I was delighted and honoured when approached by Lisette Brodey, from across the pond, inviting me to take part in an interview on her blog Writers’ Chateau.
Lisette asked me lots of interesting questions, for instance: “Are you an early bird writer or night owl? And do you have any must haves like coffee, chocolates, wine, music or something else?”
To find out my answer to the above question and see the rest of the interview pop over to Writers’ Chateau HERE
I hope you enjoy the interview.
Please join me in congratuling Kyla Houbolt on the release of Surviving Death published by The Broken Spine. Read on to find out more about this new release.
Kyla Houbolt
Dive deep into the Kyla Houbolt’s Surviving Death as she sketches with her words. You’ll find yourself on a journey, each poem a window into raw emotions, from the haunting beauty of fading memories to the vivid heartbeat of nature.
“Before She Died” is a gentle embrace of life’s twilight, where ‘white egrets’, ‘flowers’, and ‘great beasts’ become a dance of reality, memory, and dreams. Then, in “It’s Late and Now”, you feel the yearning of younger days, the soft touch of “young firm flesh”, contrasted with the wisdom and acceptance that years bring. It’s like catching a glimpse of a younger self in the mirror and smiling in recognition.
Now, “Apropos the Latest” and “Fruit” – ah, here’s where Kyla’s playful side shines! The first, a cheeky nod to our everyday ‘sins’, while “Fruit” draws you into the very roots of existence, making you taste a mango as if it held stories of ages past.
With “Love Me Some Coyote” and its sister poem, Houbolt introduces the timeless Coyote – that mischievous spirit woven into indigenous tales. This creature straddles our world and something more ancient, reminding us of nature’s fierce grace.
The raw honesty of “Another Death Poem” and “Assistance” hits hard. They’re fearless dives into mortality and life’s toughest choices. You can almost feel the weight of each word, the courage it takes to pen them down.
Ever felt overwhelmed by the rush of modern life? “The Blur of It” and “Be That As it May” voice that very feeling. They’re like shared sighs over a cup of coffee, acknowledging the chaos but also finding strength in it.
“Abidance” is a still moment, a meditation on nature’s serene constancy amidst our human whirlwinds. And “Imagine That”? It’s pure magic, pushing the boundaries of what’s real and what could be.
In essence, Kyla Houbolt’s work isn’t just a collection of poems—it’s a universe. Her voice pulls you in, making you a part of her musings, her dreams, and her reflections. It’s an intimate dance of words that resonate deeply, celebrating the wonder, pain, and beauty of the human journey.
Kyla Houbolt has been writing poems all her life, and began publishing in 2019. Her first chapbook, Dawn’s Fool, was published by Ice Floe press, and her second, Tuned, by CCCP Chapbooks + Subpress. Surviving Death is her third. but then I thought will be her fourth and is forthcoming from Above/ground Press. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Sublunary Review, Barren, Janus, Juke Joint, Moist, Neologism, Ghost City Review, and Stone Circle Review.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome back my very dear friend and talented author, Joy Wood, to Patricia’s Pen. This visit Joy is celebrating her newly launched novel Dead Pretty. Without further ado, it’s over to Joy.
Joy Wood
I’m absolutely delighted to share my new release, Dead Pretty. This book is close to my heart as I actually started my nurse training at the wonderful Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Hospital in the 1970s – sadly it’s now a housing estate. The 70s are a nostalgic memory to many of us (pay phones, The Little Chef on the motorway, and sending our photograph films off to Truprint) – I’m sure the memories are flooding back for you all.
BUY
I’ve tried to recreate the excitement, the hard work, and trials and tribulations of student life in the nurses’ home with a matron who made sure everything was in order as we were only seventeen. Fortunately, she had no idea what we got up to . . . or maybe she did, who knows?
The characters and narrative only exist in my head, however, when writing the story, I’ve tried to recreate the hospital in its entirety, although I have had to use a bit of creative licence as I’m fairly certain there wasn’t a murderer stalking the corridors – not while I was there, anyway.
As always, I’m raising the flag for the many independent authors amongst us. Without the generous support that I receive, I certainly wouldn’t be able to produce a book each year as I do.
