Yes, I'm Still Here

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I know I haven't been blogging on Blogger much this year (or last), but I'm still here and have actually written a few things!

And where do you find my writing? The best places are at these sites:

Medium  (Lots of haiku and such...)

Patreon ( I could use a few more followers on Patreon, for sure, so try and join me there, if you can!)

It is also the time of year when the Shore Leave sci-fi convention is ramping up. I will be there again this year, and I will be giving out a few books. Some have my stories in them, some will not. But it's a free book! Or two! I'll probably put a few posts on Patreon about it, but I won't commit to every day like I usually do. I'm getting older, you know!

I do have a favor to ask, however. If you want to support a writer who is trying to make a living at writing, please subscribe to Terri Deno's Patreon site. If you can afford a paying level, that would be great. But even a follow where you can read about her writing exploits would help. She really needs support! Thanks in advance!

As always, let me know if there is something/anything you'd like to see on my blog here—or elsewhere! I'm open to suggestions, so please be suggestive. But keep it PG-rated.

Photo credits:

The photo used at the top of this post is by bruce mars on Unsplash. It is the same photo I've used for some time for my Patreon site progress updates. It works.

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© 2026 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tragic Darlings — Poetry By Terri Deno

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Terri Deno has a new book of poetry available on Amazon called Tragic Darlings!!

Terri's collection is "an exploration of identity and self--how the characters we play reflect onto the world, leaving many with our truest selves still hidden."

It's available in both paperback and as a Kindle version.


                                           


Here's a tiny sample of what's inside:

I hope that sparks an interest!

Again, available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions!

While your at it, click this link to take a look at all of Terri's offerings!

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© 2024 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

May 2024 Update

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The weather is getting warmer, and that's not all that's heating up! Yes, I know it's already a bit further into June than I'd like and I should have already posted this, so here's what happened in May...

Shore Leave will be here soon. I have to get the giveaway books together—although I'm not exactly certain how things will work out with the new venue. They say they are having an art show, but the details of where in the hotel have yet to be announced. I'll stop by, but I won't be selling this year. Maybe next time. There is also a last minute guest addition: J G Hertzler. I'm not familiar with him, but I'm sure many others are. Here's a bit from the Shore Leave site:

In theatre, Mr. Hertzler appeared opposite Academy Award winning actress, Holly Hunter in a new Irish play, By the Bog of Cats at San Jose Rep. Earlier, on Broadway, he appeared opposite Irene Pappas in The Bacchae, directed by Michael Cacoyannis. He has appeared with the Oscar winning actor, Roddy MacDowall in the 1996 National Tour of Dial M for Murder.

Perhaps his best-known work for television is his General Martok on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Other television credits include, Seinfeld, Roswell, Six Feet Under, Touched by an Angel, Charmed, Dr. Quinn, Diagnosis Murder, Quantum Leap, The Highlander, Brisco County Jr., Lois and Clark, General Hospital and One Life to Live, and over 50 episodes on the New Zorro series, filmed in Spain. J. G. was featured with Jennifer Beals and Christopher Walken in the film, Prophecy 2. In the film Pirates of Silicon Valley he appeared as Ridley Scott. He has also appeared with Al Pacino in the Barry Levinson/Norman Jewison classic film, ...And Justice for All.

Currently J. G. is voicing the Drookmani Captain and General Martok on Star Trek: Lower Decks. Last Fall, his radical memoir, Confessions of A Klingon Linebacker, was released in several formats. Signed hard copies will be available at a ridiculous cost! He also co-authored the Star Trek duology The Left Hand of Destiny (2003) with Jeffrey Lang. A fourth book is rumored to be planned for spring of 2025. Stay tuned.

I've also posted my latest writing activities on my Patreon site. You can read about them there. I've also posted my short horror story Neersville on Patreon, It is for paid subscribers only.

In other news, Terri Deno has 9 episodes out now for her new Kindle Vella story called Making a Thief.

