books – Page 4 – Prolific Pulse Blog

Elaine loves to send and receive postcards. But nobody wants to do that anymore. Her friends have all gone digital. They’d rather text or email. So Elaine decides to send postcards to herself. Empowering, outrageous, hysterically funny. What Elaine has to say on these postcards is not what you would expect!

Postcards to Herself is about a woman, her love of Holly, her Yorkshire Terrier, and a very fun and interesting life.
~
“You’ll love Laura Stamps’ Postcards to Herself. Enter her world of whimsy, philosophy, and introspection dipped in humor. This book is a treasure!”

-Nolcha Fox, Author of End of Earth

“I love every single book of Laura Stamps I have read. The absolute cleverness of her latest endeavor, Postcards to Herself, is the best yet. If you want to sit in a corner and chuckle to yourself, this is the book. Kudos, Laura, for another amazing book!”

-Thasia Anne Lunger, BSW, Author of Beach Front Property

“I had the best time reading Postcards to Herself. You might even fall in love with Holly, a tiny, sweater-adorned, four-legged star. Lovely pictures, delightful joy cover to cover!”

-Zan V. Johns, Author of Encore: A Collection of Poetry, American Writing Awards Finalist

“With her signature sharp prose and insight, Laura Stamps delivers a gorgeous and heartwarming story in her latest novella, Postcards to Herself.”

-Laura Besley, Author of 100neHundred

About the Author

Laura Stamps loves to create experimental forms for her fiction and poetry. She is the author of over 65 novels, novellas, short story collections, and poetry books, including It’s All About the Ride: Cat Mania (Alien Buddha Press, 2021), Dog Dazed (Kittyfeather Press, 2022), The Good Dog (Prolific Pulse Press, 2023), and Addicted to Dog Magazines (Impspired, 2023). She is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and seven Pushcart Prize nominations. Her short stories, flash fiction, and poetry have been published in over 2000 literary magazines worldwide. You can find her every day on Facebook (Laura Stamps). Or her website: http://www.LauraStampsFiction.blogspot.com

Links to purchase and to get an autographed copy.

TTOT

Ten Things of Thankful-March 3, 2025

March 3, 2025 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

Happy March and TTOT Time!

It’s actually World Writers’ Day! I posted about that just a moment ago. If you are a writer or are thinking about working on writing skills, it’s a great day to get started!

I am thankful to be a writer. I may not be perfect, but I try my best. What is most important to me is to keep trying. We all have a story to tell…
That is my #2 thankful. I am thankful that people tell their stories. Whether fact or fiction or a mix of both, I love to read stories. I am thankful that I was able to finish reading a book yesterday.
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry is the story I finished reading. I have seen the movie and decided to compare the book to the movie. I found some answers in the book that filled in the blanks. I am glad I read the book, for this reason.
My baby rose bush is budding and it’s so cool to watch it. I keep it at my desk by the window and it’s very thankful as the sun comes in at just the right amount. Once it warms up steadier outside, I will move her out there.
This week is a heavy week for me. I have a Women in Publishing Summit from tomorrow through Saturday. It’s going to be interesting; I am sure, and I am grateful I am able to do this via Zoom. There are also two other events at the same time, but thanks to recordings, I can get in all three. It’s just going to mean that I watch some videos next week.
This cardinal has been visiting my porch on a regular basis. We don’t get them, normally, but I believe this is the same one, just one, coming around. He’s looking at the outdoor plants.
Maintenance is a benefit when you rent. I am grateful for maintenance who fixed an urgent matter in the same day.
I found turkey on sale for .79 a pound. It is a small one, which I prefer. We like turkey any time of the year.
Daughter has been trying pickleball with her friend and is loving it. She is also starting a bowling team. She’s pretty pleased.
YOU What’s your thankful? Let’s hear it!

Celebrations, poetry

Happy Bookiversary to Zaneta V Johns for After the Rainbow – Golden Poems

February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

Would you believe that it’s been three years since this book was published? This means I have known Zan for over three years. And what a celebration this is!

