Dan’s Thursday Doors Writing Challenge has closed, but I wanted to write for Resa’s picture below, so I’ve combined the sunrise and photograph challenges into a single poem.
Picture caption: Cover for Saturn’s Favorite Music featuring a microphone and an old fashioned control box.
What Amazon says
It’s the summer of 1992. Clara Jane is an alternative music-loving graduate from a broadcast school in Detroit. She lands her first job at a small market station in northern Michigan in a one-stoplight town called Saturn.
The hyper-local programming (featuring lost farm animal reports and radio obits) and its mix of light hits and great oldies is a far cry from the rock star glamour she hoped to achieve with a radio career.
But Clara finds a home with an eccentric cast of characters, especially the recently-divorced morning man Seth Jones. As Clara and Seth bond over their shared sense of humor and a mutual love of different genres of music, the station is sold and staff members start to be replaced by automation. Will Clara find the radio stardom she craves before the station goes completely robotic?
My review
Picture caption: Banner for Rosie’s Book Review Team featuring a rose unfurling
I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.
I must say upfront that I really appreciated the time and setting of this book. I enjoyed learning about how a radio station, and the DJ’s who worked at them, operated during the early 1990s which was when I was listening to radio stations and top music hits the most. I also appreciated the insights into life for a female DJ at a time when women were just starting to come into that market. The commentary around the ‘boss’ expectations of what a working woman should look like and how she should dress took me right back in time to when I first started working in 1997. There was no equality between men and women in the workplace, and it’s still difficult in many countries and work situations.
The intricate details about the working of the equipment, the chats and impromptu conversations between the morning team, and the selection of music for the audience was all fascinating to me. And then there were the characters.
Carla is a young woman who has pushed back against her parents’ expectations for her and followed her own path. She is on a journey of discovery and soon learns that many obstacles are placed in the path of working women in male dominated jobs. The exploitation of Carla and her ambitions by the new boss were frustrating, sad, and very relatable. Carla, of course, needs to learn what life is all about and she makes a judgement error that almost leads to disaster. Walking Carla’s path of discovery reminded me of my own and I found it riveting. This is not a thriller or an adventure, it is a coming-of-age story with a romance element.
Seth is an appealing character, dreamy and fun, but also idealistic, unrealistic, and recovering from a failed and disappointing relationship. I found myself routing from him throughout this slow burn romance. Rad is the opposite of Seth, ambitious, self-absorbed and competitive, he doesn’t come across particularly well, but he is on his own coming-of-age journey and improves dramatically over time as he too starts learning about change and needing to constantly evolve as a career person.
In summary, a most entertaining and interesting book that shares much about life as a DJ in the USA in the early 1990s and which is populated with relatable and interesting characters.
Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge closes today. With these two final entries, I have written twelves poems for twelve different contributions. Today’s photographs were contributed by, in order, Miriam Hurdle and Teagan Riordain Geneviene.
Thank you to Dan and all the photograph contributors for making this such a wonderful challenge.
Punam’s challenge for Poetics Tuesday is: For today’s poetics challenge, I would like you to write a poem about any pivotal moment in your life that left you with gnawing regrets or you could cover the entire gamut from anger to forgiveness and reconciliation. In short, you will be writing about a krisis in your personal life. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/05/27/poetics-tuesday-regrets-and-more/
Those of you who follow my Facebook know I’ve been entering a number of photography challenges recently. I like them as I’m learning a lot from viewing the entries and winning pictures. There are thousands of photographs entered for each competition. I have achieved several Merit awards for photographs and this week I managed to achieve four Commended’s which are one up from Merit’s. I am pleased and these are the four Commended pictures:
Picture caption: The Marico River in NorthWestPicture caption: The White Umfolozi River in KwaZulu NatalPicture caption: The Sand River in MpumalangaPicture caption: River at Monk’s Cowl in the Drakensberg Mountains
It’s been a crazy day. TC’s having some tests in hospital and the admittance took hours and hours (okay five hours but my goodness!). And then, there is work …
On a much happier and more interesting note, here is my review for book 3, A Peril in the Vines, of Teagan Geneviene’s fantastic A Medium’s Peril series.