Miranda Kate's new book Blood River (Tricky's Tales Book 3) should be out on Kindle by the time this is posted. Might be giving out a three-book Tricky trilogy at Shore Leave just in case you were interested!

Mary Rajotte has her story The Call of the Carrion Crows in the reprint anthology Shadowed Realms. It is available on preorder now for Kindle.

And I'm working on another short horror story I hope to submit later this year. Think trains.

That's all for now!

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© 2024 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Put a Little Mystery Into Your Life

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Yes, it's been a while since I've posted here, and that's my fault. But I do have some news to pass along!

Want to add a little mystery and intrigue to your life? Author Terri Deno has a new Kindle Vella story available. It's a tale of undercover police work called Making a Thief.

Here's a little about Making a Thief:

Detective Nolan Wells has had one case in his career that he just can't shake, and before he retires, he must figure out how to bring down the son of one of the most notorious diamond thieves in the world. He thought he would do anything to close the case, but when his daughter Zahara decides to go undercover to help out, Detective Wells is torn between getting the bad guy and keeping his daughter safe.

Do a bit of investigating yourself and check it out! Remember, the first 10 episodes are free to read on Kindle Vella now!

@terrideno check out my next #kindlevella story dropping May 2. First 10 episodes available free to read 📚📚 #booktok #readersoftiktok #writertok #kindle #thriller ♬ Detective - AShamaluevMusic

 

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© 2024 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Does Twitter Really Help Beginning Writers?

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I don't get a lot of feedback via Twitter about my writing and I've often wondered if others writers at a similar level have the same experience. Obviously, I don't have a huge following like the major authors, so I'm sure that's a large part of the problem. Yet some (all?) of my tweets with the most interactions are those having nothing to do with writing. Perhaps the folks on Twitter aren't looking for what I'm offering.

Recently, I saw this and knew there were others experiencing the same response to their tweets about writing.

#WritingCommunity #AMWriting I noticed that when we share our accomplishments #writing projects, books, blogs, etc., we get less engagement than when nonsensical stuff is posted.

Going off last weeks question about bragging and jealousy. Why is that?

— Melisa Caprio (@PCtotheUniverse) August 6, 2019

I know there are many variables involved here, most of which I have no control over. Are folks on Twitter really looking to find out what new writers are doing? I'm sure some are, but 99% of what I see on Twitter is:

1. Hey, look at my new book/story/poem (I fall into this category)
2. (fill in name of politician/leader/celebrity) is a (fill in expletive)
3. Here's my cat/dog/nature picture! (Okay, I do this, too, sometimes...)

I see many more authors hawking their wares than people who are only looking for a book or story to read. I'm sure they're out there, but I wonder if Twitter is the best way to reach them. With so many writers competing for attention, the chances of getting noticed are pretty slim. If I was Stephen King or a large publishing house, my tweets might reach the desired audience. I am neither.

I've cut back a bit on Twitter because I'm not receiving a lot of productive responses from my tweets. Getting feedback is always tough for beginning writers, so I'm looking around for new ways to get the word out. For example, I'm watching Terri Deno's use of Medium to see if that is a better way to gain an audience. I'm also exploring other outlets for flash fiction and poetry.

And, yes, I do need to produce more, both writing and artwork. It's difficult to do while working a full-time job and dealing with life's other responsibilities. Still, a reliable flow of material keeps people involved.

If you have any thoughts on this, please pass them along!

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© 2019 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Squirrels And More!

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On the publishing front, the editor for Lonesome Train, the anthology containing my latest short story titled Momma Knows Best, says it is in the final stages of editing and should be available soon. Not soon enough, but soon. It's all relative, I suppose.

For those who are more likely to visit my blog here than find me elsewhere, I wanted to let you know about my Patreon Haiku post for April. This particular post is free for everybody to view and it has cute pictures of squirrels. And a haiku. What more could one possibly want?

Anyway, click on this Patreon link and you'll soon be enjoying this post. Okay, I don't really know if you'll enjoy it, but I'm an optimist.

While you're at it, please consider helping these writers!

