A beautiful and fascinating lady writer whom I admire greatly. It is said that one’s words are a mirror into their soul and Tanya’s one amazing writer who’s words reach you on another level.
A Bit About Me
My pen is a mighty tool. I’ve been using it all my life to tell stories and explore this world in all its natural wonder and human diversity. I write everything from the diminutive, but powerful, haiku to the full-bodied epic adventure. Of all my writing endeavors in the past few years, I’m most proud of the successful use of some of my work a juvenile detention center in SE Wisconsin to foster creative expression and encourage these children to develop their unique talents.
My passion for human rights manifests in a strong voice of advocacy for the persecuted and poor and an ongoing family effort that supports a range of humanitarian efforts. Watch where you step on my blog. I shatter a lot of glass of past hypocrisies with my pointed quill.
I love working with the camera and use my photography to illustrate the pieces I share on my blog, with a special emphasis on nature shots and work with a macro lens. The credit for all the photos of me goes to my talented 13-year-old daughter, who shares my enthusiasm for a good capture.
I’m a classically trained flutist with a rich and eclectic taste in music, performing everything from Mozart to jazz improvisation. My favorite playing hours, however, find me behind the piano keys.
I am a graduate from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
A Bit About My Blog
I started my blog just over a year ago as a platform to support the fantasy novel I had just published and to grow my writing skills. On my blog, I write everything from the diminutive haiku to free verse poetry to short stories. I have even begun sharing stop-motion videos that I produce. My work often serves as a platform for social commentary and critique and a voice of support for those who have nothing. My passion for nature finds frequent expression through words and photos on my blog. I love my interactions with bloggers all over the world and take great inspiration from their friendships and encouragements.
Blogging Challenges
I recently retooled my blog to include new projects that I have and directions I’m exploring. This involved clearing a lot of old writing off my blog and completely redoing my home pages – a major facelift.
Projects
My first-in-series epic, fantasy novel, Tales from the Valdaren – The Prodigal Son, was published just over a year ago and maintains a 4.5-star rating on Amazon. The second novel is in development.
I just published, A Haiku for Ricky Baker, a book of poetry including Haiku, Tanka and free verse poems telling the stories of neglected and at-risk children. All proceeds from that book go to fund art and writing programs for children in juvenile detention. I also hope to use this book to introduce Haiku and Tanka to these children as a method of developing strong writing and reading skills.
The second book of poetry and short stories, The Politically Empty Glass, will be released shortly. This book explores the hypocritical application of “liberty” in the United States through a combination of Haiku, Tanka, free verse poems and satirical short stories. It is a work that has come about, in part, due to the encouragements of my blogging friends.
I am also delving into screenplay work, using the development of stop-motions videos as an initial platform. I love the challenge of telling a story through this medium.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 