What is After the Rainbow about?

Throughout the storms of the pandemic and other challenges, #1 bestselling poet Zaneta Varnado Johns wrote to capture her rainbow of intense emotions. In After the Rainbow, maturity oozes throughout the golden lyrics penned in her highly anticipated second book of poetry. The collection captures her transition to a woman in full pursuit of her passion, loving aloud through reflection. As she expresses deep feelings, appreciation for nature, and life’s simple pleasures, this book covers more than a steppingstone path, but a deep dive into the realities of life. From these depths, the eagle soars as we get to experience transitions and triumphs, all a grand, escorted travel through faith and hope.

Prepare to be amazed at the levels this author is willing to share. As a prolific force with her dedications, Johns has expressed her admiration for souls before her, luminaries among us, and precious ones we have lost. Be inspired by the senior citizen with spunk, Ms. Maggie. Wipe a tear at the photo of the author’s granddaughter as she reads Amanda Gorman’s poetry. Sandwiched between generations of inspiration, Johns beautifully celebrates the people who touch her life. You will be introduced to two esteemed poets from the United Kingdom, Sarfraz Ahmed and Pratibha Savani. Each poet collaborated with Johns on poems, including the award-winning poem, “New Wonderland,” co-authored with Savani.

After the Rainbow will captivate the reader with full on experiences, relatedness to life in life’s terms, and ultimately these golden expressions of poetry. We get to see inside the humor of this creative author as she shares about bubble baths, morning sounds, and a glimpse of her closet’s contents. Travel with her in the poem, “Casa Magdalena,” a cozy adobe spot in Santa Fe, New Mexico that captured her heart. Before we dip into the waters of this journey, Johns’ husband, James J. Johns II, offers a beautiful foreword and his own heartfelt poem. With this grand send off, this is a book which will be revisited time and time again.

We couldn’t let three years go by without a bonus for dedicated poetry lovers. Here’s what we have:

An exclusive discounted offer for each version of this beautiful poetry collection.

After the Rainbow Golden Poems Gold Signature Edition for 14.95 US until February 28, 2025

After the Rainbow: Golden Poems

Johns, Zaneta, Varnado

Buy Now

After the Rainbow Golden Poems for 10.95 US

After the Rainbow: Golden Poems

Johns, Zaneta, Varnado

Buy Now

art, books, poetry

Where Poetry Meets Art

January 16, 2025January 16, 2025 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

Have you picked up your copy of End of Earth? We love to hear what you think. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated. End of Earth

Here are some reviews that have been posted:

Peter Mladinic

5.0 out of 5 stars The Stars Will Remember

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2024

Perhaps in a future ions away, the stars will remember life on earth, the life of planets, animals, and humans, which is precisely what Nolcha Fox is writing about in End of Earth, a document of that life in poetic lines about people, places, and things in her past and present. Her poems, each of them, are complimented by Mike Armstrong’s paintings,
that are vivid, abstract, and evoke impressions suited to the particular mood of each poem. In her point of view, sensibilities, and brevity, Fox is our contemporary Emily Dickinson, and very much herself, her own person.

B. Leonhard

5.0 out of 5 stars a stunning collaboration of art and poetry

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The free verse poems speak of grief and loss. The abstract art is just as soulful. I highly recommend the book!

G. Magrini

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exemplar on Collaboration That Includes Beauty and Poetry

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2024

Nolcha Fox has always been a sharp and intuitive writer, using serrated incisions of the word to establish truth, humor, and other weapons of choice to create her perfect reality, or to showcase the diseased realities we prefer not to see. Her collaboration with Mike Armstrong is a stroke of genius, as his images perfectly enhance Nolcha’ s poetry, or is it the other way around? It is this dissonance which I am thrilled to experience through End of Earth!

