She is no longer a Spring chicken
he loves her all the same
her beauty ever fresh in his eyes’
©
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Spring & Fresh – Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge
The Main Reason For Failure – Midnight Motivation
The singular reason why some people succeed in life while others fail is found in their discipline. Identify the primary cause that stops you from gaining the success that you seek. It is commonly said that knowledge is power and when you know better you do better. When you identify the cause of your failure, you are empowered to find sustainable solutions to achieve success.
If you are in search of ways to be the best you that are meant to be, to increase your productivity, live the life of your dreams, reach for your greatness and abundance, this is a space that you can visit anytime to get realistic, step by step tools on how to gain control of your life and to achieve your aspirations.
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Purple Ribbons of Purple Wreath…
Ribbons of purple bruises
worn like a ring around her neck,
hidden from probing eyes’
by a pretty floral sweater.
§
how long will she hide a bleeding heart;
under beautiful colours of bold splashes,
counting the days till she’s asphyxiated,
and purple wreath for her death bed.
©
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Taking A Chance…
Literally, he now sings for his Supper, but the hurrying feet of passersby barely brought in enough coins to buy him that supper. The few commuters who stopped by only paused long enough to take photos or make a video that they would probably post on their Social Media platforms to entertain their friends.
Johann’s mind drifted as he strummed away on his guitar. Momentary worries clouded his mind and all the heart melting country songs that he sang in his husky tone failed to ease the burden on his shoulders in that peculiar way that playing his guitar and singing did for him.
Life has been hard in recent times and the downpour of tough times kept increasing. He hated the thought that he has to resort to selling his personal belongings especially the guitars inherited from his grandfather, however, life hasn’t left him with many choices.
A sudden thought struck him as he pondered on what to do next and how to turn his situation around. He would enter the local talent competition and take a chance. After all, what did he have to lose?
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you, Sunayana MoiPensieve for the photo and Priceless Joy for this enchanting platform
The Beauty of Illumination…
Mundane Monday Challenge is created to find beauty in almost everything.
The challenge is simple. Find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.
Lighting sets the mood of the room and this photo says different things to me
Its ambiance speaks of soft jazz, hushed tones and quiet laughter, of romance and dark shadows, of hidden secrets and open discovery.
In the darkness of the deep, little illuminations of light show the rich beauty of your soul – Jacqueline
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‘We create a cohesive community when we come together.
Stay tuned for our end of the month/start of a new month blog party on the 1st and 2nd of April. No, it’s not April Fool’s Party, rather it’s April Feel Good Party 😉
Perfect Symbiosis…
Our love for each other,
a perfect symbiosis of emotions.
You grant me buoyancy of spirits,
I keep you grounded with sensibility.
©
Jacqueline
Bring Your Books 3 – Author Zone
This week in Author Zone
A bit about the book
Noelle Harrison is a hard-working wife and loving mother to two young sons. Although supportive of her husband Wayne’s professional pursuits, she rails at his constant out-of-town travel to conferences and seminars. What about her needs and wants? Then one day on her way home from church… There are two sides to every story. Or maybe three.
Available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback
Pamela D. Beverly’s author bio simply makes me smile – I guess it’s her calling herself ‘The Jacqueline of all trades.’
I am a Jacqueline-of-all-Trades but a master of none. Mostly I’m a student of human nature that enjoys writing and studying mankind. I have traveled all over the United States as well as to several foreign countries and enjoy meeting people of all races, religions and creeds. My main wish for mankind is that we learn to get along and enjoy one another’s differences.
You can also get to know her better on her blog
Untangled, A Story of Resilience, Courage, and Triumph:
Recalling her life, the author takes us on a journey of unimaginable abuse with continued explicit threats that eventually led to her being sent overseas on an impossible mission. She repressed the memories of her past until a family tragedy forced her to face what her life had been. A history of abuse, torture, and threats to maintain her silence or be killed could no longer be denied.
This is the story of facing the truth and risking the consequences of breaking the silence. The author learns to accept the effects of the trauma that echo through her daily life as PTSD.