Troy Blackford and his family is having a difficult time due to the potentially fatal illness of one of his sons. Help him out if you can. You can also find him on Twitter.

And last, but not least, Terri Deno has a new book of poetry available:  If It Was New York, Summer 2009. Please consider purchasing a copy. Writing is her only means of support, so let's support her writing!

Thanks!

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© 2018 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Updates And News For December 2018

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You may have noticed, or even visited, my Patreon site as I have placed some of my recent flash fiction postings there. I'm in the (glacial) process of doing more there and moving away from Blogger. That's a hint that you may want to check there more often that here in the future. I'll probably set up another true web site on different platform at some point, but that's only in the planning stage right now.

Postings of my work have been slow in coming this year. I've complained enough about that already, so I won't go into the reasons again. I have noticed an uptick in viewings on Patreon. Although I don't have any patrons so far (I haven't posted enough stuff to make it worthwhile), this is a good sign.

Patreon viewership has increased lately

As you can see, I've even had some interaction with new readers! Woo-hoo!

In other news, I believe I've had a short story accepted for inclusion in an anthology, but I'm waiting to get that confirmed. It's a Southern Gothic horror story call Momma Knows Best. More later - I hope!

Some of the authors I follow have been making progress, too!

Terri Deno has a poem, Our Conversation in the Garden, published in America's Emerging Poets 2018: Midwest Region from Z Publishing House. It's available on Amazon and should eventually be available directly from Z Publishing House.

 

It's right there on page 163!

Miranda Kate has announced a sequel is coming to The Game, the novella in her book, Slipping Through. The title is to be Pool of Players. No firm date yet (other than spring of 2019), but if you subscribe to her newsletter, you'll probably be the first to know!

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

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© 2018 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a handsome (so we're told) prince* in the land of Amazon had an idea.

"I'll create a platform to help beginning and lesser-known authors write and publish stories based on established fictional universes!" the prince exclaimed in his odd, though native, Princeton tongue.

He waved his magic wand and created Kindle Worlds where a famous author would allow others to add to the body of work he or she had created. There were guidelines in place, of course, to protect the original author from damage, but it allowed those not-so-famous writers to join the party. It seemed like a good deal for everyone. The famous authors get publicity for their work and the struggling authors get the benefit of writing stories for a world with which the reader would be familiar. The readers of those worlds would benefit by having more stories than ever to chose from and enjoy. The Prince would take a cut of the profits.

Then one day, a greedy ogre (who had been disguised as the aforementioned handsome prince) decided it wasn't worth the time and expense to do all this. The payoff wasn't enough. The ogre took out a sword—or pen, as the case may be—and slew Kindle Worlds. Darkness spread over the land.

End of story.

Not much of a tale, I suppose, but that's the way it looks to many writers. No hero to save the day here. Was the prince really an ogre or was Kindle Worlds an empty, deteriorating wing of his publishing palace? I don't know. What I do know is that closing it down threw a bucket of cold water onto the plans of some aspiring writers.

The effect of all this became apparent when I checked on the author page of a writer I'm familiar with: Terri Deno.

A short while ago, Terri had a nice collection of works to display.

Now, not so much...

Even if you had the book's URL (Melody of Love used as an example here), all you got was this:

No offense to Barney, but that's not what I was looking for.

Terri had done the work and played by the rules, but that didn't matter somehow. Three of her five books were for Kindle Worlds. Now the books are gone. Can they be rewritten and published in a format that won't violate the rules Amazon and the original author have put in place? Sure, but it's hard enough to write a book once. Writing it twice seems like punishment.

Is there a moral to this story? Perhaps it's take charge of your own destiny. Easier said than done when you're a writer. Or be patient; the most beautiful flowers are often the last to bloom. Or those who seem most eager to help aren't always your friend. Pick one. Or three. Best of all—write your own.


* He graduated from Princeton, so I'm assuming he was a prince. I could be wrong.

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© 2018 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Is Four Pennies A Day Too Much To Ask?