Thank you so much Patricia for inviting me onto you blog to discuss my new release, Dead Pretty – that is so kind of you. I know I speak for many authors (and poets) in extending our gratitude. You are a wonderful support to us all – we are fortunate to have you.
If you’re not yet convinced to order Joy’s book, let me tempt you with this fabulous teaser.
PROLOGUE:1977
Killing was a desire that saturated every minute of his waking day. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he fantasised about vibrant, young female flesh trapped within his deadly hands as he tightened his grip around her milky white neck and strangled the final breath out of her. It was an evil, depraved craving, he knew that, but nevertheless, it overwhelmed him. There wasn’t even a hint of trepidation; right now a last kill was as vital to him as water. But the burning question he couldn’t answer was – would he be able to stop at one girl? Especially now he had a death sentence hanging over him.
There was a certain irony that he was in a perfect place to find a victim. A smirk twitched at his lips as he ran his hand along the windowsill of the old sash window, desperately in need of a coat of paint judging by the flaky chippings dropping onto the burgundy carpet. The heavy embossed dark brown curtains shielded him as he peered outside. It was a crisp autumn day, mild for the time of year and his heart rate quickened watching the new intake of excited students as they arrived to embark on a two-year nurse training course at the cottage hospital nestled in the woods.
A new entrant letter would be in each room instructing the students to meet at 6pm in the communal lounge of North House where they’d be told the rules they must adhere to while residing there. Nothing too onerous – it was essential that the nurses weren’t overwhelmed, forcing them to quit. Not when they were the workforce of the future. They’d have to listen to the instructions about quietness, respecting fellow students, keeping the communal kitchen and bathrooms tidy, and using the in/out notice board so that in the event of a fire, they could ascertain who was inside the building. Most would stick to the rules religiously, while others would bend them accordingly. He’d seen it all before . . . many times. And he hated them all. He hated their youth, their eagerness, and their couldn’t care less attitude. Professional training would undoubtedly ensure their lives would change. He knew categorically that for one of them it would. And the reason he knew was because he was going to extinguish it.
The task ahead now was to pick which one . . .
Joy Wood is an independent author living in the quant seaside town of Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire. She has written eight books which sell in a local shop and on Amazon. Her first four books were romantic fiction with a crime element; her more recent books are psychological thrillers. She is a registered public speaker and delivers a talk about how she made the transition from nurse to writer (From Bedpan to Pen) in and around Lincolnshire. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys travel and dreams of coming across someone in a foreign destination reading one of her books.
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Join me in congratulating Lisette Brodey on her latest publication, TWICE A BROKEN BREATH. Check out the gorgeous cover!
She stole his world. He’s got twenty-four hours to get it back.
Although Liam Tallamore can’t remember the first fourteen years of his life, he’s built a happy home with his wife, Carly, and their two children in suburban New Jersey … until one Friday afternoon when everything changes.
While cashing his paycheck, he’s told his bank accounts have been emptied. Once at home, he learns Carly has left him for her first love—one he never knew existed. Most devastating of all, she’s taken their eight-year-old daughter, Rayelle, and is preparing to leave the country. As if things couldn’t get worse, he has no idea where their twenty-year-old son is or why he’s been unreachable for the past two months.
With total distrust in law enforcement and no clues to guide him, Liam hops on a train to New York City, Carly’s hometown. Through the next twenty-four hours, Liam goes on a wild, unforgiving, frantic search through rain-soaked Manhattan, experiencing the brightest and the darkest humanity has to offer. This is the story of a man who refuses to quit, determined to find “a needle in a haystack,” and who, in searching for the children he loves, doesn’t yet realize he’s searching for himself as well.
Lisette was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. She spent ten years in New York City, and now resides in Los Angeles.
She’s a multigenre author of thirteen novels, writing character-driven stories about flawed people. Having worked in the entertainment industry off and on throughout her life, she has been member of SAG-AFTRA since 2012 and works occasionally as a background actor.
Find out more about Lisette Brodey and her books on the following links.
I’m delighted to welcome poet, Zoë Sîobhan Howarth-Lowe, to Patricia’s Pen. Zoë has come along to blog about her writing which includes her competition winner with The Hedgehog Poetry Press What An Amazing Place We’ve Been To. Without further ado, it’s over to Zoë.
