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MY MAINE “Winter Tales” (Haiku selections) from Bette A. Stevens’s WIP


This upcoming collection of haiku reflects the Maine I know and love. Here is a sampling of several stanzas from the section Winter Tales. I hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. I plan to edit and format the collection during the holiday season, and hope to publish my first poetry book—MY MAINE, Haiku through the Seasons—early in 2019. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author 

Winter Tales

(Selected samples from MY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasons by Bette A. Stevens)

Winter genie waves
Its icy crystal scepter
Dawn’s magic appears

Silvery branches
Read a charmed folktale
A spellbound story

Pine cones and tassels
Mirrored in moonlight upon
White weighted branches

Chickadees dozing
Nestling, captive till
Morning sets them free

Shovels and snow plows
Storm’s ravings unraveled
Till the next arrives

Soups, stews and chowders
Stories told round the table
Favored winter fare

The sundial declares
Dwindling days this season
When nightfall looms large

Neighbors helping hands
Gifts from the heart most cherished
As storm clouds gather

Families and friends
Make merry through this season
Knee deep in snow

Thanks so much for taking time to read these selected verses from MY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasons. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about them as I continue work on the collection. Wishing everyone a blessed and beautiful Holiday Season. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author

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Written

on 11/28/2018

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MY MAINE “Autumn Leaves” (Haiku selections) from Bette A. Stevens’s WIP


My upcoming collection of haiku reflects the Maine I know and love. Here is a sampling of several stanzas from the section Autumn Leaves. I hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. I plan to have the entire collection edited, formatted and published before year’s end. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author 

Autumn Leaves

(Selected samples from MY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasons by Bette A. Stevens)

Washed across woodlands
Blazing brush transforms the world
Into a canvas

Church steeples flashing
Like beacons across mural
Of the Master’s hand

Climb to the summit
Ascending steep timbered trails
Foliage at peak

Crispy, crunchy leaves
Frolic in the wind
Carnival classics

Skycastle ensigns—
Clever couriers announce
The coming tempest

Harvesting, mulching
Gardener’s work never done
But oh, the rewards

Cinnamon, nutmeg
Pumpkin confections abound
Connoisseur’s delight 

Window panes clatter
Leaves scatter in the whirlwind
Green fields turned umber

Drifting off to sleep
Reposing in tawny beds
Autumn leaves at rest

Thanks so much for taking time to read these selected verses from MY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasons. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about them as I continue work on the collection. Wishing everyone a blessed and beautiful autumn. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author

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Written

on 10/30/2018

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The “Halloween Fun – Get Your Spook On” Weekend Blog Tour – @WendyJayneScott #RRBC #RWISA


Welcome to the “HALLOWEEN FUN – GET YOUR SPOOK ON” Weekend Blog Tour!

13 Spooky Writing Prompts to ignite your imagination.
Bats and cats, owls and howls, trick-or-treat, hosts and ghosts.
Kids, have fun this Halloween by creating spooky stories to scare your family and friends.

***

Giveaways
(3) Amazon eBook copies of any of the Aspiring Author Series (Winner’s choice)

Leave a comment below and/or along any stop along the tour for your chance to win!

Halloween—Witch’s Familiar

In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits (sometimes referred to simply as “familiars” or “animal guides”) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to the records of the time, they would appear in numerous guises, often as an animal.

The main purpose of familiars is to serve the witch or young witch, providing protection for them as they come into their new powers.

(Reference: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

 

Meet Wendy’s two writing familiars—Zippy & Zappy

13 Spooky Writing Prompts to ignite your imagination

Bats and cats, owls and howls, trick-or-treat, hosts and ghosts.

Have fun this Halloween by creating spooky stories to scare your family and friends.

Available eBook & Print on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075FD222K/

Visit author WJ Scott

https://www.amazon.com/WJ-Scott/e/B00MGDXQ8C/

Twitter@WendyJayneScott

https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenAuthorWJScott/

http://www.authorchildrens.com/

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!  Thanks for stopping by to support Wendy.  To follow along with the other two tour stops this weekend, or to find out more about her, please visit her 4WillsPub Blog Tour page and be sure to leave her a comment below, letting her know you’re running out to get her book this weekend! It’s only $.99!!! Grab a copy of Halloween Writing Prompts today. WJ Scott’s writing prompt series ranks among my favorites. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author https://www.4writersandreaders.com 

 

Written

on 10/27/2018

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Write a 🎃 Halloween Haiku 🎃 & Get the Kids Writing Too!


Write a Halloween Haiku & Get the Kids Writing Too!

BLACK CAT, A Halloween Haiku (inspired by Midnight, our fabulous furry feline). ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author

Meet Midnight—The fabulous furry feline who inspired me to write BLACK CAT, a 🎃Halloween haiku🎃 (Haiku: a Japanese-inspired three-line: 5-7-5 syllable poetry form).

Midnight’s grooming table is decked out for each season or holiday and she loves it. I designed this year’s poster using a photo I took of Midnight resting on her grooming table here at the farmstead in central Maine. She’s a kitty who loves to hunt for spiders (one of her favorite treats). After taking the photo and writing the haiku, I added text plus spider and web graphics, then added a frame to make a poster. Kids of all ages enjoy writing and  illustrating their own poetry. It makes a great family activity too. 