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For those who don't know, Terri Deno is a full-time writer. She does fiction, poetry, and more.

Making a living as a writer isn't easy. Most have a regular job to pay the bills and do writing on the side (as I do). Terri is doing it the hard way—writing is how she pays the bills. In an attempt to provide a steadier flow of income, she has set up a Patreon page.

Patreon allows writers, artists, musicians, and other creative types to present their work and receive a payment for access to specific items. While some posts are available to everyone, the creator of the site may designate certain works (a story or a piece of music) as being available only to those who are willing to provide a small payment. This way, the creator can use the money to enhance their efforts and the "patron" gets access to some of their best and most unique creations.

The level of payment can vary from creator to creator. Terri's starts at only $1.00 per month. That's less than four cents per day. It isn't a lot, but even that level of support can make a big difference. Terri is just starting up so their isn't a lot out there yet, but in the long run, rest assured, you will get your money's worth. Please take a few minutes to check out her Patreon site - only four cents per day (or maybe a little more) can make a big difference.

Here is a link to Terri's Patreon site: TERRI DENO'S PATREON SITE

And, yes, I do plan to support Terri. I'm working on setting up a payment method that works best for me. Patreon accepts either credit card or PayPal.

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© 2017 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

It's Almost Time for Nanowrimo

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Just a quick reminder for all you masochists out there...

Yes, it's almost time for NaNoWriMo again!

I've noticed that Terri Deno wants to give it a try, as does Sara Lundberg. I wish you both the best. I hardly have time to write these blog posts. Perhaps I will once I've retired from my day job. Then again, it would be nice to take a real vacation.

If anyone is interested, there's still time to sign up. Here's a map the NaNoWriMo folks provide to give you an idea where the writers are located.

If you don't want to write, you can volunteer to help out.

Also, many libraries are having events for NaNoWriMo writers like these listed from the Baltimore County Public Library:

Anyway, this is just to let everyone know NaNoWriMo is coming! Me? I've buying futures in coffee beans. The amount of caffeine consumed is bound to go up in the next month. So, to all you participants, good luck!

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© 2017 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 39 And Free Books!

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We interrupt this blog post to present a bit of important Shore Leave news...

They have actually posted the schedules on the web BEFORE the conference started this year! This is nearly unheard of. You can see them here: Shore Leave 39 Schedules

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog post...

Yes, I'll be attending Shore Leave again this year. Looking forward to the writing workshops, the art show, and meeting a few authors. I hope to do a blog post from there as well.

And if you see me there, it may pay to hang close by! Well, within a reasonable distance—I like my personal space. Anyway, I might just be handing out a few free books—not only those with my stories, but from other writers, too! Yes, I know these aren't all sci-fi titles, but the folks who attend these shows don't just read sci-fi! And if they do, I feel it's my duty to broaden their horizons. I'll have horror, romance, and more, more, more! Here's what I have lined up so far:

Tales From the Bully Box, an anti-bullying anthology

(with my story, One Above Zero)

Seeing What Develops, a romance by Terri Deno

Outside the Lines, a romance by Beth Rhodes

All the What Ifs, a coming-of-age story by Angela Lynn 

Gothic Blue Book III (Graveyard Edition), a horror anthology

(with my poem, The Ballad of Drunken Jack)

Mostly Dark, a flash fiction collection by Miranda Kate

Human 76, a post-apocalyptic anthology by Lisa Shambrook and many others

(includes my story, The Song of Aiden)

A Symphony of Dragons, a collection of dragon tales by Lisa Shambrook

Dead Men's Tales, a pirate-themed horror anthology

(with my story,  Skarett's Treasure)

Giving away these copies is a great way to help the authors gain a wider audience and for me to reclaim a little free space around the house, especially since I either have another hard copy of these, an eBook version, or both.

Even if you don't want a free book (yeah, like that would ever happen...), please stop and say hello—especially if you are a writer, and doubly so if you are a reader!

See you there!

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© 2017 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Write On Write Off?

