SOLD
My newest completed miniature!
This miniature will be for sale on Etsy in my shop – Stine Writing – fairly soon!
Welcome to Santorini Island
Day: August 21, 2020
Design: FOWC with Fandango
I love it when multiple challenges come from one blogger. I get so much done!!
https://fivedotoh.com/2020/08/21/fowc-with-fandango-design/
Your Design
Name it and think it
Prepare the design
If you want something
Well I’ll make it fine.
Put all of your thoughts
Out there on the block
I’ll make sure to use them
People take stock.
©2020 CBialczak Poetry
Fandango’s Friday Flashback — August 21
I am almost at the one year anniversary of my blog! Maybe one more month and I can actually go back to the specific date and repost. https://fivedotoh.com/2020/08/21/fandangos-friday-flashback-august-21/
For now I will look for something, maybe on the 21st of another month.
May 21st, 2020
For Michael at mindlovemisery’smenagerie: https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/19271780/posts/2715100219
Books…
My thoughts on books…
I wrote four and published them for children.
I love to read, or used to love it, and hoping that with the new book I won last week that I regain my love. I never lost it, just lost the motivation to sit and read and concentrate on what I was reading. I think the concentration is key. Not that it has to be for intellectual knowledge, but just so I don’t have to reread the same page over and over…
I just got a story published in two magazines!
I write every day and hope to have more books published! Non-fiction and fiction for children.
Books
White pages yellowing
Hard covers softening
Words melding together
Offer
Escape
Experiences
Entertainment
Enlightenment
Bright laminated pages
Bright white screen
Technology doesn’t print
Less to hold
But for some
Holding a book is part of the
Offering
Escape
Experiences
Entertainment
Enlightenment
In bed
At the beach
In the yard
Alone
Together
Bound like pages in a book
©2020 CBialczak Poetry
Fandango’s Dog Days of August
Today’s theme is “a lesson you learned.” What is a lesson that you learned along the way? How did you learn the lesson? Who did you learn it from? How did that lesson change your life, it at all? https://fivedotoh.com/2020/08/21/fandangos-dog-days-of-august-21/
My lesson
When I got my first teaching job I had no idea what kind of school I was asking to work in. All I knew then was that I wanted a teaching job so badly and I had applied to every town within commuting distance. When I showed up for my interview I met the principal in her office which was also the tiny kitchenette. The school was in an old Victorian house in a very poor end of the city, very economically disadvantaged. The place was fairly quiet. She interviewed me and practically hired me on the spot. I had all the credentials and the demeanor to fit the job.
Jump ahead to my first day: I walk into my classroom which is a tiny room about 12′ X 8′. There were three kids sitting around a table and someone watching the kids while I got situated. “Where are the teaching materials?” no response. “What am I supposed to teach them?” no response.
Cutting the story short here, because I could write and write, it was a Clinical Day Program for emotionally disturbed children who were socially and behaviorally inappropriate for public schooling, as they had worn out all other interventions. Wow, I didn’t know that even existed!
So, I “love” my new job. I really did and I was getting in shape both restraining children who were physically aggressive or chasing “runners” down the street. There was this one boy, we will call him Charlie. He was a spoiled boy, his mother coddled him every minute of every day. His behavior was horrendous, physical, verbal, you name it. The mother “yes’ed” us to death and nothing improved. We had a staff meeting one day to discuss what to do next as he was getting bigger (in 4th grade almost my height, 5’3″). We were talking, thinking, brainstorming.
Being a new teacher, especially with this population, I made a comment like this: “If only his mother did something. She is half of the problem if not all of it. Does she even discipline him at home?”
Silence.
My principal looked at me and said, “You cannot judge the parents. You have no idea what they are going through and although we have their kids for 6.5 hours a day, they had them the rest of the 24 hours. They are challenged economically and some have their own psychiatric issues. You will never know what they go through unless you go through it in your own life.”
Well, that shut me up.
It also helped give me a new perspective on the kids, their families, and my role. You don’t know what people go through behind closed doors.
Years later, my son was bullied and displayed some of the behaviors I dealt with as a teacher. It really kicked me in the ass and I have NEVER forgotten what I was told. That day I became a better person.
©2020 CBialczak
Happy publication day to author Charlie Laidlaw!
Today marks the release of searing satire, Being Alert, and I have a sneak peek for you as well as a chance to win a digital copy of the book!
Publication Date: August 21st, 2020
Genre: Satire
The book, which begins in January 2020, follows in a long tradition of British satire, as the British prime minister, Winston Spragg, first learns about a new virus that seems to be centred in a city in China that nobody has heard of.
The book populates Downing Street and Whitehall with an inept prime minister presiding over a dysfunctional government as it deals with an existential threat that rapidly becomes a national crisis.
It remains true to the timeline of Covid-19 and the government’s response to it, including its failure to lock down sooner, secure adequate supplies of protective equipment or protect the care sector.
Like satires before it, the book uses humour to paint an uncomfortable picture of a government in crisis, and seemingly as concerned about justifying itself as working to suppress the virus.
As the book progresses, with a mounting death toll, I hope the book strikes a changing balance as both a month-by-month narrative about the virus and a comedy to mirror unfolding events.
As the country emerges into a new normal, the country will inevitably want to know why, per head of population, we have suffered worse than any other European country. Being Alert! provides the perfect outlet, not just to ask very real questions of government but to use humour as a satirical and healing tool.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54906246-being-alert?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=J9Bsnv6dWj&rank=2
About the Author
I was born in Paisley, central Scotland, which wasn’t my fault. That week, Eddie Calvert with Norrie Paramor and his Orchestra were Top of the Pops, with Oh, Mein Papa, as sung by a young German woman remembering her once-famous clown father. That gives a clue to my age, not my musical taste.