What’s inspiring you this Halloween?
Brainstorm your list and get writing.
🎃Have fun—don’t forget to get the kids writing too!

Here are some writer’s tricks (literary devices found in every writer’s toolbox) I used to create BLACK CAT. These tools can set a mood— they make writing and reading memorable and fun.  Check them out and see if you can discover where I used them in my poem.

Read on to find out more about these literary devices.

BLACK CAT (haiku) by Bette A. Stevens

Black cat waits, watches…
Stalking tricksters in their web.
Spiders are her treats!

Three Writer’s Tricks (Literary devices used in writing poetry and prose)

Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Consonance
Another literary device used by writers and poets is consonance. It is the repetition of the final consonant sounds, usually in the more important words or in the accented syllables.

Alliteration
You put your alliteration tool to work when words that start with the same sound are used close together in a phrase or sentence. The sound is usually a consonant and the words don’t have to always be right next to one another.

Finding “just the right words”
Abundant resources are available in print as well as through online searches. Listed below are the two resources I had readily available in the classroom for my students (Grades 4-8). Paperbacks are inexpensive enough to have multiple copies available, and in my opinion, they are indispensable.

  • The Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary by Sue Young
  • Webster’s Thesaurus for Students by Merriam-Webster

                        🎃 Happy Writing and Reading Haiku

                                    & Happy Halloween 🎃

                     ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator

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Written

on 10/22/2018

MY MAINE “Summer Songs” (HAIKU) by Bette A. Stevens + End of Summer Poetry Contest


Introducing MY MAINE, Songs of the Seasons—Stevens’s current work-in-progress. Summer Songs includes selections from her upcoming collection.

I am currently working on a haiku collection (My Maine Through the Seasons/current WIP title) reflecting the Maine I know and love. Here are several stanzas from the upcoming haiku collection MY MAINE
entitled Summer Songs. Hope you enjoy them…

Meanwhile, I’m planning my own Maine vacation for August and September. Company arrives in a few days and I’m ready to enjoy a great “Staycation” right here with family and friends from away…  Wishing everyone a blessed and beautiful end of summer.

I’m entering these stanzas  from Summer Songs into Kayla Ann’s End of Summer Poetry Contest. I invite you to visit Kayla Ann’s blog to find,  out all about it. ~Bette A. Stevens  

Summer Songs

From MY MAINE Haiku Collection by Bette A. Stevens

Celestial orb
Climbs the azure skyline
Ascending each day

Season of high notes
Fledglings abandoning nests
Wings and voices soar

Waves play taps on shore
Tall pines salute by moonlight
Waking stars stand guard

Loons at lakeshore wail
Campers bewitched by the sound
Sacred summer songs

Bees and Butterflies
Dipping from Rose to Lupine
Dance to summer tunes

Highlands and ocean
Bound by granite cliffs sing of
Ageless adventures

Lighthouses stand tall
Regaling stories of ghosts
From a bygone age

Steps along seashore
Toes can’t resist surfs calling
Cold reality

Golden noontide
Both natives and newcomers
Triumphant spirits

[Visit Bette’s Blog]

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#IndieBooksBeSeen, Inspirational, Literature, Maine Author, Music, My Poetry, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Rave Reviews Book Club, RWISA Author, Writing Challenges

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Write a Haiku & Get the Kids Writing Too!


Let nature inspire you…

Our rock garden at the Farmstead is singing. The columbine were so glorious this season they inspired me to write “The Choral Debut,”  a haiku (Japanese-inspired, non-rhyming three-line: 5-7-5 syllable poem). I hope The Choral Debut inspires you to get outdoors and let nature sing its songs to you. 

The Choral Debut

HAIKU by Bette A. Stevens

Rising with the sun

Pristine perennials join

The choral début

I enjoy 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’ve learned that kids of all ages love writing poetry and like me, 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. I invite you to give it a try. In fact, I’m working on a Maine haiku collection that sings of the seasons. 

Don’t be shy. Grab a pen and paper, get outdoors, get inspired…and get the kids writing haiku too!

~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator

(Haiku: m)

haiku

noun hai·ku \ˈhī-(ˌ)kü\

plural

haiku

  1. :  an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively; also :  a poem in this form usually having a seasonal reference — compare tanka

See haiku defined for English-language learners

See haiku defined for kids

Discover more about how to write haiku and other poetry:

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Written

on 06/20/2018

As a Writer, Do You Make Time To Read?


Every #writer should #read this article by author Don Massenzio at DSM Publications! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author

DSM Publications

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am an avid reader as well as a writer. I tend to pick authors that I enjoy and read their entire body of work in chronological order. This not only brings me enjoyment, but it shows me their development as an author from their early to contemporary work.

One of my favorite authors is Stephen King. His early work is strong and definitely got stronger. When he suffered his accident and nearly died, his work suffered a bit after his recovery. He even threatened to retire, but thankfully, did not. I use him as an example because he also has one of my favorite quotes by an author:

If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time — or the tools — to write. Simple as that. – Stephen King

In the past eight months, I have written and published…

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