Zoë Sîobhan Howarth-Lowe
I started writing when I was five. My very first poem (or so I am told by various family members) was:
Roses are red, Violets are blue, and an Apple is covered in Snow.
It was my love of words, how they tasted in my mouth and spun off the page, which led me to become a voracious reader. My earliest influences and favourites include Spike Milligan, C S Lewis, Richard Adams and Enid Blyton. I loved creating my own stories and worlds, especially ones filled with magic and fantasy.
Writing poetry became a daily occurrence for me when I was at high school. It was here that I fell in love with Emily Dickinson, Benjamin Zephaniah and Shakespeare. At college my French teacher introduced me to Jacques Prevert and I was challenged to translate some of his poetry as part of my coursework. When it was time to choose my degree subject it had to be creative writing.
I was incredibly lucky to have my first pamphlet published after winning a contest at Half Moon Books. I am sad they are no longer around but so thankful they set me on the way to find homes for more of my books with some amazing publishers.
Love is the way bark grows is a book of love poetry, not just romantic love but all kinds of love, familial, broken, friendship and even obsessive, dysfunctional love. My second book is a book of motherhood poetry. Inspired by my own children as well as all the children of my extended family.
Pocket Full of Stones is my full collection. I knew I wanted to become an indigo dreamer poet the first time I discovered their books. I still am in disbelief that my book was accepted by them! Pocket Full of Stones is a collection of poems about being the weird girl, a collection of dreams and of nightmares. It draws inspiration from all of the moments that went into becoming myself, the difficult thoughts and overwhelming feelings, that when gathered together could weigh one down, like a collection of stones in my pocket.
My newest title, What An Amazing Place We’ve Been To, is a poetry conversation inspired by a poem my son wrote when he was six. I decided to write a response to each of his stanzas and love that The Hedgehog Poetry Press selected our little book as one of the conversation winners. It arrived just in time for my son to gift a copy to his teachers when he left primary school this summer. We’re hoping to do a book launch together very soon.
Zoë Sîobhan Howarth-Lowe is a Poet & Mum from Dukinfield. She has an MA from Bath Spa University. Zoë has four publications, a full collection: ‘Pocket Full of Stones’ with Indigo Dreams Press and three pamphlets: ‘Love is the way bark grows’ (Half Moon Books), ‘I have grown two hearts’ & a collaboration with her young son – ‘What an amazing place we’ve been too’ (both with Hedgehog Poetry Press).
Zoë’s work has appeared in many anthologies and journals & She enjoys attending spoken word events as often as Motherhood allows her.
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Zoë’s books can be ordered via her website.
Please join me in congratulating Sídhe Press and its team on the launch of this wonderful anthology, Glisk and Glimmer: Poems About Light.
The idea for this collection was inspired by Larissa Reid’s gorgeous poem Glisk.
You can find out more about Larissa Reid’s writing HERE
Paperback copies of Glisk and Glimmer can be ordered HERE
Or Email
contact@sidhe-press.eu
to request a pdf version.
Sídhe Press are holding a launch evening via Zoom on Thursday 21st September 2023. To order your FREE ticket go HERE
I’m delighted to welcome poet, Elizabeth Barton, all the way from New Zealand to Patricia’s Pen. This timely feature also corresponds with the launch of her gorgeous poetry pamphlet, Mirrored Time, which was released on September 1st by the awesome Hedgehog Poetry Press.
Elizabeth Barton
Writing is a perilous act. As someone who used to do scary things for a living (I was a professional pilot for 12 years), I quickly became comfortable with it. For example, one of my first poems, published by the wonderful Spillwords Press, appeared on Twitter. As a reward for the publisher’s generosity, I was trolled to hell by a woman who obviously enjoyed getting high on marijuana and then sat at her keyboard to spill her own. The temptation to hang her out to dry was almost too great, but I stayed my hand and redirected my energy into writing a poem, like redirecting a raging wier through a sluice. The poem, Trolls, eventually featured in Amphora. Our Own Mythologies. It is now fittingly part of my rebellious pamphlet All Revolutions Begin This Way.
