Thank you to Michelle Ayon Navajas for hosting Day 1 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons book blog tour.
Category: Uncategorized
Roberta Writes – W3, Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge, Thursday Doors, The Flower Hour
W3 and Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge
Sally’s W3 challenge is to give a nod to another poet. I have based the rhythm and format of my poem on I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth. You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/04/15/w3-prompt-207-weave-written-weekly/
Esther’s word of the week is flower/s. You can join in her challenge here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2026/04/15/writing-prompts-111/
This poem is another contribution to my Paris Diaries Poems.
Chateau de Chenonceau (Loire Valley, France)
A survivor of the French Revolution
Five-arched bridge its saving grace
Not sacked; it survived dissolution
Ladies chateau of flowers and lace
Due to it’s owner’s quick actions
It’s now a major tourist attraction
***
Famous for its facade of white stone
And spectacular gardens with terraces
Diana de Poitiers lived there alone
The first of its female heiresses
She planted flowerbeds, vegetables
And an orchard before the entrance
***
King Henry II favoured his mistress
Causing resentment by his jealous wife
When he died after a short illness
Catherine de Medici changed her life
Evicting Diana from castle and court
Queen Regent her vengeance wrought
***
The chateau received an Italian facelift
And a grand gallery over the bridge
Catherine was a notorious spendthrift
Living a life of splendour and privilege
Installing beautiful historic tapestries
While France fell deeper into anarchy
***
Madame Louise Dupin saved the castle
Nicknamed ‘goddess of beauty and music’
She advocated the bridge’s use for travel
Utilising her popularity and good ethics
In spring, the gardens still flourish
It’s natural beauty the soul does nourish
Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour
For Dan’s Thursday Doors I am showing you the exterior of the Chateau de Chenonceau and the separate tower as well as an outside cottage. You’ll have to wait until next week to see inside. You can join Dan’s Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/16/the-hungarian-room/
For Terri’s The Flower Hour, I’m giving you a peep at the flower displays inside Chateau de Chenonceau. You can join in The Flower Hour here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/04/14/the-flower-hour-26-lucky-flower-shots/
This is Chateau de Chenonceau
Walt Disney used the castle as the inspiration for one of his ‘Princesses’ castles. Can you guess which one?
This is the front door of Chateau de Chenonceau
This is the original tower on the site of Chateau de Chenonceau. Walt Disney used it for one of his movies. Can you guess which movie?
I really liked this cottage covered with flowering whisteria.
Click on the slideshow below to see some of the flower displays inside the chateau.
Roberta Writes – Simple Pleasures: Reading and Eating with Charles F. French on LatinosUSA
Roberta Writes – Read & Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Skeleton Crew by Stephen King and bolognese sauce recipe
Thanks to Kaye Lynne Booth for hosting this post.
Roberta Writes – Book review: Strowg: A Bledbrooke Tale by John F Leonard
What Amazon says
Have you ever got fed up with your job? Changing profession is the obvious answer. Of course, that’s somewhat more difficult when it’s one of those lifestyle jobs.
And infinitely more difficult when your employer is Strowg, an age-old creature of the night.
A long time ago, Charles Hennessy struck a bargain with Strowg. This strange and darkly charming figure had a noble bearing, was clearly wealthy and offered something too tempting to resist.
The keys to immortality.
With hindsight, what a wonderful thing that is, the deal was a rather big mistake. The promise has yet to be fulfilled and being Strowg’s factotum grows more onerous and offensive with each passing year. Worse still, Strowg isn’t the same. The human skin shedding and the creature beneath it is terrifying even for someone acquainted with the diabolical.
They live a nomadic existence in order to satisfy Strowg’s thirst for blood but they need to rest and have come to one of their boltholes. More than that, Hennessy hopes that a spell in Bledbrooke may restore what is lost in Strowg. Because Bledbrooke isn’t like other places. It’s home to an unknowable entity that could swallow Strowg whole and spit out the warped bones.
Hennessy’s life has to change and he’s right insofar as Bledbrooke is where that will happen.
It just may not be how he expects.
My review
I wrote this review as a member of Rosie Amber’s book review team. You can find out more about Rosie’s reviews and review team here: https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.
Strowg is a vampire tale with a twist that I found intriguing and unique. The author demonstrated a thorough knowledge of vampire fiction with his references to how other authors have skewed the perceptions of the public about vampires due to sharing what he refers to as misconceptions like they have no reflections. According to this author, vampires do have substance even if they are filled with the blood of their victims and must, as a result, have a reflection. The author also references Stephen King and states that he better captured the truth about vampires in his works. I assumed the book he is referring to is Salem’s Lot which I have read twice. This information is shared through the thoughts and reflections of the book’s main character, Charles Hennessy, and I found these references memorable and highly amusing. There is also a female cat called Carmilla which brought to mind the book by that name which I also enjoyed and which is also a different take on the traditional vampire tales.