A Word from Others
- I discovered Alexis’s blog randomly and after reading some of her blog posts I knew I wanted to read her memoir too. I didn’t put down the book for three days and for that time I felt I was re-living what the author has lived through herself. It is so well written and the story is grasping. Although it isn’t a light read and sometimes I wondered how such atrocities are possible. But Alexis is here to show us that no matter the trauma, even the deepest and most damaging, we can still summon courage and faith and overcome it. Thank you Alexis for sharing yourself with the world!
- Wow! Hard to read because of the subject matter but I could not put it down! This is truly a story of resilience and courage!!!
I have never experienced trauma or abuse but after reading this book, I have a much better understanding of the struggles of those that have.
This is an amazing book.
Delve into a book of verse exploring different topics and different genres, all with a RITUal twist.
A collection of poetry drawing on the experiences of the writer, ranging from matters of the heart, love for the family, situations in life and some verses written with a humorous twist.
A Bit About Ritu
From childhood, I always enjoyed reading. This love of books is mostly credited to my mother. The joy of reading spurred me on to become creative in my own writing, from fiction to poetry. As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, I have drawn on inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that I write. A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, I now deal with classes of children as a sideline to my writing! Happily married, I live in Kent, with my Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the furbaby Sonu Singh. I am currently working on some short stories, and a novel, to be published in the near future.
A Word From Others
- I enjoy reading funny or clever verse, mostly on the internet, in blog posts etc, when I come across them, but books of poetry are rarely my thing.I ‘picked up’ an ecopy of Poetic Rituals when it was discounted because it’s something different and an easier read in between fat novels and autobiographies.It is really great to open a book and be surprised in every good way by the contents. I read through the poems at one sitting, delighted with each one to the next. They reminded me in some ways of Pam Ayres work; witty, funny, poignant, some slightly tongue-in-cheek. What impressed me most was their unfailing observations of family life, relationships and the frustrations of daily life. One is about not being able to get a printer to link to a computer – I could wholly identify with that one!
Read this book, raise a smile and even a little tear. This is a lovely read!
- Bhathal’s Poetic Rituals is a collection of poems that explores life’s rituals, those of a mother, wife, lover, and teacher. There are real gems in here with lovely imagery, humor, passion, and ambivalence. My favorite poems were the lighthearted rhymes about being a mother of young children. A great read to visit and browse throughout the day.
Why I started Author zone.
A writers’ journey can be a lonely and arduous trip and the success of a writer is the collective effort of all those who surround him/her.
I know that I am a small time blogger out there but I believe so much in the strength that lies in unity.
It’s been in my heart for quite a while to find ways of contributing, encouraging and promoting my fellow authors around.
Many are struggling to get their works out there and the challenge of breaking into the limelight of traditional publishing is humongous.
We are the only one’s who can attract and drive our own growth in here. Buying and reading bestsellers is brilliant, all well and good, but contributing to lift up a fellow writer in our midst from one level to the next should be our collective care because it matters.
Support your fellow author/artist/writer/blogger. Collaborate with each other to help them grow.
The truth is that purchasing a book from a little-known author barely costs much. If you are buying 3 books a month, pick up one from an author in our midst, the cost is not even up to a cup of coffee at Starbucks, Tim Hortons, London Dairy or where ever it is that you love to get your sweetness.
The idea behind ‘Author Zone,’ is to highlight a number of authors and their books bi-monthly.
If you would like your book highlighted, please feel free to contact me. I would also try to do a review of a book once a month.
Please share this as much as possible to reach as many authors/writers as we can. BYB
Thank you for your support.
Jacqueline
Meet Maline Carroll – A Fascinating Blogger Friend of Mine
The blogging journey has introduced me to fascinating people from all walks of life and today, I introduce you to beautiful Maline of Lifting Taboos who also happens to be one of my partners. Please read and meet her yourself.
Brief Snippet of Me
My name is Mae and I am a Haitian adoptee. I like reading and writing clubs. I don’t like long walks on the beach. My general outlook towards life is positive with a dash of hesitation.
Me and My Blog
I grew up with psychologically abusive adoptive parents and one of the ways for me to get out of myself was to write. I began journaling at an early age (About 7) and eventually compiled my first book from over 10 years worth of journal entries. I would describe my blog as a stream of conscious writing with really no end and odd beginnings. When I was setting up my blog I had the desire to write one blog a day but then life happened and those goals became very unrealistic. I now attempt to blog once a week on “difficult to swallow” topics and as much as I can on random happenings.