I never had any formal training in literature – no MA in Creative Writing or any writing course – other than a solid basic education at primary school in New Zealand with emphasis on reading, writing and ‘rithmetic. State schools in New Zealand were reckoned to be the best in the world at that time. Creative writing was emphasised and I still remember all the poems read to us by teachers at school. At college, a teacher encouraged my forays into poetry at the time – I was 15. But I went on to study fine art and threw myself into an arts career. But somewhere writing stirred.
I don’t know how it happened, other than I woke up one morning and knew I was a poet. It was in 2018, not long after my mother had died. She lived to almost 102! Apparently, this occurrence is common, especially among women of letters. It’s as if it’s some Goddess archetype is at work, a rite de passage.
I love poetry performance. I’m an incredibly introverted soul – I scored 67% on the Briggs-Myers scale for introversion! But poetry and a stage to strut upon is like lightning and glycerine to me. On I go and poom! One result of the poom! effect was winning a poetry performance gig on National Poetry Day in 2019. A more recent effect was silencing a rowdy pub full of Waikato farmers at an Open Mic event when I read my poem The Miner’s Triumph.
View the poem on Youtube HERE.
The Miner’s Triumph features in my latest collection Mirrored Time and is one of my personal favourites.
Much of my poetry concerns the love of nature – and time, self and memory, as one reviewer aptly put it.
Elizabeth Barton is an artist and poet from New Zealand whose work is featured in numerous Journals, including Spillwords.com, Fevers of the Mind, Pink Plastic House, Hyacinth Review, Vita Brevis Press Nothing Divine Dies: the Poetry of Nature, and Literary Revelations Hidden in Childhood. She was a longlisted poet for the 2022 Dai Fry Mystical Poetry Competition, with work included in the anthology. Joint winner of the 2020 White Label Cinq Poetry Competition, her collection Mirrored Time, is published by Hedgehog Poetry Press. Her art is in private and public collections worldwide, including the Prints Collection in the V & A Museum, London.
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I’m delighted to welcome poet, Ellie Rees, to Patricia’s Pen for the first time, and in particular because she has just launched her poetry collection Modest Raptures with The Broken Spine. Ellie has come along to blog about her writing so without further ado, it’s over to Ellie.
Ellie Rees
The compulsion to write, to seize and freeze a moment, was already there when I bought LETTS Desk Diary 1963 (pictured below.) I wanted to capture in prose – photograph with words – what I called my ‘magic’ days, those intense adolescent ‘highs’. This habit persisted beyond my Adrian Mole period but if I open one of my journals from ten or even thirty years ago I am startled by how close they are in content, technique, even mood, to the poems I am writing now.
There is one obvious difference though. Before I studied for an MA in Creative Writing it never occurred to me that I could, or would want to create poetry of my own. Poetry was something written by someone else to be read for pleasure, or studied, or taught.
For many years I taught poetry to teenagers from all over the world who were studying for the International Baccalaureate. I still remember the time I issued a collection of Emily Dickinson’s poetry to a class of students who had never heard of her. There was silence at first as they opened their books and then just the sound of their sharp intakes of breath. That was magic – a different sort of magic from my younger days but one that made me decide to write my own.
My first collection, Ticking was published in 2021 by Hedgehog Poetry Press. It is a deep-mapping of a small stretch of the South Wales coastline and is structured as a walk. My second book is different. Modest Raptures is designed to slip into a pocket, to be dipped into. From the Twelfth Night after one Christmas to the ‘findings’ discovered on a visit twelve months later, a year is explored.
There are dancing pigeons, skylarks and sea gulls and a woodpecker suffering from concussion. Time is measured in swallows, while we listen with rapture to the modest song of a thrush at twilight.
There are secretive yew trees, trees that sing, an ash tree disguised as an oak, lines of trees, fallen trees, those that can hum hymns and the ones on the horizon that measure the sun’s royal progress.
The sun and its seasons affect almost every poem whether it is ‘blaring sunlight’ or ‘low and unremarkable’. There are ‘days when it hardly ever gets light’ or times when it ‘shatters leaves like glass’.
At the end of the year, forced indoors once more, modest raptures can still be felt.