1920s psychic medium, Daphne Moultrie and her friends Clover and Phineas visit a small Louisiana town where they encounter strange events that center on an Armenian refugee girl. Psychic visions, ancient mystical forces, and Romani myths collide with the lust for power as the friends try to avert catastrophe. . Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene’s 1920s paranormal series, A Medium’s Peril continues with the novella, A Peril in the Vines. In the quaint village of Joumou Hills, not too far from New Orleans, Daphne, Clover, and Phineas encounter a chilling mystery. There, Daphne believes she will also find the answer to a gruesome vision she had in New Orleans. At a lavish party, a historian describes a massacre that matches her vision. Did a young girl cause such devastation? At their cottage, vines move of their own accord. A handsome but intense doctor may be up to no good. Does evil lurk in darkness? Does it come as a shining light? Or is it hidden in the vines?
My review
This book can be read on a standalone basis with few references to the previous book in the series except for the fact that Daphne and her friends are visiting an annual pumpkin festival held in a small town in Louisiana as part of their recovery from their previous adventure in book 2.
This story kicks off quickly a prologue set in December, 1914 that introduces a new character called Lousaper. This young girl witnesses the deaths of both her gypsy parents by strange, gun bearing men.
The book then moves to the present day where Daphne is having an awful nightmare vision that involves creeping vines and pumpkins that turn into fearsome Jack-o-lanterns. This nightmare appears to set off a series of seemingly random mentions of pumpkins that culminates in the foursome travelling to Louisiana to attend the annual pumpkin festival. When the group arrive at their booked accommodation, Daphne discovered that the guest house had once hosted a group of refugees during the Armenian genocide. As more information about the refugees gradually unfolds, the link between Lousaper, the pumpkins, and Daphne’s nightmare vision becomes apparent, leading to some interesting and frightening events.
Daphne is always an interesting character, and I enjoy her sharp mind and keen eye for details. She is the perfect heroine for a supernatural adventure. The character of Clover, a favourite of mine, continues to grow and develop as she learns to overcome her anxiety and self-depreciation. In this story, Clover comes more to the forefront and undertakes some investigatory actions of her own. I enjoyed the details about the world of mystics that were explored during this part of the story.
This is a fast paced and entertaining story with lots of imagination interwoven with well researched historical and mythical information.
When I was a girl of eight years old and my sister, Cath, was five years old, we moved into a new house in a suburb in Cape Town. The house was newly built, so it had no garden whatsoever. My father, a landscaper, took on the project of creating a garden and building a swimming pool in his spare time. To this end, he had a huge pile of sand delivered which was dumped unceremoniously in the front yard. I was thrilled with this sand pile and quickly learned that if I soaked the sand with the hosepipe, I could create castles, houses, tunnels and all sorts of other buildings from wet sand.
My parents befriended the family next door, and this led to my mother inviting them to our house one evening for a braai. A braai is a traditional outdoor meat cooking method in South Africa which makes use of an open wood or charcoal fire and seasoning. South African men all have their own ‘secret’ seasoning and take great pride in producing it at braais to stun all the guests with their culinary expertise. My dad was no exception, and he had a large glass jar of his special recipe, much treasured yellow braai meat seasoning. To me, castle constructor extraordinaire, that yellow powder was gun powder. And so, I borrowed the jar after my father had finished using the seasoning.
That evening, I led my sister and the two neighbouring children in a huge war construction project. Each child had their own castle with a walled moat, a drawbridge, towers, and a dungeon. Each castle also had gunpowder deposits. Large ones, with big staches of yellow gun powder.
My dad didn’t notice the missing jar until the following morning. The lidless and empty jar caught his eye when he was meticulously cleaning his braai. He was livid and demanded to know what I had done with the contents. I did manage to find most of the gun powder deposits in the sand pile. Sadly, however, the gun powder had mixed with the sand and was rendered quite inedible.
one man’s seasoning
is another’s gun powder
imagination
has the power to transform
simple into amazing
Botanical Art Exhibition
On Saturday, I took Michael and his friend to a Botanical Art Exhibition. The art works were watercolours of mainly local flora and were amazingly detailed. It was quite different from the style of watercolours I am learning at the monthly workshops I attend.
Picture caption: The entrance to the art exhibition
The following three photographs are of my favourite art works in the exhibition:
Picture caption: I really liked this African themed mosaic picturePicture caption: This skull on an old book interested me
Today, I have a treat for you. A guest post by C.S. Boyack about his new The Hat book, Rune for the Roses. I love The Hat with its dark humour and fascinating and original creatures, so I’m delighted there is a new book in this series.
Picture caption: Cover of Run for the Roses featuring the blade of a sword, a lovely white hat, and bunches of roses.
Thanks for the invitation to talk to your fans, Robbie. I’m thrilled to tell everyone about Run for the Roses. This is book number eight in my ongoing Hat Series.
