Friday, January 17, 2014

CALL OF THE SANDHILL CRANE


The cover of her book Amaranthine
 is an original painting by Cindy Parker.

Amaranthine 
by 

My favorite form of expression has always been poetry. I blame it all on my grandmother's influence; she would always include a poem in her birthday cards or letters. So it's with great pleasure that I review another book of poetry by Cynthia (Cindy) Parker. And while poetry is a personal journey, and each reader interprets the words differently, I know you'll agree, Cindy Parker has a gem in Amaranthine

When I received Cindy's books, the poem Snow Stars made the biggest impression. Today, writing this review it was The Call of The Sandhill Crane. It changes as the day, the hour, and yes, the mood, which is why I find Cindy's poetry so beautiful! I have a shelf full of books of poetry and I find them as inspirational as music if not more so. 

Cindy's words have a rhythm, sometimes a rhyme, but mostly they are words that hit an emotional cord and leave the reader filled with satisfaction on a spiritual level. Thank you Cindy, for your inspirational work and especially for letting me share another of my favorites from Amaranthine!
Yolanda Renee 2014

CALL OF THE SANDHILL CRANE

I wade through the ice gray
stillness and wonder if this
is what artic twilight without
end is like, waiting for them

to return. Waiting
for them to sing their overture,
sweet serenade from heaven
at the edge of dawn. Week pass.

A few scatterings of earth's sole
star opens the eyes of March
heavy with snow. A single, faint,
distinct melody caresses my ears.

I rush to pull up the pane,
quieting again to listen, studying
the death white sky through
dormant branches. The call resounds.

And at last I see my feathered
harbringer of spring flying solitaire,
spirit – filled, at peace.
                   Cindy Parker ©2014

*******



In myth and poetry, the amaranth flower came symbolize everlasting life. It appears in the writings of Keats, Shelley, and Milton's Paradise Lost. The long clusters, noted for their luxuriant red-purple color, were used as a dye by the Hopi people.

Amaranthine is not only the title, but the theme of this collection. A quest. A desire to find, experience, and embrace, the abiding essence of life in all we cherish and hold dear, all in a world of impermanence. For the strength of hope, for strength of soul, may we welcome and hold within, even if only for a time, all the amaranthine petals – and moments – we are given....

********

Amaranthine is Cindy's fourth collection of published poetry and includes both new poems as well as previously published poems from Spectrum, Origins, and Corundum.

Cindy's poetry also appears in the anthology,  Potter's Field, by The Lost Word Writers Group



 For the purchase of Amaranthine, you can reach Cindy at 

 
 

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

ALASKA IN ANY GENRE!



My Review:
Polar Night

by

Julie Flanders

When I learn that a books setting is Alaska I am immediately drawn to it and with Polar Night by Julie Flanders, I hit the jackpot. Reading her paranormal mystery not only left me homesick for my most favorite place, it had me looking at the genre with a new appreciation. She takes the reader on chilling ride through the street of Fairbanks and makes the Alaskan setting as much a character as her handsome and wounded detective Danny Fitzpatrick.

Detective Danny Fitzpatrick and the evil Aleksei Nechayev, are both mourning a lost love, and it leads to an interesting dynamic between the two. Polar Night is a mystery well crafted, with well-developed characters, and a setting that adds even more drama. 

I'm looking forward to Julie's next paranormal mystery with Detective Danny Fitzpatrick set under the midnight sun! 

Yolanda Renée 2014
 



Book Blurb: 

When Detective Danny Fitzpatrick leaves his hometown of Chicago and moves to Fairbanks, Alaska, he wants nothing more than to escape the violence and heartbreak that left his life in pieces. Numbed by alcohol and the frozen temperatures of an Alaskan winter, Danny is content with a dead-end job investigating Fairbanks' cold cases. That all changes when a pretty blond woman goes missing on the winter solstice, and Danny stumbles upon some surprising connections between her disappearance and that of another Fairbanks woman three years earlier. Forced out of his lethargy, Danny sets out to both find the missing woman and solve his own cold case.

The investigation points Danny towards Aleksei Nechayev, the handsome and charming proprietor of an old asylum turned haunted tourist attraction in the Arctic town of Coldfoot. As he tries to find a link between Nechayev and his case, Danny's instinct tells him that Nechayev is much more than what he seems.

Danny has no idea that Nechayev is hiding a secret that is much more horrifying than anything he could ever have imagined. As his obsession with finding the missing women grows, Danny finds his own life in danger. And when the truth is finally revealed, the world as he knows it will never be the same.


 Julie Flanders is a novelist and freelance writer who has written for both online and print publications. She is an animal lover and shares her home in Cincinnati, Ohio with her dog and cat. Her debut novel Polar Night, a paranormal suspense thriller, is now available from Ink Smith Publishing at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Her second novel, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, was published by Ink Smith in December, 2013. Find Julie online at her website, and on her blog, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Facebook


 And please check out Julie's latest!




by

JULIE FLANDERS

A brilliant flash of light transcends through time.
Another freezes a cloaked figure within a frame of salty mist as waves crash against a rocky shore. Her harrowing expression shadows the beacon to a pinprick.
By the next blaze, she is gone. Only the lighthouse remains.
Hannah’s eyes blink in step with each heartbeat. Images of her deceased parents and Martha’s Vineyard explode like firecrackers inside her mind.
She shakes her head.
For weeks this eerie woman dressed in nineteenth century garb has been haunting my webcam, but tonight she stared into my soul.
Why? ...
Who is she? ...
Casting aside months of research on historic lighthouses, Hannah drives to the coast and boards a ferry.
What is the strange connection she has to this mysterious woman suspended in time?
Hannah finds out.
But, it’s not at all what she expects...
Hannah unravels a century old murder.