Ellie Rees is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet who lives on the coast of South Wales. She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing from Swansea University. Ellie writes across many genres including creative non-fiction, memoir and poetry. Her work is published in journals such as The New Welsh Review, Poetry Wales, The Lonely Crowd, Black Bough Poetry and The Broken Spine.
Her first collection of poetry, ‘Ticking’ won Hedgehog Poetry’s Selected or Neglected competition in 2020 and was published in 2021. Her second book. ‘Modest Raptures’ won The Broken Spine’s inaugural Chap Book Competition in 2022. It will be published in September 2023.
Links
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Please join me in congratulating fellow Hedgehog Poetry Press poet, Julie Stevens, on the launch of her new poetry collection, Step into the Dark.
Step into the Dark ventures inside the mind and finds the unimaginable truth. It will show you the true impact of being disabled, whilst bringing a message of care, hope and success for everybody.
Here’s a sneak preview from Step into the Dark
Julie Stevens writes poems that cover many themes, but often engages with the problems of disability. She is widely published in places such as Ink Sweat & Tears, Broken Sleep Books, The Honest Ulsterman, Strix and Indigo Dreams Publishing. She has 3 published pamphlets: Step into the Dark (July 2023), a Stickleback Balancing Act (June 2021) both with The Hedgehog Poetry Press and a chapbook Quicksand (Dreich, Sept 2020).
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‘Patricia’s Pen’ is taking a summer break from Guest and Launch Features but will be back on August 29th with poet Ellie Rees – a guest and launch feature for her new poetry collection.
It gives me great delight to welcome poet, Samantha Terrell, back to Patricia’s Pen. This visit Samantha blogs about her writing journey. Without further ado, it’s over to Samantha.
Samantha Terrell
Thank you very much for your interest in my poetry. I’m honored and humbled by the gracious support of my readers and fellow writers.
To tell a bit about myself, writing has been the one hobby I’ve consistently enjoyed for as long as I can remember. I excelled at creative writing in school, but I also have a heart for social justice. So in university, I earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sociology and began working in human services. However, I never stopped writing in my free time. Merging my passions was a natural fit, which is why I say my poetry emphasizes self-awareness as a means to social awareness. Eventually, with my husband’s support, I began to pursue my writing career in earnest.
When I began submitting manuscripts over twenty years ago, finding open calls and sending off submissions was a paper process. As we all did at the time, I’d look for opportunities in magazines, mail off my work with an SASE, and wait. It ended up feeling like a lot of wasted stamps! But, of course, the internet opened up a whole new world.
Today – between access to a multitude of journals and lit mags, a streamlined online submissions process, social media, writers’ forums, and Zoom readings – there’s an abundance of resources and opportunities, creating a truly international writing community. This year I started a Featured Poets Series on my website, spotlighting some of the amazing writers I’ve come to know through these online avenues.
I’m eternally grateful for the connections I’ve made, and the many publications which have given my work a home. In 2020, I was offered my first book contract, by Potter’s Grove Press (USA). My poem ‘Just Justice’ was shortlisted for the Poets For Human Rights Awards organized by Poets Without Borders. And, my newest collection, Confronting the Elements (JC STUDIO Press), is my second collaboration with Scottish artist/publisher Jane Cornwell.
Meanwhile, social issues are a recurring theme in my work, and my family and I continue to support human rights issues at home and abroad. Proceeds from my eBooks, Our Neighbors’ Keepers (2022) and Silhouettes (2019), are donated to philanthropic endeavors including affordable housing, food security, medical access, legal aid, and the literary arts.
Thanks, too, Patricia, for this opportunity to share my journey!
Samantha Terrell is an internationally published poet whose books have received five-star reviews and accolades from her peers. Her poetry emphasizes self-awareness as a means to social awareness and can be found in: Dissident Voice, Dove Tales, Green Ink Poetry, In Parentheses, Misfit Magazine, Nine Cloud Journal, Paddler Press, Poetry Quarterly, Red Weather, and many other fine publications. Terrell is a wife, mother, and former manager in the nonprofit sector who writes from her home in upstate New York.
For more information about Samantha and/or to purchase her books, or read the Featured Poet Series, please visit Samantha’s website HERE.
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Patricia M Osborne 