The blogging phenomenon has its ups and downs. You have a greater audience but it means more people get to know more about you. My blogging experience has been pretty positive. Many of my posts deal with adoption and their many complexities including race, gender, and sexuality. I have categorized most of my blogs so they can be found based on particular categories. I feel that some of my simplest and non-thought-out writing gets the most views. I have not quite figured out why yet. And I get comments on some of my strangest blogs which makes me laugh each time. Maybe the thought-provoking pieces keep people from commenting. Some of my top blog posts are; #notallwhitepeople if you make your child a doormat, and 6 signs you are healing from abuse.
Keeping it Going and The Little Challenges
I do not feel I motivate myself. I feel that writing comes naturally for me. When I feel the need to write, I do it. I feel that not creating a particular writing schedule actually encourages me to write more. My motivation? No rules, no structure. Just me.
My most challenging moment in my blogging journey is reaching the right audience. A lot of my writing sounds like it is “anti” adoption which goes against what agencies, orphanages and adoptive parents’ wishes but if you read my work carefully, it is not pro or against, it is all about education and what we can learn on this journey and how adoptive parents can do better for their adopted children who one day become adults.
What I Got To Say To Others
I would say write about what you know. For a long time I wrote for a research company and I learned a lot about writing different genres. But my biggest success was sticking to my lived experience. People want to hear your voice if you write from just that your voice. Don’t pretend. Just be in the moment and share who you are. We only have one life, maybe this is the legacy you can leave behind.
Spend The Day With Me
I’m a mom and a wife so a typical day spent with me is not very glamorous. I wake up at around 7 a.m. to see my young child off to school. My partner takes the dog out in the mornings (I absolutely refuse to do it, I deal with night duty). If I have to sub, I go in to work with my partner, if it is not a subbing day, I go back to sleep until about 10 a.m. At 10 a.m. I’m up and get into the shower. Grab coffee. I pet the dog and then sit at my desk to answer messages and calls. I am an adoption consultant and I have an online business so every morning that I am not at “school”, I am in my office working.
Throughout the day I consult and answer the phone. I also work on video edits, and on my Honest Adoption Talk YouTube channel, a safe place where we talk honestly about adoption. When I am not working on my YouTube channel, I’m finding time to interview someone on my podcast or just speaking some truth. At around 3:00 pm my kid gets home and I can’t do “adoption” related things because she is adopted and I don’t want to create trauma where there is not any yet. She knows I am open to talking about anything but I don’t want to do any preemptive conversations that could cause her to feel she has to feel a certain way. So Adoption conversations cease once she is home. From that time until my partner gets home, I work on my newest book. Then prepare dinner, then a movie, and then bed.
Taking it To The Next Level
I don’t really have any “plans” for my outreach and publishing. I just write and publish my work. My main focus right now is publishing my new book The Perks of Being an Adoptee. I have self-published 7 books (two which are in Spanish also). This new piece, however, looks at adoption in a more comical light using humor, sarcasm and matter-of-fact speech. This book will be available April 1st. Currently, portions of the book can be read online. It is available for pre-order if you contact me.
Along with the book that I am working on publishing, I spend a great deal of time answering questions in my facebook group. Adoption, Race, and Their Complexities. It’s a group I created to help adoptive parents better understand the complexities of adoption in a group setting. I offer one on one advice and assistance but the group is free.
Meet Maline On Her Channel
Honest Adoption Talk
March Along… #SoCS
March is the month of my birth so I have a fond affinity for this month. It’s also my mama’s birthday and one of my younger brothers. March is quite the month in my family.
Of course, people do talk about the Ides of March, which was the usual way of saying March 15th, but I don’t identify with the superstition attached to it. A soothsayer’s dire warning to Julius Caesar and several other mishaps of centuries past is insufficient to make me live in fear of a particular date in the calendar.
Superstitions are quite the thing and in some places, superstitions weigh in so strong that it’s almost difficult to outmarch the people stuck in time and to move on with logical reasoning.
Isn’t it amazing how fast time runs? Sometimes, I feel as though time is frogmarching me through living at its own pace with barely enough room to exhale. Well, we’ve got no choice, but to march along and make the best of it while we can.
Jacqueline
a cooking pot and twisted tales 