thoughts on Gobblers. 🤗

And if you’re unfamiliar with Gobblers, peruse around a bit. You’ll see many authors you know and their beautiful writing and photography. ❤️

Thanks for stopping by and for your kind support!
Have a wonderful day! ❤️

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© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com

Click on my daughter’s image to order your copy! 🧡


Lauren Scott
Author – King Copper: Our dog’s life in poetry
Author – Cora’s Quest (a children’s book)
Author – Ever So Gently: A Collection of Poetry
Author – More than Coffee: Memories of Verse and Prose
Author – Finding a Balance: A Collection of Poetry
Author – New Day, New Dreams: A Collection of Poetry
Co-Author – Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku
Co-Author – Petals of Haiku: An Anthology
Co-Author – This Is How We Grow
Co-Author – Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships
Bi-Monthly Contributor on Gobblers by Masticadores
Spillwords Author of the Month May 2023
Spillwords Publication of the Month October 2024
Spillwords Publication of the Month June 2025

Gobblers by Masticadores publishes “The Old Pink Restaurant”

Photo by Marcus Wu00f6ckel on Pexels.com

What a surprise to find that my poem is published today on Gobblers by Masticadores! I offer my deepest gratitude to Manuela Timofte for sharing my writing. It’s always an honor to be featured among many talented writers, so I hope you’ll visit her beautiful site.

The Old Pink Restaurant

I feel old and withered
like a dying rock rose.
Cracks propagate
down my stucco exterior
like fault lines in the earth.
Does an outburst lie on the horizon?

I remember when vibrant pink,
like a fuchsia feather boa,
would invite strangers in –
strangers who became friends.

My mood has a mind of its own.
When the sky opens,
tears stream down my windows,
tattooing me with streaks of dirt.

I’ve been abandoned for years –
no one seems to want me.
..

To read the full poem, please click on the link below. Your support means the world to me. ❤️

Thanks again to Manuela and to you for visiting! Have a wonderful day! 🧡🍁

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© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com

Click on the image to order your copy! 🧡

Lauren Scott

Author – King Copper: Our dog’s life in poetry
Author – Cora’s Quest (a children’s book)
Author – Ever So Gently: A Collection of Poetry
Author – More than Coffee: Memories of Verse and Prose
Author – Finding a Balance: A Collection of Poetry
Author – New Day, New Dreams: A Collection of Poetry
Co-Author – Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku
Co-Author – Petals of Haiku: An Anthology
Co-Author – This Is How We Grow
Co-Author – Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships
Bi-Monthly Contributor on Gobblers by Masticadores
Spillwords Author of the Month May 2023
Spillwords Publication of the Month October 2024
Spillwords Publication of the Month June 2025

Spillwords Press publishes “Spider on a Hand” – Gobblers by Masticadores publishes “Almost Fall-ing” & a peek into Captivating Colorado!

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a fabulous time with our son as he played tour guide, showing us incredible sights in Colorado. It was a long weekend that went by fast. But while I was offline, Manuela at Gobblers by Masticadores published “Almost Fall-ing” and this morning, Dagmara at Spillwords Press published “Spider on a Hand.” I hadn’t planned to do a post today, but I chose to combine both to honor Dagmara and Manuela’s generosity.

Thanks again to Manuela for sharing my writing each month, and to Dagmara and her team for accepting my recent submission. It is always a great honor to have my writing featured on both of these literary sites, and to be in the company of many talented authors, some of whom I consider friends in this online community.

First, here are a few photos from Colorado, and we were thrilled to see autumn’s stunning presence:

Rocky Mountain National Park
Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
Breckenridge, CO
Breckenridge, CO

Gobblers by Masticadores

A sample haiku:

crisp mornings join late
summer afternoons to greet
fall’s cozy prelude

Spillwords Press

Spider on a Hand

Trust doesn’t come easily.
She can’t be bought
like dropping quarters
in a gumball machine,
and she doesn’t hand out trust
as if distributing flyers
for an open house.
It takes time and discernment,
the emotion that comes
with falling in love,
you just feel it.
You know it’s been earned –
the intuition,
a tattoo on your heart.
What happened then?
Conversations sharing pure joy,
utter anguish spilled
like oil in the sea.
Suddenly,
she’s a spider on a hand
that gets brushed off…

Click on the image to order your copy! 🧡

Gobblers by Masticadores Publishes “An Avoidable Tizzy”

Can you believe September has arrived already? Time sure mystifies, doesn’t it? On this first day of the month, I woke up to find this wonderful surprise in my inbox. Thanks so much to Editor, Manuela Timofte, for publishing my writing. I’m grateful to be featured on her beautiful literary site, and I hope you’ll peruse around if you’re unfamiliar with Gobblers. This poem is in the form of a haibun, part prose and haiku. Thanks again, Manuela! ❤️

An Avoidable Tizzy

Dr. Google isn’t credible, which leads me to the quote, “Don’t believe what you read on the internet.” I didn’t heed the advice. I mimicked the drowning man in the parable, “Two Boats and a Helicopter.” Do you recall this man who passed up several rescue attempts while facing raging floodwaters because he knew that God would save him? How we miss the signs… Instead, I dove into the words, ignorant of their harm like a fly into a web – each syllable engrained into my psyche, tossing me into a tizzy as Dad would say. I couldn’t get out of my head. It was a night of sheet thrashing. Poor sheets thinking, “What have we done?”

To read the rest, please visit Manuela at Gobblers by clicking on the link below. I hope you’ll leave a ‘like’ or share your thoughts that I always love to read. Thank you!

I appreciate your visit, and Happy Labor Day to those who celebrate!
And I wish you a wonderful week to kick off this new month.
Our summer was thankfully mild, but I do look forward to autumn,
a favorite time of year.
🧡🍁

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© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
This blog content cannot be used to train AI.

Photo: Photo by chivozol on Pexels.com

Click on the image to order your copy! 🧡

Gobblers by Masticadores welcomes King Copper!

A huge Thank You to Editor, Manuela Timofte, for sharing the initial post about my new release, King CopperA poetic account of the joy that arises when a lovable chocolate lab walks into your life and changes it forever. And the eventual heartache you feel when he crosses over the rainbow bridge thirteen years later and still too soon. I’m always honored to be featured on Manuela’s beautiful site along with many talented writers. 🙏

To read the entire post, please visit Gobblers, and if you haven’t subscribed, I hope you will. Manuela shares evocative poetry and stories from a myriad of talented authors. Thanks again, Manuela! ❤️

Image by Jacqui Murray
Photo by alleksana on Pexels.com

Thanks for dropping by, and I wish you a fabulous day! 🤎🧡❤️
Now that the blog tour has ended, I’m going to work on
finishing overdue reviews for some great books.
🙂

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© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
This blog content cannot be used to train AI.

Click on the image to order your copy! 🧡