Stowg is vile and evil personified as a physical creature. He is deceitful and has misled and abused his once loyal servant, Charles. It is not surprising that Charles feels resentful and only continues with his duties to Strowg out of fear of the repercussions. These feelings leave Charles ripe for a romantic entanglement as he seeks mental escapism. This is a novella but the characters of Charles and his friend, Ramona, develop nicely and I became quite attached to them in a short space of time. Strowg was not appealing and was easy to despise. Strowg was certainly the epitome of everything that is unpleasant and evil in this world.
The story is entertaining and tinged with dark humour which is a nice change from the usual heavy vampire lore. Lovers of vampire tales will enjoy this different take.
Purchase Strowg: A Bledbrooke Tale from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0G1TWN3R7
Roberta Writes – Reblog: Author Interviews – Meet Elizabeth Gauffreau and a review
Roberta Writes – Simple Pleasures: Reading and Eating – Five-Toed Tigress by T.W. Dittmer and American Hamburgers
Roberta Writes – Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet: An Anthology of Short Stories & Poems (Story Chat Series Book 3) book blog tour
Thank you to curator, Marsha Ingrao, for hosting the Story Chat Digest on her lovely blog, Always Write. You can find out more about Story Chat Digest as well as how to submit your stories and/or poems here: https://alwayswrite.blog/join-story-chat-digest-2026-an-online-writing-community-for-all-authors/.
Story Chat Digest forms the basis of the Story Chat Digest anthology making it a unique and interesting collection.
About Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet: An Anthology of Short Stories & Poems (Story Chat Series Book 3)
Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet An Anthology of Short Stories and Poems
Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet brings together a vibrant collection of short fiction and contemporary poetry from writers across continents. Each piece stands on its own, yet together they form a thoughtful conversation about life’s moments—large and small, joyful and difficult, humorous and reflective.
Within these pages, you’ll encounter stories that linger like candlelit conversations and poems that capture the quiet textures of everyday life. Mystery, memory, family, resilience, faith, and friendship all find their place in this rich and varied collection.
The anthology grew out of the Story Chat community—an international group of writers and readers who share a love of storytelling and the discussions stories inspire. Throughout the book, readers will find Book Club Questions and Story Chat reflections designed to encourage conversation and deeper engagement.
Whether you are reading alone or with friends, this anthology invites you to pause, reflect, and enjoy the power of stories shared across cultures and experiences.
Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet is more than a collection of writing—it is an invitation to join the circle where stories meet, and conversations begin.
Purchase Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet: An Anthology of Short Stories & Poems (Story Chat Series Book 3)
A 5 star review of Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet: An Anthology of Short Stories & Poems (Story Chat Series Book 3)
This is such a cool idea for an anthology: There are stories and poems on a wide variety of subjects. Plus there are discussions about those stories and poems between the authors who wrote them. Readers see the prompts that the authors used, and pieces are grouped around those prompts/themes. Stories are flash length. Poems are free verse or sonnets or narrative or image-rich. It’s all good stuff.
My favorites were pieces that got me thinking about life and my relationships, starting with “Countdown” by Grant P. Ferguson. What would you do differently if you knew how long you had left to live? If you knew how long someone else had left to live, would you tell them? Tough questions. That’s what Ferguson’s protagonist had to deal with.
In “A Slight Delay” by Philip Cumberland, Samantha and her younger brother encounter a dangerous situation which got me wondering what I’d do in her shoes.
I enjoyed the poem “My Brother’s Soul” by Richard Daniels because it made me stop and ponder the nature of human souls.
The older I get, the more I think about aging, and Cathy Cade’s story, “As Old as We Feel” drove that point home. May our society respect and treat our elders kindly! (It was the perfect story for the section in the anthology of Quiet Endings.)
I could go on, but just know it’s a unique anthology with many different voices from around the world, giving readers different perspectives and different things to think about.
About Marsha Ingrao
Marsha Ingrao is the founder and online host of the Story Chat community and the compilation editor of the Story Chat series. A lifelong educator, she continues to foster global literary conversation through blogging, collaborative anthologies, and virtual gatherings.
After retiring from public education, she expanded her work into writing, photography, and publishing. She believes strongly in lifelong learning and the power of shared storytelling to build connections across cultures.
Blog:www.alwayswrite.blog
roberta-writes.com 