I was brought up in the west of Scotland and graduated from the University of Edinburgh. I still have the scroll, but it’s in Latin, so it could say anything.
I then worked briefly as a street actor, baby photographer, puppeteer and restaurant dogsbody before becoming a journalist. I started in Glasgow and ended up in London, covering news, features and politics. I interviewed motorbike ace Barry Sheene, Noel Edmonds threatened me with legal action and, because of a bureaucratic muddle, I was ordered out of Greece.
I then took a year to travel round the world, visiting 19 countries. Highlights included being threatened by a man with a gun in Dubai, being given an armed bodyguard by the PLO in Beirut (not the same person with a gun), and visiting Robert Louis Stevenson’s grave in Samoa. What I did for the rest of the year I can’t quite remember
Surprisingly, I was approached by a government agency to work in intelligence, which just shows how shoddy government recruitment was back then. However, it turned out to be very boring and I don’t like vodka martini.
Craving excitement and adventure, I ended up as a PR consultant, which is the fate of all journalists who haven’t won a Pulitzer Prize, and I’ve still to listen to Oh, Mein Papa.
I am married with two grown-up children and live in central Scotland. And that’s about it.
Author Links: https://www.charlielaidlawauthor.com/ , https://twitter.com/claidlawauthor , https://www.facebook.com/charlielaidlawauthor/
Twitter Tags: @CLaidlawAuthor @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours #BeingAlert #BookRelease
Blog Tour: Penance
Welcome to the book tour for Penance by Edward Daniel Hunt! We’ll have interviews, reviews, a guest post by the author, and of course a giveaway — $25 Amazon gift card!
Read on for book details, an excerpt, and giveaway instructions!
Penance
Publication Date: April 2, 2020
Genre: Thriller/ Suspense/ Crime Fiction
PENANCE is the first book in a series of crime novels featuring retired Boston homicide detective John Gilfillan. This story is about the race to find Lori Doyle. Ten years ago, Lori, as a teenager, witnessed a killing. Today, she has established a new life for herself and her daughter in Maine under an alias. Unbeknownst to her, all that’s about to change, as some are seeking her out to do her harm and some to do her good. A page-turner to keep you in suspense until the end.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086R51W78/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52793519-penance?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=IPtz7Ljbeh&rank=1
Excerpt
Marcy had never been more scared in her life. She truly believed he would have cut off one or both of her breasts if Paulie hadn’t walked in. There was nothing behind those eyes, no emotion, no caring, and no fear. Marcy had been around some scary guys in her life, including Tommy, his father, and some of the others. Tony was different. There didn’t seem to be any feeling behind his actions. No hesitation. No nothing.
She knew she had to reach out to JoJo and warn her that her worst freaking nightmare was heading her way. JoJo picked up on the first ring. There was a lot of noise in the background. Marcy held the phone slightly away from the side of her tender, bruised face.
“JoJo, this is Marcy, and you need to listen to me!” she blurted. “A guy named Tony, looked Italian, was just here, and scared the crap out of me! He’s crazy; broke my nose, cut my breasts and threatened to cut them off. I thought I was dead! He kept asking about Lori Doyle. I had to give him something. You’re next! He knows you work at Sallie O’s. Get out of there, while you can!” She was out of breath from talking so fast.
“Hey, thanks for the heads up, but an Italian in South Boston isn’t going to do very well. I’ll let my boss know and some of the regulars. They don’t like outsiders coming in here period, let alone stirring up shit.” JoJo sounded slightly subdued. Concerned, but not like her usual self; medicated maybe.
“JoJo, I was never more scared in my life! You be careful. You don’t know what he’s like. If you can get a message to Izzy, do it; she’s on his list too. Hey, I know you just lost Frankie and don’t need this mess but you’ve got to get away. This guy’s beyond crazy!” The whole thing replayed again in her mind and she felt like she might start crying again.
“Well, I’d like to see him go after Izzy. Izzy’s been hooked up with Tommy for a while now. Tommy can take care of himself,” JoJo said matter-of-factly.
“Please. Please JoJo, listen to me: he’s like nothing you’ve seen before! He’s an animal, no feelings, no fear! Please, you’ve got to get away now!”
Finally responding to the fear in Marcy’s voice, JoJo hesitated. “Okay, Marcy…I’m glad you’re okay and I’m really grateful for the heads up. Really.” Marcy wracked her brain for the words to convince JoJo of the danger she was in. Before she found any, there was a click as JoJo terminated the call.
About the Author
Edward Daniel Hunt has an undergraduate degree from the University of New Haven and a graduate degree from Lesley University. His short stories have appeared in the Scarlett Leaf Review, Down in the Dirt Magazine and Adelaide Literary Magazine. “Hit Men Have Feelings Too” was named a finalist in Adelaide Magazine’s 2018 Literary Award Contest for Best Short Story. His short story “Pieces of the Puzzle” was named a finalist for Best Short Story in Adelaide’s Magazine’s 2019 contest. Much of his early work and social life was spent in restaurants and bars, as evidenced by his writing. He is a member of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime New England. Adelaide Book Publishing has recently released his crime novel Penance. He lives in Old Orchard Beach, Maine within walking distance to the beach.
Edward Daniel Hunt: https://edhuntauthor.com/blog/
Giveaway: $25 Amazon gift card
Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0e7c6a8f179/?
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