Sopala’s image brought to mind those unrelenting winters in Maine when we’re praying for and dreaming of an early spring. Diana Peach inspired me to write a haiku for the occasion. Hope you enjoy it! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author
Pixabay image by Marianne Sopala
So Long Sweet Dreams
Haiku by Bette A. Stevens
Beast of a blizzard
Tromping in to surprise us
Sweet dreams disrupted
Myths of the Mirror blog has given writers and readers this fantastic Pixabay image by Marianne Sopala to respond to this month. The challenge includes stories, poems and artwork. Check out Diana’sFebruary Writing Challenge and come join in on fun!
“During February and March, I’ll be getting my first poetry collection—MY MAINE, Haiku through the Seasons—ready for publication. I invite you to take a peek at a sampling of haiku from the Winter Tales chapter. I’m looking for a few ARC reader/reviewers for pre-publication blurbs by month’s end. You can let me know in the comments section below. Thanks so much for your continued support”
Do you like variety? You’ll find it in Novel Thoughts, Sharon K Connell’s monthly newsletter—articles, interviews, tips, poetry, art, at least one recipe, plus more.
Starting with the next issue (February 2019), I’ll be a featured poet in the Author’s Pen section of the newsletter. Take a moment to subscribe on her website http://sharonkconnell.com/ And while you’re there, you can view previous editions of Novel Thoughts by clicking on the Newsletter Archive menu. ~Bette A. Stevens
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 fromMY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasonsby 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
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 fromMY MAINE, Haiku Through the Seasonsby 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
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
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.
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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.
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 authorhttps://www.4writersandreaders.com
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
🎃 HappyWritingandReading Haiku
&Happy Halloween 🎃
~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator
Find out more about how to write haiku and other poetry at Reference.Com
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
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!
: 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
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In European 
The main purpose of familiars is to serve the witch or young witch, providing protection for them as they come into their new powers.
Day Three Quote: 
Written
on 01/28/2019