Munmun Samanta

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar fusion of art and poetry

Reviewed in India on 12 December 2024

In this eclectic collection “End of Earth” by Nolcha Fox and Mike Armstrong, you will enjoy the ceremony of words and images in perfect harmony. Nolcha Fox’s pen matches perfectly with Mike Armstrong’s brush strokes to explore the nuanced landscape of human emotions. I like to recommend this book to all the book lovers specifically to those who love to relish the vibrancy of life most poetically. Though one can read the book in a single sitting, each poem demands engagement, reflection, and the courage to face the brutal truth. These free verses celebrate variegated emotions and interplay of imagery. Cynicism catches the image of vultures waiting to feast on the carcasses. At the backdrop of a citrus sunset, someone preserves the warmth of love in sharing an orange, half. Sun emerges like a bulky woman kissing the mountains. Unrequited love is represented by a red poppy flower aimed as a bullet to the soulless shell that bounces it off. Fox’s poetry is like fragments of images, poignant glimpses of human existence, uncomfortable yet honest. If you are ready to assemble those fragments of expression and fill the silence between what is said and left unsaid, then this book is for you. Read this book as a challenge, as a puzzle, as a brazen explosion of human vulnerability.

Announcements, Book Announcements, poetry

ANNOUNCEMENT! Joni Karen Caggiano’s deeply rich poetry book, “One Petal at a Time,” is available.

April 12, 2024 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

One Petal at a Time is A Journey of Healing and Resilience

In “One Petal at a Time,” Joni Caggiano invites readers into the raw and poignant landscape of her journey as an Adult Child of Alcoholics. Joni’s story is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the ability to find hope amidst adversity.

Growing up in an environment marked by mental and physical abuse, Joni learned early on to navigate the treacherous waters of uncertainty. In a world filled with constant threats, she resorted to humor as a means of survival, using laughter to protect herself from the impending darkness.

However, behind the mask of laughter is a soul overwhelmed by fear and lack of confidence. Joni is caught in a cycle of dogmatism and low self-esteem, making it difficult for her to find her place in a world that constantly undermines her.

As she grapples with the demons of her past, Joni learns to embrace vulnerability as a path to healing. Through introspection and self-discovery, she untangles the knots of her trauma, one petal at a time.

“One Petal at a Time” is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of self-love. Joni’s journey in “One Petal at a Time” serves as a reminder to readers that healing is possible, even in the darkest of times, and that every step forward is a victory worth celebrating.

Endorsed by Claudia Black, PhD – Pioneer in the study of dysfunctional family systems shaped by alcohol and addictive disorders.

Expressed with such raw emotion and honesty, this is an incredibly powerful book for any reader, but if you grew up in a family impacted by substance addiction, you will identify with the pain in childhood and the joy that comes with the author’s healing and recovery.

Claudia Black Ph.D., author of It Will Never Happen to Me, and Unspoken Legacy

Joni Karen Caggiano is an internationally published author, poet, and photographer. She was a 2022 Pushcart Nominee for her poem, “Old News is Not Old News,” published by The Short of It Publishing. She was privileged to write the Foreword for the Best Seller, I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark, by the five-time Amazon Best-Selling Author Michelle Ayon Navajas. On SpillWords Press NYC, Joni won Publication of the Month in November 2022 and Co-Winner of Socialite of the Year 2023 and 2024. Joni was a Co-Author of both #1 Amazon Bestselling books, Hidden In Childhood and Wounds I Healed. She is also in seven additional Poetry Anthologies. Her first book of poetry, Joni, is also proud to be included in the poetry anthology, A Safe and Brave Space, published by Garden of Neuro Publishing (2024). She is currently a writer for Hotel Masticadores. Joni formerly contributed four combined pieces a month for one year to MasticadoresIndia and MasticadoresUSA. Joni is a retired nurse, ACOA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) survivor, and environmental advocate.

Follow Joni:

the-inner-child.com

Twitter: @theinnerchild1

Instagram: @jonicaggiano

Purchase your copy: Amazon