
Welcome to some blogs I have enjoyed over the last couple of days that I think you might enjoy too. The first is from author Aurora Jean Alexander and she shares her top ten favourite books of all time.

Picture courtesy of unsplash.com
I once owned many, many books – shelves full of books. But lately, things have changed for me. I moved – and if I had taken everything with me, only my loads and loads of books would probably have filled an entire shipping container. I, therefore, decided on a handful of my favorites and I donated the rest of them. (that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re lost, after all, I have most of them electronically on my e-reader).
But a few books had to travel with me – books that are antiques – books that would have been lost if I hadn’t taken them… favorite books – MY favorite books, to be precise. Let me tell you what books I’m talking about – and why…
Head over find out the ten books that Aurora Jean considers her favourite including Shogun – James Clavell; Aurora Jean Alexander’s favourite 10 books of all time.
A.J. Alexander, Buy: Amazon US – And : Amazon UK – Website: Aurora Jean Alexander




This week on the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge by Charli Mills the prompt was a husband carrying his wife… interesting…
Also Charli shares her studies and the basis of the thesis she has written… And you can also read the fascinating story of almost 100 year old Sirkka Tuomi Holm who is blind in one eye and can hardly see out the other. Born five days before women had the right to vote in the US, her foreign-born Finnish parents raised her to fight for what is right. She stood on picket lines as a child with the working class, joined the Army as a WAC in WWII, and stood up as a hostile witness under the hysteria of McCarthyism. She writes a column in the Finnish American Reporter monthly and says history will always repeat itself. She should know. She’s lived through it. A veteran and a woman born before the Vote. Yet living, breathing, and showing how the past informs the present
Head over and find out more about this week’s prompt but also read the wonderful story of this remarkable woman Sirkka…: Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge by Charli Mills January 9th.

A little about Charli Mills and find out more at Carrot Ranch
Good to meet you! I’m Charli Mills. From riding horses to writing stories, I’m a born buckaroo wrangling words. I once won a trophy for goat-tying and later, one for story-telling.
With over two decades in freelancing, publications, sales, marketing, editing and speaking, my writing is published in magazines, anthologies and online. I use my worldly experience to consult with organizations, schools, entrepreneurs, writers, and independent authors in the art and business of story-telling.
My byline has appeared in Montana Outdoors, Colours Literary Magazine, Edible Twin Cities and online at USA Today. I used to write wellness columns, and foodie features about turmeric and cheese-makers. I published over 200 print articles and managed the award-winning Living Naturally for 16 years.

For the final post today I have a short snippet from Colleen Chesebro that might help you out if you are unfamiliar with Japanese poetry forms… and today Colleen sheds the light on Haiku and Senryu…
#Haiku & #Senryu Poetry Forms

Now that I’ve got the 2019 Poet of the Week Compilation sorted, I wanted to talk more about writing and creating Haiku and Senryu in English with the traditional rules and what I call the “current” rules. Read my post here: 5/7/5 vs 3/5/3 & 2/3/2 Haiku & Senryu Styles for more information.
My challenge post for this week is Poet’s Choice, so this gives me an opportunity to go over the different forms.
HAIKU IN ENGLISH is written in these forms: Traditional form 5/7/5, Current 3/5/3, and Current 2/3/2 syllable structure. A Haiku is written about season changes, nature, and change in general.
I’ll write a Haiku in each form to illustrate. First 5/7/5 – traditional form:
Head over to read examples of the various forms of Haiku and Senryu styles and I can highly recommend the weekly challenge for flexing your syllabic muscles: Colleen Chesebro explains Haiku and Senryu Poetry forms
Colleen Chesebro, Buy: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Goodreads: Colleen at Goodreads – Website: Colleen Chesebro



Thank you for dropping in today and I hope you will head over to read these posts in full.. thanks Sally.