In the long…
Kindness counts… ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
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Have an Amazing Mother’s Day!
Wishing everyone a beautiful and blessed Mother’s Day! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator
Author Bio
Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies (milkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).
Stevens’s children’s book, THE TANGRAM ZOO and WORD PUZZLES TOO! was first published in 1997 by Windswept House Publishing, Mt. Desert, ME; a second edition was self-published by the author in 2012. AMAZING MATILDA , Stevens’s second children’s book, self-published in 2012 won a 2013 Purple Dragonfly Book Award (Honorable Mention for Excellence in Children’s Literature – Ages 6 and older category) and also placed #9 on The 2013 Gittle List for Self-published Children’s Picture Books. Stevens has written articles for ECHOES, The Northern Maine Journal of Rural Culture based in Caribou, Maine. In 2013, the author published her first book for the YA/Adult audience: PURE TRASH, a short story of a boy growing up in rural New England in a family whose poverty and alcoholism mark him as a target for bullying by young and old alike. This short story is a prequel to Stevens’s début novel DOG BONE SOUP—coming of age story and family drama set in 1950s and 60s rural New England.
Find out more about Maine author/illustrator Bette A. Stevens and her books:
[Explore Bette’s Blog]
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Thought for Today
Compassion in life is a beautiful thing… ~Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com
We need each other as we need the earth we share.
HAPPY EARTH DAY every day! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
“We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.”
~ Maya Angelou
Text & image source: Harmony https://web.facebook.com/Harmony-578149188866564/
Write a Spring Haiku & Get the Kids Writing Too!
Celebrating International Haiku Poetry Day!
As I wandered out into the garden with my trusty camera early this morning, much to my surprise, an icy blanket at the edge of the rock garden had melted and a family of opening jonquils greeted me with their smiles. Being the first blooms of the season, they simply made my day and inspired me to write “A Spring Concerto,” a haiku (Japanese-inspired, non-rhyming three-line: 5-7-5 syllable poem).
A Spring Concerto
HAIKU by Bette A. Stevens
Jonquils awaken
Shaking their heads in wonder
A spring concerto
Personally, I love designing posters to go with my poems and often use photos I have taken. As a former teacher (now retired) in grades four through eight, I know that kids of all ages love writing poetry and they enjoy illustrating their poems too. It’s simple and it’s so much fun to tell a story in the three short lines of Haiku. Of course, you can write as many stanzas as you wish. Today’s a perfect day for you to give it a try.
Get out your pen, get outdoors in nature, get inspired…and get the kids writing haiku too!
~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator
(Haiku: m)
haiku
plural
haiku
Discover more about how to write haiku and other poetry:
- More tips for children and adults from Bette A. Stevens on writing poetry https://4writersandreaders.com/2016/10/19/have-fun-writing-haiku-get-the-kids-writing-too/
- Visit Reference.Com
Find out more about International Haiku Poetry Day
[Explore Bette’s Blog]
Sending lots of love your way
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Powerful one-liners . . .
Beautiful! Enjoy… ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
“A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.”
~ Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.”
~ Irish Blessing
“At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Every hour of every day is an unspeakably perfect miracle.”
~ Walt Whitman
~ Image by Selda Schretzmann
Texts & image source: The Garden Of Pensiveness https://web.facebook.com/The-Garden-Of-Pensiveness-367268523352486/
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“Diversity”: Poem by Bette A. Stevens
Diversity
by Bette A. Stevens
Splendor of countless pigments
In gardens they combine
Echoing grandiose harmony
Serenity you’ll find
And so it is with people
Of every thought and hue
Diversity’s resplendency
Reflecting me and you
[Explore Bette’s Blog]
If you enjoyed this poem by Bette A. Stevens, please share it on your social media sites.
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None of us…
Love is what life’s all about… ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
2017 WRITING CONTEST: Tales2Inspire Celebrates Sixth Year
Get ready to share your story
“So much more than a contest…“
Lois W. Stern announces the opening of Tales2Inspire’s sixth year—with a great little contest for those with an inspiring story to share. But it is so much more than a contest, as winning authors get tons of publicity to help them on their paths to discovery. Free to enter—NO FEES involved.
Stories must be true, with one or more relevant photos submitted to enhance the impact of the story. All details posted at: www.tales2inspire.com/contest, so please refer to this link before you begin.
And since a picture is worth 10,000 words, while you’re there, grab a F*R*E*E e-book sampler of inspiring stories written by previous winners, and now published in one of the six Tales2Inspire® collections.
~ Lois W. Stern
Creator of Tales2Inspire ‘Authors Helping Authors’ Project/Contest
Get the NEW Tales2Inspire E-book 6 Inspiring Stories – FREE
Available formats for KINDLE (Mobi) OR NOOK (e-pub)
Your reviews are most appreciated.
Lois’s links:
- Inspiring Stories blog
- Facebook home page
- Facebook fan page
- LinkedIn profile
- Tales2Inspire YouTube Channel
[Explore Bette’s Blog]
Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author 
Written
on 07/01/2017