This series needs a bit of explaining in that I have specific goals here. I want each story to stand alone. This goal involves anyone being able to pick up a volume without prerequisite reading so they can understand it. If Roses happens to be your first book you should not feel lost.
I want them all to be short novels. I believe there is a void in books that can be read and enjoyed in a single afternoon. Now that the series has some length to it, if someone is inclined they can binge the whole thing if they have that mindset.
These are supposed to be campy, hopefully with sprinkles of humor throughout. Think more like Buffy, Ash Williams, and Bondsman than Exorcist or Elm Street. If this is your style, this could be the series for you.
The premise is that Lizzie and the hat are monster hunters. While remaining independent they have a close affiliation with the Eastern witch’s coven. This time there is a renegade witch who is torturing race horses to manipulate the parimutuel betting odds.
Enter Detlef Klein, the original headless horseman. Turns out he is a horse lover. (Who knew?) Detlef provides the call to action for Lizzie and the hat to stop all this nonsense before Detlef takes matters into his own gauntlets.
Blurb
The Headless Horseman has mellowed over the centuries, somewhat. Who knew that he is a horse lover, and needs Lizzie’s help. An unaffiliated witch is torturing race horses in an effort to skew the parimutuel betting odds.
Can Lizzie and the hat find this renegade witch before one of these beautiful animals gets hurt? Can they do it before Detlef, The Horseman, takes things into his own hands and violates the terms of his magical parole.
It seems like everyone is standing in their way this time, including a team of YouTube ghost hunters and members of the coven itself.
Saddle up for this supernatural ride through the world of Lizzie and the hat.
Goodbye Old Paint is another fabulous romp through the fantasy world of Lizzie and the Hat. Following a devastating flood that damaged many of the businesses in town, Lizzie is very hard up for money. There is just no work around. Lizzie has living expenses to pay and a student loan hanging in the background. The situation is quite desperate so when a couple of government agents appear, who know her recent history as a monster hunter and promise the forgiveness of her debt if she helps them, Lizzie has no option but to take the bait.
Enter the gremlins. I love gremlins. Somehow these horrid little creatures with their big teeth and ability to eat anything have always been my favourite fantasy creature so I was delighted to see them make an appearance. They didn’t let me down, they were just as destructive and horrible as I remembered from the movie entitled Gremlins.
Several characters from the previous six books make an appearance in this one and I was delighted to see Dash and a few witches pop up in helpful rolls. Poor Lizzie, as always, must face some uncomfortable obstacles on her adventure, but she has great friends and the Hat by her side.
The Hat is a glorious feat of imagination and I love that it can transform into a ‘fool’s cap’ and use the points to work a mobile phone. This always delights me.
A marvellous and fun fantasy adventure that will bring some brightness to your day.
Picture caption: Book Launch banner for Poetic Justice
Hi everyone! Today, I have invited Dan Antion and Willow Willers, co-authors of Poetic Justice, A Rascall Todd Mystery with Brody Thompson, to Roberta Writes to talk about some of the fascinating characters populating this book, including the Poet, Trevor, Brody, Rascal, and Bonkers the cat, he’s very popular, or anyone else you would like.
And on to the interview…
Robbie Question: Tell me guys … Apart from Rascal, Terry, and Bonkers the cat how many of the cast of your previous books are present in this book?
Dan Answer: The regular characters from the newspaper are also in this story, particularly Bernie (the Editor) and Kevin Gowerly (the photographer).
Robbie Question: Dan, who are the new characters and are they likely to still be around if another book comes out?
Dan Answer: The two significant new characters are Trevor Barcroft, the murdered man’s son, and Brody Thompson. Brody is a retired police officer from Rochester, New York. After retiring, he began writing true crime dramas and mysteries. Trevor asks him to help solve his father’s murder. Trevor’s mother is also an interesting character.It’s possible that Brody will appear in a future novel. I like working with him.
Robbie Question: Willow, you are new to writing in this series. What do you think of the characters in Dan’s books?
Willow Answer: Robbie, having read all the books including Knuckleheads and the three other books in that series, as well as the previous two books in the Rascal Todd series. I really love the characters and where they live! Writing characters/ people is definitely Dan’s forté. He really brings them all to life and you soon find yourself regarding them as old friends. Did you know there is one character, an FBI agent, Thomas Slocum who has been in the books from the get-go?
Robbie: Question: Willow, do you have a favourite character in Poetic Justice?
Willow Answer: Apart from Bonkers, the cat, I have to say Brody is definitely up there. He’s a dogged and seasoned investigator and he certainly has a great sense of humour. Here is a little snippet that I really like:
“Brody at the hotel in Pittsburgh.