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Not long ago, I saw a tweet from Terri Deno alerting me that Amazon / Kindle was shutting down its Write On writer collaboration project. I only had a brief exposure to Write On while following a couple of Terri's works. It was something I wanted to explore further, but it was always on my back burner.

Perhaps that's what happened to a lot of folks. Amazon wasn't clear about why they shut it down other than it didn't grow the way they hoped. They didn't explain how they wanted it to grow or how far off they were from what had been expected. This is the notice that is posted on the Write On forum:

"While we have been proud over the last few years to have brought together such a vibrant, active, and creative community, unfortunately we will be closing Write On’s doors on March 22. After this date, access to Write On will be unavailable."

It was so vibrant and active that Amazon decided to shut it down? I think one of the posters hit it on the head when he guessed Amazon hadn't found a way to make money on it, so it was axed. It seems they didn't put much effort into upgrading the site in the last year. Perhaps that was a clue as to Write On's eventual fate. I can't say Amazon did much in the way of promotion, either. Had it not been for Terri informing me of its existence in the first place I might have never known about it at all.

There are some who believe competition from similar sites, like Wattpad, caused Write On's failure. I'm not quite sure that's true based on comments by some on the Write On forum. Most were familiar with Wattpad, but thought it catered to a different demographic. Maybe a few folks will migrate to Kindle Scout. If anyone has any ideas on this, please pass them on!

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© 2017 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Terri Deno's New Book: Haunting Melody

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Terri Deno has a new book out titled Haunting Melody. It's not a lengthy story, but it should be good for quick read! It's a mix of romance. mystery, and suspense that's built on the Kindle Worlds  "The Callaways" platform.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Pop star Melody is getting ready to work on her next album with the help of musician Sean Callaway at Ashbury Studios. She feels like she has it all: a great career, a fabulous love life with dancer Austin Eckhart and friends she can rely on. But strange things are happening at the studio—equipment failures, accidents and strange voices. Rumors start spreading that Ashbury Studios could be haunted. Will Mel be able to help her friends figure out what's going on before something bad happens?

It's available on Amazon (US) for only $1.99.

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© 2016 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

All The Things I Need To Catch Up On

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First, there's Terri Deno's update to the book she's working on. I need to get out to WriteOn and see what she's done. Here's a link to her blog post:

Truths of a Shy Writer: The Next Chapter is Live: For weeks I've been trying to get more chapters up of In Another Life . Yesterday I finally succeeded in getting one new chapter out the...

In Another Life
by Terri Deno

Next, there's Beth Rhode's book, Outside the Lines. She's up for nominations at The Romance Review. I need to get on there and vote for her.

Outside the Lines
by Beth Rhodes

There's also my own story, Where the Money Is, that needs editing so I can submit it again.


Finally, there's all the statistics to compile from Goodreads. I've started, but that's about all. Just too much going on right now!

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© 2012-2015 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

New Book: Terri Deno's Seeing What Develops

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There are a number of new books coming out from writers I know, and the first one is Terri Deno's new romance novel Seeing What Develops. It was just a few months ago she released a novella, Melody of Love, using Amazon's Kindle Worlds platform, so I was a little surprised she had another book ready so quickly.

I've read part of it while it was being developed on Amazon's Write On site, but I'll have more to report once I have a real copy in my hands and a chance to read it. Terri has a smooth style, so I can count on the pages turning rapidly.

But enough of my blather. Here's the book!

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Seeing What Develops
    by Terri Deno

The Story:

Lindley Neil is perfectly happy working as a photographer's assistant in her small, Midwestern town. As her boss Lexi LaPort starts getting bigger and better gigs, Lindley gets to follow Lexi around to L.A. and New York to photograph movie stars and models. What she didn't expect was to fall in love. Twice. With a movie star and a prominent journalist vying for her affection, Lindley also knows that her job with Lexi won't last forever. Lindley has to choose her own path, even though it means she has to break someone's heart. Will it end up being be her own?