He walked what he considered to be half a mile past an equipment dealer and a trucking terminal before returning to the hotel. It was early enough that he still needed his room key to open the lobby doors. “You’re up early today, Mr. Thompson. ”Brody smiled at the regular morning clerk. “I wanted to get some exercise. “The gym is open twenty-four-seven. “I don’t want to go overboard.””
Oh! And boy does he like coffee.
Arlene too, she’s a really cool character. …she is a real eye opener.
Robbie Question: Dan, do you have any favourite characters and how do they present to you?
Dan Answer: I like Brody Thompson. I expected him to be a minor character, but I came to like working with him and decided that he should be the lead detective. I also like Bernie Bouchard. He’s been around for three books, now, and he helps me navigate some difficult subjects.
Robbie Question: What made you want your informant, for want of a better word, to be a poet? That’s a very novel idea, so why?
Dan Answer: The first poem is a funeral card that Brody discovers at Wilson Barcroft’s grave. Initially, that was going to be an ‘in-your-face’ moment. Wilson’s son, Trevor, didn’t want to go to the grave so finding a clue was important. When Willow sent me the prayer card, I knew that poetry, and the Poet, were going to be important. My plans for the book changed at that point.
Robbie Question: Willow, how did you find the Poet’s voice? Was it hard to get clues across in poetry that would sit well in a prose book?
Willow Answer: After I received Dan’s request to write a few poems for him, I read the background and what was written of the story so far. I wrote what I thought Dan needed. As I was reading it back, believe it or not, I heard a voice in my head saying, “that’s not quite what I want to say.” I listened, and thought, and re-wrote the poems. I liked them, they made sense. I think Dan liked them too. After that, either I became the Poet, or he just spoke to me.
Picture caption: Poetic tribute to the men who died during the Vietnam War
About Poetic Justic
Picture caption: Cover of Poetic Justice featuring a man in a trench coat on a dark street in the rain
Trevor Barcroft is convinced that mystery/true crime author Brody Thompson wrote the scene in which Trevor’s father Wilson Barcroft was murdered. What should be a simple answer to this five-yer-old crime is one that neither the police nor the FBI want to uncover; and one Bernie Bouchard doesn’t want his young investigative reporter, Rascal Todd, digging into. Warned to stay away from the investigation.. Brody and Trevor begin a dangerous quest, led by the musings of a mysterious poet who has been hiding in plain sight for decades. What does the Poet know that keeps him in hiding? What did Wilson Barcroft know that got him killed? Why can’t Brody walk away from a meaningless and dangerous pursuit?
About Dan Antion
Dan is retired from a 42-year-long career in systems development and other technology and began writing his first book the next day. He’s married, the father of one child, and although there are no pets around today, he and his wife have had four Irish Setters and a handful of Tuxedo cats over time. Dan is the author of the Dreamer’s Alliance Series and the Rascal Todd Mysteries. When Dan isn’t writing, you might find him in his woodshop, working around the house, or walking around with a camera. He also might be having a beer with friends and some of those encounters have inspired the fictional bar stories on his popular blog — Https://noFacilities.com.
London born Willow Willers is retired and lives in Berkshire, Southern England. Along with her husband and a steady stream of foster dogs mainly Guide Dogs for the Blind. Willow is mother to three sons all grown and flown and two fast growing grandsons.Writing, poetry and prose have always been her passion in fact she wrote her first pieces before she was eight. After two life changing accidents Willow started writing in earnest and has found it a life saver. You can find willow at willowdot21.wordpress.com
Picture caption: Promo Banner for Poetic Justic featuring a car driving on the street at night, the book cover, and author photographs for both authors.
I have combined these two challenges into my 44-word poem, Mist.
Mist
tiny water droplets
suspended in clouds
above the golden veld
gently embrace
the wild hibiscus
shimmer in rows
along strands of web
the bush is quiet
animals all hiding
deep within thickets
the only sound
splashing of wheels
as the vehicle
squelches through mud
Picture caption: A picture of the wild hibiscus flowers on a rare misty dayPicture caption: A picture of the wild hibiscus and a mist drenched spider webPicture caption: I was excited to get this picture of a black rhino on that misty moisty morning, even though it was from a distance. It is very difficult to find black rhinos. They are endangered and they also hide. Black rhinos have a much bigger dip in their backs than white rhinos as well as being smaller and darker in colour. Their lip is also pointed because their diet is different to white rhinos. Black rhinos live among trees while white rhinos are plains grazers.
roberta-writes.com 