Available on Amazon
    US Kindle
    US Paperback

About the author:

Terri Deno is a freelance writer living in the Midwest. When she's not writing, you can find her consuming massive quantities of books and rocking out to her vinyl collection. She is the author of Unfolding Life: A Book of Haiku, and her work has previously appeared in Luna Station Quarterly, Full of Crow and The Poetry of Yoga, Vol. 1.

Click HERE for Terri Deno's Goodreads page.

If you like romance, you might want to give this new book a try!

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© 2012-2015 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Truths of a Shy Writer: Camping with a Purpose This Year

The April segment of Camp NaNoWriMo is right around the corner. The "camps" are sort of a warm-up for National Novel Writing Month in November.

  

Even if you're not participating, you can help support the cause! Terri Deno, creator of the Truths of a Shy Writer blog, has set up a page for donations to National Novel Writing Month to help her stay focused on her Camp Nano project and help the organization that supports it at the same time.

From the start of Terri's blog:

Truths of a Shy Writer: Camping with a Purpose This Year: So many of us just go through the day fulfilling our own wants and needs. And when we don't get those things, the world can turn pretty ...

Please click on the link to read her post and donate if you can!

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Check Terri's Camp NaNoWriMo page HERE!

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© 2012-2015 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Terri Deno - Unfolding Life

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Terri Deno's book of haiku, Unfolding Life, is now available for Kindle on Amazon.

Unfolding Life: A Book of Haiku--now on sale: http://t.co/Qiq3cCRJdf via @amazon #haiku #book #haikuchallenge #haikulove
— Terri Deno (@TerriDeno) March 18, 2014

I have a special interest in this book as I worked with Terri on the cover and did a few illustrations for her. It made me realize how much I've missed doing any sort of artwork—and also how much my skills have deteriorated since I last picked up a pencil to draw! I am ever so thankful for erasers...

From Amazon:

The ancient art of the Japanese haiku has been embraced by the world for centuries. Today's modern take on the traditional form can make a reader think, feel, and see the things in this world that are sometimes hard to describe—even more difficult if it's limited to just seventeen syllables.

Unfolding Life is the debut haiku collection from Terri Deno. From nature and the tangible to time and the intangible, a wide variety of topics are explored in this ancient verse. This collection also includes artwork from KR Smith.
 

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Terri Deno's Haiku Book

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Terri Deno is almost ready to release her haiku collection titled Unfolding Life. Here's the cover! I'll have more updates here, and you can always check out her blog and Google+ pages!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Another Tweet: Quote Of The Day

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I also happened to see this while checking out what was going on with Twitter:

It's #NationalBoyfriendDay -- is there going to be a giveaway?
— Terri Deno (@Terri84) October 3, 2012

This could be the subject of a very interesting story... either fiction or non-fiction!

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

More News From Around The World

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I've been a bit busy these last few weeks, but I thought I'd put a quick post out to keep everyone up on the news from the writers I follow.

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First of all, Terri Deno has a new short story, Second Shadow, published in Luna Station Quarterly, a magazine focused on speculative fiction written by up and coming women authors. To check it out, you can click on one of the links here or go to their web site and find it in Issue 11.

If you like stories that are a little bit on the dark side, please give it a read.

You can find Terri's blog here: Truths of a Shy Writer

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Not last (because I had to update this post!), and not least, Ellora Bennett has a new post on the Winchester University History Student's Blog. Her latest post is on Henry IV. This is what she does when she's not writing one of her fantasy novels.

U.S. public domain image of
the coronation of Henry IV

You can find Elly's blog here: Ellora Bennett. Fantasy Writer.

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Now, finally! Sara Lundberg has a story included in a new horror anthology available on Amazon for $5.99 USD! It's called Shadows of the Mind. Here's a partial cover shot:

Since I'm a fan of horror, and it just so happened that I needed a new book to read, I've bought a copy which now resides on my Kindle. I'll read it and let you know what I think.

You can find Sara's blog here: Prospective Writer

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© 2012 K. R. Smith